(RETURN TO THE MAHONING AND TRUMBULL COUNTIES INDEX)

100 - HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. An old banner, the property of Major M'Cully, of the Revolutionary army, grandfather of Mrs. E. M. M'Clure. It is one hundred and forty years old. A very ancient tin pan, the property of Mrs. John Frazee, mother of Mrs. Isaac Powers. The saddle upon which Mrs. Hillman, wife of the first white settler of the township, first rode into Youngstown. A land patent to Henry Osborn, given in 1825, and signed by John Quincy Adams, then President of the United States. A German history, printed in 1685. No name. Almanacs, preserved by James Adair, father of Mrs. Abram Powers from 1798 to 1836. A poll-book of the election held in the township of Poland, in the then county of Trumbull, April 20, 1813. Terhand Kirtland, Wm. M'Combs, and James Adair were the judges. Robert Montgomery and J. P. Kirtland were the clerks. General Perkins, of Warren, was the candidate for representative ; got seventeen votes. General Resin Beall, the Democrat, got twenty, and was elected. This was brought here by Col. J. Stewart, who informs us that, at that time, Poland furnished more votes than Youngstown. There were several things carried away in the .way of relics, which we were unable to note ; but yet we believe the Love are nearly every thing exhibited. THE OLD PEOPLE PRESENT. We have taken pains to obtain a list of the old people present. This, of course, was quite difficult, as no previous arrangements had been made to have them register. The following are the names, ages, and address of all we could obtain, though there were certainly many others present: NAMES AND RESIDENCE - AGE Elizabeth Lanterman, Youngstown - 96 William Smith, Youngstown - 91 A. Ritter, Youngstown - 92 Jonas Foster, Youngstown - 83 Mary Woods, Youngstown - 72 Sarah Ague, Youngstown - 70 Henry Osborn, Youngstown - 73 Parkhurst DeCamp, Youngstown - 76 Jane Wick, Youngstown - 84 Joseph H. Brown, Youngstown - 65 James Orr, Youngstown - 76 Elizabeth Woods, Youngstown - 72 Thomas Davis, Youngstown - 72 Asahel Medbury, Youngstown - 76 Thomas Polly, Youngstown - 69 Anna Goff, Youngstown - 77 Alex. Mainnie, Youngstown - 76 Elizabeth M'Farland, Coitsville - 85 Betsy Augustine, Coitsville - 73 John Augustine, Coitsville - 75 Polly Jackson, Coitsville - 79 Mary Augustine, Coitsville - 62 Nicholas Jacobs, Coitsville - 65 James Davidson, Coitsville - 73 Barbara M'Fall, Coitsville - 66 William M'Clelland, Coitsville - 73 Polly Kyle, Coitsville - 77 Partridge Bissell, Coitsville - 72 John Shields, Coitsville - 72 William Stewart, Coitsville - 68 Catherine Hurst, Coitsville - 69 Tobias Kimmell, Coitsville - 73 MAHONING VALLEY - 101 NAME AND RESIDENCE - AGE. John Guthrie, Poland - 67 William Logan, Poland - 68 Mary A. Logan, Poland - 66 James Moore, Poland - 71 Joseph Sexton, Poland - 80 George Dickson, Poland - 67 John Harsh, - 81 Benjamin Stevens, Warren - 88 Z. Van Gorder, Warren - 70 E. D. King, Warren - 70 Isaac C. Powers, Warren - 70 Edward Potter, Warren - 82 John Zediker, Boardman - 82 Asa Baldwin, Boardman - 78 Henry Fankel, Boardman - 80 Sheldon Newton, Boardman - 69 Mrs. — Osborn, Hubbard - 67 Nathaniel Mitchell, Hubbard - 72 Mrs. N. Mitchell, Hubbard - 71 Catherine Hunt, Hubbard - 69 Mrs. Geo. Hagar, Hubbard - 70 Daniel Shively, Hubbard - 70 Christian Cackler, Kent - 84 John V. Gardner, Kent - 86 Fanny Jackson, Sharon - 78 Mary Briggs, Bridgewater - 82 Eben Newton, Canfield - 80 Samuel Beaver, Roy's Corners - 70 Hon. Geo. Mygatt, Cleveland 73 N. C. Baldwin, Cleveland - 74 Zephamis Stone, Gustavus - 82 David Goodwille, Girard - 73 George Hood, Girard - 68 Amos Osborn, Paris - 65 J. T. Duchane, Newcastle - 77 Fletcher Houge, Sandy Lake - 73 THE MAHONING VALLEY HISTORICAL SOCIETY. A CALL had been made in the words following, to-wit: " For the purpose of collecting and preserving the history of the Mahoning Valley from its first settlement, the development of its resources in agriculture, mining, and manufacturing ; its development in education; and to perpetuate such history, we associate ourselves together to form a society, which shall be known as the Mahoning Valley Historical Society ; and we agree that this Society shall be organized with such officers, rules, and regulations as shall be agreed upon by the members hereto subscribing, at a meeting to be held in the Opera-house, in Youngstown, on the tenth day of September, 1875, at eight o'clock, P. M. Membership fee, one dollar." The above call was signed by nearly four hundred subscribers ; and, in pursuance thereof, before the dancing commenced in the evening, they met in the Opera-house at eight o'clock. On motion of A. W. Jones, William Powers was elected temporary chairman. On motion of Dr. T. Woodbridge, A. W. Jones was elected secretary. On motion, the chair appointed A. J. Packard, A. W. Jones, and C. D. Arms a committee to prepare and report a constitution for the Society. The committee reported the following, which was unanimously adopted : CONSTITUTION. ARTICLE I. This society shall be called THE MAHONING VALLEY HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 102 - HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. ART. II. Its objects are to collect and preserve in proper form the facts constituting the full history of the Mahoning Valley. Also, to obtain and preserve an authentic and general statement of its resources and productions of all kinds. ART. III. The officers of this Society shall consist of a President, one Vice-President to each township of the counties of Trumbull and Mahoning, two Corresponding Secretaries, one Recording Secretary, one Treasurer, and a Board of Directors, consisting of five members. ART. IV. The officers thereof shall be elected annually, at the annual meeting, and shall perform the duties usually pertaining to their respective offices. It shall be the duty, also, of the Vice-Presidents in their several township's, to represent the interest' of the Society, and gather historical material. And at all meetings, in the absence of the President, it shall be the duty of the senior Vice-President in age present to preside. The Board of Directors shall have charge of the business and property of the Society, and shall act as a Publishing Committee. ART. V. The office and records of the Society shall be kept at Youngstown, O. The annual meeting of the Society shall be held, unless otherwise ordered, on the tenth day of September, at such place as shall be selected by the President and Directors each year ; and in such years as the tenth would occur on the Sabbath day, it shall be the duty of the officers to name some other day of the month for the annual meeting. The President and Directors may call a quarterly-meeting in any place when notified by the resident Vice-President that proper preparations have been made by the citizens. ART. VI. Any person may become a member of this Society by signing or having his name affixed to the Constitution, and paying. into the treasury the sum of one dollar ($1.00). And any person also may be received by a vote of the Society as an honorary member. ART. VII. This Constitution may be altered or amended at any annual meeting hereafter by a vote of two-thirds (2-3) of the members present, provided no amendment shall be considered, unless the same shall have been presented in writing and filed with the Secretary of the Society at least three months before such consideration. On motion of H. B. Wick, Esq., the chair appointed a committee, consisting of Hugh B. Wick, Wm. S. Parmelee, and Timothy Woodbridge, to recommend to the Society the names of members for offi- MAHONING VALLEY - 103 cers for the ensuing year. Said committee reported, recommending the following named, to-wit: President—William POWERS. Vice-President—DR. T. WOODBRIDGE. Corresponding Secretaries—JOHN M. EDWARDS, A. B. CORNELL. Recording Secretary—W. A. BEECHER. Treasurer—H. K. WICK. Directors—H. B. WICK, A. W. JONES, R. M'MILLAN, A. J. PACKARD, HENRY TOD. On motion, the report was adopted, and the officers named elected to serve for the ensuing year. Wm. POWERS, President. A. W. JONES, Secretary. EVENING SESSION. After adjournment, the dancing commenced. THE DANCE IN THE EVENING. A temporary dancing floor of forty by eighty feet, made in sections and covering stage and parquette of the Opera-house, and as this floor had to be placed in position, the door to that part of the house was not opened until eight o'clock, but the dress circle and gallery was completely filled by ladies and gentlemen awaiting the opening of the door to the lower part of the house. Upon the opening of which, all parts of the building were filled with a gay and orderly gathering of people, and the utmost harmony, civility, and politeness prevailed during the whole evening; not a single event transpiring to seriously annoy any ; and looking over that vast assemblage we could see the middle-aged, the young, the rich, the poor, the devotees of fashion, the sons of toil, the denizen of the city, the plain inhabitant of the farm, all mingled indiscriminately together, and all apparently enjoying the festivities of the occasion. The costumes worn by the dancers were as various as the fancy of the wearer could conceive and arrange, but they all tended toward the fantastic costumes of three-quarters of a century ago. There Was the straight calico dress, without frill or flounce—made with four yards of calico surmounted with mutton-leg sleeves, which had the appearance of being stuffed above the elbow, giving the appearance of a mutton ham, only larger, holding apparently from eight to ten quarts of leaves, bran, or wool ; while the wearer in some instances, had on the old-fashioned leghorn bonnet, with a square 104 - HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. crown and monstrous over-covering front, the whole' tied with one plain, narrow ribbon around the chin; while the dress of some of the men was not less ancient. "Among the old people present participating was Dan Shively. He came to the ball, wearing the coat he was married in over fifty years ago, a very ancient hat, and he became at once the observed of all observers. He will be seventy-six years old his next birthday, is about five feet high, quite small, but sound, full chested, and as lively as a cricket. His teeth are perfect, his eyesight strong, and he can jump fifteen feet at three standing jumps. "Over sixty years ago, desiring to cross the river into Alleghany, from Pittsburg, to a dance, and lacking the necessary bridge fee, he crawled up the side of the bridge and walked over on the comb, but in getting down he tore his pants and he had to pay a girl twenty- five cents to mend them. About this time he chased an elk from Pittsburg to the neighborhood of Wampum, where he caught it and marched back with it in triumph. Nearly sixty years ago he locked Judge Rayen's jack in his family vault, which aroused the neighborhood, for no one could imagine the cause of the unearthly sounds that came from. the resting-place of the dead. He acquired the title of elder, not because of his Church distinction, but being employed by Col. C. B. Wick about his place, he succeeded in making a. connection, by means of an elder, with his employer's whisky barrel, and being a lover of a good article,' he succeeded in drawing most of the contents of the barrel through his elder. Dan is even now a .bard worker, and but two days before the reunion he bound seventy dozen sheaves of oats. He wore, as we said, a very ancient hat, and during the night some one wore this hat away. Seeing this, 'Matt' Powers gave him a new hat belonging to a young doctor of this city, and Dan wore this home highly gratified with the change. Some of his friends invited Dan out to get a supper, and called for oysters. 'Do n't want any,' says Dan.I've got some cake in my pocket that I brought along to eat,' and he pulled out his handkerchief containing several good pieces. Dan did n't dance as much as he would have fifty or sixty years ago, but it was n't because he had n't the life, but the music was at fault. This he denounced as the worst fiddling he ever heard. He said none of them could play the Virginia Reel, the Devil's Dream, Old Zip Coon, or any of those good old tunes that he used to enjoy. But Dan laughed and danced, and every body was glad he was there." (Register and Tribune, September 11, 1875.) MAHONING VALLEY - 105 At a meeting of the Directors September 14th, "on motion, the corresponding secretaries were instructed to send letters or circulars as deemed best, to persons in each township, requesting them to call a meeting, and select a suitable person to act as vice-president, for their several townships, for the coming year. Also to furnish articles for insertion in the forthcoming book relative to the history of their township.   In pursuance of the above the secretaries issued a circular to persons in each township, and in response to the same received the names of the following persons to act as such vice-presidents: Warren, Trumbull County - Frederick Kinsman. Braceville, " “ -George Stowe. Newton, " “ - Dr. J. F. Porter. Lordstome, “ ” - Thomas Duncan. Wethersfield " “ - Irwin Moore. Liberty “ ” - Boyd M'Clelland. Hubbard “ " - Nathaniel Mitchell. Howland, “ ” - Z. T. Ewalt. Vienna, “ ” - Alex. S. Stewart Brookfield, " " - J. E. Stewart. Mesopotamia, " " - Chas. A. Brigden. Bazetta, " " - Aaron Davis. Gustavus, " " - Miss Phoebe M. Barnes. Bloomfield, "   “ - Dr. Geo. W. Howe. Fowler, " " - Dr. Beach. Champion, " “ - Henry Rutan. Southington, " “ - Homer Norton. Bristol, “ ” - A. A. House. Johnstown, " " - Josiah Hine. Greene, " “ - Walter Barlett Vernon, " " - E. A. Reed. Kinsman, “ ” - Rich. K. Hultz Mecca, “ ” - W. S. Benton. Farmington, " “ - A. K. Woolcott. Hartford, " “ - T. A. Bushnell. Youngstown, Mahoning - T. Woodbridge. Coitsville, “ ” - John Shields. Austintown, “ ” - Wm Porter Milton, “ ” - Francis R. Johnson Berlin, “ ” - George Carson Ellsworth. “ ” - Richard Fitch. Canfield, “ ” - Eben Newton. Boardman, “ ” - F. A. Boardman. Poland, " “ - Samuel M'Bride. Smith,  “ ” - Wm Johnson Goshen “ ” - Joseph Bruff Green, “ ” - Lewis Templin. Beaver, “ ” - L. B. Ruhlman Springfield, “ ” - Hiram Macklin Jackson, " “ - David Anderson 106 - HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. The following response was received by mail too late to be read at the meeting on the 10th inst.: "WARREN, PENN., September 6, 1875. " Wm. -POWERS, Esq., Chairman Committee of Citizens. "Dear Sir,—Your letter, honoring me with an invitation to respond to the toast, ‘Manufactures of the last Seventy-five Years,' was received at too late a date to allow the necessary reference to statistics to enable me to do justice to so important a subject. And I am not sure that I can do myself the pleasure of being present at the reunion on the 10th at all. The toast is very broad and comprehensive in its terms, embracing the great field of manufacturing improvements of the world, a brief synopsis of which would fill volumes. But considering the occasion and limits of territory embraced within the call, I presume allusion to the manufactures on the Connecticut Western Reserve is all that is expected. In reference to these, if present, I might perhaps relate some reminiscences and make some suggestions, not altogether uninteresting. Although not a resident on the Reserve for more than fifty years past, I was born there at an early date in the settlements-1803—and spent the first twenty years of my life there. Business has also required my presence there a good deal in the course of the last ten years. My return there from time to time, and sojourn amongst the friends of my boyhood their descendants, always inspires grateful feelings toward my old home and early associates. "A word, however, in response to the toast as limited to the Reserve. The word manufacture is derived from two Latin wordSmantes, the hand, and facto, to make or construct. It embraces, therefore, every thing made or constructed by hand, with or without the aid of machinery. We may, therefore, properly assign to the early settlers of the Reserve the double character of farmers and manufacturers. They hewed out houses and fortunes for themselves in the forest. The log cabins exhibited the skill of the mechanic, in niches and saddles of the corners, the clapboards of the roof, the puncheons for the floors, the doors and windows all done by the ax, wedge, and maul. And when the more elegant hewn block-houses came to be introduced, after the saw-mills came somewhat in use, the hewing of the timber, the shaving and putting on the shingles, planing and matching of the boards, laying the floors, making and hanging doors and windows, and building the outside chimneys, was all the work of the farmer and his sons. Besides, they made their own plows with wooden mold-boards, their- harrows, the yokes for their MAHONING VALLEY - 107 oxen, the whiffletrees and bars, and often the harness for the gear of their horse teams. The ladies, too, were quite as ingenious and industrious. They spun their own flax and wove it into shirtings and sheetings, carded, spun, and wove their own wool into cloths, flannels, and blankets. Yea, dyed portions of the woolen yarns madder red, indigo blue, and other less decided colors, and wove them into beautiful plaids, for their own wear, and into richer, warmer, and more beautiful coverlets than are now furnished by the most skillful manufacturers, for our beds. They were their own seamstresses. In addition to their other household work they made their own dresses, and shirts, and frequently other garments for their husbands and brothers. They sometimes milked the cows, and always took care of the milk, and made butter and cheese. All these and many other things which, in the division of work, in these days are properly assigned to appropriate skilled artisans and mechanics, the pioneer family performed within itself. Such is the origin of manufactures, and the manner in which they were carried on for many years on the Reserve. "As the population became more dense by the growth of families and new-corners, labor began to be divided. Some mechanics came in who knew nothing about farming, or were not able to buy a farm. They established themselves as carpenters, blacksmiths, tailors, weavers, cloth dressers, boot and shoe makers, saddle and harness makers, stone-masons, etc. And at a later date came in milliners and mantuamakers, and in this way what is distinctly termed the manufacturing class arose. I will only say a few words as to the rise and progress of the iron manufacture, which has proved to be the greatest of the manufacturing interests of the Reserve, and is that with which I have had most to do. "I can not obtain evidence of the exact date when the first blast-furnace on the Reserve was started into operation. Daniel Heaton (afterward abbreviated to Dan Eaton, by act of Assembly) I am satisfied built the stack, and made contracts for ore, and wood for coal for a blast-furnace, in 1803; and the recollection of my older brother is that he had it in operation that year. The only doubt as to the correctness of his recollection arises from the fact of a suit found on record by John Hayes and Dan Heaton vs. James Douglass, June term, 180S, claiming damages for the imperfect construction of a furnace bellows, contracted for September 1, 1806. This may have been to replace the original one, however. It was located about one and one-fourth miles from the mouth of Yellow Creek, in the township of Poland, then Trumbull, now Mahoning County. It is certain that 108 - HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. Robert Montgomery and John Struthers, my father, built and put in operation a blast-furnace on the same stream, and on the farm ou which the furnace of Struthers & Co. now stands, in the year 1806. These furnaces were of about equal capacity, and would yield about two and a half or three tons each per day. The metal was principally run into molds for kettles, caldrons, bake-ovens, flat-irons, stoves, hand-irons, and such other articles as the needs of new settlers required, and any surplus into pigs, and sent to the 'Pittsburg market. These were, I believe, the first blast-furnaces built in the State of Ohio,—certainly time first on the Reserve. The former, it is said, had for one side the natural rock of the bluff, against which it was built, and for that or other reasons was fickle in its working, and, probably, did not last long. I have no recollection of ever seeing it in blast. The latter continued to work until 1812, when the men were all drafted into the war, and it was never started up again. "These humble essays in the manufacture of iron, however diminutive the structures and insignificant the product, in comparison with the furnaces of the present time, producimig their forty, fifty, and sixty tons per day, were of great service in the neighborhood of their location. These were the times of hard money—not only hard in the material, but hard to be got. It was so limited in amount that the prices of all products sold very low, and it was difficult to get enough to pay taxes and interest on debts incurred by the settlers in purchase of their lands. The expensive barter, or exchange of commodity for commodity, was necessarily resorted to, instead of buying and selling for money. A day's labor was paid for by a bushel of corn or rye ; a day and a half for a bushel of wheat. A horse would be exchanged for a yoke of oxen, and the difference, if any, made up by a heifer, a few shoats, or the promise of so many days' labor, etc. The merchant would receive all kinds of produce for his goods. In this way the dry goods and groceries were paid for by butter, cheese, eggs, corn, oats, etc., all of which the merchant would manage to convert in Eastern markets to replenish his stock, having taken care to secure a sufficient margin in the purchase from the farmer. A notable instance of this, now in my memory, was eighty bushels of oats given for a beaver hat, for which the merchant probably paid, at wholesale price, eight dollars. Such impositions had to be submitted to, as there was no circulating money for exchange and remittances, and it would be too expensive for time farmers to send their products to distant markets for the small amounts of goods they needed. The products of the small furnaces were paid for in the same way, but with MAHONING VALLEY - 109 the advantage of saving to the farmer, the tax of the go-between merchant as his profit. The laborers about the furnaces became consumers of his farm products, and he could deliver them more conveniently, and at less expense of time and labor. "I have no recollection of any other furnaces erected on the Reserve in the years of my residence here, except the Heaton furnace, Mosquito Creek, in Trumbull County, and the date of its erection I can not fix. I think he had also a small blooming forge. "By what steps of progress from these small beginnings the manufacturers of the Reserve reached their present eminence I will not attempt to sketch—can not, without reference to statistics not at hand. Allow me, however, to refer you briefly to some of the many difficulties and drawbacks the manufacturing interests of the country at large have had to contend with from the first. "Although, in 1776, the yoke of Great Britain was thrown off and we were declared a free and independent people, yet a sentiment seemed to prevail among our statesmen and leading politicians that, although nominally free, we were not independent—that we must still remain dependent on England and Europe for our manufactured goods; must exist only as an agricultural people, and pay Europe for manufacturing for us the raw material, which we must first be at the expense of sending to her, then receive it back, paying for twice the amount of its first cost in labor bestowed on manufacturing it into the desired goods, and the freight of return voyage. Thus, whilst in the first, almost half, century of our existence-1776 to 1824—we find all the efforts of Government strained to build ships and increase the merchant marine, and not a provision made to encourage manufactures at home. They seemed to think the carrying trade the great necessity, and had not England been so stupid as to wake up a quarrel which resulted in the War of 1812, and involved our Government in a large debt, the policy would have probably continued without check to this day. But the war itself checked the service we were rendering our foe, by carrying our products to her for the benefit of her manufacturers, and gave the first encouragement to the starting up of manufactures in this country. This was the result of war necessity, not of the wisdom of our legislators. In consequence of this war necessity manufacture started up amazingly in the New England States and in Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey—cotton and woolen goods in the former and iron in the three latter States. It carried us through the war triumphantly. The British manufacturers were at the same time suffering for want of our cotton and wool to keep their 110 - HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. spindles and looms running, which fact had, no doubt, much weight in inducing them to give up the fight and seek early peace. "The peace was concluded in 1814, and the old line of business immediately resumed, and the newly started. manufactures prostrated before a competition they were not yet able to cope with. But the debt of the Government, growing out of the war, most of which to her own people, thousands of whom were bankrupted, because they could not get their pay, became the inducement to a new policy in legislation. After struggling in vain to raise revenues from an impoverished people for ten years, and in danger of being overwhelmed and herself bankrupted by the debt, Congress, under the leadership of Henry Clay, passed the tariff law of 1824. The mills, furnaces, and forges were at once on their feet again, and others added. Increased consumption, and better prices for their products, and cheaper manufactured goods, rewarded the farmer and laborer. Life and activity were breathed into all the industries of the country, and the last dollar of the war debt paid off in 1829. It was a season of rejoicing in the land. "But, as a surplus of revenue now began to accumulate in the treasury, the hue and cry was raised by the South, and favored by some dough-faces in the North, against the tariff. This resulted in the compromise tariff of 1832, by which free trade was to be brought about by a reduction each year of ten per cent on the tariff of 1824. At or about the same time the Bank of the United States, through which the financial operations of the Government had been successfully managed for so many years, was overthrown, and a liberal system of State banking recommended by Mr. Van Buren, Secretary of State under President Jackson. The recommendation was acted upon by the States, and a bank, or banks, given to almost every county of every State, with the right to issue three dollars of paper for every dollar of ,their capital, and without any security whatever. Here was an inflated currency with a vengeance, a currency without any security for its redemption. "Well, by 1836 the tariff was so far reduced under the compromise that the manufacturing interests had to succumb to the foreign competition. Tens of thousands of employes were thrown out of work. What were they to do '? They at once turned their attention to the chances of making something through the use of this inflated, worthless bank paper, which the bankers were urging upon the people. They could get it easily with little or no security, and the consequences you may possibly have some remembrance of. How prices MAHONING VALLEY - 111 of every thing went up extravagantly under the influence of the wildest speculation, and how, in about a year, May, 1837, banks and speculators went down altogether. Thus bankruptcy was brought upon the manufacturers by the letting down of the tariff, and upon the banks and thousands of business men throughout the country, who had been drawn into the whirlpool of this wild speculation, based on worthless bank issues. That was the panic of 1837, and what produced it. The prostration was general all over the country, and from ' it there was no resuscitation until the tariff of 1842 set the manufacturers on their feet again. As soon as the free trade interest found the country and its business men and interests were being advanced under this tariff to the disadvantage of its friends on the other side of the water, the cry of repeal was raised again, which was effected in 1846. The result of this was the general breakdown of 1857. But the circumstances attending this are of such recent date that I need not relate them. I will only remark that in this we see another evidence of the danger of pulling down or repealing a good tariff and putting up State banks. " I intended sketching the circumstances of the present panic and showing that, while it may be traced in part to the reduction of the tariff, it has none of the other features of the other great panics, no issue of irredeemable bank paper, no undue speculation, but is due . mainly to want of a sufficient amount of sound circulating money, such as we have. I believe it the best in the world; and I believe that before an issue of it, to an amount adequate to the business requirements of the country, the present gloom and prostration would be dispelled as the dews before the morning sun, and business resume its accustomed activity. But I must close, my letter is becoming too long. "Yours, truly, T. STRUTHERS. "I can not be at Youngstown on the 10th instant—sorry." The following letters were received, but the time being fully occupied, were not read at the reunion : THE PIONEER REUNION—LETTER FROM HENRY OSBORN. "To the Members of the Old Folks' Reunion : "Dear Friends,—My father, Anthony Osborn, was a native of Loudon County, Virginia, and came to this country in 1804 and settled near what was called the Five Corners or Cornersburg. In the Spring of 1806 he moved two and a half miles west from Youngstown, and Settled on the farm now owned by David Osborn—my grandfather 112 - HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. having purchased one thousand acres of land and divided it among his children. " I was born in Loudon County, Virginia, in 1802, and, in 1804, being then two years old, I came with my parents to the place before stated. We settled in what was in every respect a vast wilderness, nothing but woods in every direction. Our neighbors were very scarce, and, with one exception, Jacob Parkhurst. The children settled on this tract of land. "This was indeed the new country. Every man went to work in earnest, chopping down the trees, many of them very large and the trunks very heavy. I think our young men of to-day would literally back down if they were to stand before those huge trees and be told they must cut them all away in order to raise their bread. During the first year after we moved my father cleared perhaps ten acres, and we were compelled to live upon what we could raise. There was nothing offered for sale in those days, and if there had been we had no money to buy with. All the money we saw in those days was silver, and very little of that. Friends, we call times hard now and talk about the scarcity of money, but there can be no comparison with those days and now when we speak of hard times and getting along. I here take occasion to say that money was such a rarity and so difficult to get, I have known a silver dollar to be cut into sixteen pieces, and calling each piece a sixpence in order to make change. The country for miles around us was then known as Trumbull County, and one man acted as assessor and another man collected all the taxes, going from house to house. "At the time of my father's settlement in Youngstown there was no flour-mills near us, and my father very frequently took his corn to Beaver to get it ground ; thus we got along. Corn, potatoes, and hominy, sometimes with salt and sometimes without, were the principal articles of living. A few years later, Jacob Parkhurst built a small log mill near what is now called the Bear's Den, although small in comparison with our mills at the present day, it was a great convenience to the settlers, and when there was water this little mill run night and day, and became a blessing to the community at large. "We now pass over a few years, in which the settlers were busy engaged clearing, fencing, and burning brush, and all work by which they could better their condition and living as best we could, always living on what we raised. Fine coats, boots, and hats were then unknown; the settlers used to go to meeting, the best of them, in their shirt-sleeves, in the Summer season with clean linen shirts of their MAHONING VALLEY - 113 own manufacture; and many a time I have seen our most respectable farmers make their appearance on Sunday barefoot. And often / have seen our ladies carry their, shoes and stockings in a satchel for miles, going barefoot until within sight of the church, and would then put them on, feeling that they could not afford to wear such luxuries on the road. We now come to the year 1812, when the war broke out, and nearly every man was drafted. Then came hard times, sure enough ; although but a boy I went to stay with my sister, Mrs. Jacob Erwin (now dead), and during Jacob Erwin's absence to the war, about nine months, we cleared two or three acres of ground, Mrs. Erwin superintending the whole affair ; and perhaps it will surprise some of the ladies of to-day when I tell you Mrs. Erwin often assisted in chopping and clearing the land. Help was very scarce, and the wives of that day acted well their part in any thing that might promote the interest and welfare of their husbands or children, and the prosperity of the country should be credited very largely to the help the settlers received from their wives, shrinking from no duty however hard, or from any work however laborious, to promote the general good. Situated as men were in those days, many a stout-hearted man would have shrunk from the prospect before him, had not his good wife stood by him in all his toils and distresses. We again say that the prosperity of the country is largely due to these noble wives and mothers. The next year the war closed and we all worked very hard, our living in the Winter consisting of hominy prepared by our own bands. Hard times followed the war, the currency of the country, known as shin-plasters, was miserable, almost worthless trash, and I have known it to take a handful of this stuff to pay a landlord's bill for stopping all night. For several years my father's family saw hard times incident to those early days, but by industry, economy, and energy, we managed to live, and we began to see field after field cleared up, each year adding a few more acres, until we saw all around us the forest giving way to cultivated fields, in which I had taken a very active part. "I now found myself from a mere boy approaching manhood; nearly twenty years had passed away, and I was nearly twenty-one Years of age. In the Spring of 1824 I hired out to Judge Rayen, living in his family and receiving seven dollars per month. This was good wages for the times, and as I was considered a stout young man I had no trouble in receiving for my services the best wages of the county, although small compared with the wages of the present day. stayed one year and hired for another at the same wages, making 114 - HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS two years in which I worked without' losing a day, being paid for every hour. While in the employ of Judge Rayen I cleared all the land on what is now known as Rayen Avenue, this city, and above it for some distance on Holmes road. It is astonishing as one now passes along these streets once so overgrown with trees and thick underbrush, we now see so many fine houses. At this time Youngs.. town was a small place. Perhaps I am correct in saying that from Judge Rayen's residence east to Crab Creek, there was not more than a dozen houses, here and there one, and the water stood on what is known now as Federal Street, so that pond-lilies grew in profusion. "After leaving Judge Rayen I went to Smith Township and selected eighty acres of land, for which I paid the Government one hundred dollars. This brings us to 1825. John Quincy Adams was then President, and the deed of the land was signed by him as President. I sold this land, making fifty dollars on my investment This amount at that time was quite a consideration, and I felt very rich, as fifty dollars was thought more of then than now. "I then went to Jackson Township, where I purchased seventy-five acres, paying three dollars and twenty-five cents an acre ; but not having sufficient money I came back to Youngstown and worked for Homer Hine six months at nine dollars per month, and went back to my land in 1829. I took good care of the money and paid it upon my land, but found myself without a team or any thing to work with except my bands. Still I got along, and I am happy to say that these same hands which helped me through are good to-day. "I lived twenty-one years in Jackson. I then sold my farm. When I moved on it, it was a dense forest, some of the largest trees I ever saw. On leaving I left it handsomely cleared up, and sold it for thirty dollars and ten cents per acre, and I was doing well. I then came back to Youngstown and bought one hundred.nnd seventy acres, known as the John Gibson farm, where I now live and shall probably end my days. This piece cost me five thousand dollars. Coal has been discovered under it, making it very valuable. Having sold part of it I now have one hundred and twenty acres. "I have in my possession some relics of early days, to-wit Two breakfast plates, purchased by my wife's father before she was born— Mrs. Osborn is now in her sixty-seventh year—also a certificate of Mrs. Osborn's baptism. "In conclusion, it is due my wife Sallie to say that she has stood by me in all my toil and trouble, joys and sorrows, for fifty years, MAHONING VALLEY - 115 and that she has reasonable good health up to this time, with a prospect of ending her days peacefully and happily. “With my best wishes for your prosperity and happiness, and for many returns of these pleasant reunions, I remain yours with respect, HENRY OSBORN. "YOUNGSTOWN, September to, 1875." THE FIRST SETTLERS OF ELLSWORTH. "In 1799 Richard Fitch came from Salisbury, Conn., to the Con necticut Western Reserve, and spent a portion of that Summer on the borders of Lake. Erie, and returned to Connecticut the same year without purchasing any land. In 1803 Joseph Coit came from Norwich, Conn., in company with General Moses Cleveland, and staid a while at Cleveland, and then made his way to Ellsworth, and purchased eighty acres of land on the south-west corner of the center of the township. The next year, 1804, he had eight acres of the land cleared, and a log-house erected—the first house raised in the township. “In 1805 Wm. Ripley, Hervey Ripley, Elisha Palmer, and one or two others from Scotland, Windham County, Conn., came to Ellsworth and commenced clearing and improving the land west of the center section, which they had previously purchased. "In the Spring of 1806 Wm. Ripley moved, with his wife, to Ellsworth. In the Spring and Summer of 1806 came Daniel Fitch and wife from Norwalk, Connecticut, and the same season, from. Salisbury, Connecticut, came Richard Fitch and his two brothers, Charles and William, with their families, consisting of a wife and one or two small children each, all of whom settled near the center of the township. "The same year, 1806, Thomas Jones and Hugh Smith, with. their families, from Maryland, settled in the east part of the township. The same year, Philip Borts and Philip Arner, with their families,. from Pennsylvania, settled on land east of the Meander, on the road leading to Canfield; and John Leonard from Pennsylvania with his family, near the Meander, northeast of the center. It is thought no other families settled in the township this year. "These heads of families all lived and died in Ellsworth, with the exception of Wm. Fitch and wife, Charles Fitch and wife, and Mrs. Hugh Smith. Wm. Fitch is now living in Wayne, Ashtabula County/ aged ninety-three years, and is hale and hearty. 116 - HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. "The first three children born in the township were Thomas Jones, Jr.; Jennette Sthith, daughter of Hugh and Mary, and Mary L., daughter of Richard and Lucinda Fitch, all of whom were born in the early part of the year 1806. "RICHARD RICHARD FITCH, "MARTIN ALLEN." INCIDENTS OCCURRING TO THE FIRST SETTLERS. "The most of the families that came from Connecticut, in 1806, were not provided with cabins, and occupied Capt. Coit's till they could raise some for themselves—he being a single man did not require much room, and was engaged much of the time making improvements on a tract of land that he owned in the north part of the township. While thus engaged one day his house, by accident or the carelessness of the occupants, took fire and was consumed, destroying his watch, books, money, and all his clothing, except what he had With him, amounting to three garments. The occupants were also heavy losers in the line of clothing and household goods. When Mr. Coit came home toward evening and witnessed the destruction of property and found the women, who had the care of the house, much cast down and in tears, the spectators were much disappointed at witnessing the cheerfulness and resignation manifested by Mr. Coithe being a good singer, and often seeking relief from cafe and anxiety in music, seated himself near the ruins, and sung the song called "Contentment," the first verse of which is, " 'Why should we at our lot repine, Or grieve at our distress ? Some think if they should riches gain They 'd gain true happiness. Alas, how vain is all our gain, Since life must soon decay.' "The following is the chorus : " 'And since we 're here, with friends so dear, Let 's drive dull cares away.' "In the early part of the Summer of 1806 Wm. Ripley had his leg broken by a log falling on it while assisting in raising Daniel Fitch's cabin. The fracture was a severe one, as the whole weight of the log fell on the limb, mashing it to and into the ground, and there was no surgeon nearer than Youngstown to reduce it. Mr. Ripley was laid by from business the greater part of the Summer. " RICHARD FITCH, " MARTIN ALLEN." MAHONING VALLEY - 117 PIONEER INDUSTRY. "The object of our reunion to-day, if I understand the purport, is to write up the early history, not alone of the young Iron City of Youngstown, but of the entire Malroning Valley. The entire foundation of the wealth of this city is intimately connected with the coal fields of the Mahoning Valley, from which is drawn the hidden resources of productive capital that furnish the material aid to sustain the growth, the wealth, the resources, and the prosperity of our people. This is the Aladdin's lamp that lights up the fires of all of our productive industry. "In recording this history I am well aware that you want no more such Baron Munchausen stories as I played off upon your imagination at the first reunion of the old citizens of Youngstown one year ago. I allude to the claim I then set up of being the oldest resident citizen of Youngstown, dating back to the year 1799, when my grandfather, Jesse Newport, removed with his family, including my mother, from Brownsville, Penn., to Youngstown, settling on a farm on the east side of the road running to Mill Creek Falls, which event happened just sixteen years before I was born. That kind of stuff might amuse the boys, but the many old pioneers here present to-day desire to be fed on stronger meat. The dishes to be served to them they ask should be the solid facts that are interwoven in our early history. "The pioneers of the Mahoning Valley will all remember when their local currency, which Carey, of Philadelphia, so extols, upon which they had to rely for the purchase of tea, coffee,. dry goods, spices, and salt, was young cattle, wood, lard, tallow, beeswax, ginseng, and goose-feathers. To get cash for wheat, corn, potatoes, and other products, mquring heavy transportation to the sea-board markets, was almost an utter impossibility. These things the old men remember well, and the straits they were put to to raise the few dollars requisite to pay their small annual taxes, and the very few other money obligations they entered into. " The completion, in 1840, of the Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal, which opened up to our people a line of water communication by canal to Cleveland, by lake to Buffalo, by canal and river thence to the ocean, was an important era in the history of this valley, not Only in thus affording an outlet to our cereals, but because it opened up a market for the hidden wealth that lay dormant in the coal fields 118 - HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. we in white fish, to be delivered at Cleveland ; but the fish never came to land there as contracted. At the time of the sale of the of the Mahoning Valley. It was then our people advanced in business interchange with each other from mere barter to money. And it was then that the foundation was not only laid for the development of the wealth of our coal fields, but also the solid substratum for our iron industry, which rested on a more secure foundation when the connection with the lake markets was made more complete by the building of the Cleveland and Mahoning Railroad in 1854. "When any man lays special claim to his own effort in this development of wealth, he must be reminded of 'the words, 'I, Paul, planted, and you Apollos watered, but God giveth the increase.' The planting and watering is all well, but the grand source of this most extraordinary growth of wealth, of resources, and of population, which we see scattered all around us, comes from Him who alone can give the increase. In this case it came from His hidden wealth, which has been called forth and utilized by the muscular forces of productive industry. "I well remember the first feeble attempts of our people to rise up from the lower plane of agricultural production to the higher forms of the accumulation of material wealth. I remember when the water-power of Mill Creek was employed to run grist-mills, woolen- mills, saw-mills, a furnace, and an ax factory, and thus became the center of productive industry near Youngstown, outside of the general agricultural employments of our people. I remember, in this connection, the carding and cloth-dressing establishment of James Taylor, oh Mill Creek, about a half mile below the falls ; the building of a twenty-foot dam by James Heaton, still further down the stream ; the starting of a woolen' factory there; then the building by his son, Isaac Heaton, and by John Kirk and Charles Rockwell of a blast- furnace, to be blown by the water-power of this dam ; then the construction of an ax factory by John Ross, at the *same place, and driven by the water-power of the same dam. "In 1838, while employed as book-keeper at the Heaton furnace, I undertook to cut out some blocks of an increase of capital with some of the axes manufactured by Ross on Mill Creek, which, however, ended by handling edged tools too sharp for my then experience, letting out by one clean cut about four hundred dollars (gold value) of the fruits of my preceding industry. And thus, in place of cutting out a block of increased capital, I simply had my own eyeteeth cut to the tune of one-half of all the savings of my preceding industrial operations. I sold the axes in Michigan for a note paya MAHON1NG VALLEY - 119 ble in white fish, to be delivered at Cleveland; but the fish never came to land there as contracted. At the time of th sale of the axes it looked as though I had a good bite, with the hook well baited the line strong and well fastened at the end of the pole, and the butt-end all secure in my own hands ; but, I presume, the fish are still swimming in the upper lakes or the Detroit River, from whence they were to come, as they have never yet been hauled ashore. The realization that my eye-teeth were sharply cut, that I was ground out of four hundred dollars of my business capital—one-half of all I was then worth—produced reflections that went to the bottom of things ; and, taking survey of the bottom of my breeches-pocket, from which four hundred dollars had gone where the 'woodbine twineth,' I concluded the real trouble was neither the sharpness of the edged-tools I had handled nor the imperfection of the fishing-tackle I had used to fill my net, but that it was to be found in another and quite a different quarter. I had been reading Combs's ' Phrenology,' and I concluded the whole trouble was to be traced to the simple fact that my head was too small for that kind of trade, and so the matter ended. "Heaton's furnace blazed away a few years and stopped, because he could not make it pay. Ross's ax factory soon ground down to the bottom of his pocket, and then ceased to grind any more. Redman, at a later day, undertook to run the Heaton furnace with stone coal, but his pocket soon blistered by the heat of the furnace fires, was crisped to ashes, and burned all out. Then Greer, of Pittsburg, tried his hand at the business, with no better success. "The Eagle Furnace, built by Philpot, above town; the Youngstown Rolling-mill, built in town by Wicks, Manning, Heazley, Kirk, Powers, Fuller, and Dangerfield, the same now owned by Brown, Bonnell & Co., pioved a dangerous field of operations for its owners ; the Phoenix Furnace, at the lower end of town, built by Charles Howard and James Ford, like the others, carried out of the pockets of the original owners the main body of the moneyed capital invested in their construction. "Whatever fortunes have lately been made from the iron industry of the Mahoning Valley, the pioneers were unable to say, every thing is lovely and the goose hangs high,' and many a 'chill' was experienced, not only in the furnace stacks, btit also in the hearts and pockets of our pioneer operators. "These items are given as a brief, imperfect view of some of the 120 - HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. incidental history connected with the pioneer industry 'of the Ma- honing Valley. And these are given that our young men may know the character of 'hard tack' the old gray-headed men had to feed upon who were the pioneers of the iron industry that has made Youngstown the thriving young city we see here to-day. "JESSE BALDWIN." MAHONING VALLEY - 121 PART II. OUTLINE HISTORY. PREPARED AND PRESENTED BY REV. H. B. ELDRED. MAHONING VALLEY lies near the eastern line of that vast area drained by the waters of the Mississippi and its tributaries, and northward reaches the southern border of the great basin of the lakes and the St. Lawrence. For the discovery of the former we are indebted to the Spanish, for that of the latter to the French. De Soto, two years after landing in Tampa Bay, Florida, in his hunt after gold, reached the banks of the Mississippi in the country of the Chickasaws, 1541. The next year the brave man found his grave in the waters of that mighty river which he had been the first to discover. "His soldiers," says Bancroft, " pronounced his eulogy by grieving for his loss. The priest chanted over his body the first requiem ever heard on the waters of the Mississippi. To conceal his death his body was wrapped in a mantle, and in the stillness of midnight was silently sunk in the middle of the stream. The wanderer had crossed a large part of the continent in search of gold, and found nothing so remarkable as his burial place." De Soto planted no colony and left no permanent marks of civilization in the country. His followers, six hundred volunteers, the flower of the Spanish chivalry, after losing more than half their number and enduring almost incredible hardships, left the country they had entered with such high expectations disappointed, discouraged and in disgust. So feeble were the impressions of this most wonderful discovery on the nations of Europe that more than one hundred and thirty years elapsed before Marquette and his company of explorers (1673) reached the upper waters of the Mississippi, on a line West from the Straits of Mackinaw, and explored the river several hundred miles south. His exploration made evident, to some extent, the greatness of the country and splendid opportnnity that was offered to the French of extending their colonies from Quebec on the north to the Mississippi westward, and south to the Gulf of Mexico. 122 - HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. As early as 1535, Jacques Cartier, a French navigator, entered the St. Lawrence, and explored that river as far as Montreal. Seventy years after Champlain cast anchor in the same stream, and devoted the remainder of his life, about thirty years, to the work of colonizing and Christianizing the country. In 1608, twelve years before the landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth, he founded Quebec, and three years after the colony of Montreal.. He established a college in Quebec, in which the children of the savages were trained in habits of civilization, and in the use of the French language. fie is said to have had a great zeal for the propagation of Christianity. His force of missionaries was increased to fifteen clergy with numerous lay brothers. From this time onward the growth and extension of the French colonies, missions, forts, and trading-posts, in this northern and western country was constant and rapid. A mission was founded on the shores of Lake Huron in 1634. Fur-traders from Montreal penetrated the western lakes in 1655, and carried on a lucrative traffic with the western tribes in peltries and furs. In 1679, La Salle, the commander of Fort Frontinac, on Lake Ontario, where the city of Kingston now stands, launched, on the Niagara River, the Griffin, a bark of about sixty tons, in which he embarked, with his colony, for the valley of the Mississippi. The previous discoveries of Joillet and Marquette on the Mississippi induced him to undertake the work of extending their explorations, and to seek the mouth of the Mississippi, with a view of forming French colonies in the south-west. He reached Green Bay by the way of Lake Erie, St. Clair, and the Straits of Mackinaw. Here he loaded his vessel with a rich cargo of furs and sent it back. From Green Bay he proceeded with his company in bark canoes nearly to the head of Lake Michigan, where he constructed a trading house and a fort, and waited in vain for the vessel whose immediate return was expected. With Hennepin, and two other Franciscans, and Tonty, and thirty followers, he ascended to St. Joseph, passed overland to the Kankakee, and down that river into the Illinois. "There, on the banks of Lake Peoria, suffering anxiety for the Griffin and discontent pervading his little company, fifteen hundred miles from the nearest French settlement, he built a fort which he named C4t;ecceur (heart-break)." After various misfortunes and delays, February 6, 1682, he had descended the Illinois to its junction with the Mississippi. "As he advanced south he noted the mouth of the Missouri, built a fort near the mouth of the Ohio, and a cabin on the first Chickasaw MAHONING VALLEY - 123 bluff, raised the cross by the Arkansas, planted the arms of France near the Gulf of Mexico, took possession in the name of France of the whole valley, and on April 9th, entered the Gulf of Mexico, founded Fort St. Louis, and gave to the adjacent lands the name of Louisiana." The population of the French settlements in North America, 1688, numbered twelve thousand souls, and were steadily increasing in numbers and strengthening their positions. De la Motte, founded Detroit 1701, and in the same year De Ibberrville established a colony on Mobile River, and a fort was built on Mobile Bay. New Orleans was begun in 1717, and Vincennes, 1735. In 1750, there were five French villages in Illinois. A short time after (1753), a chain of forts was built a little east of the east line of the Western Reserve, from Lake Erie, to the head-waters of the Ohio, namely : Fort Presque Isle, on the site of Erie Pennsylvania; Le Bceuf, on French Creek, on the site of Waterford Erie County, Pennsylvania; Venango, at the mouth of French Creek, on the Alleghany, on the site of Franklin, Venango County, Pennsylvania; and a little after, Duquesne (Pittsburg). The plan for the permanent occupancy of the country by the French was skillfully laid. The line of their forts and settlements swept around from the mouth of the St. Lawrence to the head-waters of the Ohio; along the lakes west to the Mississippi; and south to the Gulf of Mexico and Bay of Mobile. This country so vast, fertile, accessible, with a soil and climate so inviting and diversified, unoccupied except by a few scattered and wandering tribes of Indians, presented a most tempting prize to England and France, then the two leading and rival nations of Europe. But notwithstanding the purpose of the French to possess and control the country, elements had long been at work which were destined to snatch it from their grasp and greatly change the type of its civilization. The same year in which the French began their colonial system on this northern continent at Quebec, the English commenced theirs at Jamestown, Virginia ; and a little after the Pilgrims anded at Plymouth, Massachusetts, and the Dutch founded New Amterdam, at the mouth of the Hudson. At that time there seemed ittle danger that these French and English colonies so widely sepaSated could ever come into collision. But after a century and a half we find the Atlantic coast, from Maine to Georgia studded with flourishng English cities and settlements. They have grown with wonderul rapidity, already stretching westward, and planning to occupy he territory beyond the mountains. 124 - HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. The struggle of the French and English for the possesion of the North American continent, it has been very justly said, was the great event of the eighteenth century. This struggle began with the formation of the Ohio Land Company, 1748. This Company consisting of Thomas Lee and twelve others, among whom were Lawrence and Augustus, brothers of George Washington, petitioned the king for a grant of land beyond the mountains. This grant of half a million of acres was conditioned on their introducing into that section of the country, one hundred families within seven years, and building a fort for their protection. "The Company proceeded to fulfill these conditions. A road across the Alleghany mountains was opened, substantially on the line of the Cumberland road of later days; and an agent was sent to conciliate the Indians, who agreed that they would not molest the Virginia settlers south of the Ohio River. Under this arrangement twelve families, headed by Captain Gist, established themselves on the banks of the Monongahela. These movements were watched with jealousy by the French Canadian Government. Although the peace of Aix la Chapelle had just been concluded, emissaries were sent to the tribes north-west of the Ohio to pursuade them to break up the infant settlements of the Ohio Company. Some of Anglo-American traders, it is said, were seized and sent to France. "Both parties erected forts ; the Virginians in 1754 began one at the confluence of the Alleghany and Monongahela Rivers, Pittsbm, the Canadians on French Creek and Lake Erie the year previous. But hardly had these forts been built and occupied by the French, when Dinwiddie, Governor of Virginia, either for the purpose of protesting against these measures of the French or perhaps of obtaining authentic information of their character, determined to send a special messenger to the commandant of Le Boeuf." This perilous mission after having been declined by several was accepted by George Washington, then scarcely past his majority. He proceeded to the Gist settlement on the Monongahela, thence in company with Captain Gist he reached his destination; delivered his despatches and received the reply of the Commandant, M. de St. Pierre. "On their way back through the woods they were dogged by the Indians in the French interest ; one of whom joined them after their leaving Venango and offered his services as guide. He soon led them treacherously off their track, and attempted by all the arts of Indian cunning, but without success, to induce Washington to give up his gun. At nightfall, perceiving them to be worn out by MAHONING VALLEY - 125 the day's tramp in the woods, and calculating, no doubt, that they would be too weary to pursue him, he turned at the distance of fifteen paces, and fired upon Washington. He was immediately seized; and though Gist wished to take his life, Washington thought they would best consult their safety by sparing it. Accordingly they affected to consider the firing accidental; and releasing him at a late hour pursued their way, without halting for rest, and without a guide through the long December night." The return and report of Major Washington left no doubt in the mind of Governor Dinwiddie that all attempts to extend their settlements toward Ohio would be forcibly resisted by the Canadian Government. He accordingly without delay convened the Assembly, and recommended immediate preparation to meet the impending danger. Virginia voted to raise a regiment of six companies. One company under Captain Trent was sent forward immediately to take possession of the point at the junction of the Alleghany and Monongahela, which Washington had especially recommended as a suitable site for a fort. Washington received the appointment of Lieutenant-Colonel in this expedition; and soon the chief command devolved upon him in consequence of the death of Colonel Fry. "The instructions of Governor Dinwiddie to the commander of the regiment assumed the existence of a state of war ; and commanded . him to 'drive away, kill, and destroy,' or seize as prisoners, all persons not the subjects of the King of Great Britian who should attempt to settle or take possession of the lands on the Ohio River or any of its tributaries." Thus at the age twenty-two, and with no experience in the field, Washington was placed at the head of the force destined to strike the first blow in the great Seven Years' War, for the possession of this North American continent. The war was carried on with great bitterness between the contending parties. The whole line of English frontier settlements was exposed to savage barbarities, frightful massacres, and midnight burnings. It was signalized by many discouraging reverses as well as ultimate victory, and a complete attainment of their object on the part of the English and American. Hardly had Captain Trent begun building the fort on the spot pointed out by Washington when lie was fallen upon by a superior force of French and Indians and compelled to abandon the place and the work. It was completed by the French and named Duquesne, in honor of the Canadian Governor. Washington, who in the mean time had advanced as far as the Great Meadows, and built Fort Necessity, was also soon attacked by 126 - HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. an overwhelming force, and compelled to retreat over the mountains. Next year occurred the disastrous and humiliating defeat of Braddock. Various attacks on the French posts had failed, while some had been successful. But at length the long, fierce, bloody, and in many instances disastrous, struggle was brought to a close by the victory of De Wolf, on the plains of Abraham, 1759. Quebec, that stronghold of French rule, the key to all the French colonial possessions on this continent, fell into the hands of the English. By treaty of Paris, 1763, France ceded to Great Britain Canada, and the country south-west to the Gulf of Mexico. The English, however, held. the country only about twenty years, when, after the war of the Revolution, with the exception of Canada, it was ceded to the United States by a treaty of peace, signed at Paris, September 3, 1783, March 9, 10, 1804, Napoleon transferred Upper Louisiana to the United States. INDIAN TRIBES. CLAIMING AND OCCUPYING THE COUNTRY IN THE VICINITY OF THE LOWER LAKES AT OR NEAR THE TIME OF ITS DISCOVERY BY THE WHITES. PREPARED AND PRESENTED BY REV, H. B. ELDRED. CHAMPLAIN, the first resident Governor of New France, or Lower Canada, is the earliest authority respecting the Indian tribes that occupied the country bordering on the great lakes, about the time of its discovery by the French. He was in the country in his official capacity of Lieutenant-General, Lieutenant-Governor, and Governor, most of the time from 1603 to 1635. He early explored the St. Lawrence as far as Montreal, the Ottawa toward Lake Huron, and the sea-coast from the mouth of the St. Lawrence to Cape Cod, Mass. In 1615 he made an extensive exploration, ascending the Ottawa for some distance, then taking an easterly direction, partly over land and partly by canoe, till he arrived at the eastern shore of Lake Huron. Here he embarked and sailed to a southern point on the lake, then going over land to the western extremity of Lake Ontario, he explored the northern shore of that lake and the St. Lawrence as far as Lake Champlain. In 1608, the year of the settlement of Jamestown, Virginia, and twelve years before the landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth, Champlain founded Quebec, and, soon after, Montreal. He MAHONING VALLEY - 127 led the Northern Indians in several, expeditions against their enemies, the Iroquois, on the border of Lake Champlain, Wintered with them, and had their assistance in his exploring tours through the French colonies of Quebec and Montreal. He also had extensive business transactions with various tribes, and must have become acquainted with the location of many of them in the vicinity of the lakes. In 1603 he returned to France and published his book, entitled, " Des Sauvages.” According to Champlain the Algonquins or Ottawas occupied both shores of the Ottawa. The Hurons claimed the country between Lake Huron and Ontario. The Petuns between Lake Huron and Erie. On the south of Lake Ontario were the Five Nations, called by the French the Iroquois; namely, the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas. These dwelt along the streams and around the lakes which retain their names. They occupied the country east as far as the Hudson, and west as far as the Genesee, and, later, to Lake Erie and its southern shore to the Cuyahoga, claiming still farther west. At a later date the Tuscarawas, on the Muskingum and Scioto, were joined to this powerful confederacy, and they were afterward known as the Six Nations. At the east end of Lake Erie were the Eries, a powerful tribe of the same origin as the Five. Nations, and speaking nearly the same language. About the head-waters of the Alleghany were the Adantes. South of Lake Erie, within the limits of the State of Ohio, Champlain places the Neutral Nation, of which little is known. The Iroquois are represented to have been of a powerful physique, and in advance of the neighboring tribes in skill and intelligence. They had better huts, utensils, and weapons of warfare, and cultivated more maize. By these means they made longer and more successful expeditions against their enemies. Their confederacy made them by far the most powerful of the Northern Indian tribes. Their war parties are said to have reached north of Lake Ontario as far as Lake Superior. They well-nigh exterminated the Eries, and drove them and other tribes from the southern shore of Lake Erie as far as the Cuyahoga, making the country east of that river a sort of neutral ground, where straggling individuals of the Six Nations and hostile tribes west fished, and hunted game and one another, as their wishes and courage might dictate. 128 - HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. I shall close this brief account of the Indian tribes that once in. habited this and other portions of the lake country, and claimed it as theirs, with an extract, which gives the Indian version of the man. Der in which the Five Nations became owners of the country on the southern border of Lake Erie. The narrative is Indian traditionary history. DESTRUCTION OF THE ERIES. The Eries were the most powerful and warlike of all the Indian tribes. They resided at the foot of the great lake (Erie), where now stands the city of Buffalo, the Indian name for which was Tu-shu-way. When the Eries heard of the confederation which was formed between the Mohawks, who resided in the valley of that name, the Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas, who lived, for the most part, upon the shores and the outlets of the lakes bearing their names respectively (called by the French the Iroquois nation), they imagined it must be for some mischievous purpose. Although confident of their superiority over any one of the tribes inhabiting the countries within the bounds of their knowledge, they dreaded the power of such combined forces. In order to satisfy themselves in regard to the character, despotism, and power of those they considered their natural enemies, the Eries resorted to the following means : They sent a friendly message to the Senecas, who were their nearest neighbors, inviting them to select one hundred of their most active, athletic young men to play a game of ball against the same number, to be selected by the Eries, for a wager which should be considered worthy the occasion and the character of the great nation in whose behalf the offer was made. The message was received and entertained in the most respectful manner. A council of the "Five Nations" was called, and the proposition fully discussed, and a messenger in due time dispatched with the decision of the council, respectfully declining the challenge. This emboldened the Eries, and the next year the offer was renewed, and, after being again considered, again formally declined. This was far from satisfying the proud lords of the great lake, and the challenge was renewed the third time. The blood of the young Iroquois could no longer be restrained. They importuned the old men to allow them to accept the challenge. The wise counsels, which had hitherto prevailed, at last gave way, and the challenge was accepted. MAHONING VALLEY - 129 Nothing could exceed the enthusiasm with which each tribe sent forth its chosen champions for the contest. The only difficulty seemed to be to make a selection where all were so worthy. After much delay one hundred of the flower of all the tribes were finally designated, and the day of their departure was fixed. An experienced chief was chosen as• leader of the party, whose orders the young men were strictly enjoined to obey. A grand council was called, and in the presence of the assembled multitude the party was charged in the most solemn manner to observe a pacific course of conduct toward their competitors and the nation whose guest they were to become, and to allow no provocation, however great, to be resented by any act of aggression on their part, but in all respects cquit themselves worthy the representatives of a great and powerful people, anxious to cultivate peace and friendship with their neighbors. Under these solemn injunctions the party took up its line of march for Tu-shu-way. When the chosen band had arrived in the vicinity of the point of their destination, a messenger was sent forward to notify the Eries of their arrival, and the next day was set apart for their grand entree. The elegant and athletic forms; the tasteful, yet not cumbrous, dress; the. dignified, noble bearing of the chief, and, more than all, the modest demeanor of the young warriors of the Iroquois party, won the admiration of all beholders. They brought no arms; each one bore a bat, used to throw or strike a ball, tastefully ornamented, being a hickory stick about five feet long, bent over at the end, and a thong netting wove into the bow. After a day of repose and refreshment, all things were arranged for the contest. The chief of the Iroquois brought forward and deposited upon the ground a large pile of elegantly wrought belts of wampum, costly jewels, silver bands, beautifully ornamented moccasins, and other articles of great value in the eyes of the sons of the forest, as the stake or wager on the part of his people. These were carefully matched by the Eries by articles of equal value, article by article tied together and again deposited on the pile.   The game began, and, although contested with desperation and great skill Eries, was won by the Iroquois, and they bore off prize in triumph. iisumph. Thus ended the first day. The Iroquois having now accomplished the object of their visit, Proposed to take their leave/ but the chief of the Eries addressing himself to their leaders, said their young men, though fairly beaten in the game of ball, would not be satisfied unless they could have a foot- 130 - HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS race, and proposed to match ten of their number against an equal number of the Iroquois party, which was assented to, and the Iro, quois were again victorious. The "Kank-was," who resided on the Eighteen-mile Creek, being present as the friends and allies of the Eries, now invited the quois party to visit them before they returned home, and thither the whole party repaired. The chief of the Eries, as a last trial of the courage and prowess of his guests, proposed to select ten men, to be matched by an equal number of the Iroquois party, to wrestle, and that the victor should dispatch his adversary on the spot by braining him with a tomahawk and bearing off his scalp as a trophy. This sanguinary proposition was not at all pleasing to the Iroquois; they, however, concluded to accept the challenge, with a determination, should they be victorious, not to execute the bloody part of the proposition. The champions were, accordingly, chosen. A Seneca was the first to step into the ring, and threw his adversary, amid the shouts of the multitude. He stepped back and declined to execute his victim, who lay passive at his feet. As quick as thought the chief of the Eries seized the tomahawk, and, at a single blow, scattered the brains of his vanquished warrior over the ground. His body was dragged away, and another champion of the Eries presented himself. He was as quickly thrown by his more powerful antagonist of the Iroquois party, and as quickly dispatched by the infuriated chief. A third met the same fate. The chief of the Iroquois party, seeing the terrible excitement which agitated the multitude, gave a signal to retreat. Every man obeyed the signal, and in an instant they were out of sight. In two hours they arrived at Tu-shu-way, gathered up the trophies of their victories, and were on the way home. This visit of the hundred warriors of the Five Nations and its results only served to increase the jealousy of the Eries and to convince them that they had powerful rivals to contend with. It was no Part of their policy to cultivate friendship and strengthen their own power by cultivating peace with other tribes. They knew no mode of securing peace to themselves but by exterminating all who might oppose them. But the combination of several powerful tribes, any of whom might be almost an equal match for them, and of whose personal prowess they had seen such an exhibition, inspired the Eries with the most anxious forebodings. To cope with them collectively they saw was impossible. Their only hope, therefore, was in being able, by a vigorous and sudden movement, to destroy them in detail. MAHONING VALLEY - 131 With this view a powerful party was immediately organized to attack the Senecas, who resided at the foot of Seneca Lake (the present site of Geneva) and along the banks of Seneca River. It happened that at this period there resided among the Eries a Seneca woman, who, in early life, had been taken prisoner and had married a husband of the Erie tribe. He died, and left her a widow without children, a stranger among strangers. Hearing the terrible note of preparation for a bloody onslaught upon her kindred and friends, she formed the resolution of apprising them of their danger. As soon as night set in, taking the course of the Niagara River, she traveled all night, and early next morning reached the shore of Lake Ontario. She jumped into a canoe,. which she found fastened to a tree, and boldly pushed into the open lake, Coasting down the lake, she arrived at the mouth of the Oswego River in the night, where a large settlement of the nation resided. She directed her steps to the house of the head chief and disclosed the object of her journey. She was secreted by the chief, and runners were dispatched to all the tribes, summoning them immediately to meet in council, which was held in Onondaga Hollow. When all were convened the chief arose, and, in the most solemn manner, rehearsed a vision, in which he said a beautiful bird appeared to him and told him that a great war party of the Eries was preparing to make a secret and sudden descent upon them and destroy them, that nothing could save them but an immediate rally of all the warriors of the Five Nations, to meet the enemy before they should be able to strike the blow. These solemn announcements were heard in breathless silence. When the chief had finished and sat down, there arose one immense yell of menacing madness. The earth shook when the mighty mass brandished high in the air their war clubs, and stamped the ground like furious beasts. No time was to be lost. A body of five thousand warriors was organized, and a corps of reserve, consisting of one thousand young tribes were put in command, and spies immediately sent out in search omfetni,me who had never been in battle. The bravest chiefs of all the enemy, the whole body taking up a line of march in the direction from whence they expected the attack. The advance of the war party was continued several days, passing through successively the settlements of their friends, the Onondagas, the Cayugas; and the Senecas; but they had scarcely passed the last wlgIvam, near the fort of Ca-an-du-gua (Canandaigua) Lake, when the Scouts brought in intelligence of the advance of the Eries, who had 132 - HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. already crossed the Ce-nis-se-a (Genesee) River in great force. The Eries had not the slightest intimation of the approach of their ene_ mies. They relied on the secrecy and celerity of their movements to surprise and subdue the Senecas almost without resistance. The two parties met at a point about half-way between the foot of Canandaigua Lake and the Genesee River; and near the outlet of two small lakes, near the foot of one of which (Iloneoye) the battle was fought. When the two parties came in sight of each other the outlet of the lake only intervened between them. The entire force of the fire confederate tribes was not in view of the Eries. The reserve corps of one thousand young men had not been allowed to advance in sight of the enemy. Nothing could resist the impetuosity of the Eries at the first sight of an opposing force on the other side of the stream. They rushed through it and fell upon them with tremendous fury. The undaunted courage and determined bravery of the Iroquois could not avail against such a terrible onslaught, and they were compelled to yield the ground on the bank of the stream. The whole force of the combined tribes, except the corps of reserve, now became engaged. They fought hand to hand and foot to foot. The battle raged horribly. No quarter was asked or given on either side. As the fight thickened and became more desperate, the Eries, for the first time, became sensible of their true situation. What they had long anticipated had become a fearful reality. Their enemies had combined for their destruction, and they now found themselves engaged, suddenly and unexpectedly, in a struggle not only involving the glory, but perhaps the very existence of their nation. They were proud, and had hitherto been victorious over all their enemies. Their superiority was felt and acknowledged by all the tribes. They knew how to conquer, but not to yield. All these considerations flashed upon the minds of the bold Eries, and nerved every arm with almost superhuman power. On the other hand the united forces of the weaker tribes, now made strong by union, fired with a spirit of emulation, excited to the highest pitch among the warriors of the different tribes, brought for the first time to act in concert, inspired with zeal and confidence by the counsels of the wisest chiefs, and led by the most experienced warriors of all the tribes, the Iroquois were invincible. Though staggered by the first desperate rush of their opponents, they rallied at once and stood their ground. And now the din of battle rises higher, the war club, the tomahawk, the scalping-knife, wielded by Herculean hands, do terrible deeds of death. During the MAHONING VALLEY - 133 hottest of the battle, which was fierce and long, the corps of reserve, consisting of one thousand young men, were, by a skillful movement under their experienced chief, placed in the rear of the Eries on the opposite side of the stream in ambush. The Eries had been driven seven times across the stream, and had as often regained their ground ; but, the eighth time, at a given signal from their chief, the corps of young warriors in ambush rushed upon the almost exhausted Eries with a tremendous yell, and at once decided the fortunes of the day. Hundreds, disdaining to fly, were struck down by the war clubs of the vigorous young warriors, whose thirst for the blood of the enemy knew no bounds. A few of the vanquished Eries escaped to carry the news of the terrible overthrow to their wives and children and their old men that remained at home. But the victors did not allow them a moment's repose, but pursued them in their flight, killing, without discrimination, all who fell into their hands. The pursuit was continued for many weeks, and it was five months before the victorious party of the Five Nations returned to their friends to join in celebrating the victory over their last and most powerful enemy, the Eries. Tradition adds that many years after a powerful war party of the descendants of the Eries came from beyond the Mississippi, ascended the Ohio, crossed the country, and attacked the Senecas, who had settled in the seat of their fathers at Tu-shu-way. A great battle was fought near the site of the Indian Mission House, in which the Eries were again defeated and slain to a man. Their bones lie bleaching in the sun to the present day—a monument at once of the indom- iteanbelecacsourage of the terrible Eries, and of their brave conquerors, the Senecas. The above is from the Buffalo Commercial, of July, 1845, whose editor remarks: "Its accuracy may be implicitly relied upon—every detail having been taken from the lips of Blacksnake and other venerable chiefs of the Senecas and Tonawandas, who still cherish the traditions of the fathers. Near the Mission House, on the reservation adjoining the City, can be seen a small mound, evidently artificial, that is said to contain the remains of the unfortunate Eries, slain in their last great battle. The Indians hereabouts believe that a small remnant of the -P•ries still exist beyond the Mississippi. The small tribe, known as the Quapaws, in that region, are also believed to be the remains of the Bank-was, the allies of the Eries." 134 - HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. INDIAN TITLES EXTINGUISHED. PRESENTED BY JOSEPH PERKINS, ESQ. THE Indian title to this territory as claimed by the six nations was first sought to be extinguished by the United States by the treaty of Fort Stanwix (Rome, New York). This treaty was concluded October 22, 1784, by Oliver Wolcott, Richard Butler, and Arthur Lee, Commissioners Plenipotentiary, on the part of the United States, and the Sachems and warriors of the Mohawks, Onondagas, Senecas, Oneidas, Cayugas, and Tuscurawas, on the part of the "Six Nations." By it all the title of these tribes to the land lying west of the west line of the State of Pennsylvania, and to a strip of land on the Western border of New York, was released to the United States. (Laws of the United States, Vol. I, p. 307.) This session was afterward confirmed by a treaty with the Six Nations (excepting the .Mohawks who were not represented), at Fort Harmar (now Harmar, Ohio), January 9, 1789, by Arthur St. Clair, Esq., Governor, etc., and Commissioner Plenipotentiary on the part of the United States, and "the Sachems and warriors of the Six Nations." This treaty, in consideration of peace and goods to the value of three thousand dollars, delivered to the representatives of the Six Nations (except the Mohawks, who were not in attendance), simply confirmed the boundary line established by the treaty of Fort Stanwix. (Laws of the United States, Vol. I, p. 309.) Notwithstanding these treaties with the Six Nations, when the agents of the Connecticut Land Company attempted to take possession of their lands, they experienced embarrassment from fear of those Indians. General Moses Cleveland, therefore, held a treaty with the representatives of the Mohawks, at Buffalo, in the Fall of 1796, and made a contract or treaty with Joseph Brant, Esq., on the part of the Indians, by which, for a stipulated sum of money and presents, the friendship of that tribe was obtained ; and the Company secured from molestation by them. No commissioner of the United States was present, and the Government was not therefore a party to the treaty. The Mohawks, at this time, lived upon the Grand River, in Upper Canada. The treaty was confirmed by the Company at their annual meeting in the following Winter. (Draft-book in Trumbull County MAHONING VALLEY - 135 Records, P. 97.) The Company, by presents and "talk," conciliated and satisfied the other Six Nations. The first attempt of the United States Government to extinguish the Indian title to the eastern portion of the Reserve, as claimed by Western Indians, was by the treaty of Fort M'Intosh (now Beaver), dated January 21, 1785. By this treaty, the Commissioners Plenipotentiary, Governor Clark, Richard Butler, and Authur Lee, of the United States, and the sachems and warriors of the Wyandot, Delaware, Chippewa, and Ottawa Nations, agreed that "the boundary line of the United States and the Wyandot and Delaware Nations shall begin at the mouth of the river Cuyahoga, and run thence up said river to the Portage, between that and the Tuscarawas branch of the Muskingum; then down the said branch to the forks, at the crossing place above Fort Lawrence; then easterly to the portage of the Big Miami, which runs into the Ohio, at the mouth of which branch the fort stood, which was taken by the French, in 1752 ; then along said portage to the Great Miami or Once River, and down the south-east side of the same to its mouth ; thence along the south shore of Lake Erie to the mouth of the Cuyahoga, where it began." With a few reservations, the United States allotted all the lands contained within these lines to the Wyandot and Delaware Nations, to live and hunt on, and to such of the Ottawa Nation as then lived thereon. (Laws of the United States, Vol. I, p. 391.) The boundary established by the treaty of Fort M'Intosh, was, with some explanations, confirmed and renewed by a treaty made at Fort Harmar, in January, 1789, in the same council at which the last treaty with the Six Nations was concluded, between Arthur St. Clair, Governor, etc., and Commissioner Plenipotentiary of the United States on the one part, and the sachems and warriors of the Wyandot, Delaware2 Ottawa, Chippewa, Pattawatitna, and Sac Nations, on the other part. (Laws of the United States, Vol. I, p. 393.) The treaty of Fort Hart-liar, however, accomplished but little toward the pacification of the North-western Indians, and did not permanently satisfy the Six Nations. The British still retained possession of Detroit and several posts of lesser importance south of the boundary line established by Jay's treaty of 1783. They had long established and extensive trading connections with the Indians, and Possessed, through their traders and agents, immense influence over them along our northern border. All this influence was exerted to retard and prevent pacific treaties with those Indians by the United States. Besides, the North-western Indians complained of the treaty 136 - HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. of Marietta (Fort Harmar), denied its being made by their chiefs, alleging it to have been made by their young men, who had no power to act; that the Six Nations had seduced several of their young men to attend that treaty without the authority of their tribes ; that they had gone clandestinely, that their tribes had received no part of the presents or compensation given at that treaty. In order to effect a reconciliation with these Indians a French. men (M. Garniline) was dispatched, in the Spring of 1790, from Fort Knox, with speeches from Governor St. Clair, inviting them to enter into a treaty of peace with the United States, and especially to confirm the treaty of Marietta. .M. Garniline visited the principal Indian towns on the waters of the Wabash and Maumee (called frequently the Miami of the lakes), where he met the Piankishaws, Miamies, Shawanies, Kickapoos, Ottawas, and Delawares. They all received him with kindness, but refused to take the wampum sent by the Governor ; but desired to refer the matter to their father at Detroit (the British commander at that post). This was declined by M. Garniline. Blue Jacket (a Sha.wnee chief) told him at a private interview, that his nation was in doubt of the sincerity of the " Big Knives," having been already deceived by them.. He said they had first taken their lands, then put out their fires, and sent away their young men to hunt without a mouthful of meat; and that they had also taken away their women. "Many of us," said he, "can not forget those injuries or think of them without pain." He further said, " that some of the tribes were afraid the offers of peace were deceptive, that they might take away all their lands and serve them at last as they had done before." He alleged that the new settlements on the Ohio proved that the whites intended to encroach on them, and that if they did not keep the north side of the river clear there could be no proper reconciliation with several of the tribes. Finding no favorable impressions could be made on their minds, M. Garniline returned and reported accordingly. After this failure to conciliate the North-western Indians, Congress determined to intimidate or subdue them. Then followed the campaign of Harmar's ill-appointed and undisciplined troops; although they destroyed the Indian villages on the Miami, and a large amount of corn and property, and a great number of fruit-trees belonging to the Indians, still the expedition received the repulsive name of " Harmar's defeat" on the Miami. This expedition was followed by vigorous efforts on the part of the savages to harass and break up the American settlements, in which MAHONING VALLEY - 137 they must have been successful but for the total destruction of their property and provisions just at the approach of Winter. In the following Spring and Summer, "1791," minor but successful expeditions, one under command of General Charles Scott, and the other, consisting of mounted volunteers, commanded by Colonel Wilkinson, were made against the Wabash Indians, while the War Department was engaged in raising the army of three thousand men ordered by Congress, of which Governor St. Clair had been appointed commander, with the rank of Major-General. But " St. Clair's de- feat," which took place on the 4th of November of that year (1791), put a melancholy end to the expedition. In the course of the next season (1792), another attempt was made to negotiate a treaty with the Indians for the purpose of effecting a general peace. But Colonel Hardin and Major Truman, who went on this embassy, with a flag from Fort Washington, were both barbarously murdered. The campaigns of Harmar and St. Clair, and the intermediate expeditions of Scott and Wilkinson, inflamed the rage and malice of the savages to the highest pitch, and prompted them to fill the country with marauding parties, whose depredations and cruelties were most distressing. Such being the state of affairs on the frontier, President Washing. ton selected General Anthony Wayne, of Revolutionary memory, to take command of the army, and for that purpose in April, 1792, he was appointed a Major-General. Being aware that the principal cause of the failure of the campaign under his old associates in arms, Harmar and St. Clair, lay in their being ordered to advance prematurely into the Indian country, he accepted the appointment with an express condition, that he should not be required to march into the wildernsteiss until the army was full and so far disciplined as to justify him in assuming the responsibility of such a movement. In the Spring following (1793), the arrangement for the campaign still going forward, and before much progress had been made, a Board of Commissioners, consisting of Benjamin Lincoln, Beverly Randolph, and Timothy Pickering, was appointed by the President, and vested with ample powers to negotiate a treaty of peace and boundaries with the North-western Indians. The Commissioners received their instructions in April, 1793. They were to obtain a Confirmation of the treaty of Fort Harmar, in 1789, especially as to the boundaries established by that treaty, to secure the pre-emption right of the Indian country to the United States, against all foreign 138 - HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. nations and individuals, and in exchange offer to the Indians the guarantee of the United States of the right of soil to all the remaining lands in that quarter, the relinquishment of the trading and military posts, which had been established within the boundaries named in the treaty, and in addition offer to them the payment of fifty thousand dollars in hand, and an annuity of ten thousand dollars forever. Great hopes were entertained that the negotiation of this able commission would secure a permanent peace. The Commissioners proceeded without delay to Niagara, by Albany and Oswego. They there held a talk with Captain Brant and about fifty Indians; a deputation from the Indians assembled at the rapids of the Miami, where they represented that they left the principal men of the five nations, Wyandots, Shawnees, Delawares, Munsees, Miarnies, Ottawas, Chippewas, Potawatamees, A.lingoes, Cherokees, and Nantikokees. The propositions for a treaty were favorably received by the deputation, and after the council fire was raked up, the Commissioners proceeded to the mouth of the Detroit River to receive the answer of the Indians. In the mean time, the Commissioners wrote to the Secretary of War advising him of the favorable aspect of their affairs, and requested that fresh orders might be sent to General Wayne, not only to abstain from all hostilities, but to remain quiet in his post, as indispensable to the success of their treaty. The Commissioners reached their destination in safety, and there held a succession of " talks " with a number of Indian deputations, but without coming to a successful termination. In reply to the several talks of the Commissioners the Indians insisted upon the first treaty of Fort Stanwix, made by Sir William Johnston, in 1768, which made the Ohio River the boundary. And that all subsequent treaties were unjustly obtained and invalid; that if the United States seriously wished to make a firm and lasting peace they would immediately remove all their people from the upper side of the river which the Indians claimed as their own. In regard to the large sums of money and the annuity which the Commissioners offered them, the Indians remarked that to them the money was of no value, and to most of them unknown, and no consideration would induce them to sell their lands on which they depended for subsistence for their women and children. As to the settlers on their lands presuming they were poor, from the fact that they had ventured to live in a country which had been in constant trouble MAHONING VALLEY - 139 since crossing the Ohio, they proposed to divide the large sum of looney which had been offered to the Indians, and also the promised annuity .among them ; they said, further, if the United States would give to those settlers the large sum which must be expended in raising and paying the armies to drive the Indians from their country, they certainly would have more than sufficient to repay them for their labor and improvements. We maintain (said the Indians) that the King of England never did and that he never had any right to give you our country, by treaty of peace as you represent. They affirmed that their only demand was the peaceable possession of the small part of their once great country which remained to them. They alleged that they could retreat no further, because the country behind barely afforded food for its present inhabitants, that they had therefore resolved to leave their bones in the small space to which they were then confined. The Commissioners finally were obliged to declare the tedious negotiations at an end. They were continued nearly three months, and were conducted on the part of the United States Commissioners with great prudence and talent, and but for the influence steadily and successfully exerted on the minds of the savages by the agents of the British Government, the Commissioners were of the opinion that a treaty might have been concluded satisfactory to both parties. The Commissioners immediately informed General Wayne, as well as the Department at Washington, of the unsuccessful termination of their negotiations, and he immediately renewed preparations for his brilliant and successful campaign. The General, after advancing as far as Fort Defiance; again renewed offers for a treaty of peace, but they were disregarded. No alternative now appeared left to General Wayne, that offered hope of a permanent peace and a confirmation of the treaty of Fort Harmar, but to advance with his "legion" and subdue the Indians, who were collected in great force around the rapids of the Maumee, and were supplied, if not openly assisted, by the British Army. The victory of General Wayne and his gallant " legion " on the 20th of August, 1794, and the destruction of Indian property which followed, completely subdued the Indians; and the treaty which followed gave Permanent peace to our north-western border, and undoubtedly operated powerfully to hasten the delivery of the posts held by the British within the boundary of the United States. It was not, however, until the Spring following the memorable 140 - HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. victory of General Wayne, that the Indians commenced coming into the grand council, which ended in Wayne's famous treaty. The coup. cil fire was kindled on the 16th of June, 1796, and the calumet of peace smoked with a deputation from a number of the tribes. The fire was raked up and kindled again from day to clay, to receive and congratulate other deputations as they came in "by the great war chief of the Fifteen Fires." The various deputations, however, came in very slow, and the definite object of the council was not finally broached until the 27th of July, and the talk was not concluded and the treaty signed, until the 3d of August. All the concessions desired by the United States were secured by this treaty. The chief of the Fifteen Fires was for the first time addressed as "father," and regarded as the protector of the Indians. And the General, in the name of " the President, and the Great Fifteen Fires of America," adopted them all as "children," and received them under the protecting wing of her eagle. The sole right to purchase all of the remaining lands of the Indians was also secured to the United States. This important treaty was signed at Greenville (now in Darke County, Ohio), the headquarters of the array, by Anthony Wayne, Major-General, etc., sole Commissioner, etc., on the part of the United States, and the sachems, chiefs, and warriors, of the tribes of Indians called Wyandots, Delawares, Shawanees, Ottawas, Chippewas, Pottawatomies, Miamies, Eel Rivers, Was, Kickapoos, Piankeshaws, and Kaskaskias. The general boundary line between the lands of the United States and the lands of said Indian tribes was agreed upon. The line to begin at the mouth of Cuyahoga River, and run thence up the same to the portage, between that and the Tuscarawas branch of the Muskingum; thence down that branch to the crossing place above Fort Lawrence; thence westerly to a fork of that branch of the Great Miami River running into the Ohio, at or near which fork stood Loromie's store, and where commences the portage between the Miami of the Ohio and St. Mary's River, which is a branch of the Miami which runs into Lake Erie; thence a westerly course to Fort Recovery, which stands on a branch of the Wabash ; thence southwesterly in a direct line to the Ohio, so as to intersect that river opposite the mouth of Kentucky or Cuttawa River. (Laws of the United States, Vol. I, p. 398.) By this treaty lasting peace was secured to our north'-western MAHONING VALLEY - 141 border, and the Indian title to that portion of the Reserve lying east of the Cuyahoga was permanently extinguished. Over one thousand Indians were in attendance at the council. The Indian title to that portion of the Reserve which lies west of the Cuyahoga River and portage path, etc., was not extinguished until the treaty held at Fort Industry, on the Miami of the Lake (Maumee), on the Fourth of July, A. D. 1805. This treaty was made by Charles Jouett, Esq., Commissioner on the part of the United States, and the sachems, chiefs, and warriors, of the Wyandot, Ottawa, Chippewa, Munsee, and Delaware, Shawanee, and Pottawatoma Nations. According to the terms of this treaty the boundary line between the United States and the Nations aforesaid shall in future be a meridian line drawn north and south through a boundary to be erected on the south shore of Lake Erie, one hundred and twenty (120) miles due west of the west line of the State of Pennsylvania, extending north until it intersects the boundary line of the United States, and extending south until it intersects a line heretofore established by the treaty of Greenville. In consideration of the cession of land made by the treaty, the United States agreed to pay to the Wyandot, Munsee, and Delaware Nations, and those of the Shawanee and Senneca Nations, who reside with the Wyandots, annually the sum of eight hundred and twenty-five dollars ($825). To be paid at Detroit, or some convenient place for the Indians. Also a further sum which was secured to the President in trust for said nations, by the Connecticut Land Company, and by the company incorporated by the name of "The Proprietors of the Half-million Acres of land lying south of Lake Erie, called Sufferer's Land," to be paid annually, amounting to one hundred and seventy-five dollars, making, in the whole, an annuity of one thousand dollars, current money of the United States. The Ottawa and Chippewa Nations, and such of the Pottawatoma Nation as reside on the River Huron, of Lake Erie and neighborhood, acknowledge the receipt from the Connecticut Land Company, and the Proprietors of the Half-million Acres, etc., called Sufferer's Land, of the sum of four thousand dollars ($4,000) in hand, and it was also ageed that the same companies had secured to the President, in trust for them, the further sum of twelve thousand dollars ($12,000), payable in six annual installments of two thousand dollars ($2,000) each. The above-mentioned sum of four and twelve thousand dollars, amounting to the sum of sixteen thousand dollars, with the addition of the sum of two thousand nine hundred and six- 142 - HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. teen dollars and sixty-seven cents, which was secured tb the Presi.. dent, to raise said sum of one hundred and seventy-five dollars an_ nually as aforesaid, was the amount of the consideration paid by the agent of the Connecticut, W. Reserve, and the Proprietors of the Sufferer's Land, for the cession of that part of the Reserve lying west of the Cuyahoga River, etc., amounting in all to eighteen thousand nine hundred and sixteen dollars and sixty-seven cents. The amount which each company was to contribute of the fund which was secured to the Indians by the treaty of Fort Industry, and the relative proportion going to each tribe, was agreed upon and settled in a separate treaty of the same date, between the companies and the Indians, but is not published. (Laws of the United States, Vol. I, p. 409.) The British posts, including Fort Miami (at the rapids of the Miami of the lakes Maumee), Detroit, and the military works on the island of Mackinaw, were not surrendered, in pursuance of the treaty negotiated by Chief-Justice Jay, in 1793, until early in 1796. And this was the final and practical settlement of the northern line of the United States in the neighborhood of the Connecticut Western Reserve. CONNECTICUT LAND COMPANY. A PARTIAL SKETCH OF THE HISTORY OF THE ORIGINAL TITLES OF THE LAVS IN THAT PART OF THE STATE OF OHIO COMMONLY CALLED THE CONNECTICUT WESTERN RESERVE. BY THOMAS D. WEBB. PRESENTED BY JOSEPH PERKINS, ESQ., OF CLEVELAND. IN consequence of the discovery of the peculiar property of the magnetic to point to the north, the people of Europe in the fifteenth century were seized with a spirit of adventure to discover new and unknown land—to find a passage to the Indies by water. All approach was had before that time to that country across the vast desert of Asia, or by the way of the Isthmus of Suez and the Red Sea. The Portuguese took the lead in these enterprises. While they were engaged in attempting to discover a route by sailing to the east, Columbus, an Italian, proposed to the King of Portugal to make the attempt to reach India by sailing west. This great and fearless man believed, with Pythagoras, of Ancient Greece, that the world was a globe, and that Asia could be reached by sailing west. Defeated in his application for assistance at the MAHONING VALLEY - 143 court of Portugal, he made application to the sovereigns of Spain (for there were then two, Ferdinand and Isabella, who, although husband and, wife, governed distinct portions of that country) for help. In his application to them he was more successful. They fitted out a small fleet, in which he sailed, and, in the year fourteen hundred and ninety- two, he discovered several of the islands of the West Indies. This discovery aroused a spirit of adventure in all the maritime nations of the year fourteen hundred and ninety-seven, Sebastian Cabot, also an Italian, under the auspices and patronage of King Henry the VII, of England, discovered Newfoundland and other parts of North America. This is the foundation of the English claim to this vast continent. Various grants were made at different times by the different sovereigns of England. Those grants, in consequence of the ignorance of the geography of the country, were so made as to conflict with each other. On the twenty-ninth day of May, one thousand six hundred and nine, King James, of England, granted a charter to Virginia, an extract from which is as follows : "And we do also, of our special grace, etc., give, etc., unto the said Treasurer and Company (` the treasurer and Company of adventurers and planters, of the city of London, for the first colony in Virginia') all those. lands, countries, and territories situate, lying, and being in that part of America called Virginia, from the point of land called Cape or Point Comfort all along to the sea west, to the northward two hundred miles, and from the said point of Cape all along the sea-coast to the southward two hundred miles, and all that space and circuit of land lying, from the sea-coast of the precinct aforesaid, up into the land throughout, from sea to sea, west and north-west, and also all the islands lying within one hundred miles along the coast of both seas of the precinct aforesaid." This colony was contracted afterward by various grants which conflicted with it. It will be seen that by the extension of this grant to the northwest that it spread over almost all Pennsylvania, the whole of the State of Ohio, and, in fact, almost the one-half of the North American continent. The kings of England, at different times, granted to various persons some part of the present territory of Connecticut; but, for our present purpose, it is not necessary to mention them, for, either by right or by wrong, they were submerged and swallowed up by a charter granted by King Charles the II, on the twenty-third day of April, A. D., one thousand six hundred and sixty-two. "And know ye further that we, of our abundant grace, certain knowledge and mere mention have given, granted, and confirmed, and 144 - HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. by these presents, for us, our heirs, and successors, do grant and eon_ firm unto the said Governor and Company and their successors all that part of our dominion in New England, in America, bounded on the east by Narraganset River, commonly called Narragansett Bay, where the said river falleth into the sea, and on the north by the line of the Massachusetts plantation, and on the south by the sea, and in longitude as the line of the Massachusetts colony, running from east to west ; that is to say, from the said Narraganset Bay, on the east, to the South Sea, on the west part, with the islands thereto adjoining, etc.". This charter is indefinite, but it is by virtue of it that the State of Connecticut has claimed and held that part of the present State of Ohio called the Connecticut Western Reserve. This charter evidently conflicted with the Virginia charter ; it also covers a considerable part of the present State of New York, New Jersey, and nearly one-half of Pennsylvania. Charles the II granted a tract of country to James, Duke of York, which is in the Connecticut patent, and which is now a part of the States of New York and New Jersey. James, Duke of York, when he became King of England, did as King James the II—granted to William Penn a tract of country, which is now the State of Pennsylvania. This grant conflicted with both the charters of Connecticut and Virginia. New York and Connecticut settled their dispute about boundaries by an agreement in sixteen hundred and eighty-three, but not finally ratified until seventeen hundred and thirty-three. -With New Jersey there was never any altercation, as the interference was small and the country was a wilderness, until after the settlement with New York, which virtually disposed of the difficulty with New Jersey. But with the colony and State of Pennsylvania there was a serious dispute, in which blood was spilled and lives lost. The colony, and afterward the State, of Connecticut, claimed almost the one-half of that State—all that part of it that lies within the same parallel of latitude as Connecticut. The colony of Connecticut sold to certain individuals seventeen townships, situated on and near the Susquehanna River, organized a civil township, called it Westmoreland, attached it to the probate district and County of Litchfield, in Connecticut. Representatives from that town sat in the Legislature of Connecticut at different times before the Revolution. Pennsylvania protested against this settlement as an intrusion upon her before the Revolutionary contest came on. Both parties sent their agents to England; but the war came on, MAHONING VALLEY - 145 which cut off all further appeals to England, and the two States had, no time to contend with each other until after the peace with England. Soon after the war Pennsylvania sent an armed force to drive the Connecticut settlers from their lands. The two parties met and and some were killed. A number of the Connecticut settlers were out in confinement, but ultimately were discharged upon terms of compromise. By the Original By ginal articles of confederation, entered into during the Revolutionary War by the States, it was provided that if any dispute “should arise between two or more States concerning boundary, jurisdiction, or any other cause whatever," that a court should be organized by Congress in a manner pointed out in the articles of confederation, to hear and finally determine the controversy between the States of Connecticut and Pennsylvania. A court was organized by Congress, and ordered to be held at Trenton, New Jersey. This court sat at Trenton in the year seventeen hundred and eighty-seven, when the cause was tried, and decided against the State of Connecticut. But, although a decision was had against the validity of her claim to the territory covered by the patent of the King of England to William Penn, she still insisted on her right to all the territory west of the west line of Pennsylvania, as claimed by Pennsylvania, and not previously by her released to the United States collectively. One great objection to the articles of confederation, and, indeed, at the time almost the only great objection, was, that there was no provision for the release of the claim of several of the States of the Western lands. It was contended by some of the States that the vast territory, then unoccupied, west of the Alleghanies, were crown lands, and belonged to the crown of Great Britain in its potential capacity ; and that, when these lands were wrested from the British nation by the united arms and exertions of all the States, that they were acquired for the common benefit of all, and should be appropriated for the common interest. This objection delayed the signing of the articles of confederation for some time, and Maryland did not agree to the confederacy until the first day of March, seventeen hundred and eighty-one. Maryland had instructed her delegates not to agree to the confederation until matters respecting the Western lands should be settled on principles of equity and sound policy; but, finding that enemies of the country took advantage of the circumstance to spread ̊Pinions of an ultimate dissolution of the Union1 the Legislature of the State authorized her delegates to subscribe and ratify the articles. 146 - HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. This controversy about the Western lands for a time darkened the prosperity of the American Union. In those circumstances Congress appealed to those States who had set up claims to the Western territory to remove the danger by cession for the common benefit. New York first listened to these appeals. Early in the year seventeen hundred and eighty she authorized her delegates in Congress to restrict her western borders by such limits as they thought proper, with one condition ; namely, that the territory ceded should be appropriated for the common benefit of those States which should become members of the confederacy. This act of New York induced Congress to again appeal to the patriotism of the remaining claimants. In October, seventeen hundred and eighty, Congress passed a resolution containing a pledge that the lands ceded, in pursuance of its recommendations, should be disposed of for the common benefit of the United States; be settled and formed into distinct States, with a suitable extent of territory, and become members of the Federal Union, with the same rights of sovereignty, freedom, and independence as the other States; that the expenses incurred by any States in subduing British posts, and in the organization and defense of the territory, should be rembursed, and that the lands ceded should be granted and settled agreeably to regulation to be afterward agreed upon in Congress. This pledge, and the example of New York, induced Virginia to pass an act authorizing, upon certain conditions, the cession of the territory northwest of the Ohio. Congress, however, refused to accept of this deed of cession upon the terms offered by the State. For several years after the final ratification of the Federal compact, nothing was effectually done in reference to the Western lands. At length the Virginia cession was referred to a committee of Congress, who recommended terms of compromise between the State and Federal Government. Congress agreed to the report, and Virginia authorized her delegates to make a deed agreeable to the terms therein prescribed. This authority was soon after executed, and the cession of Virginia was accepted by Congress. Massachusetts followed, and, in April, seventeen hundred and eighty-five, ceded to the United States all her claim to territory west of a certain line, in her deed of cession mentioned. This line is now the west line of New York. On the thirteenth day of September, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-six, the State of Connecticut made a deed of cession, whereby she released to the United States all the right, title, interest, jurisdiction, and claim which she had to certain Western lands, begin- MAHONING VALLEY - 147 ning at the completion of the forty-first degree of north latitude, one hundred and twenty miles west of the western boundary line of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, as claimed by said commonwealth, and from thence, by a line drawn north, parallel to, and one hundred and twenty miles west of the west line of, Pennsylvania, and to continue north until it comes to forty-two degrees and two minutes north latitude, whereby all right, title, interest, jurisdiction, and claim of the State of Connecticut to the lands lying west of that line, was ceded to the United States. It will be observed that the State. of Connecticut made no disposition of the territory east of that line and west of Pennsylvania. It was, therefore, considered as reserved, and, from this circumstance, that tract of country has been termed the Connecticut Western Reserve. The States having any claim to the territory north-west of the Ohio having all relinquished both their right of jurisdiction and of soil to the whole of it (except the Connecticut Western Reserve), the United States proceeded to establish a form of government for it, and passed the famous ordinance of seventeen hundred and eighty-seven. The Governor of the Territory, appointed by the United States, proceeded to divide this country into counties. He organized the county of Washington, and proclaimed the boundaries of a county, which he called Wayne. The county of Washington embraced all that part of the Reserve bounded west by the Cuyahoga River, the Portage path leading from the Cuyahoga River to the Tuscarawas River and by that river. The county-seat of the county was Marietta. The remainder of the Reserve was included in the county of Wayne—the county-seat of which was intended, at that time, to be at Detroit, and was there afterward. But, at that time, Great Britain had full possession of Detroit, and so continued until long after that part of the Reserve, within the limits of this county of Wayne, had become a constituent part of Trumbull County. This extension of jurisdiction or claim over this territory was a violation of the right of the State of Connecticut to the jurisdiction over which she had never relinquished. The State of Connecticut provided, very soon after the !ession made to the United States to offer for sale the lands by her reserved. At a session of the Legislature of that State, held at New Haven/ in October, seventeen hundred and eighty-six, it was resolved that the land belonging to that State, west of Pennsylvania and east of the Cuyahoga and the Portage path, leading from that river to the Tuscarawas branch of the Muskingum, should be put in market. That 148 - HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. the land should be sold for the public securities of that day, and the sum of twenty-seven dollars, in specie, for each township sold—enough as was supposed to defray the expenses of the survey. It should be sold at not less than three shillings, lawful money, an acre, which was equal to fifty cents of our present money. That the territory should be divided into townships of six miles square, as near as could be; that six tiers of townships should be laid out ; that the tiers should be laid out parallel with the west line of Pennsylvania; that the range of townships, next to that State, should be designated as the first tier, and so on, west, in numerical order. It was provided that the townships should be numbered from north to south, beginning at each range with number one, at Lake Erie. The Legislature appointed a committee of three persons to make sale, and further provided that, on the presentation of a certificate of the sale of any township, signed by one or more of that committee, that the General Assembly would make a grant of that township to the purchaser, his heirs, and assigns; reserving, however, to the public, five hundred acres of good land, in each township, for the support of the Gospel ministry, and five hundred acres for the support of schools in each town forever, and two hundred and forty acres of good land, in each township, to be granted, in fee simple, to the first Gospel minister who should settle in such town. That committee were to cause a sufficient number of towns to be surveyed at the expense of the State, and were to receive one per cent of the avails as a compensation for their services. That measures, not inconsistent with the principles of the confederation of the United States, should, from time to time, be taken by order and under the authority of the General Assembly of the State for the preservation of the peace and good order of the settlers in their towns, until the State should resign jurisdiction of it, and Government should be settled among them upon Republican principles. At the next term of the Assembly, held in May, seventeen hundred and eighty-seven, at Hartford, those resolutions were varied in a few particulars. It was discovered that no provision had been made to grant patents in the recess of the Assembly, and that it would be inconvenient to commence at the north and number the townships southward. It was resolved that the most southerly town in each tier, bounded on the latitude line of forty-one degrees north, should be No. 1 of that tier, and so on, northerly, to Lake Erie. And that, whenever a purchaser had procured the necessary certificate from the committee, that the Governor of the State should execute a patent, of any town bought, to the purchaser, which MAHONING VALLEY - 149 patent was to be countersigned by the Secretary, and registered in his office. The committee were authorized to lay one or more tiers oast of the Cuyahoga, in addition to the six tiers authorized by the former resolution. No attempt, so far as I have been able to discover, was made to make a survey in accordance to the resolves of the Legislature; a sale, however, was made soon after of certain lands, which have since obtained the name of the Salt Spring Tract, to General Samuel H. Parsons, then of Middletown, Connecticut. This patent was executed by the Governor and Secretary of the State of Connecticut, and is dated 10th of February, 1788. In the description of the boundaries of the land reference was had to numbers of the ranges and townships as if actually run. General Parsons had thoroughly explored this country and had found the relative location of a salt Spring near the Mahoning, which, in that day was esteemed as being very valuable, at which considerable quantities of salt were made by the Indians and traders, and at which considerable quantities were manufactured for a number of years after the settlement of the surrounding country. General Parsons being the first purchaser and the only purchaser from the State until the purchase of the Connecticut Land Company, had his choice of all the lands east of the Cuyahoga, and selected a tract so as to include the spring bounded as follows : Beginning at the north-east corner of the first township, in the third range of townships, thence running northerly on the west line of the second range of said lands to forty-one degrees and twelve minutes of north latitude; thence west three miles; thence southerly parallel to the west line of Pennsylvania two miles and one-half; thence west three miles to the west line of said third range; thence southerly parallel to the west line of Pennsylvania, to the north line of the first township in he third range ; thence east to the first bound. The line of this tract was never actually run until they were run out by the Connecticut Land Company ; although General Parsons proceeded forthwith to make sale and to deed various undivided parts of it to different individuals. This patent was recorded in conformity to a provision in the original resolution authorizing a sale in the Secretary's office in Connecticut. It will be seen also from the same resolves, that the State of Connecticut claimed an exclusive jurisdiction over this territory, as it is also a matter of history, that immediately after, in the year 1788, the Governor of the north-western territory originated the county of Washington, and embraced all this territory within the limits of that county.