CHAPTER VIII.

PEN SKETCHES OF SOME PROMINENT BELMONT COUNTY
MEN AND WOMEN.

THE FIRST ABOLITIONIST, BENJAMIN LUNDY-ISABELLA THOBURN-SENATOR WILLIAM WINDOM-WILLIAM DEAN HOWELLS-GEN. BENJAMIN RUSH COWEN-GEN. THOMAS THOMPSON ECKHART-GEN. DAVID A. HOLLINGSWORTH-REV. DR. JAMES MOFFATT-BISHOP JAMES M. THOBURN.

(RETURN TO THE TITLE PAGE)

THE FIRST ABOLITIONIST, BENJAMIN LUNDY.

What Martin Luther was to the cause of religious reformation in the 16th century, Benjamin Lundy was to the cause of human freedom in the 19th century, viz : self-sacrificing, bold and courageous.

The controlling element in Lundy's character, the motive power of all his actions and writings, was his faith in God and his unbounded enthusiasm in the cause of human freedom.

Sitting at his workbench in one of the old saddlery shops of Wheeling, he saw gangs of slaves driven down Main street like droves of cattle; he heard their agonized cries under the cruel strokes of the blacksnake whip and his heart was filled with an indomitable purpose to devote his life to the liberty of the slaves.

Surrounded by the influences and associations of slavery, he removed to St. Clairsville, and there inaugurated the great philanthropic movement, that resulted in the freedom of the slaves at the hands of the immortal Lincoln.

Mr. Lundy was born at Hardwick, New Jersey, on the 4th of January, 1789, of Quaker parentage, but began his great work in St. Clairsville in 1815 when only 25 years of age.

There he called a few sympathizing friends and neighbors together and organized the first anti-slavery society in the United States.

The names of those pioneers in this great movement are unhappily unknown but the numbers increased so rapidly that within six months this "Union Humane Society," for such it was called, consisted of 600 members.

Mr. Lundy was a forceful and earnest writer and upon his 26th birthday issued the celebrated "Appeal to Philanthropists," a document so clear, comprehensive and convincing, that it proved the basis upon which every subsequent appeal or argument issued against slavery, in the long and fierce agitation that followed, was founded.

Soon thereafter he became a regular contributor to The Philanthropist, published by

Charles Osborn of Mount Pleasant and, subsequently, assistant editor; under his editorship, the paper became decidedly anti-slavery in its tone.

Such was his zeal and devotion to the cause of abolitionism that he took his entire stock of saddlery and harness by flatboat to St. Louis, with a view of obtaining sufficient money to enlarge the paper's publication.

Reaching St. Louis, he entered with en-

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thusiastic zeal into the fiery controversy over the Missouri Compromise, which was then progressing and so won the hostility of the slavery advocates that he was obliged to sell his entire stock at ruinous prices, and, in order to save a little out of the disaster, returned home on foot in the dead of winter. To add to his discomfiture, he found Mr. Osborn had removed his type and printing press to Jonesborough, Tennessee, where Mr. Lundy subsequently joined him, and for three years published an abolition paper in a Slave State where he incurred the hostility, and was subject to the ridicule of the "hot bloods" all about him.

Previous to his trip south, he had published the Genius of Universal Emancipation, or rather had it published in Steubenville, while he resided at Mount Pleasant 20 miles distant, and made it a success by traveling on foot each way, carrying his manuscripts in his pockets going, and bearing with him the published paper on his return.

Mr. Lundy made a journey of 600 miles on foot to attend the first anti-slavery convention ever held in the United States in Philadelphia in 1823-24. He subsequently removed to Baltimore, traveling from Jonesborough, Tennessee, on foot and wherever he entered a village or settlement of Quakers he found friends and met with encouragement. On this trip he made abolition speeches and organized abolition societies. Although often insulted and threatened with personal violence, he sustained no bodily injuries on the journey. On reaching Baltimore, however, he was attacked by a villainous slave trader named Wollfolk, and nearly beaten to death, and the pro-slavery judge, Nicholas Brice, condoned the offense and set the prisoner free with a remark that "Lundy only got what he deserved."

In the year 1828, Mr. Lundy began a lecturing tour through New England, arousing public sentiment against human slavery, and while upon this tour he met and made a convert of William Lloyd Garrison, who subsequently be-came the most illustrious anti-slavery writer and speaker in the nation. For years Mr. Lundy was associated with Mr. Garrison in the publication of the celebrated Liberator.

Mr. Lundy's later life was given over to organizing anti-slavery societies and finding homes for escaped or liberated slaves. He died in Lowell, Illinois, August 29, 1839.

William Lloyd Garrison his co-laborer wrote of him, "Instead of being able to stem the tide of public opinion it would at a glance seem doubtful whether he could sustain a temporary conflict with the winds of heaven. And yet he has explored 19 of the 24 States from the Green Mountains of Vermont to the banks of the Mississippi, multiplied anti-slavery societies in every quarter, put every petition in motion relative to the extinction of slavery in the District of Columbia; everywhere awakened the slumbering sympathies of the people and began a work, the completion of which will be the salvation of his country.

"His heart is of gigantic size, every inch of him is alive with power.

"He combines the meekness of Howard with the boldness of Luther.

"Within a few months he has traveled 2,400 miles, of which upwards of 1,600 was traveled on foot. during which time he has held 50 public meetings. Rivers and mountains vanish in his path. Midnight finds him winding his solitary way over an unfrequented road. The sun is anticipated in his rising. Never was moral sublimity of character better illustrated."

ISABELLA THOBURN.

Among the cultured and devoted women whose memory the world delights to honor, there has been none whose name is more revered and honored, none whose life work was more exalted among Christian people of all lands than that of Isabella Thoburn.

Miss Thoburn as the first representative of the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church in America, endured many hardships and sufferings and overcame countless barriers of caste in opening the doors of the homes in India for the admission of Christian women.

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Isabella Thoburn was born March 29, 1840. She received her early education in the Beech Hill school house, two miles east of St. Clairsville and later attended Wheeling Female College, from which she graduated in June, 1861. She spent some time in Cincinnati in art study, in the School of Designs. She taught in several schools near St. Clairsville, also a year in the young ladies' seminary in New Castle, Pennsylvania, and two years in the collegiate institute in West Farmington, Ohio.

In 1869 the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church was organized, and she was chosen as the first representative of the new movement. Previous to this, she had offered herself to the General Missionary Society, but was told there was no place for single women in that organization. The new organization gladly gave her a place, and she became the first in the long list of workers numbering several hundred, who are now laboring in 12 different countries.

Miss Thoburn sailed from New York in November, 1869, reaching Lucknow, India, five weeks later: She began her work with seven poor girls gathered in from the bazaar, one of them a tiny child bearing the now well known name of Lilivarti Singh. Her school grew rapidly ; larger rooms were needed, and a great awakening among the Eurasians in Cawnpore resulted in an appeal to her to superintend an English school there, while still holding her place in Lucknow. She accepted the double duty, and traveled the 45 miles backwards and forth each week in open third-class cars, until a helper was sent from America. Her first furlough came after 10 years of hard service, and within the year she had returned to India.

In 1886 her health became seriously impaired and she had to return home, but in the four years when on the invalid list, some of her best work was done. In passing through England she had visited the Mildmay missions and deaconess work, and became interested in adapting it to her work in India, so she became a deaconess, giving up half her salary and opening up the work in Cincinnati that has grown into such proportions since.

She stipulated that she must have one hand free to work for India, and while this was true, no other interest was allowed to suffer.

In 1890 she returned to India. The school at Lucknow now occupied three buildings but for the college another was needed. She lived to see this built, and its cost provided for. To provide for it, she made another visit to America, with Miss Lilivarti Singh, and both were honored with much attention wherever they went. They made a notable impression at the great Ecumenical Conference in New York. Sailing for India immediately after, she took up her work as principal of the Lucknow Woman's College.

She died September 2, 1901, of cholera, and was buried in Lucknow Cemetery, leaving a name that will not be forgotten, and a work that will not die.

SENATOR WILLIAM WINDOM.

The population of Ohio probably represents more nearly than that of any other State the people of all the older sections of the Union, and no fair estimate of the magnitude of Ohio's contribution to the Union can be made without considering the names of the many illustrious statesmen and soldiers born in Ohio whose valuable services have been accredited to other States.

In the galaxy of illustrious names that have rendered the nation invaluable service at a critical period in its history, none shine brighter than that of Senator William Windom.

This great financier and statesman, was born in Richland township, Belmont County, May 10, 1827, in a little home just opposite the village of Loydsville. Born in humble walks of life, his early surroundings were plain and unpretentious. Removing to Knox County, Ohio, he obtained an academic education and studied law at Mount Vernon and was admitted to the bar in 1850. In 1852 he was elected prosecuting attorney of Knox County, and after serv-

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ing his full term removed to Minnesota in 1855, where he immediately entered upon an active public career that continued until his death.

In 1859 he was elected to Congress, a position he filled with great credit and ability for 10 successive years, acting as chairman of the Committee on Indian Affairs and also chairman of the special committee to visit the Western Tribes in 1865.

In 1876 he was appointed to the Senate to fill the unexpired term of Senator Norton, de-ceased, and was subsequently elected and re-elected for 12 years.

In the Senate he gained national prominence, in the discussion of great financial questions and upon the election of General Garfield to the Presidency, he was chosen as the Secretary of the Treasury.

After the death of President Garfield, and the accession of President Arthur, he retired from the cabinet, and was again chosen United States Senator, where he served as chairman of the committees on Appropriations, Foreign Affairs and Transportation.

Upon the election of President Harrison, in 1888, Mr. Windom was again called to the Treasury portfolio and was in the midst of his term when, on January 29, 1891, he was an invited guest at the annual banquet of the Board of Trade in New York, and at the close of an eloquent and impressive address upon his favorite topic, finance, he dropped dead.

As an evidence of the esteem and popularity in which Mr. Windom was held we might mention that his name was four times presented at national conventions as a candidate for President, and it is believed that but for his untimely death that honor would have been conferred upon him.

WILLIAM DEAN HOWELLS.

Perhaps the foremost writer of fiction in America today and a man who is well known and honored in literary circles throughout the world is William Dean Howells, who was born in an humble brick cottage in Martin's Ferry on March 1, 1837. Mr. Howells learned the printing business in his father's office when but a child, and continued in his employ for 12 years, working daily until late at night and then rising early to distribute his papers. When the enterprise failed, Mr. Howells secured employment upon the Ohio State Journal, and contributed freely of his limited means to the support of his father's family. About this time, his literary talent began to develop, and his poems in the Atlantic Monthly, then the foremost American magazine, began to attract the attention of the literary world.

A campaign history of Abraham Lincoln was enthusiastically received by loyal men at the outbreak of the Civil War. Later in conjunction with John T. Piatt, a fellow compositor who likewise attained distinction as a writer, they wrote a work entitled "Poems of Two Friends."

At the outbreak of the Civil War, Mr. Howells was appointed American Consul to Venice, a position he filled with great credit to the nation until 1865.

On his return he joined the staff of the Nation, a new magazine of great promise. But in July, 1871, he became the controlling editor of the Atlantic Monthly, a position which he held for 10 years.

Aside from his contributions to all the leading American magazines he issued such popular books as "Venetian Life," "Italian Journeys," "No Love Lost," "Suburban Sketches," "A Chance Acquaintance," etc., etc.

Mr. Howells was of Quaker stock and Welsh origin, and his remarkable literary talent was inherited from a long line of literary ancestors.

On the occasion of the Centennial Celebration of Belmont County, Mr. Howells was not able to attend in person but contributed the following charming letter descriptive of his appreciation of the beautiful hill country in which he was born :

My Dear Sir:

I should like greatly to be with you on the centennial anniversary of Belmont County, and I am very sorry that I cannot. I am no speaker, and I have not the time to prepare any sort of address.

My life began in Belmont County, and I wish I could

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go back to it, if only for a day. I think I left it too soon, but at three years one's judgment is not perfectly formed, and I must plead this in excuse for that early mistake. The first of my recollections reach back to the little coal-smoky village by the Ohio River, and where so many of my kindred lived and died, and some are living yet ; but Martinsville is scarcely more to me than St. Clairsville, which I know from my father's talk of it quite as well. Long after I had so familiarly known the place and now also long ago, I had the great pleasure of seeing it on a visit to my cousin, Cope, and of feeling in it a sort of old world charm. With its brick houses set close together upon that noble National Road, which served as its principal street, it was more like an English than an American town, and in the Sunday quiet of the day I spent there, I fancied there would be more of that safety from change, which we long for, the older we grow. I dare say that by this time you have electric lights and trolley cars and city water and sewerage and typhoid, and all the other modern advantages ; but then St. Clairsville was an idyl of repose, "a home of ancient peace," and I wished to stay there on and on. It was another of my mistakes that I did not, and I cannot plead nonage in excuse for this second and last of my errors. But I have never been absent altogether from my native county, for I know its history perhaps as well as some of you who have always lived there, and I am quite as proud of it. In my boyish day dreams, I fought the Indians all over its beautiful hills, and in my night dreams was scalped and tomahawked by them, and only a few years ago I had occasion for one of the books I am always writing, to revisit the scenes of those exploits in its fascinating annals.

Again I wish I could come to you for your centennial ; ask me to our millenial, and I will not refuse. I shall be younger then and I hope not so busy.

Yours sincerely,

W. D. HOWELLS.

To A. T. McKelvey.

GEN. BENJAMIN RUSH COWEN.

One of the noted men in Ohio today, whose mental and physical vigor are still unimpaired, is Gen. B. R. Cowen of Cincinnati. General Cowen was one of the distinguished circle of Ohio statesmen and soldiers that contributed so much to the preservation of the Union and the preeminence of the Buckeye State in the great struggle for national existence.

Gen. Benjamin Rush Cowen was born August 15. 1831. His parents, Benjamin Sprague and Ann (Wood) Cowen, were natives of Washington County, New York. The paternal grandfather of our subject, Joseph Cowen, a native of Gloucester, Rhode Island, was a Revolutionary soldier, and the paternal grandmother, Phoebe Sprague, was a daughter of Ebenezer Sprague, who was a member of the Rhode Island House of Delegates during the Colonial and Revolutionary period.

General Cowen was brought to St. Clairsville in 1832 when but one year of age, which was his residence until 1857.

He was educated at Brooks' Institute and at two other classical schools in St. Clairsville, kept by Nathan R. Johnson and A. Clark Williams, respectively, local institutions of much influence and merit in his day.

After completing his studies, he learned the printing trade which he followed as compositor, pressman, publisher, editor and proprietor of the Belmont Chronicle until 1857. A complete edition of Swedenborg's works and other works of less magnitude, were stereotyped and printed by him.

While working at the case, two years were spent in the study of medicine and surgery in the office of the late Dr. John Alexander.

In 1857 he removed to Bellaire and engaged in mercantile business until the outbreak of the Civil War.

January 1, 1860, he was elected chief clerk of the Ohio House of Representatives and the same year was appointed engineer in chief with the rank of colonel on the staff of Governor Dennison. That being a peace appointment and Mr. Cowen being without technical knowledge to enable him to discharge its duties in war time, on the outbreak of the war he resigned the position and enlisted as a private soldier in Company C, 15th Reg., Ohio Vol. Inf., Capt. William Wallace. Before the regiment was mustered into the United States service Mr. Cowen was appointed 1st lieutenant, and commissary of subsistence, and June 1, 1861, was appointed paymaster U. S. Army, by President Lincoln, with rank of major. In this latter capacity he served in the Army of the Potomac, in West Virginia, and in the Shenandoah Valley.

With Maj. Fayette Brown of Cleveland, Ohio, he was instrumental in preparing the legislation enabling soldiers to send their money to their families through the State and county treasurers, and himself collected and forwarded

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over $200,000 under that plan, without a cent of loss or expense to the soldiers or to the State.

In January, 1864, Major Cowen took a leave of absence from the army, without pay, and accepted the appointment of Adjutant General of Ohio, from Gov. John Brough, being reappointed to that office in 1866 by Gov. J. D. Cox.

The brevets of lieutenant-colonel, colonel and brigadier-general were conferred on him by the President for his services in organizing the "Hundred Days Men" in 1864. That service consisted in consolidating, organizing, equipping and forwarding 42 regiments of 35,982 men in 14 days.

From the spring of 1864 until the close of the war, General Cowen was inspector of military prisons in Ohio, by appointment of the Secretary of War, without extra compensation.

In 1861, while in the Army of the Potomac, Major Cowen was nominated and elected Secretary of State of Ohio, resigning that office in May, 1862, and returning to the field.

In 1869 General Cowen was appointed supervisor of internal revenue for the district comprising California, Nevada, Utah and Arizona, with headquarters at San Francisco ; transferred in 1870 to the Southern District of Ohio, with headquarters at Cincinnati ; April, 1871, appointed Assistant Secretary of the Interior by President Grant which office he held till the close of Grant's term. In October and November, 1871. he was a special commissioner to appraise the lands in the Indian Territory, west of 96 degrees West Longitude ; in 1872 he went as commissioner to the hostile Sioux under Sitting Bull, in Montana, made a treaty and established Fort Peck Agency; in 1873 he surveyed and fixed the boundary lines of a new Indian reservation in Northern California, removed the Modoc and other Indians from the Round Valley Reservation to the new reservation, and appraised the lands and improvements on the Round Valley Reservation. In September. 1874, by order of the President, he visited New Orleans. in company with the late Admiral Rodgers. at the time of the trouble between the "White Leaguers" and the milita under General Longstreet, and made a report on the troubles ; in March and April, 1875, during the Mormon troubles, by direction of the President, he visited Utah and made a report on the Mormon situation.

He was editor of the Ohio State Journal until November, 1884, when he was appointed clerk of the United States Circuit and District courts for the Southern District of Ohio, which position he still (1902) holds.

Politically he was a Whig, and cast his first vote for General Scott for President in 1852. He was active in the organization of the Republican party, and was secretary of the first Republican State Convention in 1854, and of many subsequent State conventions and of the national convention of 1868, and was a delegate to the national conventions of 1856 and 1868. He was a member of the State central and executive committees from 1864 to 1868, chairman in 1866 and 1867, and a member of the National Republican Committee from 1866 to 1876.

General Cowen is a 32nd degree Mason; president of the Society of the Past Masters (1902) ; past commander of the Ohio Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion; past colonel, Union Veteran Legion and chief of staff to the national commander (1901-02) ; member of the G. A. R.; president Ohio Chapter, Sons of the Revolution (1901-02) ; vice-president of the New England Society (1901-21) ; member of the Ohio Society of the War of 1812; ex-president of the Cincinnati Literary Club ; by appointment of the Governor, member of the commission to assist the Archaelogical and Historical Society in conducting the Ohio Centennial Celebration in 1903. and of the board of trustees to erect a memorial building to the soldiers, sailors and pioneers of Hamilton County, Ohio.

He is an official member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a delegate to the Lon-don Ecumenical Conference in 1881 and for the most of his mature life has been, and still is, a Bible teacher in the Sunday-school.

Col. Sidney D. Maxwell, late superintendent of the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce, and

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Merchants' Exchange, who was a fellow member of Governor Brough's staff, speaks of General Cowen's characteristics as follows :

"General Cowen has a rare combination of strong points in his character. Combined with an excellent judgment are unusual executive abilities and a fearless spirit which has eminently fitted him for the public places he has so honorably filled. During the year 1864, while Adjutant General of the State of Ohio, Governor Brough found in him a lieutenant to whose great ability and courage the eminent success of the call for the Ohio National Guards, the far reaching value of which at that juncture in the Rebellion no one can measure, was largely traceable, and in all places, both before and since, he has displayed the rare qualities to recognize great things and to provide for their successful attainment. To these are to be added a quiet demeanor and an elevated moral tone, which is never lowered and which temptation does not disturb. A singularly useful, but quiet member of society; a very vigorous thinker; a forcible writer; a citizen thoroughly posted in all matters of public interest, and one who is abreast of the times; a man capable in every public position to which he has been called, and especially fitted for public service, yet warmly attached to the domestic circle, he presents a rarely symmetrical character."

At the advanced age of 71 years, he is yet active, vigorous and efficient in the discharge of his official duties as he was 30 years ago and as keenly alive to public affairs and interests. He is in much demand as a lecturer on many topics.

General Cowen married Ellen Thoburn of Belmont County, September 19, 1854. She is a daughter of Mathew and Jane Lyle Thoburn, natives of County Antrim, Ireland. Gen. Joseph Thoburn, division commander, killed at the battle of Cedar Creek in 1864; Maj. T. C. Thoburn of Kansas, and Bishop. J. M. Thoburn, Missionary Bishop of India and Malaysia are her brothers. Her sister, the late Isabella Thoburn, first missionary of the W. F. M. S. of the Methodist Episcopal Church, was organizer and principal of the important girls' school at Lucknow, India. Mrs. Cowen has been corresponding secretary of the Cincinnati branch of the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church since its organization (33 years), excepting during a few years' absence in Washington.

Whitelaw Reid, in his history of "The Hundred Day's Men," in "Ohio in the War" said of General Cowen :

"The Adjutant General of Ohio was a man who had been trained to matters of detail, and had long displayed a special aptitude for such executive work. He thoroughly understood all the minutiae of the military system. He was singularly accurate and comprehensive in his grasp of details ; was incapable of being confused by any sudden pressure of business; was not liable to lose his judgment or his coolness under the bewildering rush of exciting matters ; not to be discouraged by difficulties, not to be swerved from his straight path by any representations of hardship or clamor for exemptions, an officer of clear, strong common sense.

"Governor Brough well knew the man upon whom his unexpected dispatch was to throw this sudden weight, and he assured the Secretary of War by the time he could get back to Columbus he should find the great movement well begun. He was not disappointed."

GEN THOMAS THOMPSON ECKERT.

One of the most honored and distinguished men in mechanical and professional life that the country has produced is Gen. Thomas Thompson Eckert, the late president and general manager of the largest telegraph system in the world.

General Eckert was born in a humble home on the lot in St. Clairsville now occupied by George Jepson's residence and store. His parents named him after one of Belmont County's honored citizens—Maj. Thomas Thompson. Removing from St. Clairsville when a boy he learned the art of telegraphy when it was in its infancy and was connected with the telegraph service for upwards of half a century.

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Of this distinguished man the New York Sun said before his death :

"General Eckert is one of the men whose age has not become a burden. It is now 77 years since he was born in St. Clairsville, Ohio. Only when he sits among his old friends and pulls out the threads of his varied career does it occur to those who listen that General Eckert has passed the time allotted by a sacred writer. His appearance does not indicate his age. Those little things which so often betray men who are trying to dodge the Timekeeper are not in evidence in his manner. Those who know him best and who have known him long, do not recall that he ever showed any signs of pre-senility.

"The physical and mental equipment of General Eckert has aided him in appearing as he is. His temperament was always alert. He was an athlete in his prime. He is a physical giant in his retirement. Obstacles with him have been stepping-stones to higher things. In some way, notwithstanding his share of the concerns of life, he has determinedly lived on the sunny side of the street.

"When he succeeded Dr. Norvin Green as president of the Western Union, General Eckert had already accomplished the labor of the average man of business. He took up the executive direction and management of the corporation, the business of which required application, precision and judgment. No one who knew him thought that he was to be a figure-head. The day after his election as president of the company, in 1893, he was at his desk at 9 o'clock. and it is the recollection of the office force that he stayed until after 6 o'clock p. m., that he did not go to luncheon, and that the day was one of the busiest in the building. It was not a case of new broom. From that day until his retirement it has been the same story when General Eckert was in the city.

"In the summer his home was at Long Branch, but he did not go to the Highlands station until the last boat in the afternoon. He was always one of the early arrivals in the city the next day. When the season was over and he returned to his home in Fifth avenue, he wasmore methodical. He frequently reached his desk before the office boy was ready for him. There is served every day in the Western Union building, in the room of the directory, what is known as the free lunch. It is free only to the directors, of course. It is not an elaborate spread. General Eckert often went to this quick repast when he was rushed, and it is said that it was at these noonings that he and Russell Sage formed the strong personal liking that is maintained by them.

" `Don't eat so fast, Sage,' General Eckert used to say at this feast. `You'll die of dyspepsia before your time.'

"On one occasion Mr. Sage replied : `If you don't quit wearing such fine clothes, you'll be a bankrupt.'

"This sally at General Eckert's dress had for its foundation the fact that the former president of the Western Union is correct in his raiment. He has always been so. He said one day to a friend:

`I believe in good dressing, clear through. I wear the best I can buy of everything. My suspenders constitute my hobby. If I was dressed like a prince and realized that my suspenders were not of the finest texture, I should feel uneasy. A man should never sit down to dinner if he can get to his room in time, unless he has fully changed his attire for the day—everything.'

"His suspenders hobby is said to have started the story that he wears solid gold buckles on them, and gold chains for fastenings. This, however, is denied by one who is in close touch with him.

"If General Eckert's hobby is correct dress, his pleasure is fine horses. There is no time in his life when he will not stop to talk horse, or look at one if it is near by, or buy one if its pedigree is made attractive. He owns 12 blooded animals; some of these he has never seen ; they are in Kentucky in good hands. One of the stories told of the owner is that he writes personal letters to those in care of his pets, making inquiries of them and offering suggestions. A few of his horses are kept in this city, or at a convenient distance. He is a good whip, and the cares of the day are considerably light-

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ened if he can end them by a drive. The invited guest must understand horseology if he expects to be invited again. General Eckert's horses never appear on the turf. He is not a sport.

"Good clothes, fine horses and a chat with a veteran of the army round tip a good time for General Eckert. He is interesting in his recollections. His ideal is Lincoln. When the name of the first martyred President is mentioned, General Eckert's eyes glisten and his voice softens. It was Lincoln who sent him to the campaign on the Peninsula, as superintendent of the military telegraph system of the Army of the Potomac. He was attached to McClellan's headquarters.

"In New York General Eckert is an active member of the Riding Club, where he is a commanding figure in the saddle. He is also a member of the Union League, the Atlantic Yacht and other New York clubs, and a member of the Geographical Society and of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He is a club man to this extent—that he loves to be the center of a group of `old cronies' who delight in the talks of other days. The story that General Eckert is oftenest asked to repeat is that of his capture in North Carolina in 1861. His adherence to the Union did not suit the `Tarheels.' He was convicted of disloyalty to the Confederate cause and sentenced to death ignominiously on the scaffold. He barely escaped and made his way north.

"General Eckert's history, varied and interesting as it is, containing lessons as it does, must of necessity be abstracted. He learned telegraphy in 1848. In 1849, when he was postmaster at Wooster, Ohio, he opened the first postal telegraph service in this country. He was afterward made superintendent of the Union lines being extended from Pittsburg via the Ft. Wayne & Chicago Railroad. He resigned in 1859 and went to North Carolina as superintendent of a gold-mining company. Col. Thomas A. Scott, Assistant Secretary of War, called him to Washington in 1861 and placed him in charge of the military telegraph. He had the title of captain and A. Q. M. Hewas recalled from McClellan's army to establish military headquarters in the War Department buildings. In 1865 Lincoln sent him to meet the leaders of the Confederacy at City Point. He cleared the B. & O. road when Sheridan was ordered to Winchester, and he was present when Sheridan reached his destination and made his first mount for that famous engagement. In 1864 he was brevet lieutenant-colonel and soon after brevet brigadier-general. In 1865 he was Assistant Secretary of War. A year later he resigned to become general superintendent of the Eastern Division of the Western Union lines. He was `Jay Gould's man' and as such became president of the Atlantic & Pacific Telegraph Company. In 1879 he organized the American Union Telegraph Company, which was the only great competitor that the Western Union ever knew."

GEN. DAVID A. HOLLINGSWORTH.

One of the distinguished sons of Belmont County, who has won merited renown beyond the borders of his native county, is ex-Attorney General of Ohio David A. Hollingsworth.

General Hollingsworth was born in the village of Belmont, November 21, 1844, of Quaker parentage. His father, the late Elihu Hollingsworth, of Flushing, was also born in the same county. His grandfather, Levi Hollingsworth, moved from Pennsylvania to near where Flushing now stands, as early as 1804, and made for himself and family a pioneer home in the wilderness. He was a lineal descendant of Valentine Hollingsworth, who, in 1682. came to America in the ship "Welcome," with William Penn, the Quaker, founder of the colony of Pennsylvania. The family have been prominently identified with the business and political interests of Belmont County ever since the county was organized.

David A. Hollingsworth received a liberal education in the public schools and at Mount Union College. At the age of 16 he enlisted as a private soldier in Company B., 25th Reg., Ohio Vol. Inf.. commanded by Capt. James Washburn, of Monroe County. He was in

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a number of important battles, and saw some of the hardest campaigning of the Civil War. He studied law and was admitted to the bar at St. Clairsville, September 17, 1867. In September, 1869, he removed from Flushing to Cadiz. where he has ever since been engaged in the active practice of law.

Previous to his removal to Cadiz, he was mayor of the village of Flushing, and had already began to take an active part in public affairs. He was admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court at Washington, in 1880, and has since been counsel in a number of important cases in that court.

In 1873 he was elected prosecuting attorney of Harrison County, Ohio, and re-elected in 1875. In T879 he was nominated and elected State Senator from the district composed of Belmont and Harrison counties, receiving a majority of over 600. He was re-elected in 1881 by a majority of over 1,200.

In the Senate Mr. Hollingsworth took a leading part, serving as chairman of the committees on judiciary, on Federal Relations, on Privileges and Elections and on Railroads, Turnpikes and Telegraphs. In the last named position he was especially vigilant in guarding the interests of the people as against the powerful railroad and other corporation influences then just beginning to be felt in the State. He was an anti-trust legislator before the present anti-trust agitation began.

By special request of Gov. Charles Foster, April 21, 1883, he resigned as State Senator, and accepted the position of attorney general, to succeed Attorney General George K. Nash, who was appointed to the Supreme Court Commission. He was unanimously tendered a nomination for the regular term, but he declined, and voluntarily resumed the practice of law at Cadiz.

Mr. Hollingsworth. ever since his location at Cadiz, has been favorably known in connection with the public and business enterprises of the county. He acted as president of the First National Bank of Cadiz for a number of years. but finding that its duties interfered too much with his increasing legal business, heresigned, and has ever since devoted his time entirely to the law. He is a tireless worker.

Although quiet and reserved as a citizen, he always takes a deep interest in political questions. In 1882 he acted as temporary chairman of the Republican State Convention, and has at times been prominently mentioned by the press of the State in connection with the Republican nomination for Governor, and also for Supreme Court judge, but he has never personally encouraged the use of his name for either. In the famous presidential campaign of 1896, he headed a delegation of 1,000 wool growers to President McKinley, at Canton and his presentation speech was subsequently printed and widely circulated.

REV. DR. JAMES MOFFAT,

The well known president of Washington-Jefferson College is one of the foremost men in the educational and religious circles of the Presbyterian Church in the United States.

In the last two general assemblies of the Presbyterian Church, Dr. Moffat has been the conspicuous figure and his earnest efforts for a revision of the creed have given him national prominence. Undaunted by defeat in the first report. Dr. Moffat entered upon the work of revision and pacification, in the succeeding general assembly, with renewed zeal and earnestness.

He again made the report of the committee to the general assembly and supplemented it with such earnest and eloquent words that the great representative body, composed of the most able and learned men of the Presbyterian Church. was carried by storm, and the report was adopted by an overwhelming majority.

As Dr. Moffat once aptly expressed it, "I discovered America March 15, 1846." When but an infant he was brought to St. Clairsville, where his father, Rev. John Moffat, was the noble Scotch pastor of the old Presbyterian Church for T5 years.

Here "Jimmy" Moffat, as the old citizens familiarly called him, attended school and grew up to young manhood. In 1861 his father ac-

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cepted the position of pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Bellaire, where the family resided for several years.

He entered Washington-Jefferson College when about 19 years of age and graduated in 1869. Continuing his studies he entered Princeton Theological Seminary the following autumn. On April 14, 1871, he was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of Washington and the succeeding months found him an able co-pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church in Wheeling, West Virginia, an appointment to which his father in the meantime had been called. His father's failing health, however, compelled him to give up his chosen work. On September 6, 1871, Dr. Moffat married Elizabeth D. Crangle, daughter of Henry Crangle of Wheeling.

In 1882 he accepted the presidency of Washington-Jefferson College and the reluctance with which his congregation parted with him shows its high appreciation of his successful work. The degree of Doctor of Divinity was conferred upon him the same year by Hanover College and in 1883 by Princeton College. The degree of A. B. was conferred by Washington-Jefferson in 1869 and LL. D. by the State University of Pennsylvania in 1901.

Dr. Moffat's career while a student at Washington-Jefferson is recalled with much pleasure by many who were his classmates and fellow students and who always found much enjoyment in his company. His life has always been marked by many distinguished traits of character that were so natural and estimable that his associates were desirous of a more intimate acquaintance. His figure was prominent in all gatherings which were of general interest. He joined in the college sports to a certain extent, but never did he allow outside influences to distract his attention from his studies or the one main object of his life—the ministry. With all he was a popular student, but he never formed intimate associations with any one who did not sympathize with him in 'his religious belief.

As a minister of the Gospel, Dr. Moffat is favorably known to the people wherever he has

spoken. His sermons are the result of deep thought expressed in such simple language that he never fails to hold the attention and inspire the minds of all who hear him. He wastes no words and always places himself behind his sermons in such a forcible way, at the same time so plainly, that his propositions are understood by everyone. He has the courage of his convictions,—a trait that he displayed while quite young,—and if he believes that he is right, no matter who opposes, he goes ahead.

Under his guiding hand Washington-Jefferson College has made the greatest progress in its history.

His whole life of industry, perseverance and simplicity has been thrown into the work, and advancement in every department has resulted.

He has by his distinguished ability and management given the college an enviable reputation. Everywhere he goes, he makes friends for the institution.

His presidency has been marked by many achievements, among the most notable of which may be mentioned the system of grading and the raising of the college standard, both the results of his able thought. The discipline of the college has never been better than under his management and the respect and confidence in which he is held by the students is a help to all his plans. Since taking the presidency of the college, he has had calls to several prominent churches. Fortunately for the college, these calls have all been declined. His departure would be the greatest blow the institution could receive.

Dr. Moffat once gave voice to a thought that seems to be his motto in life, "Know something of everything, and everything of something."

BISHOP JAMES M. THOBURN.

Among the noted sons of Belmont County who have achieved a world-wide distinction is Bishop James M. Thoburn of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Bishop Thoburn was born upon a farm a few miles east of St. Clairsville, March 7, 1836.

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His parents were thrifty, devout Scotch-Irish, who came to this country in 1835 and settled upon the farm now occupied by Samuel Finney near St. Clairsville.

The Bishop attended the district school known locally as Beech Hill until he was 15 years of age, when he entered Allegheny College, August 23, 1851. After attending college for two years, he returned home and received an appointment to teach. This position he retained for two years and then re-entered college and completed his course in 1859. He immediately entered the ministry and began to preach in Stark County, near Canton, until 1859.

Having in the meantime received an appointment as missionary to India, he left home in the latter part of March and sailed from Boston April 11, 1859, for Calcutta, taking the long route (which was common for sailing vessels at that day) around the Cape of Good Hope. After a long and weary voyage he reached India August 21st and proceeded immediately to the mission fields selected for him in Northern India.

Of his work at that time, Dr. Buckley says: "When Bishop Thoburn went to India in 1859, a young unmarried man consecrating himself to the isolation, climatic depression and the countless irritations and perplexities incident to dealing with a people of a difficult speech, divided into castes so persistent and tyrannical, that if he touched the hand of one he would be spurned with unutterable loathing by another, he was without the sympathy and companionship of a wife. Subsequently he married a devoted missionary lady, the widow of the late Dr. Downey of Calcutta, but within a year she sickened and died. Nineteen years thereafter the Bishop again married, Dr. Anna Jones of Kingston, Ohio, a graduate of the Woman's Medical College of Philadelphia, becoming his wife. Mrs. Thoburn was a woman of intensely religious spirit and during the pursuit of her work she was stated physician to the missionary circle in India, and physician and surgeon to the large girl's school in Calcutta, and furnished medicine and medical service to the poor, helpless and degraded of Calcutta. Mrs. Thoburn broke down at this arduous labor and after long years of patient suffering died in the United States in September, 1902.

"From the Bishop's arrival in India, he has continued in the foreign missionary service of his church, in the meantime filling appointments at Naini Tal among the Himalaya Mountains in Rohlkhand, in Lucknow and from 1874 to 1888 in the city of Calcutta.

"In this missionary work, Bishop Thoburn was singularly successful.

"Hundreds of natives were converted through his personal exertions, and many native preachers and teachers established in the work of reform.

"In May, 1888, he was elected Missionary Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church for India and Malaysia, and from that date began a wide series of missionary tours, which had to be performed annually throughout the whole of India and as far into Malaysia as Singapore. Since that time, in performance of his official duties, Bishop Thoburn has several times placed half the globe between himself and his family, before the sad clay arrived when he was obliged by her illness, to bring Mrs. Thoburn home to die.

"As the Philippine Islands were included in the region called Malaysia, he proceeded to these islands as soon as they had been opened up by Admiral Dewey's victory, and laid the foundation of Methodist missions in the Philip-pines.

"The wonderful success that has attended missions under his care, both in India and Malaysia, has made Bishop Thoburn famous throughout the world.

"He is a preacher of rare power. The simplicity of his language, the earnestness of his appeals, and his warm sympathetic nature are irresistible. He is also a discriminating critic, and gives reasons for his opinions when they are not in accordance with existing methods. Bishop Thoburn has likewise become noted in the field of Christian literature.

"For years he edited the Indian Witness in

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Calcutta, and is the author of `My Missionary Apprenticeship,' `India and Malaysia,' `The Light in the East,' `The Deaconess and her Work,' `The Christian Nations,' and `The Church of Pentecost,' all of which a distinguished author says are `illuminating and inspiring utterances, upon topics with which the author is thoroughly familiar, and which he believes with all the fervor of an exceptionally intense nature.' "