CHAPTER VI.

FOUNDING OF OHIO.

Of the events incident to the birth of Ohio, as the seventeenth State in the Union, some interesting volumes might be written. Only an outline sketch will be here attempted. So far as the subject relates to the grants, surveys, sales and titles of lands, it will be left mainly to the pen of an expert.

At the close of the Revolutionary War the northwestern territories, embracing those of the present State of Ohio, were claimed, simultaneously, by the Indians, whose titles were but vaguely extinguished; by the individual colonies, and by Great Britain. The treaty arrangements by which the Indian rights were temporarily disposed of have already been referred to. The pretensions of the embryo States were less easily adjusted, and for a time postponed the consummation of their confederation. Over the entire region which now constitutes the States of Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin, both New York and Virginia maintained the right of exclusive domain. On the other side it was vigorously argued that whatever territories were wrested by the joint efforts of all from the common enemy, should be placed at the disposition of Congress for the common benefit. Maryland conspicuously held out for this proposition, and made its acceptance a condition of her assent to the articles of confederation. The articles were dated November 15, 1777, and were ratified by ten colonies July 9, 1778. New Jersey signed November 25, 1778, and Delaware February 22, 1779, but Maryland, for the reasons stated, still withheld her concurrence. Other colonies threatened to join her, and the incipient union was placed in jeopardy of disruption. Persisting in her claims, Virginia opened an office for the sale of lands west of the Ohio. Congress intervened by driving out the settlers, and the crisis became acute. At this juncture General Philip Schuyler announced in Congress that New York had executed to the general government a deed of cession of all the disputed territory west of her present boundaries. This patriotic act was consummated March 1, 1781, in pursuance of an act of the legislature passed the year before. The cession was made without reservation. Thereupon Maryland joined the Confederation, thus completing, for the first time, the American Union.

Constrained by the example of New York and the persuasion of Congress, Connecticut and Virginia made conditional concessions, the first reserving her jurisdiction, and the second excepting the whole State of Kentucky from her grant. These proposed acts of conveyance were carefully considered and exhaustively reported upon by a committee of Congress, which declared that New York had the

only valid title. The deed of New York was therefore accepted, that of Virginia rejected. The acceptance dates from March 29, 1782.

Virginia thereupon authorized a new deed of cession, still excepting Kentucky, but omitting some of the objectionable features of the former conveyance. She also reserved a body of land bounded east by the Scioto, west by the Miami and south by the Ohio, to be distributed as a bounty to her soldiers in the War of Independence. By this act, perfected March 1, 1784, Virginia relinquished to the United States all her claims on the territories north of the Ohio River, excepting the reservation named. By deed of April 19, 1785, Massachusetts conveyed to Congress, without qualification, all rights under her charter to lands west of the western boundary of New York. Connecticut executed a like deed of cession September 14, 1786, but excepted from its provisions a belt of country one hundred and fifty miles long and about fifty wide, called in early times New Connecticut, and since known as the Western Reserve. By the distribution and sale of this tract she indemnified her citizens for their losses by the British armies, and raised a fund for the support of her common schools. Washington and many other prominent men protested against her action, but Virginia's reservations furnished her a precedent which, with the general desire for peace and union, enabled her to enforce her conditions. Her civil jurisdiction over the Reserve was finally surrendered to the national authority May 30, 1800.

The claims of Great Britain upon the territories of the Northwest were maintained with great tenacity. Even after the treaty of peace they were relinquished tardily and ungraciously. The ministry which negotiated the treaty was censured and overthrown, one of the accusations brought against it being that it had "given up the banks of the Ohio, the Paradise of America." Lord North, leading the opposition, insisted that the ministers "should have retained for Canada all the country north and west of the Ohio." The united colonies being too weak to assert immediately their authority over so large a territory, the British resorted to every pretext to hold it, and in defiance of the treaty continued to maintain their western garrisons. They even built a new fort where the town of Perrysburg now stands and practically continued the war through their allies, the Indians. Only the casting vote of Vice President Adams defeated a resolution in Congress to suspend intercourse with Great Britain until her armed forces in the West should be withdrawn. History fairly justifies the declaration attributed to General William H. Harrison, that the War of Independence was not finally concluded until General Wayne's victory of August 20, 1794, blasted the hopes of the British by crushing the power of the Indians.

Plans for the settlement of the new territories of the West were first conceived and carried into effect by the veterans of the colonial army. While yet awaiting the conclusion of peace in their camps on the Hudson, two hundred and eightythree of these veterans memorialized Congress to grant them their arrears of pay in lands located between Lake Erie and the Ohio. Washington, by request, laid this petition before the Continental Congress, and reinforced it with his great influence, but without avail. The claims of the colonies upon the new territories being then still unadjusted, nothing could be done. The movement was obliged to bide its time, and so doing, proved to be the precursor of the most important pioneer enterprise of the West. Fortunately its most active spirit was General

Rufus Putnam, of Massachusetts. On the twentieth of May, 1785, Congress passed an ordinance providing for the survey of its new western domain. From this ordinance as a basis has risen the present system of land division in Ohio.' It provided originally for the organization of a corps of surveyors comprising one from each State, all under the direction of Thomas Hutchins, Surveyor-General, or so called Geographer, of the Confederation. General Putnam was elected for Massachusetts, but was unable to serve, and requested that General Benjamin Tupper, another officer of the colonial army, should be appointed in his stead. This was done, and General Tupper repaired to his field of labor only to learn that nothing could be done on account of the Indians. But while he was not permitted to survey the Ohio country, he acquired a most favorable judgment of it as a field of enterprise. Accordingly, Putnam and himself joined in a publication dated January 10, 1786, inviting their former comrades of the army to meet them in a delegate assembly at Boston to organize an association for settlement on the Ohio. The meeting convened at the Bunch of Grapes Tavern, in Boston, March 1, 1786, and organized by electing General Rufus Putnam as chairman, and Major Winthrop Sargent as clerk. It comprised eleven persons, representing eight counties. Articles of association prepared by a committee of which General Putnam was chairman were adopted, and thus the Ohio Company was organized.

"In

It was the design of the Company to obtain from Congress, by purchase, a large body of land on which they might lay the foundations of a new State. one sense," says President Andrews, "it was a private enterprise, as each shareholder paid for his share from his private funds; but it was also in a measure a public enterprise, representing, on the one hand, the veterans of the army, whose private fortunes had been wasted by the long war for independence, and, on the other, the statesmen and patriots of the country who were anxious to see a new empire founded in the western region which, after the long struggle with individual states at home and Great Britain abroad, was now in the peaceable possession of the United States."

The stock of the Company comprised one thousand shares of one thousand dollars each. The owners of each section of twenty shares were entitled to elect an agent to represent them, and the agents so chosen were authorized to choose five directors, a treasurer and a secretary. The first directors were General Rufus Putnam, General Samuel H. Parsons, and Rev. Manasseh Cutler. General James M. Varnum, of Rhode Island, was subsequently chosen as an additional director, and Richard Platt, of New York, as Treasurer. General Putnam was President and Major Sargent Secretary of the Board.

The second meeting of the Company was held at Brackett's Tavern, Boston, March 8, 1787, by which time two hundred and fifty shares had been taken. Among the shareholders then, or who afterwards became such, were many of the most distinguished men in the Confederation. No colonial enterprise was ever favored with abler management or better material. Negotiations with the Continental Congress for the purchase of a body of land for the Company were authorized, but were for some time unsuccessful. Finally, through the efforts of Manasseh Cutler and Winthrop Sargent, a contract was obtained for fifteen hundred thousand acres of land at a cost of one million dollars in public securities then worth about twelve cents per dollar. Onehalf the consideration was to be paid at

the signing of the contract, the remainder when the exterior boundaries of the tract should be surveyed. By the advice of Thomas Hutchins, Surveyor-General of the Confederation, the lands were located on the Ohio, at the mouth of the Muskingum.

Such was the Ohio Company's purchase. The contract was concluded verbally July 23, 1787, and was signed in writing on the twentyseventh of October following. It was the first contract of sale ever executed on the part of the Union Government. Under it the Ohio Company finally came into possession of a tract of 964,285 acres.

In order to consummate the arrangement certain concessions had to be made which were not originally contemplated. One of these was the substitution of General Arthur St. Clair, of Pennsylvania, as the intended Governor of the new territory, in lieu of General Samuel H. Parsons. Another concession was the extension of the proposed purchase so as to embrace the schemes of one William Duer and others who are described as "principal characters" of New York City. Unless those things had been done, the negotiations would probably have failed; after they were done a favorable conclusion was soon reached. In conformity with these arrangements a second contract, of even date with that for the Ohio Company, was made, conveying over four million acres of land to "Manasseh Cutler and Winthrop Sargent for themselves and associates." Three fourths of this tract lay west and onefourth of it north of the Ohio Company's lands. Such was the socalled Scioto Purchase. It was to be paid for at the rate of twothirds of a dollar per acre in public securities delivered in four semi-annual instalments.

Simultaneously with the execution of this second or Scioto contract, “Cutler and Sargent conveyed to Colonel William Duer, of New York City, a onehalf interest in it, and gave him full power to negotiate a sale of the lands in Europe or elsewhere, and to substitute an agent. Colonel Duer, [who was Secretary of the Board of Treasury], agreed to loan to the Ohio Company one hundred thousand dollars public securities to enable it to make its first payment to Congress-[Duer actually advanced $143,000]-and procured a large subscription to its shares. Soon after, Cutler and Sargent conveyed a little over threefourths of their retained interest in about equal proportions to Generals Rufus Putnam, Benjamin Tupper, Samuel H. Parsons, Colonel Richard Platt, Royal Flint and Joel Barlow. Many others became interested with these in greater or less proportions."4

The Scioto Company appointed Joel Barlow as its agent for the disposal of these lands, and sent him to Paris, where he spread abroad such captivating tales of the Scioto region that a large number of sales were effected. About six hundred of these purchasers came over from France, intending to establish homes on their supposed possessions, but soon learned that the Scioto Company had defaulted in its payments and could give them no valid title. Defrauded, nearly destitute and surrounded by hostile Indians in the wilderness, these French colonists found themselves in a condition truly pitiable. Finally, in 1795, those of them who still remained were indemnified, in part, for their losses, by a congressional grant of twentyfour thousand acres lying in the eastern part of Scioto County.

The Ohio Company's outcome was altogether different. On November 23, 1787, its directors met at Brackett's Tavern, in Boston, and made arrangements for sending out its first band of settlers. General Rufus Putnam was appointed super