WOOD COUNTY, OHIO - 189 CHAPTER. XXIV. [By FRANK W. DUNN.] PUBLIC LANDS-INDIAN TREATIES-LAND SURVEYS AND SALES IN TILE WESTERN TERRITORY THE " SEVEN RANGES "-FIRST AND LATER SURVEYS WITHIN WHAT IS NOW WOOD COUNTY -FIRST GRANT MADE BY CONGRESS 'FOR LANDS LYING WITHIN PRESENT LIMITS OF WOOD COUNTY-TOWN OF PERRYSBURG-PUBLIC SALE OF LANDS AT WOOSTER-SUNDRY ACTS OF CONGRESS RELATING TO PUBLIC LANDS-LAND GRANTS-MILITARY BOUNTY LANDS-CANAL LANDS-SWAMP LANDS-SCHOOL LANDS-MISCELLANEOUS GRANTS-CONCLUSION. BUT little is known, comparatively, outside of official sources about the history of the public lands of the United States. I In this chapter, for which no higher rank is claimed than that of a compilation, only a few of the more important matters can be noted; yet sufficient, perhaps, to enable the general reader to obtain a greater knowledge of the original history of the lands in this portion of the National domain, which have, within the memory of men yet living, been subdued and transformed from a dense wilderness of forest, into pleasant farm homes and villages. The public lands of the United States were acquired by treaty, cessions by States, conquest or purchase. Under the treaty of peace of September 3, 1783, closing the war of the Revolution, Great Britain recognized the United States, as sovereign and independent, and relinquished all proprietary and territorial rights of the same. During the period of government of the United States, under the Articles of Confederation, the Western lands, which included the entire territory east of the Mississippi river and north of the Ohio river, and west of Pennsylvania, became the subject of much heated discussion among the thirteen original States, each claiming the right to control, to sell and dispose of such of the lands as it claimed to own. Many of the claims conflicted, on account of, overlapping boundaries, as defined in the grants from Great Britain, to the different colonies and to individuals; but this difficulty was finally adjusted, by deeds of cession from the several States to the National Government. When the Government was subsequently organized, the title to the unappropriated public lands became vested in it, as the successor of the Government, under the Con- 190 - WOOD COUNTY, OHIO. federation. At this time the Mississippi river was the western boundary of the United States. Within a few months after the treaty of peace between Great Britain and the United States, and after the cession of Western land, by the States of New York and Virginia, the Congress of the Confederation immediately began to take steps toward the organization of the Western Territory. A committee of three members, consisting of Thomas Jefferson, Mr. Chase, and Mr. Howell, submitted to Congress resolutions embodying a plan for the temporary government of this Territory. These resolutions provide that the lands ceded, or to be ceded, by individual States to the United States, when the same shall have been bought of the Indian inhabitants, and offered for sale by the United States, shall be formed into additional States. Indian Treaties.-The several treaties, already referred to at length, were, in the earlier instances, treaties of occupancy, and, in the later cases, treaties of cession. They were written for this chapter; but, as Mr. Evers had also summarized them in connection with the military movements against the Indians, they are omitted here. It is not to be understood that these relinquishments were made on the part of the Indians without an equivalent. Large sums of money were paid to them, and stipulated to be paid, in perpetual annuities, as well as goods and merchandise. For instance, at one of the treaties it was stipulated that the United States should pay ten thousand dollars, in goods, and a perpetual annuity of two thousand, four hundred dollars, besides furnishing the Indians with two blacksmiths for ten years. And, among the provisions of the treaty at the Foot of the Rapids, the United States engaged to erect a sawmill and gristmill, for the use of the Wyandots, and to provide and maintain two blacksmiths, one for the use of the Wyandots and Senecas, the other for the Indians at Hog creek. In reviewing these treaties, made from time to time between the United States and the Indian tribes, who claimed the right of possession to the soil, we are fully convinced that the Indians received a just equivalent in money and goods, or otherwise, and thereby the United States obtained an absolute title to the land. It is an historical fact that none of the public lands had ever been disposed of, by the Government, prior to its cession by the Indians. Surveys and Sales.-Congress had entire control of the public lands, and in May, 1784, a committee, previously appointed, reported an Ordinance for ascertaining the mode of locating and disposing of the lands in the Western Territory, This Ordinance was discussed and amended, until finally, on May 20, 1785, it passed, providing for townships, each six miles square and containing thirty-six sections, each one mile square. The first public surveys, under this Ordinance, embrace lands running north from the Ohio river, known as the " Seven Ranges." The sections were numbered from one to thirty-six, commencing with No. 1 in the southeast corner of the township, and running from south to north, in each tier, to No. 36, in the northwest corner of the township, as shown in the following diagram: From May 20, 1785, the three commissioners composing the board of treasury made sales, and assumed control of the administration of all matters pertaining to the public lands. The first officer in charge of the surveys was styled: "The Geographer of the United States, and the only person who ever held the office was Thomas Hutchins, who served from 1785 up to his death, which occurred in 1789. After his death the management of the surveys devolved upon the board of the treasury, until a special officer was again placed in charge, under the Act of 1796, which provided for the appointment of a surveyor-general, and which directed the survey of that part of the lands northwest of the Ohio river, in which the titles of the Indian tribes had been extinguished, and which had not been already conveyed by patents, or divided, in pursuance of the Ordinance passed May 20, 1785, or which has not been heretofore and during the present session of Congress, may not be appropriated for satisfying military land bounties, and WOOD COUNTY, OHIO. - 191 for other purposes. Said lands to be divided by north and south lines, run according to the true meridian, and by others, crossing them at right angles, so as to form townships of six miles square. One-half of the said townships, taking them alternately, to be subdivided into sections, by running through the same each way, parallel lines, at the end of every two miles, and by marking a corner, on each of said lines, at the end of every mile. It was further provided, that the sections should be numbered progressively, beginning with No. 1, in the northeast section, and proceeding east and west, alternately, through the township, till the 36th section be completed in the southeast corner. This method of numbering sections is still in use, and is illustrated by the following diagram: It was further provided, that whenever seven ranges of townships were surveyed below the Great Miami, the surveyed sections were to be first offered for sale, in whole sections, at public auction, under the direction of the governor, or secretary of the Territory, said sales to be held at Cincinnati and at Pittsburg. They were to be sold to the highest bidder, but for not less than two dollars per acre, one-twentieth part of the purchase money down, and within thirty days enough more to make one-half of the purchase money, and one year's credit for the remaining half. The townships, remaining undivided, were to be sold in the same manner, under the direction of the secretary of the treasury, in tracts of one quarter of a township, and for not less than two dollars per acre. The four central sections in each township were reserved from sale. The lands also remaining unsold, in the '' Seven Ranges," which were surveyed under the Ordinance of May 20, 1785 including the lands sold but not paid for, were ordered to be sold as follows: The townships which were directed to be sold entire, under said Ordinance, to be offered for sale at Philadelphia, at public vendue in quarter townships, reserving the four center sections; the other townships, directed to be sold under said Ordinance, in sections, to be offered for sale, at Pittsburg, under the regulations provided for herein. Under this Act, Rufus Putnam was appointed surveyor-general, and served until 1803. From 1803 to 1813, Capt. Jared Mansfield, of the United States army, filled the office, and, aided by Thomas Jefferson, made many useful changes and improvements in the system of surveys. On May 10, 1800, the Act of May 18, 1796, was amended, and further provided for the establishment of four land offices, at Cincinnati, Chillicothe, Marietta and Steubenville; each to be under the direction of an officer, to be known as the Register of the Land Office. The lands were to be sold in sections and half-sections, for not less than two dollars per acre, purchasers to deposit one-twentieth part of the purchase money, on the day of sale, and within forty days to pay one-fourth part of such purchase money, including the amount deposited; another fourth to be paid within two years; another fourth within three years, and the remaining fourth within four years from date of sale, with interest, at six per cent., upon the deferred payments. The purchaser was also required to pay, exclusive of the purchase money, a surveying fee of six dollars for each section, and three dollars for each half section. purchased by him. Section 12, of the Act of March 26, 1804, provided, that the sections of land, reserved under former Acts, should be offered for sale, in quarter sections, to the highest bidder, under the directions of the register of the land office, and the receiver of public moneys, where the land offices are kept; the sales to remain open at each land office for three weeks only, and the lands not to be sold for less than two dollars per acre. The Act of February 11, 1805, authorized the surveyor-general to cause all the lands, which, under. the Act of 1796, were sub-divided, by running through the townships parallel lines, each way, at the end of every two miles, and by marking a corner on each of the said lines, at the end of every mile, to be sub-divided into sections, by running straight lines from the mile corners, thus marked, to the opposite corresponding corners, as nearly as possible, equi-distant from the corners of the sections on the same. 192 - WOOD COUNTY, OHIO. One of the rules to govern these surveys is thus laid down: "All the corners marked in the surveys, returned by the surveyor-general, shall be established as the proper corners of sections, or sub-divisions of sections, which they were intended to designate; and the corners of the half and quarter sections not marked on the said surveys, shall be placed, as nearly as possible, equi-distant from those two corners, which stand on the same line. The first surveys within the present Wood county, were made in the twelve-miles-square reserve. The exterior, sub-divisional and meander lines of Township No. I, of said reserve, and which includes the north part of Middleton township and a small portion of Perrysburg township, adjoining it on the north, was surveyed by Elias Glover, in October, 1805. Additional surveys and re-surveys were made in this township, by William Brookfield, D. S., in 1816-17. The exterior lines of Township No. 3, of said reserve, embracing the north part of Perrysburg township and the west part of Ross township, were run by Elias Glover, in 1805. Resurveys of exteriors, lots fronting on river, meanders and islands in the Maumee river, were made from 1816 to 1834, by Joseph Wampler, D. S., and William Brookfield, D. S. Township No. 4, of said reserve, which lies wholly within Perrysburg township, and includes the village of Perrysburg, was surveyed by Elias Glover, in 18o5. The exterior lines of the township of Jackson, Milton, Weston, Grand Rapids, and Sections 1, 2, 11 and 12, Washington, were surveyed by Samuel Holmes, D. S., in 1819. The sub-divisional lines of these townships were run, in 1821, by Price F. Kellogg, D. S. The exterior lines of the townships of Henry, Liberty, Plain, and Sections 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, Washington, were surveyed by Samuel and Alexander Holmes, in 1819, and the sub-divisional lines, by I. T. Worthington, D. S., in 1821. The north part of Washington township, and the west part of Middleton township, extending north, as far as the south boundary line of the twelve-miles-square reserve, were surveyed by I. T. Worthington, and the subdivisions by P. F. Kellogg, in 1821. The exterior lines of Bloom, Perry, Montgomery, Freedom, Center, and the south part of Webster, were surveyed by Alexander and Samuel Holmes, in 1819, and the sub-divisional lines by S. Bourne, D. S. in 1821. The east part of Middleton, south of the reserve line, and the northwest part of Webster, were surveyed by Alexander and Samuel Holmes, running the exterior lines, in 1819, and by I. T. Worthington, surveying the sub-divisional lines, in 1821. It appears that the entire surveys of Troy, and Sections 19, 20, 29, 30, 31 and 32, in Webster, were made by Charles Roberts, D. S., in 1820. In Lake township, the exterior lines were surveyed in 1820, by Alex. Holmes, D. S., and the sub-divisional lines, by Ambrose Rice, D. S., in December, 1833, while the surveys in Ross township (outside of the twelve-milessquare reserve) were made by Ambrose Rice, D. S., in April, 1834. An Act of Congress of March 3, 1805, provided for the survey and subdivision of lands lying north and west of the Indian boundary, by the Treaty of Greenville, which were ceded by that treaty to the United States; and that the lands be offered for sale, at Detroit, in the Territory of Michigan, or at such of the other land offices, established by law, in Ohio, or in Indiana Territory, under the same regulations as other land within the district. This placed the lands in the twelve-mile-square reserve in the Detroit land district, where the same remained until the Act of April 27, 1816, hereinafter noted. The land office at Wooster was established under the Act of March 3, 1807, for the disposal of the lands lying between the United States Military Tract and the Connecticut Reserve. The office of commissioner of the General Land Office was created April 25, 1812. The first commissioner was Edward Tiffin, who served from 1812 to 1814. He was distinguished as the first Governor of Ohio, under the Constitution. The first grant made by Congress for lands lying within the present limits of Wood county, was on April 26, 1816, as follows:-" That Amos Spafford, collector of the District and Port of Miami, shall have the right of preemption to 160 acres of land, to include his improvements, situate within the limits of the reserve of twelve miles square, at the Rapids of Miami of Lake Erie, the boundaries of which shall be designated under the direction of the Secretary of the Treasury; which tract of land shall be granted to him, at the same price, and on the same terms and conditions for which the other public lands are sold at private sale." [The patent of this grant was signed by James Monroe.] This tract of land lies on the Maumee river, west of the town of Perrysburg, adjoining " Fort Meigs," and is known as '' Spafford's Grant." At this period the only land in Wood county, to which the Indian title had been extinguished, was the twelve-mile-square reserve, ceded to the United States by the Indians at the Treaty of Greenville, but as yet none of this land had been WOOD COUNTY, OHIO - 193 offered at public sale by the Government. Squatters or settlers had located upon the lands bordering on the river, previous to the year 1812, and were driven away by the Indians, who were hostile to the Americans during the war. Many returned after hostilities had ceased, to find their homes destroyed and themselves destitute. The plat of the public surveys shows the private claims of those settlers, all of which are on the north side of the Maumee river, except that of Amos Spafford. These claims embrace several thousand acres; among them are the claims of Whitmore Knaggs, William Brown, John Askin and others, nearly opposite Perrysburg. All of these private claims were taken under Acts of Congress, regulating the grants of land in the Territory of Michigan. The Act of Congress of April 27, 1816, providing for the laying out of a town, and for a further survey and sale of the lands in the reserve, placed all of these lands in the land district of Wooster. In a recent history of Lucas county, prepared by Clark Waggoner and others, it is written: To add to the serious trials to which these settlers were subjected, the title to the lands occupied by them was brought in question. These had been purchased as parts of the twelve-miles-square-reserve, which, by mistake, had been a second time ceded at the Treaty of Brownstown, subsequent to the purchase by the settlers. They had no more than become settled after their return, at the close of the war, than Congress ordered the sale of the tract. In a letter to President Madison on the subject, Amos Spafford appealed in behalf of these sufferers, and asked that the time and location of the sale might be so fixed that they could have opportunity for securing the lands held by them, saying : "Should the time not be known, or the place of sale so remote that myself and others could not attend, all would be lost. First, burned by the enemy; second, destroyed by our own army; and, third, sold out by act of the Government, to whom, we don't know. This would be the last sacrifice that we could possibly make." The sale was finally held at Fort Meigs, the settlers obtaining titles to their lands without competition. When the Act authorizing the sale of the lands in the twelve-miles square reserve, to be held at Wooster, became known, a large number of the settlers at that time had not yet received patents, and their rights as settlers had not yet been confirmed by the commissioners for the Detroit land district. It was no doubt in behalf of these claimants that Mr. Spafford interceded in his letter to President Madison. They were now in a new land district, and no provision had been made for them in the Act directing the sale at Wooster, except those to whom patents had been granted. The operations under this Act were entirely different from the provisions made in the Acts regarding the public lands in the Territory of Michigan, under which the settlers had located their claims, and it is readily seen how their status, as settlers, was affected by the change. After corresponding with the general land office with reference to this matter, the writer is led to believe that instead of a sale of lands at Fort Meigs, as related by Mr. Waggoner, commissioners were sent there to investigate the rights and claims of these settlers, and to confirm the rights of such as were legally entitled thereto. Patents had been issued to a few of the settlers prior to the passage of this Act, the oldest in date being that to John Asking, for four hundred acres, dated April 20. 1811. Another to Whitmore Knaggs, for six hundred acres, dated July 3, 1812, during the administration of President Madison. These patents contain recitals that the claims were confirmed by virtue of " An Act to regulate the grants of land in the Territory of Michigan," and, as noted above, all were on the north side of the Maumee. Town of Perrysburg.-On April 27, 1816, it was enacted by Congress, that so much of the tract of land, of twelve miles square, at the British fort, of the Miami of the Lake, at the Foot of the Rapids, ceded by the Wyandots and other Indian tribes, to the United States, by the Treaty of Greenville, August 3, 1795, shall, under the direction of the surveyor-general, be laid off into town lots, streets and avenues, and into out-lots, in such manner and of such dimensions, as he may think proper. The tract so to be laid off shall not exceed the quantity of land contained in two entire sections, nor the town lots, one-quarter of an acre each. When the survey shall be completed, a plat thereof shall be returned to the surveyor-general, on which the town lots and out lots shall respectively be designated, by progressive numbers, who shall cause two copies to be made, one to be transmitted with a copy of the field notes, to the commissioner of the general land office, and the other, to the register of the land office at Wooster. As before stated, the tract of twelve miles square had been surveyed in the year 1805, and the Act of Congress authorizing a town to be laid out, also directed the surveyor-general to resurvey and mark the exterior lines of said tract conformably to the survey made in December, 1805, and also to cause divisional lines to be run through each section and fractional section, binding on the river, so that each subdivision may contain, as nearly as may be, 160 acres. Provided, that in running the sub-divisional lines no interference shall be made affecting or impairing the rights of persons to whom patents have been granted for land lying within the limits of the said twelve miles square. These tracts, lying on 194 - WOOD COUNTY, OHIO. the Maumee river, were designated, in the surveys, as River tracts; those lying on the south side of the river, now in Wood county, being numbered consecutively, from 44 to 86 inclusive. It was further enacted, that all of the land within the twelve-miles-square reserve, except Section 16, reserved for school purposes, together with the in-lots and out-lots, in Perrysburg, should be offered for sale to the highest bidder, at Wooster, the sale to remain open for seven days and no longer. The quarter-sections and fractional quarter-sections not to be sold for less than two dollars per acre; the in-lots for not less than twenty dollars each, and the out-lots for not less than five dollars an acre; all of such lands and lots remaining unsold at the public sales, to be disposed of at private sale, by the register of the land office, at Wooster, under the regulations provided by law-patents to issue in the same manner as for other lands of the United States. Afterward, it appears that difficulties began to arise about the boundaries of lots and streets, as originally surveyed, until finally an Act was passed by the Legislature of Ohio, on March 7, 1835, by which the town council is authorized to cause to be made a new and entire survey of the streets and alleys, which, when recorded in the records of Wood county, shall be held and deemed in all courts, to be a correct survey of said streets and alleys, and to exhibit the true situation of the same. This survey was accomplished by Hiram Davis, a plat of which is to be found in the public records. Subsequent legislation affecting the town will be noticed hereafter. The public sale of the lands directed to be held at Wooster, under the preceding Act, took place, in July, 1817, and was upon the credit system, forty days being allowed for the first payment of 25 per cent, the balance to be paid in three equal annual instalments. Land companies were formed among the capitalists in the east, who purchased tracts at the sale, the prices ranging from $2. 13 to $75 per acre. Many of the tracts purchased reverted to the United States, on account of failure to pay the deferred instalments and interest. The credit system had always been a source of difficulty to the government, on account of default in the payments; the revenue arising from the sales of land was much less than was anticipated, besides the government was in competition with several of the States, which were disposing of western lands-Connecticut selling her Western Reserve lands in northeastern Ohio, at forty cents per acre-Virginia selling lands in Kentucky-North Carolina in Tennessee-Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Massachusetts selling lands at reduced prices, which tended to check emigration to the Northwest Territory. As a remedy, the credit system was abolished, under the Act of April 20, 1820, and the price of land fixed at $1.25 per acre, payable in cash, at the time of sale. The Act of Congress, of February 22, 1817, provided that " from and after September 1, 1817, the sections designated by Nos. 2, 5, 20, 23, 30 and 33, in each and every township, of the public lands, the sale of which is now, or hereafter may be, authorized, shall be offered for sale, either in quarter sections, or half-quarter sections, at the option of the purchaser; and, in every case, the division of quarter-sections shall be made by a line running due north and south." Land districts were formed under the Act of March 3, 1819. One of said districts comprised all the land lying between the west line of the State and the line now forming the west line of Wood county; the district extending north, to the northern boundary of the State, and south to the Indian boundary line established by the Treaty of Greenville, and for the sale of which a land office was established at Piqua. The public lands lying between the line now established as the west line of Wood county, and the west line of the Connecticut Reserve, having the same boundaries north and south as the district before mentioned, formed another land district, and, for the sale of which lands, an office was established at Delaware. The Act authorized the President to appoint a register and receiver, at each land office, and also provided for the sales of the lands (except Section 16, in each township, reserved for the support of schools) to the highest bidder, at the land offices, where the public sales were to be kept open for three weeks and no longer; said lands to be sold for not less than two dollars an acre. The President was authorized to remove the land offices established by this Act, whenever he considered it expedient, to such place within the district as he judged most proper. By virtue of the authority thus conferred, land offices were established from time to time, at Wapakoneta, Lima, Upper Sandusky, Defiance, Bucyrus and Tiffin. Under the Act of April 24, 1820, nearly all of the lands belonging to the United States, within the present limits of Wood county, were entered. The first section of the Act provides, " that from and after the first day of July, next, all of the public lands of the United States, the sale of which is, or may be authorized, by law, shall be offered for sale to the highest bidder, in WOOD COUNTY, OHIO. - 195 half-quarter sections; and when offered at private sale may be purchased at the option of the purchaser, in entire sections, half sections, quarter sections or half-quarter sections; noneof said land to be sold, either at public or private sale, for less than $1.25 per acre; none of said land to be sold on credit, but complete payment to be made on the day of purchase." Next follows the Act of May 15, 1820, viz.: " That there be granted to the State of Ohio, at the minimum price for which the public lands are sold, the right of preemption, to one quarter section, in, or near, the center of each county, included in the purchase recently made of the Indians, by the treaty concluded at St. Mary's, September 20, 1818, for the establishment of a seat of justice, in the said counties; provided, the purchase be made before the commencement of the public sales; and provided, also, that the proceeds of the sale of each quarter section, which may be made, under the authority of Ohio, shall be appropriated for the purpose of erecting public buildings, in said counties, respectively, after deducting therefrom the sums originally paid by the State aforesaid; and provided, further, that the seat of justice for said counties, respectively, shall be fixed on the lands so selected." This Act was afterward repealed, as to that feature of it, requiring seats of justice to be established at, or near, the center of said counties. Congress Helped Perrysburg. -Another Act of Congress, relating to the old county seat of Wood, which became a law, May 7, 1822, is in effect as follows: "That the right to all the unsold in-lots and out-lots, in the town of Perrysburg, be and the same is hereby vested in the commissioners of Wood county, and the right to all the unsold town lots and out-lots, in the town of Croghansville, be and the same is hereby vested in the commissioners of Sandusky county, in said State, on condition that said commissioners shall permanently locate the seat of justice, for their respective counties, at said towns; and that the net proceeds of the sales of so many of said lots as are necessary to be retained, for the purpose of erecting public buildings thereon, be applied to the erection and improvement of the public buildings and squares, in said towns, respectively, This special grant was no doubt made in lieu of the quarter section granted for county-seat purposes, in the preceding Act of May 15, 1820. It was not until the Act of Congress of April 5, 1832, that the public lands were sub-divided and offered for sale, in quarter-quarter sections, of forty acres each. The Act was not put in force until 1834, Owing to delays in preparing the necessary plats for the use of the local land offices. Land Grants. -Various grants were made by Congress from time to time, some of which directly concern the lands in this county, and from which arise the terms "Road Lands," " Swamp Lands, " " Canal Lands," etc. In connection with these grants, we shall also notice the Acts of the State Legislature with reference to the same. The grant made by Congress to the county commissioners of Wood of certain lots in the town of Perrysburg, for the purpose of establishing a seat of justice at said town, and for the erection of public buildings, has been already noticed in this chapter. A subsequent Act, approved July 27, 1842, gave to each purchaser, his heirs or assigns, of any lot or lots, in said town, at any sale for taxes thereon, assessed by the laws of Ohio (the title to which had not been divested from the United States in any other manner than under color of such tax sale) the right to make an entry of the same, at any tinge within one year from the passage of said Act, at the land office in the district within which said town is situated, at the price for which the same were struck off at Wooster in July, 1817, with interest from that date. Another Act of Congress, approved February 20, 1845, relating to the lots in said town, provided that all title to lots in said town derived from Ohio, under color of the grant made to the State by virtue of the Act of Congress, entitled: "An Act for laying out and making a road from the lower Rapids of the Miami of Lake Erie to the western boundary of the Connecticut Western Reserve, in the State of Ohio," approved February 20, 1823, be and the same are hereby recognized as valid and confirmed, in the same manner as though the title to said lots had been vested in said State, under the aforesaid Act: Provided, -That the authorities of said State shall, within one year from and after the passage of this Act, furnish the commissioner of the general land office with a certified list of all lots heretofore sold and disposed of, under color of the above recited Act." Under the heading "Road Lands," of this chapter, the Act referred to, granting certain lands to the State of Ohio, for the construction of the above mentioned road, is more fully noted. It appears that the State authorities, under said Act, appropriated certain lots and lands within the limits of Perrysburg, which were not intended to be included in the above grant for road purposes, and hence confusion arose as to the title. The above mentioned Act, therefore, was passed to quiet the title in the owners, who had pur- 196 - WOOD COUNTY, OHIO. chased said lots from the State. A deed of quitclaim from the United States to the owners of the lots in question bears date March 10, 1846, during the administration of President Polk, and is recorded in the deed records of this county. The lots, thus relinquished by the United States, are fully described in said deed. Maumee and Western Reserve Road Lands. Article 2, of the treaty of Brownstown, before mentioned, between the United States and certain tribes of Indians, held November 25, 1 8o8, is a cession by said Indians, to the United States, of a tract of land for a road, 120 feet in width, from the Foot of the Rapids (Perrysburg) of the River Miami of Lake Erie, to the west line of the Connecticut Reserve, and all the land within one mile of said road, on each side thereof, for the purpose of establishing settlements along the same. Article 3, of said treaty, is an agreement that the lines embracing the lands given and ceded by the preceding article, shall be run in such directions as may be thought most advisable by the President, for the purposes aforesaid. The Act of December 12, 1811, authorized the President to appoint three commissioners to mark a road from Perrysburg to the western line of the Connecticut Reserve; said commissioners to make and to transmit the plats to the President, who, if he approve, shall cause the plats to be deposited in the office of the treasurer of the United States, and said road shall be considered as established and accepted, pursuant to the treaty of Brownstown. A subsequent Act, approved February 4th, 1815, provided that in surveying lands ceded by the Indians, at Brownstown, the ordinary mode of surveying the public lands should be so far deviated from, that the boundary lines of the tracts to be laid off should be run parallel to, and at right angles with, the road laid out, in conformity to said treaty. Whether any commissioners were appointed, or a survey of the road, or of the lands ceded, by the United States, as contemplated, was made under the last two Acts, we are not able to state, in the absence of any official report in the matter, but it appears by an Act, approved February 28, 1823, that Ohio was authorized to lay out, open and construct a road, from the lower Rapids of the Miami of Lake Erie to the western boundary of the Connecticut Reserve. In order to enable Ohio to open and construct that road, a tract of land, 120.. feet wide, whereon to locate the same, together with a quantity of land, equal to one mile on each side thereof and adjoining thereto, to defray the expenses of said road, was granted to the State, to commence at the Miami Rapids and terminate at the western boundary of the Connecticut Western Reserve, with full power and authority to sell and convey the same, and apply the proceeds to the making of said road. In view of the proposal in the foregoing Act, the State Legislature at once took action thereon, by appointing John Wallace, of Champaign county, John Patten, of Wayne county, and Quintus F. Catkins, of Ashtabula county, commissioners, to locate and survey said road, 120 feet wide, and to file a plat of said survey in the office of the Secretary of State. Said commissioners were charged with the duty of valuing the lands, on each side of said road, one mile in width, and to certify the same to the Secretary of State, together with a plan of constructing the road, and the probable expense of its construction. This was followed by another Act of the Legislature, of February 25, 1824, which provided for constructing said road, and for a superintendent, to be appointed by joint resolution of both Houses of the General Assembly. The superintendent to give bond in the sum of $5,000, conditioned for the faithful discharge of the duties required of him, and to account for all moneys received by him, for the sale of lands, &c. This Act also authorized said superintendent to enter into contract, for the building and constructing said road, and also for the sale of the lands adjoining thereto, granted by Congress; the lands to be offered for sale for not less than $1.50 per acre; one-third of the purchase money to be paid at time of sale; one-third in one year, and one-third in two years. The superintendent was authorized to make contracts for constructing the road, payable in land, upon such terms as he might think most advantageous to the State. Under this Act, Catkins, one of the commissioners, was appointed first superintendent. On February 7, 1825, the Legislature passed an Act, authorizing the superintendent of the Maumee and Western Reserve road to cause surveys of the lands belonging to the State of Ohio, in the reservation, at the foot of the Rapids of the Miami of Lake Erie, to be made as he might think fit, and to cause a plat to be made of the lands, so surveyed and owned by said State, and to sell said lands for not less than seven dollars yer acre. It was under this Act that the new survey of out-lots t Perrysburg was made, a copy of which was unearthed by the writer in the State archives during the summer of 1895. Under an Act of the Legislature, passed Jan- WOOD COUNTY, OHIO. - 197 nary 29, 1827, a surveyor was appointed to proceed to survey such of the lands, granted by Congress to Ohio, for the purpose of building and keeping in repair the road, as have not been heretofore surveyed, under the authority of said State. The Act provided, that said lands should be surveyed into lots of 8o acres each, and where there are fractional parts occasioned by said road, such fractional parts to be surveyed with, and attached to, the half-quarter section, lying back of and adjoining such fractional part. Triplicate plats of surveys to be made, one of each to be filed with the superintendent of road, Auditor and Secretary of State, and superintendent authorized to sell land for not less than $1.50 per acre. Thomas R. McKnight, of Perrysburg, was appointed superintendent of said road, January 30, 1827. The lands in Wood county, surveyed under this Act, are designated as the Maumee and Western Reserve Road Lands, and are situated in the townships of Perrysburg, Lake and Troy; such of said lands as lie contiguous to said road are known as Road Tracts. Military Bounty Lands. -There are no lands within the limits of Wood county specially granted for bounties' to the soldiers and sailors of the United States, although a large quantity of land, in this county, has been located with military land warrants. It is proper to observe here, that on June 1, 1796, Congress set apart a tract of land, within the present State of Ohio, for the officers and soldiers, serving in the Revolutionary war, known as the United States Military District, comprising two and one-half millions of acres, embracing within its limits, in whole or in part, the counties of Tuscarawas, Guernsey, Muskingum, Monroe, Coshocton, Holmes, Knox, Licking, Franklin, Delaware, Noble and Lake. All warrants granted by' the United States, under this Act, were restricted to, and located exclusively in this district, until after the passage of the Scrip Act, of May 30, 1830, by which the Revolutionary warrants could be exchanged for scrip, and the same located outside of the military district. Another district, known as the "Virginia Military District," lying between the little Miami and Scioto rivers, containing over four million acres, was reserved in the cession by Virginia, in 1784, of her territory northwest of the Ohio river, for the purpose of satisfying the warrants, issued to the officers and soldiers of the Continental Line, army and navy, under the laws of Virginia, for military services during the war of the Revolution, as they were promised by the Legislature of that State. Subsequent Acts were passed by Congress, granting warrants to officers and soldiers, who had served in the war of 1812, and in the war with Mexico, which were allowed to be located upon any of the unappropriated lands of the United States. Canal Lands.-The Act of Congress, of May 24, 1828, granted to Ohio, for the purpose of aiding said State in extending the Miami canal, from Dayton to Lake Erie, by the Maumee route, a quantity of land, equal to one-half of five sections in width, on each side of said canal, between Dayton and the Maumee river, at the mouth of the Auglaize, reserving each alternate section of the land unsold, to the United States, to be selected by the Commissioner of the general land office, under the direction of the President, which land, so reserved to the United States, shall not be sold for less than two dollars per acre. The said land hereby granted to Ohio, to be subject to the disposal of the Legislature of said State, for the purpose aforesaid and no other. Said land to be selected by the Governor, and a report of such selection to be made to the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States. After such selection, the State was authorized to sell and convey the same in fee-simple. The quantity of land granted to the State under this Act was five hundred thousand acres. Under the provisions of this Act, the State of Indiana was authorized to convey and relinquish to Ohio, upon such terms as may be agreed upon by said States, all the right and interest granted to the State of Indiana to any lands within the limits of the State of Ohio, by an Act, entitled: "An Act to grant a certain quantity of land to the State of Indiana for the purpose of aiding said State in opening a canal to connect the waters of Wabash river with those of Lake Erie, approved March 2, 1827, " the State of Ohio to hold said land on the same considerations upon which it was granted to the State of Indiana, by the Act aforesaid. The Legislature of Ohio, by Act passed December 22, 1828, assented to the several provisions and conditions of the preceding Act of Congress. An Act of Congress, approved March 2, 1855, confirmed the selection of land made by the State of Ohio, under the Acts of March .2, 1827, and of May 24, 1828. Several thousand acres of lands, granted by the Acts of Congress aforesaid, were located in Wood county, and are found in the townships of Perrysburg, Lake, Ross, Webster, Freedom, Perry, Middleton, Plain, Washington and Weston. Also, one-quarter section in Milton township, and a tract of ninety-one acres in Portage township. The total quantity of land 197 - WOOD COUNTY, OHIO. granted to Ohio, for canal purposes, was 1,100,361 acres. Swamp Lands.-The subject of worthless public lands, swamps, marshes and overflowed lands, was frequently discussed in Congress, at an early period, but no legislation was had successfully, until the Act of March 2, 1849, which applied exclusively to Louisiana. Then followed the law of September 28, 1850, extending the grant, to enable the '' State of Arkansas to construct the necessary levees and drains, to reclaim the swamp and overflowed lands therein," the last section of which enlarged the grant, so as to embrace " each of the other States of the Union, in which such swamp and overflowed lands, known and designated, as aforesaid, may be situated." The reasons assigned for these donations to the several States, ware the alleged worthless character of the lands, in their natural condition; the great sanitary improvement to be derived from the reclamation of extensive districts, notoriously malarial, and the probable cultivation that would follow; and the enhancement in value, and readier sale of Government lands, adjoining the same. The above Act made it the duty of the Secretary of the Interior to make accurate lists and plats of all such lands, and transmit the same to the Governors of the several States, in which such lands might lie, and at the request of the Governor of any State, in which said swamp and overflowed lands were situated, to cause patents to be issued to said State therefor, conveying to said State the fee-simple of said land. Said Act also provided, that in making out lists and plats of the lands aforesaid, all legal subdivisions, the ,greater part whereof was wet and unfit for cultivation, should be included in said lists and plats; but when the greater part of a subdivision was not of that character, the whole was to be excluded therefrom. In pursuance of said Act, on November 21, 1850, the Commissioner transmitted to the Governors of the respective States, to which the grant applied, copies of office circular, setting forth the provisions of said Act; giving instructions thereunder, and allowing the States to elect which of two methods they would adopt, for the purpose of designating the swamp lands, viz.: 1st: The Government field notes could be taken, as the basis for selection, and all lands shown by them to be swamp or overflowed, within the meaning of the Act, would pass to the States. 2d: The States could select the lands by their own agents, and report the same to the United States Surveyor-General, with proof as to the character of the same. Ohio was one of the number of States which elected to make its selection by its own agents. Up to and including June 30, 1883, Ohio laid claim to 54,458116 acres, but, up to the same date, there had been approved and patented to said State 25,640 71/100 acres. By an Act of the Legislature of Ohio, approved March 2, 1853, the auditor of State was directed to transmit to the county auditor of each county, in which any swamp or overflowed, lands were situated, a list of the same, by such description and in such divisions and subdivisions, as reported by the Secretary of the Interior to the Governor of said State of Ohio. It was also made the duty of the county commissioners of each county to appraise said lands and make return, in writing, to the county auditor; and, upon such return, the auditor was required to give notice, in some newspaper in said county, at least thirty days, that sealed proposals would be received, until the expiration of said time, for draining and reclaiming said swamp lands, in the manner specified by, and under the direction of, said county commissioners, to be paid in said lands, lying in said county, at the appraised value thereof; the bids, when opened, to be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder, such bidder to enter into bond, with security, for the faithful performance of his contract, which was limited to two years from the date of such contract. Upon completion of his contract, each contractor received from the county auditor of his county a certificate for the amount due him thereon, and containing an accurate description of the land to which he was entitled. Such certificate, when presented and delivered to the Governor, entitled said contractor to a deed from the State. The townships in this county containing swamp lands appropriated under this Act, are Jackson, Milton, Portage, Center, Montgomery and Webster. School Lands.--The most important act of the founders of the American Republic, is the provision made for educational purposes. The first reservation, for such purposes, was made by the Congress of the Confederation, in the Ordinance of May 20, 1785, which provided that Lot No. i6, of every township shall be reserved for the maintenance of public schools, within said township. This was an endowment of 640 acres in a township of six miles square, but the manner of establishing such public schools, or by whom, was not mentioned, or pointed out. This reservation, by subsequent enactment, became perpetual. This endowment of one thirty-sixth part of the public land, was WOOD COUNTY, OHIO. -199 the subject of much legislation in the years following. Whether the public schools, thus endowed by the United States, were to be under National or State control, remained a question, and the lands were held in reservation, until after the admission of Ohio into the Union. By the Act of April 30, 1802, authorizing the formation, of a State government in Ohio, Congress submitted three propositions, which were offered for the acceptance or rejection, by the convention, to form the constitution for said State, for as yet no transfers had been made by the United States of the title or control of the sixteenth section of reserved school lands; one of these propositions being, that the section No. 16, in every township, and where such section has been sold, granted or disposed of, other lands equivalent thereto, and most contiguous to the same, shall be granted to the inhabitants of such townships, for the use of schools. " This proposition was accepted by resolution, passed in convention, November 29, 1802. An Act of Congress of March 3, 1803, contains the following: '' That the following several tracts of land, in the State of Ohio, be and the same are hereby appropriated for the use of schools in that State, and shall, together with all the tracts of land heretofore appropriated for that purpose, be vested in the Legislature of that State, in trust, for the use aforesaid, and for no other use, intent or purpose whatever; that is to say: one thirty-sixth part of all the lands of the United States, lying in Ohio, to which the Indian title has not been extinguished, which may hereafter be purchased of the Indian tribes by the United States, which 36th section .shall consist of the Section No. 16, in each township, if the said land shall be surveyed into townships of six miles square, and shall, if the lands be surveyed in a different manner, be designated by lots. " The Legislature assumed control of all the school lands within Ohio, and enacted laws, from time to time, regarding the use and management of the same. Finally, by Act of February 1, 1826, Congress authorized Ohio to sell all or any part of the lands reserved and appropriated by Congress, for the use of schools, and to invest the money arising from such sale in some productive fund, provided said land, or any part thereof, shall in no case be sold without the consent of the inhabitants of such township or district. After the passage of this Act, whenever it was desired to sell the school lands of any township, a special Act was obtained from the Legislature authorizing such sale, until, finally, a general Act was passed, April 16, 1852, under which they have been sold since that time. The provisions of the Act are cited here to show the manner of making such sales. First, it was enacted that all those lands granted by the Congress of the United States for school purposes, known as Section 16, might be sold; that in townships where no vote had previously been taken for the sale of such lands, the trustees of any original surveyed township, to which such lands belonged, should give not less than thirty days notice to the legal voters, residing in such township, to meet at a specified time and place, and cast their ballots for or against the sale of any such lands belonging to such township; if such ballot was in favor of a sale, the trustees were required to deposit one of the poll-books with the county auditor, together with a copy of the proceedings had in relation to such election. The next step necessary and requisite was for the trustees of such township to file a petition in the Common Pleas of the county, asking the court to appoint three disinterested freeholders, not residents of the township, in which the land was situate, to divide and value the same, in money. If the proceedings were found to be legal, the prayer of the petition was then granted, and three persons were appointed to divide and appraise the lands, and, if necessary, call to their aid the county surveyor; the divisions to be made into such parcels as would be best for the sale thereof. The court, upon examining the return of said appraisers, and finding their proceedings to have been regular and just, then certified the same, and ordered such proceedings to be entered of record, a copy of which was required to be filed in the office of the county auditor. The auditor then advertised said land for, sale six weeks in a newspaper of the county, and by notices posted in the county, containing a description of the lands to be sold, the valuation of the same, and the time when it would be offered at public auction by said auditor at the door of the court house, at not less than the appraised value thereof; one-twelfth of the purchase money to be paid at the time of sale, and the balance in eleven annual instalments of equal amount, with annual interest thereon. The land was to be sold to the highest bidder over the appraisement, and on the terms above stated. The purchasers of the land, when having made payment in full, received from the county auditor a final certificate to that affect, and that such purchasers are entitled to receive from the State a deed in fee-simple for said land. Upon filing such certificate with the Auditor of State, a deed was pre- WOOD COUNTY, OHIO. - 200 pared, signed by the Governor, and delivered to the person entitled to receive it. It is worthy of notice that the Territories which have been organized and afterward admitted as States subsequent to the admission of Ohio, were also granted the Section No. 16 in each township for school purposes, until the organization of the Territory of Oregon, in 1848, when Senator Stephen A. Douglass, of Illinois, inserted in the Act an additional grant for school purposes of Section No. 36 in each township, making the reservation for school purposes of the 16th and 36th Sections, or 1,280 acres in each township, of six miles square. Each of the States admitted since that time has had granted to it both of these sections. Miscellancous Grants. -Besides the various grants of land made by Congress to the several States and Territories, many special grants and donations of land have been made to private individuals for services rendered, a few of which we shall notice, none, however, being within the limits of Wood county, except, that under an Act passed June 4, 1832, directing that a patent or patents issue to Dr. Eliakim Crosby, for a quantity of land equal to two sections, which might be located on any of the unappropriated lands of the United States, subject to entry; a portion of the land selected lies within said county, consisting of eighty acres, in Section 17, in Webster township, and eighty acres, in Section 26, Plain township. The first grant was an Act of the Continental Congress, August 14, 1776, offering to receive, and make citizens of, deserters from the British army, and tendering to each deserter, or his heirs, absolutely, fifty acres of unappropriated land in some one of the States. Another Act was an appropriation of one township of land, in Ohio, to Arnold Henry Doorman, an agent for the United States at the Court of Lisbon, during the Revolutionary war. This land was located in the Steubenville land district. During the Revolutionary war there was a force of Canadian officers and men in the, army of the United States, known as "Refugees from Canada." To these were reserved three townships in Ohio, on the shores of Lake Erie, but, afterward, other lands were appropriated, in lieu thereof. In 1803, Congress directed the Secretary of War to issue land warrants to Gen. LaFayette for 11, 520 acres. The land was to be located, !surveyed or patented at his option, or the warrants could be received, in payment for lands, within the State of Ohio. In 1804, Congress ordered that the warrants, above granted, might be located by Gen. LaFayette, in Orleans Territory. -In 1824, on the occasion of LaFayette's last visit to this country, Congress directed that $200,000 be paid to him, and also granted to him, or his heirs, a township of land in Florida. In closing this chapter, we deem it of interest to mention that not a few of the men, who have been prominent in National and State affairs, have held title to lands in Wood county, and some of them are yet living. Of these, we find the names of President R. B. Hayes; of the Governors of Ohio-Joseph Vance, Reuben Wood, Seabury Ford, David Tod and Charles Foster; of the Governors of Michigan-Alpheus Felch, Austin Blair and H. H. Crapo; Hon. Caleb Smith, Secretary of the Interior, under President Lincoln; Hon. M. R. Waite, Chief Justice of the United States; Senators Joshua R. Giddings and Benjamin F. Wade; Judge Joseph R. Swan; Gen. Thomas M. Keys; Hon. James Wadsworth, of Geneseo, N. Y., and his sons, Gen. James S. Wadsworth and William W. Wadsworth; Aristarchus Champion, a capitalist and banker of Rochester, N. Y.; Jesse Stone and Sumner Stone, of the State of New York; Andrew D. White, ex-president of Cornell University, and ex-minister to Germany; Lyne Starling, the founder of the City of Columbus, Ohio, besides numerous others, RETURN TO THE TITLE PAGE