GENERAL LAND OFFICE 1844, COMMISSIONER TO CONGRESSMAN, LAND ASSIGNED TO OHIO MAN

Description

1 PAGE LETTER IN BLUE INK, ON 4 PAGE LETTERSHEET...REST OF PAGES BLANK.
FROM COMMISSIONER THO H. BLAKE, COMMISSIONER, U.S. GENERAL LAND OFFICE
TO C J McNULTY  ESQ   HOUSE OF REPS
RE: LAND WARRANTS (IN OHIO).
"ROBERT SIMPSON DOES NOT APPEAR ON ANY OF THE WARRANTS
WHICH REMAIN ON FILE...."
"SEVERAL OF THE WARRANTS FOR THIS TOWNSHIP WERE DESTROYED AT THE BURNING OF
THE PUBLIC BUILDINGS IN 1814...."     (WAR OF 1812?)
Caleb Jefferson McNulty
(December, 1816 – July 12, 1846) was an American lawyer, newspaper editor and politician. Active in the
Democratic Party
, he became
Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives
; while serving in this post he was alleged to have embezzled congressional funds; some charges were subsequently dismissed, and he was acquitted of the others.
John Quincy Adams
, then serving as a
Whig
member of the House, referred to the charges as a "memorable development of Democratic
defalcation
."
[1]
Early life
[
edit
]
Born in
West Middletown
,
Washington County, Pennsylvania
, McNulty graduated from
Jefferson College
, and moved to
Zanesville, Ohio
, and then to
Mount Vernon
. He practiced law, worked as editor of the
Democratic Banner
newspaper, and became active in politics as a Democrat. McNulty served as Clerk of the
Ohio House of Representatives
, and was subsequently elected to the House himself.
On December 6, 1843, McNulty was elected by the members of the U.S. House to serve as their Clerk, defeating incumbent
Matthew St. Clair Clarke
of Pennsylvania.
[2]
[3]
In 1844, he ran for
U.S. Congress
, and lost to
Whig
candidate
Columbus Delano
by only 12 votes.
Embezzlement charge
[
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]
On January 17, 1845, a shortage of ,000 was reported from a U.S. House contingency fund.
[4]
McNulty was dismissed as Clerk, and the House recommended that the
U.S. Secretary of the Treasury
institute the necessary legal proceedings to recover the money from McNulty.
During the House investigation, Rep.
John B. Weller
produced a document ostensibly showing that McNulty had simply deposited ,000 of House funds with a New York commercial house. McNulty’s accounting clerk produced documents, including a certificate ostensibly showing that the House had a credit for ,000 at the bank.
[5]
Edwin Stanton
defended McNulty, and succeeded at obtaining dismissal of some charges, and acquittal on the others.
[6]
[7]
Later life
[
edit
]
McNulty's reputation in Ohio was largely undamaged. Though he had previously served in the militia and attained the rank of
colonel
, at the start of the
Mexican–American War
he joined the 1st Ohio Volunteer Infantry as a private. He died on a steamship (some sources indicate the
Alhambra
, others the
Jamestown
) near
Helena, Arkansas
while the regiment was en route to
New Orleans
for transport to Mexico.
Thomas Holdsworth Blake
(June 14, 1792 – November 28, 1849) was an American politician who served as a
United States Representative
from
Indiana
from 1827 to 1829.
Biography
[
edit
]
Born in
Calvert County, Maryland
, Blake attended the public schools, and studied law in
Washington, D.C.
War of 1812
[
edit
]
During his time in Washington, he served as a member of the militia of the District of Columbia which took part in the
Battle of Bladensburg
in 1814, during the
War of 1812
.
Early career
[
edit
]
He later moved to Kentucky and then Indiana. He was
admitted to the bar
and commenced practice in
Terre Haute, Indiana
; he served as prosecuting attorney and judge of the circuit court, serving as the
US Attorney for the District of Indiana
from 1817 to 1818. He was also a businessman who served in the
Indiana House of Representatives
.
Congress
[
edit
]
Blake was elected as a
National Republican
to the
20th United States Congress
, sitting from March 4, 1827 to March 3, 1829; he was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1828 to the
Twenty-first Congress
.
Later career
[
edit
]
On May 19, 1842,
President Tyler
appointed him as Commissioner of the General Land Office; he served until April 1845.
In later years, he was a resident trustee of the
Wabash & Erie Canal
, and he also visited England as a financial agent of the state of Indiana.
Death and burial
[
edit
]
While returning from that trip, he died in
Cincinnati, Ohio
, on November 28, 1849, and was interred in Woodlawn Cemetery, in
Terre Haute
.