William Cortenus Schenck

William Cortenus Schenck (1773–1821) was a pioneer surveyor, militia general and legislator. Two of his sons were prominent military men.

William Cortenus Schenck
Member of the Ohio Senate from the Hamilton and other counties district
In office December 5, 1803 – December 2, 1804 Serving with John Bigger Daniel Symmes William Ward
Preceded by	Francis Dunlavy Jeremiah Morrow John Paul Daniel Symmes
Succeeded by	Daniel Symmes Cornelius Snider
Personal details
Born	January 11, 1773 Freehold, New Jersey
Died	January 12, 1821 (aged 48) Columbus, Ohio
Resting place	Woodhill cemetery, Franklin, Ohio
Political party	Federalist
Spouse(s)	Elizabeth Rogers
Children	Robert C. Schenck James F. Schenck
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Army
Rank	General
Battles/wars	War of 1812

Youth

William C. Schenck was born at Freehold, New Jersey, on January 11, 1773. His father was a Presbyterian minister, and his mother was a sister of General John N. Cumming, with whom he lived for a time at Newark.[1] Family tradition says he graduated from Princeton University in 1793 or 1794, though that is unconfirmed.[1] He studied both medicine and law, but decided to become a surveyor.[2]

Move west

In 1793, Schenck moved west to Cincinnati in the Northwest Territory.[3] He was an agent of his uncle and other New Jersey men, Jacob Burnet, Jonathan Dayton, and John Cleves Symmes.[4] He surveyed and laid out Franklin, Ohio, with Daniel C. Cooper in 1796, where he later made his home.[5] He spent 1797 surveying the United States Military District in eastern Ohio.[4] He married Elizabeth Rogers on September 14, 1798, at Huntington, Long Island. They made their home at Cincinnati.[6]

Schenck was appointed the secretary of Northwest Territory Legislative Council from 1799 to 1802.[7] In 1802, a constitutional convention was held to write a constitution for the new state of Ohio. Ten delegates were elected from Hamilton County. Schenck finished in 14th place.[8] He also laid out the town of Newark, Ohio, in 1802. He was proprietor with his uncle and Judge Burnet.[9] They chose the forks of the Licking River as the town site.[10]

Schenck and family moved to Franklin in 1802 or 1803. They eventually had nine sons and a daughter, including Robert C. Schenck and James F. Schenck.[6] He was the clerk of the Ohio Senate during the 1st General Assembly, (1803).[11] That General Assembly gave a charter to the Miami Exporting Company, the first bank in the state. Schenck was named a member of the first directorate of that bank on June 16, 1803.[12] He was elected to represent several counties in the Ohio Senate for the 2nd General Assembly, (1803-1804).[13] He laid out Port Lawrence, now Toledo, Ohio in 1816.[4] He represented Warren County in the Ohio House of Representatives during the 19th General Assembly, (1820-1821).[14]

Military activities

Soon after arriving in the west, Schenck became involved in military affairs. On February 6, 1793, he was commissioned Lieutenant of the Hamilton County Militia of the United States Northwest of the Ohio. When Ohio became a state, he was given a commission as captain of the third regiment of Hamilton County, dated November 17, 1807.[15]

During the War of 1812, Schenck had rank of General of militia, though it is not known which battles he took part in.[4][15]

Death

Schenck was a proponent of canals in Ohio. In 1820, an act was passed to provide for three commissioners to be appointed to survey a route for a canal between the Ohio River and Lake Erie. Governor Ethan Allen Brown appointed Schenck as one of these three commissioners.[4][16] The next year, he was a member of the Ohio House, and he made a speech before the legislature on January 12, 1821, advocating immediate construction of such a canal. He left the House, went to his lodgings and died some hours later from what was known as "swamp fever", which he had contracted during his surveying expeditions.[4][17] The legislature suspended business, and the entire membership of both houses escorted his remains to the edge of Franklinton, a Columbus suburb.[17]

Notes

1. Joyner, p. 363.
2. Joyner, pp. 363-364.
3. Joyner, p. 364.
4. Howe, p. 452.
5. Joyner, p. 365.
6. Joyner, p. 366.
7. Taylor & Taylor, p. 18.
8. election results.
9. Brister, p. 249.
10. Hill, p. 535.
11. Taylor & Taylor, p. 35.
12. Goss, p. 172.
13. Taylor & Taylor, p. 38.
14. Taylor & Taylor, p. 105.
15. Joyner, p. 368.
16. Joyner, p. 370.
17. Joyner, p. 371.

References

• Brister, E M P (1909). Centennial history of the city of Newark and Licking County, Ohio. Columbus: S J Clarke Publishing Company. p. 249.
• Hill, N N (1881). History of Licking county, O., its past and present containing a... Newark, O: A A Graham and Company. p. 535.
• Joyner, Fred B. "William Cortenus Schenck, Pioneer and Statesman of Ohio". Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly. 47: 363–371.
• "A new nation votes, Ohio 1802 Constitutional Convention, Hamilton County". Tufts Digital Collections and Archives. January 11, 2012.
• Goss, Charles Frederic (1912). Cincinnati, the Queen City, 1788-1912. 2. Cincinnati: S J Clarke Publishing Company.
• Taylor, William Alexander; Taylor, Aubrey Clarence (1899). Ohio statesmen and annals of progress: from the year 1788 to the year 1900 ... State of Ohio.
• Howe, Henry (1907). Historical Collections of Ohio, The Ohio Centennial Edition. 3. The State of Ohio.

External links

• "William C. Schenck Elementary School". Franklin City School District, Warren County, Ohio.
• Bogan, Dallas. "Warren County Local History". Warren County GenWeb.
• William Cortenus Schenck at Find a Grave