USA > Ohio > Clinton County > The history of Clinton County, Ohio, containing a history of the county; its townships, cities, towns, etc.; general and local statistics; portraits of early settlers and prominent men; history of the Northwest territory, Volume 1 > Part 21
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48.6
London.
3,251,800
Russia.
81,925,490
1871
8.003,778
10.2
St. Petersburg
667,000
United States with Alaska. ..
38,925,600
1870
2,603,884
7.78
Washington
109,199
France.
36,469,800
1866
201,091
178.7
Paris ..
1,825,300
Austria and Hungary
35,904,400
1869
240.348
149.4
Vienna
833,900
Japan.
34,785,300
1871
149,399
232.8
Yeddo.
1.554,900
Great Britain and Ireland
31,817,100
1871
121,315
262.3
London
3,251,800
German Empire
29,906,092
1871
160,207
187.
Berlin
825,400
Italy
27,439,921
1871
118,847
230.9
Rome.
244,484
Spain
16,642,000
1867
195,775
85.
Madrid
332.000
Brazil.
10.000.000
..
16,463,000
672,621
'24.4
1,075,000
Mexico ..
9,173,000
1869
761,526
Stockholm.
136,900
Persia ...
5,000,000
1850
635.964
7.8
Teheran ..
120,000
Belgium.
5,021,300
1869
11,373
441.5
Brussels.
314,100
Bavaria ..
4,861.400
1871
29,292
165.9
Munich ..
169,500
Portugal.
3.995,200
1868
34,494
115.8
Lisbon
224.063
Holland
3,688,300
. 1870
12,680
Hague ..
90,100
New Grenada.
3,000,000
357.157
8.4
Bogota.
45,000
Chili ..
2,000,000
132,616
15.1
Santiago.
115,400
Switzerland.
2,669,100
1870
15,992
166.9
Berne.
36,000
Peru ..
2,500,000
1871
471,838
5.3
160,100
Bolivia ..
2,000,000
497,321
4.
Chuquisaca.
25,000
1,812,000
871,818
2.1
Buenos Ayres
Wartenburg .
1,818,500
1871
7,533
2.11.4
Stuttgart
91,600
Denmark
1,781.700
1820
14,753
120.9
Copenhagen
Venezuela.
1,500,000
368,238
4.2
Caraccas
17,000
Badou.
1,461,400
1871
5,012
2.17.
Carlsruhe.
36,600
Greece ...
1,457.900
1870
19,353
75.3
Athens ..
Guatemala
1,180,000
1871
40,879
28.9
Guatemala
40,000
Ecuador ..
1,300,000
218,928
5.9
Quito
70.000
Paraguay.
1,000,000
63,787
15.6
Asunclon ..
48,000
Ilesse
Darmstadt
30.000
San Salvador.
600,000
1871
7,335
81.8
Sal Salvador
15,000
Hayti.
572,000
10,205
56.
Port au Prince.
20,000
Nicaragua.
350,000
1871
58,171
6.
Managua.
10,000
Uruguay ..
300,000
1871
66,722
6.5
Monte Video.
44.500
Honduras
350,000
1871
47,092
7.4
Comayagua
12.000
San Domingo ..
136,000
17,827
7.6
San Domingo.
20,000
Costa Rica.
165.000
1870
21,505
7.7
San Jose ..
2.000
Hawaii.
62.950
7,633
80.
Honolulu
7.633.
1
931,632
820
Dist. of Columbia.
GO
131,700
Massachusetts
7,800
1,457,361
1,783,012
Idaho.
90,932
11,999
32,611
Mississippi.
..
47,156
827,922
1,131,592
90
Utah.
80,056
86,796
143,900
Nevada.
112,090
42,191
452, 153 62,265
53;)
Arizona ..
Louisiana ...
41,316
726,915
910,103
Maryland
11,188
780,891
1,600
10,212
330,551
675
POPULATION.
Miles 12. 12.
POPULATION.
'1871
2,969
277.
Liberia.
1871
9,576
74.9
Monrovia .
3,000
Sweden and Norway
5,921,500
1870
292,871
3.07
Rio Janeiro.
420.000
Turkey .
Constantinople Mexico
210.300
20.
290.9
177,800
Argentino Republic.
1869
162.012
43,400
823,138 718,000
1870
1869
3,253.029
593
*Included in the Railroad Mileage of Maryland.
MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION.
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HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO.
COMMENTS UPON THE ORDINANCE OF 1787, FROM THE STATUTES OF OHIO, EDITED BY SALMON P. CHASE, AND PUB- LISHED IN THE YEAR 1833.
[It would be difficult to find a more comprehensive review of the founda- tions of our system of laws than is given in the "Preliminary Sketch of the History of Ohio," by this distinguished representative of the bench and the bar of America. The work is now out of print, and is not casily obtained; besides, its great author has passed away; so these extracts are made more with a view of preserving old historical literature, than of introducing new; furthermore, the masses of the people have never had convenient access to the volumes, which, for the most part, have been in the hands of professional men only. The publication of the work first brought its compiler before the public, and marked the beginning of that career which, during its course, shaped the financial system of our country, and ended upon the Supreme Bench of the nation.]
By the ordinance of 1785, Congress had executed in part the great national trust confided to it, by providing for the disposal of the public lands for the common good, and by prescribing the manner and terms of sale. By that of 1787, provision was made for successive forms of Territorial government, adapted to successive steps of advancement in the settlement of the Western country. It comprehended an intelligible system of law on the descent and conveyance of real property, and the transfer of personal goods. It also con- tained five articles of compact between the original States, and the people and States of the Territory, establishing certain great fundamental principles of governmental duty and private right, as the basis of all future constitutions and legislation, unalterable and indestructible, except by that final and common ruin, which, as it has overtaken all former systems of human polity, may yet overwhelm our American union. Never, probably, in the history of the world, did a measure of legislation so accurately fulfill, and yet so mightily exceed the anticipations of the legislators. The ordinance has been well described, as having been a pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night, in the settlement and government of the Northwestern States. When the settlers went into the wilderness, they found the law already there. It was impressed upon the soil itself, while it yet bore up nothing but the forest. The purchaser of land became, by that act, a party to the compact, and bound by its perpetual cove- nants, so far as its conditions did not conflict with the terms of the cessions of the States.
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This remarkable instrument was the last gift of the Congress of the old confederation to the country, and it was a fit consummation of their glorious
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HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO.
labors. At the time of its promulgation, the Federal Constitution was under discussion in the convention; and in a few months, upon the organization of the new national government, that Congress was dissolved, never again to re-as- semble. Some, and indeed most of the principles established by the articles of compact are to be found in the plan of 1784, and in the various English and American bills of rights. Others, however, and these not the least important, are original. Of this number are the clauses in relation to contracts, to slavery and to Indians. On the whole, these articles contain what they profess to con- tain, the true theory of American liberty. The great principles promulgated by it are wholly and purely American. They are indeed the genuine princi- ples of freedom, unadulterated by that compromise with circumstances, the effects of which are visible in the constitution and history of the Union.
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The first form of civil government, provided by the ordinance, was.now formally established within the Territory. Under this form, the people had no concern in the business of government. The Governor and Judges derived their appointments at first from Congress, and after the adoption of the Fed- eral Constitution, from the President. The commission of the former officer was for the term of three years, unless sooner revoked; those of the latter were during good behavior. It was required that the Governor should reside . within the Territory, and possess a freehold estate there, in one thousand acres of land. He had authority to appoint all officers of militia, below the rank of Generals, and all magistrates and civil officers, except the Judges and the Secretary of the Territory; to establish convenient divisions of the whole dis- trict for the execution of progress, to lay out those parts to which the Indian titles might be extinguished into counties and townships. The Judges, or any two of them, constituted a court with common law jurisdiction. It was neces- sary that cach Judge should possess a frechold estate in the territory of five hundred acres. The whole legislative power which, however, extended only to the adoption of such laws of the original States as might be suited to the cir- cumstances of the country, was vested in the Governor and Judges. The laws 'adopted were to continue in force, unless disapproved by Congress, until re- pealed by the Legislature, which was afterward to be organized. It was the duty of the Secretary to preserve all acts and laws, public records and executive proceedings, and to transmit authentic copies to the Secretary of Congress every six months.
Such was the first government devised for the Northwestern Territory. It is obvious that its character, as beneficent or oppressive, depended entirely upon the temper and disposition of those who administrated it. All power, legisla- tive, judicial and executive, was concentrated in the Governor and Judges, and in its exercise they were responsible only to the distant Federal head. The expenses of the Government were defrayed in part by the United States, but were principally drawn from the pockets of the people in the shape of fees.
208
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO.
This temporary system, however unfriendly as it seems to liberty, was, perhaps, so established upon sufficient reasons. The Federal Constitution had not then been adopted, and there were strong apprehensions that the people of the Territory might not be disposed to organize States and apply for admission into the Union. It was, therefore, a matter of policy so to frame the Territorial system as to create some strong motives to draw them into the Union, as States, in due time.
The first acts of Territorial legislation were passed at Marietta, then the only American settlement northwest of the Ohio. The Governor and Judges did not strictly confine themselves within the limits of their legislative author- ity, as prescribed by the ordinance. When they could not find laws of the original States suited to the condition of the country, they supplied the want by cnactments of their own. The earliest laws, from 1788 to 1795, were all thus enacted. The laws of 1788 provided for the organization of the militia; for the establishment of inferior courts; for the punishment of crimes, and for the limitations of actions; prescribed the duties of ministerial officers; regu- lated marriages, and appointed oaths of office. That the Governor and Judges in the enactment of these laws, exceeded their authority, without the slightest disposition to abuse it, may be inferred from the fact that except two, which had been previously repealed, they were all confirmed by the first Territorial Legislature.
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At this period there was no scat of government, properly called. The Governor resided at Cincinnati, but laws were passed whenever they seemed to be needed, and promulgated at any place where the Territorial legislators hap- pened to be assembled. Before the year of 1795, no laws were, strictly speak- ing, adopted. Most of them were framed by the Governor and Judges to answer particular public ends; while in the enactmant of others, including all the laws of 1792, the Secretary of the Territory discharged, under the author- ity of an act of Congress, the functions of the Governor. The earliest laws, as has been already stated, were published at Marietta. Of the remainder, a few were published at Vincennes, and the rest at Cincinnati.
In the year 1789, the first Congress passed an act recognizing the binding force of the ordinance of 1787, and adapting its provisions to the Federal Con- stitution. This act provided that the communications directed in the ordinance to be made to Congress or its officers, by the Governor, should thenceforth be made to the President, and that the authority to appoint with the consent of the Senate, and commission officers, before that time appointed and commis- sioned by Congress, should likewise be vested in that officer. It also gave the Territorial Secretary the power already mentioned, of acting in certain cases, in the place of the Governor. In 1792, Congress passed another act giving to the Governor and Judges authority to repeal, at their discretion, the laws by
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HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO.
them made; and enabling a single Judge of the general court, in the absence of his brethren, to hold the terms.
At this time the Judges appointed by the national Executive constituted the Supreme Court of the Territory. They were commissioned during good behavior; and their judicial jurisdiction extended over the whole region north- west of the Ohio. The court, thus constituted, was fixed at no certain place, and its process, civil and criminal, was returnable wheresoever it might be in the Territory. Inferior to this court were the County Courts of Common Pleas, and the General Quarter Sessions of the Peace. The former consisted of any number of Judges, not less than three nor more than seven, and had a general common-law jurisdiction, concurrent, in the respective counties, with that. of the Supreme Court; the latter consisted of a number of Justices for cach county, to be determined by the Governor, who were required to hold three terms in every year, and had a limited criminal jurisdiction. Single Judges of the Common Pleas, and single Justices of the Quarter Sessions, were also clothed with certain civil and criminal powers to be exercised out of court. Besides these courts, cach county had a Judge of Probate, clothed with the ordinary jurisdiction of a Probate Court.
Such was the original constitution of courts and distribution of judicial power in the Northwestern Territory. The expenses of the system were de- frayed in part by the National Government, and in part by assessments upon the counties, but principally by fees, which were payable to every officer con- cerned in the administration of justice, from the Judges of the General Court downward.
In 1795, the Governor and Judges undertook to revise the Territorial laws, and to establish a complete system of statutory jurisprudence, by adoptions from the laws of the original States, in strict conformity to the provisions of the ordinance. For this purpose they assembled at Cincinnati, in June, and continued in session until the latter part of August. The judiciary system un- derwent some changes. The General Court was fixed at Cincinnati and Marietta, and a Circuit Court was established with power to try, in the several counties, issues in fact depending before the superior tribunal, where alone causes could be finally decided. Orphans' Courts, too, were established, with jurisdiction analogous to but more extensive than that of a Judge of Probate. Laws were also adopted to regulate judgments and executions, for limitation of actions, for the distribution of intestate estates, and for many other general purposes. Finally, as if with a view to create some great reservoir, from which, whatever principles and powers had been omitted in the particular acts, might be drawn according to the exigency of circumstances, the Governor and Judges adopted a law, providing that the common law of England and all general statutes in aid of the common law, prior to the fourth year of James I, should be in full force within the Territory. The law thus adopted was an act of the Virginia Legislature, passed before the Declaration of Independence, when Virginia was
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HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO.
yet a British colony, and at the time of its adoption had been repealed so far as it related to the English statutes.
The other laws of 1795 were principally derived from the statute book of Pennsylvania. The system thus adopted, was not without many imperfections and blemishes, but it may be doubted whether any colony, at so carly a period after its first establishment, ever had one so good.
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And how gratifying is the retrospect, how cheering the prospect which even this sketch, brief and partial as it is, presents! On a surface, covered less than half a century ago by the trees of the primeval forest, a State has grown up from colonial infancy to' freedom, independence and strength. But thirty years have elapsed since that State, with hardly sixty thousand inhabitants, was admitted into the American Union. Of the twenty-four States which form that Union, she is now the fourth in respect to population. In other respects, her rank is even higher. Already her resources have been adequate, not only to the expense of government and instruction, but to the construction of long . lines of canals. Her enterprise has realized the startling prediction of the poet, who, in 1787, when Ohio was yet a wilderness, foretold the future con- nection of the Hudson with the Ohio.
And these results are attributable mainly to her institutions. The spirit of the ordinance of 1787 prevades them all. Who can estimate the benefits which have flowed from the interdiction by that instrument of slavery and of legislative interference with private contracts? One consequence is, that the soil of Ohio bears up none but freemen; another, that a stern and honorable regard to private rights and public morals characterizes her legislation. There is hardly a page in the statute book of which her sons need be ashamed. The great doctrine of equal rights is everywhere recognized in her constitution and her laws. Almost every father of a family in this State has a freehold interest in the soil, but this interest is not necessary to entitle him to a voice in the concerns of government. Every man may vote; every man is eligible to any office. And this unlimited extension of the elective franchise, so far from pro- ducing any evil, has ever constituted a safe and sufficient check upon injurious legislation. Other causes of her prosperity may be found in her fertile soil, in her felicitous position, and especially in her connection with the union of the States. All these springs of growth and advancement are permanent, and \ upon a most gratifying prospect of the future. They promise an advance in population, wealth, intelligence and moral worth as permanent as the existence of the State itself. They promise to the future citizens of Ohio the blessings of good government, wise legislation and universal instruction. More than all, they are pledges that in all future, as in all past circumstances, Ohio will cleave fast to the national constitution and the national Union, and that her growing energies will on no occasion, be more willingly or powerfully put forth, than in the support and maintenance of both in unimpaired vigor and strength.
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PART III.
HISTORY OF CLINTON COUNTY.
ARRANGED BY PLINY A. DURANT.
1.
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INTRODUCTORY.
A HISTORY of Clinton County is here presented, in a form never before attempted. Its foundation is composed of material from the notes of the late Judge R. B. Harlan and Dr. A. Jones, of Wilmington, both of whom mado researches in the historical field through a long series of years, and both of whom were also pioneers of the county, with its interests therefore at heart. They collected a mass of valuable information, which could not be obtained through other sources at the present time, and it is here carefully arranged in proper order, built upon and added to until the result is a volume that is con- fidently expected to become a text-book for the future in regard to matters pertaining to the early history of the county. The undersigned, who has had charge of the work, has labored to make the arrangement satisfactory and proper, and has furnished several additional chapters of general interest from reliable authority, records, etc. He has been ably assisted by other members of the historical corps, and has met with a cordial reception generally by the citizens of the county, and its seat of justice, who have furnished information of great value. To all of these, acknowledgment is made of their services, and the history in what is considered its best form is respectfully submitted.
WILMINGTON, OHIO, August 11. 1882. PLINY A. DURANT.
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HISTORY OF CLINTON COUNTY.
CHAPTER I.
PHYSICAL FEATURES.
GEOGRAPHICAL.
THE THE county of Clinton occupies a position in the southwestern portion of the State of Ohio, its county soat, Wilmington, boing fifty-six miles by rail. northeast of Cincinnati. It is boundod north by Greene and a part of Fay- otto, east by Fayette, south and southeast by Brown and Highland, and west by Warren. Brown County only intervenes on the south between Clinton and the Ohio River, while on the west it is separated by two counties, Warren and Butler, from the boundary line between Ohio and Indiana. It lies on the di- viding ridge between the Little Miami and Scioto Rivers, waters draining from it into both of these streams. The county of Clinton includes an area of 400 square miles.
TOPOGRAPHICAL.
The topography of this county is greatly diversified. Large areas in the northern and southern portions are included in level and very fertile plains, while along the numerous streams the country is more broken, becoming more or less hilly, and in many places even abrupt and bluffy. The principal water- ways are tributaries of the Little Miami River, the greater portion of the drainage of the county being into that stream. The greater of these are Todd's Fork, named previous to 1787, probably from some of the Todds who settled early in Kentucky and were among its prominent pioneers and Indian fighters, flowing west and southwest, and, with its branches, East Fork of Todd's Fork, Cowan's, named for John Cowan, who owned R. Campbell's survey, No. 2249, on that stream, and Lytle's Creek, draining the central portion of the county; Cæsar's Creek, said to be named after a favorite servant of some of the early surveyors, who died and was buried on its bank, flowing across the extreme northwest corner; Anderson's Fork, rising in the northeast part of the county, flowing west and northwest and draining the northern portion; East Fork of the Little Miami, flowing southerly from the Snow Hill locality, and forming a portion of the boundary between Clinton and Highland Counties; Little East Fork of the Little Miami; Silver Creek, Stone Lick and numerous smaller ones. Wilson's Branch of Rattlesnake Creek drains into the Scioto from the northeast part of the county-Richland and Wilson Townships-while Lee's Creek,* also a tributary to the Scioto, drains a portion of Wayne Township. Todd's Fork of the Little Miami is the most considerable stream in the county,
$ Named from Peter Lee, a surveyor of Virginia military lands. Lytle's Creek was ramed for Gen. William Lytle, also n surveyor of those lands ; and Anderson's Fork derives its name from Col. Richard C. Anderson, the prin- cipal anrveyor. Wilson's Branch and Wilson's Run were named respectively for Amos and Isnac Wilson, early settlers. Buck Run and Turkey Run were named from circumstances readily soon. Dutch Creek had several families of that nationality among the first settlers on its banks.
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HISTORY OF CLINTON COUNTY.
and, in the days of the early settlements, furnished fair water-power, which was available throughout most of the year. The case at present (1882) is greatly different, for there is little power except at seasons when the stream is swollen by rains or the melting of snow. "Todd's Fork" was widely known in the years at the beginning of the present century, for on its banks some of the most prominent among the early settlements in the county were made. All the streams in this region are subject to sudden and sometimes disastrous fresh- ets, which subside quite as rapidly as they rise. The nature of the country is such that no great reservoirs exist, and the streams are therefore without a re- serve supply to keep them steady.
Anderson's Fork runs in places upon strata of the Niagara limestone, and is generally not much above bedded stone. At Port William, in Liberty Town- ship, it cuts through a portion of the pentamerous beds of the Niagara forma- tion to a depth of from five to ten feet. Above Port William and along this stream is a tract known as the "prairie," extending a number of miles and possessing a deep, rich, black soil. It was doubtless once the location of a swamp or shallow lake. Northeast of this prairie is supposed to be the high- est point of land in the county, it being between 700 and 800 feet above low water mark of the Ohio River at Cincinnati. In the southern part of the county, at a placo a short distance east of Vienna, on the line of the Marietta & Cincinnati Railway, the elevation is 7373 feet above the same comparative point. "Anderson's Fork receives but few tributaries in all its course, the tract which it drains being comparatively long and narrow. The bedded stone in its channel is of the Niagara formation as far down as the Lamberton quar- ries, where it strikes and cuts nearly through the formation known to geolo- gists as Clinton, and, at a point a few miles farther down stream, at Ingalls' dam, just outside of Clinton County, it cuts about four feet of purple-red shale underlying the Clinton, and strikes the higher of the Cincinnati group, or blue limestone."* East Fork of Todd's Fork also penetrates the blue lime- stone, cutting into it to a depth of nearly one hundred feet within three or four miles of Clarksville.
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