OHIO STATEWIDE FILES OH-FOOTSTEPS Mailing List *********************************************************************** USGENWEB NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. *********************************************************************** OH-FOOTSTEPS-D Digest Volume 99 : Issue 291 Today's Topics: #1 Ohio Lands History [Part 1] [Maggie Stewart-Zimmerman <73777.25] #2 Ohio Lands History [Part 2a] [Maggie Stewart-Zimmerman <73777.25] ------------------------------ X-Message: #1 Date: Tue, 11 May 1999 17:38:33 -0400 From: Maggie Stewart-Zimmerman Subject: Ohio Lands History [Part 1] "Ohio Lands - A Short History" Part 1a Ohio has nine major land surveys and 46 subsurveys. The key to understanding and using Ohio land records is the original land surveys. Ohio is unique. It was the test state for the Federal Rectangular Survey System, yet it has the Virginia Military District! , composed entirely of metes and bounds surveys. This short history of Ohio lands begins with the territory's earliest inhabitants. Prehistoric Man and the Indians Evidence of the existence of man in Ohio prior to the glacial period is abundant. Earthworks built by the "Mound Building Indians" are found in many parts of Ohio. These earthworks are remnants of three early mound building groups: the Fort Ancients, the Adenas and the Hopewells; Serpent Mound, Adams County; Fort Ancient, Warren County; Fort Hill, Highland County; and the Newark Earthworks, Licking County are major examples of these mound builder's existence. The largest mound in the State, at Miamisburg, is 68 feet in height and 800 feet in circumference. The mound builders had vanished long before European traders entered the territory. The Indians claiming the land had no knowledge of the mound builders or their culture. The principal Ohio Indian Tribes were: the Miami, the Shawnee, the Delaware, the Wyandot (Huron), the Ottawa of the Algonquin tribe, and the Mingo (Seneca) of the Iroquois Nation. The Miami tribe was the first of these tribes to reside in Ohio, coming in the late 1660's. The Indians' claim to Ohio lands rested upon conquest and possession. They did not claim ownership of the land, as the white men did, rather they claimed the right to use the land for various purposes. Therefore, different boundaries existed for hunting, fishing, farming and villages. These overlaps of claims often led to wars among the various tribes. Title to land claimed by the various Indian tribes was extinguished or conveyed by treaty. The Treaty of Fort McIntosh, January 21, 1785, between the Sachems and warriors of the Wyandot, Delaware, Chippewa and Ottawa nations and the United States, gave the United States title to Ohio lands except the northern quarter. This treaty was not kept by the Indians, but was reaffirmed by the Treaty of Greenville in 1795. National title to all Ohio lands, except for reservations in Northwest Ohio, was fixed by the following major treaties: MAIN TREATIES CEDING INDIAN LANDS IN OHIO No. Concluded Place of Treaty Acres Ceded Tribes Concerned 1. 1795, Aug. 3 Greenville, Ohio 16,930,417 Eleven northwestern tribes 2. 1805, July 4 Fort Industry, Ohio 2,726,812 Ottawas, Wyandots, Chippewas, Pottawatamies, Shawnees, Delawares 3. 1807, Nov. 17 Detroit, Michigan 345,600 Chippewas, Ottawas, Wyandots, Pottawatamies 4. 1808, Nov. 25 Brownstown, Michigan Two Roads Same tribes as at Detroit 5. 1817, Sep. 29 Fort Meigs, Ohio 4,554,459 Same as at Fort Industry, and Senecas in addition 6. 1818, Sep. 17 St. Marys, Ohio None Listed Ottawas, Shawnees, Wyandots and Senecas 7. 1818, Oct. 2 St. Marys, Ohio None Listed Weas 8. 1818, Oct. 6 St. Marys, Ohio 297,600 Miamis European Explorations The first exploration by Europeans, in what is now Ohio, was made by the French. Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, explored the lake area in late 1669 or early 1670, thus claiming all of Ohio for France. The territory was in dispute between the French and English until the Treaty of Paris, February 10, 1763, when the French assigned the "Great West" to the English. This was the result of the French losing the French and Indian War, 1755-1763. During the Revolutionary War, George Rogers Clark, operating under the authority of Patrick Henry, Virginia governor, sought to capture the British Forts in the Illinois country. On February 24, 1779, Clark and his men defeated Lt. Col. Henry Hamilton, the Lt. Gov. of Canada, and his troops at Vincennes. Thus, the Americans took control of what was to become the Northwest Territory. Great Britain formally relinquished its right and interest in the Northwest Territory by the Treaty of Paris, September 3, 1783. Claims to the Northwest Territory and State Reserves As early as 1778, a Congressional Committee proposed that states cede its Western lands to the New Central Government. The states of Virginia, New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts all claimed portions of the territory northwest of the Ohio River, based upon charters granted by the kings of England. After much controversy and compromise, these states relinquished their claims. The dates of these cessions were: NewYork, 1781;Virginia, 1784; Massachusetts, 1785; and Connecticut, 1786 and 1800. Some of the provisions contained in the cessions, and accepted by the Continental Congress, were the basis of the Northwest Ordinance. Virginia and Connecticut both reserved lands in Ohio as part of the cession compromise. Virginia Military District. Virginia Military District (VMD) lands are found in 23 Ohio counties from the Ohio River northward, between the Scioto and Little Miami Rivers, as far as 141 miles inland. The irregularly shaped land district was reserved by the state of Virginia to satisfy its military bounty warrants. It is one of the original nine major subdivisions of Ohio lands, and the only one not using a rectangular survey system. The VMD covers 6,570 square miles and contains approximately 4,204,800 acres of land. More than 16,125 metes and bounds (indiscriminate) original surveys are found in the VMD, thus creating a patchwork of surveys which, from the air, resemble a giant jigsaw puzzle. Because of the number of surveys and the difficulty of finding the physical objects they relied upon, this is probably the most litigated land area in Ohio. The land bounties given by Virginia to her Revolutionary soldiers were very generous. Due to various Virginia laws, the bounties ranged from 100 acres to 15,000 acres depending upon rank. Length of service over six years also increased the bounty. The heirs of a soldier or officer killed in the war were entitled to the bounty. Virginia issued bounty land warrants for 6,146,950 acres for Revolutionary War service. These were used to claim land in Kentucky and Ohio. Virginia also issued land warrants for French and Indian War services. Virginia Military Warrants could be assigned and transferred and often were. Nearly 25% of the VMD (1,035,408 acres) was patented to 25 individuals. Claiming Ohio land by a Virginia Military Warrant involved sending the warrant to the principal surveyor of the Virginia District of Ohio. He would give the warrant to a deputy surveyor who would give a general description of the claim (entry) and then run a survey. Virginia permitted a 5% error factor for VMD surveys, but this was often exceeded. Following the acceptance of the survey, the warrant was sent to the federal government and a U.S. Patent issued. For their services, the Deputy Surveyors often received 20% to 50% of the acres called for in the warrant or cash. In Ohio, the entry number and survey number are the same. The first VMD survey was run by John O'Bannon, November 13, 1787, in what is now Clermont County. The first U.S. patent issued for VMD land was on February 20, 1796. General George Washington never exercised his rights to the 23,333-acre Virginia Military bounty to which he was entitled. Instead, he purchased two warrants totalling 3,100 acres and completed three surveys in 1787. Two surveys were in Clermont County and one in Hamilton County, totalling 3,051 acres. The Virginia patents issued for these surveys were nullified by an Act of Congress, July 17, 1788, and Washington never filed for a U.S. patent under the Congressional Acts of August 10, 1790, and June 9, 1794. He died believing he owned these surveys. In 1806, these surveys were reentered and allegedly resurveyed, with the proper certificate and warrants being sent to the Secretary of War. U.S. Patents were issued to the "claim jumpers" and Washington's heirs lost a valuable part of the estate for which they never received compensation. - ----------------------------------- (c) 1994 by the Ohio Auditor of State All Rights Reserved. FOR FREE DISTRIBUTION ONLY. Researched and written by Thomas Aquinas Burke Internet Address F491.3 B86 1994 977.1 Eighth Edition - September 1996 "Ohio Lands - A Short History" ReTyped & Graphics Rescanned December 1997 by Maggie Stewart-Zimmerman Email at http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00015.html#0003643 This booklet is available on the Auditor of State home page under Publications at: http://www.auditor.ohio.gov/auditor/ - ----------------------------------- ------------------------------ X-Message: #2 Date: Tue, 11 May 1999 17:48:46 -0400 From: Maggie Stewart-Zimmerman Subject: Ohio Lands History [Part 2a] "Ohio Lands - A Short History" Part 2a Congressional Control of the Western Territory The Continental Congress' title to the lands north of the Ohio River was derived from the Treaty of Paris, the Treaty of Fort McIntosh, and the cessions of four states. In 1784, the first Congressional Committee was appointed to prepare a plan for the disposal of these western lands. Thomas Jefferson was its chairman. The committee, and later the Continental Congress, was faced with the following problems: Revolutionary War Veterans demanding the land bounties promised them; squatters crossing the Ohio River and staking claims; the need for revenue to pay the national debt (Congress did not have the power to tax at the time); and what procedures to adopt for the survey and sale of the western lands. The Land Ordinance of May 20, 1785 resolved these issues. Northwest Ordinance The Northwest Ordinance, enacted July 13, 1787, established not only the manner in which the Northwest Territory was to be governed, but the procedures under which new territory could obtain full statehood. It also was the first general legislation by the Continental Congress on the subject of real property. The ordinance further provided for civil and religious freedom, the use of writs of habeas corpus; trial by jury; bail, except for capital offenses; no cruel or unusual punish-ments; the encouragement of schools and education; and forbade slavery or involuntary servitude forever within the territory. The rules and guarantees stated in the Northwest Ordinance have provided the legal framework by which most new states entered the Union since its enactment. This historic document, which predates the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights, is reproduced in the appendix to this booklet. Statehood and the State Capitals On March 1, 1803, Ohio became the 17th state to enter the Union. Its entry was based upon the Northwest Ordinance, the Enabling Act of April 30, 1802, and the Ohio Constitution, adopted November 29, 1802. Formal Congressional admittance of Ohio into the Union was by a Joint Resolution of Congress (H.J. Res. 121), on August 7, 1953, to take effect March 1, 1803 (Public Law 204, Chapter 337). This 150-year lapse in formal admittance did not affect Ohio's legal status as a state. Edward Tiffin was elected the first Governor of Ohio on January 11, 1803, and took the oath of office March 3, 1803. The first legislature met on March 1, 1803. The state capital was at Chillicothe, 1803-1810; Zanesville, 1810-1812; Chillicothe, 1812 to October 1816, when the state offices moved to Columbus. Columbus was a wilderness when it was designated the permanent State Capital on February 14, 1812. The General Assembly named the new capital Columbus on February 21, 1812. The original deed to the 10-acre capitol grounds is kept in the State of Ohio Archives in the Ohio Historical Center, Columbus,Ohio 43211-2497. Federal Rectangular Survey System The Land Ordinance of May 20, 1785, became the foundation of the American Land System which lead to the orderly surveying, sale and settlement of public lands in the United States. The ordinance established the rectangular survey as the primary means to originally subdivide public lands. It provided that the western territory be divided into surveying townships of six-mile-square containing 36 sections, each one-mile-square (640 acres). Sections were numbered one to 36, commencing with number one in the southeast corner of the township, and running from south to north in each tier to number 36 in the northwest corner of the township. Townships were numbered from a base south to north in rows called ranges. Ranges were numbered east to west. This ordinance also set aside lands for Continental Army Land bounties (although this was changed in June, 1796); established the minimum price per acre; minimum land quantity which could be bought; reserved Section 16 out of every township for the maintenance of schools; and reserved Sections 8, 11, 26 and 29 for future sale or disposition by Congress. It further established that legal sale and settlement of the public lands could not occur until the land had been surveyed, and the survey accepted by the federal government. The first public lands to be surveyed in the United States were the "Seven Ranges" located in Eastern Ohio. It also was the only land surveyed by government surveyors under the Continental Congress. On September 30, 1785, Thomas Hutchins, Geographer of the United States, began to survey the geographer's line. The "Point of Beginning" was the intersection of the Pennsylvania stateline and the Ohio River. The line eventually ran 42 miles, "Seven Ranges," due west from that point which is now in East Liverpool. Townships in the "Seven Ranges" are numbered from the Ohio River. Sections are numbered as prescribed in the Land Ordinance of May 20, 1785. The only other surveys in the United States which used this same section arrangement are the: Between the Miami Rivers (M.Rs.) Survey and Symmes (Miami) Purchase Survey. By an Act of Congress, passed May 18, 1796, the numbering of sections within a six-mile-square township was changed. The act provided that "the sections shall be numbered, respectively, beginning with the number one in the northeast section, and proceeding west and east alternately through the township, with progressive numbers, till the thirty-sixth be completed" in the southeast corner of the township. This became the standard section numbering found in all original Federal Surveys in the United States thereafter. - ----------------------------------- (c) 1994 by the Ohio Auditor of State All Rights Reserved. FOR FREE DISTRIBUTION ONLY. Researched and written by Thomas Aquinas Burke Internet Address F491.3 B86 1994 977.1 Eighth Edition - September 1996 "Ohio Lands - A Short History" ReTyped & Graphics Rescanned December 1997 by Maggie Stewart-Zimmerman Email at http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00015.html#0003643 This booklet is available on the Auditor of State home page under Publications at: http://www.auditor.ohio.gov/auditor/ - ----------------------------------- -------------------------------- End of OH-FOOTSTEPS-D Digest V99 Issue #291 *******************************************