a physician. Jennings was schooled at home, then attended the nearby grammar school in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, where he received a basic education. Two of his classmates, William Hendricks and William W. Wick, would later become his political allies. Jennings studied law in Washington, Pennsylvania. By 1806 Jennings had left Pennsylvania and moved to Steubenville, Ohio, where his brother, Obadiah, had a law office. Jennings helped Obadiah in cases before the Ohio Supreme Court. In 1806 Jennings headed west to Jeffersonville in the Indiana Territory, but stayed only briefly. He moved to Vincennes, the capital of the Indiana Territory, in early 1807 to open his own law practice and was admitted to the bar in April. Jennings had difficulty earning an income as a lawyer, finding there were too few clients in the territory to keep him busy. In July 1807 Nathaniel Ewing, the federal land receiver at Vincennes and a friend from Pennsylvania, invited Jennings to take a job as assistant to John Badollet, the registrar at the federal land office in Vincennes. Along with Badollet, Jennings engaged in land speculation. He obtained significant land holdings and made substantial profits. In 1807 Jennings became an assistant to the clerk of the territorial legislature and continued to speculate on the sale of public lands. Confrontation with Harrison In August 1807 Jennings was appointed clerk of the Vincennes University board of trustees and began to be drawn into ongoing political disputes going on territory. The territorial governor, William Henry Harrison, was a member and president of the board. As governor of the Indiana Territory, Harrison wielded considerable influence through his political appointments and veto powers. Jennings received the university appointment after General Washington Johnston resigned as clerk of the board following a dispute over Harrison's proposal to ban the French residents of Vincennes from using the university's commons. The board defeated Harrison's proposal, but Johnston resigned as its clerk and Jennings was selected as his replacement over Henry Hurst, one of Harrison's loyal supporters. Harrison was outraged and promptly resigned from the board, but later reconsidered his decision. In September 1807 Harrison was easily reelected to the board and selected as its president. In the meantime, Johnston wrote a pamphlet describing the board's proceedings, which Jennings certified without the board's knowledge or approval. Jennings further angered Harrison when he attempted to secure a clerkship in the territorial legislature. Jennings's opponent for the