CALEB ATWATER.

CLEMENT L. MARTZOLFF.

It is as Ohio's first historian that Caleb Atwater is best known. But had he never written his History of Ohio, his efforts to provide an educational system for the state and the record he made in Archæology might in themselves be sufficient reason for placing his name in "Ohio's Hall of Fame."

Caleb Atwater was a versatile, peculiar, eccentric and visionary individual. From the world's material point of view his life might not be reckoned a success. He never accumulated any property. He lacked that power of concentration which alone gives success in a pursuit. But he was not lazy. He worked hard on things that were congenial to him. He was a close observer of nature. He had his ideas and theories and it seems he spent much time in formulating them.

His versatility expressed itself in his being a minister, lawyer, educator, legislator, author and antiquarian. He was a pioneer in more senses than one. And since a pioneer is ever a brave man we can forgive Mr. Atwater his inclination to be a "Jack-of-all-trades."

It was on Christmas day in 1778 at North Adams, Massachusetts, that Caleb Atwater was born to Ebenezer and Rachel (Parks) Atwater. He was a direct descendant of David Atwater one of the original settlers of New Haven. On the maternal side he inherited Welsh blood. His mother died when he was five years old. The child was placed in the home of a Mr. Jones in North Adams, where he remained until his eighteenth year. About this time Williams College was founded and young Atwater was sent by his guardian to this school. He completed his studies here and received the degree of Master of Arts.

I wish to express my thanks to Miss May Lowe, Librarian at Circleville; Miss Wilder, Assistant Librarian; Mrs. L. G. Hoffman, of Circleville, and Rev. Dr. Brown, of Indianapolis, for courtesies extended in the preparation of this article. C. L. M.

Upon his graduation he went to New York City and opened a school for young ladies. While thus engaged he studied theology and in due time entered the Presbyterian ministry. He now married a Miss Diana who lived only about a year. On account of his health he gave up the ministry and began the study of law. His preceptor was Judge Smiley of Marcellus, New York. After a few months reading he was admitted to the bar. He married a second time. His wife was Belinda, a daughter of Judge Butler.

It seems that now he entered into some business arrangements that proved disastrous. What this business was is unknown but it left him impoverished.

He had determined to go West. It could hardly be said that he wished to "grow up with the country" for he was now thirtyseven years old. He came to Circleville, Ohio, in 1815, and there made his home until his death fifty-two years afterward.

The first six years of his residence in Circleville was devoted to the practice of law. In 1821 he was elected to represent the Pickaway-Hocking District in the Ohio Legislature. One of the great issues before the American people at that time was the question of "internal improvements." Governor De Witt Clinton of New York had begun his Erie Canal. Roads were demanded. Better facilities to get the produce of the land to market were asked for. As usual the people were divided.

Mr. Atwater upon his entrance into the General Assembly aligned himself with the friends of "improvement." He had not been a member long until he had an opportunity to defend his position. A bill had been introduced to abandon for a year the usual road tax. Mr. Atwater opposed the measure in the following speech.

"The people of Ohio are an enterprising people and they are as patriotic as they are enterprising and will not thank you for giving up the road tax. Does the public voice call for the abandonment of the road tax? Sir, the spirit of the age remonstrates against this bill in the strongest language and he must be deaf indeed who does not hear its voice and perverse indeed who disobeys it. There is not a single state over the mountains that is not up and doing. In New York besides a vast number of

turnpikes running in all directions through the state the patriotic Clinton and his friends are cutting a canal, three hundred and fifty-eight miles in length connecting the Great Lakes with the ocean. Virginia and North Carolina have each their Boards or Public Works busily and successfully engaged in these improvements. Shall this young State lose all the benefit of example so praiseworthy? 'But the pressure of the times.' Great minds rise under every pressure. The sages who on the Fourth of July, 1776, declared us an independent nation did not sit down to inquire where our armies were, where was our navy, where our money was to be obtained, to carry on a war with the most powerful civilized nation in the world. Had they done so we had not been as now, here legislating for a respectable state.

"Shall we throw dollars and cents into one scale, against a great system of internal policy in the other? From such legislation I devoutly pray to be delivered on this and all other occasions."

Mr. Atwater was a friend to the Canal System. He was a great admirer of Governor Clinton of New York. That fact is evidenced when it is noted that he named a son after the great New York champion of canals. Many Ohioans, including Mr. Atwater, had kept in close touch with Governor Clinton during the years the Erie Canal was building. His advice to the Ohio people was valuable. Accordingly when the friends of "internal improvements" were ready to strike they were not entirely ignorant of the best methods to be followed. It is significant that the friends of roads and canals were also friends of public education.

On the 6th of December, 1821, the initial canal bill was introduced in the Ohio House of Representatives. Mr. Atwater supported the bill as a member of the Legislature but he did more than that. There was a popular opposition to overcome. The people had to be educated. During these years of debate and agitation the pen of Caleb Atwater was busy in writing for the press. The files of the Circleville newspaper of the time show many articles that are evidently his. While they are signed, usually, as was the custom of the time by a high sounding Latin pseudonym, yet to a person who is but meagerly acquainted with

Mr. Atwater's style, but little difficulty is found in recognizing the author.

These articles are vigorous and the arguments are telling. There is no doubt that they had considerable influence in molding the public opinion of the section.

But it is in the cause of popular education that Mr. Atwater deserves to be held in fond memory by the people of Ohio. Coming from the halls of an eastern college as he did he soon saw the need of an educated proletariat. In expressing his views of the stability of our Republic he said, "To effect this object universal education is the only remedy." He had full confidence in the function of the school master. He did not doubt the potency of an efficient system of education.

On the same day that the Ohio Canal Bill was introduced in the General Assembly, Mr. Atwater set the educational wheels revolving by presenting a resolution asking for a committee on "schools and school lands."

The part taken by Mr. Atwater is best told in his own words which are taken from his History of Ohio.

"The congress of the United States, by several acts, usually denominated the compact,' gave the people, of all the territory northwest of the Ohio river, one thirty-sixth part of the land, for the support of common schools. No small portion of these lands were occupied, at an early day, by persons who settled on them, without any title to them, than what mere occupancy gave them. These occupants, made no very valuable improvements, on these lands, but they contrived in time, to obtain various. acts of our general assembly, in favor of such squatters. Such acts increased in number every year, until they not only had cost the state large sums of money for legislating about them, but some entire sessions were mostly spent, in such unprofitable legislation.

"In the meantime, scarcely a dollar was ever paid over to the people, for whose benefit these lands had been given, by congress. "Members of the legislature, not frequently, got acts passed and leases granted, either to themselves, to their relations, or, to warm partisans. One senator contrived to get, by such acts,

seven entire sections of land into, either his own, or his children's possession!

"From 1803-1820, our general assembly spent its sessions mostly, in passing acts relating to these lands; in amending our militia laws; and in revising those relating to justice's courts. Every four or five years, all the laws were amended, or as one member of the assembly well remarked in his place, 'were made worse.' At a low estimate, this perverse legislation, cost the people, one million dollars. The laws were changed so frequently, that none but the passers of them, for whose benefit they were generally made, knew what laws were really in force. New laws were often made as soon as the old ones took effect.

"During these seventeen years, there were a few persons, in different parts of the state, who opposed this course of legislation. And here we introduce to the reader, Ephraim Cutler, of Washington county, near Marietta, who was one of the framers of our state constitution. He had succeeded in his motion, so to amend the original draft of that instrument, as to make it the imperative duty of the general assembly, to support 'religion, morality and knowledge, as essentially necessary to good government.' And the constitution goes on to declare 'that schools and the means of instruction, shall forever be encouraged by legislative provision.' This provision remained a dead letter until in December 1819, Judge Cutler, its author, being then a member of the general assembly, introduced a resolution for that purpose, and was appointed chairman of a committee on schools. He introduced a bill into the house of representatives, for regulating and supporting common schools. This bill after being much injured by amendments, passed the lower branch of the legislature, but, was either not passed in the senate, or so modified as to render it useless. This state of things continued, until, in December, 1821, the house of representatives appointed five of its members, to wit: Caleb Atwater, Lloyd Talbot, James Shields, Roswell Mills, and Josiah Barber, a committee on school lands. To that committee was referred a great number of petitions from occupants of school lands, in almost every part of the state. This committee devoted nearly