William Findley was a descendant of one of the signers of the Solemn League and Covenant in Scotland. His grandparents emigrated to North Ireland during the persecution of the Presbyterians by the last two Stuart kings. In their adopted country, where William Findley was born, the members of the family played a conspicuous part in the thrilling events of the time.
While the formal education of William was limited, he had a strong intellect, which he cultivated by reading.
He landed in America in 1763 and established himself in a flourishing Scotch-Irish settlement near Waynesboro, in what is now Franklin County, Pennsylvania. For several years he worked at the weaver’s trade, to which he had been apprenticed in Ireland, and at the same time he taught school for a number of terms.
After his marriage in 1769, he purchased a farm and settled thereon. He identified himself with the interests of the colonists in the long controversy with the mother country and vigorously espoused their cause. He became a member of the first committee of observation from his county, and upon the opening of hostilities he entered the army and soon rose to the rank of captain.
Near the close of the war he moved beyond the mountains into Westmoreland County to a farm near the present site of Latrobe. He was elected to the council of censors, on which he served from 1783 to 1790, and held various other public offices, among which were those of assemblyman, state supreme executive councilman, and delegate to the state constitutional convention of 1789-90. Findley displayed early in life that ability for leadership which won for him a long and creditable career in public service. In 1791 he was elected to Congress lin County, Pennsylvania.
In his adopted state Findlay quickly rose to prominence. In 1798 he became a member of the first territorial legislative council and three years later was appointed the first receiver of public moneys in the newly established land office at Cincinnati. The following year he was appointed United States marshal for the District of Ohio, being the first to hold this office.
He served two terms as mayor of Cincinnati, in 1805-06, and again in 1810-11. At the time of the Burr conspiracy (1806) he held the rank of brigadier-general in the state militia, and in company with Major-General John S. Gano was ordered by Governor Tiffin to take charge of the military operations at Cincinnati and help in suppressing the proposed expedition from Blennerhasset’s Island.
At the outbreak of the War of 1812 General Findlay was placed in command of the 2nd Ohio Volunteer Infantry with the rank of colonel in the regular army. He was present in Detroit at the surrender of General William Hull, which he vigorously denounced (J. G. Forbes, ’ Report of the Trial of Brigadier-Gen. Hull, 1814’ pp. 29, 45, passim).
In the family correspondence there is a letter which states that General Findlay was urged “to put Hull in irons, but he would not, as he said there is [was] no precedent for it” (Goss, post, III, 27). He was commended for his services at Detroit by Gen. Hull and was promoted to the rank of major-general in the state militia in w'hich capacity he served for many years.
The year following his retirement from Congress he was nominated on the Democratic ticket for governor but was defeated by Robert Lucas. A lawyer by profession, an active officer in the state militia, one of the proprietors of the Liberty Hall and Cincinnati Gazette, and a partner in the Cincinnati Bell, Brass & Iron Foundry, his interests touched many aspects of the life of his local community. As a stanch supporter of President Jackson’s policies, he was an influential Ohio Democrat.
His sterling integrity, unquestioned patriotism, and warm hospitality gained for him the respect of his fellow citizens. Although he had a natural where he served continuously until 1817 with the exception of four years, from 1799 to 1803, when he served in the state Senate. Although openly hostile to the Federalist legislative program, he was consulted frequently by Washington and his cabinet concerning frontier problems.
Especially significant was Findley’s persistent opposition to the early practise of referring practically all questions of importance to the heads of departments for their consideration. It was upon a recommendation made by him that the first standing committee, that of ways and means, was appointed.
Findley was one of the prominent men identified with the Whiskey Insurrection of 1794. Feeling as he did that the tax on whiskey was exorbitant and unjust, he encouraged open resistance to the government at first. Later, however, he counseled moderation and obedience to the law and displayed real statesmanship in working for a compromise.
In 1796 he published a History of the Insurrection in the Four Western Counties of Pennsylvania, in which he attempted to vindicate his own position as well as to furnish an acceptable apology for those who participated actively in the insurrection. Throughout his public career Findley was a faithful guardian of the interests of the frontiersmen, who were his associates and his friends.
In June 1812 he began the erection of Fort Findlay, which was named in his honor, and upon the site of this fort the present town of Findlay, in Hancock County, was founded. In 1834 he was elected to Congress as a Jacksonian Democrat from the 16t district, composed of Hamilton and Clermont counties. He continued to represent this district until 1833 when he was succeeded by Robert T. Lytle.
(This book was originally published prior to 1923, and rep...)
(Lang:- eng, Vol-5, Pages 15, It is the reproduction of th...)
( William Findley was an important, if lesser-known, poli...)
Indeed, he was a consummate politician. Because of his large personal acquaintance and his inherent ability he became a formidable factor in shaping public opinion not only in western Pennsylvania but throughout the state. An Anti-Federalist, he vigorously opposed the ratification of the Federal Constitution and later Hamilton’s financial measures.
In 1793 he and his wife, Jane Irwin, removed from Pennsylvania to Virginia, thence to Kentucky, and ultimately settled in Cincinnati, Ohio.
