Notable people · Pioneer · Legislator
Manasseh Cutler
Massachusetts clergyman who helped form the Ohio Company of Associates in 1786 and influenced the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, including its anti-slavery article. He never lived in Ohio but is called the father of Ohio University.
At a glance
- Born
- 1742-05-13
- Died
- 1823-07-28
- Education
- Yale College, New Haven, CT, 1761-1765, BA
- Known as
- Pioneer, Legislator
- Organizations
- Ohio Company of Associates, Ohio University
Life story
Manasseh Cutler was born in 1742 in Killingly, Connecticut. He graduated from Yale in 1765, taught school and worked as a merchant, and became pastor of the Congregational church in Ipswich Hamlet (now Hamilton), Massachusetts, in 1771.
He served as a chaplain in the Revolution and ran a boarding school. He studied astronomy, weather and botany, and in 1784 led a party that named Mount Washington.
In 1786 he helped form the Ohio Company of Associates at the Bunch of Grapes Tavern in Boston and in 1787 negotiated for the Ohio Company's land purchase. He is credited with drafting the Northwest Ordinance's ban on slavery, presented by Nathan Dane.
He never lived in Ohio but is called the father of Ohio University, which the Ohio Company's land grant helped to found. He served in Congress from Massachusetts 1801-1805 and died in 1823.
Timeline
- 1742-05-13: Born (Killingly, CT) source
- 1765: Graduates from Yale (New Haven, CT) source
- 1771: Becomes pastor of Ipswich Hamlet (Hamilton, MA) source
- 1784: Names Mount Washington (New Hampshire) source
- 1786: Helps form the Ohio Company of Associates (Boston, MA) source
- 1787: Drafts the Northwest Ordinance slavery ban (New York, NY) source
- 1801: Begins service in the US House (Washington, DC) source
- 1823-07-28: Dies (Hamilton, MA) source
What Manasseh is known for
- Co-founded the Ohio Company of Associates 1786
- Influenced the Northwest Ordinance 1787
Honors and things named for them
- Cutler Hall, Ohio University, Athens, OH
- Honorary LLD, Yale (1789)
- Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1781)
Family
- wife: Mary Balch Cutler
- descendant: Charles G. Dawes
Places in Ohio to see
- Cutler Hall, Ohio University (museum)
Athens, Athens County ZIP 45701 (approximate) · Athens · Athens County · official page
Ohio places
Where Manasseh Cutler was born, lived, worked and is remembered, with the ZIP code, town and county pages for each.
- Connected: Athens, Athens County (Ohio University (stand-in), which he helped found) ZIP 45701 (approximate) · Athens · Athens County
Myths and corrections
- Cutler is often credited as the author of Article 6 (the slavery ban); historians dispute who wrote it, and Nathan Dane presented it.
Further reading
Sources
Confidence. Medium: the main facts were confirmed, but some details (often an address or ZIP code) were not.
- Wikipedia: Manasseh Cutler born May 13 1742 Killingly CT, never lived in Ohio, Ohio Company, Ordinance, Ohio University