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1816 Constitutional Convention Exhibit

1816 Indiana Constitutional Convention

1815 and 1816 moved quickly in Indiana. Lots of things were happening to move the Territory toward Statehood.

In 1815, a census was taken reflecting more than 63,000 settlers living in the State. This prompted the Congress to pass legislation in April of 1816, introduced by Indiana’s delegate Jonathan Jennings, to set the Territory on its path. Weeks later, on May 13, 1816, elections were held in Indiana’s thirteen Counties to select delegates to the Convention in Corydon. Four weeks after that, on June 10, forty-three men would meet to determine the fate of the state and write its first constitution.

On the second day of the Convention, the delegates voted on a motion to create a new state and to write a Constitution. The vote passed, 34 to 8. Why were these eight opposed? In typical Hoosier fashion, it was taxation. So long as Indiana remained a territory, the government was paid for by the federal taxpayers. Upon statehood, Indiana taxpayers would be responsible for the cost of government.

Committees were determined and assignments made by the President of the Convention, Jonathan Jennings. In less than three weeks the delegates finalized their work and adjourned on June 29th. The State’s first Constitution included three branches of government and no attorney general. It established an expectation of free education for all (the first state to do so) and banished slavery and involuntary servitude.

Interestingly, the Constitution was never ratified by the citizens of Indiana, but was sent directly to Washington, D.C. for approval. On December 11, 1816, Indiana became the 19th state of the United States. The Constitution of 1816 stood until 1851 when the state adopted its present governing framework.

Meet the Delegates

*We are working to gather information about all 43 delegates. If you have any information that you would like for us to share, please email arc@iara.in.gov

1816 State Constitutional Delegate Memorial Ceremonies

In June 2016, in celebration of Indiana’s Bicentennial, the Indiana Archives and Records Administration honored the Founders of Indiana: forty-three early settlers who met in Corydon two-hundred years ago to establish Indiana’s statehood and write its first Constitution. During the month of June the Archives staff planned a series of graveside memorials to honor these early pioneers. From June 9 to June 29, 2016, we’ll traveled around the state to memorialize each 1816 State Constitutional Delegate with a public ceremony at his burial site. Each event featured an IARA staff person serving as Master of Ceremonies, a keynote speaker who shared information about the delegate’s life and achievements, a flag ceremony, a wreath-laying, and in some cases military honors and/or music.

You can learn more about these delegate memorial ceremonies by clicking here.

More information on the 1816 Indiana Constitutional Convention

Thomas Carr Sr.

Thomas Carr, Sr. was born in Hagerstown, Maryland, on June 23, 1755. He lived in Pennsylvania until he came to Indiana via Kentucky in April, 1806. He served as a soldier in the Indian Wars and was an officer in the American Revolution. He was a farmer by occupation.

  • He was an early Sheriff of Clark County
  • He served as the Charlestown Postmaster
  • 1816 – At the Constitutional Convention he was the eldest member in attendance at 61 years old.  He represented Clark County along with Jonathan Jennings, James Lemon, James Scott and John K. Graham.  

    He served on the following committees:
    • Chair of the Prisons Committee
    • Member of the Militia Committee
    • Member of the Impeachment Committee
  • 1816 – 1817 and 1817 – 1818  he served in the Indiana House of Representatives
  • He died on October 26, 1822, at the age of 67 at his home on Silver Creek and was the second delegate to die. He is buried at Silver Creek Cemetery in Sellersburg.

John K. Graham

John K. Graham was born in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, on January 30, 1783.  He moved from Pennsylvania to Kentucky to Indiana by 1804.  He was a surveyor, a civil engineer, a merchant, a teacher, a poet, and a farmer

  • 1807 – He lived in Dearborn County
  • 1812 – Indiana Militia
  • 1814 – Platted New Albany, Indiana
  • 1816 – At age 33, He was one of the five delegates from Clark County to the Constitutional Convention including Thomas Carr, Jonathan Jennings, James Lemon, and James Scott. 

    He served in the following ways:
    • Chaired the Executive Committee
    • Member of the Bill of Rights Committee
  • 1816 – House of Representatives for Clark County
  • 1825 – 1826 – Senate
  • 1825 and 1827–1828 – House of Representatives for Floyd County
  • Surveyor on the Michigan Road.
  • He died at the age of 58 on August 21, 1841, in New Albany, and is buried in Scott Cemetery there.

James Scott

James Scott was born in Washington County, Pennsylvania, on May 26, 1767. He moved to Clark County, Indiana, in 1810. He was a lawyer and a judge.

  • 1810 – Appointed Clark County Prosecutor by William Henry Harrison
  • 1813 – Elected to the Territorial House of Representatives, but soon resigned.
  • 1813 – Appointed a judge of the Territorial Chancellery Court
  • 1816 – At 49 years old he was one of the five delegates from Clark County to the Constitutional Convention as were John K. Graham, James Lemon, Thomas Carr, and Jonathan Jennings. He served on the following Convention Committees:
    • Chair of the Judicial Committee
    • Chair of the Education Committee
    • Member of the General Provisions Committee
    • Member of the General Revisions Committee
  • 1816 - Was appointed as one of the first three Justices of the Indiana Supreme Court. He served on the Court from 1816 until 1831.
    • 1817 – He coordinated court decisions and records upon the death of Chief Justice John Johnson.
    • He wrote significant decisions on slavery and involuntary indentures.
  • 1831 – Returned to Charlestown to practice law
  • 1934 - Started the Comet, the local Charlestown paper.
  • 1840–1845 – Federal Registrar of Lands in Jeffersonville
  • 1841–1850 – Indiana University Board of Trustees.
  • 1844 – Received an honorary degree from Indiana University for his work with education.
  • James Scott died March 2, 1855, at the age of 88 in Carlisle at the home of his adopted daughter. After his death, only seven  of the 43 delegates remained living. He is buried in the Carlisle Old Town Cemetery.

James Dill

James Dill was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1772. He arrived in America after the American Revolution and his family lived in Pennsylvania.  He moved to Dearborn County in 1803.  He married the daughter of Arthur St. Claire, the first Governor of the Northwest Territory.

  • 1803 – First Dearborn County Recorder
  • 1807 - Became an Attorney
  • 1810 - Prosecutor for Dearborn County
    • Clerk of Dearborn County
    • Lieutenant Colonel of the Dearborn County Militia, Third Regiment
  • 1811-1813 – Member of the Territorial House and Speaker of the House in 1813
  • 1811-1815  –  Prosecutor for Dearborn and Wayne Counties
  • 1812  – Colonel in the Indiana Militia and fought with Anthony Wayne
  • 1813-1838 - Clerk of the Court in Dearborn County
  • 1814 – Clerk of Dearborn County
  • 1815 – Notary in Dearborn County

1816 – At age 44, he represented Dearborn County at the 1816 Constitutional Convention along with Solomon Manwaring and Ezra Ferris. At the Convention he served on the following committees:

  • Chaired the Impeachment Committee
  • Chaired the Rules Committee
  • Chaired the Militia Committee
  • A member of the Judicial Committee
  • 1816 - Brigadier General of the Territory Militia and was also the Secretary of the Senate
  • 1817 - Recorder of Dearborn County
  • 1818 and 1823 - Clerk of the Court
  • James Dill died August 18, 1838, in Lawrenceburg, when he was 66. Dillsboro is named for him.

Ezra Ferris

Ezra Ferris was born in Stanwich, Connecticut, on April 26, 1783.  He arrived in Ft. Miami, Ohio, in 1789.  He was a doctor and a Baptist Minister and he owned a pharmacy.  Ezra moved to Lawrenceburg in 1807.

  • 1814-1815 – Member of the Territorial House of Representatives
  • 1816 – Justice of the Peace in Dearborn County
  • 1816 – Chaired the Committee on Election
  • 1816 – Age 33 at the Constitutional Convention.  He served on the following committees:
    • Member of the Legislative Committee
    • Member of the Executive Committee
    • Member of the General Revisions Committee
  • 1816-1819 - State Senate
  • 1820-1822, 1826-27, and 1830-31 – State House
  • 1822 – Ran for Congress, but lost by five votes
  • He was a Charter Member of the Indiana Historical Society
  • Member of the Indiana State Medical Society
  • Ezra Ferris died April 19, 1857, at the age of 74.  He died at his home in Lawrenceburg and he is buried in Greendale Cemetery, Lawrence County. Only four delegates lived longer than he.

Solomon Manwaring

Solomon Manwaring is thought to have been born in Delaware on September 29, 1776.  In 1801 Manwaring’s father, Richard, bought land in Clark County in what would become Dearborn County and Solomon likely joined him there.  His family was one of the earliest in the area.  Solomon married the sister of Delegate Robert Hanna.  Manwaring was a lawyer, a judge and a surveyor.

  • 1808 – Surveyed and platted Brookville (in what would become Franklin County
  • 1809, 1810 – Elected to the Legislative Council
  • 1811 – Judge of the Court of Common Pleas in Dearborn County
  • 1814 – Associate Judge in Dearborn County
  • 1815 – Dearborn County Coroner
  • 1816 – At 40 years old, he was one of the three delegates to Constitutional Convention from Dearborn County, the others being Ezra Ferris and James Dill. He served on the following Convention Committees:
    • Member of the Bill of Rights Committee
    • Member of Existing Laws and Courts Committee
    • Member of Banking Committee
  • 1816–1830 - Dearborn County Associate Judge
  • Solomon Manwaring died February 11, 1836, at the age of 60.  He is buried in Braysville Cemetery, Dearborn County.

James Brownlee

James Brownlee was born in Washington County, Pennsylvania, on December 15, 1780. He moved to Kentucky in 1803, and then to the New Trenton area of Franklin County, Indiana, in 1807. In 1814 he moved to what would become Fayette County. He was a farmer, a millwright and a bargeman. He was pro-Adams and anti-slavery.

  • 1816 – Franklin County Coroner before statehood
  • He was one of five Constitutional Convention delegates from Franklin County along with Enoch McCarty, James Noble, Robert Hanna, and William H. Eads. He was 36 years old during the Convention in Corydon. He served on the following committee:
    • Member of the Executive Committee
  • 1816-1817 – Elected as one of the first Representatives to the House from Franklin County, now Fayette County
  • 1818 – Fayette County was established
  • 1823-1824 – Elected to the House of Representatives from Fayette County
  • 1825-1828 – Associate Judge of Fayette County
  • James Brownlee died on July 10, 1827, on the family farm about 5 miles east of Connersville and he is buried there. He was 48 years old at the time of his death.

Robert Hanna

Robert Hanna was born in South Carolina in 1786.  He moved to Indiana by 1804 in what was then Clark County, but is now Franklin County.  Upon the creation of Franklin County in 1811, he became its first Sheriff.

  • 1813 – Franklin County Treasurer
  • Brigadier General in the Indiana Militia
  • 1816 – At 30 years old, he was one delegate to the Constitutional Convention from Franklin County along with James Noble, William H. Eads, James Brownlee, and Enoch McCarty
    • Member of the Amendments Committee
    • Member of the Militia Committee
  • 1816 – Elected to the First State Legislature as a member of the House
  • 1820-1825 – Registrar of the Brookville Land Office
  • 1825-1829 – Registrar of the Indianapolis Land Office
  • 1831-1832 – He became Indiana’s fourth U.S. Senator when he filled the remainder of U.S. Senator James Noble’s term after Senator Noble died in office
  • 1832-33 and 1836-1839 - Upon returning from Washington, he became a State Representative for Indianapolis
  • 1835 – Construction contractor for the Michigan Road
  • 1842-1846 - State Senator
  • 1850 – He ran to be a delegate at the 1851 Indiana Constitutional Convention, but he lost as did Joseph Holman.
  • In mid-November 1858, at the age of 71, former General and US Senator Robert Hanna died, having slipped into the path of an oncoming train.  A large funeral service was held in Indianapolis and he was buried in Greenlawn Cemetery.  A decade later he was moved to Crown Hill Cemetery.
  • At his death, only two delegates of the 43 outlived him; Joseph Holman and Hugh Cull.

Enoch McCarty

Enoch McCarty was born in Culpepper, Virginia, on January 5, 1783.  His family moved from Virginia to Tennessee before arriving in Indiana by 1803.  By 1805 they were in Decatur County (later part of Franklin County).  He was a lawyer and a farmer.

  • 1808 – Justice of Peace in Dearborn County
  • 1811-1817 – First County Clerk and Recorder of Franklin County
  • 1812 – Indiana Militia
  • 1816 – He was one of five delegates from Franklin County along with James Noble, Robert Hanna, William H. Eads, and James Brownlee. He was 33 years old during the Constitutional Convention in Corydon. He served on the following Convention Committees:
    • Member of the Distributions of Powers Committee
    • Member of the Prisons Committee
  • 1817-1831 – Clerk of Franklin County
  • 1831 – President of the Board of Trustee of the Franklin County Seminary
  • 1831, 1832, 1833 – Indiana State Senate
  • 1834 – Lost for U.S. Congress
  • 1834 – Trustee of the Franklin County Agricultural Society
  • 1835-1836 – Indiana State House of Representatives
  • One of the founders of the Franklin Bank of Brookville
  • 1838-1845 – Associate Judge of Franklin County
  • Enoch McCarty died on his farm near Brookville on December 12, 1857. He was 74 years old.  He is buried in the Old Brookville Cemetery.

James Noble

James Noble was born in Clarke County, Virginia, on December 16, 1785.  By 1809 he moved to Indiana, first to Lawrenceburg in Dearborn County, and then in 1811 to Brookville, Franklin County.  He was an active attorney and during his career likely became the most effective lawyer in Indiana.

  • 1809 – He was Clerk of the Territorial Legislative Council
  • 1810 and 1813 – Clerk of the Territorial House
  • 1810 – Prosecuting Attorney for Franklin and Wayne Counties
  • 1811 – Colonel of the 7th Indiana Regiment
  • 1813-1814 – Representative in the Territorial House
  • 1815 – Member of the Indiana Legislative Council, which was equivalent to the Senate
  • 1815 – Third Circuit Judge for Eastern Indiana which included from Jefferson County to Michigan.  His horse was named Wrangler.
  • 1816 – Delegate to the Constitutional Convention from Franklin County along with Robert Hanna, William H. Eads, James Brownlee, and Enoch McCarty.  He served on the following committees:
    • Chaired the Legislative Committee
    • Chaired the Banking Committee
    • Member of the Judicial Committee
    • Member of the Militia Committee
  • 1816 – Elected to the First State Legislature as a member of the House
  • 1816-1831 – Selected as one if Indiana’s first two U.S. Senators
    • Chaired U.S. Senate Committee on the Militia
    • Chaired U.S. Senate Committee on Pensions
  • 1824 – served as a special prosecutor in the most famous Indian trial in the state; the trial resulting from the Fall Creek Massacre.
  • On Saturday, Feb 26, 1831, James Noble died in Washington, D.C.  His body was brought to the U.S. Senate in a funeral procession followed by the members of the House, President Andrew Jackson, the Cabinet, and the Supreme Court.

Alexander Devin

Alexander Devin was born on March 22, 1769, in Pittsylvania County, Virginia. He moved to Kentucky in 1798, and then in March 1808, to what was Knox County, now Gibson County, to about half a mile north of Princeton. In 1814 he moved further out of town. He had 13 children, 12 of which survived to adulthood.  He was a Baptist Minister.

  • 1809 – He was likely the first regular Baptist Minister in Gibson County and he helped establish the Baptist Wabash Association with Isaac McCoy.
  • 1814 – Gibson County was established
  • 1816 – He was 47 years old at the convention and one of the four delegates from Gibson County; the others being James Smith, David Robb, and Frederick Rapp.
    • He served as a member of the Amendments Committee
  • 1819 – Appointed to the Board of Trustees of the Princeton Academy, he served as its President and began the building project that resulted in the first permanent school building in Princeton.
  • He died on January 3, 1827, near Princeton at the age of 58.  He was the fourth Constitutional Convention delegate to die.  He is buried in the Warnock Cemetery in Princeton.
  • Many of the delegates held political office and Alexander Devin’s children did so after his death.  His sons James and Joseph both served in the Statehouse.  James was also the Gibson County Sheriff and Joseph was a County Commissioner.  His sons Joseph and Alexander, Jr. became two of the wealthiest men in Gibson County in their day.

David Robb

David Barr Robb was born on July 12, 1771, in Ireland.  He immigrated to Pennsylvania in 1775, moved to Kentucky in 1786, and then to Knox County (now Gibson County) in 1800.  He was a surveyor, a farmer, a miller, a blacksmith, a carpenter, and a distiller.   He was one of Gibson County’s earliest residents.

  • 1801 – Justice of the Peace for Knox County (Gibson County area).
  • During the Indian Wars he built a blockhouse for the safety of his neighbors and himself.
  • 1812 – Served in the War of 1812, where he was made a Major.
  • 1813-1814 – Territorial House of Representatives
  • 1814 – Gibson County was established
  • 1814 – Gibson County Surveyor
  • 1814-1815 – Territorial Legislative Council
  • 1815 – Legislative Council President
  • 1816 – He was 45 years old at the Constitutional Convention and one of four delegates from Gibson County; the others being Alexander Devin, James Smith, and Frederick Rapp.   He served on the following committees:
    • He was a member of the Militia Committee
    • He was a member of the General Provisions Committee
  • 1820-21, 1822-23, 1825, and 1828-29 – Indiana State Representative
  • 1829-1833 – He served four terms in the Indiana State Senate
  • 1833-1837 – Appointed by President Jackson as Registrar of Federal Lands at the Land Office in LaPorte.
  • He died on April 15, 1844, near Hazelton in Gibson County, at the age of 73 and is buried in the David Robb Cemetery in Gibson County.

James Smith

Major James Smith was born on August 14, 1774, in Orange County, Virginia. He moved to Kentucky and then in 1808 to Knox County, to what is now Gibson County. In 1814 he moved further out of town. He had 13 children, 12 of which survived to adulthood. He was a Baptist Minister and an early Gibson County surveyor.

  • 1811 – Fought in the Battle of Tippecanoe and was on the Staff of William Henry Harrison. Upon the death of Jacob Warrick (for whom Warrick County is named), James Smith became Company Commander and a Major.
  • 1814 – Gibson County was established
  • 1816 – He was 42 years old at the Constitutional Convention, one of the four delegates from Gibson County. The others were Alexander Devin, David Robb, and Frederick Rapp.   He served on the following committees:
    • He was a member of the Bill of Rights Committee
    • He was a member of the Executive Committee
    • He was a member of the Elections Committee
    • He was a member of the Banking Committee
  • 1820s – Appointed the Commissioner of the township Seminary School.
  • He served as the County School Commissioner for Gibson County
  • He died in November, 1855, in Montgomery Township, Gibson County, at the age of 81. At his death, only six of the 43 delegates were still living. He is buried in the William Henry Harrison Smith Cemetery in Gibson County.

John Boone

John Boone was born in Maryland in 1772. He moved from Kentucky to Harrison County, Indiana, in 1808. He was a farmer.

  • 1808-1816 – Justice of the Peace
  • 1816 – Platted Laconia in Boone Township, Harrison County.  Boone Township was named after Squire Boone.
  • 1816 – At 44 years old, he was one of five delegates to the Constitutional Convention from Harrison County.  Dennis Pennington, Davis Floyd, Patrick Shields and David C. Lane were the others.  He served on the following committee:
    • Member of the Education Committee
  • 1816 – Was elected to the First State Legislature as a member of the House
  • Very little is known about John Boone after his two years of service as a State Representative.  He had twelve children, two sons and ten daughters.
  • It’s believed John Boone died in 1831, about age 59, and is buried at the Old Goshen Church Cemetery in Laconia. He was the twelfth of the 43 delegates to die.

Daniel C. Lane

Daniel C. Lane was born in Loudon County, Virginia, in 1766. He first moved to Kentucky and then to Harrison County, Indiana, about 1814.  He was a surveyor, and a banker, as well as a politician.

  • 1814 – Associate Judge of Harrison County
  • 1816 – At 50 years old, he was one of the five delegates to Constitutional Convention from Harrison County joining with Dennis Pennington, John Boone, Patrick Shields and Davis Floyd. He served on the following Convention Committee:
    • Member of the Bill of Rights Committee
  • 1816-1823 – First State Treasurer of Indiana, elected by the legislature.
  • 1820s – Director and President of the State Bank, Corydon Branch.  His reputation was temporarily damaged by the State Bank’s failure.  He lost his position of State Treasurer, but was later found not to have been responsible for the bank failure.
  • 1827-28, 1828-29, and 1829-30 – State Senator from Harrison County
  • Daniel C. Lane died at the age of 64 on January 5, 1830, in Indianapolis while serving as a State Senator. The General Assembly ordered that a marker be erected at his gravesite at Greenlawn Cemetery in Indianapolis. His body was later moved to Floral Park Cemetery. Lanesville, Indiana, near Corydon, is named after Daniel Lane.

Dennis Pennington

Dennis Pennington was born in Virginia on May 19, 1776, just before the United States declared their independence from Great Britain.  Sometime between 1802 and 1804 he moved to Indiana to what was then Clark County, but today is Harrison County.  He was a farmer, a stone mason, and a lifelong politician.

  • 1807 – Justice of the Peace in Clark County
  • 1808, 1814 – Justice of the Peace in Harrison County
  • About 1809 – Contracted to build the Harrison County Courthouse which served as the first State Capitol
  • 1810, 1812-1816 – Territorial House member
  • 1811 and 1815 – Speaker of the Territorial House
  • 1816 – At 40 years old he was one of five delegates from Harrison County to the Constitutional Convention along with John Boone, Davis Floyd, Patrick Shields and David C. Lane.  He served on the following committees:
    • Member of the Bill of Rights Committee
    • Member of the Amendments Committee
    • Member of the Prisons Committee
  • 1816 – Elected to the First State Legislature as a member of the Senate.  He served in the Senate from 1816-20, 1824-1827, 1830-1833, and 1842-1845.
    • He also served as a State Representative from 1822-1824, 1828-1830, and 1845-1846.
  • 1821 – Director of the State Bank at Corydon
  • 1825 – Ran for Lieutenant Governor, but was defeated
  • 1832-1837 – Indiana University Board of Trustees
  • 1833 – Ran for Congress, but was defeated
  • Dennis Pennington died September 2, 1854, at the age of 79.  At his death, only eight of the 43 delegates were still living.

Patrick Henry Shields

Patrick Henry Shields was born in York County, Virginia, on May 16, 1773. He moved to Kentucky in 1801 and then to the Georgetown area of Indiana in 1805. He was friends with William Henry Harrison, whom he knew when they both attended Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia. He had a slave as part of his household. He was a lawyer by profession.

  • 1806 – Justice of the Peace in Clark County prior to the establishment of Floyd County
  • 1808 –  First presiding Judge of Harrison County Court of Common Pleas
  • 1811 – A Private at the Battle of Tippecanoe
  • 1814 –  Governor Posey appointed him as Circuit Judge for Harrison County
  • 1816 – Moved to New Albany
  • 1816 – He was 43 years old during Constitutional Convention. He was one of five delegates from Harrison County; joining John Boone, Dennis Pennington, Davis Floyd, and Daniel C. Lane. He served on the following committee:
    • The Executive Committee
  • 1818 – Floyd County was created
  • 1818 – He was one of the first Associate Judges of Floyd County
  • 1824 – He was part of the official welcoming party in Jeffersonville for the Marquis de Lafayette
  • 1827 and 1832-1838 – Judge of Floyd County
  • 1840 – William Henry Harrison visited him
  • He died on June 6, 1848, at the age of 75.  He is buried in Fairview Cemetery, New Albany, Indiana

Nathaniel Hunt

Nathaniel Hunt was born in 1773 in Litchfield, Connecticut. He attended Litchfield Law School. After moving to Rhinebeck, New York, he began to practice law and then may have moved to Vermont before moving west in 1804. He and his brother bought land in the area of Dayton, Ohio. He may have moved to Jefferson County by 1811, and lived in Madison, Indiana, by October 1813. He was a lawyer, a tanner and a merchant.

  • 1814 –  Admitted to Jefferson County Bar Association, allowing him to practice law
  • 1814 – Associate Judge of Jefferson County
  • 1816 – He was 43 years old during the Constitutional Convention and served alongside fellow Jefferson County delegates Samuel Smock and David H. Maxwell. He was on the following Committees:
    • Member of the Impeachment Committee
    • Member of the Prisons Committee
    • Member of the Judiciary Committee
  • 1817-18, 1818-19, and 1822-23 – Elected to State House of Representatives
  • On August 27, 1828, at the age of 53, he became the fifth delegate of the 43 to die. Nathaniel Hunt is buried at the Old Third Street Cemetery in Madison.

Samuel Smock

Samuel Smock was born March 13, 1776, in Berkeley County, Virginia, in what is now West Virginia. In 1783 the family moved to Kentucky and Samuel then moved to Indiana in 1805 around three miles southwest of Hanover.  He was one of the earliest settlers in Jefferson County.  He was a farmer and postmaster.

  • 1807 – Justice of the Peace, Jefferson County
  • 1811 – Associate Judge of Jefferson County
  • 1811 – Militia Captain and later Colonel by end of War of 1812
  • 1813 – Postmaster at Smockville (believed to be the first post office in Jefferson County)
  • 1816 – He was 43 years old at the convention and one of three delegates from Jefferson County, along with Nathaniel Hunt and David H. Maxwell. He was on the following committee:
    • Member of the Executive Committee
  • 1823-1833 – Founding Trustee of Hanover Academy which became Hanover College
  • He died on July 5, 1833, at the age of 60 on his farm.  He is buried near Hanover.

John Badollet

John Badollet was born in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1757. He came to America about 1780, following his close friend Albert Gallatin, the future U.S. Secretary of the Treasury. The two men would establish New Geneva, Pennsylvania in 1797 before Badollet moved to Vincennes in 1804.

  • Prior to arriving in Indiana, Badollet:
    • 1792 – Explored the Monongahela River at the request of Governor Thomas Mifflin, the first governor of Pennsylvania
    • 1795 – Was tasked with forming Somerset County and its county seat
    • 1796 – became an Associate Judge of the Common Pleas Court in Green County, Pennsylvania
  • 1804-1836 – Appointed Registrar of Federal Lands at Vincennes by Thomas Jefferson.
  • 1806-1821 – Appointed a Trustee of Vincennes University by William Henry Harrison
  • 1806 – Founder of the Vincennes Library Company, the first subscription based public library in the territory.
  • 1816 – At 58 years old, he was one of the five delegates from Knox County to the Constitutional Convention, joining with John Benefiel, Benjamin Parke, John Johnson, and William Polke. He served on the following Convention Committees:
    • Member of the Education Committee
    • Member of the Bill of Rights Committee
    • Member of General Revisions Committee
  • 1821 – the General Assembly appointed Badollet to a committee to establish a general system of education in Indiana.
  • John Badollet died July 29, 1837, at the age of 80 in Knox County. He became eccentric in his advanced years, leaving instructions that he should be buried in a stained poplar coffin and that his tombstone should read simply “John Badollet”. He is buried in Greenlawn Cemetery in Vincennes.

John Benefiel

John Benefiel was born in Virginia in 1761. In 1814 he came to Knox County to what is now Sullivan County. He may have helped establish the Sullivan County Fair.

  • Served in Pennsylvania as a Private Fourth Class with the Cumberland County militia during the American Revolution
  • Prior to arriving in Indiana, Benefiel lived in Ohio for about a decade in Fort Washington (Cincinnati).
  • 1816 – At 58 years old, he was one of the five delegates to the Constitutional Convention from Knox County, serving with John Badollet, Benjamin Parke, John Johnson, and William Polke. He served on the following Convention Committees:
    • Member of the Legislative Committee
    • Member of the Militia Committee
    • Member of the Existing Laws and Courts Committee
  • 1821-22 – Member of the Indiana House of Representatives
  • 1826 – Justice of the Peace
  • John Benefiel died December 26, 1835, in Sullivan County at the age of 74.  He is buried in Johnson Cemetery, near Carlisle.

John Johnson

John Johnson’s place of birth has yet to be determined, though we know he was born on May 27, 1776.  His father was living in Knox County in 1790 and it is thought John may have left Vincennes for schooling, returning by 1804. He was a lawyer and a judge.

  • 1805-1807 – Member of the first Territorial Legislature and later became Clerk of the Territorial House.
  • 1806 – Appointed as a Trustee of Vincennes University by Territorial Governor William Henry Harrison
  • 1806 – Supported the establishment of a Grammar School as a program of the University
  • 1806 – Joined with John Rice Jones to revise the Laws of the Indiana Territory
  • 1813 – 1816 -  Elected to the Legislative Council of the Senate
  • 1816 – At 40 years old, he was one of the five delegates to the Constitutional Convention from Knox County along with John Benefiel, Benjamin Parke, John Badollet, and William Polke.  He served on the following Convention Committees:
    • Chair of the Distributions of Powers Committee
    • Member of the Judicial Committee
    • Member of the Amendments Committee
    • Member of the Banking Committee
    • Member of the General Revisions Committee
  • 1816 – appointed as one of the first three Justices of the Indiana Supreme Court and became the State’s first Chief Justice.  He served from December, 1816, until his death.
  • John Johnson died July 15, 1817, at the age of 41 in Knox County.  He was the first delegate to die, just months after Indiana had attained statehood.  He is buried at the Indiana Presbyterian Cemetery outside of Vincennes.

William Polke

William Polke was born in Brooke County, Virginia (now West Virginia) in September 19, 1775. His family moved to Nelson County, Kentucky, in 1780. Around 1806 he moved to Knox County, north of Vincennes. He was a surveyor, a farmer, and a missionary teacher to the Native-Americans, as well as a politician.

  • Polke led one of the more fascinating lives of any of the delegates. About 1783, at the age of 8, he and his two sisters and their pregnant mother were kidnapped by Indians and marched through the wilderness from Kentucky toward Detroit.
  • At the end of the American Revolution His father, Charles, found the family and brought them back to Virginia, then to Kentucky and ultimately to Knox County.
  • 1808 – Justice of the Peace in Knox County
  • 1811 – Fought at the Battle of Tippecanoe as a spy because of his knowledge of Indian languages
  • 1814-1815 – Elected as a member of the Territorial Legislature
  • 1815-1816 – Associate Judge of Knox County
  • 1816 – At 41 years old he was one of the five delegates from Knox County to the Constitutional Convention along with John Badollet, Benjamin Parke, John Benefiel, John Johnson. He served on the following Convention Committees:
    • Member of the Rules Committee
    • Member of the Executive Committee
    • Member of the Education Committee
  • 1816-1821 – first State Senator from Knox and surrounding counties
  • 1819 – Deputy State Surveyor
  • 1822 – Unsuccessful bid as candidate for Lieutenant Governor
  • 1823 – One of two commissioners (the other from Illinois) related to the navigability of the Wabash River
  • 1823-1825 – Missionary at Carey Mission near Niles, Michigan
  • 1831 – Commissioner of the Michigan Road connecting Madison to Michigan City – Indiana’s first North-South road.
  • 1832 – moved to what became Fulton County and was the Postmaster of Chippeway, an extinct trading post north of Rochester
  • 1838 – Conducted the last of the Potawatomie tribe from Northern Indiana and Southern Michigan to Kansas on what is referred to as the Trail of Death.
  • 1841 – Moved to Fort Wayne where he became the Registrar of Federal Lands, appointed by William Henry Harrison, and served in that capacity until his death in 1843.
  • William Polke died on April 26, 1843, in Ft. Wayne at the age of 68.  For more than 100 years his burial site was unknown. Due to this project, and with the assistance of SuzAnne Runge from the Township Trustees office, we have determined that William Polke is buried in an unmarked grave in the old Broadway Cemetery, part of the present day McCulloch Park in Ft. Wayne.

Benjamin Parke

Benjamin Parke was born in Hopewell County, New Jersey, on September 2, 1777. He moved to Lexington, Kentucky, in 1797 where he married and studied law. In 1801 he moved to Vincennes in Knox County. He helped establish the first public library in Indiana and he established the Supreme Court Law Library. He served as the first President of the Indiana Historical Society. Parke County, Indiana is named for Benjamin.

  • 1814 – Washington County Agent, similar to a County Commissioner
  • 1804-1808 – Became the second Attorney General of the Indiana Territory
  • 1805 – Elected to the first territorial legislature (House of Representatives)
  • 1805-1808 – First Congressional Delegate from Indiana Territory
  • 1806-1821 – Board of Trustees of Vincennes University and President of Board for many of those years
  • 1808-1816 – Judge of the General Court of the Territory and Chancellor of the Territorial Chancellery Court
  • 1811 – Captain at the Battle of Tippecanoe
    • Major of the Cavalry upon the death of Major Daviess
  • 1811-1813 – Aide to General William Henry Harrison
  • 1816 – At 39 years old he was one of the five delegates from Knox County to the Constitutional Convention.  Joining him from the County were John Johnson, John Benefiel, John Badollet, and William Polke.  He served on the following Convention Committees:
    • Chair of the General Revisions Committee
    • Member of the Judiciary Committee
  • 1816 – Elected to the first State Senate 1817-1819,
  • 1817 – 1835 Appointed by President Madison as first U.S. District Judge for Indiana
  • 1818 – Helped Negotiated the Treaty of St. Mary
  • 1823 – Collapse of the Vincennes Steam Mill and of Parke’s finances.
  • Benjamin Parke died July 12, 1835, at age 58, in Salem, Indiana. He is buried in Rose Hill Cemetery, Salem.

Charles Polke

Charles Polke was born in Pennsylvania on September 26, 1770. He purchased land in Knox County in 1807, in what is now Perry County. He was one of the earliest settlers in the area, settling in Tobin Township. Polk’s Bottom in Perry County is named after his family.

  • 1812 – Overseer of the Poor for Tobin Township of Knox County
  • 1814 – One of the first three Judges appointed in Perry County.  He resigned over religious convictions.
  • 1816 – At 46 years old he was the only delegate representing Perry County at the Constitutional Convention in Corydon.  He served on the following Convention Committees:
    • Member of the Distributions of Powers Committee
    • Member of Elections Committee
  • He was a Baptist Minister who started churches on both sides of the Ohio River.
  • Reverend Charles Polke died July 25, 1836, at the age of 66 at his home. He is buried at Old Lamb Cemetery near Tobinsport, Perry County.

Dan Lynn

Dann Lynn was born on January 24, 1782, in Christian County, Kentucky. He moved to the Northwest Territory in 1798 to Knox County, which is now Posey County. He was one of the earliest settlers in Posey County and lived in the old county seat of Springfield until 1828 when he moved to West Franklin, Posey County. Like many of the delegates, he speculated in land and was a major land holder. He was a farmer and a trader and he had 12 children.

  • 1807 – Ran a ferry from West Franklin
  • Served in the Indiana Militia
  • 1814-1816 - Associate Judge of Posey County
  • 1816 – He was 34 years old at the convention and the sole delegate from Posey County, although his election was contested all the way to Corydon by Peter Wilkinson.   He served on the following committee:
    • He was a member of the Education Committee
  • 1816-1819 – For three terms he served as the First State Representative to the Legislature from Posey County
  • He died of Cholera in 1833 at the age of 51 in West Franklin, Posey County, and is buried somewhere near there in a now unmarked grave. Dann Lynn Township in Posey County is named for him.

William Cotton

William Cotton was born in Loudoun County, Virginia, on March 13, 1776. He moved to Kentucky about 1786 and then in 1798 to the area that would become Vevay. He settled in the area before the arrival of the Swiss. He would later move upstream. He was a farmer, a lawyer and a miller.

  • Prior to Switzerland County being established (1814), he was the first Justice of the Peace in the area
  • 1814-1820 – Associate Justice of Switzerland County
  • 1816 – At 40 years old he was the only delegate to the Constitutional Convention in Corydon from Switzerland County. He served on the following Convention Committees:
    • Member of Judicial Committee
    • Member of Militia Committee
  • 1819-1822 and 1825-1828 – Indiana State Senate
  • 1831-32 – State House of Representatives
  • He was twice appointed by President Monroe to determine the value of Indian improvements in Northern Indiana
  • William Cotton died July 2, 1839, at the age of 63 in Switzerland County and is buried in Mount Sterling Cemetery there.

Daniel Grass

Daniel Grass was born in Pennsylvania on March 27, 1774. His family was living in Bardstown, Kentucky, about 1776. He moved to Warrick County in 1807, in what became Spencer County. He was one of the earliest settlers in the area, coming to Hanging Rock, renamed Mount Duval, and finally Rockport.

  • C. 1776 – Daniel Grass’s family was killed by Indians when he was a toddler and he was taken in by the Hynes family of Kentucky, south of Spencer County and across the Ohio River.
  • 1813 – Justice of the Peace in Warrick County
  • 1814 – Associate Judge of Warrick County
  • 1816 – At 42 years old, he was the Warrick County delegate to the Constitutional Convention. He served on the following Convention Committees:
    • Member of the Legislative Committee
    • Member of the Elections Committee
    • Member of the Prisons Committee
  • 1816-1818 and 1821-1827 – Elected to first State Senate
  • 1818 – Federal Land Agent selling lots in Rockport.
  • 1819-1821 – Elected as a State Representative
  • 1828 – Abraham Lincoln stayed with the Grass family in Daniel’s home when he and Allen Gentry were building a flatboat to head to New Orleans
  • 1833-1836 – Sheriff of Spencer County
  • Daniel Grass died May 25, 1836, at his home at the age of 62.  He is buried at the Old Rockport Pioneer Cemetery.

John DePauw

John DePauw was born in Lincoln County, Kentucky, on March 11, 1785. His family came from France and his father fought with Lafayette during the American Revolution. He moved to Washington County, Indiana, before 1814. His son, Washington C. DePauw, would endow Asbury College, which we know now as DePauw University.

  • 1814 – Washington County Land Agent
  • 1814 –  DePauw ran for Legislative Council, but lost to John Johnson
  • 1816 – At 31 years old, he was one of the five delegates from Washington County to the Constitutional Convention.  Joining him from the County were William Lowe, Samuel Milroy, William Graham and Robert McIntyre.  He served on the following Convention Committees:
    • Member of the General Provisions Committee
    • Member of the Elections Committee
    • Member of the Militia Committee
  • 1816 – Elected to the first State Senate of 1817-1819
  • 1818 – Admitted to the Indiana State Bar
  • 1819 – Ran for Lieutenant Governor, but was defeated
  • Early 1820s – Director of the State Bank at Corydon
  • 1821 – Clerk of Washington County
  • 1825-1826 and 1829-1832 – Returned to the State Senate
  • 1827 and 1836 – State House of Representatives
  • Served as a Major General of the Fourth Division of the Indiana Militia
  • John DePauw died January 25, 1838, of Pleurisy at the age of 53 in Grand Gulf, Mississippi. He is buried at Rose Hill Cemetery in Salem, Indiana.

William Graham

William Graham was born at sea on March 16, 1782, on his way to America from Ireland. It’s believed the family first settled in Pennsylvania and then moved to Harrodsburg, Kentucky. In 1811, William Graham moved to Indiana to what was Washington County, known today as Jackson County. He was a farmer and politician.

  • 1812-1816 – Territorial House member
  • 1813 – Served on a three member committee to locate the new Territorial Capital; he favored Vallonia, but Corydon was chosen.
  • 1816 – One of three Jackson County School Trustees to establish public schools in the County.
  • 1816 – At 34 years old he was one of the four delegates to the Constitutional Convention from Washington County along with William Lowe, Samuel Milroy and Robert McIntyre. He served on the following Convention Committees:
    • Member of Amendments Committee
    • Member of Prisons Committee
  • 1816 – Elected to the First State Legislature as a member of the House.
  • 1816-1821 – He served in the House and during his last year, as Speaker of the House.
  • 1821-1833 – He served as a State Senator.
  • 1837-1839 – he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, but was defeated for a second term.
  • William Graham died August 17, 1858, at the age of 76. At his death, only three of the 43 delegates were still living; Robert Hanna, Joseph Holman, and Hugh Cull. He is buried in the Driftwood Church Cemetery on land he donated to establish the Church.

Samuel Milroy

Samuel Milroy was born in Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, on August 14, 1780. He moved to Nelson County, Kentucky, in 1806 and then to Washington County, Indiana, in 1814, living five miles east of Salem on a branch of the Blue River. He apprenticed as a carpenter and a joiner.

  • 1812 – Led militia from Nelson County, Kentucky, to seek out the Indians responsible for the Pigeon Roost Massacre
  • 1816 – At 36 years old, he was one of the five delegates to Constitutional Convention from Washington County, including John DePauw, William Lowe, Robert McIntyre, and William Graham. He served on the following Convention Committees:
    • Member of the Legislative Committee
    • Member of the Judicial Committee
    • Member of the Prisons Committee
  • 1816-1825 – Indiana House of Representatives
  • 1819 – Commissioned as a Brigadier General by Governor Jennings
  • 1821 – Speaker of the House of Representatives
  • 1826 – Moved to Wabash County (now Tippecanoe and Carroll Counties)
  • 1826 – One of the Commissioners who selected the Tippecanoe County seat
  • 1827 – Petitioned the State Legislature to establish Carroll County, which was granted and established in 1828
  • He is said to have come up with the name for Delphi, and sold lots in the new County seat of Lafayette
  • 1829 – He became Registrar of Federal Lands at the Crawfordsville Land Office.
  • 1832-1844 - delegate to the Democratic National Conventions
  • 1835 – Appointed by President Jackson to the Board of Visitors at the West Point Military Academy
  • 1836 – Elected State Senator from Carroll County
  • 1837-1838 – State Representative from Carroll County
  • Samuel Milroy died May 26, 1845, at the age of 64 in Carlisle. His son, Robert, would serve from 1850-1851 at the Constitutional Convention.

Patrick Beard

Patrick Beard was born in Ireland in 1769. He lived in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Tennessee before moving to Wayne County, Indiana, about 1811. He was a farmer and a livestock dealer.

  • 1816 – At 47 years old, he was one of the four delegates to Constitutional Convention from Wayne County (along with Joseph Holman, Hugh Cull, and Jeremiah Cox). He served on the following Convention Committees:
    • Member of the General Provisions Committee
  • 1816-1823 – He was the first State Senator from the Wayne County area.
    • Chairman of the Select Committee on State Library
    • Chairman on the Committee on Public Schools
    • Served on the Committee on Run-Away Slaves
  • 1825 – Board of Canal Commissioners
  • Patrick Beard died in March 12, 1831, near Centerville at the age of 62 in the same home he first built in Wayne County. His son, John, was elected as one of the delegates to the 1850-51 Indiana Constitutional Convention.

Jeremiah Cox

Jeremiah Cox was born in Adams County, North Carolina, on March 22, 1763. He came to Dearborn County about 1806 along with five others, becoming one of the first settlers in what would become Wayne County. Around 1826, he moved to Randolph County which had been created in 1818 and named for the early local settlers who migrated from Randolph County, North Carolina.

  • Jeremiah Cox owned much of the land along Elkhorn Creek. He platted this area and called it Coxborough. It was near what was informally known as Smithville and both are now part of Richmond.
  • 1807 – The first Quaker meeting in Indiana is believed to have been held at Jeremiah Cox’s Blacksmith shop.
  • C. 1808 – Appointed as Road Supervisor to build the first north-south road in Wayne County.
  • 1808 – Built a mill in the County
  • 1816 – At 53 years old, he was one of the four delegates from Wayne County to the Constitutional Convention along with Hugh Cull, Joseph Holman, and Patrick Beard. He served on the following Convention Committees:
    • Member of the Militia Committee
    • Member of the Impeachment Committee
  • 1821-1822 – Indiana House of Representatives
  • 1826 – Sold his land in Wayne County and moved to Randolph County, being opposed to liquor being sold in Richmond.
  • Jeremiah Cox died February 28, 1830, at the age of 67 in Randolph County. He is buried at the Old Jericho Burial Grounds, Randolph County.

Hugh Cull

Hugh Cull was born in Havre-de-Grace, Maryland, on October 31, 1757. At the age of 4, he moved to Pennsylvania where he lived until 1777 when he relocated to Kentucky. In 1805 he moved to Dearborn County, in what would become Wayne County. He was a Methodist Minister and a farmer.

  • The first Methodist minister in Wayne County.
  • 1816 – At 59 years old, he was one of the four delegates from Wayne County to the Constitutional Convention, along with Joseph Holman, Patrick Beard, and Jeremiah Cox. He served on the following Convention Committees:
    • Member of the Elections Committee
  • His Methodist Circuit took four weeks to ride because it was 20 miles wide and 200 miles long.
  • Hugh Cull died August 31, 1862, at the age of 104 in the same home he built 57 years earlier in Wayne County. His dying words were “Glory, glory, glory.” After his death, Joseph Holman was the lone survivor of the 43 from the 1816 Convention.

Joseph Holman

Joseph Holman was born in Woodford County, Kentucky, on October 1, 1788. About 1804, at the age of 14, he moved to Dearborn County, Indiana, which would become Wayne County. He was a tanner, a farmer and a merchant.

  • Served in the War of 1812
  • 1815 – Member of the Territorial House of Representatives
  • 1816 – At 28 years old, he was likely the youngest man at the convention and one of the four delegates to the Constitutional Convention from Wayne County which included Hugh Cull, Patrick Beard, and Jeremiah Cox. He served on the following Convention Committees:
    • Member of the Existing Laws and Courts Committee
    • Member of the Militia Committee
  • 1816-1818 and 1819-1821 – Indiana House of Representatives for the Wayne County area
  • 1823 – Moved to Ft. Wayne when he was appointed by President Monroe as Receiver of Monies for Federal Lands in the newly created Ft. Wayne Land Office (1823-1829).
  • 1824 – First County Treasurer of Allen County
  • 1829 – Allen County Clerk
  • 1830-1831 – Indiana House of Representatives for the Allen County area
  • 1833-1842 – Moved to a farm in Peru, Miami County, Indiana
  • 1843 – Returned to Wayne County at the request of his aging father, George.
  • 1850 – Ran to be a delegate to the 1851 Indiana Constitutional Convention, but lost.  Both he and Robert Hanna from 1816 ran and lost.
  • 1853 – Elected as a director of the Ft. Wayne and Southern Railroad
  • 1860 – Moved back to Centerville after the death of his father.
  • Joseph Holman died April 17, 1873, at the age of 85 in Wayne County.  He was the last surviving 1816 Constitutional Convention delegate.  His will called for his burial to be in the Elkhorn Cemetery next to his father.