100 - HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY Columbus ; buried Greenlawn Cemetery. Was at Stony Point, Valley Forge and the surrender of Cornwallis. Moved to Ohio and settled in Franklin County in 1815. WEBSTER, PHILOLOGUS—Served in Captain Braif's Company, Colonel Hooker's Regiment, Connecticut Militia, in 1777. Born Hartford, Connecticut, 1758 ; died May 24, 1824, at Clintonville ; buried Cook's Cemetery. Came with his sons to Ohio, 1812, from Hartford, by wagon, and were three months on the road. WHITE, SAMUEL—Served seven years. Was scalped at Stony Point by an Indian and left for dead. Born Virginia about 1750 ; came to Ohio in 1805 ; buried Union Cemetery near Briggsdale. CHAPTER IV LUCAS SULLIVANT AND FRANKLINTON LOCATION OF FRANKLINTON AND FIRST FLOOD-SULLIVANT ANCESTRY- REMOVAL TO KENTUCKY-APPOINED DEPUTY SURVEYOR OF MILITARY LANDS-MARRIAGE WITH SARAH STARLING-HER CHARACTER AND DEATH-THE BRICK MANSION HOUSE-FRANKLINTON MADE COUNTY SEAT-BUILDING OF THE COURT HOUSE-THE FIRST BRIDGE ACROSS THE SCIOTO RIVER-THE SULLIVANT HOME TABLET-FIRST COUNTY OFFICERS AND THE CHRONICLE. The first settlement in Franklin County was made in 1797 by Lucas Sullivant and named Franklinton. The site was then within the confines of Adams County, but was included within Ross County when the latter was established in August, 1798. Franklinton was located on the fertile low land lying south of the Scioto River, on its eastward bend, opposite the mouth of the Olentangy, or Whetstone. The place was ideal in one way, it was accessible to both of these then navigable rivers, and the plat of the town, with admirable provisions for streets and avenues, was carefully prepared, Mr. Sullivant being a surveyor. But before any considerable progress was made in solid development the flood of 1798 swept down from the north, temporarily obliterated all outward signs of the ambitious project and compelled the intending inhabitants to flee to higher ground along the ridge that is now Sandusky Street. This flood came at a fortunate time. Later dwellers on the same low ground have not escaped so easily, while the high ground to which the pioneers moved was a dry island even in the great flood of 1913. They retained their river advantages, now hard to appreciate ; but many of the earliest settlers came in canoes to their new homes, and there was one less obstacle to be overcome. - 101- 102 - HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY It is not always that the founder of a town leaves the imprint of his personality as did Sullivant on this lonely settlement in the wilderness, ordained to become a part of the capital city of Ohio. Therefore it is well to know something of the man himself and the currents of character and chance that carried him to his opportunity and enabled him to influence the destiny of so many of his fellow men. The Sullivant family came to America from Ireland and settled in North Carolina, near the Virginia line. The name had been Sullivan. When and why the final "t" had been annexed is not now apparent, but it served to distinguish this family from the masses of Sullivans in Ireland and afterward in this country. Michael Sullivant, son of the head of the American family, married a Miss Lucas and they moved to Mecklenberg County, Virginia. Here their three children were born—Lucas in September, 1765, a son Michael and a daughter, Anne. The father was a man of ability and acquired some property, but he seems to have been thoroughly endowed with the spirit of Southern hospitality. He died when Lucas was a boy in his early "teens," leaving little beyond a pleasant memory. Lucas availed himself of what patrimony was left him to procure some general education followed by more particular application to mathematics and in due time became a surveyor, finding profitable employment in his own county and vicinity. But he was imbued with the spirit that makes pioneers. He had already had a taste of adventure as a soldier in a volunteer company raised to subdue some troublesome Indians in the outskirts of the new civilization. Friends and neighbors of his father's were moving to Kentucky, the Mecca of so many early Virginians and thither the young surveyor migrated, settling in Bourbon County, where he became the owner of a fine tract of land near Paris. Subsequently he acquired property and built a house in Mason County where he lived several years. In the meantime events were transpiring that led to the creation of the Northwest territory. The State of Virginia, in ceding her rights to the federal government, had reserved title to the lands bounded by the Ohio River on the south, the Scioto on the east, the Miami on the west and by a line connecting the headwaters of these two rivers on the north, for the purpose of providing bounties payable to her soldiers in the Revolutionary War. Col. Richard C. An- HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY - 103 derson, of Virginia, himself a distinguished officer in the Revolution, was selected as surveyor general. He was the father of Charles Anderson, lieutenant governor of Ohio, who succeeded to the governorship on the death of John Brough in 1865, and Major Richard Anderson, who defended Fort Sumpter when the shot was fired that precipitated the Civil War. Colonel Anderson moved to Kentucky and established an office in 1784 at the Falls of the Ohio, now the site of Louisville, Kentucky. Here he proceeded to perfect the organization necessary to carry on the business entrusted to him. He appointed Lucas Sullivant as one of his deputies to do the actual field work. Others, who afterward played an important part in the development of Ohio, were Nathaniel Massie, Duncan McArthur, John O'Bannon, Arthur Fox and John Beasley. They began their work surveying the Virginia Military District in 1787. However, it was not until 1792 that Sullivant made his first expedition to the Scioto Country, and it was three years later that he first visited the site of Franklinton, determining then to return at the first opportunity and make a permanent home for himself. This he did two years later. During his earlier experience in the wilderness Sullivant and his party had encountered all of the obstacles incident to their hazardous undertaking. They had some unpleasant experiences with hostile Indians ; they were embarrassed for food, being widely separated from their base of supplies and dependent in a large measure on their skill as hunters, their shots with a gun not always being equal in accuracy to their shots through the transit ; and their movements were hampered by the threat of wild beasts at night and venomous reptiles by day. That they came through as they did was high tribute to the sterling qualities of leadership, knowledge of woodcraft and courage of Sullivant himself. The location of bounty lands was a profitable business for the surveyor. The holders of warrants were willing to pay handsomely for the service of selecting and surveying their lands, generally by assignment of a substantial portion of their easily acquired acres. The result to Sullivant was that his holdings became very large, being estimated in sections rather than in acres. In this county he had two adjoining tracts containing 3,000 acres, bounded on the north and east by the Scioto river, on the south by the Harrisburg Pike 104 - HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY and extending west beyond Hague Avenue. On the north side of the Scioto he owned three tracts aggregating about 1100 acres. Many other tracts within the district he surveyed were held by him at the time he established his home here. The influx of settlers maintained a rising market and sales to them were ever at an increasing profit. So that in 1797, at the age of thirty-two, the founder of Franklinton was a very rich man as fortunes were counted then. Sullivant's son, Joseph, has described his father as being "of medium height, muscular and well-proportioned, quick and active in his movements, with an erect carriage and a good walk, a well balanced head, finished off with a que, which he always wore ; a broad and high forehead, an aqualine nose, and a blue-gray eye, a firm mouth and a square chin. He was firm and positive in his opinions, but courteous in manners and expression, prompt and decisive to act upon his own convictions, and altogether a man of forcible character, exercising an influence over those with whom he came in contact." With Irish ancestry, Virginia birth and education, Kentucky connections and social polish, liberal experience in important affairs and the personal characteristics just enumerated, Lucas Sullivant must have possessed ample equipment for the task he assayed when he elected to follow the hint of the ancient Persian proverb : "The strong man taketh a city, but the wise man buildeth his own." There has been much harmless speculation by writers and speakers on our early history as to Sullivant's vision of the future of his town. He is given credit for choosing a location near the center of the state he knew would be carved out of the Northwest Territory with a view to making it the capital city, and there is no evidence now to contradict this pretty fancy. But, the founder of Franklinton was a hard-headed business man prone to materialize plans for the present rather than dreaming of the future. The probabilities are that his town was intended to form a more comfortable place of residence for the large number of men then and afterward employed in the cultivation of his great estate in this county. He brought twenty men with him and others were coming. They and their families would need a school, church and store, and a blacksmith-shop and carpenter-shop were necessities in connection with his farm operations. Then, there was the precedent of other great estates both in HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY - 105 the motherland and in this country, each with its village serving the purpose indicated. If Lucas Sullivant dreamed at all, it was probably of some thousands of fertile acres covered with growing crops, a small army of busy men with horses and plows, scythe and sickle, of stables and graneries and a manor village close by the river, the waters of which were then ever ready to bear barges of produce to the waiting market in the south. After some two years devoted largely to the work that justifies our own speculation, Sullivant journeyed back to Kentucky, where he visited his old friends and connections. When he returned he did not come alone, but brought with him a bride in every way a fitting mate for that gallant pioneer gentleman. Sarah Starling, nineteen years of age, was the daughter of William and Sussannah (Lyne) Starling, of Mercer County, Kentucky. The Starlings had moved to Kentucky from Mecklenburg County, Virginia. William Starling's father, William, had come to America in 1740, settling first in King William County, Virginia, afterward moving to Mecklenburg County. His father, Roderick, was a grandson of Sir William Starling, of Stopplesy Hall, Bedfordshire, England, who was knighted in 1661 by Charles II shortly after the restoration, and later became Lord Mayor of London. Until her marriage, Sarah Starling had lived among people of her own class and in comparative luxury ; so that Lucas Sullivant has not entirely escaped mild criticism for bringing her to live in an Indian-infested wilderness beyong the fringe of civilization. It should he remembered, however, that the women of 1800 were of the same stock and spirit as their men. The seeming hardships of the frontier had their compensations—there was joy in watching the creation of a new world and taking part in the very beginning of things. And the love that "laughs at locksmiths" merely smiles at log cabins and pewter spoons. During the fourteen years that Lucas Sullivant and his wife played the leading parts in this frontier drama, each helped the other to an unusual degree. To Mrs. Sullivant is due much of the credit for the welfare of the early settlers, their success and their happiness. She has been described as the "lady bountiful" of the infant community. Responding, as she always did, to every call of distress, she gave herself to the service of her country during the second war 106 - HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY for independence, when Franklinton was a military camp, ministering to the sick and wounded soldiers, and became one of the victims of a fever that took heavy toll from General Harrison's victorious army. She died April 28, 1814, after a life worth while and her name is inscribed on the honor roll of the heroes of 1812. In 1801 Lucas Sullivant built the first brick house in Franklinton. It was a mansion of twenty rooms, located on the southwest corner of Broad and Sandusky Streets. No comment on the firmness of its foundations and the solidity of its walls is now necessary, for it is standing there now as a part of the Convent of the Good Shepherd, in daily use and very little changed. Most of the original floors remain as constructed ; the doors, windows, fireplaces and winding staircase are unchanged. After 129 years of continuous service this first substantial dwelling, built by the founder himself, is practically as good as new and, under its present ownership, bids fair to last another century. Surely the founder of Franklinton built well. As we have seen, Franklin County was established in 1803 and, in due course, Franklinton was made the county seat, the General Assembly having designated Jeremiah McLene, James Ferguson and William Creighton to fix the seat of justice. One of the first acts of the county court (1804) was to order the erection of a county jail. Lucas Sullivant was given the contract to build it of hewn logs twelve feet long and eighteen inches in diameter ; two floors, two rounds of logs and a cabin roof ; a door of two-inch planks, and two windows secured by iron bars, for which he received $80. Even at the price of logs and labor in 1804, this cannot be considered as one of Sullivant's best financial transactions. In the same year Sullivant was appointed Clerk of Courts, as well as Recorder pro tem. The office of clerk he held until 1810, when he was succeeded by his brother-in-law, Lyne Starling, who had been acting as Sullivant's assistant and performing most of the duties. During the same year he was also designated as surveyor to attend the viewers of the roads from Franklinton to Springfield with instructions to return a plat of that part not previously viewed. In 1806 Sullivant built the first school house, at his own expense, on the west side of Sandusky Street, about two blocks north of his own home. It was built of round logs, fifteen or sixteen feet square, HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY - 107 with a puncheon floor, equipped with rough slab benches supported at either end by a pair of hickory pins inserted in auger holes. It had an outside stick chimney and indeed, for the times, all modern conveniences. In 1807-08 he was the supervisor of construction of the new court house, built of bricks said to have been made from the clay of an ancient mound in the vicinity. The building was square with an octagonal cupola. It stood on the northeast corner of Broad and Sandusky Streets and was used for court purposes until the county seat was moved to Columbus in 1824 ; and was then used for school purposes until 1873 when it was torn down to make way for the present Franklinton school building. In 1810 he appears to have been associated with his brother-in-law, Lyne Starling, in the operation of a general store. In 1811 he built the first brick "meeting house" and presented it to the First Presbyterian Church, of which Mrs. Sullivant was a member, and of which the Rev. James Hoge had been pastor for four years. His next building operation was a mill erected in 1812. This was a lumber mill, operated under the name of the Ohio Manufacturing Company, and seems to have been another success. December, 1816, marks the completion of Sullivant's roofless, wooden toll bridge across the Scioto River at Broad Street. This, the first bridge in the county, stood for ten years, when it was replaced by the owner with a more substantial structure at a slightly changed location. The issue of the Western Intelligencer for December, 1812, contained the following advertisement : "My bridge across the Scioto River, between Franklinton and Columbus is completed. The gates will be closed on the first of December next. But they shall be opened at suitable hours on Sundays and days of thanksgiving, and a passage on the bridge free to all persons going to and returning from divine worship, and to members of the Legislature, when going to or returning from the General Assembly of the State of Ohio. And at all times free to funeral processions and on such other occasions, and to such other persons as I may deem expedient. Permits for passage on the bridge by the year may be had on reasonable terms." Dated November 25, 1816. 108 - HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY During the latter part of August, 1817, he was chairman of the Citizens Committee that entertained President Monroe on his visit to Franklin County, returning from a "swing around the circle" in the northwest. In 1820 Sullivant and twenty others organized a school company and built the Columbus Academy, a two story frame near the site of the present postoffice. He was also one of the incorporators of the Worthington Academy. The same year he built the first successful grist mill operated by water power, for which a dam was built in the Scioto River. Lucas Sullivant died August 8, 1823, in his fifty-eighth year. Dr. John M. Edmiston, long a personal friend, said of him : "Take him all in all, with his strong and vigorous intellect, his knowledge of human nature, his decision of character, good judgment, high sense of personal honor and integrity, he is one of the most remarkable men I ever knew. He seemed born to be a leader, and in whatever direction he turned his attention, he would have distinguished himself and become a man of mark." The location of the Sullivant home is marked by a tablet, itself a tribute, placed on the wall of the convent at a point as near as possible to the house itself. It is as follows : "This tablet is placed to mark the home of   LUCAS SULLIVANT who, under authority from Virginia, came to an unbroken wildner- ness and with twenty men surveyed this portion of the Virginia Military land. Later he returned and in 1797 laid out the town of FRANKLINTON now a part of the City of Columbus. This, his house of brick, he built in 1801 and here he dwelt until his death. He was foremost in establishing the court, the church, and the school, and in 1816 he built the first bridge over the Scioto River. This tribute to his worth as man and citizen is erected by the Franklin County Pioneer Association in 1927." Lucas Sullivant left three sons. William S. placed his own name on the scroll of fame in the scientific world and something of his HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY - 109 work will be said later on. Michael engaged in farming on a great scale, both on a portion of the lands left by his father and later on more extensive acres in Illinois. He was one of the organizers of the Ohio Stock Importing Company and of the Ohio State Board of Agriculture, and was twice the president of the latter. He lived until 1879. Joseph was a man of leisure and letters. He was a dilettante in art, literature and several branches of science. He took an active interest in the public schools, being for many years a member of the Columbus Board of Education, and was one of the founders of Green Lawn Cemetery. He was the author of a memorial History of the Sullivant family which has been of great value in preserving much of the early history that might have been lost but for his labor. He continued to be a prominent citizen in all ways until his death in 1882. Franklinton was never a boom town. Its early growth was slow but substantial. At the election held in 1803 fifty-nine votes were cast in Franklin township, indicating a population of about 300. The town never had a separate political entity ; it was never incorporated ; had no Mayor or City Council of its own. It was merely a part of Franklin township, one of the four original townships created in 1803. It comprised all that part of the county lying west of the Scioto River and South of Dublin, Darby Township joining it on the north. The eastern half of the county was divided between Harrison and Liberty townships. All but Franklin township have been erased from the map by division and sub-division in the creation of new townships and even their names are all but forgotten. But, as the seat of justice and county government, Franklinton had its full complement of officials and its jail. The first judges of court were John Dill, David Jamison and Joseph Foos, elected for seven years. In 1808 Joseph Foos resigned and William Thompson was appointed in his stead, serving until the next election in 1809 when Isaac Minor was elected. In 1810 Robert Shannon, William Reed and Alexander Morrison were elected. Jacob Gault was appointed County Treasurer by the Associate Judge in 1803 and served until 1827. The first County Surveyor was Joseph Vance, by appointment of the Court, he serving until 1824. 110 - HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY The County Commissioners were elected by the people, the first board consisting of John Blair, Benjamin Sells and Arthur O'Harra. The first two were succeeded by Michael Fisher and Ezekiel Brown in 1804 and 1805 respectively. Adam Hosack was elected Sheriff in 1803 and served two terms, being succeeded by E. N. Delashmut. Hosack was also the first postmaster, beginning service in that capacity in 1805. Andrew McElvain was the mail carrier. He made a round trip from Franklin-ton to Chillicothe and other southern points weekly, leaving on Friday and returning on Sunday if favored by fortune. The first Prosecuting Attorney was Reuben Bonaui, appointed by the court in 1805. He served until 1810 when John S. Wills was appointed and he was succeeded in 1812 by Thomas Backus. There was also a Coroner—Joseph Dixon. He held office from 1805 to 1807. With all of these officers functioning it followed that there was news. Consequently, in 1812, James B. Gardiner launched the Freeman's Chronicle and continued its publication during the war following. With the return of peace and the transition from military activity to domestic tranquility there was a scarcity of news, and no advertising whatever ; so that the Chronicle "passed out" and was laid to rest where so many succeeding children of the Fourth Estate are now sleeping. CHAPTER V IN THE WAR OF 1812. CAUSES OF WAR-AMERICA BETWEEN TWO FIRES-SITUATION IN THE NORTHWEST-WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON COMES TO FRANKLINTON THE STORY TOLD BY THE FREEMAN'S CHRONICLE-THE HARRISON TARHE COUNCIL- COMMEMORATIVE TABLET-THE END OF THE WAR-- FRANKLIN COUNTY'S ROLL OF HONOR. The year 1812 is of two-fold importance in the annals of Franklin County, marking, as it does, the beginning of our participation in the second war with Great Britain and the birth of Columbus as the capital of Ohio. As the war episode is the closing chapter of the pioneer period it claims our first attention. George III, for sixty years King of England, was a man of strong physical constitution and correspondingly weak mind. At the time of which we write he had been declared incapable of performing his royal duties and the Prince of Wales, afterward George IV, was acting as Regent. Napoleon had Europe in turmoil and England was suffering from the drains of military expense and the loss of her foreign trade. She had proclaimed a paper blockade against the whole coast of France and her allies as early as 1806 and Bonaparte had replied with a blockade of his own. While neither of these blockades was effectual, trade began to move from English vessels, which were subject to instant confiscation and to shelter itself under neutral flags. America profited most by this situation. We were entering on that commercial career thus early which made us England's chief competitor on the seas. The young Republic had suffered much from both England and France during their years of strife, but England had been the greater offender. Not only had she exercised the right of search for contraband goods but had presumed to search American vessels for sailors suspected of being - 111 - 112 - HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY British subjects and had shown surprising carelessness in distinguishing between English and Americans, the points of difference not being so easily recognized, perhaps, then as now. And this in face of the fact that America had been the consumer of English products to the tune of fifty million dollars a year. The United States was eventually jockeyed into the position of proposing that if either of the belligerent powers would repeal its edicts affecting neutral trade, it would prohibit American commerce with the other. Napoleon saw the point and seized the opportunity. He readily promised to revoke his Berlin and Milan decrees and called on America for specific performance. In February, 1811, the United States announced that all intercourse with Great Britian and her dependencies was ended. It took some time for the slow moving English government to realize the significance of this move. There were distractions on the continent, changes of ministry and what not ; so that before sane action could be taken to avert a wholly unnecessary conflict, war had been declared by the Congress of the United States on the 18th of June, 1812, and both English-speaking nations were placed in positions of grave peril. It is highly probably that if Napoleon had forgone his ill-fated campaign into Poland and devoted his vast abilities to a supreme attack on Great Britain at the moment she was most deeply involved in the war overseas, he would have crushed the "tight little island," dealt with America at his leisure and written the next chapter of the world's history according to his own designs. Although seemingly far from the firing line, the young State of Ohio and our own county took a very real part in this war. For years Tecumseh and his brother, the Prophet, had been engaged in attempts to organize a federation of Indians strong enough to drive the invading whites beyond the Ohio. Although the time had passed for the accomplishment of any such purpose, the hostile tribes in the Northwest responded quickly to British promises and speedily became a menace that could not be overlooked even by the myopic desk-men in Washington. Within three months after the declaration of war by Congress, William Henry Harrison was placed in full command of the Northwest Army and assigned to the difficult task of "recovering Detroit and invading Upper Canada." HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY - 113 William Henry Harrison was a son of Benjamin Harrison, of Berkely, County of Charles City, Virginia, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. The Harrisons were one of the "First Families of Virginia," related by marriage to practically all of the aristocracy of the Old Dominion. In all the history of Virginia as state and colony, there had always been a Benjamin Harrison who held broad acres and served in the public affairs of his commonwealth. William Henry was born February 9, 1773, was sent to school at Hampden-Sidney College, made a start in the study of medicine at Philadelphia and, at the age of 18, turned his back on the polite society of the East, procured a commission as Ensign in the United States Army, was attached to the First Regiment of Infantry and sent to the post at Cincinnati. He was shortly assigned to duty on the staff of "Mad" Anthony Wayne, accompanied that redoubtable hero on his march north, participated in the Battle of Fallen Timbers, where he distinguished himself and won official mention, was with his chief during and a close observer of all the negotiations that ended in the treaty of Greenville. On the 25th of November, 1795, young Harrison was married to Anne, daughter of Judge John Cleves Symmes, proprietor of the "Symmes Purchase," a peppery old gentleman who did not approve the marriage promptly but relented, as they all do, and no doubt was something of an asset to Harrison in his early days. On July 6, 1798, Harrison was appointed Secretary of the Northwest Territory, an office he held slightly more than a year, resigning upon his election as Ohio's first delegate to the National Congress in October, 1799. He served with some credit in the House of Representatives, attracting attention because of his family connections, his readiness in making warm friends and interesting enemies and his part in the passage of the Land Act of 1800. In March of that year a bill was passed by congress dividing the Northwest Territory and President Adams appointed Harrison as Governor of the newly created Territory of Indiana. For the time being the young statesman gave up his promising legislative career and proceeded to Vincennes, where he established the new government and where he remained for twelve years as chief executive. On November 7, 1811, he defeated a force of Indians, under the "Prophet," in the famous Battle of Tippecanoe, thus winning a fame that remained with him ever after. 114 - HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY As a result of these experiences, "the slender young Ensign of 1791 had developed into a man in the prime of life, accustomed to power and dealings with men." Such was the Commander of the Northwestern Army as he rode into Franklinton on the 13th of October, 1812, wearing the insignia of his lately conferred rank of Major General, the members of his staff trotting at his heels, their spurs and accountrements jangling merrily in the crisp autumn air. The impressive entrance of this "outstanding figure of the war" served to still the alarms that had kept the people of Franklinton in a fever of excitement for months. Ever since the declaration of war there had been rumors of Indian attacks and threatened raids, with the accompanying terror of suspense. On more than one occasion numbers of residents of Worthington, Dublin and isolated settlements in the outskirts had crowded the county seat for safety. Work had been started to fortify the court house as a last-stand citadel and scouts had been employed to reconnoiter the outlying districts to the north and report any signs of invasion. All this was speedily changed. The General himself was on the ground and the town began to assume a military appearance. There were soldiers marching on foot, cavalry horses, sniffing battle from afar, struck sparks from the stony streets and plunged on toward the front, artillery rumbled by and trains of supplies followed in their wake. The town became a recruiting station, a rendezvous for the concentration of military units from the east and south, a training camp preparing troops for service in the field, a supply depot, a hospital for the sick and wounded as the war wore on, and for much of the time, as the center of activity shifted, the headquarters of the Major General. It is not our purpose to detail the events of this war : they are covered by the school books. But the part taken by the pioneers of Franklin County was of vital importance to them, is of interest to their descendants and lighted fires of patriotism that have burned ever since, flaming forth in every National crisis, lighting the way in magnificent response to every call in time of peril. October 25th we find General Harrison again at Franklinton in conference with Brigadier Generals Perkins and Beall. We are indebted to that veracious newspaper, the Freeman's HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY - 115 Chronicle, for further first-hand information concerning this period. The issue of October 31, 1812, contains the following: "General Harrison left this place on Tuesday morning for Mans. field, accompanied by Generals Beall and Perkins." "Captain Gerrard's troop of horse arrived here on Monday. Colonel Simrall's regiment arrived on Wednesday." "Major Ball, of the United States Army, arrived on the same day." "A company of United States troops, under Captain Elliott, arrived yesterday." "About one hundred Regulars, from Piqua, with three pieces of artillery, arrived today, and fired a salute." "The Virginia troops arrived some days ago at Chillicothe. They are expected here on Wednesday next." The issue of November 7 contains the following: "The Virginia troops, under General Leptwich, arrived here on Monday evening, and marched on Wednesday for Delaware, where they still remain. Two companies of Pennsylvania volunteers, under Captains Butler and Alexander, arrived in town on Friday." November 17: General Harrison arrived in town on Thursday evening -from Delaware, and was received with the military honors due to his rank." "On Friday afternoon his excellency the Governor arrived here from Marietta and was saluted by Captain Cushing's company of artillery." "Major Benson, of the Virginia Line, passed through here a few days ago, to take command of the battalion now at Delaware." "Several hundred stands of arms for the Kentucky cavalry were received here on Friday." "All the troops at this place paraded on the public square yesterday, and were reviewed by his excellency Governor Meigs, accompanied by General Harrison and his staff." December 5: "On the 18th ult. between six and seven hundred troops under command of Colonel Campbell, of the United States Army, left this place on a secret expedition." December 30: 116 - HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY "On the 17th, after marching all night, Colonel Campbell, with his command, arrived at one of the Massassineway towns (near Muncie, Indiana) and instantly charged upon the town, drove the savages across the river, killed seven of them and took thirty-seven prisoners. Only two of our men were killed in this skirmish." It appears from other sources, however, that on the next day the "savages" attempted a surprise counter-attack and Colonel Campbell suffered a loss of eight killed and twenty-six wounded, but he repulsed the enemy, inflicting severe punishment and then withdrew in good order, arriving in Franklinton early in January. His horses had suffered sadly for lack of provender and one hundred and eighty of his men had been frostbitten. On January 2nd, General Harrison, in General Orders issued from the headquarters of the Northwestern Army at Franklinton, announced Colonel Campbell's successful conclusion of the expedition. The Chronicle of December 5th says : "About one hundred cavalry of General Crook's brigade of Pennsylvania militia arrived here from Mansfield on Tuesday last." "Four thousand six hundred and forty-eight large, fat hogs have been driven from this neighborhood within a few days, destined for the Rapids (of the Maumee), for the use of the Northwestern Army." December 30: "An elegant volunteer company from Petersburg, Virginia, have arrived at Chillicothe. They are expected in this town in a few days. They are commanded by Captain McRae, brother of the Lieutenant Governor of Virginia." "General Harrison arrived here from Upper Sandusky, and proceeded to Chillicothe. He will return in a few days to Sandusky." January 8, 1813: "Captain Cushing's company of artillery marched from this place on the first instant for Sandusky ; but, owing to the extreme inclemency of the weather, they have yet progressed no farther than Worthington, nine miles from here." "The company of Petersburg, Virginia, volunteers arrived here on Saturday last in good health and spirits." "General Harrison is still at this place." HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY - 117 "A company of Regulars, under Captain Bradford, arrived here a few days ago from Cincinnati." January 15: "A company of United States Infantry arrived here on Sunday from Chillicothe. There are now at this place four companies of regulars and three companies of twelve months volunteers." "The public stores which are daily arriving at and forwarded from this place to the headquarters of the army are immense. Notwithstanding, it is said that there is but a small quantity of forage at Upper Sandusky." February 19: "Governor Meigs has arrived in town to organize and facilitate the movement of the drafted militia now assembling here. Three companies are now encamped in this vicinity." March 5: "About two hundred and fifty of the drafted militia under Colonel Stephenson, left here last week for Upper Sandusky. Several more drafted men are yet here, and will march soon." March 19: "General Harrison left here on Monday last for Chillicothe, from whence he will go to Cincinnati, and perhaps Kentucky." "About one hundred drafted militia, under command of Major Pitzer, marched from here on Monday for Saint Marys. General Wingate and suite left here on Sunday for Saint Marys." April 23 : "His Excellency, Governor Meigs, arrived here on Tuesday, to organize and facilitate the march of some independent companies, which have been ordered to rendezvous here immediately. Part of a company of riflemen arrived here the same day from Circleville." April 30 : "Within the last week the following companies of Ohio militia, recently ordered out by his Excellency, the Governor, arrived at this place, viz : Captain McConnell's company from Zanesville, Captain Ewing's from Lancaster, Captain Brush's from Chillicothe, Captain Harper's from Paint Creek and Captain McElvaine's from Fayette County. These five companies will form one handsome battalion of upwards of two hundred, and will be commanded by Captain Brush, 118 - HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY of the Chillicothe Guards, who is the senior captain. They will march this day for Upper Sandusky, where they will be stationed to protect the vast quantity of public stores deposited at that place. The Governor will conduct them as far as Delaware. May 7: "Captain Vance's company (the Franklin Dragoons) of cavalry left this place yesterday morning, under Lieutenant Grate, destined for Upper Sandusky, where we understand his Excellency, Governor Meigs, will concentrate all the force now collecting from this part of the state." "A part of Captain Vance's company of Franklin Dragoons, detached at Lower Sandusky to accompany Governor Meigs from that place to Cleveland, have returned. Captain Vance is appointed to the command of the garrison at Lower Sandusky." "General Cass arrived at Franklinton on the 27th and Major Ball's squadron of cavalry on the 28th of May." General Harrison returned to Franklinton on the 6th of June, followed by the 24th Regiment of United States Infantry, under Colonel Anderson. This was probably the longest stay he made at his headquarters here, and the most important. The British opposition to the Army of the Northwest was comparatively insignificant and might have been brushed away ere this but for their Indian allies, Tecumseh and his fanatical brother and their swarm of frenzied savages. Harrison knew his Indians, and he came to Franklinton for the purpose of holding a conference with the representative chiefs of the Wyandots, Delawares, Shawnees and Senecas, who were not parties to the Tecumseh conspiracy, with a view to an understanding that would certainly preserve their neutrality and possibly enlist their aid in actual hostilities if that should become necessary. Consequently invitations to the conference were despatched to the Indians and, on the 21st of June, 1813, the meeting was held in a grove near the site now occupied by the Mount Carmel Hospital. There were fifty of the Indian chiefs, garbed in their most picturesque finery, with paint and feathers, led by the veteran Tarhe, on the one side and, on the other, General Harrison with his staff, all in full dress uniforms, with a background of Regulars, carefully groomed for inspection. Surrounding them were crowds of the HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY - 119 people who had come from every direction by horse, wagon and on foot, and over all the leafy branches of great elms and oaks lending majesty to an already impressive scene. General Harrison addressed the Indians briefly and to the point. He referred to the attempts of the British to enlist their support and reminded them of broken British promises. He reminded them also of their own agreement to the provisions of the Greenville treaty and called on them for a continuance of the loyalty that had brought them nothing but good. He did not hesitate to point out the path he would expect them to pursue and proposed that they should show their friendship either by moving with their families into the settlements or that their warriors should accompany him on his coming campaign. When the General had finished speaking there was a tense moment of silence. Then the great Chief Tarhe, now seventy-one years of age, slowly rose to his feet and, with his great height and dignified bearing seemed to dominate the situation. Like the General, he did not waste words. He offered his own record, and that of the chiefs assembled, as proof of their friendship and warrant of their conduct in the future and then, with the Indian's intuitive knowledge of dramatic climax, he declared that the warriors wanted nothing better than the opportunity the General had just offered to fight for the "Great White Father" against the perfidous British. Abruptly ending his speech, and followed by all of his chiefs, Tarhe advanced with outstretched hand, gravely saluted the General and sealed an agreement that was faithfully carried out. Not only did these Indians stand as a bulwark against any threatened raids from the north, but Tarhe and a formidable force of his own were with Harrison in his concluding campaign and participated in the battle of the Thames on Canadian soil, serving with conspicuous bravery. At the close of the war General Harrison took occasion to eulogize Tarhe as a "venerable, intelligent and upright" man, and of the many Indian chiefs whom he had met, he designated Tarhe as "the noblest of them all." The spot where this conference took place has been marked by a bronze tablet on the side of a great granite boulder, located on the south side of Town Street at Martin Avenue. 120 - HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY The inscription is as follows : NEAR THIS SPOT JUNE 21, 1813 WAS HELD A COUNCIL BETWEEN GENERAL WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON AND THE INDIANS COMPRISING WYANDOTS, DELAWARES, SHAWNEES AND SENECAS WITH TARHE THE CRANE AS SPOKESMAN RESULTING IN PERMANENT PEACE WITH THE INDIANS OF OHIO ERECTED BY THE COLUMBUS CHAPTER, DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION JUNE 21, 1904 The Chronicle of June 16, 1813, says : "The Twenty-fourth Regiment, United States Infantry, marched from this place on Sunday last for Cleveland by way of Lower Sandusky. "General Harrison's headquarters are still at Franklinton. "The affairs of the northwestern army begin to assume a new aspect. It will hereafter be composed principally, if not solely, of regular troops. Measures are taking to transport the public stores now at this place to Cleveland. This meant that Franklinton soon ceased to be the seat of general headquarters. In August and early September Harrison had his army in the vicinity of Put-in-Bay and was in close touch with Commodore Perry, ready to receive that famous message of September 10th : "Dear General—We have met the enemy and they are ours. Two ships, two brigs, one schooner and one sloop. Yours with great respect and esteem, O. H. Perry." On the 28th of September, Perry with his fleet augmented by the captured British vessels, transferred Harrison's army across the lake. Malden was occupied, and on the 28th Proctor and Tecumseh were overtaken—the former captured and the latter killed. The war was virtually over so far as the Northwest was concerned. Early in 1814 General Harrison resigned his commission in the army, returned to Cincinnati and was elected to Congress from the HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY - 121 First Ohio District. Later he was elected to the United States Senate, was appointed minister to Colombia and rounded out an eventful career as ninth president of the United States. To Brigadier General Duncan McArthur fell the duty of guarding the frontier. While there were no more battles to be fought, Franklinton continued to be of some importance during the remaining year of the war. Troops and supplies were received and dispatched from time to time. The armory continued to repair muskets and supply ammunition, and the hospital did not cease its care of the sick and wounded for many months. The end of the year marked the end of the war by the treaty of Ghent and it also marked the end of Franklinton's preeminence in the county. However, the chief credit is due to the men of Franklin County who served their country in various capacities during this conflict. All of the conditions were more arduous than during the first War for Independence. There were a dozen Valley Forges on the frontier. Fighting red skins was vastly more hazardous than fighting red coats. The soldiers of the War of 1812 in the army of the Northwest take no second place on the honor rolls of the nation for which they fought. The complete roster of the soldiers who served from Franklin County—Second Division, Fourth Brigade—and those who served elsewhere and later became residents of the county and are buried here is an impressive list. There was Brigadier General Joseph Foos, Colonel Edward Chin Livingston, Colonel Daniel Watson, Majors James Kilbourne, Joseph Grate, John Coons, Aaron Strong and John A. McDowell ; Surgeons Lincoln Goodale, David Jamison and Charles Wetmore ; Inspector Gustavus Swan ; Clerk James B. Gardiner ; thirty-four captains, twenty-five lieutenants, twenty ensigns, twenty-four sergeants, sixteen corporals, ten musicians and 346 privates. Patriotism must have been a common virtue in 1812 to enable so sparse a population to furnish such a host. To these heroes of the days of our great-grandfathers, the Franklin County Pioneers' Association has done lasting honor by the erection of a marble tablet in the Memorial Hall in the year 1924 ; Lyne Starling Sullivant, president ; H. Warren Phelps, secretary. CHAPTER VI THE MAKING OF A CAPITAL. FIRST BIDS FOR THE STATE CAPITAL-WORTHINGTON'S PROPOSAL- COMMISSION TO VIEW SIT PLAINS, ETC.-THE STARLING PROPOSAL-THE SELECTION OF COLUMBUS AND APPOINTMENT OF A DIRECTOR-THE SALE OF LOTS AND FIRST BUYERS-EARLY MERCHANTS AND BUSINESSES-INNS AND TAVERNS-FIRST POSTMASTER-SAW AND FLOUR MILLS-THE FIRST MARKET HOUSE-THE WESTERN ES-REPORT IN FAVOR OF DUBLIN-PROPOSITIONS FROM DELAWARE, PICKAWAY INTELLIGENCERFIRST DOCTORS AND LAWYERS- FIRST SCHOOL AND CHURCHES-THE STATE HOUSE AND EXECUTIVE OFFICE BUILDING-FEDERAL AND COUNTY COURT HOUSES-THE PENITENTIARY-THE DISSOLUTION OF THE PARTNERSHIP. As Pallas Athene sprang full panoplied from the brow of Zeus, so the city of Columbus was conjured forth from the wilderness, by legislative fiat, a full-blown state capital. On the 13th of February, 1812, it was "the high banks on the east side of the Scioto River," opposite Franklinton, a "forest of oak, beech, maple, walnut and other trees common to the uplands of Ohio," about the great trunks of which "huge grapevines were here and there entwined," while the dogwood, wild plum and hawberry waited only the coming of spring to light the sombre picture with a riot of color. The next day it was the duly chosen site of Ohio's capital requiring only the mere detail of suitable buildings to begin the passing of bills, the adoption of resolutions and levying of taxes to insure the domestic tranquility and promote the general welfare. The Constitutional Convention of 1802 met in Chillicothe and the first General Assembly convened there in 1803. The seat of Ohio government continued in the same place until 1810, when the Legis- - 122 - HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY - 123 lature convened in Zanesville for two sessions, thereafter returning to Chillicothe until the state buildings in Columbus were ready for occupancy in December, 1816. Very early in the course of legislative deliberations the question of the location of a permanent state capital received attention. It was informally understood that the seat of government should be established somewhere near the geographical center of the state when the demand for action should become imperative and acceptable inducements should be presented. As early as September 20, 1808, the town of Worthington submitted a bid for the consideration of the General Assembly. It was a remarkable document in several respects. It presented an array of facts as to the eligibility of the site offered with the utmost clearness and precision and drew logical inferences with mathematical exactness, concluding with a pledge of contributions by one hundred and thirty-six citizens, amounting to a total of $25,334, payable in four annual installments, for the purpose of building a state house. No statement set out in this proposition can be gainsaid today with the possible exception of the assertion as to the navigability of the Whetstone (Olentangy) River, and it may be doubted if the town now could raise so large a sum for the same purpose. The entire proposal in both inception and formulation is a credit and compliment to Col. James Kilbourne, the distinguished pioneer, who founded the town and devoted his genius to its upbuilding. If the proposal had been accepted the state at large would not have suffered. Some bids had already been filed and others were presented during the next year. The question speedily assumed major importance and the General Assembly adopted one of the modern methods of disposing of it. During the first session at Zanesville (February 20, 1810) the General Assembly passed an act providing for a commission of five members, to be selected by joint ballot of both houses, to inspect locations, hear arguments and recommend a site for the permanent seat of government. As the commission was empowered only to make a report with recommendations it was not loaded with restrictions. The act named but one condition : that the site selected "shall not be more than forty miles from what may be deemed the common 124 - HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY center of the state, to be ascertained by Mansfield's map thereof." In pursuance of this act the Assembly selected General James Findlay, of Hamilton County ; W. Silliman, of Washington County ; Joseph Darlington, of Adams County ; General Resin Beall, of Wayne County, and William McFarland, of Ross County, as the members of such commission. They proceeded with promptness and industry to perform the duties imposed upon them. Franklinton was visited, inspected and its claims rejected, largely because of lack of elevation. Worthington, Delaware, Newark and other places were considered. The commissioners finished their labors on the 12th of September, 1810, by uniting in a written report, in which it was recited : "that they have diligently examined a number of different places within the circle prescribed (forty miles from the common center) and a majority of said commissioners are of the opinion that the tract of land owned by John and Peter Sells, situated on the west bank of the Scioto River, four miles and three-quarters west of the town of Worthington, in the County of Franklin, on which said Sells now reside, appears to them most eligible." This report was a distinct disappointment. The Sells brothers had nothing to offer beyond three hundred acres of land and such neighborly encouragement as might be derived from the proximity of the grist mill and distillery belonging to John Sells and the log yard and residence of Peter Sells. So the matter was dropped until the session of 1812. In the meantime several new propositions were submitted. Moses Byxbe and Henry Baldwin, on behalf of Delaware, submitted a proposal to erect such buildings as might be required for legislative halls, state offices and a penitentiary on a tract of one hundred acres, or to convey four thousand acres of land to the state in one tract to be selected by a committee. James Galloway, Jr., offered two hundred acres of land for the location at Dublin. Walter Dun, agent of John Graham, offered four hundred acres of land near Dublin. Thomas Backus offered one thousand acres of land situated about