Return Jonathan Meigs Jr. (; November 17, 1764March 29, 1825) was a

Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...

politician from Ohio. He served as the fourth

governor of Ohio A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

, fifth

United States Postmaster General The United States Postmaster General (PMG) is the chief executive officer of the United States Postal Service (USPS). The PMG is responsible for managing and directing the day-to-day operations of the agency. The PMG is selected and appointed by ...

, and as a

United States senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...

Early life

Meigs was born in Middletown in the Colony of Connecticut on November 17, 1764. He was the son of

Return J. Meigs Sr. Return Jonathan Meigs orn December 17 (old style) or 28th (new style), 1740; died January 28, 1823 a colonel in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, was one of the settlers of the Northwest Territory in what is now the st ...

and the descendant of early

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. ...

settlers in Massachusetts. He graduated from

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

in 1785 and studied law there. In 1788, after being admitted to the bar in Connecticut, he moved to

Marietta, Ohio Marietta is a city in, and the county seat of, Washington County, Ohio, United States. It is located in southeastern Ohio at the confluence of the Muskingum and Ohio Rivers, northeast of Parkersburg, West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, Ma ...

, where his father had been one of the first settlers, arriving earlier that year.

Career

In Marietta, Meigs was a lawyer, storekeeper and farmer, as well as serving in public offices. He was appointed the first court clerk for the court established at Marietta in 1788. When a post office was established in Marietta in 1794, he became its first

postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

. In 1798 he was named to a judgeship on the

Northwest Territory The Northwest Territory, also known as the Old Northwest and formally known as the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, was formed from unorganized western territory of the United States after the American Revolutionary War. Established in 1 ...

's territorial court, and in 1799 he won election to the territorial legislature. In 1803 he was appointed the first chief justice of the

Ohio State Supreme Court The Ohio Supreme Court, Officially known as The Supreme Court of the State of Ohio is the highest court in the U.S. state of Ohio, with final authority over interpretations of Ohio law and the Ohio Constitution. The court has seven members, a ...

. In October 1804, he resigned this position to become commandant of U. S. troops in the St. Charles district of the

Louisiana Territory The Territory of Louisiana or Louisiana Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 4, 1805, until June 4, 1812, when it was renamed the Missouri Territory. The territory was formed out of the ...

. He attained the rank of Brevet

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

and retained the command until 1806. In 1805 he was chosen as judge of the

Supreme Court of Louisiana The Supreme Court of Louisiana (french: Cour suprême de Louisiane) is the highest court and court of last resort in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The modern Supreme Court, composed of seven justices, meets in the French Quarter of New Orl ...

and then in 1807, Judge of the

United States District Court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district co ...

for the

Michigan Territory The Territory of Michigan was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 30, 1805, until January 26, 1837, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Michigan. Detroit ...

. He returned to Ohio in 1807 to run for governor. He won the election, but was declared ineligible for failing to meet the residency requirements. He then was appointed to the U.S. Senate to finish the term of John Smith and was re-elected to his own term a year later. He resigned in late 1810 after winning the governorship. He served two two-year terms, resigning in April 1814 when appointed

Postmaster general A Postmaster General, in Anglosphere countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters. The practice of having a government official responsib ...

by President Madison. His service as Postmaster General was not without controversy. Congress investigated him twice, and he was cleared both times. The size of the Post office doubled during his tenure, which implicated financial difficulties. He served until 1823, when he retired due to ill health and returned to Marietta. Meigs died March 29, 1825, and is buried in Marietta's Mound Cemetery. His grave is marked by a large monument bearing a long inscription reciting his public services and family devotion.

Family

Meigs was married in 1788 to Sophia Wright, and they had one child, a daughter named Mary who married Congressman and Federal Judge John George Jackson of Clarksburg, (W)Va in 1810. Return J. Meigs Jr. did not have a direct male heir, but two of his younger brothers, John and Timothy, each named a son Return Jonathan Meigs. The first of these—called Return J. Meigs III—passed the bar in

Frankfort, Kentucky Frankfort is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, United States, and the seat of Franklin County. It is a home rule-class city; the population was 28,602 at the 2020 census. Located along the Kentucky River, Frankfort is the pr ...

, commenced law practice in Athens, Tennessee, and became prominent in Tennessee state affairs before the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

. He moved to Staten Island, New York, however, at the time of Tennessee's secession from the Union in 1861. Among those men who

read law Reading law was the method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship under t ...

under his tutelage in Tennessee was

William Parish Chilton William Parish Chilton (August 10, 1810 – January 20, 1871) was an American politician and author who served as a Deputy from Alabama to the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1862. Early life Called Will Chilton, he ...

who would become Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court. Timothy's son, Return J. Meigs IV, married Jennie Ross, daughter of principal Cherokee chief John Ross, and emigrated to Oklahoma on the

Trail of Tears The Trail of Tears was an ethnic cleansing and forced displacement of approximately 60,000 people of the " Five Civilized Tribes" between 1830 and 1850 by the United States government. As part of the Indian removal, members of the Cherokee, ...

Legacy

Meigs County, Ohio Meigs County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 22,210. Its county seat is Pomeroy. The county is named for Return J. Meigs Jr., the fourth Governor of Ohio. Geography According ...

is named in his honor. ( Meigs County, Tennessee is named for his father.) Fort Meigs in

Perrysburg, Ohio Perrysburg is a city located in Wood County, Ohio, United States, along the south side of the Maumee River. The population was 25,041 at the 2020 census. Part of the Toledo metropolitan area, the city is southwest of Toledo. Perrysburg is the ...

was named in his honor during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It be ...

William Henry Harrison William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773April 4, 1841) was an American military officer and politician who served as the ninth president of the United States. Harrison died just 31 days after his inauguration in 1841, and had the shortest pres ...

.Historic Perrysburg
Perrysburg, Ohio website, accessed January 10, 2011

References

Bibliography

* Meigs, Return Jonathan Jr. (1764–1825): ''A Prophecy'', Ohio Archæological and Historical Society Publications: Volume 20

911 911 or 9/11 may refer to: Dates * AD 911 * 911 BC * September 11 ** 9/11, the September 11 attacks of 2001 ** 11 de Septiembre, Chilean coup d'état in 1973 that outed the democratically elected Salvador Allende * November 9 Numbers * 911 ...

pp. 351–352, poem by Return J. Meigs Jr.

External links

Return J. Meigs Jr.
Biographical Directory of the United States Congress - Retrieved on 2008-08-10 * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Meigs, Return J. Jr. 1764 births 1825 deaths People from Middletown, Connecticut American people of English descent United States Postmasters General Democratic-Republican Party United States senators from Ohio Ohio Democratic-Republicans Governors of Ohio Democratic-Republican Party state governors of the United States Northwest Territory House of Representatives Northwest Territory judges Chief Justices of the Ohio Supreme Court United States federal judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law Politicians from Marietta, Ohio Ohio University trustees George Washington University trustees Burials at Mound Cemetery (Marietta, Ohio) 19th-century American judges 18th-century American politicians 19th-century American politicians