Monday, March 23, 2020

Notebooks - Ohio No. 5


Bell, Carol. Ohio Lands: Steubenville Land Office, 1800 - 1820, Youngstown, OH: Bell, nd.
Terms of Sale Under Various U.S. Land Acts - Year, Price, Terms & Minimum Purchase
  • 1785 - $1/acre - specie, loan-office or debt certificates - 640 acres
  • 1795 - $2/acre - one-half down, one-half due in one year - 640 acres
  • 1800 - $2/acre - one quarter cash, remainder in three annual installments - 320 acres
  • 1804 - $2/acre - one-quarter cash, remainder in three annual installments - 160 acres
  • 1820 - $1.25/acre - cash, no credit - 80 acres
  • 1830 - land scrip - acceptable in lieu of cash - 80 acres
  • 1832 - $1.25/acre - cash - 40 acres
Dyer, Albion. First Ownership of Ohio Lands, Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1969.
At the end of the war of the American Revolution the Continental Congress came into possession of certain western lands, surrendered by the British Crown to the United States in the treaty signed at Paris on the 3d day of September, 1783. The "crown lands," as they were called, lay back of the heads
of the Atlantic rivers and over the mountains, extending westward to the distant Father of Waters. They were known to the colonies as the "back lands" or "back country," and being waste and uncultivated, remote from the ships and barred by many hazards, were not especially desirable in the early settlements. Here wars had raged for unknown centuries, and war was to linger for many years. Two great savage nations had fought from the beginning for this vast wilderness, and three European powers had striven from its discovery to possess it. Finally it was won from the French by the united arms of the King and colonies and joined to Quebec to enter upon a new epoch. Afterwards the crown lands appear in the public councils of the colonies, and that part lying beyond the Ohio River is referred to in the early records as "the Western Territory," a term obviously too broad, since there was western territory on both sides of the river. Under this name it passed for many years, both in and out of Congress; but the official designation of the region was changed in the final action on the famous Ordinance of 1787, where, in the last reading, the title was extended to "the Territory of the United States North-West of the River Ohio."  Such is the origin of the Northwest Territory, nursery of states, first extension in area of the United States, first grand resource of the nation, yielding the first considerable item of revenue int he public accounts. . . .
Land Owners on the Muskingum - While the first sale of lots was in progress in New York, the agents and directors of the Ohio Company of Associates were negotiating with the Committee of Congress for the purchase of the tract of land on the Muskingum River, west of the seventh range of townships. Papers were signed for this purchase, and for the Scioto River tract, on the 27th of October, 1787 and title to the property passed from the United States on that date. Prior to this date the Ohio Company had arranged to apportion the lands of their purchase among the proprietor-shareholders of the company, in number about a thousand, one numbered subdivision in each allotment for each share. Plans were formed at a series of meetings, beginning August 29, 1787, and extending beyond the date of signature to July 7, 1788, for the distribution of these shares of the lands to the proprietors by a method of drafts, the details of which appear in the form of resolutions entered in the manuscript minutes of the Ohio company. . . .
Ohio Source Records: From the Ohio Genealogical Quarterly, Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1986.
Lang, Thelma. Index to Tax List of Ohio for 1810, Gallia County -

  • Clark, Elihu
  • Robinson, Robert
  • Robinson, James
Lang, Thelma. The Tax List of Ohio for 1810 - An act levying a tax on land was passed at the first session of the eighth General Assembly of the State of Ohio, at Chillicothe, December 4, 1809, and was signed February 19, 1810 by Edward Tiffin, Speaker of the House of Representatives & Duncan McArthur, Speaker of Senate.  This Act provided:
  1. Taxes on all land owned by individuals, not exempted from taxation, yearly and every year hereafter
  2. The classification of all land into first, second & third grade land.
  3. Rates of taxation - first class to be $1.25 per 100 acres, second class to b $1.00 per 100 acres, third class to be $.65 per 100 acres.
  4. That the lister be appointed by the county commissioners to go to the dwelling of each and every resident owner of lands within the county and take a list of lands owned by the residents, with the name of original proprietors also; Each lister to make two certified alphabetical abstracts of the names listed by him, one to be deposited with the commissioner of the proper county and the second, with the original list to be forwarded to the office of the state auditor before December 15, 1810.
  5. Each county shall classify and assess as first class all lands on which the owner refuses to give the lister required information.
  6. Collection of taxes of each county or township by the collector.
  7. Taxes of proprietors not resident of state be collected by special collectors appointed by both houses of general assembly.
  8. Distribution of tax monies
  9. Sale of land delinquent and on which no tax has been paid for three years.
  10. Manner of enforcing the act.
  11. Bonds
  12. Duties of Listers, Collectors, Commissioners, Auditors, etc. in relation to this act.
  13. Failure to fulfill duties of those administering the act.
  14. Dates for taking tax lists and paying the taxes
  15. Disposition of lands on which taxes are delinquent
  16. Information to be secured by Listers
Each lister to secure the following information - name of proprietor in 1810, name of original proprietor, classification of land and number of acres to be taxed, original number of acres, entry number, survey number, section number of township number, county in which land was situated, amount of taxes paid on land in 1810. 
1810 Map of Ohio Counties
Lindley, Harlow. The Quaker Settlement of Ohio - The period of a third of a century following 1680 marks the great migration of Quakers from England, Ireland & Wales to America, and most of these came to the region around Philadelphia. Previous to this date some Quakers had settled in new England, New Jersey, Virginia & the Carolinas. Most of the Quakers who early settled in Ohio came directly or indirectly from Pennsylvania. A majority came direct from Virginia & the Carolinas but most of them were direct descendants of Pennsylvania settlers . . .
The membership of the Quakers in Ohio came very largely from Hopewell and Old Sout Monthly Meetings in Virginia; Cane Creek, New Garden, Deep River, Springfield, Center & Westfield monthly meetings in North Carola; and bush River in South Carolina. Friends from Pennsylvania and Virginia crossed the mountains and monthly meetings were established in Southwestern Pennsylvania near the present ceity of Brownsville and two monthly meetings were soon opened - one called Westland and the other Redstone. These served as the official base for the establishment of regular meetings in Ohio. . . .
Swisher, Helen. Early Settlements in Ohio, a series of maps with explanations . . . Map No. 1. Early Areas of Settlement shows the following districts:
  1. The Ohio Land Company - Rufus Putnam, Manasseh Cutler, Robert Oliver & Griffin Greene, obtained a patent from George Washington for 750,000 acres of land in southeastern Ohio, and made a second purchase of 214,285 acres adjoining the first tract on the west and north. Settlers were recruited from Massachusetts and other New England states. Their ancestors had come from England in search of religious freedom and in opposition to the Church of England. One hundred & fifty years in new England had developed great differences between them and the Virginians. 
  2. The Symmes Purchase 
  3. The Seven Ranges - extended west of the Pennsylvania line & north of the Ohio Company's lands to the fortieth parallel of latitude. The early settlers came from Pennsylvania, some being Quaker stock, and others of German origin.  Other settlers came from western Virginia, especially Augusta County. Steubenville and Cadiz became the chief towns in these lands which was the first to be surveyed and offered for sale in the territory which is now Ohio.
  4. The Virginia Military District - lay east of the Symmes Purchase, between the Little Miami & Scioto Rivers. 
  5. The Western Reserve
  6. U.S. Military Lands -  This reservation, which extended west of the Seven Ranges to the Scioto River and south of Wayne's Treaty Line, was settled by people from all the states and had no especial social peculiarities. New Jersey, New England, Virginia & Pennsylvania contributed settlers to this area. Columbus and Zanesville became the chief towns. 
The Organization of the Counties of Ohio 1788 - 1810 - The year 1795 is very important in the history of the Ohio country for it marks the beginning of the great American migration to the West with Ohio as the gateway. Prior to this time no progress had been made due to Indian warfare; but with the settlement of these troubles by General Greene, and the signing of the Greenville Treaty, development was very rapid. Settlers came in such numbers by way of the few trails that led through wilderness of Kentucky, Virginia, Pennsylvania and from the Niagara district.  Ohio, which in 1790 had but two counties, namely, Washington (1788) and Hamilton (1790), had by the year 1810 erected forty-one and organized thirty-four of the eighty-eight counties which comprise the state today.
  • County - Organized
  • Washington - 1788 - Marietta first land office
  • Hamilton - 1790 - Cincinnati 2nd land office
  • Adams - 1797
  • Jefferson - 1797 - Steubenville 3rd land office
  • Gallia - 1803
  • Muskingum - 1804
  • Coshocton - 1811 - from Portage, Geauga, Muskingum & Tuscarawas
Smith, Clifford. Federal Land Series: A Calendar of Archival Materials on the Land Patents Issued by the United States Government, with Subject, Tract & Name Indexes, Vol. I, 1788-1810, Chicago, IL: American Library Association, 1972.
Map of Ohio showing land grant areas.
Smith, Clifford. Federal Land Series: A Calendar of Archival Materials on the Land Patents Issued by the United States Government, with Subject, Tract & Name Indexes, Vol. 2, 1799-1835, Chicago, IL: American Library Association, 1973.
Federal Bounty-Land Warrants of the American Revolution

  • Robertson, Henry, Private, #14126, 8/5/1795, 100 acres, Military T9, R6, 3rd Meridian
  • Clark, John, Private, #8164, 5/31/1790, 100 acres, Military T8, R6, 3rd Meridian
  • Brooks, Almarine, Ensign, #186, 7/7/1789, 150 acres, Military T16, R5, 3rd Meridian
  • Robertson, Alex[ande]r, Private #7908, 9/28/1789, 100 acres, Military T18, R2, 3rd Meridian
  • Robertson, Alex[ande]r, Private #6911, 8/4/1790, 100 acres
  • Robertson, Alex[ande]r, Private, #7528, 9/28/1790, 100 acres, Military, T20, R5, 1st Meridian
  • Coy, Edw[ard], Private, #6705, 8/23/1790, 100 acres, Military, T13, R1, 4th Meridian
  • Brooks, Charles, Private #11891, 11/5/1789, 100 acres, Military, T7, R7, 1st Meridian
  • Robertson, Alex[ande]r, Private #7574, 9/28/1790, 100 acres, T20, R6, 1st Meridian
  • Robertson, Alex[ande]r, Private #7129, 9/28/1790, 100 acres, T20, R6, 1st Meridian
  • Robertson, Alex[ande]r, Private #7395, 9/28/1790, 100 acres, T20, R6, 1st Meridian
  • Robinson, James, Sgt. #10252, 3/29/1791, 100 acres, T17, R1, 3rd Meridian
  • Brooks, Isaac #6455, 9/6/1791, 100 acres
  • Brooks, Isaac #13961, 9/6/1791, 100 acres
  • Brooks, Nathan, Private, #3660, 1/12/1792, 100 acres, Military T10, R2, 2nd Meridian
  • Brooks, Samuel, Private #6892, 5/25/1790, 100 acres
  • Brooks, Thomas, soldier, #6795, 100 acres - warrant returned to the owner in letter of 5/15/1806
  • Brooks, Thomas, Private #6795, 100 acres - sent Hon. R. Beall
  • Brooks, Benjamin, Major #228, 400 acres - sent to Hon. Mr. Creighton
  • Robertson, James, Private #1573, scrip issued to Sally Robertson, 100 acres
  • Brooks, Joshua, Private #1787, scrip issued to Joshua Brooks, 100 acres
  • Brooks, David, Lt. #1909 script issued to David Brooks, 200 acres
  • Robertson, William & James Taylor, 11/25/1807, Military, T16, R7, 4th Meridian, Section 16
  • Robertson, William & James Taylor, 11/25/1807, Military T16, R7, 4th Meridian, Section 17
Sperry, Kip. Genealogical Research in Ohio, National Genealogical Society Quarterly, Vol. 75, No. 2, June 1987
Ohio - popularly called the Gateway to the West - is an important migration state. Although there were explorations and settlements in the Ohio country from the seventeenth century (principally by French Canadians), the earliest permanent white settlement within the present bounds of this state occurred late in the eighteenth century. Following the creation of the Northwest Territory in 1787, land companies were formed by various Anglo-American groups and the settlement of the Ohio country began in earnest. . . .
Ohio was admitted to the Union in 1803, as new settlers poured into the region. Unlike many of the frontier states east of the Mississippi, Ohio's early growth was spurred by industrial progress. The 1825 completion of New York State's Erie Canal, a slice of mostly manmade waterway, linked New England and the Middle Atlantic States to Lake Erie, over which settlers could cross to Ohio's northern shores. The opening there of the National Road, by the United States in 1833, provided a similarly convenient highway to the interior.
Migration studies which have been conducted for the Ohio country show considerable diversity among the early settlers. Many migrants were from the New England states, especially from Connecticut and Massachusetts. A significant number were from the Middle Atlantic states of New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.  Virginia, Kentucky, Maryland, the Carolinas and other southern states also provided early settlers. . . .
Historical Guides:
  • Howe's Historical Collections of Ohio
  • Newberry Library. Historical Atlas & Chronology of County Boundaries 1788-1980
  • Jurisdictional Histories for Ohio's Eighty-eight Counties, 1788-1985
  • Evolution of Ohio County Boundaries
  • Wilhem, Hubert. Origin & Distribution of Settlement Groups: Ohio, 1850
Archives & Libraries:
Records:
  • Marriages - recording began at the time counties formed, show the names of bridge, groom, date of marriage, county where marriage occurred, sometimes specific place within county, officiating party, ages and residences of spouses
  • Birth / Death - obligatory recording at state level began in 1908; county level recording is officially 1867.  Less-systematic recording occurred as early as 1856 and a very few such registrations can be found for even earlier years in the records of townships and other local governing bodies. 
  • Divorce - Court of Common Pleas at county level.
  • Church - major denominations in the state before 1900 included Baptist, Methodist, Congregational, Lutheran, Reformed, Presbyterian, Episcopal, Mennonite, Quaker & Catholic. 
  • Census - first extant census is 1820. Mortality extant for 1850, 1860, 1870 & 1880
  • Tax records - begin as early as 1800 and can be used as substitutes for census records
  • Probate  records - probate court created in 1852, prior to that Court of Common Pleas
  • Land / Property - After the passage of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, the new territory of Ohio was parceled out by Congress in many different (but major) divisions: 
  1. Seven Ranges
  2. Ohio Company's Purchase
  3. Symme's Purchase
  4. Fire Lands
  5. Connecticut Western Reserve
  6. Virginia Military District
  7. U.S. Military District
  8. Refugee Tract
  9. Congressional Lands
  • Land - continued - Recorders Office in the county, State Land Office in Columbus, Federal land tract books
  • Military - grave registration index at the Ohio Historical Society; discharge, burials at the county level
  • Cemeteries - Ohio Cemetery Records - contains inscriptions 
  • Naturalization - prior to 1851 recorded in Court of Common Pleas, after 1851 Probate Court
  • Township - valuable for the pre-1850 era. A variety of records are included: meeting minutes, lists of residents, office holders, property descriptions, deaths, warnings out
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