Charles Whittlesey

Early History of Cleveland, Ohio Charles Whittlesey

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: 162 NEW TERMS OF SALE. disposing of her western lands was adopted, in May 1795. Numerous parties entered the field as purchasers. Under the last resolution, a committee of eight citizens, representing each county in the State; was empowered to sell, three millions of acres; next west of the Pennsylvania line, at a price not less than one million of dollars being a third of a dollar per acre. The names of the committee were John Tkeadwell, James Wadswortii, Marvin Wait, William Edmond, Thomas Grosvenor, Aaron Austin, Elijah Hubbard, Sylvester Gilbert. Speculation in wild lands had already become epidemic in New England. Benjamin Goriiam and Oliver Piielps had sold their New York purchase to Robert Livingston, of Philadelphia, who transferred it to a company in Holland, by which the tract was afterwards known as the " Holland Pur- chase." The committee, and the several adventurers, spent the summer of 1795 in negotiations. General Wayne's successful movements, through the Indian country from the Ohio, to lake Erie, during the previous year; had convinced the British and Indians that the United States intended to occupy Ohio, whoever might oppose. The purchasers, were, notwithstanding; required to take all risks of title and of possession. Another condition was imposed THE PURCHASERS. 163 upon the committee; which required them to dispose of the entire three million of acres, before concluding a sale of any part of it. John Livingston and others were in the field as competitors of the Connecticut men, but were induced to accept for their share, the supposed surplus, a million or more of acres. On the 2d of September, 1795, the bargain was concluded. A sufficient number of individuals had presented themselves, willing to take the entire tract at the...