YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY '" '"I "fill II I , 'I 3 9002 05423 4282 JHBBHMBHW— m^^w I " ' ¦ /g^X^r THE LIFE WILLIAM WOODBRIDGE. CHARLES LANMAN, AUTHOR OP THE "PRIVATE LIFE OP DANIEL WEBSTER;" "DICTIONARY OP CONGRESS;" ETC., ETC. WASHINGTON : BLANCHAKD & HOHItN. 1867. V 7.^ Entered according to act of Congress, in the year eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, By JULIANA T. W. BACKUS, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the District of Columbia. LOE. CHAPTER I. William Woodbridge was born in Norwich, Connecti cut, on the 20th of August, 1780. His father, Dudley Woodbridge, Esq., was a graduate of Yale College, and educated for the Bar; but about the time of his admis sion, the Revolutionary war broke out, the courts of justice were shut up, and he abandoned his purpose of engaging in professional business. He was one ofthe "minute men " of his native State during the war ; after wards joined the emigrants to the North Western Terri tory, and was one of the earliest settlers of Marietta — which was founded in part by another Connecticut man, the distinguished Manasseh Cutler. His family was removed to that place as soon as a residence could be provided for them ; except that the three oldest of the children, of whom William was one, were left at school in their native State, until a few months before St. Clair's defeat in 1791, when William was brought home to Marietta. He remained four or five years in the Ter ritory, passing a year of that time at school among the French Colonists at Galliopolis, and became a thorough 4 THE LIKE OF master of the French language, when he was again sent back to Connecticut. He remained there at school un til 1799, and then rejoined the family at Marietta. He continued at home, pursuing such studies as were deem ed proper, and in writing for his father, who had now become engaged in mercantile affairs, until about the time of the formation of the State Government of Ohio. It was at this period that among other studies, he com menced reading law; not at first, with a view to follow it as a profession, but rather as a branch of education, which promised to be of use in the future exigencies of life. But becoming interested in the study, he began to look to it as a desirable occupation for future years; and it is a little singular, that his most intimate fellow student at that period, was no less a personage than Lewis Cass, both of whom subsequently resided side by side on the Detroit river, and were for nearly half a cen tury the two leading men of Michigan. With the ap probation of his parents, he soon afterwards entered as a student the celebrated Law School at Litchfield, Connec ticut ; at that school he continued nearly three years ; when, after a creditable examination, he was admitted as a member of the Bar of Connecticut, and soon after, upon his return to Ohio, he was, early in 1806, admit ted to the Bar of that State, and with flattering pros pects of success, immediately commenced his professional career. It has been stated that Mr. Woodbridge was one of three brothers. The oldest, named Dudley, was one of the most accomplished merchants of the day. He it was who had the enterprise and honor of building the first square-rigged vessel that ever descended the Falls of the Ohio. She was a brig named St. Clair; and her WILLIAM WOODBRIDGE. 5 master was a worthy man named Whipple. After con structing this vessel at Marietta, he filled it with furs and produce, and taking advantage of a freshet in the Ohio, sent it safely down the Mississippi to France, which venture was eminently successful in all particulars. The youngest son named John, became eminent as a finan cier, and was for many years the manager of the Bank of Chilicothe. The sisters of this family, of whom there were two, were distinguished for their accomplishments. Having been born in Connecticut, acquired his educa tion there, and cherishing a deep affection for her charac ter and institutions, it was not strange that, after a few busy months of legal labor, he should have revisited his native State for the purpose of obtaining a wife. On the 29th of June, 1806, he was married at Hartford, to Juliana, a daughter of the Hon. John Trumbull, the able Judge and celebrated author of McFingal and other Poems. " Withdrawing," to use his own words, " from the companions of her earlier years ; estranging herself from that circle of friends to whom she was so dear ; and sundering the yet more solemn and endearing ties which bound her to her father's home, she departed, with none thenceforth to lean upon, but her husband,- — for the far distant valley of the Ohio." A part of that long jour ney was performed on horseback, and to the happy pair must have been full of interest and romance. Their residence in Marietta was commodious and beautiful, the grounds ample, and about them were gathered as many of the elegancies of life, as could be brought to gether in a frontier settlement. Although the contrast was not small, at that time, between the refinements and intellectual character of society in Hartford, and the asperities and privations of " Border life," yet, sur- 6 THE LIFE OF rounded as they were by warm-hearted friends, and at least all the substantial comforts of life, everything seemed to promise a happy future. In 1807, Mr. Woodbridge was sent, as a Representa tive, to the General Assembly of Ohio. It was the year of the Impeachment and trial of the Judges, for deciding an act of a previous Legislature, enlarging the jurisdic tion of Justices of the Peace, and taking away the right of Jury trial, to be unconstitutional and void. Mr. Woodbridge took a very active, but an unsuccessful part, in opposing those Impeachments; upon their trials, all the Impeachments failed; and the Judges were honor ably acquitted. Early in 1808, the office of Prosecut ing Attorney, for the county in which he resided, was conferred upon him, and this he continued to hold until his removal from the State. His professional business, had otherwise greatly increased; and deeming it unwise to absent himself so much from his home and profes sional pursuits, as an attendance upon the Legislature would induce, he declined being a candidate for the suc ceeding Legislature. But nevertheless, he was at the fall election for 1809 chosen as a member of the State Senate; and continued, by repeated re-elections, to be a member of that body until he removed from the State. It will be readily imagined, that in the Legislature of a State just emerging into independency, when all things are new, when its institutions are first to be established, its interests to be developed, and the first impulse to be given to its onward course, questions must arise greatly involving its future prosperity, and consequently imply ing a heavy responsibility on the part of those who may be selected as its Law Makers. Such was unquestion ably the condition of Ohio at that early period. But WILLIAM WOODBRIDGE. 7 this is not the place to review in detail such questions. It is perhaps sufficient to say here that during the whole period of his service in the Legislature of Ohio, Mr. Woodbridge participated actively in the work of build ing up and strengthening its institutions, and in all its important Legislative transactions. In 1812 he drew up a Declaration and Resolutions, which passed the two houses of the Legislature unanimously and attracted great attention, endorsing, in the strongest and most em phatic terms, the war measures of President Madison. While thus dividing his time and labor, between the public duties which devolved upon him, and those con nected with his profession, a circumstance occurred, which, bringing into question the practical construction of a provision contained in the Constitution of the Uni ted States, it may not be out of place to mention. Mr. Woodbridge's residence, as has been' said, was at Marietta, where the Muskingham unites with the Ohio; separated from Wood County, Virginia, by a narrow river only, he was sometimes applied to by citizens of that State, for professional advice and aid. His ac quaintance there being very general, it became an object of individual interest to him, — if he properly could, — to become admitted to practice in the courts of that State. The laws of Virginia then required, that the applicant for admission, should obtain a certificate from " the Justices of the County Court, of that county in which he has usually resided for the last preceding twelve months," touching his age, his moral character, &c. Mr. Woodbridge had never lived in Virginia. But the Jus tices of the County Court, upon argument, were of opin ion that, as the fact of a residence there, was not, by the terms ofthe law, required to be certified to; and as the 8 THE LIFE OF clause in question seemed intended solely to guard against the improvident granting of such certificates to persons not sufficiently and personally known to the mem bers of the court, it might, by fair rules of construction, be quite competent for them, under the law, to grant the required voucher to a person long resident in the imme diate neighborhood, and with whom they had, for many years been personally acquainted. They therefore cheer fully granted the certificate required. The legal effect of that certificate, was simply to authorize an examina tion of the candidate by three of the highest Judicial Officers of the State; and, if that examination proved satisfactory, the further certificate of those three Judges, gave the applicant the right to admission, upon his taking the oath of office. The ordeal so far, had been passed, but then a new difficulty arose. The Statutes of Virginia had prescribed the form of the oath to be administered. It comprised not only the oath of office, properly speaking ; but a positive declaration that the applicant was actually a citizen of Virginia. This dec laration he could not make, for it was contrary to the fact. But he nevertheless claimed to be sworn in; and that the declaration of citizenship should be omitt|ed. This claim was based upon the provision of the second section of the fourth article of the Constitution of the United States, which purports to grant to " the citizens of each State, all privileges and immunities, of citizens in the several States." The question was raised in the Supreme Court, then holden in Wood County, and was considered important. The clause in the Constitution alluded to was not known to have received anywhere, a judicial or practical construction; and it appearing to the Judge (Smith or Wilson) to be both " novel and WILLIAM WOODBRIDGE. 9 difficult," it was reserved and taken, according to the custom of the court, to the General Court of the Com monwealth of Virginia at Richmond, for its " advice and discretion." The Superior Judge, who afterwards held the court in Wood County, was pleased to advise him, that a majority of the Judges of the General Court had fully- sustained the construction for which Mr. Wood- bridge had contended, and the oath omitting the declara tion of citizenship, was directed, upon his application, to be administered. This decision, however, was not made known to him, until about the time he left that part of the country, and he never afterwards had occa sion to claim its benefit. About forty-five years after the period just alluded to, the citizens of Marietta celebrated in a becoming manner the seventieth anniversary of the settlement of their town ; and among those who were invited to be present, from abroad, was Mr. Woodbridge. He could not accept the invitation, but he sent a letter to the friends of his youth, in Marietta, in which he thus al luded to his early home : — " This is the country of my childhood, and of my middle life. It was the home of my revered father, and of my sainted mother. It was the dwelling place of beloved sisters, and of estimable brothers; one of whom has but recently departed from you ; whom you all knew and esteemed, for his life was passed among you in acts of benevolence and christian charity to the end. This was the home, too, of kind-hearted fellow-citizens, who first, a long time ago, took me by the hand, led me forward into public life, and upon whose favors I leaned for support, and to whose unshaken confidence I owe, in a great measure, what little of distinction I may have 2 10 THE LIFE OF acquired as a public man. It will not, then, be deemed arrogant in me, I trust, that I too should claim a common interest in that great event which you have assembled here to celebrate." And another passage from the same letter, published elsewhere in full, is as follows : " And blessed be the memory of those who first transplanted into the Great West, the New England system of popu lar education ! That was a system sui generis. There was nothing like it ; and to a free people, who would seek to preserve their freedom through all future time, in its pristine purity and vigor, it was indispensible. What organized band of Puritans, indeed, have been known to migrate without the school master in their train ? The school lands had not yet become available ; but other resources were applied ; and from the first es tablishment of the colony, there was no want unsupplied, of well conducted schools. The Block-houses at " the point" were built as I have already stated, as places of protection, and as means of defence. One of them was usually occupied, on the Sabbath, as a house of prayer. It was not an undue desecration of it, I think, that, on other days, it should be used for a school. A Mr. Bald win, a graduate, I believe, of one of the Eastern col leges, sent out, I suppose, by the provident curators of the colony, as a teacher, kept school there. Under his encouraging tuition, (for I was one of his little pu pils,) I was myself enabled to blunder through some of the elementary rules of grammar, and to struggle through with varying success, against that formidable monster the multiplication table. He was an amiable man, and much beloved by all his pupils ; and withal, at least in their untutored judgments, he was a man of prodigious learning, WILLIAM WOODBRIDGE. 11 " And still they gazed, and still the wonder grew, That one small head could carry all he knew! " Where this gentleman moved to, and what was his ultimate destiny, I do not know. At "the Stockade" higher branches of learning were taught, for a time at least, by Major Anselm Tupper, of the old Revolution ary Army. This gentleman had the reputation of being a superior classical scholar, as he certainly possessed a refined and polished address. As the population of the colony expanded, and its settlements within the pur chase increased in number, means of education were everywhere abundantly provided; and everywhere with in the purchase, the badge of New England people was visible." 12 THE LIFE OF CHAPTER II. Late in the autumn of 1814, Mr. Woodbridge was officially advised of his appointment by President Mad ison, to be Secretary of the Territory of Michigan. This was a surprise to him, for he had made no applica tion for that, nor for any other appointment, and had received no intimation that any person had applied for him. It has been supposed, however, that the nomina tion came from his early friend Lewis Cass, at that time Governor of Michigan. He hesitated long before ac cepting the office. The condition of his own health, and that of his family at length determined him. He and his wife needed the bracing influences of a climate, so salubrious as that of Detroit was reputed to be, and he concluded to accept the appointment; at least tempor arily, until he should have visited the country, intending to have resigned the office should the attractions of the lake country not be equal to his expectations. He was also called upon at the same time to hold the office and perform the duties of Collector of Customs at Detroit ; and in this connection may be mentioned this interesting circumstance. The fleet which, under Commodore Per ry in 1813, was so successful in the great Battle of Lake Erie was, for preservation, sunk in the Harbor of Erie ; and, by permission of the General Government, one of WILLIAM WOODBRIDGE. 13 these vessels was raised, and performed Revenue service at Detroit, during the whole of Mr. Woodbridge's term as collector of that District. And here, for the want of a better place, is submitted a brief letter from Mr. Woodbridge to his wife, which gives an admirable idea of the condition of affairs on the Detroit river, a short time after his arrival in the coun try :— Detroit, Michigan Territory, March 5th, 1815. My dear J. — ****** The town of Detroit is by no means so large as from my first letter to you from this place, you might have supposed. The proper town does not include so many houses by any means as Marietta. I was led to an error on this subject, by the circumstance that for two miles below, and at least as many above, there is one continued village, scarcely any place in that distance larger than from our house to our barn intervening be tween the farm houses. Imagine to yourself a single tier , of farms fronting on the strait or river Detroit, having for front of from one and one-half to three square acres, and extending back from thirty to eighty square acres, few of which farms are cleared for a distance greater than one mile back, the houses and buildings placed along the river bank in front of each farm, and you will have some idea of the manner our farms are laid out. They extend in this manner very many miles from the mouth of Detroit river, along lake St. Clair, and up the river Sinclair. The houses are almost universally of one story — most of them have been standing from ten to eighty years — fashioned a little like the houses of the 14 THE LIFE OF low Dutch about New York, Long Island, Bergen (in New Jersey,) and I suppose Albany. The. inhabitants being mostly Catholics, you see many traces of their religion; for instance, many an old moss-grown crucifix which on their gate posts, barns, or houses have with stood the storms of a century. The British side of the river, except that you see more traces of modern improvement, greatly resembles this side. The wide river, the points, and the distant islands, look beautifully. The natural beauty of this country will delight you. But of the society — what shall I tell you ? One would think that the lives of this people consist in one constant succession of amusements — dances, rides, dinners, card parties, and all the et cet era of dissipation, follow in one long train, treading each on the heels of the other ! Tell Jane, in answer to her inquiries, that Mrs. May is a good, religious French lady ; that she talks to me always in French, and I to her always in English, and yet that we get along without any sort of quarrelling. Mrs. Sibley and her little family are all well; they live in a snug little one-story house at the upper end of the town. ***** Affectionately yours, W. Woodbridge. The Government which prevailed at that time in Michigan was that prescribed in the ordinance of 1787; being what was called its "first grade," i. e., there was no elective Legislature, and the Territory had no Dele gate in Congress. But, after some years, the popula tion became sufficiently numerous to authorize it to pass into the "second grade" and consequently to have the WILLIAM WOODBRIDGE. 15 benefit of a Delegate in Congress and a local elective Legis lature. But according to the provisions ofthe ordinance, the expenses of the new Government would have been thrown upon the people. Heavy taxes would have been the consequence. The Territory had recently been in full possession of the enemy, by whom it had been left, despoiled of everything that could be taken away and destroyed, and in a condition of almost hopeless devas tation. And the question being put to the people to decide, in 1818, or about that time, a very large major ity voted against the change proposed. But the inabil ity or unwillingness of the country to support a more free and acceptable Government, furnished unjust cause for withholding from it the benefits of being represen ted by a Delegate in Congress; and confiding in the liberal policy of that body, it was hoped that a petition for the grant of that privilege, would be favorably received. An effort had indeed been made, soon after the decisive vote against passing into the second grade of Govern ment, to accomplish that object. At a large assemblage of citizens in Detroit, Mr. Woodbridge had been appoint ed to correspond with members of Congress on the sub ject; and when, subsequently, it became generally known that he had proposed, for the first time, to visit the seat of the General Government, he was further empowered by the citizens of the Territory, to solicit personally, in their behalf, a grant of that privilege. The condition of the old Land Titles of the country were also the subject of much solicitude; and very justly, for, notwithstand ing the assurances that had been given to the Canadian inhabitants at the time of the surrender of the country, (in virtue of Jay's treaty,) and afterwards, that they should not be disturbed in their possessions, and that 16 THE LIFE OF their lands should be confirmed to them, great numbers of that people were left without the power to sustain their claims in the courts, and subject at any time to be dispossessed of their homesteads, at the pleasure of the Government, though many of them had been occupied by their ancestors for a hundred years *or more ! To these two objects, on his arrival in Washington, Mr. Woodbridge gratuitously and earnestly applied himself. The first one mentioned he succeeded in ; and an act of Congress was passed February 16, 1819, authorizing the election of a Delegate. A Bill for investigating and confirming the Land Titles in the Territory was also passed through one of the two Houses of Congress, with a fair prospect for it in the other, but the adjournment took place before it could be finally acted upon. Upon his return to Michigan, and when the results of his mis sion became generally known, he was at once nominated, without any concurrence on his part, for the office of Delegate. The political condition and the interior police of Michigan, as well as the general operation of its Local Government, were but imperfectly comprehended in Congress; and the region of country then known as Michigan, comprehended the whole domain which was subsequently divided into the States of Michigan, Wis consin, Minnesota, and Iowa. The multifarious concerns which always press upon the attention of that body, com bined with the remoteness and insolated situation of the Territory, tended to exclude from view all these topics, and its various interests. The Governor and the Judges of the Territory, fully apprized of all these dis advantages, were all desirous that Mr. Woodbridge should accept the tendered nomination, and having done so, he was elected without opposition. He reached WILLIAM WOODBRIDGE. 17 Washington in December, 1819, and duly took his seat as the first Delegate to Congress from the Territory of Michigan. It has already been intimated, that for a long period, during the war with Great Britain, the whole of the in habited parts of the Territory were in the possession of the enemy. Everything was laid waste there ; desola tion and famine took the places of contentment and plenty. The claims of its people upon the liberal jus tice of the nation, growing out of that condition of things, and resulting from the subsequent operations of the war upon that frontier, were numerous, strong, and of considerable magnitude. They had never before been presented to the Government by any one whose duty it was to seek their enforcement. Unfortunately for the sufferers, the allowances made some years before upon claims which originated on the Niagara frontier, and ostensibly growing out of similiar causes, had been swollen to so enormous an amount, that the Adminis tration had become alarmed. The vigilant jealousy of the nation was awakened. A sentiment of hostility to all such claims seemed to pervade the Capitol, and soon extended to all the officers of the Treasury, whose duty it was to investigate them. To defeat a claim indeed, — for losses growing out of the war, and without any scrupulous regard to justice either, — had come to be considered as evidence of patroitism, and proof of a com mendable regard for the interests of the Treasury. Not withstanding the unfavorable auspices under which the claims from Michigan were presented, the efforts of Mr. Woodbridge were not fruitless. His efforts in Congress and with the Administration were untiring to secure every possible good for the people of the lake peninsula. 3 18 THE LIFE OF Among the other objects which demanded and received his attention, was that of obtaining some further recog nition of the old French Land Titles. From the earliest period of his term, this was made the subject of his con tinued efforts. The previous legislation of Congress, in relation to these titles, was considered very imperfect. Mr. Woodbridge desired to substitute a more perfect system. But on consultation with the members, especi ally those who were on the Land Committee, he was induced to forego his own preferences and concluded to present and endeavor to get through loth Houses, the same bill which had previously passed through one House. The measure succeeded and was followed by most beneficial results. Separated, as Michigan was, from the settled portions of Ohio by a wide extent of country (so disastrously known during the war with Great Britain as the " Black Swamp ") and from other States, on the South West, by an untrodden wilderness, Michigan had continued — down to the period when that war brought it into notice — almost entirely unknown to the people of the United States. For many years, after the peace of 1783, it had remained under the Government of Great Britain, practically a part of Upper Canada. The social and commercial intercourse of its people, was with Canada almost exclusively. To and through that Province, alL the artificial roads of the country were constructed; and when the navigation of the lakes was closed by winter, no other lines of intercourse existed. Such a condition of things did not comport with the general safety, as was lamentably demonstrated at the very com mencement of the war, for the entire Territory was un questionably lost by it. Neither did it accord with that WILLIAM WOODBRIDGE. 19 provident care and wise policy which looks to the future and seeks to neutralize all influences which may lead to commercial or political evils. After the delivery of the country to the United States, in 1796, (in view of Jay's treaty,) it was found expedient by the Government to pay a large portion of the annuities accruing to the In dians at and near Detroit. Many of these were pay able in merchandize. It too often happened that these payments were delayed ; and the answer given to the frequent complaints on account of these delays was, that the goods could not be brought without roads ; also, that no roads could be made, because the country through which they must pass belonged to the Indians and not to the United States. This reasoning the Indians could comprehend. It predisposed them to agree to a measure which President Jefferson had projected in 1806, that of constructing a national military road through the swamp. To that end he had directed a treaty to be holden with the tribes who owned the country; the parties to it met at Brownstown, in Michigan, and a grant was obtained of a strip of land for the sole pur pose of making the road. Not long after its ratification, Mr. Jefferson left the Presidency, and the object and provisions of the treaty were suffered to rest in forget- fulness, until, in real earnest, the war approached. Then, of course, the importance of such a road forced itself upon the consideration of the Government. Com missioners were appointed to explore the country and to lay out the road. But it was too late, and hostilities were commenced before any progress could be made. After the war, the whole of that region of country was obtained from the Indians, and thus the provisions of the treaty of Brownstown as many supposed became 20 THE LIFE OF merged in the subsequent treaty. Whether such a con struction were warranted or not by the terms of the two instruments, it seemed injurious to the general interests, and especially to Michigan. It was the purpose of Mr. Woodbridge, if possible, to revive and give full effect to the design of the first treaty. With that intent, he introduced a resolution into the House of Representa tives, as Delegate, directing an inquiry to be made as to "what measures — if any — were necessary, in order to give effect to the provisions of the treaty of Browns town." Upon his motion it was referred to a select committee of three and Mr. Woodbridge was made chairman, the other members hailing from Ohio. He at once fully explained his views to his associates on the committee, but though their own State was mani festly as much interested as Michigan, they at first looked upon the proposition as wild, visionary, and im practicable. The national character and great impor tance of the work were indeed conceded, but the Govern ment, as they thought, had no money to spend upon such a work. They also deemed it idle to suppose that suf ficient means to construct the road, could be obtained by the sale of the land which had been granted by the Indians for the purpose. This condition of things was painful and embarrassing to Mr. Woodbridge; — and the more so because further reflection had confirmed, rather than weakened his confidence in the practicability, as well as sound policy of the measure. In this emergency it happily occurred to him that the Legislature of Ohio, then in session, might perhaps be induced to consider the project, and lend to it the sanction of its favorable opinion. He wrote to some of his old associates in that body — explaining his plan, and indicating some of the WILLIAM WOODBRIDGE. 21 benefits that would result from it to that State, as well as to the whole North West. His suggestions were well received, and measures were at once taken to elicit the views of the Legislature on the subject. Not doubt ing what those views would be, his hopes of ultimate success were revived; and suspending all call upon the attention of the House committee, he proceeded to collect the necessary information for a report, which, if the action of the Ohio Legistature should not dis appoint him, it was his intention to submit for the con sideration of the committee. Joseph Vance, who was afterwards and for many years so efficient a member of Congress from Ohio and Governor of the State was, at the time alluded to, in the General Assembly. From personal observation he was fully acquainted with the topography of that country, and with his own character istic promptitude and energy, introduced and supported resolutions enforcing strongly the policy of the measure, and these were at once transmitted to the members of Congress from Ohio. They were filled with surprise, and from that period they became earnest advocates of the measure. But the Session was far advanced towards its close, and, in order to increase the chances of success, it was proposed that a resolution relative to the meas ure, should be presented in the Senate also, so that the matter might progress at the same time in both Houses. Some diversity of opinion also existed as to the expe diency of urging a money appropriation for the work, without reference to the proceeds of a. sale of the land ; and it was considered judicious, that while in one House the measure should be advocated upon the principle of applying the proceeds of the land granted — arid those only to the construction of the work — a money appropri- 22 THE LIFE OF ation should be urged in the other. The matter was ac cordingly brought forward in the Senate by Benjamin Ruggles, who was assisted in committee by Rufus King, and upon their invitation, Mr. Woodbridge was solicited to give them his views on the subject at issue, and their effect on the committee was salutary. The report pre pared by Mr. Woodbridge and read to the House, was fully approved and ordered to be printed, but on account of the approaching close* of the Session, final action was delayed. Fortunately for the project, Governor Vance was elected a member of the Congress which was to be holden during the winter of 1820-1, and to his ener getic support, as well as to the expositions contained in the House report, was Mr. Woodbridge's successor prin cipally indebted, it is believed, for the final success of the measure. That the report had attracted, to a con siderable extent, the public attention, is sufficiently evinced by the fact, that at successive sessions of Con gress, it had twice been printed by order of the House, and also by the Senate. The principles it assumed and the reasoning it urged, eventually won their way to the favor of Congress. The plan it proposed was ultimately adopted, and thus was constructed through the great Black Swamp, one of the finest roads in the Union. At this point we are reminded of the somewhat sin gular and romantic fact that one of the first, if not the first lady who ever crossed the Black Swamp was Mr. Woodbridge's mother. This was on the occasion of her making the trip on horseback from Marietta to Detroit to visit her son. Of course she had the best escort that could be afforded under the circumstances, but it was her fortune to spend more than one night in the Black Swamp with no better couch than a fallen tree. WILLIAM WOODBRIDGE. 23 With this illustration of her rare courage and determi nation (which her son inherited) we may with propriety associate another incident of her life. On one occasion, while enjoying the quiet of home at Marietta, she was informed that her son Dudley had gone to Blannerhas- set's Island, in the Ohio river, to fight a duel, with some young blood equally wild as himself. Her husband was absent at the time, but she had a horror of duelling and determined that something must be done to prevent the conflict. Calling upon two of her stalwart neighbors to man a canoe, she seated herself in it, and directed them to paddle as if for life, for the famous Island; — they did so,» arrived in time, and Master Dudley, instead of making himself a target for a fatal bullet, was com pelled to embark in the canoe, and return to his home a wiser and perhaps a better boy. In the "History of Michigan," by James H. Lanman, the earlier services of Mr. Woodbridge, at Washington, are recognized and specified in the following terms : — "As early as the 12th of May, 1820, a report was made to Congress in reference to the construction of a road across the Black Swamp ; and extraordinary efforts were also made to secure the aid of the General Govern ment in advancing these works of internal improvement. These calls were liberally responded to on the part of the General Government. An appropriation was made for opening a road between Detroit and the Miami, and it was expended on that work with great advantage. Bills also passed Congress (through the influence of Mr. Woodbridge) providing for the construction of a road from Detroit to Chicago, and also a road from Detroit to Fort Gratiot, as well as the improvement of La Plais- ance Bay." 24 THE LIFE OF CHAPTER III. During the same session of Congress heretofore al luded to, of 1819-20, another question was started of very deep interest to the Territory, and which, some sixteen years afterwards, after involving the whole re gion of the North West in the most dangerous excite ment, was settled by the strong hand of power most disastrously for Michigan. The Surveyor-General of the United States had been ordered to survey and run the boundary line which separated Ohio from Michigan. This lirie had been established by the Act of Congress which first erected Michigan into a separate government; and in the terms of the " articles of compact" contained in the Ordinance of 1787, it declared the boundary to be " a line to be run due east from the south extreme of Lake Michigan." The same line had been prescribed as the northern boundary of Ohio, in the act which au thorized its people to form a State Government. Though • not astronomically located and marked, it had always, down to 1820, been fully recognized by the people and the public authorities, both of Ohio and Michigan, as the true line. But transcending the powers granted to them by the act of Congress, as well as in opposition to the explicit terms of the compact recited in the Ordinance of 1787, the members of the Ohio convention had de- WILLIAM WOODBRIDGE. 25 clared that in a certain event, the northern boundary of their State should be — not the line prescribed by Congress — but a line to be run from the northern cape of Miami Bay, obliquely, to the southern bend of Lake Michigan. It was assumed also, that, as Congress, in admitting Ohio into the Union, had not expressly re jected that part of the State constitution, it should be considered, impliedly at least, as having sanctioned it. v Towards the close of the session, the Commissioner of the General Land Office, sent a report to the House, from the Surveyor-General, of what purported to be the minutes of a survey of the line in question, accompanied by an elaborate map. The report attracted little or no attention, and there was no indication of early action upon the subject. But, as in the annunciation of it Michigan was named, Mr. Woodbridge felt it his duty to examine the report. He saw at once that it might have an important bearing upon the future interests of the Territory. It purported to recognize a latent claim on the part of Ohio, which, if sustained, would take from Michigan a strip of country from eight to twelve miles broad, along the whole base of the peninsula, and with it the only natural harbor she had upon Lake Erie. Mr. Woodbridge's recollections of the early history of the North West were, in this exigency, of essential use to him, by guiding him in his researches for document ary proofs. He lost no time in making those research es. When they were matured,- and he became satisfied as to the right, he brought the matter, so far as related to Ohio, directly before the House by resolutions. These, with the whole subject, were referred to the committee on Public Lands. That committee, as then 4 26 THE LIFE OF organized, comprised among its members men eminently conspicuous for their capacity and high moral character. Its chairman, Richard C. Anderson, Jr., of Kentucky, had perhaps few superiors in the House. To much gen eral intelligence and great clearness of perception, he united a rapidity and vigor of thought which commanded universal respect. Quick to see the important bearing of the questions involved, he deemed it proper to call for an exposition of the respective claims of the State and Territory, and invited a formal argument on each side before the committee. The course pursued by the Ohio delegation, on the occasion, was liberal and fair. They committed the argument and management of it, on their side, to one of their number — Thomas R. Ross — a gentleman of fine talents and a good debater. The other side was managed by Mr. Woodbridge. They at tended at several of the sittings of the committee, and the latter was required to open the argument, which he did very fully. After some delay, Mr. Ross replied at great length; and, after mature deliberation, the com- / mittee reported in favor of Michigan. Indiana and Illi nois were both indirectly interested in this question, and although there were gentlemen on the committee from those States, the report was agreed to unanimous ly. But, unhappily for Michigan, a few days after it was sent in the House adjourned, and there was no action during that session. The subsequent history of this question of title is soon told. At the opening of the succeeding session its prospects were promising and its friends were most sanguine; but Mr. Woodbridge had resigned his seat as a Delegate, and no final action seems to have been had on the measure. Thus the vantage ground was lost to Michigan; and time was WILLIAM WOODBRIDGE. 27 given to mature, array, and bring into effective action . against her pretensions, all the formidable influences which Ohio knew so well how to use. The views Mr. Woodbridge had exhibited before the committee, he had occasion, acting in a different official capacity, that of Secretary of the Territory, to present, in certain letters which he addressed to Governor Ethan Allen Brown, of Ohio, in which he remonstrated in behalf of Michigan against the action of Ohio, and asked for the protection of the General Government for the Territory of Michi gan. These letters, which were placed on file in the Department of State, were repeatedly published; and how far the reasoning they urged has been fairly met and refuted, if at all, the interested reader of this part of our history may hereafter, perhaps, have occasion to judge. Subsequently, a new aspect was sought to be given to the Ohio claim. Some sixteen years after, when it became necessary that Congress should act final ly upon it, it was affirmed that some very ancient map of the North West, had represented the "South Bend" ' or southerly extreme of Lake Michigan, to be several miles north of its true position; and it was conjectured that the Continental Congress, which settled the terms of the compact recited in the Ordinance of 1787, rela tive to the proposed line, must have had that ancient map before them as their guide, and that consequently they could not really have intended to include within the limits of Michigan, the Miami Bay, and the strip of country in dispute. But all this was conjecture, and it < was also an after-thought. The title of Michigan was contemptuously rejected — that of Ohio was confirmed; and, in the view of the antiquary and the moralist, the fact may serve to illustrate, by another signal example, 28 THE LIFE OF that Power is never at a loss for pretenses while minis tering to its own aggrandisement. But there were other topics which engrossed the at tention of Mr. Woodbridge during his services as Dele gate. Some of them related to the immediate wants of his constituents and the country generally. Among them was one touching the legislative code of the Ter ritory, and thought deserving of the paternal regard of the General Government. That code, (if it could be so called,) was entirely without method; in general, was not in print; and its publication consisted for the great er part, in the occasional transmission of copies in man uscript, to the Judges of the Courts and other officers of the Territory, and to any others as in the exigency might demand them — for the local Government was without the funds necessary for their promulgation in print. Mr. Woodbridge called the attention of Congress to the subject, and that body was pleased to appropriate a sum of money sufficient for compiling, digesting and printing a sufficient number of copies, to supply fully the wants of the Territory for the time being. It was also during his term in Congress, that the project of fit ting out an expedition for exploring the Indian country around the borders of Lake Superior and along the val ley of the Upper Mississippi, was matured and deter mined upon. Though the direct agency of Congress in this matter was not deemed necessary, yet the objects to be attained by it, were presented to the Executive branch of the Government as of great magnitude, inter esting to science, and very material as regarded the de fences of the North West. The Indians of those regions were numerous, formidable, and of a very ferocious char acter. The events of the late war had planted deeply WILLIAM WOODBRIDGE. 29 in their minds a spirit of vengeful and bitter hostility against the people of the United States. Until that spirit should be softened and subdued by direct inter course with them, and by some display of force in their country, the peace of that frontier, it was believed, could not be preserved. The country itself too, teemed with matters of great interest. Pere Marquette, La Hontan, and other French tourists and Romish mission aries, had passed along the waters of the Great Lake, a century and a half before. In vivid colors they had described the mineral riches of the countries which they saw. But their discoveries had passed away and were well-nigh forgotten. But the people of the United States, who now possessed the region, knew nothing of that hidden wealth. It was time — and it concerned the pecuniary interest of the nation, as well as the demands of science, that some preliminary measures should be taken to bring to the pubhc view its real character. Before Mr. Woodbridge left the Territory for Washing ton, Governor Cass had prepared a memorial which he desired Mr. Woodbridge to present to the Secretary of War. In that memorial, he urged in strong terms the expediency of the exploration he had projected, and earnestly invited Mr. Woodbridge to press the subject on the consideration of the Government. In a letter that the Governor addressed to the Secretary, dated November 18th, 1819, setting forth his plan for explor ing the Upper Mississippi and Lake Superior region, he thus alludes to Mr. Woodbridge: — "Mr. Woodbridge, the Delegate from this Territory, at my request, takes charge of this letter; and he is so intimately acquainted with the subject, and every way so competent to enter into any explanations you may 30 THE LIFE OF require, that I shall not be compelled to go as much into detail as, under other circumstances, might be ne cessary." Mr. Woodbridge duly explained all that seemed am biguous or of doubtful fitness, and strongly urged the adoption of the plan. He had frequent conferences with the head of the War Department — John C. Cal houn. Though cautious, and at first reluctant, to incur so great expense, he at length gave his sanction to the proposed exploration; and Mr. Woodbridge had the satisfaction of announcing to the Governor its adoption by the Government. The history of the tour has long been before the public, in the learned and interesting publications of the late Henry R. Schoolcraft. Long before the close of his winter in Washington, Mr. Woodbridge had learned that sickness prevailed in his family, and he became convinced that he ought not again, under like circumstances, to be so long separated from his home. It occurred to him also, that perhaps his constituents might prefer to have him at home dur ing the succeeding winter, to do what he could to help along the local Government of the Territory, and he therefore resolved to resign his seat as a Delegate when Congress should have adjourned. A ne.w election was called, and Solomon Sibley, (afterwards distinguished as one of the Judges of the Territory,) became his succes sor. And thus, with the first session of the Fifteenth Congress, commenced and closed, for many years, Mr. Woodbridge's labors in the legislative councils of the nation. WILLIAM WOODBRIDGE. 31 CHAPTER IV. After Mr. Woodbridge's return to Detroit, in 1820, he continued in the position of Secretary of the Ter ritory of Michigan, holding the office altogether for eight years, oftentimes, in the interim, performing the duties of Governor. It was during that period that he wrote his letters to Governor Brown; and, accord ing to a rule of the time, performed the duties of Col lector of Customs for the town of Detroit. Among the men of the time, with whom he became intimate while sojourning in Washington, was James Lanman, a Senator in Congress from Connecticut, and like him self a native of the beautiful town of Norwich. After their separation, an interesting correspondence sprung up between them, which continued for many years; and on account of the then out-of-the-way region in which he Uved, the letters of Mr. Woodbridge were full of in formation. A few of them may be here inserted with propriety, and the writer of this memoir hopes he will be excused for premising that the "friend" alluded to in the first sentence of the first letter was Charles James Lanman, who, like Mr. Woodbridge, was a native of Norwich, and the father of the writer, and who, after graduating at Yale College had settled, in 1817, in the practice of law, on the River Raisin, where the depon- 32 THE LIFE OF ant was himself born. The first letter in question gives us a good idea of the condition of Michigan as it existed forty-four years ago; and the passage where Mr. Wood- bridge relinquishes his own claims for a Judgeship in favor of his father-in-law, exhibits to us the unselfish ness of his character : — Detroit, December 12, 1822. My Dear Sir: — My warm-hearted friend, your son, has shown me your letter to him of the 25th of Septem ber, in which you make kind mention of me. You al lude in it to a sentiment, which seems to have been the subject of some paragraphs in a prior letter from him to you — "that I was tired of my official situation here." In my free conversations with him (for between him and me, I believe, there is no reserve whatever) I have doubtless given him ample occasion to deduce that infer ence, although abstractedly, it might seem not to have been duly considered. Nor can I charge Mr. Lanman with any indiscretion in any communication he may have made to you; — yet it was not anticipated that, especially in terms so decided, he should have commu nicated the sentiment. But since such has been the fact, and such especially the- obliging manner in which you have been pleased to receive it, I hope you will pardon that manifest egotism the explanation of it may lead to. I wish to rescue myself from the reproach of frivolous instability, as well also as from that of the puerile belief that any situation in life can be exempt from the corrosions of care, vexation, and disappoint ment. The truth is, I never realized anything of the glow ing prospects which were holden out to me, and which WILLIAM WOODBRIDGE. 33 induced my acceptance of a situation here; a situation I not only did not court but which was indeed conferred upon me without any previous intimation. In accepting it, I sacrificed solid good for benefits never attained. The pecuniary sacrifices incurred in removing from an honorable and profitable business into a country still weltering in blood, and organizing under the most hor rible devastations of war — poor, impoverished, and miserable — were to me great and ruinous. It was in the last year of the war I came here. My average ex penses for the first three years of my residence, were twice greater than my salary at least. In that season, the most unprofitable for making investments in real estate, I was obliged to buy land, in order to bring myself within the qualifications required by the Ordinance of 1787. Still, I hoped for better times, and that when the coun try should at length have been restored to its previous condition of prosperity, I should commence the realiza tion ofthe fair hopes which seduced me here; but reali zation still flies me. I yet owe a considerable of the purchase money for my land, and have not a house of my own in which I can live. As regards the present moral condition of the society here, I find no congeniality, nothing to give zest to social intercourse out of my own family, — except in my intercourse with your son, and one or two others. * * * Our chief Judge is a wild theorist, fitted princi pally for the "extraction of sunbeams from cucumbers." * * ¦* Judge G. is a man of respectable literary ac quirements, of good taste, and good manners, but with a mind lamentably inert. * * * Judge W. has a family and is settled among us; he is undoubtedly an honest man. He possesses strong native powers of 5 34 THE LIFE OF mind, altogether self-taught. On the heel of the Revo lution, among the rough mountains of Vermont, he ac quired his habits and prejudices, among the most prominent of which is his deadly hostility to that com mon law which he is officially caSed upon to administer, — because it is of English descent. Such are the official representatives of national sovreignty among us. Such are the men with whom in various capacities I am obliged to act. During about eight years that I have been Secretary of this Territory, however, I have stead ily avoided everything like collision with the Governor. During about two years of that period, I have officiated, in his absence, as by law of Congress I am required, as Governor and Superintendent of Indian Affairs; and while so officiating I have made it a matter of principle to pursue, so far as I could, his policy — to give effect to his views, both in Executive and Legislative concerns — jostling nothing out of place. Nor have I officially come in collision with any other of the public servants, holding it to be matter of duty, either to quit my place . as Secretary, or to preserve, so far as I could, the har monies of the singular machinery of this Colonial Gov ernment. But in succeeding so far, it has not been without some sacrifices of moral independence, which have cost me something of feehng. Such are the out lines of my pecuniary, social, and official life, during my continuance here, and such the characters of my coadju tors and lords paramount. This life has been chequer ed with incidents and sacrifices of various kinds, but conscientious. Though it has subjected me to unjust cabals and unwarranted aspersions, I believe it has not been censured by the good nor fruitless of public useful ness. > WILLIAM WOODBRIDGE. 35 A change in our social and political condition is now rapidly maturing. The struggling and convulsive move ments of the moral elements, newly planted among us, already give indications of a new political era here. It is the part of prudential foresight to look to its consum mation. When your son shall have been appointed Register or Receiver of a new Land office here, my office of Collec tor will have ceased to possess for me much interest. To me individually its pecuniary product has been very far inferior to the vexations and perplexities incident to it; — its prospective value is all it has to recommend it. The office of Secretary of this Territory will soon cease to exist. I am literally tired of it. Moral dependence, malevolent aspersions, and to a certain extent humilia tion, have always been its incidents. Yet would I not wish to quit them suddenly, without some alternative that would save me from the necessity of sacrificing all my property here, and quitting the country much older and much poorer than when I came into it. In relation to the establishment of new Land districts here, I wrote pretty fully last week to Mr. Cook of Illi nois (Daniel P.) who last year had in a friendly manner proffered his services in the effectuating of an object so important to. us. I have also written to Governor Brown (Ethan A.) now of the Senate and lately one of the Su preme Judges of Ohio. I think there can be no doubt (unless the General Government would discard alto gether the policy hitherto pursued in relation to the establishment of Land offices) but that at least one new Land district will be created, during the present session, within the Territory. We have you know but one in it; and certain it is, I think, that, comprehending the 36 THE LIFE OF whole of the peninsula of Michigan — no part of the western country of equal extent can be pointed out which possesses in near the same degree so various beau ties and so extraordinary excellence. Neither is there any in regard to which there can exist so strong motives of policy for throwing into it, by affording every practi cable facility, a dense population. Relatively to the opposite country of Canada and its topography, this Territory is peculiarly exposed, should a state of war unhappily occur. Rather, indeed, than that it should have such a population, I would consider it wise to give to the actual settlers one half of the public domain. Fortunately, however, there does not exist a present necessitv for such a measure. To extend to us those facilities which the General Government has been accus tomed to extend to other parts of the western country, is perhaps all that the exigency requires; especially if to these be superadded the making of that public road through the Black Swamp, for the making of which I have long thought the faith of the Government has been pledged; and this I endeavored to show in the printed report you may perhaps have noticed on the Browns town treaty. I have reason to believe, from various circumstances, that Mr. Sibley (Solomon), though no doubt in favor of the creation here of a new Land district, would prefer that the office should be located in the Saguina country. The motives for such preference must be left to be guessed at. Doubtless the good of the Territory would be advanced greatly by the location there of such an office. With all proper deference, I think it far better located at Frenchtown, to be thence removed up the WILLIAM WOODBRIDGE. 37 river Raisin, when such removal may be safe. As yet, the Saguina country is a wild wilderness, and what little of personal safety there may now be there, is to be at tributed to be establishment of an armed force recently, and I believe in consequence of my official representa tion, to Mr. Calhoun, of the temper of the Indians who inhabit the country. Last season, there was no safety either for property or persons from their depredations, even the public surveyors were stopped by their hostile threats and violence. But doubtless, so long as the United States Garrison is kept there, the incumbents of a Land office would live securely. But I would deem it more wise and more creditable to the nation that it should first or at least simultaneously attempt to consol idate its population. That it should first give encour agement for the settlement of the country on the borders of Ohio — up the river Raisin, (whose general course is parallel with the north boundary of that State,) where a country as interesting I believe may be found as any west of the Alleghany mountains. And why is it not prudent to consolidate this population, as it advances? Why should we continue to be indefinitely cut off from the ample resources and great strength of the Ohio? Our true policy, I think, is to build a national road over the Black Swamp, and without delay to encourage by every possible means, the settlement of the whole coun try from the Ohio line, or at least the eastern section of it upon the Miami to the Saguina Bay — the lakes Hu ron, St. Clair and Erie, and the straits of Detroit and Sinclair inclusive. To which end there should be two new Land districts — one southerly, at the river Raisin, and the other northwesterly, at some central point in 38 THE LIFE OF the Saguina country. With a view to a more satisfac tory exposition of such a plan, I intended to have pre pared for transmission to you a rough sketch of the country, but for want of time I must defer it. With regard to the reputed plan of Governor Vance of Ohio, to establish a Land office at the rapids of the Miami, and extend its district on both sides of the State bound ary line, I cannot but believe it chimerical. Why dis- / regard so important a political boundary as a State line — the boundary too of a Judicial district and circuit of the United States — for such an object? In adverting to the topic of the creation of a District Court of the United States here, as affording a situation which would have many charms for me, it did not oc cur to me to state that Mrs. Woodbridge has possessed a lively hope that her father, Judge Trumbull, would remove here and take up his residence with us. Him, my dear sir, you know well — how powerful and how splendid his mental faculties once were, and how much he would have added to the dignity and the learning of any judicial tribunal. You too know better than I can, whether by age those faculties be in any degree impair ed. If they be not, and he should consent to it, and you and the Connecticut delegation should, from motives of personal esteem, or State pretensions, think it in anywise expedient to locate him among us, in the judicial character I alluded to, then it would be useless for me to add, whatever might otherwise be my chance of success, I withdraw my own claims. Pardon me after all, my dear sir, for my wild specu lations. It is an evil we are so prone to! I heard to-day of the good health of your son, whom WILLIAM WOODBRIDGE. 39 i I expect, in a few days to see, and remain, dear sir, with perfect esteem and respect. Your obedient servant, Wm. Woodbridge. Hon. James Lanman, Washington City. The next letter that has been selected for quotation in this place, like the preceding one, will be found to throw light both upon the personal history of Mr. Wood- bridge and the early history of affairs in the North West. Detroit, January 23