FRONTIER OHIO, 1788--1803 By RANDOLPH CHANDLER DOWNES, Ph. D. Assistant Professor of History, University of Pittsburgh; Research Associate of Western Pennsylvania Historical Survey. Published by THE OHIO STATE ARCHJEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL SOCIETY Columbus, Ohio, 19 3 5 Copyright, 19 3; The Ohio State Archaelogical and Historical Society PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA BY THE BROWN PUBLISHING COMPANY BLANCHESTER, OHIO OHIO HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS Volume III No.I ,n JV Other titles in this series: Vol. I. Party Politics in Ohio. 1840,1850. by Edgar Allan Holt, 1930. Vol. Il. Chase and Civil War Politics, by Donnal V. Smith, 1931. Vol. Ill. FTontier Ohio. 1788,1803. by Randolph Chandler Downes, 1935. Vol. N. Robert Hamilton Bishop. by James H. Rodabaugh (in preparation). 'To Marie McKitric'I{ Downes EDITORIAL INTRODUCTION In 1930, upon the recommendation of the Committee on Co-­ operation between the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society and the local historical societies and departments of history in the colleges and universities of the State, a series of publications called Ohio Historical Collections was established. The first volume in this series, Party Politics in Ohio, 1840,1850, by Edgar Allan Holt, was published in 19 31, and the second volume, Chase and Civil War Politics, by Donnal V. Smith, appeared the same year. Due to decreased appropriations it has been impossible, until recently, to issue other volumes, although the material was available and had been accepted by the Editorial Committee. In 1934 the Board of Trustees of the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society authorized the discontinuance of the series known as the Publications and approved a policy of issuing the more lengthy and monographic contributions in the Collection series. This makes possible at once the renewing of this series and Dr. Randolph Chandler Downes" Frontier Ohio, 1788,1803 has been accepted by the Editorial Committee as the third volume. The material presented in Chapters II,VIII of this volume was originally prepared as a doctoral dissertation for the Department of History of the Ohio State Univer, sity, but since has been revised and rewritten by Dr. Downes for this senes. Dr. Downes is a member of the research staff of the Western Pennsylvania Historical Survey and has had unusual opportunities for studying the period covered by this volume. The Editorial Com, mittee supervising this series consists of Professor Carl Wittke, Ohio State University, Professor William T. Utter, Denison University, and the Secretary of the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society. February 1, 1935'. HARLOW LINDLEY, Secretary. IX TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Preface ..............................................................................................XIII Chapter I The Conquest, 1788--1795 ........................................................ 3 II The People of Frontier Ohio .................................................... 55 III The Problems of Trade ............................................................ 101 IV The Reign of Winthrop Sargent ............................................ 127 V Political Reform ...................................................................... 14 7 VI The Statehood Contest-Cincinnati Phase ............................ 177 VII The Statehood Contest-Chillicothe Phase ............................ 201 VIII The Making of the State ........................................................ 226 Bibliography ...................................................................................... 253 Index .................................................................................................. 269 :XI MAPS Map No. Page I Principal Settlements in Frontier Ohio to 1803 ........................ IV Ia The Scene of the Indian Wars, 1790, 1794................................ 2 II The Pennsylvania,Virginia,Kentucky Frontier, 1763, 1800 .... 56 III The Symmes Disputes.................................................................. 66 IV Division Schemes ........................................................................ 16 5 V Voting Places in Hamilton County Elections of 1800 and 1802 ..........................................................................................244 m PREFACE I have sought in these pages to draw upon the available sources dealing with the first fifteen years of the "domestic"" history of Ohio in the hope that a somewhat balanced description of the life of the commonwealth in that period may be presented. For this reason I have sought to avoid a purely political account by making the basis of my work an analysis of the agrarian, religious, and commercial institutions of these frontier people. I have not, however, been able to construct chapters on agriculture, domestic life and culture. Dr. Beverley W. Bond"s Civilization of the Old Northwest and the work in progress by Dr. Solon J. Buck on ~~The Planting of Civilization in Western Pennsylvania"" will help supply these deficiencies. The central theme throughout is the frontier. All of the early institutions of Ohio were the product of frontier conditions. Its religious life was dominated by schism and the spread of the evangelical denominations. Its commercial life developed a depend, ence on the downstream trade that weakened its relation to the East. In their relation to the soil the people universally insisted on free or cheap lands because of the rigorous frontier conditions to which they were subjected. In their political life they built up a democracy that revealed every '\veakness of the Ordinance of 1787 as an instrument of frontier government. I wish to record my gratitude to my wife for the labor of love performed at every phase of the preparation of this work. Likewise, I feel especially indebted to Dr. Carl Wittke for his minute reading of the manuscript and for his numerous helpful criticisms. I wish, also, to express my thanks to the officials of the various libraries where I have worked-to the staff of the Manuscript Division at the Library of Congress; to Miss Alice Boardman of the Ohio State Library; to the late Charles B. Galbreath of the Ohio State Archaeo, logical and Historical Society, and to his successor, Dr. Harlow Lindley; to Miss Maude Jeffrey and her associates at the Ohio State University Library; to Dr. Wallace H. Cathcart and Miss Eliza S. xm XIV OHIO HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS Pollack of Western Reserve Historical Society; to Miss Gracie B. Krum of Detroit Public Library; to the late Miss L. Belle Hamlin of the Historical and Philosophical Society of Ohio; to Mr. George J. Blazier of Marietta College Library; to the late Georgia L. Os... borne of Illinois State Historical Library; and to Mr. Edwin Gholson of the Cincinnati Law Library Association. I wish that the late David Meade Massie of Chillicothe, grandson of Nathaniel Massie, might have known how helpful to me were his hospitality and encouragement in those days when I began to survey the sources of Ohio history. I feel especially grateful to Dr. Katherine E. Crane for helping me to discover the Indian point of view. I wish to acknowledge the help given me by Dr. Charles H. Ambler and Dr. Eugene H. Roseboom for their reading of the manuscript and their helpful suggestions. The minute and constructive work done on the manuscript by Clarence L. Weaver, editorial assistant of the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society, has been immeas ... urably helpful. After this volume was in page proof I received advance copies of Clarence Edwin Carter (ed.), 'The 'Territorial Papers of the United States (Washington, 1934 ... ), Volumes J ... 111. Volumes II and III of this monumental work are the papers of the Northwest Ter., ritory. I have not, of course, used these two volumes in the prepara... tion of my work, although I have sought to find and use the sources that Dr. Carter has reproduced. RANDOLPH CHANDLER DOWNES FRONTIER OHIO, 1788--1803 Cill fiP1:Wlf. POTAWATOMI ~ LAttf E'fti E l✓ .:r: .. , ... in,r... , No.I~ YINCIUIU Ma.r· ~ l{N011) T>td' Sc~n.e of Tkr :i:~Jie>..~ 'Wo..,-4 11so-1"19LI -G-,~ehvil/; Trea.l'y Linet ,nll> l4 "J C •-ui•h 1't-ofD~i!d 8y Bre.-'1''1' in 11ft CHAPTER I THE CONQUEST, 1788--1795 1 The Treaty of Fort Harmar:, 1789. HE HISTORY of frontier Ohio during the years from 1788 to 1803 must be written against the lurid background of war. T The land that, in these years, was set aside for white settle, ment was acquired by direct conquest in the face of determined Indian opposition. From the Indian standpoint the surveys and settle, ments made on the Ohio, the Muskingum., the Scioto and the Great Miami before 1795 were the most flagrant trespasses and should be dealt with drastically if the white man would not listen to reason. Settlement did not really precede conquest in frontier Ohio. Chron, ologically, it is true, a few small settlements were made, but the fact of Indian possession and of Indian belief in their right of possession, preceded the making of these feeble establishments and almost accomplished their destruction. It must be made emphatically clear at the outset that the Indians in 1788 either actually used most of the lands that became the domain of the · State of Ohio, or else felt the need of using some parts thereof. Although by this year, the towns of the Delawares, Shawnee, and Mingo had been moved from what is now central and southern Ohio to the waters of the Sandusky and Maumee, the scenes of their annual winter hunts, according to one John Brickell, continued to be