for he was the
founder of the first permanent white settlement made within the borders
of the state. He was born in 1738, at Sutton, Massachusetts, and his
early life was a hard and rough one. Left an orphan while still a child,
he was put to work as soon as he was big enough to be of any use, and
received practically no education, although he managed to teach himself
to read and write. He earned a few pennies by watering horses for
travelers, and with this money purchased a spelling-book and arithmetic.

He served through the French war and the Revolution, rendering
distinguished service and retiring with the rank of brigadier-general;
and at its close, finding that Congress would be unable for a long time
to pay many of the soldiers for their services, he became interested in
the suggestion that payment be made in land along the Ohio river, and
offered to lead a band of settlers to their new homes. In March, 1786,
in Boston, he and some others formed the Ohio Company, and one of their
directors, Manasseh Cutler, a preacher of more than usual ability, was
selected to lay the company's plan before Congress. The result was the
famous ordinance of 1787, providing for the establishment and government
of the Northwest Territory, of which Arthur St. Clair was named
governor. Cutler also secured a large land grant for the new company,
and in the following year, Putnam started across the mountains with the
first band of emigrants.

They reached the vicinity of Pittsburg after a weary journey, and there
built a boat which they named the Mayflower, and in it floated down the
river, until they reached the mouth of the Muskingum. On April 17, 1788,
they began the erection of a blockhouse, which was to be the nucleus of
the new settlement, and a place of defense in case of Indian attack. The
settlement was named Marietta, in honor of Marie Antoinette, the Queen
of France; it prospered from the first, and in a few years was a lively
little village. There were Indian alarms at first, but General Wayne's
victory secured a lasting peace. Putnam served as a brigadier-general in
Wayne's campaign, and was one of the commissioners who negotiated the
peace treaty.

He lived for many years thereafter, and remained to the last the leading
man of the settlement. He was interested in every project for the
betterment of the new Commonwealth, helped to found the Ohio University
at Athens, was one of the drafters of the state constitution, and