Ohio History Journal
PROCEEDINGS
OF THE
CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY
OF THE CITY OF
GALLOPOLIS, OHIO.
October 16, 17, 18 and 19, 1890.
PRELIMINARY ARRANGEMENTS.
As early as April, 1890, the citizens of
Gallipolis, through
their Board of Trade, took action to
secure a proper celebration
of the approaching centennial of the
city's settlement. On April
22, 1890, at a meeting of the Board of
Trade, the following
named gentlemen were elected an
Executive Committee of
arrangements:
John L. Vance, Chairman; C. Fred
Henking, W. B. Shober,
H. R. Bradbury, Joseph Mullineux, J. A.
McClurg, Geo. House,
J. C. Hutsinpiller, C. W. Henking, Dr.
J. Eakins, B. F. Bar-
low, P. A. Sanns, J. C. Priestley, B. T.
Enos, E. L. Menager,
C. D. Kerr, J. M. Kerr, S. A. Dunbar, A.
W. Kerns, W. Kling,
A. Ufermann, Charles Regnier.
The organization of the Committee was
completed by the
selection of the following named
gentlemen to the positions
stated:
Vice-Chairman -B.
F. Barlow.
Secretary- H. R. Bradbury.
Treasurer -C. W. Henking.
Vol. III--1
2 Ohio Arch. and
His. Society Publications. [VoL. 3
The meetings of the Committee were held
at the Audi-
tor's office, the use of which was
tendered by A. W. Kerns.
The Committee at its first meeting,
tendered an invitation to
the General Assembly of Ohio to be
present at the Centennial,
which invitation was presented to the
House of Representatives
by Hon. J. Eakins, a member of the House
from Gallia County.
The invitation was accepted by the
General Assembly, and
arrangements made by the members of that
body to attend.
On the evening of April 28th the
Executive Committee met
and appointed a Sub-Committee to confer
with the Ohio Archaeo-
logical and Historical Society in regard
to the Centennial celebra-
tion: Hon. J. Eakins, Wm. B. Shober, C.
F. Henking, J. A.
McClurg, H. R. Bradbury, Jos. Mullineux,
and John L. Vance.
Messrs. B. F. Barlow, William Kling, A.
W. Kerns, J. M.
Kerr and B. T. Enos were also appointed
a committee to suggest
names and duties of sub-committees.
The first named committee went to
Columbus, May 12th,
and the next day met the Executive
Committee of the Archaeo-
logical and Historical Society, and
after a conference, a com-
mittee consisting of H. R. Bradbury,
Jon. L. Vance, C. F. Hen-
king, F. C. Sessions, and A. A. Graham
was appointed to pre-
pare a programme for the Centennial.
This committee met in
Gallipolis, Saturday, June 7th, and
arranged a provisional pro-
gramme, and assigned to John L. Vance
and A. A. Graham the
duty to arrange the details necessary to
its completion, and
authorized them to make such alterations
and additions as might
be necessary for the final programme.
Steps were now taken by the Society and
the Gallipolis
committee to secure in permanent form
the papers, addresses and
proceedings of the Centennial in volume
third of the Historical
Society's publications. The Secretary of
the Society was au-
thorized to prepare a circular setting
forth the proposed contents
of the volume, and to secure a
subscription thereto from the peo-
ple of Gallipolis. In pursuance of this
action, the following
circular was prepared and submitted to a
meeting of the Board
of Trade of Gallipolis the evening of
Friday, June 20th, and a
subscription of 150 copies of the
publication secured. The cir-
cular is as follows:
The Centennial Celebration at
Gallipolis. 3
THE OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL
SOCIETY. CIR-
CULAR OF INFORMATION NO. 2, 1890. THE
PUBLICATIONS FOR 1890.
The Centennial of the Settlement of
Gallipolis, Ohio, will
occur October 19th, next. It will then
be one hundred years
since the colony of French emigrants
landed on the northern
bank of "La Belle River."
This settlement, the only one of its
kind in Ohio, bears no
little impress on our history, and
merits more than merely a Cen-
tennial celebration. Its history
contains not only the location of
the colony, and the founding of a town,
but also carries with it
many questions of national interest.
Made about the opening
of the French Revolution, when the
attention of all Europe was
drawn to the questions of civil and
religious liberty; and when
the minds of men were easily turned to
any solution of the prob-
lems then agitating mankind, there
clusters about this settlement
many interesting and instructive
questions in our early annals.
The scheme of locating a foreign colony
upon land in an Ameri-
can wilderness, obtained from the
Government through organized
land companies was watched by many, not
only in Europe, but
also in America. It was not merely local
interest; the attention
of nations was drawn thither.
The history of this colony, the
formation of the Ohio and
Scioto Land Companies, both more or less
interested in its suc-
cess, and the relation each bore to the
other, with a concise his-
tory of their transactions so far as
they relate to this colony, will
appear in this volume. Original maps,
plats, drawings and docu-
ments will be used to illustrate the
text. The " French Grant"
will be carefully and fully described,
and such plats and maps, as
will elucidate the text, will be used.
The story of the French emigrants will
be faithfully given,
and as far as possible a complete list
of the first settlers will be
printed. Plats and plans, views and
portraits, as far as can be
obtained, will be used to illustrate the
work.
The volume will therefore not be merely
an account of the
exercises commemorative of the
Centennial. It will be a history
4 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL.
3
of the colony, and a careful digest of
the questions pertinent
thereto.
The work when published will be somewhat
similar to that
issued in 1888, i. e., "The
Marietta Centennial of April 7th,"
save that this will be a bound volume,
and will be the Society's
publication for 1890. Like all
publications of the Society, the
volume is not for general circulation.
Members of the Society
will be supplied, and additional copies
will be printed only for
exchanges, societies, and for those who
request them.
Several thousand copies of this circular
were issued and sent
liberally to all parts of the country,
and through the Board of
Trade at Gallipolis, were freely
distributed there.
On August 19th, the Board of Trade
appointed the follow-
ing committees on detail work:
ADVERTISING.
P. T. Wall, Chairman; I. F. Chapman,
Theo. N. Wilson,
Chas. D. Kerr, S. A. McClurg.
AMUSEMENTS.
Thos. R. Hayward, Chairman; J. Will
Clendinen, N. R.
Canaday, P. T. Wall, A. L. Roadarmour,
C. B. Hanson, Geo. D.
McIntyre, C. H. Small, H. C. Johnston,
Jas. W. Gardner.
ATHLETICS.
Arthur Williams, Chairman; Henry Neal,
Fred Kling.
BADGES.
Ralph C. Jones, Chairman; C. C.
Olmstead, Frank Moore.
DECORATIONS.
O. M. Henking, Chairman; Chas. W. Uhrig,
C. H. McCor-
mick, Dr. F. A. Cromley, Ed. W. Vanden,
Ross Williams, A.
R. Weaver, Frank Ulsamer, W. B. Fuller,
B. Frank Barlow, A.
A. Lyon, J. C. Staats, C. F. Hudlin, C.
A. Smith, C. M. Adams,
Samuel T. Cook, S. D. Cowden, J. Will
Clendinen, Chas.
The Centennial Celebration at
Gallipolis. 5
Gentry, Jas. H. Sanns, S. A. Rathburn,
Charles Johnston,
Aaron Frank.
DRINKING WATER.
C. W. Ernsting, Chairman; E. T. Moore,
J. H. Frank,
Fred H. Kerr, E. Lincoln Neal, John
Pepple, B. L. Gardner, A.
Moch, J. M. Smith, Frank Bell, Jos.
Ziegler, G. W. Cox, Paul
Dober, Dr. J. R. Safford, Geo. W.
Alexander, E. L. Menager,
J. C. Shepard, C. J. Schreck, J. S.
Billups, Henry House, Chas.
F. Jenny, Alvin Brown.
ENTERTAINMENT.
John C. Hutsinpiller, 'Chairman; J. H.
Schaaf, Charles
Stuart, S. F. Crane, C. H. D. Summer,
Henry Gilman, W. G.
Fuller, A. J. Greene, Dr. John Sanns,
Henry.R. Bell, Henry
Beall.
FIREWORKS.
E. E. Gatewood, Chairman; Thomas R.
Hayward, J. A.
Blazer, A. B. Williams, C. Fred Henking,
Geo. N. Bolles, M.
S. Hern.
GROUNDS AND SUPPLIES.
Geo. House, Chairman; Jos. F. Martin, A.
F. Lasley, John
Lupton, James H. McClurg, W. H.
Billings, W. R. White.
HORSES AND CARRIAGES.
W. C. Hayward, Chairman; James G.
Priestley, Frank
Hutsinpiller, Geo. Wetherholt, Charles
C. Baker.
HOTELS, BOARDING HOUSES, ETC.
W. H. Hutchinson, Chairman; J. C.
Morris, Creuzet
Vance, Frank Ulsamer, J. W. Gardner, J.
L. Hayward, Chas.
Jenny, John C. Graham, Amos Troth, A. A.
Lyon, Ed. Gills,
Chris. C. Mack.
INTELLIGENCE.
John C. Vanden, Chairman; A. F. Moore,
Chas. Mack, C.
W. Bird, Frank J. Donnally.
6 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL.
3
LIGHT.
Jas. A. McClurg, Chairman; C. W.
Henking, C. D. Kerr,
B. T. Enos, F. W. Dages, S. Witham,
Chas. Stockhoff.
MUSIC -INSTRUMENTAL.
James H. Sanns, Chairman; Geo. D.
McBride, L. B. Shaw.
MUSIC-VOCAL.
Jas. M. Neal, Chairman; D. W. Jones, Gus
Mack, Dr. Jas.
T. Hanson, J. E. Matthews, John R.
McCormick, E. S. Ale-
shire, G. A. Roedell, F. O. Fowler, Wm.
Mullinuex, T.P. Wil-
liams, F. M. Snead.
MILITARY DISPLAY.
C. H. McCormick, Chairman; Silas
Pritchett, E. S. Aleshire,
A. G. Beall, D. W. Jones, Geo. D.
McBride, H. R. Bradbury,
Chas. Weihe.
PRESS.
William Nash, Chairman; D. W. Jones,
John L. Vance, jr.
H. LeClercq Ford, J. E. Robinson, J. D.
Olmsted.
PROGRAMME.
F. C. Sessions, Chairman; A. A. Graham,
John L. Vance,
H. R. Bradbury, Jehu Eakins.
RAILROAD AND RIVER TRANSPORTATION.
W. B. Shober, Chairman; John R.
McCormick, H. W. Ellis,
S. M. Cherrington, P. A. Sanns, John
Nevius, Miles H. Brown,
W. A. Barrows, S. Silverman, F. J.
Donnally, Geo. W. Bay.
RECEPTION.
John M. Alexander, Chairman; Geo. House,
James Mul-
lineux, W. H. McCormick, C. D. Maxon, P.
A. Sanns, W. C.
Hayward, James Harper, A. Ufermann, Dr.
E. W. Parker, G.
B. Little, Dr. H. C. Brown, D. B.
Hebard, Frank Cromley,
The Centennial Celebration at
Gallipolis. 7
James Gatewood, Alexander Vance, Wm. C.
Miller, M. C. Bar-
low, John L. Kuhn, R. D. Neal, D. S.
Ford, H. N. Ford, C.
Doepping, H. H. McGonagle, Joseph
Mullineux, S. R. Bush, C.
A. Clendinen, Charles Mack, Dr. P.
Gardner, Albert Mossman,
Daniel Calohan, Eliza Smith, E. Betz, C.
C. Welbert, C. D.
Bailey, John Dages, James Vanden.
SABBATH PROGRAMME.
Rev. P. A. Baker, Chairman; Rev. John
Moncure, Rev. C.
A.. McManis, Rev. R. H. Coulter, Rev.
Father Oeink, W. L.
Robinson, H. N. Ford, A. J. Greene, W.
G. Bradley, Jos. F.
Hund.
SANITARY.
William Kling, Chairman; A. Henking, J.
C. Priestley, Dr.
James Johnson, C. A. Hill.
SCHOOLS.
T. W. Karr, Chairman; D. B. Hebard, Dr.
John Sanns, Dr.
E. G,
Alcorn, A. L. Roadarmour.
STEAMBOAT EXCURSION.
S. A. Dunbar, Chairman; R. L. Hamilton,
John W. Hol-
loway, Chas. Regnier, John Damron, M. V.
Nelson.
TENTS AND AMPHITHEATRE.
A. W. Kerns, Chairman; Jas. Mullineux,
Jr., S. F. Neal,
P. B, Pritchett.
TO FORM TOWNSHIP COMMITTEES.
I. F. Chapman, Chairman; W. T. Minturn,
A. W. Kerns,
V. H. SWitzer. W. R. White.
LADIES' RECEPTION COMMITTEE.
The following ladies were appointed a
Committee to prepare
a suitable reception for the Governors,
their Staff officers, State
8 Ohio
Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
officers, members of
the Legislature, and other distinguished
guests:
Mrs. C. Fred. Henking, Mrs. J. E. Robinson,
Mrs. H. R. Bradbury, Mrs. W. B. Shober,
Mrs. B. F. Barlow, Mrs. P. A. Sanns,
Mrs. W. G. Brading, Mrs. Sam'l
Silverman,
Mrs. Josephine Cadot, Mrs. J. H. Sanns,
Mrs. F. A. Cromley, Mrs. J. C. Shephard,
Mrs. S. A. Dunbar, Mrs. J. M. Smith,
Mrs. B. T. Enos, Mrs. John L.
Vance,
Mrs. W. B. Fuller, Mrs. Mary A.
Wood,
Mrs. J. C.
Hutsinpiller, Mrs.
A. Uhrig,
Mrs. E. S. Aleshire, Mrs. H. N. Ford,
Mrs. O. M. Henking, Miss Mary Aleshire,
Mrs. W. H. Hutchinson, Miss Hattie Beard,
Mrs. John T. Halliday, Miss Belle Coffman,
Mrs. James Johnson, Miss Blanche Cadot,
Mrs. D. W. Jones, Miss Callie
Deletombe,
Mrs. C. D. Kerr, Miss Mary
Graham,
Mrs. Genevieve Maxon, Miss Kate McClurg,
Mrs. John Moncure, Miss Kate McIntyre,
Mrs. J. C. Morris, Miss Ida Nevius,
Mrs. Geo. D. McIntyre, Miss Alice Pitrat,
Mrs. C. W. Ernsting, Miss Annie Uhrig,
Mrs. A. W. Kerns, Miss Marie
Drouillard.
Each committee
arranged all details necessary and by the
middle of October
everything was in readiness.
The Committee on Tents
arranged for a large tent for the
Auditorium with a seating capacity of 2,000. A stage was
built in it on the
parquet order with a seating capacity of 400.
Near it were arranged
a dozen tents for Committees' head-
quarters. The main
tent was erected in the center of the Park
next the river, where
the reunion tent was spread in 1888. This
gave a fine view up
and down the river and was convenient to
every one. The main
tent was well lighted and comfortably
seated.
Early in October, John
L. Vance and A. A. Graham ar-
The Centennial Celebration at
Gallipolis. 9
ranged the following programme, which,
in the main, was
carried out:
1790 1890
PROGRAMME
OF THE
CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY
OF THE
SETTLEMENT OF THE CITY
OF
GALLIPOLIS, OHIO,
BY THE
French, October
19, 1790.
October 16, 17, 18 and 19,
1890.
The following account of the reason of
the settlement of
this locality by the French emigrants
was printed in the pro-
gramme:
" On October 19, 1790, a party of
French emigrants landed
at the site of the present city of
Gallipolis, Ohio. These emi-
grants were part of a number who had
purchased land in the
Ohio country from the Society of the
Scioto in Paris. This
Society had acquired the right of
purchase in this part of
America from Joel Barlow, agent of the
Scioto Associates in
America. They had contracted to buy from
the United States a
large tract of land in the Northwest
Territory. Through the
failure of the Society of the Scioto to
meet its payments the
Scioto Associates were unable to fulfill
their obligations and the
lands continued in possession of the
American government. To
satisfy the claims of the emigrants to
whom the Society of the
10 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VoL. 3
Scioto had given deeds for lands in the
18 ranges of townships -
but which, upon the map furnished by Mr.
Barlow, were located
at and adjacent to the site of
Gallipolis-the Scioto Associates
contracted to buy from the Ohio Company
the land represented
by its shares, which had been forfeited
for non-payment-about
200,000 acres. This land they were
permitted to locate in the
fourteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth
ranges of townships, in-
cluding the site of Gallipolis. Owing to
the failure of the prin-
cipal men among the Scioto Associates in
the financial panic of
1792, they were unable to pay for this
tract. This left the
French without titles to any of their
purchases. The Ohio
Company was unable to complete the tract
it had originally con-
tracted for, but, by its settlement with
Congress in 1792, it
acquired the title to the land in the 14
and 15 ranges of town-
ships, including Gallipolis. In 1795,
through the efforts of Jean
Gabriel Gewase, seconded by the leading
men in the Ohio Com-
pany, a grant of 24,000 acres of land,
in what is now Scioto
county, was made to the French
emigrants. In the same
year the Ohio Company sold to them two
fractional sections,
about 900 acres of land, including the
town site of Gallipolis, at
$1.25 per acre. It also offered to each
French settler at Galli-
polis,' one hundred acres of land from
the donation tract granted
to it by Congress to be given to actual
settlers.
FRIDAY MORNING, OCTOBER 17, IN THE
AUDITORIUM.
MUSIC.
Address ..... ........... .... HON. H. R. BRADBURY, Mayor of
Gallipolis
Address .........................PROF.
N. J. MORRISON, of Marietta
On behalf of Ohio Historical Society -
"A Century and Its Lessons."
MUSIC.
FRIDAY, 2 P. M.-AUDITORIUM.
MUSIC.
Address...............
..........................HON. D. K. WATSON
"The Early Bar of the Ohio
Valley."
SHORT ADDRESSES.
MUSIC.
The Centennial Celebration at
Gallipolis. 11
FRIDAY EVENING--7:30 O'CLOCK.
MUSIC.
Address ................. HON. JAMES E.
CAMPBELL, Governor of Ohio
Address ............... A. A. GRAHAM, Secretary
Ohio Historical Society
"French Exploration and Occupation
in America."
(Illustrated by the Stereopticon.)
This address was, by request of the
audience, repeated Sat-
urday evening. It was of such a nature
it could not be pre-
pared for publication.
SATURDAY, 10 A. M.- AUDITORIUM.
MUSIC.
Address
.................................. .... ... . COL. JOHN L. VANCE
"The French Settlement and Settlers
of Gallipolis."
Owing to other duties this address could
not be given, but it
is printed in this volume. Short
addresses were made by Rev.
H. A. Thompson, Prof. J. M. Davis, Mr.
R. D. Marshall, Mr.
R. D. Jones, Judge R. A. Safford, Gen.
C. H. Grosvenor, and
others.
SATURDAY AFTERNOON-2:00 O'CLOCK.
Excursion by Steamboats to points of
interest on the Ohio and the
Kanawha.
SATURDAY EVENING - 7:30 O'CLOCK.
MUSIC.
Address
..................................... ... HON. DANIEL J. RYAN
"The Scioto Company and the French
Grant."
CENTENNIAL DAY.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 19, 1890.
10:00 A. M.- Services in all the
Churches under charge of the City Pastors'
Association; appropriate exercises.
In each church an historical sermon was
given by the pas-
tor, or by some one selected by him. A
synopsis of these
addresses appears in this volume.
SUNDAY AFTERNOON, 2: 00 O'CLOCK -
AUDITORIUM.
MUSIC BY AUDIENCE.
Historical Discourse ................
REV. WASHINGTON GLADDEN, D. D.
MUSIC.
SUNDAY EVENING- 7:30 O'CLOCK.
Closing services in the Churches.
12 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
The programme at first provided for
opening exercises
Thursday evening, the sixteenth; but
that day being very wet
and disagreeable, and owing to an extra
session of the General
Assembly being called, but few persons
could leave Columbus
with the members of the Archaeological
and Historical Society.
The train bearing the party was late,
and did not reach Gallipo-
lis till after nine o'clock in the
evening. The opening exercises
were, therefore, deferred until Friday
morning, and the pro-
gramme arranged accordingly. Members of
the Assembly in-
vited to take part, were detained at
Columbus, and their places
filled by others. The citizens of Gallipolis had made ample
preparations, and when the guests
arrived everything was in
readiness. The following from the Gallipolis
Bulletin of Octo-
ber 21st, is a very good
account of the celebration:
Friday morning opened clear and
beautiful. The clouds
and rain had disappeared and the sun
shone out, diffusing
warmth and beauty. By 10 A. M. the large
tent was filled. The
meeting was called to order by Hon. H.
R. Bradbury, City
Mayor, who in the opening address
extended a hearty welcome
to all who came. At the close of his
address and after music by
the band, Rev. N. J. Morrison was
introduced, and for an hour
spoke on the topic assigned to Mr.
Sessions. Mr. Sessions, the
President of the Society, to whom had
been assigned this address,
was absent, in New York, on account of
illness, and had secured
Dr. Morrison to fill his place. The
address was scholarly,
eloquent, and filled with information.
It was a timely and most
excellent resume of the century just
closed.
Following Dr. Morrison, Rev. J. M.
Davis, President of
Rio Grande College, gave a brief history
of the educational
institutions in Gallia County,
especially of the college at Rio
Grande.
Rev. H. A. Thompson, one of the Trustees
of the State
Historical Society, and for many years
President of the Wester-
ville College, spoke on the value of
education, especially that
given in the small colleges of the
country, and in the academies.
The afternoon exercises were varied in
character. Owing
to the late arrival of the Governor's
train, no attempt was made
to gather the people until near 4
o'clock. Col. R. D. Marshall,
The Centennial Celebration at
Gallipolis. 13
of Dayton, was introduced by Secretary
Graham, and about half
an hour spoke on the general theme of
the Centennials and the
value of their influences on American
life.
Following this address came a civic
parade, in which
Governors Campbell, of Ohio, and
Fleming, of West Virginia,
and their staffs, took part; also many
civic societies. At the
close of the parade the people gathered
at the tent.
The audience was called to order by Col.
John L. Vance,
who introduced Hon. D. K. Watson,
Attorney General of Ohio,
who delivered an address on the
"Early Bar of the Ohio
Valley." At the conclusion of his
address, Governor Fleming,
of West Virginia, was introduced and
spoke on the relation of
Virginia to the Ohio Valley. Governor Campbell was then
introduced. As it was getting late the Governor spoke but
a few moments, deferring his speech
until evening.
Assembling again in the evening,
Governor Campbell
resumed his remarks. They were largely
relative to the
value of proper centennial celebrations
as educational in
character and as agencies in impressing
on the minds of the
young the value of American
institutions.
Mr. Graham was then introduced, and for
an hour spoke on
the "Early Exploration and
Occupation of the French in
America." The address was illustrated by a series of stere-
opticon views, showing the routes of the
early explorers by
sea and by land, also the various posts,
stations and forts built
in the Western valleys. Maps showing the
possessions and
territory claimed by the English and
French in North America,
especially in the Valleys of the St.
Lawrence and Mississippi
Rivers and their tributaries, were
shown, and at the close of the
address a series of pictures were shown
illustrating life on the
Ohio a century ago. These included pictures of Marietta,
Belpre, Fort Harmar, the "floating
mill" used in grinding
grain, and views of Gallipolis as it
appeared when the French
landed, October 19, 1790, and also views
of the city as it appears
to-day.
At its close, numerous requests were made for the
repetition of the address the next
evening. After music by the
Parkins quartet the meeting adjourned to
a reception in the
14 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VoL. 3
Elks' Hall, tendered the Governors,
their staffs, and the visitors
in the city.
Saturday morning the audience assembled
at 10 o'clock and
were addressed by Mr. J. V. Jones, of
Fostoria, a resident of
Gallipolis in 1832. His address related
to the city as it was at
that time and the people residing here.
He was followed by Judge W. H. Safford,
of Chillicothe, a
lineal descendant of Col. Robert
Safford, one of the original
party who, under Maj. Burnham and
employed by the Ohio
Company, cleared the ground and erected
the cabins on the
Square for the occupation of the French
settlers.
Following this address, the visitors and
guests in the city
were taken on an excursion up the Ohio
River on the steamer
Bostona a short distance above Point
Pleasant. In the after-
noon a second excursion was taken on the
same steamer, thereby
accommodating those who could not go in
the forenoon.
At 2 o'clock the meeting was called to
order by Mayor Brad-
bury, who introduced Gen. Charles H.
Grosvenor, who spoke
on the Virginia claims to the Northwest
Territory and on the
capture of the British posts by Gen.
George Rogers Clark, in
1788. At his request, Mr. Graham explained
in detail the part
taken by Gen. Clark and his men, and
narrated the history of
Clark's expedition.
Following this, Judge Safford gave an
account of the find-
ing of one of the lead plates buried at
the mouth of the
Kanawha by direction of the French
commandant in Canada,
as one of the means of'establishing the
claims of France to this
territory. He also gave an account of
the capture of Richard
Garner and others for assisting runaway
slaves in 1848. The
case was ably argued by Samuel H. Vinton
on the part of Ohio.
The people gathered in great numbers in
the evening to
witness a fine display of fireworks on
the river's bank. After
that, the tent was quickly filled and
Mr. Graham repeated that
portion of his illustrated address
relating to the French settle-
ments, posts and exploration in the
Northwest Territory.
After this, Hon. Daniel J. Ryan,
Secretary of State, deliv-
ered a timely address on the
"Scioto Company and the French
Grant," reviewing the entire
history of the land transactions
The Centennial Celebration at
Gallipolis. 15
relative to this settlement by the
French. This done, the Par-
kins quartet, which had furnished the
music of the evening,
sang a selection and the audience
dispersed.
THE CENTENNIAL DAY.
Sunday was distinctively the Centennial
Day, it being on
the nineteenth day of October, 1790,
when the French emigrants
arrived on the site of where Gallipolis
now stands. The city
was full of visitors, as during the
other days of the celebration,
and there was a deep interest manifested
to hear the subject of
the happenings of a hundred years
considered from religious
standpoints, which is the most beautiful
and significant of any.
Centennial services were conducted in
most of the city
churches. The programmes which had been
arranged for the
occasion by the Pastors' Union were of
the most attractive char-
acter, and will be long remembered by
the appreciative congre-
gations. A brief synopsis of these
services is appended;
BAPTIST CHURCH.
The congregation was given a treat here
which was much
appreciated. Rev. Mr. McMannis, the
pastor, had secured the
services of Rev. Dr Lasher, editor of
the Journal and Messen-
ger, the organ of the Baptist church in Ohio, and published
in
Cincinnati. His sermon, like all the
others, was on the practical
lessons of the century, looking at the
matter particularly in ref-
erence to the denomination to which he
belonged.
METHODIST CHURCH.
An elaborate musical programme was most
ably rendered,
the Parkins Brothers being among the
singers. The bass solo
by Mr. Matthews was also one of the
enjoyable characteristics
of the service. Rev. David Moore, D. D.,
editor of the Western
Christian Advocate, preached the sermon. The historical feat-
ures were directed to the consideration
of the history of Method-
ism, and the wonders which it has
accomplished, as a medium
for making the country better.
16 Ohio Arch. and His.
Society Publications. [Vol. 3
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
The music was under the supervision of
Professor J. M.
Neal. Rev. Sylvester Scovill, the
President of Wooster College,
was the preacher, and the wisdom of
selecting him was clearly
demonstrated by the excellent address of
more than an hour to
which the large congregation listened.
Presbyterianism in its
different stages in Ohio, during the
century, was the instructive
and useful topic of his discourse, and
the feeling of gratitude
was no doubt paramount in the minds of
his hearers, for the
blessings which it has given our country
in the way of a
preached Gospel and a Godly example.
EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
In the services here the rector was
assisted by Rev. D. I.
Edwards, of the diocese of Newark, N. J.
The music was of
an appropriate character, Mrs. Moncure
presiding at the organ,
and a solo, by Miss Nora Kerr,
gladdening the hearts of the
congregation. The sermon, by the rector,
Rev. Moncure, was
like the others, on the teachings of the
century. These were
briefly considered from a secular
standpoint, and more elabor-
ately from that of the church,
particularly the Protestant Epis-
copal church, the organization,
difficulties and success of which
were recounted, as they applied to the
Nation, State and City,
and the mercies of God, as illustrated
by His blessings upon its
endeavors gratefully mentioned.
ST. LOUIS CHURCH.
The day was appropriately observed by
the Roman Catholic
churchmen. First mass was celebrated at
7:30 A. M. and High
mass at 10 A. M. Bishop Watterson, of
the Diocese of Colum-
bus, was present at both services. In
the afternoon he con-
firmed a large class. The Centennial
services were held in the
evening, when the Bishop preached an
interesting and instruc-
tive sermon on the events of the past
century. The musical
part of the services was good.
The Centennial Celebration at
Gallipolis. 17
OPERA HOUSE SERVICES.
In the afternoon service was held at
Betz Opera House,
when the Rev. Washington Gladden, D. D.,
of Columbus, de-
livered the Centennial address. A large
audience was in attend-
ance, and many members of the
Legislature, with their ladies,
occupied seats upon the stage. The
following is the order of
service observed:
Music by the choir.
Prayer by President Davis, of Rio Grande
College.
Music by Parkins' Quartet.
Sermon by Dr. Gladden.
Music by the choir.
Benediction by Rev. Dr. Moore.
Dr. Gladden's sermon was closely
listened to, and will long
be remembered by those present. His text
was: "By faith
Abraham, when he was called to go out
into a place which he
should after receive for an inheritance,
obeyed; and he went out
not knowing whither he
went."-Hebrews, xi.-8. The sermon
is riven in full in this volume.
Sunday evening the visiting clergy, who
filled the pulpits in
the morning, preached to appreciative congregations,
and thus
closed the exercises commemorative of
the settlement of this
city.
THE GRAND PARADE.
The delay in the arrival of trains, made
a corresponding
delay in the formation and start of the
parade.
It was fully three o'clock before the
formation was com-
pleted by Chairman McCormick and Marshal
W. P. Small. The
organization was as follows:
1. Gates Second Regiment Band, West
Virginia N. G.
2. Governor Fleming and Staff--General
Oxley, Colonels
MacCorkle, Hagan, Bowyer, Gallaher and
White.
3. Governor Campbell and Staff- Generals
Hawkins,
Vance, Groesbeck and Hart; Colonels
Courtright, McKinney,
Denver, Wilkins, Dill, Hinman, Spangler,
Kinnane, Bresler,
Vol. III-2
18 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
with Sergeant Fred Steube, carrying the
banner, and Chairman
Hayward in advance.
4. Porter Band.
5. Grand Army Posts and other veterans.
6. Company Ohio National Guard from
Middleport.
7. Ben Hur Division, U. R. K. P., of
Gallipolis.
8. Patriarchs Militant Band, of
Columbus.
9. Grand Canton Ohio, No. 1, of
Columbus.
10. Canton Fidelity, No. 1, of
Huntington, W. Va.
11. Canton Sanns, of Gallipolis.
12. Canda Hose Company, of Huntington.
13. Gallipolis Fire Department.
14. Citizens in carriages.
The parade formed on Third and Court
streets, with right
resting on Second, and the line of march
was up Second to Olive;
Olive to Third; Third to Grape; Grape to
Second; Second to
State, where the parade was dismissed.
The pupils of the Union Schools were
drawn up in line on
Third street, between State and Locust,
and reviewed the parade
amid. great enthusiasm. At Court, the
Governors and their
Staffs left the procession and took up a
position on Second, just
above Court, and the parade passed in
review before them.
While this was being done the schools
marched down Second.
They were headed by President Alcorn,
Supt. Mohler and Prof.
Karr, and each school accompanied by its
teacher. When Court
street was reached a halt was made and
the pupils faced Second
street, and sang "America"
with profound effect. At the con-
clusion of the song, three rousing
cheers were given for Gov-
ernors Campbell and Fleming.
THE RECEPTION.
The Reception, at the Elks' Hall on
Friday evening was con-
tinued until a very late hour, and was a
brilliant affair. Mrs.
Jas. E. Robinson, the Chairman, and the
ladies of the Com-
mittee having the matter in charge, are
to be congratulated upon
the great success that attended
their efforts. The refreshments
were elegantly prepared and served with
skill. The music was
|
The Centennial Celebration at Gallipolis. 19 furnished by the Logan Orchestra. Governor Campbell
and Staff, Governor Fleming and Staff, Governor Marquis,
Mr. C. C. Waite, Colonel R. D. Marshall, General D. K. Watson,
and many others of our distinguished visitors were
present, together with the ladies accompanying them. During the progress of the banquet, in answer to
calls, short responses were made by Governor Campbell, Governor
Fleming, Mr. Waite, Governor Marquis, Colonel R. D. Marshall,
General D. K. Watson, and General Morton L. Hawkins. A CENTENNIAL RELIC ROOM. The Committee in charge of the display of relics,
secured a room in which were arranged all articles illustrating
the life of the century. The following shows the list of those
who fur- nished articles and the articles displayed, as given
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26 Ohio
Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL.
3
OPENING ADDRESS BY HON. HORACE R.
BRADBURY, MAYOR OF
GALIPOLIS.
Fellow-Citizens, Ladies and
Gentlemen.
As the official head of this city,
representing the people of
Gallipolis, in their behalf and in
behalf of the Executive Com-
mittee, by whom this Centennial
celebration has been projected
and managed thus far, and while
welcoming other distinguished
guests, it becomes my pleasant duty to
extend an especial wel-
come to the members of the Historical
Society of this State.
Gentlemen and ladies of the State
Historical Society, I
therefore extend to you the sincere and
cordial greetings of the
citizens of Gallipolis, and I assure you
that our people are united
in extending this welcome, and we, one
and all, hope that your
stay among us may be pleasant and your
labors profitable.
When, one hundred years ago, a handful
of settlers, voyag-
ing down the beautiful river which flows
at our feet, rounded-to
their primitive vessels and landed at
this spot, no such welcome
as this was extended to them. The place
whereon we stand was
a part of the wilderness extending
northwardly to the great
lakes, and the only welcome they
received was that extended by
the savage wild beasts and still more
savage wild men who
roamed therein unchallenged.
These pioneers left civilization and its
comforts and con-
veniences behind them; they found before
them untamed natives,
requiring infinite and exhausting labor
to subdue. What hopes
animated, what fears and doubts
depressed them?
But it is no part of my duty to recount
the trials of these
men-how they succeeded or where they
failed-this is the duty
of other and abler minds. They will tell
you how the wilderness
was subdued, how the forests gave way
before the sturdy blows
of the pioneers, and how cities and
towns arose and flourished,
and smiling farms made glad the waste
places; how our beloved
State arose from humble beginnings, her
destinies guided by the
worthy sons of noble sires, to shine the
bright particular stars,
in the glorious galaxy of States evolved
from the great North-
west Territory; all this and much more
will pertain, to the duties
The Century and Its Lessons. 27
of the distinguished gentlemen whom we
have assembled here
to greet.
This city of ours has in time sent forth
her sons and daugh-
ters, who, with willing hands and strong
hearts, have engaged in
founding other cities and States, thus
following the noble ex-
ample set by their ancestors. Many of
these sons and daughters
have returned in response to invitations
cordially extended; and
I desire to say to them, as well as the
strangers within our gates,
we extend a thousand hearty, cordial
welcomes to you all.
This gavel, which I hold in my hand, and
with which this
assembly was called to order, is of some
historic interest; the
wood of which it is made is a portion of
a log taken from one of
the first cabins built for the French
emigrants at Gallipolis.
This wood is emblematical of the trials,
suffering and hardships
endured by our forefathers in making
possible the great advance
in the arts and sciences made by their
descendants, this advance
being fully represented by the beautiful
silver binding of the
gavel and the inscription thereon.
Again, I bid you all thrice welcome.
At the conclusion of this address, a
selection of music was
given by the band, after which Mayor
Bradbury introduced Dr.
N. J. Morrison, of Marietta College, who
spoke on the topic "A
Century and its Lessons."
THE CENTURY AND ITS LESSONS.
Each century of human history is marked
by a train of
peculiar events, characterized by its
own peculiar spirit, gives
birth to its own family offspring of
ideas, and bequeaths to after-
ages a heritage of peculiar and
instructive lessons.
Thus the philosophic historian
characterizes one century as
an age of intellectual and political
decadence and another as an
age of intellectual and political
renaisance; this century as a
period of Augustan brilliancy in Letters
and that as a period of
Invention and Discovery.
And so we call the Eleventh Century of
our era the " Age
of the Crusades," when a wave of
religious and martial fanatic-
ism swept from West to East over all
Europe and culminated in
28 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL.
3
overwhelming the Moslem power in the
Land of the Cross, and
crowning Baldwin, Count of Flanders, as
Christian King of Jeru-
salem, just as the Clock of Time was
striking the morning hour
of the year 1100.
The Thirteenth Century is distinguished
in European his-
tory from all precedent and subsequent
ages, by the develop-
ment and perfection of that matchless
form of Christian Archi-
tecture, known as the Gothic Cathedral.
York Minster, West-
minster Abbey and Salisbury Cathedral in
England; the Notre
Dame of Paris, and the Cathedral of
Rheims in France, and the
Cathedrals of Strasbourg and Cologne in
Germany, each a speci-
men of " poetry crystalized into
stone," are illustrious examples
of the almost inspired skill of the
church-builders of the Thir-
teenth Century.
The Sixteenth Century, introduced in
1492-98 by the Colum-
bian discovery of the New World, is
marked throughout by the
influence of the most tremendous
intellectual awakening and
intellectual commotion which the
world has yet experienced.
This was the period of Copernicus, Tycho
Brahe and Galileo in
Astronomy, and of the resulting
revolution in men's ideas about
the system of the universe. Then also
the Art of Painting
reached its perfection in the works of
the three great masters,
Michael Angelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and
Ranzio. It was the
Elizabethan era of Literature and
Philosophy in England. It
was also the era of Luther, Calvin, Knox
and Loyola, and the
great religious revolutions and
counter-revolutions, which these
historic names signify.
This Nineteenth Century has its stream
of- characteristic
events, moved by its own forces, along
its own channels, toward
its own predetermined end. We call this
the " Age of the Peo-
ple,"-meaning that mankind have at
last reached that stage in
their toilsome progress, when the bonds
of hereditary authority
and prescriptive privilege are broken,
and men are moving for-
ward into the full enjoyment of an
equality in personal liberty,
equality in civil rights, and equality
in opportunity.
Properly regarded, the present century
begins with the last
ten years of the Eighteenth Century. In
that decade, events of
such momentous importance took place in
one quarter of the
The Century and Its Lessons. 29
world, as to give permanent impulse,
character and direction to
the course of civilization since. It was
then that Democracy
burst its Mediaeval fetters and marched
forth from the prison-
house of ages, as a strong man armed,
upon the stage of human
affairs to rule the world.
The French Revolution of 1789 set in
motion political and
social forces which have dominated and
given character to the
course of human events during the
century since. It will aid us
in estimating the influence of these
forces and in rightly inter-
preting the "Lessons of the
Century," if we briefly recapitulate
the causes of the Revolution. These are
commonly ascribed by
historians to the tyranny and reckless
extravagance of the reign-
ing Bourbon monarchy; the iniquitous
privileges and corruption
of the nobility and clergy; the
unspeakable misery of the mass
of the people; and the revolutionary
spirit of contemporary
French philosophy and literature.
The French king held in his own despotic
power the pro-
perty, liberty and life of every
subject, enacting the spirit of
that arrogant phrase of Louis XIV,
"I am the State." He
imprisoned without trial and without
preferring charges; gov-
erned without cabinet or legislature,
-the royal edicts were
laws; imposed taxes according to the
royal whim, or at the beck
of a corrupt courtier, that were
spoliation and confiscation on the
property of the hapless people;--and the
revenues thus obtained
were squandered in extravagances and
debaucheries that would
shame a Turkish Sultan. One writer
declares that "Louis XV
probably spent more money on his harem
than on any depart-
ment of the French Government."
In 1790 the nobility of France comprised
one quarter million
of souls in a population of 25,000,000
in the nation. They were
mainly the "Rubbish of Medieval
Feudalism," living in idleness
and dissipation at the Court, and
pensioners on the royal bounty.
Though numerically scarcely one
one-hundreth part of the
French people, they monopolized more
than one-fifth of all the
land. They were the "absentee"
landlords of the time, exact-
ing exorbitant rents from the poor
tenants of their estates with
remorseless rigor. And yet, though thus
supported from the
30 Ohio Arch. and His.
Society Publications. [VOL. 3
public revenue and holding vast
territories of the richest land,
they were practically exempt from the
burden of public taxation.
The French clergy constituted a decayed
feudal hierarchy,
enormously wealthy; the higher stations,
filled with scions from
the nobility, "Patrician
Prelates," often of the most dissolute
morals, of whom the famous Talleyrand,
at once secular Prince
and Primate of the Gallican Church, is
an instructive example;
the clergy holding title to one-third of
all the lands of France,
and receiving stipends from the public
exchequer, yet privileged
with exemption from the public burthens.
On the other hand, the "plain,
common people," the mass
of the French nation, oppressed and
despoiled through many
generations by King and Court and
Clergy, were reduced to a
condition of suffering penury. As the
great Fenelon wrote in
an appeal to the King, " France is
simply a great hospital, full
of woe and empty of bread." They
were helots,-without in-
fluence in the State, without power or
hope of redress for their
wrongs, their only " Use to the
State to pay feudal duties to the
lords, tithes to the priest and imposts
to the king."
To these primary causes of the impending
catastrophe of
the kingdom of Louis XVI, must be added
the great influence
on the opinions of Frenchmen, during the
last half of the
Eighteenth Century, of the philosophical
writings of Voltaire,
Rousseau and the Encyclopaedists
generally. Their philosophy
was sceptical, iconoclastic, subversive
of the existing order.
They assailed with undiscriminating
ardor the abuses which had
barnacled on existing institutions and
the institutions them-
selves. Religion, the State, society
itself, in their view, needed
not reformation merely but an
overturning. To restore the lost
purity and happiness of mankind, society
must return to the
state of nature. They entered upon a
crusade for the recovery
of Human Rights.
By the winter of 1787, the financial
disorders of the king-
dom reached a crisis,-there was a
deficiency of 140,000,000
francs. The King called an assembly of
the Notables, who had
not been previously summoned since the
days of Henry of
Navarre, in the Sixteenth Century. But, unwilling to tax
themselves, or to surrender for the
general good any of their
The Century and Its Lessons. 31
immunities and prerogatives, they
adjourned without accom-
plishing anything. As a last resort,
Louis XVIth resolved to
convoke the States General, comprising
representatives of the
three orders of the State, the Nobility,
the Clergy and the Com-
mons. This body, representing the French
Nation at large, had
not before been invited to take part in
the government for 175
years. During all this period the King
and his Court had gov-
erned France alone.
The States General met at the Palace in
Versailles, May
5th, 1789, and consisted of 1200
members, of whom a majority
were from the commons, the lesser half
being divided about
equally between the nobility and the
clergy. The King had
consented that the "Third
Estate," as the commons were called,
should outnumber the aristocratic
deputies, presuming on the
continuance of the ancient usage of the
States General, accord-
ing to which voting was by the orders.
But the Third Estate,
perceiving that they would be outvoted
and powerless, and feel-
ing that they were backed by the public
sentiment of the nation,
demanded that individuals, and not
orders, should be counted in
the deliberations and decisions of the
States General.
For five weeks the contest went on
between the orders in
the States General when finally the
Third Estate declared them-
selves the National Assembly, and
invited the two orders to join
them in their deliberations, giving them
clearly to understand
that if they declined, the commons would
proceed to transact
public business without them.
The King, in anger at this revolutionary
proceeding,
promptly prorogued the Assembly and
closed the doors of the
Palace against the deputies. Undismayed,
the Commons met in
tennis court of the Palace, and there
bound themselves by
a solemn oath never to separate until
they had given a constitu-
tion to France. Shut out from the Palace
the deputies found
places of meeting in the churches, where
they were soon joined
by a great part of the clerical
deputies, and a little later by
many nobles. On the 17th day of June,
1789, the States Gen-
eral became in reality the National
Assembly, its President, in
welcoming the adhesion of the other
orders, exclaiming, "This
32 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
day will be illustrious in our annals;
it renders the family com-
plete."
Meanwhile events of startling moment are
maturing. The
King masses troops around Versailles to
overawe the National
Assembly. The rumor reaches Paris that
he intends to disperse
the assembly by force of arms. The
capital is in a ferment.
Leading men from the various wards of
the city come together
and constitute themselves a Provisional
Committee to protect the
city's interest and direct its
government,-thereby creating the
germ, out of which speedily grew the
Paris Commune of such
portentous power and tendency. The
National Guard, so famous
in the after wars of the Republic and
the Empire, is organized
and, with Lafayette at its head, placed
under the direction of the
Commune. Rumor flies among the people
that the guns of the
old Bastile, that grim mediaeval
prison-house of tyranny, are
being trained on the city. "To the
Bastile!" wildly shout the
excited multitude. And quickly a vast,
armed, infuriated mob
have surrounded the fortress, battered
in the doors, slain the
defenders, liberated the imprisoned,
razed its towers and walls to
the ground. The fourteenth of July,
1789, has sounded. Paris
is in the hands of an armed mob.
When the report of this outbreak in the
Capital reaches the
King, he cries out: "What, a
rebellion?" "No, Sire,"
"but
revolution."
When the news of this great event
reaches the National
Assembly a scene transpires, the like of
which the world has
never witnessed in any deliberative
body. The privileged orders
realize that it is all over with their
exclusive privileges. Rising in
the tribune, prominent members of the
nobility declare their
willingness to renounce all exemptions.
A contagious enthusi-
asm of generosity seizes the members.
Nobles and prelates
crowd to the tribune to emulate this
patriotic example. Every-
body is eager to make sacrifices for the
common good. The
members embrace each other in transports
of joy, and sing
the Te Deum in celebration of the
advent among men of peace,
equality and good-will.
The revolution moves on with quickening
pace. The
Parisian mob, led by frenzied Amazons,
stream out of the city to
The Century and Its Lessons. 33
Versailles, encamp about the Royal
Palace for the night, and in
the morning assault and sack the Palace,
and compel the King,
the Royal Family and the National
Assembly to march back with
them to Paris. And thus is made
"the joyous entry of October
6th, 1789," famous in the annals of
the Revolution.
From this time the Paris Commune
controls in public
affairs, holding the King hostage in the
Tuilleries, and dictating
legislation to the National Assembly.
The Assembly votes to
curtail the Royal prerogative, to
confiscate the accumulated
wealth of the Church, to abolish the
religious orders, and to give
universal suffrage to the people,
meanwhile busying itself with
the task of framing a free Constitution
for France.
Presently the Constitution, providing
for the continuance of
the Monarchy, limited by a National
Legislature, for an inde-
pendent judiciary, for local
self-government throughout the
realm, for the election of all civil
officers by the people, for the
abolition of rank and privilege and the
installation of equality
among citizens, for a free press and
absolute freedom of religion,
is offered to the Nation for solemn
ratification. On the 14th day
of July, 1790, in the Champs de Mars,
"in the presence of half
a million Frenchmen," the Abbe
Talleyrand as representative of
the National Church; Lafayette as
Commander of the National
Guard, the President of the National
Assembly, and the King,
in succession take oath to maintain this
Constitution; the Queen
also holding up the infant Crown Prince
before the eyes of the
people, and pledging his future fidelity
to that instrument.
Such solemn approval of the new civil
institutions of France
by the several national powers, seemed,
at first, to mark the
inauguration of a millenial era of
political freedom and brother-
hood; the spirit of the transcendant
motto of the Revolution,
"Liberty, Equality,
Fraternity," seemed about to be realized.
But the King, tiring of his confinement
in the Tuilleries,
secretly leaves Paris and attempts to
fly from France; is caught
at the frontier, brought back,
incarcerated, cited to trial as
a conspirator against the public safety,
condemned, beheaded.
The Republic is proclaimed; the
massacres of the "Bloody
Reign of Terror" follow. The
hapless Mary Antoinette is
brought to the guillotine, pathetically
crying out to the tribunal
Vol. III-3
34 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
which had condemned her: " I was a
Queen, but you took away
my crown; a wife, and you killed my
husband; a mother, and
you robbed me of my children; my blood
alone remains-take
it, but do not make me suffer
long!"
The historical sequel is familiar-the
Directory, the Consul-
ate the Empire, the prolonged struggle
with embattled Europe,
until Waterloo, and then the restored
Bourbons under Louis
XVIII.
I have tarried thus long in the presence
of these great
events, because they have so largely
dominated and shaped the
course of human affairs since. The motto
of the Revolution,
"Liberty, Equality,
Fraternity," embodies the political ideal of
humanity, and toward the attainment of
that ideal have the
struggles of humanity since been
directed. The political
progress of the century is but the
progressive realization in
society of this ideal.
Thus the Revolution gave the coup de
grace to feudalism in
all its forms; ecclesiastical, vassal and lord, military service, land
tenure and prerogative by inheritance.
The "divine right of kings"
received mortal hurt by the
same stroke that slew its twin offspring
of the Middle Ages--
Feudalism. Monarchy has never recovered from the rude shock
given it by the fall of Louis XVI.
Throughout Christendom-
save Russia-wherever sceptered monarchy
still lags "super-
fluous" on the world's stage, kings
have learned that they reign,
if at all, only as "citizen"
kings deriving authority from the
consent of the governed. Since the days
when the holy alliance
of Austria, Russia and Prussia was
formed on the downfall of
Napoleon, to prop up the tottering
thrones of Europe, half the
nations of the world have thrown off the
trammels of monarchy
and become republics; and the other half
only await favorable
opportunity to follow their example.
The nineteenth century is an era of
revolution. Not a
country of Europe or America has, since
the day of Waterloo,
remained unshaken. Scarcely had the holy
alliance replaced the
expelled Bourbons on their forfeited
thrones, when the people
of Italy, of Spain and Spanish America
rose in revolt. In 1830
another revolutionary wave swept over
Europe, lifting the
The Century and Its Lessons. 35
"citizen" king to the throne
of France and inaugurating a new
kingdom in Belgium of the most liberal
tendencies. In 1848
again all Europe trembled in the throes
of civil convulsions.
The boundaries of States were changed,
kindred peoples arbi-
trarily separated coalesced, and
political institutions were gener-
ally liberalized. Hungary sought
national autonomy, and gained
political equipoise with her rival and
late enemy in the dual
Empire of Austria-Hungary.
Many of the uprisings of the people
during this period have
indeed aborted and been suppressed in
blood; and yet, plainly
the aggregate result of all these
revolutions and revolts of
nearly a century is the vindication of
human rights and the ad-
vancement of human freedom.
The hundred years that expire to-day
have been a century
of emancipation. At its dawning, the
echo of the Marseillaise,
sung by the conquering legions of
Republican France, heard
across the seas, roused the black slaves
in the French West
Indies to strike for freedom. The
eloquent pleadings of Gran-
ville Sharp, Wilberforce and Brougham in
Parliament, finally im-
pelled the British government, in 1833,
to break the shackles of
every slave on British soil, decreeing
England's eternal reproba-
tion of the "wild and guilty
phantasy that man can hold prop-
erty in man." In 1861 Alexander of
Russia put his seal to a
state paper of transcendent human
importance, by which 46,-
000,000 Russian serfs, slaves of the
soil, have attained to free-
dom. By the fortunate issue of our own
terrible civil war, in-
voked by human selfishness to perpetuate
American slavery,
4,000,000 human chattels on our soil
have been transformed into
free men, endowed with full citizenship.
And lately, by the
great act of the enlightened ruler of
Brazil, African slavery
in that country has ceased to exist, and
vanished, finally, from
the soil of the American continent.
The present century has been made
illustrious by the re-
naissance and rehabilitation of ancient
nationalities. In the
third decade, the public life and
literature of England and
America thrilled with the heroic story
of the Greeks striking for
freedom from Turkish despotism, and for
the restoration of the
commonwealth of Pericles and
Epaminondas. Italy, since the
36 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
days of Charlemagne, the victim of
internal dissensions and the
sport of Transalpine greed, combining
her previously dissevered
members into one body, has again become
a nation, under one
political constitution, from the Alps to
Sicily-independent,
free, progressive. And the historic
people of the German
States, boasting one language and one
noble literature, but
for centuries broken into an unstable
chaos of political frag-
ments, feeble, discordant, often
belligerent, and always the easy
prey of harpy nations around, led by the
"Man of Blood and
Iron," have recently coalesced in
the gigantic Military Empire
of revived and united Germany.
No feature of the Nineteenth Century is
more striking than
the development of Parliamentary
government. When the Great
Revolution opened Parliamentary rule
existed only among Eng-
lish-speaking peoples in Great Britain
and America. The irre-
sponsible despots of France had not
consulted the people in
legislation for two hundred years. But
now, at a century from
the storming of the Bastile, Russia,
alone, of all Christian pow-
ers, is ruled without the intervention
of a legislature chosen by
the people and for the people.
And as the people have thus, by their
representatives, ac-
quired authority and the functions of
government, in like pro-
portion has legislation been ameliorated
and fitted to conserve
the rights and the interests of the
people. Formerly laws were
promulgated by the classes for
themselves; now the masses con-
trol in statute-making, or are coming to
control. In America
and in Western Europe men are now
substantially equal before
the law. A century ago the judges of
England concurred in
this dictum of one of them -"
There is no regenerating a felon
in this life; and for his sake, as well
as for the sake of society, I
think it better to hang!" They did
"hang" for nearly every
offense known to English law. Contrast
the spirit of this hor-
rible maxim of jurists then with
the humane spirit of the laws
and the humane practice of the Courts of
England and America
to-day.
The present is par excellence the
age of discovery in science
and of invention in the useful arts. The
eloquent panegyric of
Macaulay on Science, as applied to the
arts in promoting human
The Century and Its Lessons. 37
welfare, is justified, and more than
justified by the facts about
us: " Science has lengthened life;
it has mitigated pain; it has
extinguished diseases; it has increased
the fertility of the soil;
it has given new securities to the
mariner; it has furnished new
arms to the warrior; it has spanned
great rivers and estuaries
with bridges of form unknown to our
fathers; it has guided the
thunderbolt innocuously from heaven to
earth; it has lighted up
the night with the splendor of the day;
it has extended the range
of the human vision; it has multiplied
the power of the human
muscles; it has annihilated distance; it
has facilitated intercourse,
correspondence, all friendly offices,
all dispatch of business; it
has enabled man to descend to the depths
of the sea, to soar into
the air, to penetrate securely into the
noxious recesses of the
earth, to traverse the land in cars
which whirl along without
horses, to cross the ocean in ships
which run ten knots an hour
against the wind." And all these
achievements of science, and
others since Macaulay still more
wonderful, have accrued to the
benefit and glory of mankind since the
Great Revolution.
Consider a few familiar contrasts
between then and now:
There were then no locomotives, no
railroads, no steam ships, no
telegraphs, telephones, or phonographs;
no power printing press,
no stereotype, no electrotype; no hard
rubber with its ten thou-
sand admirable utilities; no known
utility of the then tameless
power of frictional electricity, which
now swiftly draws our car-
riages by day, and lights up with the
splendor of the sun our
streets and houses by night; no
photography; no spectroscope
to analyze the beams of the sun and the
far off twinkle of the
fixed stars, and no microscope to reveal to human ken the
infini-
tude of organized beings which float
unseen by us in the air we
breathe and swim in the water that we
drink; no agricultural
machines for the farm. It took
Washington eight days to journey
from Mt. Vernon to New York to be
inaugurated First President.
Our present Chief Magistrate makes the
same journey to cele-
brate the Centennial of Washington's
inauguration in less than
eight hours. The French immigrants, whom
we honor to-day,
were longer in making their toilsome
journey from Alexandria
to this place, than Miss Bisland lately
required to travel round
the globe.
38 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
I should seem wanting in due honor for
the profession to
whose service I have given my life, if,
in this hasty resume of
some of "the lessons of the
century," I should accord no place
to the progress of education.
In the year 1809, when, by the Peace of
Tilsit between Na-
poleon and Alexander with his allies,
Prussia was left dismem-
bered, stripped of half her territory,
her military power broken,
her exchequer bankrupt, her people beggared
by devastating war
and disheartened, two of her statesmen,
William Von Humboldt
and Baron Stein, set themselves to the
great task of national re-
generation and recovery; and they began
their work of rebuild-
ing Prussia at the point where skillful
architects of States must
always base the foundations of their
edifices-in the education
of the people. They founded the University of Berlin, at the
moment of the lowest ebb in the life of
the nation, which has
now grown into the dignity of the most
powerful University
known to history. They reorganized the
whole system of public
instruction and provided that every
Prussian child not only might
but actually should attain to a
fair education. And to their plan
instituted in the crisis of Prussia,
publicists tell us Prussiaowes,
her remarkable advance among modern
nations, her invincible
military prowess, her primacy in
founding and directing the
destiny of the German Empire.
The liberalizing of the political institutions
of Western
Europe has been accompanied with
widespread revival in public
education. Provision for the education
of all the children of
the State is now an accepted maxim of
government in all en-
lightened nations. And in America how
the galaxy of colleges,
starting with Harvard, has spread as a
zone of living light
across the broad firmament of the
continent. And how the in-
stitution of the common schools,
offspring of Puritan parentage,
at first slowly following the New
England emigrant in his march
to the Pacific, has lately, by the
overthrow of its deadly enemy,
slavery, hastened southward and captured
the country. And
to-day every State, from ocean to ocean,
and from the lakes to
the gulf, wills that every child within
its bounds shall enjoy the
blessings of education.
And with this progress of the nations
during the last hun-
The Century and Its Lessons. 39
dred years in respect to larger freedom,
better legislation, more
general and improved education, in
discovery in science, in in-
vention, in the arts, what advancement
in national and indi-
vidual wealth! The Golden Era has
dawned, if by that is
meant an age of accumulated and
accumulating wealth. How
the comforts and elegancies of life have
multiplied, and how
widely are they distributed. Men
generally live far more ration-
ally, as if endowed with a more than
animal nature, than ever
before. This is a grand age--a privilege
to live in and be a
part of it. We may not produce statues that can rival the
work of Phidias; we may have no painter
that can limn like
Raphael; the age builds no gothic
cathedrals to vie with Milan
and Cologne. We do better than all
this-we dedicate our
highest powers to the production of
agencies by which the
higher well-being of the average man may
be promoted. Our
works of art are the cotton gin, the
locomotive, the power press,
bridges for commerce across the straits
of the seas, tunnels
under the Alps, canals to connect
oceans, great laboratories and
museums of science, and school houses
for the people.
The motto which inspired whatever good
inhered in the
Revolution, and which has so far moulded
human thought and
action since, " Liberty, Equality
and Fraternity," approaches its
full realization in human society. The
average man has all the
freedom he needs. On the whole the
equality of men is pretty
fairly attained, certainly before the
law, and largely in respect to
opportunity. Much progress also is
making in the attainment
of the spirit of fraternity among men.
To the full realization
of the spirit of brotherhood, and so of
applied Christianity in
the world, is the summons for to-day-is
the task of the coming
age.
40 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
MAJOR JOHN BURNHAM AND HIS COMPANY.
Mr. Barlow had written Colonel Duer early in December,
1789, that huts must be built on land opposite the mouth of the
Great Kanawha to accommodate at least one hundred persons.
The cost of these huts was to be paid by the agent of the immi-
grants upon their arrival. In March, 1790, General Rufus Put-
nam, as agent for the Trustees for the Scioto Associates, em-
ployed John Burnham of Essex, Massachusetts, to enlist in New
England a company of fifty young men who were expert wood-
men and who would submit to military discipline. They were
to be employed for six months and were to build the huts on the
site selected for the city of Gallipolis, to assist in clearing the
lands adjacent, to act as hunters when required and to keep such
guard as might be necessary. There was peace along the border,
but it was an "Indian peace," and the frontier was infested by
marauders, white, red and black. No better leader for such a
party than John Burnham could have been found. He had
served as an officer of the line through the war of the Revolu-
tion and was present at every important battle from Bunker Hill
to Yorktown. The company he commanded in the eighth Mas-
sachusetts regimiment was, in 1782, complimented in general
orders by General Washington himself for its "soldier-like and
military appearance." He quickly enlisted the company and on
the twenty-ninth of May, 1790, reported to Gen. Putnam at
Wellsburg, on the Ohio river with thirty-six men. Of the fifty
whose services had been engaged ten had not yot joined and four
had deserted. The following is the roll, omitting the names of
the deserters:
|
Major John Burnham and His Company. 41
"SUBSISTENCE ROLL FOR A COMPANY OF MEN ENGAGED IN THE SERVICE OF THE SCIOTO COMPANY TO MAKE A NEW SETTLEMENT ON THE BANKS OF OHIO FROM THE TIME THEY LEFT THEIR SEV- ERAL HOMES 'TILL THEY ARRIVED AT YOUHIOGY. |
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42 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
"WELLS BURG, May 29, 1790. "I hereby certifie that the within Subsistance roll is just and true and that the moneys paid to Deserters, sick, left sick on the way or not joined I will endevor to recover, and if recovered or any part thereof I will repay the same to. Rufus Putnam or his ordor. JOHN BURNHAM." |
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From Wellsburg the party proceeded by water to Marietta, where General Putnam gave to Major Burnham the following letter of instructions: "MARIETTA, June 4th, 1790. "Dear Sir: "You will please to proceed with the people engaged in the service of the trustees of the Scioto proprietors, in consequence of my letters to you of the- day of March last, to a place on the Ohio [river] next Chickamaga creek, which will be marked out and shown to you by Col. [R. J.] Meigs, [Sr.,] where you will begin your operations and prosecute the business |
Major John Burnham and His
Company. 43
in the best manner you can for the
interest of your employers
and safety to yourself and people. The
object is to erect four
block [houses] and a number of low huts,
agreeably to the plan
which you will have with you, and clear
the lands. Your own
knowledge of hut building, the block
house of round logs which
you have will have an opportunity to
observe at Belleprie,
together with the plan so clearly
explained, renders it unneces-
sary to be very particular; however, you
will remember that I
don't expect you will lay any floors
except for your own con-
venience, nor put in any sleeper or
joyce for the lower floors;
plank for the doors must be split and
hewed and the doors hung
with wooden hinges; as I don't expect
you will obtain any stone
for the backs of your chimneys, they
must be made of clay first,
moulded into tile and dried in manner
you will be shown an
example at Belleprie.
When Col. Meigs has assigned the spot
and set the stakes
for the center of the four block houses,
you will first clear a spot
(which will be pointed out) and throw up
a work, which must
be as near the place marked on the plan
as you can find a con-
venient or the best landing, where you
will erect a temporary or
stone house and a cover to keep you men
dry till the block
houses are completed, which should be
your next object and
after that proceed to building huts. In
clearing the lands, what-
ever timber is useful for your building,
should be cut and select-
ed for the purpose as you go along and
the rest cleared and
burned entirely off. Your clearing must
be in one continued
body and extended up and down the river
equally from your
work as well as from the river. Supply
yourself and party with
whatever you find necessary and
reasonable and take care that
the provisions are used with economy. I
wish you to inform
yourself with respect to a supply of
beef at Kanawha and let me
know by Col. Meigs what may be depended
on that I may, if
necessary, send you beef from some other
quarter.
You will pay no wages to the carpenters,
Smith Brown and
son, nor to John Gardiner, as the
carpenters will be paid by
myself or Col. Meigs and I am bound for
Gardiner for more
than three months full pay. The pay of
your men must com-
mence on their arrival at Youghioganee,
deducting four days for
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44 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
their passage to Muskingum. If anything more should occur which it may be necessary to communicate to you, I will endeavor to inform you by letter. Wishing you a prosperous voyage and successful campaign, I am, with the most perfect sentiment of esteem, Your humble servant, RUFUS PUTNAM." The party reached its destination on the 8th of June. In November, at the expiration of the six months' term for which the men were engaged, most of them re-entered the service of the Scioto Associates, under Captain Isaac Guion, who had suc- ceeded General Putnam in charge of their affairs in the West. Two, Isaac Choate and Asa Bullard, joined the party that estab- lished the settlement at Big Bottom. In the attack by the In- dians upon that post, on the second of January 1791, Choate was captured and Bullard escaped. Major Burnham returned to his home in New England, after a long delay in securing a set- tlement of his accounts. The total cost to the Scioto Associates of Burnham's party during his command of it was $3,243.02. E. C. DAWES. |
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The French Settlement and Settlers of
Gallipolis. 45
THE FRENCH SETTLEMENT AND SETTLERS OF GALLIPOLIS.
Preceding addresses and other papers
have given the story
of the Scioto Company, under whose
auspices the French set-
tlers came to America. I shall not
attempt to repeat any part
of this history, but begin my narrative
with the sailing of the
first party of emigrants to their new
homes in the unknown
West, which had been described to them
in such glowing terms
by those who had induced them to come.
In February, 1790,
six hundred emigrants set sail from
Havre de Grace. Five
ships had been chartered to take them to
Alexandria, Va., prob-
ably the nearest port to their new
homes. Their experiences
then were inauspicious as an omen in
regard to the future. In
these days of rapid transit, when a
voyage across the ocean rep-
resents a not unpleasant journey of a
few days' duration, we
cannot imagine what it must have been
when, on account of
stormyseas and contrary winds, the
traveler was compelled to
spend weeks, and even months, on the
great deep. Yet such
experiences as the latter were common
once, and they were felt
by the Franch emigrants. A desolate
feeling must have been
theirs then. Behind them was stormy
France, its peace that
was, having been swept from it, with
little hope of its return in
the near future; about them the stormy
waves of old ocean
threatening to engulf them, and thus
violently end their new-
born hopes. Before them-what? A fair
land they believed,
but an uncertainty; they had only man's
representation upon
which to base their hopes, and man is
more than liable to mis-
represent facts when he has a purpose to
gain thereby. The
future only could reveal that which they
so ardently desired to
know, and they awaited its developments,
which, with their
characteristic, sunny disposition, we
believe they did as content-
edly as was possible with men. At
length, after a voyage of
about three months' duration, they
arrived at the town of Alex-
andria, about seventy-five miles up the
river Potomac. Here
they encountered circumstances which
both cheered and de-
pressed them. They were gladdened by a
cordial reception on
the part of the people to whom a
Frenchman was a welcome
visitor in view of the recent benefits
conferred upon the country
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46 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VoL. 3
by the assistance of the French Government in the war with the British. The emigrant, no doubt, felt as if his fond hopes were about to be realized, as, with his land titles in his pocket, he landed on these hospitable shores. But he was destined to be bitterly disappointed, for it was not long before he knew that difficulties had arisen, which threatened the complete frustration of his plans. The Scioto Company, from which he had made his purchase, had forfeited its title to the lands, having failed to make the payments according to contract with the government, and consequently their dealings with it were null and void. Furthermore, the lands which they thought they had purchased, had been purchased from the government by another corporation, known as the Ohio Company, and contrary to representation, their prospective homes were far away in the Western land, in a wilderness infested by hostile bands of Indians. A pitiable con- dition, truly, and one which called forth the sympathy of their new-made friends. They were literally strangers in a strange land, and their own country, for which they would naturally yearn under such circumstances, unsafe as a retreat from the dangers which there presented themselves. Their sad condition soon became noised abroad, and reached the ears of those in authority, and ere long a movement was inaugurated, in which President Washington was interested, to compel the Scioto Company to reimburse them the money of which they had been defrauded. As might have been expected, these negotiations occupied much time, and sorely tried the patience of the forlorn emigrants, insomuch that some gave up in despair, and sought other homes, some going to New York and Philadelphia, some settling in Alexandria, and a few return- ing to France. At length an agreement was entered into with Colonel Duer, the Company's agent at New York, whereby, as far as the means under his control would permit, the emigrants should be transported to the West, and established on the Ohio River at a point opposite the mouth of the Big Kanawha, where they expected their town to be located, erect suitable block houses for defence against the attacks of Indians, and survey and lay out a town to be divided among them in proportion to cash paid in Paris by each individual on their lands. A written |
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The French Settlement and Settlers of
Gallipolis. 47
agreement to this effect was made, and
with such a compromise,
which was more perhaps than they had
dared to hope for, the
emigrants abandoned all claims upon the
lands for which they
held deeds. The second stage journey was
now about to begin.
Wagons and supplies were obtained, and
the travelers departed.
This journey was far more perilous, no
doubt, than the long and
stormy passage across the Atlantic. The
dangers by the way-
side consisted of attacks from the
Indians, sickness and fatigue.
In addition to these, progress was slow
in consequence of the
almost impassable condition of the
roads, and the insufficiency
of the supplies provided for their
maintenance. Their route was
through the Valley of Virginia, near the
town of Winchester;
thence in a north-westerly direction via
Brownsville, Pennsyl-
vania, and to the Ohio. The traveler of
the present day, when
he speeds through this section of the
country, and views it from
the window of his Pullman car, can form
but little idea of the
trials and privations of that long
jonrney. Think of a number
people, including women and little
children, finding a way over
those high mountains, and across swollen
streams, meagerly
supplied with food, and harassed at all
times by fear of the ever-
vigilant savage, and you may fancy the
experience of these emi-
grants. The Scioto Company had
contracted with General
Rufus Putnam to erect buildings and
furnish the settlers with
provisions for a year, and he sent Major
Burnham down from
Fort Harmar on the Muskingum River with
forty men for that
purpose. The first town, under the name
of Fair Haven, had
been laid out by the Company opposite
the mouth of the Kana-
wha, was intended as the point for the
location of the French
settlers, but as the ground was
considered low there, and
liable to overflow, Major Burnham and
his party wisely pro-
ceeded to a point four miles below,
where the high banks could
well withstand the rising waters, as has
been since proved to the
satisfaction of the residents. The
locating party arrived here
June 8th, 1790, and immediately began
the work of preparation
for the settlers, who would make a home
here in the wilderness.
This was no doubt a most arduous
undertaking, but determined
energy made itself felt, and soon there
were evidences that order
would emerge from chaos. Trees, brush,
and other debris made
48 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
way for the houses, which formed the new
town. On what is
now the Public Square were erected
eighty log cabins, twenty
in a row. At each of the corners were
block-houses two stories
in height. In front of the cabins, close
by the river bank, was
a small log breast-work. Above the
cabins, on the square, were
two other parallel rows of cabins,
which, with a high stockade
fence, and block-houses at each of the
upper corners, formed a
sufficient fortification in times of
danger. These upper cabins
were a story and a half in height, built
of hewn logs, and
furnished in better style than those
below, being intended for
the wealthier class, and those appointed
to manage and superin-
tend the interests of the colony. Such
was the home which the
emigrant found for his reception, when,
weary and travel-worn,
he at length reached his final
destination. He had journeyed
far by sea and land, and dreamed bright
dreams, and was it all
for this? A few log cabins with a
background of forest, in
which was the home of the sworn enemy of
the white race.
France is a country no larger in extent
than one of the
average-sized states of the Union, and
at this time its popula-
tion was about twenty-five millions.
Think of five hundred
people from this thickly populated
place, and composed entirely
of those ignorant of what would be
required of them in a new
land-physicians, lawyers, jewelers and
other artisans, a few
mechanics, servants to the exiled
nobility, and many with no
trade or profession-suddenly placed in a
wilderness of this
kind, and infested by wild beasts and
murderous bands of
Indians. They were as inexperienced in
pioneer life as children.
The hardy natures of such rugged
characters as Daniel Boone,
or any one of those who preceded the
march of progress, could
readily combat the difficulties which
were likely to present them-
selves. They knew what to expect in
frontier life, and it was
even with a sense of enjoyment perhaps,
that they engaged in
the work of preparing the way for the
settler. Our French
emigrants, however, could not view the prospects without
consternation and conjecture as to the
many difficulties which
would arise in their work of making the
best of a bad bargain.
The solution of the problem was with
them, and as subsequent
events proved, many of them rose bravely
to the occasion.
The French Settlement and Settlers of
Gallipolis. 49
There are some people whose strength and
grandeur of character
would never be known save by means of
severe tests. Heart
trials most frequently prove to be
blessings in disguise, on
account of the way in which they
represent the true worth of a
man's character. The pure metal cannot
be obtained save
through the medium of the smelting
furnace. Thus it was with
the French settlers at Gallipolis, for
they not only determined to
remain, but made a success of what
appeared a hopeless cause.
At an early meeting of the settlers, the
town was named Galli-
polis (City of the Gauls-French). The
work of making their
new home attractive was long and
arduous, this latter being the
natural result of the inexperience of
the settlers. Everything
that they did had to be learned, and
with as many hard knocks
as a school-boy experiences with his
Latin verbs, but indomitable
perseverance gave its usual testimony,
in that the lesson was
learned. Quoting the words of one who
has written on this sub-
ject: "A description of early
attempts to adapt themselves
to circumstances, would be amusing, but
doubtless was no joke
to them."
A number were seriously wounded, and
some lost their lives
in learning to fell trees. Having no
knowledge of the use of
the axe, some two or three would tackle
a monster of the
forest, girdling the tree, and giving
the death blow at the heart;
as can readily be seen, the tree would
oftentimes slip from the
stump upon the workmen, or more
frequently they (or the
admiring group who were watching the
process) not being able
to tell the direction in which the tree
would fall, would be
crushed to the ground under the heavy
branches. A short
experience of this kind sharpened their
wits, and by placing
strong men at the ends of the two ropes,
the other end being
fastened to the tree, they found that
they could guide it in its
fall, and this operation thereafter
became less dangerous.
It will be seen from such incidents as
this that, although the
settlers were enterprising, courageous,
and willing to work, and
mainly very intelligent, as a class,
they were obliged to suffer by
practical experience before they were
able to adapt themselves
to the new mode of living, or make much
substantial progress in
rendering their situation comfortable,
as we must all suffer, when
Vol. III-4
50 Ohio Arch. and His. Society
Publications. [VOL. 3
we are learning a new
principle in life. We must always learn
effectually, by means
of experience, but experience is quite
frequently a stern
and merciless teacher.
An account of this
settlement, by an eye witness, will
not, we believe, be
uninteresting here. The letter of Mon-
sieur Mentelle to the
American Pioneer, a magazine published
in Cincinnati, in the
April number, 1843, among other matters
contains the following: "I did not arrive till
nearly all the
colonists were there. I descended the river in
1791, in flat
boats loaded with
troops, commanded by General St. Clair,
destined for an
expedition against the Indians. Some of my
countrymen joined
that expedition, among others was Count
Malartie, a captain
of the French Guard of Louis XVI."
Con-
cerning the
settlement at Gallipolis, he said among other things:
"Notwithstanding
the great difficulties, the difference of tem-
pers, education and
professions, the inhabitants lived in har-
mony. The Americans
and hunters employed by the Company,
performed the first
labors of clearing the township which was
divided into lots.
Although the French were willing to work,
yet the clearing of the
American wilderness and its heavy tim-
ber was far more than
they could perform. To migrate from
the eastern States to
the 'far west' is painful enough now-a-days,
but how much more so
must it be for a citizen of a large Eu-
ropean town! Even the
farmer of the old countries would find
it very hard, if not
impossible, to clear land in the wilderness."
The hunters, who
supplied the colonists with fresh meat, " were
paid by the
colonists, to prepare their garden ground, which was
to receive seeds
brought from France; few of the colonists
knew how to make a
garden, but they were guided by books on
that subject,
likewise brought from France. The colony began
to improve in its
appearance and comfort. The fresh provisions
were supplied by the
Company's hunters, the others came from
the magazines."
These represented some of the bright features
of the early life of
the colonists, and all seemed working well,
and no doubt lively
hopes were excited in their breasts that the
difficulties of their
hitherto trying position were lessening, but
again they were
called upon to face disappointment. At this
time it became
apparent that the Scioto Company could not
The French Settlement and Settlers of
Gallipolis. 51
obtain for them any further remuneration
for the impositions
that had been practiced upon them. The
Company had fulfilled
nearly all their engagements for the
first six months, after which
they ceased their supply of provisions
to the colonists, and it
was given as a reason, that one or two
of their agents who had
received the funds in France for the
purchased land, had run off
with the money to England, and the
Company were defrauded
of the whole, without having purchased
or gained title to any
of the tract which they had sold to the
deceived colonists.
An unusually severe winter had set in,
and the rigor of
climate was added to other trials and
difficulties. The Ohio had
frozen over, so that flat boats could
not come down with flour
from above; the hunters no longer had
meat to sell. The peo-
ple were destitute of almost everything
except a scanty supply
of vegetables, and almost a famine was
produced in the settle-
ment. The money and clothes they had
brought with them
were nearly gone; they knew not to whom
to go to get their
lands (for they did not even own their
homes), and their con-
dition became such as to excite despair.
Looking back upon
them through the lapse of years, our
minds are filled with sym-
pathetic thoughts, and the fact that
these difficulties were suc-
cessfully combated kindles within us a
feeling of admiration and
pride. The Pilgrim Fathers, who landed
"on wild New Eng-
gland's shore," and whose hardihood
and determination have
sounded their praises down the ages,
deserve little less laudation
in the pages of history than the
settlers of our town, who have
left, as a rich heritage, to those who
have lived after them, the
testimony of the unconquerable nature of
brave perseverance.
Following this condition of affairs, the
fear of the Indians dis-
turbed their peace of mind.
"When," says Mentelle (speaking
of some months previous of the
expeditions of Generals St.
Clair and Wayne), "many of the
troops stopped at Gallipolis,
the Indians who, no doubt, came there in
the night, at last saw
the regulars going morning and evening
round the town in order
to ascertain if there were any Indian
traces, attacked them, kill-
ing and wounding several- a soldier,
besides other wounds, was
tomahawked, but recovered. A French
colonist, who had tried
to raise cane some distance from town, seeing an Indian rising
52 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VoL. 3
from behind some brushwood against a
tree, shot him in the
shoulder. The Indian, hearing an American patrol, must
have thought that the Frenchman made a
part of it, and
sometime afterward a Frenchman was
killed, and a man
and woman made prisoners as they were
going to collect
ashes to make soap, at some distance
from town. After
this, although the Indians committed
depredations on the
Americans on both sides of the river,
the French had suf-
fered only by the loss of some cattle
carried away, until
the murder of the man referred to. As
the severe winter ad-
vanced, "the dangers from the
Indians augmented every day.
Kanawha had been visited by one of these
sad events, that few
of the present generation can realize,
otherwise than by compar-
ing it to a romantic tale with ghosts. A
Captain Vonbever had
gone to make sugar at a little distance
from and opposite to
Kanawha. He had his negro man with him,
intending to make
sugar and raise corn, but staid to make
sugar only. The camp
was fronting the river and in sight of
Kanawha. They had not
been there long when the negro saw an
Indian running after
him. He warned his master, who was not
far from the house,
and they both entered it at the same
time and secured the door.
The Indian, thinking they had no arms,
and whose intention it
was to carry off the negro, turned back
as soon as he saw them
in the house, and was shot by the negro
with a gun that was
loaded with buck-shot. The alarm spread
to Kanawha; the in-
habitants came in their canoes, thinking
that there might be
more Indians, but on their landing they
saw only the body of a
single one, which, after having stripped
of what he had, they
threw into the river; the corpse floated
down and was carried by
the stream on the shore of Gallipolis
the next day, as if to con-
firm the rumor which they had heard that
morning, and as a
warning to themselves. Captain Vonbever
had let his beard
grow, and had sworn to leave it so until
he should have taken a
complete revenge of the Indians, who had
killed one of his
children.
The expedition against the Indians by
General St. Clair
having met with signal defeat, the
Indians were encouraged to
greater depredations in the Western
land, but fortunately for our
The French Settlement and Settlers of
Gallipolis. 53
colonists they were directed principally
against Americans. The
hostile tribes imagined that the French
settlers were from
Canada, and with the French at that
place they were on terms
of friendship. Immediately after St. Clair's defeat, Colonel
Sproat, of Marietta, appointed four
spies for Gallipolis, one of
whom was Mousieur Mentelle from whom we
quoted a moment
ago. These were released after the
treaty of Greenville in 1795.
Honorable Rufus Putnam, at Marietta, was
the acknowledged
head of all the settlements in
Washington county, which then
embraced a territory now covered by
nearly forty counties, and
to him an application was made and steps
were taken to organize
a defensive force. By his orders,
Colonel Ebenezer Sproat ap-
pointed Captain Dr. Francis Hebecourt, a
man of distinguished
qualifications, to take command. A
Frenchman named Malden
was appointed Lieutenant, and C. R.
Menager, Ensign. A com-
pany of ninety colonists offered their
services, who were divided
into squads of ten, and on each
succeeding day one squad, or
patrol company, was to start out in the
morning to act in con-
junction with the scouts or spies, whose
duty it was to return
every night and report the presence or
absence of Indians. In
this way a defense was kept up until
General Wayne defeated
the Indians at the battle of "
Fallen Timbers," on the Maumee
Rapids, five miles above Perrysburg,
Ohio, August 20th, 1794,
and made the treaty of peace at
Greenville in 1795 with all the
Western tribes. After peace was
declared, a free intercourse
took place between them and the
colonists from Massachusetts
and other New England states at Marietta
and Belpre, and with
settlements at Point Pleasant and
Charleston, Virginia. Thus,
in an alternate atmosphere of hopes and
fears, the colonists
passed the first years of their lives in
the New World. They
were, perhaps, becoming accustomed to
the changed conditions
of their existence. Even in the far away
western wilderness,
they were recognizing home ties, and
pleasant associations were
being formed which endeared this wild
country to them. France,
with its attractions, had passed out of
their lives; such repre-
sented but features of the past, and
would be to them but fond
recollections of what had been. There
was one great difficulty
which had to be surmounted, however,
before they could reso-
54 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
lutely face life in this country. The
titles to their homes had
never been perfected; indeed, there was
every reason to suppose
that they were living on land which
belonged to other people.
Although it had been sold to them by the
Scioto Company,
which had transported them thither, the
fact remained that the
Ohio Company still held the titles to
it, inasmuch as that corpora-
tion had bought and paid for it, and
there had been no just or
legal transfer of it to other parties,
it was but rational that the
owners should be demanding their rights.
This dilemma which
they had known that they must face, when
it reached its climax,
brought with it its disheartening
influences; indeed, so great
must have been the discouragements that
the disruption of all
the new ties must have been threatened.
A letter from Mr.
B. J. D. Le Ture, a Gallipolis merchant,
who had removed to
Cincinnati for business purposes, and
which is now in the
possession of Maj. E. C. Dawes, of
Cincinnati, throws some
light on the situation at this time. It
is written under date of
July 6th, 1792, and is addressed to Mr.
John Matthews at
Gallipolis. Mr. Le Ture says: "The
situation of the colony
alarms me much. I cannot think so many
people will be sacri-
ficed to a few speculators. Should
anything turn up that would
oblige me to go to the settlement, I
believe it will be in my
power to advise them on the methods they
are to take in order
to have justice done them." Some of
the colonists became dis-
heartened and went off and settled
elsewhere with the means
that remained to them, and resumed their
trades in more popu-
lous parts of the country. Others led a
half savage life, com-
mon among pioneers, as hunters for
skins; and affairs, for a
time, wore a gloomy aspect. The more
determined ones, how-
ever, who appear to have represented the
rank and file of the
colony resolved upon a course of action,
which, if successful,
would give them homes which they so
ardently craved. Six
years had now passed since they had
sailed from Havre de
Grace, and an enumeration showed that
but three hundred of
them were left. These, in general
assembly, resolved to make a
memorial of their grievances and send it
to Congress. The
memorial claimed no right from that
body, but was a detail of
their wrongs and sufferings, together
with an appeal to the
The French Settlement and Settlers of
Gallipolis. 55
generosity of the government, and they
did not appeal in vain.
Monsieur Jean G. Gervais started with
the petition, and at
Philadelphia met with a lawyer, M.
Duponceau, through whose
aid he obtained from Congress a grant of
twenty-four thousand
acres of land, known as the "
French Grant," and located oppo-
site the Little Sandy, for the people
who still remained in Galli-
polis. The act annexed the condition of
settling on the lands
for three years before the deed of gift
would be given. M.
Gervais received four thousand acres of
this land for his serv-
ices in the matter, according to
previous agreement. Each in-
habitant had thus a tract of two hundred
and seventeen and a
half acres of land; but before the
surveys and other arrange-
ments could be made, some time was
necessary during which
those who had reclaimed the wilderness
and improved Gallipolis,
being reluctant to lose all their labor,
and finding that a com-
pany, owning the lands at Marietta, had
met to divide lands,
which they had purchased in a common
stock, the colonists sent
a deputation with a proposal to sell to
them the tract where
Gallipolis is situated, and to be paid
in proportion to what was
improved, which was accepted. When at
last the distribution
of the French grant was achieved, some
sold their share, others
went to settle on it, while many sent
tenants, and either re-
mained at Gallipolis or went elsewhere.
Colonel Robert Safford,
so familiarly known as one of the number
of Major Burnham's
band, who felled the first tree on the
site of what was afterward
Gallipolis, was present at the drawing
of these lots, and has
thus related the circumstances:
"General Putnam appointed
Mr. Martin to survey the grant, and
after this was done and the
lots numbered, Messrs. Manmey, Putnam
and Talmadge ap-
pointed a day when all who were to get
land were to meet in the
public square. The day came and all
assembled. The names
of those having an interest were written
upon square pieces of
paper, and as many like pieces were
numbered. The papers
were placed in two small boxes, two
clerks were appointed and
two disinterested men were selected, to
each of whom one of
the boxes was given. When all was ready,
the boxes were
shaken and then opened. Colonel Safford
was selected to draw
out the papers which were numbered. As
he drew out one and
56 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VoL. 3
announced the number the clerk took it
down, then from the
other box a name was drawn which, being
announced, was
taken down as the owner of the number
just drawn. They pro-
ceeded thus until the whole number were
distributed."
After a long time, as it appeared to the
settler, some of the
hopes which had encouraged him, were
realized, in that the
French grant had been obtained and
Gallipolis had become the
property of its citizens. True, there
were not many left, com-
paratively speaking, to enjoy the homes
which had been won in
so laborious and perilous a manner, but
there was deep satisfac-
tion, no doubt, in realizing, that
although the fierce battle had
been fought, the victory was won.
Now, having described the inauguration
and accomplish-
ment of this enterprise of establishing
a colony and build-
ing a town on the banks of the Ohio, we
will turn our
attention, for a brief period, to the
topography of Galli-
polis, in the first stages of its
growth. We have before us
a map of the town and surrounding
country as they were in
earlier days. It represents the plan of
the lots drawn by the
inhabitants of Gallipolis January 20,
1791, and the outlines of
the city are very accurate, and easily
recognized by those
acquainted with it now. A more
interesting document than this,
and which we have been fortunate enough
to secure, is a list of
the town lots of Gallipolis with their
original disposition. The
original of this was probably made in
Paris, when the anti-
cipative colonist was about to depart to
his new home, or it may
have been made after the first stages of
his long and weary
journey had been completed, when, after
having been tortured
by apprehension, the order had come for
him to move on to
possess the land, just before he left
Alexandria, Virginia. We
append this list, thinking it peculiarly
interesting in this connec-
tion.
A numeral list of the town lots of
Gallipolis, with their
original disposition:
|
The French Settlement and Settlers of
Gallipolis. 57 |
|
Claude Morrell................ 1 Jean B. Laurent............ 2 Charles Vaux Maret ........... 3 Maguet, son .............. 4 Colinet ................... 5 Etienne Chandivert ........... 6 Mad. Clavet ................ 7 Jean B. Cherrin ............. 8 Pierre A. L. Huillier........... 9 Francis Picard ................. 10 Minguey, father ............... 11 Pierre Louis LeClerc......... 12 Claude Bana ................... 13 Claude J. Naudet. ............ 14 Marchand ..................... 15 Winant Devacht .............. 16 Jean M. Hammer .............. 17 Jean Buzenet ......... ..... 18 Nicholas Vissinier ............. 19 Sald .................. 20 Grouet .................. 21 Humbert Pamar .............. 22 Guillaume Duduit............ 23 Jean G. Vallot ................ 24 Louis Victor Vonschritz ....... 25 Michaud ...... .......... 26 Jean
B. Ancil...... ........... 27 Michel Cranzat ............... 28 Pierre Chandivert ............. 29 Nicholas Thevenin .......... 30 D'Hebecourt ............... 31 Retained 30th Dec .......... 32 " " ~.......... 33 33 " " ........... 34 Saugrain ..............
35 " ........ . ...... . ... 36 Pierre Magnier ................ 37 D'Hebecourt ................ 38 Jos.Dazet............. ... ... 39 Frederick Bergeret ............ 40 Jacques Petit Jean ........... 41 Jean G. Petit . ........... . 42 Francis Darveux ............. 43 Alexander Roussell ........... 44 Jean B. Quetee ............... 45 |
|
Jean B. Parmentier ............ 46 Francis Valten ............... 47 Laurent Bergnen .......... 48 Jean B. Duchallard ........... 49 Nicholas Petit .............. 50 Antoine Porquier ........... 51 Etienne Willermy .......... 52 Francis Quartel ............. 53 Benjamin Armand ............. 54 Jean M. Guillot . .......
.. 55 Charles Soudry .............. 56 Catherine Avelin .............. 57 Matthieu Berthelot ........... 58 Peter Lecke ................... 59 Jacques Renouard ............. 60 Antoine Vibert ............... 61 Jean B. Ginat .......... .... 62 Sigisbert Chevraux........... 63 Pierre Lafellard . ............. 64 Gervais ................... 65 Lemoyne, younger ........ 66 Jean
C. Belliere .......... .... 67 Droz...................... 68 Joseph Dupont .
........ . 69 Jean Louis Vonschritz ........ 70 Francis Dutiel ............... 71 Alexander Frere ............... 72 Claude DuBois ........... ... 73 Jean
B. Ferard ..... .......... 74 Jean P. Laperouse ........... 75 Nicholas Hedouin..... ....... 76 Michel Mazure ............... 77 Pierre M. Richards ............ 78 Colat
........... ......... 79 Petit ............. ........ 80 Coupin ................. 81 " ................... 82 Laforge retained ............) 83 84 Jean Louis Imbert .. ........ 85 Jean Courtier ................ 86 Pierre Matry ................. 87 Joseph Goiyon ............:... 88 Alex. Chevalier . .......... 89 Claude Dupligny .............. 90 |
|
58 Ohio Arch. and His.
Society Publications. [VOL. 3 |
|
Jean Louis Colat ............. 91 Minguey, son ............ 92 Louis DelaBouye ............ 93 Cesar Maufelit ................ 94 Pierre Chabot ................ 95 Taillem ................... 96 Pierre L. Guibert ............ 97 Pierre A. Laforge.......... .. 98 Claude Berthelot.... ......... 99 Antoine Duc................ 100 Jean F. Grand Jean. ........ 101 Michel Chanterelle ........... 102 Jean Pellison ................. 103 Jean B. Anthiaume........... 104 Lemonye, elder ........... 105 Louis Roublot ............ 106 Antoine Saugrain ............. 107 Thoncy Dehafosse ............ 108 Marin Dupont ................ 109 Petit Jean ................... 110 Antoine Prieur ............... 111 Augustin LeClerc ............ 112 Leclere and ................. 113 Genet ................. 114 Petit Jean ................ 115 Gervais................... 116 Sigismund D'llmee .......... 117 Jean L. Violette. ............. 118 Madam LaCaisse... ......... 119 D. Petit ........... ....... 120 Jean Pierre Ginet............. 121 Louis P. LeClerc .............. 122 Francis L'Anguette ............ 123 Pierre Serre ...... ..... ...... 124 Louis A. Viment ............ 125 Jean Autran ................. 126 Pierre Duteil ......... ........ 127 Maximin Lefort ............. 128 Minguet DeViguement ........ 129 Francois Bourgougnat ........ 130 Louis Berthe .................. 131 Louis Maldant ................ 132 Antrox Noel .................. 133 Nicholas Quelet ............... 134 Valton
............... ... 135 |
|
Philip Aug. Pithon ............ 136 John Rowe ................... 137 Mennessier ...............138 DeHibecour ............ 139 do
.............. 140 Firmin Bremiere .............. 141 Brice DuCloz ........... ... 142 Valton
.................... 143 Claude Coupin ......... .... 144 Pierre Maguet ............... 145 Jean Desnoyers ............... 146 Pierre Bidon .................. 147 Claude Cadot.................. 148 Pierre Thomas ................ 149 Malcher ............... 150 Remy Cuif ................... 151 Claude Menager .............. 152 De Hibecour ............ 153 do .
........... 154 do ..
........... 155 do .............. 156 Menager..... ............ 157 Bastede ...... ·.... . ...... 158 LeClar................... 159 Etienne Allrien ............. 160 Jacques Auger .............. 161 Pierre Ferard ................ 162 Marie Dallier .............. 163 Michel Chillard ............... 164 Menager .................. 165 do ......... ....... . 166 Doctor Petit .................. 167 Berthelot Senior ............... 168 Gervais .................. 169 DeLaBaume ............... 170 do ............. 171 Louis Vialett ... .............. 172 Francois P. Malcher ...........173 Francois Durand ............. 174 I. Guion Caille ................175 Antoine Jacquemin ...........176 Francois Patin ................177 Joseph Damervalle .......... 178 Antoine Charpentier .......... 179 Jean Louis Devanne.......... 180 |
|
The French Settlement and Settlers of
Gallipolis. 59 |
|
Jean Rouilly. ................ 181 Julien Pradel ............... 182 Simen Batterelle............. 183 Jean Aug. Pingard ........... 184 Mouvel . ............. 185 George Chalot ................. 186 Jean Regnier ................ 187 Antoine Rouby ............ 188 Cesar Baredot ............... 189 Jacquemin ................ 190 Eloy Frere . ............. 191 Abel Sarazin . ............ 192 |
|
Jean A. Foulon .............. 193 Hullier ................... 194 do ................... 195 DeHebecourt ............. 196 Rouby ........
....... 197 Emille Lefeve ................. 198 Nicholas Hingston ............ 199 Pierre F. Perot ............... 200 Francois Valot ................ 235 Francois Carteron ............. 236 Prioux Aiglemont ............. 234 |
|
Whether this plan was followed, we are unable to say,
but are inclined to the opinion that it was not, in view
of the com- plications arising from subsequent events. We have
access also to the account of the price and distribution of the
lots of Galli- polis, which were written about five years after the
settlers landed here. This also we think is right to give in
full: "Gal- lipolis, this the 14th day of December, 1795. P.
Bureau and J. M. Berthelot have published and given notice, that
Monday next they will render account to the French inhabitants of
their mis- sion as agents to treat with the Ohio Company.
To-day, Mon- day, the assembled inhabitants, after having agreed
to purchase the land of the Ohio Company, have proceeded to
choose by secret ballot, commissioners to examine the rights of
pre-emp- tion of the inhabitants to the city lots, and of four
acres of cul- tivated land, and also to fix the price of city lots
and of the four acres according to what they were worth before they
were occu- pied. Whereupon the inhabitants have unanimously
named for commissioners: Marin Duport, Mathieu Berthelot, Jean
Par- mentier, Christopher Etienne, Francis DeVacht, Jean
Baptiste, Le Tailleur, Jean Pierre, Roman Bureau. To-day,
Monday, 6 o'clock P. M. The commissioners have unanimously
appointed Marin Duport moderator, and Christopher Etienne
secretary, of the committee. It has also been resolved that Anselm
Tupper, surveyor, be chosen for any operations of surveying
that may be found necessary. Resolved, That Mr. Tupper,
accompanied by Mr. Bureau, shall go to examine the line which
separates the lands proposed to be bought from the reserved lands,
and from |
60
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL 3
those belonging to the Ohio Company, in
order to proceed im-
mediately to such operations as they
shall judge to be proper.
[These reserved lands were those set
apart for educational and
religious purposes, being sections 16
and 29.] It has been re-
solved that the public be warned by
notices to repair to the
house of Messrs. Saugrain and Bureau, in
order to make known
their rights and claims to the property
of Gallipolis. Signed Le
Tailleur, Parmentier, M. Berthelot, J.
G.. DeVacht, M. Duport,
P. Bureau
December 16. The committee, after having
been occupied
the entire day in receiving the claims
of proprietors, have re-
solved to give new notice to those who
have not yet presented
their claims to come to-morrow, in order
to finish the work.
December 16. Resolved, That this
plan shall hereafter be
placed before the eyes of the people as
the only one which ap-
pears proper, in order to conciliate the
different interests of the
proprietors considering the position of
the different pieces of
land, in order that those persons who
have few lots, and of
which the situation is not advantageous,
be not overcharged.
PLAN.
The banks of the river and the commons
not having been
surveyed, and never having been regarded
as property, we have
thought it right that they be placed at
a price proportioned to
their importance by reason of their
position. Lots on the bank
of the river and of the square (Public
Square), being a source
of wealth by reason of their position,
we have thought that they
should be placed at a price higher than
the others. The lots on
the banks of the river more remote have
been placed at a price
lower than, the preceding, but higher
than those which are re-
mote from the river. The lands which
remain to be divided,
being for the greater part mountainous
or hilly, have been, in
consequence, placed at a low price. Then
follows the designa-
tion of the lots, and prices attached,
after which the following
resolutions:
Resolved, For the public good, and for the interests of the
inhabitants, the streets and Public
Square shall remain free,
without being closed on the bank of the
river by any building,
or being sold.
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62 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
[VOL. 3
Resolved, That the public be notified to meet to-morrow to
receive the report of the work of the
committee.
Resolved, That the banks of the river shall remain open,
facing each street, that lines shall be
drawn in the direction of
the streets, without trespassing
thereon.
Plans accepted, Etienne, sec.
December 17, Resolved, That the
secretary be ordered by the
committee to go the house of
DHebercourt, to request him to
declare if it is his intention to join himself with us
for the ac-
quisition of our property, as his
partner Dr. Petit has done; and
to say to him that the execution of the
plan adopted by the in-
habitants requires a positive
answer. Etienne, sec. Mr.
DHebercourt has replied that he is
disposed to agree to the ac-
quisition of the lands of Gallipolis,
paying for his property seven
shillings, six-pence per acre, and that
he will not conform to the
plan adopted until he has taken such
steps as he believes his
interests require. Etienne, sec.
Resolved, That Messrs. Berthelot and Duport, whom we
have appointed collectors, go to the
houses of the inhabitants to
receive the sums set down on the list
made between us, accord-
ing to the plan agreed on by the
inhabitants, December 17th,
1795.
Resolved, That Mr. Duport is by us appointed cashier, and
in this capacity the money remain in his
hands until the time of
payment for the lands.
December 19, 1795. According to the
resolutions of the
committee on the 16th of this month,
agreed to by the assembled
inhabitants, reserved lots near the
square, divided into eighteen
equal portions, have been drawn by lot,
in the presence of the
assembled inhabitants, and fell to
Messrs. Vandenbemben,
Chandiver father, Chandiver son,
Vonschriltz, Gervais, Ferrare,
jr., La Cour, Davoux, Villerain, Muqui,
Quarleron, Michau,
Brunier, Bureau, Lafillard, child of
Vonschriltz, sr., Francis
Valodin, and Pierre Richou.
Dec. 22d. By virtue of the resolution of
the committee of
the 18th, Messrs. Marin, Duport and
Mathieu Berthelot have en-
gaged in receiving the sums to be given
by each proprietor,
which sums have amounted to £194 5s. 6d.
in money, and orders
to Mr. Sproat for the appointment of
spies, of which sum the
money amounted to £91 3s.
2d. Bills on different persons,
The French Settlement and Settlers of
Gallipolis. 63
£203.
Orders of spies on current appointment, £553, which
sums form a total of £1042 2s. 8d.
Resolved, That Messrs. Mathieu, Berthelot, Roman Bu-
reau, and Marin Duport, De Vacht, and Jean Le Tail-
leur, go to Marietta in the name of the
committee of the
inhabitants of Gallipolis, to conclude
with the Ohio Com-
pany the acquisition of the two squares
(of land) indicated in
the plan which has been given us by the
agents of the Ohio
Company. ETIENNE, Sec.
PARMENTIER.
Of the manner of life of the early
settlers in Gallipolis, our
sources of information are meagre, but
sufficient to give us a
tolerably accurate idea of the state of
affairs. The French, like
other nations of Southern Europe,
possess a cheerful disposi-
tion, but being also excitable, this is
characterized very often by
extreme degrees of elation or
depression. They have winning
manners and are warmly hospitable, and
are remarkable for their
thrift and ingenuity. That these traits
were marked among the
early settlers we think is proved by
what has already been
said, as well as what we have learned
from the early historian.
Quite a flood of light is thrown upon
this branch of our
subject by the account given by John
Heckewelder of his visit
to Gallipolis, in company with General
Putnam, when making a
journey from the upper waters of the
Ohio to the Wabash
River in the interest of the government
in Indian affairs, in the
year 1792. He says: "We rode to the
French settlement of
Gallipolis, situated on the north bank
of the Ohio, between
three and four miles from the Kanawha.
Here we spent the
whole of the following day in visiting
the skilled workmen and
the gardens laid out in European style.
The most interesting
shops of the workmen were those of
goldsmiths and watch-
makers. They showed us work on watches,
compasses and sun-
dials finer than any I had ever beheld.
Next in interest were
the sculptors and stonecutters. These
latter had two finished
mantels, most artistically carved.
General Putnam at once pur-
chased one of them for twelve guineas,
the other was intended
for a rich Dutch gentleman who has built
a two-story house
here, fifty feet long. The upper part of
a mantel was lying
there, ordered by a Spanish gentleman in
New Orleans, which,
64 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
because of the fine workmanship upon it,
was to cost twenty or
twenty-two guineas. The worker in glass
seemed to be a born
artist. He made us a thermometer, a
barometer, a glass tobacco
pipe, a small bottle (which would
contain about a thimble full),
and a most diminutive stopper, and a
number of works of art
besides. He also manufactured precious
medicine, nitric acid,
etc. As we were on a journey, and were
in daily need of light
and fire, he presented us with a glass
full of dry stuff, which
burns as soon as a match is applied.
This stuff, he told us, was
manufactured from bones. Concerning the
fine gardens, I must
add the following: that in them were to
be found the most beau-
tiful flowers, artichokes, and almond
trees, and besides many
vineyards and some rice fields. At a
distance of about one hun-
dred steps from the Ohio, there is a
round hill, which probably
dates its origin from the former
inhabitants of this land, as also
the remarkable fortifications and
buildings to be found in this
country. The hill, about thirty feet
high, has been improved as
a beautiful pleasure garden, with a
pretty summer house on top.
The town of Gallipolis consists of one
hundred and fifty dwell-
ings. The inhabitants number between
three and four hun-
dred. A detachment of from fifty to
sixty men of the regular
army is stationed here for protection.
Besides a few Virginia
spies or scouts are kept and paid by the
government. The
militia are also willing to serve for
remuneration. The Chicke-
mage Creek flows back of the town, and
below it empties into
the Ohio. Fine boats are also
manufactured in this town; our
vessel is one of them. At noon we dined
with the most promi-
nent French gentleman of the place, at
the home of the judge
and doctor, Mr. Petit."
On his return from Vincennes, on the
Wabash, Mr. Hecke-
welder speaks of again stopping at
Gallipolis, and alludes feel-
ingly to the troubles through which the
people were passing,
owing to the complications in the matter
of their land titles, a
very clear but concise account of which
he gives, together with
the whole transaction with the agents of
the Scioto Company.
From this it will be seen that our
settlers were not people who
would remain inactive or slothful even
when surrounded by
many and great difficulties, but worked
faithfully to make their
The French Settlement and Settlers of
Gallipolis. 65
new homes attractive, and their works
have, through the years
which have since elapsed, borne
testimony to their earnestness
of purpose.
A much fuller account of life among our
settlers is given in
a work entitled "Recollections of
Persons and Places in the
West," by H. M. Brackenridge. Mr.
Brackenridge was born
at the village of Fort Pitt, on the site
of what is now the
city of Pittsburg. At a very early age
he was sent by
his father to the village of St.
Genevieve in Louisiana for
the purpose of making him acquainted
with the French lan-
guage. This distance of fifteen hundred
miles, which lay be-
tween him and his home, was traveled by
means of a flat boat.
After spending several years at the
village of St. Genevieve, and
acquiring the language, he departed in
company with a gentle-
man sent for him to return to Fort Pitt.
On account of the in-
clemency of the weather to which he was
exposed, owing to the
scanty accommodations afforded by the
flat boat, as well perhaps
as climatic causes, he was taken quite
sick with fever and ague
shortly after the arrival at Louisville,
where, it seems that a stop
of some days was made. After the journey
had been further
prosecuted, he grew no better, and on
the arrival at Gallipolis
he was taken to a house in the village
and left there. The
exact date of this is not given, but
from the dates previously
mentioned it appears to have been some
time previous to 1795.
The account of his sojourn here can best
be given in his own
words:
"Behold me once more in port, and
domiciliated at the
house or inn of Monsieur, or rather
Doctor, Saugrain, a cheer-
ful, sprightly little Frenchman, four
feet six, English measure,
and a chemist, natural philosopher, and
physician, both in the
English and French signification of the
word. I was delighted
with my present liberation from the
irksome thralldom of the
canoe, and with the possession of the
free use of my limbs.
After wrapping my blanket round me,
which was my only bed-
ding, I threw myself into a corner for a
couple of hours, during
the continuance of the fever and ague,
and then rose up re-
freshed, with the lightness of spirits
which I possessed in an
unusual degree. I ran out of the house
and along the bank,
Vol. III-5
66 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL.
3
where I met a boy about my own size. I
laid hold of him in
mirth, but he, mistaking my vivacity,
gave me a sound beating.
The next day the doctor tried his skill
upon me, or rather upon
my ague, and pretty much on the plan of
another celebrated
physician, whether on the principle of
the solviente universal, I
do not so well know, but certain it is,
he repeated the very
words recorded by Gil Bias: 'Bebe
agua, hijo mio, bebe agua in
abundancia'- drink water, my son, drink plenty of water. But
the ague was not to be shaken off so
easily; it still continued to
visit me daily, as usual, all that
winter and part of the next
spring. I was but poorly clad, and was
without hat or shoes,
but gradually became accustomed to do
without them; like the
Indian, I might in time have become all
face. My guardian left
no money, perhaps he had none to leave;
Mr. Saugrain had none
to spare; besides as this was the period
when the French Revo-
lution was at its height, sans
culottism was popular with those
who favored the breaking up of social
economy. Dr. Saugrain,
however, and many others in Gallipolis
were not of that party;
they were royalists, who bitterly
lamented the condition of their
native country. Gallipolis, with the
exception of a few strag-
gling log houses, of which that of Dr.
S. was one, consisted of
two long rows of barracks built of logs,
and partitioned off into
rooms of sixteen or twenty feet wide,
with what is called a cabin
roof and wooden chimneys. At one end
there was a larger
room than the rest, which served as a
council chamber and ball
room. This singular village was settled
by people from Paris
and Lyons, chiefly artisans and artists,
peculiarly unfitted to sit
down in the wilderness and clear away
forests. Their former
employments had only been calculated to
administer to the
luxury of high polished and wealthy
societies. There were
carvers and guilders to the King,
coach-makers, frizeurs and
peruke-makers, and a variety of others,
who might have found
employment in our larger towns, but who
were entirely out of
their place in the wilds of Ohio. Their
means by this time had
been exhausted, and they were beginning
to suffer from the
want of the comforts and even the
necessaries of life. The
country back from the river was still a
wilderness, and the Galli-
politans did not pretend to cultivate
anything more than small
The French Settlement and Settlers of
Gallipolis. 67
garden spots, depending for their supply
of provisions on the
boats, which now began to descend the
river; but they had to
pay in cash, and that was become scarce.
They still assembled
at the ball room twice a week; it was
evident, however, that
they felt disappointment, and were no
longer happy. The pre-
dilections of the best of them being on
the side of the Bourbons,
the horrors of the Revolution, even in
their remote position,
mingled with their private misfortunes,
which had, at this time,
nearly reached their acme, in
consequence of the discovery that
they had no title to their lands, having
been cruelly de-
ceived by those from whom
they had purchased. It is
well known that Congress generously made
them a grant
of twenty thousand acres, from which,
however, but few of
them derived any advantage. As the Ohio
was now more fre-
quented, the house was occasionally
resorted to, and especially
by persons looking out for land to
purchase. The doctor had a
small apartment, which contained his
chemical apparatus, and I
used to sit by him, as often as I could,
watching the curious
operations of his blow-pipe and
crucible. I loved the cheerful
little man, and he became very fond of
me in turn. Many of
my countrymen used to come and stare at
his doings, which
they were half inclined to think had too
near a resemblance to
the black art. The doctor's little
phosphoric matches ignited
spontaneously when the glass tube was
broken, and from which
he derived some emolument, was thought
by some to be rather
beyond mere human power. His barometers,
and thermome-
ters, with the scale neatly painted with
the pen, and the frames
richly carved, were objects of wonder,
and some of them are
probably still extant in the West. But
what astonished some of
our visitors was a large peach in a
glass bottle, the neck of
which could only admit a common cork.
This was accomplished
by tying the bottle to the limb of the
tree, with the peach when
young inserted into it. His swans, which
swam round basins
of water, amused me more than any of the
wonders exhibited
by the wonderful man. The doctor was a
great favorite with
the Americans, as well for his vivacity
and sweetness of temper
which nothing could sour, as on account
of a circumstance
which gave him high claims to the esteem
of the backwoods-
68 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
men. He had shown himself,
notwithstanding his small stature
and great good nature, a very hero in
combat with the Indians.
He had descended the Ohio, in company
with two French phil-
osophers, who were believers in the
primitive innocence of and
goodness of the children of the forest.
They could not be per-
suaded that any danger was to be
apprehended from the Indians;
as they had no intention to injure that
people, they supposed,
of course, that no harm could be
meditated on their part. Dr.
Saugrain was not altogether so well
convinced of their good in-
tentions, and accordingly kept his
pistols loaded. Near the
mouth of Big Sandy, a canoe with a party
of warriors ap-
proached the boat; the philosophers
invited them on board by
signs, when they came rather too
willingly. The first thing
they did on entering the boat was to
salute the two philosophers
with the tomahawk; and they would have
treated the doctor in
the same way, but that he used his
pistols with good effect;
killed two of the savages and then
leaped into the water, diving
like a dipper at the flash of the guns
of the others, and suc-
ceeded in swimming to the shore, with
several severe wounds,
whose scars were conspicuous.
"The doctor was married to an
amiable young woman, but
not possessing as much vivacity as
himself. As Madame Sau-
grain had no maid to assist in household
work, her brother, a
boy of my age, and myself, were her
principal helps in the
kitchen. I used to go in the morning
about two miles for a
little milk, sometimes on the frozen
ground, barefoot. I tried a
pair of sabots, or wooden shoes, but was
unable to make any
use of them, although they had been made
by the carver to the
king."
Speaking of his other occupations, Mr.
Brackenridge says:
"In the spring and summer a good
deal of my time was passed
in the garden weeding the beds. It was
while thus engaged
that he formed an association which is
interesting, as it bears
somewhat on the future history of
Gallipolis. He formed the
acquaintance," he says, "of a
young lady of eighteen or twenty,
on the other side of the palings,"
who was often occupied as he
was. "Our friendship," says
he, "which was purely Platonic,
The French Settlement aud Settlers of
Gallipolis. 69
commenced with the story of Blue Beard,
recounted by her, and
with the novelty and pathos of which I
was much interested.
"Connected with this young lady
there is an incident which
I feel pleasure in relating. One day
while standing alone on the
bank of the river, I saw a man who had
gone in to bathe and had
got beyond his depth without being able
to swim. He began to
struggle for life, and in a few seconds
would have sunk to rise
no more. I shot down the bank like an
arrow, leaped into a
canoe, which, fortunately, happened to
be close by, pushed the
end of it to him, and as he rose,
perhaps for the last time, he
seized it with a deadly, convulsive
grasp, and held so firmly that
the skin afterward came off the parts of
his arms which pressed
against the wood. I screamed for help;
several persons came
and took him out perfectly
insensible. He afterward mar-
ried the young lady, and they raised a
numerous and re-
spectable family. One of his daughters
married a young law-
yer, who now represents that district in
Congress. Thus at
eight years of age I earned the civic
crown by saving the life of a
human being. I say this incident is
interesting, and you will
agree with me when I tell you the young
lawyer referred to was
Hon. Samuel F. Vinton, whom we recognize
as one of the
prominent figures, both in our State and
Nation.
"Continuing his narrative in
reference to the life in Galli-
polis at that time, Mr. Brackenridge
says that toward the latter
part of the summer, the inhabitants
suffered severely from sick-
ness and want of provisions. The
situation was truly wretched.
The swamps in the rear, now exposed by
the clearing between it
and the river, became the cause of a
frightful epidemic from
which few escaped, and many became its
victims. He, himself,
had recovered from the ague, and was
among the few exempted
from the disease; but the family with
whom he lived, as well as
the rest, suffered much from absolute
hunger. To show the
extremity of the distress, he says that
on one occasion, the
brother of Madame Saugrain and himself
pushed a light canoe
to an island above the town where they
pulled some corn and
took it to a flouring mill, and
excepting some of the raw grains,
they had had nothing to eat since the
day before, until they
carried home the mela and made some
bread, but had neither
70 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
milk nor meat. "I have
learned," said he, "to be thankful
when I had a sufficiency of wholesome
food, however plain, and
was blessed with health; and I could put
up with humble fare
without a murmur, although accustomed to
luxuries, when
I have seen those, who had never
experienced absolute starva-
tion, turn up their noses at that which
was very little worse-
than the best they have ever known, such
are the uses of
adversity?"
It has not been our privilege to learn
the internal state
of affairs in the colony during the
years which immediately
succeeded this interesting narrative,
but from what can be
learned through old inhabitants, some of
whom were acquainted
with the early colonists, and most of
whom have gone to their
reward, we feel assured that the thrift
and enterprise of these-
early days was but an index of what was
to come after. After
the colonists had been safely
established in their new homes, and
knew that in the future they would be
free from the harassing.
influence of litigation in consequence
of defective land titles,
and had learned some of the secrets of
border life, insomuch
that the prospective attacks from the
Indians lost much of their
terror, being better acquainted as they
were with the modes of
defence, their minds being less
harassed, they were the better
able to enter heartily in the work which
was before them, of
making the wilderness blossom as the
rose.
We are persuaded that these years, which
represented the
lull after the storm, were years of
peace and contentment, and
consequently could, in after years, be
regarded by those who
passed through them with pleasant
remembrance. We are often
told that the good works which live
after the performers have
gone, are the most powerful witnesses as
to their faithfulness,
inasmuch as they not only benefit their
day and generation, but
bespeak the earnestness of purpose, as
well the kindly dispo-
position of the performers.
There are not many institutions among us
which were
identified with the far off time
indicated by our subject, but
there are those which indirectly sprung
from the efforts of that
time and in which the characters and
desires of the citizens are
so clearly portrayed, that we are forced
to acknowledge that they
The French Settlement and Settlers of
Gallipolis. 71
being dead yet speak. The influence of
the French settlers has
been felt through the many intervening
years, and though our
town has changed its population to a
great degree, and American
blood is flowing in the veins of many of
our people, we cannot
but think that the happy disposition of
La Belle France is ever
cropping out, and the pleasure-loving
hearts of long ago are
calling to us across the ages, and that
the name Gallipolis is still
appropriate when applied to our town,
for in love, sympathy,
and gratitude, as well as by the nearer
ties of blood, we are the
inhabitants of the city of the French.
Among the institutions which bring us
into a close relation-
ship with the earlier years of our
town's history, there is
one which we feel illustrates, to a
certain degree, what has
been said in regard to the works of its
early inhabitants.
A time honored and much appreciated
institution we con-
sider in the Gallia Academy. True it is,
that this was not
founded until about twenty years after
the settlers arrived
here, but the names of those who
inaugurated it as an
Educational medium are to be found among
those who braved
the difficulties identified with the
settlement. This is among
the oldest institutions of learning in
the State, and at it
"not only nearly all of the older
residents of Gallipolis
and Gallia county received their
education, but many who
afterward became men of great
prominence, throughout the
country, here took the first step in
learning which led them on
to fame."
A short account of its organization may
not be inappro-
priate in this connection. A meeting was
held February 8,
1810, for the purpose of taking into
consideration the ex-
pediency of erecting in Gallipolis, an
institution to be appro-
priated to the instruction of the youth,
and such other purposes
as may be deemed of public utility.
Robert Saffort was chosen
chairman and Nathaniel Gates secretary.
A series of resolu-
tions, embodying these principles, was
passed at this meeting,
and a subscription started which was
circulated with satisfactory
results. Among the subscribers are to be
noted the names of
some of the oldest and most honored
citizens, many of whom
are to be seen among the lot holders of
Gallipolis of colonial
72 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Pnblications. [VOL. 3
days. In due time, a lot was purchased,
and a commodious
building erected thereon, and the work
of refining the mind, by
means of education, received an impetus
which showed that the
builders of the Gallia Academy had done
wisely and well.
From its portals have passed many who,
as we say, have won
for themselves fame in after years; men
whom the country de-
lighted to honor, as well as those, who,
in the more quiet walks
of life, have met the requirements of
good and upright citizen-
ship, and who were representatives of
that class which compose
the rank and file of those who labored
for the sure and steady
advancement of our country, and which
has made it the grand-
est the sun shines upon. This venerable
institution, could it
speak, could bear greater testimony to
the admirable traits of
our forefathers than any ever yet
recorded by the pen of the
historian.
As we pause in the spirit of meditation
over the shifting
scenes which rise before us in a
consideration of the early ages
of the French colony here, as well as
the intervening years
which separate us from that distant
date, we can find food for
much instructive thought, and we draw
our lessons principally
from those who witnessed the early dawn
of civilization in this
then far away Western wilderness.
The first trait of character which
claims our admiration
was the earnestness of purpose which
marked the lives of the
pioneers. 'Tis true, as we have shown, everything seemed
bright and promising when, in accordance
with the representa-
tions of the land agents, they resolved
to cast their lots in the
new and attractive land across the seas,
but when subsequent
events changed the rosy dreams to a dark
reality, and they
realized that they must face life in its
most responsible and for-
bidding aspects, it required the
strongest natures to remain un-
moved. No wonder it is that our record
tells us that some of
them were not equal to the emergency,
and went to seek satis-
faction in life in more congenial
atmospheres, some finding it in
the populous sections of our own
country; and some, acknowl-
edging themselves completely defeated,
returned to France.
With the principal part of them,
however, it was otherwise.
They had not left home and old
associations, and come to this
The French Settlers and Settlement of
Gallipolis. 73
distant land to fail. Although they had
been grievously disap-
pointed, they would accomplish that
which they came to per-
form, a home where they would be
unmolested by political
storms or persecution. The mountains
were high, the valleys
deep, and the distance great which
separated them from the
homes of their adoption, but nothing was
impossible in the face
of that earnestness, which marked their
progress. This disposi-
tion is the material of which heroes are
made. The biographies
of the good, the true, and the powerful
tell us of exactly the
same spirit as this, and which was the
medium by which success
crowned their efforts, and the world
greatly was blessed.
Every inventor has to face the
difficulties arising from an
incredulous world. Every discoverer has
to encounter opposi-
tion which would make those who are less
determined quail and
desist. Every person who embarks upon an
undertaking which
has as its object the upbuilding of
truth has to run the gauntlet,
so to speak, of the furious opposition
such as the powers of
darkness only can command. Yet all of
these workers, as their
titles indicate, have been successful,
nothing has baffled them,
because they made up their minds to
succeed, and succeed they
did, not merely to their own
satisfaction but to that of their fel-
low beings, who have been benefited by
their efforts.
It was no idle sentiment which prompted
them to action,
but an inborn determination founded upon
a deep-set principle
that " whatever is worth doing is
worth doing well." Whenever
such a spirit animates man, we know that
there is no such word
as failure in his vocabulary. This
feature in man's character
has made him the truly wonderful being
that he has proved him-
self, and were it omitted, the history
of the human race, instead
of being as it is now, one of the most
absorbingly interesting
subjects which could claim the attention
of the thinking mind,
would not be worth the reading, and man
who was made as the
Bible tells us, but little lower than
the angels, and crowned with
glory and " honor," would long
since have fallen from his high
estate, and his life be as devoid of
interest as that of the
beasts that perish. This is but
reasonable, for it indicates that
when man is in earnest in what he does,
his heart is given to his
work. How marked is this, we say, among
the great ones of
74 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL.
3
our world. Think of such a man as
Napoleon Bonaparte, when
he was entering upon a great campaign,
which would involve
the destinies of Europe. Could the
thoughtful one have been
able to read his mind at such a
momentous time, what mighty
plans and calculations would be these;
what wonderful lines of
battle, what anticipative thoughts when
through the mists of the
future he could see success and glory;
or take one nearer home,
General Washington, so appropriately
known as the Father of
his Country. Think what daring plans he
must have formulated,
by which he expected to be borne to
success. He, who, with a
small army of half-fed and half-clothed
men, dared to stand up
before the mightiest nation of the world
and defy it. We might,
if we were privileged to read his
thoughts, see some such words
as these: " My country must and
shall be free, and my hand
shall be the instrument to give her
great assistance." The
horrors of cold winter and starvation
were not sufficient to cause
him to desist in what many of his
contemporaries, no doubt,
considered a mad venture, for he made up
his mind to succeed,
and saw no such probability as defeat in
his pathway.
We might take examples from other
departments of work,
and read the thoughts of a great writer,
who, by his pen, has
resolved to make the world better, and
as his after- works testify
they bear the stamp of earnestness, yes
and such earnestness as
will unquestionably bear the stamp of
Divine approval. The
great feature of this earnestness, is
the utter absence from the
mind of anything which savors of
failure. That is not antici-
pated as a possible contingency, and it
rarely comes. Do you
think that any of those just mentioned
anticipated failure when
they gave their hearts to the work? Not
only are we convinced
to the contrary, but it is our firm
conviction that if such had
been the case the downfalls of most of
them would now be
among the many wrecks which strew the
sands of time. Look-
ing, therefore, at our French colonists
in this light, we see them
in their true grandeur of character as
we perhaps have never
viewed them before. Instead of the weary and disheartened
band, worn out with the cares and
discouragements of the hour,
and ready to faint by the way-side, we
see the fire of determina-
tion kindled by deep-set earnestness
flash from their eyes. The
The French Settlement and Settlers of
Gallipolis. 75
little rows of rough cabins in the
forest, the back-ground of
seemingly impenetrable wilds, and before
them the winding
river, which, to many, would, seem to be
murmuring the fare-
wells to departed hopes, but represent
to them the life which is
before them, and the grand medium
through which they shall
attain success, so that at the
conclusion of their mortal exist-
ence, it shall be said of them what we
emphatically say to-day:
"They lived not in vain."
The early history of our country is ever
presenting scenes
such as these, and how often are we
constrained to go back
through the past years and sympathize
with our forefathers, and
consider that our lines have, as
compared with theirs, "fallen
in pleasant places;" but yet there
are other thoughts in this con-
nection that should fill the mind. In
consideration of the work
which was given these and its mighty
significance, as it bore
upon the events of the future, and the
earnestness of purpose
with which it was prosecuted, and its
great aim accomplished,
were not their blessings which arise
from the fact that they were
the promoters of such a mighty work, as
great, yes far greater
than those benefits which accrue to many
now-a-days? It were
a privilege, indeed, to live as they
lived, and to be moved as they
to do with all their might that which
their hands found to do, in
laying the foundation for future success
in a great land.
Another trait of character which was the
natural out-
come of that just considered, and which
shone brightly
among our colonists, was bravery. As we have remarked
they had much to tax their patience, and
many things from
which human nature would shrink in fear
and trembling, but
if fear entered their hearts it was
promptly banished. The
blood which flowed in their veins was
near akin to that which
flowed in the veins of those heroes,
whose warlike valor, soon
after our town was settled, filled the
minds of the all-great peo-
ple with wonder and admiration. These
people showed by their
lives that there was a strong bond of
union between them and
such men as the great Napoleon, the hero
of France, and of
those fearless and determined men who
followed him through
the smoke and carnage of his many
battles to victory and re-
nown. We know how invaluable this virtue
of bravery is as an
76 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
element of character. Faint hearts and
wavering actions are
not such as characterize true men, and
only the true man is the
successful man. We have not with the
meagre resources at our
command, been able to recount many of
their deeds which bear
upon this point, but, from those recited
and personal associations
with their descendants, we feel at
liberty to pay them this trib-
ute, and after the lapse of a hundred
years, such convictions of
their true worth, in this respect, come
to us as to make their
memory grateful to us, who are reaping
the fruits of what they
planted.
There is one trait of character,
however, which we feel con-
strained to emphasize, and which was
peculiarly apparent among
them. This bears a close relationship,
in its turn, to those just
considered. It was the love of country
that actuated them,
whether that country was in the sunny
fields and populous cities
of beautiful France, or among the wilds
of Ohio. Wherever
their home was, there was also their
heart. This love of coun-
try, too, is a virtue indispensable with
true people. There is no
more unfavorable sign in an individual
or community of people
than that of a rebellious spirit toward
their government, unless,
of course, such is thoroughly corrupt,
and deserves the censure
they are so willing to bestow. When in
our reading we see his-
tories of those, who cheerfully left all
the dearest objects of life,
to take up arms in defense of the land
they love, our hearts are
filled in a manner inexpressible by the
grandeur of character
manifested. In the fierce battle which
was waged in the siege
of Quebec, the world witnessed a double
tragedy, and yet scenes
of grandeur in the deaths of the two
leaders of the opposing
forces. General Wolfe, the English
general, being mortally
wounded, as his eyes were about to close
upon this world for-
ever, being told that victory had
perched upon his country's
banner, said: "I die happy."
The Marquis De Montcalm,
who commanded the French defensive
force, and who was also
wounded unto death, expressed himself as
glad to die in that he
would not be obliged to see Quebec
surrendered. Those were
brave expressions, and-the men who
uttered them were great
men; gallant sons of worthy lands, for a
land must be worthy
which has such representatives. The love
of country is a fixed
The French Settlers and Settlement of
Gallipolis. 77
principle in the minds of those who love
great things, and to the
true man his country can make no
unreasonable request when
she calls upon him to defend her from
her enemies, and make
her name to be glorious in this great
world.
There is an old and familiar Latin
maxim, which stirs within
us those feelings which are of an
ennobling character; it is dulce
et decorum est pro patria mori- it is sweet and honorable to die
for one's country. There is also a great
principle embodied in
another somewhat similar to it, and
which is: 'tis sweet and
honorable to live for one's
country. To die for a principle, indi-
cates that having been brought to a
stop, as it were, in the dis-
charge of our duties for it, on account
of the difficulties which
would impede our progress in our careers
of duty, we give our
lives to the cause of surmounting those
difficulties. It is there-
fore the bright ending of a
conscientious course; an ending pro-
duced because it is beyond our power to
do more. To live for
one's native land, or the land of one's
adoption, however, indi-
cates a determination to use every
opportunity for its advance-
ment; to face the future with that
bravery characteristic of a
noble nature, and acknowledge no
difficulty of sufficient moment
to baffle you in what you know to be
right.
In the case of dying for one's country,
the work is finished,
and, like the bright sunset, the grand
life closes in this world.
When we live for our country, the work
is about us, the oppor-
tunities thicken around us; our hands
are the instruments that
can do it, and the responsibilities of
our position are great.
One point in this connection needs to be
emphasized, that
unless we live for our country, the
chances are not very favor-
able for our dying for it. There are,
perhaps, instances in which
men died for the love of country without
having given their
lives to the same cause, but such
instances are extremely rare.
Now, we love the memory of our early
settlers, because they
both lived and died for this, the home
of their adoption. We
would dwell particularly on the former
of these, as we believe
you will think it meet and proper in
view of the life of privation
which marked the first years of the
history of Gallipolis, and to
which we have called your attention.
'Tis not natural to suppose that when
they came from their
78 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
far-away habitations, and met with the
discouraging reception in
America, that they should love the
latter place; and the idea that
it was to furnish them their future
homes, must at first have been
even repugnant to them, but after having
cast their lots here,
and witnessed the returns of their
self-denying labors, they began
to love this rough land, and as the
years passed away, and home
ties were formed, that love increased
and strengthened, until they
became thoroughly domiciled, and then
the hearts, which had
once yearned for the beauties and
attractions of La Belle France,
awakened, as it were, to the
consciousness that their France was
with them.
It is home where the heart is, and their
hearts were not
across the seas, but here on the banks
of the beautiful river.
They lived, I say, for this home; all of
their refined tastes were
called into requisition to make it
beautiful. A reference to this
fact, we have already seen in the
interesting narrative of Mr.
Heckewelder. In after years, however, we
have cause to know
that what he saw in those pioneer days
was but an indication of
what would be. The expression, "the
wilderness blossoms like
the rose," which we have used, was
most appropriate, concerning
the results of their labors, for the
wild bluff on the river side be-
came in due time the site of a fair
town, inhabited by useful and
contented people.
The town was honored by visits of two
distinguished visitors
in its early days. In 1824, General
Lafayette, who had assisted
our land so materially in former years,
made Gallipolis a visit,
and we cannot but believe that when he
left, he was convinced
that his countrymen had proved true to
their nature in upholding
the interest of their homes and
governments wherever they
might be. Louis Philippe, (then the
exiled Duke of Orleans),
stopped here once on his way to New
Orleans, and his homeless
feeling and longing after the joys of
native land must have been
intensified when he witnessed the
thrifty contentment of these,
his brothers, in the home of their
choice.
Thus they lived, and thus they died, and
when we consider
that death was the culmination of lives
given to their country,
we feel additional gratitude for their
memory, and should be in-
spired to renewed endeavors in
furthering the interests of our
The French Settlers and Settlement of
Gallipolis. 79
town and county. We would do honor to
their memory, we
would in sacred thought, traverse the
years which separate us
from them, and we would thank them for
this example which
they have bequeathed to us and the many
others who have and
will come after them, being filled with
the conviction that the
love of home and country, such as was
exemplified in them is one
of the great secrets of a successful
community.
Another instructive point presents
itself for consideration as
a closing thought, in connection with
the work which they did,
and should commend itself to us, as do
all of the others hitherto
mentioned: The thorough character of the
undertaking upon
which they engaged and which they
perfected. There is only
one way in which a thing can be done
right, and that is by
beginning at the very root of the
matter. We must find a good
foundation upon which to build, and then
make our edifice of
the strong and abiding materials. The
Bible tells of two men
who built houses, one with a good
foundation and one with an
indifferent one. The rain descended and the floods came, and
the winds blew, and beat upon the former
and it fell not, for it
was founded upon a rock," while the
same forces acting upon
the latter caused its ruin. "It fell, and great was the fall
thereof." The same principle applies in every undertaking,
whether it is great or seemingly
insignificant, and we feel certain,
from what history tells of the past, and
what we see about us,
that our settlers were moved by it in
the performance of their
duties here. the reasons why we feel
certain of this are to be
seen in the development of our town
during the years which
made up the century, and the result of
the works of the hundred
years. The improvements at first were
not rapid, as might natur-
ally be supposed in view of the
difficulties of the settler, but the
flying years brought wonderful changes.
Let us hear what Mr. Brackenridge has to
say in regard to
the town as he saw it in after years:
"As we passed Point Pleas-
ant, and the little island below it,
Gallipolis, which I looked for
with anxious feelings, hove in sight. I
thought of the French
inhabitants-I thought of my friend
Saugrain, and I recalled in
the liveliest colors the incidents of
that portion of my life which
was passed here. A year is a long period
of time; every day is
80 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
crowded with new and striking events. I
hastened to the spot
where I expected to find the abode (of
Dr. Saugrain), the little
log house, tavern, laboratory and garden
of the Doctor-but
they had vanished like the palace of
Aladdin. I took a hasty
glance at the new town as I returned to
the boat. I saw brick
houses, painted frames, fanciful
enclosures, ornamental trees!
Even the pond, which had carried away a
third of the French
population by its malaria, had
disappeared, and a pretty green
had usurped its place, with a neat brick
Court House in the
midst of it."
Looking at the place to-day, we see a
substantial and pros-
perous town. True, there are many in our
great State which
are much larger, and regarded by
outsiders as far more im-
portant; but the basis upon which we
stand as a town, is a firm
and solid one, which showed that its
beginning was marked by
faithful efforts. We would remark,
however, and we do so with
sadness of heart, that the French
population of Gallipolis de-
creased with rapidity during the years
which marked its early
history, and it was American hands which
prosecuted the work
here for many years, and made our town
more successful, as was
evidenced by its different stages of
prosperous development.
Mr. Brackenridge, in his description of
the second visit to Galli-
polis, expresses great disappointment
that the French were
nearly all gone. We cannot forget,
however, that it was the
French hands that laid the foundation,
and the French mind
which planned the building in its
earliest stages, so that to the
French rather than to the American is
due the prosperity of
after years.
Memories of the past are freighted with
their lessons, and
filled with joys and sorrows. It is
pleasant to recall the events
which have passed away, on account of
the many pleasant char-
acters with which they bring us into
close association. The very
difficulties which were encountered by
the pioneers have a
charm for us, as we view them by the
light of a hundred years.
When soldiers have passed through the
wars successfully, or
sailors have endured the perils of the
sea, it is a peculiar joy to
them to sit by some bright fireside and
go over their perilous
adventures with one another, and the
greater the dangers that
|
The French Settlement and Settlers of Gallipolis. 81
once were, and the more trying the sufferings, the greater pleas- ure they appear to derive from their naratives. Thus when our town looks back over her history and beholds what she was, and what she might have been but for the brave and determined efforts of her faithful inhabitants, there is a peculiar charm at- tached even to her hardships, inasmuch as she knows that they were successfully faced. Thankful are we for the works done for us by those of the century gone, and we can utter no more fervent wish than that our memory may be as sacred to those who shall stand upon this ground, when the morning of another hundred years shall dawn upon Gallipolis. JOHN L. VANCE. |
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Vol. III-6 |
82 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
CONTEMPORARY DESCRIPTION OF OHIO IN
1788.
In 1888, Mr. John H. James, of Urbana,
Ohio, whose col-
lection of historical works is hardly
excelled, published a trans-
lation of a French pamphlet used by Mr.
Barlow and his asso-
ciates in Paris, when engaged in the
sale of lands in the Ohio coun-
try.
"The pamphlet," says Mr. James, in his introduction,
" was published in French and English; the French copy
being
a translation of the English copy, first
published in Salem,
Massachusetts, in 1787. The French
edition was published in
Paris in 1789, the year of the breaking
out of the French Revo-
lution. It was one of the means employed
by Joel Barlow and
the agents of the Scioto Company to
promote the emigration
from France, which resulted in the
settlement of the French at
Gallipolis in 1790."
"The French copy from which I make
the translation,"
continued Mr. James, "is dingy with
age, and formerly be-
longed to one of the early settlers at
Gallipolis, whose name,
with the date, 1805, is inscribed on the
cover."
The title page of the pamphlet is as
follows:
" A Description of the Soil,
Productions, etc., of that Por-
tion of the United States Situated between
Pennsylvania and
the Rivers Ohio and Scioto and Lake
Erie."
Mr. James, in his introduction, says of
the authorship of
the pamphlet, that "it was
published anonymously, but was
written by Mr. Manasseh Cutler,"
and "that while its tints are
sufficiently couleur de rose, and
some of its statements * * *
appear extravagant in the light of our
present knowledge, yet it
must be remembered that one hundred
years ago Ohio was a
comparatively unknown region, concerning
which all intending
settlers were enthusiastic; and a
comparison with other con-
temporary authorities shows that it
represents very fairly the
state of information existing concerning
the Western country."
The extravagant statements in the
pamphlet, it will be
noticed, are acceded to by Mr. Thomas
Hutchins, the geographer
of the United States, and by others who
had visited the country.
Description of the Soil, etc. 83
The following is Mr. James' translation
of the French
edition of the pamphlet, with foot notes
added by him:
MR. JAMES' TRANSLATION OF THE
FRENCH EDITION OF OHIO.
The great river Ohio is formed by the
confluence of the
Monongahela and the Allegheny in
Pennsylvania. It flows
from about 290 miles west of the city of
Philadelphia, and
about 20 miles west of the western
boundry of Pennsylvania.
In following the ordinary route the 290
miles are increased to
320, and the windings of the Ohio
increase the 20 miles to
about 42.
These two sources of the Ohio are both
great navigable
rivers; the first flows from the
southeast, and there is, between
it and the navigable waters of the
Potomac, in Virginia, a por-
tage of only about 30 miles;1 the latter
opens a passage to the
northeast, and rises not far from the
source of the Susquehanna.
The State of Pennsylvania has already
adopted the plan of
opening a navigation from the Allegheny
River to Philadelphia
by way of the Susquehanna and the
Delaware. In following
this route there will be only a transit
by land, or portage of 24
miles.2
At the junction of these two rivers, or
at the source of the
Ohio, we find Fort Pitt, which gives its
name to the city of
Pittsburgh, a flourishing settlement in
the vicinity of the
fortress. From this city the Ohio
pursues its way to the south-
west for 1188 miles (including the
windings of the river) and
empties into the Mississippi, after
traversing for this prodigious
distance a most fertile and agreeable
country, and having in-
creased its waters by those of several
other navigable rivers:
the Muskingum, the Hockhocking, the
Scioto, the Miami, and
the Wabash from the northwest; the
Kanawha, the Kentucky, the
Buffaloe,3 the Shawnee,4
and the Cherokee5 from the southwest;
all these rivers, navigable for a
distance of from 100 to 900
miles, fall into the Ohio, and it is
this river that furnishes a
great part of those united waters which
flow into the ocean
through the bed of the Mississippi.
The Ohio, from Pennsylvania to the
Mississippi, sepa-
84 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
rates the State of Virginia from other domains of the
United States, or in other words from
the territory not
comprised within the limits of any
particular State. This
territory extends westward to the
Mississippi, and north
to the frontiers of the United States.
Commencing at the
meridian which forms the western
boundary of Pennsylvania
they have laid off a space sufficient
for seven ranges6 of munici-
palities (townships). As a north and south line extends along
the Ohio in a very oblique direction,
the western boundary of
the seventh range strikes the Ohio nine
miles above the
Muskingum, which is the first large
river which empties into the
Ohio. Their junction is 172 miles below
Fort Pitt, following the
winding of Ohio, but in a straight line
little more than 90 miles.
The Muskingum is a river which flows
slowly, and has
banks high enough to prevent all
inundation. It is 250 yards
wide at the place where it enters the
Ohio, and is navigable for
large vessels and bateaux as far as Tree
Legs, and for small boats
to the lake at its source. From thence
by means of a transit by
land of about one mile,7 communication
is opened with Lake
Erie by means of the Cuyahoga, which is
a river of great value,
navigable through its whole length,
without any cataracts to
obstruct its course. The passage from
Lake Erie to the Hudson,
through the State of New York, is well
known. The longest
transit by land on this route is that
which is caused by the falls
of Niagara, which interrupts the
communication between Lakes
Erie and Ontario. After that, one passes
by the River Oswego,
Oneida Lake, Woods Creek (the bay of the
woods), and by
means of a short portage, enters the
Mohawk; another portage
occasioned by the cataract near the
confluence of the Mohawk,
and the Hudson brings the voyager to
Albany.
The Hockhocking is somewhat like the
Muskingum, but not
so large. It is navigable for large
vessels for about seventy
miles, and much further for small ones.
On the banks of this
much frequented river are inexhaustible
quarries of building
stone, great beds of iron ore, and some
rich mines of lead. We
find also, very frequently in the
neighborhood of this river, coal
mines and salt springs, which abound in
this Western country.
The salt which is obtained from these
springs furnishes a never-
Description of the Soil, etc. 85
failing abundance of this article of
prime necessity.8 Beds of
clay, both white and blue, of an
excellent quality, are met with
also throughout this region. This clay
is adapted for the manu-
facture of glass, of pottery, and all
kinds of brick. Armenian9
clay, and several other useful deposits,
have also been discovered
along the different branches of this
river.
The Scioto is a river longer than either
of those of which we
have thus far spoken, and furnishes a
navigation much more con-
siderable. For an extent of two hundred
miles large vessels can
navigate it. Then there is a passage to
be made by land of
four miles only to the Sandusky, a river
also navigable, which
enters into Lake Erie.10 It
is by the Sandusky and Scioto that
they pass generally in going from Canada
to the Mississippi. This
route is one of the most considerable
and most frequented found
in any country. By it are united some of
the most extensive
territories, and when we consider the
rapidity with which
settlements are made in the Western part
of Canada, upon Lake
Erie, and in Kentucky, we may predict
that there will be an
immense commerce between these people.ll
It is certain that the
lands which border upon, and which lie
near these rivers, will be
of the greatest value from their
situation alone, and quite apart
from their natural fertility. There can
be no doubt that the
flour, wheat, hemp, etc., exported from
the extensive regions
surrounding Lakes Huron and Ontario
would have an easier
transit by means of Lake Erie and the
neighboring rivers than
by any other route. The merchant who
shall in future inhabit
the banks of the Ohio will be able to
pay more for these com-
modities than the merchant of Quebec, by
reason of these
advantages, because they can be
transported from the former
of these countries to Florida and the
West India Islands with
much less expense and risk, and at a
much lower rate of insur-
ance than from the latter. In fact, the
transportation of these
productions of the soil, the expenses
upon the Ohio included,
would not amount to a fourth part of
what it would cost from
Quebec, and it will be still cheaper
than it is by way of Lake
Oneida.
The Scioto has a gentle current, which
is interrupted by no
cataracts. Sometimes in the spring it
overflows its banks, which
86 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VoL. 3
are covered by vast fields of rice,
which nature here produces
spontaneously.12 For the
rest, we find in abundance in the
country which borders upon this river,
salt springs, coal mines,
deposits of white and blue clay and of
free stone.
The general expressions of admiration
which are com-
monly made use of in speaking of the
natural fertility of
the countries watered by these western
rivers of the United
States render difficult the description
one would wish to make,
unless one takes particular pains to
mark on the map the places
which merit especial attention, or
unless he gives an exact
description of the territory in general
without regard to the risk
he runs of being charged with exaggeration.
But upon this
point we are able to say that we have
with us the unanimous
opinion of geographers, of surveyors and
of all those travelers
who have collected precise information
concerning the character-
istics of the country, and who have
observed with the most scru-
pulous exactitude all the remarkable
objects which nature there
displays. They all agree that no part of
the territory belonging
to the United States combines in itself
so many advantages,
whether of salubrity, fertility or
variety of productions, as that
which extends from the Muskingum to the
Scioto and the Great
Miami.13
a Colonel Gordon speaking of his
travels through a country
much more extensive in which this is
included and of which it
is indubitably the most beautiful part,
makes the following obser-
vations: " The country along the
Ohio is extremely agreeable,
filled with great plains of the richest
soil and exceedingly salubri-
ous. One remark of this kind suffices
for all that region bounded
by the western slope of the Allegheny
Mountains and extending
to the southwest a distance of five
hundred miles down the Ohio,
thence to the north as far as the source
of the rivers that empty
into the Ohio, and thence eastward along
the hills which sepa-
rate the lakes from the river Ohio as
far as French creek. I
can, from the perfect knowledge which I
have of it, affirm that
the country which I have just described
is the most salubrious,
a. An English Engineer during the war of 1755-63.
Description of the Soil, etc. 87
the most agreeable, the most
advantageous, the most fertile land
which is known to any people of Europe,
whatsoever."
The lands which are watered by the
different rivers empty-
ing into the Ohio, of which we have just
spoken, are, since the
time of Col. Gordon, better known, and
can be described with
more precision and in a manner which
ought to inspire confi-
dence.
They are remarkable for their variety of
soil from which
results everything which can contribute
to the advantages due to
their local position and which promise
the success and the riches
which ought to burst forth among every
agricultural and manu-
facturing people.
The great level plains which one meets
with here and which
form natural prairies, have a
circumference of from twenty to
fifty miles, they are found interspersed
almost everywhere along
the rivers. These plains have a soil as
rich as can be imagined
and which with very little labor can be
devoted to any species of
cultivation which one wishes to give it.
They say that in many
of these prairies one can cultivate an
acre of land per day and
prepare it for the plough. There is no
undergrowth on them and
the trees which grow very high and
become very largea only
need to be deprived of their bark in
order to become fit for use.
The kinds of timber fit for the purposes
of the joiner which
grow most abundantly in this country and
the most useful of
trees which are found here are the
sugar-maple, the sycamore,
black and white mulberry, and black and
white walnut, the
chestnut, oaks of every kind, the cherry
tree, beech tree, the
elm, the cucumber tree, ironwood, the
ash tree, the aspen, the
sassafras, the wild apple tree, and a
great number of other trees
of which it is impossible to express the
names in French.
General Parsons has measured a black
walnut near the Mus-
kingum, of which the circumference, five
feet above the ground,
was twenty-two feet. A sycamore measured
in the same way
had a circumference of forty-four feet.
One finds on the heights
white and black oaks as well as the
chestnut, and nearly all the
trees we have just named, which grow
there, very large and to a
a. Large and high trees are an
indication of rich soil.
88 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
proportionate height. One finds both on
the hills and on the
plains a great quantity of grapes
growing wild, and of which the
inhabitants make a red wine, which
suffices for their own con-
sumption. They have tried the experiment
of pressing these
grapes at the settlement of Saint
Vincent,14 and the result is a
wine which, by keeping a little while,
becomes preferable to the
many wines of Europe. Cotton of an
excellent quality is also a
product of the country.
The sugar-maple is of great value to a
region situated as
this is in the interior of the country.
It furnishes enough sugar
for the use of a large number of people,
and for this purpose a
small number of trees are usually kept
by each family. A
maple tree will produce about ten pounds
of sugar per year, and
it is produced with little difficulty.
The sap of the tree flows in
the months of February and March; it
becomes crystalized after
being boiled, and the sugar is equal in
flavor and whiteness to
the best Muscavado.
All parts of this country are abundantly
supplied with ex-
cellent springs, and one finds
everywhere both small and large
creeks, on which mills may be
established.l5 These brooks, use-
ful for so many purposes, have the
appearance of being disposed
by the hand of art in such a manner as
to contribute toward pro-
curing every advantage which can make
life desirable.
There is a very little bad land in this
territory, and no
marsh. There are plenty of hills; their
position is agreeable,
and they are not high enough to
interfere with their cultivation.
Their soil is deep, rich, covered with
trees of good growth, and
adapted to the cultivation of wheat,
rye, indigo, tobacco, etc.
The communication between this territory
and the ocean is
principally by the four following
routes:
First: The route by the Scioto and
Muskingum to Lake
Erie, and thence by the River Hudson we
have already de-
scribed.
Second: The passage by the Ohio and Monongahela
to the
transit by land already mentioned, which
leads to navigable
b. A French settlement made some fifty years ago on the Wabash
river to the westward of the Scioto.
Description of the Soil, etc. 89
waters of the Potomac. This land transit
is about thirty miles,
but it will very probably be diminished
in a little while, by
means of the plan which is actually in
contemplation for opening
a communication between these rivers.
Third: The Great Kanawha, which empties
into the Ohio
toward the confines of Virginia, between
the Hocking and
Scioto, affords a very ready navigation
toward the Southeast,
and requires but a short portage to
reach the navigable waters
of the James River in Virginia. This
communication, useful to
the settlements between the Muskingum
and Scioto, will very
probably be the most frequented for the
exports of the manu-
factures of the country,16 and
still more for the importation of
foreign goods, because they can be
carried more cheaply from
the Chesapeake to the Ohio, than they
now are from Philadel-
phia to Carlisle and the other counties
situated in the lower parts
of Pennsylvania.
Fourth: But above all, it is upon the
Ohio and Mississippi
that there can be transported a great
number of things necessary
for the markets of Florida and the West
Indies, such as wheat,
flour, beef, bacon, timber for joinery
and ship-building, etc, that
they will be more frequented than any
river upon the earth.
The distance from the Scioto to the
Mississippi is eight hundred
miles, thence to the ocean nine hundred;
all this journey can be
easily made in fifteen days, and the
voyage in reascending these
rivers is not so difficult as one would
suppose. Experience has
demonstrated that one can make great use
of sails on the Ohio.l7
Here again is a fortunate circumstance:
it is that the Ohio
Company a is on the point of
establishing its settlements, and it
is making them in a manner alike,
systematic and judicious. Its
operations will serve as a useful model
for all the settlements
which will be found in the future in the
United States. Add to
this that this new colony is established
so near the western
boundary of Pennsylvania as to appear to
be only a continuation
of the older settlements, by reason of
which there will no longer
be reason to fear that these unsettled
regions may be occupied
a. At this moment the establishments of this company are com-
menced and are very flourishing.
90 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
by the savages, as has too frequently
happened in situations very
far removed from the seat of
government.18
The intention of Congress, and that of
the inhabitants, is
that these settlements shall be made in
a regular manner; that
they shall follow the course of the
Ohio, and that they shall
commence by occupying the northern part
of the country toward
Lake Erie.19 And it is hoped
that not many years will probably
elapse until the whole country above the
Miami will be raised in
value to such a point that the
advantages which travelers have
celebrated will be seen in their true
light, and it will be admitted
that they spoke nothing but the truth
when they called this
country the garden of the universe, the
center of wealth, a place
destined to be the heart of a great
Empire.
The following reflections will not
escape either the philoso-
pher or the statesman, who shall see
this delightful part of the
United States settled upon a wise system
and in a well ordered
manner:
1. The labor of the agriculturists will
here be rewarded by
productions as useful as, and more
varied than in any part of
America; the advantages which are
generally found divided in
any other climate are here united; and
all the advantages which
other parts of the United States
present, are here combined in
the highest perfection. In all parts the
soil is deep, rich, pro-
ducing in abundance wheat, rye, corn,
buckwheat, barley, oats,
flax, hemp, tobacco, indigo, the tree
that furnishes the food for
the silk worm, the grape-vine, cotton.
The tobacco is of a
quality much superior to that of
Virginia, and the crops of wheat
are much more abundant here than in any
other part of America.
The ordinary crop of corn is from sixty
to eighty English
bushels per acre. a The bottom
lands are especially adapted to
the production of all the commodities we
have just enumerated.
There where the vast plains, which are
met with in this terri-
tory, are intersected with little
brooks, the land is suitable for
a. General Parsons, one of the
Commissioners for negotiating the
Treaty of 1786 with the Indians, reports
that Mr. Dawson, who has lived in
this country ten years, has raised from
eighty to one hundred bushels per
acre. Last year he cultivated seven
acres, on which his crop was six hun-
dred bushels.
Description of the Soil, etc. 91
the culture of rice, and it grows here
abundantly. Hops also
are produced spontaneously in this
territory, and there are also
the same peaches, plums, pears, melons,
and in general all the
fruits which are produced in the
temperate zone.
There is no country more abounding in
game than this.
The stag, fallow deer, elk, buffalo and
bears fill the woods and
are nourished on these great and
beautiful plains, which are en-
countered in all parts of these
countries, an unanswerable proof
of the fertility of the soil; wild
turkeys, geese, ducks, swans,
teal, pheasants, partridges, and so
forth, are here found in
greater abundance than our domestic
fowls in all the older settle-
ments of America. The rivers are well
stocked with fish of
different kinds, and several of these
fish are of an exquisite
quality. In general they are large, the
cat-fish (poisson-chat)
has an excellent flavor and weighs from
twenty to eighty pounds.
One will find here provisions for
several years, and the
borders of each one of these rivers will
serve for a long time in
place of a market. When inhabitants
shall come here from all
parts of the world nature will have
provided for them, at least
for one year, all they need, without the
necessity of making any
purchases.
2. There is no place more suitable from
its situation and
productions for the establishment of
manufactures than this.
The necessaries of life are abundant and cheap.
The raw
material for all things necessary for
clothing and personal adorn-
ment are here found in quantities. Silk,
flax and cotton bring a
good price here; but these articles,
being manufactured and be-
ing adapted for the different purposes
of use and luxury, would
still be cheap here by reason of the
small amount of freight
necessary to pay for their
transportation. The United States,20
and perhaps other countries besides,
will be replaced, or super-
seded in the market, by the competition
of the inhabitants of
the interior parts of America.
The construction of vessels will be one
of the most consider-
able branches of business on the Ohio
River and its tributaries.21
In the lowest stage of water in the Ohio
we find a depth of four
fathoms from the mouth of the Muskingum
to its junction with
the Mississippi. In only one part is it
very rapid, and there the
92 Ohio Arch. and His. Society
Publications. [Vol. 3
navigation is interrupted for about one
mile. Elsewhere through-
out its whole extent the fall is not
more than fifteen feet, and
the bed of the river, which has a
breadth of two hundred and
fifty rods, has never less than five
feet of water. In winter it
increases to thirty feet. The river can
be ascended not only by
means of oars, but they readily surmont
the current by means
of sails only. Geographers and others who have seen the
locality are of the opinion that if a
canal22 were dug at a little
less than half a mile south of the
river, at a point where a low
prairie is found, the current could be
avoided and navigation
thus be without interruption the whole
year round.
Hemp, iron and ship timber are abundant
and of good
quality here. During the highest stage
of water, which is from
February to April, and frequently in
October and November,
vessels can easily pass the rapids with
their cargoes to the sea
even in the present condition of the
river.
An English engineer, who has made a
thorough examina-
tion of the western country, has
communicated the following
observations to Lord Hillsborough in
1770. This nobleman
was the Secretary of State for the
Department of America at
the time when we were colonists of Great
Britain, and when our
country was regarded solely, as it could
be made available for a
market for English fabrics:23
"No part of North America has less
need of encourage-
ment in order to furnish rigging for
ships, and the raw material
destined to Europe, and to furnish to
the West India Islands
building material, provisions, etc.,
than the Ohio country, and
that for the following reasons:
"1. The country is excellent,
climate temperate; grapes
grow without cultivation; silk worms and
mulberry trees abound
everywhere; hemp, hops and rice24 grow
wild in the valleys and
low lands; lead and iron abound in the
hills; salt springs are
innumerable; and there is no country
better adapted to the cul-
ture of tobacco, flax and cotton than
that of the Ohio.
"2. The country is well watered by
several navigable
rivers, which communicate with each
other, and by means of
which, with a very short transport by
land, the productions of
the Valley of the Ohio can even at this
moment25 be conveyed at
Description of the Soil, etc. 93
a much lower price to the seaport of
Alexandria26 on the River
Potomac, where General Braddock landed
his troops, than mer-
chandise can be carried from Northampton
to London.
"3. The Ohio river is navigable at
all seasons of the year
for large boats,27 and during
the months of February, March and
April it is possible to construct large
vessels upon it and send
them to the ocean loaded with hemp,
iron, flax, silk, tobacco,
cotton, potash, etc.
"4. Flour, wheat, beef, planks for
ship-building and other
things not less useful can descend the
Ohio to Western Florida
and go thence to the West India Islands
more cheaply and in bet-
ter condition than the same merchandise
can be sent from New
York or Philadelphia to the same
islands.
"5. Hemp, tobacco, iron and similar
bulky articles, can
descend the Ohio to the ocean at least
50 per cent. cheaper than
the same articles have ever been
transported by land in Pennsyl-
vania over a distance no greater than
sixty miles, although the
expense of carriage there is less than
in any part of North
America.
"6. The freight for transporting
goods manufactured in
Europe from the sea-board to the Ohio,
will not be so consider-
able as it now is, and always will be,
to a great part of the coun-
ties of Pennsylvania, Virginia and
Maryland. When the farm-
ers or merchants who dwell upon the Ohio
set about providing
for transportation they will build
vessels of all kinds suited for
commerce with the West India Islands and
Europe, or, as they
will have black walnut, cherry, oak,
etc., sawed ready for for-
eign commerce, they will make of them
rafts in the same man-
ner as is practiced by those who live
about the headwaters of
the Delaware in Pennsylvania, on which
they will put their
hemp, their iron, their tobacco, etc.,
and with which they will
go to New Orleans.
"The following observations should
not be omitted: They
manufacture a great quantity of flour in
the region situated in
the west of Pennsylvania, and they send
it by land to Philadel-
phia, which costs a great deal, and
thence they send it by sea to
South Carolina and Eastern and Western
Florida, where they
grow little or no grain. One may say
that nature herself has
94 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
designed the Ohio to be the river by
which the two Floridas may
be supplied with flour, and that not
only for the consumption of
these two provinces, but still more for
a considerable commerce
which they carry on in that article with
Jamaica and the Spanish
settlements of Mexico. Quantities of
mill-stones may be pro-
cured from the hills which border the
Ohio, and the country
everywhere abounds with water-courses
suited to the construc-
tion of mills of every kind. The passage
from Philadelphia to
Pensacola is rarely made in less than a
month, and they ordi-
narily pay fifty shillings a ton freight
(a ton consists of sixteen
barrels) for transportation that far.
Boats carrying from 500 to
1000 barrels of flour go in nearly the
same time from Pittsburgh
to Pensacola as from Philadelphia to
Pensacola, and at half the
expense. Merchants on the Ohio can
furnish flour on better
terms than Philadelphia, and without
running the risk of dam-
age by sea or the delays of
transportation on that element; and
besides, without paying insurance,
advantages which can not be
enjoyed in the case of goods shipped
from Philadelphia to Pen-
sacola. And let no one imagine that this
is a supposition
merely; it is the constant
experience. About the year 1746
there was a scarcity in New Orleans, and
the French settle-
ments on the banks of the Illinois,
feeble in number as
they were, sent thither in one winter
alone 800,000 weight
of flour."28 So that, in
place of furnishing other nations with
raw materials, some company of
manufacturers might be intro-
duced and established in the countries,
so attractive their situation,
under the direction of men thoroughly
competent to the task.
Such an establishment would produce a
considerable augmenta-
tion of population and wealth to these
new settlements and would
set a useful example to other parts of
the United States.
3. The measures which have been taken by
the act of
Congress, providing for the disposition
of the lands west of the
Ohio as far down as the Scioto for the
establishment and main-
tenance of schools, and of a
University29 shed an especial lustre
on these settlements and inspire the
hope that by the particular
attention which has been given to
education, the fields of science
will be extended, and that the means of
acquiring useful knowl-
edge will be placed on a more respectful
footing in this country
Description of the Soil, etc. 95
than in any other part of the world.
Without speaking of the
advantages of discovering in this new
country species hitherto
unknown in natural history, botany and
medical science, it can-
not be questioned that in no other part
of the habitable globe
can there be found a spot where, in
order to begin well, there
will not be found much evil to
extirpate, bad customs to combat,
and ancient systems to reform. Here
there is no rubbish to clear
away before laying foundations. The
first commencement of
this settlement will be undertaken by
persons inspired with the
noblest settlements, versed in the most
necessary branches of
knowledge, acquainted with the world and
with affairs,30 as well
as with every branch of science. If they
shall be so fortunate
as to have at first the means of
founding on an advantageous
plan these schools and this University,
and of sustaining them
in such a manner that the professors may
be able to commence
without delay the different labors to
which they may be called,
they will, in the infancy of the colony,
have secured to them-
selves advantages which will be found
nowhere else.
4. In the ordinance of Congress for the
government of the
territory northwest of the Ohio it is
provided that when the
territory shall have acquired a certain
amount of population it
may be divided into several States. The
most eastern of these31
(this is already provided for) is
bounded by the Great Miami on
the west, and by Pennsylvania on the
east. The center of this
State will be between the Scioto and the
Hockhocking. The
seat of government of one of these
States will very probably be
at the mouth of one of these two rivers.
And if we may be
permitted to forecast the future, we may
imagine that when the
United States of America, composed of an
intelligent and re-
nowned people, shall have greatly
extended the boundaries of
their dominions the general government
will establish itself
upon the banks of the Ohio. This country
is at the centre of
the whole Nation, it is a place the most
convenient for all, the
most agreeable and probably the most
healthy.
It is undoubtedly of the greatest
importance that the Con-
gress shall soon fix the place of its
residence; nevertheless, in
the present state of the country it is
possible, some may think it
not expedient to fix it immovably. Take
the chain of the
96 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL.
3
Allegheny Mountains from north to south,
it is probable that
twenty years will not elapse before
there will be more of the in-
habitants of the United States living on
the banks of the West-
ern than on the Eastern rivers. The
Western people ought
now to understand that the government is
disposed to favor
them as much as their brethren who
inhabit the Eastern part
of the country. It is even necessary
that they should have this
feeling in order that they may not
cherish dreams of inde-
pendence, that they may not seek for
other alliances, and that
they may not take steps with especial
view to their own welfare.32
As it is indisputable that it ought to
be the principal object of
the Legislature, and the one dearest to
its heart to unite as great
a number of people as possible, and
render them happy under
one government, every step which
Congress may take toward
this new constitution will have this
object in view; and, we will
hope, will promote the success of the
plan, and cause it to be
regarded as inviolably established.
There is no doubt, what-
ever, that sooner or later the
government will either reserve to
itself or purchase a suitable site on
which to build the city of the
confederation,33 which will be at the center of the whole coun-
try; and that it will make known its
intentions in this regard as
soon as circumstances, such as an equal
population in the new
State, etc., will permit.
Such a determination, taken in advance,
will give the older
States the power of carrying it into
execution without causing
any disturbance or dissatisfaction to
any person, whilst it would
inspire the new States with the hope of
some day seeing the
plan realized.
Extracts from letters of an American
farmer, by M. S'John
de Crevecoeur, French Consul to
America. Second edition, Vol.
3, page 394.
The Ohio is the grand artery of that
portion of America
which lies beyond the mountains; it is
the center in which meet
all the waters which flow on one side
from the Allegheny Moun-
tains, and which descend on the other
from the high lands in the
vicinity of Lakes Erie and Michigan. It
has been calculated
that the region watered by all these
streams, and comprised be-
Description of the Soil, etc. 97
tween Pittsburg and the Mississippi,
contains a territory of at
least 260 miles square, or 166,980,000*
acres. It is, without
doubt, the most fertile country, with
the most varied soil, the
best watered, and that which offers to
agriculture and commerce
the most abundant and ready resources of
all those which Eu-
ropeans have ever discovered and
peopled.
It was on the tenth of April, at eight
o'clock in the morn-
ing, that we abandoned ourselves to the
current of the Ohio.
* *
* * This pleasant and tranquil navigation appeared to
me like a delightful dream; each moment
presented to me new
perspectives, which were incessantly
varied by the appearance
of islands, points and bends of the river,
constantly changing
with the singular variety of shore, more
or less wooded, from
which the eye would, from time to time,
wander to survey the
great natural prairies which intersect
them; constantly embel-
lished by promontories of different
heights, which seemed to
disappear for a moment, and then
gradually develop to the eye
of the navigator bays and coves, of
greater or less extent,
formed by the creeks (little navigable
rivers) and the brooks
which fall into the Ohio. What majesty
in the mouths of the
great rivers before which we passed.
Their waters seemed as
vast and as deep as those of the river
on which we were
voyaging.
Never before had I felt so disposed to
meditation and revery;
involuntarily my imagination darted into
the future, the remote-
ness of which gave me no trouble,
because it appeared to be
near. I saw in fancy these beautiful
shores ornamented with
handsome houses, covered with crops, the
fields well cultivated;
on the declivities of the hills exposed
to the north I saw orchards
planted, on the others vineyards,
plantations of mulberries,
acacias, etc. I saw also on the low
lands the cotton plant and
the sugar-maple, the sap of which has
become an article of com-
merce. I grant indeed that all the
shores did not appear to me
equally adapted to cultivation, but the
different masses of trees
with which they will necessarily remain
covered will add still
more to the beauty and the variety of
the landscape of the
* Evidently an erroneous calculation.
Vol. III-7
98 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
future. What an immense chain of
plantations! What a great
career of activity, of industry, of
culture and commerce is
offered to the Americans. I consider
therefore the settlement
of the country watered by this great
river as one of the greatest
enterprises ever presented to man. It
will be the more glorious
because it will be legally acquired with
the consent of the an-
cient proprietors and without the
shedding of a drop of blood.34
It is destined to become the foundation
of the power, wealth and
future glory of the United States.
Toward noon of the third day we cast
anchor at the mouth
of the Muskingum, in two fathoms and a
half of water. To
give you a faint idea of what I may call
the anatomy of the
Ohio, I wish to tell you about this
river to make you understand
the utility of all its branches.35
It empties into the Ohio 172 miles from
Pittsburg and has a
width of 120 toises,36 it is
deep and navigable for large boats for
147 miles into the interior. Its
freshets are moderate and it
never overflows its banks, which are
elevated, without being
steep. One of its branches approaches at
the same time the
principal of the sources of the Scioto,
called the Seccaium and
the Sandusky River. This last falls, you
are aware, into the
great bay of the same name at the
farther end of Lake Erie. It
is near one of the principal branches of
the Muskingum that the
great Indian village of Tuscarawas is
built, whence a portage of
two miles only leads to the Cuyahoga
River, deep and but
slightly rapid, the mouth of which on
Lake Erie forms an ex-
cellent harbor for vessels of 200 tons.
This place seems de-
signed for the site of a city, and
several persons of my acquaint-
ance have already thought so.37 All
the voyagers and hunters
have spoken with admiration of the
fertility of the hills and
valleys watered by the Muskingum,38 as
well as the excellent
springs, the salt wells, the mines of
coal, particularly that of
Lamenchicola, of the free-stone,
fullers-earth, etc., which they
find everywhere.
The next morning at day break we weighed
anchor, and
after three days of quiet and pleasant
navigation we came to
anchor opposite the Scioto, 218 miles
from the Muskingum and
390 miles from Pittsburgh, for the purpose of receiving on board
Description of the Soil, etc. 99
Gen. Butler, who came to conclude some
negotiations with the
Shawnees. It is from him that I had the
following details con-
cerning this fine river, upon the banks
of which he resided dur-
ing the last five years of the war: The
Scioto is almost as wide
as the Ohio; its current is navigable
for boats of medium size as
far as the village of Seccaium, 111
miles from its mouth; it is at
this village that the great portage to
the Sandusky begins, which
is but four miles. Judge of the
importance of this communica-
tion, always much frequented by whites
and Indians; the latter
who have horses and wagons, transport
merchandise at so much
per hundred. This river waters a most
extensive and fertile
country, but rather flat. These vast
plains, so well known as
the Scioto bottoms, commence a few miles
above the river Hus-
kinkus and continue almost to Seccaium.
They are watered by
the fine creeks, Alaman,39 Deer,
Kispoks, etc., and by a great
number of considerable brooks. Several of these plains are
from twenty-five to thirty miles in
circumference, and as if Na-
ture had wished to render them still
more useful to men, she has
sprinkled them with hills and isolated
mounds, on which she
had planted the most beautiful trees.
These plains are never
overflowed, and their fertility is
wonderful. If a poor man, who
had nothing but his hands, should ask
me, "Where shall I go
to establish myself in order to live
with the most ease, without
the help of horses or oxen?" I
would say -to him, "Go to the
banks of one of the creeks in the Scioto
bottoms; all that you
will have to do will be first to obtain
permission from the In-
dians from the neighboring village (this
permission is no longer
necessary since the treaty with them);
second, scratch the sur-
face of the earth and deposit there your
wheat, your corn, your
potatoes, your beans, your cabbage, your
tobacco, etc., and
leave the rest to nature. In the
meantime amuse yourself with
fishing and the chase."
Every spring a prodigious number of
storks come to visit
these plains; they are at least six feet
high, and more than seven
feet from tip to tip of wings. I have
never seen them come to
feed that they were not surrounded by
sentinels, who watch
around them to announce the approach of
enemies. Sometimes
before their departure they assemble in
great flocks, and the day
100 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
being fixed, all rise, turning slowly,
and preserving always the
same order, they describe long spirals
until they are out of sight.
Finally, on the tenth day after our
departure from Pitts-
burgh, we cast anchor in front of
Louisville, having made 750
miles in 22½ hours of navigation.
CERTIFICATE.
Having read, attentively, the pamphlet
in which is given a
description of the Western Territory of
the Untied States, I, the
undersigned, certify that the facts
therein contained concerning
the fertility of the soil, abundant
productions and other advan-
tages for the husbandman, are true and
reliable, and that they
correspond perfectly with the
observations I have made during
ten years which I have spent in that
country.
[SIGNED] THOMAS HUTCHINS,
Geographer of U. S.
NOTES.
NoTE 1.-All the produce of the
settlements about Fort Pitt can be
brought to Alexandria, by the
Youghiogany, in three hundred and four
miles, whereof only thirty-one are land
transportation; and by the Monon-
gahela and Cheat Rivers in three hundred
and sixty miles, twenty of
which only are land carriage.-Gen.
Washington to Gov. Harrison, Oct.
10, 1784.
NoTE 2.-Pennsylvania--although the
Susquehanna is an unfriendly
water, much impeded, it is said, with
rock and rapids, and nowhere com-
municating with those which lead to her
capital,-has it in contemplation
to open a communication between Toby's
Creek, which empties into the
Allegheny River 95 miles above Fort Pit
, and the west branch of the
Susquehanna, and to cut a canal between
t e waters of the latter and the
Schuylkill, the expense of which is
easier to be conceived than estimated
or described by me. A people, however,
who are possessed of the spirit of
commerce, who see and who will perceive
its advantages, may achieve
almost anything. In the meantime, and
the uncertainty of these under-
takings, they are smoothing the road and
paving the ways for the trade of
the western world.-Gen. Washington to
Gov. Harrison, Oct. 10, 1784.
NoTE 3.-The Buffalo-Apparently the Green
River.
Description of the Soil, etc. 101
NoTE 4.-The Shawnee-The Cumberland River was so called
until it
was given its present name by Dr.
Walker, in 1747, in honor of the Duke
of Cumberland.
NOTE 5.-The Cherokee-The Tennessee was formerly so-called.
NoTE 6.-Seven Ranges.
NOTE 7.-This old Indian portage, between
the head waters of the
Muskingum and those of the Cuyahoga, is
within the present limits of
Portage county, from which the county
derives its name.
NoTE 8.- Salt Springs-"We have
found several salt-licks within our
surveys, and we are assured there is a
salt spring about forty miles up the
Muskingum, from which a quantity of salt
for the supply of the country
may be made. Some gentlemen at Fort
Harmar doubt this information,
and think a supply may be made at a
spring on the branch of the Scioto."
-Pioneer History.
So great was the scarcity and value of
salt during the first ten years of
the settlement-not less than six or
eight dollars a bushel-that the Ohio
Company, in their final division of
their lands, passed the following
resolution:
" WHEREAS, It is believed that the
great 'salt springs' of the Scioto
lie within the present purchase of the
Ohio Company; therefore,
" Resolved, That the division of land to the proprietors is made
upon
the express condition and reserve that
every salt spring now known, or
that shall hereafter be found, within
the lands that shall fall to the lot of
any proprietor, be and are hereby
reserved to the use of the company, with
such quantity of land about them as the
agents and proprietors shall think
proper to assume for general purposes,
not exceeding three thousand
acres; the person on whose land they are
found, to receive other lands of
equal value." It so happened that
the Scioto springs were situated a few
miles west of the purchase and on the
lands belonging to the United
States. When Ohio became a State, these
noted springs, with those on Salt
Creek, in Muskingum county and at
Delaware, were reserved by Congress
for the use of the State, with large
tracts of land adjoining to furnish fuel
for boiling the salt water. For many
years these springs were leased to
individuals, and became a source of
revenue to Ohio.
NoTE 9.-Armenian Clay--A sort of Ochre.
NoTE 10.-The routes of navigation and
portage referred to in the
text, between the lakes and the Ohio
River, by way of the Sandusky and
Scioto, and of the Cuyahoga and
Muskingum Rivers, and also that from
Presqu' Isle (Erie, Pennsylvania,) by
way of French Creek to the Ohio,
seemed to have been discovered and used
by the French at a subsequent
period.
General Washington, in a letter written
October 10, 1784, to Benjamin
Harrison, then Governor of Virginia
(Writings of Washington, Vol. IX,
p. 58), in which he discusses at length
the best mode of communication
102 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VoL. 3
between the tide water region of
Virginia and the Northwestern territory,
by means of the Potomac and James
Rivers, says: "It has long been my
decided opinion that the shortest,
easiest and least expensive communica-
tion with the invaluable and extensive
country back of us would be by one
or both of the rivers of this State,
which have their sources in the
Apalachian Mountians. Nor am I singular
in this opinion. Evans, in his
map and analysis of the Middle Colonies,
which, considering the early
period at which they were given to the
public, are done with amazing
exactness, and Hutchins* since, in his
Typographical Description of the
Western Country, a good part of which is
from actual surveys, are decidedly
of the same sentiments."
"The navigation of the Ohio,"
he continues, " being well known, they
will have less to do in the examination
of it; but, nevertheless, let the
courses and distances be taken to the
mouth of the Muskingum, and up
that river (notwithstanding it is in the
ceded lands) to the carrying place
to the Cuyahoga; down the Cuyahoga to
Lake Erie, and thence to Detroit.
Let them do the same with Big Beaver Creek,
although part of it is in the
State of Pennsylvania; and also with the
Scioto. In a word, let the waters
east and west of the Ohio, which invite
our notice by their proximity, and
by the ease with which land
transportation may be had between them and
the lakes on one side, and the Rivers
Potomac and James on the other, be
explored, accurately delineated, and a
correct and connected map of the
whole be presented to the public."
He estimated that if the improvements
here indicated should be con-
structed, the distance from Detroit,
" by which all the trade of the North-
western part of the United Territory
must pass " to the tide- waters of Vir-
ginia, could be made 176 miles less than
to those of the Hudson at Albany.
"Upon the whole, the object in my
estimation is of vast commercial and
political importance." * * * "
I consider Rumsey's discovery for work-
ing boats against the stream by
mechanical powers principally as not
only a very fortunate invention for
these States in general, but as one
of those circumstances which have
combined to render the present time
favorable above all others for
fixing, if we are disposed to avail our-
selves of them, a large portion of
the trade of the Western country in
the bosom of his State
irrevocably." (Gov. Harrison replied
to this letter
that he had submitted it to the
Assembly, which would probably take
favorable action. The James River
Improvement enterprise, in which, if I
mistake not, Washington was a large
stockholder, was doubtless the-
result.)
It must be remembered that ideas to what
constitutes a navigable
stream have greatly changed in the
course of a century. When transpor-
tation and travel were carried on upon
our western waters by means of
flat-boats, broad-horns, keel-boats, and
even bark canoes, which drew
* The Geographer of the United States.
Description of the Soil, etc. 103
only a few inches of water, and pushed
their way up the rivers and their
tributary creeks and bayous, and "
wherever the ground was a little moist,"
many a stream figured as a navigable
river which in these days of steam-
boats would hardly be regarded as a
reliable mill stream.
NoTE 11.-General Washington, in speaking
of this country in 1784,
says that it will, so soon as matters
are settled with the Indians, and the
terms by which Congress means to dispose
of the land found to be favor-
able are announced, be settled faster
than any other ever was, or anyone
would imagine."- Writings, IX,
p. 62.
NOTE 12.- A plant called wild rice, on
which numerous wild fowl feed,
is found in the marshes bordering Lake
Erie. A similar growth on the low
bottoms of the rivers may have been
mistaken by the early explorers for
the rice of commerce.
NoTE 13.- "By the advice of Thomas
Hutchins, Esq., Geographer of
the United States, this tract (the Ohio
Company's purchase) was located on
the Ohio and Muskingum Rivers, he
considered it the best part of the
whole western country, and he had
visited it from Pennsylvania to
Illinois."
NoTE 14.-St. Vincents, or Post St. Vincents,
or Post Vincennes, as it
is variously called, on the site of
Vincennes, Ind., was one of the early
French settlements in the Valley of the
Mississippi.
NOTE 15.-" The other mill I saw in
the year 1797 on the Scioto River.
It was built on two large dug-outs or
canoes, with a wheel placed between
them. This mill, after being moved up or
down as the settlers at different
stations needed its assistance in
grinding corn, was tied to a tree in a rapid
current, which, running against the
wheel between the canoes, turned the
stones above under a kind of umbrella
made of bark. At a distance it had
the appearance of a crane flying up the
river. It made a sound, for want
of grease, like the creaking of a wooden
cart."-American Pioneer, Vol.
I, p. 59.
NOTE 16.-" For my own part, I think
it highly probable that upon
the strictest scrutiny, if the falls of
the Great Kanawha can be made navi-
gable, or a short portage be had there,
it will be found of equal importance
and convenience to improve the navigation
of both the James and the Po-
tomac. The latter, I am fully persuaded,
affords the nearest communica-
tion with the lakes; but the James River
may be more convenient for all
the settlers below the mouth of the
Great Kanawha, and for some distance
perhaps above and west of it."- Washington
to General Harrison, October
10, 1784.
NoTE 17.-The reader of to-day who is
whirled over the distance sep-
arating Cincinnati and Pittsburgh
between breakfast and supper, will be
interested in the following advertisement
of a line of packet boats running
up and down the Ohio between those
places one hundred years ago, mak-
ing the round trip in four weeks, and
which were doubtless regarded as
104 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
attaining the very acme of speed and
safety in traveling. The advertise-
ment is taken from the " Centinel
of the North Western Territory," pub-
lished at Cincinnati in 1793, five years
after the first settlement of Ohio,
and the first paper established north of
the river:
OHIO
PACKET BOATS.
Two boats for the present will set out
from Cincinnati for Pittsburgh
and return to Cincinnati in the following
manner, viz.:
First boat will leave Cincinnati this
morning at 8 o'clock, and return
to Cincinnati so as to be ready to sail
again in four weeks from this date.
Second boat will leave Cincinnati on
Saturday, the 30th inst., and re-
turn to Cincinnati in four weeks, as
above.
And so regularly, each boat performing
the voyage to and from Cin-
cinnati to Pittsburgh once in every four
weeks.
Two boats, in addition to the above,
will shortly be completed and reg-
ulated in such a manner that one boat of
the four will set out weekly from
Cincinnati to Pittsburgh and return in
like manner.
The proprietors of these boats having
maturely considered the many
inconveniences and dangers incident to
the common method hitherto
adopted of navigating the Ohio, and
being influenced by a love of philan-
thropy and desire of being serviceable
to the public, has taken great pains
to render the accommodations on board
the boats as agreeable and con-
venient as they could possibly be made.
No danger need be apprehended from the
enemy, as every person on
board will be under cover, made proof
against rifle or musquet balls, and
convenient port-holes for firing out of.
Each of the boats are armed with
six pieces, carrying a pound ball; also
a number of good muskets and
amply supplied with plenty of
ammunition, strongly manned with choice
hands, and the masters of approved
knowledge.
A separate cabin from that designed for
the men is partitioned off in
each boat for accommodating ladies on
their passage. * *
Passengers will be supplied with
provisions and liquors of all kinds,
of the first quality, at the most
reasonable rates possible. * * *
NOTE 18.-One of the controlling
considerations in the selection of a
site for the settlement by the Ohio
Company at the mouth of the Muskin-
gum was that it might be under the
protection of Fort Harmar.
NOTE 19.-The plan originally proposed by
Congress for the survey
and sale of the first seven ranges west
of Pennsylvania contemplated that
the ranges should extend northward to
Lake Erie, but the subsequent
arrangements with the State of
Connecticut recognized her claim to the
soil (but not the jurisdiction which was
reserved to the United States) all
in that portion of Ohio north of the
41st parallel of latitude, and east of a
north and south line drawn at a distance
of 120 miles west of the Pennsyl-
vania line, and forming what is known as
the Connecticut Western
Reserve.
NOTE 20.- The expression " United
States " seems to be used as refer-
ring to the older settled states of the
Atlantic sea-board.
Description of the Soil, etc. 105
NoTE 21.-Ships on the Ohio-In 1799,
Louis Anastasius Tarascon, a
French merchant of Philadelphia, sent
two of his clerks, Charles Brugiere
and James Berthond, to examine the
course of the Ohio and Mississippi
Rivers from Pittsburgh to New Orleans,
and ascertain the practicability of
sending ships ready rigged to the West
Indies and Europe. They reported
favorably, and Mr. Tarascon, associating
them and his brother with him as
partners, immediately established in
Pittsburgh a large wholesale and
retail store and warehouse, a ship yard,
a rigging and sail loft, an anchor-
smith's shop, a block manufactory, and,
in short, everything necessary to
complete vessels for sea. The first
year, 1801, they built the schooner
Amity, of 120 tons, and the ship
Pittsburgh, of 250, and sent the former,
loaded with flour, to St. Thomas, and
the other, also with flour, to Phila-
delphia, from whence they sent them to
Bordeaux, and brought back wine,
brandy and other French goods, part of
which they sent to Pittsburgh in
wagons, at a carriage of from six to
eight cents per pound. In 1802 they
built the brig Nanino, of 250 tons; in
1803, the ship Louisiana, of 300 tons,
and in 1804, the ship Western Trader, of
400 tons."-American Pioneer,
Vol. I., p. 307.
"As soon as ship-building commenced
at Marietta, in 1800, the farmers
along the borders of the Ohio and
Muskingum Rivers turned their atten-
tion to the cultivation of hemp in
addition to their other crops. In a few
years sufficient was raised not only to
furnish cordage to the ships of the
West, but large quantities were worked
up in the various rope walks and
sent as freight in the vessels to the
Atlantic cities.
"By the year 1805 no less than two
ships, seven brigs and three schoon-
ers had been built and rigged by the
citizens of Marietta. Captain Jona-
than Devoll ranked amongst the earliest
of Ohio shipwrights. After the
Indian war he settled on a farm five
miles above Marietta, on the fertile
bottoms of the Muskingum. Here he built
a 'floating mill' for making
flour, and in 1801 a ship of 230 tons,
called the Muskingum, and the brig
Eliza Greene, of 150 tons."-Ibid, Vol.
I, p. 90.
NoTE 22.-A plan since carried out by the
construction of the Louis-
ville and Portland canal.
NoTE 23.-Since preparing the translation
of the report to Lord Hills-
borough, I have met with the original
document in English. It will be
found in Volume II, page 6, of the
" Olden Times," a periodical published
at Pittsburgh in 1846 and 1847.
This report to Lord Hillsborough appears
to have been made when he
was considering the petitions of Thomas
Walpole and others to the king
for the privilege of making a purchase
of land and founding a colony on
the south side of the Ohio River, which
petition had been referred to the
Board of Commissioners of Trade and
Plantations, of which he was presi-
dent, for report. See a very interesting
article by Professor Hinsdale on
the western land policy of the British
Government, in the Ohio Archaeo-
logical and Historical Quarterly for December, 1887.
106 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
NoTE 24.--The English version has
"rye" where the French has
"riz "- rice.
NoTE 25.-In the English original are
here inserted the words "in
the year 1772."
NOTE 26.-" The new settlement at
the mouth of the Muskingum
attracted the attention of the House of
Burgesses in Virginia, and an ap-
propriation of money was made to survey
a route for a road from Alexan-
dria on the Potomac to the Ohio River
opposite Marietta. The commis-
sioners found a very feasible course,
and the estimated distance only three
hundred miles. A road was cut out, and
for many years before the build-
ing of the National Turnpike from the
Cumberland to the Ohio, merchan-
dise was brought in wagons to the stores
in Marietta from the Port of
Alexandria."-Pioneer History, p.
245.
NOTE 27.-The English version here says,
"like the west country
barges, rowed by only four or five
men."
NoTE 28.-The settlements in Illinois
were the earliest made by the
French in the Mississippi Valley; that
at Kaskaskia dating back to the
seventeenth century.
Vivier, writing from Illinois, in 1750,
says: "We have here whites,
negroes and Indians, to say nothing of
cross-breeds. There are five French
villages, and three villages of the
natives, within a space of twenty-one
leagues, situated between the
Mississippi and another river called the Kar-
kadiad (Kaskaskia). In the five French
villages are perhaps eleven hun-
dred whites, three hundred blacks, and
some sixty red slaves, or savages.
The three Illinois towns do not contain
more than eight hundred souls all
told. Most of the French till the soil;
they raise wheat, cattle, pigs and
horses, and live like princes. Three
times as much is produced as can
be consumed, and great quantities of
grain and flour are sent to New
Orleans."
Twenty years later one man is said to
have furnished the king's stores
from his crop 86,000 pounds of flour.
NoTE 29.- At the time of the sale by
Congress of public lands to the
Ohio Company, two townships of land
(each six miles square) were re-
served for the benefit of a university,
and section number 16 (being a lot
a mile square and containing 640 acres)
in each township sold, was at the
same time reserved for the support of
the schools in said townships.
Another section (number 29), was in the
same manner reserved for the
support of religion.
Note 30.-"The colony at Marietta,
like those of some of the ancient
Greeks, enrolled many men of highly
cultivated minds and exalted intel-
lects; several of them claimed the halls
of old Cambridge as their alma
mater. The army of the Revolution
furnished a number of officers who
had distinguished themselves for their
good conduct, as well as for their
bravery."-American Pioneer, Vol.
I, p. 85.
Description of the Soil, etc. 107
NoTE 31.-Ohio.
NoTE 32.- The apprehensions here
expressed were not wholly ground-
less. The ties of Union among the states
were probably at their weakest
in 1787. The articles of confederation
which, under the stress of a com-
mon danger had carried the State through
the war, had since its close
proved wholly insufficient to reconcile
their conflicting interests and serve
the purpose of a Federal Government.
NOTE 33.-This was written in 1787. At
that time the Continental
Congress was sitting in New York, and a
convention which framed the
Constitution of the United States was in
session in Philadelphia. As the
result of the convention's labors was
not published until the autumn of
1787, it is probable that the clause of
the Constitution giving Congress
exclusive jurisdiction over such
districts not exceeding ten miles square,
as may by cession of particular States
and the acceptance of Congress be-
come the seat of Government of the
United States, was not known to the
writer of the pamphlet. At all events
the site of the future Capital was
wholly undetermined.
NoTE 34.- The Ordinance of 1787 provided
that, "the utmost good
faith shall always be observed toward
the Indians; their lands and property
shall never be taken from them without
their consent, and in their prop-
erty, rights and liberty they never
shall be invaded or disturbed, unless in
just and lawful wars authorized by
Congress; but laws founded in justice
and humanity shall from time to time be
made for preventing wrongs being
done to them and for preserving peace
and friendship with them."
NOTE 35. The valley of the Muskingum and
of its chief tributary,
the Tuscarawas, (both of which at that
day were known as the Mus-
kingum,) was not only the scene of the
Christian Mission in Ohio - that
of the Moravian Brethren. Fifteen years
before the settlement of Marietta
these Christians had penetrated the
wilderness as far as the Tuscarawas,
and within the next few years had
established upon its banks several
villages of Indian converts- Schoenbrun,
Gnadenhutten and Salem.
Schoenbrun had two streets, laid out in
the form of a T. On the trans-
verse street, about the middle of it and
opposite the main street, which
ran from east to west, and was both long
and broad, stood the church.
* * *
* At the northwest corner of the main street was the school
house. The bottom, from the foot of the
bluff to the river, was converted
into cornfields. The town contained more
than sixty houses of squared
timber, besides huts and lodges.--Life
of Zeisberger -page 380.
NoTE 36.-Toise - An old French measure
equal to about six feet, in
use, so far as I know, only in Detroit.
Long since superseded in France, I
found it a few years ago surviving in
that ancient and conservative city, in
daily business transactions.
NOTE 37.- The site of the present city
of Cleveland. " From an early
day the leading Virginia statesmen
regarded the mouth of the Cuyahoga
108 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VoL. 3
as an important commercial position.
George Washington in his journey
to the French forts, Venango and Le
Boeuf, in 1753, obtained information
which led him to consider it as the
point of divergence of the future com-
merce of the lakes meeting the ocean;
Virginia being then regarded as
the State through which this trade must
pass to the Atlantic. Mr. Jeffer-
son, in his " Notes " upon
that State, points out the channel through which
it will move to the ocean. He considers
the Cuyahoga and Mahoning as
navigable, and separated only by a short
portage to be overcome by a canal.
Once in the Ohio, produce, in his
opinion, might ascend its branches and
descend the Potomac to the sea."- Charles
Whittlesey in American
Pioneer, Vol. 2, p. 24.
NOTE 38.--THE FOLLOWING DESCRIPTION OF
THE MUSKINGUM VALLEY
IN ITS PRIMEVAL CONDITION IS FROM THE
LIFE OF ZEISBERGER.
He (Zeisberger) was now in the valley
which was to be the scene of
his greatest works and severest trials.
Blooming like the rose, with its
farms, its rich meadows and gorgeous
orchards, it was in his day, although
a wilderness, no less a land of plenty,
and abounded in everything that
makes the hunting grounds of the Indians
attractive. It extended a dis-
tance of nearly eighty miles, enclosed
on both sides by hills, at the foot
of which lay wide plains, terminating
abruptly in bluffs, or sloping gently
to the lower bottoms through which the
river flowed. These plains, that
now form the fruitful fields of the
"second bottoms," as they are called,
were then wooded with the oak and
hickory, the ash, the chestnut, and the
maple, which interlocked their branches,
but stood comparatively free
from the undergrowth of other forests.
The river bottoms were far
wilder. Here grew walnut trees and
gigantic sycamores, whose colossal
trunks even now astonish the traveler;
bushy cedars, luxuriant horse-
chestnut and honey-locusts, cased in
their armor of thorns. Between
these, clustered laurel bushes, with
their rich tribute of flowers, or were
coiled the thick mazes of the vine, from
which more fragrant tendrils
twined themselves into the nearest
boughs, while here and there a lofty
spruce tree lifted its evergreen crown
high above the groves. These forests
were generous to their children. They
gave them the elm bark to make
canoes, the rind of the birch for
medicine, and every variety of game for
food. The soil was even more liberal. It
produced strawberries, black-
berries, raspberries, gooseberries,
black currants and cranberries; nour-
ished the plum, the cherry, the
mulberry, the papaw and the crabtree, and
yielded wild potatoes, parsnips and
beans, Nor was the river chary of its
gifts, but teemed with fish of unusual
size and excellent flavor.
NOTE 39.--Alaman--Paint Creek.
[The pamphlet from which the foregoing
description and
notes is taken is now out of print and
quite rare. A few copies
may yet be had of A. H. Smythe, the
publisher, Columbus, 0.]
The Scioto Company and its Purchase. 109
THE SCIOTO COMPANY AND ITS PURCHASE.
The history of the founding of
Gallipolis, now turning in
its career into its second century, is
one of the most interesting
and at the same time one of the saddest
studies in American
annals.
It is the story of a disappointing and impracticable
scheme; and were it not for the fact
that the blood of its found-
ers, mingling with the American stock of
their day and genera-
tion, has given strength, versatility
and industry to the people
of Southern Ohio, the influence of the
early settlers of Galli-
polis would be scarcely noticeable in
the history of the State.
Understand me, that I do not underrate
the probity or the gen-
ius of your fathers, but their influence
by reason of the histori-
cal failure of the settlement, has been
in the lines of private and
domestic life, rather than in shaping
public affairs or influencing
the destiny of the State. A careful
study of the elements
which made up the emigration from France
one hundred years
ago and which resulted in the settlement
whose centennial we
now celebrate, will readily develop the
fact that it was an en-
tirely different stock from that which
landed at Marietta or
which settled in the Western Reserve or
which located in Cin-
cinnati and its surrounding settlements.
The hardihood of the
pioneers who came into the territory of
the Northwest from
New England, Pennsylvania and Virginia,
was a capital stock in
all their enterprises which the more
delicate and impractical
French never possessed. The men and
women who came from
Paris and Lyons in 1790, under the
flattering representations
presented to them by the leaders of
American emigration in
France, were of good families, well
educated and brilliant, and
adapted by their previous occupations,
methods of living and
their surroundings to any other life
then possible in the world,
rather than that of pioneers on the
banks of the Ohio. But I
do not propose at this time to go into
any discussion in relation
to the social conditions of the French
settlers of Gallipolis until
we arrive at a better understanding of
how and under what circum-
stances the emigration was accomplished,
and to what end I de-
sire to set forth, as clearly and as
extensively as is necessary in
110 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
an historical address of this nature,
the different events leading
up to the foundation of Gallipolis.
Under what circumstances
and by what authority were these people
brought from a foreign
land, and, under a system of emigration
entirely foreign to
American ways at that time, made one of
the foundation stones
in the structure of the great
commonwealth of Ohio? In the
settlement of the territory of the
Northwest, this instance of
Gallipolis is the only one where the
pioneers were brought from
an alien clime. How this was done, why,
and the results of
this interesting historical event in our
State are worthy indeed
of remembrance, and deserve the careful
investigation of the
student of history; and if to-day I go
into historical details I
justify it on the ground that we are
here for truth and facts
rather than rhetoric or eloquence. The
evolution of the settle-
ment of the great territory of the
Northwest, and the opening
out to emigration of the great broad
acres of the Ohio Valley,
were not only required to attain
development of the country for
the future, but it was absolutely
necessary for the maintenance
of the government at that time. For a
better understanding of
the Centennial which we to-day
celebrate, let me review as con-
cisely as I can the methodsl [see
Appendix No. 1] and the re-
sults of the distribution of the public
lands here one hundred
years ago.
The close of the War of the Revolution
left an army of
men, the defenders of the country,
impoverished. They had
given their best blood to establish a
nation in which they could
live as freemen, but that country could
not repay them for their
services. Its wealth lay not in gold or
silver or precious stones,
but in an unknown quantity-its western
lands.
The formation of the Confederacy of the
States was the first
step toward a government, but that
confederation, built almost
entirely on the doctrine of state
sovereignty, did not, and could
not, long survive. It could enlist an
army, but it could not pay
it save by consent of the States. No
national coin was then
issued and a national treasury was then
practically unknown.
The soldiers, looking in vain to a
helpless government, re-
membered the promises made them by the
"Resolves of Con-
gress," which had, in the beginning
of the struggle, in August
The Scioto Company and Its
Purchase. 111
and September, 1776, promised to each
soldier a bounty in
lands, an acre of which it did not then
actually possess.
With the close of conflict came the
settlement of these
questions. Conservative opinions
prevailed and by the cessions
of the various States holding claims to
the territory northwest
of the Ohio river, beginning with New
York in 1781, Congress
became peacefully and quietly possessed
of a vast domain of
land, more than enough to supply all
claims.
The derivation of a national revenue
from the sales of pub-
lic lands had long been a favorite idea
with Congress. In fact, the
idea prevailed long before an American
government was antici-
pated. As early as February 2d, 1774,
the Governor of the
New York colony was instructed by Earl
Dartmouth regarding
"land sales" in the colony.
Other colonial records show similar
action regarding the disposition of the
lands for the benefit of
those holding title under kingly grants
and charters, or for the
benefit of the Crown. July 31st, 1782,
the Congress of the
Confederation took steps for the survey
and disposition of the
vacant lands, the "back
country," for the "common benefit"
and for support to the "public
credit." A committee, repre-
senting every State, to whom the whole
affair was referred, made
report September 5th of the same year,
"that it is their opinion
that the western lands, if ceded to the
United States, might
contribute toward a fund for paying the
debts of the States."
On motion of Mr. Witherspoon the
proposition was amended to
read, "it would be an important
fund for the discharge of the
National debt."
Two years after, on April 5th, 1784,
another grand com-
mittee reported that " Congress
still considers vacant territory as
a capital resource."
The subject came up in one form or
another until settled by
the cession by the States of all claims
to the "back lands"-the
western country. Immediately following
the cessions made by
Virginia, March 1st, 1784, and not
awaiting final action by all
the States claiming possessions in the
territory (the cessions were
New York, March 1st, 1781; Virginia,
March 1st, 1784; Massa-
chusetts, April 18th, 1785; Connecticut,
September 14th, 1786),
Congress on May 29th, 1785, passed an
act providing for the
112 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VoL. 3
survey and sale of the lands therein. Its main provisions were
that a surveyor should be appointed from each State by Congress,
or a committee of the States, who shall serve under the Geo-
grapher of the United States. Under his direction these sur-
veyors were to proceed to the territory and divide the same into
townships of six miles square by meridian and parallel lines
running due north and south. The first lines were to be estab-
lished by the geographer to begin at a point on the north bank
of the Ohio river "which shall be found to be due north from
the western boundary of Pennsylvania, and from thence west-
ward across the territory: and also a line to run north and south
from the same point;" the geographer to designate the "town-
ships or fractional parts of townships by numbers progressing
from south to north, always beginning each range with number
one; the ranges to be numbered from east to west, the first range
extending from the Ohio river to Lake Erie to be numbered
one."
The townships were to be divided into lots one mile square,
six hundred and forty acres, each in the same direction as the
the external lines and numbered from one to thirty-six, beginning
at the south-east corner of the section, running northwardly;
each succeeding range of lots to begin with the number next to
that with which the preceding one concluded. As soon as seven
ranges should be surveyed, plats were to be sent to the Board of
Treasury, and so on with each seven ranges of townships
throughout the territory. The Secretary of War was author-
ized to take by lot one-seventh part of the surveyed ranges for
the Continental army until all bounties could be satisfied. The
remainder was to be drawn for by the thirteen States according
to the quotas in the last preceding requisition on all States. The
Board of the Treasury was then to transmit to the commissioners
of the loan in the States plats of the quota of each State, which
States could then proceed to sell the allotments. It was also
ordered in the act that the sale should be in the following
manner: "The township or fractional part of a township, No. 1,
in the first range shall be sold entire; and No. 2, in the same
range, shall be sold by lots, and thus, in alternate order, through
the whole of the first range. Township No. 1 in the second
The Scioto Company and Its
Purchase. 113
range shall be sold by lots; and No. 2
in the same range, entire;
and so, in alternate order through the
entire range," each
succeeding range alternating in
townships and ranges as in the
first two ranges.
There was also reserved to the
government lots 9, 11, 26 and
29, and for the use of schools lot No.
16. In addition to these
reservations others for various
bounties, refugees etc., were also
set aside by this same act of Congress
for various objects speci-
fied in the act.
The method of surveys of public lands
into well de-
fined districts or townships on the
meridian and parallel lines
is worthy of note here. It is the New
England idea as against
the Southern or Virginia plan of
"indiscriminate locations."
Under this plan a small quit-rent, as it
were, of two cents per
acre was demanded of the crown or the
proprietor, and anyone
could lay out and survey a tract,
suiting himself as to location
and boundary, simply taking care not to
overlap other claims
made in like manner. As care was not
always exercised in this
particular, conflicting claims
constantly arose, the disputes often
extending to several generations. The
Virginia Military District
in Ohio is a good example of
"indiscriminate locations," and it
is worthy of remark that more litigation
over land titles and
boundaries has arisen in that section of
Ohio than in all the
remainder of the State.
The township system originated
undoubtedly in New Eng-
land. As early as June 17, 1732, the
General Court of Massa-
chusetts granted six miles square for a township
to be laid out in
a regular form by a surveyor and
chainman under oath.
When the first "ordinance for
disposing of the western
lands" was reported, it required
the townships to be ten miles
square, each mile to be 6086 feet in
length, thus dividing the
township into one hundred lots of 850
acres each. This ordi-
nance was not agreed to, and the next
report, made April 26,
1785, proposed townships seven miles
square, with sections of
640 acres each, forty-nine in a
township. In this ordinance, one
section, 16, was set aside for school
purposes, and one, 29, for
the support of religion. This latter
provision was stricken out
by seventeen votes against, to six for,
the measure; the vote
Vol. III-8
114 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VoL. 3
being by states. The question was argued
further in Congress
until May 20th, when the ordinance
previously outlined was
agreed upon and adopted. Under this act
titles could be ob-
tained only by entry in a government
office of a tract surveyed
and entered for sale. This method is
substantially the New
England idea, and for a system of
distribution and ownership of
lands, has no equal. It is now the
system of the National Gov-
ernment in all public land surveys.
Western lands being now open to entry
and settlement, the
soldiers began again to press their
claims on the attention of
Congress. A petition signed by two
hundred and twenty-eight
officers in the Continental army was
presented to that body.
This petition set forth:
"That, by an solution of the
Honorable Congress passed
September 20th, 1776, and other
subsequent resolves, the officers
and soldiers engaged for the war * * * *
* are entitled
to receive certain grants of lands,
according to their respective
grades, to be procured for them at the
expense of the United
States.
"That your petitioners are informed
that that tract of coun-
try bounded north on Lake Erie, east on
Pennsylvania, south on
the river Ohio, west on a line beginning
at that part of the Ohio
which lies twenty-four miles west of the
river Scioto, thence
running north on a meridian line till it
intersects with the river
Miami (Maumee) which falls into Lake
Erie, thence down the
middle of that river to the lake, is a
tract of country not claimed
as the property of, or in the
jurisdiction of, any particular state
in the Union.
"That this country is of sufficient
extent, the land of such
quality and situation, as may induce
Congress to assign and
mark it out as a tract of territory
suitable to form a distinct gov-
ernment (or colony of the United States)
in time to be admitted
one of the Confederated States of the Union."
Shortly after this, General Rufus
Putnam, in a letter to
General Washington, dated June 16th,
1783, emphasizes the
claims of the soldiers and urges upon
the Commander-in-Chief
the importance of their petition. The
General forcibly points
out the wisdom of planting such a colony in the western
coun-
The Scioto Company and Its Purchase.
115
try. He adduces many weighty reasons for
such a step, and
solicits the aid of his superior
officers and companions in arms.
This aid is freely and earnestly given,
"but at this time," writes
General Washington in reply, "
little can be expected until the
conflicting claims of the states to the
territory be quieted."
This was done through the cessions by
the states already men-
tioned and by the land ordinance of May
20th, 1785; they were,
as fast as surveyed, thrown open to
settlement. The claim of
Connecticut comprised a large part of
the tract of country in
the boundaries outlined in the officers'
petition to Congress, and,
when the cession of that state was made,
an extensive tract of
country known as the "Connecticut
Western Reserve" was set
aside and the claims of the soldiers
were satisfied elsewhere.
By the failure of Congress to satisfy
the petition of the
soldiers the idea of settlement in a
colony in the western
country was delayed, but not abandoned.
A company, well
known in history as the "Ohio
Company of Associates, was or-
ganized March 3rd, 1786, to buy of
Congress land in the "Ohio
country," as it was commonly
called. Payment was to be made
in Continental specie certificates,
worth then less one-fifth their
face value. This company was organized
by, and composed
mainly of, the officers who had before
petitioned Congress for
lands to satisfy their claims. Gen.
Rufus Putnam was the chief
promoter of the enterprise. Generals
Samuel Parsons and Ben-
jamin Tupper, Rev. Manasseh Cutler,
Winthrop Sargent, John
Mills and others, were among those who
subscribed to the shares
of this company and became residents of
the then western
country.
Gen. Parsons was sent to New York to
secure from Con-
gress a tract of lands on the Ohio. He
did not succeed, and Dr.
Cutler was appointed by the directors of
the company to nego-
tiate for the proposed purchase. He
reached New York early in
July, 1787, and at once began
negotiations for a purchase. The
scheme was not entirely new and many
members were opposed
to any such measure. The State that had
sent them owned
large tracts of land which they were
placing on the market, and
any plan of such magnitude as proposed
by the Ohio Company
was, in the opinion of many delegates,
detrimental to the pros-
116 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VoL. 3
pects of those States disposing of their
lands. Still the scheme
presented a solution to the serious
problem of raising money,
not only to redeem the country's
promises to its defenders, but
also a revenue for future needs. This idea of a National
revenue from the sale of National lands
had long engaged the
attention of Congress, and, when Dr.
Cutler presented the plan
of the associates, though it met with
some neglect and opposi-
tion, yet the time was opportune, and
many friends came to its
support.
The intention of the Company was to
purchase as much
land as one million dollars in
continental certificates would buy.
Dr. Cutler on July 21st informed the
members of the Congress
that if his offer was accepted he would
extend the purchase to
the tenth township of the seventh range
from the Ohio and to
the Scioto river inclusively, by which
purchase some four mil-
lion dollars of the public debt could be
extinguished. This, and
the prospect of a compact organized
settlement, able to defend
itself and containing within itself the
germs of a new State,
gave impetus to the plan.
The offer of Dr. Cutler had a marked
effect on the tardy
members in Congress. Two days after,
July 23d, a resolution
was adopted which authorized the Board
of Treasury [see
Appendix No. 2] to contract with any
person or persons for a
grant of a tract of land bounded east by
the seven ranges; south
by the Ohio; and north by a line drawn
from the northwest cor-
ner of the tenth township in the seventh
range due west to the
Scioto river; the same tract which Dr.
Cutler proposed to pur-
chase. In all, it contains about six
million acres-more than
four times as much as the Ohio Company
of Associates had pro-
posed to purchase.
Coupled with the Ohio Company's offer
was the require-
ment that a law should be passed for the
government of the
territory. Certain principles were
presented which the associates
desired incorporated and without which
they did not care to
purchase. The act, which was secured
largely through the
efforts of Dr. Cutler, is known in
history as the "Ordinance of
1787." It became the fundamental
law of the territory. Its
cardinal principles were, lst.-The
exclusion of slavery from
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Map showing the proposed purchase of Manassah Cutler and Associ- ates. The east boundary is the seven ranges, the south, the Ohio River; the west, the Scioto; the north, the north line of the tenth township from the Ohio River in the seven ranges.
(117) |
118
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VoL. 3
the territory forever; 2nd.--Provision
for universal education;
3rd.-Freedom in religious worship and opinion; 4th.-The
equal distribution of estates; and,
5th.-Protection in civil
liberty. These points were made in the
form of a compact,
irrevocable save by consent of both
Congress and the States
that might be formed in the territory.
This phase of the
negotiation should be borne in mind;
without the ordinance, the
associates would not have purchased the
land; without the pur-
chase, the ordinance could not have been
passed. With it,
settlers were assured of a stable
government under which they
could live in security, and which, in
itself, would be an induce-
ment for others to come. Three days
after the resolution author-
izing the sale of land in the Ohio
country, the Ohio Company
of Associates addressed a letter to the
Board of Treasury offer-
ing to buy the entire tract. [See
Appendix No. 3.]
During Dr. Cutler's negotiations with
the Continental Con-
gress, he made the acquaintance of
Colonel William Duer, a
wealthy citizen of New York, (secretary
of the Board of Treas-
ury), a man much interested in the
proposed settlement.
While matters were in doubt and when the
Doctor had
about concluded to abandon negotiations
with Congress and buy
of some one of the States, several of
which offered lands on
generous conditions, "Colonel
Duer," Dr. Cutler writes in his
journal, "came to me with proposals
from a number of the
principal characters in the city to
extend our contract and take
in another company, but that it should
be kept a profound
secret. He explained the plan they had
concerted, and offered
me generous conditions if I would
accomplish the business for
them. The plan struck me agreeably.
Sargent insisted on my
undertaking it, and both urged me not to
think of giving the
matter up so soon. I was convinced it
was best for me to hold
up the idea of giving up a contract with
Congress and making a
contract with some of the States, which
I did in the strongest
terms, and represented to the committee
and to Duer and Sar-
gent, the difficulties in the way and
the improbability of closing
a bargain when we were so far apart; and
told them I conceived
it not worth while to say anything
further on the subject. This
appeared to have the effect I wished.
The committee were mor-
The Scioto Company and Its
Purchase. 119
tified and did not seem to know what to
say, but still urged an-
other attempt. I left them in this
state, but afterward explained
my views to Duer and Sargent, who fully
approved my plan.
Promised Duer to consider his
proposals."
After noting incidents of an excursion
in which many prom-
inent actors in these affairs took part,
the Doctor narrates further
in his diary that " * * * I spent
the evening closeted with
Colonel Duer, and agreed to purchase
more land if terms can be
obtained for another company, which will
probably forward the
negotiations."
Several members of Congress called on
the Doctor early the
next day and expressed much anxiety
about the contract, and
assured him that Congress was more
favorably inclined. Dr.
Cutler was indifferent, and intimated he
intended to abandon his
efforts and leave. "At
length," he says, " I told them that if
Congress would accede to the terms I had
proposed I would ex-
tend the purchase to the tenth township
from the Ohio, and to
the Scioto inclusively, by which
Congress could pay near four
millions of the national debt."
After further work on the part of Dr.
Cutler and his
associates, Congress passed an ordinance
acceptable to the
associates. The Doctor, under date of
Friday, July 27th,
writes, " * * * At
half past three I was informed that
Congress had passed an ordinance on the
terms stated in our
letter (of Tuesday, the 24th) without
the least variation, and
that the Board of Treasury was directed
to close the contract.
*
* * By this ordinance we obtained the grant of near five
million acres of land, amounting to
three million and a half of
dollars, one million and a half of acres
for the Ohio Company,
and the remainder for a private
speculation, in which many of
the prominet characters in America are
concerned; without con-
necting this speculation, similar terms
and advantages could not
have been obtained for the Ohio
company."
By the terms of this purchase, the Ohio
Company's boundary
was fixed by the seven ranges on the
east, the Ohio river on the
south, the west line of the seventeenth
range (when surveyed)
on the west, and on the north by a line
drawn from that range
to the seventh range, so as to include
the required number of
120 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. VOL. 3
acres, allowances being made for the
reservations (the sixteenth
section in every township for schools,
two townships for a Uni-
versity, salt springs, etc., and bad
lands, estimated to be per-
haps one-third of the whole). Had this
been actually carried
out, the north line of the Ohio
Company's purchase would have
been from near the north boundary of the
fourth township in
the seventh range westward to the Scioto
river. Surrounding
this on the west and north was the
" private speculation" referred
to in Dr. Cutler's journal. He states
that some five million
acres were obtained. In fact it was
nearer six million. The
"private speculation" lay
between the north and west lines of
the Ohio Company's purchase, and the
north line of the tenth
township of the seventh range, and the
west line of the seven-
teenth range and the Scioto river,--in
all about four million
five hundred thousand acres.
The same day that Dr. Cutler and
Winthrop Sargent con-
tracted with the Board of Treasury for
the Ohio Company's
lands, they conveyed to Col. Duer
one-half interest in this pur-
chase, and also gave him full power to
negotiate a loan or sale in
Europe of the lands. Col. Duer advanced
to the Ohio Company
$143,000 in public securities to apply
on its contracts in its first
payments to Congress. The payments on
the associates' pur-
chase were to be half a million dollars
when the contracts were
executed, the remainder one month after
the exterior line of the
contracts had been surveyed by the
Geographer or other proper
officer of the United States. The payments in the "private
speculation "- the remainder of the
tract--were to be two-
thirds of a dollar per acre in public
securities in four semi-annual
installments, the first falling due six
months after the exterior
line of the tract had been surveyed by
the government.
Shortly after this transaction, Cutler
and Sargent conveyed
a little over three-fourths of their
interest in about equal propor-
tions to General Rufus Putnam, Benjamin
Tupper, Samuel
H. Parsons, Colonel Richard Platt,
Royal.Flint and Joel Barlow.
A company was at once formed for the
disposal of these
lands. It was named the Scioto Company;
the President was
Col. Duer; Richard Platt was Treasurer.
The contract of sale
between Cutler and Sargent for the Ohio
Company and Col. Duer
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The Scioto Company and Its Purchase. 121
for the Scioto Company recites that "-- This day," October 29, 1787, "it is agreed between the said Manasseh Cutler and Winthrop Sargent for themselves and others, their associates, William Duer for himself and others, his associates, their heirs |
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122 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
and assigns, one equal moiety of the
tract last described"
(i. e. that part bounded by the Scioto
river on the west, the
north line of the tenth township in the
seven ranges on the
north, and the Ohio Company's purchase
and the Ohio river on
the south). Each party was equally
interested in the disposal of
the lands, "either in Europe or
America," and each was to share
equally in the profits or losses which
"may accrue in attempting
to negotiate the sale or rentage of the
same and in paying the
purchase money due to the United States.
"And it is further agreed upon and
understood by the parties,
that . . . the tract be divided into
thirty (30) equal shares or parts,
of which thirteen (13) shares are the
property of William Duer
in which he may admit such associates as
he may judge proper,
and (13) shares in like manner the
property of the said Manasseh
Cutler and Winthrop Sargent. That the
other four shares may
be disposed of in Europe at the
discretion of an agent to be sent
there for the purpose of negotiating a
sale or loan as above
mentioned, and if not so disposed of, to
be equally divided among
the parties to this writing."
The contract further authorizes Col.
Duer to negotiate a
loan upon or sell the lands in "
Holland or such other parts of
Europe as may be found expedient, with
power of appointing an
agent under him."
Looking about for the proper person to
send abroad as their
agent, their choice fell upon Joel
Barlow, a patriot and poet of
the Revolution. He had just published
his famous poem, " The
Vision of Columbus," and was in the
height of his literary
career. His capacity and education
furnished sufficient passport
for his duties abroad. He had the
confidence of his countrymen
at home, and his associates felt that he
would be of great
advantage in representing their landed
interests in France.
A modern historian has sneered at Barlow
and his talents, and
has reflected upon the honesty of
purpose of the originators of
the Scioto land purchase. The sneer and
reflection are not
warranted by a close investigation of
history. In May, 1788,
Barlow set out for France. He was a part
owner by an assign-
ment from Colonel Duer of an interest in
the Scioto contract,
and held at the same time the power of
attorney from his
The Scioto Company and Its
Purchase. 123
associates, to make the proper transfer
of the title to purchasers.
He was not successful at first. France
was agitated by political
dissensions, and it was nearly a year
before the results of his
efforts began to assume shape. In the
summer of 1789, through
the association and assistance of one
William Playfair, an Eng-
lishman, he organized a society in
Paris, known as the "Society
of the Scioto," to which Mr.
Barlow, acting for his associates
and principals, sold three millions of
acres of land lying west of
the well-known Seventeenth Range of
townships. This transfer
of three millions of acres was made in
November, 1789. It was
provided that the payments were to begin
in November, 1790,
and to end April 30, 1794. The purchase
price was $1.14 per
acre. Associating with this company, and
one of its members,
was M. Jean Antoine Chais De Soisson.
The Society of the Scioto immediately
proceeded to business.
Mr. Barlow opened a land office at Paris
and offered for sale the
three million acres at a French crown
per acre. The tract of
land offered by Barlow fronted on the
Ohio river. Its western
boundary was the Scioto; its eastern, a
line running North of
the outlet of the Kanawha. On the plan
of the tract a town was
laid out and called Gallipolis, nearly
opposite the mouth of the
Kanawha. Maps of the surrounding country
and of the Ohio
were prepared and made ready for the
inspection of the pur-
chasers. The maps representing the
country North of the Ohio
river, the Ohio country, were highly
colored and gave in outline
the boundary of the Ohio company as well
as the boundaries of
the Scioto company and a plat of three
million acres sold to
Playfair and his associates in the
Society of the Scioto.
The principal members of the Society or
Company of the
Scioto were M. Gouy de Arsy, M. Barond,
St. Didier, Maheas,
Guibert, Conquelon, Playfair, Barlow and
Soisson. To this
company Barlow contracted to transfer
the rights of his princi-
pals to the entire Scioto tract save
that part directly north of the
Ohio Company's purchase, save so much of
this part of the tract
as might be necessary to complete the
three million acres. The
company was to make the deeds. In making
this contract Bar-
low exhibited his powers of attorney,
etc., thus apprising his
associates in the Scioto Company fully
of his authority. They
The Scioto Company and Its
Purchase. 125
could not claim ignorance of what
authority they could hold
under Barlow. The lands were to be
located in equal tracts
west of the seventeenth range, which was
then supposed to be
beyond the western boundary of the Ohio
Company's purchase,
hence no conflict of location could, it
was presumed, occur. An
agreement was drawn and properly signed,
thus setting before
all parties a full understanding of the
rights and authority of
each.
The Society appointed as attorneys to
sell the lands, Play-
fair, Barlow and Soisson, and delegated
to them "powers to re-
sell all or part of 3,000,000 acres at
the best price, terms or con-
ditions of receiving the price thereof,
or to assign it all or in
part, and to discharge the Society with
respect to the Suer Bar-
low, to give for this purpose every
acquittance, consent, subro-
gation, and to disseize the Society of
its rights of property over
the objects of sale in favor of their
purchasers, and generally to
do for the ease and accomplishment of
the said sale." * * *
Mr. Barlow agreed to put the Society in
possession of
the land in tracts less than the value
of $500,000 each, there-
by exceeding his authority from his
principals in word, but
had the money or securities been paid to
the Treasury of
the United States, nothing would have
been amiss. As the
French Society had examined fully
Barlow's powers, and
knew
his authority, they could not plead ignorance, and
acting with full knowledge, must be held
accountable. Mr.
Barlow did not send his principals a
copy of the contract
he had made, as he should have done, but
he wrote to
Colonel Duer, giving the fact of the
sale, the price and
terms and times of payments. He also
urged that the west
line of the seventeenth range be
ascertained, and that the
consent of the United States be obtained
to the sale of
the land in small tracts. Reference to
the maps will show
that the idea held by Barlow and his
associates, was, that
the west line of the seventeenth range
would be at the mouth
of the Kanawha, and on this supposition
he made his sales, and
he and his associates laid out a
town-Gallipolis-ignorant of
the fact that they were selling the lands
of the Ohio Company,
as the surveys, when made, showed their
error, the seventeeth
126 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VoL. 3
range being further west than their
supposition placed it. Sales
were rapidly made, some purchasers
paying in full, some pare
tially, securing the rest by mortgage.
Some made contracts for
lands, to be paid for at a future time.
The deeds were usually
signed by William Playfair and Jean
Antoine Chais, "agents
and attorneys for the Society of the
Scioto." To some, Barlow
added his approval. One of these deeds
is yet preserved in Gal-
lipolis, and, as the last connecting
link in the chain from the
government to the emigrant, is herewith
given in full, the trans-
lation being made by Judge S. N. Owen,
lately of the Ohio
Supreme Court.
This deed is from "William
Playfair, engineer, Englishman,
and M. de Soissons, an attorney, Member
of Parliament," to one
of the purchasers of an hundred acre
tract of the land of the
Scioto Company:
" Before the undersigned, the
King's Counsellors, notaries
of the 'Chatelet de Paris,' appeared
M. William Playfair, engi-
neer, Englishman, *
* * and M. Jean Antoise Chais de
Soissons, attorney, Member of
Parliament, * * * both cov-
enanting by these presents by virtue of
the authority of the
Society organized under the name of the
Scioto Company,
according to a title deed executed
before M. Rameau and his
colleague, Notaries of Paris, August 3,
1789, for the purchase
made and evidenced by that deed by the
said Society, of three
millions of English acres of land
situated in North America be-
tween the Ohio and Scioto Rivers and
more particularly desig-
nated by their boundaries, indicated in
blue colors, by an en-
graved plat of the said three million
acre tract of land, and
which was annexed to a memorandum of
their purchase, re-
ceived by M. Farmain, one of the
undersigned Notaries, and his
colleague, November 3, 1789, containing
the powers aforesaid;
who by virtue of the said powers have by
these presents sold,
and promised to guaranty from every kind
of eviction and
molestation, to M. Jean Baptiste
Parmantier, citizen of Paris,
residing at number 359 St. Martin
Street, Parish of St. Laurent,
purchaser, the entire depth and surface
of one hundred contigu-
ous English acres of land, to be taken
in a square form and by
straight lines from the above mentioned
three million acres, in
the fourth municipality of the
eighteenth rank of the said
municipalities or (at the choice of said
purchaser) in the fifth
municipality of the same rank of the
said municipalities; the
survey of which one hundred acre
tract shall be made at the ex-
The Scioto Company and Its Purchase.
127
pense of the said Scioto Company, and
along whichsoever shore
it shall please the said purchaser to
select the said one hundred
acres, saving, however, such portions as
may have been taken
by virtue of anterior sales by said Scioto Company, and
also sav-
ing such portions as may be destined by
the American Congress
for public buildings or public highways.
"Comprised in the present sale are
the trees of every species
growing upon the tract of land by these
presents sold.
" Wherefore the said Sirs Playfair
and Chais hereby confer
upon the said purchaser, and subrogate
to him, all the rights of
ownership, titles, claims, and rights of
action of the said Soci-
ety in and to the tract of land by these
presents sold, yielding it
unto the profit of the said purchaser
with all the rights therein
of said Society to the extent of the
said quantity sold, and con-
senting that he place himself in full
and peaceable possession
thereof when and as it shall seem to him
good.
"The said purchaser and his
successors to the ownership of
the land-the subject of this
contract-shall enjoy the right to
transport each year to Europe or to the
Islands of America, all
the big timber and the crops produced
from the said land, pay-
ing only the freight and 'general
average' according to the cus-
tom of, and as it shall be regulated by,
the Captain 'bearer of
orders'--(le Capitaine porteur
d'orders)-of the Scioto Com-
pany. The price of this sale and grant
of right is agreed and
fixted at sixty pence per acre, which
makes for the whole num-
ber of acres hereby sold a sum total of
six thousand pence, upon
and in deduction of which sum the said
purchaser has paid,
cash down, in legal tender, to M.
Playfair, one of the said grant-
ors, who acknowledges it, three thousand
pence for which this is
his receipt; and as to the residue of
said purchase price, the
said purchaser binds himself to pay it
to the said Scioto Com-
pany in two years from this day without
interest, in guaranty of
which sum the land hereby sold shall
remain, at the privilege of
said Company, expressly reserved,
appropriated, obligated and
mortgaged, and without any appropriation
derogatory thereto,
the said purchaser hereby thereunto
appropriates, obligates and
mortgages all his property present and
future.
" And in order the better to
facilitate and secure the pay-
ment of the said sum of three thousand
pence, the said pur-
chaser has signed for the benefit of the
said Scioto Company,
delivered the same to M. Playfair, who
acknowledges the same,
his promissory note for said last named
sum, payable also in two
years from this day, which promissory
note once discharged
shall consequently acquit and discharge
what remains due upon
the present contract; which said note
shall be the only requisite
128 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
evidence of such payment by the said
purchaser, who hereby
acknowledges that the said Playfair and
Chaise have communi-
cated and remitted to him the substance of the deeds
and powers
which vested in them the right to make the present
sale, for the
execution of which the parties hereto
have chosen their domicile
in the establishment wherein are the offices of the
said Scioto
Company, Ninth Street of Petits champs,
No. 162, which place,
however, we have chosen for the purpose of promising,
contract-
ing, obligating, relinquishing, etc.
Done and executed at Paris at the
residence of M. W. Play-
fair, the 19th of January, 1790, P. M.,
and have signed this
memorandum of contract.
Farmain, one of the undersigned
Notaries,
(Not Legible.) FARMAIN. [SEAL]"
[SEAL]
(Waxen Notarial Seal not Legible.)
These deeds were accepted without
question by many. The
desire for a change, the unsettled
condition of France, the
brilliant prospects held out to the
emigrant, all combined to
make the sales, once begun, an easy
matter, and with little
thought of the future, many prepared to
go.
On the 8th of December, 1789, Mr. Barlow
wrote Col. Duer
that "everything was progressing well."
On the 29th, that he
expected to make the first payment, so
that Col. Duer could pay
Congress $500,000 when the first payment
came due, and also
that 500,000 acres would be concluded in
January. The same
date he authorized a draft on himself
of 200,000 livres, "to be
used in defraying the expenses of the
first settlers." January
25th, 1790, he authorized another draft
of 100,000 livres. "Don't
fail," he wrote, " to put the
people in possession of their lands.
I pledge the faith of an honest man for
the payment. If neces-
sary, draw on me for a second 100,000
livres, at sight." By the
middle of February, 1790, over 100,000
acres had been sold, and
several hundred emigrants had sailed.
Their first landing place,
Alexandria, on the Potomac.
An examination of Barlow's letters
discloses no reason for
the failure to make the payment promised
December 31, 1789,
and the authority to draw for additional
sums was evidence to
Col. Duer, that if Barlow had not the
money he had the
securities.
The Scioto Company and Its
Purchase. 129
Mr. Barlow's letter to Col. Duer showed
that he had ex-
ceeded his authority by permitting the
Society to give deeds,
and that he erred in his calculations
made from Thomas Hutchin's
map in locating the western boundary of
the seventeenth range
as intersecting the Ohio River, opposite
the mouth of the Big
Kanawha. The survey, when made, located
the line farther
west, and hence the lands sold by Barlow
and his associates were
in the Ohio Company's purchase. This
defect might have been
remedied had Barlow met the drafts he
authorized, as the Ohio
Company was anxious not only to settle
its own lands, but it
was interested in the success of the
Society of the Scioto, and
was willing to do all it could to
advance its interests. The con-
nection between the Ohio Company and
Col. Duer's control of
the Scioto Company, caused some
criticisms; but the prompt
return of Dr. Cutler and his associates,
and their concise state-
ments regarding all the transaction,
gave general satisfaction.
To meet the unexpected condition of
affairs, Col. Duer,
Royal Flint and Andrew Cragie united as
"Trustees for the
Scioto Associates." It was still supposed that Barlow held
securities for all his sales, and as Dr.
Cutler, neither for himself
or for any of the Ohio Associates, was
able to advance any
money, they surrendered part of their
interest, for which a
power of attorney was given Col. Duer;
the remainder to be
exempt from assessments and to be
indemnified from loss.
The Secretary of the United States
Treasury had, in Jan-
uary, 1790, recommended to Congress a
reduction in the price
per acre of public lands, payable in
certificates of indebtedness
or in lawful money of a coin value. It
became evident, how-
ever, that no action would be taken
then. "On the 23d of
April, Gen. Rufus Putnam and Manasseh
Cutler, as directors of
the Ohio Company and with its approval,
made a contract of
sale to Duer, Flint and Cragie, trustees
for the proprietors
of the Scioto lands, of the lands
represented by the 148 for-
feited shares to the Ohio Company for
the non-payment, and
located in a compact body, 196,544 acres
fronting on the Ohio
River between a point opposite the mouth
of the Big Kanawha
and the true line of the seventeenth
range, the western boundary
of the Ohio Company's purchase. The
Scioto Associates also
Vol. III-9
130 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
released to the Ohio Company the right
of pre-emption or pur-
chase of that part of their lands lying
immediately north of its
purchase. The contract was of great
value to both companies.
It gave the Scioto Company control of every acre sold in France,
and enabled it to proceed upon a basis
that, at that time, gave
assurance of solving the difficulties
about its transactions.
Under instructions from Col. Duer, Gen.
Putnam employed
Maj. John Burnham to enlist in New
England a company of
men to build huts for the French
emigrants, now ready to cross
the mountains. It is necessary to touch
upon this part of the
history. It is fully told elsewhere, and
gives in detail the work
of Maj. Burnham and his men. Neither is
it necessary to re-
count here the history of these
emigrants, nor to detail how
they found on reaching Alexandria that
the deeds they held were
valueless, the country filled with
Indians, and that there were
lands in plenty in Virginia. All these
facts are told by Col.
Vance in his address and repetition is
not necessary here. The
result of all this was that Col. Duer
and his associates learned
through the misguided and wronged
emigrants, more fully of the
methods of the French Society in Paris
and of their loose
methods of business. On the third of
March, Mr. Barlow
wrote to Col. Duer that he had
surrendered his contract with the
French Society, and was making the sales
himself, though
under its name. M, Bourogne, Count De
Barth's son, one of
the principal men in the colony of
emigrants, and who had been
instrumental in securing a settlement
with Col. Duer and asso-
ciates satisfactory to the emigrants,
and who had learned, when
in New York, of the efforts to secure a
reduction in the price of
public lands, sailed for France in July,
and there made a con-
tract with Barlow, on behalf of himself,
his father, M. Coquet,
Playfair and General Duvalette. This
association was to assume
all obligations of the former French
Company. It was to make
no payments until three month's after
the sale of each 300,000
acres; no limitations were to be made in
location of lands. It
agreed to pay Barlow 50,000 livres for
the American proprietors,
and authorized him to borrow on its
credit 100,000 livres, also to
be advanced to the American proprietors.
The whole trans-
action was a sharp move on the part of
the new Company,
The Scioto Company and Its
Purchase. 131
assuring itself a handsome profit, at
the same time free from
any risk. Mr. Barlow again appears to
have implicitly trusted
those with whom he dealt, despite the
fact he had not been able
to fulfill any of his promises to Col.
Duer, made "upon the
promise of an honest man." Thus his
final transaction only
complicated matters more, and emphasized
the fact that as a
business man he was no success, and no
match for the sharp and
unscrupulous Englishman and his French
associates. Had he
followed his instructions, secured into
his own hands the pro-
ceeds of all sales, and promptly
remitted them to the Scioto
associates in America, all would have
been well, and this melan-
choly chapter in Ohio's early annals
would have never been
written.
As soon as Col. Duer learned of this new
contract, he sent
Col. Benjamin Walker to France with
"full powers of attorney
to displace Barlow or to act as joint
agent with him; directed
him to refuse ratification of this last
contract; examine fully
into the accounts; obtain proceeds of
sales; take entire charge
of affairs if he deemed advisable, and
endeavor to sell the con-
tract as originally designed. Col. Duer
wrote to Barlow that he,
alone, was responsible to the French
people to whom he had
given or permitted to be given deals for
the lands, and to the
Scioto Associates, whose interests he
had so shamefully mis-
managed; upbraiding him in the severest
terms for the manner
in which he had conducted this business;
for failure to give his
principals definite information; and for
permitting bills drawn
on him that he had authorized, to be
dishonored. Col. Duer
was in a most embarrassing position by
the non-payment of these
drafts. He reminded Barlow of the
pledges he had made on
the faith of an honest man' for their
payment, and urged him to
make good the amount and save him (Duer)
from ruin."*
When Colonel Walker reached France he
found, as he sus-
pected, that Playfair held the proceeds
of all sales, and from him
nothing, save a long letter of
explanation; could be obtained.
Finding nothing could be gained by
persuasion, he placed the
affairs of the Society in the hands of
Colonel Rochefontaine,
* Life of Manasseh Cutler, page 516.
132 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VoL 3
gave public notice that no sales from
Playfair would be valid,
and returned to America in April, 1791.
In the meantime, in October, 1790, one
hundred years ago
the first attachment of emigrants
reached the new settlement
prepared for them on the banks of the
Ohio, and began their
untried life on an American frontier.
Colonel Duer, who now
had the contract to supply the troops in
the territory, opened a
store in Gallipolis, placed Mr. John
Matthews in charge, accept-
ing in payment for the necessities of
life whatever the colonists
could give, even to deeds for their
lots. By the next spring,
however, they began to cultivate crops,
chiefly the grape, and
ere long Mr. Matthews was able to write
Colonel Duer that a
brighter prospect appeared.
But in April a financial panic came in
New York. Colonel
Duer failed, and was imprisoned for
debt. Flint and Cragie also
failed, and the notes given for the 148
forfeited shares of the
Ohio Company were surrendered; the
contract of sale conceded,
and with it the only title the French
emigrant could have. Col.
Platt, Treasurer of the Ohio Company,
went down in the general
ruin, heavily indebted to the Company.
On the 21st of April,
1792, Congress passed an act confirming
the "Ohio Company's
title to 750,000 acres extending along
the Ohio River from the
west line of the seventh range to the
west boundary of the fif-
teenth, including therein the site of
Gallipolis. An additional
grant of 214,285 acres was made to be
paid for in bounty rights,
and 100,000 acres were granted on the
north to be held in trust
to be deeded in tracts of 100 acres each
to actual settlers. Both
these grants were to adjoin the original
750,000 acre tract. The
bill, as passed, made it impossible to
give to the French settlers
tracts of land at or near Gallipolis.
The failure of Colonel Duer and his
associates threw the
French settlers wholly upon their own
resources. Mr. Peter S.
Duponceau, a lawyer and Frenchman of
eminence residing in
Philadelphia, and who came to America in
1777, became inter-
ested in the fate of his countrymen,
prepared a petition and pre-
sented it to Congress in 1794, asking the
relief of the settlers.
Some attempts were made to settle the
matter, but nothing was,
The Scioto Company and Its
Purchase. 133
at that time, accomplished. In January,
1795, the donation
tract of the Ohio Company was thrown
open to settlers, and the
French emigrants were invited to
participate in its benefits. Not
many did so; the majority who remained
seeming to prefer to
cling to the original settlement at
Gallipolis in the hope that
their titles would yet be perfected to
them. Mr. Duponceau
again pressed his petition to the
attention of Congress, and in
March, 1795, that body made a grant of
24,000 acres of land on
the bank of the Ohio River, not far from
the outlet of the
Scioto, and each settler in Gallipolis,
on November 1st, of that
year, and over eighteen years of age,
was entitled to a share in
the distribution. Four thousand acres
were given to M. Ger-
vais, who had been instrumental in
securing the services of Mr.
Duponceau, and to whom much credit is
due for the settlement
of the problem. The remainder, 20,000
acres, was divided by
General Rufus Putnam, appointed by the
Secretary of the
Treasury for that purpose, among
ninety-two persons, each re-
ceiving 217 2-5 acres, settlement to be
made on the land within
five years. The tract was then and is
still known as the " French
Grant."
The directors of the Ohio Company met in
December, 1795,
to make a final disposition of their
lands. The status of the
French settlers in and about Gallipolis,
and their condition, was
fully and carefully considered. A
committee of the Gallipolis
settlers appeared before the meeting
with a request that the
French settlers be given the town site
of Gallipolis. This the
Ohio Company felt it could not do, but
signified that an applica-
tion to purchase at a nominal price
would be acceptable, and
after full consideration, agreed to sell
to these settlers the two
fractional sections on which Gallipolis
was situated, containing
900 acres, with the improved land
surrounding the town at the
price of government land--one dollar and
twenty-five cents per
acre. This was donating all the
improvements made by Major
Burnham and his men, each received his
land and a log cabin in
which to live. This was all they could
do, and was, all in all,
a just solution of the long, difficult
and unfortunate problem.
The principal actors soon disappeared
from view, lost in the ab-
134 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
sorbing events connected with the early
settlements, the Indian
wars, and the unsettled condition of the
country at large.
DANIEL J. RYAN.
Note.--I am indebted largely to Maj. E. C. Dawes, of Cin-
cinnati, who, in the life of Mannasseh
Cutler, and in the Maga-
zine of American History, has given exhaustive studies of this
question. He generously placed his
material at my disposal.
I have also examined many private works,
letters, documents,
etc., and have aimed to give only a
concise and simple narrative.
D. J. R.
Appendix No. I.--(Ordinance of May 20th, 1785, I. v.
L. U. S. p. 563.)
" The surveyors, as they are
respectively qualified, shall pro-
ceed to divide the said territory into
townships of six miles
square, by lines running due north and
south, and others cross-
ing these at right angles, as near as
may be, unless where the
boundaries of the late Indian purchases
may render the same
impracticable, and then they shall
depart from this rule no far-
ther than such particular circumstances
may require. And each
surveyor shall be allowed and paid at
the rate of two dollars for
every mile in length he shall run,
including the wages of chain
carriers, markers, and every other
expense attending the same.
"The first line running north and
south as aforesaid, shall
begin on the river Ohio, at a point that
shall be found to be due
north from the western termination of a
line which has been run
as the southern boundary of the State of
Pennsylvania, and the
first line running east and west shall
begin at the same point,
and shall extend throughout the whole
territory: Provided, That
nothing herein shall be construed as
fixing the western boundary
of the State of Pennsylvania. The
Geographer shall designate
the townships or fractional parts of
townships by numbers, pro-
gressively, from south to north; always
beginning each range
with No. 1; and the ranges shall be
distinguished by their pro-
gressive numbers to the westward. The
first range, extending
from the Ohio to the Lake Erie, being
marked No. 1. The
geographer shall personally attend to
the running of the first
The Scioto Company and Its
Purchase. 135
east and west line; and shall take the
latitude of the extremes
of the first north and south line, and
of the mouths of the prin-
cipal rivers.
" the lines shall be measured with
a chain; shall be plainly
marked by chops on the trees, and
exactly described on a plat;
whereon shall be noted by the surveyor,
at their proper distances,
all mines, salt springs, salt licks, and
mill seats that shall come
to his knowledge; and all water courses,
mountains, and other
remarkable and permanent things, over or
near which such lines
shall pass, and also the quality of the
lands.
" The plats of the townships,
respectively, shall be marked,
by subdivisions, into lots of one mile
square, or 640 acres, in the
same direction as the external lines,
and numbered from one to
thirty-six; always beginning the
succeeding range of the lots
with the number next to that with which
the preceding one con-
cluded. And where, from the causes
before mentioned, only a
fractional part of a township shall be
surveyed, the lots pro-
tracted thereon shall bear the same
numbers as if the township
had been entire. And the surveyors, in
running the external
lines of the townships, shall, at the
internal of every mile, mark
corners for the lots which are adjacent,
always designating the
same in a different manner from those of
the townships.
"The board of treasury shall
transmit a copy of the original
plats, previously rioting thereon the
townships and fractional
parts of townships, which shall have
fallen to the several States,
by the distribution aforesaid, to the
commissioners of the loan
office of the several states, who, after
giving notice of not less
than two nor more than six months, by
causing advertisements
to be posted up at the court houses or
other noted places in
every county, and to be inserted in one
newspaper published in
the States of their residenee,
respectively, shall proceed to sell
the townships or fractional parts of
townships at public vendue,
in the following manner, viz: The
township or fractional part of
a township No. 1, in the first range,
shall be sold entire; and
No. 2 in the same range, by lots; and
thus in alternate order
through the whole of the first range.
The township or fractional
part of a township No. 1, in the second
range, shall be sold by
lots; and No. 2 in the same range,
entire; and so, in alternate
136 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
order, through the whole of the second range; and the third
range shall be sold in the same manner as the first, and the
fourth in the same manner as the second; and thus, alternately,
throughout all the ranges: Provided, That none of the lands
within the said territory to be sold under the price of one dollar
per acre, to be paid in specie or loan office certificates, reduced
to specie value by the scale of depreciation, or certificates of
liquidated debts of the United States, including interest, besides
the expense of the survey and other charges thereon, which are
hereby rated at thirty-six dollars the township, in specie or cer-
tificates as aforesaid, and so, in the same proportion, for a frac-
tional part of a township or of a lot, to be paid at the time of
sales, on failure of which payment the said lands shall again be
offered for sale.
"There shall be reserved for the United States out of every
township, the four lots, being numbered 8, 11, 26, 29, and out
of every fractional part of a township, so many lots of the same
numbers as shall be found thereon, for future sale. There shall
be reserved the lot No. 16, of every township, for the main-
tenance of public schools within the said township; also, one-
third part of all gold, silver, lead, and copper mines, to be sold,
or otherwise disposed of, as Congress shall hereafter direct."
Appendix No. 2.-(In Congress, July 23rd, 1787, I. v. L. U.
S. 573.)
The report of a committee, consisting of Mr. Carrington,
Mr. King, Mr. Dane, Mr. Madison, and Mr. Benson amended to
read as follows, viz:
"That the board of treasury be authorized and empowered
to contract with any person or persons for a grant of a tract of
land which shall be bounded by the Ohio, from the mouth of
Scioto to the intersection of the western boundary of the seventh
range of townships now surveying; thence, by the said boundary
to the northern boundary of the tenth township from the Ohio;
thence, by a due west line to Scioto; thence, by the Scioto to the
beginning, upon the following terms, viz: The tract to be sur-
The Scioto Company and Its
Purchase. 137
veyed, and its contests ascertained, by
the geographer or some
other officer of the United States, who
shall plainly mark the
said east and west line, and shall
render one complete plat to the
board of treasury, and another to the
purchaser or purchasers.
The purchaser or purchasers, within
seven years from the
completion of this work, to lay off the
whole tract, at their own
expense, into townships and fractional
parts of townships, and
to divide the same into lots, according
to the land ordinance of
the 20th of May, 1785; complete returns
whereof to be made to
the treasury board. The lot No. 16, in
each township or frac-
tional part of a township, to be given
perpetually for the pur-
poses contained in the said ordinance.
The lot No. 29, in each
township or fractional part of a
township, to be given perpetu-
ually for the purposes of religion. The
lots Nos. 8, 11, and
26, in each township, or fractional part
of a township, to be
reserved for the future disposition of
Congress. Not more than
two complete townships to be given
perpetually for the purposes
off a University, to be laid of by the
purchaser or purchasers, as
near the center as may be, so that the
same shall be of good land,
to be applied to the intended object by
the legislature of the
State. The price to be not less than one
dollar per acre for the
contents of the said tract, excepting
the reservations and gifts
aforesaid, payable in specie, loan
office certificates reduced to
specie value, or certificates of
liquidated debts of the United
States, liable to a reduction by an
allowance for bad land, and
all incidental charges and circumstances
whatever: Provided,
That such allowance shall not exceed, in
the whole, one-third of
a dollar per acre. And in making payment
the principal only of
the said certificates shall be admitted,
and the board of treasury,
for such interst as may be due on the
certificate rendered
in payment as aforesaid, prior to
January 1, 1786, shall issue
indents for interest to the possessors,
which shall be receiv-
able in payment as other indents for
interests of the existing
requisitions of Congress; and for such
interest as may be due on
the said certificates between that
period and the period of pay-
ment, the said board shall issue
indents, the payment of which
to be provided for in future
requisitions, or otherwise. Such of
the purchasers as may possess rights for
bounties of land to the
138 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
late army, to be permitted to render the
same in discharge of the
contract, acre for acre: Provided, That
the aggregate of such
right shall not exceed one-seventh part
of the land to be paid
for: And provided also, That there shall
be no future claim
against the United States on account of
the said rights. Not less
than 500,000 dollars of the purchase
money to be paid down upon
closing of the contract, and the
remainder upon the completion
of the work to be performed by the
geographer or other officer
on the part of the United States. Good
and sufficient security
to be given by the purchaser or
purchasers for the completion of
the contract on his or their part. The
grant to be made upon the
full payment of the consideration money,
and a right of entry and
occupancy to be acquired immediately for
so much of the tract
as shall be agreed upon between the
treasury and the purchasers.
"Ordered, That the above be
referred to the board of treas-
ury to take order."
Appendix No. 3.-The following is the letter referred to,
of Cutler and Sargent, to the board of
treasury, dated New
York, July 26, 1787:
"We observe by the act of the 23d
instant, that your honor-
able board is authorized to enter into a
contract for the sale of a
tract of land therein described, on
certain conditions expressed
in the act. As we suppose this measure
has been adopted in
consequence of proposals made by us in
behalf of ourselves
and associates, to a committee of
Congress, we beg leave to in-
form you that we are ready to enter into
a contract for the pur-
chase of lands described in the act,
provided you conceive your-
self authorized to admit of the
following conditions, which, in
some degree, vary from the report of the
committee, viz:
"The subordinate surveys shall be
completed as mentioned
in the act, unless the frequency of
Indian irruptions may render
the same impracticable without a heavy
expense to the company.
"The mode of payment we propose is,
half a million of
dollars when the contract is executed;
another half a million
when the tract, as described, is
surveyed by the proper officer of
The Scioto Company and Its
Purchase. 139
the United States, and the remainder in
six equal payments,
computed from the date of the first
payment.
" The lands assigned for the
establishment of a University
to be nearly as possible in the center
of the first million and a
half of acres we shall pay for; for, to
fix it in the center of the
proposed purchase, might too long defer
the establishment.
"When the second payment is made,
the purchasers shall
receive a deed for as great a quantity
of land as a million dollars
will pay for, at the price agreed on;
after which we will agree
not to receive any further deeds for any
of the lands purchased,
only at such periods, and on such
conditions, as may be agreed
on betwixt the board and the purchasers.
"As to the security, which the act
says shall be good and
sufficient, we are unable to determine
what those terms may
mean, in the contemplation of Congress,
or of your honorable
board; we shall, therefore, only observe
that our private for-
tunes, and that of most of our
associates, being embarked in the
support of the purchase, it is not
possible for us to offer any
adequate security but that of the land
itself, as is usual in great
land purchases.
"We will agree so to regulate the
contract that we shall
never be entitled to a right of entry or
occupancy, but on lands
actually paid for, nor receive any deeds
till our payments amount
to a million of dollars, and then only
in proportion to such pay-
ment. The advance we shall always be
under, without any for-
mal deed, together with the improvements
made on the lands,
will, we presume, be ample security,
even if it was not the in-
terest as well as the disposition of the
company to lay the foun-
dation of their establishment on a
sacred regard to the rights of
property.
"If these terms are admitted, we
shall be ready to conclude
the contract."
By a resolution of 27th of July, 1787, it
was "Ordered that
the above letter from Manh. Cutler and
Winthrop Sargent, to
the board of treasury, containing
proposals for the purchase of
a tract of land described in the act of
Congress of the 23d in-
stant, be referred to the board of
treasury to take order: Pro-
vided, That after the date of the second
payment therein pro-
|
140 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VoL. 3
posed to be made, the residue shall be paid in six equal and half yearly installments, until the whole thereof shall be completed, and that the purchasers stipulate to pay interest on the sums due from the completion of the survey to be performed by the geographer." |
|
|
The Early Judiciary of Ohio. 141
THE
EARLY JUDICIARY, EARLY LAWS
AND BAR
OF OHIO.
A proper study of the early judicial
system and early laws
of our State carries us to a period
when, as a part of the great
Northwest Territory, we were under
control of the Federal
Government.
On the 13th day of July, 1787, the
Congress of the United
States passed the ordinance for
"The Government of the Terri-
tory of the United States, Northwest of
the River Ohio."
Relative to the judiciary, the ordinance
provided, "There shall
be appointed a Court to consist of three
Judges, any two of
whom to form a Court, who shall have a
common law jurisdic-
tion, and reside in the district, and
have each therein a freehold
estate in five hundred acres of land,
while in the exercise of
their offices, and their commissions
shall continue in force dur-
ing good behavior. 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 circumstances of the
district, and report them to
Congress, from time to time, which laws
shall be in force in the
district until the organization of the
General Assembly therein
unless disapproved of by Congress; but
afterward, the Legisla-
ture shall have authority to alter them
as they shall see fit."
The ordinance conferred no authority on
the Governor and
Judges to make laws, but only to adopt
and publish such of
those in force in the original States,
as might be necessary and
suitable to the circumstances of the
district. Acting under the
provisions of the ordinance, Congress on
the 16th day of Octo-
ber, 1787, just one hundred and three
years ago yesterday, ap-
pointed Samuel H. Parsons, John
Armstrong and James M.
Varnum, Judges for the new territory.
Judge Parsons was a
native of Connecticut, and a graduate of
Harvard University.
He was admitted to the bar in 1759, and
afterward served many
years as a member of the Connecticut
Legislature. His bi-
ography credits him with the distinction
of having "originated
the plan of forming the first
Congress," which was the forerun-
142 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
ner of the Continental Congress. He was
a conspicuous figure
in the Revolutionary war, attaining the
rank of Major-General.
He was also one of the military court
which tried Major Andre
on the charge of being a spy. At the
close of the war he re-
sumed the practice of his profession. In
1785 he was appointed
by Congress a Commissioner to treat with
the Miami Indians,
and two years later, was appointed one
of the Judges of the
new territory.
Judge Armstrong resigned after a few
months' service on
the bench. He was born in Carlisle,
Pennsylvania, and at the
beginning of the Revolutionary war was a
student at Princeton
College, which he left to join the
American Army. It is
charged that while he was in the army he
wrote the celebrated
Newburg letters for the purpose of
increasing the discontent
already existing among the officers,
andwhich had grown to
such proportions that it required the
personal efforts of General
Washington to quell it. After resigning
his judicial position,
he retired to his farm, and for many
years devoted himself to
the pursuit of agriculture. He was
subsequently United States
Senator and Minister to France, and the
author of several
standard works.
Perhaps the most able and brilliant of
the three Judges,
who first presided over the courts of
the Northwest Territory,
was Judge Varnum. He was a native of
Massachusetts and a
graduate of Brown University, and like
his associates on the
bench, was a soldier of the Revolution.
At the close of the
war he resumed the practice of his
profession and became the
leading lawyer of his State. He was a
member of the Conti-
nental Congress, and was recognized by
that body as "a man of
uncommon talents and most brilliant
eloquence." There is a
published oration which he delivered at
Marietta on the 4th day
July, 1788, while a member of the
Territorial Court, which
fully sustains his reputation as an
orator, and shows him to have
been of scholarly and historical
attainments. No fact concern-
ing the judicial history of the
Northwest Territory is more
clearly established, than that the
Judges who constituted its first
court, were men of classical education
and recognized ability as
The Early Judiciary of Ohio. 143
lawyers, and thoroughly equipped for the
discharge of their
judicial duties.
Upon the resignation of Judge Armstrong,
Congress ap-
pointed John Cleves Symmes his
successor. He was a native
of New York, served as a delegate in the
Continental Congress,
and was a distinguished Judge in New
Jersey at the time of his
appointment on the territorial
bench. As the appointments
which had been made by Congress, under
the Articles of Con-
federation, expired upon the election of
a president, Washing-
ton, after his election to that
position, reappointed those persons
who had previously been appointed by
Congress. Consequently,
Judges Parsons and Symmes were
reappointed Territorial
Judges. At the same time William Barton
was appointed to
the position made vacant by the death of
Judge Varnum. Judge
Barton declined the position, and George
Turner was appointed
to take his place. Shortly thereafter,
Judge Parsons died, and
Rufus Putnam, so well known in American
history as General
Rufus Putnam, was appointed his
successor. He held the posi-
tion for several years, and then
resigned to accept the office of
Surveyor General. He was succeeded on
the bench by Joseph
Gillman. In 1798, Judge Turner resigned
and Return Jonathan
Meigs was appointed his successor. He
was a native of Con-
necticut, and a graduate of Yale
College. His career was the
most brilliant and eventful in the
cluster of names which adorn
the history of the Northwest territory.
He afterward became a
Supreme
Judge of Ohio, Governor of the State,
United States
Judge in Michigan, a General in the war
of 1812, a United States
Senator and a member of the Cabinet of
Presidents Madison and
Monroe.
The Territorial Court, as organized
under the provisions of
the ordinance of 1787, lasted till 1799.
While some of the acts
adopted during this period were designed
to meet the peculiar
demands of those early times, many of
them embodied the prin-
ciples of a permanent and enduring
judicial system.
The first law was passed by Governor St.
Clair and Judges
Parsons and Varnum, and was entitled,
"A law for regulating
and establishing the militia in the
Territory of the United
States, Northwest of the River Ohio,
published at the City of
144 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
Marietta on the 25th day of July, in the
Thirteenth year of the
Independence of the United States, and
of our Lord, 1788, by
His Excellency, Arthur St. Clair,
Esquire, Governor and Com-
mander-in-Chief, and by the Honorable
Samuel Holden Parsons
and James Mitchel Varnum, Esquire, as
Judges."
A difference of opinion arose between
the Governor and
Judges concerning the extent of their
powers in adopting laws,
the Governor maintaining that they could
only adopt such laws
as were in force in some State; but the
Judges out-voted the
Governor and the matter was subsequently
referred to Congress,
which sustained the Governor's opinion.
The second law which
was passed, provided for establishing county
courts of Common
Pleas, and the power of single Judges to
hear and determine
upon small debts and contracts, and for
establishing the office of
Sheriff; and that there should be
created in each county a Court
styled the General Quarter Sessions of
the Peace, which was to
be held four times a year in each
county. The act also provided
that a number of suitable persons, not
exceeding five nor less
than three, should be appointed in each
county and commis-
sioned by the Governor under the seal of
the territory, to hold
and keep a court of record, to be styled
the County Court of
Common Pleas, and that said court should
be held at two fixed
periods in each county in every year and
at the same places
where the general courts of Quarter
Sessions were held. This
law was promulgated on the 23rd of
August, 1788, and the first
court in the Northwest territory was the
Court of Common
Pleas, which commenced on the first
Tuesday of September of
the same year. The following interesting
account of the open-
ing of this court, purports to have been
given by one who wit-
nessed the ceremony:
"On that memorable first Tuesday of
September, the citi-
zens, Governor St. Clair and other
Territorial Officers and Mili-
tary from Fort Harmar being assembled at
the Point, a proces-
sion was formed, and, as became the
occasion, with Colonel
Ebenezer Sproat, Sheriff, with drawn
sword and wand of office
at the head, marched up a path which had
been cut through the
forest, to the hall in the Northwest
Block House of Campus
Martius, where the whole
counter-marched, and the Judges,
The Early Judiciary of Ohio. 145
Putnam and Tupper, took their seats on
the high bench.
Prayer was fittingly offered by our
friend, the Reverend Manas-
seh Cutler, who was on a visit to the
new colony, after which
the commissions of the judges, clerk and
sheriff were read, and
the opening proclaimed in deep tones
byColonel Sproat, in these
words: '0, yes! a court is opened for
the administration of
even-handed justice to the poor and the
rich, to the guilty and
the innocent, without respect of
persons; none to be punished
without trial by their peers, and then
in pursuance of the laws
and evidence in the case.' This was the
opening of the Court
of Common Pleas. The Indian Chiefs, who
had been invited by
Governor St. Clair to attend the
convention, were curious wit-
nesses of this impressive scene."
On the second Tuesday of the same month
was held the
first session of the Court of Quarter
Sessions, of which Hildreth
says: " Court was held in the
Southeast Block House occupied
by Colonel E. Batelle. It was opened
with the usual proclama-
tion of the sheriff, but not until the
commission of the judges
had been read by the clerk. General
Rufus Putnam and General
B. Tucker were appointed justices of the
quorum, and Isaac
Pearce, Thomas Lord, R. G. Meigs,
assistant justices. Meigs
was clerk. Paul Fearing was admitted as
an attorney to plead
in all the courts in Washington county,
being the first lawyer
ever admitted to practice in the
Northwest Territory. He was
also appointed by the Court attorney for
the United States in
Washington county. The Grand Jury
consisted of the follow-
ing person: William Stacy, Nathaniel
Cushing, Nathaniel Good-
ale, Charles Knowles, Aselm Tupper,
Jonathan Stone, Oliver
Rice, Ezra Lunt, John Matthews, George
Ingersol, Jonathan
Devol, Samuel Stebbins, Jethro Putnam
and Jabez True. Wil-
liam Stacy was made foreman. The charge
to the jury was
given "with much dignity and
propriety by Judge Putnam."
At one o'clock the Grand Jury retired
and the Court adjourned
for thirty minutes. At half past one the
Court again opened,
when the jurors entered and presented a
written address to the
Court, which, after being read, was ordered
to be kept on file.
Judge Putnam made a reply to the
address. There being no
Vol. III-10
146 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
suits before the Court, it was adjourned
without day. This
closed the first Court of Quarter
Sessions in the new territory."
One week after the publication of the
law creating the Court
of Quarter Sessions, the act
establishing a Probate Court was
promulgated. On the 6th of September,
1788, there was pub-
lished " a law respecting crimes
and punishments." It defined
and provided the punishment for treason,
murder, manslaughter,
arson, burglary with theft, burglary
with personal violence,
burglary with homicide, robbery, riots
and unlawful assemblies,
perjury, subornation of perjury,
punishment for obstructing
authority, receiving stolen goods,
larceny, forgery, usurpation,
assault and battery, and drunkenness,
the penalty for the last
offense being a fine in the sum of five
dimes for the first offense,
and for every succeeding offense the sum
of one dollar, and " in
either case upon the offender's
neglecting or refusing to pay the
fine, he was set in the stocks for the
space of one hour."
The act also contained the following
provisions concerning
the use of improper and profane
language:
"WHEREAS, Idle, vain and obscene conversation, profane
cursing and swearing, and more
especially the irreverently men-
tioning, calling upon or invoking the
sacred and Supreme Being,
by any of the divine characters in which
He hath graciously
consented to reveal His infinitely
beneficent purposes to man-
kind, are repugnant to every moral
sentiment, subversive of
every civil obligation, inconsistent
with the ornaments of pol-
ished life, and abhorrent to the
principles of the most benevolent
religion. It is expected, therefore, if
crimes of this kind should
exist, they will find no encouragement,
countenance or approba-
tion in this territory. It is strictly enjoined upon
all officers and
ministers of justice, upon parents and
other heads of families,
and upon others of every description,
that they abstain from
practices so vile and irrational; and
that by example and pre-
cept, to the utmost of their power, they
prevent the necessity
of adopting and publishing laws, with
penalties, upon this head.
And it is hereby declared that
government will consider as un-
worthy its confidence all those who may
obstinately violate these
injunctions."
And the following relative to the
religious observance of the
Sabbath:
"WHEREAS, Mankind in every stage of
informed society,
have consecrated certain portions of
time to the particular culti-
The Early Judiciary of Ohio. 147
vation of the social virtues, and the
public adoration and wor-
ship of the common-parent of the
universe; and whereas, a
practice so rational in itself, and
conformable to the divine pre-
cepts is greatly conducive to
civilization and piety; and whereas,
for the advancement of such important
and interesting pur-
poses, most of the Christian world have
set apart the first day
of the week as a day of rest from common
labor and pursuits, it
is, therefore, enjoined that all servile
labor, works of, necessity
and charity only excepted, be wholly
abstained from on that
day.
Among other important acts which were
adopted was one
directing the building and establishing
of a court house, county
jail, pillory, whipping-post and stocks
in every county.
Another, subjecting real estate to
execution for debt. In
Chase's Statutes appears this foot
note: "These laws from
Chapter 37 to Chapter 74, inclusive,
have been commonly known
to the profession as the 'Maxwell Code.'
They were adopted
and published in Cincinnati in 1795 by
Governor St. Clair and
Judges Symmes and Turner."
Another was a law to prevent unnecessary
delays in causes
after issue joined. Still another,
limiting the time of com-
mencing civil actions and instituting
criminal prosecutions, was
passed December 28, 1788. "This
law," says Chase, "was dis-
approved by Congress, May 8, 1792."
Another law on the same
subject was adopted in 1795, which was
repealed by the terri-
torial legislature as unconstitutional.
No law on this subject
was afterward enacted until 1803, when
the state legislature
passed an act of limitation.
An act of special interest to the legal
profession of the
present day regulated the fees of the
officers of the court, in-
cluding attorneys. It allowed a judge in
the general court, for
allowing a writ of error, sixty-two and
one-half cents; for every
supersedeas, thirty-seven and one-half
cents; the same for taking
bail; for taking an affidavit, twelve
and one-half cents; admit-
ting a counselor-at-law, or attorney,
one dollar and twenty-five
cents; licensing a counselor-at-law, or
attorney, three dollars and
seventy-five cents.
The following were some of the fees
allowed the Attorney-
General: Entering every cessal
processus or nolle prosequi for
148 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VoL. 3
each defendant, sixty-two and one-half
cents; every indictment
per sheet, eighteen cents; fee on trial,
three dollars; for trial of
every capital cause where life was
concerned, eight dollars.
To attorneys in a general court, it
allowed for a retainer fee,
three dollars and fifty cents, but where
several suits were
brought upon one note or bond, no more
than one retainer fee
was allowed; drawing warrant of
attorney, twenty-eight cents;
drawing of processus and returns,
twelve and one-half cents; for
argument on special motion, one dollar
and twenty-five cents,
while to attorneys in the Court of
Common Pleas, it allowed the
following: Drawing warrant of attorney,
twelve and one-half
cents; every motion, twenty-five cents;
drawing a declaration
and other pleadings, per sheet,
containing seventy-two words,
twelve and one-half cents, and every
copy thereof, six cents per
sheet.
This act distinguished between
counselors-at-law and at-
torneys-at-law, and between the
practitioner at the General
Court and the Common Pleas Court. By the
year 1790, the
business of the courts had grown to such
an extent that an act
was passed increasing the number of
terms of the Common
Pleas Court in each year from two to
four, and the number of
Common Pleas judges to not less than
three or more than seven.
Other important acts were adopted, such
as the act regulat-
ing marriage, a law for the partition of
lands, a law respecting
divorce, a law authorizing the judges to
subdivide the counties
into townships; and here we find for the
first time in our judicial
history a recognition of those small
political subdivisions.
The ordinance of 1787 provided, that as
soon as it was
proven that there were five thousand
free male inhabitants of
lawful age in the district, they should
be authorized to elect rep-
resentatives to the general assembly.
How the proof was to
be made does not appear, but in 1798,
Governor St. Clair issued
his proclamation that the territory
contained the requisite num-
ber of free male inhabitants, and called
upon the people to elect
representatives, the proportion of
representatives being one to
every five hundred voters; but no one
could be a representative
unless he had been a citizen of the
United States for three years
and a resident of the district, or
unless he had resided in the
The Early Judiciary of Ohio. 149
district for three years, and in either
case he must own in fee
simple two hundred acres of land within
his district.
The general assembly consisted of the
Governor, a legisla-
tive council, and a House of
Representatives. The council con-
sisted of five members, who held their
office for five years, unless
sooner removed. They were selected in
the following manner:
The representatives who were elected by
the people met at the
time and place designated by the
Governor, and nominated ten
persons, each of whom were required to
be a resident of the
district and possess a freehold estate
in five hundred acres of
land, and the names of these ten persons
were sent by the repre-
sentatives to Congress, and Congress
selected five out of the ten
and appointed them to serve as members
of the council. The
members of the council and house of
representatives met at Cin-
cinnati on the 16th of September, 1799,
and organized the first
general assembly of the Northwest
territory, at which time the
authority of the Governor and judges to
adopt and promulgate
laws ceased, and the territory was
thereafter governed by laws
passed by the territorial general
assembly. Edwin Tiffin was
elected Speaker of the House of
Representatives and Henry
Vanderberg was elected President of the
Council.
In commenting upon the character,
ability and general
worth of the men who constituted this
general assembly, Judge
Burnett, in his notes on the Northwest
Territory, says: "In
choosing members to the first
territorial legislature, the people
in almost every instance selected the
strongest and best men in
their respective counties. Party
influence was scarcely felt, and
it may be said with confidence, that no
legislature has been
chosen under the State government which
contained a larger
proportion of aged intelligent men, than
were found in that
body. Many of them, it is true, were
acquainted with the forms
and practical duties of legislation, but
they were strong-minded,
sensible men, acquainted with the
condition and want of the
country, and could form correct opinions
of the operation of any
measure proposed for their
consideration.
One of the most important duties which
devolved upon the
assembly was to elect a representative
of the territory to the
National Congress. William Henry
Harrison and Arthur St.
150 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
Clair, junior, were the candidates. The
former received twelve
votes, while the latter received ten.
Mr. Harrison was accord-
ingly declared elected.
The first act passed at this session of
the general assembly,
was one approving and declaring to be in
force, certain acts
which had previously been adopted by the
Judges and the Gov-
ernor.
The second act passed-which was on the
29th of October,
1799-was one regulating the admission
and practice of attor-
neys and counselors-at-law, the first
section of which provided
for the applicant obtaining a license to
practice, from the Gov-
ernor of the territory, which admitted
him to practice as an
attorney-at-law according to the laws
and customs of said terri-
tory, during his good behavior, and
authorized him to receive
such fees as might be established; and
required all judges, jus-
tices, and others concerned to respect
him accordingly; but he
could not receive such license from the
Governor until he had
obtained a certificate signed by two or
more of the judges of the
general court, setting forth that he had
been regularly examined;
but before he could be examined, he was
required to produce a
certificate that he had regularly and
attentively studied law
under the direction of a practicing
attorney, residing within the
territory for the period of four years.
This act, like the one
adopted by the Governor and Judges,
retained the distinction
between counselor and attorney-at-law,
and their admission to
practice at the general term and Court
of Common Pleas. It
gave the judges of the General court,
and of the several Com-
mon Pleas courts, power to punish in a
summary way, according
to the rules of law and the usages of
the courts, any and every
attorney or counselor-at-law who should
be guilty of any con-
tempt in the execution of his office,
and every attorney or coun-
selor-at-law who received money for the
use of his client and re-
fused to pay the same when demanded,
could be proceeded
against in a summary way, on motion.
On November 3, 1800, the second session
of the first gen-
eral assembly met at Chillicothe and
adjourned on the 9th of De-
cember following.
The second general assembly held its
first session at Chilli-
The Early Judiciary of Ohio. 151
cothe, commencing on the 23rd of
November, 1801, and ending
on the 23rd of January, 1802. Edward
Tiffin was again elected
Speaker of the House of Representatives,
and Robert Oliver
was elected President of the
Council. Notwithstanding the
assembly adjourned to meet in November
following, a second
session was never held, for the reason
that soon after the
adjournment of the first session, a
census was taken of the
population of the Eastern Division of
the territory, and it was
found that it exceeded forty-five
thousand persons. Thereupon,
an appeal was made to Congress, that the
inhabitants of the
Eastern Division be authorized to call a
convention and form a
constitution with the view of
establishing a State government.
Congress passed an act authorizing the
convention to be held,
and as the result, a constitution was
adopted and a State formed,
and admitted into the Federal Union.
The convention which framed the first
Constitution of our
State met at Chillicothe on the first
Monday of November, 1802.
It was expeditious in its work, for on
the 29th of the same
month it adjourned, having adopted a
Constitution without sub-
mitting it to the people for
ratification. Concerning the judiciary
it contained the following clause:
"The judicial power of the
State, both as to matters of law and
equity, shall be vested in a
Supreme Court, Court of Common Pleas for
each county, in
Justices of the Peace, and in such other
courts as the Legislature
may, from time to time, establish.
It further provided, that the Supreme
Court should consist
of three judges, auy two of whom should
be a quorum; that
they should be appointed by a joint
ballot of both Houses of the
General Assembly, and should hold their
office for the term of
seven years, if so long they behaved
well.
The first General Assembly of the State
of Ohio convened
at Chillicothe on Tuesday, March 1st,
1803. On the 15th of
April following, it passed a general act
providing for the organi-
zation of "Judicial Courts,"
and abolished all courts which had
been established during the existence of
the Territorial Govern-
ment. During the session, the convention
elected the following
State officers: William Creighton, jr.,
Secretary of State;
Thomas Gibson, Auditor; William
McFarland, Treasurer, while
152 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
Return Jonathan Meigs, jr., Samuel
Huntington and William
Sprigg were elected Judges of the
Supreme Court, and Francis
Dunlavey, Wyllys Sillman and Calvin
Pease, Judges of the Dis-
trict Courts.
The second General Assembly met on
December 5th, 1803.
On February 18, 1804, it amended the act
of the first General
Assembly providing for the organization
of the courts. On the
same day it passed an act "
regulating the duties of Justices of
the Peace and Constables, in criminal
and civil cases," making
their jurisdiction co-extensive with
their counties in criminal
matters, and with their townships in
civil causes, which is still
the provision of our statutes. It also
prescribed the forms which
should be used by the Justices in their
practice, and with little,
if any change, they are still used.
The third General Assembly began its
session on December
3, 1804. The first act which it passed
related to crimes and pun-
ishments. On the 12th of February, 1805,
a general act was
passed defining the duties of Justices
of the Peace and Con-
stables, and repealing all former laws
in force on that subject.
Among other things, this act provided
that Justices should have
jurisdiction in civil cases to the amount
of fifty dollars without
the right of jury trial. Subsequently, Judges Huntington
and Todd of the Supreme Court, and Pease
of the Common
Pleas Court, who afterward was on the
Supreme Bench, held
this provision of the law to be in
conflict with that section of the
Federal Constitution, which provides
that " in suits at common
law when the value in controversy shall
exceed twenty dollars,
the right of trial by jury shall be
preserved." The court also
held the act to be in conflict with that
clause of the State Con-
stitution providing that "the right
of trial by jury shall be in-
violate." Out of this decision
arose a most interesting and ex-
citing proceeding. The indignation of the public toward the
Judges who rendered the decision, was
violent and almost unre-
strained. It was asserted that the
judicial branch of the gov-
ernment was invading the domain of the
legislature, and assum-
ing legislative powers, and such conduct
was not to be tolerated
even from the Supreme Court. In
consequence of the bitter
feeling among the members of the General
Assembly, that body
The Early Judiciary of Ohio. 153
undertook to impeach the Judges who had
rendered the decision.
The records of the proceedings show that
on December 24, 1808,
the following message was sent from the
House of Repre-
sentatives:
"The House of Representatives
having instructed the man-
agers appointed to conduct the
impeachment against Calvin
Pease, Esquire, President of the Third
Circuit of the Court of
Common Pleas of this State, to proceed
to the bar of the Senate
with the articles of impeachment against
the said Calvin Pease,
Esquire, and there demanded that the
said Calvin Pease, Es-
quire, be put to answer the said
articles of impeachment ex-
hibited against him." Committees
were then appointed to pre-
pare and report the method of proceeding
in the conduct of
the trial. On December 27, the Managers
on the part of the
House, took seats assigned them within the bar, and the
Sergeant-at-Arms made proclamation of
the trial in the follow-
ing words: "0, yes! 0, yes! 0, yes!
all persons are commanded
to keep silence under pain of
imprisonment, while the grand
inquest of the State is exhibiting to
the Senate of Ohio, articles
of impeachment against Calvin Pease,
President of the Courts
of Common Pleas of the Third
Circuit." The articles were then
read. In the course of the trial, the
Sergeant-at-Arms was
directed by the Speaker to call Calvin
Pease, Esquire, three
several times in the following manner,
to appear and answer:
"Hear ye, Hear ye, Hear ye, Calvin
Pease, President of the
Court of Common Pleas of the Third
Circuit, come forward and
answer the articles of impeachment
exhibited against you by the
House of Representatives." Articles
were drawn up against
each of the Judges. The one against
Pease contained three
distinct charges, while that against
Todd contained but one.
Judge Harrington in the meantime had
been elected Governor,
and for that reason the charges against
him were not pressed.
The accused were each furnished copies
of the charges and then
filed their answers. Several days were
spent in the trial. In the
Senate Journal of 1808-9 appears this
short, but interesting
record: "High Court of Impeachment,
Monday, February 6th.
The State of Ohio vs. Calvin
Pease." The court was opened
by proclamation. Ordered, that the Clerk
notify the House
154 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
of Representatives that the Senate is in
their public chamber
and ready to proceed farther with the
trial of impeachment of
Calvin Pease, President of the Courts of
Common Pleas of the
Third Circuit of this State. The
Managers accompanied by the
House of Representatives, attended. The
respondent with his
counsel also attended on the first
article of impeachment.
The clerk took the opinion of the
members of the court,
respectively, in the form following: Mr.
-, how say you,
is the respondent, Calvin Pease, guilty
or not guilty, of the
high crime or misdemeanor as charged in
the first article of
impeachment?" The respondent was
unanimously acquitted on
the first charge. The Clerk then took the
opinion in the same
way of each member on the second article
of impeachment.
Fifteen members voted "guilty
" and nine "not guilty". Where-
upon, the Speaker declared that
"Calvin Pease, President of the
Courts of Common Pleas of the Third
Circuit of this State, is
acquitted of all the charges contained
in the articles of impeach-
ment exhibited against him by the House
of Representatives,"
and the court adjourned without day. The
proceedings against
Judge Tod were then commenced and lasted
several days, the
vote standing as it did in the case of
Judge Pease.
The business of the courts kept pace
with the rapid com-
mercial developments of the new State
and the increase in its
population. The members of the Supreme
Court were required
to travel the circuit, and as there were
no carriages or railroads,
they were compelled to go on horseback,
and in the absence of
the modern turn-pike or even the old
corduroy road, the journey
was undesirable and frequently
hazardous.
For many years the annual salary of a
Supreme Judge was
only eight hundred dollars, but neither
the corduroy roads nor
the small salary were permitted to
stifle the social side of the
court, and there is abundant evidence
that the good nature of
the dignified judges sometimes
manifested itself in ways that
were calculated to develop social
amenities at the expense of ju-
dicial gravity. I am indebted to Senator
Sherman for the follow-
ing incident, who recently related it to
me and authorized its use
in this connection. Judge Hitchcock had
often said that circum-
stantial evidence was stronger than
direct evidence, for the rea-
The Early Juniciary of Ohio. 155
son that " witnesses will lie and
you can not prevent it, but cir-
cumstantial evidence never lies."
It was one of the Judge's
peculiarities that he was greatly averse
to card playing. Once
when the Judges were holding court in
Columbus, they all occu-
pied one room at the hotel. One evening
after Judge Hitchcock
had retired, several members of the bar
called, and "old sledge"
and "whiskey poker" were
indulged in until a late hour. When
the callers had departed, one of the
judges opened Judge Hitch-
cock's valise, and taking out a soiled
garment wrapped it around
a well-worn pack of cards, and then
replaced it in the valise.
The next day the judges went to their
homes, when Mrs. Hitch-
cock (as the Judge afterward told the
other members of the
court) opened his valise for the purpose
of getting his wash, and
was horrified at discovering the pack.
She was convinced that
the Judge had learned to
"play," and in great distress went to
him and said: " Peter, Peter, what
have you been doing? It is
too bad, and I never would have thought
it of you; see what I
have found in your shirt!" At the
same time exhibiting the
cards. Judge Hitchcock told it to the
other judges as a joke,
when one of them remarked that it might
have been a joke, but
the circumstantial evidence seemed
complete. The judge saw
the point and thereafter had less to say
about the weight of such
testimony.
In the preface to Wright's Reports is
the following state-
ment made by that excellent judge,
relative to the labors of the
Supreme Court at that time: " The
Supreme Court of Ohio is
now composed of four judges, the largest
number the Constitu-
tion permits. The Constitution requires
a court to be holden
once a year in each county, and makes
any two of the judges a
quorum. A legislative act imposes upon
the judges the duty of
holding every year a court in bane at
the seat of government.
* * * The principal result of this
organization of the court
is, that the Supreme Court is generally
held in the several coun-
ties by two judges only. The judges
relieve one another to suit
their own convenience, so dividing their
labor that each may per-
form one-half of the circuit duty. The
duties imposed on this
Court are so great as to make this
relief necessary, for it would
be difficult to find men of sufficient
physical ability to partici-
156 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
pate in all of them. These judges now
hold court in seventy-
two counties each year, requiring 2250
miles travel. The num-
ber of cases on their trial dockets in
1834 was 1459. The judges
are occupied in bane from three to four
weeks annually. If that
time and Sundays are deducted from the
year and the usual
allowance is made for travel, the Court,
to clear its docket,
would be under the necessity of deciding
on an average, about
seven cases a day for each remaining day
of the year."
To relieve the pressure upon the courts
it became necessary
to increase the number of Supreme Judges
and to create new
Courts of Common Pleas. There were
thirty Judges of the
Supreme Court under the old Constitution,
which covered a
period of forty-nine years. The
decisions of the Court were not
published by legislative authority and
in permanent form until
1823, when the first volume of the Ohio
Reports was issued.
The earlier judges who graced our
Supreme bench were
Huntington, Meigs, Sprigg, Todd, Symmes,
Scott, Morris,
Irwin, Brown and Pease, two of whom,
Huntington and Meigs,
were afterward Governor of the State.
Following these were
McLean, afterward a Cabinet officer and
a Justice of the
Supreme Court of the United States; then
Couch, and Burnett,
who was afterward a United States
Senator; and Hitchcock, who
occupied the position for twenty-eight
years-longer than any
man before or since his time. Then came
Sherman, the father
of the General and Senator, who died
while on the bench, at the
early age of forty-one. Then Gustavus
Swan, the uncle of Jos-
eph R. Swan, who was on the same bench
under the new Con-
stitution; then Hayward, Goodenow,
Brush, Wood and Wright.
They were followed by Collet, Lane,
Grimke, Birchard, Read,
Avery, Spalding, Caldwell and Ranney.
These were all able
judges, but some of them were especially
eminent, and their
opinions made the Court distinguished
throughout the entire
country. But the reputation of the bar
was equal to that of the
bench, and many of the greatest lawyers
of our State practiced
under the old Constitution. Among the
earlier names which be-
came illustrious was that of William
Creighton, of Chillicothe.
He was educated at Dickinson College;
where he was a fellow-
student of the great Tanney, afterward
Chief Justice of the
The Early Judiciary of Ohio. 157
United States. He was especially
distinguished as a jury law-
yer. He served many years in Congress,
and was an intimate
friend of Daniel Webster. I have heard
it said that if Mr. Web-
ster had reached the Presidency, Mr.
Creighton would have been
a member of his Cabinet.
Another great member of the Chillicothe
bar was Benjamin
F. Leonard. He was a man of profound
learning in the law and
all kindred subjects. Then came a
cluster of names which will
forever remain unsurpassed for their
learning, eloquence and
wit, every element, in fact, which
enters into consideration in
the make-up of a great lawyer. Among
them was Samuel F.
Vinton. Like others who helped to make
our State illustrious,
he was born in New England. He graduated
at Williams Col-
lege and settled in Gallipolis in 1816.
He was elected a Repre-
sentative in Congress in 1823 and served
for fourteen years. He
was again elected in 1843 and served
eight years, in all a period
of twenty-two years. His greatest legal
effort was his argument
in the case of the commonwealth against
Garner and others, be-
fore the Supreme Court of Virginia, in
1845. Peter M. Garner,
Mordecai Thomas and Graydon J. Loraine
were citizens of the
State of Ohio, while John H. Harwood
resided in Wood county,
Virginia, and was the owner of slaves.
On the 9th of July,
1845, some slaves, intending to escape
from Harwood, crossed
over the Ohio River in a canoe to the
Ohio shore, where said
Garner, Thomas and Loraine met them and
were in the act of
assisting them from the canoe and up the
river bank, when they
were all arrested, taken to Virginia,
imprisoned, and subse-
quently indicted. As the arrest was made
on the Ohio side
of the river, the only question in the
case was, what was the
extent of Virginia's jurisdiction over
the rivers. The case
attracted national attention. Mr.
Vinton, in his argument,
claimed that the jurisdiction of
Virginia did not extend on the
north side of the river beyond low water
mark. He asserted
that Virginia never had an ownership in
the Northwest Terri-
tory, first, because the charter which
King James granted in
1609, and which was claimed as the
source of Virginia's title,
did not include land which lay beyond
the Ohio, or west of the
Allegheny Mountains; and, second, if the
grant was originally
158 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
broad enough to embrace the land lying
within the Northwest
Territory, the charter which the King
granted to Virginia had
been revoked by the Court of King's
Bench in 1824, " when a
judgment was rendered against the
corporation, canceling the
patent and ordering the franchises of
the charter resumed by
the crown."
The argument of Mr. Vinton in this case
will always be
classed among the greatest arguments of
the greatest American
lawyers. As an historical production it
was overwhelming, and
absolutely unanswerable. It was
delivered to twelve judges,
and by a majority of one, the decision
was in his favor. Simeon
Nash of Gallipolis was also a
distinguished lawyer and judge,
but his reputation chiefly rests upon
being the author of Nash's
Pleadings. William Allen of Chillicothe
was another man who
won his way to distinction at the bar.
He afterward was United
States Senator and Governor of Ohio.
Greatest, perhaps, of all, were Ewing,
Stanbury and Corwin.
Whether their fame rests wholly upon
their distinction at the bar
or not, it is certain they fill the
largest horizon and occupy the
greatest places in history of any
lawyers which our State has
produced. Each rose from humble birth to
a place in the Na-
tion's cabinet; and great as they all
were, each was without a
peer in his especial field.
Ewing's intellect was strong and rugged.
He would have
been a great natural lawyer had he never
seen a law book, a
great logician had he never seen a work
on logic. Nature made
him to be an expounder of the law. If
his arguments were
somewhat devoid of ornament, it was
because they needed no
ornament; they were too great to be
ornate.
Mr. Stanbury was a broader scholar than
Mr. Ewing. Mr.
Ewing was master of the rough logic of
nature, while Mr. Stan-
bury was always equipped in the armor of
the books. He was
a thorough student of the law, and
always knew the decisions
of the courts. Strong as he was in this
particular, another ele-
ment of his strength was his unrivaled
eloquence and the purity
of his diction.
Mr. Corwin was not the equal of either
Mr. Ewing or Mr.
Stanbury as a lawyer in the strict sense
of that word. Neither
The Early Judiciary of Ohio. 159
were either of them his equal in his
special adaptation. It is
questionable if he ever had a superior
as an advocate before a
jury. The burning eloquence and
impassioned oratory with
which he swayed a popular audience - at
one time making his
hearers weep, in the next convulsing
them with laughter, and
then in an instant filling them with awe
at the grandeur and
sublimity of his rhetoric-was always at
his command in the
trial of a jury cause.
Among the many members of the legal
profession who came
in an early day to our young State and
made it their future home
and afterward became famous lawyers,
Salmon P. Chase was the
most conspicuous. His edition of the
Revised Statutes of Ohio
was an invaluable compilation, and could
not have been prepared
by any but the most careful and thorough
lawyer. It contains a
preliminary history of Ohio which is the
best ever written. The
career of this great man fully sustained
the promise of his early
life. He was a member of President
Lincoln's Cabinet, and for
many years was a conspicuous figure in
the Republic, and died
as the Chief Justice of its Supreme
Court, the peer of his illus-
trious predecessors.
It would be interesting to mention the
great judges who
have adorned our Supreme Bench under the
present Constitu-
tion, among whom Ranney and Thurman
would be entitled to
special notice; and also interesting to
dwell at length on the
many lawyers who have risen to eminence
and fame since the
adoption of that instrument; among whom
are Stanton, Waite,
Swayne, Matthews, Groesbeck, Perry,
Hoadly, Pugh, Hunter,
Taft, Harrison, Boynton, Shellebarger,
Hutchins, West, Ambler
and others; but my theme relates to our early
judiciary and early
bar, and precludes me from coming beyond
the adoption of the
present Constitution. Much as Ohio has
to be proud of, and
great as her position is in the National
Union, nothing has con-
tributed more to her greatness and the
permanency of her insti-
tutions, than her early judiciary and
early bar.
DAVID K. WATSON.
|
160 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
Following Mr. Watson's address, several short speeches were made, after which Mr. Graham repeated somewhat briefly his illustrated address on the " French Discoveries and Claims in America." This done, a reception was held, and the exercises for the day closed. The next day, the Sabbath, the Centennial day, was properly and fittingly observed in all the churches. In the afternoon, in the opera house, Rev. Washington Gladden preached the anniversary sermon. This sermon, as well as ab- stracts of those preached in the pulpits of the city churches, conclude this part of the volume. |
|
|
Remarks of Gov. James E.
Campbell. 161
REMARKS OF GOVERNOR JAMES E. CAMPBELL.
It was a long-deferred pleasure one year
ago, on the 19th of
October, to make my first visit here. I
learned after arriving
that it was an auspicious day, being the
ninety-ninth anniversary
of the landing upon the banks of yonder
river of the little band
of French settlers who founded this
handsome and flourishing
city. During an address to the people,
who gathered on that
occasion to hear the political
discussion of the then existing
campaign, I said, in a half-jocular way,
that I would return in a
year as Governor of the State to
celebrate the city's centennial.
In response to that promise, and your
subsequent courteous in-
vitation, my military staff and myself
have come to participate
in these interesting ceremonies. We are
here rather to be seen
than heard.
The programme announces that I am to
deliver an address,
but the unexpected and overwhelming
labors of the last fort-
night have absorbed my time to the
exclusion of anything but
official work, and I am, therefore,
obliged to confess that I have
no address-that the little I am to say
must be without prepara-
tion. I am simply a gleaner in the field
that has been harvested
so well by those who have preceded me.
The French settlers who came here a
century ago were, as
we all know, not the first French
settlers in the Ohio valley, for
the lilies of France had floated to the
breeze, both on the Ohio
and the Mississippi, a hundred years
before. They were found
north of the great lakes, and around the
southern bayous.
Parkham has happily described it by
saying that "French Amer-
ica had two heads; one among the snows f
Canada, the other
among the cane-brakes of
Louisiana!" Northern Ohio was
occupied by French fur traders as early
as 1680. They were
scattered along the lake from the Maumee
to the Cuyahoga.
Forty years before the settlement of
Gallipolis the English
settlers were warned out of Ohio by the
French commander,
and formal possession taken in the name
of Louis Fifteenth by
burying leaden plates along the Ohio
river, engraved with ap-
propriate inscriptions. The bloody and
picturesque drama of
Vol. III-11
162 0hio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
frontier settlement was participated in
by French officers of vari-
ous dates.
But the French who came here a century
ago, did not come
under the auspices of the French
Government. They expatrat-
ed themselves, and left their allegiance
and friends behind them.
They came not for conquest, nor for
glory, but were in a sense
refugees from the bloody wars then
raging in their own country.
They sought quiet homes, peaceful
pleasures, and frugal but
contented lives. They and their careers
have been accurately
and graphically depicted by your fellow
townsman who ad-
dressed himself to that part of the
subject yesterday. He has
told in elaborate detail of the
fraudulent titles and false pictures
of pioneer life that brought them here;
of their departure full
of the enthusiasm that characterizes the
mercurial and versatile
Gaul; their shipwreck at sea; their
landing at Alexandria, then
one of the most important points of the
infant republic; of
their troubles after landing; their
correspondence with Washing-
ton about the titles to their lands; of
their western trip, and
their landing here in the beautiful
autumn season; of their in-
aptitude, by reason of their former
habits and customs, for the
hardships and struggles of their new
home. All this has been
recited, and to repeat it now would be
but a work of supereroga-
tion.
The history of Gallipolis and the
surrounding country from
that day to this has doubtless been well
told here under the title
of "A Century and its Lesson,"
by a distinguished citizen of
the oldest city in Ohio. The history of
your people for the cen-
tury is the history of all the people of
Ohio. In the beginning
there were the dangers from savages;
from fever and ague, and
the climatic diseases of a new country.
They lived in the same
log huts, with the same puncheon floors;
were clothed in the
same deer-skin garments; used the same
hewn furniture; ate the
same hoe-cake, fish and game; indulged
in the same shooting
matches, bear-hunts and militia musters,
as all the other pioneers
in the other counties of the State. The
men were of sturdy
stock, and the women were fit mothers
for the generations that
were to follow.
As they lived here upon the banks of the
river they saw
Remarks of Governor James E.
Campbell. 163
many changes. They saw the first
steamboat, the "Orleans,"
pass down in 1811. Some thought it was a
comet, and some
that the British had come; and to all it
was a wonder, a marvel.
In 1812 (a year later), they went with
McArthur's regiment to
fight the British. From that day to this
the citizens of Galli-
polis have done their part as Americans
and Buckeyes, adding to
the glory and greatness of their State
and country in peace and
in war. Some of them went to Mexico and
helped to bring the
"Lone Star" and the
"Golden Gate" into the sisterhood of the
republic. Hundreds of them, during the
last war, did their full
share in restoring their country to its
integrity, and were a
glorious part of the three hundred and
twenty thousand names
which Ohio wrote upon the muster roll of
the Union. Your
people have taken their part in the
field of statesmanship and
letters. They have been guided by lofty
patriotism and high in-
telligence; and as they gather here
to-day by the thousands,
with all the evidences of culture and
wealth-the product of
American school houses and churches-they
fitly represent the
free institutions which have arisen from
the hopes, ambitions,
and successes of the pioneers who
gathered here one hundred
years ago.
164 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
RIO GRANDE COLLEGE-REV. J. M. DAVIS,
PRESIDENT.
When asked but a few hours ago to take part in the exercises
of this forenoon, I gladly consented; for, in my opinion, no inter-
est that has been developed in Gallia county in the first century
of its settlement is more worthy of being brought to remem-
brance and notice than its educational interests, and my connec-
tion for a number of years with Rio Grande college enables me
to set forth briefly its history and present condition. Other
gentlemen, who have given much time and research to the task,
have given an account of the public and other schools of this
city and of the county in general. I will confine my remarks to
the institution just named.
Shortly after the war of 1812, Nehemiah Atwood, a native
of Shenandoah county, Virginia, a man who had done honorable
service as an officer in the American army, settled in this county.
In 1819 he was married to Permelia Ridgeway, daughter of David
Ridgeway, who had come to Gallia county from South Carolina
in 1803. Mr. Atwood and his wife settled upon a farm near
where the present village of Rio Grande stands, and the remain-
der of their long and active lives was spent in the same neighbor-
hood. Without children, with good health, industry, economy,
and more than ordinary business qualifications, they accumulated
in about thirty years an estate of one hundred thousand dollars.
About 1850 a new personal force began to make itself felt
in the vicinity of their home, and we are called to notice a man
who afterward became one of the most useful and honored
citizens that this county has ever had. Rev. I. Z. Haning,
a native of Athens county, and a student of the Ohio University,
came as an evangelist into Huntington and Raccoon townships,
and under his divinely blessed labors a profound and extended
religious reformation took place, the good results of which are
yet visible in many forms.
Mr. and Mrs. Atwood listened to his teaching, were con-
verted to Christ, and from that day forth lived a new life. They
became studious and constant workers in their church and
Rio Grande College. 165
Sunday-school. They contributed largely
to the building of
a meeting house near their home, and
gave two thousand dollars
as an endowment fund to aid in the
support of regular preaching
at this church for all time. They gave
financial assistance
to the organized charities of the church
to which they belonged,
and to a school at Albany, Ohio, called
after that the Atwood
Institute.
As a result of their growing conceptions
of Christian benevo-
lence, and influenced by the advice of
Mr. Haning, they finally
decided to give their estate for the
founding and endowment of
a college in the place where they had
spent the most of their
lives and accumulated their fortune. Mr.
Atwood died in 1869,
before any steps had been taken toward
carrying out this plan.
At the invitation of his widow, Mr.
Haning soon afterward
removed to Rio Grande, and action was
taken toward the erection
and opening of the college. The college
building costing, $17,000,
and the boarding hall, costing $13,000,
were erected, and the
college opened in September, 1876.
A few weeks before its opening, the
founder executed her
will, bequeathing her entire estate for
its endowment. This
estate, which came into the possession
of the college trustees
upon her death in 1885, now amounts to
about $66,000.
The college has been in continued and
successful operation
since its opening; and at the present,
with its fine buildings and
grounds, its income equal to the
economical but vigorous man-
ner in which it is carried on, its
established character for thorough
work and for the inculcation of those
principles which are the
prime essentials in all the true manhood
and womanhood, and
with a warm place in a large and growing
portion of our people, is
one of the things that, as citizens of
Gallia county, we can look
upon with the deepest gratification as
we recount the progress
of a century and take account of the
things that make the com-
ing years bright and hopeful.
It is our privilege to rejoice in the
fact that our city and
county are sharing richly in all the
elements of welfare to be
found in a highly developed social
condition. We have left the
pioneer days behind us.
The clearing of the forest, the opening
of roads, the bridg-
166 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
ing of streams, the building of
comfortable places for residence,
business, instruction, and worship have
been accomplished.
Already, we are not only in the
possession of schools and
churches, but have entered upon the day
of orphanages, hos-
pitals and asylums.
All that a complex Christian society can
do for the pleasure
and improvement of adults, for the
culture of the young, for the
relief of the suffering and for the care
of the unfortunate, has
its foundation already laid in this
county. In matters pertaining
to higher education, we have not been
entirely outside the great
movements of thought and beneficence
that have done so much
for the advancement of learning in our
country in the last thirty
years.
What great and happy things of this kind
we can recount.
The wise and munificent benefactions of
George Peabody have
shed a lustre on his name that is only
surpassed by the richness
of the benefits they have produced. The
John F. Slater fund,
in the management and disbursement of
which one of the best
citizens of our State, ex-president
Hayes, is doing himself addi-
tional honor and his fellow-citizens
additional service, is one of
the greatest and best gifts of this
kind. A citizen of New York,
in the building of Cornell University,
has reared a noble monu--
ment to his name.
The Johns Hopkins University, at
Baltimore, has leaped into
vigorous being and is doing a great work
toward that which its
own president has pointed out as the
true office of all higher in-
stitutions, the work of "bestowing
upon society continual acces-
sions of highly-trained and
liberally-educated young people,
capable of contributing to human welfare
not only in the tradi-
tional professions but in all the
complex affairs of modern life
which require the application of
intellectual force to difficult and
often unexpected problems."
On our Pacific coast a United States
Senator now has it in
mind and hand to establish, upon a
financial basis of twenty
million dollars, an institution in which
any person may pursue
any line of profitable study possible to
the human mind.
To these larger and more noticeable
gifts are to be added
the numerous smaller but not less
praiseworthy and useful gifts.
Rio Grande College. 167
all over the country that of late years
have enlarged the resources
of existing institutions and founded a
multitude of new ones,
thus bringing the facilities for
learning to almost every door in
the land.
I repeat, it is something that may well
move our gratitude
to-day, that among all its other
elements of progress and pros-
perity, Gallia county has also had a
share in those gifts and
works that look toward the highest
intellectual and moral possi-
bilities of its sons and daughters. We
may well rejoice that
among our many worthy citizens in the
past there have been
some who labored and planned for these
things; that out of the
abundant wealth created by honorable
toil from the material re-
sources of this county, every acre of
which except the little spot
where these meetings are held was an
undeveloped wilderness a
century ago, one goodly portion of one
hundred thousand dollars
has been sacredly set apart for the work
of higher Christian edu-
cation. Looking at this fact, taking
into consideration the his-
tory and work of the other schools of
the county, to be pre-
sented to you by others, and firmly
believing that these institu-
tions will be fostered and enlarged by
the wisdom and benevolence
of our citizens in all coming days, the
only feelings possible to
my mind as I join with you in this
centennial celebration are
gratitude for the past and high hopes
and purposes for the future.
168 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
"THE EDUCATIONAL LESSONS OF THIS
HOUR."
REV. H. A. THOMPSON.
I appreciate the high honor done me by
your Chairman in
the invitation which he has extended me
to speak for a few
moments. I must tell you in advance that
I am not on the pro-
gram for the day; that I have no speech
prepared for your lis-
tening ears. I am here as a member of
the Ohio Historical
Society, whose members are the guests of
your committee. I
am here for the first time in your
beautiful little city to rejoice
with you in the good fortune which has
come to it, and to you,
in being able this day to celebrate its
one hundreth anniversary.
Such occasions are fraught with interest
and profit to us all. In
the olden time the Jews were annually
required to go to Jerusa-
lem, the capital city, to keep the feast
of the passover. As the
children of the household saw the
preparation made for this re-
markable feast they would naturally
inquire what it all meant.
The sacred historian instructed the
master of the household how
to answer: "When thy son asketh thee in time to come saying
what mean the testimonies, the statutes,
and the judgments
which the Lord, our God, hath commanded
you, then shalt thou
say unto thy son, we were Pharaoh's
bondmen in Egypt; and
the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a
mighty hand; and the
Lord showed signs and wonders great and
sore upon Egypt,
upon Pharaoh and upon all his house
before our eyes; and he
brought us from thence that he might
bring us in to give us the
land which he swear unto our fathers;
and the Lord commanded
us to do all these statutes, to fear the
Lord, our God, for our
good always, that he might preserve us
alive, as it is this day.
And it shall be righteousness unto us if
we observe to do all
this commandment before the Lord, our
God, as he hath com-
manded us."-Deut. VI., 20.
So as your children sit with you to-day
on these seats, lis-
tening to the addresses made and
witnessing the parades and
displays, they shall want to know what
it all means; and then
you can interest them in the history of the nation as they
have
never been interested before. It will be
your work to recount
The Educational Lessons of this
Hour. 169
to them the deeds of your ancestors, the
sufferings endured, the
privations undergone, to help build up
this glorious republic,
where every man can work out his own
destiny untrammeled by
the customs and traditions of the old
world; a land in which
above all other lands we recognize the
truth uttered by Scot-
land's humble, though illustrious
singer:
"What though on hamely faer we
dine,
Wear hoddin, gray and a' that;
Gye fools their silks and knaves their
wine
A man's a man for a' that."
And not only will the young people thus
be taught to love
their country, and to make themselves
more worthy of the her-
itage which it is theirs to enjoy, but
those of us who are older
and who can better appreciate our
advantages, may well in this
sacred spot, made sacred not only by the
presence of those who
came here one hundred years ago, but
later still by those noble
patriots who fought to save this nation
from dismemberment,
consecrate ourselves anew to our
country's good, and to be citi-
zens worthy of such illustrious
ancestors.
I have listened, as you no doubt have
also, with intense
pleasure to the distinguished gentleman
who has discoursed to
us so eloquently of the "Lessons of
the Century," as well as to
the gentleman who followed him in his
interesting sketch of the
college you have planted in your midst.
I think it is Cotton
Mather, the New England historian, who
says that one of the
first things our Puritan fathers thought
of after their settlement
in the American wilderness was the
founding of a college, that
their children might not grow up in
ignorance, nor their churches
be without pastors, and that the cause
of religion and education
might be advanced among them. Your
ancestors looked to your
welfare in planting a college in your
county and you will prove
yourselves degenerate sons of worthy
sires if you do not rally
about it and make it a place whither
your sons and daughters
may go to receive that training which
shall fit them for the
duties and responsibilities of this life
and the enjoyments of the
life to come. By the help which you can
give it, it will revolu-
170 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VoL. 3
tionize your county and give you a
citizenship excelled by none
in the land.
As I listened to the lessons of the
century I tried to look
forward to see what they taught us as to
the destiny of our own
fair land. Surely the reign of bloodshed
and of cruel war in
which the nations of the olden time
indulged must now be over.
The sword must no longer be the
arbitrament of nations, since
the "Prince of Peace" has come
proclaiming peace on earth
and good will to all men. We have
outgrown our infancy and
are now marching forward to a grander
and richer civilization.
We have made such a conquest of matter
as men never saw be-
fore; the forces of nature have been
harnessed as in no other
age to do our bidding. The masses have
broken through the
debris that has kept them down; they
have burst asunder the
trammels that bound them and the reign
of the common people
has commenced. Never have the
possibilities of manhood been
greater and never has there been such a
field for the manifesta-
tion of man's noblest powers as in this
land whose citizenship
we honor to-day. Never before has it
meant so much to live.
The very air is thick with questions
that teem with interest, and
that demand a solution at our hands.
While men never lived
with greater possibilities they never
rested under greater re-
sponsibilities. We cannot rest satisfied
with the fact that we are
growing in wealth; that our forests have
been subdued, our
lands tilled and our population
enlarged. To whom much is
given of these shall much be required.
The problems of civil
government have not all been solved. We
are to show the
nations of the earth such an example of
enlightened citizenship
as they have not yet seen. We are to be
a beacon light to those
that sit in darkness showing them the
way out of their disabili-
ties into the coming light. We are to
show them that a govern-
ment of the people, for the people, and
by the people is to be
the most permanent as it is the freest
form of civil government.
Let us see to it that we make of this
people a nation whose God
is the Lord. Not only our own destiny
but the destiny of other
peoples is in our hands. Let us see to
it that we are worthy of
the high trust which God and our fathers
have committed to us.
When our descendants shall come one
hundred years hence to
|
The Educational Lessons of this Hour. 171
celebrate this anniversary may they find a great nation without a peer; whose rulers rule in righteousness, a terror to evil doers and a praise to them that do well; a people true to their highest convictions of duty and yielding rightful homage to Him who is the King of kings and the source of all human government. |
|
|
172 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VoL.
3
REMARKS OF R. D. MARSHALL, ESQ.
Your presiding officer has called on me,
owing to some de-
lay in the arrival of trains, which has
delayed the forming and
moving of the procession, to address you
for a few minutes, and
has charged me with being a speaker of
some note, and as he
has placed me on trial before you on
that charge, I feel pretty
certain that when you have heard me, you
will promptly acquit
me of the charge, as it was not my
expectation to address the
people here, for I came to see and hear,
and not to talk.
This is my first visit to your city, and
those of you who
know the place so well, with its
beautiful surroundings, no
doubt think that my traveling in this
respect has been sadly
neglected.
One hundred years ago! What a change!
When the 600
pioneers, or thereabouts, landed here
one hundred years ago, if
this city as it is now could have then
met their gaze as they
floated down the Ohio river, how
different would have been their
feelings from what they were under the
circumstamces at that
time? In place of the log cabins,
uninhabited, that then met
their gaze on their first visit to this
place, I, on my first visit,
look upon a beautiful city of more than
12,000 inhabitants.
We are now, I am told, holding this
meeting on the grounds
where stood the log cabins that met the
gaze of your ancestors
when they arrived here, but instead of
log cabins, you now have
this beautiful park; the Ohio river
sweeps on the south side
of it just as it did one hundred years
ago, but, on the bosom of
that river now float the magnificent
steamers that we see at your
wharfs, instead of an occasional
flat-boat; and in place of the
thick forest that then covered these
grounds, you now have this
fine park, your level streets, miles in
length, built up on either
side with fine business blocks, or
beautiful residences. What a
change! But all this had a beginning,
and that beginning was
one hundred years ago to-day, and under
circumstances that
would have appalled a less heroic
people.
Among the pioneers that landed here,
most, if not all of
them, knew but little about such
hardships, as were to stare
Remarks of R. D. Marshall, Esq. 173
them in the face, and had but little
idea how to contend with, or
overcome the same. Again, they had been
deceived as well as
defrauded. But, among these, your
pioneers, there were heroes
and heroines, there were brave men and
brave women, and they
have left their footprints here which we
are looking at now, ad-
miring and honoring, for
"Lives of great men all remind us,
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us,
Footprints on the sands of time."
You men will pardon me, if I should give
even more credit
to the women than to the men, for whilst
under trying circum-
stances men are frequently so courageous
as to make them great,
women under similar circumstances become
not only great, but
almost reach sublimity with their
greatness.
Said a great thinker, "The greatest
and grandest words
known to anyone, are mother, home, and
heaven." This is a
sentiment that I fully endorse, and may
farther add, the one you
all have, or have had, and it would be
better that a mill stone
were tied to your neck, and that you
were planted in the bottom
of the Ohio river, than that you should
at any time, by any act
or word, bring shame or dishonor upon
that name. The second,
every one should strive to have and
secure, if he can honorably
do so. And the third, we are assured by
Him, who makes no
promise that He can not and will not
fulfill, that we can finally
reach if we are worthy of it.
Your respected townsman, Colonel Vance,
has requested me
to speak of the Miami Valley, and its
early history. Such a task
ought not to be attempted without a
preparation commensurate
with the subject. And again it seems to
me that there is but
one person that I know of in Ohio, who
can do the Miami Val-
ley and its early pioneers justice, and
that person is Judge Joseph
Cox, of Cincinnati; he knows its
history, and knows it as fully
and correctly as if he had grown up with
its every movement
since its first discovery by the white
man, and its history,
growth and progress should be written by
him, and not by a
novice like myself. It is true that
there are some things that I
174 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
know about that great valley. A wag once
said of it: "It is
God's country, for if it were otherwise,
he never would have
made it so rich, so beautiful and so
productive."
Will it be considered too facetious for
me at this time to say
that this valley produces larger corn,
and a greater abundance
thereof, than did Egypt at the time
Joseph garnered it there in
anticipation of the many years of
famine; and in its early his-
tory it had its pioneers, its heroes and
heroines, and yet at this
day it is not without its noted men. As
you are aware, the Gov-
ernor of this great State of Ohio, who
is with us to-day, was
born and reared in this valley, and his
ancestors lived there long
prior to his birth. And the Lieutenant
Governor, who is also
with us, comes from Logan County; the head-waters of the
river from which the valley takes its
name, are located in this
county. To this county my maternal
ancestors moved at an
early date, and endured the trials and
hardships of pioneer life.
In this county my grandmother, with gun
in hand, took com-
mand of the fort and stockade built near
the Miami river, about
eight miles west of Bellefontaine, and
in which fort were placed
the pioneer women and children of that
day, whilst her husband,
with other men along that valley, rushed
to the front, after
Hull's surrender; and it is said of her,
being surrounded by In-
dians as they were, that her courage,
coolness and heroism under
these trying circumstances were so
noted, that she was afterward
spoken of as " Heroic
Betsy." But it is not my purpose
to
speak of anything that would come so
near personal, and I only
refer to this as one of the matters that
is spoken of by one of
the pioneer writers of Ohio.
But I notice that the Governor of Ohio,
with his staff, and
the Governor of West Virginia, with his
staff, are already
mounted, and the band begins to play,
and the procession is be-
ginning to move, and you, like myself,
will want to witness the
grand display of the moving thousands in
this procession.
Remarks of J. V. Jones. 175
REMARKS OF J. V. JONES, ESQ.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN:- It would hardly
be proper for
me to say " fellow-citizens,"
for the reason of having been absent
from your county for nearly fifty-eight
years. During that time
many changes have been wrought in the
city of Gallipolis and
Gallia county. Eighty-one years ago a
young married couple
might have been seen slowly wending
their way on horseback
down the slopes of the Blue Ridge and
foot-hills of the Allegheny
Mountains of Virginia toward the
beautiful Ohio River as it swept
majestically past the town of
Gallipolis, or the "City of the
French." These young people brought
all their worldly goods
with them on horseback and settled north
of this city, some-
where near what is now known as
"Kerr Station," on the river
division of the Columbus, Hocking Valley
and Toledo Railroad.
The names of these young adventurers
were James Jones and
Priscilla Jones, nee Blagg. After
remaining in old Gallia county
for about twenty-three years they, with
a family of nine children,
of whom your speaker was one, removed
northward to the great
valley lying between the Sandusky and
Maumee Rivers, and
bounded on the north by the beautiful
Lake Erie. This great
forest valley was the hunting grounds of
Indian tribes, known
as the "Senecas" and
"Wyandotts." Our evening serenades in
the grand old forests were not the
handsomely-uniformed bands
of music you have here on this
Centennial occasion, but were
the whooping of the hunting bands of
Indians, the hooting of
the night owl and the howling of the
wolves. There we lived in
the rude log cabin, and lived one corn
bread and the wild game of
the grand old forests. It was there that
we received a common
school education in round log school
houses, daubed with mud
and with greased paper for window lights
and rude benches made
from split logs. But your speaker, one
of the descendants of
that family, has lived to see the
wilderness and the solitary
places be made glad and the desert
places to rejoice and blossom
as the rose.
The Indians have gone to their happy
hunting grounds, the
bear and the wild-cat have fled from
advancing civilization, the
176 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
forests have given way to countless
thousands of beautiful and
productive farms, the log cabins have
disappeared and their
places filled with beautiful farm
houses. And in place of the
log school houses and churches we now
have beautiful wood,
brick and stone structures with their
spires pointing heaven-
ward. Then the Sandusky and Maumee
rivers and the beautiful
Lake Erie were dotted only by the
Indian's canoe and the
trader's small craft. Now they carry the
commerce of the great
Northwest, assisted by the railroads, to
the markets of the East--
the cities of New York, Baltimore,
Boston, and from there to the
markets of the old world. In the great
valley of the Northwest
we slumbered for more than fifty years
over mines of wealth in
what was once known as the great
"Black Swamp." Natural
gas and pools of oil lay buried beneath
us in vast quantities,
which have lately been developed into
sources of luxury and
great wealth. Natural gas is now used as
fuel in thousands and
millions of homes and manufactories,
bringing wealth and pros-
perity to many persons who were formerly
in poverty and mod-
erate circumstances.
And now, my friends, after an absence of
nearly fifty-eight
years, I have returned to join with you
in celebrating the one
hundredth anniversary of the first
settlement of the city of
Gallipolis in 1790. My return, after an
absence of so many
years, is almost like coming back from
the grave. In that period
time has wrought wonderful changes, and
I see but one old land-
mark in this large audience that I
recognize, and that one is the
venerable old pioneer and patriot,
William Waddell, who in the
early days of his manhood was a dear
friend of my departed
father, and who will soon join him in a
more beautiful land than
this in the country far away.
In returning to the grand old county of
Gallia and the his-
toric city of Gallipolis to participate
in this grand and beautiful
display and celebration, I feel like one
treading the streets of an
historic city, as a stranger in a
strange land. Yet I am mindful
of the fact that behind me rolls the
majestic Ohio River, its
waters bathing the shores of Ohio and
West Virginia; before me
are the grand old hills of Gallia, my
native heath; under this
pavillion is assembled youth, beauty and
old age, while I am like
Remarks of J. V. Jones. 177
one who stands alone in some banquet
hall deserted, and, like
the soldier on the hill, I turn to take
a last fond look at the
scenes of my childhood, the beautiful
Ohio River, the grand old
hills, the valley and the country
church, and the remains of the
old cottage by the brook.
Joy and sadness are strangely mingled on
this occasion.
Here I recall the sweet reminiscences of
the child-life, which
illumined the past, and touched the
hours with golden light.
Memory lingers upon the solemn bridge
beyond which in my
childhood I played, and in which I still
see little faces flushed
with laughter and childish sports; their
little voices prattling in
melodious heavenly music. I thank you,
my friends, for invit-
ing me to address you on this occasion,
and for your attentive
listening. I will remember it as one of
the pleasant scenes of
my life, and in memory of which I will
often think of the good
people of this city and surrounding
country and the beautiful
hills of Gallia, the place of my
childhood.
Thanking you again, my friends, for this
compliment and
your close attention, I bid you
good-bye.
Vol. III-12
178 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
MIGRATIONS AND THEIR LESSONS.
SERMON PREACHED IN THE OPERA HOUSE,
SUNDAY, BY WASHINGTON
GLADDEN, OF COLUMBUS.
By faith, Abraham, when he was called,
obeyed to go out unto a place
which he was to receive for an
inheritance; and he went out, not knowing
whither he went.-Heb. ix, 8.
This is the first notice in ancient
records of that great
movement westward which occupies so many
chapters of the
history of the human race. From that unknown
country named
Ur of the Chaldees, Terah, the father of
Abraham, had already
journeyed westward, bringing his
household to Haran; here
they tarried for a little, and here it
was that Abraham heard the
divine call and went forth to the land
of Canaan. A mighty
river, the Euphrates, rolled between him
and his destination;
two days' journey brought him to its
banks. Nothing daunted,
he made his way across, perhaps at that
point where the great
river is still forded; and when he had
gained the other shore he
had won his cognomen of
"Hebrew"-the man who had
crossed. Weary days of desert journeying
were yet before him,
but the divine voice was still calling
him, and he pushed steadily
forward, halting for a little in the
bright valley of Damascus,
but resting not till his tent was
pitched at Bethel, and he looked
abroad from the hill tops upon the
fertile plains and smiling val-
leys of the land that was to be his
inheritance, and where that
great nation which should spring from
his loins was to have its
seat.
Abraham's migration was undertaken for a
different reason
and with a higher purpose than that of
many of his contempor-
aries and successors; nevertheless he
was moved with the cur-
rent. Where that Semitic race to which
he belonged had its
origin may not be clearly known. We find
it first in the lower
valleys of the Euphrates and the Tigris,
whence, moving north-
westward and southwestward, it populated
Babylonia, Syria,
Phoenicia and the rest of Canaan. Even
the ancient Egyptians
were not an autochthonic race. Their
features, their languages
link them with Asia rather than with
Africa. They, too, were a
Migrations and Their Lessons. 179
people who had come in the early dawn of
prehistoric times
from the East.
Those successive migrations of our own
Aryan tribes from
their nest in Asia westward over Europe
I need only stop to
mention. From the remotest antiquity we
see these people
moving in vast masses toward the setting
sun, one column fol-
lowing another at intervals of time
which no monuments or
memorials seem to mark; the Hellenic and
the Latin groups
flooding the Mediterranean peninsulas,
and pausing before the
mighty barrier of the Alps; the Kelts,
the Teutons, the Slavs,
moving northwestward in their order,
expelling the Aborigines,
and, in time, subjugating one another.
It would seem that the
configuration of the northern temperate
zone of the Eastern
Continent was favorable to such
movements; for the vast cen-
tral plains of Eastern Asia are
prolonged westward through
Russia, Northern Germany and Holland;
and a man can walk,
says one authority, from the Pacific to
the Atlantic Ocean, across
Asia and Europe, without encountering
any elevation of more
than a few hundred feet, or any stream
which it is difficult to
ford. But when these Aryan peoples had
poured their floods
for uncounted centuries over Europe,
which was their Promised
Land; when they had overspread its
plains and possessed them-
selves of its substance, they found
themselves standing on the
shores of a trackless ocean, whose
billows, breaking at their feet
in endless mockery, flung back to the
rushing tide of humanity
their challenge: " Thus far shalt thou
come and no farther, and
here shall thy proud waves be
stayed."
For many centuries this watery barrier
restrained them.
From the Cantabrian mountain tops, from
the low-lying shores
of Brittany, from the rocky coast of
Cornwall, or the green hills
of Ireland, they looked away to the
westward wondering and
longing. What lands might lie beneath
that misty horizon?
Was it true, indeed, that
"Sweet fields beyond this swelling
flood
[Stood] drest in living green?"
Who should dare to sail forth unto that
No Man's Land and
ravish its secret from the unchartered
ocean? It was well that
180 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
they waited. Art had time to germinate
and fructify, civilization
had room to expand and ripen; in all
these European lands,
races were in training for the task of
subduing another continent.
In the fullness of time, the word that
Abraham heard was
spoken again, and the brave Genoese
sailor turned the prows of
his little ships toward the setting sun,
and sailed away, not
knowing whither he went, but greatly
hoping to find beyond the
sea a land which he should receive for
an inheritance. How
steadily, during the four centuries that
have elapsed since Colum-
bus landed on our western coast, the
tide of migration has
flowed hitherward, I need not spend any
time in showing. There
may be, at this time, one hundred of
millions of people upon
this Western Continent, in North and
South America; of these,
probably not more than ten millions are
natives of the soil; ninety
millions are the dsscendants of men who
came across the sea.
Of these ninety millions, eight or nine
millions are the offspring
of those who came, much against their
will, in the holds of
slave ships, victims of the cruelty and
cupidity of the stronger
race; and there are a few hundred
thousand Semites, the
descendants of Abraham whose Promised
Land, far away in the
heart of the other continent, was the
first stage of this secular
progress; but the great mass of these
inhabitants of the New
World belong to that Aryan race, whose
teeming millions have
been hurrying westward ever since the
dawn of time. From
the mountain slopes and broad plateaus
of Central Asia-from
the cradle of the human race-these
eager, adventurous throngs
have come. Past the snowy heights of the
Himalayas, over the
ridge of the Ural Mountains, across the
steppes of Tartary, and
along the shores of the Caspian and the
Black Seas, they have
thronged into Germany and France and
Spain and England and
Scandinavia; here, dividing into tribes,
each with a tongue of
its own (though all these tongues are
kindred), here tilling fields,
sinking mines, building cities, and
hence, on the wings of the
wind and the vapor, flying over the sea
to this Western Conti-
nent, to rear on this fresh soil, as we
hope and trust, a nobler
fabric of social order than any they
have left behind.
And here, too, the power that brought
them still compels
them. The Pilgrims were scarcely landed
on the New England
Migrations and Their Lessons. 181
coast when they began to push their way
out westward into the
interior. Within twenty years after the
Mayflower anchored in
Plymouth harbor, there were several
prosperous settlements on
the Connecticut river, a hundred miles
inland, though the
savages resisted the advance at every
step, and every town was
stockaded for defense against the
midnight foe. And ever since
that day the tide of emigration has been
flowing steadily west-
ward-westward-over the Appalachian
range, down the valley
of the Ohio, along the borders of the
Great Lakes, across the
teeming prairies, over the Rockies and
the Sierras to the western
shore. That mighty movement of the
people westward, west-
ward, which began long before Abraham
took up his journey
from Haran toward Canaan, has been going
on ever since; all
the greatest nations of the earth have
taken part in it; in the
path of this movement have arisen all
the splendid monuments
of civilization; our own highways are
trembling yet with the
tread of its triumphant host.
Is not this phenomenon worth looking at,
soberly, for a little
while this afternoon ? May we not safely
infer that a process of
this nature, stretching through untold
centuries, covering two
continents, spanning one stormy ocean,
enlisting more or less
directly all the great nations of modern
history, is a process with
which Providence has something to do?
One need not be a very
strong Calvinist to believe that such vast
on - goings as these are
provided for in the plans of an
omniscient Ruler.
What are the causes of this great
movement of the peoples?
They are many and various. The forces
which impel families
and tribes to go forth from their
country and their kindred unto
lands more or less dimly shown them in
prophetic vision are of
many kinds, and operate in diverse ways.
Not seldom the great
law of population operates to produce
these movements of the
people.
Population, according to the Malthusian statement,
always tends to increase more rapidly
than subsistence; hunger
drives forth hordes of men to seek a
livelihood in fresh fields and
pastures new. This law operates even
where the population is
sparse and the resources of nature not
at all developed. The
southward movements of the Gothic tribes
upon the cultivated
lands of Southern Europe may have been
due in part to this
182 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
cause. The lands they left behind were
by no means exhausted
by cultivation, but they depended mainly
on pasturage, and
therefore needed far more land than
modern agricultural people.
Many of the movements of the Aborigines
upon our own soil
may have been produced by this cause.
When the game had
disappeared from its territory the tribe
must move on to unoccu-
pied lands. Indeed, the less civilized
the people, the greater the
need of frequent migration. Two or three
acres will support a
skillful farmer or gardener; the
primeval hunter and fisherman
cannot live on less than two or three
thousand acres. And we
may well suppose that the population on
the central steppes of
Asia, growing faster than their
subsistence grew, were thrust out
of their nests, in larger and smaller
numbers, and started on their
westward journeyings. The pressure of
population upon sub-
sistence being relieved by each exodus,
the tribes left behind
multiplied faster than ever, and soon a
new swarm was ready to
go forth from the hive.
In our own time, great movements of
population have been
due to the failure of the means of
subsistence. The Irish famine
of 1846-7 started a tidal wave of
emigration to this country, and
the current thus set in motion has been
kept flowing by other
causes. And while the great emigrations
of modern years toward
this hemisphere have not generally been
due to famine or starva-
tion in the old countries, they have
resulted in considerable part
from the over-crowdings of those
countries, and from the expec-
tation, on the part of the emigrants, of
finding larger wages,
ampler opportunities and better
prospects for themselves and
their children in this land than in the
homeland.
Other causes have constantly been
operating. Wars of con-
quest and ambition, and the burdens
caused by war, drive many
of the sons of peace forth from their
homes to seek residence in
more pacific countries. The militarism
of Germany explains
the presence on our soil of hundreds of
thousands of the German
people. Political oppression, the
domination of privileged classes,
the tyranny of priests and hierarchs
hasten the departure from
lands that they love of those to whom
liberty is dear. The Pil-
grims of Plymouth, the Roman Catholics
of Baltimore were fugi-
tives from ecclesiastical
persecutions. Sometimes these emi-
Migrations and Their Lessons. 183
grants have been social or political
idealists with plans for the
reorganization of society to which their
native land was not hos-
pitable; and they have sought upon
virgin soil a free area for the
development of their ideas. Cabet and
his Icarians, Owen and
his New Harmonists, were the leaders of
colonies in the interest
of new social schemes.
To all these forces of propulsion by
which men have been
driven from their ancestral seats must
be added those forces of
attraction by which they have been drawn
toward the new coun-
tries. Discoveries of mines of the
precious metals, of soils of
phenomenal fertility, of climates serene
and delectable, have been
reported to them, and they have been
tempted by the prospects
of unwonted gains and enjoyments to
separate themselves from
kindred and companions to set up their
habitations in distant
lands.
Nor will the external motives-whether of
propulsion or of
attraction-account for all these
movements. There are powers
within their own breasts that start men
upon these journeys.
A native restlessness, a love of
novelty, a passion for adventure,
account for many of them. There are men
who never could
be quiet long in Paradise; it would take
a battalion of angels
with flaming swords to keep them within
its bright enclosures.
There are men to whom the order and
restraint of civilized
society are irksome; they would rather
rove through forests
than travel in highways; they prefer the
freedom of the woods
which is the barrenest and poorest sort
of freedom, to the free-
dom of the city, which, when its laws
are most firmly enforced,
is the completest and most perfect
liberty. Such unbridled
spirits are always found in the frontier
lines of emigration.
Thus we see how many and varied are the
ascertained
forces by which these great tides of
population are controlled,
but I think we must add to these another
and far more subtle
force-that divine impulse by which all
the greater movements
of history must be explained. For while
it is true that hunger
and fear, and the love of life, and the
love of liberty, and the
love of change, and the impatience of
restraint and the greed
of gold, and the ambition to found new
empires, and a thousand
other motives have acted upon the minds
of men urging them
184 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
into these currents of emigration, yet
all over these conflicting
motives, harmonizing them all and
bringing order out of them,
is the plan of the all-wise Ruler of the
world, who makes the
wrath and the folly and the greed of man
to praise him, and
restrains the remainder thereof.
The greatest fact in all these world
movements is that they
are fulfilling a design that is more
comprehensive and farther-
reaching than wisdom of man could conceive.
Those Aryan
peoples, when they started on their
journeys from Eastern
Asia, had no more conception of the
splendid European and
American civilizations which they were
going forth to build,
than the iron ore in the mountain has of
the mighty genie
of fire and steam, fashioned from its
substance, which will soon
be ploughing the Atlantic main; any more
than the spring at the
farthest sources of the Amazon has of
the majestic river into
which its tiny fount will grow. This
movement westward, ever
westward, was all unconscious. They had
some small and dim
purpose of their own, but the great
purpose of God they knew
nothing about. There was an instinct,
partly human, that
impelled them; but of the divine
leadings they were wholly
oblivious. They went forth, not knowing
very well whither
they went, not knowing at all why they
went. It would have
been very difficult for any careful
student of human welfare,
contemplating the whole problem with
such light as he could
get, to justify their going. In these
later years the case is
greatly altered; a large share of the
immigrants who cross from
the old world to the new speedily better
their condition; but in
the earlier years this was not the rule.
Most of those who then
went forth in search of new homes received,
during their life-
time, no adequate reward for their risks
and their labors. If you
had measured what they lost and what
they suffered against
what they gained and what they enjoyed,
the balance, so far as
worldly comfort is concerned, would have
been on the wrong
side. They sought, no doubt, to escape
from penury and dis-
comfort, and restraint; but they
encountered hardships, labors,
miseries, worse than those from which
they fled. Half of the
Pilgrims who landed on Plymouth Rock in
December were in
their graves before the violets ever
bloomed again upon that
Migrations and Their Lessons. 185
sterile coast. The case with the
majority of our early emigrants
and pioneers was not much better. Of one
hundred and five
colonists in Virginia in June, 1607,
sixty-seven had died before
the next year was ten days old. The
winter of 1609 began with
four hundred and ninety persons in that
colony and ended with
sixty. Surely this was not a profitable
speculation, from the
point of view of individual interest. If
it is the highest wisdom
of a man to look out for his own
individual interest, these men
were not wise. If they acted upon a
calculation of personal
gains and losses, it was a bad
calculation. Europe and America
would have been peopled and developed by
the Aryan races far
less slowly than they were, if these
movements of population
had been guided by prudential and
economical considerations.
No! these movements of population were
very largely in-
stinctive rather than rational;
spontaneous rather than delib-
erate; prophetic more than economic.
Sometimes, no doubt,
the chances were calculated and
miscalculated owing to defective
knowledge of the facts. The reports
which reached the old
countries were not always accurate.
Travelers were sometimes
enthusiastic; land speculators were
sometimes unscrupulous;
men were beguiled into enterprises which
they would never have
undertaken if they had known what perils
and what toils were
before them. But most often they were
only too eager to believe
the glowing tales that were told them;
they were more than half
to blame for the deceit which was
practiced on them; they took
but little pains to find out the facts
before they set out. The
movement was not rational. It was
instinctive. It was the
fruit of that world-compelling plan by
which nations and tribes
and peoples are driven forward in the
ways of destiny.
Do we mean, then, to say that Providence
decreed all the
sufferings and losses and discomforts of
these westward-moving
hosts? That Providence impelled them to
enter paths that led
to hardship and famine and disaster? No,
I do not dogmatize
about the designs of Providence; how
much suffering He has
decreed I will not undertake to say; but
it is evident that He
has appointed for men a destiny from
which suffering is never
absent, and that the paths which conduct
to His most glorious
gifts are paths which lead through toil
and trial. The Captain
186 Ohio
Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
of our salvation was made perfect
through suffering, and where
the Captain leads His followers must go.
And I think that we
can discover, as we study these
world-movements, some of those
deep things of God concerning whose
meaning it is not wise to
be too confident, but whose
manifestations, so far as they come
within the range of our own
understanding, are full of stimu-
lating suggestion.
It is evident, to begin with, that these
migrations of the
nations furnish a field for the culture
of all the more robust vir-
tues. I do not mean to assert that
pioneers and emigrants, as a
class, are in these days, or ever were,
in all respects exemplary.
They are often persons of coarse fiber
and reckless temper; they
are for a time, in the earlier period,
beyond the restraint of laws
and social conventions; sometimes they
become lawless and
vicious in the extreme. Nevertheless it
is certain that many of
those groups who came to America in the
last two centuries
brought their moral standards and their
social conscience with
them, and established upon these shores
a purer type of society
than they had left behind. But all
these, whether they be stiff
Puritans or free-living Cavaliers, have
need of cultivating and
manifesting the great virtues of
courage, of endurance, of self-
sacrifice; to face danger calmly, to
bear hardships quietly, to
meet death serenely--these are
indispensable qualities in the
pioneer. No such opportunities of
heroism come to us. There
are chances enough even for us to be
heroic, but they are not
like these. These hand-to-hand
encounters with savages and
wild beasts; these fights with frost and
flood and pale-faced
famine; these measurings and weighings
of the hoarded ears of
maize to make them last till harvest;
these lonely marches and
bivouacs in the primeval forest; these
persistent struggles with
the fierce wilderness to subjugate its
soil - all these are the very
alphabet of heroism for future
generations.
Close akin to the pioneer's courage is
his faith in the future.
It takes a high order of faith to
discern the beauty and bounty of
the ages to come and to be willing to
live for them and die with-
out seeing them. I do not mean to assert that all these pio-
neers have possessed this heroic faith,
but that it has lived in the
breasts of many of them their own words
bear witness. In the
Migrations and Their Lessons. 187
ancient records of the Plymouth Pilgrims
we read that one rea-
son, and not the least reason, of their
removal to America was
"a great hope and inward zeal they
had of laying some good
foundation, or at least to make some way
thereunto, for the
propagating and advancement of the
Gospel of the Kingdom of
Christ in those remote parts of the
world, yea, although they
should be but as stepping stones unto
others for the performance
of so great a work." Very few,
indeed, of the great army of
pioneers have had any reasonable
expectation of enjoying in
their own lifetime the fruits of their
own labors. Abraham went
out from Haran to Canaan in hope that
the land would some day
belong to his descendants; yet, as
Stephen in his speech before the
Sanhedrim so strongly said, "God
gave him none inheritance in it;
no, not so much as to set his foot on,
and He promised to give it
to him in possession, and to his seed
after him, when as yet he
had no child; but God spake on this
wise, that his seed should
sojourn in a strange land, and that they
should bring them unto
bondage and entreat them evil four
hundred years; but the na-
tion to which they shall be in bondage
will I judge, saith God;
after that shall they come forth and
serve me in this place."
After the call to Abraham, in Haran, and
the migration of Abra-
ham to Canaan, there were to be hundreds
of weary years-
years of nomadic life in Palestine,
years of famine, of bondage,
of wandering in the wilderness-before
his descendants should
gain full possession of the promised
land; but there was the
promise, and Abraham believed the
promise and imparted his
own great faith to his children and his
children's children, and
this faith never failed them; it upheld
them under all the hard-
ships of the Egyptian slavery, and it
brought them back, cen-
turies later, to the land which had been
promised to their father,
Abraham. This is, no doubt, the most
striking instance in his-
tory of the faith of a pioneer and of
its influence upon the life
of generations following; but something
not unlike it is wit-
nessed in the conduct of many of those
who have laid the foun-
dations of great States in toil and
tears, hoping that those who
should come after them would reap the
fruit of their sowing,
and through their sacrifices enter into
security and peace.
And this brings us to one more great
motive which the
188
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
migration of nations emphasizes and
reveals-the motive which
springs from the solidarity of races;
which leads a man to feel
that he is a partner, not only with his
coevals, but with his fore-
bears and his posterity; that much of
the best part of his gains
and his joys comes from the labors of
those who have gone be-
fore him, and much of his most fruitful
work must be done for
the benefit of those who shall come
after him.
It is when man rises to this height of
vision, and sees the
generations all linked together for weal
or woe, helpers of one
another's welfare, sharers of one
another's misfortune, that he
becomes worthy of that word which
defines him as a being of
large discourse, looking before and
after. All the greater
motives of our work spring from the
realization of these sublime
facts; from our sense of gratitude to
those who have gone before
us, and our sense of obligation to those
who are coming after us.
These are the truths which are brought
home with power to our
minds as we look back upon the lives of
our forerunners, and
which, beyond a doubt, were present in
the minds of many of
them as they laid the foundations
whereon to-day we build.
Such, then, are some of the gains that
spring from these
great migrations; they furnish a field
for the development of the
robust virtues, they provide a
discipline for faith, they strengthen
the bond that binds together the
generation.
The connection of these thoughts with
this occasion is not,
I trust, obscure. I have not thought it
any part of my duty at
this time to undertake the recital of
the annals of the colony
that landed on this spot one hundred
years ago. That task has
been entrusted to other and more capable
hands. It seemed
more fitting that I should rather
attempt to connect the found-
ing of this colony with the great
historic movement of which it
was a part, that we might discern
something of the sweep and
significance of that movement. With how
many of these great
purposes of Providence which we have
been studying these
colonists consciously connected
themselves I do not know;
certain it is that they had a great
opportunity of illustrating
upon this soil the robust virtues; and I
doubt not their faith and
courage are living here in the lines of
their descendants. It was
a stormy time in history when they took
their departure from
Migrations and Their Lessons. 189
their native land. On July 14, 1789, the
Bastile had fallen, the
first resounding success of the French
revolution, the signal of
the destruction of feudal France, and of
the coming of a new
regime.
This was more than a political upheaval;
it was a social and
economic crisis. France had been cursed
and impoverished for
centuries by the most burdensome
tyranny; the people were
loaded with debt; agriculture was
crushed, trade was crippled,
all industries were paralyzed. The
people were striking about
them madly and blindly, caring little
who was smitten or what
went down before their wrath, resolute
only to make an end of
the existing order. The Bastile was the
object of their fury,
but dramatic as its downfall was, it
brought no relief from the
present misery. Still the dead hand lay
on all the industries of
the nation; still work was scarce and
bread was dear though
harvests were abundant, and famine in
the midst of plenty
stared the multitude in the face.
"Fair prophesies are spoken,"
writes Carlyle, "but they
are not fulfilled. There have been Notables, Assemblages,
turnings-out and comings-in. Intriguing
and maneuvering, Par-
limentary eloquence and arguing, Greek
meeting Greek, in high
places, has long gone on, yet still
bread comes not. The har-
vest is reaped and garnered, yet still
we have no bread. Urged
by despair and by hope, what can
Drudgery do but rise as pre-
dicted, and produce the General
Overturn. Fancy, then, some
Five full-grown millions of such gaunt
figures with their hag-
gard faces, in woollen jupes, with
copper-studded, leather girths,
and high sabots, starting out to ask,
after long unreviewed cen-
turies, virtually this question: How
have ye treated us? How
have ye taught us, fed us, and led us,
while we toiled for you?
The answer can be read in flames over
the nightly summer sky.
This is the feeding and leading we have had of you;
EMPTINESS
of pocket, of stomach, of head and of
heart. Behold there is
nothing in us; nothing but what Nature gives her wild children
of the desert; Ferocity and Appetite;
Strength grounded on
Hunger. Did ye mark among your rights of
men that man was
not to die of starvation while there was
bread reaped by him?
It is among the Mights of man."
190 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
All over the land, castles are flaming,
bands of smugglers
wander unrestrained; "the barriers
of towns are burnt, toll
gatherers, tax gatherers, official
persons put to flight." And
from all over France hordes of these
half-civilized, half-starved,
half-infuriated people are pouring into
Paris. Such is the situa-
tion during the Summer and early Autumn
of 1789. The
foundations of the great deep of
Feudalism are broken up; the
Deluge is at hand. As for the king there
is no help for him; he
is too weak a man to deal with such an
insurrection. He dallies
with the revolution, tries to ride upon
the crest of its advancing
wave, but it skills not; his queen and
his court are sullen and
revengeful; there is a banquet at
Versailles one night, while
thousands in the great city are
starving; and the king's officers
trample under their feet the national
cockade, while the queen
looks on applauding, and the people see
that the court despises
them and plots to treat their newly
gained liberties as it has
treated their emblem. And now the
strangest, the most hysteri-
cal of all historic episodes takes
place: ten thousand women lead
a howling mob to Versailles, a dozen
miles away, followed by
the national guard, with Lafayette at
its head, and they capture
the king and queen and bring them to
Paris, making them pris-
oners in fact, in their own royal palace
of the Tuilleries, and
stamping out the counter revolution with
two hundred thousand
hob-nailed shoes. It was an anxious day
for Paris; who could
tell what might be coming next?
Obviously the reign of the
mob was well begun; those who had
everything to lose might as
well convert it into portable securities
and silently steal away.
It was on the 6th of October that the
king was escorted to Paris
by the shrieking Amazons; before this
month had ended tens of
thousands of Frenchmen had bidden
good-bye to France. This
was the time of what is known as the
second migration-" most
extensive," says Carlyle,
"among commons, deputies, noblesse,
clergy, so that to Switzerland alone
there go sixty thousand.
One emigration follows another, grounded
on reasonable fear,
unreasonable hope, largely, also, on
childish pet. The high-
flyers have gone first, now the lower
flyers, and even the lower
will go, down to the crawlers."
What has all this to do with our
colonists of Gallipolis? I
Migrations and Their Lessons. 191
hardly know how much it has to do with
them; but putting this
and that together, it might signify
something. For it was right
in the midst of all this panic and
terror that there appeared
upon the scene the agents of the Scioto
Company, the Yankee,
Joel Barlow, and the Englishman, William
Playfair-with their
maps and their prospectuses, and their
glowing promises, telling
of a country where the climate was
semi-tropical, where the
rivers abound with enormous fish, and
the forests with venison;
where the trees exuded sweetmeats, and
candles grew on trees;
where there were no taxes to pay and no
conscriptions to dread.
Is it any wonder that such a manifesto
strongly appealed to the
excited and apprehensive Parisians? Less
than a month after
Louis was brought to Paris, and while
the alarmed citizens were
flying from France by thousands, Barlow
formed his company
of the Scioto, and the emigrants came
flocking to his headquar-
ters; five thousand of them were ready
to set forth in the early
spring in quest of their Utopia.
It is a pitiful and painful story; I
will not dwell upon it.
We can see how several of the motives
which we have traced in
our study may have operated to set in
motion this migration;
how pinching want, and political
oppression, and the horrors of
civil war and social strife made these
Frenchmen willing to leave
their native land: and we can see, also,
how grievously they were
deceived by the representations made to
them, and how great was
their need of courage and faith and
patience, and all the heroic
qualities of the pioneer, when they
landed on the bluff and took
possession of the log huts that awaited
their occupation.
I will not undertake to tell how bravely
they met the perils
that surrounded them, nor with how much
steadfastness and
fortitude they wrought out their
difficult problem. I know that
our hearts go out to them to-day in
compassion for their suffer-
ings, and in gratitude for their toils
and self-denials; for it is to
them, and to all the noble army of
pioneers in whose rank they
marched, and in whose battle with the
wilderness they fought
and fell, that we owe the fertile
fields, the beautiful homes, the
teeming cities, the wealth and the
culture and the power of our
great commonwealth, of our Native Land.
And now, fellow citizens, there remains
but one question
192 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
more: What admonition, what incitement
comes to us from
this glance across the centuries? We
have seen this mighty
march of the peaceful armies of industry
around the world,
from east to west; we have counted, as
they could not, the cost
of their enterprises; we have learned
how much we owe to
them. Can they teach us any thing that
we need to know? Do
they summon us to any work which we are
prone to neglect?
We honor and applaud their heroism; have
we any call to
imitate it? For the physical courage
which they displayed there
is not much demand in these piping times
of peace; but of the
courage which fears not to confront the
enemies of the State,
and the destroyers of our youth, this
generation still has need.
It is not with wolves and painted
savages that we are called to
fight; but with foes far more dangerous:
with robbers of rev-
enues; with pilferers of public funds;
with men who make a
trade of politics and are ready always
to subordinate the public
welfare to their own ambition; with
banditti whose dens are in
the lobbies, and sometimes in the
offices of court houses and
city halls, and capitols; yea, with all
the purveyors of vice and
crime, with hyenas in human form who get
their living by help-
ing their fellow-men on the road to
ruin, and whose property in-
creases just in proportion as their
neighbors are impoverished
and degraded. To confront such foes
takes a different kind of
courage from that which the pioneers
exhibited; a courage less
dramatic, less spectacular, less
impressive to crude minds; but no
less genuine, or less noble. And there
is always room for self-
sacrifice in our encounters with these
foes. It generally costs
something, in this world, to secure good
government; it costs
something to establish it; it costs
something to maintain it.
Hardships, losses, privations untold
were endured by those who
laid the foundations of the State, and
the State will not be kept
from overthrow unless we are ready to
suffer some hardships
and losses in its defense. To challenge
and resist the enemies
of the State-to keep its councils pure
and its honor stainless-
will require of you and me some
sacrifices. We must be will-
ing to face opposition, contempt,
contumely; to be called all
manner of hard names; to be stigmatized
as cranks, feather-
heads, doctrinaries, dudes; nay, we must
even be willing to lose
Migrations and Their Lessons. 193
customers, to see our income reduced,
and our prospect of pro-
motion cut off; to suffer the loss of
many things rather than be
false to our convictions of duty. Unless
this spirit abides in us,
we are unworthy of the liberties which
were purchased for us at
so great a cost, and we shall not long
retain them.
The faith of the pioneers must also
animate our souls.
Unless we believe as they did, that
there are better days to
come, our heartless labor will be
utterly in vain. If they did
not despair of the future nation, when
they held the forlorn
hope here in the wilderness; when half
and more than half
their number perished in a single
winter; when trackless forests
encircled them, and stubborn soils
defied them, and bloody foes
lurked everywhere in ambush for them,
surely we should not
despair of the Republic now, when so
many fields have been
won, and the forces of intelligence and
virtue are so many and
so mighty.
"Amid the storms they sang,
And the stars heard, and the sea,
And the sounding aisles of the dim woods
rang
With the anthems of the free."
Unless we, their children, in the midst
of the foes that be-
league us, can lift up our voices in the
same triumphant strain,
we are recreant to the charge they have
given us to keep.
Above all, there is need that we should
grasp with new con-
viction the great truth of the
solidarity of the generations; that
while we confess our obligations to
those who lived before us,
we should feel, as we never yet have
felt, our duty to those who
will live after us. This is the one
clear and strong impression
which such an occasion as this should
stamp upon our thought.
To see to it that the treasures of just
law and large liberty which
we have inherited shall receive no
detriment at our hands, but
shall be handed on unimpaired,
unpolluted, undiminished to our
children, this is our supreme
obligation. With a great sum have
we obtained this freedom; but the price
was not paid by us; we
are the beneficiaries of past
generations. We have no right to
waste our patrimony. What cost our
fathers such an outlay of
pain and privation we ought to cherish
with reverent devotion.
Vol. 111-13
194 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
It is worth all it cost, all and infinitely more, and it must be
transmitted without loss to our
successors.
Every thoughtful man admits that the
people of one gener-
ation have no right to exhaust the soil
from which their suste-
nance is derived, passing it on to their
posterity poorer than it
was when they received it. Such wasteful
or careless use of
natural resources is criminal. The land,
the forests, the mines,
the fish of the streams, all the bounty
of nature, are here not
for us alone, but for our children and
our children's children for
ages to come. In all our use of these
things we must keep them
in mind. Their numbers will increase;
the productive energies
of the earth must not be reduced, but
reinforced and reinvigor-
ated for their benefit. It is a stupid
crime, it is treason against
humanity to impoverish by our greed the
soil on which millions
must dwell after we are gone.
If such is our responsibility for the
careful and productive
use of natural resources, what shall we
say respecting those
higher and more precious portions of our
inheritance-the mun-
iments of law, the safeguards of
liberty, the wholesome cus-
toms, the sound sentiments, the
reverence for God, the respect
for man, the true equality, the genuine
fraternity-without
which government is anarchy and society
is pandemonium?
Must not these be preserved in their
integrity, and transmitted
to those who come after us? These are
the talents which the
Lord of the earth entrusts to the people
of each generation, and
which they are to deliver up to their
successors multiplied and
improved by God's own law of increase.
The world that we re-
sign to those who come after us must be a better world than
that
which we received from our fathers-a
more productive world,
a healthier, happier, safer, purer, freer, nobler world; if we fail
in this, our material gains will only
hasten our national decay;
the mighty forces of nature that we have
harnessed will but
drag us to destruction; the swift-flying
steeds of fire and light-
ning coursing over our land and churning
our seas to foam will
speed us to our doom.
Fellow countrymen, fellow Christians,
those great currents
of migration from east to west, whose
course across the conti-
nent we have followed, are stayed upon
our western shore and
Migrations and Their Lessons. 195
can no farther go. For numberless
centuries they have been
flowing westward; and the slow tides of
time have brought
them to the final barrier. At the Golden
Gate, on the snowy
summits of the Cascade Mountains, the
pilgrims stand and gaze
afar to that Asian continent from which
in the dim twilight of
history their father set forth-to
countries crowded with a de-
cadent civilization. The circuit of the
earth is completed;
migration has come to its term; here,
upon these plains, the
problems of history are to be solved;
here, if anywhere, is to
rise that city of God, the New
Jerusalem, whose glories are to
fill the earth. 0, let us not forget
what foundations we are lay-
ing, what empires are to stand upon
them; and in the fear of
God and the love of man let us build
here a city in whose light
the nations of the earth shall walk;
whereinto kings may bring
their glory and honor; into which there
shall enter nothing
that worketh abomination or maketh a
lie.
196 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
The following is an abstract of the
discourse delivered to
the Methodists of Gallipolis by the Rev.
David H. Moore, D. D.,
of Cincinnati, Editor of the Western
Christian Advocate.
THEME -PHILOSOPHY OF
METHODIST SUCCESS; WITH SPECIAL,
REFERENCE TO THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
Thou shalt remember all the way which
the Lord thy God hath led
thee.-Deut. viii. 2.
It is worthy of note that the successful
peopling of North
America was providentially delayed until
the Pilgrim Fathers
were ready to plant Christianity in the
colonies settling the new
world. But the Pilgrim Fathers were only
one remove from
bitter persecutions, and schooled in
enforced obedience naturally
became themselves dogmatic and
arbitrary. A freer polity and a
more genial faith were needed for the
expanding populations of
the colonies; one whose reactions upon
the various forms
of Puritanism should be liberalizing and
quickening. This new
religious factor--coeval with the
political birth of the United
States and ordained to far reaching
influence upon its develop-
ment and destiny--was that form of
belief and life known as
Methodism. It was unique in its absolute
separation from the
arm of flesh, its constant dependence
upon the Holy Spirit, and
its single aim of spreading Scriptural
holiness throughout the
lands. It was little thoughtful of
numbers, no stickler for form;
it feared God, honored the King, and
believed in the equal par-
ticipation of all men in the benefits of
the atonement through
Christ. It was conceived in Epworth
rectory, born in Oxford
University, and reached the strength and
beauty of maturity in
free America.
We who sometimes despair of the cause of
God amid the
Sabbath-breaking, drunkenness,
sensuality, worldliness and in-
fidelity of the day, need only look at
the origin of Methodism
to be assured that our fears are idle.
The reign of George II
seems to have had swept down into it
from the corrupt court of
Charles the accumulated frivolity,
coarseness, libertinism, and
unbelief of all the past. True, some
lights were unquenched,
but they were rush-lights disputing with
midnight gloom. Over-
whelming wickedness rolled over the
land.
Philosophy of Methodist Success. 197
Says Tyerman: "Never has a century
risen on Christian
England so void of soul and faith as
that which opened with
Queen Anne, and which reached its misty
noon beneath the
second George-a dewless night, succeeded
by a sunless dawn.
There was no freshness in the past and
no promise in the future.
The Puritans were buried and the
Methodists were not born.
The philosopher of the age was
Bolingbroke; the moralist was
Addison; the minstrel was Pope; and the
preacher was Atter-
bury. The world had the idle,
discontented look of the morn-
ing after some mad holiday, and, like
rocket-sticks and the
singed paper from last night's squibs,
the spent jokes of Charles
and Rochester lay all about, and people
yawned to look at them.
The reign of buffoonery was past, but
the reign of faith and
earnestness had not commenced."
In 1756, every sixth house in London was
a licensed grog-
shop; and sign-boards advertised to make
a man drunk and
furnish him straw to lie on to sleep off
his drunken stupor -- for
a penny. High and low were corrupt.
Dissenters lamented the
worldliness of their ministers, and of
the candidates for orders
in the established church, Bishop
Burnet--1713 said: "The
much greater part are ignorant to a
degree not to be apprehended
by those who are not obliged to know
it."
Toplady declares that "a converted
minister was as great a
wonder as a comet." Even in the
University, such was the
prevalence of aggressive infidelity that
the Vice Chancellor was
constrained to issue an edict pointing
out this deplorable condi-
tion, and directing the tutors to use
diligence in counteracting it.
But the Dean of Christ College, where
Wesley was preparing for
his mission, was so maddened by
infidelity that-he forbade the
posting of the edict in his hall.
Existing forces were inadequate. The
crisis was extreme.
It was indeed man's extremity become
God's opportunity; and
He led Charles and John Wesley, Robert
Kirkham and Wm.
Morgan, to form the "Holy
Club" and lay the foundation of
world-wide Methodism.
The persecution they suffered, the
self-denial they prac-
ticed, the emergencies they met, the
experiences they gained,
were providential preparations for the
perils in the wilderness of
198 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
the New World. Mind you, Wesley and his
co-laborers were
not adventurers, seeking cheap notoriety
in this enterprise be-
cause excluded by their inferior genius
from the more attractive
fields open to talent and learning. Lord
Macaulay thus estimates
Wesley's ability: " He was a man
whose eloquence and logical
acuteness might have rendered him
eminent in literature; whose
genius for government was not inferior
to that of Richelieu; and
who devoted all his powers in defiance
of obloquy and derision,
to what he sincerely considered the
highest good of his species."
Yet their name was cast out as evil. All
manner of con-
tempt was heaped upon them. Fogg's
Journal, one of the most
literary and respectable papers, held
them up to scorn. "Among
their own party," says the writer,
"they pass for religious per-
sons and men of extraordinary parts; but
they have the misfor-
tune to be taken by all who have ever
been in their company for
madmen and fools." They were
forbidden the churches and
prosecuted for preaching in the open
air. They were dragged
before magistrates, hooted by mobs,
pelted with filth and bruised
with stones, tumbled into lime-pits and
then into water. But in
the midst of this burning furnace of
trial, the Spirit taught
Wesley to sing:
" Ye mountains and vales, in
praises abound;
Ye hills and ye dales, continue the
sound;
Break forth into singing, ye trees of
the wood,
For Jesus is bringing lost sinners to
God!"
Every moment was precious, for some
perishing soul might
be saved. So he calculated for every
minute. Lying awake in
the middle of the night, he set his
alarm for seven, but his wake-
fulness continued; then for six, with
the same result; then for
five, and no change; then for four, and
there was no more wake-
fulness; and thereafter he arose at that
early hour.
So of money. God needed it for His poor
and for His work.
And so Wesley practiced and preached
that it was the duty of
each one to give away every year all he
had after providing for
his own necessities. Thus when he received £30 a year, he
lived on £28 and gave away 40
shillings; when he received £60,
he lived on £28 and gave away £32; £90,
still £28 sufficient for
Philosophy of Methodist Success. 199
his living, and he gave away £62; when he
received £120, he
still lived on £28 and gave away all the
rest.
Consider the character of his preaching.
Like the great
French evangelist he knew but three
things - a ruined world, a
mighty Savior, brought together by an
earnest ministry. Every
sermon brings out-man's damning guilt,
his almighty Savior,
and a witnessed salvation.
And with this thrilling Gospel he went
where sinners most
abounded. A prelate of the Established
Church sneeringly
called the first Roman Catholic
Archbishop of Westminster
"Archbishop of the slums."
"Exactly," was the noble reply,
"that is just what I am. I am an
archbishop of the slums;
that is my business; that is what I
desire to be. My ministry is
among the hordes and the garrets and the
slums; yours, I admit,
is something very different."
Such was Wesley's spirit. This high-bred
gentleman, this
profound scholar, this man "whose
eloquence and logical acute-
ness might have rendered him eminent in
literature; whose
genius for government was not inferior
to that of Richelieu;"
whose earlier devotion to the
establishment was such that he
would have thought the saving of a soul
"a sin almost if it had
not been done in a church"-turned
from all his past and from
all his churchly future, with quenchless
zeal for souls, counting
all things loss that stood between him
and their salvation through
his instrumentality.
"His frame of adamant and soul of
fire" were taxed to the
utmost. Says a biographer: "He
exposed himself with the
utmost indifference to every change of
season and inclemency of
weather; snow and hail, storm and
tempest, had no effect on his
iron body. He frequently lay down on the
ground and slept all
night with his hair frozen to the earth;
he would swim over
rivers with his clothes on and travel
till they were dry, and all
this without any apparent injury to his
health."
Even a Catholic historian is constrained
to say of him and
his co-laborers: "They taught moral
doctrines which we all
accept in common, but they did not teach
them after the old and
barren way of the plodding, mechanical
instructor. They thun-
dered them into the opening ears of
thousands who had never
200 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
been roused to moral sentiment before.
They inspired the souls
of poor and common-place creatures with
all the zealot's fire and
all the martyr's endurance. They brought
tears to penitent eyes
which had never been moistened before by
any but the selfish
sense of personal pain or grief. They
pierced through the dull,
vulgar, contaminated hideousness of low
and vicious life, and
sent streaming in upon it the light of a
higher world and a
better law."
Wesley had but one aim-to save men-and
counted every
man called of God to do what he could to
this end. Hence,
pressed by the teeming work and sadly
needing workmen, he
called into service lay preachers,
applying only the simple test
of "gifts, grace and
usefulness." Thus he advanced with every
arm of the gospel service against the
foe; and his line of battle
resting its right on the schools and its
left on "the slums," with
Christ in the center, leaped forward
unto victory.
Beloved, little need were there to
rehearse things you know
so well, if history were all we sought.
It is not history, but the
philosophy of history we seek-the
philosophy of our wonder-
ful Methodist history. I seek to show
you in these things why
Methodism has triumphed so gloriously.
Sprung from Wesley's
loins it could not be otherwise. He
projected himself upon
America. His ministers here caught his
courage, zeal, enerey,
self-denial. He multiplied himself by
every preacher who bore
the double standard of Christ and
Methodism over the moun-
tains, through the savannahs and into
the forests of North
America.
So, I repeat, Wesley was God's
providence for America.
For consider -here were wildernesses,
infested by savages, and
thinly settled by desperate men; here
was a new world, with
men's thoughts absorbed in its conquest;
here were colonies,
drunk with the first long draught of
civil liberty, the plains yet
soaking with the blood of the
Revolution. Here were no funds
to be drawn upon for church extension or
domestic missions; no
meeting houses; no salaries; nothing in
sight but trials, losses,
dangers, suffering, death. Only men of
the most heroic mould
could be equal to tasks like these. Such
men were the product
Philosophy of Methodist Success. 201
of the great Wesleyan movement, this the
second Reformation
that sprang from Luther's first. Time
will not allow us many
examples to show that the Wesley spirit
is the secret of our suc-
cess. One suffices: Asbury was the
American Wesley, and his
signature attested the appointment of
the noble men who first
broke the solitude of the Northwestern
Territory with the songs
and words of life.
Asbury ! name heroic and inspiring,
"He would not flatter Neptune for
his trident,
Or Jove for his power to thunder."
Facing maddened mobs, traveling
trackless forests, braving
hostile savages, enduring want and
weariness and poverty ex-
treme, he reflected at once the strength
and gentleness of Christ.
His salary was $30 a year! Yet he
murmured not. "What
matters it where I go or what comes upon
me if God is with
me," he writes in his Journal,
"or where I live or where I die,
if holy and ready."
Again he writes: "My present
mode of conduct is as fol-
lows: to read about one hundred pages a
day; usually to pray
in public five times a day; to preach in
the open air every other
day, and to lecture in prayer meeting
every evening. And if it
were in my power, I would do a thousand
times as much for
such a gracious and blessed Master. But
in the midst of all my
little employments, I feel myself as
nothing and Christ to me is
all in all."
This was our FRANCIS ASBURY, who spent
forty-five years
in the American ministry, traveled
270,000 miles-6,00 a year;
preached 16,500 sermons, at least one a
day; presided at not
less than 224 annual conferences and
ordained more than 4,000
preachers.
Bascom, and Finley, and Cartwright, and
Young, and Mor-
ris, followed by Trimble, and Moody, and
Ferree, and Dillon,
and Brown, and they by those now in our
midst; these consti-
tute our unbroken apostolic succession.
Gallipolis traces its
202 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
descent from pastor Baker back through
this magnificent ances-
try to Asbury and Wesley.*
So does every other church in Methodism.
And only the
reflection which these centennial
occasions promote is needed to
make us give thanks that the lines have
fallen to us in such
pleasant places and that ours is so
goodly a heritage.
You ask me to glance at the development
of our church in
the Northwest Territory, and a glance is
all my time will admit.
More than fifty volumes, chiefly
biographical, have been
written upon it. The same adventurous
spirit that led our
fathers into Kentucky and into the Ohio
wilderness, led them
also into Indiana and Illinois, into
Michigan and Wisconsin; and
substantially the same hardships and
dangers were encountered
and the same prejudices met and
overcome. Each conference
has its heroes; and no legacy is so
precious as the memory of its
pioneers. Such hero worship is inspiring
and ennobling.
Says Carlyle: "We cannot look,
however imperfectly, upon
a great man without gaining something by
him. He is the living
light-fountain, which it is good and
pleasant to be near; the light
which enlightens, which has enlighted,
the darkness of the
world; and this not as a kindled lamp
only, but rather as a
natural luminary shining by the gift of
Heaven, a flowing light-
fountain, as I say, of native original
insight, of manhood and
heroic nobleness, in whose radiance all
souls feel that it is well
with them."
An unpublished Mss. by Prof. S. W.
Williams, book editor
of the Western Methodist Book Concern,
and probably unsur-
passed in Methodist antiquities, gives
valuable facts concerning
"the introduction of Methodism into
Southwestern Ohio."
[Copious extracts were read, which are
necessarily omitted here.]
Up to the organization of the
Northwestern Territory in 1787,
the only white residents on this side of
the Ohio were a few
transient traders, perhaps a half-dozen
Moravian missionaries,
and a score or two of straggling
squatters.
When this was opened to settlement the
emigrants began to
*The history of Gallipolis M. E. Church,
prepared by Rev. P. A.
Baker, is appended, as an essential part
of this Centennial Record.-
D. H. M.
Philosophy of Methodist Success. 203
push in, braving the hostility of the
cruel and treacherous red
men. In 1788-89 they settled at
Marietta, at the mouth of the
Little Miami, and where Cincinnati now
stands, and when
Wayne's victorious campaign in 1794
brought peace the settlers
crowded into the interior and founded
Hamilton, Franklin, Day-
ton and Chillicothe. Before 1800 there
was a chain of settle-
ments in Southern Ohio up the Miami
valleys as far north as
Dayton and Xenia and up the Scioto to
Franklinton.
As nearly as I can determine, the first
Methodist preacher
who visited this section of Ohio was Wm.
Burke, a remarkable
man of the Asbury-Wesley stamp. He was
appointed by Bishop
Asbury, October 2, 1803, to cross the
Ohio and form a new dis-
trict in the wilderness. He says;
"I entered upon my work
about the last of October, 1803. * * The
Miami circuit in-
cluded all the settlements between the
Miamis and as far north,
including the settlements of Mad river,
as high up as the neigh-
borhood where Urbana now stands, and
east of the Little Miami
as high up as the settlements on
Bullskin, and all the settlements
on the East Fork of the Little Miami and
a few settlements in
Campbell county, Ky." This was a
six weeks' circuit. "The
most easterly appointment was at Brother
Boggs's, on the Little
Miami, a few miles from the Yellow
Springs. From that point
we generally started at daylight for the
settlements on the Scioto,
having between 40 and 50 miles, without
a house, to the first
inhabitants at old Chillicothe.
"Scioto circuit included all that
tract of country inhabited
on Paint creek out to New Market, Brush
creek, Eagle creek,
and Ohio Brush creek, and up the Ohio to
the mouth of the
Scioto, and then up the Scioto to the
Pickaway Plains, including
Chillicothe and the settlements on
White's creek, a four weeks'
circuit.
"From thence one day's ride to the
settlements in the Hock-
ing Valley, which was called Hocking
circuit, which laid princi-
pally on that river and its tributaries,
and a few settlements on
Walnut creek. From Lancaster we
generally took two days and
a half to reach the bounds of West
Wheeling circuit, near where
St. Clairsville is now located. This was
a four weeks' circuit,
including the settlements on the Ohio
river and extending back
204 Ohio Arch. and His. Society
Publications. [VoL. 3
to the frontier settlements on the West
Wheeling and Short
creeks, etc.
"From this point we returned by the
same route to New
Lancaster, and then down the Hocking to
Sunday creek and
Monday creek, and then over to Marietta
circuit.
"This circuit was up and down the
Ohio from Marietta, as
low down as the settlements were formed,
and up the Muskingum
as far as Clover Bottom and Wolf Creek,
and so down to the
neighborhood of Marietta, and over to
Virginia on the waters of
Little Kanawha. This was called the
Muskingum and Little
Kanawha circuits. It was but a three
weeks' circuit and had
one preacher.
"From the neighborhood of Marietta
we started down the
Ohio, by way of Graham's Station, to the
mouth of the Great
Kanawha and down to Green
Bottom--Brother Spurdock's -
which was the first appointment on
Guyandotte circuit.
" This circuit contained all the
territory south and west of
the Great Kanawha, and down to the mouth
of Big Sandy and
the settlements back from the Ohio
river. This field required
about eleven weeks and many privations.
The Methodists were,
in those days, like angels' visits, few
and far between, and we
were half our time obliged to put up at
taverns and places of
entertainment, subject to the disorder
and abuse of the un-
principled and half-civilized inmates,
suffering with hunger and
cold, and sleeping in open cabins on the
floor sometimes without
bed or covering, and but little prospect
of any support from the
people among whom we labored, and none
from any other
source; for there was no provision in
those days for mission-
aries. But, notwithstanding all the
privations and sufferings
that we endured, we had the consolation
that our labor was not
in vain in the Lord. We were gratified
in having souls for our
hire, and rejoiced to see the wilderness
blossom as the rose.
New societies sprang up, circuits were
enlarged, immigration in-
creased, the forest was subdued, and
comforts multiplied."
-Finley's Sketches of Western Methodism.
In 1798, John Kobler was the only
Methodist preacher in
the Northwest Territory and the total
membership numbered
ninety-nine. Now there are in
Philosophy of Methodist Success. 205
Con- S.
S. Church
ferences Preachers Members Scholars Property.
Ohio
............. 5 1,063 231,492 214,889 $8,865,481
Indiana.......... 4 659 148,904 124,725 4,014,318
Illinois ........... 4 991 146,344 143,868 8,010,891
Michigan......... 2 670 79,553 94,418 3,756,245
Wisconsin ........ 2 337 32,599 28,849 1,794,829
N. W. Territory... 17 3,120 638,892 606,749 $26,441,764
In 1790, John Dickins, on $600 borrowed capital, was
be-
ginning the Methodist Book Concern, the secret of our
marvel-
ous doctrinal unity; a concern that in its New York and
Cincin-
nati branches represents a net capital above all
liabilities of $2,-
957,331.47; has published 3000 various books and 1300
different
tracts and Sunday-school requisites; and has a yearly
circulation
of 3,133,666 periodicals. The Cincinnati house, the
Western
Methodist Book Concern, beginning in 1820, in a room
15x20,
corner Fifth and Elm, has now a net capital of
$1,020,515.52,
spacious buildings in Cincinnati, Chicago, and St.
Louis, with
every appliance for a great publishing house. In the
Northwest
Territory it publishes four great newspapers, the Western
Chris-
tian Advocate, the
Christian Apologist, the Northwestern Chris-
tian Advocate, and
the Central Christian Advocate. "From the
three centers, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis (the
two last as
depositories), trains loaded with solid Methodist
literature are
sent forth every week into every part of the West and
North-
west."
The Ohio Wesleyan University, the DePauw University,
the Northwestern University, the Garrett Biblical
Institute, and
a score of other institutions in the same boundaries
illustrate
Methodism's devotion to higher learning.
What it is in the Northwest Territory it is throughout
the
United States and Canada.
And no marvel; for its inception in England and its
expan-
sion in newest America has proven its adaptation alike
to the
ripest and to the crudest civilization; that is to say,
to all con-
ditions and to all times. Other denominations have
caught its
spirit and adopted its methods. Hoary creeds have been
modi-
fied so as to conform more nearly to its standards; and
the pul-
pits of Christendom have kindled with its evangelical
fervor.
206 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
But still its mission is to the regions
beyond; its position in the
advancing columns is on the front line.
Its business is to find
and drive the enemy, leaving to the
slower-moving forces the
work of fortifying and garrisoning the
conquered provinces.
Its muster roll begins with those of
Caesar's household and ends
not until it includes the faithful
Onesimus. Quenchless zeal for
souls is and must forever be its
characteristic; a simple and full
salvation its message; and its reward
not human applause, but
the well-done of its Lord.
METHODISM IN GALLIPOLIS.
The Rev. Henry Baker preached the first
Methodist sermon
in Gallipolis sometime during the year
1817, at the residence of
Ahaz S. Morehouse, a log house located
at the mouth of Mill
creek. The Methodist itinerant was not
then received with as
cordial a welcome as others have been
since. "The rowdies
were so troublesome," the minister
stated, "that Mr. More-
house could not have services there any
longer, and unless some-
one else would open a house he would not
come again." Calvin
Shepard, who may justly be entitled the
"father of Gallipolis
Methodism," was present, though not
then a member, and
cheerfully offered his house as a place
of worship, and from that
time they continued to hold regular
services. Shortly afterward,
Brother Shepard, while on a visit to
some friends near Cincin-
nati, sought and found the Savior. A
class was then formed
consisting of the following persons:
Calvin Shepard, Mahala
Shepard, his wife, John Knapp and wife,
Christopher Randall
and wife, Stephen Sisson, Mary Varian
and her two daughters,
Abigail and Matilda. The society was
soon strengthened by the
addition of James Hanson, Sarah
Dranillard and David Smithers,
and many others. In 1820, under the
labors of John P. and
William Kent, there was a very
successful revival in which
about thirty more were added to the
society. About this time,
says the Rev. T. J. N. Simmons, in
Calvin Shepard's obituary,
written October 10th, 1856, "They
met with much opposition,
Philosophy of Methodist Success. 207
and from a source that would dispose us
now to throw over it
the mantle of charity. Having been
denied the court house and
school house for public worship, they
continued to meet in
father Shepard's house and barn until
able to erect a church for
themselves." Says a later writer in
speaking of these persecu-
tions: "The perpetrators were not
all rowdies; Satan himself
seemed to control public sentiment from
those high in religious,
as well as in civil authority, down to
the lowest in society
against the despised Methodists. It was
considered fatal to
every good person to become a Methodist,
and these opinions
were enforced by stones and eggs and
filth. Vehicles were
thrown over the river bank, harness and
saddles were cut and
smeared, and persons passing to and from
the meetings were
subjected to every annoyance." The
circuit, of which this was
but one appointment, extended from
Letart Falls, thirty-six
miles above us, to Wheelersburg, eighty
miles below, embracing
large territory on both sides of the
river. The first Methodist
church was built in Gallipolis in 1821,
and stood where the par-
sonage now stands. The deed for the lot
dates from May 7th,
1793, from George Washington (by Thos.
Jefferson), to Rufus
Putnam, Rev. Manasseh Cutler, Robt.
Oliver and Griffin Green,
for Ohio company. Rufus Putnam and
others to Return
Jonathan Meigs, in trust for French
inhabitants. December 26,
1796, Fearing and Meigs to Lewis
LeClercq. July 30, 1811,
Lewis LeClercq and wife to Anthony
Maguet. June 2, 1821,
Anthony Maguet and wife to trustees of
M. E. church, viz.:
Calvin Shepard, Daniel Combs,
Christopher Randall, Moses
Brown and John Knapp, for which was paid
the sum of $150 in
specie."
This church built in 1821, was 44x50
feet-one story brick,
and ceiling twelve feet high. This
served as a place of worship
until 1849, when a new church was built
at a cost of about
$1,675.00. This building was of brick,
40x60 feet, two stories
high; basement nine feet high; upper
story sixteen feet, vesti-
bule 8 feet wide; four class rooms
twelve feet square; lecture
room 23x40 feet. The pastor was Rev. W.
T. Hand. The
society worshiped and prospered here for
twenty-six years, when
it became necessary to "tear down
and build greater." Accord-
208 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
ingly in the year 1875, under the
pastorate of the Rev. C. D.
Battelle, the present beautiful and
commodious building was
erected, at a cost of $20,000. This
church is 70x86 feet, with a
lecture room 45x50 feet. There are six
class rooms and a vesti-
bule below. The upper room is equal to
about seventy feet
square, a comfortable seating capacity
for 700, with a gallery
seating 150. The building committee was
D. V. Smithers, John
T. Holliday and J. W. Gardener;
architect, T. S. Ford. The
church was dedicated June 25, 1876, by
Bishop R. S. Foster.
The vine that was planted here, though
under much perse-
cution, early in the century, has been a
very prosperous one.
The secret of its prosperity here, as it
is of Methodism every-
where, is in her revivals, and as long
as she clings to her revival
methods, no weapon that is formed
against her will prosper.
The first record, made by the first
legally constituted Board
of Trustoes, contains a list of all the
members and adherents of
the Methodist church, January 18, 1821.
The list contains fifty-
one names. There are now on the church
record 612 names of
members in good standing. The
Sunday-school enrolls over 400
scholars and has a library containing
600 volumes.
*The following is a list of the
ministers that have served
the charge from 1817 to 1890.
LETART FALLS CIRCUIT.
1817-William Cunningham. (To January,
1818.)
1818--Abner Bowman.
1819-Henry Baker and John P. Kent.
1820-William Kent and James Gilruth.
1821-Ebenezer Webster.
1822- Edward Taylor.
1823-James Gilruth.
1824-John P. Kent.
1825-26---Francis Wilson.
1827-Henry and Stephen Rathburn.
*In 1885, a mission chapel, known as "Domron
Chapel," was built in
the upper end of the city, with a
seating capacity for two hundred. Sunday-
school, class and prayer-meetings are held there weekly.
Philosophy of Methodist Success. 209
1828-Jacob Delay.
(Gallipolis circuit was then formed.)
1829 -Jacob Delay and Ebenezer Webster.
1830-John Ulen and James Callahan.
1831-William Herr.
1832-James Armstrong.
1832-David Whitcomb. (From February to
June.)
1833-Elijah Field and Adam Miller, Benj.
Ellis and Abra-
ham Miller.
1834-Charles R. Baldwin.
1835-Jas. Parcells an Benj. D.
Jefferson.
1836-Wm. P. Stricklen and Jacob Martin.
1837-Jacob Delay and Elijah Pilcher.
(In March, 1837, Gallipolis city became
a station.)
1837-Elijah Pilcher.
1838-39-W. P. Strickland.
1840-A. M. Alexander.
1841-42--E. V. Bing.
1843-44-E. M. Baring.
1844-A. I. Lida.
1846-C. C. Lybrand.
1847-48-W. T. Hand.
1849-50-Samuel Baleman.
1851-52-Andrew Correll.
1853-54-E. V. Bing.
1855-56-T. J. N. Simmons.
1857-58-H. Z. Adams.
1859-60-E. P. Hall.
1861-62-J. T. Miller.
1863-64-65-Joseph F. Williams, under
whose pastorate
the present parsonage was built, valued
at $2,500.
1866-67--Levi Cunningham.
1868-Wm. Glenn.
1869-70-F. S. Davis.
1871-72-73-J. E. Moore.
1874-75-C. D. Battelle.
1876--E. H. Heglar.
1877-78-J. W. Dillon.
Vol. III-14
210 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
1879-T. M. Leslie.
1880-81-82-C. F. Creighton.
1883-84-85-W. H. Lewis.
1886-87-Benj. A. Stubbins.
1888-M. V. B. Evans.
1889-90-P. A. Baker.
NAMES OF PRESIDING ELDERS FROM 1816 TO 1890:
1816 to 1822-Jacob Young.
1822 to 1824--John Witterman.
1824 to 1829-Zachariah Connell.
1829 to 1833-Isaac C. Hunter.
1833 to 1835-Robt. O. Spencer.
1835 to 1837-John Ferree.
1837 to 1841-Samuel Hamilton.
1841 to 1842-Isaac C. Hunter. (Died June
18, 1842.)
1842 to 1845-John Ferree. (Died 1845.)
1845 to 1846--J. M. Jamison.
1846 to 1850-John Stewart.
1850 to 1853-Robt. O. Spencer.
1853 to 1854-Andrew Correll.
1854 to 1856-N. Westerman.
1856 to 1860-John Stewart.
1860 to 1864-A. M. Alexander.
1864 to 1868-H. Z. Adams.
1868 to 1871-J. T. Miller.
1871 to 1875--John Dillon.
1875 to 1877-John W. Dillon.
1877 to 1881-T. H. Monroe.
1881 to 1885-Z. W. Fagan.
1885 to 1889--J. C. Arbuckle.
1889-M. V. B. Evans.
I have been greatly aided in preparing
the above by a his-
torical memoir of the society, prepared
by the Rev. C. F.
Creighton, J. G. Domron, J. W. Gardener
and M. Malahan.
Gallipolis, O., Dec. 4, 1890. P. A. BAKER.
The Presbyterians of Ohio. 211
ABSTRACT OF THE SERMON
ON "THE PRESBY-
TERIANS OF OHIO."
BY REV. SYLVESTER F. SCOVEL,
PRESIDENT OF WOOSTER UNIVERSITY,
WOOSTER, OHIO, PREACHED IN THE FIRST
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
The Christian is a cosmopolitan. Every
land is his father-
land since God is his father. So every
Christian is brother to all
other Christians. Yet we may have a just
concern which shall
be special for our country and our
church.
We have a century of Presbyterian
experience behind us,
and each one of the Centennial occasions
which have been oc-
curring since 1776 (and all have been
useful in many ways), in-
vites us to consider the facts and
lessons of that experience.
The Centennial record of any religious
body cannot be repre-
sented by processions and pageantry
however elaborate. Not to
the eye but to the heart must we appeal.
We go deeper even
than the references to ancient places of
worship or their for-
gotten customs. We must find the teacher
and the truth, the
communicant and his conduct, the home
life and the school of
the Sabbath and of the week day. We must
linger beside the
couch of the sick and beside the open
tomb and the shadowed
homes. We must go out from these centers
to the sure but often
silent influences which have told upon
manners, and standard of
conduct and social life, and upon law
and order, and even upon
legislation and administration. We must
trace footfalls that are
not heard primarily on the hurried
streets, and search out the
hidden causes in thought and feeling of
much that we admire
externally.
The motives for Centennial review are
potent and dignified.
The present reaps the fruit of the past,
and is the product of
the past to be understood fully only in
its procuring causes. The
noble men of other days were the friends
of many, the kindred
of some. The heritage of Christian life and character which
any long record brings to view is the
Church's true glory, the
proof of the presence and power of
Christ, her divine head, and
of the spirit her divine heart.
Moreover, the complex elements
of our life of to - day need to look
steadily at the simpler life of
212 Ohio Arch. and His.
Society Publications. [VOL. 3
the past, the condition of its heroic
virtues. In such records we
honor God by noting what he has wrought.
And while we concentrate for a little
our attention upon our
predecessors in this commonwealth, we
must remember what
and who preceded them. Away in the dim
distance and across
the seas we discover names whose
influence lived in our pioneers
and still survives. These may be names
not often mentioned,
but they came bringing the principles we
revere into the life of
their own age, disturbing the apparently
external uniformity
of the Papacy.
Then well known conflicts show us the
head of the emerg-
ing column, compacted and partly
createdby these conflicts
themselves. At and in and after the
Reformation we hear
stronger voices and see more guiding
rods in the hands of leaders.
Presently the column crosses to our own
shores and buries itself
in the din and battle of our own
Revolution, and then is seen
later in the nearer coasts of our
neighboring States, and finally
reaches our own streams and forests.
We cannot possibly isolate any band of
Presbyterians. Our
church in our locality is surrounded by
concentric circles and
becomes our church in our commonwealth,
in our country, in
the world, and in the church universal
and militant, which is it-
self encircled again by the white-robed
throngs of the church
invisible and triumphant. It is a
blessed thing that we cannot
localize too much. The vista and outlook
must be kept clear.
This is what intensifies and expands
at the same time. It en-
larges both intent and content,
contrary to the rules of formal
logic. The genesis of each Christian
goes back to the forces
which build and sustain the universal
church. All the way
down the chain is vital in its
continuity. If we put a finger
upon any one link of the chain for some
special purpose, we are
never to detach it. Looking upon our
church in our common-
wealth we stand half way between our
universal and our local
attachments. Such distinction for
thought or study will not put
us out of touch with any others who love
our common Master,
but the contrary. Other churches and
other countries shall be-
come dearer to us by the privileges of
our own.
If we ask for the influences which
prepared the Presby-
The Presbyterians of Ohio. 213
terians who came to Ohio, we must turn
our faces to the past.
We must hover over the advancing column
and mark its consti-
tution and character. It is a long
column and a noble one. Its
ranks are starred with heroes. Truth
floats from all its banners.
Its inscriptions are condensed
principles of almost Omnipotent
force. Its uniform is often dyed like
His from Bozrah, for with
Him and for Him they suffered. It is
grand review even for a
glance of the eye. Mark the Bible, held up aloft as Beza's
statue bears it up over the borders of
the lovely Lake Neuchatel.
See the broken fetters lifted ready to
strike tyrants! See the
compact organization which proves that
an integument is neces-
sary to a vigorous body, from the
enclosure of a blood-corpuscle
to the retaining walls of a vast
civilization! See the step they
keep in the witness against a false
individualism, and even
against an independent and
disintegrating ecclesiasticism! See
the rugged faces and the fair ones -
Coligny side by side awhile
with Margaret d'Angouleme. Break up the
picture, study any
of its divisions, and each will be found
to have contributed
something of permanent value to the
whole Presbyterian tone
and temper, and something important to
our common Christianity
and our advancing civilization. As we
pass from Continental to
Scotch Presbyterianism the truth becomes
clearer, the tread
firmer, and the struggles terminate more
decisively in victory.
As we pass over into the New World
little seems to remain but
the legitimate sequences of (1)
dissolution of the bond between
Church and State; (2) the office of
securing American liberties;
(3) the consolidation and organization
of the scattered churches,
and (4) the great revivals. These came
in their turn, and the
church of our fathers was fully ready
for the newer and yet
larger work on our frontiers and beyond,
until the advancing in-
fluence reached the western limit of
this great land. And there
it was ready again to make a league with
the modern giant,
steam, and pass onward with the Gospel
into the far East just in
time to reach its hitherto immobile
masses as they began to be
stirred with the breath of a new life.
[After this introduction the speaker
traced some of the lines
by which Presbyterians came into Ohio.]
Like other immigrants they came rather
drawn than either
214 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
drifting or driven. The Ohio Land
Company, formed by King
in 1750-51, proved attractive. The
codfish brought many a
Puritan to our shores, and good soil
brought many a Presbyterian
to Ohio. The movement into Ohio was part
of the greater
Western movement. Some went farther
North and some away
to the South. The centre of population
began soon to go West,
and certainly it grew up with the
country. Great trade-winds
blew over the lands with steadiness, and
any vessel could go by
them from a shallop to a frigate. So
Presbyterians came into
Ohio. Nor had they far to be blown. The
drift into western
Pennsylvania had been equally mercenary,
but equally moral in
its outcome. Those who came were just in
time to settle the
question as to France and Roman
Catholicism, or England and
Protestanism. The drift into Virginia
thought about tobacco
lands probably; but its constituents
were just in time to help
settle the question of State and Church,
and that of freedom to
preach the gospel and build churches
unmolested. It was now
time that the Pilgrims should move on
into our borders, in order
to help in settling the northwest for
liberty, and to carry out the
true spirit of the Declaration, that
"morality, religion and
knowledge being necessary to good
government, schools and the
means for education shall forever be
encouraged." Here, too,
they came just in time.
The immigration had a moral end as well
as a material im-
pulse; and it surely had a magnificent
opportunity. The ques-
tion whence they came who entered
Ohio as Presbyterians a num-
ber of years ago, must bring our glass
down to the distant hori-
zon half around the circle of the
compass. Waldensian bravery,
Huguenot skill, Holland simplicity and
heroic patience, Scotch
valor and stubborness, all mingled with
German fervor and con-
viction. Some of these stumbling one
over the other in Penn-
sylvania, reached Ohio; but most of all
there and here the mark
of the Scotch- Irish immigrant is most
plainly discerned. Some
of their best and noblest leaders set
sail in 1636 to form a colony
in New England. Driven back by the sea,
they returned and
fought in Scotland. Two-thirds of a
century later, after 1720,
the emigrants left in swarms,
penetrating New England, New
York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and the
Carolinas. Lord Montjoy
The Presbyterians of Ohio. 215
said: " America was lost by Irish
emigration," What mark they
left on the Revolutionary time, I need
not indicate; nor that
they came from John Calvin, so cordially
hated by the Romanists,
or from John Knox, the rush of whose
impetuous speech for the
crown-rights of Jesus brought tears and
trembling to the schem-
ing Queen. Rugged was he as his own
mountain, but fair as
the shining of an eternal, because
supernal, light upon the sum-
mit of his fame. There were great men
all along the line:
Makemie in Maryland, Davies in Virginia,
McMillen and his
coadjutors in Western Pennsylvania, Rice
in Kentucky, and
hundreds of others.
Presbyterians came from New England, and
our heritage in
Puritan blood must not be forgotten.
They came from Eastern
Pennsylvania, they came from Kentucky.
Kentucky's churches
are daughters of Virginia; but Virginia
had been largely peopled
by Scotch-Irish. "In obscurity and
neglect Presbyterianism, in
spite of Virginia laws, planted itself
unmolested west of the
Blue Ridge. Frederick county was
leavened, Augusta county
was nearly filled; McDowells,
Alexanders, Lyles, Stuarts, and
even the Campbells kept coming, and
Moore came and Brown,
and the list closes with the Makemie as
it began." (Gillett, Vol.
I.) As late as 1794 the Synod of
Virginia included the Presby-
teries of Red Stone and Ohio; and as
early as 1791, the General
Assembly approved and commended the
plans of the Synod of
Virginia "for the multitudes who
are ready to perish on the
frontiers."
Currents drew into Ohio from all around
the horizon. Mary-
land had been singularly prepared to
feed Ohio. But most
came, of course, from Western
Pennsylvania. In 1831 the
Synod of Pittsburgh calls for
appreciation of the task " now
opening in the great Western
Valley." Pittsburg is pronounced
" the commercial center of more
than eight thousand miles of
steamboat navigation." God in His
providence, says the Synod,
"seems almost to have annihilated
distance. The member of
this Synod is still living who first
sounded the silver trumpet of
the gospel and broke the first loaf of
the Bread of Life (with a
handful convened in a log barn) west
of the Ohio. Population
has more than doubled every ten years;
at this rate there will be
216 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
a population west of the Alleghany
Mountains in twenty-five
years of twenty millions. Can we close
our eyes? Brethren,
keep the sacred fire ever burning upon
our altars, and send
down this immense valley one thousand
torch-bearers."
But I cannot stay for further
particulars. Though many of
the world's people misunderstood, or
doubted, or denied, the
work went steadily forward. The most
intimate sympathy has
always existed between the
Presbyterianism of Ohio and that of
Western Pennsylvania. The larger
religious movements made
visible in the Pittsburgh conventions of
1842 and 1857, were
shared alike. And many of the baptisms
and gracious revivals
were alike pervasive. The movement was
of the kind to pro-
duce this. It was not en masse nor
by colonies; it was by fami-
lies and by ministers. It was by
transfusion rather than deport-
ation and immigration.
Enough has been said to show what
mingling of currents
from the far Northeast, the East and
South, came in upon Ohio.
Conflicts of jurisdiction were brought
to a close. Those who
were entering saw eye to eye, and flowed
together. Everything
seemed favorable to the inclusion of the
best possible elements
in the stimulative immigration.
Moreover, it was a singularly important
time-a blossoming
for which there were long preparations.
Yet we must remember
the discouragements and difficulties
through which they must
yet pass; the stubborn character of the
many foes they met and
the exacting conditions under which they
labored. The work
was only begun, though well begun. We
may turn from any
study of its details to ask for the main
influences by which these
who came from so many of the four winds
of heaven had been
trained for all they were to do and
suffer.
I. The first influence was, definiteness
of conviction. This
appeared in their estimate of the Bible
as the only rule of faith
and practice, in accurate expressions of
their faith by formulae,
and in their developed and systematic
schemes of church order.
In all these things, they were staunch
and firm. They, like
Francis Makemie, when arraigned by the
High Church govern-
ment in New York in 1707, were able to
say: "As to our doc-
trines, we have our Confession of Faith,
which is known to the
The Presbyterians of Ohio. 217
Christian world." No one can
over-estimate the values of the
positiveness of Presbyterianism in
shaping the religious life of
our State. " Presbyterianism did
not come into the New World
passive and plastic, to be determined in
its character and history
by force of circumstances or by the
accident of its environment,
but came with positive opinion, deep and
strong convictions of
truth and duty, with clear conceptions
of its mission to mold
and determine the character of the New
World. An acorn
planted at the foot of the Alleghanies,
is not in doubt as to the
form it is to assume. In Druidical
groves and in American for-
ests, oaks grow according to inner life.
The seed of Presbyter-
ianism here was the same as in Geneva
and Edinburg. Indefi-
niteness is reduced to a minimun in
Presbyterianism. The in-
definite man is evasive and deliquescing
and evaporative. The
definite man will be a rallying point in
the community. Such
was the first influence, and this became
characteristic. Presby-
terians came to be known in Ohio as
being able to say not only,
" I know whom I have
believed," but also to add, " I know what
I believe, and can give a Scriptural
reason why."
II. The second characteristic discloses
independence of
man and love of liberty. This especially
fitted Ohio Presby-
terians to live under and carry out the
spirit of the great Ordi-
nance of 1787. Nothing could be finer
than the exact adjust-
ment of that ordinance, which recognized
nothing but free men,
and the inner spirit of Presbyterianism
as it had come to be de-
veloped by the Assembly, 1788-9.
Presbyterian love of liberty is founded
on an appreciation
of man as man. Upon that recognition of
the soul in man
which makes a "Common," a
great middle class, self-respecting
and attracting the respect of others.
Presbyterian love of
liberty grows out of the Kingship, the
Priesthood, and the
Prophetic commission of all believers.
III. But an equally strong influence was
exerted upon the
Presbyterians who settled Ohio, and
through them, in the con-
servative direction. They always
believed in good and strong
government, and were ready to say with
Washington, "In-
fluence, sir, is not government."
They strongly held govern-
ment to be from God, and
therefore held the Government to
218 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
God. Conscience was for them the source
of power in securing
obedience to law. Law and order and the
limitations of liberty
were their household words. They were
inclined to this direc-
tion both by doctrine and order.
Publicists, like Gladstone, dis-
cerned this trait. Our faith has some
very persevering saints.
It can stand by the difficult and the
old, and even the in-
explicable (when that is divine), with
only a patient smile for all
gain-sayers; and after awhile the
gain-saying ceases, and the
admiration of what the world calls "Staying
qualities" begins.
This conservatism it was which fitted
them for the following
change of correspondence with the father
of his country. "We
shall consider ourselves doing an
acceptable service to God in
our profession, when we contribute to
render men sober, honest,
and industrious citizens and the
obedient subjects of a lawful
government." To which, George
Washington replied that,
"The general prevalence of
philanthrophy, honesty, industry
and economy, seems in the ordinary
course of human affairs
particularly necessary for advancing and
confirming the happi-
ness of our country." Calvinism's
sense of accountability is a
friend to st.ong government.
Presbyterianism gives a rational
conservatism. It is not fatalistic.
Presbyterians went about
arranging for government as naturally as
they began felling trees
and planting crops. They had no
hesitation and no squeamish-
ness, either in theory or practice. They
had little use either for
vigilance committees or white caps.
The speaker then simply enumerated other
characteristics
of which time forbade the discussion:
IV. The Intellectual.
V. The Ethical.
VI. The Evangelical.
VII. The Catholic.
VIII. The Disciplinary.
Some of the closing words were as
follows:
Here, then, we rest the case. The
decision and convincing
and definite element fulfilled the first
condition and adaption to
the work before them.
The Presbyterians of Ohio. 219
The liberating element brought freedom
for movement,
with all the sacred passion of
patriotism and all its honorable
record, growing more distinguished as
the years go on.
The conservative element established as
other work pro-
gressed.
The intellectual element quickened all
the faculties of all
with whom they came in contact, and by
press and school and
fireside and pulpit they kindled such
general ardor for mental
power and furniture as has made Ohio a
new mother of Presi-
dents.
The ethical element aided to break the
dominion of border
savagism, and cleft the way for sound
morals in law and prac-
ticc, in society and business.
The evangelical and spiritual element
kept descending the
dews of the Holy Spirit's presence, and
kept ever visible the
radiant face of the Savior of men, and
kept ever open the shin-
ing way to the celestial city - how many
thousands have already
trod it?
The Catholic element came on, in its own
time, like the
color on perfect and mellow fruit.
And ever and always to awaken and help
us stands the dis-
ciplinary element in this great
preparation.
What a series of marvelous combinations
might be here en-
larged upon. Stability and freedom;
adaptation to common
people, yet demanding the highest
intelligence; doctrinal strict-
ness, and yet liberality in the matter
of non-official membership
and in co-operation with other churches;
devotional fervor, yet
joined with marked ethical force;
independence of the state,
yet demand for state allegiance to God,
intense conservatism and
rapid progress.
But I forbear. I will not even attempt
to voice the appeal
which so noble an ancestry awakens; nor
will I ask whether we
who have known and enjoyed will prove as
heroic in transmit-
ting the sacred content of our blessings
to those who come after
us. It is certainly our duty to
maintain, to restrain, to educate,
to evangelize. When the churches had "rest"
at the beginning,
then they were "edified." Then
also they walked "in the fear
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220 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, and were multiplied." What better can we do with our exemptions and advantages than to imitate them by growth in grace, and unsparing efforts to multiply the number of the saved? What deep gratitude should characterize the tone and temper of the Presbyterian hosts at every review of the century. In His name who gave us such a cloud of witnesses, we set up our banners. Let confi- dence, born of our past, and willingness, born of our gratitude, and hope, born of the promises, and energy, born of love and loyalty, be enough to compact us and drive us forward, as the sandblast drives its granite atoms into the hard, crystal surface. |
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Sermon by Rev. John Moncure. 221
SERMON BY REV. JOHN MONCURE, RECTOR OF
ST.
PETER'S CHURCH.
TEXT-"Remember the days of old, consider the years of many
generations."- Deuteronomy 32, 7.
A hundred years in the history of a
place affords a fruitful
subject for study. When we gaze through
the vistas of past
events, and consider the whys and the
wherefores, and when we
thus are brought into realization of the
fact that the things
which once appeared to men as
"through a glass, darkly," by
the light of a century, are brought
"face to face" with us, we
are more than impressed, particularly if
our meditations are of
that devotional nature which enables us
to glean the "truth, as
it is in Jesus," from the passing
years. Matters once considered
comparatively unimportant, when viewed
in their places as links
in the great chain of events, which
unites our time with past
ages, are not only important as eras in
history, but as stages of
development of the plan which our Father
devised for our good
and His glory.
To-day we stand at the finishing point
of a century in the
history of Gallipolis. The words of
Moses to the children of
Israel, when the work of journeying from
Egypt to Canaan was
nearing completion, and a new life was
opening before them,
will form the basis of our thoughts in
this sermon. He enjoined
them to "remember the days of
old," and to "consider the
years of many generations," in
order that they might be con-,
vinced of God's wisdom and mercy. We
view the history of
His dealings with our forefathers, and
with us, in the same
spirit. The happenings of a hundred
years, considered from a
national and local standpoint, have been
impressed upon your
minds by the exercises of the past few
days, and we need not
dwell upon them here. * * * The subject
which we would
emphasize in connection with the history
of our nation, state
and city, is that which is so dear to
every true heart, the Church
of God. When we say that its growth has
been great, we ex-
press God's favor and loving kindness in
no slight degree. The
church was the comforting medium in
America one hundred
222 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
years ago, as it has been in all others
of the world's ages, and as
it will be until "time shall be no
more." The good and the true
became better and stronger at the foot
of the Cross, and the
"weary and heavy laden" there
found rest with Him who died
for them, as they do now. One point not
to be lost sight of in
this connection is that the cause of
true religion has kept pace
with the march of progress; indeed, men
cannot but realize that
it has been the cause of all
enlightenment of the ages. While
our country has extended her field of
active operations, she has
also assisted in the extension of the
Church of the Living God,
for which fact, 'tis needless to say,
that the good and true are
devoutly thankful. Our interest is
centered upon the progress
of that branch of the church to which we
belong, the Protestant
Episcopal Church. The history of this
body in the United
States during the hundred years has been
a history of triumph.
Our separation from the mother church of
England, and the
establishment as a separate organization
in this land dates back
to but a very few years previous to the
founding of this town.
In the " Handbook of the General
Convention of the United
States," by Bishop Perry, of Iowa,
appears these words concern-
ing the first meeting for organization
of the church in America,
which occurred May 11, 1784: "A
single sheet of foolscap,
faded and yellow with age, contains the
records of the prelimi-
nary gathering of clergy and laity, out
of which grew the inde-
pendent organization of the American
Church." The work be-
fore the then very small body of workers
was no easy one, for
in addition to the efforts necessary to
push forward the organiza-
tion, there was a deep-set prejudice in
the minds of the people
against the English Church, growing out
of the animosities inci-
dent to the revolution, and which it was
necessary to overcome.
God was with the noble band, however,
and as His cause could
not fail, our numbers gathered in
strength.
He indeed raised up His power and came
among us, and
with great might succored us, and the
efforts of the faithful for
His glory were fruitful. Our grand and
comforting Book of
Common Prayer, modified from the English
book by our
"fathers in God," and which
was put into the hands of the
people, has been an inestimable comfort
in matters of worship,
Sermon by Rev. John Moncure. 223
and has rendered valuable assistance in
our devotions, thus add-
ing one to the many proofs that God's
word, in whatever form it
may be presented, is not bound. As a
result of the work of a
hundred years, our church presents a
record of which we are not
only proud and grateful, but which will
serve to inspire us to
even mightier efforts under the
leadership of God. The
days of old, and the years of past
generations are thus the
mediums of assurance of God's favor and
protection, and
hence of strengthening the faith of the
workers in the gospel
field. Our influence as a church is
making itself felt all over
this mighty country, and beyond the seas
men " take knowledge
of us, that we have been with
Jesus." As the preached gospel
carries its comfort to the weak and
needy, we thank God that
our church is among the foremost of its
workers, and of the
thousands who yearly seek refuge from
the storms of life in the
ark of safety, our numbers are great,
and our prayers fervent,
that it may please God to defend these,
His children, with His
Heavenly grace, that they may be His
forever, and daily increase
in His Holy Spirit more and more, until
they come to His ever-
lasting kingdom.
We refrain from detailed statistics in
regard to our growth,
but will say that only a few thousand
communicants of a hun-
dred years ago have grown into nearly
half a million, and prob-
ably a hundred clergy to nearly four
thousand, and from no one
in the Episcopate, to sixty-six Bishops,
actively at work in a cor-
responding number of dioceses and
missionary jurisdictions. In
the State of Ohio, the progress of the
church has been very
gratifying. The Diocese of Ohio was not
organized until some
time in 1819, when that great and good
man, Rev. Philander
Chase, was consecrated its first Bishop.
As the population of the State increased
and cities and
towns multiplied, the church became stronger,
being presided
over by the holy man just named, and his
successors, Rt. Rev.
Charles P. McIlvaine, D. D.; Rt. Rev.
Gregory T. Bedell, D. D.,
and Rt. Rev. Wm. Leonard, D. D., the
present incumbent. In
1875, the diocese having grown to great
strength, a division be-
came necessary, and the Diocese of
Southern Ohio was organ-
ized, with Rt. Rev. Thomas A. Jaggar, D.
D., as its Bishop. In
224 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
this part of the field our lot is cast,
and, under God's blessing,
we have received strength and
consolation. Our Bishop having
been incapacitated from work by very bad
health, in October,
1888, an Assistant Bishop was elected in
the person of Rev.
Boyd Vincent, whose efficient work among
us is greatly redound-
ing to God's glory. Lastly, but
particularly, we turn our eyes
to the church in Gallipolis. Our
meditations, while savoring of
humility here, are not unmingled with a
sense of gratitude.
Work in the interest of the Episcopal
Church was begun in our
town in the year 1840, when occasional
services were held by
Rev. James B. Goodwin, a clergyman
engaged in mission work
in the Diocese of Virginia. There being
no church building,
these were held in the court house. The
parish organization
was completed in December, 1841, when a
vestry, composed of
leading citizens, was chosen. The first
minister engaged was
Mr. Goodwin, and his work among the
people is even now grate-
fully remembered. January 13, 1843, a
committee appointed by
the vestry to secure a lot for a church
building, obtained one on
lower Second street, on which a church
was begun but never
completed, owing to a defective title to
the property. Business
complications having arisen in
consequence of this, a compro-
mise was effected and the building
surrendered. In May, 1858,
the vestry purchased of the board of
education the lot on which
the church now stands, and subsequently
the present building
was erected and opened for divine
service the first time on the
19th of December, 1858, the Rev. G. B.
Sturgess being rector at
the time. On the 12th of April, 1859,
the church was conse-
crated with the name of St. Peter's, Rt.
Rev. Charles P. McIl-
vaine, D. D., officiating. During the
years which have inter-
vened since that time, the parish has
been served by eleven rec-
tors, whose efforts for the glory of God
and the salvation of
souls we feel have not been in vain.
There have been periods
of clouds as well as of sunshine; at
times the condition of affairs
was very promising, and again, there
have been discouragements
which required the strongest faith to
face bravely. Looking
over our records, however, we find
sufficient testimony as to the
fidelity of the workers in St. Peter's
Parish, to encourage us,
and cause us to devoutly thank God. The
names of some of
Sermon by Rev. John Moncure. 225
the most honored citizens of our town
appear on our commun-
ion list, and the numbers who have
confessed God by baptism
and confirmation assures us that the
love of souls has not been
lacking among the churchmen of
Gallipolis. Many of them
have gone to their reward, and hence the
memory of what has
been done among us is doubly sacred, in
that we have our rep-
resentatives in that land where all is
righteous.
To recall by name the ministers who have
served our people
here would be but to emphasize what has
been said in regard to
the work. This building should be held
in sacred memory by
our people. At this chancel rail have
your children been given
to God in baptism. Here the vows of God have
been taken by
which many of you have enlisted in the
armies of righteousness.
Up these aisles have swept the bridal
trains, and from this sacred
place have fair and loving brides and
happy bridegrooms gone
forth to fight together life's great
battle. Before this chancel
have reposed for the last time the forms
of those we loved, who
have answered the summons of death's
angel, and from that
door been called home to their last
resting places. Hallowed,
indeed, is the place, being the "
House of God; " to many it has
been the "gate of Heaven." The
effect of these meditations
should be of a strengthening character.
We should, by the
light of past blessings see the glories
of future success. Re-
membering the days of old, and
considering the years of past
generations, we gladly believe that St.
Peter's Parish is recorded
in the Everlasting Book as one of the
mediums by which men
have learned the truth which has made
them free. May this
parish continue its work of usefulness
even unto the far distant
future, and by it may every year bring
into the fold of safety
many such as shall be saved. God is true
to His people, and is
a " rewarder of those who
diligently seek Him," and the bless-
ings of the life which is gone are
indications of that which is to
come to " the faithful in Christ
Jesus," for He "will never leave
us nor forsake us."
"The flood of years," which
has borne our city so far upon
the stream of time, is bearing us
onward. As we assemble here
to-day to consider the lives of those of
the past, whose places we
now fill, others will, ere long, have
our lives to think of, when
Vol. III-l5
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226 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
we shall have gone hence to join the unnumbered hosts 'of that other living, called run with patience life's race, or will we be as warnings of the dead." Will our example be such as to inspire them to the consequences of unfaithful lives? These are thoughts which suggest themselves in connection with what has been said, and their consideration rests with each individual, for "all must stand before the judgment seat of Christ." |
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Rejoicing in Divine Workmanship. 227
REJOICING IN DIVINE WORKMANSHIP.
Abstract of a sermon preached by the
Rev. George W.
Lasher, D. D., editor of the Journal
and Messenger, Cincinnati,
Ohio, in the First Baptist Church. Text:
Psalm CXLIX, 2.
"Let Israel rejoice in Him that
made him; let the children of
Zion be joyful in their King."
There are two ways of writing history;
the one to refer
every event to some over-ruling power
superior to man and to
human agency; the other to find the
spring of every event in
some other antecedent event. Israel was
taught to understand
that, whatever the instrumentalities
used, it is God who works
in and through and by means of the
instrument, so that, in the
last analysis, it is Jehovah who casts
down or raises up, creates
or destroys. This was the idea in the
mind of the author of the
psalm and of the text. And the principle
which underlies the
history of the ancient Israel also
underlies the history of the
modern "Israel," the people of
God, to-day.
In attempting to direct the thought of
the Baptists of Galli-
polis, on this centenary occasion, this
principle must not be for-
gotten nor overlooked. We must take into
account the divine
guidance, the evidence of a divine
purpose, the development
from small beginnings, the evolutions
and the retrogressions, the
renewed impulses and the recurring
relapses which have charac-
terized the history of the Baptists; we
should mark well, and
with peculiar joy, the onward march, the
increasing influence
and the present dominance of the great
principles which give
occasion to cite the language of the
psalmist.
Let us try to answer three questions:
1. Who are the Baptists?
2. Whence are the Baptists?
3. Whose workmanship are the Baptists?
1. Who are the Baptists? We answer, They
are a peculiar
people. They stand before the world as exponents and advocates
of truths and principles which it is
liable to forget; which, in-
deed, have been overlooked again and again,
and which would
now be lost sight of but for those who
are called by our name.
228 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. VOL. 3
Baptists stand for what is known as "a
converted (regen-
erated) church membership." With
all their faults and with all
their failures to conform their practice
to their theory, Baptists
have never forgotten the fundamental
principle of their historic
faith, viz.: that the visible Church of
Christ should be made up
of those, and those only, who give
evidence of having been born
of God, whose hope of eternal life rests
upon the atonement of
Christ, in which the professor of
religion has come to have a
personal interest. We do not deny that
some of our neighbors
seem to themselves to be doing the same
things. But the differ-
ence between them and us is in this-that
they sprinkle water,
in the name of the Trinity, upon the
faces of their children, and
call them members of the church,
"members of the body of
Christ;" or they tell us that,
having been born of parents who
are church members, the infants are
church members, and are,
therefore, entitled to receive
recognition as such; or, they tell
us that baptism is intended and
appointed of God to be the
means or instrument for the perfecting
of the work of the word
in the heart, so that, while repentance
and faith may be present,
it is needful that baptism be received,
in order that sin may be
remitted. It is readily seen, therefore,
that Baptists are a
peculiar people. They stand for the
great principle which they
find inwrought in the word of God, and
which was the founda-
tion of the Apostolic church. For its
vindication they point to
the New Testament and to the history of
the Apostolic age.
2. Baptists stand for an entire
separation between Church
and State. Jealous as they are for the gospel; anxious as they
are that all the nations may come to a
knowledge of the truth;
untiring as they are in efforts to carry
the gospel to the ends of
the earth: pioneers in modern missions,
they yet ask nothing of
the State. They delight in quoting that
saying of the Master,
"Render unto Caesar the things that
are Caesar's, and unto God
the things that are God's." They
are not willing that those who
have no interest in the God of the
Bible, who profess no allegi-
ance to the Christ of Calvary, shall be
taxed to maintain the in-
stitutions of Christianity. They do not
believe that Christianity
can be best and permanently promoted by
legal enactments, nor
that human governments have anything to
do with the religious
Rejoicing in Divine Workmanship. 229
life of the people. They ask simply that
they be free to exer-
cise their own faith, and to practice
according to their own con-
victions; that they have opportunity to
make known their views
and exemplify their practice before the
world, with none to in-
terfere, either to aid or hinder.
Baptists are not politicians.
They say to legislators,
"Gentlemen, hands off. Let religion
alone. We ask nothing of you, except
that you unbind and
loose." The first amendment to the
constitution of the United
States was secured by Baptists-that
section which says: "Con-
gress shall make no law respecting an
establishment of religion,
or prohibiting the free exercise
thereof." Baptists have labored,
and others have entered into their
labors, not knowing whence
came the blessings in which they often
rejoice.
3. Baptists stand for a faithful
obedience to the commands
of the Lord Jesus Christ. They do not profess to be above
criticism. They are too painfully aware
that they do not, in all
things, come up to the divine
requirements. They often quote
to themselves that caution of their Lord
against straining out
the gnat and swallowing the camel. But
they do not wilfully
minimize, nor obscure, nor change a
commandment of their
Master. They understand that the Lord
Jesus gave a command-
ment to "disciple" the nations
and to baptize the believing-the
discipled-and no others, in the name of
the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Ghost. They dare not alter
the terms of that
commandment. They believe that baptism
is given to be an
emblematic testimony to faith in the
Christ, because of His death
as an atonement for sin and His
resurrection to a new and glori-
fied life. They believe that, in order
to show forth these great
ideas and to perpetuate them before the
world, it is requisite that
the believer be buried with Christ,
"in the likeness of his death,"
and be raised again "in the
likeness of his resurrection." They
therefore repudiate all else that is
called by the name of baptism,
and practice only that which they have
received from the Lord
by example and precept.
For these reasons Baptists do not shrink
from the penalty
of being called "a peculiar people."
2. Whence are the Baptists? Their own
answer is, Of
Christ and his Apostles.
230 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
1. They refuse to regard as
authoritative anything that
originated this side of the New
Testament. It matters little to
them what "the Fathers" of the
second century taught, or what
the Church of that century practiced.
Those things may be of
historical importance and interest; but
whatever the Church
of the second century taught, as
distinguished from the teach-
ings of the Church of the first century,
that is to be distrusted
and rejected. They find that views
cherished by them were
held by individuals and small
communities, during all the ages
by John Wycklif, John Huss, and others;
but they care little for
these, except so far as they bore
witness to the truth.
2. They find that, at the time of the
great religious awaken-
ing in Europe, in the sixteenth century,
not only Martin Luther,
Staupitz, Cajetan, Bullinger, Melancthon
and their associates
were thinking and reading the word of
God, but that others, a
mighty host, were thinking and searching
the scriptures,
" whether those things were
so." They find that among these
were such men as Simon Stumpf, Conrad
Grebel, Felix Mantz,
Balthazar Hubmeier, George Blaurock, and
a host of others,
men of learning, priests of the Church
of Rome, who had come
to doubt the correctness of her teaching
and practice; earnest
students of the Bible, both in the
Hebrew and the Greek; and
that these men, with their associates,
became convinced of the
error of infant baptism, requiring of
each member of their order
a personal profession of faith in the
Lord Jesus Christ, and bap-
tism on the ground of such profession.
They find that these
men refused to have their children
sprinkled, and for this reason
many of them suffered death by fire and
water, or by the sword.
These were the Swiss
"Anabaptists," from whom we date the
rise of the Baptists of England and
America.
As to the sword, these men said:
"It is not to be used to
defend either the gospel or those who
receive it." As to baptism,
they said: " From the scriptures we
learn that baptism signifies
that by faith in the blood of Christ our
sins have been washed
away and we have died to sin and walk in
newness of life."
Concerning infant baptism, they said:
"We balieve the Scrip-
tures teach that all children who have
not arrived at the knowl-
edge of good and evil are saved by the
sufferings of Christ."
Rejoicing in Divine Workmanship. 231
The doctrines of these men passed down
the Rhine to Hol-
land, and thence across the Channel to
England, where, in the
next century (the seventeenth), they
were cherished by such
men as William Kiffin, Benjamin Keach,
John Bunyan, and
others. The Westminster Assembly met in
1642, and it was not
till 1647 that the Confession was
adopted and published; but in
1643, "seven congregations" of
Baptists in the city of London,
agreed upon a Confession which
challenges admiration to-day,
and which there has been but little
occasion to alter.
In 1631 (twelve years before the
formulation of the Con-
fession above named) Roger Williams, a
graduate of Pembroke
College, Oxford, and a minister of the
Church of England,
arrived in Massachusetts. He was an
inquirer after truth, little
regardful what others might think or do.
He became pastor of
a Congregational Church in Salem,
Massachusetts, but soon be-
gan to put forth ideas for which the
colonists around him were
not prepared. In 1635, he was banished
from the colony, and
in January, 1636, he landed at Wheet
Cheer rock, in Rhode
Island. In March, 1639, he was baptized
by Ezekiel Holliman,
and having in turn baptized Holliman and
ten others, formed a
Church which is held to still exist and
to be the oldest Baptist
Church on the American Continent-the
first Baptist Church of
Providence, Rhode Island. In 1638 (three
years after the
arrival of Williams and one year before
his baptism), Hanserd
Knollys, likewise a minister of the
Church of England, who had
become dissatisfied with the practices
of that Church, arrived in
Massachusetts, having come to escape the
persecution to which
he was subjected in his own country. He
became pastor of a
Congregational, or Puritan Church, in
Dover, New Hampshire,
and in the course of three years, had
made such progress in the
direction of the truth that, with a
portion of his congregation,
he became a Baptist. Soon after, he was
recalled to England by
his enfeebled father and there became
one of the leading Baptists
of his age; but the portion of his Dover
Church which accepted
his teachings removed, first to Long
Island, New York, and
and thence to New Jersey, where they
formed the Baptist
Church Piscataway, which still exists.
About the same time
other men of similar views arrived in
the country from England,
232 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL.
3
and settled, some in Rhode Island,
others in Pennsylvania, and
others in Delaware. They all came to
hold the same views of
Bible doctrine and to practice according
to the same rule.
3. Whose workmanship are the Baptists?
They are frank
to say that they did not make
themselves. They have, at all
times, regarded the Omnipotent God as
both the author and the
finisher of their faith. No people has
more frequently or more
sincerely quoted that scripture,
"Not by might nor by power,
but by my Spirit, saith the Lord."
They have not been a
worldly-wise people. They have never
depended upon kings
and governors for the advancement of
their principles. For,
though they have been among the most loyal
and patriotic of
citizens, their rulers have regarded
their lives as of but little
account, and have been willing to see
them exterminated. Such
were the pains and penalties imposed
upon them during the first
two hundred years of their history that
their growth in num-
bers was very slow, and they came to
almost regard it a crime
(as the State regarded it, and as it is
now regarded in Russia)
for one to proselyte, or put forth
efforts to win others to a
knowledge of the truth. In Switzerland,
Zwingle (who looked
with favor upon the views of Grebel and
Blaurock, until he saw
that they involved the principles of a
pure church) became their
most bitter enemy. Hubmeier was burned;
Mantz was drowned;
Blaurock was whipped and banished;
Hetzer was beheaded;
Grebel, Hottinger and innumerable others
were imprisoned,
while the rest of them fled the country.
In England, the Dutch
and Flemish "anabaptists" were
the peculiar horror of Henry
VIII, when he was wresting his subjects
out of the hands of the
Pope. When the wilderness of the New
World began to attract
attention as an asylum for the
oppressed-especially for those
whose religious convictions rendered
them obnoxious to home
laws-it was found that not only Puritans
of the Cotton Mather
stripe, but those of more radical
convictions, were ready to
brave the sea and the land of the savage
that they might enjoy
what they could not have in their native
land.
And here again the growth of the Baptists
was slow, at
first, and their churches were sporadic.
But when the revolu-
tion of 1776 had been accomplished, and
the first amendment of
Rejoicing in Divine Workmanship. 233
the Constitution had been adopted (in
1789), immediately they
began to increase in numbers and to put
on the strength of their
Maker, God. At the time of the adoption
of the amendment to
the Constitution (that which placed them
upon an equality with
any other religious denominations) the
Baptists of the United
States numbered less than 65,000, or
about one to every 56 of
the population. In 1812, less than
twenty years after, they
were as one to thirty-eight; in 1832, as
one to thirty-three; in
1852, as one to thirty; in 1872, as one
to twenty-five, and in
1889, as one to twenty-one. And all this
has been achieved
without a hierarchy, without a
bishropic, with no great court to
which difficulties can be referred, and
notwithstanding it is re-
quired of every person proposing to
unite with the Baptist
Church that he give to the brotherhood
"a reason for the hope
that is within him," and that he
receive the unpopular rite, a
baptism beneath the surface of the water
in the name of the
Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
These things are marvel-
ous in our eyes. For the growth of the
past century we can
give no adequate reason, except that God
is in it.