Ephraim Cutler - 1767-1853
Ephraim Cutler - 1767-1853
Ephraim Cutler was honored by a highway marker dedication on November 29, 2003 at Veto Ohio. The following highway marker was erected by the Ohio Bicentennial Commission through the efforts of member Henry Burke, Marietta historian and promoter of the local history of the Underground Railroad.
Text of Highway Marker (Click Here)
Highway Marker dedicated July 17, 2004
Constitution, OH (formerly 3.5 miles north of Belpre)
Reenactments of Judge Cutler (by Richard Dean)
Apr. 13, 1767 at Edgartown (Martha's Vineyard), MA (There are some sources that list Dec 13th as Ephraim's birth. He writes in his daughter, Julia's, biography of him that he was born in April; his gravestone, likewise states April 13th.)
Died:
July 8, 1853 at Constitution, Ohio (near Belpre, Ohio)
Married to:
Leah Atwood - 6 children
- Mary-died in childhood
- Nancy
- Charles
- Hezikiah-died in childhood
- Mary
- Daniel
Sally Parker- 5 children
- Sarah
- Manasseh-died in childhood
- William Parker
- Julia
- Clarissa
He was the eldest son of Manasseh Cutler, a lobbiest for and prominent leader of the Ohio Company and Associates. Judge Cutler was a writer and signer of Ohio's Constitution, Ohio Legislator, and Trustee and Major Supporter of early Ohio University.
In his lifetime, Judge Ephraim Cutler was citizens of both the British Colonies and United States of America (Massachusetts and Ohio). He was a personal acquaintance of George Washington and lived through the administrations of 13 additional presidents; the last being James Polk. From the time of his birth until his death this nation went from being a series of British colonies to a nation that extended to the Pacific Ocean. California, the 34th state, was the last to be admitted to the union (1850) prior to this death in 1853.
Farmer:
1790 - Cared for his grandfather's farm in Killingly, Connecticut
1800 - Ames Township - drove cattle and hogs to Baltimore, MD (30 yrs)
Merchant:
1790 - Killingly, Connecticut for his grandfather
1795 - Waterford Settlement with Ohio Company
Benefactor to Ohio
University:
1802 - Introduced legislation to the Northwest Territorial Legislature to establish Ohio University [American Western University]
1802 - chaired the Territorial Legislature committee responsible for establishing a university in Athens. Presented the original Ohio University charter under its original name, the American Western University, authored by his father in Ipswitch, MA. His father never visited Athens, OH or the state of Ohio after first visiting Marietta briefly in its first year - 1788.
1824 - delivered the inugural address for the third Ohio University President, Robert Wilson.
1825 - Obtained $1,000 from the Ohio's legislature to establish a Medical College at Ohio University.
Served 30 years on the Ohio University Board of Trustees, never missing a meeting. His responsibilities included the annual oral examination of all candidates for graduation, frequent efforts to lobby the state legislature for funding, and involvement in the constant problem of managing the rentals of town lots required to seek the primary funding for university operation. Thomas Hoover in The History of Ohio University describes him as replacing Rufus Putnam as the god-father of Ohio University.
Conducted court in the Silas Bingham house (currently the Ohio University Visitors' Center) when it served as the earliest Athens County Courthouse.
Real Estate Agent:
1790 - operated the Ephraim Cutler Agency in Killingly, Connecticut; he and his father, Manasseh, sold approximately 50 percent of land to original Ohio Company stockholders.
1800-1824 - was involved in sale of over 2,000 acres of land in Athens County, primarily in Ames and Dover townships.
Pioneer:
1795 - traveled to Ohio via covered wagon and flatboat.
1795 - surveyor for Ohio Company
1797 - organized the early settlement of Ames township (Amesville). Solicited Captain Benjamine Brown and Lt. George Ewing (Revolutionary War veterans) to join him as first citizens of Ames township.
1804 - charter member of Coonskin Library (Western Library Assn.)
|
the second one to be built. Still stands 3miles North of Amesville, OH. |
Coonskin Library First housed in Cutler home in 1804 (seen to left) |
Old Stonehouse - Cutler's home in Constitution, Oh (1806+)
Politician:
1801 - member of Territorial Legislature that set in motion the process of establishing statehood. Cutler was a Federalist and considered a xxxxx. Federalists were the minority party having been outnumbered by the recent immigration of many Virginians into the western part of the state (Chillicothe and Cincinnati). He and his colleagues unsuccessfully opposed statehood at that time and advocated that Ohio's western border be the Scioto River, thus excluding the stronghold of the Jefferson Democrats - Chillicothe and Cincinnati. (Youngest member and one who lived the longest)
1802 - After the US Congress passed an act authorizing Ohio statehood a Constitutional Convention was convened. Cutler returned as one of four Washington County delegates. He cast the single vote opposing statehood. But subsequently had major influence on the nature of the constitution. His most noted impact was his last minute activity to veto slavery in Ohio by casting a tying vote and influencing a young colleague, John Milligan, to change his vote to support an anti-slavery article.
Proposed (left) & Actual (right) States in Northwest Territory
1825 - wrote state law that provided free education in Ohio public education in Ohio funded by property tax. (currently challenged in Ohio)
1825 - wrote state law for differential (ad Velorum) property taxes.
1816 - benefactor to Ohio University; trustee for 30 years. Never missed a Trustee's meeting. Acquired funds to establish a medical college at Ohio University; however, such a college was not established until the 1970s.
1806 - is credited by contemporary historians as having a major role in establishing the Underground Railroad in Ohio. His home along the Ohio River near Belpre is cited as the Constitution Station.
Area Developer:
1835 - sponsored the Chillicothe-Marietta turnpike (current SR 550)
1832 - supporter of Ohio Canal system.
1837 - lobbied actively in behalf of the citizens of Marietta to influence the building of railroads in S.E. Ohio. His son, William P. Cutler, continued in this effort to become head of the Marietta & Cincinnati Railroad, a forerunner of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.
Other Web References concerning Ephraim Cutler
Richard Dean reenacting Judge Cutler at his grave site - 2002.
Richard Dean began to reenact Judge Cutler in 1999 after extensive study of Ephraim Cutler's life. His interest in Mr. Cutler evolved gradually. He had been aware of Cutler's role in early Amesville and the creation of the Coonskin Library (Western Library Association) from growing up in Amesville. In his extensive family genealogical research he came more frequently in contact with information related to Judge Cutler's role in the courts of early Southeastern Ohio. He eventually became convinced that Ephraim Cutler had had signfiant and major influences n Early Ohio, but that he was largely unknown to Ohioians, particularly Southeastern Ohioians. As an example, there was a major court decision overturning the use of property taxes to finance public education, but never once has there been any local acknowledgement of the fact that this origial effort by Cutler to achieve this means of financial support, was the first efforts tu fud public education outside of Massachusetts.
Richard first began to perform as Judge Cutler at the anual Burr Oak Boy Scouts of America Camporee near Glouster for tristate scouts (OH, WV & KY). He also perfomed before the Ames-Bern Alumni Banquet and the White Oaks Settlement Bicentennial celebration in 2001, visit with Athens 4th graders at O.U.Visitors Center, and 2002 Constitution Ohio Reunion. He will participate in the Ephraim Cutler Highway Plaque Dedication sometime in 2002. When he performs he represents Mr. Cutler as a 70 year old man. He is in period costume, circa 1840 and speaks in Massachuesetts (eastern) dialect. He is pictured as he portrays Judge Cutler in the photo on his homepage (http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/~deanr). If interested in having Richard represent Judge Cutler at a community event please contact him at the email address at the bottom of this page.
In real life, Richard Dean is on the faculty of the School of Hearing, Speech and Language Sciences at Ohio University.
Ephraim Cutler Street Sign - Marietta, OH
Richard Dean
487 Estates Dr
Athens, OH 45701
deanr@ohio.edu
Day Phone: 740-593-2452 (winter quarter only) otherwise home 740-593-8487, Fax: 740-593-0287
To Reply or Respond to Information on this page, send email to Richard Dean (deanr@ohio.edu)
