Ohio History Journal
The Firelands Grant. 435
THE FIRELANDS GRANT.
BY CLARENCE D. LAYLIN.
[This article is the outgrowth of a
paper read before the Political
Science Club of Ohio State University.
The discussion which followed
the reading of the paper among members
of that club led to further inves-
tigation, the result of which is the
article as here produced.-EDITOR.]
In treating of the settlement of new
countries, the general
and proper method is to recite the
history of its pioneer days.
Without the efforts of the men who go
into the forests and make
the first clearings, the development of
the country is impossible.
But it has often been true that the
history of a new land begins,
not with the first settlement, but
rather with the first step which
made that settlement possible. A
complete history of any re-
gion will include every act which bore
upon its inception and
growth. So it has been with our nation.
The history of Massa-
chusetts begins back in England; and we
are taken to Holland
before we finally reach the Western
Continent, if we wish to trace
the history of New England through all
its phases. A history
of Pennsylvania must include the
circumstances under which
William Penn obtained his grant of
territory. For, if there
were no record of that grant, land
titles in Pennsylvania would
be set at nought. So it is with the opening of the western
lands. The "Western Movement"
was not all of it in the for-
ests and on the plains of the
Mississippi valley. A considerable
part of it never got farther than some
land office in the East.
This part of our early history is seldom
given much notice, but
it is a part that must be reckoned with
in order that every factor
contributing to the opening of the new
country may have recog-
nition.
Among the regions of the west that were
opened up in this
manner, there is none that has a more
interesting and peculiar
history than the Firelands of the
Western Reserve. Here, an ac-
count of the circumstances leading up to
settlement is necessary
to the understanding of the first facts
of its history, and some of
436 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
the features of its present situation.
It is a fact more or less
widely known that the Firelands occupy,
in general, the western
extremity of the Western Reserve; it is
also well known that they
were awarded by the state of Connecticut
to the sufferers by fire
and otherwise from British raids during
the War of the Revolu-
tion. But the full circumstances under
which the grant was made,
and the manner in which it was taken
advantage of by the
sufferers, together with the surmounting
of the difficulties in
the way of the use of the land by the
grantees are not matters
of common knowledge.
It has been implied that in treating
this side of a historical
subject, it is best to find primary
causes first. Therefore, in
order to get the proper perspective and
starting point from which
to trace the history of the Firelands,
it is necessary to give an
idea of the depredations which gave
cause for their origin.
The State of Connecticut was at no time
the theatre of the
active operations of the War of the
Revolution. None of the
greater campaigns were carried on within
its borders, nor is its
soil made sacred by any famous battle.
But the war did not
terminate without leaving here, as well
as elsewhere, evidence
of its existence in a trail of death and
destruction. From its
position of isolation from a military
standpoint, the state be-
came a convenient location for arsenals
for the rather scanty sup-
plies of the patriots. But inasmuch as
the British occupied
New York city during the greater part of
the war, it was natural
that they did not allow these stores to
be collected with im-
punity in a place so easy of access as
Connecticut is from that
city. Nor were they to be expected to
allow the sheltered ports
of the north Sound coast to be havens
for the privateers which so
harried their commerce. It became
necessary from their point
of view to destroy the supplies which
kept accumulating in Con-
necticut. As for making a conquest of
the colony, that was
out of the question, because of the
intensely patriotic sentiment
of the people, and because of its
settlement in a number of towns
of equal importance, rendering it
impossible for a hostile force
of moderate size to control the colony
from any one strategic
point. Consequently, their incursions
took the form of raids of
destruction and plunder; they struck
swiftly, generally by night,
The Firelands Grant. 437
burned and destroyed what they could,
and then retired be-
fore any considerable force could be
gathered against them.
Nine towns suffered from the destroying
expeditions of the
British. The first of these to be
attacked was Danbury. This
town was a depot for the military stores
of the colonists in the
early part of the war. In 1777, Governor
Tyron, with two thou-
sand British troops, entered the place
and destroyed the supplies,
together with nineteen dwelling houses,
a meeting house, and
twenty-two stores and barns.
In 1779, an expedition of a rather more
wanton nature was
made. Tyron, with three thousand troops,
and a fleet of forty-
eight vessels, under command of Admiral
Sir George Collier,
made a descent upon the coast at New
Haven, and in the course
of the foray plundered and laid waste
the towns of New Haven,
Fairfield and Norwalk. Upon this
expedition, destruction of
property was accompanied by most
revolting cruelty. In Fair-
field and Norwalk, but few houses were
left standing. In New
Haven many of the inhabitants were
slaughtered, and many more
treated with the utmost indignity.
In 1781, a similar descent was made upon
New London
and Groton, by an expedition composed
largely of loyalist troops,
and commanded by Benedict Arnold,
himself a native of that
very region. Arnold seems not to have
intended the wholesale
destruction which actually did take
place, and lays the almost
total annihilation of New London, the
expedition against which
town he personally commanded, to an
explosion of gunpowder.
But the inevitable result of a raid with
even partial destruction
for its purpose ensued; the whole
commercial portion of the
town of New London was destroyed, and
many of the dwelling
houses, also. Across the river, at
Groton, the losses were of a
different nature. A hundred and fifty
brave spirits of the town
occupied the little fort which commanded
the place. They were
attacked by eight hundred British. Such
defense was heroic,
but futile. After inflicting great loss
upon the British, the few
that were left in the fort surrendered,
only to be butchered by
their enraged conquerors. Eighty-five
men were killed and sixty
wounded.
438 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
Similar raids were made against the
towns of Greenwich
and Ridgefield. Great suffering
naturally resulted from these
raids. Many families were rendered
destitute and homeless. It
was perfectly natural, therefore, for
the new State to endeavor
to compensate those who had been losers
in its behalf. Conse-
quently, the sufferers repeatedly
petitioned the assembly for re-
lief. The state for a time afforded
limited and inadequate aid
by abatement of taxes, but such measures
fell far short of com-
pensating the petitioning sufferers for
their losses.
Finally, in May, 1787, the memorialists
made a special effort,
In unusually strong terms, they
complained of previous neglect,
asserted the justice of their claim, and
earnestly urged the atten-
tion of the Assembly. This petition was
signed by one represen-
tative from each of the towns. This
memorial attracted the at-
tention of the assembly to such a degree
that a special joint com-
mittee was appointed, to which the
petition was referred. This
committee consisted of one member from
the upper house, and
five from the lower house.
This committee did not report until
October, 1787. They
then said that for want of exhibits,
certificates and vouchers,
they were unable to present either a
correct statement of the
losses sustained by the various towns,
or, on the other hand, of
the relief already granted to the
sufferers by the state. But they
recommended that the houses, furniture,
etc., destroyed by the
enemy ought to be paid for by the state,
and at their just value.
Furthermore, they stated that, in their
opinion, the only means
within the power and resources of the
state was in the Western
Lands.
The report was approved, but no action
was taken upon its
recommendation, on account of the lack
of data upon which
as a basis they could make any
compensation. The matter was
then seemingly lost sight of for a
while, and action upon it was
postponed from session to session.
Meanwhile, the condition of
the sufferers did not grow any better.
Finally, in 1790, citizens of
Fairfield and Norwalk presented
a new petition. Acting upon this, the
Assembly appointed a com-
mittee of three to compile a full report
of the losses of the peti-
tioners, and others who had undergone
similar misfortunes, thus
The Firelands Grant. 439
including all the sufferers within the
scope of the instructions.
This committee entered upon its work
immediately. By means
of taking sworn statements and vouchers,
and with the aid of the
petitions that had been presented from
time to time, with the
sworn statements accompanying them, the
committee took a com-
plete census of the sufferers and return
of the amount of their
losses. This task was a large one,
however, and it was not until
May, 1792, that the work was so far completed as to enable the
Assembly to take action upon its
findings.
This report ascertained the number of
sufferers to be about
one thousand, eight hundred and seventy,
distributed as follows:
Greenwich, 283 persons; Norwalk, 287;
Fairfield, 269; Danbury,
187; New and East Haven, 410; New
London, 275; Ridgefield,
65, and Groton, 92 persons. The full
list of sufferers, with losses
appended, accompanied the report of the
committee, and was
incorporated in the action finally taken
by the assembly. The
nomenclature in these lists forms an
interesting study by itself.
The peculiar characteristics of these
names indicate in an inter-
esting manner some of the features of
the life of the place and
period. In the first place, the final
"wood" and "ing" and many
other such points give a sure index to
the sturdy English an-
cestry from which the bearers of such
family names came. And
then, the number of different family
names in a list is small, and
nearly every family is represented by
several, sometimes many
heads of houses. Concerning the given
names, too, there are a
few curious facts. One name seems to run
in the family for
several generations, for we find many
juniors, seconds and thirds,
with scarcely any middle names. And then
there are of course
many of the quaint Old Testament names
which characterize
the times.
The final loss aggregated £161,548, 11s,
6½d, or $538,445.26.
Of this amount, New London lost
one-third, Norwalk and Fair-
field nearly a third more, and the
remainder was divided among
the other six towns. The average
personal loss was $287.91, the
individual losses varying from $8,845.31
to 42c.
The Connecticut Assembly upon the
presentation of this re-
port, took immediate action, May, 10, 1792, in the form
of the
following grant:
440 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
"At a general assembly of the State
of Connecticut,
holden at Hartford on the second
Thursday of May,
A. D. 1792.
"Upon the memorial of the
inhabitants of the towns
of Fairfield and Norwalk, showing to
this assembly that
many of the inhabitants of said towns
suffered great
losses by the devastations of the enemy
during the
late war, praying a compensation
therefor, and a re-
port of a committee appointed by this
assembly
at this session held at Hartford, in
May, 1791,
to ascertain .... the amount of the
losses of said memor-
alists, and others under similar
circumstances .....
and also to ascertain the advancements
which have been
made for sufferers by abatement of taxes
or otherwise,
and to report the same, with their
opinion relative to
the ways and means of affording for the
relief......
"Resolved, By this assembly, that there be and here-
by are released and quit-claimed to the
sufferers hereafter
named...... five hundred thousand acres
of land belong-
ing to this State, lying west of the
State of Pennsyl-
vania, and bounding northerly on the
shore of Lake
Erie, beginning at the West Line of said
lands and
extending eastward to a line running
northerly and
southerly parallel to the east line of
said tract...., and
extending the whole width of such lands,
and easterly
so far as to make said quantity of five
hundred thousand
acres.... to be divided to and among the
said sufferers,
and their legal representatives where
they are dead, in
proportion to the several sums annexed
to their names, as
follows in the annexed list."
The grant was thus made, but the use of
the land by the
grantees was as far away as ever. Many
problems had to be
solved before the sufferers could obtain
the value of the land. In
the first place, the land that had been
ceded to them lay hun-
dreds of miles to the west, and was
original forest, occupied by
Indians only. Their title to the land
was very much involved
and was rather doubtful. When these
obstacles should have been
removed, an equitable apportionment
would have to be made. To
The Firelands Grant. 441
accomplish all these difficult things
required some sort of organ-
ization. Moreover, the sufferers were
scattered through the dif-
ferent towns, and could take no united
action.
The Connecticut Assembly solved the
problem of organiza-
tion by a special act incorporating the
sufferers into a body cor-
porate and politic. The preamble of this
act, enacted in May,
1796, presumably at the suggestion or
upon the petition of some
of the sufferers, after reciting the
circumstances and terms of
the grant, says:
"The proprietors and grantees of
said lands, and
their assigns reside in different towns,
and cannot with-
out great charge meet together to
transact business
necessary to be done, relative to
securing the title to said
lands, ascertaining the bounds,
preventing encroach-
ments, laying taxes to defray expenses,
making arrange-
ments for settlement, or otherwise
consulting and adopt-
ing measures for their mutual and joint
interest."
The body of the act, laying down the
scheme of organiza-
tion, follows. The title of the
corporation was to be "The Pro-
prietors of the Half-Million Acres of
Land Lying South of Lake
Erie." The plan of organization was
to have its basis in annual
meetings of the grantees or their legal
representatives in each
town. These meetings were to choose
Agents, and these agents
were to constitute the board of
directors of the land company
which was thus virtually formed. The
representation of each
town upon the Board of Agents was to be
determined by the
aggregate loss of the sufferers of this
town. In like manner, suf-
frage in the local meetings was to be
proportioned to the amount
of the individual loss. The board of
directors was to have an
annual meeting, and to hold adjourned
meetings, if necessary
to the transaction of business of the
grantees, which was placed
entirely in their hands.
Such were the general features of the
organization of this
company, for the corporation amounted
virtually to a land com-
pany. The balance of the act refers
mainly to the fees of officers,
provides for the laying and collecting
of taxes, - for the cor-
442 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
poration was a body politic as well as
corporate, and arranges
details, such as the responsibility of
individuals, etc.
Although this measure was enacted in
May, 1796, it is im-
probable that the company did anything
more than to keep itself
in existence for over seven years. The
solution of none of the
main problems named in the preamble of
the act, which stood
in the way of apportionment among the
sufferers and occupation
by them of the land, was attempted until
an act incorporating the
sufferers under the laws of the new
State of Ohio was passed
by the legislature of that state in
1803. In fact, it is probable
that little, if anything, was done by
the Connecticut corporation;
after 1803 the company operated
exclusively under the laws of
Ohio, and accomplished practically all
of the objects of its original
incorporation after that year. The
reasons for this delay are
matters of conjecture. It was probably
impracticable to make
any efforts under the laws of
Connecticut, while it was certain
that a new state would be formed
containing the territory of the
Firelands, and under whose territorial
jurisdiction the title of the
land would have to be held. At the same
time, the original
holders of the land, the Indians, were
still disputing the title to
the same territory. Settlement was
impossible without a conflict
with the natives. Inasmuch as the State
of Connecticut was
directly interested in getting these
matters of title to the Western
Reserve cleared up, as will be later
described, it is unlikely that
the Firelands proprietors ever had
anything to do in an official
way with taking the initiative in this
matter. It is more likely
that they had to wait until the state
had settled its part of the
matter before the company could proceed.
By the time these
questions had been disposed of, Ohio had
become a state, and
the Proprietors incorporated in that
state, in order to secure the
title to their land. These reasons
probably account for the seven
years of inaction on the part of the
company. During this time,
the business transacted by the directors
could scarcely have
exceeded in importance the collection of
taxes of maintenance.
The Proprietors were incorporated in
Ohio in May, 1803,
by an act of the legislature practically
identical with the original
act in Connecticut. The few differences
which we find arise from
the fact that the second act was a
renewal, or ratification, made
|
The Firelands Grant. 443 |
|
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444 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
doubtless under the supervision of the
directors of the company.
Thus the second act in some matters
removed features that were
probably superfluous, in others its
provisions were made with
reference to the state of the company at
that time. For instance,
instead of merely providing the method
of election of directors,
the Ohio act names nine persons as the
first incumbents, these
men probably being in office at that
time under the old act. In
this manner there was no abrupt change
in the affairs of the
company. We find that biennial elections
of directors were sub-
stituted for annual elections by the
second act. This was a change
made doubtless at the advice of the
directors. The second act
fixes the representation of each town on
the board arbitrarily,
while the first act provided that this
representation should be
proportional to the aggregate loss of
the community; this is a
difference in form only, however, as the
second act gave to each
town the number of agents to which it
was entitled under the
first act.
It was after the Ohio incorporation that
the work of the
company was taken up in earnest. The
land was now more acces-
sible for settlement. The second
incorporation gave the acts of
the company complete security. The way had been cleared for
them in matters in which the State of
Connecticut necessarily
had to act first. Everything was ready
for action. Henceforth
the history of the Firelands is a
history of the transactions of this
company, which proceeded from this time
as rapidly as could be
expected to a conclusion. With its
internal administrative func-
tions we are little concerned; but we
are more directly interested
in the three distinct objects or
operations of the incorporation,
stated, among the other reasons for the
incorporation, in the pre-
amble of the Connecticut act, and
expressly laid down in that
of the Ohio act. These three principal
problems were: The
clearing of the title, the surveys, and
the apportionment. It was
necessary first of all that the title be
cleared, before it was pos-
sible to go upon the land for any
purpose. Then surveys had
to be made, both to determine the extent
of the land, and to
afford a basis for the apportionment.
Then an equitable and
just distribution of the land among the
sufferers and grantees
The Firelands Grant. 445
in proportion to the value of each
claim, was to be the final work
of the incorporation. Each of these
special lines of work affords
an interesting subject for
investigation.
By treaty with France in 1763, England's
claim to what is
now Ohio was definitely established, at
least so far as any other
European power was concerned. But her
sovereigns had, at
one time and another, made conflicting
grants of charters to
various land companies and colonies.
Thus, James I granted to
the London Company the land extending
two hundred miles
north of Old Point Comfort, "west
and northwest." This grant
was made in 1609. In 1620, the same
sovereign granted to the
Council of Plymouth all the land lying
between the fortieth and
the forty-eighth parallels, which grant
would naturally conflict
with the London Company's grant. Charles
II in 1662 granted
to the Patentees of Connecticut the land
from the present boun-
dary of Massachusetts to the sea on the
south, to Narragansett
Bay on the east, and to the Pacific on
the west. Two years later
the same monarch granted to his brother,
the Duke of York, the
land between the Delaware and the St.
Croix, without stipulation
as to western extent. It will be seen
that these grants are very
conflicting, and that each of them
included the strip since known
as the Western Reserve.
At the conclusion of the Revolution, the
United States suc-
ceeded to the claims of England south of
the St. Lawrence. Each
state continued the claims it had urged
as a colony. Conflicts took
place before the Revolution was fairly
over. Finally, bloodshed
occurred between Pennsylvanians and men
from Connecticut
claiming land in Pennsylvania under the
original Connecticut
grant. Foreseeing a condition of chaos
and possible disruption
at the very outset, if these conflicts
continued to occur, Congress,
under the Confederation, repeatedly
urged the contesting states
to cede their claims to the central
government. Virginia was
the first to comply. In 1784, she ceded
all claims north of the
Ohio river, with the exception of a
reservation for military lands.
Massachusetts followed, ceding all
claims, this willingness to
part with her western lands being due to
her possession of what
is now the State of Maine. Connecticut,
having in mind no
scheme of military bounty, was yet loath
to part with her western
446 Ohio Arch. and His. Society
Publications.
claims, because of her limitations in
the east. Consequently,
when she did cede, in May, 1786, the
cession began 120 miles
west of the Pennsylvania line, thus
reserving, by default of men-
tion, the remainder, lying between that
longitude and the Penn-
sylvania line. Her view was that the
acceptance of her cession
by Congress, without dispute on this
point, secured to her a clear
title to the part not ceded. In other
words, Connecticut believed
that Congress had by tacit understanding
recognized her title
to the Western Reserve.
Now in 1795, the State of Connecticut
had sold the remainder
of the Western Reserve, outside of the
Firelands, to a land com-
pany, known as the Connecticut Land Company,
in addition to
the Firelands grant of 1792. Meanwhile, the
United States did
not share in the opinion of Connecticut
as to the ownership of the
Western Reserve. In 1794 General Wayne
culminated a war
with the Indians of the region by a
victory at Fallen Timbers. It
was understood that this victory was to
be followed by a treaty
with the Indians, which should
definitely establish the boundary
line between the National Lands and
those owned by the Indians.
The Treaty of Greenville, August 3,
1795, extinguished the
Indian title to one-third of Ohio; but
the treaty established the
boundary which it said should be between
the lands of the United
States and those of the Indians through
what is now the Western
Reserve. This boundary ran along the
Cuyahoga river, the Por-
tage path, and the Tuscarawas; what was
to the east, according
to the treaty, was United States
territory; what was to the west
belonged to the Indians. Connecticut
claimed land lying on both
sides of the line. On the one hand, the
Federal government, by
paying a remuneration for the land,
expressly denied the claim of
Connecticut to that land. On the other
hand, the state had
granted this land out to private
corporations, one of which, at
least, paid taxes to the state for its
title in the land.
In 1796, the Connecticut Land Company
started its surveys
east of the Cuyahoga, on lands stated by
the Treaty of Greenville
to belong to the United States. The
surveys were speedily com-
pleted, and sales of land and settlement
at once began. The con-
flict was thus brought to a head. The
claims of each party to
the dispute were twofold in nature. They
embraced not only
The Firelands Grant. 447
the fee of the land, but also the right
of jurisdiction within the
boundaries of the land. Congress,
wishing to forestall any pos-
sible trouble, offered to compromise by
allowing Connecticut to
keep the fee of the land, thus rendering
the titles of the grantees
of the state secure, keeping for the
central government the right
of jurisdiction over the territory in
question. This offer was
made April 28, 1800. The state
legislature accepted May 30,
and executed a deed of cession of
judicial rights accordingly.
This cleared the title of that part of
the Western Reserve
lying east of the Cuyahoga and the
Portage path. But the re-
mainder, to the west, was still doubtful
as to title. The State
of Connecticut had granted it out
between two companies, but
the Treaty of Greenville stated that the
ownership of the land
was with the Indians. It now devolved
upon the Firelands Pro-
prietors to take action to clear this
title. Heretofore, it had been
the State of Connecticut which had been
acting in this regard.
Now whatever steps were to be taken must
be taken by the com-
pany. Immediately after the Ohio
incorporation, measures were
taken to bring the matter to a
conclusion.
The proprietors first contracted, in
company with the Con-
necticut Land Company, with one William
Dean, a man familiar
with the customs of the Indians, to
manage the extinguishment
of their title. The next step was the
application to the President
to appoint a commissioner to negotiate a
treaty to be arranged for
by Dean, between the United States and
the Indians. The Pres-
ident complied, appointing Charles
Jewett. Under Dean's guid
ance, Jewett, accompanied by Isaac Mills
for the Firelands Pro-
prietors, and Henry Champion, for the
Connecticut Land Com-
pany, proceeded to Ft. Industry, on the
Maumee river, and there
drew up a treaty with the Indians,
extinguishing the Indian title
to the entire Western Reserve. Jewett
represented merely the
treaty-making power. Four parties signed
the treaty, the rep-
resentative of the government, the
representatives of the two land
companies, and the Indian chiefs. The
treaty stipulated that
the remuneration, $18,916.67, should be
paid jointly by the two
companies. This operation cost the
Firelands Proprietors $6,000,
which sum included the commission of
Dean for performing his
work. This sum was provided for by the
regular taxation
448 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
methods. The treaty was ratified by the
Senate of the United
States, January 25, 1806. Thus, finally,
after years of conflict
and dispute of a legal nature, and three
years after the admittance
of Ohio into the Union, the title of the
Firelands was clear, and
the first portion of the work of the
corporation was accomplished.
Having gained a clear title to
the territory, the next under-
taking was the survey of the land.
Taylor Sherman and Guy
Richards were appointed a committee to
effect by contract the
survey of the lands, and to settle any
dispute with the Connecticut
Land Company. The result of their labors
was a contract be-
tween the two companies on the one hand,
and John McLean
and James Clark on the other. These men
were to run the west-
ern boundary of the Reserve, starting
from a point on the forty-
first parallel, to be determined by the
United States through its
engineer. They were then to take a
traverse of the Lake shore,
with a view to the location of the
eastern line of the Firelands,
so as to make the amount of land five
hundred thousand acres,
as per the original grant. This contract
was made December
16, 1805. Maxfield Ludlow, the United
States engineer, fixed
the southwestern corner point, and a
company of twelve survey-
ors commenced the work laid down in the
contract. The gov-
ernment, however, rejected this survey,
on account of an error
in Ludlow's calculations, which resulted
in placing the corner
point about a mile too far west, thus
including too much land in
the Reserve. This error had occurred in
the connection with the
previous surveys that had been made east
of the Cuyahoga, be-
fore the Treaty of Ft. Industry.
On the 19th of August, 1807, a new
contract was drawn up
with Almon Ruggles, a member of the
first party. Ruggles was
to make an entirely new survey. He was
to ascertain the correct
southwestern point, place the eastern
line, and run the land off
into townships five miles square, four
sections to a township.
With respect to the irregular townships
bordering on the lake,
he was instructed so to shape and divide
them as to make them
approximately equal to each other and to
the remaining townships.
Ruggles completed the work in a
satisfactory manner, and his
surveys are the basis of the present
boundaries of the Firelands.
There are some interesting features
connected with this sur-
The Firelands Grant. 449
vey. The error in the first survey had,
as we have seen, caused
the corner stake to be placed almost a
mile too far west. The
new stake came in the then almost
impenetrable swamp which
still remains in the southwestern corner
of Huron county. The
minutes of Ruggles' survey as he
approached this point read as
follows: "117th mile west. We are
in danger of our lives," "118th
mile west. Sat a post in Hell. I've
traveled the woods for
seven years, but never saw so hideous a
place as this." This
was two miles from the corner post.
Another feature of the sur--
vey is evident from a glance at the map.
The specifications for
the running of the western line were
that it should be north and
south, parallel to the state line. These
were also the terms
of the Treaty of Fort Industry. As a
matter of fact, there is an
angular divergence 4° 40' to
the west, and Ruggles' field-book
states that the line was so run, but
gives no reason for it. The
eastern line is parallel to the western,
and thus the townships are
not exactly square, as are those in the
eastern portion of the
Western Reserve. This could not have
been an oversight, and
it seems probable that there was an
intention to cheat. There
is a tradition, handed down among
official circles, but nowhere
in print, that this divergence was made
in order to contain
within the limits of the Firelands the
famous Castalia Springs,
known far and wide among the Indians,
which it was feared
the second survey would exclude. Of
course there is no possible
substantiation for this theory.
Upon the conclusion of the surveys, the
next problem was
that of apportionment of the lands among
the sufferers, or those
holding their claims by inheritance or
purchase. This was the
objective point toward which the company
had been working,
and the main purpose for which it was
incorporated. The hold-
ers of claims had changed, both in
number and in character.
Persons of a speculative nature had
bought up the claims of the
original grantees, many of which had
been sold for non-payment
of taxes or dues to the company. These
speculators, however,
seem to have been recruited from among
the ranks of the suffer-
ers themselves, or at least from the
neighborhood.
On the thirtieth of September, 1808, a
committee of four
Vol. X- 29.
450 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
directors was appointed to adopt a
method of exact partition.
Their report formed the plan of
apportionment adopted by the
agents on November 8th. The scheme was
as follows: The sur-
veys had divided the land as accurately
as possible into thirty equal
townships, each containing four
sections. The total loss was
£161,548, 11s, 6½d. The value of each
section was therefore fixed
at about one one-hundred-and-twentieth
of this aggregate loss, or
£1,344, 7s. Each proprietor was to
receive as much land in pro-
portion to the area of the section as
the amount of his claim bore
relation to the total valuation of the
section. The distribution of
land was made by lot. Everything was
based upon the list of
sufferers annexed to the original grant.
Inasmuch as the person-
nel of the claimholders had changed
radically since the first
grant, made twelve years prior to the
time of this apportionment,
there were two lists. The first list
contained the names of the
original grantees, and formed the basis
of the apportionment;
the second list, headed "Classified
by", contained the names of
those who held these original claims by
purchase or inheritance
at the time of the allotment. There were
no large individual
holdings, but often one man or group of
men had enough land
to give them the preponderance in a
township. Hence, we find,
among the names of the Firelands
townships, together with those
of the old Connecticut towns, as,
Norwalk, New London, etc.,
titles derived from the names of
prominent landholders or direc-
tors. Because of the method of
distribution by lot, a man hold-
ing several separate claims might have
his land scattered in
different sections of a township.
With the accomplishment of the
apportionment of the land,
the work of the company came to an end.
It only remained
for the directors to finish a few
detailed matters in regard to the
location of highways, a work that had been
begun as soon as the
surveys had been completed. Upon the
completion of its external
labors, and the final settlement of its
internal affairs, the board of
directors of the incorporated
proprietors of the Sufferers' Land
finished its deliberations by asking
that its minutes and papers
as an incorporation of the State of Ohio
be preserved among
the records of Huron County. The board
then adjourned without
day. The Firelands were ready for the
Pioneers.
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