The life of William Woodbridge

Chapter I

William Woodbridge was born in Norwich, Connecticut, 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 admission, 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 of the " minute men " of his native State during the war ; afterwards joined the emigrants to the North Western Territory, 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 Territory, passing a year of that time at school among the v French Colonists at Galliopolis, and became a thorough master of the French language, when he was again sent back to Connecticut. He remained there at school until 1799, and then rejoined the family at Marietta. He continued at home, pursuing such studies as were deemed 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 commenced 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 century the two leading men of Michigan. With the approbation of his parents, he soon afterwards entered as a student the celebrated Law School at Litchfield, Connecticut ; 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, admitted to the Bar of that State, and with flattering prospects of success, immediately commenced his professional career.

It has been stated that Mr. Wood bridge 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 Si. Clair; and her master was a worthy man named Whipple. After constructing 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 financier, 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 education there, and cherishing a deep affection for her character 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, 180G, 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 journey 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 together 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, surrounded 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 Representative, 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 jurisdiction 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 honorably acquitted. Early in 1808, the office of Prosecuting 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 professional pursuits, as an attendance upon the Legislature would induce, he declined being a candidate for the succeeding 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 implying a heavy responsibility on the part of those who may be selected as its Law Makers. Such was unquestionably the condition of Ohio at that early period. But 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 building 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 emphatic terms, the war measures of President Madison. While thus dividing his time and labor, between the public duties which devolved upon him, and those connected with his profession, a circumstance occurred, which, bringing into question the practical construction of a provision contained in the Constitution of the United 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 acquaintance 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 Justices of the County Court, upon argument, were of opinion that, as the fact of a residence there, was not, by the terms of the law, required to be certified to; and as the clause in question seemed intended solely to guard against the improvident granting of such certificates to persons not sufficiently and personally known to the members 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 immediate neighborhood, and with whom they had, for many years been personally acquainted. They therefore cheerfully granted the certificate required. The legal effect of that certificate, was simply to authorize an examination 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 declaration 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 omitted. 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 difficult," it was reserved and taken, according to the custom of the court, to the General Court of the Commonwealth 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. Woodbridge had contended, and the oath omitting the declaration of citizenship, was directed, upon his application, to he 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 occasion 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 alluded 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 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 popular 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 establishment 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. Baldwin, a graduate, I believe, of one of the Eastern colleges, 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 pupils,) 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,

"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 Revolutionary 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 purchase increased in number, means of education were everywhere abundantly provided; and everywhere within the purchase, the badge of New England people was visible."

Chapter II

Late in the autumn of 1814, Mr. Woodbridge was officially advised of his appointment by President Madison, to be Secretary of the Territory of Michigan. This was a surprise to him, for he had made no application 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 nomination came from his early friend Lewis Cass, at that time Governor of Michigan. He hesitated long before accepting 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 temporarily, 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 Perry 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. i:;

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 country :—

Detroit, Michigan Territory,

March hth, 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 between 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 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 withstood 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 cetera 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. Woodbpjdge.

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 Delegate in Congress. But, after some years, the population became sufficiently numerous to authorize it to pass into the "second grade" and consequently to have the benefit of a Delegate in Congress and a local elective Legislature. But according to the provisions of the 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 devastation. And the question being put to the people to decide, in 1818, or about that time, a very large majority voted against the change proposed. But the inability or unwillingness of the country to support a more free and acceptable Government, furnished unjust cause for withholding from it the benefits of being represented 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 Government, to accomplish that object. At a large assemblage of citizens in Detroit, Mr. Woodbriclge had been appointed to correspond with members of Congress on the subject; 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, notwithstanding 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 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 mission 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, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa. The multifarious concerns which always press upon the attention of that body, combined 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 disadvantages, were all desirous that Mr. Woodbridge should accept the tendered nomination, and having done so, he was elected without opposition. He reached

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 inhabited parts of the Territory were in the possession of the enemy. Everything was laid waste there ; desolation and famine took the places of contentment and plenty. The claims of its people upon the liberal justice 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 Administration 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 commendable regard for the interests of the Treasury. Notwithstanding 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 "

Among the other objects which demanded and received his attention, was that of obtaining some further recognition of the old French Land Titles. From the earliest period of his term, this was made the subject of his continued 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, especially those who were on the Land Committee, he was induced to forego his own preferences and concluded to present and endeavor to get through both Houses, the same bill which had previously passed through one House. The measure succeeded and w T as 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 commencement of the war, for the entire Territory was unquestionably lost by it. Neither did it accord with that 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 Indians at and near Detroit. Many of these were payable 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 purpose 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 forgetfulness, until, in real earnest, the war approached. Then, of course, the importance of such a road forced itself upon the consideration of the Government. Commissioners 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 tokoU of that region of country was obtained from the Indians, and thus the provisions of the treaty of Brownstown as many supposed became merged in the subsequent treaty. Whether such a construction 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 Representatives, 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 Brownstown."

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 manifestly as much interested as Michigan, they at first looked upon the proposition as wild, visionary, and impracticable. The national character and great importance of the work were indeed conceded, but the Government,' as they thought, had no money to spend upon such a work. They also deemed it idle to suppose that sufficient 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 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 doubting 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 disappoint him, it was his intention to submit for the consideration of the committee.