In 1787, the Congress of the Confederation adopted the Northwest Ordinance, which established a government in the Northwest Territory, an enormous area corresponding to the eastern half of the present-day Midwest.
This is an important milestone in the development of the country and my family tree. Many of my ancestors settled in these territories and states, starting in Ohio’s Western Reserve with James Hill, his wife Sarah Tidd, her father Martin Tidd and their families in 1797. They were the first settlers of Youngstown, before relocating north to Kinsman.
AJH