Dearborn County IN Archives History - Books .....Page 41 1915
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Book Title: History Of Dearborn County Indiana

DEARBORN   COUNTY,  INDIANA.	41

tween the first and second stages of territorial government lay in the fact that
the legislative functions were taken from the governor and judges and given to a
"general assembly or legislature." The ordinance provided for the election of
one representative for each five hundred free male inhabitants, the tenure of
the office to be two years. While the members of the lower house were to be
elected by the qualified voters of the territory, the upper house, to consist of
five members, were to be appointed by Congress in a somewhat complicated manner.
The house of representatives was to select ten men and these ten names were to
be sent to Congress and out of this number five were to be selected by Congress.
This provision, like the appointment of the governor, was. later changed so as
to make the upper house the appointees of the President of the United States.
The five men so selected were called councilors and held office for five years.

ORGANIZATION   OF   THE   NORTHWEST   TERRITORY.

    The first governor of the newly organized territory was Gen. Arthur St.
Clair, a gallant soldier of the Revolution, who was appointed on October 5,
1787, and ordered to report for duty on the first of the following February. He
held the office until November 22, 1802, when he was dismissed by President
Jefferson "for the disorganizing spirit, and tendency of every example,
violating the rules of conduct enjoined by his public station, as displayed in
his address to the convention." The governor's duties were performed by his
secretary, Charley W. Byrd, until March I, 1803, when the state officials took
their office. The first judges appointed were Samuel Holden Parsons, James
Mitchell Varnum and John Armstrong. Before the time came for the judges to
qualify, Armstrong resigned and John Cleves Symmes was appointed in his place.
The first secretary was Winthrop Sargent, who held the position until he was
appointed governor of Mississippi Territory by the President on May 2, 1798.
Sargent was succeeded by William Henry Harrison, who was appointed by the
President on June 26, 1798, and confirmed by the Senate two days later. Harrison
was later elected as the first delegate of the organized Northwest Territory to
Congress and the President then appointed Charles Willing Byrd as secretary of
the Territory, Byrd's appointment being confirmed by the Senate on December 31,
1799.

REPRESENTATIVE STAGE  OF  GOVERNMENT   (1799-1803).

    The Northwest Territory remained under the government of the first stage
until September 16, 1799, when it formally advanced to the second or


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