Finding aid for the Allen Trimble Papers


Repository: Western Reserve Historical Society
Creator: Trimble, Allen
Title: Allen Trimble Papers
Dates: 1793-1868
Extent: 1.60 linear feet (4 containers)
Abstract: Allen Trimble (1783-1870) was the Governor of Ohio (1822, 1826-1830) who had served as a colonel in the War of 1812, an Ohio state congressman and senator (1816-1819), and a commissioner of the Canal Fund. His brother, William A., was a United States Senator The collection consists of correspondence, deeds, bonds, wills, receipts, army discharges, surveys, land warrants, petitions, account records and newspaper clippings relating to Governor Trimble and his family.
MS Number MS 3205
Location: closed stacks
Language: The records are in English

Biography of Allen Trimble

Date Event
November 24, 1783 Allen Trimble born in Augusta County, Virginia, son of James and Jane (Allen) Trimble.
1784 Taken by his parents to a new location near the present site of Lexington, Kentucky.
1801 Visited Ohio with his father on two occasions, seeking lands for permanent settlement.
April 1804 Built a cabin on a 1200-acre tract at Clear Creek, Highland County, Ohio.
October 1804 James Trimble, father of Allen and veteran officer of Revolutionary War, died.
1805 Moved family to new Ohio home from Kentucky after death of his father.
January 1806 Married to Margaret McDowell of North Carolina family. The couple had two children.
1808-1809 Appointed clerk of Highland County Supreme Court and Court of Common Pleas.
1808-1809 Appointed recorder of the Highland County Supreme Court and Court of Common Pleas.
1808-1809 Moved to Hillsboro, county seat of Highland County.
January 21, 1809 Death of Margaret McDowell Trimble.
January 10, 1811 Married to Rachael Woodrow, daughter of Joshua and Elizabeth (Watson). Couple had 5 children.
1812 Elected colonel of a regiment placed under the command of General Harrison of Ohio.
1812 Helped secure frontier from British and Indian attack after surrender of General Hull at Detroit.
1812 Involved in campaign for the relief of Fort Wayne.
1812 Unit disbanded after Fort Wayne relief.
1813 Recalled to active duty.
1813 Took command of a militia battalion of Ohio volunteers at the sommons of Governor Meigs.
1813 Proceeded to Upper Sandusky region; unit disbanded due to insufficient supplies.
1816 Elected to Ohio State Legislature from Highland County.
1816 Took part in First General Assembly of the Ohio House of Representatives at Columbus, Ohio.
1817 Member of the Ohio State Senate.
1819 Began 7 years of service as Speaker of the Ohio Senate
December 1821 Death of Ohio's United States Senator William Allen Trimble (brother of Allen Trimble).
December 1821 Resignation of of Ohio Governor E. A. Brown to fill United States Senatorial vacancy.
January 1822 Allen Trimble became Acting Governor of Ohio, serving until January 1823.
October 1822 Defeated in re-election campaign for Ohio governor.
1824 Defeated in re-election campaign for Ohio governor.
1824 Served as a commissioner of the Canal Fund to negotiate first canal loan for Ohio.
1825 Resigned from Canal Fund.
1826 Elected governor of Ohio over 3 opponents.
1827 Authorized by Ohio legislature to select land for the Ohio Canal.
1827 Visted Maumee and Sandusky River valleys to inspect area for Ohio Canal sites.
1828 Supporter of Henry Clay's Presidential ambitions and helps retain Whig control of Ohio legislature.
1828 Re-elected governor of Ohio.
February 1829 Co-founded Hillsboro Academy and served as board president until 1854.
1830 Established and led Ohio State Agricultural Society.
October 1830 Retired from Ohio governorship after improving educational system and enacting penal reforms.
1842-1850 Served as president of the board of trustees of Ohio Wesleyan University.
1855 Gubernatorial candidate for the American Party in Ohio.
1855 Brought British horse and cattle specimens to Ohio to improve stock.
February 3, 1870 Died at Hillsboro, Ohio.

Scope and Content

The Allen Trimble Papers, 1793-1868, consist of correspondence, deeds, bonds, wills, receipts, army discharges, surveys, land warrants, petitions, account records and newspaper clippings relating to Governor Trimble and his family.

This collection is comprised of legal documents and correspondence relating to Allen Trimble, an early Ohio governor, and members of his family. The letters represent exchanges of correspondence between members of the Trimble family persons; the legal documents, more specifically, include deeds, bonds, wills, receipts, army discharges, surveys, land warrants, petitions, and account records. Some of the material is in the original; some is duplicated.

The collection touches upon the following subjects: family affairs, patronage and business matters; the War of 1812 and related military matters; political issues involving the United States Bank controversy, Ohio Internal Improvements, roads, the work of the Ohio Canal Commissioners, and finances; also "anti-Masonism," slavery, the Missouri Compromise, the tariff, and the annexation of Texas. Mention of noteworthy names associated with the politics of period includes those of John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay, Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, and William Henry Harrison. In this connection, there is some discussion in the collection of the National Republican, Democratic, Wig, Know-Nothing, and American parties. Likewise in the evidence in the collection is material on land transactions and colonization (for example, Virginia Military District items), agriculture and livestock breeding, medical institutions and education (for example, Miami University of Oxford, Ohio), and commerce.

Correspondents represented in the collection include Samuel C. Andrews, Caleb Atwater, Carter Beverley, A. Buford, John W. Campbell, George Clark, William Creighton, James Heaton, Homer Hine, Alfred Kelley, JOseph G. King, Isaac Meason, Ralph Osborn, William Russell, John L. Taylor, and several members of the Trimble family.


Statement of Arrangement

The collection is arranged in three series.
Series I: Letters to Allen Trimble is arranged by subject and then alphabetically by correspondent name.
Series II: Documents Relating to Allen Trimble is arranged by subject.
Series III: Family Documents and Correspondence is arranged by document type.

Restrictions on Access

None.

Related Material

Part of this collection has been published in "Autobiography and Correspondence of Allen Trimble, Governor of Ohio; with Genealogy of the Family" (reprinted from the old Northwest Genealogical Society, Columbus, Ohio, 1909).

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

Canals -- Ohio.
Ohio -- Politics and government -- 1787-1865.
Soldiers -- Ohio -- Miscellanea.
Trimble family.
Trimble, Allen, 1783-1870.
United States -- History -- War of 1812 -- Sources.
United States -- Politics and government -- 1815-1861.

Preferred Citation

[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 3205 Allen Trimble Papers, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio

Acquisition Information

Gift of the Trimble Family in 1910.

Processing Information

Processed by John Large, Jr. in 1963.

Detailed Description of The Collection

Series I: Letters to Allen Trimble 1797-1868

Box Folder
1 1 Letters to Allen Trimble from non-family members, A - B 1809-1855
1 2 Letters to Allen Trimble from non-family members, C 1810-1855
1 3 Letters to Allen Trimble from non-family members, D - G (the 1797 item is a legal document that was discovered with the correspondence and left undisturbed) 1797-1867
1 4 Letters to Allen Trimble from non-family members, H - J 1817-1867
1 5 Letters to Allen Trimble from non-family members, K - M 1803-1859
1 6 Letters to Allen Trimble from non-family members, N - P 1811-1868
Box Folder
2 1 Letters to Allen Trimble from non-family members, R - T 1813-1867
2 2 Letters to Allen Trimble from non-family members, V - Y (Z) 1817-1865
2 3 Letters to Allen Trimble from family members 1806-1867
2 4 Letters to Allen Trimble from family members 1808-1867

Series II: Documents Relating to Allen Trimble 1793-1866

Box Folder
3 1 Correspondence, notes, and documents on Chillicothe and Milford Turnpike Company 1835-1856
3 2 Deeds, bonds, wills, petitions, and material on agricultural societies, Farmers' College, and College Hill (Cincinnati, Ohio) 1799-1856
3 3 Survey notes, land warrants, receipts, and material on the Canal Fund in Ohio 1793-1866
3 4 Survey notes, land warrants, and receipts relating to Allen Trimble 1793-1858
3 5 Discharges for the War of 1812 dates vary

Series III: Family Documents and Correspondence 1808-1868

Box Folder
4 1 Correspondence of the Trimble Family, to and from family members and non-family members; the family members to whom the material in this folder relates are Anne P. Trimble; James M. Trimble; Joseph Woodrow; Joseph M. Trimble; J. R. Trimble; J. A. Trimble; Rachel Trimble; Jane Trimble; William H. Trimble; Cyrus W. Trimble; and Eliza Jane Trimble 1811-1855
4 2 Letters written by Allen Trimble to family members and non-family members 1811-1868
4 3 Letters to James A. Trimble from family members and non-family members 1808-1858
4 4 Accounts of William A. Trimble and letters to him from family members and non-family members 1812-1821