ANCIENT CORRESPONDENCE.
FROM SAMUEL LINTON*, WAYNESVILLE, O., TO
ABEL SATERTHWAITE, PHILADELPHIA.
* Samuel Linton was the fifth child of
Benjamin and Jane (Cowgal)
Linton and was born in Bucks county,
Pa., December 17th, 1741. He
was reared a farmer, yet, learned the
trade of a weaver. He married,
May 10, 1775, Elizabeth Harvey, who was
born March 8th, 1748. They
had six children, Samuel, Nathan, David,
Jane, Elizabeth and James,
who in turn, with the exception of
James, raised large families. During
the days of William Penn two brothers,
John and William Linton, came
to this country from Scotland and
settled on the banks of the Delaware
in Bucks county, Pa. From these two
brothers the many Linton families
now scattered through the country claim
to have descended.
Nathan Linton, the second son of Samuel
Linton, visited Ohio in
the spring of 1801, after having taken a
short course in surveying at the
famous Quaker school at Bordertown, New
Jersey. His trip was made
with a view to looking over the land
granted General Gates for his ser-
vices during the revolutionary war. He
was so pleased with the country
that he persuaded his father to
emigrate, with his whole family, to this
state the following year. Samuel Linton,
at that time, was a widower
with five living children. He arrived in
Waynesville, Warren county,
Ohio, May 31st, 1802. Nathan Linton
became the agent for the survey-
ing and selling of the General Gates
lands, and upon the organization of
Clinton county was appointed county
surveyor, which office he held till
near the time of his death which
occurred in 1858. Samuel Linton made
his home with his son Nathan Linton in
Clinton county, the balance
of his life. He died in 1835. Elizabeth
Linton Butterworth, was Nathan
Linton's oldest daughter.
WAYNESVILLE, OHIO, the 5th of ye 5th
Month, 1804.
Friends Saterthwaites -I am about to visit you with an-
other letter, and inform you it is fine
growing weather here at
this date after a cold, snowy winter;
the northeast wind, about
the 20th of the first month, made its
way around the North
(117)
118
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
Bluff of the mountain, and found us and
blowed us up a big
snow, above eighteen inches deep, a
thing unprecedented in
this country-and, also, that we are in
good health, and have
not as yet become French citizens. The
hand bill announcing
the cession of Louisiana, printed the
1st of last July at Phila-
delphia, was reprinted at Cincinnati,
and in circulation at
Waynesville the 20th of the same month;
and now the United
States is in the peaceable possession of
that vast country (as
our President phrases it), so extensive,
and so fertile; and
there don't at present appear anything
to interrupt the peace
and happiness of the settlements in this
part of the world.
There have sundry changes taken place
since I have been
in this land besides our taking our rank
among the sister states.
Our meeting, some months ago, was
organized into a Monthly
Meeting, with full powers to practice
the discipline of the
Church. William Saterthwaite, a valuable
friend, and Samuel
Cope, another; the one from Redstone in
Pennsylvania, the
other from Concord Monthly Meeting, in
this state, by the ap-
pointment of the Quarterly Meeting, were
present at the open-
ing of our second meeting; and Ann
Taylor, she who lately
visited your parts, and Christian Hall,
women Friends, were
also present; all of whom I had the
happiness to entertain part
of the time they were in this
neighborhood. We had a sitting
in my family, and Ann gave good council
to my young genera-
tion.
As I live in a thick settlement of
Friends, they soon found
out I understood how to use the pen
pretty well, and they not
knowing that John Brown to please Moses
Comfort gave me
a "measurable certificate,"
they have made much use of my
pen in the management of meeting
business.
Another change is, we now have good land
enough of our
own. I believe I did not answer the
question in my last letter
respecting the titles of lands in this
state; I will now do it.
There seems to be three descriptions;
first, the greatest part of
the lands are purchased at our Land
Offices for that purpose,
at two dollars per acre, or otherwise,
they are put up at public
sale at two dollars per acre; and, such
as are not bid higher than
two dollars during the three weeks of
the vendue, are pur--
Ancient Correspondence. 119
chased at the Land Office for two
dollars per acre. According
to the law lately modeled, of the last
session of Congress, the
purchaser may pay at four different
annual payments, and if
he will make payment punctual at the
stated time, he will be
excused from paying interest; when
payment is complete, he is,
by law, entitled to a patent, and his
title is indisputable.. Sec-
ondly, the land between the Little Miami
and Scioto rivers,
commonly called the military lands, is
land that was reserved
to reward the soldiers of the
Revolutionary War, and is, much of
it, very fertile or rich land. There is
an office on purpose for
the management of said land, called the
War Office; said land is
obtained by warrants granted to such as
are entitled to them
by law. The following fact will
illustrate the matter: There
were twelve thousand five hundred acres
allotted to General
Gates; said Gates sold his right to Dr.
James Murray; said
Murray, according to law, obtained a
patent to said land, ex-
ecuted by George Washington, President,
with the National
Seal affixed to it, the titles to said
lands are good. The afore-
said James Murray, the last fall, sent
his son Daniel, with full
power of attorney, to sell part of said
land, and I have bought
five hundred acres of him at seven
quarter dollars per acre,
and paid him the money, and he executed
to me a Warrantee
Deed. There is on my tract good springs
of water, and above
one hundred acres of that sort of land
that but little timber
grows upon it, and what little there is,
is chiefly walnut and
ash; the ground is much overran with
pea-vine, and spice-
wood (sometimes called babey-wood). Such
lands are too
strong for wheat in their first culture,
but excellent for corn,
hemp, potatoes, pumpkins, tobacco, etc.
Said Murray has sold
various other people land; it is several
miles from this town,
on a branch of the Little Miami, called
Todd's Fork. As there
is likely to be a large settlement of
Friends there, Dr. Murray
has generously made us a present of
fifteen acres of land for
meeting and school use, for the Society
of Friends, and made a
Deed to trustees, of which number Nathan
Linton is one, and
has got the Deed recorded, and has it in
keeping. Said Murray,
late in the fall, returned to his
father's in Maryland, and James
Murray has sent Nathan a power of
attorney, duly recorded,
120 Ohio Arch. and His.
Society Publications.
to survey and sell more of his lands.
The aforesaid Daniel
Murray is a young officer belonging to
the Navy Department,
and he has lately sent us word he is
ordered on board to sail to
the Mediterranean, to help revenge the
wrong done to the ship
Philadelphia by the Tripolatans.
Third, John Cleves Symes (commonly
called Judge Symes),
a number of years ago, perhaps near
fifteen, contracted with
the powers of Government for one million
of acres lying be-
tween the two Miami rivers at two-thirds
of a dollar per acre;
so, Symes obtained a patent for about
one third of the million
acres before General St. Clair's defeat
by the Indians; but St.
Clair's army being destroyed, and the
Indians very hostile,
things carried a very gloomy appearance
in this country. At
that time Symes gave up power of his
patented lands into the
hands of Congress (the titles of his
patented lands are good),
but a new army being raised and General
Wayne at their head,
and gave the Indians battle, and totally
defeated them, held
a treaty with them, called the Treaty of
Greenville, and pur-
chased some hundreds of miles of their
lands, as the property
of the United States; and Jay's Treaty
coming forward, the
English garrison (the root of evil),
retired to the other side
of the Lakes, matters here assumed a
favorable aspect. Symes
resumes his right to the unpatented
lands; as the lands would
sell for two or three times as much as
they would before these
late changes took place, and he actually
sold quantities of the
unpatented lands before attention was
paid to the defect in
his title, and those that purchased
those unpatented lands of
Symes have to purchase it over again at
the Land Office at
Cincinnati, and get their money back
from Symes as they can.
We are not much disturbed with deficient
titles this side of the
Ohio, except the conduct of Symes; on
the other side of the
Ohio, in the State of Kentucky, things
have not been so regu-
larly managed; their titles to lands is
like their waters, un-
certain. But by looking over the laws of
the late session, I
find that Congress has been very
indulgent to those that are in
the hobble with Symes-they are allowed
until the beginning of
1806 before any payment will be
demanded, and after 1806,
they are allowed six years to pay the
remainder, in six annual
Ancient Correspondence. 121
payments; if they are industrious and
managing, they may
make the money off their lands in that
time.
There will be, henceforward, for those
who can raise a
little money, great opportunities to buy
good plantations. There
is at this time much land to be sold in
the military tract by
those that monopolized by buying
Soldiers' Rights; and the re-
served sections between the Miami rivers
will be sold next Sep-
tember in quarter sections, and there is
some excellent good
lands among them; and when matters can
be got in readiness,
that vast tract called the Indiana; that
temperate and surpass-
ingly fertile country, almost surrounded
by the boatable waters
of the Wabash, the Ohio, the Mississippi
and the Illinois rivers,
will be sold; such as is not sold at the
different vendues, may
be bought at the Land Offices for two
dollars per acre, and the
title as good as any government can make
titles.
The emigration into this country is so
prodigious that, not-
withstanding the fertility of the soil,
there is scarce enough
raised to supply their immediate wants
at this time (without
our Exporting Company sending it away),
which makes pro-
duce high at the present: wheat,
two-thirds of a dollar; corn,
half a dollar; bacon, 8 cents per pound,
etc.
Our crops of wheat, oats and flax last
year (1803), were
generally much damaged by being lodged
by a shower of rain
a little time before harvest; crops of
corn were generally good;
we were allowed to plant about eight or
nine acres that lay
handy to us, for new setting and
extending the fence and put-
ting the ground in better order; we have
about four hundred
bushels of corn-plenty for our own use,
and some to spare to
hungry and starved newcomers.
We have been informed various ways, both
verbally and
in print, that on your side of the
Mountains the drouth prevailed
in many places last year, and occasioned
very scanty crops of
grain and grass; the Virginians say in
their country many of
their springs of water were dried up,
and the late winter many
creatures died for want of provender.
Newspaper says, at
Fredericktown, Maryland, there were
forty days and no rain,
and the herbage withered; and in the
Genessee country, ninety
days and no rain. What disturbs M.
Comfort's peace now,
122 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
that he wants to go to the Genessee;
don't he like his new
neighbors as well as his old ones?
Perhaps he won't bring as
favorable an account of that country as
C. Brown did. Perhaps
he will like his plantation five hundred
pounds better, like he
did when he came from Maryland. Land
begins to be dull
sale in the old settlements in many
places, I hear.
I commisserate you on account of the
loss of your preacher,
John Comfort, and the damage the
hailstorm did you, after
you had hurried him under ground. Has
Charles Brown got
his windows repaired yet? If you had
lived in as humble
houses as we do, you would not have lost
so much window
glass. The loss of Oliver Hough is a
serious loss to the Falls
Monthly Meeting; we have three preachers
belonging to our
Monthly Meeting, and likely to have the
fourth before many
years. Our meeting house is too little
for our greatly increas-
ing numbers, and we are about to build a
new meeting house,
thirty foot square, and that, it appears
to me, will be too small
before many years. I think I foresee
four Monthly Meetings
hereaway, before a great while; the
Miami Monthly Meeting,
one at Stillwater over the Big Miami,
one at Todd's Fork,
and one at Lee's Creek. It is not
unlikely that times to come
will see as prodigal edifices at the
above places as those that
constitute Buck's Quarter.
I live a public sort of life at present.
I have many visitors,
both foreign and domestic; among others,
Benjamin White,
and Benjamin Gillingham, from Buck's
Quarter. Tell all whom
it may concern, and Benjamin Palmer in
particular, I had the
honor lately to entertain his son
Richard. The matter stands
thus; The Little Turtle and other
Indians about Fort Wayne
(above a hundred miles to the north of
us), sent a message
to Baltimore Yearly Meeting, requesting
their assistance to
instruct them in the arts of civil life
and how to use the hus-
bandry and other tools they had sent
them; upon which the
Committee for Indian Affairs appointed
George Ellicot and
Jarrard Hopkins (the Yearly Meeting's
Clerk), to visit them
and give them such council as they
should think expedient when
among them; and also Philip Thomas, to
assist them in their
farming, the ensuing season; and the War
Department sent
Ancient Correspondence. 123
David Jinkinson, carpenter, and Richard
Palmer, blacksmith,
to reside and work with them; all of
which, in a company, came
to my house in the fore part of the day,
and stayed with me
until about that time next day, to
refresh themselves and horses,
and then proceeded on their journey.
Unfortunately, Nathan
and David were not at home; they were at
work on our 500
acre plantation, where we propose to
raise a crop the ensuing
summer,-farm some here and some there,
until we can get
ready to move there. George Ellicot gave
it as his opinion, that
there is more rich, fertile land in the
State of Ohio than in
Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and New
Jersey, all put to-
gether. Remember the State of Ohio is
but a small proportion
of the land contained between the Ohio
and the Mississippi
rivers; and Richard Palmer says he will
never go over the moun-
tains again to live, and, that it woud
be better if some of his
Brothers would come here, and not stay
there getting nothing.
He desired I would send word about him
in a letter to his old
acquaintances.
Two Kentuckians traveled through this
neighborhood, and
made the following remarks: "That
the State of Ohio would
decidedly have the advantage of
Kentucky, for the following
reasons: First, the climate is more
friendly to the growth of
wheat; and secondly, the streams of
water are constant and
steady-not swelled into floods by winter
rains, nor dried up
by summer drouths, but in many places
mills can go constantly
all the year; when on the other hand in
Kentucky, when they
should be manufacturing their wheat for
market, their mills
can't go for want of water." The
mill before our door, grist
and saw-mill, with all the fertile land
belonging to it-near 100
acres has been bought up by a wealthy
Quaker who is able for
it. Another wealthy Quaker, near the Big
Miami, has a grist-
mill, a saw-mill, and a fulling-mill,
and many hundred acres of
capital land, and a sweet daughter about
seventeen or eighteen
years old, who gains the praises of all
who have had the happi-
ness to be acquainted with her.
We have four head of horses, old and
young; and thirteen
head of cattle, old and young. It begins
to be time to enlarge
our borders.
124
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
I have got a weaving shop and a weaving
tackling. I have
wove a number of pieces and made out
bravely; but the worst
difficulty is, I am overrun with custom.
If Mr. Comfort was to see our lands in
this country, I am
apprehensive that when he returned to
his own plantation that
he would like it 500 pounds worse,
instead of 500 pounds bet-
ter, as he expressed himself when he
returned from Maryland.
A
straight-coated Friend (a millwright), is about pur-
chasing some hundreds of acres of land
adjoining my planta-
tion, and intends to have grist-mill
running, in less than a
year from now, on his land. He has a
sweet, pretty daughter,
just cleverly merchantable. There is a
fine chance for young
men in this country-good land and pretty
girls plenty; there
were six fair ones passing my door this
morning in a troop.
But, setting aside all nonsense,
although true, I request that
when thee has read this letter, to
convey it to Joseph Saterth-
waite, and Joseph to make the
interesting parts of it as public
as may be among my old acquaintances for
their information.
SAMUEL LINTON.