and were deemed applicable to the condition of the people of the territory, could be adopted by the governor and judges, and, after publication, became operative, unless disproved of by Congress, to which body certified copies of all laws thus adopted had to be forwarded by the secretary of the territory
     The further duty of the judges, who were appointed to serve during good behavior, was to hold court four times a year, whenever the business of the territory required it, but not more than once a year in any one county.

EARLY LAWS OF THE TERRITORY

     The first permanent settlement being made at Marietta, the first formal organization of the government was made at that place and the first laws for the new government were promulgated from there.
     The first settlers landed there April 7, 1788, and a second company came the 1st of July following.
As St. Clair, who had been appointed Governor the preceding October, had not arrived, it became necessary to erect a temporary government, for their internal security, for which purpose a set of laws was passed and published by being nailed to a tree in the village, and Return Jonathan Meigs was appointed to administer them.  This was the first code of written laws ever adopted in Ohio, though what it was we are not informed.
     The first legal law was proclaimed July 25, 1788, and was entitled "An Act for regulating and establishing the militia."
     Quite a number of laws were necessarily adopted and established during 1788, and the following year.  From 1790 to 1795 they published sixty four, thirty-four of them having been adopted at Cincinnati, during the months of June, July and August of the last named year, by the Governor, and Judges Symmes and Turner.  They are known as the "Maxwell Code," from the name of the publisher, and "were intended," says the author of "Western Annals,"  "to form a pretty complete body of statutory provisions."  In 1798 eleven more were adopted.  It was the published opinion of the late Chief Justice Chase "That it may be doubted whether any colony, at so early a period after its first establishment, ever had so "Which provided that the common law of England, and all statutes in aid thereof, made previous to the fourth year of James I, should be in full force within the territory."  Probably four fifths of the laws adopted were selected from those in force in Pennsylvania; the others were mainly taken from the statutes of Virginia and Massachusetts.

THE EARLY HISTORY OF MONROE CO.

     Monroe county was named from James Monroe president of the United States from 1817 to 1825.  Was formed Jan. 29, 1813, from Belmont, Washington and Guernsey.  The southeast is very hilly and rough, the north and west moderately hilly; some of the western portion has small valleys, which are fertile.
     Number of square miles is 470.  Ini 1897 the acres cultivated were 82,617; in pasture, 106,302; woodland, 56,102; lying waste, 6,484.
     Population of Monroe in 1820 was 4,645; 1830, 8,770; 1840, 18, 544; 1860, 25,741; 1880, 26, 496, of whom 22,461 were born in Ohio; 804 in Pennsylvania; 318 in Virginia; 49 in New York; 33 in Indiana; 9 in Kentucky; 1,224 in German Empire; 80 in Ireland; 48 in France; 38 in England and Wales; 8 in Scotland, and 6 in British America.  Census 1890, 25,175 population.

THE FIRST SETTLEMENT OF MONROE

     The first settlement in the county was near the mouth of Sunfish, about the year 1799.  This settlement consisted of a few families whose chief end was to locate on the best hunting ground.  A few years after, three other families settled near where the town of Beallsville now stands; the second, on the clear fork of Little Muskingum, consisting of Martin Crow, Fred. Crow and two or three other families; and the third was on the east fork of Duck creek, where some three or four families of the name of Archer settled.  Not long after this the settlements began to spread, and the pioneers were forced to see the bear and the wolf leave and make way for at least more friendly neighbors, through perhaps less welcome.  The approach of newcomers was always looked upon with suspicion as this was the signal for the game

"Monroe Journal" had its existence on the anniversary of the birth of the great liberty-loving George Washington, the first paper being issued Feb. 22, 1884, with Fritz Reef editor and publisher.  In March, 1892, Fritz Reef, Bernhard Zitzmann and Arnold Reef formed a partnership and continued to publish the paper until April, 1893, when a company was formed and purchased the entire plant and continued the management of the paper under the editorship of R. Zitzmann until November, 1897, when it was leased to F. A. Jeffers and B. Zitzmann, who continue to issue regularly a clean, fearless sheet, exposing fraud

Bernhard Zitzmann, Editor & Manager

and corruption wherever found, always in the interest of the people and the right, irrespective of party or religious doctrines, and, adhering to the Jacksonian simplicity of democracy, it is the only Democratic German newspaper in this part of the State.
     The plant is finely equipped with the latest improved machinery and presses and one of the best job offices in eastern Ohio.

F. A. Jeffers, Attorney

     F. A. Jeffers, its secretary and treasurer, and at present associated in its management, is a native of the county.  Having been reared on a farm near Beallsville, Ohio, from which he was educated in the common schools of the county, and for a number of years was one of its teachers.  In June, 1891, he was admitted to the practice of law, which profession he had followed ever since in Woodsfield, Ohio.

generous friendship that is not found at this day, and among those who compose what is erroneously called the better class of society, or the high circle.  There was no distinction in society, no aristocratic line drawn between the upper and lower classes.  Their social amusements proceeded from matters of necessity.
     A log-rolling or the raising of a log-cabin was generally accompanied with a quilting or something of the sort, and this brouht together a whole neighborhood of both sexes, and, after the labor of the day was ended, they spent the larger portion of the night in dancing.  This can be remembered by many of our old citizens who are still living.

SECOND GRADE OF TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENT.

     The "Ordinance of '87" provided that:
     "After it shall have been ascertained that five thousand free white male inhabitants actually reside in the territory, the second grade of territorial government could of right be established," which provided for a Legislative Council, and also an elective House of Representatives, the two composing the law-making power of the territory, provided always that the Governor's assent to their acts was had.  He possessed the absolute veto power, and no act of the two Houses of the Legislature even if passed by a unanimous vote in each branch, could become a law without his consent.  The conditions that authorized the second grade of territorial government, nowever, did not exist until 1798, and it was not really put in operation until September, 1799, after the first grade of government had existed for eleven years.

WOODSFIELD.

     The history of Woodsfield if properly written, would fill many pages of the Atlas, and would no doubt be very highly appreciated by the citizens of Woodsfield as well as former citizens who now reside in other parts of the world; but as the wide awake and progressive people of this day and age are more deeply interested in the present and future than the past, we will only devote a small part of our space to Woodsfield's past history.
     The commissioners appointed by the legislature in 1814 to establish a permanent seat of justice for the county, fixed upon Woodsfield as the place, and accordingly, in 1815, the town was founded.  Prior to that time, and before the county was erected, Archibald Woods of Wheeling; George Paul of St. Clairsville, and Levi Barber, of Marietta, who owned lands in the territory now comprised in the county, sought to have a new county organized, and accordingly, in 1812, selected the ground where Woodsfield now stands, as the probably place for the county seat; and, in that year, the town of Woodsfield was surveyed and platted.  It was then a wilderness - not a tree amiss.  It was properly named, whether for one of the proprietors, or from its location in the woods, is a question; but the better opinion is that it was named for Mr. Woods.  It is a tradition, it might be said with truth, veritable history - that in order to get the streets, or a part of them, cleared out, Peter Palmer, John Baker, and John Windland suggested to Mr. Woods to get a keg of French brandy and invite all the men and boys within five miles to meet on a certain Saturday and they would clear out Main street.  This was done.  A general frolic was made of it, and the first trees were felled.  The older citizens differ as to who built the first house and where it was built.  It was agreed that it was on the east side of Main street and north of Court street.
     Like all other inland towns in early days Woodsfield grew and improved very slowly for many years.  In fact its growth was very slow up to 1879, when the Bellaire and Southwestern  Railroad (now the Bellaire, Zanesville & Cincinnati R'y) was completed to Woodsfield, thus connecting the town by railroad and telegraph with the outside world.  With this new advantage (and the extension of the B. & S. W. R'y to Zanesville a few years later) the town took on a good, substantial growth, which caused it to improve and flourish as never before.  Each year thereafter the increase in population, and the improvements in general exceeded those made the year before, until to-day we have a gown second to no other of its size in Eastern Ohio.  During the last few years the oil developments south and east of Woodsfield, the introduction of natural gas for fuel and lights, as well as the general prospecting for oil on all sides, has stimulated the growth and prosperity of the metropolis of Monroe County far more than anything else in its history.  With this brief sketch of the grand old town's past history, we turn with pleasure to it.

to leave.  A neighbor at a distance of ten miles was considered near enough for all social purposes.  The first object of a newcomer after selecting a location and putting the "hoppers" on the horse (if he had any), was to cut some poles or logs and build a cabin, of suitable dimensions for the size of his family, for as yet rank and condition had not disturbed the simple order of society.  The windows of the cabin were made by sawing out about three feet of one of the logs and putting in a few upright pieces; and, in the place of glass, they took paper, oiled it with lard, and pasted it on the window.  This would give considerable light and resist the rain tolerably well.  After the cabin was completed the next thing in order was to clear out a piece of land to raise some corn.  The mischievous depredations of the wolves rendered their scalps a matter of some importance.  They were worth from five to six dollars apiece.  This made of wolf-hunting rather a lucrative business, and, of course, called into action the best inventive talent in the country; consequently, many expedients and inventions were adopted, one of which I will give:
     The hunter took the ovary of a slut - at a particular time - and rubbed it on the soles of his shoes; then, circling through the forest where

the wolves were most plentiful, the male wolves would follow his track; as they approached he would secrete himself in a suitable place, and, as soon as the wolf came within reach of the rifle, they received the contents.  This plan was positively practical, and was one of the most effectual modes of hunting the wolf.
    A Mr. Terrel, formerly of Woodsfield, was hunting wolves in this way not far from where Woodsfield now stands.  He found himself closely pursued by a number of howling wolves, and soon discovered from their angry manner that they intended to attack him.  He got up into a true and shot four of them before they would leave the fight.  This is the only instance of the wolves attacking any person in this section of the county.

HOW THEY HAD A SOCIAL GOOD TIME WITH THE EARLY SETTLERS

     And first I would remark, on good authority that a more generous, warm-hearted and benevolent people seldom have existed in any country.  Although they were unwilling to see the game driven off by the rapid influx of emigration, still the stranger, when he arrived among the hardy pioneers, found among them a cordiality and a