William Maxwell

Background

William's place of birth is uncertain, but he went to Lexington, Kentucky in his youth, and began his career as a printer. He was the son of William Maxwell, an emigrant from Scotland.

Career

In 1792 he started for the West, and before the close of that year was engaged in the printing business in Lexington, Ky. In this enterprise he evidently had partners. The title page of A Process in the Transilvania Presbytery, by Adam Rankin, bears the imprint: "Lexington: Printed by Maxwell & Cooch. At the sign of the Buffalo, Main-Street. " The copyright date of this pamphlet is January 1, 1793. Another pamphlet, A Narrative of Mr. Rankin's Trial, bears the imprint: "Lexington: Printed by W. Maxwell & Co. M, DCC, XCIII. "Later in 1793 he arrived in Cincinnati, where, on November 9, 1793, he issued the first number of The Centinel of the North-Western Territory. It was published at the corner of Front and Sycamore streets. A four-page, three-column sheet, it was a brief chronicler of the times and contained little local news. In it, however, were discussed from its beginning questions that were claiming the attention of the small frontier village in which it was published. In the first issue appeared an account of an attack by the Indians near Fort St. Clair and a contribution on local taxation filling a column and a half. The paper was issued regularly on Saturday of each week through practically all the years of its existence. In the summer of 1796 its founder, who had been appointed postmaster of Cincinnati, sold the Centinel to Edmund Freeman who changed the name to Freeman's Journal. Before Maxwell disposed of his printing office, however, he published a compilation, Laws of the Territory of the United States, Northwest of the Ohio, which has since been known as the "Maxwell Code. "It bears the date of 1796 and was the first book published in the Northwest Territory. In 1799, he moved to Dayton and later in the same year to a tract on the Little Miami River in what is now Beaver Creek Township, Greene County, but was then a part of Hamilton County. He was elected to the House of Representatives of the first General Assembly of Ohio which convened in Chillicothe, March 1, 1803. At its first session the Assembly passed a law for the erection of Greene County and elected Maxwell as one of its first associate judges. On December 7, 1803, he was chosen sheriff of Greene County, and through reelection served till 1807. He was also active in the organization of the state militia; was commissioned captain, June 19, 1804, and lieutenant-colonel, January 1, 1806, and was thereafter generally addressed as Colonel Maxwell. Maxwell died and was buried on his farm in Greene County in 1809.

Achievements

• Maxwell's first edition of his weekly "The Centinel of the Northwest Territory" was dated November 9, 1793, and it was the first newspaper published west of the Ohio River. Three years later, he printed "Laws of the Territory of the United States Northwest of the Ohio" in Cincinnati. Some sources report that as many as one thousand copies were produced. It became known simply as Maxwell's Code, and was the first book printed in the Northwest Territory. It is greatly valued today by antiquarians. One of the few original copies extant was auctioned in recent years for over $100, 000. He was instrumental in the formation of Greene County from Hamilton in 1805, and was one of the associate justices of the new county's court. He was also sheriff of Greene County from 1803 until 1807. He became active in the local militia, and was known as Colonel Maxwell by the time of his death.

Personality

If not a "genius, " as his biographer Burba called him, William certainly accomplished much to distinguish himself within his brief forty-two year lifetime.

Connections

After his arrival in Cincinnati he met and married Nancy Robins, and of this union were born eight children.

Father:

William Maxwell

1741 - 21 August 1821

Wife:

Nancy Ann Robins Maxwell White

3 August 1765 - 9 November 1868

Daughter:

Elizabeth “Eliza” Maxwell Owens

1797 - 1870

Daughter:

Nancy Maxwell

2 August 1807 - 17 March 1883

Daughter:

Lucinda Maxwell Sayre

1799 - 1822

Son:

John Maxwell

17 December 1799 - 27 April 1891

Son:

William Maxwell, Jr

9 November 1794 - 9 March 1877

Son:

Ludlow Maxwell

December 1806 - 5 April 1899

References

• Beginnings of Literary Culture in the Ohio Valley