Ohio History Journal
OHIO
Archaeological and Historical
PUBLICATIONS.
THE BEGINNING OF THE OHIO COMPANY AND
THE
SCIOTO PURCHASE.*
BY MAJOR E. C. DAWES.
The beginning of the year 1783 saw the
Revolutionary war
virtually at an end, although the final
treaty of peace was not
signed until September third. The
colonies had achieved their
independence at the price of the lives
of many, and the fortunes
of all of their defenders. The
Continental currency, despite
the fiat of the government, had long
since ceased to be of value.
Since 1780 all army supplies had been
purchased with interest
bearing notes, payable in coin, issued
by the Quartermaster
General by authority of Congress. These
were known as "Con-
tinental specie certificates" and
had depreciated to about one
sixth their par value. The troops were
about disbanded; there
was no money to pay them. Many meetings
were held among
the officers and many plans for securing
the arrearages of pay
were discussed. All conferences came to
the same conclusion.
The United States had no credit upon
which to borrow money,
no power to enforce the collection of a
tax, no property with
which to pay its debts. The only
apparent resource was the
land west of the Alleghenies belonging
to the Indians, the
In preparing this paper I have made
liberal extracts from an essay
read by me before the Cincinnati
Literary Club, in 1881, a few copies of
which were printed. I have also used,
with consent of the publisher,
almost the whole of an article on
the Scioto Purchase, published in the
Magazine of American History, December
1889.
Vol. IV-1
2 Ohio Arch. and His. Society
Publications. [VOL. 4
English
claim to which had been ceded to the United States by
the
preliminary articles of peace made known in America in
March,
1783. Even there some of the States claimed prior
rights.
Hoping by successful revolution to acquire these lands,
Congress
had, in 1776 and 1780, agreed to give certain amounts
to all
officers and soldiers who should serve through the war or
become
disabled in it. About the first of April, 1783, Colonel
Timothy
Pickering, then Quartermaster General, presented to a
meeting
of officers a proposition, to be made to Congress on
behalf
of the Army, for the formation of a new State, west of
the
Ohio river, as follows:
"Proposition*
for settling a new State by such
officers and
soldiers
of the Federal army, as shall associate for that purpose.'
"1.
That the United States purchase of the natives that
tract
of country that is bounded by Pennsylvania on the east,
the river
Ohio on the south, a meridian line drawn thirty miles
west of
the river Scioto on the west, this meridian line to run
from
the Ohio to the Miami River, which runs into Lake Erie,-
and by
this river and Lake Erie on the north.
"
2. That, in the first instance, lands be assigned to the army
to
fulfill the engagements of the United States by the resolutions
of
September 16, 1776, August 13 and September 30, 1780, to-
wit:
To a major-general ............ .. ................ 1,100 acres.
To a brigadier-general
.............................. 850 acres.
To a colonel
......... ..... ........................ 500 acres.
To a lieutenant-colonel
.............................. 450 acres.
To amajor ...... ...............
.................. 400 acres.
To a captain
.................................. 300
acres.
To a lieutenant
..................................... 200 acres.
To an
ensign, or cornet
........................... 150 acres.
To a
non-commissioned officer or soldier ............. 100 acres.
To the director
of the military hospitals ........... 850
acres.
To the
chief physician and purveyor, each. ......... 500
acres.
To
physicians, surgeons and apothecary, each ........ 450 acres.
To
regimental surgeons, and assistants to the purveyor
and
apothecary, each ................. .. 400
acres.
To
hospital and regimental surgeon's mates, each .... 300 acres.
* Life
of Timothy Pickering, Volume 1, page 546.
The Beginning of the Ohio Company, Etc. 3
"3. That all associates who shall actually settle in the new
State, within one year after the purchase shall be effected, and
notice given by Congress or the committee of the associators,
that the same is ready for settlement (such notice to be published
in the newspapers of all the United States), shall receive such
additional quantities of land as to make their respective rights
in the whole to contain the following number of acres, to-wit:
A major-general ................................ 2,400 acres.
A brigadier-general ................................ 2,200 acres.
A colonel.
.......................................... 2,000 acres.
A lieutenant-colonel ......................... 1,800 acres.
A major ................... ..... .................. 1,600 acres.
A captain .................. .................... 1,400 acres.
A lieutenant .............
................... ....... 1,200 acres.
An ensign, or cornet ................................ 1,000 acres.
A sergeant
.......................................... 700 acres.
Other non-commissioned officers and soldiers, each... 600 acres.
And 50 acres more for each member of a family, besides the
head of it.
"4. That the rights of the officers in the medical depart
ment be increased in like manner on the same condition.
"5. That all officers in the other staff departments, who
shall actually settle in the new State within the time above
limited, shall receive rights of land in the proportions last stated,
on an equitable comparison of their stations with the ranks of
the officers of the line and the medical staff.
"6. That this increased provision of lands shall extend to
all officers of the line and staff, and to all non-commissioned
officers and soldiers, who, during the present war, have performed
in the whole three years service, whether in service or not at the
close of the war, provided they present their claim and become
actual settlers in the new State by the time above limited.
"7. These rights being secured, all the surplus lands shall
be the common property of the State, and disposed of for the
common good; as for laying out roads, building bridges, erecting
public buildings, establishing schools and academies, defraying
the expenses of government, and other public uses.
"8. That every grantee shall have a house built and
4 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL.
4
acres of land cleared on his right
within - years, or the same
shall be forfeited to the state.
"9. That to enable the associators
to undertake the settle-
ment of the new state, the United States
defray the expenses of
the march thither, furnish the necessary
utensils of husbandry
and such live stock as shall be
indispensably necessary for com-
mencing the settlement, and subsistence
for three years, to wit:
One ration of bread and meat per day to
each man, woman and
child; and to every soldier a suit of
clothes annually, the cost of
these articles to be charged to the
accounts of arrearages due to
the members of the association
respectively.
"10. That, for the security of the
state against Indians,
every officer and soldier go armed, the
arms to be furnished
by the United States and charged to the
accounts of arrearages.
Ammunition to be supplied in the same
way.
" 11. That a constitution for the
new state be formed by
the members of the new state previous to
their commencing the
settlement, two-thirds of the
associators present at a meeting
duly notified for that purpose agreeing
therein. The total ex-
clusion of slavery from the state to
form an essential and irre-
vocable part of the constitution.
"12. That the associators so
assembled agree on such gen-
eral rules as they shall deem necessary
for the prevention and
punishment of crime and the preservation
of the peace and good
order in the state, to have the force of
laws during the space of
two years, unless an assembly of the
state, formed agreeably to
the constitution, shall sooner repeal
them.
"13. That the state so constituted
shall be admitted into
the confederacy of the United States,
and entitled to all the
benefits of the Union in common with the
other members
thereof.
"14. That at the above mentioned
meeting of the as-
sociators, delegates be chosen to
represent them in the Congress
of the United States, to take their
seats as soon as the new state
shall be erected.
"15. That, the associators having
borne together as breth-
ren the dangers and calamities of war,
and feeling that mutual
friendship which long acquaintance and
common sufferings give
The Beginning of the Ohio Company,
Etc. 5
rise to- it being also the obvious
dictate of humanity to supply
the wants of the needy and alleviate the
distresses of the
afflicted-it shall be an inviolable rule
to take under the im-
mediate patronage of the State the wives
and children of such
associators, who, having settled there,
shall die, or by cause of
wounds or sickness, be rendered unable
to improve their planta-
tions, or follow their occupations
during the first twenty-one
years, so that such destitute and
distressed families shall receive
such public aid as, joined with their
own reasonable exertions,
will maintain them in a manner suitable
to the condition of the
heads of them; especially that the
children, when grown up,
may be
on a footing with other children, whose
parents, at the
original formation of the State, were in
similar circumstances
with those of the former."
This paper was placed in the hands of
General Rufus Put-
nam "for consideration, amendment
and suggestion." Under
his direction a petition was prepared to
Congress asking that the
lands, to which the signers were
entitled, be located within the
tract described in Colonel Pickering's
proposition, and that addi-
tional amounts be sold to them for
public securities. This peti-
tion, signed by 288 officers of the
Continental line, was for-
warded by General Putnam to General
Washington, June 16,
1783. In his letter transmitting it,
General Putnam referred to
his own interest in the subject, gave at
length reasons why it
should be promptly considered, and urged
General Washington
to use his influence with Congress to
secure favorable action.
General Washington forwarded the
petition and General Putnam's
letter to Congress, June 17, 1783,
strongly recommending it. No
attention was given to it, for Congress
was then engaged with the
claims of the various States to the same
territory. These claims
were finally settled by the acceptance,
March 1, 1784, of Vir-
ginia's deed of cession. On April 23, 1784, an ordinance for
the temporary government of the Western
Territory, drawn by
Thomas Jefferson, was adopted. It
provided for the formation of
ten states in the territory. Within the
limits named the residents
were given authority to at once form a
state government by
selecting the constitution and laws of
any existing State, subject
to change by a legislature of their own
choosing. A population
6 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL.
4
of twenty thousand was permitted to form
a permanent constitu-
tion and government. Whenever any of
these States should
have as many free inhabitants as the
least populous of the
original thirteen States it could be
admitted to the Union if its
government was republican and it would
recognize the primary
ownership of the United States to the
soil and assume its pro
rata of the federal debt.
On January 21, 1785, the United States
acquired by treaty,
with part of the Indian tribes claiming
it, their title to what
is now the State of Ohio. On May 20,
following, an ordinance
was passed providing a method for the
survey and sale of
the lands in the western territory. This ordinance provided
for the survey of the lands, in
sections, towns, and ranges
under general direction of Captain
Thomas Hutchins, who was
styled the Geographer of the United
States, assisted by a sur-
veyor from each state. When the first
seven ranges were com-
pleted a report was to be made to the
Secretary of War who was
to select by lot one-seventh of the
lands to fulfill the engagements
of Congress to the army, four sections
in each township were
reserved for future sale, one section in
each township was set
apart for the support of schools
therein, and the remainder was
to be offered at public sale at one
dollar per acre in cash or gov-
ernment obligations at par. Town number
one in each range
was to be sold entire, town number two
by sections, and so on
alternately. Gen. Rufus Putnam was appointed the surveyor
from Massachusetts. Other engagements prevented him from
accepting and he secured the appointment
of General Benjamin
Tupper in his place. The surveyors
assembled at Pittsburgh in
the fall of 1785. Colonel Hutchins asked
the Indians by *mes-
sage if they would protect the surveyors
while at work. The
Indians discovering that he feared them,
notified him to keep
away.
Most of the surveyors returned home in the winter.
Although they had not been beyond Fort
Pitt yet, they had
heard glowing accounts of the fertility
of the soil northwest of
the Ohio river from Indian traders,
soldiers, adventurers and the
Indians themselves. On his return to
Massachusetts General
*NOTE.- See Gen. Tupper to Gen. Putnam,
Jan. 17, 1792. Magazine
American History, June 1891, page 503.
The Beginning of the Ohio Company,
Etc. 7
Tupper visited General Putnam at his
home in Rutland. After
a night's conference they united in a
call to all officers and sol-
diers of the late war who were entitled
to lands in the Ohio
Country, and to all persons who desired
to become adventurers
in that delightful region, to meet in
their different counties and
appoint delegates to a meeting to be
held at the Bunch of Grapes
Tavern in Boston, March 1, 1786, to form
an association by the
name of the Ohio Company. At this
meeting articles of associ-
ation were adopted. They state the
design of the Association to
be to raise a fund in continental specie
certificates "for the sole
purpose and entire use" of
purchasing lands in the western terri-
tory. The fund was not to exceed one
million dollars in conti-
nental specie certificates and one
year's interest thereon. Each
share was to be one thousand dollars,
and each share was to con-
tribute, in addition to one year's
interest on the certificates, ten
dollars in specie, as an expense fund.
No person was permitted
to hold over five shares.
In November, 1785, a detachment of
troops under Major
Doughty was sent to the mouth of the
Muskingum river, and a
fort, known thereafter as Fort Harmar,
was established on its
western bank. On January 31, 1786, the
Delaware, Shawnee
and Wyandot Indians by a treaty made at
Fort Finney, ceded
to the United States all their claims to
the territory northwest
of the Ohio river except certain
reservations. Early in the
summer of 1786 the surveyors commenced
work on the seven
ranges and finished in December
following.
On March 8, 1787, a meeting of the Ohio
Company was
held in Boston. Two hundred and fifty
shares only had been
subscribed. The reason for the small subscription was the
impossibility of securing a compact body
of lands under the
method of sale provided in the land
ordinance of 1785. So cer-
tain were those present that all the
shares would be quickly
placed if a satisfactory purchase could
be negotiated that General
Rufus Putnam, General S. H. Parsons and
Rev. Manasseh Cutler
were chosen directors and were ordered
to make immediate appli-
cation to Congress "for a private
purchase of lands and under
such descriptions as they shall deem
adequate to the purposes of
the Company." The directors
empowered General Parsons to
8
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL 4
apply to Congress advising him that
their preference was to go
no farther west than a meridian line
drawn through the western
cape of the Great Kanawha river, but
leaving him free to exer-
cise his own judgment. General Parsons
presented a petition in
May. In conference with the committee,
to which the petition
was referred, he proposed a purchase of
lands on the Scioto river.
There was not a quorum present; no
action could be taken then
and General Parsons returned home. He
reported his action by
letter to other members of the board. It
greatly alarmed Gen-
eral Putnam who had long been convinced
that a location between
the Muskingum and Big Kanawha rivers
would comprise the best
lands in the West. In 1773 he had met
Thomas Hutchins, who
had spent twenty years on the Ohio, the
Mississippi and the
waters of the great lakes, in the
English service.* He had seen
his map before its publication and from
his account, verified by
subsequent inquiry, he had determined
that this location com-
prised the best lands in the Western
Territory, all things con-
sidered, for so large a tract as the
Ohio Company required. His
own engagements made it impossible for
him to go on to New
York where Congress was in session, and
he insisted that Doctor
Cutler should go and take charge of the
negotiation. Putnam
and Cutler united in a letter to Major
Sargent, Secretary of the
Ohio Company, who was then in New York,
telling him that they
could not on any account consent to the
location proposed by
General Parsons, and asking him to
prevent any action by Con-
gress until Doctor Cutler's arrival.
Doctor Cutler started to New
York June 24. He spent two days, en
route, with General
Parsons, at his home in Middletown,
Connecticut, who made no
objection to his mission but gave him
every aid in his power.
Doctor Cutler reached New York on the
evening of July 5, and
on the following day made formal
application to Congress for the
purchase of lands for the Ohio Company.
He met the Committee
to whom the petition was referred on
July 6, 7 and 9, and on
on the 10th had a long interview with
Mr. Dane.
Congress was engaged in completing a
form of government
* See letter General Putnam to M. Witham.
Magazine American His-
tory, June, 1888.
The Beginning of the Ohio Company,
Etc. 9
for the Western Territory. Until that
was finished no action was
expected or desired upon the proposed
purchase of lands.
The ordinance of 1784 had proved
entirely inoperative.
Many efforts had been made to devise a
better one. The idea
of a temporary government under direct
control of congress did
not take form until May 10, 1786, when
an ordinance was
reported by a committee, of which James
Monroe was chairman,
which provided for a governor, a council
of five members and
five judges, to be appointed by
Congress, who were to select
and enforce laws taken from an existing
code until the popula-
tion of a district reached twenty
thousand, when it might be ad-
mitted as a State in the manner stated
in the ordinance of 1784.
No action was had upon this. Another
ordinance in the same
form, somewhat improved, was reported to
Congress April 26,
1787. It had passed to a third reading
May 10, but Congress
adjourned without finally acting upon
it. General Parsons had
presented the petition of the Ohio
Company for a purchase
of lands on May 9. It may well be that
it was at his request the
vote on the ordinance was postponed
until the principal men in
the Ohio Company could have an
opportunity to consider it.
No one else had the direct personal
interest in it that they
had. There was no quorum in Congress
until July 4. Doctor
Cutler again presented the petition of
the Ohio Company July 6.
It was referred to a committee
consisting of Edward Carrington,
Nathan Dane, Egbert Penson, Rufus King
and James Madison.
The ordinance for the government of the
territory was at once
called up and on the same day was
referred to a committee con-
sisting of Edward Carrington, Nathan
Dane, R. H. Lee, Smith,
of New York, and Kean, of South
Carolina. King and Madi-
son were in Philadelphia attending the
constitutional convention,
of which they were members. It will be
noted that whenever
the representative of the Ohio Company
met the committee
appointed to consider his petition for
the purchase of lands he
also met Mr. Carrington and Mr. Dane,
two of the most in-
fluential members of the committee who
were considering the
governmental ordinance. A copy of the
bill, which had passed
to a third reading May 10, was submitted
to Dr. Cutler " with
leave to make remarks and propose
amendments." On July 10
10 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 4
he returned it with his observations and
proposed amendments
and set out for a short visit to
Philadelphia. On July 19 he re-
turned to New York, and writes in his
journal that he was
furnished with the "ordinance
establishing a government in
Western federal territory. The
amendments I proposed have all
been made except one, and that is better
qualified." It related
to taxation. The principal change made in remodeling the
ordinance was the addition of the
articles of compact, six in
number. Exactly what amendments Dr.
Cutler proposed is no-
where recorded. That the remodeling was
to accord with the
wishes and interests of the Ohio
Company* there can be no
question. They alone were proposing a
settlement. The orig-
inal proposition of Colonel Timothy
Pickering, which was the
foundation of the company, provided that
the settlers of the pro-
posed new State should form for its
government before remov-
ing to it a completed constitution, an
essential part of which
should be the total and irrevocable
prohibition of slavery. They
were asking for a "private purchase
of lands" in violation of
the existing law, and in preservation of
their rights and their
property they required that no law
" ought ever to be made
or have force in the said
territory" to interfere with or in any
manner affect " private contract or
engagements bona fide and
without fraud, previously
formed." The grants of land they
asked for the support of ministry, of
school and the establish-
That the Ohio Company was the moving
power in securing the pas-
sage of the ordinance of 1787
sufficiently appears in the following contem-
porary testimony:
Nathan Dane to Rufus King, July 16,
1787: "The Ohio Company ap-
peared to purchase a large tract west of
the federal lands-about six
or seven millions of acres - and we
wanted to abolish the old system and
get a better one for the government of
the country."
R. H. Lee to General Washington, July
15,1787: " I have the honor
to enclose to you an ordinance that we
have just passed in Congress for
establishing a temporary government
beyond the Ohio, as a measure pre-
paratory to the sale of lands."
It is worth noting also that of the five
territorial officials appointed by
Congress under the ordinance of 1787
four were members of the Ohio
Company. Governor St. Clair was a
shareholder, Major Winthrop Sargent,
the secretary of the territory, was
secretary of the Ohio Company, and
Judges Parsons and Varnum were members
of its board of directors.
The Beginning of the Ohio Company,
Etc. 11
ment of a university, required to become
effective, the mandate
to the legislature to foster religion
and encourage the means
of education. Good faith to the Indians,
their only neighbors,
was essential to friendly relations with
them. The free use
of the navigable waters of the
Mississippi and the St. Lawrence
was in the highest degree necessary to
them.*
The governmental ordinance passed,
Doctor Cutler pressed
Congress for immediate action on the
position of the Ohio
Company. Much to his chagrin he found a
considerable oppo-
sition. Colonel Duer, Secretary of the
Board of Treasury came
to him with a proposition from some of
the leading characters in
the city to extend the purchase and take
in another company.
Major Sargent strongly advocated it.
After carefully consider-
ing the plan, Doctor Cutler assented. By
diligent work on the
part of all who were interested,
Congress was induced to pass an
ordinance July 23, empowering the Board
of Treasury to contract
with any person or persons for a grant
of a tract of land bounded
by the seventh range of townships on the
east; the Ohio river
on the south; the Scioto river on the
west and a line drawn from
the northern boundery of the tenth
township from the Ohio, due
west to the Scioto river on the north.
Reservations were made
of one section in each township for
schools, one for the purposes
of religion and three for future sale by
Congress. Two entire
townships were given for a university.
The price was one
dollar per acre cash or public
securities at par subject to an
allowance of one third for bad lands.
Land warrants were
admitted, acre for acre, in payment of
not over one seventh the
amount of the purchase. A payment of
five hundred thousand
dollars was to be made on closing the
contract and the remainder
when the exterior line of the whole
tract was run by the Geo-
grapher or other officer of the United
States. No deed was to
be given until all payments were made.
The Board of Treasury
was authorized to give a right to entry
upon a portion of the
tract. This ordinance though in many
respects stating terms more
favorable than the friends of the grant
expected, did not permit
* For a thorough and exhaustive
discussion of Dr. Cutler's agency in
forming the ordinance of 1787 see
article in North American Review,
April, 1876, by Wm. F. Poole, L.L. D.
12 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 4
the formation of two companies as
proposed. Dr. Cutler there-
fore addressed a letter to the Board of
Treasury stating the only
terms upon which he would enter into a
contract. The principal
changes he asked were, first: that the
terms of payment should
be half a million dollars when the
contract was executed, half a
million more when the exterior line of
the tract was run and the
remainder in six equal payments,
computed from the date of the
completion of the survey by the
Geographer; second, that the
lands assigned for the university should
be located as nearly as
possible in the centre of the first
million and half acres of land
paid for and, third, that a deed should
be given for the first
million and a half acres when one
million of dollars were paid.
As the grant was much greater than
contemplated by the
Ohio Company, Doctor Cutler requested
Major Sargent to join
him in this letter, which he readily
consented to do. The Board
referred the letter to Congress and on
July 27, Congress referred
it back to the Board directing them to
accept the terms stated
in it without the least variation. This
action placed the en-
tire tract of land described in the
ordinance of July 23, at the
disposal of Manasseh Cutler and Winthrop
Sargent, subject to
their obligations to the Ohio Company.
Dr. Cutler started home
the same evening, after arranging with
the Board of Treasury
that the first payment be made October
27. In his diary this
day he writes, "By this ordinance
we obtained the grant of
nearly 5,000,000 acres of land amounting
to three and one half
millions of dollars, one million and a
half acres for the Ohio
Company and the remainder for a private
speculation in which
many of the principal characters in
America are concerned.
Without connecting this speculation
similar terms and advantages
could not have been obtained for the
Ohio Company."
This speculation was the Scioto
Purchase. Colonel William
Duer projected it. The favorable
"terms and advantages" ob-
tained by the Ohio Company by connecting
this speculation with
it were the completion of its own
negotiation upon terms dictated
by its agent; the guarantee of success
by an agreement on the
part of Colonel Duer to loan to it one
hundred thousand dollars
in public securities, if needed, in
making the first payment to the
Board of Treasury; the advantage to its
funds of the delay in
The Beginning of the Ohio Company,
Etc. 13
the final payment until the exterior line
of the whole tract was
run; the powerful influence in its
behalf of Colonel Duer and
others of the "principal characters
of America" who were
associated with him. Colonel Duer
obtained a number of sub-
scriptions to the shares of the Ohio
Company. He also agreed
that he would manage the Scioto
speculation and that those
persons who had taken an active part in
promoting the Ohio
Company might have one-half interest in
it.
On August 29, at a meeting of the
Directors and Agents
of the Ohio Company, held at the Bunch
of Grapes Tavern
in Boston, Doctor Cutler reported that,
in consequence of the
resolves of Congress of July 23 and 27,
he had agreed with
the Board of Treasury to purchase as
much land as the Com-
pany's fund of one million of dollars
would pay for and de-
scribed the lands as bounded on the east
by the seventh range
of townships; south by the Ohio river;
west by a meridian line
drawn through the western cape of the
Great Kanawha river, and
extending north far enough to include
the whole, with the reser-
vations stated in the resolve of
Congress for schools, ministry,
the university and the three sections in
each township held for
future sale. The report was received and
his actions were "fully
approved, ratified and confirmed."
The subscription to the shares
of the Company was nearly completed. The
few shares not taken
were allotted "pro rata" to
the different agents. The organiza-
tion was perfected by electing Gen.
James M. Varnum to the
board of directors, and Colonel Richard
Platt, of New York City,
treasurer. The Ohio Company was now
fairly begun. All of
the conditions of success seemed to be
fulfilled. There were two
clouds only on its horizon. Neither was
as large as a man's
hand. The price of the public securities
in which its shares
were payable had already advanced. Some
of the Indians in the
Northwest Territory denied the right of
their chiefs to sign away
their hunting grounds.
14 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 4
THE SCIOTO PURCHASE.*
In October, Doctor Cutler and Major
Sargent returned to
New York City and on the 27th of that
month the board of
treasury made a contract with them
"as agents for the directors
of the Ohio Company of associates so
called" for the sale of fif-
teen hundred thousand acres of land
lying between the seventh
and the seventeenth ranges and the Ohio
river. The considera-
tion was one million of dollars in
public securities, one-half of
which was paid on signing the contract;
the remainder was pay-
able one month after the exterior line
of the tract had been sur-
veyed by the geographer or other proper
officer of the United
States. No title was to pass to the Ohio
Company until all pay-
ments were made, but the right was given
to occupy and culti-
vate one-half of the tract fronting on
the Ohio river between the
seventh and fifteenth ranges of
townships.
On the same day the board of treasury
made a contract with
"Manasseh Cutler and Winthrop
Sargent for themselves and
associates" for the sale to them of
the remainder of the tract
described in the ordinance of congress
of July 25, 1787. Pay-
ments, at the rate of two-thirds of a
dollar per acre in public
securities, were to be made in six
semi-annual installments, the
first falling due six months after the
exterior line of the tract
had been surveyed by the government.
This was the Scioto pur-
chase.
It comprised over four million acres of land, three-
fourths of it west and one-fourth north
of the Ohio Company
tract.
When these contracts were executed no
lands had been sur-
veyed west of the seventh range of
townships, the western boun-
dary of which intersects the Ohio river
about five miles east of
the mouth of the Muskingum. The lines of
the fifteenth range
* The contracts made by Mr. Barlow in
France and much of his cor-
respondence with Colonel Duer are owned
by the Historical and Philo-
sophical Society of Ohio. They were
obtained in various places, after
years of persistent search, by Mr. John
M. Newton, the accomplished
librarian of the Young Men's Mercantile
Library of Cincinnati. Other
manuscripts referred to are in my
possession. - E. C. D.
The Beginning of the Ohio Company,
Etc. 15
and the seventeenth range of townships
are recognized in both
contracts as "to be laid out
according to the land ordinance of
May 20, 1785." From calculations
made by Captain Thomas
Hutchins, then geographer, or surveyor
general, of the United
States, it was believed that the west
line of the seventeenth
range would strike the Ohio river nearly
opposite the mouth of
the Big Kanawha.
Simultaneously with the execution of the
second or Scioto
contract, Cutler and Sargent conveyed to
Colonel William Duer
of New York city a one-half interest in
it, and gave him full
power to negotiate a sale of the lands
in Europe or elsewhere
and to substitute an agent. Colonel Duer
had agreed to loan to
the Ohio Company one hundred thousand
dollars public securi-
ties; he was obliged to advance it
$143,000 to enable it to make
its first payment. Soon after, Cutler
and Sargent conveyed a
little over three-fourths of their
retained interest in about equal
proportions to Generals Rufus Putnam,
Benjamin Tupper,
Samuel H. Parsons, Colonel Richard
Platt, Royal Flint and Joel
Barlow. Many others became interested
with these in greater or
less proportions.
In May, 1788, Joel Barlow, who also held
an interest by
assignment from Colonel Duer, was sent
to Europe to negotiate
a sale of the lands or a loan upon them.
He held a power of at-
torney from Colonel Duer, to which was
attached a certified copy
of the contract of Cutler and Sargent
with the board of treasury,
and their assignment and power to
Colonel Duer. In all these
papers the lands are recognized as held
by a right of pre-emption
only. Mr. Barlow met with no success
until the summer of 1789,
when he made the acquaintance of
William Playfair, an English-
man then residing in Paris. Principally
through his efforts a
company was quickly organized in Paris,
called the society of the
Scioto, to which in November, 1789, Mr.
Barlow sold the right of
his principals to three million acres of
land lying west of the
seventeenth range of townships. The
price was six livres per
acre; the payments were to be made in
installments, commencing
December 31, 1789, and ending April 30,
1794. The contract re-
cites that Barlow's powers were
exhibited and proved, and pro-
vided that "as soon as and not
before the said payments are re-
16 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 4
mitted arising from the price of the present sale, Mr. Barlow
binds his principals toward the society purchasing to put them in
possession and enjoyment of an amount of the three million acres
proportionate to the amount of the said payment at the aforesaid
rate of six livres per acre." The lands were to be located in
equal tracts from the seventeenth range westward. It also pro-
vided that the society might "re-sell all or a part of the three
million acres before the times fixed for the payment of their
price, provided that the said society gives up to the Sieur Barlow
under the title of pledge the agreements of the under purchasers."
Playfair and Barlow were both interested in the society of the
Scioto and, with M. Jean Antoine Chais de Soisson, became its
sub-agents for the sale of the lands.
Mr. Barlow did not send a copy of this contract to Colonel
Duer, but wrote him an abstract of it November 29. He added
that he was preparing an arrangement with the royal treasury of
France to exchange the obligations of the French society of the
Scioto for the American bonds held by it, and that either by that
method or by an immediate settlement on the lands, the payments
would be anticipated and the whole business closed within a year.
He had reason to hope that Major-General Duportail, subse-
quently minister of war of France, and Colonel Rochefontaine,
both of whom had served in America during the Revolution,
would go at the head of the first establishment. He urged that
the lines of the seventeenth and eighteenth ranges of townships
be ascertained without delay. He admitted that he had proceeded
as if Colonel Duer had already secured a modification of the con-
tract with the board of treasury, so that titles might be obtained
for the lands in smaller tracts as paid for, "by giving the com-
pany here power to re-sell portions before they made the first
payment on the contract, requiring as my security the deposit of
the payments for these portions." He insisted that at all events
five or ten thousand acres of land opposite the mouth of the
Great Kanawha "on the eighteenth range" must be secured on
which to locate the first settlers; that huts be built there to ac-
commodate at least one hundred persons, and that a person of
activity be sent from the settlement to Alexandria, Virginia, to
prepare for the reception of the settlers, and make the necessary
The Beginning of the Ohio Company,
Etc. 17
arrangements for their journey to the
lands. The expense of the
houses and the journey would be
"paid by the agent of the people
the moment they arrive." On
December 29, he wrote that he
expected to put Colonel Duer in funds to
make the first pay-
ment of five hundred thousand dollars to
Congress before it was
due, and that if the first settlers were
pleased, half a million
of adventurers would follow. On the same
date he authorized
Colonel Duer to draw on him for twenty
thousand livres. Jan-
uary 25 following he authorized drafts
for two hundred thousand
livres, in the same letter saying that
the payments certainly
would be made.
On February 27, 1790, a meeting of the
Scioto associates
in America was held at the house of
Colonel Duer in New
York City, and he communicated to them
the letters from Mr.
Barlow announcing the completion of the
contract of sale.
General Rufus Putnam and Rev. Manasseh
Cutler were then in
New York, as a committee appointed by
the directors and agents
of the Ohio Company, to ascertain the
number of shares sub-
scribed for on which no payments had
been made, sell them
if possible, and effect a settlement
with Congress. The survey
of the Ohio Company purchase was not
completed, but it was
known in the fall of 1789 that the
western boundary of the
seventeenth range of townships would
intersect the Ohio river
some distance west of the mouth of the
Great Kanawha. This
information had not been sent to Mr.
Barlow, probably because
his American associates had long since
given up all hope of ef-
fecting a sale through him. He had not
sent any plats or ac-
curate information of the location of
the lands sold by the
French Society of the Scioto, though it
was evident from his
letters that they were in the eighteenth
range of townships, and
that, relying on the information he had
when he left America, he
had represented them as opposite or
nearly opposite the mouth
of the Great Kanawha. The authority he
had given to the
French society to give deeds in small
tracts was especially dis-
pleasing to General Putnam, though it
appeared from the corre-
spondence that Mr. Barlow had the money
received from sales in
his own control. As a solution of the
problem General Putnam
proposed to the associates that they
purchase of the Ohio Com-
Vol. IV-2
18 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 4
pany its forfeited shares, the number of
which had been defi-
nitely fixed at one hundred and
forty-eight; take the three acre,
eight acre and one hundred and sixty
acre lots, already set apart
for these shares in the part of the
purchase which had been sur-
veyed, and locate the remainder, 196,544
acres, in a compact
body fronting on the Ohio river from a
point opposite the mouth
of the Great Kanawha river to the
western line of the seventeenth
range. So far as could be judged from
the information at hand,
the American proprietors by making this
purchase would enable
themselves to fulfill every obligation
entered into by Mr. Barlow.
Before finally closing it, Colonel Duer,
on April 20, entered into
a formal agreement with his associates
which declared that "a
contract for the sale " of the
lands included in the Scioto pur-
chase "having lately been made in
Europe" it was agreed to
form a trust to secure to each one
interested his proper share of
the profit and to aid Colonel Duer in
managing the concern
of the sale. Royal Flint and Andrew
Craigie were named as co-
trustees with Colonel Duer, who was to
act as " superintendent
of the concerns of the
proprietors." The powers and duties of
the trustees were defined to be: To see
that the contract for the
sale of the lands was " carried
into execution;" that remittances
of the purchase money were duly made to
Colonel Duer, and by
him "in the first instance duly applied, as occasion shall
require,
to, or towards, making good the
payment for the lands purchased
by the parties to these presents of
the United States." The re-
mainder was to be divided in a manner
prescribed. Immediately
after the execution of this agreement
Colonel Duer made drafts
on Mr. Barlow for two hundred and twenty
thousand livres,
as authorized in his letters of December
29 and January 25. On
April 23 the trustees closed a contract
with the Ohio Com-
pany for the purchase, as proposed by
General Putnam, of one
hundred and forty-eight forfeited
shares. The consideration was
the same as required from the original
subscribers, one thousand
dollars per share in continental specie
certificates, exclusive of
one year's interest due thereon; and the
same contribution to the
expense fund of the company, to wit: Ten
dollars per share in
specie to be paid in sixty and ninety
days, and one year's interest
on the specie certificates, to be paid
in six months. The conti-
The Beginning of the Ohio Company,
Etc. 19
nental specie certificates were to be
paid when the Ohio Company
made its final settlement with the
United States, and the amount
was subject to a "deduction in
ratable proportion with such sum
as may hereafter be remitted by the
United States on the original
contract." The Scioto associates
were given the same right
of entry, use and occupation as was
permitted to the Ohio Com-
pany by its contract with the United
States, but no "deed of
conveyance" was to be
"required and demanded" until the
"payments were fully completed and
made." The trustees also
released to the Ohio Company their right
of pre-emption to
the million acres of land lying directly
north of the Ohio Com-
pany purchase, which was not included in
Mr. Barlow's sale
to the French Society of the Scioto.
Although the Ohio Company, under its
right of entry, had
established a large number of settlers
upon its lands, it could not,
under its contract, obtain a title to
any part of them until its pay-
ments were fully made. An effort was
being made to induce
Congress to reduce the price of the
public lands to twenty cents
an acre, and make the reduction
applicable to both the Ohio and
Scioto Companies' tracts. Secretary
Hamilton had recom-
mended it in his report on funding the
public debt, and a ma-
jority in Congress appeared to favor it.
If made, the Ohio Com-
pany would be entitled, for the payments
it had already made, to
a million acres of land in addition to
the fifteen hundred
thousand acres embraced in its original
purchase. The release
by the Scioto associates to it of the
right of pre-emption to the
million acres directly north of the
first tract gave it control of
the best lands in the territory east of
the Scioto river. If no re-
duction in price was secured, the sale
of the one hundred and
forty-eight shares at least made the
original purchase safe. The
payment by Mr. Barlow of the drafts for
two hundred and
twenty thousand livres would enable the
Scioto associates to
purchase, at prices then current,
continental specie certificates
enough to make payments for the one
hundred and forty-eight
shares and to obtain deeds of lands
sufficient to satisfy, as far
as could be learned, all of the sales
made by the French So-
ciety of the Scioto. Both parties to
this contract were equally
20 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 4
pleased, and with good reason, for it
seemed to solve all their
difficulties.
The trustees appointed General Rufus
Putnam their agent
and attorney to represent the shares,
take charge of the lands,
and make preparations to locate the
emigrants. He employed
Major John Burnham to enlist a company
of men in New
England for service in clearing land,
building houses and keep-
ing guard, and instructed him to go at
once to Marietta, Ohio.
General Putnam himself went to Marietta
early in May, employed
Colonel Meigs to make the necessary
surveys for a town at the
present site of Gallipolis, sent Mr.
James Backus to Alexandria,
Virginia, to meet and accompany, in
their journey west, the
French emigrants, and gave to Major
Burnham, who arrived
with his company early in June,
instructions to proceed to
the mouth of Chickamauga creek (the
present site of Gallipolis),
and clear a large tract of land and
erect four block-houses and a
number of huts according to a plan which
would be given by
Colonel Meigs. He also notified Colonel
Duer that, owing to the
great scarcity of provisions in the
territory, it would not do to
permit the emigrants to come west of the
mountains until the
new crop had matured.
The emigrants began to arrive in
Alexandria, Virginia, in
April, and by May 27, about six hundred
had landed. The
agent sent by Colonel Duer to meet them
had returned to New
York supposing that they had made
another port, for they were
expected in March. Some people in
Alexandria attempted to
persuade them that they had paid too
high a price for their
land, informed them that the Scioto
Company had no title, that
the Indians in the Northwest territory
were numerous and hos-
tile, and that Virginia was, on all
accounts, a much better place in
which to live. This, with the fact that
there was no one at Alex-
andria to receive them, created much
alarm, and Count de Barth,
the Marquis Lezay-Marnesia, and others
of the leading men
among them were sent to New York to wait
upon Colonel Duer,
inquire into the validity of their
titles, and ascertain if they
could reside in the Western territory
free from danger from the
Indians. They explained their plans
fully to the secretary of
the treasury, Alexander Hamilton, and to
a number of members
The Beginning of the Ohio Company,
Etc. 21
of Congress. President Washington and
Secretary of War Gen-
eral Knox gave them assurance of
protection, and promised
to station troops near the mouth of the
Great Kanawha.
Colonel Duer exhibited to them printed
copies of the law of
Congress authorizing the sale to Cutler
and Sargent, their con-
tract with the board of treasury, and
the contract made by
the Scioto associates with the Ohio
Company, for the purchase
of the forfeited shares. He also
explained to them the composi-
tion of the Scioto Company, and said to
them that the entire
management of its affairs had been
intrusted to himself alone,
and that he had for aid and counsel two
agents, Royal Flint and
Andrew Craigie. Some modifications of
Mr. Barlow's agree-
ments for transporting the settlers to
their lands were made
by Colonel Duer with this committee.
Upon its return to Alex-
andria, the journey of the emigrants
over the mountains began,
under the leadership of Captain Isaac
Guion, who was appointed
by the trustees as their principal agent
in the West; General
Putnam, owing to his duties to the Ohio
Company, having
declined to do more than superintend the
surveys.
M. Bourogne, who came to America with
the first party
of emigrants, went to New York with the
committee from Alex-
andria, and while there ascertained the
efforts being made by the
Scioto associates to secure a reduction
in price of the lands. He
returned to France early in June. Sales
of lands had about
ceased since the emigration. Mr. Barlow,
instead of keeping in
his own hands the money received for
sales of lands by the
French society, had left the management
of the whole affair to
Playfair and M. Chais de Soisson.
Colonel Duer's drafts came
forward in due course, were accepted,
and fell due in August.
Playfair refused to provide for them. In
his efforts to meet
them Mr. Barlow declared the contract of
sale to the French
Society of the Scioto void because it
had not met its payments,
and made a new sale to a company
composed of M. Bourogne,
the Count de Barth, William Playfair, M.
Coquet, General
Duvalette, and himself. This company was
to assume the pay-
ments to the American government for the
lands and to make
good all deeds given by the French
Society of the Scioto. Fif-
teen sous per acre were to be paid to
the American proprietors
22 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 4
as their profit. The money and
securities in the hands of Mr.
Playfair were to be paid to this
company, but it was not to be re-
quired to make any payments until at
least three hundred
thousand acres were sold and only upon
sale of each three hun-
dred thousand acres, and no limitation
was placed upon the loca-
tion, within the entire tract, of the
lands sold. If any reduction
in price of the land was secured, the
profit from it was to be
shared equally by the parties to the
contract. Mr. Barlow was
authorized to borrow, if he could, upon
the credit of this com-
pany, one hundred and fifty thousand
livres to apply on the
drafts of Colonel Duer.
The principal object of M. Bourogne and
his friends in
making this contract was probably to
secure the expected profit
to arise from a reduction in the price
of the land and the certain
profit already realized from the sales
of the society of the Scioto.
Mr. Barlow's hope was to force Playfair
to "render his accounts
without ruining the business," and
to provide something on
account of Colonel Duer's drafts. Mr.
Playfair, while not de-
clining an interest in the new company,
failed to turn over
the proceeds of former sales. Colonel
Duer's drafts were returned
unpaid.
Mr. Barlow did not send a copy of this
contract to Colonel
Duer, who seems to have first learned of
it by a letter protesting
against it from Colonel Rochefontaine,
who was interested in the
French society of the Scioto, and who
was also a purchaser of
lands. Colonel Duer was now in a most
embarrassing position.
To meet the unexpectedly large expense
of establishing the
settlement, he had issued demand notes
in the form of currency.
These were coming in daily, as rumors of
Mr. Barlow's troubles
began to spread. Many of the emigrants
refused to refund the
amounts advanced for their account until
the titles to the lands
were perfected. The return of the drafts
was a staggering blow
to his credit. Unaware of the exact
condition of Mr. Barlow's
negotiations, unable to understand what
had become of the
money received for the lands sold, or to
form any correct judg-
ment as to the number of acres for which
deeds had been given,
he called the trustees together, and
with their assent sent Colonel
Benjamin Walker to France, with power to
displace Mr. Barlow
The Beginning of the Ohio Company,
Etc. 23
or act with him, to at least obtain the
money due for lands sold,
and to endeavor to get a clear
understanding of the affair, and
to sell the right of preemption as
orginally intended. By him
Colonel Duer wrote Mr. Barlow, notifying
him that the trustees
refused to ratify the sale to M.
Bourogne, and upraiding him in
the severest terms for the manner in
which he had conducted the
business. He reminded him that he had
not furnished copies of
any engagements, or any list of lands
sold, or any statement of
receipts and disbursements; that except
one thousand crowns,
sent for a special purpose, he had made
no remittances, and that
he had assigned no reasons for not
having honored the drafts.
He notified Mr. Barlow that he and he
alone was responsible, not
only to the American proprietors but to
the United States, for
the moneys received, which he had always
represented were
under his own control. He added,
"The advances and engage-
ments I am under in order to comply with
the fallacious state-
ments of your prospectus, and to
preserve your honor and
character from utter destruction, are no
less than forty thousand
dollars, exclusive of large sums of
interest for money borrowed.
This, at least, you are called upon by
every tie of honor and
generosity to secure."
Colonel Walker arrived in Paris in
December, 1790, and
was received by Mr. Barlow with every
expression of joy and
satisfaction. He spent several weeks in
endeavoring to untangle
Mr. Barlow's affairs. From Mr. Playfair
he secured a statement
of account, showing sales of about one
hundred and forty
thousand acres of land, and a long list
of reasons for not having
settled with Mr. Barlow. The most
diligent effort failed to
secure either money or property. Colonel
Walker warned the
public, by advertisement in the
principal cities of France, not to
purchase lands of Mr. Playfair, who
meantime disappeared.
Mr. Barlow was penniless, and Colonel
Walker advanced him
money for his family expenses. With the
aid of Colonel Roche-
fontaine and General Duportail, then
minister of war, an effort,
which promised well for a time, was made
to form a new company
for the purchase of a smaller tract of
land. News of the Indian
war defeated it. Early in May, 1791,
Colonel Walker returned
to America, leaving Rochefontaine in
charge of the negotiations.
24 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 4
He appears to have been convinced that
in a favorable condition
of public affairs the lands might yet be
sold. The Fates were not
propitious. The troubles in France grew
worse. General
Duportail was denounced in the assembly,
forced to resign
as minister of war in December, 1791,
and a few months later
both He and Colonel Rochefontaine were
obliged to flee to
America for their lives.
Several hundred emigrants reached the
present site of Galli-
polis about the middle of October, 1790.
Major Burnham's men
had prepared houses for them, and had
cleared a considerable
space for garden lots. The Count de
Barth and Marquis Marnesia
with a large party reached Marietta a
few days later, and were
quartered in Fort Harmar while waiting
the survey at the mouth
of the Scioto river, where Count de
Barth wished to establish a
city. Before the surveyors were fairly
at work, news came
of the defeat of General Harmar and the
rising of the Indian
tribes along the entire border northwest
of the Ohio river. This
put an effective stop to further surveys
or settlements. Count
de Barth and the Marquis Lezay-Marnesia
returned to New York
to negotiate further with Colonel Duer.
Some of the people
who had come with them remained at
Marietta; some went
to Gallipolis; others to the French
settlements in different parts
of the country. The Indian war made it
impossible for the
settlers at Gallipolis to do any work
beyond range of the guns of
the block houses. Colonel Duer had
established there a store, and
continued to supply them with the
necessaries of life, taking
from those who had no money their deeds
to lands and village
lots as security. In the spring of 1791
they began the cultiva-
tion of grapes on a large scale on the
village lots which had been
cleared, and also to raise vegetables,
for which they found a ready
market on the boats which were
constantly plying up and down
the Ohio river. The defeat and rout of
the army of General St.
Clair by the Indians, in November, 1791,
was accepted by the
people as a sufficient excuse for not
having their lands surveyed
and titles made good. Their worst
troubles were to come.
In the spring of 1792 the directors and
agents of the Ohio
Company met in Philadelphia, where
Congress was then in ses-
sion, to effect a final settlement of
its affairs. It had no title to
The Beginning of the Ohio Company,
Etc. 25
any of its lands. It had paid to the
government one-half of the
amount due on its contract, and had in
its treasury over three
hundred and fifty thousand dollars in
securities and land warrants
applicable to the final payment, besides
the amount due from the
trustees for the Scioto associates, who
had paid nothing on account
of the purchase of the one hundred and
forty-eight shares. The
securities in the treasury alone, owing
to the rapid advance in the
price, were worth in money more than the
entire amount of lands
in its purchase. Many of its
share-holders were clamorous that
the contract be surrendered and the
settlement abandoned, if
necessary, to secure a dividend of the
residue of its funds.
After much negotiation Congress passed
an act directing that a
deed be made to the Ohio Company for the
750,000 acres to
which it had the right of entry for the
payment it had already
made, and for 214,285 acres additional
to be paid for in land
warrants. One hundred thousand acres, to be located in a
compact body adjoining the 750,000-acre
tract, was deeded to
the directors, in trust, to be
donated in one hundred-acre tracts
to actual settlers. While these
negotiations were pending there
occurred a financial panic in New York.
Colonel Duer failed,
and was imprisoned for debt. Royal Flint
also failed. The con-
tract for the sale of the forfeited
shares was surrendered and can-
celled. An earnest effort was made by
the directors of the Ohio
Company who were or had been parties to
the Scioto purchase
to have the donation tract located so as
to include Gallipolis. In
this they failed, and, in fact, it was
secured at all only by casting
vote of Vice-President John Adams in the
United States Senate.
Gallipolis was included in the
750,000-acre tract, the boundaries
of which were fixed by the law of
Congress and became at once
the property of the share-holders of the
Ohio Company. The
donation tract was located on the waters
of the Muskingum
where the Ohio Company had already
promised land to men who
were performing military duty in its
behalf.
The news of the failure of Colonel Duer,
and of the fact
that they were occupying lands actually
owned by the Ohio Com-
pany, were crushing blows to the
inhabitants of Gallipolis. They
knew nothing of the long story of
Colonel Duer's embarass-
ments. They only knew that they were far
away from their
26 Ohio
Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VoL.
4
native land, confronted by a savage foe,
homeless, friendless, and
that some one was to blame.
In the fall of 1793 M. Jean Gabriel
Gervaise went to Phila-
delphia, and placed the interests of
himself and others of the
residents of Gallipolis, who had
purchased lands of the French
society of the Scioto, in the hands of
Peter Stephen Duponceau,
a Frenchman by birth and a lawyer of
high standing. Mr.
Duponceau prepared a petition to the
Congress of the United
States asking for a grant of lands to
the French settlers, and
offering in their behalf to cede to the
United States their claims
against the Scioto or Ohio Companies, if
the prayer of the peti-
tion was granted. The petition was
referred to the attorney-
general, William Bradford, by the
Senate, with instructions to
report upon the validity of the claims
of the petitioners against
the Scioto or Ohio Companies or other
persons, and for the means
to be pursued for the obtainment of
justice.
On March 24, 1794, the attorney-general
communicated an
opinion to the Senate that the original
right of purchase of the
entire tract included in both the Ohio
Company and the Scioto
contracts was, in his judgment, in the
Ohio Company, citing
in support of the opinion that that
company had, October 4,
1788, passed a resolution to the effect
"that their right of pre-
emption of the whole land mentioned in
the resolve of Congress
cannot be justly called in question,"
and that if it could be shown
that the Ohio Company was a party to the
sale in Europe it could
not successfully impeach the title of
the settlers. He also stated
that he had been informed that the Ohio
Company had sold to
William Duer and associates 100,000
acres of land including the
site of Gallipolis and the tract
originally pointed out to the French
settlers; that, though the deed had
since been delivered up and
cancelled, yet persons who had seen it
declared it was an absolute
conveyance. Assuming these statements to
be correct, it was
his opinion that the French settlers at
Gallipolis had a valid, equit-
able title to the settlement, and to
locate their purchases within
the bounds of the 100,000-acre tract
conveyed to William Duer
and associates. The attorney-general
added, however, that there
was reason to believe that the Ohio
Company could not be con-
sidered a party to the sales in Europe,
and that if it was not,
The Beginning of the Ohio Company,
Etc. 27
and the deed to 100,000 acres to Duer
was not such as to convey
any title until the payment of the
purchase money, then the
French settlers had no remedy but by
action at law against the
parties who gave them deeds.
If the facts had been before the
attorney-general when he
prepared his opinion he would have been
convinced that the
Ohio Company had not and could not have
any interest
in the Scioto purchase at the time the
contracts were made. Its
"articles of agreement"
provided that its funds should "not
exceed $1,000,000 in continental specie
certificates," and that
the whole fund should be applied to the
purchase of so much
land as its funds would pay for and no
more, and its contracts
were so made. These articles were
printed, were made a part of
the petition presented by its agents to
Congress, were read in
full on the floor of the house by Mr.
Holton of Massachusetts
while its petition was pending, and a
copy was placed on the desk
of each member.
The members of the Board of Treasury
were fully aware of
the intention of Messrs. Cutler and
Sargent to make two distinct
purchases, and accept the authority of
the law as ample. The
Ohio Company in a full meeting ratified
the acts of its agents.
The loan made by Colonel Duer, which
enabled the Ohio
Company to make its first payment, was
full compensation to it
for the services rendered by its agents
in securing the Scioto
purchase. At no regular meeting of the
directors and agents of
the Ohio Company was any claim ever made
to any right in the
Scioto purchase. The resolution referred
to by the attorney-
general was passed at an informal
meeting held by a minority of
dissatisfied share-holders upon an
incorrect statement of the facts
of the purchase. As has been shown, the
contract of sale made
to the Scioto associates by the Ohio
Company, under which the
French settlers were assigned houses and
lands at Gallipolis,
was not a deed conveying an absolute
title, but a sale to them of the
shares in the Ohio Company forfeited for
non-payment. The
Scioto associates acquired the same
rights as the original
subscribers.
In May, 1794, the United States Senate
passed an order
summoning the directors of the Ohio
Company to appear before
28 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [Vol. 4
it and show cause why so much of the
tract of 750,000 acres
deeded to it in 1792 as was sufficient
to satisfy the claims of the
French settlers should not be forfeited.
The directors on receiv-
ing the order held a meeting and passed
the following resolution:
"Resolved, That a particular
statement of facts relative to the
matter referred to in said order of the
Senate be made out and
transmitted to the Hon. Caleb Strong,
Theodore Foster, and
Jona Trumbull, Esquires, members of the
Senate, and Hon.
Benjamin Bourn, Uriah Tracy, and Dwight
Foster, Esquires,
members of the assembly, in Congress, in
order for the better
information of Congress and others whom
it may concern.
There is great reason to believe that
the business has been
grossly misrepresented, either through
ignorance or a malicious
design to injure the company's interest.
Furthermore, Resolved, That in our
opinion the interest of
the company may eventually be much
promoted by appointing
the aforesaid six gentlemen agents for
the directors of the Ohio
Company, they or any two of them to act
and transact all
matters and things relative to the
aforesaid order of the Senate
of May 18, 1794, awarding to their best
discretion in as full and
ample a manner as the directors of the
Ohio Company might
or could do, were they present; and that
a power be made out
and executed accordingly." By the
advice of these members no
response was made to the order of the
Senate. It was a mat-
ter over which it had no
jurisdiction. The Senate took no
further action.
In January, 1795, the survey of the Ohio
Company donation
tract was completed and offered free in
lots of one hundred acres
to each settler. Notice by public
advertisement was given to the
"French settlers at Gallipolis,
with all others at that place,
to come forward by associations or
individually and receive lands
if they please."
In March, 1795, Congress, in consequence
of Mr. Dupon-
ceau's petition, passed an act granting
24,000 acres of land in
what is now Scioto County, Ohio, to the
French settlers over
eighteen years of age, who would be in
Gallipolis on November 1
following. Four thousand acres of this
was given to M. Gervaise,
being the amount he had originally
purchased from the French
The Beginning of the Ohio Company,
Etc. 29
Society of the Scioto, and the remainder
was divided equally
among ninety-two persons, each receiving
two hundred and
seventeen and two-fifths acres.
In December, 1795, the shareholders of
the Ohio Company
held a meeting in Marietta to make a
final division of its lands
and other property. The citizens of
Gallipolis presented to them
a petition asking that a town site be
given to the settlers. This
was refused, but fractional sections,
twenty-eight and thirty-four
in town three, range fourteen, including
all improvements, were
sold to them at $1.25 per acre.