MARIETTA.
[INCLUDING HARMAR.]
CHAPTER XXIV.
MARIETTA—EARLY EVENTS—MORAL CONDITION OF THE COMMUNITY.
A Chapter of Initial Events—Various Names Proposed for the Settlement—First Fourth of July Celebration—First Deaths—General Varnum’s Death and Burial- First Marriage—Seventh of April Celebrated—First Births—First Religious Meetings—First Mail Route—First Postmaster at Marietta—First Town Meeting—Thomas Wallcut, of Boston—Condition of the Settlement—Mixer, the Tavern-keeper—A Slave Sold in Marietta—Indignation Expressed— Grievances Presented to the Court—Debating Society—Earliest Social Amenities—The Governor's Daughter—Intemperance—Ir-religion—Scarcity of Money—Names of Residents at Campus Martius, "the Point," and Fort Harmar—Marietta in 1803.
HERE, where but late a dreary forest spread,
Putnam, a little band of settlers led,
And now beholds, with patriot joy elate,
The infant settlement become a STATE;
Sees fruitful orchards and rich fields of grain,
And towns and cities rising on the plain,—
While fair Ohio bears with conscious pride
New, laden, vessels to the ocean's tide.
—HARRIS Tom 1803.
MARIETTA was the first crystallization of that idea which may be said to have had its inception in the midnight conference between two earnest men—General Benjamin Tupper and General Rufus Putnam—at the home of the latter in Rutland, Massachusetts, in January, 1786. Marietta was the first flower put forth in the west by a great plant firmly rooted and nurtured in New England soil.
So far as the history of Marietta is contained in that of the Ohio company it has already been given. The organization of that body, under whose auspices the settlement was made; the plans that were formed in New England for the laying out of the city at the mouth of the Muskingum; the purchase of the land; the journey and arrival of the pioneer band of forty-seven, and the progress of immigration and of improvement, have been very fully set forth in preceding pages. We have followed the pioneers—
"Through a long warfare, rude,"
in which,
"With patient hardihood,
By toil, and strife, and blood,
The soil was won."
The local events of that Indian war have been considered in their chronological order, with those at Belpre and Waterford, and in their relation to the broader aspect of the subject. It now remains our task to treat of those topics which, while not less important or interesting, belong more strictly to Marietta as a community.
In this chapter we present a number of the initial rtems of Marietta history, endeavor to give an idea of the character of its pioneers, and to show the condition of the settlement, morally as well as materially. The two succeeding chapters contain accounts of the beginnings and progress of mercantile business and manufacturing, and of navigation upon the Ohio and Muskingum. They are followed by the history of the religious and educational institutions and the professions, while subsequent
I chapters give the corporate and municipal history of the city and a wide range of miscellaneous matter, including such topics as the visits of distinguished individuals, reminiscences of slavery times, the sickly seasons, the great floods, temperance history early and late, burial places, the ancient works, etc.
NAME.
The city at the confluence of the Muskingum and Ohio was not originally known. It was for a short time quite commonly referred to by the residents and people at the east who expected to emigrate to the west, simply as Muskingum. It is interesting to learn that the choice of a name for the primal settlement in the Ohio company's purchase occupied much attention. Several appellations were suggested, some of which were ingenious and very appropriate; while others perhaps no less curiously formed or singularly adapted were certainly neither appropriate nor beautiful Some of the names discussed are mentioned in the correspondence of two New England historians* of the time, from whom we have quoted in this volume. One of them writes September 25, 1878, "Yesterday I dined with Major Sargent who told me that the old Indian fortifications near the mouth of the Muskingum was to be the site of the new city which they talk of calling Castrapolis (a name invented by Mr. St. John) in memory of the Indian fortified camp."
The same letter writer, under date of May 17th, 1788 says:
In my opinion, he (Cutler) cannot give the new city a more proper name than Protepolis. Urania seems to be quite out of the way Tempe would, I think, do much better. But I wanted something original. In this view Genesis would do. There are Montgomery's already.
The escape from Castrapolis and Protepolis is something for which the successive generations of Marietta people had they possessed any knowledge of it, would doubtless have been very thankful. Urania also would, indeed, have been quite out of the way. Tempe would have done much better. The name was suggested in all probability by the classical vale of Tempe.
*Correspondence of the Hon. Ebenezer Hazard and the Rev. Jeremy Belknap.
356 - HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO.
Dr. Manasseh Cutler was an advocate for the adoption of the name "Adelphia." He wrote to General Rufus Putnam, from Ipswich, Massachusetts, under date of December 3, 1787:
Saying so much about conveying letters reminds me of the necessity of a name for the place where you will reside. I doubt not you will early acquire the meaning of Muskingum; or you may meet with some other name that will be agreeable. At present, I must confess, I feel a partiality for the name proposed at Boston, and think it preferable to any that has yet been mentioned. I think that Adelphia will, upon the whole, be the most eligible. 1t strictly means brethren, and I wish it may ever be characteristic of the Ohio company.
By this name, Adelphia, suggested by Dr. Cutler, the settlement was called until July 2, 1788, when, at the first meeting of the Ohio company west of the mountains it was changed by the following resolution:
Resolved, That the city near the confluence of the Ohio and Muskingum be called Marietta; that the directors write to his excellency, the Count Moustiers (who was the French minister) informing him of their motive in naming the city, and request his opinion whether it will be advisable to present to her majesty of France, a public square.
The name was compounded, and very prettily, from that of the unfortunate young queen, Marie Antoniette. One of the squares in the city plat was named after her. The proffered compliment was never formally acknowledged, the queen soon after being plunged into the midst of the troubles which finally bore her down.
It was very natural that the pioneers should have chosen the name they did. They had a great respect and love for France. Many of them were personally acquainted with, and warmly attached to, Lafayette and his brother officers who had lent their valuable aid to the colonies in the Revolution. Marie Antoinette had ever been the friend of the infant nation and these New England patroits assembled upon the banks of the Ohio appreciated her constant and uniform kindliness as they did the brave self-sacrifice of the sons of France. One writer says that Marie Antoinette "was intended to be the nursing mother of the infant settlement."*
THE FIRST AND SECOND FOURTH OF JULY CELEBRATIONS.
The observance of the Fourth of July, 1788, +—the twelfth anniversary of American independence—was the first public celebration in Marietta or the Northwest Territory. The day, Friday, was ushered in with the firing of a federal salute by the cannons at Fort Harmar, over which the flag of the United states floated and the bastions and curtains of which were decorated with standards. The celebration was upon the Marietta side of the Muskingum in the long bowery built by the side of the stream. At one o'clock General Josiah Harmar, all of the officers not on duty at the fort and several ladies joined the Marietta settlers and listened to the first oration of a political nature ever ,delivered in the State of
* Thaddeus Mason Harris.
+ Fifty years later—in 1838—the Fourth of July was celebrated in Marietta under the auspices of the Mechanics' Lyceum, the oration being delivered by Charles Hendric. Dinner was served at the Mansion house, Colonel Joseph Barker presiding, assisted by A. Pixley. Toasts were responded to by Robert Smith, Isaac Moss, Colonel Barker, Thomas J. Clogston, James M. Booth, John Grenier, William West. L. Dewey, Matthias Moot, J. . Glidden, E. Gates, and others, A procession marched through the streets, of which Isaac Maxon was chief marshal and John Lest the assistant marshal.
Ohio, a most eloquent and appropriate address by the honorably James Mitchell Varnum, one of the judges of the territory, a man, by the way, of the loftiest and purest mind in whom tenderness and strength seem to have been equally developed, but whose influence was, alas, not long to be felt in the little settlement. He was even then when he spoke hopeful and cheering words for the future of the country and of the pioneer community, in a consumptive decline which closed his bright, beautiful life six months later.
A repast, consisting of all the substantials and delicacies which the woods and the streams and the gardens and the housewives' skill afforded, was served at the bowery. There was venison, barbecued, Buffalo steaks, bear meat, wild fowls, fish, and a little pork as the choicest luxury of all. One fish, a great pike weighing one hundred pounds and over six feet long—the largest ever taken by white men, it is said, in the waters of the Muskingum—was speared by Judge Gilbert Devol and his son Gilbert.
The day was not all sunshine. "At three o'clock," says Colonel John May, "just as dinner was on the table came on a heavy shower which lasted half an hour. However the chief of our provisions were rescued from the deluge, but injured materially. When the rain ceased the table was laid again; but before we had finished it came on to rain a second time. On the whole though we had a handsome dinner."
The following was the order of the toasts drank after dinner had been served:
1. The United States.
2. The Congress.
3. His most Christian Majesty.
4. The United Netherlands.
5. The friendly powers throughout the world.
6. The new Federal Constitution.
7. His Excellency General Washington and the Society of the Cincinnati.
8. His Excellency Governor St. Clair and the Northwestern Territory.
9. The memory of those who have nobly fallen in defence of American freedom.
10. Patriots and heroes.
11. Captain Pipe, chief of the Delawares, and a happy treaty with the natives.
12. Agriculture and commerce, arts and sciences.
13. The amiable partners of our delicate pleasures.
14. The glorious Fourth of July.
There were several Indians present. Colonel May says: "While I headed one end of the table there came to me a Delaware Indian, one of three petty chiefs. He said to me how do you do, brother Yankee. I answered him politely and then seated him on my left. He ate with a healthy appetite, but when we began drinking the toasts he labored with all of his might to speak them, but made rather a ridiculous piece of work of it. When the cannon was fired at the toasts in honor of Generals Washington and St. Clair and the western territory, it made him start. The roar of a cannon is as disagreeable to an Indian as a rope is to a thief or broad daylight to one of your made up beauties."*
The writer of the above adds: "Pleased with the en-
* Journal of Colonel John May.
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO - 357
tertainment, we kept it up till after 12 o'clock at night, then went home and slept soundly until daylight." The celebration closed with a beautiful illumination of Fort Harman The recollection of one of the participants in this celebration, when he had become a gray headed grandsire has been handed down in Marietta by tradition, and, if not reproduced with literal exactness, there can at least be no doubt that the words express the opinion he held of the first Fourth of July jollification in the Northwest Territory:
Never had such a dinner since. We were one great family, loving God and each other, proud of our new home, and resolved on success. And we won it.*
The second celebration of the Fourth of July in Marietta, 1789, was an interesting occasion, but lacked the impressive significance of the first. At this time Return Jonathan Meigs, jr., then an attorney at law, afterwards governor of Ohio, was the speaker of the day. His oration was in verse—the first poem produced in the country northwest of the Ohio, a region which has since, considering that it has scarcely as yet emerged from the formative condition of its existence, given so much of poetry and other literature to the world. Meigs' muse sang in a lofty and prophetic strain. A portion of his roseate dream was never realized in the growth of Marietta. The sanguine seer might better perhaps have voiced his hopes at Cincinnati, Albach has indeed put his words into the mouth of John Cleves Symmes, + whom he imagines standing before and contemplating the site of the present metropolis of Ohio. We give an extract from the poem:
Enough of tributary praise is paid
To virtue living or to merit dead;
To happier themes the rural muse invites,
To calmest pleasures and serene delights;
To us, glad fancy brightest prospect shows;
Rejoicing nature all around us glows;
Here late the savage, hid in ambush, lay,
Or roamed the uncultur'd valleys for his prey;
Here frowned the forest with terrific shade;
No cultured fields exposed the opening glade.
How changed the scene !
See, nature, clothed in smiles,
With joy repays the laborer for his toils;
Her hardy gifts rough industry extends,
The groves bow down, the lofty forest bends;
On every side the cleaving axes sound,
The oak and tall beach thunder to the ground.
And see the spires of Marietta rise,
And domes and temples swell into the skies;
Here justice reign, and foul dissension cease;
Her walks be pleasant and her paths be peace.
Here swift Muskingum rolls his rapid waves;
There fruitful valleys fair Ohio laves;
On its smooth surface gentle zephyrs play,
The sunbeams tremble with a placid ray.
What future harvests on his bosom glide,
And loads of commerce swell the downward tide,
Where Mississippi joins in length'ning sweep
And rolls majestic to the Atlantic deep.
Along our banks see distant villas spread;
Here waves the corn, and there extends the mead;
Here sound the murmurs of the gurgling rills;
There bleat the flocks upon a thousand hills.
Fair opes the lawn, the fertile fields extend,
The kindly showers from smiling heaven descend;
The skies drop fatness upon the blooming vale;
* Mrs. F. D. Gage in Little Corporal.
+ Albach's Annals of the West, page 482.
From spicy shrubs ambrosial sweets exhale;
Fresh fragrance rises from the flow'rets bloom,
And ripening vineyards breathe a glad perfume;
Gay swells the music of the warbling grove,
And all around is melody and love.
Here may religion fix her best abode,
Bright emanation of creative God.
Here charity extend her liberal hand,
And mild benevolence o'erspread the land;
In harmony the social virtues blend;
joy without measure, rapture without end !*
THE FIRST RELIGIOUS MEETINGS.
The first sermon preached in Marietta and the first in a Protestant style in the State of Ohio to other than an Indian audience, was delivered on Sunday, July 20, 1788, by the Rev. William Breck, a New England man and a member of the Ohio company. [The French upon the Maumee may have held Roman Catholic services, and we know that Heckewelder and the other Moravian missionaries had preached years before to the Indians at the Muskingum stations.] The text chosen by the Rev. Mr. Breck was the sixth and seventh verses of the nineteenth chapter of Exodus:
Now, therefore, if you will obey my voice and keep my covenants; then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people of earth; for all the earth is mine; and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.
The service was held upon the bank of the Muskingum, "before a numerous, well-informed and attentive assembly." The governor was present, and it has been recorded, "afterward expressed much satisfaction." He particularly remarked that "the singing far exceeded anything he had ever heard." "It was enchanting," continues the writer, from whom we have above quoted. "The grave, the tender, the solemn, and the pathetic were so happily blended, as to produce a most perfect harmony." Very impressive indeed must have been this first religious meeting upon the people who at home had been accustomed to regularly attend upon Sunday the preaching in the little New England village churches, and who had now been so long without such solace. t
The second sermon was delivered on August 24, 1788, by the Rev. Manasseh Cutler, who had arrived upon the nineteenth. He simply notes in his journal the following:
Sunday, August 24.—Cloudy this morning—very muddy. Attended worship in the public hall at Campus Martius. The hall was very full. I had but one exercise. People from the Virginia shore and garrison attended.
THE FIRST DEATH.
Death invaded the settlement for the first time August 25, 1788, the person taken being Nabby, a thirteen-year old child of Major Nathaniel Cushing, whose family, with several others, had arrived upon the nineteenth. Dr. Cutler says in his journal:
About three o'clock in the night I was called up to visit a child of Major Cushing's, supposed to be dying. Just before I got into the house it expired—the first person that died in the city of Marietta. The
* Harriss Tour, 1803, (appendix).
+ Journal of Colonel John May: "A large number of people were assembled from the garrison, Virginia and our own settlement, in all about three hundred; some women and children, which was a pleasing sight, though something unusual to see. Mr. Breck made out very well; the singing excellent. We had ' Billings’ to perfection."
358 - HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO.
child was very low when Major Cushing left New England. The disease was an atrophia infantilus—greatly emaciated; expected it would have expired in the boat on the way down. Dr. Scott, of the garrison, attended after its arrival here.
The first coming of the fell destroyer to the compact little colony in which all of the chords of life were more closely knit together, and sympathies more quick than in the larger, older, busier and more bustling communities of the far away, outside world, must have caused a depth of solemn feeling, such as can be but poorly imagined. Two days later the family of Major Cushing followed its youngest member to the grave with nearly all the people of the settlement, to which they had come only eight days before, as sympathizers. Dr. Cutler says, under date of August 2 7 th : "At two o'clock attended the funeral of Major Cushing's child. A considerable number of people collected. The coffin was made of cherry tree wood. I proposed it should not be colored, as an example for the future."
DEATH AND BURIAL OF GENERAL VARNUM.
If the death of this infant caused sadness in the community and a feeling of solemnity because the first reminder of the mortality of all, that of General (or Judge) James Mitchell Varnum, which occurred on the tenth of January, plunged the people into the deepest grief. He was in the very prime of life, aged forty years. He had led, although so young a man, a distinguished career, and was one of the most active and influential men in the Ohio company and in the settlement; a judge of the territory; a man of fine and varied ability, and possessed of almost every admirable trait of character. He was respected in his public capacity, admired as a man and loved by all. Almost all of the leading men at Marietta had known him before his removal from New England, some of them as an officer in the Revolutionary army. His was the second death in Marietta. It was caused by consumption and occurred in less than eight months from the time of his arrival. The funeral took place upon the thirteenth of January, and was attended by all the people of the settlement, many from the garrison and the Virginia shore, and by a large number of Indian chiefs who had been present at the treaty of Fort Harmar, concluded upon the ninth. Dr. Solomon Drown delivered the funeral oration. All of the respect and honor possible was shown for the illustrious dead. The order of the procession which followed the body to the grave was as follows:
THE MILITARY UNDER CAPTAIN ZEIGLER.
MARSHALS.
Mr. Wheaton bearing the sword and military commission of the deceased on a mourning cushion.
Mr. Lord bearing the civil commission on a mourning cushion.
Mr. Mayo, with the diploma and order of Cincinnati on a mourning cushion.
Mr. Fearing, bearing the insignia of masonry on a mourning cushion.
PALL HOLDERS.
Griffin Greene, esq.
Judge Crary.
Judge Tuffer.
Judge Putnam.
The secretary.
Judge Parsons.
PRIVATE MOURNERS.
Charles Greene and Richard Greene, Frederick Craty and Philip Greene, Doctor Scott and Doctor Farley, Deacon Story and Doctor Drown, private citizens, two and two, Indian chiefs, two and two, the militia officers, the Cincinnati, the masons.
FIRST BIRTH.
The first child born in Marietta was a son of James Kelley, and Anna (Hart) Kelley, emigrants from Plainfield, Massachusetts, and was named after the governor, Arthur St. Clair Kelley. He was born December 30, 1788. The family afterward removed to Belleville, Virginia, and the father was killed there by the Indians on the seventh of April, 1791 (See chapter X, on the Indian War, page 76). The widow returned to Marietta and was given a home in Campus Martius. Arthur St. Clair Kelley passed his boyhood in Marietta, and died in Parkersburgh, Virginia, in 1823. The second child born was James Varnum Cushing, son of Nathaniel Cushing, the twenty-seventh of January 1789; the third Leicester G. Converse, son of Benjamin Converse, born on the seventh of February, 1789; the fourth Joseph Barker, son of Joseph Barker, born February 28, 1789. It will be noticed that only two months' intervened between the first and fourth births. (Other white children had been born in Ohio, but these were the first whose parents were pioneers and settlers. A child is said to have been born of a white woman in captivity, at Wakatomika, within the present limits of Muskingum county, in 1764; another upon the Scioto in 1770, the child of a white woman taken captive by the Shawnees and married by an Indian trader named Conner. John Lewis Roth, son of Rev. John Roth, the Moravian missionary, and wife, was born at Gnaddenhutten on the Tuscarawas July 4, 1773, and died at Bath, Pennsylvania, in 1841. Joanna Maria Heckewelder, daughter of the Rev. John Heckewelder, was born at Salem, one of the Moravian villages on the Tuscarawas, April 16, 1781. The last two of these births are well authenticated.
FIRST MARRIAGE.
On the sixth of February, 1789, the first marriage was solemnized between the Hon. Winthrop Sargent, secretary of the territory, and Rowena, daughter of General Benjamin Tupper. General Rufus Putnam, judge of the court of common pleas of Washington county, performed the ceremony. Mrs. Sargent died January 29, 1790, of child-birth, and was buried upon Sunday, January 31.*
THE SEVENTH OF APRIL CELEBRATED FOR THE FIRST TIME +
The first anniversary of the settlement of Marietta was celebrated on the seventh of April, 1789. The Ohio
* Journal of Thomas Wallcut.
+ The half-century celebration of the settlement of Marietta, April, 1838, was made an occasion of much interest. The exercises were held at the Congregational church. George M. Woodbridge, esq., delivered the oration. Colonel Joseph Barker was president, and Judge Ephraim Cutler and Joseph Barker, Jr., vice-presidents. Beman Gates, esq., conducted the singing. Henry Fearing was chief marshal of the procession. A dinner was served at the Mansion house. Among the toasts was one to the memory of Judge Gilbert Devol, and his son Gilbert, who caught the great pike in the Muskingum on the fourth of July, 1788. Music was furnished during the day by the college band, which was led by Samuel Hall, a graduate of that year, in the first class which Marietta college sent out.
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO - 359
company, at a meeting held in February, had resolved that the anniversary of the landing of the forty-seven pioneers should forever be considered as a day of public festival in the territory of the Ohio company. At the same time the directors were authorized "to request some gentleman to 1prepare an address" for the approaching festival. They selected Dr. Solomon Drown, and he delivered a very. suitable oration upon the occasion, in which he cordially congratulated the assembled people on the auspicious anniversary. The address, although for the most part rehearsing happy events was not without its element of sadness. The speaker alluded to General Varnum, who had passed away three months before:
. . . Of those worthies who have most exerted themselves in promoting this settlement, one alas! is no more. One whose eloquence like the music of Orpheus, attractive of the listening crowd, seemed designed to reconcile mankind to the closest bonds of society. Ah! what avail his manly virtues now! Slow through you winding path his corpse was borne, and on the sleepy hill interred with honors meet. What bosom refuses the tribute of a sigh on the recollection of that melancholy scene, when, unusual spectacle, the fathers of the rand, the chiefs of the aboriginal nations, in solemn train attended; while the mournful dirge was rendered doubly mournful mid the groomy, nodding grove. On that day even nature seemed to mourn. 0 Varnum! Varnum! thy name shall not be forgotten while gratitude and generosity continue to be the characteristics of those inhabiting the country once thy care. Thy fair fame is deeply rooted in our fostering memories, and,
" The force of boisterous winds and mouldering rain,
Year after year an everlasting train,
Shall ne'er destroy the glory of his name."
FIRST HOUSES.
The first, frame house in Marietta was built in the summer of 1789, at the point, by Joseph Buell and Levi Munsell, and intended for a tavern. Captain Enoch Shepherd (brother of General Shepherd, who suppressed Shay's rebellion in Massachusetts) prepared the timber and lumber for this house, at McKeesport, Pennsylvania, and made it into a raft upon which he brought his family to Marietta. Colonel John May in the summer of 1788 built quite a pretentious house of hewed logs, which he said was "the first of the kind in the place." He describes his work as follows:
"This is an arduous undertaking and more than I intended. Am building from several motives. First, for the benefit of the settlement; second, from a prospect or hope of gain hereafter; third, for an asylum for myself and family should we ever want it; fourth, as a place where I can leave my stores and baggage in safety; and lastly, a foolish ambition, as I suppose it is. The house is thirty-six feet long, eighteen wide, and fifteen high; a good cellar under it and drain." .
MAIL ROUTE—POST OFFICE.
Although a mail route had been established across the Alleghanys from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh as early as 1786, there was none to, or in, the Northwest Territory until 1795. The people at Marietta and Cincinnati had no communication with the east except by expresses or messengers, and these means of communication were slow, uncertain and insecure. In 1788 the Postmaster General required only that the mail to Pittsburgh be dispatched once in a fortnight.
*Journal of Colonel John May.
In the spring of 1794 a route was established from Pittsburgh by way of Washington, Pennsylvania, West Liberty, Virginia, and Wheeling to Limestone (now Maysville), Kentucky, and the military post, Fort Washington (Cincinnati). In May the Postmaster General, Timothy Pickering, wrote General Rufus Putnam: .
"Marietta will be a station for the boats to stop at as they pass, and doubtless it will be convenient to have a post office there. Herewith I send a packet to you to be put into the hands of the person you judge most suitable for postmaster."
General Putnam selected for the first postmaster of Marietta Return Jonathan Meigs, jr., who twenty years later became Postmaster General of the United States, which office he held for nine years.
The mail which was carried from Pittsburgh to Wheeling by land and from thence to Cincinnati by the river gave the inhabitants of Marietta an opportunity every two or three weeks to receive letters from, or send letters to, their friends in New England. The boats made the trip from Wheeling to Cincinnati in about six days and required twelve days or two weeks to ascend the river. The boats were manned by five or six persons, well armed to resist attack from the Indians. This occurred once, in November, 1794, at the mouth of the Scioto. One man was killed and the others narrowly escaped with their lives.
The first route established within the present limits of Ohio was from Marietta to Zanesville, in 1798. The schedule required that the post should leave Marietta every Thursday at 1 o'clock P. M., and arrive at Zanestown the following Monday at 8 o'clock A. M. Returning, the mail must leave Zanestown every Tuesday at 6 o'clock A. M., and arrive at Marietta on Wednesday, at 6 P. M. Daniel Converse was the first contractor. This route was discontinued in 1804, but afterward resumed. It was the only route within the present boundaries of the State in 1800. In 1802 a route was established from Marietta by way of Athens and Chillicothe to Cincinnati. Athens post office was not, however, established until 1804. James Dickey, of Athens county, was one of the post riders from Marietta to Chillicothe, a distance of about one hundred miles, between the years 1806 and 1814. Three riders each made one trip per week, and they suffered great hardships. By the year 1825 the mail was carried from Marietta to Zanesville once a week, to Chillicothe twice a week, and to Lancaster once in two weeks. Such were the mail facilities of southeastern Ohio less than sixty years ago.
With the exception of the Masonic lodge, organized in 1790, the post office is the oldest of Marietta institutions.*
*The following has been the succession of postmasters at Marietta from 1794 to the present: Return Jonathan Meigs, jr., May, 1794, to October, 1795; Josiah Munro, October, 1795 to 1801; David Putnam; 1801 to 1802; Griffin Greene, 1802 to 1804; Philip Greene, 1804 to 1806; Griffin Greene, jr., 1806 to 15; Samuel Hoit, 1815 to 1818; Henry P. Wilcox, 1818 to 1825; David Morris, January, 1825, to August, 1825; Daniel H. Buell, 1825 to 1829; A. V. D. Joline, 1829 to 1841; A. L, Guitteau, 1841 to 1850; F. A. Wheeler, 1850 to 1853; Nathaniel Bishop, 1853 to 1857; A. W. McCormack, 1857 to 1861; Sala Bosworth, 1861 to 1870; W. B. Mason, 1870 to 1878; S. L. Grosvenor, 1878, present incumbent.
360 - HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO.
FIRST TOWN MEETING.
The first "town meeting" held in Marietta was upon February 4, 1789. Colonel Archibald Crary was chairman, and Colonel Ebenezer Battelle, clerk. There seems to have been need at this time for some additional laws bearing upon the community, and a police force to carry out .the spirit of those already enacted. Colonel Crary, Colonel Robert Oliver, Mr. Backus, Major Sargent, and Major Haffield White were constituted a committee to devise a system of police and to draw up an address to the governor, who was then absent. The address, which was duly drawn up and forwarded, contained the following:
We must lament, with all the feelings of men anxious to live under the precepts of regal authority, the absence of your excerlency and the judges of the territory, more particularly at this time, ere the system of laws has been completed. We feel most sensibly the want of them and the priviledge of establishing such cily regulations as we are conscious should be derived alone from the sanction of your excellencysis authority; and that nothing but the most absolute necessity can exculpate us in assuming even the private police of our settlement. But the necessity and propriety of some system which may tend to health, the preservation of our fields and gardens, with other essential regulations, will, we flatter ourselves, apologize for our adopting it. . .
We see at this early day in the history of the settlement the earnest desire the people had for law and order. They had been accustomed to live under the exercise of authority and they desired to revive, so far as ble here in the wilderness, in the little col year old, that condition of society w the villages of New England.
A police system was reported upon March 17th, and a code of laws adopted which served comparatively well for the first few years. Rufus Putnam Archibald Crary, Griffin Greene, Robert Oliver, and Nathaniel Goodale were appointed the first commissioners charged with the carrying out of the laws and the management of the police.
CONDITION OF THE SETTLEMENT.
Morally, Marietta was for a pioneer settlement far in advance of any other in the west. Cincinnati was considerably vitiated during the Indian campaigns by the presence of the army. Chillicothe, founded in 1796, was sadly demoralized by the settlement within its precincts of many of Wayne's soldiers. The Virginia and Kentucky pioneer settlements had as a general thing a large element of lawless people.
The people of Marietta, as a rule, were New Englanders and fully abreast of the New England sentiment of the time. What has already been said exhibits their law loving nature. How deeply they abhored (as a majority) a laxity of morals has already been suggested on many pages of this volume.
The infant settlement, however, had some vicious citizens, such as are to be found in any community, and some crimes against society were perpetrated, which aroused great indignation in the bosoms of the better class of men.
A slave sold in Marietta! It reads strangely enough. Marietta, the initial settlement of the Ohio company— that beneficiently and wisely governed New England organization under whose very influence the ordinance of freedom was enacted!
A slave sold in Marietta! Such was the fact. It is well attested. Thomas Wallcut, of Boston, a member of the Ohio company, but not a settler, visited Marietta in 1789 and 1790, and took a deep interest in the affairs of the colony. It appears by his journal that Isaac Mixer, a tavern-keeper in the settlement, sold a little negro boy into slavery in Virginia, and allusion is made to other cases of negroes being sold. The editor of Mr. Wallcut's journal states that he was very decided in his opinions on the subject of slavery and offences against good morals, and he was always fearless in the expression of them. Early in 1790 he prepared an address to Governor St. Clair, in which the Mixer slave case is made the principal topic. The address also speaks of other evils, and the need of laws to check them. The extract we quote, shows that Mr. Wallcut was deeply indignant at the outrage of Mixer.
After some preliminary remarks complimentary to the governor, and speaking in general terms of "those natural, inherent and unalienable rights which we hold to be sacred, and which cannot be violated without endangering the public peace, liberty and safety," and setting forth that "infringement upon these rights ought not to go unpunished," the address continues:
We, therefore, beg leave to call to your Excellency's attention, and to earnestly recommend to your notice certain abuses and offences against the interest of society and good government which have taken place here, and against which it is said by some there is either no law, or that the laws are insufficient for remedying and punishing like offences in future.
The first thing we beg leave to mention is that a certain Isaac Mixer, an inhabitant and inn keeper of this city and county, a man of notoriously character, keeps a disorderly, riotous and ill-governed house, which is considered by the citizens in general as an intolerable nuiance to the place, and one that will not only bring an odium and prejudice against the inhabitants and their police, but is also in its tendency destructive of peace and good order and exemplary morals, upon which not only the well being but the very existence of society so much depends.
To remedy and prevent the like abuse in future we beg leave to suggest to your attention whether it is not immediately necessary that a law should be enacted for licensing and regulating taverns and other places of public resort with proper penalties.
We next beg leave to observe that we apprehend the said Isaac Mixer has committed a flagrant trespass upon the rights of humanity, the privileges of American subjects, and the peace and happiness of this jurisdiction, as welt as the dinky of the United States, in selling a certain negro boy named Prince, about the age of seven years, out of this jurisdiction into the State of Virginia where slavery is tolerated by law. This atrocious crime, we presume, is against the divine and moral, as well as (according to Judge Blackstone) against the Jewish code, the common raw of England, and the ordinance of Congress for the government of this territory, which we apprehend to be our constitution and therefore the supreme law of the land. And considering that this is the second instance that the said Mixer has shown his contempt and defiance of the aforesaid sacred rights of mankind, we cannot refrain from expressing to your excellency our apprehensions that if this evil is not speedily checked it may grow to the abominable and degrading traffic of buying and selling our fellow creatures in this place.*
The document of which this was a part was never presented to the governor, probably, for the reason that Mr. Wallcut had an opportunity to bring the subject before the court of quarter sessions. He says (under date of February 2, 1790) . . . "Mr. Woodbridge (Dudley), foreman, asked the jury if we had anything more to present, and nothing being offered, I proposed
* Journal of Thomas Walcott, page 13.
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO - 361
for the consideration of the jury, four articles of complaint to be presented as grievances. I prefaced them with some observations on their necessity and propriety and the informality of the paper. With leave of the foreman I read them. The question was taken whether the jury would take them up and act upon them. Passed affirmatively." These grievances debated upon by the jury were as follows:
1at Grievance. No law against dueling, etc.
2nd Grievance. No incorporation of Marietta and therefore no way of providing for the poor and sick strangers.
3rd Grievance. No law licensing and regulating taverns.
4th Grievance. No law against the crime of buying and selling the human species.
It is significant of the state of public feeling in Marietta in the year 1790, that while for the correction of the first and third of these evils there were respectively only two and nine votes, there were eleven for the fourth. "The presentments of the jury," adds Mr. Wallcut, "concluded by referring the court to two former cases of two negroes being sold, and asking that they would concur in an application to the governor and judges for remedy of these complaints."
The writer from whom we have already quoted throws more interesting light upon the condition of the Marietta of 1790. His journal has numerous allusions to an institution which it is not surprising had an existence among the Muskingum pioneers—a literary and debating society, the first in Marietta. Paul Fearing, esq., was president of this society. At the first meeting of which there is any mention made, January 27th, the question for discussion was the following: "Is the civil government of the Northwest Territory, as it now stands by the ordinance of. Congress, calculated to secure the peace, freedom and prosperity of the people, and what is wanting to obtain so desirable an object?"
The society were not unanimous, says Wallcut, in any opinion except that the ordinance or constitution would admit of amendments that might be very salutary, but that it is well framed for a temporary constitution; and taking futurity into consideration, some additions and amendments are necessary and proper. They, however, considered it as a compact that Congress cannot break or infringe without mutual consent.
One of the questions proposed for consideration at the next meeting was whether the police force of the city of Marietta was equal to the good government of the same, and what alteration, if any, was necessary. One proposed by Samuel Holden Parsons, however, and relating to the rights of navigation of the Mississippi, was chosen and debated upon the evening of February 11th. At a meeting held prior to this one, Enoch Parsons was elected president, Thomas Wallcut, secretary, and Joseph Prince, treasurer. Mention is only made of this debating society in one other place in the journal of Mr. Wallcut, and it is probable that, notwithstanding the number of educated men in the community who in ordinary times would have sustained it, it passed out of existence, owing to the excitement of the times, and the great activity with which all of the settlers were engaged in necessary pursuits. That it should even have been brought into existence at so early a period in the history of the settlement is a malter of wonder. It was an evidence of the education and taste which pervaded this pioneer colony.
Social amenities began in Marietta when the first families arrived—the first ladies. This was upon the nineteenth of August, 1788. Upon the very next day an entertainment was given to the governor and officers of Fort Harmar, at the hall in Campus Martius. Dr. Cutler, who was present, having arrived the day before with the first families, notes that they "had a handsome dinner with punch and wine. The governor and the ladies from the garrison were very sociable. Mrs. Rowena Tupper and the two Mrs. Goodales dined, and fifty-five gentlemen."* . The writer says that Mrs. Harmar "is a fine woman," and speaks in a very complimentary manner of Captain McCurdy and lady.
Upon the twenty-sixth of the month Judge Symmes and company arrived, on their way to the Symtues purchase to become settlers. The visit must have been one of very lively interest to the people of Marietta and to those who were about to enter a life similar to that which they saw here. Judge Symmes was accompanied by his daughter, who is described as "a very accomplished young lady." She was called upon by several of the newly arrived ladies of Marietta, and with her father visited General Putnam and Dr. Cutler. They arrived in the evening and resumed their journey down the river upon the following day.
The governor's daughter, Louise St. Clair, came out with the rest of the family, except Mrs. St. Clair, from their home in the Ligonier valley, Pennsylvania, in 179o, and must have been a beautiful but strange note in the little community. She was a boughsome beauty, brilliant and dashing, full of vivacity and action, wayward and unconventional in the extreme. Some of her hoydenish ways one can well imagine as calling forth the astonishment and displeasure of the dignified and rather severe majority. She compared to the more staid daughters of the pioneers as some brilliant tropical bird does to the brown thrush or the dove of the northern forest. Dashing through the woods in a scarlet riding habit, upon a fleet horse, alone, and even at such times as there was danger apprehended from the Indians, she was the picture of all that was high-lifed, careless and fearless. She was as active on foot as on horseback, could handle a rifle with wonderful dexterity, and in winter glided over the frozen Muskingum, equalling in her skating any of the young men and excelling most of them. Withal she was refined and highly cultivated intellectually. Several of the sons of the pioneers were madly in love with her. The verses which one of them wrote in her praise are still to be found in Marietta. Some time after the war she returned to the Ligonier valley, and it is said married a humble man in her father's employ.
Of the character of the men at Marietta much has already been said in the early chapters of this work. A large proportion of those who settled in the Ohio company's purchase prior to the close of the war were Revolutionary soldiers, and nearly all were from New Eng
* Journal of Dr. Manasseh Cutler, in New England Historical and Genealogical Register,
362 - HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO.
land. There was probably more of learning, virtue, and dignity in this than in any other pioneer colony planted in America. For the most part they were men who held the religious views common in the land of their nativity. Deep piety was a characteristic of many, but there were a considerable number who were more or less imbued with infidel opinions. It was not the infidelity of Thomas Paine, but the light skepticism of France, received in a large degree from the French officers of the Revolutionary army.
Excess in the use of liquor was the greatest evil in the settlement. Hard drinking was not confined so closely as now to the vicious class, but indulged in by many of the best men in the community, and the use of liquor in moderation was almost universal. A number of the brightest minds in Marietta, at an early day, were ruined by intemperance. Men high in position and of otherwise exemplary character were among the victims.
A recent writer,* after making the statement that "at Marietta were several men of superior intellects who were infidels, and others who were intemperate," says: "And yet this pioneer town was probably one of the best examples of the society of pioneer times." He means evidently that it was one of the examples of the best society of pioneer times. It was far ahead, as we have heretofore remarked, of the other pioneer settlements of Ohio and the west generally.
During the period of the war (and the two years previous to it) money was very scarce in the settlement and provisions high. Many people were obliged to live in exceedingly straightened circumstances; others absolutely suffered. What little produce of the country could be spared was used in lieu of money, in exchange for commodities brought from the Eastern States or from Pittsburgh. Ginseng passed current. It was a local legal tender. Skins were also exchanged for goods with the traders and storekeepers. Whatever the settlers could produce by their own labors saved them an outlay from their small store of cash. "Sugar," says Colonel Barker, we make ourselves. Sugar (material for it) is plenty, but metal to boil it in is scarce. . . . When General Putnam was on and obtained the grant for the donation lands, Lady Washington sent out a keg of loaf made from maple sugar, to be distributed among the ladies of the officers of the Revolutionary army of the Ohio company's purchase. f
We have said that the prices upon all articles brought into the settlement were high. Calico commanded from a dollar to a dollar and seventy-five cents per yard, salt sold commonly from four to five dollars per bushel, and sometimes was as high as ten dollars. Tea was two dollars per pound, and other articles in proportion.
RESIDENTS DURING THE WAR.
Elsewhere in this work (chapter VII) has been given
* The late E. D. Mansfield, of Cincinnati, in "Personal Memories." His father, Jared Mansfield, was appointed by Jefferson, in 803, as the successor of General Rufus Putnam, Surveyor General of the United States. The family lived for several years in Marietta. Mr. Mansfield was then a mere child. He wrote from common report upon the Marietta of earlier days.
+Colonel Joseph Barker's notes (Ms.)
General Putnam's list of arrivals at Marietta during the years 1788-89, and 1790. We now present a list* of those who were residents of Marietta—at Campus Martius, at "the Point," and in and near Fort Harmar-during the whole or a part of the period of the war.
To begin with, there were at Campus Martius the following:
General Rufus Putnam, wife, two sons and six daughters.
Governor Arthur St. Clair, son and three daughters.
General Benjamin Tupper, wife, three sons and a daughter.
Colonel Ichabod Nye, wife, and three sons.
Colonel Robert Oliver and wife, two sons, William and Robert, and two daughters, Nelly, married to Thomas Lord, the other to Captain William Burnham.
Thomas Lord and two apprentice boys—Benjamin Baker, and Amos R. Harvey.
Colonel R. J. Meigs, wife, and son, Timothy.
R. J. Meigs, jr., and wife. (He lived the larger part of the time at the Point).
Colonel Enoch Shepherd, wife, and nine children: Enoch, Daniel, Luther, Calvin, Esther, Anna, Rhoda, Lorana, and Huldah.
Charles Greene, esq., wife, and three children: Sophia, Susan, and Charles; also Miss Sheffield, sister of Mrs. Greene, and afterwards wife of Captain Ziegler, of Fort Harmar.
Major Ezra Putnam, wife, and two daughters. Major Haffield White and son, Peletiah.
Joshua Shipman, wife, and three children.
Wife and two sons and daughter of Captain Strong (who was attached to the army).
Captain Davis, wife, and five children.
James Smith, wife, and seven children.
John Russell, son-in-law of Smith.
Archibald Lake, wife, and three sons—Thomas, Andrew, and John.
Eleazer Olney, wife, and fourteen children.
Major Olney, wife, and two sons—Columbus and Discovery.
Ebenezer Corey and wife.
Richard Maxon, wife, and several children.
James Wells, wife and ten children. The sons were David, Joseph, Thomas, and Varnum. The daughters married as follows: Polly, to Richard Maxon; Nancy, to Thomas Carey; Susan, to Peletiah White; Betsy, to Jacob Proctor; and Sally, to Peleg Springer.
Major Coburn and wife, two daughters and three sons —Asa, Phinehas, and Nicholas.
Joseph Wood, wife, and one child.
Captain John Dodge, wife, and two sons—John and Sidney.
Robert Allison, wife, and children—three sons, young men, Charles, Andrew, and Hugh.
Elijah Warren, wife, and one child.
Gersham Flagg, wife, and children.
Widow of Joseph Kelley (who was killed in 1791) and mother of Arthur St. Clair Kelly, the first child born at Marietta.
* Derived for the most part trom Hildreth's Pioneer History.
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO - 363
Single men—Major Anselem Tupper, Edward W. Tupper, Benjamin Tupper, jr., Rev. Daniel Story, ,Thomas Hutchinson, William Smith, Gilbert Devol, jr., Oliver Dodge, Alpheus Russell, Thomas Corey, and Azariah Pratt.
At or near Fort Harmar were the following families and single men:
Hon. Joseph Gilman and wife.
Benjamin Ives Gilman and wife. These families lived in a block-house above the fort.
Paul Fearing, a resident of Fort Harmar, Southwest block-house.
Colonel Thomas Gibson, an Indian trader, licensed for Washington county, occupied a block-house near the fort.
Hezekiah Flint and Gould Davenport, single men.
Mrs. Welch and several children lived at the fort. Her husband died of small-pox in 1790, and she married Thomas Hutchinson.
Preserved Seaman, wife and four sons—Samuel, Gilbert, Preserved, and Benajah. Samuel had a wife and several children and lived in the guard-house of the fort.
Benjamin Baker, wife and one child, lived in a small stone house just south of the fort.
George Warth, wife and five sons—John, George, Robert, Martin, and Alexander, and two daughters; lived in a log house between the fort and the river. Two of the sons were employed as rangers for the garrison during the war; Robert was killed by the Indians ; George married Ruth, a sister of Joshua Fleehart, the Belpre ranger.
Joseph Fletcher married Catharine Warth.
Picket Meroin, married Polly Warth.
Francis Thierry and wife with two children were of the French emigrant party which arrived in 1790. Thierry was a baker. He lived afterwards for many years in Marietta. A daughter of Thierry's wife by a - former marriage—Catharine La Lance, married Robert Warth, a short time before he was killed.
Monsieur Cookie was another of the French emigrants who remained at Fort Harmar.
Monsieur Le Blond, also French, carried on a distillery of cordials, and made wooden shoes.
Monsieur Shouman had been bred a gardener in France and followed that occupation near the fort. He had a wife and son, but his wife dying during the period of the war, he married the widow of Sherman Waterman, who was killed by the Indians.
Monsieur Gubbeau, another of the French emigrants, was a young man. He carried the mail in company with Pierre La Lance in 1795, from Marietta to Gallipolis.
At the Point garrison were the following families :
William Moulton, wife, one son, Edward, and two daughters. The father and son were members of the pioneer party of 1788. They were from Newburyport, Massachusetts, and the elder, who died in 1793, was a goldsmith by trade. Anna Moulton married Dr. Josiah Hart, and Lydia, Dr. Leonard.
Dr. Jabez True boarded with the Moulton family.
Captain Prince, a hatter by trade, from Boston, with wife and two children.
Moses Morse and wife. Morse owned a row of four log houses, which he rented to transient residents or people who were preparing cabins of their own.
Peter Nyghswonger, wife (Jane Kerr, sister of Hamilton Kerr, the spy), and several children occupied a cabin fronting on the Muskingum. Nyghswonger was himself a ranger and hunter. He moved westward after the war, following the game.
William Skinner dwelt at the point during the war and kept store, but afterwards removed to the Harmar side of the Muskingum.
J. McKinley was a partner with Skinner.
R. J. Meigs, jr., whom we have spoken of as a resident at Campus Martius, kept a store fronting on the Muskingum.
Charles Greene was in partnership with him.
Hon. Dudley Woodbridge, wife and children, lived in a block-house very near the Ohio. Between his house and the Ohio river he built a frame house in which he kept a store.
Captain Josiah Munroe, wife and two children lived near the centre of the enclosure or stockade.
Captain William Mills, wife, and one child, occupied a house near Munroe's.
Captain Jonathan Haskell, commander of a company of United States troops, also lived at this garrison.
Hamilton Kerr, the ranger, and his mother, lived in a small block-house.
Colonel Ebenezer Sproat, wife, and daughter, had a small house near the bank of the Ohio.
Commodore Abraham Whipple and family lived with Sproat, who was his son-in-law.
Joseph Buell, wife, and two children, and Levi Munsell and wife, lived in a large frame house heretofore spoken of—the first frame house built in Marietta—and kept tavern.
William Stacey (son of Colonel Stacey), wife and children.
Joseph Stacey (also a son of the colonel), wife and children.
James Patterson, wife and children.
Nathaniel Patterson, wife and children.
Captain Abel Mathews, wife and six children. (He was the father of John Mathews, of whom much is said in this volume).
Thomas Stanley, wife and four children.
Eleazer Curtiss, wife and children.
Simeon Tuttle, wife and family of children.
A number of the Ohio company's laborers occupied a row of cabins which stood upon the Ohio river bank but their names have not been preserved.
We have, in most cases, given nothing more than the names of these families—the first settlers of Marietta— as biographies of most of them are inserted at the close' of the Marietta history, or elsewhere in this volume.
MARIETTA IN 1803.
The settlement, consisting of three small groups of dwellings—Campus Martins, "The Point" garrison and
364 - HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO.
Fort Harmar—and containing during the war period, the people whose names we have given and a few others, had become by 1803, after eight years of peace, a flourishing little village. It is thus described: by the Rev. Thaddeus Mason Harris, who arrived April 23, while making his "tour into the territory northwest of the Alleghany mountains:"
There are now within the town plat five hundred and fifty inhabitants; and ninety-one dwelling houses, sixty-five of which are frame or plank eleven of brick, and three of stone. It contains also eight merchants stores, nineteen buildings occupied by public officers and mechanics, three rope walks eight hundred and fifty feet long, a gaol and court house under the same roof, and an academy which is used at present as the place of worship.
Marietta is a place of much business, and is rapidly increasing in population. Ship building is already carried oft to a considerable extent. A spirit of industry and enterprise prevails. Add to all the remarkable healthiness of the place, the benefit it receives from the growing settlements on the Muskingum, and the extensive navigation of that river, and it is easy to foresee that it wilt maintain a character as the most respectable and thriving town in the State.
The situation of this town is extremely well chosen, and is truly delightful. The appearance of the. rivers, banks and distant hills is remarkably picturesque. Trees of different form and foliage give a vast variety to the beauty and coloring of the prospect, while high hills that rise like a rampart all around, add magnificence to the scene. Back of the town is a ridge finely clothed with trees.
According to the above statement Marietta had a little more than one-third the present population of the village of Harmar, two hundred and eighty less than that of Beverly, eighty-one less than Matamoras, three hundred and fifty less than Belpre and was almost exactly one-tenth the size of the Marietta of 1880—population five thousand four hundred and forty-four.
364 - HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO.
CHAPTER XXV.
MARIETTA—MERCANTILE BUSINESS AND MANUFACTURING.
The First Store in Marietta—Location of Business—Early Business Methods—Character of Mercantile Trade During the First Quarter Century—Monetary Terms—Prices During the Last Century— Prominent Business Men: Dudley Woodbridge, Charles Green, Edward W. Tupper, Joseph Lincoln, Abner Lord, Benjamin Ives Girman, Augustus Stone, William Skinner, Abijah Brooks, Joseph Holden, Stephen B. Wilson, John Mills, Nathaniel Dodge, Robert Crawford, Jason R. Curtis, James Dunn, D. B. Anderson—Hat Making—Jewelry and Clock Making—Book Trade—Drug Trade— Dry Goods—Boots and Shoes—Hardware—Furniture— Taverns Photography—Farming—Manufacture of Fabrics—Furniture Manufacture— Marietta Iron Works—Marietta Foundry—Gas Works— Book Binding—Brewing—Bucket Factories— Mills—Banking—Early Banking Laws—First Bank in the Northwest Territory—The Bank of Marietta—First National Bank—Marietta National Bank— Bank of Marietta—Bank of Exchange—Dime Savings SocietyOil—First Oil Wells—Seneca Oil—Oil Refining and Refineries.
MERCANTILE BUSINESS.*
The first store in Marietta—the first store in the Northwest Territory—was located on the corner of Muskingum
* No attempt is here made to give a detailed mercantile history of the city. If the general growth of business from the beginning to the present is outlined, and the name of the men who have taken a prominent part in trade, and in building up the city, shall be preserved, our purpose has been accomplished. It is not pretended that the dust has been so thoroughly brushed off the past that all the names, even of the more prominent and worthy of the merchants of a period of ninety- three years have been mentioned.
and Ohio streets, and was owned by Dudley Woodbridge. Business seems to have followed the river bank both ways from this point. As we shall proceed with this sketch, the location of stores first around the "point" and then up Muskingum street, will appear. At a later period Ohio street was the line of trade, and it was not until comparatively recent times that Front street was improved. Previous to 1830 Front street was almost a common, the grass and weeds scarcely ever being broken by a team or Vehicle. It will be seen also that in the olden. time Putnam street had a few stores. Business slowly advanced from the river westward, coming over flats and creeks, forming an unbroken line of stores on one side to Putnam, which in the unseen future may become the centre of trade. Green street and the cross streets connecting it with Ohio were avenues mainly to smaller shops and dwelling houses.
Harmar, with reference to the location of business was much like Marietta. The first stores faced the mouth of the Muskingum.
Mercantile business in some form or other had been carried on previous to the opening of the Woodbridge store already spoken of. An agent of Colonel John May, who at that time had a store at Wheeling, was doing business here for the Wheeling house in September, 1788. Colonel May in a letter which indicates that he was carrying on a general business in the western settlements,
says: "Mr. Beck has been dispatched to Marietta—that was four days after I came here—with such goods as was supposed would sell Hear from him about once a week. He is well and doing a moderate business. Our grand plan being broken all to pieces, we shall not make out a great summer's work, for there are many articles which cannot be sold at cost, unless by credit, and that, under existing circumstances, I can't think of doing. Of a great number who went to Kentucky in the trade of ling (ginseng) more than half will be bankrupt. In the way of exchange or barter I have taken other things, upwards of five hundred raccoon skins, some beaver, and one hundred and twenty deer skins and all the cash that would circulate into my hands." This exchange of furs for good was carried on by Pittsburgh and Wheeling merchants at a later day. But it is no where indicated that the business was transacted in a store in the proper sense of that term; supplies were received at stated intervals and distributed among the customers in exchange for whatever they had to dispose of.
Furs and salt were important articles of trade for a number of years. Salt, previous to its manufacture on the Muskingum, was brought to Marietta on pack-horses and sold by the quart or gallon at the rate of eight dollars per bushel. The enormous price and the indispensableness of the article made it important in the trade of the agents and early stores. From an account we learn the price of fur-skins in 1796 : raccoon, two shillings ; one and a quarter pound beaver, twelve shillings; muskrat, one shilling; wildcat, three shillings; fox, two to four shillings; otters, three dollars; bear skins were also in the market Eleven raccoons and three foxes are at
* Journal of Colonel John May.
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO - 365
one place charged at two pounds, another entry runs : "two others valued at two dollars each." This strange mixing of money turns suggests the conservatism of business usages. Just now while the propriety of adopting the metric system of weights and measures is being much discussed, it will be interesting to note the hesitation with which the decimal system in monetary notation was adopted. The Continental Congress abolished the English system and made the dollar unit of notation in 1786. At the same time the coinage of the gold eagle and half eagle was ordered. A great variety of customs existed during the next fifteen or twenty years. There was not only a difference of usage among different business men, but, as the above quotation shows there was a mixing of the two systems on the same books. Six shillings were taken for a dollars unless otherwise specified. And here again there seems to have been another difficulty in the financial system of the latter part of the last century. A law was enacted in 1792, by Winthrop Sargent, then acting governor of the territory and the judges, regulating the fees of public officers, from which the following extract is taken, showing the inconveniences of having money variable in value and showing also that money must have a basis in intrinsic value. The act reads:
And whereas the dollar varies in its real value in the several counties in the territory, some provision in kind ought to be made, therefore: Be it enacted: that for every cent allowed by this act, one quart of Indian corn may be allowed and taken by the person to whom the fee is coming, as an equivalent for the cent, always at the election of the person receiving the same whether to receive his tee in Indian corn or in species at the sum affixed by the foregoing table of fees; one quart of Indian corn being always equal to one cent, and so on at that rate for a greater or less sum.
Imagine the difficulty of keeping accounts, first, with a mixed system of notation and second with a medium of exchange varying so much in the several counties as to require making an agricultural product the standard of value.
The decimal system was at first used as awkwardly as the metric system would be now by merchants in general. The usual way of keeping accounts was to have four colums headed D, d, c, m, or in some instances five columns headed E, D, d, c, m. Cents in old accounts are infrequently written as fractions of a dollar and the eagle was sometimes used as the unit of value.
A curious arrangement of names is found in the ledger kept by Judge Cutler at Waterford. A copy of the index to this ledger, in which the names are arranged in alphabetical order with reference to the Christian name, will be found in the chapter on Waterford.
The extensive produce and exchange business with New Orleans and other southern cities will be again referred to under the head of navigation and boat-building, as it had an important influence upon those industries. It also accelerated business development in general. This trade began as soon as the Muskingum valley and Ohio river bottoms were improved, and continued until the opening of the Rebellion.
The influence of the southern trade was not confined to multiplying stores and encouraging ship-building. It opened up the market which made the products of the farm more valuable, thus stimulating agriculture and hastening the developments of the county's resources.
In the early store everything marketable was bought and everything necessary to the comfort of enlightened people kept for sale, much after the fashion of the better class of country stores of the present time. In the progress of the growth of the city, business divided into its several natural departments.
Having hinted at the location and methods of business, we shall now attempt to outline its development, which began in earnest after the Indian war in 1795, after a paralytic period of more than four years.
Hon. Dudley Woodbridge, proprietor of the first store in the Northwest Territory, was born in Stonington, in 1747. He graduated at Yale college in 1766, married Lucy, daughter of Elijah and Lucy (Griswold) Backus, of Norwich, was bred to the bar, but on coming to Marietta in 1788,* engaged in mercantile business. He died at Marietta in 1823. The business at an early period was placed in charge of Dudley' Woodbridge, jr., who came to Marietta in 1794 and was for more than fifty years a prominent merchant. His business during most of this period was located on Ohio street. Many of the men mentioned in this chapter were his partners and were benefitted by his friendship. He was the senior in the firm of Dudley Woodbridge, jr., & Co., of which Harman Blennerhassett was one of the partners. He was strong in his opinions and prejudices, but always sympathetic and charitable in the presence of want and distress. He was born November so, 1778, and died in his seventy-fifth year. In his older years he was an enthusiastic worker in the Congregational church and Sunday- school. For a number of years he taught a large Bible class.
The second store in Marietta was opened by Charles Green, who came to Ohio the latter part of 1788, or early in 1789. During the Indian war he owned and lived in a house in Campus Martins. His place of business was on Ohio street, below Post, in a building erected for the purpose. About 1796 he erected a building further up the river. He also engaged in ship-building early in the century, and was bankrupted by the embargo act.
General Edward Tupper came to Marietta with his father, General Benjamin Tupper, in 1788, being at that time seventeen years old. After the close of the Indian war he began merchandising on the corner of Putnam and Second streets. His wife was Berthia, daughter of William Pitt Putnam. Mr. Tupper was brigadier general of militia for the counties of Washington, Athens and Gallia. In 1807 he built the residence commonly known as the Ward property, on Putnam street. In 1809 or so he removed to Gallipolis.
One of the most successful of the early business men was Major Robert Lincoln, who was born in Massachusetts, in 176o. He was at Farmer's Castle during the Indian war, and at its close engaged in business in Marietta, on Ohio street. He at one time owned all the land on Ohio street between Post and Front, and several
* New England Historical and Genealogical Register.
366 - HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO.
lots on Front. In 1807 he erected, on the corner of Front and Ohio streets, what was then the finest building in town. It was originally a large, square, brick house, with ornamental mantels and stucco ceilings. The building was arranged both for dwelling and business house; but Major Lincoln died about the time it was finished. Colonel John Mills did business in this house for many years. Frequent remodelings afterwards has left only the back walls of the building unchanged.
Colonel Abner Lord began business in Marietta about 1800. He emigrated from Lynn, Massachusetts, to Vienna, West Virginia, soon after the Indian war. Colonel Lord's store was in a building which stood at the foot of Front street, on the river bank. This house was afterwards occupied as a store by Joseph Holden. In the spring freshet of 1827 or '8 a torch was applied and the burning building sent floating down the river. Colonel Lord removed to Franklin county in 1811, where he died in 1821.
The name of Benjamin Ives Gilman is closely identified with the early business enterprises of the west side of the Muskingum. He came with his father, Judge Gilman, from Exeter, New Hampshire, in 1789. The family was distinguished for social and intellectual culture. Benjamin Ives was married in 1790 to Hannah Robbins, of New Hampshire, a lady of culture and education. Mr. Gilman opened a store in Harmar in 1792 and continued in business until about 1812. His store, which was patronized by nearly all who lived on that side of the river, was in a stone building, erected for the purpose, located at the upper end of the square. Mr. Gilman was also engaged in ship-building and banking. An extensive tract of land in Warren township, known as the Gilman farm, was owned by him. In 1813 he engaged in business in Philadelphia, where he died in 1833.
Mr. Gilman was succeeded in Harmar by Colonel Augustus Stone. Colonel Stone had been engaged as a surveyor under General Mansfield in laying out Government lands. About 1809 he opened a store near the foot of Oliver street. Four years later he moved to Harmar, where his store was largely patronized until reverses overwhelmed him in 1842. He died at an advanced age in 1879.
Colonel Levi Barber will be remembered as one of the early merchants of the west side. His store fronted the Muskingum. His residence was a double brick house, which is still standing.
William Skinner, father of D. C. and William Skinner, prominent business men of a later date, was one of the early merchants of Harmar, he was also one of the directors of the bank. His son, Daniel C., carried on the business in Harmar for some time, and afterwards, in partnership with Weston Thomas, engaged in business on Ohio street, Marietta.
James Whitney, whose name frequently appears in the history of early Methodism in Marietta, was one of the early merchants in Harmar. He was by trade a shipbuilder and worked for Benjamin Ives Gilman, in his yard. After the embargo act had ruined the business, Mr. Whitney opened a store below the square.
Abijah Brooks was, for a short time, a prominent merchant in Harmar. He began at Watertown, afterwards removed to Waterford, and then to Harmar, where he had a store on the corner of Ohio and Monroe streets. He built the Exchange hotel about 1837, which proved an unfortunate investment. His store was sometime afterwards closed.
The extensive mercantile establishment now owned by Colonel W. C. Moore• was established by the Marietta Iron company.
Joseph Holden was prominent among the early business men. He came to Marietta in 1803 and opened a store in 1807. In 1837 he was succeeded by his sons, William, Joseph and James, who carried on the business under the firm name of W., J. & J. Holden, until January, 1843, when William retired. In 1852 James became sole proprietor. He closed the business in 1857. A sketch of Joseph Holden, sr., will be found in the chapter of general biography.
Stephen B. Wilson had a store in the early part of the century on the corner of Post and Muskingum streets in a building erected by Earl Sproat. He was a native of Virginia and married a daughter of Dr. Joseph Spencer of Vienna. Noah L Wilson, his son, was at a later period one of the prominent merchants of the place. He began as a clerk under Colonel Mills.
Opposite, on the corner of Montgomery and Muskingum, a store was kept by Mr. Avery, who began business before the Indian war.
Colonel Ichabod Nye opened a store in 1810 in a brick building erected for the purpose, on Putnam street, just above Front. He continued for many years in mercantile business.
John Mills entered the list of Marietta business men in 1815 in partnership with Dudley Woodbridge. His connection with mercantile trade continued until 1865. From 1835 until 1847, he was in partnership with Noah L. Wilson and W. F. Curtis; from 1847 to 1850 the firm was Mills, lams & Dana; in 1850 the firm became, Iams, Dana & Co.; in 1865 Mr. Mills closed his business with the firm of R. P. Iams & Co.
Nathaniel Dodge, of Hampton Falls, New Hampshire, came to Ohio for permanent settlement in 1804. He was a Revolutionary soldier and firm supporter of Washington. He purchased considerable property in Marietta where he died in 1838. Two of his sons entered into mercantile business in Marietta. Oliver Dodge was for a time a partner of Augustus Stone, in Harmar. He was afterwards captain and owner of a steamboat. He died in Marietta in 1836. Nathaniel, second, began business on Ohio street in partnership with Jonathan Crane. When this partnership dissolved Mr. Dodge engaged in business in Parkersburgh where he died. Mr. Crane removed the business to Muskingum street above the Phoenix mills. He continued business here until his death in 1821. Robert Crawford took charge of the store and managed it for the family after his death. Mr. Crane was a native of Hampton Falls, New Hamp-
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO - 367
shire. Three of the daughters of Nathaniel Dodge, first, married Marietta merchants; Sally married Jonathan Crain; Rebecca was first wife of Colonel Augustus Stone, and Hannah first wife of D. P. Bosworth.
Hat making was once a lucrative trade. Hat shops were as common and necessary in a town as shoe shops. The first hatter in Marietta of which we have any knowledge, was Seth Washburn, who had a shop on Ohio street. From the accounts of James Dunn we learn that a Mr. Scott carried on the business in Harmar. Jason R. Curtis was the first manufacturer and tradesman in this line, whose business was of a permanent character. He began during the War of 1812. In 1818 he associated in partnership James Dunn who had a shop up the river, and visited the towns down along the river, selling his goods. At a later period he worked for Mr. Scott, of Harmar, and for Mr. Curtis. He continued in partnership with Mr. Curtis until 1825, when the business came under his control. In 1839 John Allison bought the shop or store as it had by this time become. Mr. Allison continued in business about five years, during which time his store was political headquarters. He was appointed register of the treasury by President Lincoln, and served in that important capacity for a period of twelve years. Three stores at present make a specialty of hats and furnishing goods: S. C. Wilhelm, established in 1877; W. A. Sniffin, 1877, and W. B. Mason, 1880.
During the pioneer years clock makers like hatters travelled about the country hunting purchasers for their manufacture, and doing repairing. A Mr. Harrison was one of this kind of tradesmen. D. B. Anderson was probably the first practical jeweler. He came from . Utica, New York, and started a store on the corner of Front and Ohio streets, in 1817. He continued in business until 1854, when his son, D. B. Anderson, jr., came in charge, and has since been doing business on the corner of Front and Butler streets. J. W. Baldwin has been in this branch of business for some time. J. Whittling established a store in 1877.
S. and W. Slocumb, while in the shoe business, were agents for the American Bible society, and handled school and general books. The first book store, proper, was opened by Gurley & Cross, and McCoy & Stephens succeeded. From 1852 J. C. McCoy was proprietor until 1856, when C. E. Glines bought the stock, and has continued in the trade ever since. T. W. Morse opened a news depot in 1875. He also sells miscellaneous and school books.
In the early history of Marietta drugs were kept only by doctors whose offices were called apothecary shops. The first drug store was owned by Dr. Rignier, and was located on Ohio street, in "Flat-iron square." Dr. Regnier sold to Dr. John Cotton in 1818, who continued the business until his death in 1847. His son, J. D. Cotton, continued the business until 1850, when J. H. Hawes was associated in partnership, and the store was removed to near the corner of Front and Ohio streets. In 1851 the firm became Cotton & Buell, and in 1854 the store was removed to the Holden building on the opposite side of the street. Edward W. and William H. Buell purchased the store in 1856, and in z866 removed to the new building which they had erected a short distance above the old stand. E. W. Buell sold to W. H. Buell in 1869, and the firm changed to W. H. Buell & Co. in 1874. E. B. Perkins opened a drug store on the south side of Front street in 1848. This store was owned by Curier & Stimson, William Glines and others until 1864, when Hollister & Allen took charge. A. L. Curtis has owned the business since 1868. William Kayless opened a drug store on Front street, between the bridges, in 1856. He sold to Harte & Pearce, and they to Pearce & Treim. Theodore Treim now owns the business. A. J. Richards opened a store on the corner of Second and Green streets in 1875. Dr. J. C. Bartlett opened a store on Front street, near Putnam, in 187o. He sold to C. B. McCaskey in 1879.
Weston Thomas began business on Ohio street as early as 1820. He formed a partnership with D. C. Skinner and built a house on Ohio street, between Second and Front, where they had a store for a number of years. William B. Thomas succeeded.
Luther Edgerton began business with Dudley Woodbridge. He was for many years a successful merchant.
Abner L. Gitto opened a dry goods store in 1837 in the Clarke and Curtis building on Front street.
Samuel Shipman began business as a clerk under Colonel Mills in 1832. In 1837 he formed a partnership with his brother Charles and opened a dry goods store on Green street. In 1860 Samuel came into possession of the entire business and continued it until his death in 1880.
W. F. Curtis began a long and successful business career in 1841. He engaged more than any other merchant of his time in the southern trade spoken of in the introduction to this chapter. Mr. Curtis' name appears frequently in the sketch of banking.
The firm of William and Silas Slocumb were once prominent among Marietta business houses. Theirs was probably the first regular shoe store. They also carried on the manufacture of shoes on an extensive scale. Their cotemporaries in this branch of industry were W. L. Rolstan and Mr. Fisher, who remains in the business.
S. R. Turner began the dry goods business about 1850. In 1865 the firm became S. R. Turner & Son, and in 1881 S. R. Turner & Company. The store is situated on Front street, and is one of the largest and best stocked in the city.
Groceries have, until comparatively recent years, been kept in connection with other classes of goods. The principal individuals and firms now engaged in the grocery business are G. C. Best, established 1865; J. D. Otterbim, 1865; Jasper Sprague, 1862; Charles Weis, 1868; E. G. Brigham, 1871; F. R. Brenan, 1874; J. S. Stowe, jr., 1880; Lewis Hamlin, 1880, C. Schenkberg & Co., 1880.
The three-story building between Second and Third streets on Ohio, was erected by Wylis and Joseph E. Hall, about 1833. They occupied it as a boat store, having also a wharf boat. Their trade was largely with merchants in the surrounding country. Nearly all the
368 - HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO.
goods for merchants on the Muskingum were received here.
Daniel P. Bosworth and George H. Wells began the hardware business in Marietta in 1840, on the north side of Front street. On the opposite side of the alley were two stores in the Holden building, one a dry goods store belonging to P. Fleming, the other a grocery, conducted by William Holden. In 1845 the firm became Bosworth, Wells & Co. The dry goods store just mentioned was purchased the same year, and the grocery two years later. In the spring of 1859 the firm began the erection of a block on the corner of Front and Monroe streets, now occupied by their stores. On the ninth of May of that year the old buildings burned, and the business was carried on, until the completion of the new block, on Ohio street.
A. T. Nye opened a hardware store on Front street in 1848, and continues in the business as senior partner, the firm name at present being Nye Hardware Company. Next to Bosworth, Wells & Company, this is the oldest hardware establishment in the city.
Stoves are handled by the hardware trade, but there are also special stove and tinware stores. Luthinger, Reck & Co. began business in 1874, Theis & Etz in 1879.
In 1867 the firm of Smith & Rodick opened a hardware store in the Booth building on Front street. The members of the firm were John Smith and Henry and Bernard Rollick. In May, 1871, Mr. Smith died and in January, 1872, the firm name changed to Rodick Brothers. Their business increased rapidly, making it necessary for them to provide more commodious rooms. In the summer of 1878 the large, three-story brick building, a view of which is given on another-page, was erected exclusively for their own use. Their store is one of the largest and best arranged in the State. They do both a both a wholesale and retail business.
The first furniture store in Marietta was atarted by. Dana & Gray in 1855. Previous to that, furniture was made and sold in cabinet shops. Cabinet-makers of an early period were James M. Booth, Alexander Hill, Samuel Griggs, and a few others less known. The store started by Dana & Gray came into possession of J. W. Stanley in 1856. He continued the retail furniture business until 1881. Other stores are owned by Martin Schmidt, successor to Finley & Company, and Lewis Goebel.
TAVERNS.
Public houses of entertainment are either the strangers' paradise, or a place of persecution. This was as true in the eighteenth as it is in the nineteenth century, although the lapse of time has effected a transformation in their character. The good old familiar word tavern has given place to the more high-sounding term, hotel, and a stiff mind-your-own-business air reigns where once was good cheer around hospitable fireplaces. The ideal landlord was, in the olden time, a jolly, good natured host, who looked after the comfort of his guests. The snob of self assumed importance who now too frequently stands behind the hotel counters in our smaller cities was then an unknown nuisance.
The first tavern was erected in Marietta by General Joseph Buell. It stood on the corner of Front and Green streets, and was the first frame house built north of the Ohio river. The timbers for its construction were cut and hewn on the Monongahela, and floated down the Ohio. It seems strange that building material should be brought to a country full of the best timber. But it must be remembered that here tools were scarce and laborers few.
This house was painted red, and received the name of "Red House." Red was the prevailing color for houses, as the paint was cheap and durable. The tavern was in charge of Levi Munsel, and for several years was the principal house of entertainment in the settlement.
A building framed at the same place, and occupied as a tavern by Stephen Shepard, stood where G. C. Best's store on Ohio street is now located. The building was removed in 1822, to make room for the present two-story brick block. The Shepard House was a gay place during the period of early settlement.
Further up the river was the McFarlan House, built as early as 1797. Moses McFarlan was a favorite among the flat-boatmen, and his house was a place of happy revelry. The bar in all those taverns was handy, and the whiskey cheap.
The Brophy House, a few doors farther up, will be remembered by many yet living. It was opened by Casper Smith, a German, whose wife had a cake shop in the same building. Smith died, leaving a good sized bag of gold, and his wife soon after married John Brophy, an Irishman, who carried on the business. The cake shop was made a bakery, and the small inn a jolly tavern. Mr. Brophy became. quite wealthy. His house was Democratic headquaters.
Amos B. Harvey and Sampson Cole are also numbered among Marietta's landlords.
The hotel now known as the Brown House was built in the beginning of the century by Colonel Abner Lord for a residence. Caleb Emerson, Samuel Hoit, Rev. John Willard, and Dr. John Cotton resided in this house. After the death of Dr. Cotton in 1848, it was purchased by Charles Bizant and converted into a tavern.
The National House was built by A. W. Reckard.
The building now occupied by Mr. Gross, and known as the St. Cloud hotel, was built by Thomas Barker for a residence.
The Central House, on Second street, was built by Mrs. H. Reese, and opened as a hotel in 1880.
PHOTOGRAPHY.
W. P. Bennett opened a photographic gallery in 1862, and has been engaged in the art since that time. He has a valuable collection of pioneer photographs.
Cadwalleder & Tappan were at first located over the Bank of Marietta on Front street. In 1866 T. M. Tappan bought Mr. Cadwalleder's interest, and in 1868 Mr. Cadwalleder repurchased the instruments and has since been proprietor. In 1873 he removed to the Eell's building. A branch was opened at Parkersburgh in 1880.
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO - 369
TANNERIES.
Marietta has had and still has peculiar advantages in the tanning industry. The material chiefly used in the process of leather-making is bark, and in quality and quantity of this material Washington county is peculiarly well favored. The first attempt at more than a rural business was made by Thomas Vinton, of Philadelphia, who constructed the necessary apparatus on the lot bementween Front and Second streets, near Sacra Via. Through inexperience in business and ignorance of the science of tanning, Mr. Vinton was unable to make the business a success.
In 1848 a firm, consisting of William L. Rolston, D. L Skinner, Noah Wilson and William Nye, purchased the property from Mr. Vinton and began operations in 1845 after making many additions and repairs. This company, with a capital of fifty thousand dollars, soon found itself in possession of the largest business of the kind west of the Alleghany mountains. From 1860 to 1866 the firm of Skinner, Rolston & Co. had the reputation of having the model tannery of the west. About fifteen hundred cords of chestnut and oak bark were consumed annually, and the establishment had a capacity of five thousand skins per month. Agents of the firm were posted throughout the west for buying hides. St. Louis, Keokuk, Hamilton, Des Moines, and other Mississippi river towns being the principal points. Rough leathers were marketed in New York and Boston, fine leather in the west. Burning the tan was first successfully practiced in this establishment—a department of the business upon which advanced tanners had spent a great deal of money in experiments.
Another branch of industry carried on by this firm was the manufacture of quercitron. Black oak bark was easily obtained, and during the war the demand for this material was heavy. Tons of it were sent from Marietta to the eastern markets.
The death of William Nye made a reorganization of the firm necessary. In 1866 the buildings, grounds and machinery were sold at administrator's sale for eighteen thousand dollars; the stock invoiced twenty-five thousand dollars. This sale placed the establishment in the hands of A. Spencer Nye, of Chillicothe. The trade soon declined, and now the largest tanning establishment in Ohio is standing idle.
The first tannery in Marietta was established by Colonel Ichabod Nye in 1791. It was first located in the north part of the city. The business was afterwards permanently located on the corner of Sixth and Putnam ,streets, where it was continued till about 1820.
It is impossible even to name all who had previously engaged in this industry. Otis Wheeler was located on Green street, between Third and Fourth as early as 1826. James Furguson converted the Presbyterian church building on Third street below Green into a tannery after it had ceased to be used for the purpose for which it was built. The tannery on Second street near the Duck Creek railroad is an old stand. It was operated by J. H. Dye for twenty years and by him transferred to its present owner Mr. Meiser, and extensive business was estab lished in 1856, by John C. Fell, located near the Muskingum river. In the year 1862 the property was purchased by C. G. Fell, who continues to carry on the business. This tannery has one hundred vats and when operated to its full capacity, consumes five to eight hundred cords of bark annually. It has a capacity of fifteen hundred sides per annum.
G. Meister owns the largest tannery now operated in Marietta. It is located on Green street at the corporation line. Mr. Meister began in 1861 on a small scale, tanning about twenty-five hides per week. His establishment at present has a capacity of one hundred hides per week and consumes more than seven hundred cords of bark annually. Most of his hides are purchased in the city markets. The business is carried on to such an extent as to belong to the permanent industries of the town.
WOOLLEN MILLS.
For a long time the scheme was cherished by some of the most prudent and far sighted business men, of making Marietta a centre for the manufacture of wool. A trial, lacking nothing so far as investment of capital goes, was finally made by two wealthy companies. The bank accounts of each tell the result. The conditions seemed to promise success. Marietta, with abundant water, good transportation facilities, and located in the centre of an excellent wool producing territory, is apparently peculiarly adapted to this industry. Why, then, the failure? The reasons commonly assigned are, want of practical experience, prejudice throughout the west against home manufactured goods, and overpowering eastern competition.
The manufacture of woollen fabrics, during the period of early settlement, was a tedious and laborious process. The work was at first entirely done by hand. At a later period carding-machines were introduced while the washing and picking of the wool, spinning and weaving came under the list of domestic duties. The carding factories had connected with them machines for fulling and pressing the cloth. These factories were found very useful, and one or two were located at every centre of trade.
A factory for working cotton was built at Marietta in 1813, by a joint stock company, of which William Woodbridge, Joseph Holden, and S. P. Hildreth were directors. The building was located on Putnam street, between Fourth and Fifth, and was afterwards converted into the old academy. Dr. Nathan McIntosh and E. S. McIntosh, of Beverly, laid the brick. The property was afterwards purchased by Colonel Ichabod Nye, who carried on the business several years. About the same time Griffin Green built a factory on Fifth street. The machinery of both was run by horse-power.
Another horse-power machine was started about 1840, on Third street, below Green, by Joshua Taylor, and at a later period Mr. Hoff engaged in the business on a small scale.
But the enterprise which attracted attention, and from which great results were expected, was undertaken in 1850, by a joint stock company, with a capital of thirty thousand dollars. The lot on the "Point" was purchas-
370 - HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO.
ed in January, and a large three-story brick building erected during the spring and summer. Six sets of the best machinery then in use was purchased, and business was commenced early in 1851, under the management of Robert Crawford and Mr. Fargo. The establishment was run to its full capacity for about two years. During the year 1853 the burden was found too heavy to carry, and operations were suspended. In 1857, Skinner, Rolston & Company purchased the building and machinery, at a cost of fifteen thousand dollars. Confident of being able to make the business a success, this firm put in repairs to the value of ten thousand dollars. The business was conducted for a few years on extensive, and, taking into account the income, on an expensive scale. The enterprise was finally abandoned, and the property, in 1866, sold to A. T. Nye & Son for other purposes.
MARIETTA CHAIR COMPANY.
The Marietta chair factory is the most successful and extensive business enterprise ever located at Marietta. The manufacture of furniture was first extensively engaged in by L. D. Dana and William J. Gray, in 1855, in a building erected for the purpose on the corner of Putnam and Seventh streets, on the site of the main building of the present company's works. The firm of Dana & Gray continued to manufacture furniture until January 18, 1866, when the present incorporated company was formed, with John Mills, president, and A. S. Cooper, secretary and treasurer. When this company took charge of the establishment, it had a capital stock of thirty thousand dollars, seventy-five workmen were employed, and the annual product was seventy-five thousand dollars. The policy of adding the net profits to the capital stock was adopted, and in January, 1874, the company was found to possess a capital of ninety thousand dollars.
On the tenth of February, 1874, a disastrous fire occurred. The entire factory, including machinery and a large quantity of stock, was destroyed; the warehouses alone were saved. The loss was estimated at forty-five thousand dollars, insured for fifteen thousand.
This unfortunate circumstance did not lose to Marietta her most important industry. The company soon began the erection of the large and commodious building now occupied. The plan was designed by John Mills, jr. This structure is excellently adapted to the purpose for which it was built. It is five stories high, and in size one hundred and seventy by fifty-four feet, and is as nearly fire-proof as practicable.
A peculiarity in the method of management is worthy of mention. The company furnishes all the machinery and power. The work is then contracted, the workmen being employed by the contractors. Each department is operated separately, the work passing from one to the other, after an examination by the superintendent.
This factory has built up an excellent reputation. Its products, a general variety of chairs, tables, etc., find a ready market all over the country. The factory proper occupies a floor space of fifty thousand feet; the warehouses, thirty thousand, two hundred and fifty workmen and one hundred caning girls are given regular employ ment. The value of the product for the year ending July, 1880, was about two hundred thousand dollars. The officers of the company are: President, John Mills; secretary and superintendent, A. S. Cooper; treasurer, John Mills, jr.; foreman, J. M. Eells; directors, John Mills, John Mills, jr., J. M. Eells, J. W. Stanley and M. D. Follett (for estate of S. Shipman).
MARIETTA IRON WORKS.
A company of which William H. Brown, John G. Stevens, John A. Williams, and B. S. Higley, were the leading members, was formed in 1866, for the purpose of building a rolling-mill. The officers chosen were William H. Brown, president; B. S. Higley, secretary and treasurer; John A. Williams, superintendent. Property was purchased and mills erected in Marietta township, about one mile below Marietta. Operations during the first two years were confined to the manufacture of bar and hoop iron. In 1868 the property was purchased by a new company, composed of William P. Cutler, R. R. Dawes, William H. Brown, B. S. Higley, and J. G. Stevens. Operations were at once enlarged by the addition of a mill for the manufacture of railroad iron, fishplate, and spikes, making the capacity of the entire mill thirty thousand tons per annum. The first officers of this firm were William H. Brown, president; B. S. Higley, secretary. In 1870 R R. Dawes became president and T. D. Dale secretary and treasurer. From 1868 to 1873 the mills were operated to their full capacity, turning out nearly one million dollars worth of iron per annum, and employing two hundred and fifty men. It was the largest manufacturing industry during these years the county has ever had.
In 1873 a change of officers took place. The firm of Moore, Waters & Co., purchased the property, and in January, 1874, sold to J. A. Warner, who was at the head of a new company known as the Marietta Coke and Iron Company. James McArthur was vice-president and T. D. Dale secretary and treasurer. This company operated the works until 1876, when it succumbed to the general stagnation in the iron trade.
MARIETTA FOUNDRY.
The first movement toward establishing a foundry in Marietta was made by two men from Pittsburgh in 1829 —one a Mr. Dobbin, a machinist, the other Larkin McElfresh. They contracted with Mr. Augustus Stone for a lot of ground on the west side of the Muskingum, at the foot of the Lancaster road. They were unable to pay for it, but by the assistance of Colonel Stone and James Whitney they succeeded in borrowing two thousand dollars from the bank of Marietta. With this money they built a foundry room and put up a stack. They commenced manufacruring in the latter part of 1829. But want of means interfered with their success. The property passed into the hands of Colonel Stone and James Whitney. A. T. Nye purchased it from them in 183o, and commenced what has proved to be a permanent business. The building afforded floor room for only five or six molders. The metal was reduced in what was known as a hot-air furnace, which remained in use until about
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO - 371
1840. Mr. McElfresh was retained as founder. Mr. Dobbins returned to Pittsburgh. Attention was first given to the manufacture of hollow-ware—dinner-pots, stew-kettles, spiders, dog-irons, grate bars, and cast plows, an article just introduced into the country. Previously the "Hog Nose" and " Bar Shear" were the only plows in use. Mr. Nye purchased of the Woods' Sons the right to manufacture the Jethro's wood cast-iron plow. At this time Marietta was the only place in northeastern Ohio where they were manufactured, and they came into general use in Washington, Athens, Gallia, Meigs, Lawrence, Scioto, and Jackson counties.
The salt makers on the Muskingum had experienced great difficulty in obtaining a clear article of salt. They had been using kettles manufactured at Dillon's furnace on Licking creek. Mr. Nye began the manufacture of salt kettles, using the Scioto county iron, which proved satisfactory, and this branch became a large part of the business. Fulton & Mizer, Clemens & Sherwood, Luther D. Barker, Alexander Simmons, and M. Hook, all extensively engaged in the manufacture of salt, purchased their kettles at the Marietta foundry.
The character of the work of this establishment varied with the wants of the country. In 1832-3 fanning- mill irons were in great demand. The manufacture of seven and nine plate heating stoves began about the same time, also several forms of cooking stoves, all for wood. The manufacture of coal stoves did not begin until about 1856. Castings for mills were also turned out.
In 1854, A. T. Nye, jr., was associated in the business and the firm name became A. T. Nye & Son. In 1866 the old woollen mill property on the east side of the Muskingum, near the mouth, was purchased, a molding room was built on Post street, end the following year the business was removed. Stoves and hollow ware have been manufactured almost exclusively during the last five years. During 188o about eight hundred tons of iron were consumed.
FRANKS' FOUNDRY.
Owen Franks built a foundry and machine shop on Second street in 1840, and engaged in the manufacture of engines, stoves, plows and general machinery. In 1845 boat-building became an important part of the industry. Between 1845 and 187o about twenty large cotton steamers for the southern rivers were built by Mr. Franks, and supplied with machinery from his foundry. In 1850 the old buildings were removed, and the present commodious three-story shop erected. At present particular attention is given to the manufacture of engines and plows.
STRECKER'S BOILER WORKS.
George Strecker engaged in the manufacture of steam boilers in 1867. His shops located in Harmar, employ twelve men, and involve a capital of ten thousand dollars. Boilers of all kinds are manufactured, and repairing is an important branch of the business.
GAS WORKS.
An act was passed by the Ohio legislature March 6, 1857, incorporating the Marietta Gas company with a capital stock of fifty shares, one hundred dollars each. The incorporators named in the act are Z. Gingre, A. T. Nye, C. B. Hall, J. B. Hoval and A. T. Nye, jr. The first officers were: A. T. Nye, president; C. B. Hull, treasurer; A. T. Nye, jr., secretary. This company constructed the works, and continued to furnish gas at four dollars per thousand cubic feet until the beginning of 1867, when, on the ninth of January, the works passed into the hands of a new company, or rather a reorganization of the old company. The incorporators of the second company were: John Mills, D. C. Skinner, Beman Gates, Charles B. Hall, C. R. Leonard, Samuel Shipman, Thomas F. Jones, A. T. Nye, jr., and William Ward; capital stock, twenty-five thousand dollars. The officers elected were: Samuel Shipman, president; C. K. Leonard, treasurer, and Charles B. Hall, secretary. Colonel John Mills was elected president January I, 1880. The present (1881) stockholders are: Charles B. Hall, Samuel Shipman, J. R. Waters, M. D. Follett, John Mills, D. C. Skinner, Mrs. C. K. Leonard, Mrs. Charles B. Hall and James K. Hall.
The works are now operated under a ten years lease by Emerson McMillan. Murray McMillan is superintendent. A controlling interest in the stock of the first company was owned by non-residents who dropped out upon the organization of the second company. The works are located on Green street, and mains extend through all the principal streets of the city.
BOOKBINDING.
Bookbinding was first carried on in Marietta by Silas Slocomb in 1835. Mr. Slocomb was at that time engaged in the manufacture and sale of shoes and made bookbinding merely a contingent business. The industry was afterwards for a time connected with the book trade by Crawford & Gurley, J. C. McCoy, and J. C. Glines.
In 1870 G. K. Jenvey was associated with Mr. Glines. The business was owned from 1874 till 1881 by E. R. Alderman and G. K. Jenvey, and conducted under the name of the Marietta bindery. G. K. Jenvey has been proprietor since January, 1881.
LOCK WORKS.
In 1871 a company was organized and buildings erected in Harmar for the purpose of engaging in the manufacture of locks. Of this company C. A. Falkner was president, and Dr. C. C. Warner, secretary and treasurer. The business was seemingly successful for nearly two years. Business was suspended in 1873 with great loss to the stockholders. The property was purchased in 1881 by the firm of W. T. Robinson & Co. at less than one-third the original cost.
BEER MAKING.
The first brewery in Marietta was located on the corner of Sixth and Montgomery streets. It had been occupied in the manufacture of common beer for several years, when, in 1860, B. E. Stoehr began to make lager beer. The brewery on Second, near Washington street, was built by a Mr. Heldt in 1865. It was owned and operated by G. N. Castle till 1869, from whom it passed
372 - HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO.
into the hands of Rapp & Brother in 1869. George Schneider purchased the property in 1879, and has since been operating the establishment to its fullest capacity.
The old brewery on Montgomery street has been standing idle for some time.
BUCKET FACTORIES.
The shops in Harmar now owned by Putnam, Sons & Co., were established in 1850, by Darwin E. Gardner, who purchased land and erected buildings for general manufacturing purposes, in the upper part of the bottom. In 1852 the property was purchased by Putnam, Jewett & Co., and the works enlarged, and wooden-ware made a specialty. The shops came into possession of Pool & Co., in 1856, and during the same year were destroyed by fire, the loss being about thirty-five thousand dollars. The buildings were subsequently rebuilt, and the manufacture of engines became a large part of the business. Since 1864 the firm has been Putnam, Sons & Co. The manufacture of engines has been suspended. Capacity of bucket works, two thousand pieces per day.
MILLS.
Previous to 1811 there were no mills at the mouth of the Muskingum; Marietta and vicinity was dependent upon the mill at Devol's dam, which ground very. Considerable flour was supplied in wet mills on Wolf creek. The organ and building of a steam mill at He an important enterprise. This company consisted of David Putnam, William. Skinner, Fearing, Oliver Dodge, and Benjamin substantial stone building was erected in Om This mill was successfully operated for some time, but after water power had come into effectual use, the ground of competition with water-mills was found unequal The dividends of the company were small. The property, in 1847, was purchased by the Marietta Bucket company, which was organized that year.
In 1838 John O. Cram built a mill on the east bank of the Muskingum. This mill was successfully conducted by him until his death, 1860. The firm then became Cram & Conley, and in 1865 changed to Conley, Hall & Co. In 1871 Mr. Conley sold his interest to W. L. Rolston, and the firm name became Rolston, Hall & Co. The mill was in the meantime greatly enlarged and improved by the addition of modern machinery. The members of the firm at present are: W. L Rolston, Joseph E. Hall, C. B. Hall, and James Wilson. The machinery is driven by water power transmitted by a turbine wheel fifty-two inches in diameter. During seasons of high water steam is applied. There are eight run of buhrs, capable of producing three hundred barrels of flour per day. It is chiefly a merchant mill, and employs in all departments twenty men.
The mill on the Muskingum near the foot of Washington street was built by John Wentelker about 1850. After several changes of ownership it passed into the possession of Strauss, Elston & Co., in 1878. This mill has a capacity of about one hundred barrels per day.
In 1853, the firm of Smith, Chapin & Buzzard converted the old saw-mill in Harmar into a grist-mill. This mill is located below the lock and is now owned by Dirk & Co.
There have been saw-mills in Marietta since the year of the first settlement. They were of the kind known as whip-saws, and were very simple in construction and correspondingly slow in operation. The more substantial of the early houses were made of logs sawed to an equal thickness and carefully joined at the corners. Some old buildings made in this way are still standing. Saw-mills, as population increased, became so numerous that it is impossible to mention more than those which became permanent industries.
The Marietta planing-mill, located on Third street below Green, was built in 1850 by a company consisting of J. E. Hall, O. Franks, J. O. Cram, George H. Richards, and R. P. Robinson. J. E. Hall, at different times, bought out the other partners, and now owns the mill. The business, which consists in handling all kinds of lumber and shingles, and manufacturing doors, sash, blinds, etc., was conducted by John and George B. Hall from 1867 till 1876, since by John Hall. About twenty men are employed.
George F. Elston & Co., built a saw-mill at the foot of Sacra Via in 1860. It was purchased by the Marietta Chair company in 1874, and is occupied in general custom work and sawing-chair stock. The product for 1880 as thirty-four thousand dollars.
SMALLER MANUFACTURING.
William L. Bay is engaged in the manufacture of wagons, carriages, etc., on Second street. He has a complimentary local and general trade. Kelly & Brother also have a carriage factory on Second street. John Muisenhelder, Wilson & Morse, and Joseph A. Whitehead in Marietta, and W. B. Hollister, of Harmar, are engaged in the manufacture of tombstones and monuments.
BANKS AND BANKING.
Banking, in the early history of Ohio, was greatly disturbed by too much State interference. Banks were considered an important source of revenue, and the several laws regulating their establishment and management were framed with a view to making them profitable institutions to the State. The Bank of Marietta was subject to each of the several laws passed prior to 1845, and a sketch of those laws will give us a glimpse of the inside history of the corporation.
The earliest bank chartered was the Miami Exporting company, of Cincinnati, the bill for which was passed in April, 1803. Banking was with this company a secondary object, its main purpose being to facilitate trade, then much depressed; nor was it till 1808 that the first bank, strictly speaking, was chartered. During the same session the proposition of founding a State bank was considered and reported upon. It resulted in the establishment of the Bank of Chillicothe.
From that time charters were granted to similar institutions up to 1816, when the great banking law was passed, incorporating twelve new banks, extending the charters of old ones, and making the State a party in the
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO - 373
profits and capital of the institutions thus renewed without any advance of means on her part. This was done in the following manner: Each new bank was at the outset to set apart one share in twenty-five for the benefit of the State, without payment, and each bank whose charter was renewed was to create for the State stock in the same proportion. Each bank, new and old, was yearly to set out of its profits a sum which would make, at the time the charter expired, a sum equal to one twenty-fifth of the whole stock, which was to belong to the State, and the dividends coming to the State were to be invested and reinvested until one-sixth of the stock was State property. The last provision was subject to change by future legislatures.
This interest of the State in her banks continued until 1825, when the law was so amended as to change her stock into a tax of two per cent. upon all dividends made up to that time, and four per cent. on all made thereafter. But before the law of 1816, in February. 1815, Ohio had begun to raise a revenue from her banking institutions by levying upon their dividends a tax of four per cent. This law, however, was made null with the banks which accepted the terms of the law of 1816. After 1825 no change was made until March, 1831, when the tax was increased to five per cent.
Two important acts have since been passed by the legislature, to which we can only refer. In 1839 a law was passed appointing bank commissioners, who were to examine the various institutions and report upon their condition. This inquisition was resisted by some of the banks, and much controversy followed, both in and out of the general assembly.
In 1845 a new system of banking was adopted, embracing both the State bank and its branches and independent banks.
BANK OF MARIETTA.
The first corporation in the State which exercised banking powers exclusively, was chartered February to, 1808, as the Bank of Marietta. The directors named in the charter were Rufus Putnam, president; Benjamin I. Gilman, William Skinner, Paul Fearing, Dudley Woodbridge, Earl Sproat, and David Putnam. This charter was for the term of ten years.
The bank began business with David Putnam cashier in the stone building on the west bank of the Muskingum river, a short distance above the dam and dock.
In 1813 the bank was moved to the Marietta side of the Muskingum, and occupied a one-story brick building located on the lot on Front street, above the Congregational church, where the residence of Charles R. Rhodes now is. About the time this change was made David Putnam resigned the cashiership, and was succeeded by David S. Chambers, who served in that capacity until 1815, when Alexander Henderson was elected to that position. While Mr. Henderson was cashier occurred the only attempt at bank burglary or robbery in Marietta. An attack was made upon Ceorge W. Henderson, a clerk, one dark, rainy night, while he was on his way to the bank to retire. The robber struck a heavy and unexpected blow, but the carrier of the keys was protected to such an extent by an umbrella that a severe stunning was the only result. Mr. Henderson raised the alarm and the robber made his escape.
In 1816 the charter, although not yet having expired, was extended, under the banking act of 1816, to January 1, 1843. Benjamin Putnam became cashier in 1822, and continued to hold the office until his death in 1825. William B. Barnes discharged the duties of the position until Arius Nye, esq., was elected in May, 1826. The bank purchased the lot and commenced the erection of a building on the north corner of Putnam and Front streets in 1831. This building was designed for a banking house and residence for the cashier or other officers. The first vault was constructed in this building, and when the place of business was removed April 1, 1833,
from the old building, the on first safe was thrown out as a valueless article. This safe, merely a heavy plank chest, barred with iron and secured by a padlock, is now in possession of the Bank of Marietta, and has been, for several years, exhibited as a relic at the Cincinnati expositions. A. T. Nye, who succeeded his brother Arius as cashier in 1838, occupied the residence part of the building from 1833 until it was sold to Joseph Holden. Business was suspended at the expiration of the charter on the first of January, 1843.
The successive presidents of this bank were Rufus Putnam, Benjamin I. Gilman, Dudly Woodbridge, Levi Barker, and John Mills. Of the last named gentleman an old citizen and banker has written : "The name of Colonel John Mills was long and favorably connected with this institution, he having served as president for many years, and in that capacity established the reputation of an honest, liberal and sagacious financier."
THE BANK OF MARIETTA,
a branch of the State Bank of Ohio, was organized and commenced business November 3, 1845, under the name of the Bank of Marietta, with John Mills president and Noah L. Wilson cashier. Business was conducted in the building occupied by the preceding bank for about two years, when the block on the east side of Front street, a few doors north of Green, was purchased and fitted up with a heavy vault and other modern furniture. On December 12, 1848, J. R. Crawford was appointed assistant cashier, and on December 12, 1849, I. R. Waters became clerk. February 4, 1831, I. R. Waters was appointed assistant cashier in place of J. R. Crawford, resigned. February 4, 1857, Noah L. Wilson resigned the cashiership and I. R. Waters was elected to the office. Colonel John Mills continued president until near the close of the charter, when the institution closed its business and gave place to the Marietta National bank, which began business March 14, 1865.
FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF MARIETTA.
Under the act of Congress "to provide a National currency secured by a pledge of United States stocks, and to provide for the circulation and redemption thereof," approved February 25, 1863, articles of association organizing a National bank in Marietta were entered into November 14, 1863.
374 - HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO.
The First National Bank of Marietta was fixed upon as the name of the association. Fifty thousand dollars was then subscribed as the capital stock of the bank, to be increased (subject to the limitations of the act) to two hundred thousand dollars. On the same day the stockholders (seven in number) proceeded to elect seven directors, as provided in the articles of association. The directors at once elected a president and cashier and appointed a committee to prepare by-laws, to be submitted to the directors at their next meeting.
On the twenty-fifth of the same month the committee reported by-laws, which were adopted. At the same meeting the stockholders were "required to pay fifty per cent of their subscriptions forthwith," which they did and more too, some paying the entire amount. A certificate to the amount paid, and that the necessary provisions of the law preparatory to commencing business had been complied with, was delivered to the comptroller of the currency on the third of December, and that officer, the next day, issued his certificate of authority for the association to commence banking.
The number of the bank on the offrcial list is one hundred and forty-two. The room now (1881) occupied by Adams Express company, on Front street, was rented and fitted up for temporary use during the month of December, 1863, and on the fourth of January, 1864, the bank commenced business there.
The first circulating notes of the bank were received from the comptroller of the currency February 18, 1864. In November, 1864, the building at the corner of Front and Green streets, known as "Holden's corner," was purchased, a plan of alterations and improvements was adopted and committeee appointed to supervise the work of reconstruction and of building a vault for the safes and books of the association. During the summer of 1865 this work was carried on, and early in November of that year, the bank took possession of the new building.
CAPITAL STOCK.
As stated above, the bank commenced business with a capital of fifty thousand dollars. The next month, February, 1864, the directors voted that the capital stock might be increased fifty thousand dollars before the first of the succeeding May. This increase was promptly taken. In May, 1872, another increase of fifty thousand dollars was voted and taken by the then stockholders. The capital has not been changed since the payment of the second increase in July, 1872, but remains at one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Semi-annual dividends have regularly been paid the stockholders—the one of November, 1880, having been the thirty-fourth since the bank was organized.
DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS.
During the first three years of the bank's existence the number of directors was seven. At the stockholders' meeting in January, 1867, the articles of association were so amended as to reduce the number, and since that time the board has consisted of but five members.
The list of directors (arranged in the order of their election) at this time, January, 1881, is as follows: Beman Gates, M. P. Wells, J. \V. Andrews, C. B. Wells, and John Mills. Mr. Gates has been a director from the organization of the bank, also M. P. Wells, except during the year 1865. Mr, Andrews was first elected in 1867. C. B. Wells was elected in 1869, to succeed D. P. Bosworth, who had been a member (except for the year 1866), from the organization of the bank until his death in June, 1869. Colonel Mills was elected in September, 1877, to succeed Silas Slocomb who died the preceding July, after having served in the board ten and a half years. It thus appears that no changes have been made in the board of directors during a period of fourteen years, except to fill two vacancies caused by death.
Mr. Gates has been president from the date of the organization. The first vice-president was John Newton. He was elected in January, 1865, and held the office two years. He was succeeded by M. P. Wells, who still holds the office. William F. Curtis was the first cashier, and held the office through the years 1864 and 1865. Daniel P. Bosworth succeeded Mr. Curtis, and held the office three years—from January, i866, to January, 1869. Edward R, Dale entered the service of the bank as teller in 1865, was elected assistant cashier in June, 1867, and was promoted to the cashiership as successor to Mr. Bosworth, in January, 1869. He is still cashier. Edward M. Booth was first employed in the bank in November, 1866, as teller, In 1870 he succeeded Mr. Dale as assistant cashier, and yet holds the office.
THE MARIETTA NATIONAL BANK
organized with Douglas Putnam president and I. R. Waters cashier, and began business in the rooms formerly occupied by the Bank of Marietta, on the fourteenth of March, 1865. January 8, 1867, F. E. Pearce was appointed cashier in place of I. R, Waters, resigned. I. R. Waters was elected president in place of Douglas Putnam, resigned, January 18, 1870. F. E. Pearce resigned the cashiership January 31, 1871, and D. G. Mathews was appointed to fill his place. Charles B. Hall became vice-president January 28, 1873, A. B. Waters became cashier August 31, 1875. Business was continued without any change until March 2, 1876. On that date the Marietta National bank, having closed up its business, the
BANK OF MARIETTA
was organized, as a private bank, with I. R. Waters president and A. B. Waters cashier. The business has been continued in the same building, purchased by the Bank of Marietta in 1847. A large fire and burglar proof Hall safe was purchased April 1, 1880. A striking contrast is presented when this heavy iron safe, with massive doors secured by combination and time locks, is compared with the wooden chest of which it is a successor.
BANK OF EXCHANGE.
The firm of Benedict Hall & Co., consisting of George Benedict, Charles B. and John Hall and G. G. Mathews, opened a banking house on Green street, in the Booth building, in 1854. This association closed up its business in March, 1859.
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO - 375
THE BANK OF MARIETTA.
John Newton and W. F. Curtis fitted up the building near the corner of Front and Ohio streets, and opened a bank known as the Bank of Marietta, June r, 1868. John Newton was president and W. F. Curtis cashier. They continued the business until February 1, 1871, when they disposed of both building and business to a new association known as the
UNION BANK.
This bank, of which Douglas Putnam was president and F. E. Pearce cashier, was organized under the partnership laws of Ohio, in January, 1871. Business was discontinued at the end of the term of partnership—five years.
DIME SAVINGS SOCIETY.
The Dime Savings society was organized in January, 1872, through the efforts of Professor John L Mills, who has acted as president ever since. The object of the incorporators was to establish an institution which would afford the industrious and frugal opportunities of safe investments of small sums. The general plan is to pay depositors a semiannual dividend on the money invested. W. H. Johnson was the first treasurer. Charles Newton next served in that capacity. He was succeeded by William Holden.
The society began business on the east side of Front street. In 1876 the room on the west side, formerly occupied by the Union bank, was then secured.
OIL BUSINESS.
Petroleum has been an important source of wealth in this county. The two sections where oil has been obtained are on Cow run, in Lawrence township, and at Macksburgh, in Aurelius. Reference is made to the chapters on those towns for a detailed sketch. Seneca oil was, for a number of years before, obtained in Pennsylvania and handled by the firm of Bosworth, Wells & Company, at Marietta. Their first purchase was in 1843, from Hughes River, West Virginia. This firm handled about two hundred barrels per year, most of their sales being to manufacturers of liniments in larger cities. The "Mustang Liniment" firm was supplied from Marietta.
Since the first oil was produced in this county, in 1860, the total production has been nearly twelve times as much as all the other counties combined. The wells in the Cow Run region were most productive, but then, as at Macksburgh, the supply seems to be exhausted, and the pumps bring to the surface only limited quantities.
The first light crude oil sold in Marietta came from the Hoff farm, on Cow run. It was purchased by William Greenhill, in the summer of 1860. He sent it (ninety barrels) to Zanesville to have it refined.
The first oil refinery was built by M. Hodkinson, on the Muskingum river, just outside the corporation line, in 1861, and was run by Mr. Hodkinson and his sons, and Mr. Greenhill. In 1862, Madison McAllister and William Greenhill started a refinery about two miles above Marietta, on the Newport turnpike. A refinery was started on the corner of Second and Montgomery streets, in 1862, by R. P. Jams and George Hodkinson, and was afterwards owned by R. P. Jams & Son. William Greenhill and Thomas Hodkinson built a refinery on Third street, between Ohio and Green, in 1863, but the concern was soon declared a nuisance, under the laws of Ohio, and was removed to near the mouth of Little Muskingum, and is the one now owned by O. M. Lovell & Son. William McCarty built a refinery on Green's road, near Fultonburgh, about 1863, which was afterwards removed to the present site, below Harmar, on the Ohio river. The Hodkinson refinery was burned in 1868, and was a severe loss to its owner. W. H. Buell became associated with Mr. Hodkinson in 1868, and their connection continued about four years, during which time the refinery was rebuilt and the business conducted successfully.
The refining business was quite profitable during the early years of the oil business, until about 1868. The panic of 1873 was disastrous to this industry. Failures were the rule rather than the exception. The Standard Oil company, one of the most gigantic monopolies in this country, was formed soon after, and made the blow doubly heavy. The leading railroads of the country were drawn into the Standard monopoly, and private arrangements were made for a rebate on freight rates. To such an extent was this carried that almost all the refiners of this part of the country were compelled to sell or combine with the Standard company, or were broken Up.
The Ohio oil works, which is now the largest refinery in this section, having a capacity of twenty-five hundred barrels per week, was established in 1875, by Charles Leonard and George Rice. Mr. Rice purchased the property in 1877, and made extensive improvements. The Argand oil works, an extensive refinery situated one mile below Harmar, was built in 1878, and is owned by R. P. Jams and T. D. Dale. The business has been good for a few years, and refiners are making up for previous losses. The production of crude oil has been decreasing since 187o, and the low price discourages prospecting for new wells.
CHAPTER XXVI.
MARIETTA—NAVIGATION.
Ship-Building in 1800—Commodore Whipple and the St. Clair—List of Sea-going Vessels Built at Marietta Before the Passage of the Embargo Act—The Second Period of Ship-Building—The Barques Muskingum and Marietta—First Steamboat on the Ohio—General Remarks on the River Navigation—Its Advancement—Explosions in Early Years—List of Steamboats Built at Marietta and Harmer— River Improvement Along the Shore of Washington County—Navigation of the Muskingum—The Trip of the Rufus Putnam—First Boat to Marietta After the Slack Water Improvements Were Made.
SHIP-BUILDING.
Curiously enough the energies of the Marietta people in the line of navigation were first directed to the far away ocean. They built ships instead of river boats, and Ma-
376 - HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO.
rietta, two thousand miles from the sea, was made a port of clearance from which barques and brigs, full-rigged and laden with the produce of the country, sailed for foreign ports.
Ship-building was commenced in Marietta in the year 1800, and was a flourishing industry and very beneficial to the village until stopped in 1808 by Jefferson's unwelcome and unjust "embargo act." The first ship built was a small one—a brig—of one hundred and ten tons, named the St. Clair, in honor of the governor of the Northwest Territory. She was built for Charles Greene & Company by Stephen Devol. The St. Clair took a cargo of flour and pork, and in May, 1800, cleared for Havana, Cuba, under the command of Commodore Whipple, a gallant mariner of the Revolution, by whose hand had been fired the first gun at the British upon the ocean. The brig passed the falls of the Ohio in safety, and arrived at New Orleans early in July, where she lay for several days while taking in stores, anchored in the Mississippi, not tying up at the landing on account of the high price charged for that privilege by the Spanish. Before the close of July the St. Clair started for Havana, and Comodore Whipple was again upon the ocean wave with which he had been so familiar in his younger days. The occasion of the old commodore's return to the sea was made the subject of some verses by Captain Jonathan Devol, of Marietta. Neptune and the tritons are supposed to welcome the brave sailor:
The triton crieth,
'Who cometh now from shore?'
Neptune replieth,
"Tis the old commodore.'
Long has it been since I saw him before.
In the year seventy-five from Columbia he came,
The pride of the Briton on ocean to tame;
And often, too, with his gallant crew
Hath he crossed the belt of ocean blue.
On the Gallic coast
I have seen him tost,
While his thundering cannon lulled my waves
And roused my nymphs from their coral caves,
When he fought for freedom with all his braves
In the war of the Revolution.
But now he comes from the western woods,
Descending slow with gentle floods,
The pioneer of a might train,
Which commerce brings to my domain.
Up, sons of the wave,
Greet the noble and the brave—
Present your arms unto him.
His grey hair shows
Life's near its close;
Lets pay the honors due him.
Sea maids attend with lute and lyre,
And bring your conches my Triton sons;
A chorus blow to the aged sire
A welcome to my dominions."
Commodore Whipple was the only man upon the St. Clair on this trip who understood navigation and had he met with accident, incapacitating him for service, the ship would have been at the mercy of the waves. The crew was made up mostly of landsmen. The first and second mates were good common sailors, but not competent to take an observation pr ascertain latitude. The St. Clair sailed in safety to the Cuban capital where her cargo was disposed of at advantageous terms. The money received for the flour and pork being invested in a cargo of sugar, the brig sailed in August for Philadelphia, Commodore Whipple in the meantime having met his son John, an accomplished navigator, whom he engaged as mate. Nearly all of the crew were taken sick with yellow fever before reaching Philadelphia and some of them before leaving the Cuban coast. Several died. The voyage was a remunerative one for the owners and encouraged the enterprising men of Marietta so that they continued building ships and sending them down the river to the sea. The St. Clair, which was the first rigged vessel built upon the Ohio, was sold in Philadelphia and her commander returned to Marietta by land.
The St. Clair was built near the foot of Monroe street, where Charles Greene & Co. established their shipyard. Several others were established about the same time. Benjamin Ives Gilman had one on the Harmar side of the river where the lock works are now located. Edward W. Tupper built ships at the foot of Putnam street on the Marietta side of the Muskingum. Colonel Abner Lord had a shipyard near where the Phoenix mills now stand. Colonel Joseph Barker built several ships and boats about six miles up the Muskingum, among the latter the flotilla engaged by Aaron Burr.
The following is a list of the ships built at Marietta at an early period, together with names of owners and commanders, furnished Colonel Ichabod Nye by James Whitney, Charles Greene & Company's master builder:
Brig St. Clair, 110 tons, Charles Greene & Co., built by Stephen Devol, in 1800, commanded by Commodore Whipple.
Ship Muskingum, built by J. Devol for B. I. Gilman, in 1801, 200 tons, Captain Crandon.
Brig Eliza Green, built by J. Devol for Charles Greene in 1801, 130 tons, Captain Hodgkiss.
Brig Marietta, by J. Whitney for Abner Lord, in 1802, Captain O. Williams, 50 tons.
Brig Dominic, by S. Crispin for D. Woodbridge, jr., 1802, Captain Lattimore, 140 tons.
Schooner Indiana, by J. Barker for E. W. Tupper, in 1802, Captain Merrill, 80 tons.
Brig Mary Avery, by D. Skilinger for . Avery, 1802, Captain Prentiss, 50 tons.
Ship Temperance, 230 tons, built by James Whitney for A. Lord, in 1804, Captain Williams.
Brig Orlando, built by J. Barker for E. W. Tupper, in 1803, 160 tons, Captain Miner.
Schooner Whitney, built by J. Whitney for A. Lord.
Schooner McGrath, built by J. Whitney, for A. Lord, in 1803, Captains Williams and Wilson. 70 tons.
Brig Ohio, 170 tons, built by J. Devol. for McFarland & Co., in 1804, Captain Rose.
Brig Perseverance, 170 tons, by J. Whitney for B. I. Gilman, in 1805, Captain Wilson.
Ship Rufus King, 300 tons, by J. Whitney for Clark and B. 1. Gilman, in 1806, Captain Clark.
Two gun-boats, by T. Vail for E. W. Tupper, in 1806.
Ship Tuscarawas, 320 tons, by W. McGrath,—Marshall S. Jones for A. Lord, 1806.
Ship I. Atkinson, by W. McGrath, for A. Lord, 320 tons, 1806.
Brig Hope, by A. Miller for Charles Greene, 120 tons,
Ship Francis, copper fastened, 350 tons, by J. Whitney for B. I. Gilman, Captain Wilson, 1807.
Ship Robert Hale, 300 tons, by J. Whitney for B. I. Gilman, Captain Holden, 1807.
Brig Golet, 120 tons, by W. McGrath for A. Lord, Captain Bennet, 1807.
Brig Rufus Putnam, 50 tons, by W. McGrath, Colonel Lord, Captain —
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO - 377
Schooner Belle, 103 tons, by J. Whitney for Gilman and Woodbridge, Captain Boyle, 1808.
Schooner Maria, by J. Whitney for B. I. Gilman, 70 tons, 1814.
It will be noticed that all but one of the above mentioned boats were built prior to the passage of the embargo act. This was a severe blow to Marietta. Ship. building had become an important industry and employed a large number of men. Three rope-walks were in operation to supply the rigging and cordage for the ships. These, too, were of course suspended by the passage of the act. No other town in the whole country was injured so much in proportion to its size by this measure as Marietta.
Ship-building was not resumed until 1844. In the summer of this year the Marietta Ship company was organized, consisting of John Mills, William and S. Slocomb,. Bosworth & Wells, William R. Wells, John O. Cram, and A. T. Nye, and subsequently Nye & Hayward. A shipyard was opened where the Phoenix mills now stand. The company emplowed Captain Ira Ellis, of Portland, Maine, as master builder, and Captain William R. Wells as superintendent of construction. The first ship built was the Muskingum, launched in January, 1845. She was rigged at Marietta, with the exception of her sails which were made in Boston and sent to New Orleans. She was placed in command of Captain William R. Wells, and on the first of March left Marietta, being towed to Cincinnati, where she took on a load of pork, lard, and oil-cake. From Cincinnati she was towed to New Orleans, and, securing her sails, departed for Liverpool. At the latter place she took a return cargo and sailing for Boston, reached that port in safety and was sold.
In the meantime, the Marietta, the exact counterpart of the Muskingum, had been built by the same.company. Captain Wells took her from the mouth of the Mississippi to Boston with a cargo partly from Cincinnati and partly from New Orleans. Not finding a sale for her at Boston, as he had expected to, Captain Wells made two voyages to Cuba and one to Savannah. He then went to Montevideo with a cargo of salt. While there (on shore) he heard the name Muskingum spoken, and turning in the direction of the voice he saw a young man with a spy-glass watching a vessel coming into port. As she neared the harbor Captain Wells saw that it was indeed the Muskingum. She came to anchor by the side of the Marietta, and the sister barques, built at the same yard upon the same draft and 'measurements (they were each of about two hundred and fifty tons capacity) were thus united in a foreign port.
About the time the Marrietta was built the business of the company was placed in control of A. T. Nye, esq. The brig Waldhoning, of about two hundred and forty tons, was built by the Marietta Ship company in 1847, and left Marietta with Captain Jacob Cram as supercargo, and Captain Conway, of Portland Maine, as navigator. Taking on a load of pork at Madison, Indiana, she went down the Mississippi and to New York. Returning to New Orleans for an other cargo she got back to New York so late that she was quarantined and compelled to remain outside so long that her cargo was considerably damaged. She was sold at New York.
The company built three schooners—the America and the Grace Darling, for a Mr. Kimball, of Salem, Massachusetts, each about one hundred and thirty tons capacity, and another of about the same size for a Mr. Cochrane of New Orleans.
A. B. and I. R. Waters built, in 1846, the barque John Farnum, their yard being at the point where A. T. Nye's foundry now stands. She was of two hundred and forty-nine tons burden. The John Farnum was launched in February, 1847, and towed to Portsmouth. She there took on a cargo of corn, went down the river and in May, 1847, during the great famine in Ireland, arrived at Cork. From there she returned to Philadelphia and was sold to the firm of Potter, McKeever & Co., of that city. Captain A. B. Waters had charge of the vessel and cargo, and Captain George Hatch was navigator. He was afterwards mayor of Cincinnati. The master builder of the John Farnum was Captain William Knox, of Harmar.
The last ship built in Washington county was one constructed at Little Hocking by a Captain Roberts, of California. She went out in 1866.
OHIO RIVER NAVIGATION.
In 1811 the Orleans, the first steamboat to descend the Ohio, passed Marietta. She was succeeded by the Comet, the Vesuvius, the Enterprise, the AEtna, the Dispatch, the Buffalo, the James Monroe, and in 1816 by the Washington. The Washington was the first boat whose success demonstrated the navigation of the western rivers to be practicable. This boat exploded her boilers near Harmar June 7, 1816. All the men on board except two or three .were scalded, and six of them died. One man was blown overboard and drowned. Although several ladies were on board, they escaped without injury. The Washington was afterwards repaired and used in clearing out the Red river raft, and also was run on the river below Louisville. She was worn out in 1822. She was two hundred and twelve tons burthen.
The whole system of river navigation has undergone a vast and radical change since 1827. At that date towing was unknown. Everything was carried on the boat. Once in a while a boat would tow a disabled boat into port, but such things as barges were unheard of. The towing business began in the decade 1830-40. A few coal barges were first towed. Now the largest boats that pass -Marietta take three hundred thousand bushels of coal in one tow. The average boat takes from one hundred and forty thousand to one hundred and sixty thousand bushels. This coal is towed from the Monongahela to Louisville for less than two cents a bushel.
An ordinary boat, from 1827 to 183z, was about one hundred feet long, eighteen feet beam, and about six feet hold, very strongly built. When light such a boat would draw from three and a half to four feet, and when loaded about six feet. She would carry from forty to eighty tons. Such a boat would have two boilers about twenty feet long and three feet in diameter.
An ordinary boat of the present date is from two hun-
378 - HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO.
dred to two hundred and thirty-five feet long, about thirty-six feet beam, six feet hold, draws only twenty inches light and about six feet loaded, carries from six hundred to eight hundred tons, and only has about twice the amount of boiler. The speed is very much greater than in the old days, with less steam in proportion to the size and load. The larger boats navigating the Ohio carry from fourteen hundred to eighteen hundred tons, and have less draft when light than the old boats had.
This wonderful increase in carrying capacity is owing to the vast improvements in boat-building, the boats being now made lighter and flat-bottomed. The increase in speed is owing to the great improvements in the machinery, better construction of furnaces, larger wheels, and a better proportioned power, and also to the burning of coal instead of wood. The improvement in the management of boats is also very great. The old habits of reckless intemperance among officers have, in a large measure, died out. Officers are carefully selected.,
The explosion of the Washington in 1816 has already been spoken of. There were quite a number of similar accidents during the early years of river navigation-far more than at present. The steamboat Kanawha exploded at Guyandotte June 24, 1829. This was one of the most serious casualties on the river. Four persons were instantly killed; four more died very shortly after, from injuries sustained, and quite a number of others were seriously hurt. Captain Hiram Burch, of Marietta, one of the pilots, but not at the time on duty, was thrown a considerable distance into the water and badly bruised. Caytain Burch in his long experience upon the river met with several other accidents, but by a strange providence escaped death.
The steamboat Tri-color, Captain N. Drown, of Harmar, exploded at Wheeling, April 19, 1831. Captain Drown was killed and also Henry Cherry, Joseph Wortsell, and O. B. Nowland, of Marietta. Eight persons were killed and the same number severely injured.
Washington county was, as we have seen, identified at wady date in navigation and has always been largely interested in it. The boat yards of Harmar and Marietta have furnished a very large number of the boats engaged in the river navigation, as well as some ocean ships. Many a green country boy has started from Marietta for his first sea voyage. In the decade from 1820 to 1830 boat building began and has always been carried on quite extensively. Harmar has been the chief point for boat building in the county. Many boats have been built at Marietta, and a few small ones at other points. As complete a list as can be gotten of the boats built in Marietta and Harmar is here given.
STEAMBOATS BUILT AT MARMAR AND MARIETTA.
The steamer Mechanic, built near Marietta by Mr. Mitchell, owned by Captain Hall and others, 1823.
The steamer Rufus Putnam, built at Marietta for Captains Green and Dodge, 1823.
The steamer Red River, built t Harmar by James Whitney, for Captain Runbell, 1823.
The steamer Marietta, built at Harmar by James Whitney, and owned by Whitney and Stone, 1823.
The steamer Muskingum, built at Marietta by Hatch, for J. Rice and others, 1825.
The steamer Cherokee, built at Harmar by J. Whitney, for the tractors at Muscle Shoals, Tennessee, 1826.
The steamer Oregon, built by Captain J. Whitney and owned himself and others, 1826.
The steamer Herald, built at Harmar by Captain J. Whitney, Reating and Clark, 1826-27.
The steamer Isabella, built by Captain J. Whitney, owned by Captains Fearing, Green and others, 1826-27.
The steamer Atlantic, built at Harmar, by Captain J. Whitney, Louisville contractors, 1831.
The steamer Chesapeake, built at Harmar by Captain Whitney, Reating and Clark, 1831.
The steamer Java, built at Harmar, by Captain J. Whitney, Captain Fearing and others, 1832.
The steamer Dispatch, built at Harmar by Hook & Knox, Knox & McKee, 1833.
The steamer Philadelphia, built at Harmar by Hook & Knox, fey Captain Dobbin, 1933.
The steamer Josephine, built at Harmar by Hook & Knox, for Cap. min Dobbin, 1833.
The steamer Tuscumbia, built at Harmar by Hook & Knox, for Captain Dobbin, 1824.
The steamer Hudson, built at Harmar by Hook & Knox, for Captain Dobbin, 1935.
The steamer Baltimore, built at Harmar by Captain William Keen, for Captain Weightman, 1836.
The steamer John Mills, built at Marietta by William Knox, foe Captain Bosworth, 1936.
The steamer Stephen Girard, built at Harmar by Captain Witliam Knox, for James Phillips, 1834.
The steamer Baltic, built at Harmar, 1836-37.
The steamer John Hancock, built at Harmar by Captain J. Whitney, for parties not now remembered, 1837.
The steamer Eclipse, built at Harmar by J. W. Whitney for Captain Knowles, 1837.
The steamer Orion, same place, same builder, 1837. The steamer Isabella, same place, same builder, 1838.
The steamer Ann Calhoun, built at Harmar by Hook & Knox and owned by Columbus George, 1838.
The steamer Victoria, built at Harmar by William Knox and owned by . Hook, of Mobile, Alabama, 1838.
The steamer Southerner, built at Harmar by William Knox Charles Barney, of Mobile; Alabama, 1839.
The steamer Zanesville, built at Harmar by Whitney & Sharp, fee Mr. Hutchinson and others of Zanesville, 1839.
The steamer Ganesville, same builders, owned by George Parker and others of Ganesville, 1839.
The steamer Elizabeth, built 1t Harmar by William Knox for Captain Miller, 1842.
The steamer Winfield Scott, built at Marietta by William Knox for Captain A. DeVinney, 1847.
The steamer Yallabusha, same place and same builder as above, owned by -, 1847.
The steamer Empress, built at Harmar by William Knox for Captain Cox, 1848.
The steamer J. E. Thompson, built at Harmar by William Knox for the engineers on the Muskingum, 1849.
The steamer Little Thunder, same builder, same place, and same owners, 1849.
The steamer Tiber, built at Harmar by William Knox for Washington Kerr, 1850.
The steamer Buckeye Belle, same place, same builder, owned by Captain H. Stull, 1850.
The steamer William Knox, built by William Knox, at Harmar, for Mr. Chapin and others, 1850.
Ferry steamer for McConnelsville, built by William Knox, 1850. The steamer Red River, built by William Knox, at Harmar, for Captain O. Franks, 1851.
The steamer Carrier, same place and same builder, owned by H. N. Booth, 1851.
The steamer Edward Manning, same place and builder, owned by Captain E. A. Davis, 1851.
The steamer Ohio No. 2, same place and builder, owned by Captain Blagg, 1855.
The steamer Creole, same place and builder, owned by Captain Hill.
The steamer Skipper, rebuilt by Knox for Captain J. Cram and others, 1857.
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO - 379
Tow boat West Columbia, built by Knox at Harmar, 1857.
The steamer Joseph Holden, built by Knox, at Harmar, for Captain O. Franks, 1838.
The steamer Ohio No. 3, same place and builder, owned by Captain Blagg and others, 1859.
The steamer Fanny McBurney, same place and builder, owned by Captain Drown and others, 1860.
The steamer Ohio Valley, 1862.
Wharf-boat, same place and builder, owned by Hall & Best, 1865.
The steamer J. H. Best, same place and builders, owned by 1. H. Best, 1865.
The steamer Rose Franks and barge, same place and builder, owned by Captain Brinker, 1866.
The steamer Satawanee, same place and builder, same owner, 1877.
The steamer Ohio No. 4, same place and builder, owned by Captain Blagg and others, 1868.
The steamer Red Cloud, same place and builder, owned by Captain Brinker, 1868.
The steamer W. P. Thompson, same place and builder, owned by Captain Chancellor and others, 1868.
The steamer Boone, same place, William Knox &Son builders, Captain McClurg and others owners, 1877.
The steamer Oella, same builders as above, owned by Captain Berry, 1877.
The steamer Corner, same builders, owned by the Wheeling & Parkersburgh company, 1877.
The steamer W. F. Curtis, rebuilt by same builders, owned by Captain Brown, 1877.
The steamer Emma Graham, same builders, owned by Captain Williamson, 1877.
The steamer Kitty Nye, same builders, owned by Captain Berry, 1877-80.
Other steamers built during the past four years have been as follows: The Lizzie Cassell and the Mink for Captain Davis; the General H. F. Devol for Captain Martin; the. Diurnal for Captain McClure; the J. H. McConnell for Captain S. Davis; the Scotio for Captain Stockdale, and La Belle for Captain Morris.
RIVER IMPROVEMENTS ALONG THE SHORE OF WASHING0TON COUNTY.
Until 1870 Marietta was a very bad landing place. Very few boats could make a landing at Marietta at all The low water channel was on the Virginia side of the river, and the bar at the mouth of the Muskingum added still more to the difficulty.
A wharf boat was kept out in the river past the middle of the stream, and all the freight was carried to and from it, or else ferried across the Muskingum to and from Harmar.
The channel between the island and the Virginia shore above Marietta was always considered a bad one. The Duck Creek bar was at the head of the island, and the Muskingum bar at the foot. In 1866 the Government began to consider the matter of the improvement of the river in this part. Engineers were sent out, and reported in favor of a dam at the head of the island, shutting up the Ohio side of the river. This would, perhaps, have been best for general navigation, but it would have shut Marietta completely out from all the advantages of the river navigation. The people of Marietta opposed this plan strenuously, and sent a delegation to Washington to urge their interests. They succeeded in getting an order to the engineers to consult the interests of the town. In 1869 it was decided to shut up the Virginia side of the river at the head of the island, and in 1870 the contract for the dam was let to Captain Cole, of Harmar.
After the building of the dam, it was found that the water spread too soon below the island. To remedy this, a dike was built below the island, extending to a point opposite the mouth of the Muskingum. The work was entirely successful, and Marietta has now as good a landing as any place on the river. This work cost altogether forty-five thousand dollars.
There are various other dams and improvements along the shore of Washington county. These are at Blennerhassett's island, Muskingum island, Cole's island, Mill Creek island, Sheets Ripple, Collins Ripple and Petticoat Ripple. These have cost altogether something over one hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars. Nearly all of them have been made by Captain Cole, of Harmar, as have also the large majority of the completed works throughout the whole extent of the river.
NAVIGATION OF THE MUSKINGUM.
The Muskingum valley is very fertile and formerly produced more than it now does. Most of the produce was at an early day brought down the river to Marietta and thence to New Orleans or Cincinnati. Now railroads furnish nearer and easier markets, and very much less is taken down the river. This is the case, although navigation for steamers is now more regular and certain than it used to be.
Prior to 1836 steamers could only go up the river in high water, and had to run the risk of getting fast in the mud somewhere by a sudden fall in the river. Thus steam navigation was very uncertain. But in 1836 the State, at an immense expense, built dams and introduced the slack water system of navigation.* Since that time the navigation of the river has been certain and regular.
The Rufus Putnam, the first steamer that ascended the Muskinum river, was built at Marietta by Captain John Green, in 1822 or 1823, for the Ohio river trade. She was what we would now term a small side-wheel boat of sixty tons. At that time it was seldom that the Muskingum river was in such a condition as to admit of the ascent of a steamboat. In January, 1824, in passing up the Ohio, Captain Green found the Muskingum high enough by reason of a freshet to admit of his going up with his boat. He gave notice to the citizens of Marietta of his intention to make the trip, and in a short time his boat was crowded with passengers quite beyond her accommodations. She left Marietta on a Friday of the month of January, 1824. The current of the river was very strong and the progress of the boat very slow. She arrived at Waterford in the evening, between eight and nine o'clock, where several joined the Marietta party. At Luke's Chute the current was so strong that she was obliged to lay by for a considerable portion of the night, but she finally got through.
As no fuel had been provided, the captain had to depend on purchasing fuel on the route. The boat passed McConnelsville about the middle of the day on Saturday, and reached Zanesville about ten o'clock Saturday night. The banks of the river were lined with people,
* See chapter on Public Improvements.
380 - HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO.
who having seen the lights of a steamboat at a distance, and not aware of any cause tor the singular appearance, had assembled in uncertainty as to what to expect. The company on the boat were hospitably received, and many were entertained at private houses in Zanesville and Putnam. On Monday the boat made two excursion trips to Duncan's Falls and back, to gratify the desire of the people of Zanesville and Putnam to see her. Monday evening an entertainment was given the passengers and others by Judge Buckingham, of Putnam. Tuesday the boat started on her return trip. The current of the river was so strong that she descended to Marietta in about eight hours.*
The Rufus Putnam was sold by Captain Green into the lower Ohio trade, and was snagged near Port Chiert in 1826.
The first steamer which navigated the Muskingum after the slack-water improvement was made, was the Tuscarawas. She arrived in Marietta September 18, 1841, from Zanesville, and returned the same day.
Among the early boats on the Muskingum were the Zanesville, Dresden, Belle Zane, May Queen, Muskingum Valley, Dan Converse, and Julia Dean.
At a later date were the Emma Graham, Julia, Buckeye Belle, Malta, Viroqua, McIntyre, John Buck, Charlie Bowen, Charlie Potwin, Jonas Powell, J. H. Best, and Carrie Brooks.
The boats now running from Marietta are the Lizzie Cassell and General Devol for the through trade, and the Hubbell and a few smaller ones for the local trade.
380 - HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO
CHAPTER XXVII.
MARIETTA—RELIGIOUS HISTORY—THE CHURCHES.
Ohio Company's Measures for the Support of Public Worship—Dr. Story Employed to go to Marietta—First Sermon in the Territory— Dr. Cutlersis Preaching—Social Worship—Dr. Daniel Story's Arrival in 1789--Preaching During the 1ndian War—First Sunday-School -First Church Formed—The Congregational Church, Outline of its History—Pioneer Methodism—First Methodist Sermon in Marietta— The Yankee Circuit Formed—First Camp Meeting—Formation of a Church in Marietta—Its Growth and List of Ministers—First Presbyterian Church—Second Organization Known as First Presbyterian Church of Marietta—Fourth Street Church Organized—Universalist Society—The Early Baptist Church—Baptist Missionaries— Organization at Marietta— Little Muskingum Church—Episcopal Worship— St. Luke's Church—The German Societies—St. Paul's Evangelical— St. Lucas—Methodist—The Second Congregational Society, Marietta Township—St. Mary’s Roman Catholic—Congregational Church, Harmar—The Unitarian Society—United Brethren Church—African Methodists—Religious Societies.
THE spirit of Puritan New England is manifested in the many healthy religious societies and handsome church edifices of Marietta. The members of the Ohio company considered religion the handmaid of education, and both essential to human progress. Through the in-
* This account of the trip of the Rufus Putnam up the Muskingum is taken from a statement given by A. T. Nye, esq., of Marietta, who was one of the passengers.
fluence of Rev. Dr. Cutler, who anticipated the difficulty of sustaining religious institutions in the new country, a reservation was iucorporated in the land grant setting apart one section in each township for the support of religion, and it is to this reservation that some of the churches now flourishing in Marietta owe their existence.
At the last meeting of the agents of the Ohio company, held in Massachusetts, a resolution instructing the directors "to pay as early attention as possible to the education of youth and the promotion of public worship among the first settlers, and for these important purposes they employ, if practicable, an instructor, eminent for literary accomplishments and the virtue of his character . . . and to enable the directors to carry into execution the intentions expressed in this resolution, the proprietors and others of benevolent and liberal minds are earnestly requested to contribute by voluntary donation to the forming of a fund to be appropriated thereto."
Dr. Manassah Cutler was selected to carry out the instructions of this resolution, and he employed Rev. Daniel Story to go to Marietta as both minister and teacher.
The first sermon preached to white men in the territory now included in the State of Ohio, was delivered on the banks of the Muskingum by Rev. William Beck on the twentieth of July, 1788. His text was: "Now, therefore, if you will obey my voice indeed and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people for all the earth is mine, and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests and an holy nation."
This sermon was preached in the hall of the northwest block-house. In the same hall, on the twenty-fourth of August, Dr. Cutler preached the second sermon ever delivered in the territory. He also preached on the thirty-first of August and seventh of September. Of his meeting on the seventh of September he says in his journal: "Had a very full meeting; many of the people from the Virginia side were present, and most of the gentlemen of the garrison."
Dr. Cutler attended the first funeral in the new settlement on the twenty-seventh of August. Soon after the arrival of the first families in August, General Benjamin Tupper organized social worship in the northwest blockhouse in Campus Martius, which was mainly conducted by him until the arrival of Rev. Daniel Story in the spring of 1789.
General Tupper was one of the organizers, and had been a deacon of the Congregational church of Chesterfield, Massachusetts.
When Rev. Daniel Story arrived early in 1789, it was determined to establish regular worship at Belpre and Waterford, and ansi arrangement was made by which the minister was to give about onementhird of his time to these two charges. But the Indian war, which broke out in 1791, made it unsafe to leave the garrison, and services at Belpre and Waterford were necessarily suspended until the close of the war in 1795. During the progress of the war meetings were regularly held in the hall of the
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO - 381
northwest block-house, which had been fitted up with seats, and was capable of accommodating about one hundred and seventy-five people. Services were also occasionally held in the large room in the upper story of the frame house in the garrison at the Point. In 1791, soon after the settlers had been gathered within the garrison in consequence of the Indian war, the first Sunday- school north of the Ohio, and the second in America, was organized by Mrs. Mary Lake in the stockade.
Previous to December 6, 1796, there was no organized church in Marietta. The ministers, to whom reference has been made, were all members of the New England Congregational church, as were also most of the worshipers. There is evidence that the Episcopal service was read during the Indian war in one of the block-houses at the stockade, but the number of adherents to the Church of England at that time was very limited.
At a meeting held in Marietta December 4, 1796, to consider the propriety of forming a church, the matter was referred to a committee of three, consisting of Daniel Story, Benjamin Miles, and John Pratt. On the following day the committee reported a confession of faith and covenant, which was unanimously adopted. It was unanimously voted that "anyone who had been a member in regular standing of any regular Congregational church, or Presbyterian church, or of one of the dissenting Protestant churches of England whose sentiment in the fundamental principles of religion and discipline are agreeable to the gospel," should be permitted to sign the confession of faith and covenant.
* THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH
was regularly organized in Marietta on the sixth of December, 1796, by persons from Vienna, Virginia, Waterford, Belpre, and Marietta, nine of whom had been soldiers in the Revolutionary army; seventeen of the number were females and fifteen males.
Early in 1797 Rev. Mr. Story returned to Massachusetts. On the fourth of April it was resolved to call two ministers who should serve as pastors for the several churches of the surrounding settlements. At the same meeting Mr. Daniel Story was invited to become pastor. Mr. Story accepted the call on the ninth of April. He was ordained by an ecclesiastical council at Hamilton, Massachusetts, on the fifteenth of August. In this council Rev. Doctor Cutler represented the church at Marietta. Mr. Story took charge of the Marietta church a few months after his ordination and continued to serve as its pastor until the fifteenth of March, 1804, when he tendered his resignation. The financial support received by Mr. Story during his ministry was not sufficient to meet his current expenses, and at the time of his death the proceeds of his property, accumulated previous to leaving New England, proved insufficient to pay the debts incurred while laboring in the new settlement. He died in Marietta December 30, 1804, aged forty-nine years. He was buried in the northwest part of the Mound cemetery. Near the close of Dr. Story's ministry, a number of the
The following sketch of this church is largely a condensation from a complete history of the church by A. T. Nye, the preparation of which cost him much time and patient labor. members of the First Religious society* signified their desire to withdraw, for the purpose of forming a Presbyterian church.
On the twenty-seventh of March, 1805, Samuel Prince Robbins, who had supplied the congregation for a short time after the resignation of Dr. Story, was elected to the pastorate of Marietta and neighboring churches. Mr. Robbins was solemnly ordained + in the house on Front street built by Governor Meigs, then in an unfinished condition. This house was used by the congregation for some time after this event. Mr. Robbins preached three Sundays at Marietta and one at Belpre, according to the terms of settlement.
From 1799 to the ordination of Mr. Robbins services were held in the Muskingum academy, which stood on the lot on Front street now occupied by the church.
Mr. Robbins' ministry, which was terminated by his death during the epidemic in 1823, is characterized by two notable events in the history of the church; one was the building of the present house of worship, in 1807, being at that time the finest church edifice in Ohio, and the other was the revival of 1820, which resulted in fifty- eight accessions to the church. The work of building was done under the superintendence of General Rufus Putnam, whose contribution toward its cost was very liberal. The total cost when dedicated, May 28, 1809, was about seven thousand three hundred dollars. The work was done in the best manner for that period. The interior has been repaired several times, but the general structure remains as when built and is apparently little affected by the lapse of seventy-three years.
The epidemic of 1823 greatly impaired the strength of the church. A number of the most substantial members, including the pastor, died, and public worship and the Sunday-school were suspended. From the death of Mr. Robbins till the election of Rev. Erastus Maltby to the pastorate December 9, 1824, the church was supplied by Rev. Mr. Krautz, a minister of the Old School Presbyterian church. Mr. Maltby did not accept the formal call, and how long he continued to supply the pulpit is not definitely known.
Rev. Luther G. Bingham was formally installed as pastor May 3, 1826, by the presbytery of Athens. The church was received under the care of the presbytery of Athens March 29, 1832. The plan of this union had been arranged by the general assembly and general association of Connecticut in 1801. This plan of union provided that congregations composed partly of Presbyterians and partly of Congregationalists might unite for the purpose of sustaining public worship, and the united church might have a voice in the presbytery. Mr. Bingham was ordained by the Presbyterian church and installed by the Presbytery of Athens, in which his church was represented until 1837, when the plan of union was annulled. The connection of the Presbytery of Athens
* The name of the business corporation which has charge of the strictly temporal affairs of the church.
+ Rev. Joseph Badger, the noted early evangelist of the northern part of the State, made his first and only visit to Washington county on this occasion.
382 - HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO.
and the Marietta church being terminated, the Congregational churches of Marietta, Harmar and Belpre met in convention and adopted a constitution and assumed the name of Marietta conference. The organization now embraces Marietta, Belpre, Harmar, Hockingport, Cool-vine, Cow Run, Stanleyville, Cedar Narrows, Cornersville, Lowell and Lawrence. There were large accessions to the church in 1829, 283a and 1835. Mr..Bingham resigned in 1837. The connection of the church with Marietta college during his ministry will be fully noticed in the history of that institution. During the three years following the resignation of Mr. Bingham the church was supplied by Revs. 0. P. Hoyt, F. M. Hopkins, J. H. Linsley, B. M. Palmer, and J. B. Walker. Rev. Thomas Wickes was installed as regular pastor July 28, 1840. He continued to serve the church until March 2, 1869, when he tendered his resignation. During the ministry of Mr. Wickes (in 1866) the church building was repaired at a cost of five thousand dollars. There were also twelve seasons of special religious interest and many additions to the membership.
A special church meeting was held May 2, 1869, at which Rev. Theron H. Hawkes was unanimously elected pastor. Dr. Hawkes was installed October 27, 1869. During the latter part of 1880 the church was repaired at a cost of about twelve hundred dollars.
Since its organization other religious societies have been organized from this church as follows: In 1804 a number were dismissed to the First Presbyterian church; in 1836, twenty-four, to. constitute the Congregational church at Belpre; in 1840, twenty-five, for the Congregational church at Harmar; in 2842, nine, for the Old School Presbyterian church at Marietta; in 1843, twelve, for the Congregational church on Little Muskingum; in 1852, five, for Fearing Congregational church; and in 2865, forty-six to form the Fourth Street Presbyterian church.. The deacons have been as follows: Dr. Josiah Hart, Dr. Joseph Spencer, Benjamin Mills, Nathan Proctor, Perley Howe, William R. Putnam, Jabez True, John Cotton, Douglass Putnam, William Slocomb, D. H. Buell, A. T. Nye, Dennis Adams, Samuel Shipman, Sala Bosworth, W. A. Fay, G. R. Rosscester, John M. Eells, William R. Putnam, E. B. Reed, T. D. Biscoe, and Asa B. Waters.
The whole number of members since organization is one thousand, five hundred and eighty-nine.
The first Bible society organized in the northwest was formed in this church in 1812, and was known as the Ohio Bible society. Several auxiliary societies were organized and depositories established. After the organization of the American Bible society, it was concluded to abandon the organization here.
As early as 1822 a young men's Bible society was organized mostly by members of the Congregational church. This association has since become the Washington County Bible society and has been the means of much good by distributing Bibles among the poor people of the county.
No Sabbath-school was organized under the auspices of the church until May, 1817, when Mr. Daniel Putnum, of Harmar, who had just returned from New York, determined to establish a Sunday-school in Marietta similar to those he had become acquainted with in the city. The school was opened in the academy, and was under the superintendence of Elisha Hutchinson, at that time principal of the academy. From that time to the present the church has regularly maintained a Sabbath-school A greater part of the time a library has been kept up. At one time a number of schools in different parts of the town were in existence, but all have been merged into one.
The membership of this, the oldest religious organization, is distinguished for intelligence and refinement. No body of Christians can be found anywhere who worship God more understandingly than these descendants of the founders of the Northwestern Territory. This society is the parent of a sisterhood of churches in and around Marietta, and has always watched over and assisted each in a spirit of maternal affection and Christian charity. The church has faithfully obeyed the injunction of Dr. Manasseh Cutler, delivered to the first pastor on the occasion of his ordination: "To see the many new societies forming in your neighborhood supplied with faithful ministers, must ever be a cause near your heart. It is in every way highly important to them, for it intimately concerns their political and social, as well as their spiritual and eternal interests.
THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
Methodism, in the early history of Marietta, met with strong and determined opposition. The loud and ardent sermons of the Wesleyan evangelists and missionaries who first travelled the circuits of Ohio were not well received by the more cold and intellectual New Englanders. The journals, autobiographies and letters of these missionaries show that they were not always treated with that kindness and cordiality which Christian charity would seem to demand, but their intolerant sermons, in which the settlers are characterized as deists and unbelievers, excuse in a measure such treatment. In spite of opposition and discouragement, the Methodist church pushed its missionary work with commendable zeal, and has been the means of accomplishing much good.
In 1799 Reese Woolfe, a circuit preacher in Virginia looked across the Ohio river and contemplated with regret a vast territory, with flourishing settlements, on which a Methodist preacher had never set foot. Rev. Robert Manley, who had been his assistant, was sent as a missionary, and on the twentieth of June, 1799, preached the first Methodist sermon in Marietta. He says he "found no place to rest the sole of his foot. There was no Laban to say to an itinerant preacher, `Come in, thou blessed of the Lord." He was disinclined to tear down other denominations, and sought a field of labor in the country. In the towns were Congregational and Presbyterian churches, but the country was destitute of religious instruction. On Duck creek he found Solomon Goss, two members of whose family were Methodists. A number of small classes were founded, and a circuit organized. In 1800 Jesse Stone-
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO - 383
man and James Quinn took charge of the circuit, and the church prospered in the country, but little progress was made in Marietta.
The pious and ardent George Atkins was sent to the "Yankee circuit," as it was called by the conference, in 1804. He resolved upon a bold adventure. A camp-meeting was appointed to be held near the stockade in Marietta. Members from the country erected a stand, fixed seats, and pitched their tents. The meeting materially strengthened the church in the country, "but the town people came, looked shy, and walked away." "There were no mighty works in town, by reason of unbelief." *
In 1805 Jacob Young and G. C. Light appointed a second camp-meeting. Jacob Young says:
There was great seriousness throughout lhe whole congregation and many, both of the country and the town, saw the importance of salvation.
The most prominent convert was Jonas Johnson, who in after years was one of the pillars of the church. He had been an infidel and was a charming singer. His singing made him a useful member during the revival seasons. "A lovely little class was organized in Marietta." For months and years this class met regularly, but suffered all kinds of persecution. The houses were stoned, the windows broken, and the chimneys closed up and the worshipers smoked out. This class was the first regular organization of the church in Marietta. The members were: Henry Fearing, of Harmar, Elijah Francis and wife, William Bell, Samuel Geren and wife, Jonas Johnson and wife, and Solomon Goss and wife. The first class leader was Jonas Johnson. The class or church, as it may now be called, was regularly supplied by the preacher of the Little Kanawha and Muskingum circuit. In 1806 the third camp-meeting was held, in Harmar, conducted by John Sale and Peter Cartwright. Among the converts at this meeting were Joseph Bartlett, John Drown, Christopher Carpenter, Robert McCabe and wife, Mrs. McClintick, Joseph Babcock and wife, James Whitney and wife, Andrew Lake and some of the Protsman family.
In 1809--10 there was a great revival and many were added to the church. But a dissension, which did much injury, seems to have grown out of this revival, some persons of doubtful virtue having been admitted into the membership, who brought reproach upon the whole organization. The enthusiastic little band, however, soon recovered its full powers, Up to about this time meetings had been held at private houses and in the academy. A brick school-house in Harmar was then used by the congregation until 1815, when the church on Second street was built. Meetings were held in Harmar in the old school-house until the present building, known as Crawford chapel, was completed in 1833.
In 1839 the church on Putnam street was built and appropriately named the "Centenary church" in commemoration of the centennial of Methodism.
In 1859 was organized the Whitney chapel congrega-
* Samuel Hamilton, in Methodist Magazine, 1830.
tion. Marietta and Harmar were made independent stations in 1848.
In June, 1876, the Centenary and Whitney chapel congregations adopted articles of union and united.
Marietta, previous to 1808, was in the Little Kanawha and Muskingum circuits; from 1808 to 1820 the Marietta circuit; from 1820 to 1826, Marietta station; from 1826 to 1835, Marietta circuit, which included Harmar till 1848.
About the year 1818 John Stewart, a colored man, was sent as a missionary to the Wyandot Indians. He returned to the conference, held in Marietta in 1822, with four of his Indian converts, John Hicks and Between-the-Logs, and two others. In 1826 the church was very much reduced, and it was doubtful whether an organization could be maintained. James Whitney wrote to the conference, "Send us Leroy Swomstedt or we are gone." Leroy Swomstedt was sent and during the following winter the church was blest with a glorious revival. One hundred and twenty-five members were added, and the congregation was again strong and vigorous. In 1842 the church experienced another great revival, conducted by J. C. Hunter and William Simmons, which resulted in one hundred and eighty-seven additions to the membership. The fourth great revival was in 1856 while W. T. Hand was pastor. During that year two hundred and ten new members were received. There was also an extensive revival during the pastorate of A. C. Hurst.
The preachers have been: 1799, Robert Manley; 1803, George Askins; 1804, Jacob Young; 1805, Lowther Taylor, John Gage; 1806, Peter Cartwright; 1807, Solomon Langdon; 1809, John Holmes; 1810, David Young, V. Daniels; 1812; Isaac Quinn, Joseph S. Spahr; 1814, Marcus Lindsley ; 1816, Cornelius Spinger ; 1817, Thomas A. Morris; 1818, Samuel Hamilton; 1819, Jacob Hooper; 1820, Thurman Bishop; 1821, Abel Robinson; 1822, Cornelius Springer, D. Limerick; 1825, J. W. Kinney; 1826, Leroy Swomstedt; 1828, Samuel Hamilton; 1829, Jacob Young; 1830, J. W. Gilbert; 1831, Joseph Casper; 1832, Nathan Emory; r 833, Adam Poe; 1834, E. D. Roe; 1835, David Lewis; 1836, Azra Brown; 1838, W. P. Strickland; 1840, William Simmons; 1842, Frederick Merrick ; 1843, J. S. Grover; 1844, J. W. White; 1845; E. V. Bing; 1846, Uriah Heath; 1847, William Young; 1848, E. M. Boring; 1849, Ansel Brooks; 1850, C. R. Lovel; 1852, J. W. Ross; 1853, J. W. Bush; 1854, T. D. Martindale; 1855, W. T. Hand; 1857, Andrew Carrol; 1858, A. G. Byers; 1859, T. J. N. Simmons; 1860, W. T. Harvey ; 1862, H. K. Foster; 1863, C. D. Battelle; 1866, J. T. Miller; 1868, T. J. Ross; 1869, A. C. Hurst, 1872, C. B. Battelle; 1874, S. E. Frampton; 1876, T. H. Monroe; 1877; S. B. Mathews; 1880, G. W. Brown.
The following have been pastors at Harmar: 1848, W. H. Southerland; 1849, C. H. Lawton; 1850, A. M. Lorraine; 1851, C. W. Merrick; 1852, C. D. Mather, 1854, H. T. Magill; 1856, C. H. Frampton; 1857, E. H. Hall; 1859, E. V. Bing; 1861, I. T. King; 1863, T. S. Stivers; 1864, J. E. Sowers; 1866, W. S. Benner;
384 - HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO.
1868, T. S. Davis; 1869, R. H. Wallace; 1872, J. M. Weir; 1874, F. A. Spencer; 1876, C. F. Creighton; 1878, W. Abernathy; 1879, J. M. Jameson; 1880, A. T. Hieson,
The pastors of Whitney chapel were: 1859, J. B. Bradrick; 1861, D. H. Moore; 1862, E. M. Kirkham; 1865, M. M. Millenix; 1867, Earl Cranston, Levi Hall; 1868, F. W. Stanley; 1871, J. H. Acton; 1873, J. Van Law; 1875, James Kendall.
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHES.
Just when the first Presbyterian church in Marietta was organized it is impossible to say. Rev. Stephen Lindley was employed as minister in January, 1804, and the second religious society was organized on the twentieth of that month. It is commonly supposed that the "Second Religious society" was formed of a colony from the "First Religious society," but such was not the case. On the twentieth of February, 1804, thirty five persons withdrew from the Congregational church and probably joined the Presbyterian, but, as stated, a Presbyterian church had been organized and a pastor employed. January 25, 1813, the legislature incorporated the "First Presbyterian society of Marietta, called the Second Religious society." This must have been a large and vigorous organization. The causes which led to its decay are not known. Mr. Lindley became a chaplain in the War of 1812, and it is not probable that the church had any regular pastor after him. The last ministerial funds were drawn in 1818.
The Religious Meeting-House society, which was formed April 15, 1805, seems to have had some connection with this church. The object of the society was to build "a meeting-house in Marietta to be consecrated and devoted to the public worship of Almighty God." A building was commenced, but never finished. In this. building (a large brick on Third street below Green,) Mr. Lindley preached for a time, and some of those most active in forming the society were among those who employed Mr. Lindley in 1804. This effort to establish Presbyterianism was probably felt to be premature, as an attempt was made in November, 1804, to compromise with the First Religious society on a basis which would secure a distinct communion for each congregation. Another attempt was made in 1805 "to unite with other Presbyterian congregations in the support of a pastor."
The second attempt to plant Presbyterianism in Marietta was made in 1841. On the fourth of December a church was organized, consisting of sixteen persons, eleven of whom were received into the communion by letter, and five on profession of faith. The church was organized by William Wallace, who was sent for that purpose by the presbytery of Lancaster. The members were Nancy Shepherdson, Angelina Amlin, Sarah Preston, Fanny Plumer, Cornelius Tinkham, Hattie Tinkham, Mercie B. Tinkham, Joshua and Elizabeth Taylor, William Sinclair, Mariam Sinclair, Phoebe Affiack, Eliza Mitchell, William and Martha Hill, and James Kennedy. William Hill and William Sinclair were elected first ruling elders. This church built the house on Third street now owned by the African Methodist Episcopal church. It was known as the First Presbyterian church of Marietta, and maintained worship at intervals for about twenty years. Beach Grove church, in Newport township, was instituted as a branch of this society, and for a time worship was maintained at both places. The last recorded meeting in Marietta was August 16, 1862. The name was changed from First Presbyterian church of Marietta to Beech Grove Presbyterian church, in 1870.
The incipient action toward the formation of the Fourth Street Presbyterian church was taken at an apparently informal meeting held early in 1865, at which fourteen persons were present. For some time there had been a growing desire for a Presbyterian organization. Those accustomed to the Presbyterian form of government naturally felt somewhat strange in the other churches, and others felt that a Presbyterian church, in addition to being beneficial in a general way, would assist in building up Marietta college. The informal meeting just mentioned led to the appointment of a business meeting on the third of July, which was held at the house of Mrs. Sarah Dawes, and attended by thirteen persons. Of this meeting Silas Slocomb was chairman, and Dr. H. B. Shipman secretary. Action was taken with reference to providing for finances, obtaining a pastor, and procuring a place for worship. Prayer meetings were held regularly in private houses. The record of Angust 14, 1865, leads : "After the usual prayer meeting a call was made for the purpose of ascertaining the names of all who desired to become members of the new church."
The call was responded to by forty-three persons from the Congregational church and four from other churches, making in all forty-seven. Six new members were added at a subsequent meeting. The young congregation was not only strong in numbers, it was also well possessed of intelligence and pecuniary strength. All felt that there was a demand for the existence of the church, and all were determined that this demand should be supplied.
On Saturday, August 26, 1865, a confession of faith and covenant were adopted. On the following day the fifty-three members assented to the covenant and were then formed into a communion called the Fourth Street Presbyterian Church of Marietta. Rev. W. H. Ballantine presided, and Professor E. B. Andrews and Rev. C. D. Curtis assisted in the ordination ceremonies. This and subsequent meetings were held in the German church on the corner of Fourth and Scammel streets, afterwards the Baptist Mission chapel was used. At the time of the formal organization active preparations for building were in progress.
About the first of October, 1865, the present edifice on Fourth street was commenced, and the first meeting held in it was January 28, 1866, when the dedication services took place. The sermon was preached by the pastor, Rev. W. H. Ballantine. The total cost of the building and ground was about nine thousand dollars.
Mr. Ballanline resigned the pastorate on the last Sab-
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO - 385
bath in June, 1869. The present and second pastor was installed May 18, 1870. He had supplied the pulpit since October, 1869. The two first elders of the church were Silas Slocomb and Sula Bosworth. The first trustees were Dr. J. D. Cotton, S. Slocomb, S. Newton, R. R. Dawes, and G. H. Eels. Those who have since held the office are Dr. W. H. Brown, Dr. H. B. Shipman, A. B. Waters, S. Bosworth, C. H. Newton, and Henry Hay.
This church has from the first maintained a flourishing Sabbath-school. The average attendance was, the first year, about ninety. It is now nearly two hundred. This church has always taken a prominent part in benevolent work; always contributing liberally to all needy chaities. A Woman's Missionary society has been organized since 1872, and a Young People's Mission band is doing good work. The whole number of members since organization has been three hundred and forty-five; the whole number of dismissions, sixty; the whole number of deaths, eighteen.
THE UNIVERSALIST SOCIETY.
A Universalist society was organized in Marietta in 1817. On the second of February, 1832, the legislature passed an act to incorporate the "First Universalian Religious Library Association, of Marietta." It was the purpose of the society to build up a large collection of valuable miscellaneous books, and to this object the property which annually accrued to the society was appropriated. The more prominent members were Griffin Green, jr., James M. Booth, Stephen Hildreth, A. Pixley, Louis Mixer and Count de Bonny. It is not known just when the society began to hold religious services. The frame church, on Second street, was built in 1842. It was dedicated by J. T. Flanders, who was then regular pastor. One room of this building was fitted for the library, and used for that purpose until the books were destroyed during the flood in April, 1860. In March, 1850, the Western Liberal Institute was established and placed under the care of this church. A further notice of this institution will be found under the proper heading.
The ministers prior to the union with the Unitarian society were: J. T. Flanders, George S. Weaver, T. C. Eaton, Mr. Bartlet, Thomas Barron, Mr. Hicks, J. M. McMasters and J. W. Henley. The church, previous to the destruction of the library, in which the ministerial funds of thirty years had been invested, was in a very flourishing condition. The library contained about three thousand volumes, and many liberal Christians supported the society that they might receive in return the benefits of the library.
The conditions of the union with the Unitarian society, for the purpose of supporting public worship, is more fully treated in our history of that society. The church still exists as a legal body, and holds its property in trust.
A Universalist society was organized in Harmar in 1839, and continued in existence till 1849.
BAPTIST CHURCH.
The Baptist church dates its establishment in Washington county back to 1797. Elder Nehemiah Davis came with his family from Maine to Marietta in 1796. He was a regularly ordained Baptist minister, and preached in the several settlements of the county during the first and second years after his arrival. In 1797, a church was constituted in the Rainbow settlement on the Muskingum, twelve miles above Marietta, through his ministry. It was called the Rainbow church and had a membership scattered all over the territory some distance up and down the Muskingum and on Duck creek. Elder Davis bought land in Adams township and lived on it until 1805, when he moved to Athens county and there died.
Rainbow church prospered and rapidly grew in membership until 1804, when a dissension on the subject of open communion caused a division, most of the congregation embracing the doctrine of open communion. The names of those who held to the established faith were Elder Paul, who became pastor, Joseph Fuller, Mrs. Morris, Ebenezer Nye, Abraham Pugsley, Mr. and Mrs. Tresize and Otheniel Tuttle. This small band kept up its organization a few years but finally became extinct. Elder Davis connected himself with the seceding and larger branch. This branch continued the name of Rainbow Baptist church, and was in existence in 1820, though the name had probably been changed to the Adams church. This body was extinct before 1825, for the record of February 26, 1825, reads: Part of the Adams church, now dissolved, were received into the Marietta church. Several unsuccessful attempts had been made to bring this church back, as Ephraim Emerson expressed it, to the faith of the fathers. These attempts having failed, a few earnest Baptists' of the close communion school feeling the necessity of an organization, took the incipient steps towards the establishment of a church at Marietta.
On Saturday, September 5, 1818, Ephraim Emerson, William Churchill, John Thorniley, Bain Posey, and Mary Case, met in the easterly part of Marietta and formed themselves into a church, and adopted articles of faith and covenant. All but one of them, says Professor Atkins, proved faithful to their covenant vows. They have years since passed from their earthly course, passed from the scene of their toil and trial and entered into rest. Let memory embalm their names.
The first communion service was conducted by Elder James McAboy, then pastor of the church of Parkersburgh, West Virginia, October 3d. Ephraim Emerson and William Churchill were chosen deacons, and at the next meeting, held October 17th, "the communion day was fixed on the third Sabbath of alternate months, at which time Rev. James McAboy was requested to attend as pastor." The church was now permanently organized. For several years the members of this church were scattered over a considerable extent of territory, and services were held in various places both to accommodate members and to awaken an interest among those outside. By glancing through the records it will be seen that church was held "in the school-house at the mouth of Little Muskingum;" "in the school-house up the Little Muskingum;" "at Upper Newport;" "at Lower New-
386 - HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO.
port;" "at Dye's settlement on Cat's creek;" and "candidates were received and baptized at Long Reach, West Virginia." The acts of these early Baptists interpret their zeal. The itinerant services of the early church were attended by all the communicants for miles around, and "some of them made it a point of duty to follow the ark and be present wherever the camp was pitched." No church was more genuinely missionary in spirit. It carried its preaching into every settlement and almost into every house, and laid an extensive foundation on which has since been built the religious home of many of Washington county's best people.
The organization was known as "Marietta church,” and the town of Marietta was the natural centre, but meetings were held in the country for the first five years. After Caleb Emerson and wife became members, meetings were held in Marietta frequently at their house. There was no regularity of service, meetings being held wherever convenience or advantage seemed to dictate. Rev. James McAboy, by whom the church was formally constituted, was the first pastor. "For some three years," says the Western Religious Magazine, "Elder McAboy, then resident at Parkersburgh, preached and administered the ordinances of church once in two months. Deacons Emerson and Churchill and others held reading meetings on intervening Sabbaths. In 1821 the pastor began to devote one Sabbath in each month to this church. In 1823 he removed to Marietta and gave three-fourths of his time to the church. In 1821-2 an extensive revival resulted in many accessions to the church. In 1822 and 1823 meetings were interrupted by the devastating epidemics which pervaded the whole territory of the church."
The church, at the close of Elder McAboy's pastorate, November, 1825, had increased to ninety-one members. Most of these lived in the country, and many of them are remembered as founders of the branch organizations now flourishing in various parts of the county. The membership in Marietta was steadily increasing. Admission was obtained from the Parkersburgh association in 1825 to unite with the Meigs Creek association which had just been formed. Mr. McAboy was succeeded by Rev. Jeremiah Dale, who had been a valued laborer within the bounds of the church. It is said of Mr. Dale, "He was a man of fervent Christian spirit, devoted indefatigably to his work, animated with a passion to save souls, and his labors were greatly blessed beyond, as well as within, the territory of the Marietta church, for he set no limit to his field but his power of presence and endurance." The results of his labor at Cats creek and Newport were especially gratifying. Before the close of Mr. Dale's ministry five preaching stations had been organized. It has been truthfully said of this devoted pastor, "He had no home but the back of his horse." He travelled over four hundred miles a month to meet his appointments. Mr. Dale's pastorate, during which over three hundred members were added to the churches under his charge, was terminated by ill health in the summer of 1831. He died September 4, 1831, at Danvers, Massachusetts, his native home, where he had gone in the hope of recovering his strength.
During the next two years Rev. Alfred Dana served the church. Through his ministry the membership was increased and awakened. Rev. Allen Darrow was the next pastor. He resided in Marietta, but served the whole territory of the church except Lowell, which had become by this time an independent slation. During the early years of his ministry meetings were held in Marietta in the old and new court houses, in the schoolhouse, in Library hall and in private dwellings. Measures were soon taken, however, for building a house of worship, and with the assistance of the Newport members the former house on Church street was ready for occupancy in April, 1836. That house was destroyed by fire in 1855. The present edifice on Putnam street was in process of erection at the time. Mr. Darrow resigned in 1837 to take charge of the Newport branch, which had been dismissed and made independent that year. By this time the branches had gained sufficient strength to cut loose from the parent stock and maintain an independent existence. Adams had been dismissed five years before. In 1837 Newport, Williamstown and Little Muskingum were constituted new churches. Long Reach church in West Virginia was constituted in 1838. "Six churches from the original one of five numbers."
Marietta church first enjoyed the entire service of a pastor in 1838, when Rev. Hiram Gear was chosen to that office. It was at first found necessary to ask assistance from the home missionary society, which was given or more properly loaned, for it has long since been repaid. The choice of Mr, Gear to the pastorate proved peculiarly fortunate, By his affable manner and strong sermons, he won the friendship and confidence of the citizens. He died February 20, 1843. The citizens testified their regard for him by erecting a monument to his memory.
Eber Crain ministered to the church until August, 1844, when he resigned on account of ill health.
Rev. Ira Corwin was called by the congregation October, 1844, and served until March, 1853. During his ministry the membership steadily increased and a good feeling existed. He resigned in December, 1852, but at the request of the congregation remained until the following March.
In September, 1853, Rev. J. P. Agenbrod accepted a call, and served as pastor two years.
Rev. L. G. Leonard became pastor in September, 1855, and during the following winter the church enjoyed the largest revival in its history. A new era of prosperity dawned which continues to the present time. Mr. Leonard served the church until July, 1863.
Rev. I. N. Carman was ordained pastor in July, 1864, having served the year previous as stated supply. During the winter of 1865 a revival resulted in forty accessions to the church, mostly from the Sunday-school. He added during his pastorate about ninety new members. He resigned in December, 1868.
Rev. J. D. Grieble became pastor in February, 1869. Rev. Mr. Grieble resigned March 10, 1869.
October 11, 1869, Marana Stone, D. D., was called to the pastorate, and served the church in that capacity
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO - 337
until the fall of 1873, when he resigned to accept the call of the American Baptist Home Mission society, to hold institutes among the colored preachers of the south. He had been president of the Young Ladies' Baptist institute, at Grandview, and afterwards became president of Leland university, at New Orleans.
Dr. Stone was succeeded by James W. Riddle, who was ordained pastor February 26, 1874. Mr. Riddle resiged September 5, 1878.
George R. Gear, the present pastor, was ordained by a council March 26, 1879. These services were exceptionally interesting. The candidate had been baptized into the church at Marietta, and the ordination was conducted largely by former pastors: Allen Darrow, Cambridge, Ohio, moderator; L. B. Moore, Williamstown, West Virginia, reading of Scriptures; L G. Leonard, Lebanon, ordination sermon; J. W. Carter, Parkersburgh, ordaining prayer; H. L. Gear, charge to candidate; C. H. Gunter, hand of fellowship.
Two liberal bequests are worthy of special mention in this connection. The following resolution was passed March 3, 1869:
That the following notice of the deth of Deacon Thomas Heuton be entered on the record in connection with that portion of his will relating to the church:
"Departed this life, Monday, February 1, 1869, Deacon Thomas Heuton, aged fifty-five years, a man of disposition extremely retiring, loved by all who knew him, of rare beauty of character, and extremely attracted to the church of which he was a pillar and ornament."
The clause of the will relating to the church reads:
To the First Baptist church of Marietta of which I am a member, I give the sum of two thousand dollars, for the promotion of the Christian religion, as the said church or its trustees may deem proper, or the interests and wants of the church may require.
This liberal and unqualified gift was perfectly in harmony with the character of the noble man whose memory the church delights to honor.
September 27, 1871, T. W. Ewart deeded as a gift to the church, the lot on the corner of Fourth and Washington streets, on which was located what is now known as Mission chapel. He had for some time cherished the hope of seeing a second congregation organized, to which it was his purpose to donate this property. The hope was finally abandoned, and the property transferred to the first church.
The liberality of the Baptist congregation during the brightest period of its history, was highly commendable. During the year 1871 the treasurer received for all purposes, seven thousand three hundred and seventeen dollars and five cents, which was disbursed as follows: Church expenses, $4,775.76; Ohio Baptist Educational society, $204.40; association missions, $173.75; home and foreign missions, $528.87; Dennison university, $363; church debt, $1,497.90; the balance to new and weak congregations.
A new bell was purchased in December, 1874, which cost four hundred and seventy-five dollars. The money was raised by entertainments and subscriptions.
The church room was repaired and reseated in 1881.
LITTLE MUSKINGUM CHURCH.
The Little Muskingum Baptist church was dismissed from the Marietta church and organized with its present name in 1837, with twenty-nine members. Rev. A. Darrow served this church in connection with Newport until 1843. Rev. J. D. Riley ministered to this church from that date until August, 1874, with the exception of a year and a half, during which I. M. Winn officiated. J. C. Richardson succeeded Mr. Riley, and remained until 1876, when Mr. Riley again returned, and remained one year.
ST. LUKE'S CHURCH—EPISCOPAL.
Rev. Philander Chase, bishop of the diocese of Ohio, visited Marietta in August, 1820. He says he was well received and treated with kindness and hospitality, and that "a considerable number of persons in town and vicinity of great respectability and worth, expressed themselves sincerely attached to the church." He held two meetings in Marietta and one in Harmar on Wednesday, August 8th, and on the following morning administered the right of confession to seven persons. Incipient steps were taken at this time toward forming a parish by the name of St. Luke's church. The bishop says:
Nothing under the divine blessing seemed wanting to complete the fondest expectations of the promise of primitive Christianity at this place, but the labors of a pious, learned and active missionary for a few years.
In April, 1822, Philander Chase, jr., then a deacon, preached several times in Marietta. In 1825 Judge Arius Nye, a zealous member of the church returned to Marietta, and immediately undertook to effect an organization among the people whose sympathies were with the • church. His efforts were rewarded with success, as the following article of association shows:
We, the inhabitants of Marietta and its vicinity, do hereby acknowledge and declare ourselves to be members and adherents of the religious society and parish of St. Lukes’, of the Protestant Episcopal church, in the diocese of Ohio at Marietta, and agree to conform to such society and parish, to the constitution and cannons of that church in said diocese.
ARIUS NYE, JAMES ENGLISH,
BILLY TODD, A. V. D. JOLIM,
DANIEL H. BUELL,
EDWARD RECTOR.
JOHN K. JOLIM.
MARIETTA, January 1, 1816.
Judge Arius Nye was appointed by Bishop Chase a lay reader. Mr. Nye kept up the services of the church for seven years until the parish had a rector. At the first meeting of the parish Arius Nye and Joseph Barker were elected wardens; Daniel H. Buell, Billy Todd, Alexander Henderson, Silas Hobby, and Joel Tuttle were appointed vestrymen; James English was first secretary of the parish.
Meetings were occasionally conducted by missionaries in the court house in Marietta, and in the old brick school-house in Harmar. In 1829 the parish had ten communicants. In 2832 Rev. John P. Robinson held services several times in the Congregational church. During that year a Sunday-school was organized and also St. Luke's circle, chiefly missionary in its objects.
Rev. John P. Robinson and J. Delafield were appointed a committee for the purpose of soliciting funds at the east with which to build a church, a parsonage, and to found a parish library.
Mr. Robinson declined the call to become rector, and
388 - HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO.
toward the latter part of the year Rev. John T. Wheat was elected. On the thirtieth of December the sacrament was administered to fourteen communicants. The success of the committee to solicit aid made it necessary that the church should be incorporated, which was done by act of the legislature on the ninth of January, 1833 Rev. John T. Wheat preached his inaugural sermon on the fourteenth of April, 1833. Active preparations were at once commenced for the building of a church, the corner-stone of which was laid August 20th On the fifteenth of November the first services were held in the building, and on the seventeenth of October the building was consecrated by Bishop McIlvaine. During the rectorate of Mr. Wheat, which continued until the seventeenth of October, 1836, fifty-five were added to the membership, and when Rev. C. F. Haensel was installed he found fifty-five communicants. Since Mr. Haensel resigned the successive rectors have been : B. J. Bonner, to November, 1842; D. W. Tolfard, to November 19, 1843; Edward Winthrop, to May 24, 1847; D. W. Tolfard, to April 8, 1850; Rev. John Boyd, D. D., the present rector, was elected June 11, 1850. The first parsonage was built during the summer of 1850. Dr. Boyd's rectorship has been long and successful.
The old building soon became inadequate to the wants of the growing congregation, and a handsome new edifice was erected, which was consecrated on the twenty-fourth of September, 1857, by Bishop Mcllvaine.
The parsonage was sold in 1862, and the convenient one now occupied by the rector built during that year. Dr. Boyd's continuous clerical service has been longer than any other clergyman in the county. Under his able ministrations the church has become one of the most influential in Marietta.
St. Luke's circle is an organization which deserves no unimportant place in the history of the parish. It was formed in 1832, by the ladies of the parish, for the purposes of promoting social union and replenishing the light treasury of the infant church. Considerable sums have frequently been contributed toward building and furnishing funds, and missionary work has received due attention.
St. Luke's sewing school is another institution of this church which deserves special attention. This society was instituted in 1873, by a number of ladies, for the purpose of teaching the children of poor or indifferent parents the art of sewing. Classes are held every Saturday when they engage in making garments out of material furnished by the society. The product of this work is donated to those in need.
ST. PAUL'S EVANGELICAL.
The first German religious society organized in Marietta and one of the first in Ohio was "St. Paul's Evangelical" connected with the Evangelical synod. About 1833, the German population began to increase quite rapidly.
Those inclined to attend public worship were kindly welcomed by the English churches. Many of them joined the Episcopal church, the service being translated for them. But there was a natural desire for worship in which all could freely participate and feel at home.
St. Paul's church was instituted in September, 1839, by John Lehnhard, Lewis Lehnhard, Jacob Theis and Messrs. Kallenbaugh, Heider and Hartwig. John Hebel joined the church soon afterward. This little congregation 0f men with their families met in private houses for a time and then procured the court room for regular services. C. Kobler was the first regular pastor. He was installed November 14, 1842. Previously services were conducted by stated supplies, the most prominent of whom were Reverend Mr. Runyer, Francisco Giolini, and A. Swartz. In the absence of a preacher one of the members read a sermon. Mr. Kobler filled the office of pastor about one year. During the next five years the church was very unfortunate in procuring ministers. Regularly ordained and pious clergymen of the denomination were scarce in the west and this unfortunate circumstance opened the way for imposters. Early in 1847, Dr. J. E. Freygang was installed as pastor. His ministery continued until August 24, 1848, when Jacob Mosbach was installed. The church had increased in numbers very rapidly and the members felt the need of a house of worship. Money for that purpose was raised by subscription and the work of building began in the summer of 1849. Just before the building was completed a change of pastors was deemed advisable, and Rev. Mr. Doener was elected to succeed. About the first of January, 1850, the new church was dedicated, the services being conducted by the pastor, assisted by Prof. George Rossester, of Marietta college. The building cost about one thousand dollars and the lot about two hundred dollars.
The next pastor was Rev. Mr. Kress, who took charge early in 1853. A very sad circumstance is connected with Mr. Kress' life at Marietta. While he was coming from Zanesville on a boat, his daughter took sick and died. Her body was interred in Marietta cemetery. About a year after he had moved here, his son was accidentally drowned in the Muskingum. These two sad events, so closely connected, greatly affected Mr. Kress, and induced him to ask to be released from pastoral duties.
John H. Schienbeck was installed as pastor in November, 1857, and supplied the congregation till December, when D. Schultz succeeded, who was followed, in 1864, by one of the most eminent scholars in the church, Dr. Ruddolph. Dr. Ruddolph was a German by birth and education, and had for a number of years been chaplain of the Duke of Sax Weimar.
The remaining pastors have been: William F. Conner, from January, 1866, to August 15, 1868. G. Freidrigh, from September, 1868, to December, 1871. G. Geopken, from January 1, 1872, to January I, 1879. Victor Broesel, from January 1, 1879,. to the present.
The present membership is forty-five families. About one hundred families attend and assist in supporting this church. A Sunday-school was organized in 1848, and has been maintained since. The church is now in a very flourishing condition and the services of the sanctuary are well attended, there being usually about three hundred people present.
THOMAS W. EWART, LL D.
Judge Thomas W. Ewart, the only son of Robert Kells Ewart and his wife, Mary Cochran, was born in Grand View township, Washington county, Ohio, on the twenty-seventh of February, A. D. 1816. On the paternal side he was of Scotch-Irish descent, his grandfather having come direct from the north of Ireland to western Pennsylvania, where he lived until the time of his death. After his death the family moved to Fishing Creek, near New Martinsville, West Virginia. R. K. Ewart was married to Mary Cochran in Tyler county, West Virginia, her home, about the year 185; and the couple removed to Grand View township, Washington county, Ohio, in 186, where the subject of this sketch was born on his father's farm. He was a delicate child, but attended school as regularly as his feeble constitution would permit, and proved to be a bright scholar, quick to learn and of retentive memory.
When about fifteen years of age an opportunity was afforded him of coming to Marietta and obtaining a business education. As his lack of physical strength seemed to unfit him for the arduous labor of farm life, and he had already about reached the limit of school advantages afforded by a country school of that day, his parents thought it best that he should improve the opportunity that was extended to him through the kindness of a friend in whom they had the utmost confidence. Accordingly at fifteen years of age he came to Marietta and entered the office of the county clerk, George Dunlevy, esq. Here he soon proved to be a very efficient deputy, winning high favor from the members of the bar, with whom he became very popular. When, a few years afterward, Mr. Dunlevy died, Mr. Ewart, who had then just attained the legal age, was appointed October 3z, 1836, to the position of county clerk. His efficiency as an officer is sufficiently attested by the fact that he was continued by successive reappointments in the office for the next fifteen years.
Mr. Ewart early took an active interest in political affairs. He was identified with the Whig party, and for several years held the position of chairman of the county central committee in that party. After the rise of the Republican party he became identified with that organization, and continued to take an active part in politics, making frequent speeches in political campaigns. In 1850 he was elected a member of the Constitutional convention which formed our present State constitution, representing the senatorial district composed of Washington and Morgan counties.
Hon. William P. Cutler was the other member from this county. Mr. Ewart was one of the youngest members of that body, and naturally did not take a very prominent part in its debates, although in all questions that came before it he took pains carefully to inform himself, that he might vote intelligently. The constitution provided for the organization of a new tribunal called the probate court. Before he reached home his party had nominated him for probate judge. He was elected to that office in February, 1852, but be resigned after holding the office about seven months, in order that he might enter upon the practice of law.
While in attendance upon the Constitutional convention at Cincinnati, he was admitted to the bar. He entered into a law partnership with Colonel Melvin Clarke, in October, 1852, and the new firm soon won a prominent position at the bar. Other partnerships at a later date were formed with Judge William B. Loomis, Captain R. K. Shaw, H. L. Gear, Captain H. L Sibley, and his son, Thomas Ewart.
As a lawyer Mr. Ewart was distinguished for the thoroughness with which he prepared his cases, his ability in seizing the governing principles of his cases, and the energy and tenacity with which he advocated the cause of his client. His grasp of legal principles was comprehensive, and his presentation of facts skillful. He was honorable in his dealing with opponents, and firmly believed that the proper function of the lawyer was not "to make the worse appear the better reason," but fairly to represent the interests of his client.
He did not seek to encourage litigation; and was careful in entering upon causes to take those only in which there was, in his opinion, a real wrong to be righted, but when a case was once committed to his hands, he pushed it with all his energy.
For the last twenty-five years he has usually represented one side or the other of almost every important civil cause, involving large amounts of money, or prominent business interests, tried in this county; and in such employment has uniformly acted with marked fidelity and ability. And during later years he has had considerable practice in neighboring counties in this State and West Virginia as well as in the Federal and Supreme courts of Ohio and Illinois.
The estimation in which his legal ability was held by others is made evident by the fact that in February, 1865, when a vacancy occurred in the office of judge of the court of common pleas in this district by the elevation of Judge John Welch to the supreme bench, the governor of Ohio tendered him the office thus made vacant. His business interests were such then as to forbid the acceptance of the appointment.
Mr. Ewart seriously felt the lack of a thorough collegiate education. While a young man in the office of county clerk, he entered upon a private course of study, devoting attention to mathematics, history, moral science and other branches. He was always a thoughtful reader and observer, and such a degree of intellectual culture did he reach by self-education, that in 1878 Denison University conferred upon him the title of Doctor of Laws. He was kind, social and affectionate in his family relations, and gave his children the fullest opportunities for thorough education.
In public business enterprises Mr. Ewart bore a prominent part. He was at various times identified with, as director and legal adviser, the old Marietta bank, the Marietta National bank, the Union Bank of Marietta, the Noble County bank, the Marietta Chair company, and the Marietta, Pittsburgh & Cleveland Railway company.
He was a public spirited man, and any enterprise which would result in the welfare of the community, was sure to have from him sympathy and support.
In religious life Mr. Ewart was very active. In early life, before he became of age, he became a Christian, and united with the Baptist church. At that time, there was no church of that denomination in the city, and he went to various points in the country, where meetings were held, walking several miles for the purpose. He was afterwards largely instrumental in the organization of a Baptist church in Marietta, and in the erection of a church building. He was always a very generous contributor to all benevolent enterprises. His sympathies were broad, taking in all worthy interests both at home and abroad. He was a staunch friend of Denison University at Granville, Ohio, and for upwards of twenty years one of its trustees. He took a great interest in Sabbath school work, frequently visiting different parts of the county, in the interest of Sabbath school extension. For thirty years he was superintendent of the Sabbath school of the First Baptist church of Marietta. Probably no man in Washington county has done more to promote Sabbath schools than Judge Ewart. In denominational interests he was active. For a period of about twenty years he was presiding officer of what is now known as the Marietta Baptist association, and he was ever on the alert to foster feeble churches in that association, and aid them in the erection of houses of worship. He acted one time as president of the State association of Baptists, and was for a time vice-president of the United States association of Baptists known as the Missionary union, presiding at one or two of their annual meetings.
In temperance work he bore a prominent part, being everywhere known as an uncompromising foe of the traffic in intoxicating liquors. His earnestness in this direction gained for him the bitter enmity of some whose interests were thus assailed, but this did not serve to deter him from advocating what he believed to be right.
Mr. Ewan took pleasure in speaking words of encouragement, and in giving practical assistance to worthy young men, whom he saw struggling with difficulty, and more than one remembers gratefully the help which he has thus received.
In 1838 he married Grace Dana, of Newport, by whom he had six children, four of whom still survive. She died in 1854. His second wife was Jerusha Gear, whom he - married in 1855. By her he had six children, who are all living.
At one time Mr. Ewart was the possessor of a considerable amount of property, but the failure of men, for whom he had endorsed, and the general financial stringency of the past few years, swept away his possessions. Under an accumulation of troubles, his health failed and he has removed to Granville, Ohio, with his family, but leaving many warm friends in Washington county.
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO - 389
A very important crisis in the history of the church occurred in 1857. Z. E. Zobel, who had been pastor since 1854, was not giving satisfaction to the whole church. An effort to dismiss him led to a division and the organization of St. Lucas church, in the fall of 1857, with Mr. Zobel as pastor.
ST. LUCAS CHURCH.
The division in St. Paul's church, already spoken of, was the result partly of a difference of opinion on the question of church government, and partly of a local dissension among the members. A large portion of the membership was averse to synodical rule, and felt a desire for a society which should be congregational in its government and liberal in its doctrines. A dissension on a matter of church policy stimulated those who entertained this desire to organized action. Early in 1858, about forty persons held a meeting and organized St. Lucas Evangelical church. The exact date of this meeting is not known. The building on the corner of Fourth and Scammel streets, now used by this congregation, was purchased January 25, 1858, from the Protestant Episcopal church, at a cost of one thousand five hundred dollars. At a meeting held January 31, 1858, the following officers were elected: President, Jacob Grosselas; secretary, Daniel Hashler; treasurer, John Kuntz; trustees, John Pfaff, Henry Zisler, Peter Schlicher, John Peters, Jacob Hennerman and Jacob Lorenz. Of these first officers only three are now living----Peter Schlicher, Jacob Henman and Jacob Lorenz.
The church was inaugurated on the ninth of February by E. L. Zobel, the first pastor.
A neat parsonage was built in 1869 and an organ placed in the church in 1873. A Sunday-school was organized at the formal institution of the church and now numbers more than one hundred and fifty scholars and twenty teachers.
The ministers have been as follows: E. L Zobel, Mr. Morsebach, Mr. Scipel, Mr. Fleicher, Mr. Gleischer, Mr. Arnold, Mr. Brickner, C. Moser, Jacob Bloss, Mr. Carmacher, Mr. Alech, M. Herberg, and Mr. Fritze.
The membership of this church is composed of enterprising and highly moral citizens. They are sincerely laboring for the advancement of Christian doctrine and Christian morality. The large band of faithful Sunday-school workers is an index of their zeal, while the character and every-day life of the members is an evidence of the good work being done.
GERMAN METHODIST CHURCH.
This church was formally organized in 1842, although meetings were held before that time. Paul Bodbeck was largely instrumental in instituting regular worship, and probably served as first pastor. The records of the early church are not complete, and therefore an accurate account of the organization cannot be obtained. The congregation purchased from the trustees of the Centenary church the house on Second street, until 1839 occupied by the Methodist congregation. This building was used until the new church on the corner of Fourth and Wooster was completed in 1877.
This congregation is now in a very flourishing condition. The membership numbers about one hundred and twenty-five. A Sunday-school has been maintained since soon after the organization of the church, and has a membership of about one hundred and fifty and a library of four hundred volumes.
SECOND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.
The Second Congregational church of Marietta township was organized March 3, 2859, by Rev. V. G. Fry. During the summer of 1858 Mr. Fry had been preaching at the Presbyterian church, Cedar Narrows Congregational church, Stanleyville and Lynch Methodist church. Upon invitation he included school district No. 8, Marietta township, in his appointments. In February, 1859, a protracted meeting was held in this church which resulted in the formation of the society with twenty-four members, twenty-one by profession and three by letter.
Mr. Fry acted as pastor until 1863, but having a wide field his visits were necessarily infrequent. Rev. John Noble was associated in the pastorate in 1873, and this church was supplied once each Sabbath. Mr. Noble was soon forced by ill health to resign the charge, and at the close of the year Mr. Fry accepted a call to Lexington, Ohio, and the society was left without a pastor. Up to this time there had been eleven additions to the membership. During 1864 and 1865 Rev. L L. Fay and Professor J. L Mills preached occasionally. During x866 Professor Mills preached regularly. During 1867 there was no pastor and the society marntained a doubtful existence. In the winter of 1868 Rev. George Athey, of the United Brethern church, held an awakening revival in which the members of the Congregational church joined. A flourishing United Brethern class was organized, and both bodies worked together for nearly a year, when the United Brethern removed their services to Jenning's school-house, where they cultivated a much neglected field. Mr. J. H. Jenkins, then tutor in the college, preached for the second church once each Sabbath until 1872 when G. W. Wells became regular pastor in connection with the Little Muskingum church and served until 1876. He was succeeded by Rev. Eugene S. Reed, who remained until 188o, when Mr. Wells was recalled.
A comfortable frame church was built in 1869. A Sunday-school has been maintained during the summer months, since the date of its organization. The membership at the close of 1880 was seventy.
ST. MARY'S CATHOLIC CHURCH.
Prior to 1838 the Catholics in and around Marietta were attended by missionaries and priests from other places. In that year Rev. James McCaffrey was stationed in Marietta, and ministered to the communicants in all the neighboring towns. During the pastorate of Mr. McCaffrey the church was placed on a solid financial basis by the generous donation of a house and lot on Fourth street by Mrs. Mary Brophy. The house was a two-story brick, the first story of which was used as a church and the second story as the pastoral residence until 1850, when the -new church, which had been in
390 - HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO.
process of erection for about three years, was completed. The new church was built just above the old one on the same lot. The old building has since been removed. Rev. James McCaffrey remained in charge until June, 1849, when he was succeeded by Rev. Robert J. Lawrence, who in time was succeeded in April, 1850, by Rev. Peter Perry. During Mr. Perry's administration, which continued until October, 1855, it was found necessary to have more room to accommodate the increasing congregation, and the new church was commenced.
Rev. R. B. Hardey was the next pastor. He remained till May, 1857, when Rev. A. O. Walker took charge. Mr. Walker took upon himself the burden of freeing the church from the debt incurred by building. He visited many of the neighboring churches and solicited help. Not only enough money was procured to pay the debt but also enough to erect the main altar.
Rev. M. J Ryan succeeded to the pastorate in May, 1862, and discharged the several duties of the office until his death, which occurred in July, 1869.
Rev. C. F. Schellamer, who was next appointed to the Marietta charge, had the church frescoed and stained glass put in the windows. In October. 1875, he was succeeded by Rev. Peter Thurheimer whose ministrations continued till September, 1878, when Rev. F. P. Campbell was appointed. In November, 1879, the present pastor, Rev. John B. Kuehn took charge of the congregation. He has arranged for the finishing of the tower and the purchase of a bell
The church owns two city lots on Fourth street, below Green, on which the church edifice and parsonage stand, and a cemetery in the south part of the city. Until 1868 Marietta was in the diocese of Cincinnati; since that time it has been in the diocese of Columbus.
CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH-HARMAR.
On the first of January, 1840, thirty-seven persons met in the town hall in Harmar, and organized the Congregational church of Harmar. Twenty-five of the number were from the Congregational church of Marietta, nine from other churches and one was received on public profession. The meeting was conducted by Rev. J. H. Linsley, D. D., then president of Marietta college. He was assisted by Rev. D. Walker. A confession of faith and covenant, which are liberal and at the same time evangelical in doctrine, had been prepared by Dr. Linsley and were adopted at this meeting.
The ladies of the Congregational church of Marietta generously made a donation for the purchase of a communion set for the new church. During the first year there were nine accessions to the membership, five by letter and four on profession. Milo J. Hickok, a graduate of Middlebury college, Vermont, and Union Theoplogical seminary, New York, was installed and ordained first pastor, on the fourth of May, 1842. The church had been supplied during the greater part of 1840 by Dr. Linsley and for a few months in 1841 by Rev. S. P. Robbins, son of the second pastor of the church in Marietta. The services attending the ordination of Mr. Hickok were held in the Methodist church at Harmar, and were very interesting and impressive. The introductory prayer was made by Dr. Linsley, one of the founders of the church; the sermon by Rev. Henry Smith, D. D., of Marietta college; the ordaining prayer by Rev. Dyer Burgess; charge to the pastor by Dr. Linsley; right hand of fellowship by Rev. Thomas Wickes, of the Congregational church of Marietta; charge to the people by Dr. Kingsbury; concluding prayer by Rev. Hiram Gear, of the Baptist church.
Mr. Hickok was dismissed at his own request April 8,1844. He afterwards became pastor of the church at Rochester, New York; where he received the degree of D. D., and later became a citizen of Marietta.
After the resignation of Mr. Hickok the pulpit was supplied for over a year by members of the college faculty.
Rev. Gideon Dana, after having served as stated supply for about two years was ordained second regular pastor October 20, 1847. The present church was built during the summer of 1847 on a lot donated by Mr. David Putnam, sr. It was dedicated November 27th, the services being conducted by the pastor and Rev. Dr. Wickes. The first Sabbath services were held in the church on the following day. During the winter of 1847-8 a series of concerts were given by a quartette of young men—Chandler Robbins, Horace Norton, G. H. Barbour and N. K. Beosley—and the proceeds given in the spring of 1848 for the purchase of a bell. Mr. Dana remained pastor until March 1, 1850, when he resigned.
Rev. David Gould supplied the pulpit till March 13, 1851, when a call was extended him, which he accepted. He was installed May 28, 1851, the installation sermon. being preached by Rev. Thomas Wickes. Mr. Gould tendered his resignation May 11, 1854, on account of ill health, but his pastorate had been so entirely satisfactory to the congregation that his resignation was not accepted, but he was released from pastoral duties until January 1, 1855. The resignation was renewed in December, and accepted January 16th, with a resolution of regret.
Rev. William Wickefield was elected pastor January 22, 1855. Mr. Wickefield assumed the pastoral duties in April, and continued to serve the congregation with great acceptation until February 9, 1872, when he resigned. During his pastorate the church (in 1868) was repaired and refitted, and improved generally, at an expense of four thousand five hundred dollars, about half of which was paid by a single individual. The church is now one of the most comfortable in Washington county.
After the resignation of Mr. Wickefield, Professor J. L. Wells acted as supply until. Rev. J. H. Jenkins became permanent supply in November, 1872. Mr. Jenkins was elected pastor January 8, 1873, and installed on the second of June. This church has been blessed with an abundant prosperity ever since its organization. The membership has steadily increased until there are at present about two hundred names on the roll The whole number received since organization is four hun-
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO - 391
dred and ninety. Since the present pastor took charge, one hundred and sixty-seven have been added to the membership.
To omit to mention the generous contributions of this church to the various causes of Christian beneficence, would be inexcusable. It is not possible to give anything like exact figures, for much has been given of which no record has been kept. Mr. Wickefield said in his sermon commemorative of the twentieth anniversary of the church: "Enough is known' to make it safe to say that, including what has been expended in support of the Gospel at home, and the free will gifts for the causes of Christian benevolence and Christian education, the church has been enabled to devote to religious and benevolent purposes, during the twenty years, more than fifty thousand dollars." Enough is known to make it safe to say that that amount has been quadrupled during the second twenty years of the existence of the organization. One of the munificent acts of the man who has been deacon from the organization, and was clerk nearly thirty-five years, demands special mention. On New Year, 1869, as a free will offering, he annulled all outstanding bills, amounting to one thousand three hundred dollars. He had previously contributed toward improvements on the church about two thousand three hundred dollars, making in all a contribution of four thousand six hundred dollars for one year.
The deacons of the church since its organization have been Douglas Putnam, Daniel P. Bosworth, Seth Hart, Stephen Newton, Rotheus Hayward, Samuel Langbridge, Ceorge H. Ford, R. B. Hart, and C. M. Cole.
THE UNITARIAN SOCIETY.
If not among the first, at least among the early settlers of Marietta, there were some who held to the doctrine of Unitarianism. Peter Cartwright, the ardent Methodist evangelist, mentions with dismay the progress which "Universalism, Unitarianism and Liberalism" had made among the Yankee settlers as early as 1806.
On the twentieth of January, 1855, Nahum Ward, a wealthy and influential citizen, made a call through the Marietta Intelligencer, for a meeting of all who believed in the worship of God in unity, not in trinity, to meet at the court house February 3d, for the purpose of organizing a Unitarian, liberal, rational, religious society. In accordance with Mr. Ward's call a few friends met, and organized the First Unitarian society of Marietta. A basis of organization was adopted, of which the following is the cardinal principle:
Believing in the unity, and in the paternal character and merciful government of God; in man's natural capacity of virtue, and liability to sin; in the supernatural authority of Jesus Christ as a teacher sent from God; in his divine mission as a Redeemer; in his moral perfection as an example; in the remedial as. well as retributive office and intention of divine punishments; in the sours immedite ascension on release from the body to its account and reward; and tht salvation rests not on superficial observance of rites, or on intellectual assent to creeds, or on any arbitrary decree, but under the grace of God on the rightness of the ruling affection, on humble faithfulness of life, and on integral goodness of character.
At this meeting Nahum Ward, William S. Ward and John C. McCoy were elected trustees. At a meeting held January 9, 1858, R. D. Burr was elected first instructor of divine truth. The church edifice was erected entirely at the expense of Nahum Ward. The first corner-stone was laid July 2, 1855. The dedication services took place June 4, 1857. This church, situated at the corner of Third and Putnam streets, is one of the finest public buildings in Marietta.
In the spring of 1869 a successful movement was set on foot for uniting the First Unitarian society and the First Universalist church into one society to be known as the First Unitarian society, each of the separate churches, however, to preserve an independent existence. This union was permanently effected on the eighteenth of May, 1869. Since that date public worship has been supported by the united society. Each church yet preserves its identity, and each has its own organization as a church, the society being only a business organization, by which the union worship of the two churches is supported. The ministers supported by the First Unitarian society since its organization, have been: R. D. Burr, William L Gage, E. C. Gild, T. J. Mumford, F. M. Holland and W. C. Finney before the union, and J. R. Johnson, T. S. Thatcher and J. T. Lusk since the union.
THE UNITED BRETHREN CHURCH.
This church was organized with a membership of about ninety, sometime during the winter of 1857. In the early part of that winter a series of protracted meetings were commenced by a preacher of the Wesleyan Methodist church in a mission meeting-house belonging to the Centenary church, in the part of town known as Texas. After these meetings had progressed some time under the direction of the Rev. Mr. Jones, the Wesleyan evangelist, a United Brethren preacher named Ciscel began to assist at the meetings. Under the efficient labor of these two brethren working in harmony, one of the greatest revivals ever known in Marietta, was started.
This revival did not conclude until more than one hundred had professed conversion, and expressed a desire to unite with the church. It was deemed advisable by the converts and others who had taken part in these meetings to organize a church of their own, and a vote was taken to decide with what denomination it should be connected. The vote showed a decided partiality for the United Brethren, and the conference at its next meeting formally received the new organization as the United Brethren church of Marietta. The Texas church was used for a house of worship until 1866, when the frame building on Fourth street, north of Green, was built. In 1879, the trustees of the church sold this building for a school-house and purchased Whitney chapel from the Methodists. The chapel was repaired and now affords the congregation a very comfortable place for services.
There are now about one hundred members. A Sunday-school was started soon after the organization of the church and now has a membership of more than one hundred and a well-selected library. The successive pastors have been Messrs. Dilly, Troyer, Workman, Rinehart, Polton, Bower, Rock, and Booth.
392 - HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO.
AFRICAN METHODIST CHURCH.
It is not definitely known when this church was formally organized, but meetings were probably held as early as 1860, at first in private houses, and afterwards in the lecture room of the Baptist church. Rev. William H. Brown preached in the Odd Fellows' hall at Harmar, which the association had rented for the regular church services. During his ministry the members, although only five in number, determined to secure their own house of worship. The membership at this time consisted of Franklin Norman, Jane Norman, Susan Norman, Mrs. Fletcher, and Mrs. Strowders. In 1863 the society purchased the Old School Presbyterian church, on Third street. Since the Third street church was purchased the following ministers have served the congregation: Messrs. Brown, Ralph, Pettigrue, McTerry, Lee, Bell, Thomas, Cole, Whitman, Artis, and Davidson. The membership has steadily increased, and much gold has been accomplished. The membership is now twenty-eight, and a wide-awake little Sunday-school has been maintained, which now numbers about forty, the average attendance being thirty-five. The Sunday-school has a small library.
RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES.
There were five religious societies organized from 1801 to 1806, all except one of which were extinct before 1820. None of these organizations had denominational *designation, although perhaps all were in some way connected with denominational organizations.
The First Religious Society was organized March 2, 1801, and continues to be the association which transacts the business of the Congregational church. When this society was organized it was strictly union in its character, Christians of all shades of opinion being included in its membership. Other religious societies which were organized soon after followed the example of the First" church and society, of making the business organization independent of the church proper, which was of necessity in sympathy with some form of denominationalism. The First Religious society was directly connected with the Congregational church, the Second with the Presbyterian church, and the Religious Meeting-House society, which was organized April is, 1863, probably was indirectly connected with the Presbyterian church. , The Fourth Religious society was formed in 1805 by persons living east of Duck creek. This society drew its last ministerial dividend in 1812.
The Union Religious society, which was organized early in 1806, was formed almost wholly of residents of Harmar. It received dividends from the ministerial rents to 1818.
THE HALCYONS.
A new country is productive of new doctrines, particularly in matters of religion. Cutting loose from the scenes, the society, and the employments of childhood and life, breaks down natural reverence for old ideas and leads men into new systems of doctrine.
Abel Sargent, the founder of the Halcyon sect, visited Marietta first between 1801 and 1805. His doctrines were very similar to the faith of the modem Second Adventists, but great latitude on minor points were allowed. The doctrines commended themselves to many respectable people. Dr. McIntosh was perhaps the best known adherent. After the sect had declined as an organization he remained steadfast to the faith, and wrote a book, as will be seen by reference to his biography in another chapter. Sargent sought discussions with the clergy in different parts of the county and much personal controversy followed.
Peter Cartwright held a discussion with him in 1806 which led to an exposure. Sargeant announced his purpose to light a fire with light from heaven. A crowd was collected around a stump on which was placed some tinder. Bystanders were surprised and adherents delighted to see the prophecy fulfilled. Sargent praised God for sending fire from heaven, but the Methodist veteran reminded the witnesses that the smell of powder and brimstone indicated that the author of the fire lived in the lower regions.
The Halcyons declined after 1807 in point of numbers, a few, however, remained faithful. It no longer has an existence as a religious organization, but the doctrines in all. essential respects are entertained by many people all pver the country.
392 - HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
MARIETTA—EDUCATIONAL MATTERS.
The Earliest School Teachers at Campus Martius, "The Point," and Fort Harmar—The Muskingum Academy—How Built—Subscription List—The Institute of Education—Hamar Academy—Western Liberal Institute—Public Schools of Marietta and HarmarTheir Reorganization in 1849—High School—History of Marietta College—Its Origin and Growth—Presidents—Early Instructors— Buildings — Library — Cabinets — Graduates—Societies—Donations —Directory and Faculty.
EARLY SCHOOLS AND TEACHERS.
Schools were opened in Marietta at as early a date after the founding of the settlement as was possible. The teachers were paid in part by the Ohio company, and in part by the parents of their pupils. The pioneer schools were located in each one of the three clusters of settlements, which have heretofore been described, and to which we have several times alluded—Campus Martins, "The Point," and Fort Harmar. The first at Campus Martins was held in the northwest corner block-house in the winter of 1788-89, and was taught by Major Anselem Tupper, an officer in the Revolutionary army, and son of General Benjamin Tupper. He was a young man of fine education and literary tastes. At a late period Benjamin Slocomb, of Rhode Island was a teacher at the stockade. He was a graduate of Brown university. He returned to his native State in 1803 or 1806. Major Tupper died in Marietta in 1808. At "The Point" the early teachers were Jonathan Baldwin, a man of talent and education from Massachussets; a Mr. Curtis, brother
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO - 393
of Eleazer Curtis, of the Newburgh settlement, and Dr. Jabez True. The former had his school most of the time in a cooper-shop, and the latter had the use of a room in one of the block-houses. Up to 1796 no school-house had been erected in Marietta and probably none in the State of Ohio. Mr. Baldwin became a settler at Waterford afler the close of the war, and Mr. Curtis went to the Big Kanawha country. Dr. True died in Marietta in 1823.
As we have intimated, schools were opened upon the west side of the Muskingum about the same time that they were at Campus Martius and "the Point." But little is known, however, of the early teachers. One of the earliest of them, though at a period later than that to which the above mentioned belonged, was a Mr. Noble, a quaint old fellow, a bachelor, and, to quote the language of one of his first pupils, "a kindly old gentleman who loved his pupils and his snuff box." Another of those teachers was Benjamin F. Stone, who taught a school in a building which stood on the location now occupied by Mr. E. Luthringer as a tin-shop. Perhaps the most distinguished of those who taught in Harmar during early years was Mr. William Slocomb, whose reputation for thoroughness and culture attracted pupils from all parts of the settlement.
After the close of the Indian war the spirit of the New England pioneers, which had been expressed in the Ordinance of 5787, and in the resolutions of the Ohio company, asserted itself in the establishment of the first academy in the great Northwestern Territory.
THE MUSKINGUM ACADEMY.
The building of this school-house was proposed at a meeting of the inhabitants of Marietta, convened April 29, 1797, for the purpose of taking into consideration measures for promoting the education of the youths in the settlement. General Putnam was chairman of this meeting, and Return Jonathan Meigs, jr., clerk. It was resolved "that a committee of six be appointed to prepare a plan of a house suitable for the instruction of youth, and religious exercises, and to make an estimate of the expense and the most suitable means of raising the necessary moneys, and to fix upon a spot whereon to erect the house, and report on Saturday next at three o'clock, P. M." General Putnam, Paul Fearing, Griffin Greene, R. J. Meigs, jr., Charles Greene and Joshua Shipman were appointed the committee.
On the sixth of May the committee reported a plan for the building, estimating the cost of erecting and completing it at one thousand dollars; they also reported that their opinion was, that the best plan for raising the money was to assess the possessors of ministerial lands lying on the Ohio river between Hart's ditch and the north end of Front street, and between Front street and the Muskingum river, at the rate of one dollar for every one-third of an acre which they respectively possess; that the best place for the building was city lot 605; that a subscription be opened for raising the deficiency of money.
The report was accepted and a committee of five appointed. The assessments and subscriptions were to be considered as loans to be repaid out of the taxes of the ministerial lands; in case these amounts were not hereafter repaid, the persons so assessed, subscribing and paying, were to become proprietors of the building, in proportion to the sums paid.
Joshua Shipman was authorized to contract for the necessary boards and planks. At the next meeting, Saturday, the thirteenth of May, it was decided to call the building the Muskingum academy. Shares were fixed at ten dollars, and the proprietors had votes according to the number of shares owned. A meeting of the proprietors could be called by the possessors of thirty shares.
The following is a copy of the subscription paper drawn up for the building of the academy:
MAY 13, 792.
WHEREAS, It is in contemplation to build an academy at Marietta, to be called the Muskingum academy, by subscription, to be held in properties and moneys paid, the subscribers, desirous to carry so laudable an object into etfect, do hereby, each for himself, undertake and promise to pay to Jabez True, treasurer, to the proprietors of the academy aforesaid, or his successors, in case any should be appointed by the proprietors, such sum or sums as they may, and do hereby severally atfix to their names.
Rufus Putnam - $300 00
Charles Greene - 40 03
Return J. Meigs, jr - 40 00
Jabez True - 30 00
Joseph Lincoln. - 20 00
Ichabod Nye - 40 00
Joshua Shipman - 20 00
Ebenezer Sproat - 40 00
Paul Fearing. - 20 00
Griffin Green. - 20 00
John Collins - 10 00
Benjamin Tupper - 20 00
Earl Sproat. - 20 00
Samuel Thorniley - 50 00
Joseph Buell - 20 00
Timothy Buell - 10 00
Francis Thierrey - 2 00
Azariah Pratt - 10 00
Ezra Putnam - 15 00
Ashbel Hale - 10 00
Gilbert Devol, in work - 20 00
Nathan McIntosh, in brick - 25 00
Luther Sheperd - 10 00
James White. - 10 00
Perley Howe. - 10 00
William Rufus Putnam - 30 00
William Bridge, in laying brick - 10 00
Josiah Munroe - 15 00
John Brough. - 10 00
John Gilbert Petit - 10 00
Joel Bowen - 20 00
Levi Whipple - 10 00
William U. Parsons - 10 00
Thomas Lane - 10 00
Christopher Burlingame. - 20 00
Joseph Gilman & Son - 40 00
Judson Guitteau - 10 00
Josiah Hart - 10 00
William Hart - 10 00
Jonathan Devol - 10 00
Stephen Pierce - 5 00
William Skinner - 30 00
John Mathews - 20 00
Dudley Woodbridge - 30 00
Daniel Story - 30 00
David Putnam - 20 00
Edwin Putnam - 20 00
394 - HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO.
On May 16th a committee, consisting of Paul Fearing, Charles Greene, and Joshua Shipman, was appointed with full power to erect and complete the academy in accordance with the plan submitted at a former meeting, with the addition of a cellar under the whole building; they were authorized to purchase city lot No. 605, and the adjoining one.
Funds still being wanting, it was decided to sell to the highest bidder seats numbered one to twenty-one; the purchaser to have exclusive right to such seats on all public occasions; seats eighteen to twenty-one were withdrawn.
On May 21, 1800, a subscription was opened for completing the building, and a committee was appointed to report on a system of education; the report of the committee was made and accepted May 26th,
The following are the articles relating to education:
ARTICLE 3. It shall be the duty of the preceptor to teach the pupils writing, reading, arithmetic, geography, English grammar, and the Latin and Greek languages; the different branches in which a pupil is to be taught to be signified to the preceptor by the paret or the guardian of the pupil.
ARTICLE 4. It shall be the duty of the preceptor to pay due attention to the language and manners, particularly, and to the deportmet of the scholars generally, that they may be instructed to be civil and obliging to each other, and respectful everywhere, to all.
ARTICLE 5. It shall be the duty of the preceptor to cause some, or all of the pupils to learn select, entertaining, and instructive speeches and dialogues, adapted to their several capacities and ages, which they shall pronounce in the academy, before such audience as may attend on the quarter day, which shall be the last day of every quarter.
ARTICLE 6. It shall be the duty of the preceptor to see tht the pupils do not injure the seats, doors, writing-tables, and windows of the academy, and to cause the pews and floors to be thoroughly swept by some of the pupils every Saturday noon, and the movable seats and tables to be placed in order for the 1eception of the congregation on the succeeding Sabbath.
ARTICLE 7. The hours of tuition shall commence at nine o'clock in the forenoon and end at twelve, and commence at two in the afternoon and end at five, except during the witer, when they shall begin t half-past one and end at half-past four, at which times the preceptor shall cause the bell to be rung.
ARTICLE 8. The prices of tuition to be paid to the preceptor for each quarter shall be, tor reading and writing two dollars; for arithmetic, English grammar, the first rudiments of astronomy, and geography, two dollars and fifty cents; Latin, Greek, and mathematics, three dollars. There shall be paid for each pupil taught reading and writing, thirty cents; for those taught arithmetic, English grammar, and geography, forty cents; for Latin, Greek, and mathematics, fifty cents per quarter to the preceptor, who shall pay over the same to the academy, for its use to keep the academy in repair, and for such purposes as shall be directed by the proprietors.
On July 29, 1802 an improved plan of the building was presented. This included six new pews, which were sold that day at the following prices: Two for twenty-eight dollars, one for twenty-six dollars, and three for twenty-five dollars. The treasurer was then authorized to contract for building them. On the thirtieth of December this action was repealed, as its expediency was considered doubtful. At this meeting the following resolution was adopted:
WHEREAS, All professing Christians consider it as an essential branch of education to have their children, and those under their care, instructed in the principles of the Christian religion, and the public catechizing has been always considered as a part of the duty incumbent on the minister or pastor of a religious society; therefore,
Resolved, That the minister or pastor of the first religious society in Marietta shall have the liberty, from time to time, to instruct the pupils of the several schools that may hereafter be kept in the Muskingum academy; provided it is not more than half a day in any one month, and that he give at least three days notice to the preceptor of the time preferred for the exercises aforesaid.
The house was forty feet in length by twenty-four feet in width, and was twelve feet high, with arched ceiling. There were two chimneys, and a cellar of the same size as the building in length and breadth. There was a lobby projection from the front; the roof was square. Opposite the door was a broad aisle, at the end of which was a pulpit against the wall. On the right and left of the pulpit was a row of slips, On each side of the door, against the wall, were two slips facing the pulpit, and at each end of the room, at each side of the chimney, one slip. These slips were stationary and were fitted with desks that could be let down, and there were also boxes in the seats for holding books and paper. In the centre of the room was an open space which could be filled with movable seats. The house was used for the double purpose of an academy and a place for public worship.
The academy was opened in 1800, and David Putnam, who was a graduate of Yale college, was the first teacher.
The teachers after 1800 were: 1801, David Putnam; 1801, Edwin Putnam; 1803, John Leavin; 1804, Benjamin F. Stone; 1807, David Gilmore; 1807, N. K. Clough; 1808, M. B. Belknap; 1808, Timothy E. Donalson; 1809, Caleb Emerson.
In January, 1816, the building was leased to the Marietta School association for sixty dollars per year. The interior was materially changed and a school of a higher grade than any in town was established, in charge of Elisha Huntingdon, a graduate of Dartmouth. He taught for two or three years. After leaving the school he studied medicine, and, returning to Massachusetts, was for many years a resident of Lowell, practising medicine there. He was also for some years mayor of Lowell, and, for one term, lieutenant governor of Massachusetts. He died in 1867 or 1868.
Doctor Huntington was succeeded in the academy by William Slocumb, who taught there several years. He afterwards went into business in Marietta, and finally removed to Rochester, New York, where he died in 1873.
The building and lot was sold at auction October 8, 1832, for four hundred and seventy-nine dollars and two cents, to D. C. Skinner, esq., who removed it to the lot south of the Rhodes block, on Second street, where it now stands. The building is now the property of Judge C. R. Rhodes, and is rented as a tenement house.
The original location of the Muskingum academy was between the old Governor Meigs house (now the property of M. D. Follett, esq.,) and the Congregational church.
OTHER EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS.
From the time of the Muskingum academy, onward, the development of educational institutions was in two lines. Upon the one hand there was a succession of efforts to give the youths of the town, county, and surrounding region an advanced education through the medium of academies and institutes, and upon the other hand there was a development of the common schools.
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO - 395
The first of these lines of improvement reached its culmination in the establishment of Marietta college and the second developed the present public schools and the high school.
THE INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION.
The school which may be called the successor of the Muskingum academy was called The Institute of Education. It comprised an infant school, primary school, ladies' seminary, and high school, and was established by the Rev. L G. Bingham, in 1830. With Mr. Bingham became associated, a year later, Mr. Mansfield French. Mr. M. Brown, a graduate of Williams' college, had charge of the high school the first two years of its existence and was superseded by Mr. Henry Smith, of Middlebury college, in 1832. The ladies seminary was started under the management of Miss Spaulding, of Ipswich, Massachusetts. In 1832, Miss D. T. Wells, now Mrs. D. P. Bosworth, became assistant in this department. It was the high school of this Institute of Education which was chartered in 1833, as the Marietta Collegiate institute. And it was this institution which two years later was chartered as Marietta college. Into the hands of the same corporation also came the ladies' seminary, but the schools were maintained as separate institutions. Miss Spaulding was succeeded by Miss Wells, and afterward Miss C. M. Webster, Miss S. Jaquith, and Mrs. L. Tenney were successively the principals. The trustees sold the property in 1843, but the school was continued for a number of years by Mrs. Tenney.
HARMAR ACADEMY.
In 1844 an academy was organized in Harmar, known as the Harmar academy. This was found to be a valuable adjunct to the schools already established. These schools, being of a lower grade, needed the stimulus which the academy supplied. From the first the academy received the hearty and liberal support of the citizens of Harmar. A suitable building was provided by the citizens, at an expense of about two thousand dollars, and many of those who were too poor to contribute money, contributed labor in the construction of the building. Distinguished teachers were invited to assume control of this school, and, from the catalogue of 1848, we find there were in attendance at the academy during 1847-8 one bundled and sixty-six different pupils. The reputation of this school may be understood when it is known that within two years after its organization, pupils were in attendance from all parts of the counfry. The catalogue of 1848 contains the names of pupils from all the more important settlements in the county, from McConnelsville, Xenia, Cincinnati, Wheeling, West Virginia; Governeur, New York; Wood county, West Virginia, and from many points in the contiguous counties. The male and female departments were separate. The Rev. Henry Bates, A. M,, was principal of the male department, and Miss Sarah Jacquith principal of the female department. The principals were supported by twelve assistants. The board of trustees of this date consisted of John Crawford, Douglas Putnam, Henry Fearing, Harlow Chapin and Silas T. Jewell. Upon the reorganization of the public schools, in 1849, the academy became the high school department of these schools, and under the efficient administration of Mr. Bates, John Giles, George H. Howison and Robert S. Boreland, did valuable work.
THE WESTERN LIBERAL INSTITUTE
was a school of the higher class, organized by the Universalists of Marietta. The charter was obtained March 21, 1850. Felix Regnier, Joseph Holden, Owen Franks, George W. Barker, William Devol, William Pitt Putnam and L J. P. Putnam and their associates were the corporators, and the first trustees were G. W. Barker, Owen Franks and James M. Booth. The first principal was Paul Kendall. Instruction was given to the youth of both sexes during the period the school remained in existence, which was about ten years. The trustees erected a building for the school upon Second street, south of Butler.
THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS.*
During the early years of the life of Marietta, while the several academies we have described were in existence, there were kept by divers persons at various times §mall select or private schools, and also the common district schools maintained under the law of 1821. There was little change or improvement prior to 1825. The small revenue then derived from the lease of school lands and the disfavor which the law of 1821 met with, here as elsewhere, in consequence of its charitable provisions for the poor, made the success of the schools dependent upon the liberality and wise encouragement they received from the citizens. This necessary support they received to an unusual degree..
Important school legislation being made from 1825 to 1829, the schools were placed on a more satisfactory footing.
REORGANIZATION OF THE SCHOOLS.
In May, 1849, the schools of Marietta were reorganized, and a graded system, embracing a union of all the schools, was adopted. For some years previous, the schools were five in number, in as many separate and independent districts. Female teachers were employed in these separate schools during the summer, and in winter their places were given to male teachers. The schools, under this plan, were conducted from six to eight months each year. At Akron, and a number of other places throughout the State, the graded or union system had been tried with excellent results, and it was determined to try the experiment in Marietta. The plan was first suggested in September, 1848, at the annual meeting of one of the five districts. It was agreed at this meeting to invite the other four districts to consider the matter at a joint meeting. As a result of this invitation, a joint meeting of all the directors was held, and a reorganization upon the union plan was recommended to the citizens. A public meeting being called, the change was endorsed, and as a result, in the following March, the first union board of education was elected. This board consisted of Dr. I. W. Andrews, T. W. Ewart, R. E. Harte, Lucius Brigham, E. H. Allen, and Robert Craw-
* By Professor John T. Duff.
396 - HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO.
ford. Under the direction of these gentlemen the union or graded system went into effect in May, 1849.
At first three grades were established, primary, secondary, and grammar. During the first year eight schools were established, to-wit: four primary, two secondary, and two grammar schools. These schools were taught in the buildings occupied by the district schools, two of which had been enlarged for the purpose. These schools were all taught by ladies except one grammar school for boys, which was taught by Mr. Theodore Scott.
HIGH SCHOOL.
There was no high school until 1850, when Mr. E. D. Kingsley was chosen superintendent of the schools, and organized that department. The first class graduated from the high school in 1853, and consisted of the following persons : Harriet L. Shipman, Sophia Browning, Mary C. Slocumb, Virginia N. Nye, Caroline E. Brigham, Maria R. Booth, Mary O. Tolford, Jane E. Butler, Elizabeth T. Soyez, Maria M. Morse, Vesta M. Westgate, Julia L. Holden, Rhoda M. Shipman, Mary P. Gilbert, John W. Morse, William B. Loomis, and Justus Morse, jr.
SUPERINTENDENTS AND PRINCIPALS.
Among the superintendents of the Marietta schools since the reorganization may be named E. D. Kingsley who remained in charge until 1855. Hon. M. D. Follett, of Marietta succeeded Mr. Kingsley. He remained two years, when he resigned to enter the practice of the law. E. A. Jones, at present superintendent of the Massillon, Ohio, schools, served as superintendent for two years. The present incumbent, C. K. Wells, was chosen as principal of the high school in the fall of 1879, since which time he has also performed the duties of superintendent in whole or in part.
Among the teachers of the High school at different periods may be named J. O. Gould; Prof. Geo. R. Rossiter, now professor of mathematics in Marietta college; Rev. George R. Gear, now pastor of the Baptist society of Marietta; Miss Lizzie Anderson and others. In addition to the present superintendent, the Marietta schools are ably managed by Prof. S. S. Porter, who for years has been the principal of the Washington Street schools; by Miss Lizie Anderson principal of the Greene Street schools, and by C. W. Hudson principal of the Third Street schools. The report of Superintendent Wells for April, 1881, shows that there are at present employed in the Marietta schools twenty-three teachers; the total enrollment of pupils, one thousand one hundred and thirty-two, and the average daily attendance one thousand and thirty-one. This includes the colored school which numbers thirty pupils, with a daily attendance of twenty-three.
REORGANIZATION OF HARMAR SCHOOLS.
Early in 1849, the attention of Douglas Putnam, Luther Temple and other citizens was called to the excellent results of the union or graded system which was then being introduced into many of the schools of the State, and through the interest of these gentlemen and others equally interested, the Harmar schools were re organized upon the union plan in the fall of 1849, The first union board of education consisted of Douglas Putnam, Luther Temple, John Crawford, Samuel Bussard E. G. Smith and S. T. Jewell. The Rev. Mr. Bates of the academy, was chosen teacher of the high school, and superintendent of the schools. Mrs. J. P. Stratton was chosen teacher of the grammar school, while Miss Mettle Fearing, now the wife of Captain T. M. Turner, of Cincinnati, and Miss Mary Crawford were selected as primary teachers.
Mr. Bates remained as superintendent of the schools until 1852 when he resigned, and John Giles, of McConnelsville, Ohio, was chosen to fill the vacancy. Mr. Giles remained in charge until 1858, when he was superseded by Mr. Boreland. Miss Stratton remained in the grammar department doing excellent work until 1852. After the withdrawal of Miss Fearing, Miss Lucy, Abbott, afterwards the wife of Hon. Amos Layman, was appointed as teacher.
DISCONTINUANCE OF THE HIGH SCHOOL.
In 1863 the high department had become so reduced in numbers that it was deemed advisable by the board of education to discontinue it. It was provided, however!, that all who should complete the grammar school course,' should be transferred to the Marietta high school, the tuition to be paid from the tuition fund of the Harmar board of education. This plan remained in operation until the fall of 1876, when the board determined to reduce the course of study to eight years,—four primary and four grammar—thereby abolishing high school instruction. This arrangement has been continued to the , present.
COLORED SCHOOLS.
At the reorganization of the Harmar schools, the board determined to establish no class schools, and colored pupils were assigned, without reference to their color, to whatever grade of school their attainments entitled them.
Martha E. Grey was the first colored pupil who passed a successful examination for entrance into the High school. This was in 1873. In September of the same year she applied for admission into the Marietta High school, but her request was not granted. A separate school for colored youth is maintained in Marietta, but colored pupils are now received into the High school.
SUPERINTENDENTS AND TEACHERS IN HARMAR.
After the withdrawal of Mr. Boreland as superintendent in 1860, Mr. W. H. G. Adney, now professor of sciences in Meadville college, was chosen. He remained but one year, being succeeded by Mr. George H. Howison. At the expiration of the year Mr. Howison resigned, and Mr. Boreland was again placed at the head of the schools. He, in turn, was succeeded by Sarah L Bosworth. The following year, the Rev. William Wakefield, a member of the board of education, was appointed to take a partial supervision of the schools, and for this service he was allowed a compensation of one hundred and fifty dollars. Mr. Martin R. Andrews, a graduate of Marietta college, was afterwards
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO - 397
chosen as superintendent. Mr. Andrews remained until 1870, when he resigned to accept the superintendency of the Steubenville, Ohio, schools. From 1871 to 1876, John T. Duff, a graduate of the Ohio university, was the superintendent, at which latter date he resigned to accept the superintendency of the Bellaire City schools. The present superintendent is Mr. John D. Phillips, who for many years was the principal of the Green Street grammar school of Marietta.
The superintendent of the Harmar schools is at present assisted by a corps of five teachers. The enrollment of pupils in the schools is about two hundred and eighty. Of the present corp of teachers, Miss Lydia N. Hart, and Miss Susan Daniels, have served continuously for fourteen and fifteen years respectively.
MARIETTA COLLEGE.*
Marietta college owes its existence and success to the character of the men who began upon the Muskingum the settlement of the northwest. There was a deep conviction on the part of many of the most intelligent men in southeastern Ohio that a literary institution of high order was essential to the educational and religious interests of a large region, of which Marietta was the centre. This conviction was confirmed by the opinions of men of high standing both west and east.
The enterprise was undertaken by men who understood that a long and arduous work was before them. They knew that an institution conducted with reference to genuine and thorough culture, with no resort to superficial methods or temporary expedients, must be of slow growth. They had but moderate means from which to draw, but their gifts were most generous. They gave expecting to give again and again, as they have done. They believed that such an institution as they proposed to establish was indispensable, and their faith in its success was strong from the beginning.
The college was the natural outgrowth of this settlement by the Ohio company. The descendants of the men of the Revolution and their associates in the Ohio company, whose ideas of civil society were embodied in the immortal ordinance of 1787, were the founders of Marietta college, and they have been its warmest and most steadfast friends and its most generous benefactors. To speak of no others, the families of the two Putnams—General Israel and General Rufus—of Dr. Manasseh Cutler and General Benjamin Tupper, have furnished eight trustees of the college, five of whom still hold to this relation.
The charter of Marietta college bears date February 14, 1835. The institution had, however, been in operation a short time under another name. An act of incorporation had been obtained December 17, 1832, for "The Marietta Collegiate Institute and Western Teachters' Seminary." This charter gave no power to confer
In 1876 Presidet Israel Ward Andrews prepared a historical sketch of Marietta college, at the request of the bureau of education, for the Centennial exhibition. It was published in the Ohio Centennial Volume upon Educational Institutions. The history as it here appears embodies the greater part of the sketch originally prepared, with much new matter from the same hand, and numerous corrections and additions, bringing it down to 1881. degrees, and contained a section authorizing any future legislature to amend or repeal it. A new charter was obtained two years later, free from the repealing clause and giving the power to confer degrees.
The same gentlemen were named as corporators in both charters, viz: Luther C. Bingham, John Cotton, Caleb Emerson, John Mills, John Crawford, Arius Nye, Douglas Putnam, Jonas Moore, and Anselem T. Nye, though two of them, Messrs. Arius Nye and John Crawford, retired from the board about the time the college charter was obtained.
These gentlemen, and their succeesors, were constituted a body corporate and politic with perpetual succession, with all the powers and privileges incident to a corporation, to be known and distinguished by the name and style of "The Trustees of Marietta College."
There is no restriction or requirement as to residence, religious belief, or any other qualification. The State has no management or control of the institution, and no State official is a trustee ex-officio. It is not under the direction of any religious denomination, nor has any ecclesiastical body the. power to appoint or nominate trustees. It was intended to be an institution where sound learning should be cultivated under the best religious influences; a Christian college, controlled by a board of trustees, with power to fill all vacancies rn their body.
The charter has been modified but once. An amendment made December 21, 1844, authorized the board of trustees to increase the number of members at their discretion, provided it should not consist of more than twenty-five. The full number of members has never been reached; the present number of elected members (the president of the college is a member ex-officio, and
has been unanimously elected to the presidency of the board of trustees) is twenty-one.
Of the seven trustees who continued to act under the charter of 1835, one left the board in 5845, on his removal to the east, three have deceased and three are still connected with the college.
Rev. Luther G. Bingham, a native of Cornwall, Vermont, and graduate of Middlebury college, was pastor of the Congregational church at Marietta, though a member of the presbytery of Athens when the college was founded. In connection with Mr. Mansfield French, he had established a high school at Marietta, and the building they had erected became the property of the college. Mr. Bingham left. Marietta for Cincinnati in 1838, and a few years later removed to Brooklyn, New York. He was very active in the early history of the college, and his connection with it as trustee continued till 1845.
Hon. John Cotton, M. D., a lineal descendent of the distinguished clergyman of that name, who came to Boston in 633, was born at Plymouth, Massachusetts, September 9, 1792, and was graduated at Harvard in 1810. He established himself as a physician at Marietta, and remained here till his death, April 2, 1847. Dr. Cotton filled many positions of usefulness, and was a most valuable member of the board of trustees. He was elected president of the board at its organization in
398 - HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO.
December, 1832, and continued president till the year 1838.
Caleb Emerson, esq., was born at Ashby, Massachusetts, August 21, 1779, and came to Ohio in 1808. He was a lawyer by profession and a man of philosophic mind, enriched by very wide reading. He married a daughter of Captain William Dana, one of the pioneers, whose descendants are numerous and of the highest respectability. Mr. Emerson was a trustee till his death, March 14, 1853.
Jonas Moore, M. D., another of the founders of the college, was also a native of Massachusetts, born March 9, 1781. His early manhood was spent at the south, but for many years he was a citizen of Marietta. He was a warm friend of the college, and gave generously to its funds. Dr. Moore died March 24, 1856,
The three surviving founders, John Mills, Douglas Putnam and Anselem T. Nye, are all natives of Marietta. They have all been prominent business men, and identified with the most important enterprises of the place. Colonel Mills was treasurer of the college from its founding till 1850, rendering this service gratuitously, the treasury being also almost always overdrawn, sometimes to the amount of several thousand dollars. Mr. Putnam has been the secretary of the board from the beginning. Both have been members of the executive committee from the first, and they are the two largest donors. Colonel Mills gave one thousand dollars when the college was founded; his last gift was ten thousand dollars. The sum of his donations is nearly twenty-three thousand dollars. Mr. Putnam's first gift was two hundred dollars, and his last twenty-five thousand dollars; the whole amounting to about fifty-thousand dollars.
Between 1835 and 1845, when the amendment in the charter authorized an increase of members, there was but one addition to the board—Rev. Addison Kingsbury, D. D., of Zanesville, who was elected in 1838, and who is still a member. Of those elected in 1845 and subsequently, the following gentlemen remained members till their decease: Henry Starr, esq., 1845-51; Rev. Charles M. Putnam, 1845-70; William Slocumb, esq., 1847-73; Noah L. Wilson, esq., 1849-67; Rev. Thomas Wickes, D. D., 1849-70; Hon. Simeon Nash, 1845-79; Hon. William R. Putnam, 1849-81; Samuel Shipman, 1859-80; Benjamin B. Gaylord, esq., 1864-80.
The Collegiate Institute went into operation in the autumn of 1833. Mr. Henry Smith, who was at the head of a high school in Marietta when the first charter was obtained, was elected professor of Latin and Greek in the winter of 1832-33. In May, 1833, Mr. Milo P. Jewett was made professor in the teachers' department, and in August Mr. D. Howe Allen was chosen professor of mathematics, and Mr. Samuel Maxwell, principal of the preparatory department. A freshman class was formed that fall, but becoming reduced in numbers, its members fell back into the next class, which was graduated in 1838.
The relations of these gentlemen to the institution remained unchanged under the charter of 1835, Professor Jewett having been transferred in the summer of 1834 to the chair of rhetoric and oratory. In the spring of 1835 Rev. Joel H. Linsley, of Boston, was elected president. Thus, when the Collegiate Institute became Marietta college, the faculty consisted of five members, a president, who was also professor of moral and intellectual philosophy, a professor of languages, a professor of rhetoric and oratory, a professor Of mathematics, and a principal of the preparatory department.
President Linsley remained at the head of the institute till 1846, when he accepted the pastorate of a church in Greenwich, Connecticut. He devoted himself to the duties of his office with the utmost zeal and fidelity, rendering fruitful service, both as • an instructor and in the general work of administration. All who knew him will recognize the truthfulness of the words penned by his successor concerning him:
To the deep-toned piety and spiritual fidelity of Dr. Linsley, the institution is largely indebted for the internal religious influence which prevailed, and the frequent and powerful revivals of religion which blessed it during the period of his presidency; and to his earnest conviction of the importance of the institution to the cause of Christ, and his stirring appeals from the pulpit, is to be ascribed much of the public confidence which it has secured, and the favor which it has met with from the friends of Christian education, both east and west.
Dr. Linsley was born at Cornwall, Vermont, July 6, 1790; was graduated at Middlebury college, 1818, was tutor from 1813 to 1815; practiced law at Middlebury, 1816--22; pastor of the South Congregational church, Hartford, Connecticut, 1824--32; pastor of Park Street church, Boston, Massachusetts, 1832--35; president of Marietta college, 1835--46; pastor of the Second Congregational church at Greenwich till his death, March 22, 1868. He received the degree of D.D. from Middlebury in 1837, and was a trustee of Yale college from 1855 till his death.
President Linsley was succeeded in the presidency by Professor Henry Smith, who had been Professor of Languages from the foundation of the college. The institution was fortunate in all the members of its first faculty. Four of them came directly from the Theological seminary at Andover, and their subsequent success attests the good judgment of the trustees in their appointment. Dr. Smith remained in the college longer than any of his associates, and his department of instruction furnished the opportunity to leave a decided impress upon the institution in its forming period. While those associated with him in laying the foundations of the college were men of fine ability and high attainments, some of them eminently so, it is not doing them injustice to say that the college is more indebted to him than to any other of its instructors for shaping its character, and making it a place of genuine and thorough culture. Few men have combined in a higher degree than Dr. Smith broad and exact scholarship, ability in instruction, and eminence in the pulpit. He resigned the presidency in the winter of 1854-5, and accepted an invitation to the chair of sacred rhetoric in Lane seminary, with which institution he was connected to the time of his death, with the exception of a few years at Buffalo, New York, as pastor of the North Presbyterian church. President Smith was graduated at Middlebury college in 1827, and was tutor there from
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO - 399
1828 to 1830. He received the honorary degree of D.D. at Middlebury in 1847, and that of LL.D. at Marietta in 1874. He died at Walnut Hills, January 14, 1879.
Dr. Smith's successor was the present president—Israel Ward Andrews, LL. D.
Professor Jewett (a graduate of Dartmouth in 1828), left the college in 1838. For many years he was at the head of a female seminary in Alabama, and then removed to Poughkeepsie, New York, It was during his residence there that Mr. Matthew Vassar decided to appropriate a portion of his property to the founding of a college for young ladies; and it was, doubtless, owing in part at least, to the influence of Professor Jewett, that this munificent gift, originally intended for another purpose, took an educational direction. He was appointed the first president of Vassar college, and visited Europe to examine institutions with reference to methods of instruction and courses of study. He is now living in Wisconsin. The degree of doctor of laws was conferred on Professor Jewett in 1861, by the university of Rochester, New York.
Professor D. Howe Allen (Dartmouth, 1829) was transferred from the chair of mathematics to that of rhetoric and oratory, at his own request, in 1838, on the resignation of Professor Jewett. His fitness for successful work as an instructor, and his personal influence over young men, were remarkable, and his loss was seriously felt when he accepted an invitation to Lane seminary in the early autumn of 1840. As professor of sacred rhetoric, and afterward of theology, he was eminently successful. Professor Allen was born at Lebanon, New Hampshire, July 8, 1808. The honorary degree of doctor of divinity was conferred upon him by Marietta college in 1848. His connection with Lane seminary remained till his death, though for some years he was laid aside from active duty. He died November 9, 1870.
Professor Samuel Maxwell (Amherst, 1829) was connected with the institution for more than twenty years, for the greater part of the time being in charge of the academy or preparatory department. He was a man of great personal excellence, and was most conscientious in the discharge of his duties. In 1855 he relinquished that work, and established a boarding school for lads. He was born at Lebanon, Connecticut, March 9, 1804, and died at Marietta, January 24, 1867.
Of the orginal faculty of five,* one only is now living —Doctor Milo P. Jewett. The following gentlemen have been professors for various periods, but are not now in active duty: Professor John Kendrick, a graduate of Dartmouth, 1826, and valedictorian of the class to which Chief Justice Chase belonged, succeeded Professor Allen in the chair of rhetoric, etc., in 1840, having for some years previously been a member of the faculty of Kenyon college. He was transferred to the department of ancient languages when Dr. Smith became president in 1846. In 1866 the department was divided, Dr. Kendrick retaining the Greek. He resigned in 1873,
* It is worthy of note that three of these five were the valedictorians of their respective classes in college.
having been in active service in the college for thirty- three years. Since that time he has been professor emeritus. *
Professor Hiram Bingham, a graduate of Middlebury, 1839, occupied the chair of geology and chemistry from 1846 to 1849, since which time he has been in the work of the ministry in northern Ohio.
Professor Ebenezer B. Andrews, an alumnus of the college, of the class of 1842, was elected to the department of geology, etc., in 1851. With the exception of two years in the army as colonel of the Thirty-sixth Ohio volunteer infantry, he continued to drscharge the duties of this professorship till 1870, when he resigned to enter the service of the State in the geological survey.
Professor Addison Ballard (Williams college, 1842) was professor of mathematics and natural philosophy from 1855 to 1857, having previously held the chair of rhetoric at Williams college. He is now professor at Lafayette college, Easton, Pennsylvania.:
Dr. Ballard was succeeded by Professor Evan W. Evans (Yale, 1850, who occupied the mathematical chair till 1865. On the organization of Cornell university he was elected professor of higher mathematics in that institution. He died in 1874.
In 1860 Mr. Edward P. Walker (Marietta, 1856) was appointed professor of rhetoric and English literature. He had been tutor from 1856 to 1857. The hopes cherished by his friends and associates, that a long career of usefulness was before him, were cut off by his death, December 27, 1861.
After the resignation of Dr. E. B. Andrews, in 1870, the vacancy was filled by the appointment of Mr. William B. Graves (Amherst, 1862). Professor Graves had charge of the chemicat and geological department till 1874, when he accepted an appointment in the Agricultural college at Amherst, Massachusetts.
Professor S. Stanhope Orris (College of New Jersey, 1862), succeeded Professor Kendrick in the Greek chair in 1873. He resigned in 1877 to accept the same chair at Princeton.
The gentlemen named above are all, besides the present faculty, who have held permanent professorships in the college, though a number have been acting professors for short periods, or have been lecturers. George 0. Hildreth, M. D., lectured on chemistry and mineralogy from 1840 to 1843. Timothy S. Pinneo, M. D., was acting professor of mathematics in 1843-4. Professor Alonzo Gray gave instruction in 1844-5, and Professor W. W. Mather in the same department in 1845-6. Professor George R. Rosseter had charge of the Mathematical department in 1850–x, and Professor William Porter, now of Beloit college, gave instruction in the classical department from 1850 to 1852. Charles H. Raymond, M. D., lectured on chemistry in 1850-1, and Rev. Charles S. Le Duc gave instructions in mathe-
* Dartmouth college conferred upon hint the degree of doctor of laws in 1870.
+The degree of doctor of laws was conferred on him by his Alma Mater in 5870. He died at Lancaster, Ohio, August 14, 880.
++ He received the degree of D.D. from Williams in 1867.
400 - HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO.
matics in 1852-3. Professor Erastus Adkins, formerly of Shurtleff college, gave instruction in Greek from 1857 to 1859, and in Greek and rhetoric from 1864 to 1866. Professor John N. Lyle, now of Westminster college, Missouri, had charge of the department of mathematics and natural philosophy from 1866 to 1868.
The present faculty numbers eight, including the principal of the academy and the tutor, four of them being graduates of the college.
Israel Ward Andrews, LL, D., succeeded Dr. Smith as president, being elected in January, 1855. He has filled this position continuously since, and served longer than any college president in the west, and, with perhaps one exception, longer than any in the United States. He entered the college as a tutor in the fall of 1838, having graduated from Williams college in the previous year, and taught an academy for a short time at Lee, Massachusetts.
In April, 1839, he was elected professor of mathematics, in which capacity he was employed until his presidency began. Dr. Andrews is the son of Rev. William and Sarah (Parkhill) Andrews, and was born at Danbury, Connecticut, January 3, 1815. He received the degree of D. D., from Williams' college in 1856, and that of LL. D. from Iowa in 1874, and from Wabash college in 1876.
Professor George R. Rosseter (Marietta, 1843,) was tutor from 1845 to 1847; acting professor of mathematics in 1850-1; principal of the academy from 1864 to 1868; and then was elected to the chair of mathematics, natural philosophy and astronomy.
Professor John L. Mills (Yale, 1835) was tutor at Yale from 1858 to 1861, professor of mathematics, etc., here from 1865 to 1866, and was then transferred to the chair of Latin.
Professor David E. Beach (Marietta, 1859) was principal of the academy for two years, from 1859 to 1861, and in 1869 was appointed professor of moral philosophy and rhetoric.
Professor Thomas D. Biscoe, a graduate of Amherst in 1863, tutor there one year, and Walker instructor in mathematics from 1866 to 1869, was appointed professor of chemistry and geology in 1874.
Professor Irving J. Manatt (B. A., Iowa college, 1869, and Ph. D., Yale, 1873) was tutor at Iowa college one year, acting professor at Dennison university two years, and was elected professor of Greek at Marietta in 1877.
Professor Martin R. Andrews (Marietta, 1869) has been principal of the academy since 1879, and the present tutor is Mr. William A. Batchelor, of the class of 1878.
It has been stated above that Professor Maxwell, the first principal of the academy, continued in charge of it till 1855. Since that time some graduate of the college has been principal, with the exception of two years, from 1862 to 1864, when it was under the care of Rev. Edward F. Fish, a graduate of Hamilton college.
Of the tutors, all have been alumni of the college except for the year 1838-9. The whole number of instructors—presidents, professors, principals of the academy, and tutors—has been forty-seven, of whom thirty-one have been Marietta graduates. The institution has thus honored its own educational work by calling back its alumni, and committing to them the responsible work of instruction.
The experience of the college is decidedly favorable to the election of young men as professors. It has been seen that four of the five gentlemen composing the first faculty came directly from the theological seminary. Of the eighteen different professors, five only had been engaged in other professional work. These five had been pastors of churches, but, with one exception, that of President Linsley, their periods of clerical service had been short, ranging from two to six years. All but one entered upon their duties as professors at an early age. Twelve of the eighteen had been tutors, here or elsewhere, before becoming professors. Two of the three presidents were elected from the corps of professors; in both cases men who had come here in early manhood. The aggregate time spent by these two in the work of instruction in the college has amounted to sixty-five years.
One feature of the college was modified after a few years' experience. When the institution was opened, provision was made for daily labor, agricultural and mechanical, and each student was required to work three hours a day in summer, and two in winter. As early as 1838 the shops were directed to be rented, and manual labor became optional. The last mention of it in the annual catalogue is found in that for 1842-3.
PLAN OF EDUCATION AND COURSE OF STUDY.
In founding the institution, it was the purpose to establish a genuine college of the New England type. It has been seen that all the members of the original faculty had been educated in the eastern colleges, and the same is true of those trustees who had received a liberal education. Of the eighteen who have held permanent chairs in the college, three were graduates of Middlebury college, three of Dartmouth, two of Amherst, two of Williams, two of Yale, one of Princeton, one of Iowa, and four of Marietta. The institution was thus molded after the New England type, and its course of study and general plan continue to be substantially the same as in those colleges.
At first special arrangements were made for the instruction of teachers; but that department soon took the form of the scientific course, found in so many colleges, embracing all the languages pursued in the classical course except the ancient languages, with some additional work in mathematics and its applications. But while this course, though inferior to the classical, was good in itself, as is shown in the case of the few students who completed it, the difficulty was that the students did not remain to finish it. Whatever may have been the cause, this was the fact. While the regular course was completed by over sixty per cent. of those who entered it, this short course of three years was completed by only six per cent.
The experience of the college is decidedly adverse to
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO - 401
any alternative course of study not substantially equal in time and degree of culture to the full classical course. The philosophical course was established recently, the studies of which are the same as in the classical, except the Greek. For this the modern languages are substituted, both in the preparatory department, and in college.
With scarcely an exception, the professors have given no instruction in the preparatory department, nor have their energies been exhausted in attempting to carry on a number of parallel courses of study. Their strength has been concentrated upon the proper undergraduate course, and they believe that the result has shown the wisdom of this policy. The requisites for admission have been gradually increased, and such changes have been made from time to time in the studies of the course as experience and the progress of the times have made desirable. The optional system has not been regarded with favor. The first president, in his inaugural address, characterizes the theory that each should follow his own predilections, and pursue those studies only for which he has the most relish and the best capacity, as fallacious in theory and mischievous in practice. The same system was also discussed by the present president at his inauguration in 1855. He says: "This college has not wasted her energies, or jeopardized the interests of her young men by any rash experiments. She has pursued that course which the experience of the past and the wisdom of the most learned have pronounced to be the best adapted to secure the highest and most symmetrical development of the human intellect."
Whatever changes have taken place, the principles underlying and guiding have remained the same. Marietta has no hesitation in declaring a decided preference for the methods adopted at Yale and Williams over those at Charlottesville and Ithaca.
The custom, well nigh universal forty years ago, of attending morning prayers and recitation before breakfast, and at a very early hour, was changed at Marietta in 840.
RELIGIOUS INFLUENCES.
The founders of the college were religious men, and their purpose was to establish a Christian institution. The design and aim have been to furnish the best facilities for instruction in all the branches of a liberal, nonprofessional education, and at the same time to bring the students under religious influences. A leading object was the training of young men for the work of the gospel ministry. One of the first donations was the sum of five thousand dollars, given by Deacon Samuel Train, of Medford, Massachusetts, toward a fund for aiding the students who were preparing for this work. But the institution is under no ecclesiastical control, and neither charter nor by-laws imposes any restriction in the election of trustees or professors. The first board of trustees, nine in number, had in it members of five different denominations. And the fund spoken of above is used to aid young men of promise belonging to any evangelical denomination.
The chapel services, held every morning, and attendants upon which is obligatory, consist usually of reading the Scriptures, singing and prayer. Until 1868 there was a chapel service every evening also. There is no chaplain, and on the Sabbath students attend those churches in town which their parents prefer, there being no preaching service in the chapel. All the classes have a Biblical exercise on Monday morning.
Thirty-seven per cent. of the alumni have studied for the ministry. It may also be stated that seventy-seven per cent. were professedly religious men at the time of their graduation, and that twenty-four per cent. were converted in college.
PREPARATORY DEPARTMENT.
From the first, a separate department has been in operation, with the object of preparing young men for college. Since 1840 it has been known as the Marietta academy. It has a permanent principal, who receives the same salary as a professor in the college. The course of study occupies three years, and the school, in its plan and appointments, is specially designed for those seeking a liberal education, though others are received. Of those admitted to the freshman class, about three- fourths on the average are prepared at this academy. The average annual attendance, as shown from all the catalogues, is seventy-six.
BUILDINGS.
The educational work of the college proper was carried on, till 1850, in a single building of very moderate dimensions. It is seventy-five feet by forty, four stories high, with a basement and an attic. The basement has long since ceased to be used for recitation rooms, as originally designed. The building is now used for students' rooms, except the Latin recitation room and the reading room. It was erected in 1832.
The second building is seventy-five feet by fifty-three, three stories high, with a tower. It was erected in 1850, according to the plans and under the supervision of Hon. R. E. Harte, of Marietta. On the first floor are the president's lecture room, the mathematical room, the chemical lecture room, and a working room for the chemical department. About half of the second story is occupied as a room for the college cabinet and apparatus. There are also the Greek room, the rhetorical room, and the Hildreth cabinet. In this last are deposited the specimens in natural history and geology presented to the college by the late S. P. Hildreth, LL D. The two literary societies occupy the third floor.
This building, whose corner-stone was laid in 1845, with an address by Hon. Lewis Cass, who was a citizen of Marietta in his early manhood, was erected through the liberality of the people of Marietta. The room containing the cabinet and apparatus is named Slocomb hall, from William Slocomb, esq., one of the principal donors.
The third building of the group was finished in 1870, and was erected by the alumni and other students of the college. Its cost, including the fitting up of the two rooms of the libraries of the two literary societies, was about twenty-five thousand dollars. It is two storks
402 - HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO.
high, and seventy-five by fifty feet on the ground. The lower story, which is sixteen and one-half feet high, is divided by a wide hall into two equal parts, one of which, intended for an alumni hall, is at present used as a chapel. The other half furnishes two fine rooms for the society libraries.
The whole of the second story, which is twenty feet high, is devoted to the college library. The room is surrounded with a gallery, and has twenty-five alcoves, each lighted with its own window.
On another part of the grounds is a building used for the preparatory department exclusively, thus keeping this department entirely distinct from the college. This building is of wood, while the others are of brick. The three forming the college group are on an elevated portion of the grounds, with a beautiful slope in front.
The outlay for buildings has been moderate. The trustees have acted on the principle that the real efficiency of an institution of learning is in men, with books and apparatus to work with, rather than buildings. There has been no ambition to erect fine edifices.
LIBRARIES, CABINETS, ETC.
As early as December, 1834, Professor Henry Smith obtained leave of absence, with continuance of salary, to go to Europe for the purpose of study. His departure was delayed, however, till the summer of 1836, and meanwhile efforts were made to raise funds for the purchase of books and apparatus Most opportunely, though quite unexpectedly, the sum was increased by the gift of one thousand dollars from the estate of Samuel Stone, of Townsend, Massachusetts. A like amount was given to each of several colleges, for the purchase of books. The portion coming to Marietta was expended for philological works. Dr. Smith says: "These books were carefully selected and purchased, for the most part, by a personal attendance upon the great auction sales of Leipsic and Halle. In this way the institution came into possession of one of the most valuable collections of classical works in the west, and for a sum probably less than one-third the price it would have cost in this country."
In 1830 a special effort was made by a few friends to increase the library. Mr. Douglas Putnam gave two thousand five hundred dollars, Mr. N. L. Wilson one thousand fine hundred dollars, Mr. William Sturges one thousand two hundred and fifty dollars, Colonel John Mills one thousand dollars, Mr. Winthrop B. Smith five hundred dollars, and others in smaller sums. President Smith expended most of this money abroad, thus increasing largely the number of works needed in the several departments of instruction. Subsequent purchases have been made from year to year, almost all with reference to the wants of the professors. The college library is thus largely professorial, the literary societies providing for the current literature.
In 1850 Dr. Samuel P. Hildreth, an eminent naturalist of Marietta, gave to the college his cabinet of minerals, etc., together with some five hundred volumes, chiefly scientific and historical. He continued to add to this collection till his death in 1863, since which time his son, George O. Hildreth, M. D., has made numerous additions.
Mrs. E. W. Lord, of Batavia, New York, in am . gave to the college about one thousand volumes and five hundred pamphlets, including the very valuable collec tion of educational works belonging to her husband, the late Asa D. Lord, M. D., at the time of his death superintendent of the State Institution for the Blind at Bata- via, and for many years one of the most prominent and successful educators in Ohio.
President Henry Smith gave to the college, by will, his library of some twelve hundred volumes, and thirteen valuable oil paintings. A portion of the books are already on the shelves.
The college has also received many valuable works from Hon. William A. Whittlesey and Hon. William P. Cutler, both of Marietta. From various other sources the college has received books and pamphlets relating to this part of the west, and to the governmental history of the State and Nation, making it unusually rich in works of this character.
The number of volumes in the college library, including the Hildreth collection, is seventeen thousand six hundred, and the whole number in the various libraries is twenty-nine thousand.
Besides the collections in the Hildredth cabinet, which are in a room by themselves, the college has a valuable collection of fossils, minerals, shells, etc. The whole have recently been arranged, and the number of specimens is over thirty thousand.
The apparatus, though not extensive, includes some valuable instruments. Among them are a Holtz machine, induction coil, electric lamp, absorption spectroscope, binocular microscope, an air-pump of great power, a fine Atwood's machine, a theodolite, sextant, etc. There is also a quadrant belonging to and long used by General Rufus Putnam, who held the office of surveyor-general under President Washington. It was given to the college by his grandson, Hon. William Rufus Putnam.
COLLEGE SOCIETIES.
The two literary societies, the Alpha Kappa and the Psi Gamma, were formed in 1839, taking the place of the Phi Sigma, a society with two branches. They have large and handsome halls for their meetings, and commodious rooms for their libraries, which, together, contain over ten thousand volumes. There are four fraternities—three secret, and one anti-secret. Most of these have handsome halls. In 1860 a chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa society was established by Dr. John Kendrick (Dartmouth), General T. C. H. Smith (Harvard), and Professor E. W. Evans (Yale). A boating association is in successful operation. Their boat-house, in the city park, is a tasteful structure, and they make much use of the unsurpassed facilities furnished by the Muskingum.
GRADUATES.
The first class was graduated in 1838. From that time the series has been unbroken. The whole number of graduates is five hundred and seventeen, of whom
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO - 403
five hundred and two are bachelor of arts, one bachelor of philosophy and fourteen of science.
The class (regular) of 1838 numbered four, that of 1875, numbered twenty-two. No class has been larger than that of 1875, and none smaller than that of 1838.
It has been stated before that over sixty per cent. of those entering the regular courses have completed the course. Taking all the catalogues published, extending from 1837-38 to 1880-81, the ratio of seniors to freshmen is as sixty-seven to one hundred. The ratio between the whole number of graduates and the whole number of freshmen is found to be the same—sixty-seven to one hundred. One-third of the alumni are from Washington county.
The graduates are distributed among the professions and occupations as follows: Clergymen, thirty-seven per cent.; business men, twenty-five per cent.; lawyers, seventeen per cent.; physicians, eight per cent.; teachers, eight per cent.; all others, five per cent.
Seventy-one of the alumni are the sons of clergymen —seventeen per cent. In an unusually large number of cases the college has had different students from the same families. Among her alumni may be found one hundred and fifty-one in groups of two, three and four in a family. Three families have sent four sons each; eleven have sent three each, and fifty-three have sent two each. Nineteen have graduated, whose fathers were students here before them. Forty of the graduates came from other colleges to finish their course here, and thirty- seven who have left Marietta, have received degrees elsewhere. It is believed that no student has been admitted here from another college, who did not bring the customary papers.
The following alumni have been missionaries: John F. Pogue, Sandwich Islands; Ira M. Preston, Africa; Nathaniel H. Pierce, American Indians; Jackson G. Coffing, Turkey; John H. Shedd, Persia; John P. Williamson, American Indians; Charles A. Stanley, China; William L Whipple, Persia; John B. Cameron and William E. Fay are under appointment to go this year, one to Brazil and the other to Africa. Andrew J. McKim went to South America under the Seamen's Friends society.
The following have been professors in colleges: Erastus Adkins, Shurtleff college, and acting professor at Marietta; E. B. Andrews, Marietta college; George R. Rosseter, Marietta college; R. A. Arthur, Ohio university; George H. Howison, St. Louis university, and Massachusetts institute of technology; Edward. P. Walker, Marietta college; David E. Beach, Marietta college; John N. Lyle, acting professor at Marietta, and professor at Westminister college, Missouri; William G. Ballantine, Ripon college, Wisconsin, and Indiana university and Oberlin theological seminary.
Joseph F. Tuttle, D. D., has been president of Wabash college since 1862; General Willard Warner was United States Senator from Alabama; Hon. Joseph G. Wilson was one of the supreme judges of Oregon, and member of Congress; Hon. William Irwin is now governor of California; Hon. Alfred T. Goshorn is director general of the centennial international exposition.
The precise number of those who entered the army in the great war of 1861-65 can not now be given, but the relative number was large, both of graduates and undergraduates. Among those who lost their lives were the valedictorians of the classes of 1859, 1860 and 1862— Captain Theodore K Greenwood, Lieutenant Timothy L. Condit, and Adjutant George B. Turner.
HONORARY DEGREES.
The honorary degree of doctor of laws has been conferred on twenty gentlemen; that of doctor of divinity on thirty-one; that of doctor of philosophy on one, and that of master of arts on forty-four.
The following persons have received the degree of LL. D.: Hon. Peter Hitchcock, 2845; Hon. Samuel F. Vinton, 1847; Hon. Gustavus Swan, 1855; Hon. Reuben Wood, 1851; Hon. Edward D. Mansfield, 5853; Samuel P. Hildreth, M. D., 1859; Hon. William Dennison, 1860; Hon. William V. Peck, 586o; Hon. Noah H. Swayne, 1863; Hon. Aaron F. Perry, 1865; Hon. Joseph G. Wilson, 1865; Hon. Chauncey N. Olds, 1869; Professor E. B. Andrews, 1870; Professor T. G. Wormley, 1870; Hon. Edward F. Noyes, 2872; Rev. Henry Smith, D. D., 1874; Hon. William Irwin, 1876; Hon. Emerson E. White, 1876; Hon. John F. Follett, 1879.
GRANTS AND ENDOWMENTS.
The college has been sustained entirely by private generosity. It has never received from the State or Nation an acre of land or a dollar of money. It was not founded in consequence of any large gift from an individual or family, nor did the town vote, or the people pledge, any sum for the sake of securing the institution at that point. The first effort to raise funds was after the charter had been obtained, and this was to pay for the property which the trustees had purchased, at a cost of eight thousand dollars. This sum was secured at Marietta, three donors giving one thousand dollars each.
This was the small beginning. But the founders and friends of the institution appreciated the importance of the enterprise, and their gifts have increased with their ability. Their example has had its influence upon others, and thus the college has retained its old friends and been gaining new ones. As illustrative of this continuance of interest, and the increase in successive donations from the same persons, a fact or two may be stated. Among the donors in the first effort, made in the spring of 1833, to raise eight thousand dollars, were seven men who gave in sums ranging from fifty dollars to one thousand dollars, making an aggregate of two thousand two hundred and fifty dollars. The total gifts to the college made by these seven gentlemen up to this time amount to ninety- eight thousand dollars, or over forty times the sum given at first. In 1847 a gentleman in southern Ohio gave fifty dollars. In 1857 he gave five hundred dollars. About ten years later he gave five thousand dollars. It is by such men that Marietta has been sustained.
The college has a number of scholarships on the basis of one thousand dollars each, nearly all of which are in the gift of the institution. The ability of the college to aid deserving young men has been greatly increased
404 - HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO.
through the bequest of Hon. W. R. Putnam of thirty thousand dollars. Students who can do so may well pay some tuition, but others, if promising, need not abandon the purpose of securing a liberal education.
For some years prizes have been awarded to students in the three upper classes who have been distinguished for excellence in general scholarship during the previous year. Usually the sum of sixty dollars has been divided between the best two in each of these classes. Two small prizes for excellence in declamation have been given to two students in each of the sophomore and freshman classes. Recently rhetorical prizes have been awarded to the two or three in the junior class who have excelled in that department. These prizes are but partially endowed as yet, though they have been regularly paid. There is now also a prize in Amerrcan history.
In 1843 an association was formed in the east under the name of the "Society for Promoting Collegiate and Theological Education at the West." Marietta was one of the institutions whose circumstances led to the formation of the society, and was one of the first five taken under its patronage. Aid was received through this source for about twenty years, and the cause of education owes great obligation to that society.
The college is beginning to receive aid in the form of legacies. Mrs. Mary Keyes and Mr. Daniel T. Woodbury, both of Columbus, made bequests of five thousand dollars each some years ago. President Henry Smith, who died in January, 1879, bequeathed his library and a collection of paintings, and made the college his residuary legatee, the bequest. amounting to about thirty-four thousand dollars. Mrs. Smith has the use of the whole during her life. By the will of Hon. William Rufus Putnam, who died May 1, 1881, the college receives most of his property. It will probably be between thirty thousand and forty thousand dollars. About two years since Mr. and Mrs. Truman Hillyer, of Columbus, transferred to the college twenty-five thousand dollars, to which he has since added two thousand five hundred. This is subject to a life annuity.
It will be seen that bequests have already been made amounting to more than one hundred thousand dollars, and it is known that other persons have made testamentary provision, which will without doubt be secured to the college.
Allusion has already been made to the warm interest manifested in the college by the people of Marietta and its immediate vicinity. At its founding they gave generously, according to their ability, and each succeeding decade has witnessed a large increase in their benefactions. Their gifts to the present time have amounted to upwards of two hundred thousand dollars.
What has been said of the people where the institution is located may be as emphatically said of the trustees to whom the management of its affairs has been entrusted. The institution has been to them from the first a foster-child. They have regarded themselves appointed not merely to manage and control but to nourish and strengthen. They have encouraged benefactions in others by making them themselves. Their donations aggregate one hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars.
The alumni have manifested great liberality towards the college. Mention has already been made of the library building erected by them at a cost of twenty-five thousand dollars. Towards our alumni professorship more than sixteen thousand dollars has already been given. The various gifts from alumni and other former students amount to more than fifty thousand dollars. There is no more hopeful indication of the continued and increasing prosperity of an institution of learning than the enthusiasm and liberality of those who have been connected with it as students.
The following is a list of donors to the amount of one thousand dollars and upwards:
Douglas Putnam, $49,100; President Henry Smith, $35,000; William R. Putnam, jr., $30,700;
Truman Hillyer, $27,500; John Mills, $21,800; Noah L Wilson, $13,850; Charles W. Potwin, $10,000; Mrs. Valeria G. Stone, $10,000; Joseph Perkins, $6,800; Francis C. Sessions, $6,700; Benjamin B. Gaylord, $6,600; Mrs. Mary Keyes, $5,800; Samuel Train, $5,000; Preserved Smith, $5,000; Daniel T. Woodburry, $5,000; William P. Cutler, $5,000; A. J. Warner, $5,000; Samuel P. Hildreth, $4,100; John C. Calhoun, $3,800; Samuel Shipman, $3,775; President I. W. Andrews, $3,750; Thomas W. Williams, $3,600; Loyal Wilcox, $3,500; David C. Skinner, $2,925; William R. Putnam, sr., $2,800; Elizur Smith, $2,500; Rev. Dr. Joseph Eldridge and family, $2,400; Nahum Ward, $2,300; Cornelius B. Erwin, $2,200; John Newton, $2,100; L. G. Bingham, $2,000; Jonas Moore, $2,000; David Putnam, sr., $2,000; William Slocomb, $2,000; Anson G. Phelps, $2,000; Rev. William Van Vleck, $2,000; Samuel C. Morgan, $2,000; Mrs. Frances A. Morgan, $2,000; Dr. and Mrs. A. D. Lord, $2,000; Professor John Kendrich, $2,000; William Hyde, $2,000; Rufus R. Dawes, $1,800, William Shaw, $1,750; William H. Blymyer, $1,600; Professor John L. Mills, $1,575; Beman Gates, $1,525; John Bradley, $1,500; Anselem T. Nye, $1,500; Rev. George M. Maxwell, $1,500; William E. Dodge, $1,500; Samuel D. Warren, $1,500; William Sturges, $1,475; William A. Whittlesey, $1,000; J. Munro Brown, $1,000; Winthrop B. Smith, $1,300; E. C. Dawes, $1,300; Professor E. B. Andrews, $1,230; George Dana, sr., $1,100; Marcus Bosworth, $1,000; W. W. Wicks, $1,100; M. P. Wells, $1,100; Samuel Stone, $1,000; Samuel Williston, $1,000; Robert Hamilton, $1,000; Mrs. R. R. Hamilton, $1,000; William Johnson, $1,000; A. T. Goshorn, $1,000; A, H. Hinkle, $1,000; L C. Hopkins, $1,000; John Field, $1,000; Cutler Laflin, $1,000; Legrand Lockwood, $1,000; William J. Breed, $1,000; R. M. White, $1,000; William Shaffer, $1,000; Henry Stanley, $1,000; Timothy W. Stanley, $1,000; Douglas Putnam, jr., $1,000; William E. London, $1,000; Mrs. John Mills, $1,000; Henry C. Brown, $1,000; Ezra Farnsworth, $1,000; John H. Hubbell, $1,000; E. R. Alderman, $1,000; Mrs. Ellenor Cook, $1,000; Professor George R. Rosseter, $1,000; G. H. Barbour, $1,000; George B. Collier, $1,000; John F. Follett, $1,000; George L. Laflin, $1,000.
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO - 405
The names of the members of the corporation and faculty as now constituted (May, 1881), are as follows:
Israel W. Andrews, president.
John Mills, Anselem T. Nye, esq., Rev. Addison Kingsbury, D. D., Hon. William P. Cutler, General Rufus R. Dawes, Rev. Theron H. Hawks, D. D., Rev. William Addy, D. D., and M. P. Welrs, esq., of Marietta; Douglas Putnam, of Harmar; Rev. E. P. Pratt, D. D., of Portsmouth; Rev. Henry M. Storm, D. D., of Brooklyn, N. Y.; Francis C. Sessions, esq., Rev. William E. Moore, D. D., and Rev. Robert . Hutchins, D. D., of Columbus; Rev. George M. Maxwell, D. D., Hon. Alfred T. Goshorn, William J. Breed, esq., and William H. Blymyer, esq., of Cincinnati; Hon. Charles W. Potwin, of Zanesville; Colonel Douglas Putnam, jr., and John Means, esq., Ashland, Kentucky.
FACULTY.
Israel W. Andrews, D. D., LL. D., president and Putnam professor of political philosophy.
John Kendrick, LL. D., Emeritus professor of the Greek language and literature.
George R. Rosseter, M. A., professor of mathematics and naturat philosophy, and Lee lecturer on astronomy.
John L. Mills, M. A., professor of the Latin language and literature, and instructor in French.
David E. Beach, M. A., professor of moral and intellectual philosophy and rhetoric.
Thomas D. Biscoe, M. A., professor of the natural sciences.
Irving J. Manatt, Ph. D., professor of the Greek language and literature, and instructor in German.
Martin R. Andrews, M. A., principal of the preparatory department.
William A. Batchelor, B. A., tutor.
R. M. Stimson, M. A., librarian.
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO - 405
CHAPTER XXIX.
THE MEDICAL PROFESSION.
Character of Early Physicians—Biographical Sketches—Jabez True, Solomon Drown, Thomas Farley, William Pitt Putnam, Josiah Hart, William B. Leonard, John Baptiste Regnier, Nathan McIntosh, Robert Wallace, Samuel Prescott Hildreth, John Cotton, Jonas Moore, . S. B. Hemstead, Morris German, Felix Regnier, Hugh Trevor, Shubel Fuller, Dr. Stearns, Wilson Stanley—Present Physicians—Seth Hart, George 0. Hildreth, B. F. Hart, C. N. Eddy, J. D. Cotton, Simeon Hart, Samuel Hart, Z. D. Walter, James McClure, H. N. Curtis, Mrs. H. N. Curtis—Medical Societies.
PHYSICIANS.
Marietta has been favored with able and honest physicians since the year of the first settlement. It is frequently remarked that the professional classes of new settlements fill up with the failures of old and cultured communities. But the first settlement at Marietta was made under peculiar circumstances by some of .the ablest and best men of New England, and among them were physicians of sterling qualities and genuine merit. It is the aim of this chapter to give sketches only of the more prominent practitioners from the first settlers to the present time.
Jabez True, son of Rev. Henry True, was born in Ham- stead, New Hampshire, in 1760. It was the practice of the time for clergymen to instruct the youth and prepare young men for college. Mr. True had a class of this kind under his instruction. His son, Jabez, acquired sufficient knowledge of the languages to enable him to pursue a course of medicine with advantage. He read medicine in his native town, and completed his course near the close of the Revolution. He volunteered his services as surgeon of a privateer and sailed for Europe. Soon after commencing the cruise the vessel was wrecked on the coast of Holland, and the mariners thrown on the mercy of the Hollanders. Dr. True remained in Europe until the cessation of hostilities, when he returned to America and began the practice of his profession in New Hampshire.
Dr. True became a member of the Ohio company in 1787, and came to Marietta in the spring of 1788. He built a small log office on Muskingum street. The new country did not afford a lucrative practice, but it was a fortunate circumstance that skilled phyiscians were present. He was employed at the opening of the Indian war as surgeon's mate for the troops and rangers, at a salary of twenty-two dollars per month. During this time he also taught a school a part of the time in one of the blockhouses of the garrison at the Point.
The small-pox and scarlet fever broke out in 1790 and made it necessary for the doctor to visit the settlements, which, during the Indian war, could only be done by water as none but trained rangers trusted themselves to enter the roadless forest; visits at that time even by water were extremely hazardous, but the sick required attention, and he frequently risked his life to respond to the calls of duty.
Dr. True was celebrated for his kindness and sympathy. So far as it was possible he patronized the prejudices of his patient and never resorted to radical remedies, except in cases of absolute necessity. "The result of his calm, deliberative judgment was generally correct, and his treatment of diseases remarkably successful, which was doubtless owing to its simplicity, for it is a lamentable fact that too many die from too many and improper remedies as well as from disease itself.
After the close of the Indian war he improved a farm on the Ohio about a mile from Marietta, and took an interest in agricultural pursuits. His practice extended over a large area of territory, sometimes requiring him to ride twenty miles through forests and over bridgeless streams.
The practice of medicine at that time was by no means lucrative. The general poverty of the people necessitated low charges and in many cases no charges at all, neither for medicines or professional service.
Dr. True's devotion to the church cannot be omitted from any sketch of his life however brief He joined the Congregational church at an early period of its organization and was for many years a deacon. His house was a home for itinerant preachers, and his purse always open to needy charities. He was the "Gains" of Marietta, although for a town of its population, it abounds in men zealous and liberal in promoting good works. Dr. True, for several of the last years of his life, served as county treasurer, a position which afforded him ease and a moderate income.
In 18o6 Dr. True married Mrs. Mills, the widow of
* Dr. S. P. Hildreth.
406 - HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO.
Captain Charles Mills, an amiable and excellent woman. He had no children, but the children of his wife were treated with all the love and affection of a real father. He died during the epidemic of 1823.
Dr. Solomon Drown is known rather as a scholar and man of letters than as a physician. He came to Marietta in the summer of 1788, and attended on General Varnum as counsel during his sickness. He was selected to pronounce the eulogy at his funeral, which was published at the time in New England. He also delivered the address at the first Seventh of April celebration. About 1791 he was elected professor of botany and natural history in Brown university, of which he was a graduate. He filled the position for many years.
Dr. Thomas Farley came to Marietta in the summer of 1788 as the attending physician of General Varnum, who died of consumption in January, 1789. He was a son of General Farley, of Ipswich, Massachusetts, and studied medicine at Salem, under Dr. Holyoke, in 1782. Colonel Barker says of him: "He was a modest, amiable young man, always ready to obey the calls of humanity, and had the good will and confidence of all who knew him." He soon became discouraged with the new country and returned in the fall of 1790 to Massachusetts.
William Pitt, fourth son of Colonel William Putnam, and grandson of General Israel Putnam, was born in Brooklyn, Connecticut, in 1770. He attended the schools of the neighborhood in the winter and worked on a farm in the summer. He was placed under the tuition of Rev. Dr. Whitney at the age of sixteen, and pursued a course in Latin and other studies preliminary to reading medicine. At the age of eighteen he entered the office of Dr. Waldo, of Pomfret, the distinguished surgeon of the Revolution. He attended a course of lectures at Cambridge in 1791, and in 1792 came to Marietta. He spent a portion of his time at Belpre, where his brother lived, but the Indian war made general practice dangerous and unprofitable. In 1794 Dr. Putnam returned to Connecticut when he married Berthia G. Glysson, and in company with his father's family came to Marietta in 1795. In 1797 he purchased the lot on the corner of Fifth and Putnam streets, on which his brother David afterwards built the Mansion house, now occupied by Colonel Mills.
Dr. Putnam in 1799 having become discouraged, although he was highly esteemed and had a fair share of patronage, determined to give up practice and turn his attention to farming. He purchased two hundred acres on the Ohio river, eight miles above Marietta, and with characteristic energy plied his hand in the clearing. The fatigue and exposure of forest life brought on bilious fever of which he died, October 8, 1800, leaving no children to inherit his name or fortune. His widow subsequently married General Edward Tupper.
Josiah Hart.—A venerable physician, during the early period of Marietta's existence was Josiah Hart, who was born in Berlin, Connecticut, in 1738. He attended Yale college for the purpose of preparing for the ministry, but after graduating in 1762 changed his intention and entered on a course of medicine. His first wife died in 1777, leaving seven children, two of whom settled in Ohio. He married, for his second wife, Mrs. Abigail Harris, a blood relative of the celebrated Miles Standish, whom Longfellow has immortalized.
Dr. Hart came to Marietta in 1796, and was in active practice until a xi, when he removed to his farm where he died from spotted fever in 1812. His wife died a few hours after and both were buried the same day.
Doctor Hart was one of the first deacons of the Congregational church and was a consistent, pious Christian. He had a strong love for science and was a regular attendant at the meetings of a chemical society, composed of physicians and others. This society met two or three evenings in a week, where experiments were exhibited and lectures heard.
Doctor William B. Leonard, was born in England, in 1737, and was bred a surgeon. He was an associate of Apothecaries Hall, London, and in the prime of life served as surgeon in the British navy. In 1794 he determined to engage in woollen manufacture in America, and as machinery was at that time prohibited from being transported out of England, Doctor Leonard determined to clandestinely bring it on the vessel on which he had engaged passage, but was detected, and imprisoned. Having been discharged he came to America in 1797, and engaged in medical practice in Massachusetts until 1801, when he came to Marietta. Here he married Lydia Moulton, daughter of William Moulton, a highly respected pioneer.
Doctor Leonard was a skillful surgeon, but was rough in his manners and language. His fantastic dress excited a great deal of merriment, and caused him to be followed about the streets by a company of boys, on whom he frequently showered terrific profanity. His dress was patterned after the gaudy fashion of the times of Queen Elizabeth. In person he was thin and spare with very slender legs. He wore a blue broadcloth coat trimmed with gold lace and enormous gilt buttons, a waistcoat of crimson velvet with enormous pocket flaps. His pantaloons were tight and of the same material. Tight silk stockings dressed his slender legs and heavy silver buckles ornamented the knees and shoes. On his head he wore a full flowing periwig, of which he had half a dozen varieties, and crowned with a cocked beaver hat. Over this clownish dress he wore a large scarlet cloak. Like his dress, his books, instruments, and skeletons were of previous centuries. Doctor Hildreth preserved several of these articles as curious relics. One of the books is entitled "Secrets of Master Alexis," and is filled with such recipes as were in use then, centuries ago. The book was printed in 1562. Dr. Leonard died in 1806.
John Baptiste Regnier.—All the old citizens of the Duck Creek and Muskingum valleys and of Marietta remember John Baptiste Regnier, and most of them cherish his memory as a personal friend. Medicine exerts a greater personal influence over its patients than any other profession. The patient who recovers from a serious malady is likely to retain feelings of the profoundest gratitude toward the man who has rescued him from pain or death.
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO - 407
Mr. Regnier was the son of a Parisian native, and was born in Paris in 1769. His mother kept a small store for fancy goods, and is said to have been a very handsome and stylish woman.
The family was loyal to the Government and the king, and as a consequence were sufferers of the convulsions which revolutionized France. John had acquired a good education and special attainments in architecture and drawing, which he intended to follow as a profession. Like all the better class of French students, he had also attended acientific lectures, and had paid particular attention to the department of medicine. In 1790, whet the young men were all called upon to enter the ranks of the revolutionists, the Regnier brothers who were loyalists decided upon leaving the country. John B., who was twenty years old, and Modeste, who was fourteen, joined the company of emigrants who had purchased lands from Joel Barlow, and came to the United States. They reached Marietta October 6, 1790, After a few days they embarked on boats, and proceeded to lands purchased from the Scioto Land company, and were among the founders of Gallipolis. Having lost their fortune and dreading the Indians, to, whom they were unaccustomed, the two brothers left their forest home and went to New York. On their way up the Ohio the boat was upset and all the effects thrown out; among them was a curiously wrought octagonal cylinder, which was afterwards found in a sand-bar below, and exhibited in an eastern museum as a legacy of pre-historic art.
For the next eight or ten years Dr. Regnier suffered varying but cruel fortune. But those years of uncertainty and hardship threw him into the profession for which nature had intended him. In the year 1802 he entered the office of Dr. Lemoine, his French medical friend at Washrngton, Pennsylvania, and in 1803 came to Marietta for the purpose of entering the practice. Monsieur Thiery, a French baker, sold him a lot in Fearing township, on which he moved and made improvements. It soon became known that he was a "French doctor," and from that time on his practice grew and his purse was filled. There was an unusual amount of bilious fever, in the treatment of which he was remarkably successful. He also proved himself a skilled surgeon. One case particularly extended his reputation. A man had been caught in the branches of a falling tree and was bruised from head to foot. The pulsations of his heart had ceased and the body was already cold when the doctor arrived. He ordered the attendants to kill a sheep and bring him the warm pelt as quickly as possible. The steaming skin was wrapped around the bruised and naked, body, and a cure, which seemed almost miraculous, was accomplished.
In 1808 Dr. Regnier removed to Marietta where he had previously been frequently called as counsel, and attending physician. His practice was extended over a wider range of territory, and drew heavily on his physical powers. In Marietta he became a great social as well as professional favorite. He was a cheerful and interesting talker, was full of sympathy and always ready to give
assistance.
He purchased a six acre lot and laid out the finest garden in the city. "It was a model from which divers individuals improved their own and ultimately implanted a permanent taste for this refining art to the citizens of Marietta."
He was one of the original members of the State Medical society organized in 1812. In 1818 he was elected county commissioner. In 1819 he sold his property in Marietta, to Dr. John Cotton, and purchased three hundred and twenty acres of land on Duck creek. He built a flouring- and saw-mill and a brick dwelling house. He also laid out roads, and built bridges. Up to that time the country was unimproved, but in a few years a prosperous settlement had grown up. He left Marietta with the intention of freeing himself of his laborious practice, but found it impossible. He was still called upon by his old patrons, in serious cases, and his strong humanity did not permit him to refuse. Broken down by overwork, he died of bilious remittent fever in August, 1821. Dr. Hildreth, his cotemporary and friend, has said of him :
Close discrimination and accurate observation of all phases and shades of diseases gave him wonderful tact in prognosis, the base of all successful practice, while his knowledge of the proper remedies rendered him very successful in their application. His colloquia powers were unrivaled, and at the bedside his cheerful conversation aided by the deep interest he actually felt in the sick, with his kind, delicate manner of imparting his instructions, always left his patients better than he found them, and formed a lasting attachment to his person in all who fell under his care. His death was lamented as a serious calamity, and no physician in this region of county has since fully filled the place he occupied in the public estimation.
Nathan McIntosh.—The subject of this sketch possessed the characteristic energy of his family. He was the son of Colonel William McIntosh, of Needham, Massachusetts, and born in 1762. His father was a man of considerable local note, having commaded a company in the Continental army, and subsequently served as colonel of militia. He was one of the delegates in the convention in Boston, in 1788, on the adoption of the constitution of the United States.
Nathan McIntosh, after receiving a suitable education, studied medicine in BostOn, and was admitted to practice in 1786. In 1788 he decided on going west, and started for Marietta on horseback. When he reached Meadville, Pennsylvania, he was attacked with small-pox, and suffered severely from the loathsome disease. He practiced for a short time at Hagerstown, Pennsylvania, and Clarksburgh, Virginia, and then came to Marietta in 1790. He received the appointment of surgeon's mate at the Waterford garrison at the salary of twenty-two dollars a month. He married, in 1792, Rhoda Shepard, daughter of Colonel Enoch Shepard, of Marietta, and granddaughter of General Shepard, of Massachusetts.
In 1793 Dr. McIntosh decided to accept an invitation extended by leading citizens of Clarksburgh to locate at that place, and removed his family there in July, under escort of fifteen soldiers. He was soon in possession of a large practice, but being full of adventure suffered a serious financial misfortune. He contracted to build a bridge across the Monongahela river at Clarksburgh, and warranted it to stand a certain length of time. But
408 - HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO.
soon after its completion the whole structure was swept away during a freshet.
Dr. McIntosh returned to Marietta in 1795 and resumed practice. His courteous and obliging manner and skill as a surgeon won him a large practice.
Jacob Young, the great itinerent Methodist, in his autobiography, commends the kindness of Dr. McIntosh in the most feeling terms. In 1805 the pioneer Methodist was stricken down with an attack of fever at a house where the surroundings were by no means pleasant. Dr. McIntosh took him to his house and not only doctored but nursed him during a long turn of sickness.
In religion Dr. McIntosh was a Halcyon, a sect embracing nearly the same doctrines propounded by the Second Adventists. He had previously been a Methodist. He wrote and lectured on religious and moral topics, being particularly severe on the secret societies. He published a volume on the subject of "Scripture Correspondences."
Dr. McIntosh, about 1806, turned his attention to the manufacture of bricks and building brick houses, working diligently in the brickyard and on walls. He died of fever September 5, 1823, during the prevailing epidemic. His family consisted of four sons and two daughters, a full biography of one of whom—Enoch S.,will be found in the chapter on Waterford; the other
children were Rhoda, wife of J. M. Chamberlain; William Whiting, Nathan Henry, Samuel Dooey, and Lucy Hulda, wife of Samuel Maxon, of Galla county.
Dr. Robert Wallace came from Pennsylvania to Marietta probably soon after the war. He was here in 1801. Dr. Regnier speaks of him as a very intelligent druggist." A society of physicians and young men of scientific tastes, was formed in the early part of the century. Experiments were performed under Dr. Wallace's direction, and he also occasionally delivered scientific lectures. His oldest son, Mathew Wallace, was a Presbyterian clergyman. His second son, David was a physician. The family removed to Cincinnati probably about 1809. Dr. David Wallace was one of the parties to the first and perhaps only duel in the history of the county. In the spring of 1801, a difficulty arose which resulted in Dr. Wallace challenging John Woodbridge to a duel. The island opposite Marietta was the place selected and pistols were the weapons chosen. The parties accordingly met, but Wallace's courage failed and he was willing to ask pardon. Woodbridge was not thus easily satisfied. He cut a stick and gave Wallace a good dressing. They were both present at the Seventh of April celebration, which occurred soon after. The song composed for and sung upon that occasion closed with the stanza:
''Here population lifts her hand
And scatters round her jewels,
And must honor take its island,
Producing bloodless duels ?"
No preface is necessary to an outline of the life of Dr. Samuel P. Hildreth. The reader already knows him, but an index to the labors of his busy and useful life, will be of interest and value.
He was born in Methuen, Essex county, Massachusetts, September 30, 1783. He was the son of Dr. Samuel Hildreth, and a descendent of Richard Hildreth, whose name is found amongst a company of twenty from the towns of Woburn and Concord, who, in 1652, petitioned the general court of Massachusetts bay, for a tract of land on the west side of Concord, or Musketaquid river, where they say "they do find a very comfortable place to accommodate a company of God's people upon." Samuel Prescott was of the sixth generation from Richard. Until he was fifteen years old he labored on a farm, there acquiring industrious habits and the power of physical endurance. A social library in the town afforded access to books, and a taste for reading was acquired at an early age, and until his death he was a devourer of books. After finishing the course of the common schools, he spent four seasons in Phillips academy in Andover, and at Franklin academy, which prepared him for entering college. In place, however, of completing a college course, he entered the office of Dr. Kittridge at Andover, and began the study of medicine. He received a diploma in 1805, from the Medical Society of Massachusetts, having attended lectures at Cambridge university.
Dr. Hildreth began practice at Hemstead, New Hamshire, the native home of Dr. Jabez True. He boarded in the family of John True, esq., through whom he learned of the professional success of Dr. True and the prospects for a young man at Marietta. From his boyhood he had entertained a desire to see the far west and in September, 1806, left his New England home in the hope of realizing his ambition. The journey to Marietta was performed on horseback and consumed about' one month. He says in his autobiography, It was a land of strangers; but he was young and his heart buoyant with hope and expectation of good fortune. He soon obtained a share of the practice, the Only; physicians then being Dr. True and Dr. Hart. Dr. Leonard had recently died, and Dr. McIntosh had abandoned medicine. His rides sometimes extended over thirty miles through the wilderness, the settlements being few and far between."
Belpre was at that time without a physician, and at the solicitation of leading citizens, Dr. Hildreth decided to locate there. He arrived at Belpre on the evening of December 10th, just in time to see the deluded Blennerhassett leave his island paradise to embark in Aaron Burr's perilous expedition.
The summer of 1807 was a busy one for physicians. The epidemic which raged all along the Ohio was particularly severe in the neighborhood of Marietta. Few families at Belpre escaped. Dr. Hildreth was particularly fortunate in his treatment of these cases. Practice at Belpre was excessively laborious on account of the amount of riding necessary. Over exertion during the summer brought on an attack of inflammation of the hip which continued several months. In the spring of 1808 he returned to Marietta, where the practice required less riding. The epidemic of 1807 furnished him the subject for a paper which he printed in the tenth volume of
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO - 409
the New York Medical Repository. From this time he became known as an acute, discerning investigator and faithful writer on scientific and historical subjects. He, however, continued his large and laborious practice until a few months before his death, in 1863. He said his profession, during earlier years, kept him busily engaged and his scientific and historical labor could be pursued only by saving the "odds and ends of time."
Dr. Hildreth was a man of decided political opinions. In 1810 he was elected to represent Washington county in the legislature, and again reelected in 1811, when he defeated Judge Cutler, the Federalist candidate, by twenty votes. Hildreth was a supporter of Jefferson and Madison, whose political teachings at this time had displaced the doctrines of Washington and Hamilton. In the same campaign Hon. William Woodbridge defeated Hon. William R. Putnam for the State senate, Woodbridge being a Democrat and Putnam a Federalist. They were four able men, and after the administration of Monroe had broken party lines, all found a home in the political camp of the Whigs. Dr. Hildreth, however, was never again a candidate for office, but never neglected to vote. While in the legislature he drafted and succeeded in having passed the first law regulating the practice of medicine and establishing medical societies, which remained in force until 1819, when all laws on the subject were repealed.
He held the office of collector of non-resident taxes for the Third Ohio district from 1811 until the office was abolished in 1819.
He became clerk of the trustees of the ministerial lands in 1810, and discharged the duties of the office until his death in 1863.
He was a Republican from the formation of the party in 1854.
Dr. Hildreth carried his research into almost every department of science, but natural history was particularly fascinating. In 1812 he published a paper in the Medical Repository on the American colombo, with a drawing of the plant. It is proper to state in this connection that he had a remarkable genius in drawing. Insects and plants were represented with scrupulous accuracy, and engravings made from them have a permanent value. The illustrations in his geological and botanical reports were prepared by his own hand. They show artistic ability, as well as accurate observation and close discrimination.
In 1822 he published in the New York Medical Repository two articles, one on hydrophobia and one on a curious case of Siamese twins, found in his obstetric practice. A full history of the epidemic of 1822-23 was published in the Journal of Medical Science, Philadelphia, in 1824. The author was well qualified to write on this subject, as he had visited daily sixty to eighty patients, and in August, 1823, was himself attacked. He arrested the disease in a few days by taking Jesuit's bark in quarter ounce doses. This was a trial of medicine to which few patients would submit. Sulphate of quinine had not yet come into use in Ohio, or by it many valuable lives might have been saved. An article was published in
1825 on the minor diseases, or sequela of the great epidemic, in the Western Journal of Medicine, Cincinnati. In 1819 he wrote a series of papers on the natural and civil history of Washington county, which appeared in Silliman's Journal in 1826. One of these articles gave a drawing and description of the spoonbill sturgeon found in the waters of the Ohio. In 1827, his articles contained descriptions and drawings of several freshwater shells found in the Muskingum, of which nothing had been known. His series of meteorological registers, published in that journal from 1828 till March, 1863, are useful for reference to writers on the climate of Ohio.
At the request of Professor Silliman, Dr. Hildreth undertook to explore the coal regions of the Ohio, the result of which was published in the Journal for January, 1836, under the title of "Observations on the bituminous coal deposits in the valley of Ohio, and the accompanying rock strata, with notices of the fossil organic remains, and the relic of vegetable and animal bodies, illustrated with a geological map, by numerous drawings of plants and shells, and by views of interesting scenery." The Journal says editorially that this was one of the most important of Dr. Hildredth's scientific labors, and by far the most valuable contribution which up to that time had appeared on the subject discussed. It filled an entire number (one hundred and fifty-five pages), of this Journal, and was profusely illustrated by figures of fossils, sections, and original drawings, embraced in thirty-six plates on wood. Articles on the history of the North American locust, saliferous rock formation, with a history of the manufacture, of salt from the first settlement of Ohio, Ten days in Ohio, a geological description of the country from Marietta to Chillicothe by way of Zanesville, and The Diary of a Naturalist, appeared in the same journal from 1830 to 1836.
In 1832 he wrote a history of the floods in the Ohio since the first settlement, which was published in the first volume of the transactions of the historical society of Ohio. In 1837 he was employed, in company with other geologists, to make a geological survey of the State. He delivered an address in 1839 before the medical society of Ohio, of which he was president, on the climate and diseases of southwestern Ohio, which was printed.
In 1830 Dr. Hildreth commenced the collection of a cabinet of natural history. While out on his daily professional rides he would stop to gather insects, shells, fishes, fossils, and minerals. He often employed boys in the country to do this service for him. When he returned from a drive he was in the habit of picking out the specimens he desired to keep, labeling them and placing them in cases. Duplicates were sent to eastern friends in exchange for books or specimens of that section. In the course of eight years his cabinet contained more than four thousand specimens, and his library a choice variety of works on natural history. Shortly before his death he donated his cabinet and library to Marietta college, where it is known as the Hildreth cabinet. "This donation made Dr. Hildreth one of four or five of the largest benefactors of the college."
410 - HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO.
In 1840 Dr. Hildreth turned his attention to writing a history of the first settlement of Ohio. He collected his material with great care from manuscripts and personal interviews, and wrote a book of five hundred and five pages, which will always be of interest and value. He was the means of preserving a variety of important history and interesting anecdote which would otherwise have been lost to posterity. His second volume of Lives of the Early Settlers of Ohio was published in 1852. These two books have a permanent place in history. Dr. Hildreth, besides, contributed many interesting historical papers to the Pioneer, and a history of the first settlement of Belleville was published in the Hesperian. A journal of diseases each month, with a bill of mortality, was kept from 1824 till his death. A large amount of manuscript of permanent value, though never published, besides many smaller articles were among the products of his busy pen.
R. M. Stimson in summing up the character of Dr. Hildreth says forcibly:
He looked on the bright side of things—loved beauty, although of an eminently practical turn of mind—was very fond of flowers, which he cultivated diligently. Industry and system in all that he did may be accounted among his marked points. Besides his laborious medical practice, he accomplished, very much as he himself expressed it, by "saving the odds and ends of time." Without having a brilliant mind he exemplified the fact that "industry is talent." He was exact it, all his dealrngs, an honest man, a Christian. His was a complete life— he finished his work.
His life was gentle, and the elements so mixed in him that nature might stand up and say to alr the world : This was a man.
Dr. Hildreth's able and productive pen gave him an extended acquaintance among the scientific men of his day. He was one of the first pioneers of science west of the Alleghany mountains and was regarded as one of the most acute observers of facts of his time. Professor Benjamin Silliman, his warm friend, has written a feeling tribute to his memory:
In his private life he illustrated every virtue of a Christian gentleman. Bright and cheerful by nature, he loved nature with the simple enthusiasm of a child. Industrious and systematic in a high degree, no moment of life was wasted. In his family we have seen a beautiful example of domestic happiness and warm-hearted hospitality. He lived with nature and nature's God—and among the patrons and coworkers in this journal, who have left its founder almost alone, no one has shed a purer and more mellow light in the horizon of his setting sun—no one has departed more loved and regretted by the senior editor.
Dr. Hildreth died July 24, 1863, in his eightieth year. He had been in his usual good health, a well-preserved and happy old gentleman until a few weeks before his death. He sank away gradually, his mental faculties being preserved to the last. His funeral was on Sunday, July 26th, the services being in the Congregational church, of which he was a member. These last sad rites were conducted by Rev. Mr. Wickafield, of Harmar, and President Andrews, of Marietta college.
Dr. John Cotton was a physician well known and highly esteemed in his time, and is still remembered as a successful practitioner of physic and skillful surgeon. He was the son of Rev. Josiah Cotton, and was born in Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1792. Rev. Josiah Cotton was
* Silliman's Journal, September, 1863.
a descendant of Rev. John Cotton, of Boston, and a graduate of Yale college. John entered Cambridge university at the age of fourteen and graduated in 1810 with honorable standing in his class. He received his medical degree at Cambridge in 1814, and began practicing in Andover, Massachusetts. In 1815 he married Susan Buckminster and came to Marietta, being attracted by the climate. In the latter part of the year he opened an office on the west side of the Muskingum, and soon acquired a comfortable practice, which grew with age and experience.
Dr. Cotton was an enthusiastic worker in the cause of religion. Immediately upon his arrival he set to work at organizing Sunday-schools, and in 186 one had been opened on the west side and two on the east side. He continued an enthusiastic Sunday-school worker and teacher. He accumulated a large collection of theological books, and at the age of forty studied Hebrew that he might be able to understand more fully and explain more satisfactorily difficult passages in the Old Testament.
Dr. Cotton was ardent in his opinions. He soon became a local political leader, and in 1824 was chosen representative in the legislature. In 1825 he was chosen associate judge and filled the position till the time of his death. For a number of years he was chairman of the Whig Central committee, and proved himself an adroit politician. He took delight in scientific studies, and often lectured in the Marietta lyceum and the young ladies' seminary. Astronomy was his favorite theme. He delivered an address in Latin on the occasion of the installation of the first president of Marietta college. He was one of the original trustees of the college and for many years president of the board. He was also trustee of the medical college of Ohio. He died unexpectedly after a brief illness of three days, April 2, 1847.
Dr. Jonas Moore was a native of New Hampshire, and was in the senior year at Dartmouth when his father died, necessitating his return home. He never returned to graduate. His whole family was soon after carried off by scarlet fever, and he came to Marietta where he taught school and studied medicine with Dr. S. P. Hildreth. He next went to Louisiana where he practiced for a number of years. He afterwards became one of the leading physicians of Marietta, where he died in March, 1856. He was a trustee of the college and took deep interest in educational matters. He was of a scientific turn of mind and invented a number of mechanical devices for use in surgery. He was highly respected as a man.
Dr. G. M. P. Hempstead was a native of Connecticut, came to Ohio in 1802, and found good facilities for obtaining an education in Muskingum. academy, where he was prepared for college. He was for a short time under the tutelage of Hon. Gustavus Swan, late of the supreme court, and Dr. Jonas Moore, of Marietta. He graduated from Ohio university in 1813, being the first literary graduate of that institution and consequently the first in Ohio. He received the degree of A. M. in 1822 and LL. D. in 1879. He began the study of medicine in
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO - 411
1813, and in 1816 went to Waterford where the spotted fever had become epidemic. He was there three or four months. He is now practicing in Portsmouth, Ohio.
Dr. Morris German was a native of Shenango county, New York. He attended lectures and received a diploma in New York city. He located in Harmar during the epidemic of 1823, and in a short time was in possession of a full practice, which was held until his death in 1835. Dr. German was a contemporary of Hildreth and Colton, and held an honorable standing in the profession. He died at the age of thirty-nine.
Dr. Felix Regnier, the second son of Dr. J. B. Regnier, was born in Otsego county, New York, in 1801. When he was two years old his parents moved to Marietta, Ohio, where he received a liberal education and began the study of medicine under Dr. S. P. Hildreth. He received a diploma from the medical society of Ohio 1824, and that year began the practice of his profession at Gallipolis, Ohio. In 1831 he removed to Jacksonville, Illinois, where he remained two years and then came to Marietta. He had an office in Harmar and was regularly engaged in practice here until April, '1866. During the succeeding eleven years he travelled, in the hope of improving his wife's health. After her death in 1877 he removed to Carthage, Illinois, where he lives with his son, Austin B.
Dr. Hugh Trevor, a descendent of Sir Hugh Trevor, was born in County Down, Ireland, in 1806. He graduated at Trinity college, Dublin, and at the College of Surgeons, Dublin. He afterwards spent nine years in the hospitals of Paris. He came to Marietta in 1834, and began the practice of medicine. His medical knowledge was of a high order, and he had the confidence of a large class of people. While in Marietta he married Maria Holden, a daughter of Joseph Holden. In 1858 he removed to St. Joseph, Missouri, and in 1881 located in Quincy, Illinois, where he died in April, 1881.
Dr. Shubel Fuller was born in Canada in 1806. In 1818 his parents came to Marietta, and after passing through the schools of that period, began the study of medicine in the office of Dr. John Cotton. He attended lectures at the Ohio Medical college, Cincinnati, and opened an office in Marietta in 1835. Dr. Fuller was a successful physician, and conducted a large practice until the sickness which terminated in his death in February 17, 1857. Dr. Fuller was a descendant of the Plymouth Rock family of that name.
Dr. G. J. Stevens, an old practitioner, was located in Harmar for thirteen years. He was a native of Berkshire county, Massachusetts, where he was born in 1805. He attended lectures at Fairfield Medical college, and received a diploma in 1827. He practiced in New York, and in Portage and Summit counties, Ohio. He died at his home in Harmar in April, 1881.
Dr. Wilson Stanley was born and spent his early life in North Carolina, and graduated from the Homoeopathic Hospital college, of Cleveland, Ohio. He practiced medicine for about ten years in Marietta, and moved to Memphis, Tennessee, in 1866, where he died within a year.
PRESENT PHYSICIANS.
Dr. Seth Hart began the practice of medicine in Harmar in 1827, and has been in active practice since that time, except during two brief periods. A full biography will be found in this volume.
Dr. George O. Hildreth, son of Dr. Samuel Prescott Hildreth, graduated at Ohio university in 1829, at the age of seventeen. He entered upon a course of medical study under the direction of his father, and attended lectures at Transylvania university, Kentucky, where he graduated in 1835. He was regularly associated with his father in practice until the death of the latter in 1863. Since then he has been alone, occupying the same house and office on Putnam street. His practice has continued over a period of forty-five years, with but a single intermission, during a period of four years--1849-53—which were spent in California. Dr. Hildreth has been pension examiner since 1863, and is highly esteemed as a physician and a man.
Benjamin Franklin Hart, M. D., was born in Watertown, Washington county, Ohio, January 3, 1823. He was a student of the Ohio Medical college, and received his degree from that institution in the spring of 1844. Subsequently, in 1864 he graduated from Bellevue college, New York. After completing his course at Cincinnati, he began practice in Marietta, and with the exception of a brief intermission, has continued until the present.
Dr. Hart took an active part in the War of the rebellion, visiting Pittsburgh Landing, Shiloh, and later, Gettysburgh, Frederick city, Washington and Baltimore, to look after the needs of the Ohio soldiers. He was one of the surgeons who engaged in the pursuit of John Morgan in his raid through Ohio. This work was performed gratuitously, and to the satisfaction of the sanitary commission. In 1864 he was appointed by Governor Brough military surgeon with the rank of major.
Dr. Hart is a member of the Ohio State Medical society, and of the American Medical association, and is one of the censors of the Columbus Medical college. He was a delegate to the International Medical congress at Philadelphia in 1876.
C. W. Eddy, M. D., is a resident of Marietta, having been born in this county. "'After receiving a liberal education at Beverly academy, he studied medicine in the office of Dr. C. S. Parker, and at Miami Medical college where he received his degree in 1877. He practiced first in Guernsey county. In April, 1879, he was appointed assistant physician for the Athens asylum, and was reorganized out in May, 1880, together with the whole staff. He has since been at Marietta.
Dr. Josiah Dexter Cotton, son of Dr. John Cotton, was born in Marietta May 19, 1822. He received his preliminary education at Marietta college, where he graduated in 1842. He began the study of medicine in his father's office, and in 1845 entered the medical college at Louisville, and was granted the degree of M. D. in 1847. He had previously been in practice in Lawrence county, about one year. In 1847 Dr. John Cotton died.
412 - HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO.
and Josiah D. succeeded to his business. .He has been in constant practice in Marietta since, except three years, during the war, when he acted as surgeon for the Ninety-second Ohio, and brigade surgeon.
Dr. Simon D. Hart, at present superintendent and physician of the Washington County Children's home, engaged in the general practice of his profession from 1844 to 1869. He attended school at Marietta, and received his degree from Ohio Medical college, Cincinnati, in the spring of 1844, and opened an office in Coolville, Athens county, where he remained one year. During the next two years he practiced in Barlow, and in 1847 removed to Marietta. He received a fair share of public patronage until April, 1869, when his present position was tendered him. Dr. Hart married July, 1845, Lydia M. Lawrence, who has been matron of the home since its regular establishment.
Dr. Samuel Hart was born in Watertown township in 1830. He completed his studies at Marietta academy in 1849, and received a degree from the medical college of Ohio in 1852. He began practice in Marietta in 1853, and has continued till the present time, except during a period of four years of active surgical practice in the army in charge of a hospital, and two years spent in Bellevue hospital, New York. He also practiced in Massachusetts.
Dr. Z. D. Walter succeeded to the practice of pr. W. Stanley in 1866. He was born of Quaker parentage, and spent his early life in Chester county, Pennsylvania. He received his education and afterward .taught for two years at Westtown boarding school, a Quaker institution, and attended medical lectures at the Homoeopathic Medical college of Pennsylvania, where he received his degree in 1866, since which time he has been in the practice at Marietta.
Dr. W. D. Putnam, of Harmar, studied medicine under Dr. Johnson Elliott, professor of surgery, of the university of Georgetown, Georgetown, D. C., and graduated from that institution in March, 1868. About a year afterward he came west and located at Lowell, this county. In November, 1872, he removed to Harmar, where he has since been engaged in the practice of his profession.
Dr. Putnam is the great-grandson of General Rufus Putnam, and grandson of Edwin Putnam. His father was Franklin Putnam. He was born October 28, 1842, and was married February 5, 1867, to Emma J. Blane, of Hagarstown, Maryland. She died March 1, 1879.
Dr. J. B. Mellor, of Harmar, read with Dr. W. D. Putnam, and graduated at Miami college, Cincinnati, in the spring of 1878. Since then he has been in practice in Harmar.
Doctor James McClure has been practising in Marietta since 1871. He is a native of Salem, Meigs county, Ohio, and read medicine at Harrisonville, in the same county, under Dr. S. Day. He attended lectures at Starling Medical college in 1860 and 1861, and practiced at Albany, Athens county, until the fall of 1863, when he entered the second course and graduated in 1864. He became surgeon for the Twenty-third Ohio volunteer infantry, in May, 1864, and served in that capacity until the close of the war, when he returned to Albany and practiced there until coming to Marietta.
Dr. H. N. Curtis is a native of this county. He graduated at the New York Homoeopathic Medical college in 1881, and began the practice of medicine in the spring of that year. Mrs. Curtis has the honor of being the first lady physician in Marietta. She graduated at the New York Medical College and Hospital for Women in 1881, and began practice with Doctors Walter and Curtis.
MEDICAL SOCIETIES.
The first medical society in the state was organized through the influence Hof Doctor S. P. Hildreth. It was a State society and followed by a district society. Be fore the war the first county society was organized, but was broken up after a few years by the opening of the Rebellion. "The Washington County Medical Society" was organized in July, 1873. The following physicians have served as presidents: J. D. Cotton, William Beebe, J. G. Stevens, G. 0. Hildreth, B. F. Culver, and W. P. Beebe.
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO - 412
CHAPTER XXX.
MARIETTA—THE PRESS.
Earliest Newspapers in the West—The First Papers in Marietta, the Ohio Gazette and the Territorial and Virginia Herald—Messrs. Backus and Silliman—The Commentator—The Western Spectator- -The American Friend—David Everett—Royal Prentiss—Marietta Gazette—The Marietta Intelligenccr—Beman Gates—The Register— R. M. Stimson—E. R. Alderman—The Pilot the Pioneer in Democratic Journalism—The Jolines—The Western Republican—John Brough—The Democrat— Charles B. Flood—Marietta Republican— Amos Layman—Marietta Times—S. M. McMillen—The Leaderistory of the German Press.
THE beginning of the same century in which the west was settled witnessed the establishment of the first American newspaper. The Boston News Letter first saw the light April 24, 1704. The first paper west of the Alleghenies was the Pittsburgh Gazette, started in 1785. While preparations were making in New England, and in the Congress of the Old Confederation for the planting of the first colony northwest of the Ohio, the first newspaper in Kentucky was printed at Lexington by William Bradford. It was called the Kentucky Gazelle and the first number bore date of August 17, 1787.
The pioneer of the press northwest of the Ohio was the Centinel of the Northwest Territory, issued at Cincinnati November 9, 1793. This is the paper from which the Cincinnati Gazette claims to be descended and from which it takes date and number, although its present name dates back only to 1815. The Scioto Gazette (Chillicothe) was established in the summer of 1800 and is still published under its original name. Its claim of being the oldest paper in Ohio is well based and indisputable. The Ohio Gazette and the Territorial and Vir-
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO - 413
ginia Herald was first issued at Marietta December 7, 1801. Nine years later—in 1810—there were published in Ohio, according to Thomas' History of Printing, fourteen papers, four of which—the Scioto Gazette, Supporter, Fredonian, and Independent Republican—were at Chillicothe, and three—the Whig, Liberty Hall, and the Advertiser—at Cincinnati. The remaining seven were the Ohio Gazette and Commentator, at Marietta; the Muskingum Messenger, at Zanesville; the Patriot, at New Lisbon; Western Herald, at Steubenville; the Impartial Expositor, at St. Clairsville; and the Western Star, at Lebanon.
The first paper in Marietta, as we have said, was the Ohio Gazette, and the Teritorial and Virginia Herald, issued December 7, 1801. It was published by Wyllys Silliman and Elijah Backus, lawyers, who bought their material in Philadelphia. Their press was a wooden one with a stone bed, which is now in the office of the Marietta Register. 'The paper was printed upon Front street, near the Stockade, for the first few years, and afterward moved to "the Point." Elijah Backus performed most of the editorial duties upon the paper. In his salutatory, according to Caleb Emerson, who wrote a historical article upon the press in 1839, he apologized for adding "Virginia Herald" to the title of the paper. " He might," he says, "rest this apology upon the generous and extensive patronage he has received from the inhabitants of the western part of Virginia," but he desires to place it upon broader ground, and continues :
He is, indeed, proud in having this opportunity, at this time, and by this measure to give his fellow-citizens on both sides of the Ohio a pledge of his equal regard, and an example of that liberality of sentiment which is not only so decorous in private character, but which forms so importat a pillar in the fabric of social and political happiness.
Breathing the same air—having the same wants—being capable of the same pleasures—talking the same language—living under the same National Government, what is there to limit or divide our affections? A river! A river whose kindred branches we inhabit.:–whose curret, mild and unbroken, though composed of a thousand tributary streams, affords us an impressive lesson of unity and peace
Surely this country ought to become one of the happiest under Heaven ! Blessed with a friendly climate—a rich and diversified soil—a rapidly increasing population, and separated on all sides from the rest of the world by lakes and mountains, we form a world of our own which can be ruined only by our own follies. Shall we admit, that of all the most fatal, a spirit of discord ?
At present we enjoy the protection of a Government recognizing an equality of rights and having liberty for its basis. May it be perpetual ! But may we never forget that the best guarantors of our freedom will ultimately be found in the justness of our principles, and the harmony of our feelings.
The paper was Republican in politics and supported Jefferson. It was of course very small in size, but that fact did not interfere with the charging of a high subscription price—two dollars and fifty cents per annum. The paper was made up of national and foreign news— the latter about two months old, and advertisements, most of which were of a legal or official nature. There was little or nothing of the matter which now gives weekly newspapers their chief value, and which is usually termed "local."
Royal Prentiss, afterward an editor of the paper, and a well known citizen of Marietta, was a printer in the office of the Ohio Gazette and Territorial and Virginia Herald when it was first issued.
Mr. Backus was elected to the State senate in 1803, and afterwards removed to Pittsburgh, where he died in 1807 or 1808.
Mr. Silliman was a member of the first State legislature, which assembled in March, 1803. He went to Zanesville as register of the land office under Jefferson's administration, and was for many years a well known lawyer there. He died In Zanesville some time in the forties.
Samuel Fairlamb became the proprietor of this paper in 1805, buying of Backus, who had two years before absorbed Silliman's interest. Fairlamb changed the name to Ohio Gazette and Virginia Herald, and continued to publish it, though with some irregularities, until the close of 1810. He was a Philadelphia printer. Removing to Zanesville he led a somewhat precarious existence, and died in the Muskingum County infirmary twenty years ago or more.
The Commentator and Marietta Recorder, a Federalist paper, started in opposition to the Gazette, was first issued September 16, 1807, by Dunham & Gardiner. Mr. James B. Gardiner was well known during early Whig days in Columbus and Xenia. The paper only remained in existence about two years, dying from lack of patronage.
The Gazette also lacked the support necessary to maintain its editor, and was sold out by the sheriff In October, 1810, the Western Spectator was issued and took the place, in a certain sense, of the old Gazette. It was Federalist in politics and bore the motto "Be just and fear not." It was edited by one of the best known characters, and one of the ablest men, Marietta ever possessed—Caleb Emerson.* He was a vigorous writer, and made a very creditable paper. Joseph Israel was succeeded as printer or publisher in 1811 by Thomas G. Ransom. After a period of about two years and a half the paper was sold to the proprietor of the American Friend, which was first issued April 24, 1813. It was started as a Republican paper, and supported Madison's administration. The publisher was Thomas G. Ransom. David Everett, Timothy Buell, and D. H. Buell appear to have been associated in the ownership, and the first named was editor. He was the author of the lines, , familiar to every school boy in the land, beginning:
You'd scarce expect one of my age
To speak in public on the stage;
If I should chance to fall below
Demosthenes or Cicero,
Don't view me with a critic's eye,
But pass my imperfections by.
He wrote these lines for a little pupil of his (Ephraim H. Farrer), while he was teaching school at New Ipswich, New Hampshire, his native State. He had read law at Amherst, New Hampshire, and attained considerable distinction as an editor in Boston; but his health having failed, he was obliged to seek a less vigorous climate, and so came to Marietta, arriving in March, 1813. He died of consumption December 21, 1813,
*See biography of Caleb Emerson in chapter upon the Bar of Washington County.
414 - HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO.
aged forty-four years, and was buried with Masonic honors. He was a man of splendid abilities.
The Buells retained possession of the American Friend, and D. H. Buell. became editor upon the first of January, 1814. In April of the same year, Royal Prentiss took an interest in the publication of the paper, and continued in partnership with the Buells until 1816, when he bought them out, and thus became sole owner. Timothy and Daniel H. Buell were men of mark (the latter was the father of William H. Buell), and conducted the paper in a manner which commanded much respect. Mr. Prentiss maintained the character of the paper, and remained in control until 1833. During a portion of the time G. Prentiss was associated with him. The name was enlarged in 1823 to the American Friend and Marietta Gazette. Royal Prentiss was a men of true worth and great popularity, as is attested by the fact that he was township clerk, lieutenant colonel in the militia, auditor of Washington county, and the holder of several other offices of trust and honor. The paper was not remunerative to Mr. Prentiss, as is indicated by his valedictory, which appeared May 11, 1833. He says that during his nineteen years connection with the Friend, as proprietor, "the principal part of the mechanical labor has been performed by myself, without which, and close application to business, too, the paper could not have survived to the present." He gives as one of the reasons for selling, "that the profit of the business is not sufficient to remunerate me for the money and labor actually expended in carrying it on."
During a portion of the time that Mr. Prentiss owned the Friend, it was printed at his house on Fifth street, where Judge S. S. Knowles now lives, He was industrious and economical, but, wilh his revenue from the paper and from the several offices which he held, he managed to save only a small property.
The persons to whom Mr. Prentiss sold the paper in 1833 were John Delafield, jr., a young man of some literary pretensions, from New York, and Mr. Edward W. Nye (son of Colonel Ichabod Nye), now a resident of Williamstown, West Virginia. They dropped the first part of the name and left it simply the Marietta Gazette:" During the next two years the paper was edited by Messrs. Delafield and Nye. Pazzi Lanham, a strolling printer, became interested in it in 1835, but remained only a short time, Messrs Delafield and Nye sold out in December, 1837. The former died at Memphis, in 1862. Isaac Moxon, the purchaser of the Gazelle, was a strong Whig, but "thought a little slow by some of the younger men of the community." He has latterly lived in Illinois. During the period from 1837 to 1841 Caleb Emerson and his son, William D., the latter still living in Marietta, were engaged upon the Gazette, though with some irregularity.
Edmund B. Flagg came to Marietta in 1842 and took the position of editor and proprietor of the Gazette. He was a native of Maine and a graduate of Bowdoin college in 1835. In 1836 he was correspondent of the Louisville Journal, while travelling through Illinois and Missouri, and collected his correspondence and published it in two volumes bearing the title "The Far West." He was engaged in journalism in St. Louis and Louisville in 1837, 1838 and 1839, and in 1840 practiced law in Vicksburgh, with the distinguished Sargent S. Prentiss. While in Marietta he wrote two romances—"Carrero," and "Francis of Valois." He was consul to Venice in 1850, and published a book upon Venice afterward. In 1851 he became editor of a Democratic paper in New Orleans, and was in the employ of the Government during Buchanan's administration. Mr. Flagg was the last editor of the Gazette. It was merged, in 1842, with another paper—the Intelligencer—which had been 'started as a rival sheet three years before.
The Marietta Intelligencer appeared in the summer of 1839. This date marked the beginning of a new era in the history of the Marietta press. Beman Gates, the editor, was born in Montague, Franklin county, Massachusetts, January 5, 1818; moved with his father to Connecticut, in 1835, and in 1837, came west with a brother-in-law. It was his intention to go to Knoxville, Tennessee, and in fact he had an engagement there, but he was pleased with Marietta, and quite willing to seek no farther for a location. Still he would doubtless have gone on to Tennessee had he not been detained by his brother-in-law's illness. He decided to remain and was confident of finding something to do. He obtained a chance to do writing in the recorder's office, and soon began teaching vocal music in the college. Unexpectedly he received a proposition to become editor of a paper which had been projected, as a live Whig organ. The Intelligencer was started with young Gates (who had barely reached his twenty-first year) as editor, and George W. and Charles D. Tyler as the publishers. The Tyler boys, as they were called, were the members of the firm who had the practical knowledge. The elder, George W., was a perfect type setter and a fine pressman. He and his brother were both severall years older than Mr. Gates, and each of them had a family. They had been printing for some time the Marietta and Washington county Pilot, edited by Charles B. Flood (a paper of which we shall have more to say in this chapter). The sum of six hundred dollars was raised by the Tylers though they were obliged to sell their houses to do it, and Mr. Gates added three hundred dollars borrowed money, to the capital. The firm immediately after deciding upon the issuance of a paper; bought a Washington hand-press, and a small quantity of large type, and the first Intelligencer was given to the light upon the twenty-ninth of August, 1839. Three hundred copies of the first issue were printed. The paper was larger than any previously issued in Marietta, and very handsomely printed. The subscription price was announced as two dollars per year. The following was the young editor's salutatory:
The general plan upon which this paper will be conducted has been set forth in the prospectus. The subscriber, in commencing his duties as editor, wishes it to be distinctly understood that he has no prejudices to foster, no partialities to indulge, and no invidious feelings to gratify. He is perfectly willing to be advised in regard to the manner of conducting it, but, after all, his own judgment must decide what course duty requires him to pursue. He will not suffer himself to be influenced by the opinions of others in any way incompatible with perfect freedom of thought and action. He speaks particularly on this point, because
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO - 415
he has been charged with being under the control of influential men in this town.
In politics his motto will be, "Willing to praise, but not afraid to blame." He will be equally ready to bestow praise upon his political enemies, when merited, or censure upon his friends, when necessary. It wilt therefore be conducted with impartial liberality, and no efforts shall be wanting on the part of the subscriber to render it distinguished by its practical utility.
Temperate and well written communications upon any subject that shall be deemed of general iterest, will be thankfully received and inserted.
With this brief statement the first number or the Intelligemcer is offered to the public, that by it they may judge of its merits and of the claims it has upon thei1 patronage.
BEMAN GATES.
The Intelligencer received this notice in advance from the Gazette:
We understand the new paper, the Marietta Intelligencer, is to appear next week. This paper is to eclipse everything, exterminate Democracy, astonish the natives and swallow the Gazette with all its appendages. Now, to the latter performance we shall object. Although we labor under disadvantageous circumstances, not having asked or received from our business men, county or town officers, a pledge of their entire patronage, nor have we the assurance of aid by able writers to assist us in editing or writing, still we are not disposed to stop business just yet. It has been argued to some of our subscribers that they might as well discontinue the Gazette and subscribe for the Intelligencer, because the Gazette must stop at all evets. Had not the gentlemen better stay their judgment for a time, and see if the community wilt that we shall be crushed in order to rear a favorite upon the ruin?
It was not until the Harrison campaign that the new Whig paper had three hundred paying subscribers, but the list more than doubled during the year 1840, and its success was assured. It drew heavily from the Gazette. Influential Whigs interested themselves in extending the circulation of the intelligencer, for it was helping their cause.
In 1844 Charles D. Tyler sold out his interest in the paper to Mr. Gates, and in the following year George W. Tyler also sold out, but continued to print the paper until 1856. The first named moved to. Ontonagon, Michigan, where he published a paper for several years, and then located in Missouri. From October, 1851, to January, 1861, the Intelligencer, was published both as a weekly and a tri-weekly. The circulation of the two editions was about eighteen hundred, and the weekly alone had more than twelve hundred, which was very large for the time.
In 1853 the New Orleans and Ohio telegraph line was established from Wheeling to the Gulf of Mexico, and in less than a month from the time the wires were put in use, Taylor was inaugurated President, and the Intelligencer, received his message by telegraph. Mr. Gates had regular paid correspondents at Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, and at Columbus during the sessions of the general assembly.
Caleb Emerson wrote a great deal for the paper. It is remembered that among other articles of a literary nature which he furnished, was a review, in 1840, of Carlyle's Sartor Resartus, which appeared at that time. At no other time has so much money been expended for journalistic labor in Marietta as during the sixteen years of Mr. Gates' connection with the Intelligencer. When the railroad brought in the Cincinnati papers, the field of the Intelligencer was narrowed and made more purely local, and competition with the dailies being impossible, the large outlay of money for telegraphic news was suspended.
Mr. Gates sold out in April, 1856, to Dr. T. L. Andrews, who was editor and proprietor until June, 1862, when he in turn sold out to Rodney M. Stimson, and a few years later removed to Iowa. Mr. Stimson, who took possession as editor and proprietor of the paper June 5th and changed its name to the Marietta Register, came well prepared for the task before him. He had been for twelve years, from 1850 to 1862, editor of an Ironton, Ohio, journal. He was born at Milford, New Hampshire, October 26, 1824; entered Phillips Exeter academy—the junior class—in 1845, and graduated at Marietta college in 1847. Mr. Stimson was a member of the State senate three years, being first elected in 1869 and reelected in 1871. He was State librarian from March, 1877, to March, 1879 (see longer biography in chapter on the Bar of Washington County). During the ten years in which he was editor of the Register Mr. Stimson not only made his paper an excellent one by the usual methods of good editorial work, but gave it an exceptional interest and value by the publication in its columns of a large amount of historical matter pertaining to Marietta and the region round about.
E. R. Alderman & Co. (the company was J. W. Dumble) took possession of the Register May 20, 1872. Mr. Dumble remained in the partnership until 1875, since which time Mr. Alderman has been the sole proprietor and editor. He was born in a log cabin near Athens August 29, 1839 (the day that the old Intelligencer was first issued). He was thrown on his own resources when a boy; went to school and taught school in the western part of Washington county; was in the mercantile business six years in Racine, Meigs county, and came to Marietta in 1867 and engaged in the general and life insurance business. The Register was enlarged by Mr. Alderman January 1, 1874, from an eight to a nine column paper.
We have now followed what may be called one succession of newspapers from the beginning down to the present. The Register it is claimed is the lineal descendent of the old Ohio Gazette and Me Virginia and Territorial Herald.
There remains another succession to be spoken of— that which is represented by the Marietta Times. There were also several publications, for the most part short- lived, which belonged to neither of the lines of descent.
The first of this latter class (not heretofore alluded to) was the Marietta Minerva, first issued in October, 1823, by John K. and A. V. D. Joline, and suspended December 3, 1824.
The Marietta and Washington county Pilot was the first Democratic paper in the town, and the beginning of the succession to which the Times belongs. It appeared April 7, 1826, with the names of George Dunlevy and A. V. D. Joline as publishers. The latter had editorial control of the paper. The Pilot was at first neutral in politics, but in 1827 espoused the cause of Jackson. Party feeling ran very high in Marietta at this time. The Friend advocated the reelection of John Quincy Adams.
416 - HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO.
The campaign opened early, and was quite bitter locally. During the heated controversy between the local papers in 1828, an amusing incident occurred, and one which was rather embarrassing to the Pilot. In some manner, (probably through the agency of a printer of the Friend office) the letters at the head of the Pilot were transposed so as to read Lip:, and an edition of the paper was worked off and circulated before the mistake was discovered. The Friend in its next issue thus commented upon the change:
A SIGN.—Mr. Joline's editorial matter for once has a true heading. It came out rast Saturday under the appropriate name of the Lipot. Whether he has blundered into the truth, or whether he has just begun to practice on his motto of no concealment," we pretend not to determine. If he really means to fight no longer under false colors, he will do himself some little honor for candor, if not for truth.
Mr. Joline became postmaster at Marietta under Jackson in 1829 and remained in office until 1834. He subsequently went south and died in Memphis in 1845 or 1846. The last number of the Pilot was issued in May, 1830.
John Brough, afterwards auditor of State, and still later governor of Ohio, and his brother, Charles H., had learned the printer's trade under the Jolines, and buying the material of the defunct Pilot, they started the West-, ern Republican and Marietta Advertiser, issuing the first number January 8,1831. John Brough was at this time not twenty years of age. The Friend spoke of him as "Master" Brough. He showed, however, at this early age, considerable of the ability and force which were more fully developed in his later years. He made the Republican a strong paper, and supported Jackson's administration very energetically. His motto was, "Freedom of speech is man's inalienable birthright—the liberty of the press his impregnable safeguard." The paper was published in Marietta only about two years, then removed to Parkersburgh, and after a few months to Lancaster.
In the quarrel between Jackson and Calhoun the Broughs took the Calhoun side. The Nullifiers, as the Calhoun men were called, had only a very small representation in Washington county, and the paper lost its patronage; hence its removal.
Briefly, the career of this remarkable man, John Brough, was as follows: He was born in 1811 at his father's home, Cleona farm, at the mouth of Duck creek. His father died in the epidemic of 1823; his mother had been dead for several years, and the orphan boy at the age of twelve years entered the Friend office to learn the printer's trade under Royal Prentiss. He subsequently went to Athens, where he maintained himself while studying in one of the departments of the State university. From Athens he came to Marietta, and was the "Master Brough" and the "little lad" of the Republican. We have spoken of his removal to Lancaster. It was in that place that his talents received their first recognition. He was elected in 1838 as the representative of Fairfield and Hocking counties in the legislature. By this legislature he was chosen, when only twenty-eight years of age, State auditor, which office he filled wilh ability for six years. In 1845 he went to Cincinnati to study law. In 1841 he had bought the Phenix from Moses Dawson, and started the Enquirer in company with his brolher, Charles H. Brough. He was editor-in-chief of this paper in 1846-47, his brother having gone as a colonel into the Mexican war. In 1848 John Brough left the Enquirer and was elected president of the Madison & Indianapolis railroad. He remained in that position and exhibited great ability as a railroad manager until 1863, when he was elected governor of Ohio by one hundred and one thousand majority. He died while holding this position.
In 1834 a Democratic paper was started as the successor of the Republican, by John S. McCracken, who published it about eight weeks. Its support was insufficient; and one morning a note was found in the office, signed by McCracken, which ran thus: "I'm off, as the fly said when it lit on the mustard pot." The paper stopped.
The Marietta Democrat was started in August, 1835, by Charles B. Flood, who has since been, for several years, on the editorial staff of the daily Ohio Statesman, clerk of the Ohio senate and supervisor of public printing. He published the paper until 1838, when it was transferred to Jacob Baughey. It soon failed, and the material became the property of Daniel Radebaugh, jr., who issued in April, 1840, the first number of the Washington County Democrat, a paper which remained in existence for only a very short time. It was revived in 1844 by J. C. C. Carroll, and published until after the presidential election of that year, when it passed out of existence.
In 1849 the Democracy of the county had long been without an organ, when Amos Layman, who had but recently graduated from Marietta college and was reading law, was prevailed on to start a Democratic paper. He procured new material throughout, and gave the paper a new name—The Marietta Republican. Mr. Layman made the new Democratic organ a success, and it became a paying and prosperous paper. After conducting it for more than five years, he transferred it to Andrew W. McCormick, and accepted a position in the Indian service of the Government. Mr. Layman was afterward, for six years, the editor of the Daily Ohio Statesman of Columbus, succeeding George W. Manypenny. The duties of the position he performed creditably and acceptably during all the years of the civil war, and afterward, until he resigned it to take the office of clerk of the Ohio house of representatives. Mr. Layman held this position two terms, and has the reputation of having been the best clerk that body ever had. He afterward had the supervision of the publication of the debates and proceedings of the Constitutional convention of 1873-74; was executive clerk in the office of the Government during the administration of William Allen; and assisted the Codifying Commission of Ohio, from 1875 to 1880, in the work of revising and consolidating the statutes of the State. He was for a long series of years a member of the State Central and Executive committees of his party, and secretary thereof; was a delegate to the Democratic National convention of 1856, and one of its secretaries.
The Home News, a small quarto was first issued in
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO - 417
May, 1859, by E. Winchester, and in 1862 sold to R. . M. Stimson, who merged it with the Register.
After the suspension of the Republican, in 1863, there was no Democratic paper in Marietta for nearly a year, but Walter C. Hood supplied the want by issuing, September 24, 1864, the Marietta Times. Hood sold out in 1871. He became State librarian while William Allen was governor, and died in February, 1875 while holding that office. He was a native of Somerset, Perry county, and previous to the time of his location in Marietta had established papers in Portsmouth and Ironton.
S. M. McMillen, the present editor of the Times, brought out the first issue that appeared under his management August 3, 1871, although he had been for a short period anterior to that time connected with the office. He has enlarged the Times to eight columns. Mr. McMillen is a native of Pennsylvania, and was born in Allegheny, August 19, 1840. He was connected with the Steubenville Gazette prior to coming to Marietta.
The newest candidate for public favor is the Marietta Leader, first issued by Frank A. Crippen and Will S. Knox, February 23, 1881. It is a handsome eight-column paper, of newsy character. Mr. Crippen was born March 1, 1845. He served some time on the Cincinnati papers; located in Marietta. in 1878, and was local editor of the Times for two years previous to the establishment of the Leader. Mr. Knox is a son of M. G. Knox, and a grandson of Captain William Knox, of Harmar, and was born October 31, 1860.
There have been published several college magazines. The first was the Marietta Collegiate Magazine begun in June, 1854, and continued through three volumes of nine numbers each. The Marietta Collegiate Quarterly was first issued in November, 1865, by the senior class. Only one volume was issued. The Marietta Olio was started in November, 1872, and is still continued. After the first volume the name was changed to the College Mk It is published by the two literary societies.
The German press history dates back to 1856. The first journal published in the German language in Marietta was issued August 3rd, of that year, by William Lorey, and bore the name .Der Marietta Democrat. This paper was published by Mr. Lorey until 1865, when it passed into the hands of Messrs. Mueller & Schultz, who shortly after abandoned its publication. It was then revived by its former publisher, Mr. Lorey, but he issued it only eighteen weeks and then suspended publication.
In 1861, Messrs. Joseph Wildt and Frederick Neuberger, under the firm name of Neuberger & Co., started a Republican German paper Der Beolachter. This paper was at first edited by Mr. Wildt and after he entered the Union army, by Doctor F. W. Neuberger. Der Beolachter only existed about nine months—German Republicans being too scarce in those days in Washington county, to give the paper a proper support. Mr. E. Schmidt, foreman of the office tried to revive the paper under another name but did not succeed. Mr. Wieldt died in 1875, in Cincinnati, and Doctor Neuberger died in 1867. E. Schmidt also died a few years ago, and Mr. Lorey a few months ago in Marietta.
In 1867 the Rev. Constantine Arnold, pastor of the German Protestant St. Luke's church, started an independent paper, Der Patriot, and published twenty-two numbers. He was granted the use of the material of the former Beolachter. This material had been bought by F. Neuberger & Company for five hundred dollars, and consisted of the type and presses of the once famous Cincinnati sheet, Der Hochwachter, an anti-religious paper published by Frederick Hassaurek. Mr. Arnold was obliged to leave Marietta, and the paper ceased to be. In October, 1868, Mr. Winchester issued the first number of the Marietta Zeitung, published with the assistance of Mr. F. Neuberger, of the former Beolachter. Some twenty odd numbers were published by Mr. Winchester, and in April, 1869, he sold out to Jacob Mueller, who, assisted by his son, Louis Mueller, now conducts the paper. Mr. Mueller was born in Rheinish Bavaria, July 29, 1833, and came to America in 1849, after graduating from school and journeying through France. He located at Albany, New York, for a short time, and then became a resident of Cincinnati, where he resided for seventeen years. His wife having died, he removed to Marietta in 1866, and married as his second wife, in 1869, Lizzie, daughter of Colonel William C. Buck. He was engaged in commercial business prior to his purchase of Der Zeitung.