Hi Keith, You are correct as regards the Northwest Territory. <What evidence can you cite to back up your statements? I have never seen anything that says Wayne County, Ohio was part of Wayne County, Mich. > My first statement <<At one time, the Western Reserve (which includes Medina Co.) and some land to the south of the Western Reserve (including present day Wayne Co., Ohio) were part of what is today Wayne Co., Michigan.>> was incorrect, not to mention very confusing. I should have made it clear that I was referring to the Wayne Co. of the Northwest Territory. The county seat for the Wayne Co. of the NW. T. was Detroit. I have been under the impression that the NW. T. Wayne Co. was gradually reduced in size and in 1815 became Wayne Co., MI. Sorry, this has been my understanding for so many years, I really don't recall where I first found this piece of information. I have never actually researched this myself to determine if it is correct or not. My intention was simply to indicate that the areas which today are Medina and Wayne Counties of Ohio were once a part of the Northwest Territory. This is in Article 5 of the Ordinance of July 13, 1787, An Ordinance for the government of the territory of the United States northwest of the river Ohio, as it appears in the appendix of a booklet published by Jim Petro, Auditor of the State of Ohio, entitled "Ohio Lands, A short History", p. 55. <Prior to the formation of Ohio and Michigan, The County of Wayne included the northeastern parts of Indiana, the northwestern parts of Ohio and all of Michigan. > As for the exact area of land encompassed by the Wayne Co. of the NW. T., the source I have, [a 1984 reprint of the 1879 "History of Cuyahoga County, Ohio," by Crisfield Johnson, p. 39] indicates that the Wayne Co. of the Northwest Territory was established 15 August 1796 and "nominally embracing the whole tract from the Cuyahoga [river] westward and northward beyond Detroit, which place was made the county seat." I don't have a map at home which shows the area of Wayne Co., NW. T. I have seen (but don't have a source citation for) maps which show a part of Wayne Co., NW.T. (a finger if you will) extending east, to the west and south of the Cuyahoga River into present Wayne Co., OH and including Medina Co., OH. I do not have access to a copy of the ordinance by which Wayne Co., NW.T. was erected but, if the source I have is correct and the Cuyahoga River was the eastern boundary, then a look at any map of the area will show that the Cuyahoga River runs slightly southeast out of Cleveland to Akron, before turning northeast. This effectively puts Medina Co., OH and, depending on the exact wording of the act establishing Wayne Co., N.W. T., may also put at least part of Wayne Co. OH in Wayne Co., NW. T. I don't have Howe's here at home, but another source I do have, N.B. Northrop, "Pioneer History of Medina County," (Medina, OH: Geo. Redway, 1861), p. 6, uses the same description as Keith has indicated appears in Howe's "Historical Collections of Ohio". This is not as detailed as the description which is given in Johnson's "History of Cuyahoga Co.", which is also not an exact transcript of the act. Perhaps someone on the list will have an exact transcript of the act which established Wayne Co., NW. T. and can advise as to what the actual wording was. This might clear up the question as to exactly what present counties of Ohio were in Wayne Co., NW. T. As for the townships which have, at varoius times, been a part of Medina County, this is from research I have conducted in tax records, census records, court records, including but not limited to, Probate Court records primarily in Medina County, but also in Lorain and Summit counties. It can also be found in N.B. Northrop, "Pioneer History of Medina County"; W.H. Perrin, J.H. Battle, and W.A. Goodspeed, "History of Medina County, and Ohio" (Chicago: Baskin & Batty, Historical Publishers, 1881). Donna ***************************** Donna J. Gruber, CGRS West Salem, OH [email protected] -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] <[email protected]> To: [email protected] <[email protected]> Date: Monday, March 26, 2001 11:47 PM Subject: Re: [OHMEDINA-L] Boundry Changes, Re: [OHMedina] Culver family What evidence can you cite to back up your statements? I have never seen anything that says Wayne County, Ohio was part of Wayne County, Mich. Prior to the formation of Ohio and Michigan, The County of Wayne included the northeastern parts of Indiana, the northwestern parts of Ohio and all of Michigan. The area was called the Northwest Territory until 1803. The Territory Headquarters was at Marietta, Ohio and then moved to Cincinnati. Ohio was not admitted to the Union until 1803. At that time, what is now the State of Michigan was totally within the newly formed Territory of Indiana. The Territory of Michigan was formed in 1805. Howe's Historical Collections of Ohio states that "Wayne County was established by Gov. St. Clair, August 15, 1796.... These limits embrace what is now part of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and all of Michigan and the towns of Ohio City, Chicago, Sault St. Mary's (sic), Mackinaw, etc." Keith Clark Rittman, Ohio