Background
Return Jonathan Meigs Jr. was the son of Joanna (Winborn) and Return Jonathan Meigs, 1740-1823, and the uncle of Return Jonathan Meigs, 1801-1891. He was born on November 17, 1764 in Middletown, Connecticut.
Return Jonathan Meigs Jr. was the son of Joanna (Winborn) and Return Jonathan Meigs, 1740-1823, and the uncle of Return Jonathan Meigs, 1801-1891. He was born on November 17, 1764 in Middletown, Connecticut.
Meigs graduated from Yale College in 1785, studied law, and was admitted to the Connecticut bar.
In 1788 Meigs moved to Marietta, Ohio, a settlement so near the frontier that he, along with other settlers, narrowly escaped death at the hands of Indians. In 1798 he was appointed one of the judges of the territorial government. With the organization of the territorial legislature in 1799 he was elected to represent the Marietta region. He supported the cause of statehood in 1801 and, upon the creation of the new state, was appointed chief justice of the supreme court. In October 1804 he resigned this position to accept an appointment as commandant of United States troops and militia in the St. Charles district of Louisiana. In 1805 he was appointed a judge in Louisiana Territory. He returned to Ohio in 1806 and was called to Richmond, Virginia, on business relating to Burr's trial. He was transferred to serve as a judge in Michigan Territory but resigned for he became a candidate for governor of Ohio in opposition to Nathaniel Massie. He won the election by a considerable majority but was declared to be constitutionally ineligible because of his prolonged absence from the state. He was elected to the federal Senate to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of John Smith, who was alleged to have been an accomplice of Burr. He was reelected the next election and sat in the Senate from December 12, 1808, to May 1, 1810. In 1810 he ran again for governor with Thomas Worthington as his opponent. Worthington represented the ardently democratic Scioto settlements, while Meigs, on account of his conservatism and New England connections, gained the support of the conservative Republicans and of the Federalist minority. He was elected by the strength of this combination. Although the governors under the first constitution were almost powerless, the imminence of war with Great Britain gave him an opportunity for real leadership. Largely through his efforts 1, 200 state militiamen were recruited and equipped in time for Hull's rendezvous at Dayton in 1812. The war spirit in Ohio was dampened by Hull's defeat, however, and for a time Meigs suffered severe criticism. Nevertheless he was again elected in 1812, and in the following year again was active in raising men and supplies for the war. In March 1814 he resigned as governor to accept the position of postmaster-general, an appointment that was a recognition of his vigorous support of the war. During his administration of the post office department the number of post offices increased from approximately 3, 000 to 5, 200 and the mileage of post-roads from about 41, 000 to 85, 000. Consequently he experienced difficulty in maintaining the department on a self-supporting basis. Occasional deficits and alleged irregularities in the awarding of mail-contracts led to an investigation of the affairs of the department by Congress in 1816 and again in 1821. Neither investigation resulted in more than a charge of inefficiency against him. He resigned from office in June 1823 because of ill health and returned to Marietta, where he died.
In 1788 Meigs married Sophia Wright. His wife and their only child, Mary, who married John George Jackson, survived him.