JUDGE JACOB BURNET.

Most of the men who became eminent as statesmen in the territory northwest of the River Ohio had been identified more or less conspicuously with the French and Indian wars or with the revolutionary struggle for independence. This is largely accounted for by the fact that the latter half of the eighteenth century was America's heroic age; that being a historical fact, it was quite natural that those who had most extensively developed heroic qualities, most uniformly manifested the characteristics of courage and daring, and most conspicuously displayed true patriotism and fortitude in that age of heroes, would usually be most successful in securing the largest measure or personal regard, popularity and public confidence-in short, would most likely attain to positions of trust, of emolument, of honor in territorial times. A large proportion of the men who became territorial settlers came well fortified with military titles. Generally the more intelligent and ambitious of our pioneers did not enter the far off western wilderness in a defenceless condition, if military titles afforded a perceptible degree of protection. Especially was it true that a large proportion of the men who composed the New England colony which, under General Rufus Putnam, in 1788, established itself at the mouth of the Muskingum river, had rendered much valuable military service, were in fact “military chieftains," who bore up quite gracefully under rather high-sounding, though well-earned, military titles. And no less. true is it of the meritorious men and patriots who constituted the territorial civil officers, most of whom had been military chieftains before they became civil officers, and it is recorded to their honor. They were for the most part fresh from the battlefields of the Revolution, from whence they carried off well-earned laurels that, upon their arrival in the "Northwest Territory" to assume the functions of civil officers, were still fresh and green. Elsewhere, also to a very great extent, very many of the men who constituted the hardy band of territorial immigrants, as the New Jerseyman, the Virginian and Kentuckian in the Miami valley; the Virginian in the Scioto valley; the Pennsylvanian in the eastern portion of the territory; and the Yankee in the Western Reserve, alike with their compatriots at Marietta, had been generals, commodores, colonels, majors,

lieutenants, aids or other military officers of a higher or lower rank, who, by meritorious military services in the interest of their country, had richly earned their titles in the "times that tried men's souls," and a large percentage of those pre-territorial chieftains attained to an honorable civic title, such as governor, judge, secretary, legislator, senator, congressman, constitution-maker or other of kindred character.

But not quite all the men of the territory who here attained to honorable civil positions had been "military chieftains." One illustrious exception, at least, I have in mind just now-one civilian, certainly, of territorial times occurs to me, who attained distinguished rank and high consideration in the territory, and afterwards in the state government; one who reached high civic honors, held office extensively and enjoyed, to an eminent degree, the consideration and respect of his countrymen; and all acquired without effort on his part, and wholly without the adventitious aid or eclat that comes from the performance of brilliant military services, or the wearing of military titles; albeit, his father was conspicuously identified with our revolutionary struggle until its close, and was associated with Washington, as an original member of the society of the Cincinnati. I mean one of the foremost of the territorial lawyers—one of the most valuable and influential of the councilors, a useful member of his town and city government, as well as of the state legislature, an incorruptible jurist and profound statesman, a politician and patriot, from 1828 to 1831 Ohio's distinguished representative in the senate of the United States-the late Judge Jacob Burnet.

Judge Burnet was of Scotch parentage-at least, his paternal grandfather, Doctor Ichabod Burnet, was born and educated at Edinburgh, Scotland, and after finishing his collegiate and professional studies, emigrated to America and established himself at Elizabethtown, New Jersey, where he continued in the practice of physic and surgery till he attained to a very advanced age. Judge Burnet's father, Doctor William Burnet, was an only son, born in New Jersey, graduated at the college of New Jersey in 1749, pursued the study of medicine a few years, and was laboriously engaged in the practice of his profession at Newark, New Jersey, until the winter of 1774-5. In the autumn of 1776, he was elected a member of congress, held under the articles of confederation, and the next year he accepted the position of physician and surgeon-general of the army of the eastern department, which office he continued to hold until the close of the revolutionary war. Jacob Burnet was born in Newark, New Jersey, on the

twenty-second of February, 1770. He received an excellent collegiate education at Nassau hall, Princeton, New Jersey, graduating with honor in September, 1791. After a year spent there as a resident graduate, he entered the office of Judge Bondinot, at Newark, as a student of law, and under that distinguished lawyer laid the foundation for his future eminence in his profession. He also spent a brief time in thoroughly equipping himself as a lawyer in the office of another eminent statesman and prominent member of the New Jersey bar, Honorable Richard Stockton. In the spring of 1796, the supreme court of his native state licensed him to practice law. He thereupon started for the Northwest Territory, to establish himself in the practice of his profession. And this he did, "throwing out his shingle" in Cincinnati, promptly, "when," as he declares, “it was a small village of log houses and cabins, and perhaps a dozen of frame houses with stone chimneys, most of them unfinished, and not a single brick building." At that time, too, he estimated the entire white population between Pennsylvania and the Mississippi, and the Ohio river and the great lakes at fifteen thousand. The population of Cincinnati was then estimated approximately at five hundred, including the army officers and soldiers in Fort Washington. He represented that when he settled in Cincinnati, in 1796, there were ten resident attorneys-at-law in that small village.

The inhabitants of the territory were increasing rapidly at the time. Judge Burnet located in Cincinnati. Several important events of recent occurrence tended to that result. General Wayne's victory over the western Confederated Indians on the Maumee was decisive, so overwhelming as to give assurance of peace and tranquillity to the territorial settlers, and the more rapidly they increased the greater their assurance of protection against marauding Indian incursions-the more numerous the frontiersmen the greater their ability to protect themselves. The fact of the rapid settlement of the territory was one of hope and encouragement to citizens, and tended to create confidence, in the older states, of assured immunity against Indian massacres, and thereby greatly stimulate immigration. But two years had transpired since the savages were overwhelmed at the Fallen Timbers, on the Maumee, and but one year had passed since they had, by treaty at Greenville, pledged themselves to a pacific policy towards the whites, who knew that the Indians bore it well in mind that the treaty at Greenville was formed to be executed, and the belief was prevalent among the tribes that were parties to it that its exe

cution "to the letter" was one of the things that might reasonably be expected.

General Wayne's victory on the Maumee in 1794, and his treaty at Greenville in 1795, as already intimated, were the two events that gave a mighty impulse to immigration in the old thirteen states, and at once started the Northwest Territory on the high road to prosperity and rapid settlement. Hence it was that the young prospective territorial statesman from New Jersey had to wait but little more than two years until his prospects opened up auspiciously. This was the way of it. By the provisions of the ordinance of 1787 the people of the "territory northwest of the river Ohio" became entitled to an elective house of representatives as soon as the resident free male inhabitants of the territory of lawful age should number five thousand. Well, so rapidly had immigrants been settling in the territory of late that it had become manifest to Governor St. Clair that the time had come to inaugurate measures to establish the second grade of territorial government in the northwest. Under the first grade the governor and judges selected, enacted and proclaimed the laws. Under the second an elective law-making body enacted them, the council, or upper branch of the legislature, being selected by the popular branch, and confirmed by congress. Accordingly, on the twenty-ninth of October, 1798, Governor St. Clair issued a proclamation declaring the foregoing to be the existing state of facts, and directing the sheriffs in all the organized counties of the territory to hold an election for members of the popular branch of the legislature on the third Monday of December, 1798, one member to every five hundred free male inhabitants, the term of service to be two years, the qualifications of a representative to be three years' residence in one of the states of the American union, and a residence in the district; or simply a three years' residence in the district, and to be the owner of two hundred acres of land within the same. The ordinance defined the qualifications of a voter for a representative to be the ownership of fifty acres of land in the district, having been a citizen of some one of the states, and being a resident in the district, or the like freehold and two years residence in the district or territory.

The sheriff of Hamilton county (James Smith) and the three justices of the peace (Aaron Caldwell, Stephen Wood and John Greer) whom he called to his assistance in preserving order, conducting the election, counting the ballots and issuing certificates of election, seem to have managed the matter somewhat awkwardly, owing, probably, in part, at least, to the

fact that the governor failed to designate, in his proclamation, the number of representatives to be elected. However, the election was held in Cincinnati for the county of Hamilton, there being no other township or election polls in the county, probably, at that time, the following being the names of the candidates and number of votes cast, to-wit:

A number of votes were cast for other gentlemen.

The sheriff and his board of magistrates decided that Hamilton county was entitled to but five representatives, and accordingly declared the five gentlemen first named (they having the highest number of votes) elected, and no others, thereby ruling out and defeating James Findlay and Jacob Burnet, who were, in fact, elected, because seven was the number of representatives to which Hamilton county was entitled.

In February, 1799, when the popular branch of the legislature met for the purpose of selecting ten men, of which number congress was to choose five to constitute the territorial council, they made choice of James Findlay and Jacob Burnet for two of the ten, and these two were of the five chosen by congress, and remained members of the council until the organization of the state government in 1803. Findlay and Burnet never appealed to the house of representatives to accord to them the seats to which they were elected, having reached positions they undoubtedly preferred-positions of greater honor and longer duration.

The governor having ascertained, unmistakably, that Hamilton county was entitled to seven instead of five representatives, issued another proclamation on the twenty-eighth of August, 1799, directing the sheriff to hold an election on the twelfth of September, 1799, for choosing ten additional representatives for Hamilton county, which was accordingly done, 536 votes being cast, of which Aaron Caldwell received 347 and Isaac Martin 265, and they were accordingly declared elected. As at the previous election, a number of scattering votes were cast. The elections were held, as ordered by the governor, throughout the territory, and the gentlemen who were charged with legislative duties by the choice of their fellow citizens met together at Cincinnati, February 4, 1799. The only business transacted at this session was the designation of ten gentlemen, resident freeholders, possessing, in fee simple, at least five hundred acres of