Forty-three men from the Indiana Territory were elected to attend a constitutional convention to consider statehood for Indiana. The delegates convened at Corydon, the territorial capital, from June 10 through June 29, 1816. On June 11 the delegation passed a resolution (34 to 8) to proceed with the task of writing the state's first constitution and forming a state government. See also The eight delegates who opposed the resolution for Indiana statehood were John Johnson and William Polke of Knox County; David Robb and Frederick Rapp of Gibson County; John Boone of Harrison County; and Nathaniel Hunt, David H. Maxwell, and Samuel Smock, who comprised the entire delegation from Jefferson County. See Barnhart and Riker, pp. 442–43, 448. An Enabling Act, which President James Madison signed into law on April 19, 1816, provided for the election of the delegates that took place on May 13, 1816. The delegation was apportioned among thirteen counties in the territory and based on each county's population.Barnhart and Riker, pp. 441–43, and Bennett, ed., p. 4.Orange and Jackson counties did not elect delegates to the convention. See
Jonathan Jennings, an elected delegate from Clark County, presided over the convention; William Hendricks, although he was not an elected delegate, served as the convention's secretary.Barnhart and Riker, p. 444. The delegation adopted the state constitution with a simply majority vote (33 to 8). It went into effect on June 29, 1816.
The convention's elected delegates were: NameCountyRepresentedThomas Carr Sr.Clark County John K. GrahamClark County Jonathan JenningsJennings was elected the first governor of Indiana after statehood and served from 1816 to 1822. He also served in the U.S. Congress from 1823 to 1831. See Barnhart and Riker, p. 443, and Bennett, pp. 8–9, 14.Clark County James Lemen (James Lemon) Clark County James ScottScott was one of the first three judges appointed to the Indiana Supreme Court on December 28, 1816. The other two were Jesse Lynch Holman and John Johnson, a fellow convention delegate. See Clark County James DillDearborn County Ezra FerrisDearborn County Solomon ManwaringDearborn County James BrownlessFranklin County William H. EadsFranklin CountyRobert HannaHanna was appointed to fill a vacancy in the U.S. Senate; he served from August 19, 1831, to January 3, 1832. See Franklin CountyEnoch McCartyFranklin CountyJames NobleNoble, the first U.S. Senator from Indiana after statehood, served from December 11, 1816, until his death in 1831. See He was also the brother of Noah Noble, governor of Indiana from 1831 to 1837. See Barnhart and Riker, p. 461, Bennett, p. 14, and Franklin CountyAlexander DevinDevin was a Baptist minister in Gibson County. See Gibson County Frederick RappFrederick Rapp, the adopted son of Harmonist leader George Rapp, served as a spokesman for the Harmony Society. See Bennett, p. 14. Gibson CountyDavid RobbGibson CountyJames SmithGibson CountyJohn BooneJohn Boone, also known as Squire Boone, was the brother of frontiersman Daniel Boone. See Bennett, p. 14, and Dunn Jr., p. 298.Harrison County Davis FloydHarrison County Daniel C. LaneLane served as Indiana’s state treasurer from 1816 to 1823. See Bennett, p. 14.Harrison County Dennis PenningtonPennington, a farmer, stonemason, and Indiana Territory legislator, supervised construction of the Harrison County courthouse, which served as the state’s first capitol building from 1816 to 1825. After statehood he served eighteen years in the Indiana General Assembly. See Bennett, p. 14, Harrison County Patrick ShieldsHarrison County Nathaniel HuntJefferson County David H. MaxwellJefferson CountySamuel SmockJefferson CountyJohn BadolletKnox County John BenefielKnox CountyJohn JohnsonJohnson was one of the first three judges appointed to the Indiana Supreme Court on December 28, 1816. The other two were James Scott, a fellow convention delegate, and Jesse Lynch Holman. See Bennett, p. 14, and Gugin and St. Clair, eds., Justices of the Indiana Supreme Court, pp. 1, 5, 9.Knox CountyWilliam PolkeKnox CountyBenjamin Parke Knox CountyCharles PolkePerry County Dann LynnPosey County William CottonSwitzerland County Daniel GrassGrass was excused from the convention on June 19, 1816, due to ill health. See Bennett, p. 14.Warrick County John DePauwWashington County William GrahamGraham served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1837 to 1839. See Bennett p. 14.Washington CountyWilliam LoweWashington CountySamuel MilroyWashington CountyRobert McIntireWashington CountyPatrick BeardWayne County Jeremiah CoxWayne CountyHugh CullWayne CountyJoseph HolmanHolman, the youngest delegate, was twenty-eight years old. Barnhart and Riker, pp. 443, 447. Wayne County
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External links Members Of Indiana's 1816 Constitutional Convention, Indiana Historical Bureau