Ohio History Journal

THE PEASE MAP OF THE CONNECTICUT

WESTERN RESERVE

 

by RUSSELL H. ANDERSON

 

The Connecticut Western Reserve in northeastern Ohio is of such

special importance in the history of the Old Northwest that the

early maps of the area are of particular value and interest. The

first printed map of the Reserve, the Pease map of 1798, and its

subsequent revision of 1807-8 as the Pease and Tappen map, was

published in such a way as to cause some confusion. It is the

purpose of this article to clarify this situation.

Charles C. Baldwin in Western Reserve Historical Society

Tract 25 refers to a "manuscript map of Western Reserve that part

east of the Cuyahoga being laid down from actual survey, by Seth

Pease. The same engraved. New Haven Ct." These notations are

preceded by the date, 1797. Elsewhere in this tract Baldwin says,

apparently in reference to this map:

 

A manuscript map of the Connecticut Western Reserve from actual survey

by Seth Pease, (from the Walworth papers) was evidently prepared for

publication. Conneought Creek, Ashtabula Creek, Grand River, Chagrine

River and the Cayahoga are there all properly laid down, together with the

trails from the Big Beaver, and Indian paths.

The Reserve west of the Cuyahoga is unsurveyed and subject to Indian

claims; and less accurately appear the rivers Rocky, Renihua [Renithua, i.e.,

the Black], Vermillion and Huron. This map was engraved the same year

and printed at New Haven.1

This manuscript map is, as the tract reports, in the collections of

the Western Reserve Historical Society where it is cataloged as

No. 5 in what is known as the Black Book, a special volume of

manuscript maps. It measures 18 inches by 31 inches and is, in part,

in color. It carries the notations of longitude west from both London

and Philadelphia.

The portion east of the Cuyahoga River is given in some detail

 

1 Early Maps of Ohio and the West (Western Reserve Historical Society, Tract No.

25 [Cleveland, 1875]), 21, 25.

270

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The Pease Map of the Western Reserve          271

 

with the acreages of the townships and some of the township names.

It shows the Indian path from the Big Beaver above Youngstown

to the point on the Cuyahoga above Akron where the Portage Path

is shown striking south to the Tuscarawas. The western tributaries

of the Cuyahoga, here spelled Cayahoga, are not shown.

The region west of the Cuyahoga is sketchily shown with the

notation, "Unsurveyed Lands and subject to Indian Claims." The

Firelands are named "Fire Land" and are indicated in bare outline.

The rivers are shown approximately correctly with the exception of

the Black which is incorrectly delineated and is designated as the

Renithua.

This manuscript map carries no date, but Baldwin assigns it to

1797 and this is borne out by the correspondence between Amos

Doolittle of New Haven, Connecticut, and Seth Pease regarding the

engraving of this manuscript map. The engraving was made in 1798

and not "the same year," as Baldwin states.²

Doolittle wrote on February 15, 1798, to Pease that he had re-

ceived his letter of February 5 relative to engraving a "Map of

New Connecticut," and that he could set about the work im-

mediately. Although he had not seen the copy he estimated the

cost, on the basis of Pease's letter, at eighty dollars. He wrote on

February 28 that, in expectation of having the map to engrave, he

had prepared a plate and polished it for the work. He would lay

aside all other business until the map was finished, which he

estimated would be four weeks from the time he received the copy.

The arrangements were evidently satisfactory since he wrote on

April 6 that the plate was nearly finished. The paper was not

ready, but he had the promise of it by the middle of the next week.

He requested Pease to send again a list of the names of the towns,

which Doolittle had received and lost. On April 19, 1798, he sent

two dozen copies of the map and explained that "there has a num-

ber of Gentlemen sent in name to certain Towns in which they were

concerned. I have taken the Liberty to Engrave on the Plate and

 

2 Doolittle Letters (MSS. 841), Western Reserve Historical Society. All other manu-

script materials cited are also in the possession of the Western Reserve Historical

Society unless otherwise indicated.

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272    Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly

 

trust it will meet your Aprobation. I am now printing the map,

and shall have the 500 ready for delivery next week.... The paper

which is made for the maps weig[h]s 35 [pounds] pr Reem."

The maps as printed from the engraving of the manuscript map

and the later printings, which included revisions, are the cause of

some bibliographical confusion. The original map was engraved and

printed in two parts. The eastern section, which has three rules on

the right side and at the bottom and two on the left side and at

the top, measures 15 13/16 inches by 18 1/8 inches inside the

rules. This map may be found with the rules on the left cut off so

that it may be joined to the west section which is always printed

open on the right. It is without title but has the word "Erie" in the

proper place as a part of the full name of the lake on the combined

map. In the lower right-hand corner it carries the inscription,

"Engraved & Printed for the Author by Amos Doolittle Newhaven

1798."

The eastern portion of the manuscript map has the names of

sixty-five townships east of the Cuyahoga written in two different

hands. Those in one hand correspond to thirty-two engraved on

the map of 1798 and would seem to be those sent by Pease and

"a number of Gentlemen." With a few exceptions those in the

second hand appear on the revised map of the eastern section, which

was printed in 1807 although it carries the date 1798. The 1798

printing has no detail west of the Cuyahoga north of Portage Path:

no tributaries and no lot numbers in the present Independence and

Boston townships. Like the manuscript map this printed section

marks the longitude west from both London and Philadelphia,

details which are also carried on the west half of the printed map.

The west half of the printed map of 1798 has three rules at the

bottom, two at the top, and three on the left up to Sandusky Bay

and two beyond. The right edge was printed in all cases without

rules. The dimensions are 15 3/8 inches by 18 1/8 inches. It

carries the title, "A Map of the Connecticut Western Reserve from

actual Survey By Seth Pease" and the word "Lake" in position as

part of the name, "Lake Erie." Between the rules at the bottom

and left are the words "North West Territory," which appear also

on the revised printing of 1808.

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The Pease Map of the Western Reserve        273

 

Rivers on this half follow the manuscript copy fairly closely. The

Black River is named the Renithua as on the original. The legends

on this map follow those of the manuscript map with very minor

exceptions and read as follows: "Unsurveyed Land and Subject to

Indian Claims. N. B. The interior part of the Country west of the

Cuyahoga River and subject to Indian Claims, has not been

Surveyed. The Townships are Numbered in the first Range at the

Eastern boundary; the same Parilel is the same Number in the

different Ranges." Another note, in the lower left-hand corner,

reads: "Fire Land so called. It being a Grant of 500,000 Acres

by the Legislature of the State of Connecticut to certain Sufferers

in the late war with Britain, it is presumed that the Eastern

Boundary of said Grant will fall near the mouth of Vermillion

River, and is denoted by a broken line[.]"

The two printed sections described above constitute without

doubt the map as printed in 1798, and together should be known

as the Pease map of the Western Reserve of that year. This map

was later revised and printed in 1807-8 as the Pease and Tappen

map, although it carried the date 1798.

The eastern portion was revised in 1807. The date of 1807 is

based upon a receipt from Amos Doolittle to Turhand Kirtland,

March 24, 1807: "To altering the plates of the Map of New

Connecticut, and engraving New Additions.... To printing 400

Sheets . . . delivered." This is the portion of the Reserve in

which Kirtland, as agent for the Connecticut Land Company, would

have been especially interested. It seems quite obvious that this

revision of the eastern section was made on the same plate as used

in 1798 and that the earlier date was not removed. A significant

difference between this map and that of 1798 is in the number of

named townships of which there are now sixty-seven. For identi-

fication purposes it might be mentioned that the townships of

Brookfield, Denmark, Boston, Hudson, Stow, and Hiram were

among those included in this revision.

The dimensions of the western portion, which was revised in 1808,

are the same as those of the earlier map and the rules are

identical. In this instance, however, the details are quite different

since its publication followed the actual surveys. As might be

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274     Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly

 

expected the locations of the rivers are entirely redrawn from in

formation received from the surveyors. The legend regarding th

Firelands is the same as on the earlier map, but in this case th

outlines and names of the townships are included. On this map

the east line of the Firelands touches the lake just west of the

Vermilion River. Of the ranges belonging to the Connecticut Lane

Company, the 13th to the 18th are surveyed in the usual township

outlines and without names except for those of Wadsworth, Ho??

brook, and Columbia townships. The 19th Range, which by the

first running of the division line was shown to be fractional, i?

delineated as surveyed into Gilbert Township at the north and

fifteen equalizing lots. The strip between the west line of the 19th

Range and the division line as resurveyed is shown as a strip o?

uniform width. This was then known as the surplus land.³ Here

it is not named.

The dating and identification of this map are derived from the

following circumstances. The Indian claims to the land west of the

Cuyahoga were extinguished by the Treaty of Fort Industry, signed

July 4, 1805. Both the Sufferers Company and the Connecticut

Land Company were now free to survey their lands there. Abraham

Tappen, in association' with Anson Sessions, proposed on August

20, 1805, to survey the lands of the Connecticut Land Company

west of the Cuyahoga during 1806. An agreement authorizing

Tappen to make the survey was finally concluded on February 20

1806. Henry Champion, one of the large stockholders of the com-

pany, wrote Tappen in February that since the Treaty of Fort

Industry had been ratified by congress, Albert Gallatin, the secretary

of the treasury, would send a man to survey the south line and

establish the southwest corner of the Reserve. Champion suggested

that when the south line had been run five miles (that is, to the

next range line), Tappen could begin his survey. He added that

when the directors of the Connecticut Land Company and the agent

of the Sufferers met, the Sufferers would be urged to give their

early attention "to the measuring business."⁴

3 Joseph Perkins Scrapbook (MSS. 907), 151.

4 Bound MSS., Vol. 20, Book 8; Vol. 23, Book 8.

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The Pease Map of the Western Reserve         275

 

Turhand Kirtland, the local agent of the Connecticut Land Com-

pany, wrote Tappen on March 2 that Champion had given him the

same information with the additional note that Gallatin "expects

the firelands will be measured off by the time you have run the

meridian lines to that part."⁵ The surveyor selected by the secretary

of the treasury to run the continuation of the south line and the

west line of the Reserve was Seth Pease who had surveyed the

eastern section of the south line ten years earlier and who at the

moment was a principal clerk in the post office department at

Washington. Almon Ruggles was selected by the Firelands Com-

pany to measure off the 500,000 acres set aside for the Sufferers.

The government surveyor, Pease, did not arrive as soon as expected.

Tappen proceeded to measure off the south line to the first meridian

to be run and he had that meridian nearly surveyed when Pease

arrived. Tappen finished the 18th Range line, the last on his con-

tract, on July 2, 1806, and he completed his part of the survey the

following August 10. Pease continued to run the south line to its

west end and then ran the western boundary line to the lake. There

he joined Ruggles and ran the north line to the eastern boundary

of the Firelands.

The dividing line between the lands of the Connecticut Land

Company and the Firelands Company, that is, the 19th Range line,

was to be run by the surveyor of the latter company, Almon Ruggles.

Tappen wrote that when he had completed his survey, "for various

causes the dividing line ... had not been run. Nor was it probable

that it would be run for some little time to come. From this

circumstance I could measure no part of the 19th Range." Amos

Spafford was designated by the Connecticut Land Company to co-

operate with Ruggles in running the division line since each company

had an interest in it. These surveyors ran into difficulties in de-

termining where the line should be placed to set off the 500,000

acres. Late in December 1806 Ruggles prepared to return to the

scene to make another attempt to run the line. Tappen accompanied

the party as a representative of the Connecticut Land Company.

After having completed the survey of the division line, Ruggles,

 

5 Bound MSS., Vol. 23, Book 8, 12-13.

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276     Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly

 

his colleague McLean, and Tappen made a report of their work on

January 20, 1807. Tappen then took this report to Cleveland and

on to Poland where the equalizing committee of the Connecticut

Land Company convened at Judge Kirtland's home to divide the

lands west of the Cuyahoga River into parcels of equal value. This

task was finished on February 7, 1807, and Kirtland set out that

day to carry the report to Hartford.⁶

The 19th Range, by the calculations of the moment, was short of

the usual five-mile width by a little over a mile. After taking one

township off the north end of the range, the company authorized

Tappen to divide the remainder into fifteen equalizing lots. This

survey was made in September and October 1807, thus completing

the data needed for the revision of the western portion of the map

as far as the 19th Range line.⁷ The surplus land shown on the

revised map but not titled, must yet be accounted for.

The secretary of the treasury was not satisfied with the survey of

the south line west of the Cuyahoga since it did not agree with the

corresponding measurements along the north side of the United

States lands directly to the south. He wrote to Champion on

July 13, 1807, indicating his intention to make a resurvey, which

Champion, in a letter of August 14, 1807,8 protested as unnecessary

and disturbing. Despite the protest, Gallatin directed that this line

be run again. Maxfield Ludlow was named for the work, and

Joshua Stow was selected to represent the Connecticut Land Com-

pany.⁹

This resurvey of the south line fixed the southwest corner of

the Reserve on May 15, 1808, at a point one mile and eighteen

chains east of the previous location. After running the south line,

Ludlow resurveyed the western boundary to the lake, completing

his survey on May 25. Now began the calculation of how far the

500,000 acres of the Firelands would extend from the western

 

6 Connecticut Land Company Papers, Bound MSS., Vol. 16, Book 5.

7 Bound MSS., Vol. 20, Book 8.

8 Joshua Stow Papers (MSS. 1100); Bound MSS., Vol. 20, Book 8; Joseph Perkins

Scrapbook (MSS. 907), 150.

9 Letter from Jared Mansfield, Cincinnati, March 7, 1808, to the Connecticut Land

Company, with instructions to Maxfield Ludlow. Joshua Stow Papers (MSS. 1100).

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The Pease Map of the Western Reserve            277

 

boundary of the Reserve, and the marking of a new division line

between the Firelands and the lands of the Connecticut Land

Company. This job fell to Ruggles, with Stow again representing

the Connecticut company. On May 31 Ruggles wrote, "I expect

to commence my survey by the 5th June." He explained that

Ludlow's survey not only shortened the south line but also

lengthened the western boundary line (from the southwest corner

to the north line of the square townships, that is, to the north

boundary of the fifth row of townships) from the 25 miles of the

earlier survey to 26 miles, 4 chains, and 86 links. "When other

allowances and deductions are made," he wrote, "I think the the

[sic] dividing line between the Cont [Connecticut] Co & Sufferers

[Firelands] will not vary much from when it was before run; but

on account of the 1 m & 18 lks--taken off from the West side it

will be necessary to run all the Lines over again."¹⁰

By about June 12 or 13 Ruggles had completed the survey of the

new division line11 and had discovered that the southwest corner

of the Firelands lay 38 chains and 79 links west of the old division

line and that the northeast corner was 5 chains and 15 links west

of the old line. Thus the surplus land actually formed a gore,

wider at the south end than at the north and comprising an esti-

mated 5,400 acres.

If all the north and south lines in the Reserve survey had been

parallel, that is, had been run parallel to the Pennsylvania state

line, as they were supposed to be, the surplus land would have

been a long, narrow rectangle. Because of surveying errors, however,

the 19th Range line apparently had been on an angle, as was the

new east boundary of the Firelands, thus forming the gore of the

surplus land. Inasmuch as the surplus land strip is shown on the

revised map of the western portion of the Reserve as uniform in

width, and inasmuch as the new division line is dotted, representing

an indefinite boundary, it may be assumed that the extent and

 

10 Ruggles to Zalmon Wildman, May 31, 1808. Zalmon Wildman Collection, Ohio

Historical Society, Columbus.

11 "East Boundary of the Firelands [Ruggles' Survey Notes]," in "The Ludlow

Survey of the South, West and East Lines of the Firelands," Firelands Pioneer, N. S.,

XIX (October 1, 1915), 1871-1878.

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278     Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly

 

shape of the surplus land were not known when the map was

engraved. The very existence of the surplus land on the map, how-

ever, would seem to indicate that this map was based on information

received after Ruggles and Stow began measuring off the 500,000-

acre tract of the Firelands and after they had discovered that the

old division line was incorrect.

Other details in the Ruggles survey of the division line and

subsequently, during the next two months, of the entire Firelands,

do not show on the Pease and Tappen map. For example, Ruggles

discovered that the new division line crossed the Vermilion River

near its mouth and struck the lake to the east of the river. On the

Pease and Tappen map the line lies to the west of the river's mouth.

Furthermore, Sandusky Bay is too large and Patterson and Perkins

townships are too small (they should be approximately five miles

square and there should be land lying between their northern

boundaries and the bay).12 There is also no dividing line between

Huron and Vermilion townships.

These data were known by Ruggles when he completed his

survey, and are shown on the map he drew which was also engraved

and printed by Amos Doolittle. These facts would seem to sub-

stantiate a claim that the data for the Pease and Tappen map were

sent to the engraver before Ruggles completed his survey, probably

about the middle of August.¹³ By August 19 Henry Champion in

Connecticut had received the dimensions of the gore from Stow

and he relayed them to Tappen on that date.14 Tappen was then

assigned to survey the gore, and he subdivided it into twenty-seven

lots of two hundred acres each in October 1808. It would seem,

therefore, that the Pease and Tappen map had been completed

before August 19 and surely before the gore was surveyed and

subdivided. Furthermore, it must have been engraved before the

far more accurate Ruggles map of the Firelands was engraved by

Doolittle probably in the fall of 1808 or early in 1809.

12 "Almon Ruggles' Survey of Firelands," ibid., 1891-1965; see also print of the

Ruggles map of the Firelands, ibid., 1966.

13 Estimated from Ruggles' survey notes, ibid., 1878-1965.

14 Champion to Tappen, August 19, 1808. Western Reserve Historical Society

MSS. 1269.

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