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, 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 powe ...

Early life

Meigs was born in Middletown in the

Colony of Connecticut The ''Connecticut Colony'' or ''Colony of Connecticut'', originally known as the Connecticut River Colony or simply the River Colony, was an English colony in New England which later became Connecticut. It was organized on March 3, 1636 as a settl ...

on November 17, 1764. He was the son of Return J. Meigs Sr. 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. In 1798 he was named to a judgeship on the Northwest Territory'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 o ...

and retained the command until 1806. In 1805 he was chosen as judge of the Supreme Court of Louisiana 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. 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 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 pow ...

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, commenced law practice in

Athens, Tennessee Athens is the county seat of McMinn County, Tennessee, United States and the principal city of the Athens Micropolitan Statistical Area has a population of 53,569. The city is located almost equidistantly between the major cities of Knoxville an ...

, 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 policies ...

. He moved to Staten Island, New York, however, at the time of Tennessee's secession from the

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

in 1861. Among those men who read law under his tutelage in Tennessee was William Parish Chilton 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 to t ...

is named in his honor. (

Meigs County, Tennessee Meigs County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,758. Its county seat is Decatur. History Before 1819, the area that is now Meigs County was part of the Cherokee nation. It had been ...

is named for his father.)

Fort Meigs Fort Meigs was a United States fortification along the Maumee River in what is now Perrysburg, Ohio during the War of 1812. The British Army, supported by Tecumseh's Confederacy, failed to capture the fort during the siege of Fort Meigs. It is n ...

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, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

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 * 91 ...

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