William Cortenus Schenck
William Cortenus Schenck was a pioneer surveyor, militia general and legislator. Two of his sons were prominent military men.
Youth
William C. Schenck was born at Freehold, New Jersey, on January 11, 1773. His father was a Presbyterian minister, and his mother was a sister of General John N. Cumming, with whom he lived for a time at Newark. Family tradition says he graduated from Princeton University in 1793 or 1794, though that is unconfirmed. He studied both medicine and law, but decided to become a surveyor.Move west
In 1793, Schenck moved west to Cincinnati in the Northwest Territory. He was an agent of his uncle and other New Jersey men, Jacob Burnet, Jonathan Dayton, and John Cleves Symmes. He surveyed and laid out Franklin, Ohio, with Daniel C. Cooper in 1796, where he later made his home. He spent 1797 surveying the United States Military District in eastern Ohio. He married Elizabeth Rogers on September 14, 1798, at Huntington, Long Island. They made their home at Cincinnati.Schenck was appointed the secretary of Northwest Territory Legislative Council from 1799 to 1802. In 1802, a constitutional convention was held to write a constitution for the new state of Ohio. Ten delegates were elected from Hamilton County. Schenck finished in 14th place. He also laid out the town of Newark, Ohio, in 1802. He was proprietor with his uncle and Judge Burnet. They chose the forks of the Licking River as the town site.
Schenck and family moved to Franklin in 1802 or 1803. They eventually had nine sons and a daughter, including Robert C. Schenck and James F. Schenck. He was the clerk of the Ohio Senate during the 1st General Assembly,. That General Assembly gave a charter to the Miami Exporting Company, the first bank in the state. Schenck was named a member of the first directorate of that bank on June 16, 1803. He was elected to represent several counties in the Ohio Senate for the 2nd General Assembly,. He laid out Port Lawrence, now Toledo, Ohio in 1816. He represented Warren County in the Ohio House of Representatives during the 19th General Assembly,.
Military activities
Soon after arriving in the west, Schenck became involved in military affairs. On February 6, 1793, he was commissioned Lieutenant of the Hamilton County Militia of the United States Northwest of the Ohio. When Ohio became a state, he was given a commission as captain of the third regiment of Hamilton County, dated November 17, 1807.During the War of 1812, Schenck had rank of General of militia, though it is not known which battles he took part in.