56 - HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY.

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THE EARLIEST ACCOUNT OF THE MIAMI, COUNTRY.

THE earliest account we have of the Miami country is from the pen of Dr. Daniel Drake, a learned and successful practitioner of medicine in Cincinnati, who wrote a book descriptive of that city and the Miami country in 1815. He had evidently devoted much time and attention to the subject, and, as far as we may judge at this length of time, his accounts were accurate.

" The south-west corner of the State of Ohio," writes Dr. Drake, " is watered chiefly by two rivers, called the Great and Little Miamis. Their general course is southwest; their medium distance apart, twenty miles.

" The Great Miami is about one hundred and thirty yards wide for forty miles from its mouth ; its headwaters, between forty and forty-four degrees north latitude, interlock with the Massassinaway, a branch of the Wabash, the Auglaize and St. Mary, branches of the Maumee, and the Scioto. It has generally a rapid current, but no considerable falls. It flows through a wide and fertile valley, which, in Spring and Autumn, is liable to partial inundation. Its principal tributary streams on the west are Loramie's Creek, which joins it about one hundred and thirty miles from its mouth ; Stillwater, which enters it about fifty miles below; and Whitewater, which it receives within seven miles of the Ohio. The first of these is navigable for batteaux nearly twenty miles, and in this respect is superior to the others. On the east side Mad River only is deserving of notice. This beautiful stream originates in a pond on the Indian boundary of 1795, and glides through a tract finely diversified with prairie and woodland. It is too shallow for navigation, but at all times furnishes water enough for the largest mills. Its mouth is nearly opposite that of Stillwater, and immediately above the town of Dayton. From this place to the Great Miami it is navigable, in moderate freshets, for keel and flat-bottom boats ; in high floods the same navigation may be had from Loramie's Creek; but the frequent formation of new bars by the drifting of sand and gravel renders the navigation, even near its mouth, difficult in low water. This river has a number of islands. The largest is two miles above the town of Hamilton. It was formed, since the settlement of that place, by a portion of the river enlarging a millrace which ran into one of its branches, called Seven- mile. Near the village of Troy is a group of about twenty more, the principhl of which is nearly three- quarters of a mile long. The valley of the river, at this place, is a mile wide, and the banks are low and loose. The current among the islands is rapid, but the navigation is not entirely obstructed."

A few pages further on Dr. Drake gives a description of Butler County. He says :

"This county lies west of the one last described (Warren), and to the north of Hamilton. The Great Miami traverses it diagonally. The soil of the north-east and south-west quarters is said to be generally poor ; that of the south-east and north-west fertile.

"Hamilton, the seat of justice, is situated twenty-five miles north-north-east of Cincinnati, on the east bank of the Miami. Its site is elevated, extensive, and beautiful; but near it, to the south, is a pond which has contributed much to the injury of health. The materials for building are neither very plentiful nor excellent. Good timber can not be had nearer than the neighboring hills ; the limestone in the bed of the river is indifferent, but some better quarries have been opened in the uplands ; the brick-clay yet discovered is inferior, abounding in fragments of limestone. The dwelling-houses, about seventy in number, are chiefly of wood ; well-water is obtained at the depth of twenty-five feet.

"This town was laid off about the year 1794, and incorporated in 1810. The donations for public use are a square near the center of the village, for county purposes, and another for a church and cemetery. Its only public building, is a stone jail. It has a post-office, an office for the collection of taxes on non-residents' lands in the western' part of the State, and a printing-office, which issues a newspaper called the Miami Intelligencer.

"Rossville, lying on the west side of the river, opposite to Hamilton, is a small place. Middletown, on the road from Hamilton to Franklin, is situated east of the river. Like most of the villages in the Miami country, it has a post-office. Oxford, in the western part of the county, has less population and improvement but more notoriety than either of them, from having been fixed on as the seat of a university. The land is held in trust by the Legislature, which, in 1810, enacted a law directing the lots to be disposed of on leases for ninety-nine -years, renewable forever, at the rate of six per cent per annum on the purchase-money, to be paid annually. Being on the frontier of the State, and almost surrounded by forest instead of cultivated country, it has received but little attention."

A page is given to the value of land. " Within three

THE EARLIEST ACCOUNT OF THE MIAMI COUNTRY - 57

miles of Cincinnati, at this time," he says, " the prices of good unimproved land are between fifty and one hundred and fifty dollars per acre, varying according to the distance. From this limit to the extent of twelve miles they decrease from thirty to ten. Near the principal villages of the Miami country it commands from twenty to forty dollars; in remoter situations it is from four to eight dollars—improvements*in all cases advancing the price from twenty-five to one hundred per cent. An average for the settled portions of the Miami country, still supposing the land fertile and uncultivated, may be stated at eight dollars ; if cultivated, at twelve.

" Of tracts that had the same local advantages, those alluvial or bottom lands that have been recently formed command the best price. The dry and fertile prairies are esteemed of equal value. Next to these are the uplands, supporting hackberry, pawpaw, honey, locust, sugar-tree, and the different species of hickory, walnut, ash, buckeye, and elm. Immediately below these, in the scale of value, is the level clothed in beech timber, while that producing white and black oak chiefly commands the lowest price of all.

" These were not the prices in 1812 ; the war, by promoting immigration, having advanced the nominal value of land from twenty-five to thirty per cent.

" The agriculture of this, as of other new countries, is not of the best kind. Too much reliance is placed on the extent and fertility of their fields by the farmers, who, in general, consider them a substitute for good tillage. They frequently plant double the quantity they can properly cultivate, and thus impoverish their lands and suffer them to become infested with briars and noxious weeds. The preservation of the forests of a country should be an object of attention in every stage of its settlement; and it would be good policy to clear and plant no more land in a new country, than can be well cultivated.

"The most valuable timber trees are the white flowering locust, white, black, lowland chestnut and burr- oaks, black walnut, wild cherry, yellow poplar, blue and white ash, mulberry, honey locust, shell-bark hickory, coffee-nut and beech ; all of which, except the first, are common throughout the Miami country. Many other species, such as the sweet buckeye, sassafras, sugar-tree, reed maple, tinder-tree, and box-elder, are seldom used for timber ; but are of great value in the mechanical arts. Experience has shown that the timber of the Western country is softer, weaker, and less durable than that of the Atlantic States ; which is no doubt owing to its more rapid growth in a fertile, calcareous soil and humid atmosphere. •

" The most elegant flowering trees and shrubs are the follOwing, which excel in the order of their enumeration : Dogwood, red-bud, white flowering locust, crabapple, honeysuckle, black haw, the different species of roses, plums, and haws, the buckeyes and yellow poplar, most of which are common, and for that reason are seldom transplanted into our streets and gardens.

" The beech, white oak, sugar-tree, and some kinds of walnut, hickory, and ash, are the most numerous of any trees in the Miami country. The flowering locust, abundant in Kentucky and along the Ohio, is rarely found more than twenty miles north of that river. The chestnut, persimmon, fox grape, and mountain chestnut oak, are still scarcer."

The following are given by the author as a catalogue of the forest trees then known to exist. Michaux, he says, names ninety kinds of trees in the United States which grow above forty feet in height, while in. the Miami country there are forty-five which attain to that elevation. According to the same authority, there are, in the Union, ninety species which rise above sixty feet ; in this quarter there are at least an equal number which grow to that height. " Hence, it appears that the soil of this tract," remarks the doctor, "is superior to that of the United States generally, for it affords as many trees above sixty feet in height as all the States taken together, while it has only half the number of species." Here is the list of Dr. Drake :

Button tree, dogwood, swamp dogwood, alternate branched dogwood, rose or red willow, shrub teafoil, witch-hazel, fox grape, fall grape, Winter grape, ivy, New Jersey tea, Indian arrow wood, evergreen arrow- wood, staff tree or bitter sweet, honeysuckle, gooseberry, black currant, slippery elm, white elm, common elder, red-berried elder, black haw, bladdernut tree, poison vine, sumach, stag's-horn sumach, lentiscus-leaved sumach, trifoliate sumach, common or fetid buckeye, sweet buckeye, marsh leather-wood, long-leaved vaccineum, sassafras, spice-wood, red-bud, coffee-tree, mock snow-ball, wild cherry, plum, haw, crab-apple, wild roses, swamp rose, blackberry, raspberry, wine bark, downy spiro3a, black linden-tree, oblique-leave• linden, cucumber-tree, pawpaw—two varieties poplar—yellow and white, trumpet flower, flowering locust, St. Peter's wort, red mulberry, black birch, common alder, beech, chestnut, hornbeam, hop hornbeam, black walnut, butternut, shellbark hickory, pig-nut, balsam hickory, hemlock, sycamore, burr oak, chestnut oak, mountain chestnut oak, upland willow oak, black oak, Spanish oak, red oak, hazel-nut, American arbor vitae, rough-barked willow, ozier, mistletoe, prickly ash, cotton-tree, aspen, Canadian yew-tree, red cedar, sugar-tree, red or water maple, mountain maple, box-elder, hackberry, persimmon, honey locust, sour gum, white ash, swamp ash, greenbriar and blue ash.

Dr. Drake gives the following as the time for flowering and for the growth of vegetables in this country:

March 9th, commons becoming green; 10th, buds of the water maple beginning to open; buds of the lilac beginning to open; 11th, buds of the weeping willow beginning to open ; 12th, buds of the gooseberry beginning

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to open ; 16th, buds of the honeysuckle beginning to open ; 30th, buds of the peach-tree beginning to open ; radishes, peas, and tongue-grass planted in the open air.

April 12th, peach-tree in full flower; buds of the privet beginning to open ; 19th, buds of the cherry tree beginning to open ; red currants beginning to flower; 22d, buds of the flowering locust beginning to open; lilac in full flower ; 24th, apple-tree in full flower; 28th, dogwood in full flower.

May 13th, flowering locust in full bloom ; 16th, Indian corn planted ; honeysuckle beginning to flower.

June 8th, cherries beginning to ripen ; raspberries beginning to ripen ; 10th, strawberries beginning to ripen ; red currants beginning to ripen ; 28th, hay harvest.

July 8th, rye harvest begun ; 14th, wheat harvest begun ; 16th, blackberries ripe ; 19th, unripe Indian corn in market ; 22d, Indian corn generally in flower; 25th, oat harvest. •

August 9th, peaches in market.

September 16th, forests becoming variegated.

October 21st, Indian corn gathered; 26th, woods leafless.

In 1806, the weeping willow unfolded its leaves about the 20th of February.

MIAMI UNIVERSITY.

THE Miami University is situated In the town of Oxford, and at one time was the leading school of higher education in the West. It derives its permanent endowment from a township of land, six miles square, situated in the north-west corner of Butler County, being located on the west side of the Great Miami River, in lieu of a township of land which had been originally granted by Congress for the endowment of an " academy and other seminaries of learning" in Symmes's purchase between the Miami Rivers.

Judge Symmes had, in his published " terms of sale," made a reservation (among others) of a township of land " to be given perpetually for the purposes of an academy or college to be laid off by the purchaser or purchasers as nearly opposite the month of the Licking River as an entire township may be found eligible in point of soil and situation, to be applied to the intended object by the Legislature of the State." Notwithstanding this published reservation, Judge Symmes and associates, in actual practice, disposed of their land as though there had been no reservation for college purposes, whether, knowingly or not. 'The settlers, fearing that they would lose the whole endowment, petitioned Congress to grant them an entire township, and the result of these applications moved it to pass a law, March 3, 1803, giving a township of land on the west side of the Great Miami River, within the land office district of Cincinnati, to be located under the direction of the Legislature of Ohio, in lieu of the township intended originally to be reserved in Symmes's purchase. In pursuance of this law, the Legislature of Ohio, April 15, 1803, appointed Jacob White, Jeremiah Morrow, and William Ludlow commissioners to locate a college township, which was done in due time, they selecting what is now known as Oxford Township, Butler County, being an entire township of thirty-six sections, except section 25, and the west half of sections 11, 14, and 24, which had been sold previous to the location ; and to supply their place sections 30 and 31 in Milford Township and the west half of section 6 in Hanover

Township were selected.

On the 17th of February, 1809, the Legislature of Ohio chartered the Miami University, and vested the proceeds of the township in the hands of the president and trustees ; and appointed Alexander Campbell, Rev. James Killburn, and Rev. Robert Wilson commissioners to select a suitable and permanent site for the university. The commissioners knowing that, in conformity to the grant made by Congress, the purchasers of land from Judge Symmes who located high up the Miami Rivers had an equal claim with those on the Ohio River regulated their conduct accordingly. They, therefore, in their view for a proper site, looked at Dayton, Yellow Springs, Hamilton, Lebanon, and Cincinnati. By the act chartering the university, it was prescribed that it should be located in " that part of the country known as John Cleves Symmes's purchase," and that the commissioners for locating the university should hold their first meeting at Lebanon, ;Warren County. At the time appointed for the meeting of the commissioners, the Rev..Robert Wilson, was detained at home by sickness. The other commissioners attended, and having examined all the places presented for their consideration, they selected the town of Lebanon, Warren County, as the seat of the university, and made their report accordingly to the Legislature.

It was then generally considered that the seat of the university was unalterably fixed, although many from other places were greatly disappointed ; but at the next session of the Legislature a proposition was brought forward by Mr. Cooper, of Dayton, to establish the university on the College Township, without the Symmes purchase. The law appointing the locating commissioners required that three should act, and as one was absent, the Legislature set aside the selection at Lebanon, and established the site of Miami University where it now is, at Oxford.

The first meeting of the Board of Trustees was held at Lebanon, on the seventh day of June, 1809. The trustees present were John Bigger and Ichabod B. Halsey, of Warren County; Benjamin Whiteman, of Greene County; James Brown, of Miami County ; Benjamin Van Cleve, of Montgomery County; Thomas Irvin, of Butler County; and John Riddle, of Hamilton County. John Bigger

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was chosen president, and Benjamin Van Cleve secretary, pro tern.

A committee was appointed to contract with a surveyor to subdivide the college lands into lots of five or six to each section, to be laid off as nearly equal as the situation of the land, water-courses, and situations for building would admit ; and to make out seven complete plats and field-notes of the survey (one for the trustees of each county in the Miami purchase), for which the surveyor was to be paid $2 per mile for all new lines to be run and marked. To this position James Heaton, of Butler County, was appointed.

The second meeting of the trustees was held at Hamilton, on the first Monday of March, 1810, William Ludlow, John Reily, and Ogden Ross attending, but adjourning from day to day until the 26th of March, when the following trustees were present: William Corry, James Findlay, Thomas Irvin, William Ludlow, John Reily, John Riddle, Ogden Ross, James Shields, and Joseph Vanhorne. Daniel Symmes appeared next day. The board was organized by the appointment of Joseph Van- home as president, and John Reily, secretary, pro tem.

They passed an ordinance to regulate the leasing of the lands of the university. This provided that not more than one-third of the farm lots should be offered for lease at any one time, and at a price not less than $2.50 per acre. It also provided for laying out the town of Oxford, and directed that not more than one-half of the lots should be offered for sale. No in-lot should be sold for less than $16.66i. The lot was to be subject to a quit-rent of six per cent on the amount of the purchase money, payable annually forever. The four-acre lots were not to be sold for less than $5 per acre, on the same conditions as the in-lots.

The board appointed a committee consisting of Messrs. Ludlow, Irvin, Ross, Reily, and Vanhorne to select a suitable tract of one mile square on which to lay out the town of Oxford, to designate the lots and lands to be first offered for sale, and to select certain reservations.

The board, before adjournment, appointed William Ludlow president, James McBride secretary, and William Murray treasurer, pro tem.

The committee proceeded to the college lands, and, after two days spent in the examination, selected the south-east quarter of section 22, the south-west quarter of section 23, the north-west quarter of section 26, and the north-east quarter of section 27 of the college lands as the site of the town of Oxford. On this site the first portion of the town of Oxford was laid out by James Heaton. It consisted of one hundred and twenty-eight in-lots, ten poles in length by four poles in width ; the streets six poles in width, and alleys one pole wide ; and forty out-lots of four acres each. At the first sale there were to be offered only the odd numbers of the lots in the town of Oxford, and the lands of the two tiers of sections from south to north, which included the, town.

The first sale was held at the court-house in Hamilton, on the 22d and 23d days of May, 1810, under the superintendence of the president, secretary, and treasurer, where there were lots and lands sold to the following amount: 29 in-lots in the town of Oxford, for $560.86; 20 out, or four acre lots, for $495.75 ; 71 country or farming lots of land, at the average price of $3.75 per acre, $28,423.64 ; total, $29,480.25. The lots and land thus bid off on those days alone would have yielded an annual revenue to the institution of $1,768.81, had the purchasers complied with the conditions of sale ; but many of the purchasers, residents of various parts of the State of Ohio, as well as of other States, actuated by motives of speculation, or other motives equally injurious to the prosperity of the institution, attended the sale and bid off lots, and neither before nor after the sale went even to explore the situation of the lands which they purchased. As no payment in advance, or other security, was required, it could only be known who were bona fide purchasers after the lapse of a year, when the payment of the interest became due. Of the farming lots bid off, forty-seven were forfeited, and eighteen in-lots and twelve out-lots were afterward forfeited to the institution. This provision, however, was not enforced until the year 1814.

Previous to the day of sale it had been discovered that there was a discrepancy of nearly two thousand acres in the quantity of land in the township according to the survey made by Mr. Heaton, the surveyor appointed by the Board of Trustees, with the survey of the same township made by the surveyor-general. It was therefore made a condition that the lots of land should be subject to a re-survey and measurement, to ascertain the true quantity each contained.

The next meeting of the Board of Trustees was held at Cincinnati, on the second day of June, when, on motion of James Findlay, it was resolved that the president of the board call on Jared Mansfield, surveyor-general, and request him to nominate a skillful surveyor to survey and measure the boundary lines of the Miami College township, and calculate the quantity of land, making report to the Board of Trustees, in order that if any deficiency existed application might be made for an additional grant. The surveyor-general acceded to their request, and appointed William Harris, surveyor, to perform that duty, with John Hall and William Spencer chain-carriers.

On the twenty-third day of June, 1810, the Board of Trustees again convened at Cincinnati, when the report of Mr. Harris, the surveyor, was received, by which it appeared that the township contained its full quantity of land. According to his survey there was twenty-three thousand, four hundred and seventy-one and thirteen-hundredths acres. On this report being received James Heaton was requested to re-survey and measure all the lines of the farming lots of land by him heretofore laid off, making a complete plat of it. If Mr. Heaton should

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decline, the president was authorized to employ some other surveyor. However, Mr. Heaton complied with the request of the board, and made a remeasurement. That previously done was found to be erroneous. At this meeting the board directed that the next sale of the university lands should be held at Hamilton, on the twenty- eighth day of August, 1810.

At this meeting the Rev. John W. Browne was appointed an agent to solicit and receive donations for the Miami University. He was to receive fifty dollars a month and his expenses. He set out on his mission on the fourth day of January, 1811, and returned to Cincinnati on the third of August, 1812. During his mission he collected about two thousand five hundred dollars in money and received a number of books. Mr. Browne was drowned shortly after his return from his mission, before he had an opportunity of meting the Board of Trustees and settling his accounts with them. The books were sent to Cincinnati, and there remained until the latter part of October, 1817, when they were received from the administrator of Mr. Browne by a committee appointed by the trustees for that purpose. The executors had for a long time tried to get rid of them. The committee selected such of the books as they deemed proper for a college library. One hundred and eighteen volumes were sold to the Cincinnati Circulating Library Society at seventy-five cents per volume, amounting to $88.50. The rest of the books were sent to auction and disposed of to the best advantage. They brought $382.64, from which, after deducting expenses of sale, storage, and contingent expenses, there remained to the credit of the university, including the sum due from the library society, the sum of $371.86.

In 1820 the books reserved for the' college library were sent to Oxford and placed in a room of the college building Some time afterwards the door of the room was broken open and a number of the books carried off. The amount that reached the treasury of the university, as the fruits of his itinerant labors, was $849.86.

At a meeting of the Board of Trustees held at Hamilton on the twelfth and thirteenth days of February, 1811, an ordinance was passed for the erection of a school house in the town of Oxford, and one hundred and fifty dollars appropriated for that purpose. Afterwards one hundred and sixty dollars was appropriated for the completion of the building. The house was erected in the university square, west of where the main college edifice now stands. It was a structure of hewed logs twenty feet wide by thirty odd feet long, one story high, with a clapboard roof. It had a fireplace and chimney at each end, built of rough stones. The building was designed (for the time being) to be used by the citizens of the township for an English school. The citizens of Oxford selected James M. Dorsey for their teacher, and in December, 1811, he moved into the building. He had a partition run through the middle of the house, dividing it into two apartments, and lived with his family in one apartment and taught his school in the other. In 1824 the trustees had a second story of logs put on the building, and converted it into a dwelling for the Rev. Robert H. Bishop, the first president. Mr. Bishop continued to live in this building until about 1830, when it was occupied by the janitor. In 1864 it was a stable.

On the seventeenth day of April, 1812, Israel Woodruff was appointed collector.

On the fifth day of November, 1813, William Ludlow resigned his office as president, and John Reily was appointed in his room. In November, 1813, Stephen Minor was appointed collector.

The trustees of the Miami University having resolved to erect a building for the use of the college, a committee, consisting of the Rev. Matthew G. Wallace, a Presbyterian preacher, then of Hamilton ; Dr. Daniel Millikin, a physician, of Hamilton ; and Benjamin Van Cleve, Esq., of Dayton, clerk of the Court of Montgomery County, was appointed to superintend the erection and completion of the building.

Early in the Spring of the year 1816, a plat of ground in the university square having been cleared off of all timber, brush, and rubbish, Mr. Wallace and Dr Millikin, two of the committee, attended at Oxford, and caused James M. Dorsey to measure and mark the foundation of the building. The ground for the foundation having been leveled and prepared, and Mr. Vail and the other contractors to perform the mason work being present, on the tenth day of April, 1816, at the request of the building committee, James M. Dorsey laid the first corner-stone of the west wing of the Miami University. It was placed about eighteen or twenty inches below the surface of the ground. According to the original plan, there was to be a center building, with wings on the east and on the west, each wing to be eighty feet long. The building then contracted for was intended to be the one- half of the west wing. Skilman Alger was the carpenter. As soon as the necessary funds could be raised the Board of Trustees applied them to the erection of a building for the institution. In 1818, a building fifty-six feet by forty feet, and three stories high, wak erected as part of a wing.

A grammar school was then opened. The Rev. James Hughes was appointed teacher, at a salary of five hundred dollars per year tuition fees, and house rent, and the school went into operation on the first Tuesday of November, 1818, and was continued until April, 1821— shortly after which Mr. Hughes died. This happened on the second day of May following, and the school was discontinued. The course of instruction pursued was principally confined to the Latin and Greek languages.

During this time the Board of Trustees directed their revenue, after defraying the expenses of the grammar-school, to the erection of an additional building; and in 1824 a building sixty feet front by eighty-six feet deep,

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and three stories high, was completed, adjoining the former building on the east, designed as a center building for the college.

October 5, 1820, Ebenezer Cross was appointed collector, and an ordinance was passed requiring the offices of secretary and treasurer to be held in the town of Oxford from and after the first day of January, 1821. Edward Newton was appointed secretary and Merrikin Bond treasurer. On the first day of January, 1821, the offices of secretary and treasurer were removed from Hamilton to the town of Oxford ; June 20, 1822, Joel Collins was appointed secretary of the Miami University; October 5, 1823, Skilman Alger appointed collector; April 7, 1824, David Purviance appointed president of the Board of Trustees.

At a meeting of the board on the sixth day of July, 1824, the Rev. Robert H. Bishop was appointed president of the Miami University, with a salary of one thousand dollars per year, and the occupancy of the mansion house free from rent. William Sparrow was appointed tutor of languages, with a salary of five hundred dollars per year. The price of tuition in the grammar-school was fixed at five dollars, and in the college at ten dollars, per session, to be paid, in advance.

September 15, 1824, John Annan, of Baltimore, was appointed professor of mathematics and natural philosophy, with a salary of seven hundred dollars per annum. James M. Dorsey was appointed treasurer in the room of Merrikin Bond, resigned. September 15, 1824, James Crawford was appointed collector.

In the year 1822 an effort was made to remove the university to Cincinnati, and make it a part of the Cincinnati College, and for that purpose a bill was introduced by Mr. Williams, of Cincinnati, having for its object the removal. When the news of the bill reached Oxford, Mr. Joel Collins, a warm friend of the university, and at that time a member of the Legislature, furnished a copy of the bill and other papers, in relation to its passage ; and the lessees of the university lands held a meeting, of which James M. D.orsey was chairman and David Morris secretary. This meeting appointed a committee, consisting of Rev. Moses Crume, William Ludlow, Rev. Spencer Clack, James M. Dorsey, Dr. James R. Hughs, David Morris, Charles Newhall, Edward Newton, and Abraham I. Chittenden, to prepare and forward to the Legislature a protest against, and to exhibit the injustice as well as the impolicy of, removing or attempting to remove the uni-

versity from its present site. This committee also prepared and published "An Address to the Inhabitants of Symmes's Purchase."

In this address the committee goes over the whole ground of the dispute, which had then lasted thirteen years. There was no restriction upon the powers of the Legislature ; they were ample and conclusive. The only questions were as to the good faith to be shown to the inhabitants of Symmes's purchase, and as to the conduct and well-being of the college. The purchase of Judge Symmes, as originally intended, was seventy miles long by twenty miles wide. It was impossible at that day, and would now be, for many persons to live so near the university that they could board their children at home. It was estimated that not more than one in fifty could possibly be near enough for that purpose. The other forty-nine fiftieths wished the school where it might be the strongest and its expenses the least. Oxford offered them advantages more striking than any other place.

In the first place, Symmes had not fulfilled his agreement. He had promised the people who settled on his lands a full township for university purposes, but instead of living up to his promises, he went on selling until he could not have given in any township four sections of good land, much less thirty-six. He made no donation for this purpose ; but, on the contrary, the land which is now the property of the Miami University is the gift of the United States Government. There consequently existed no contract between the dwellers on Symmes's grant and the trustees of the college.

The township of Oxford, by a happy chance, was nearly entirely unoccupied when the gift was made to the State of Ohio. It was favorably situated for leasing. Its grounds were high and salubrious; its natural productiveness was great. It was no further from the Miami River, the great natural highway of the pioneers of this region, than Lebanon. Nearly all of the members of the Legislature from the purchase, in 1809, were in favor of the location at Oxford. Those from Hamilton County were unanimous.

By placing the university on this spot the lessees would be mulch better enabled to pay their rents. There would be the natural sale of commodities to the students and professors; there would be the families of the shop-keepers and artisans, and in the end there would be the families who would be drawn thither so as not to be far away from, their children while the latter were attending the terms. Had the university been placed elsewhere these anticipations could not have been realized. The lands were in the center of a wilderness; there was no near market, and it would have taken many years for it all to reach the highest point of rent.

It was also believed by the Legislature that there would be moral advantages from the selection which could not be had in a large town, such as Cincinnati then bid fair to be. The celebrity of the place and the interest of the inhabitants of the town would depend in a very large degree upon the suppression of immorality. No such interest would be strong enough in Cincinnati.

Mr. Shields, in support of his motion to reject the bill introduced by Micajah T. Williams, read this remonstrance, and said that " a remonstrance from the citizens of Oxford against the removal of the university, had been forwarded to the Legislature at the session of 1814— 1815, at which time the subject was discussed." The

62 - HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY.

committee to whom the subject was referred at that time was selected by ballot, and in their report declared that it was not in the power of the Legislature to do away with the acts of a former Legislature, where under those acts rights had become vested. The committee made a report, through its chairman, John Wilson Campbell, being an unanswerable argument in favor of sustaining the establishment at Oxford. This address seemed to tranquilize the minds of the lessees, nor did the dissatisfied portion of the inhabitants within the bounds of Symmes's purchase make any further attempt to remove the site of the Miami University until 1822. The bill was killed in Committee of the Whole, and although public notice was given that the attempt at a removal would be renewed the next year, the Legislature has not since then interfered in any way. The minds of many of the wealthy and influential citizens of Symmes's purchase continued to be dissatisfied, and occasionally they manifested a disposition rather to pull down than to raise up the institution at Oxford.

Notwithstanding the able report from the pen of the Hon. Jacob Burnet, strongly recommending the removal of the Miami University from Oxford to Cincinnati, that gentleman in after life, in his Notes, makes use of these words : "The Legislature, however, thought differently, and passed an act establishing the university on the land without the limits of John C. Symmes's purchase. The institution is now in a very flourishing state, and al_ though the original beneficiaries of the grant have been wrongfully deprived of their rights, yet it is now too late to relieve them without great temporary injury to the cause of science, and on that account it is desirable that no effort be made to disturb the institution or check its advance."

The university began operations in November, 1824, and Robert H. Bishop, D. D., was inaugurated on the thirtieth day of March, 1825. A procession was formed in the Methodist Church at 11 o'clock of that day. First were citizens, then students. of the university, the secretary, treasurer, and collector, trustees of the university, the president of the board, and professors. The body then moved to the college chapel, where the inaugural ceremony took place. The following were the exercises :

1. Music.

2. Introductory prayer, by the Rev. David Purviance.

3. Address, by the. Rev. William Gray.

4. Music.

5. Delivery of the charter, keys, etc., and a charge to the president, by the Rev. John Thompson.

6: Inaugural prayer, by the Rev. Alexander Porter.

7. Address, by President Bishop.

8. Music.

9. Concluding prayer, by the Rev. Stephen Gard.

David Higgins, David MacDill, and James McBride were the Committee of Arrangements. Abram I. Chittenden acted as the marshal of the day.

The address of Dr. Bishop, a learned and scholarly production, was shortly after published by James B. Camron, of Hamilton.

To give an idea of the course of study, the regulations, and the names of students, we give the first yearly catalogue almost entire :

BOARD OF TRUSTEES. —Rev. John Thompson, Luke Foster, Esq., Stephen Woods, Esq., Hamilton County ; Hon. Joshua Collett, Rev. William Gray, Warren County; Henry Bacon, Esq., Stephen Fales, Esq., Montgomery County ; Rev. William Graham, Chillicothe ; Sampson Mason, Esq., Clark County; Col. John Johnston, Miami County; James Cooley, Esq., Champaign County ; Rev. David Purviance, Rev. Alexander Porter, Preble County; Rev. Stephen Gard, Rev. David MacDill, John Reily, Esq., David Higgins, Esq., James McBride, Esq., Butler County. Joel Collins, secretary of Board of Trustees. James M. Dorsey, treasurer.

FACULTY AND INSTRUCTORS. —Rev. R. H. Bishop, D. D., President, Professor of Logic, Moral Philosophy and History, and ex-officio chairman of Board of Trustees ; John E. Annan (of Dickinson College), Professor of Mathematics, Geography, Natural Philosophy, and Astronomy, and Teacher of Political Economy ; William H. MeGuffey (of Washington College), Professor of Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, and ex-officio Librarian ; John P. Williston (of Yale College), Principal of the Grammar School ; Samuel W. Parker, Thomas Armstrong, James 'Reynolds, John S. Weaver, Tutors ; John W. Caldwell, secretary of the Faculty.

EXTRACT FROM THE BY-LAWS.-1st. There shall be a stated meeting of the faculty on the last Saturday of every month, at ten o'clock, A. M.

2d. At this meeting a return shall be made by every instructor of all the absences and deficiencies which may have occurred in his department during the month, and these returns shall be put upon file and preserved until the end of the session.

3d. The faculty shall also at each of these monthly meetings enter into a full and free conversation on the conduct and progress of the students generally, and if any student, all circumstances being taken into view, shall be found not making that progress which he might do, or not conducting himself with that order and sobriety which are becoming, information of his situation shall be immediately communicated to his parents, that he may be removed.

4th. No student shall be allowed to recite with any class who does not, within ten days after he may have made application to be admitted into that class, lodge with the president a certificate from the instructor, stating that his previous acquirements are such as to entitle him to a regular standing in, said class.

5th. No individual shall be allowed, on any account whatever, to continue connected with any department who is not, in the opinion of the faculty, fully employed.

MIAMI UNIVERSITY - 63

Nor shall any individual be permitted to omit reciting with any class to which he may be attached, but by a vote of the faculty at their stated monthly meeting.

RESIDENT GRADUATE.—Thomas E. Hughes, of Jefferson College, Pennsylvania.

Seniors.—Samuel' C. Baldridge, William M. Corry, Daniel L. Gray, James P. Pressly, Ebenezer Pressly, James Reynolds, James Thompson, John Thompson, John P. Vandyke, John L. Weaver, James Worth, Ebenezer Woodruff

Juniors. James H. Bacon, John W. Caldwell, G. R. Gassaway, Thomas A. Jones, John McMehan, Robert C. Schenck, Joseph S. Wallace.

Sophomores.—Thomas Armstrong, George Bishop, Bernard Brewster, Godwin V. Dorsey, Henry P. Galloway, John M. Garrigus, Samuel W. Parker, Joseph H. Reily, James Simpson, Hugh B. Wilson, Taylor Webster, William Burch.

Freshmen.—William Boyce, Courtland Cushing, Ebenezer Elliott, William F. Ferguson, James N. Gamble, John Hunt, George W. Jones, Ralph P. Lowe, William C. Lyle, John McDill, James Reily, William B. Russell, John Vanausdall, Nathaniel Weed, Elias Williams, Ira Root.

ENGLISH SCIENTIFIC DEPARTMENT.

Third Class.—William Bishop, Samuel Fleming, Robert G. Linn, William Porter, Ezekiel Walker.

Second Class.—Freeman Alger, Charles Barnes, John H. Boyce, Robert C. Caldwell, Edward F. Chittenden, John Harrison, William Hueston, Algernon S. Foster, Thomas I. Foster, Cyrus Falconer, Caleb B. Smith, Abner Longly, Hugh Webster.

First Class.—Robert Blair, Joseph Blair, Clement Brown, Jonathan Harshman, Samuel McCleane, Thomas Pursell, Alvah White.

SUMMARY.—College proper, 48; English Scientific Department, 25 ; Grammar School, 38 ; total, 111.

(We omit the names in the preparatory department.)

Those whose names are in the above catalogue are natives of fourteen different States. The youngest is in his seventh and the oldest in his thirty-third year. The great body are, however, natives of Ohio, and betwixt the ages of fourteen and twenty-one.

At the close of last session six had their names returned to their parents as not having made that improvement which would justify any further trouble or expense in endeavoring to give them a liberal education, and fourteen of the good and, promising students of that session have been prevented by the circumstances of their lot from prosecuting their studies this session. One of the present session has been sent home as not promising.

Add these twenty-one to the one hundred and eleven given above, and you have one hundred and thirty-two as the sum total of the present year.

The college year is divided into two sessions of five months each. The Winter session commences on the first Monday of November and ends on the last Wednesday of March. The Summer session commences on the first Monday of May and ends on the last Wednesday of September.

The Board of Trustees meets statedly at the end of each session.

COURSE OF STUDY.

I. GRAMMAR SCHOOL.—The studies of the Grammar School, preparatory to admission into the Freshman Class, are English, Latin, and Greek Grammar, Mair's Introduction to the making of Latin, Caesar's Commentaries, Cicero's select orations, Virgil's AEneid, Greek Testament, Collectanea Minora, and Arithmetic, including vulgar and decimal fractions, and the extraction of roots.

II. THE FRESHMAN'S CLASS.—First Session.—Algebra, Sallust, six books of Homer's Iliad, Graeca Majora begun, Adam's Roman Antiquities begun, Modern Geography, Prosody revised, English Grammar revised, translations from Greek and Latin into English, Declamation and Bible recitations.

Second Session.—Euclid's Elements, Horace's Odes and Satires, Graeca Majora continued, Roman Antiquities finished, Ancient 'Geography, Morrell's Rome, Neilson's Greek exercises, Double translations, Declamation and Bible recitations.

III. THE SOPHOMORE CLASS STUDY.—First Session. —(Cambridge Mathematics) Plane Trigonometry, Logarithms, Mensuration, Surveying, Horace's Epistles, Graeca Majora continued, Double translations, Morrell's Greece, Declamation and Bible recitations.

Second Session.—(Cambridge Mathematics) Spherical Trigonometry, Navigation, Dialling, Excerpta Latina begun, First volume of Majora finished, Double translations, Declamation and Bible recitations.

IV. THE JUNIOR CLASS STUDY.—First Session. —Conic Sections, Fluxions, Physical and Political Geography with the use of the globes, Excerpta Latina finished, Second volume of Majora begun, Tytler's Elements of History begun, Composition, Declamation and Bible recitations.

Second Session.—Natural and Experimental Philosophy, Virgil's Georgics, Horace de Arte Poetica, Gneca Majora continued, Translation from Greek into Latin and from Latin into Greek, Tytler's Elements finished, Hebrew Grammar, Jamison's Grammar of Rhetoric,. Composition, Declamation and Bible recitations.

V. THE SENIOR CLASS STUDY.—First Session.—Moral Philosophy including the Philosophy of the mind, Astronomy, Chemistry, Graeca Majora finished, Cicero de Ora- tore, Latin and Greek compositions, Hebrew Bible begun, Declamation and Bible recitations.

Second Session.—Logic, Say's Political Economy, Cicero de Officiis et de Natura Deorum, Select portions of Graeca Majora revised, Hebrew Bible continued, Evidences of Divine Revelation, Declamation and Bible recitations.

64 - HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY.

VI. ENGLISH SCIENTIFIC DEPARTMENT.—The studies of the English Scientific Department are substantially the same with the studies of the College Classes, with the exception of the Latin and Greek languages. No person can be admitted into this department who is under sixteen years of age ; and to profit by admission, arrangements ought to be made so that each student may continue .two years at least. It is intended to have some of the modern languages taught in this department, and to give regular diplomas to those who may study the whole course.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. —A small but well-selected philosophical and chemical apparatus has been imported from London. Additional articles will be procured as the state of the institution may demand ; a small sum is also permanently appropriated to procure regularly, for the use of the faculty, a few of the most important literary journals and any new work which may be of more than ordinary interest in any of the departments of science.

The first commencement will be on the last Wednesday of September next, when the degree of A. B. will be conferred on the members of the present Senior Class.

With the commencement of the third year, on the first Monday of November next, it is proposed to form a regular class of resident graduates. The studies of this class will embrace a course of general reading, adapted to the profession to which the members may be individually devoted, and to a review of any of their former studies to which they may be peculiarly attached.

No degree of A. M., or of any kind, will, in any case, be conferred as a mere matter of course. Particular attainments and a character corresponding to these attainments will, in every case, be required.

EXPENSES.—Tuition in Grammar School and in First Class- E. S. Department, $5 per session ; College proper and Second and Third Classes E. S. Department, $10 per session ; boarding, one dollar per. week.

To those parents and guardians who have thus far encouraged an infant institution, those who have the more immediate direction of its concerns tender their sincere and grateful acknowledgments; and trusting in the continued protection of a wise and good Providence, assurance is hereby given that every possible exertion will be made to make the Miami University, in all its departments, a public and common good.

PROGRESS OF THE UNIVERSITY.

MARCH 30, 1825, William Sparrow was appointed professor of languages, but afterward declined entering upon the duties of his office, and his place was supplied by John T. Williston. The trustees resolved that a grammar school should be attached to the college, and appointed Mr. Williston principal, with a salary of $500.

March 28, 1827, the salaries of the officers were established as follows: President of the university, $1,200; professor of mathematics and natural philosophy, $800 ; professor of languages, $700.

March 28, 1827, James Crawford was appointed treasurer, and James Ratliff collector.

March 26, 1828, it was resolved that a building, one hundred feet in length by forty feet wide, and three stories high, be erected for the university, according to a plan then exhibited, and that Messrs. McBride, Reily, and MacDill be a committee to contract and superintend its erection. •

On the twenty-third day of April they contracted with David Richey to execute the stone and brick-work and plastering of the building, and with William P. Vanhook, of Hamilton, for the carpenter-work.

September 24, 1828, it was resolved that John E. Annan be dismissed as professor.

March 25, 1829, John W. Scott was appointed professor of mathematics and natural philosophy, and William F. Ferguson principal of the grammar school, at a salary of $400.

In September the building committee reported that they had erected a brick building, set on a good stone foundation, one hundred feet long by forty feet wide, and three stories high, each story or floor having two halls and eight rooms, situated directly east from the main building. The whole cost of erecting and completing the building, including cost of materials, was $7,147.46.

In September, 1826, an allowance of $150 per annum was made for teaching the French and Spanish languages.

In November, 1827, Robert C. Schenck, a graduate of the college, and since the general and statesman, commenced teaching French, and continued the regular teacher of that language until September, 1830, when he left the institution.

February 23, 1831, the salary of the principal of the grammar school was raised to $500.

September 26, 1832, the professorship held by Mr. Scott was denominated the professorship of natural philosophy and chemistry, and the professorship held by Mr. McGuffey was called the professorship of philology and mental science, with a salary of $850 each. Samuel M. McCracken was appointed professor of mathematics, and Thomas Armstrong professor of languages, with a salary of $500 each.

In 1833 it was thought necessary that an additional building should be erected for the accommodation of the students of the university, and Major James Galloway, Dr. John C. Dunlevy, and James McBride were appointed a committee to contract for the erection and completion of a building one hundred feet in length by forty feet wide, three stories high, having a passage or hall running north and south through the building, the residue to be

PROGRESS OF THE UNIVERSITY - 65

divided into rooms about ten feet wide. The tuition fees of the students in the college department were raised to twelve dollars per session, and in the grammar school to ten dollars per session.

The building committee, at the next meeting, reported that they had contracted with Thomas Brown, of Dayton, for the stone and brick, and laying the same, and for plastering the building, and with Thomas Morrison, of the same place, for the wood and carpenter work.

October 1, 1835, Samuel W. McCracken was appointed professor of languages, in the room of Thomas Armstrong, deceased, with a salary of $600 per annum, and Albert T. Bledsoe, of Kentucky, professor of languages. A lot of ground, about one acre, was directed to be laid off, in the north-east corner of the town square of Oxford, and appropriated exclusively for a cemetery or burying-ground for the students and other members of the Miami University.

March 30, 1836, Jonathan Mayhew was appointed treasurer.

In September, 1836, the resignations of Professor Albert T. Bledsoe and Professor W. H. McGuffey were received. The salaries of professors were fixed as follows : The professor of rhetoric and mental science, at $1,000; the professor of natural philosophy and chemistry, $1,000 ; the professor of mathematics, -$800 ; and the professor of ancient languages, $800. It was resolved that the college year should commence on the first Monday of October and end on the second Tuesday of August, with a recess from the twenty-fourth of December to the second of January ; the Spring vacation to be three weeks immediately following the second Tuesday in March

September 28, 1836, John H. Harney was appointed professor of mathematics, and Samuel T. Pressley professor of rhetoric and mental science.

December 21, 1836, the Rev. Mr. Pressley having deceased previous to his acceptance of the professorship of rhetoric and mental science, and Mr. Harney having declined to accept his appointment, Silas Totten was chosen professor of rhetoric and mental science.

March 8, 1837, Messrs. McBride and J. W. Scott were appointed a committee to erect a building for a laboratory.

August 10, 1837, the committee for building the laboratory reported that they had made a contract for a building forty-four feet long by twenty-four feet wide, one story high, to be completed by the first of October, 1837, for $1,250.

August 10, 1837, John McArthur was appointed professor of Grecian literature, rhetoric, and the elements of moral science ; Chauncey N. Olds was appointed professor of the Latin language and Roman literature.

August 9, 1838, the salary of the professor of the Latin language and Roman literature was fixed at $700, and the master of the grammar school at $700. Peter Sutton was elected treasurer.

August 8, 1839, the price of tuition in the college proper was fixed at fifteen dollars per session, and in the grammar school at twelve dollars per annum.

August 12, 1840, the resignation of Chauncey N. Olds, professor of the Latin language and Roman literature, and the resignation of Samuel W. McCracken, professor of mathematics and civil engineering, were accepted. The Rev. Robert H. Bishop, president of the Miami University, having signified his intention of retiring from the presidency as soon as a successor to supply his place could be found, the board elected the Rev. John C. Young, then president of Center College, Kentucky, at Danville, president of the Miami Uniyersity. The board created the professorship of history and political economy, and appointed the Rev. Robert H. Bishop to fill that chair, for which he was to receive a salary of $650 per year, and a house and garden free of rent. The following resolution, complimentary to Dr. Bishop, was passed :

"Resolved, That as the unanimous sense of this board, the able, faithful, and unremitting labors of President Bishop in the discharge of his official duties as presiding officer of the Miami University for the last sixteen years, and the untiring exertions upon his part during that time to maintain for the institution the high reputation which has been so laboriously acquired for it throughout that period entitle him to the grateful memory of every friend of learning and moral virtue, as well as the warmest thanks upon the part of the patrons and supporters of this institution."

August 13, 1840, John Armstrong was appointed professor of mathematics and civil engineering, and John McArthur, professor of Grecian literature and rhetoric. The salary of John C. Young, president-elect, should he accept, was fixed at $1,500 per annum.

November 3, 1840, it was resolved that the professorships of Roman- and Grecian literature be united into one professorship, to be called the professorship of ancient languages, and that John McArthur, the present professor of Grecian literature, be appointed to the professorship of that department, with his present salary of $800 per year. Robert H. Bishop, Jr., was appointed principal of the grammar school. It having been ascertained that the Rev. J. C. Young declined accepting the office to which he was elected at the last meeting, the Rev. George Junkin, of Lafayette College, Easton, Pennsylvania, was elected president.

March 9, 1841, J. C. Moffat, of Lafayette College, at Easton, Pennsylvania, was appointed professor of the Latin language and Roman literature, with a salary of $700.

August 11, 1841, the Rev. George Junkin was inaugurated president of the Miami University. The salary of the professor of history and political science was fixed at $750.

We have not thought it expedient to continue our extracts from the records, as the period draws closer to

66 - HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY.

our times. The earlier decades were those of poverty and adversity, and their record is full of interest and encouragement.

We have received from Dr. Scott, for seventeen years a professor in this institution, the following account of the Miami University while he was connected with it, and of the causes that led to his withdrawal. Dr. Scott wields a caustic pen, and sets forth his own side of the question with a freedom and fullness that leave nothing to be desired on that score. Elsewhere will be found his biography :

"I went to Oxford, by invitation of the board of trustees of Miami Univel-sity, to the professorship of mathematics and natural science, made vacant by the retirement, on account of broken-down health, of Professor Annan, in the Fall of 1828. Every thing there presented, at that time, a rather primitive and rude appearance. The buildings of the town were limited, with but two or three exceptions, to the space 'bounded on the east by the street that forms the west boundary of the college campus ; on the west, by the street running north and south in front of the building erected for a female institute ; on the north, by the street running past the Presbyterian and the United Presbyterian churches ; and on the south, by the street forming the south boundary of the college campus and grove. The campus, which was mainly a naked and open common, in which many of the stumps were still standing, was unprotected by any kind of inclosure, and the grove was still in the primitive state of nature. The plat of land south of the town was principally, except during the Summer and early Fall months, a rich, fat morass, through the eastern end of which, when at all passable, the citizens used to shorten distance by winding their way, among the stumps and fallen timber, to the Hamilton road, at the south-east corner of the corporation line.

" With the exception of the college buildings, which consisted of the great, tall, uncouth old center building and its disproportioned little western wing (whiCh has since been enlarged and improved), and the north-east building, which had just been erected, I. have a recollection of but five or six brick houses in the town. Such was something of the physical appearance and condition of things at that day. In regard to the social condition, the mass of the population was correspondingly primitive. Apart from the college faculty, the cultivation and refinement of Oxford was confined to a very small number of families, not exceeding six or eight at most, and the proportion in the surrounding township was, perhaps, very much the same. The manner in which the farming lands of the township were disposed of was not favorable to its settling up with a first-class farming population; namely, on a mere leasehold title, for which no purchase money was paid, but which was held on the condition of the payment, annually, of the interest of the nominal price, at six per cent forever, as a permanent revenue for the support of the university. There was, at the early day of the first settlement, a strong prejudice in the minds of emigrants of means, who were able to purchase their lands in fee simple, against holding them on the tenure of a mere lease, liable at the end of any year to forfeiture and sale without redemption, in case the rent or tax was not paid within three months after due. The consequence was, they would turn aside and purchase elsewhere, while any poor penniless wight, who could not pay for land outright, found it rather a temptation to take a lease and settle upon it for a few years, and if he could only make out to keep his six per cent of college rent paid up, and was worthless and unprincipled enough to do so, turn in to cutting and slashing away at the timber, and making all he could off of the land, without regard to its residual or ultimate value, as was skid, in certain cases, to have been done; and then if he had any eye to accumulation of means, all he had to do was to forfeit, and leave the land in its denuded and depreciated condition, and go farther West to make the best of his ill-gotten gains. If he did not care to accumulate, but spent as fast as he made, he would continue to remain the same poor, shiftless, penniless creature as before.

" The result was that the township, at the first sales, became largely filled up with a poor, and in too many cases not very honest, population ; indeed, at an early day of the settlement it almost passed into a common saying that if any property was lost in any of the adjoining townships it was but necessary for the loser to obtain a search-warrant and go over into Oxford Township, and he would find it. This was, of course, an exaggerated report, and yet there is reason to apprehend that the character and conduct of too many of the early settlers afforded too much ground for its currency. This state of public feeling and opinion may be illustrated by an amusing anecdote.

" At the inauguration of ,Dr. Bishop as president of the university, the duty of making the inauguration prayer was assigned to the venerable Rev. Mr. Porter, a member of the board. In the course of his prayer—as I was told years after by a very respectable old Scotch-Irish Presbyterian elder, a citizen of the township, who was present on the occasion—the old father made allusion, in some manner or form, to the reputed state of society in the township—praying for a change, by which the college might be surrounded by more favorable influences. My informant told me that the next day he met another old Scotch-Irish friend and neighbor, just over the line in an adjoining township, a rather quizzical genius, who had also been present at the inauguration, who asked him, Did you iver hear sich a foolish prayer as Father Porter made yisterday at Oxford?' Why do you call it foolish?' he answered. Faith,' said he, and I think it was the foolishest prayer I iver hard in me life. Why, he prayed the Lard that he wad move aff all that riff-raff population from Oxford Township, and fill it up wi' a

PROGRESS OF THE UNIVERSITY - 67

good population. He might better have prayed the Lard to convart them on the ground, and save the movin'.'

" In process of time, however, by industry, thrift, and intellectual, moral, and religious culture, Oxford Township nobly redeemed her character ; although, even at as late a day as when I arrived there, an element of the old rude, disorderly, intemperate, and vicious pioneer population, so characteristic of an earlier day, still remained, who would occasionally, of a Saturday afternoon and evening, collect together at a low groggery or two in the village, called (by grace) hotels, to drink and carouse, and to disturb the quiet and orderly citizens by making night hideous' with their noisy and drunken orgies, brawls, and fights. All this state of things, however, at length passed away. But I have, by this episode on the social and physical state of Oxford and Oxford Township, and their inhabitants, been diverted from the main subject ; namely, the early history of the college.

" I went to Oxford, as I have already stated, in the Fall of 1828. The college had then been in existence just four years. True, there had been an academy or classical and high school commenced, as a foundation or incipient step towards the establishment of a college several years previous, in the little old west wing of the main, or, as it was called, the center building. That great tall uncouth edifice was erected, I believe, in 1820-21, but the university was not organized in regular college form until the Fall of 1824, when the Rev. Dr. Bishop was inaugurated as its first president. It commenced operations with a faculty of three,' the doctor as president and professor of all the branches of intellectual, moral and political science ; John E. Annan, 'professor of mathematics and natural science, and William Sparrow, professor of languages.

" In 1826 Professor Sparrow, who seems to have been a very popular and successful professor, resigned, and devoted himself to the Episcopal ministry. He afterwards, if I mistake not, was connected as a professor with a theological seminary at Alexandria, Virginia. His place was supplied by the election of William H. McGuffey, a graduate of Washington College, Pennsylvania, who afterward acquired a considerable celebrity as the compiler of a series of English readers for the Eclectic System of Books for Common Schools.' He was a man of very considerable talent, though not of very general scholarship, especially in the departments of mathematics and natural science ; of active mind and fond of abstract and metaphysical investigation and discussion; an ingenious and plausible, but not always a fair and safe reasoner ; a very popular lecturer and public speaker, from his fluency and command of language, though never rising to the higher and bolder flights of oratory; a man withal of a good deal of personal vanity and ambition.

" In the Summer of 1828 the health of Professor Annan failed to such a degree that he was obliged to retire, and I succeeded to his place. He afterwards recovered his health so far as to enter the Presbyterian ministry, and preach for a year or two to a Church in Petersburg, Virginia, but died while yet a very young man. He was reputed a man of a high grade of natural talent, and of large and general attainments in scholarship for one of his age, and had he lived would have doubtless made his mark in the literary and scientific world ; but on account of real or apparent rigidity and stiffness of manner, he does not seem to have been very popular as a professor.

" During the first four years of its existence the institution seems to have flourished very much in public popularity and patronage, the number of students having risen from a comparatively very small number to very well up towards one hundred. It might be observed that the grade of scholarship for a diploma was set high (the full curriculum was patterned very much after that of Yale); and in its palmiest days, which were from 1830 till near 1840, when its number of students rose some years to near two hundred and fifty, it obtained from its alumni, patrons, and friends, the soubriquet of the Yale of the West.'

" In 1832 the board were encouraged to increase the number of the faculty, by the addition of two new members. My professorship was relieved of the pure mathematics, and a new department of those branches was established, and Samuel W. McCracken, a graduate of the institution of a previous year, was appointed to it. The department of languages was divided into that of Greek, with an appendage of philology and general literature, which Professor McGuffey still retained ; and a professorship of Latin and Latin literature, with the addition of Hebrew, to which Rev. Thomas Armstrong, another graduate of the institution, was appointed. Both the young professors had been among our best scholars, and were men of talent, particularly the latter, who gave much early promise, but died, much lamented, in the Summer of 1835, after less than three years' service, in which he had already made his mark.

" On the decease of Professor Armstrong a change was made by which Professor McCracken was transferred from the mathematical department to that of Latin; and Albert T. Bledsoe, a graduate of West Point Military Academy, was appointed professor of mathematics in his place. Professor Bledsoe was a man of vigorous and, except in the department of ancient languages, well trained and well stored mind. He had an especial talent and penchant for metaphysical study and discussion, and was unusually well read and well posted on such topics, as was manifested in a work which he published in more advanced life, entitled, The Theodicy,' in which he undertook to answer President Edwards's celebrated Treatise on the Will,' and in which, if he does not refute the great and world renowned metaphysician, he shows great skill and resources in matters of abstract in-

68 - HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY.

vestigation and reasoning. He is said to have published also another book to defend, or at least palliate, slavery (as I have been told, for I have never seen the book) from the Bible ; although before he went back to his native South, he was very decidedly antislavery in his expressed opinions. Such is sometimes the vacillation and inconsistency of men of great minds. But with all his learning and ability he did not succeed in making himself popular as a professor. His difficulty was in the matter of discipline. Having been educated under the arbitrary rigidity of a military school, he did not seem to realize and appreciate the difference between military discipline and that appropriate to a civil institution.

" I must not forget, nor neglect to mention in this historical sketch, that in this successful period of the institution, somewhere about 1833 or 1834, the board took a first step toward making the institution in reality what it was in name, a university, by establishing a medical department in Cincinnati, under the title of the Miami Medical College. Dr. Daniel Drake, of Cincinnati, a gentleman of considerable celebrity in his day, both in medical science and general literature, having fallen out with his co-professors in the Ohio Medical College, applied to the board to establish in Cincinnati, under their university charter, a medical department, which was granted. Accordingly, with a faculty of his selection, consisting, with himself, of Dr. Mussey (the elder), Drs. Rives, Eberle, Stoughton, and Harrison, some of them very eminent in their profession, such a school was commenced, and carried on for some years with considerable spirit and success. What was its final fate I am not apprised of. My impression is that the doctor, in the course of a few years, disagreed with the faculty of his own selection and left it. Whether the organization finally disbanded, or still continues its existence in some one of the medical schools which Cincinnati contains, I am unable to say.

" In the midst of this prosperity a train of untoward influences began to set in. In the Fall of 1836 Professor McGuffey, who had previously shown signs of restiveness and dissatisfaction, resigned, leaving a month or so before commencement, for the professed purpose of visiting Clinton, Mississippi, with the view to the presidency of a new college (which he said hid been tendered him), about to be established there. But the whole project of such a college proving a failure, he engaged with Professor 0. M. Mitchel, of astronomical celebrity, for a time, in an institution in Cincinnati, under an old charter for a Cincinnati college. Afterwards he was elected to the presidency of the Ohio University' at Athens; but after serving there for three or four years, the institution not flourishing, nor likely to flourish to satisfaction, and his social surroundings not being entirely happy, he resigned in 1845, and accepted a professorship of mental and moral philosophy in the Virginia University, at Charlottesville, where he spent the 'remainder of his life, dying within the last three or four years.

" At the close of the session Professor Bledsoe, who had never seemed entirely satisfied in the institution, followed suit,' as it is said in rather slang phrase, by handing in his resignation. Having taken orders in the Episcopal Church he went South, having originally come from Kentucky. Whether he devoted himself to the work of the Gospel ministry exclusively or immediately, or not, I am unable to say; but my impression is that he still continued in the educational department in some academy or school in one of the Southern Gulf States. He was afterwards elected to a chair (I believe of mathematics) in the University of Virginia, not very far from the same time with the accession of Professor McGuffey. During the rebellion he is said to have been connected with the military department of the confederacy in the capacity of chief of ordnance, I think. I have understood, too, that towards the close of the war, he was sent over to England by the Confederate Government, as one of the commissioners to solicit comfort and aid' in the straits and penury of its latter day. I think also I have heard of his death since the close of the war. The vacancies produced by the resignations of Professors McGuffey and Bledsoe were supplied by the appointment of Samuel S. Galloway and Chauncey N. Olds, both of them graduates of the institution. The institution still continued to move on prosperously till between 1838 and 1840, as the catalogues of the period, of which I left a pretty complete list with Professor Bishop, I think will show.

In 1838, perhaps in 1837, for my memory is not very distinct in regard to minutia during that period of numerous and frequent changes, Professors Galloway and Olds resigned. A Rev. John McArthur, of Cadiz, Ohio, was elected to the professorship of Greek, and I believe, at the same time, a Professor John Armstrong was elected professor of mathematics. Professor McArthur was a man of some eminence as a preacher and as a man of literature. Professor Armstrong was an excellent mathematician of the old style, and a very good and worthy man, but hardly modern enough in manners and mode of instruction to exert a commanding influence among our Young America students. After three or four years he resigned, and was succeeded in the Fall of 1843 (I think) by George A. Westerman, a young gentleman who was highly recommended by Professor 0. M. Mitchel. In the mean time other malign influences had begun to operate, to add to the force and effect of the former in disturbing the quiet and prosperity of the institution—entirely extraneous in their character, and which ought not to have been lugged into the college. These were the antislavery agitation, or, as it was called, the abolition excitement ; and the troubles in the Presbyterian Church, between old and new school parties, which finally, in 1837-8, split the great Presbyterian Church in

PROGRESS OF THE UNIVERSITY - 69

the United States into two distinct branches, which remained separate for thirty years, both of which causes were rife, and in some cases very intense about that time. Each had its faction in the board. The one was determined to exterminate all abolitionism, by which was meant all decided antislavery sentiment from the institution, or as I once heard one of the members of the board, at one of their meetings, with a good deal of bitterness, express it, that no abolitionist or sympathizer with abolition should ever, with his consent, be a professor in the university.' These were the politicians of the board. The other, or as it might be denominated, the ecclesiastical, faction was composed of a very few members, clerical and laical, of one or two of the older branches of the Presbyterian Church, of strong theological prejudices, who were as decided in their opposition to all newschoolism ; and these two factions, as is related of Herod and Pontius Pilate, the Gentiles and the people of Israel,' on a certain memorable occasion, conspired together to effect their particular object.' The other members of the board having no special prejudices or partialities to gratify, in other words no axes to grind,' simply yielded unsuspectingly to their plans and management. This I know from one of these same members himself, who in the result had his eyes opened.

"The storm that was thus brewing was destined first to break upon the head of Dr. Bishop, who had incurred the dissatisfaction and suspicion of both, but particularly of the ecclesiastical faction. The resignation of Professor McCracken seemed to present a favorable opportunity for commencing operations under the pretext of a general reorganization. The plan was—and I am sorry to say that I have reason to believe that there were members of the faculty, as already constituted, who were privy to it— for all the faculty to resign, and then elect a new president on the ground of Dr. Bishop's advanced age, and make whatever disposition of the other departments as might seem to be best. Two of the older members of the board, and strong partisans of the ecclesiastical faction, waited upon me, to inform me that all the other members of the faculty except Dr. Bishop and myself had agreed to tender their resignations; and to ask me to do the same, assuring me that we would all, excepting the doctor, be again immediately re-elected. I replied to their proposition by saying that I had no objection to resigning in case I could see any necessity or just reason for such a course; but if it was merely to make the way easy and quiet for cutting off the head of that noble and venerable old man, the father of the institution, who had by his wise and able management and superintendency, under God, raised it from nothing to what it was in itspalmiest days, and what it still was, although beginning to feel the effects of more troublous times, I would not resign. They might, if they would, cut off my head, and declare my chair vacant, as they had the power, and as I know some of them had the will, as I fell under the same suspicion and ban from both the factions as Dr. Bishop. And this would, I presume, have been done, but matters were not yet matured for such a result, and I was, therefore, reserved for another and future holocaust.

" This scheme of a general, voluntary resignation not succeeding, the managing spirits in the board went about their work in a more direct way. The presidency was made vacant by the removal of Dr. Bishop to a new professorship of history, with (I believe) some adjuncts in the department of moral science, created for the purpose, for they could not face public opinion with a direct and absolute removal. Rev. George Junkin, D. D., president of Lafayette College, Pennsylvania, a man perfectly satisfactory to both the factions in regard, and, indeed, selected with a special view, to their two hobbies, was chosen president. James C. Moffat, a talented and scholarly young professor, from the same institution, since a professor in Princeton College, and at present a highly respected professor in Princeton Theological Seminary, and author of a book on aesthetics and other minor works, was elected professor of Latin.

" Dr. Junkin was a man of ability and scholarship, and a somewhat experienced educator. He had acquired a name and fame as the prosecutor of Rev. Albert Barnes, in the great theological controversy which terminated in the temporary division of the Presbyterian Church into Old and New School ; to which, I presume, he owed his election to the presidency of the university. He was a man who had his hobbies, and was not always the most judicious in introducing, and in discussing and defending, them. One of these was the subject of Scripture prophesies, on which he published quite a celebrated and able work. Professor Bishop will, I presume, recollect his introducing the subject, not very appropriately or in good taste, in his inaugural address, and expatiating, very eloquently and at large, on the great battle of Armageddon, in which the powers of Antichrist are to be finally discomfited and destroyed, which he interpreted in a literal sense. In the fervor and zeal of his declamation he, all at once, broke out into the apostrophe, Where, where will the students of Miami University be on that day? On which side will they be found?' And he will also recollect the amusing caricature cartoon, suggested by the circumstance, which some wag among the students executed and placarded on the chapel door afterward, representing Captain Junkin, with the students, of Miami University, marching to the battle of Armageddon.' Two other of his hobbies were extreme Calvinism, as opposed to Arminianism, and anti-abolitionism, to the extent of the justification and defense of American slavery. Moreover he was a man of such intensities of temperament and dogmatic mold of mind as to render him liable to be embroiled in frequent unpleasant controversy, both public and private, with those of a different opinion from his own. In his very first outset in the college, on one of the evenings of the public exercises preliminary to the

70 - HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY.

commencement on which he was to be inaugurated, he unfortunately got into an open quarrel, in the presence of the assembled audience, with the ushers of one of the literary societies, almost threatening a riot. Although on the abstract point of difference and dispute the doctor was right, yet such was the injudiciousness of his course in raising such an issue at such a time, and such the violence of his manner, that it seemed doubtful to some of the members of the board whether it would be best to proceed with the inauguration.

" Indeed, Dr. Junkin did not seem to understand a Western community and the state of things in the college. On these points the men that were especially active and efficient in getting him there, under the influence of their prejudice and distorted views, deceived and did him great disservice by their representation of the state of things, especially in the-college. The consequence was that he went, at their call, honestly and mistakenly, in the spirit, and as he supposed, clothed with the functions, of a great and general reformer. But the doctor had the perspicacity and good sense to find out by his experience his mistake; and had it been in his power to have commenced de novo with the stock of knowledge and experience which he had gained at the end of the first two years of his connection with the college, the result would have been different, both to him and it. But it was too late. The result was, that his presidency did not prove a success, and he felt it. After struggling along for three and a half years against difficulties, and a tide of unpopularity on the part of a considerable portion of the students, and also of the general community, he resigned, and went back to Lafayette, in the Fall of 1844, and thence to Washington College, at Lexington, Virginia, of which he had been elected president, where he served for a number of years, till the

commencement of the Rebellion. At this period he published a masterly work on what he denominated the grand fallacy '—John C. Calhoun's doctrine of States' rights—and redeemed himself nobly in the minds of many in the free States, whom he had formerly greatly dissatisfied by his views and treatment of the subject of slavery; and although his daughters and two of his sons had married Southerners—' Stonewall' Jackson and a Colonel Preston, of Virginia, both- being his sons-in-law— and he had buried his wife, an estimable lady, to whom he was greatly attached, in Lexington, finding he could not control the drift of secessionism in the college, he resigned his presidency, and loyally and indignantly left the State, and came North, shaking off the dust of secession from his feet against it.

"Disappointed in their expectations, and chagrined at the unsuccessful result of their plans, and perhaps more highly exasperated against any members of the faculty whom they suspected of not entirely sympathizing with them in their views, the prime movers of the action by which the presidency was changed, and Dr. Junkin brought there, seem to have come to the determination to make a thorough and short work of it, and eliminate by one fell stroke all unsatisfactory elements from the faculty. Accordingly an adjourned meeting of the board was appointed to be held late in the Fall, away from the seat of the college, at Lebanon. At this meeting the work was done, and the desired reform effected, by the elimination of Dr. Bishop and myself—the doctor, by removing the chair from under him, in the annihilation of his professorship, and me, by removing me from my chair. Professor Watterman was also arbitrarily removed, and an almost entire new organization was effected, leaving only Professor McArthur of the old professors remaining, who was perfectly satisfactory to both the aforesaid factions. This terminated my seventeen and a half years' connection with the institution as a professor. Several years afterward, at the solicitation of Dr. Anderson, in the early part of his presidency, I accepted an appointment as a member of the Board of Trustees, and served several years. Until I left that region I kept myself pretty well posted in regard to matters in general connected with the institution, but my knowledge of them in particular was too second-hand and limited to render me a fit chronicler of its later minute history."

As will be seen by the preceding sketch, the path of the leaders of the university was not free from difficulties. The slavery question had become important ; but there were many difficulties connected with it which are not now to be perceived. Dr. Junkin sided with the majority of the electors in this county, and Dr. Bishop and Profe.ssor Scott were in the minority. The other question was that of denominational allegiance. The Presbyterians were just then passing through a division on points which now seem very trivial; but which were not then so regarded. But the university, which was to a great extent under their control, was a State institution, and those who belonged to other sects objected to the views which were there taught. Dr. Junkin became involved in a warm contest with the Rev. Thomas E. Thomas, of Rossville, in which the slavery question and the Presbyterian question were prominent. Dr. Junkin made a good defense to the charges against him, but the dissatisfaction continued.

He was succeeded in 1844 by the Rev. E. D. McMaster, D. D., who held the office until 1849, then resigning, having Rev. W. C. Anderson, D. D., as his successor. Dr. Anderson acted as president until 1854, when the Rev. J. W. Hall, D. D., was called to the presidency by the unanimous voice of the Board of Trustees. Dr. Hall presided over the university for twelve years, resigning in 1866. His administration was successful, and when he left there was twelve thousand dollars in the treasury. The Rev. R. L. Stanton, D. D., succeeded him, and resigned in 1871; and after an interval of one year Rev. A. D. Hepburn was chosen president, holding that position until the suspension of the institution in 1873.

PROGRESS OF THE UNIVERSITY - 71

The university derives its revenue from the leasing of the lands of the college township, which are leased for ninety-nine years, renewable forever without revaluation, subject to an annual quit-rent of six per cent on the purchase money. This rent yields an income of nearly six thousand dollars.

An act of the Legislature, passed in February, 1809, directed that the lands should be " offered at auction for not less than two dollars per acre," and " the lessees shall pay six per cent per annum on the amount of their purchase." The first sale was held in Hamilton on the " fourth Tuesday in May," 1810. The lessees did not have originally the right to subdivide their lines; but by an act passed March 22, 1837, they were permitted to do so, the original quit-rent being apportioned pro rata. This was found to work injury to the university, and in March, 1862, the State repealed so much of the act of 1837 as allowed the pro rata division of the quit-rent, and enacted that in all cases of subdivision there should be an increase of the quit-rent, and that no subdivision should be allowed except on the payment of one dollar per annum. Under this premium the income is slowly increasing.

The university has never been aided directly by the State, only indirectly, in that the lands are exempt from State taxes—the quit-rent to the university being reckoned an equivalent. The corporation received the lands in a state of nature, and from these lands and from tuition fees all the money was raised which has been expended in buildings, apparatus, salaries, etc. The buildings, apparatus and library cost upward of $100,000.

From 1824, when the college was opened in the woods, till 1873, when it was temporarily suspended, nearly one thousand young men were graduated, and more than that number received a large part of their education in Miami University. These men have exercised no little influence in giving character and tone to the great West, and not to the West alone, but in other parts of our land, and in other lands, their influence has been felt for good. A gentleman who had had opportunity to know whereof he affirmed, and was competent to give a just decision, remarked, on a public occasion, that in proportion to numbers Miami University had sent forth more useful men than any other college in our land.

Owing to various causes there had been a gradual decline in the number of students since 1860; considerable money had been spent in the repair of the buildings, and a debt of near $10,000 had been incurred. Under these circumstances, the trustees concluded, in July, 1873, that it would be proper and wise " to suspend instruction in the university," for a time.

Since 1873 the debt has been paid in full, and a surplus of $30,000 has been securely invested at eight per cent; and it is hoped that within two years the university will be again opened for the instruction of pupils in all thee branches that pertain to a liberal education.

The university was not behind her sisters, or behind the remainder of the county of Butler, in the men she sent to the army. They form a noble army, and are to be found on every battle-field in the West and many in the East. They are as follows:

THE ROLL OF HONOR.

Adams, Robert N., Brigadier-general.

Ayers, Stephen C., B 20th Ohio.

Anderson, Charles, Colonel, 93d Ohio.

Andrew, George L., Sanitary Inspector.

Andrew, John W., Lieutenant, E 20th Indiana.

Aten, Aaron M., Lieutenant.

Bellingham, Daniel, A 86th Ohio.

Brown, James L., A 60th; K 86th ; A 167th Ohio.

Brooks, Robert F., Surgeon.

Barrows, Charles C., C 93d Ohio.

Beaton, William M., I 167th Ohio.

Beaton, Daniel P., A 86th; 1st Sergeant, M 2d O. V.

C. Brooks, Frank D., A 167th Ohio.

Brooks, John K., A 167th Ohio.

Brooks, Theodore D., Assistant Surgeon, 38th Ohio.

Brooks, Peter, A 167th Ohio.

Brown, Henry L., A 167th Ohio.

Bennett, Robert N., B 20th Ohio.

Billings, John S., Surgeon.

Boude, J. Knox, Surgeon, 118th Illinois.

Boude, Edgar A., 2d Lieutenant, 7th Missouri Cavalry.

Burrowes, Stephen A., B 146th Ohio.

Brice, Calvin S., Captain, 185th Ohio.

Beckett, David C., Major, 61st Ohio.

Brown, Charles E., Major, 65th Ohio.

Bishop, William W., Major, Illinois Cavalry.

Bishop, George S., A. 167th Ohio.

Bishop, Robert H., Jr., A 86th ; A 167th Ohio.

Bartlett, Thomas B., F 167th Ohio.

Britton, Orson.

Bell, Thomas C., Captain.

Chamberlain, William H., Major, 81st Ohio.

Chamberlain, John R., Lieutenant, C 81st Ohio.

Cartwright, Noah, E 15th Kentucky ; Lieutenant-colonel.

Clopper, Edward N., 1st Lieutenant, K 83d Ohio.

Clark, J. Harvey, I 167th Ohio.

Chidlaw, Benjamin W., Chaplain, 39th Ohio.

Clough, James F., F 69th Ohio.

Childs, James H., Acting Brigadier-general, Penn. Vols.

Dennison, William, Governor of Ohio.

Dennis, Charles, Captain, 47th Ohio.

Davis, Benjamin F., A 86th; M 2d Ohio Cavalry.

Douglas, William C., A 86th ; K 86th ; A 167th Ohio.

Druly, Thaddeus C., A 86th Ohio; 9th Indiana Cavalry.

Davies, Samuel W.

Dunn, N. Palmer, Capt., 29th Ind., killed at Chickamauga.

Dodds, Ozro J., Lieutenant-colonel, Alabama Cay., U. S. Vols.

Davies, J. Pierce, 2d Lieutenant, 3d Maryland Cavalry.

Denise, Charles E., 4th Sergeant, 146th Ohio.

Dudley, Adolphus S., Chaplain, 146th Ohio.

Dickey, Theophilus L.

Danner, Samuel S., K 37th Ind.; 1st Lieut., A 12th U. S. C. T.

Davidson, John M., F 167th Ohio.

Evans, Frank, Major, 81st Ohio.

Evans, William H., B 20th Ohio.

Evans, Owen D., B 20th Ohio; A 69th Indiana.

Ellis, A. Nelson, Captain.

72 - HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY.

Elliott, James H., 3d Corporal, H 156th Ohio.

Farr, William L., A 86th ; A 167th Ohio.

Ferguson, William M., A 86th ; A 167th Ohio.

Ferguson, James S., Assistant Surgeon, 167th Ohio.

Fullerton, Thomas A., Chaplain.

Fullerton, Hugh S., 1st Lieutenant, C 1st Ohio H. Artillery.

Fullerton, Erskine B., 1st Lieutenant, K 86th Ohio.

Fullerton, George H., Chaplain, 1st Ohio.

Fullerton, Joseph S., Brigadier-general.

Fithian, Washington, Surgeon, 14th Kentucky Cavalry.

Fithian, Joseph, Surgeon.

Falconer, Jerome, 2d Sergeant, C 93d Ohio.

Falconer, John W., Captain A 41st U. S. C. T.

Galloway, Henry P., 0. N. G., 100 days' service.

Galloway, Albert, Captain, E 12th Ohio.

Gath, Sampson, D 47th Ohio.

Graham, Mitchel M., A 86th; K 86th Ohio.

Graham, Harvey W., A 167th Ohio.

Graham, Frank, I 167th Ohio.

Guy, William E., Sergeant, A 86th Ohio.

Gill, Heber, A 167th Ohio.

Goodwin, R. J. M., Colonel, 37th Indiana.

Galbraith, Robert C., Chaplain.

Groesbeck, John, Colonel, 39th Ohio.

Gregg, John C., I 167th Ohio.

Galloway, Samuel, Commissioner, Camp Chase.

Hollingsworth, William R., B 39th Ohio.

Huston, R. L. M., A 167th Ohio.

Hart, J. H., Lieutenant-colonel, 71st Ohio.

Hazeltine, James F., A 86th; Lieutenant, 127th Ohio.

Howell, Benjamin R., B 20th ; Captain, F 81st Ohio.

Howell, John, Captain, Battery A Bailey's Light Artillery.

Hair, James A., B 20th Ohio.

Harris, Joseph, Sergeant, E 75th Ohio.

'Harris, A. L., Captain, C 20th; Colonel, 75th Ohio.

Hunt, John R., 1st Lieutenant, 81st Ohio.

Hughes, Melancthon, 1st Sergeant, K 40th Ohio.

Harrison, Benjamin, Brigadier-general.

Haynes, Moses H., Surgeon, 167th Ohio.

Hudson, R. N.

Howard, William Crane.

Hiatt, J. Milton, Surgeon.

Harrison, Carter B., B 20th; 52d Ohio.

Hamilton, William, I 167th Ohio.

Hor, Versalius, Colonel, 26th Ohio.

Hibben, Samuel.

Judy, George.

Jordan, W. Jones.

Jones, Abner F.

Keely, George W., A 167th Ohio.

Kumler, W. Festus, A 167th Ohio.

Kleinschmidt, Edward H., A 86th; K 86th Ohio.

Keil, Lewis D., 1st Lieutenant, H 167th Ohio.

Lyons, Charles C., Navy, Master's Mate.

Lyons, James D., A 86th ; A 167th Ohio.

Lyons, Robert L., A 167th Ohio.

Lewis, John C., Captain, F 167th Ohio.

Lewis, Telemachus C., B 12th Ohio; 36th Indiana.

Lough, James M., B 20th ; A 86th Inf., Lieut., 2d 0. V. C.

Lowes, Abram B., Captain, F 18th Indiana.

Leake, J. Bloomfield.

Lowrie, James A.

Lowe, William B., Captain, 10th U. S. Infantry.

Langdon, E. Bassatt, Colonel.

Lowe, John G., Colonel, 0. N. G.

McFarland, Prof. R. W., Lieutenant-colonel, 86th Ohio.

McCormick, John H., 1st, G 67th Indiana, Major.

McMillen, A. J., Chaplain, 14th Kentucky.

McKee, Samuel, Colonel, 14th Kentucky.

McCracken, S. M., D 47th Ohio.

McCullough, Robert N., A 86th Infantry ; M 2d Ohio Cav.

McClung, Orville L., F 69th Ohio.

McClure, William C., A 86th; K 86th Ohio

McCracken, John C., A 167th Ohio.

McClung, David W., Captain.

McClung, William C., A 167th Ohio.

McDill, John B., Surgeon, 63d Ohio.

McLandburg, Henry J., B 26th Ohio ; Captain, 17th U. S. I.

McClung, Alexander C., Captain, 88th Illinois.

McClenehan, John, Lieutenant-colonel, 15th Ohio.

McArthur, James R., Captain, 6th Illinois Cavalry.

Marshall, Thomas B., 1st Sergeant, K 83d Ohio.

Morton, Oliver P., Governor of Indiana; U. S. Senator.

Miller, Benjamin F., F 3d; Lieutenant, C 35th Ohio.

Murray, 0. H., F 3d; Captain, I.5th Ohio Cavalry.

Miller, Frank E., 66th U. S. C. T.

Millikin, Minor, Col., 1st Ohio Cavalry ; fell at Stone River.

Moody, Stilman.

Martindell, James K. P., A 86th; Sergeant, I 167th Ohio.

Morris, Aaron H., K 86th ; I 167th Ohio.

Morrow, Jeremiah, A 86th Ohio ; Porter's Fleet.

Mayo, Archibald, B 20th Ohio.

Mayo, John W., B 20th Ohio.

Mitchell, Claud. N., A 86th ; 1st Sergeant, K 86th Ohio.

Morey, Henry Lee, Captain, 75th Ohio.

Moore, Thomas, Colonel, 167th Ohio.

Naylor, James M., Sergeant, I 81st Ohio.

Owens, Jas. W., B 20th ; Lieut., A 86th; Capt., K 86th Ohio.

Oldfather, Jeremiah M., H 93d Ohio.

Olds, William W., Captain, 46th Ohio ; fell at Port Gibson.

Peck, George B., Assistant Surgeon.

Peck, Morris, A 86th Ohio.

Peck, Hiram D., A 86th Ohio.

Porter, Wm. L., Major, staff of Gens. Rosecrans and Thomas.

Patterson, John H., A 131st Ohio.

Parshall, J. M., 146th Ohio.

Parrish, 0. V., A 167th Ohio.

Platter, Cornelius C., D 81st Ohio; Capt., Gen. Hazen's staff. Rees,

Clayton S., Sergeant, A 86th Ohio.

Iowan, Alexander H., A 86th Ohio.

Rabb, George J., A 86th Ohio.

Ryan, Michael C., Colonel, 50th Ohio.

Reid, J. Whitelaw, Captain.

Rankin, William, K 37th Indiana.

Runkle, Benjamin P., Colonel, 45th U. S. Infantry.

Rodgers, Andrew W., Colonel, 81st Illinois.

Rodgers, J. Harrison, Surgeon.

Roberts, George W., B 20th Ohio.

Schenck, Robert C., Major-general Volunteers ; M. C. Smith,

Samuel M., Surgeon-general State of Ohio.

Scoby, John S., A 68th Indiana ; Colonel.

Strong, Hiram, Colonel, 93d Ohio.

Scott, John N., Major, 79th Indiana; U. S. Paymaster.

Smith, Joseph C., E 5th Ohio Cavalry ; Major.

Sadler, William K., Surgeon, 19th Kentucky.

Smith, John B., Chaplain, 19th Vet. Vol. and 69th Ohio.

Swan, Benjamin C., Chaplain, 151st Illinois.

Snow, David B., 2d Sergeant, K 83d Ohio.

Scriver, Edison M., A 114th Ohio.

Smith, Palmer W., A 167th Ohio.

PROGRESS OF THE UNIVERSITY - 73

Smith, Josiah, C 93d Ohio.

Smith, Ransford, B 35th Ohio ; Capt. on staff of Gen. McCook.

Smith, William H., Jr., U. S. Navy.

Sheely, Virgil G., A 86th Ohio.

Shuey, William H., A 86th Ohio.

Shuey, Alfred M., A 167th Ohio.

Secrist, John H., A 86th, K 86th Ohio ; Lieut., Ind. Vol.; fell at Nashville.

Shepherd, John H., B 20th Ohio.

Stewart, James E., Captain, A 167th Ohio.

Sheppard, Samuel C., 4th Cavalry ; A 167th Ohio.

Schenck, John S., A 86th Ohio.

Sloan, William G., B 20th; D 47th Ohio,

Simpson, George W., D 47th Ohio.

Steele, John W., E 15th, A 60th; 1st Sergeant, K 88th Ohio.

Spence, Colin, Assistant Surgeon, 89th Ohio.

Scott, Henry, Capt., Brevet-major, 70th Indiana, 3d div. A. C.

Stokes, H. M., B 146th Ohio.

Schenck, Robert C., Jr., B 146th Ohio.

Skinner, Charles M., K 157th Ohio.

Stemble, Roger N., Captain Gunboat, U. S. Navy.

Thomas, Webster, Captain, E 47th Ohio.

Thomas, Walter S., Miss. Squadron, Acting Master's Mate.

Taylor, Edward L., Captain, D 95th Ohio.

Taylor, Henry C., A 86th Ohio.

Thurston, Gates P., Major U. S. Volunteers.

Thurston, Dickinson P., Captain.

Todd, David W., Lieut., H 86th; Lieut. Col., 134th Ohio.

Tuttle, Joel, Lieutenant, 7th Iowa.

Woodruff, Thomas J., A 86th ; I 167th Ohio.

Warren, Charles, Surgeon.

Wright, John M., A 86th Ohio ; 135th Indiana.

Wright, Irwin B., B 20th Ohio ; Lieutenant, 1lth U. S. I.

Whiteside, John A., B 86th Ohio.

Wilson, Joseph M., B 20th; C 81st Ohio.

Williams, Edward P., Captain, 100th Indiana.

Ward, J. Durbin, Brigadier-general Volunteers.

Woods, John, Chaplain, 35th Ohio.

Walton, Allen M., Assistant Surgeon, 86th Indiana.

Williams, Henry.

Wright, Edward M.

Woodhull, Max. V. Z., Colonel on Staff.

Whitaker, James S., Assistant Surgeon.

Welty, Philip H., 1st Lieutenant, I 167th Ohio.

Yates, Richard, Governor of Illinois.

Yaryan, J. Lee, Captain, General Wood's staff.

Zeller, Jacob A., A 167th Ohio.

The university is situated in the eastern part of the mile square appropriated for the town of Oxford. The situation is elevated, descending by a graded slope from the college building in all directions, except on the west, next to the town, with which it is on a level. The edifices at present erected for the use of the college are three. They consist of the main building, which is sixty feet front and eighty-six feet deep and three stories high, fronting the south and north. The fronts are finished with pediments, having a venetian door in the south front, with venetian windows in the stories above. The stories are over eighteen feet high in the clear. A hall or passage, thirteen feet wide in the clear, runs from east to west through the building, and a passage twelve feet wide runs from the south front door to the middle hall. The north part of the lower story of the building is undivided, and was fitted up for a chapel. It is now used as a chemical room and as a museum. The rest of the building is divided into spacious rooms. The chapel is on the second floor in the new wing. Adjoining on the west was the old building first erected, forming part of a wing. There is now a new and large wing here, erected in 1868. The design of the whole, according to the plan, when completed, is to have wings of eighty feet in length on the east and west of the main building, which makes the whole two hundred and twenty feet in length. The center hall or passage is designed to extend from east to west the whole length of the wings, which are to be subdivided into rooms for the accommodation of students.

In 1829 another building was completed for the purposes of the institution. It stands east of the main building and distant about two hundred feet therefrom. The intention was that fire might not be communicated from one building to the other. It was called the north-east building, and is one hundred feet in length by forty feet wide and three stories high. It is divided by two halls running from east to west through the building, and divided into rooms for study and lodging rooms for the students.

In 1836 another edifice was erected and completed, called the southeast building. It is situated south and on a line with the building last mentioned. It is one hundred feet long, forty feet wide and three stories high. There is a hall running from the north to the south through the whole length of the building, and the building is divided into rooms of a suitable size for the accommodation of students. These buildings are all substantially built of brick and well calculated for the purposes which they are intended. There is also a brick building south-west of the main building erected for the purposes of a laboratory.

The college square is beautiful. About twenty acres of the eastern part of the college grounds yet remain in a state of nature. It is a delightful grove, shaded by the native growth, covered with a grassy carpeting, and is neatly cleared of all that would disfigure its beauty. In this grove, when the weather was pleasant, were held the commencement exercises, and for the students it afforded a delightful promenade for recreation as well as retirement. The cupola on the top of the main college building is elevated one hundred feet above the ground, from which is presented a beautiful and picturesque view of the surrounding country. Near at hand can be distinctly traced the course of Four-mile Creek, a limpid stream which meanders its serpentine course around the base of the hill and through the valley, along which can distinctly be traced the gentle elevations of the hills for a long distance either way.

Looking around the eye surveys a large extent of beautiful country dotted with its fields and farm houses, and as the view widens the largest of those seem in the distance mere garden spots and inconsiderable specks upon the landscape. Looking to the east, the eye, extending

74 - HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY.

its view, takes in its farthest range the hills •along the great Miami River, whose woodland summits present to the observer a blue streak, delicately tinged and apparently elevated but a few inches above the intervening landscape as they grow dimmer and still more dim, until they fade entirely in the extent.

The libraries belonging to the literary societies were united with the college library, and placed in one room. It comprises about ten thousand volumes, in almost every variety of literature and science, both ancient and modern. Some of the books are old and very rare and curious. It contains all the principal standard works, and, particularly, the circle of history is very complete. A fund was appropriated by the trustees for the annual increase of the library, which was open to the students, under certain regulations. It has received of late a large number of documents.

In the year 1825 the Board of Trustees caused to be purchased in London a philosophical apparatus which cost about one thousand dollars, which was deposited in the college, since which time various appropriations have, from time to time, been made for the purpose of purchasing additional chemical, mathematical, and philosophical apparatus.

In the year 1848 the trustees purchased from David Christy a geological cabinet, for which they paid $2,222. These specimens, added to a small collection before possessed by the college, were scientifically arranged, and inclosed in glass cases, in a very tasteful manner, which afford the means of a very complete exhibition of the subjects of geology and mineralogy. They have lately been arranged, and large additions made to them by Professor Osborn.

Literary societies have been formed and organized, belonging to the Miami University. The Erodelphian Society was organized in September, 1825, having for its professed object the cultivation of science, eloquence, and friendship. The members were all students of Miami University.

They occupied a large room in the third story of the main college building, exclusively for their own use, where they held their meetings. The room was fitted up in handsome style, and kept at all times neat and clean. The floor was covered with a carpet. On the east was an elevated stand, for the presiding officer of the meetings, and tables and desks for the secretaries. On the opposite side of the room was formerly their library, tastefully arranged on shelves, surmounted by a handsome cornice, and supported by Corinthian columns. The whole was arranged in a style of neatness and elegance rarely surpassed. The members of the society met regularly once every week during the college session, and spent from three to five hours in the investigation of subjects which have a bearing on the business of active life.

The Erodelphian Society of Miami University was incorporated by an act passed by the Legislature of the State of Ohio, on the third day of February, 1831. The society holds its anniversary on the day preceding the annual commencement of the college, at which time an address is delivered by some individual of distinguished talents, who had previously been invited by the society.

The Miami Union Literary Society had objects similar to that of the Erodelphian Society, and was, in like manner, composed of membersswho were students in the Miami University. They had also a room in the third story of the main college building, fitted up with the same care and neatness as that of the other society. Over the chairman's stand was a portrait, presenting a good likeness, of the Rev. Robert H. Bishop, president of the university. The library which belonged to the society has been united with the college library. They had cases in their room containing a valuable cabinet of minerals, geological specimens, and natural curiosities.

The society was originally known as the Union Literary Society, but another society sprang up, which maintained an existence for several years. As the university, however, was not large enough to support three societies, the Union and the Miami finally consolidated under the name of Miami Union.

The last meeting of the trustees of the Miami University was held on the 15th of June, 1881, with the president, John W. Herron, in the chair. The members present were : William Beckett, Hamilton ; Colonel John G. Lowe, Dayton ; David W. McClung, Nelson Sayler, John B. Peaslee, Rev. B. W. Chidlaw, Samuel F. Hunt, H. W. Hughes, Cincinnati ; John M. Millikin, James E. Neal, Hamilton ; J. McLain Smith, Dayton ; Dr. G. W. Keely, L. N. Bonham, Oxford.

Professor R. H. Bishop, secretary, was re-elected, as were S. C. Richey treasurer, and P. D. Matson collector. The treasurer made the following report:

Amount invested at 8 per cent, . . . . . . . . . . . . $24,950 00

Received for rent on lands, . . . . . $5,838 22

Received for interest on loans, . . . 1,656 50

Received for loans refunded, . . . . . 1,055 00

Received for various other goods, . . .872 75

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $9,382 27

Cash in treasury June, 1880. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,353 37

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $10,755 64

Paid out to Finance Committee, . . $1,000 00

Paid out for incidentals, . . . . . . . . . 2,529 07

Cash in treasury June 15, 1881, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $4,206 57

The following distinguished persons are graduates of Miami University:

GOVERNORS.

J. J. McRae, class of 1834, Alabama.

William Dennison, 1835, Ohio.

R. P. Lowe, 1829, Iowa.

Charles Anderson, 1833, Ohio.

PRESIDENTS OF COLLEGES.

W. F. Ferguson, class of 1828, Macon College, Illinois.

Freeman G. Cary, 1831, Farmers' College, Ohio.

PROGRESS OF THE UNIVERSITY - 75

T. E. Thomas, 1834, South Hanover College, Indiana.

D. A. Wallace, 1846, Montnouth College, Illinois.

Samuel S. Laws, 1845, University of Missouri.

PROFESSORS IN COLLEGES.

J. P. Pressly, class of 1826, Erskine College, South Carolina.

J. H. Harvey, 1827, Indiana University.

G. B. Bishop, 1828, Hanover Theological Seminary, Indiana.

J. A. Matson, 1828, Asbury University.

J. I. Morrison, 1828, Indiana University.

T. Armstrong, 1830, Miami University.

E. N. Elliott, 1830, Planters' College, Port Gibson, Mississippi.

R. H. Bishop, 1831, Miami University.

S. W. McCracken, 1831, Miami University.

Samuel Galloway, 1833, South Hanover College, Indiana.

J. M. Stone, 1834, Hanover College and University of Iowa.

C. N. Olds, 1836, Miami University.

S. M. Smith, 1836, Darling Medical Institute.

C. L. Telford, 1836, Cincinnati College.

E. B. Stevens, 1843, Medical College, Cincinnati.

T. D. Morrison, 1846, Monmouth College, Illinois.

J. C. Hutchison, 1856, Monmouth College, Illinois. J.

A. P. McGaw, 1856, Monmouth College, Illinois.

David Steele, 1857, Reformed Presbyterian Seminary, Philadelphia.

R. C. Smith, 1837, Oglethorpe.

J. M. Young, 1837, Erskine College, South Carolina.

John Thompson, 1826, Wabash College, Indiana.

C. W. Gerard, 1868, Farmers' College, Ohio.

Among the graduates of this renowned institution are also the following eminent persons:

Robert C. Schenck, of Franklin, Ohio, class of 1827, lawyer, Member of Congress, general in the Union army, minister to court of St. James; still living.

William M. Thompson, 1828, preacher, missionary to Palestine, author of "The Land and Book;" still living.

Samuel W. Parker, 1828, distinguished lawyer, of Connersville, Indiana; deceased.

William N. McClain, preacher, secretary American Colonization Society, Washington, D. C.; deceased.

William S. Groesbeck, lawyer and statesman, counsel for Andrew Johnson in his impeachment trial.

James J. Faran, editor and proprietor of Cincinnati Enquirer.

Samuel F. Cary, temperance lecturer, candidate for Vice- president on Greenback ticket in 1876.

Joseph G. Monfort, president of Glendale Female College, and editor of Cincinnati Herald and Presbyter.

Benjamin W. Chidlaw, minister, general agent American Sunday-school Union.

Samuel Shellabarger, lawyer, Member of Congress, United States minister to Portugal, judge in Court of Claims, Washington, D. C.

Benjamin Harrison, United States Senator.

George Junkin, Junior, of Philadelphia, a distinguished lawyer.

Milton Sayler, Member of Congress.

David Swing, minister, Chicago.

John W. Herron, lawyer, Cincinnati, president Board of Trustees Miami University.

Whitelaw Reid, editor of New York Tribune.

James H. Brooks, Presbyterian minister, St. Louis.

Rev. J. P. E. Kumler, Presbyterian minister, Cincinnati.

Dr. John S. Billings, assistant United States surgeon, Washington, D. C.

George E. Pugh, lawyer, United States Senator; deceased.

William B. Caldwell, lawyer, judge Supreme Court of Ohio ; deceased.

William M. Corry, lawyer, Cincinnati; deceased.

Governor Morton, of Indiana, and Governor Yates, of Illinois, also were in the university, but did not graduate. With Dennison of Ohio, these were the war governors of three of the Northern States.

The following students, from Butler County, have graduated from Miami University since its organization :

* John McMechan, M. D., Darrtown.

* George B. Bishop, professor of Oriental languages and Biblical literature, Theological Seminary, Hanover, Indiana.

* James Reily, minister from Texas to United States, Houston.

Robert P. Brown, lawyer, Dayton.

Robert H. Bishop, professor of Latin, Miami University.

* Marcus H. Brigham, lawyer.

William R. Cochran, ex-probate-judge of Butler County.

Ebenezer B. Bishop, professor at Trenton, Tennessee. Lyman Harding, superintendent public schools, at Cincinnati.

* William C. Woods, lawyer, Hamilton.

* Thomas E. Thomas, minister in Presbyterian Church.

* William C. Caldwell, judge, Supreme Court of Ohio.

Lucius A. Brigham, lawyer.

Oliver S. Witherby, lawyer, San Diego, California.

Alfred Thomas, lawyer and clerk, Washington, D. C.

John M. Graham, minister, Monmouth, Illinois.

Thomas Millikin, lawyer, at Hamilton.

James W. Parks, lawyer, St. Charles, Missouri.

William P. Parks, minister, St. Louis, Missouri.

* Francis D. Rigdon, physician, at Hamilton.

* Rufus K. Harris, Washington, D. C.

John Riley Knox, lawyer, Greenville.

Robert H. Parks, lawyer, St. Charles, Missouri.

* Michael C. Ryan, ex-clerk Common Pleas of Butler County.

L. Orestes Smith, teacher, Louisiana.

S. Taylor Marshall, lawyer, Keokuk, Iowa.

* Robert W. Wilson, minister, Bloomington, Indiana.

William P. Young, lawyer, Hamilton.

George L. Andrew, physician, Laporte, Indiana.

John M. Bishop, minister, Bloomington.

John M. Junkin, physician, Mercer County, Pennsylvania.

James Long, teacher, Monmouth, Illinois.

James A. I. Lowes, professor in Miami University.

John Ogle, lawyer, Fayette, Mississippi.

R. L. Yates Peyton, lawyer, Harrisonville, Missouri.

Benjamin Corey, physician, San Jose, California.

Thomas Craven, minister, College Hill, Indiana.

George Junkin, lawyer, Philadelphia.

* Daniel McCleary, lawyer, Hamilton.

* James E. Tiffany, minister, Oxford.

David S. Anderson, minister, Delta.

John S. Hittle, California.

William Beckett, manufacturer, Hamilton.

* Robert K. Long, physician, Americus, Indiana.

* Spencer C. Lyons, Oxford.

William Shotwell, lawyer, Hamilton.

Washington Fithian, physician, Paris, Kentucky.

Jacob W. Ogle, farmer, Terre Haute, Indiana.

[Those marked with an asterisk (*) are deceased.]

76 - HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY.

Henry Taylor, merchant, Lafayette, Indiana.

William Christy, editor, Jacksonville, Florida.

Robert Christy, lawyer, Washington, D. C.

William J. Mollyneaux, lawyer, Charleston, South Carolina.

James Corry, physician, Santa Clara, California.

James R. McArthur, teacher, Montezuma, Indiana.

James N. Swan, minister, Glasgow.

* John J. Tiffany, minister, Urbana.

Charles Waterman, Lebanon.

Andrew M. Brooks, superintendent public schools, Springfield, Illinois

Abner S. Lathrop, lawyer, Brazoria, Texas.

* Matthew Hueston, lawyer, deputy treasurer of Butler County.

John W. Lindley.

John M. Trembly, physician, farmer, and mathematician.

Samuel B. Matthews, lawyer, Cincinnati.

J. Knox Boude, physician, Carthage, Illinois.

* Isaac S. Lane, lawyer, Memphis, Tennessee.

Lewis W. Ross, lawyer, Council Bluffs, Iowa.

J. Alexander Anderson, minister, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

P. Corey Conklin, lawyer, Hamilton.

Jeremiah P. E. Kumler, minister, Cincinnati.

Stephen Crane, lawyer, Hamilton.

George A. Howard.

David W. McClung, collector of customs, Cincinnati.

Frederick Maltby, farmer, St. Paul, Minnesota.

* Minor Millikin, colonel, First Ohio Cavalry.

* Isaac Anderson, farmer; Venice.

Andrew J. Corey, physician, California.

Ransford Smith, lawyer, Cincinnati.

Henry J. Lathrop, Chicago, Illinois.

Benjamin F. Miller, lawyer, Hamilton.

Jacob A. Zeller, superintendent public schools, Evansville, Indiana.

John S. Billings, assistant-surgeon, United States Army, Washington, D. C.

James P. Caldwell, teacher, Memphis, Tennessee.

James Ferguson, physician, Camden, Ohio.

Benjamin F. Thomas, probate judge, Hamilton.

* Joel Tuttle, lawyer, Council Bluffs, Iowa.

Robert F. Brooks, surgeon, United States Navy.

Edward A. Guy, Cincinnati.

Abner F. Jones, minister.

* George M. Lytle, Oxford.

* Charles B. Magill, minister.

J. Barnes Patterson, minister, Elizabeth, New Jersey.

Frank H. Scobey, editor, Hamilton.

John B. Smith, president Farmers' College, College Hill.

W. Mark Williams, minister in China.

Joseph Millikin, professor in Ohio Agricultural College, Columbus, Ohio.

John K. Brooks, Carthage, Missouri.

Palmer W. Smith, lawyer, Oxford.

Thomas J. Woodruff, farmer, Oxford.

Heber Gill, Reading.

George W. McCracken, Oxford.

* C. C. Holbrook, Oxford.

George S. Bishop, lawyer, Jewell, Kansas.

Henry H. Farr, Oxford.

R. M. L. Huston, physician, Oxford.

* John N. Wyman, lawyer, Topeka, Kansas.

B. F. Davis, teacher, Hamilton, Ohio.

W. DeCamp Hancock, physician, Millville.

James W. Moore, lawyer, Hamilton.

James C. Oliver, Santa Barbara, California.

W. H. Talbert, Venice.

Nehemiah Wade, Jr., farmer, Venice.

Edward N. Evans, United States collector.

* Harvey Lee, lawyer, Indianapolis.

James M. McFarland, Topeka, Kansas.

Joseph McMakin, reporter Cincinnati Enquirer, Hamilton.

W. V. Shafer, physician, Hamilton.

William Stewart, principal public schools, Oxford, Ohio.

* Matthew Wade, minister, Venice, Ohio.

Philip G. Berry, lawyer, Hamilton. William S. Giffen, lawyer, Hamilton.

Jeremiah M. Hunt, physician, Trenton. Frank F. Scott, farmer, Venice.

John Marshall VanDyke, physician, Mason, Ohio.

Elias R. Zeller, superintendent public schools, Burlington, Iowa.

R. H. Adams, principal Marion Academy, Marion, Kentucky.

S. L. Bishop, civil engineer, Kansas.

B. R. Finch, teacher, Oxford.

Thomas Fitzgerald, minister.

* Samuel Maltert, lawyer, Hamilton.

Joseph C. McKee, journalist, Indianapolis.

N. E. Warwick, lawyer, Hamilton.

* Roger Williams, journalist, Paddy's Run.

A. A. Lovett, physician, Eaton, Ohio.

The following is a list of the faculty of the University:

PRESIDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY.

APPOINTED. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .RESIGNED.

1824 Rev. R. H. Bishop, D. D., - . . 1841

1841 Rev. George Junkin, D. D.,. . 1844

1844 Rev. John McArthur [pro tem.]

1845 Rev. E. D. McMaster, D. D.,. .1849

1849 Rev. W. C. Anderson, D. D.,. .1854

1854 0. N. Stoddard, A. M. [pro tem.]

1854 Rev. J. W. Hall, D. D., . . . . . .. 1866

1866 Rev. R. L. Stanton, D. D.,. . . . . .1871

1872 Rev. A. D. Hepburn,. . . . . . . . . . 1873

PROFESSORS.

1824 John E. Annan, Mathematics and Nat. Phil.,. . .1828

1824 William Sparrow, Languages,. . . . . . . . . . .. . . 1825

1825 William H. McGuffey, Languages,. . . . . . . . . . .1832

1828 John W. Scott, Mathematics and Natural Science, 1832

1832 S. W. McCracken, Mathematics, . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1835

1832 Wm. H. McGuffey, Philology and Mental Science, 1836

1832 Thomas Armstrong, Languages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .., 1835

1832 John W. Scott, Natural Science,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1845

1835 S. W. McCracken, Languages,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1837

1835 A. T. Bledsoe, Mathematics,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1836

1837 S. W. McCracken, Mathematics,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1840

1837 John McArthur, Grecian Literature,. . . . . . . . . . . . . .1849

1837 Chauncey N. Olds, Latin,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1840

1841 R. H. Bishop, D. D., History and Political Science, 1845

1841 J. C. Moffat, D. D., Rom. Literature and Rhetoric, 1852

1841 John W. Armstrong, Mathematics,. . . . . . . . . . . .. . 1843

1843 George Watterman, Jr., Mathematics,.. . . .. . . . . . . 1844

1845 Thomas J. Matthews, Mathematics,. . . . . . . . . . . .. . 1852

1845 0. N. Stoddard, Natural Philosophy and Chemistry.

1849 Charles Elliot, Grecian Literature and Logic,. . . . . . . 1863

1852 R. H. Bishop, Latin.

1852 T. A. Wylie, Mathematics,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1855

1853 Charles Hruby, Modern Languages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1857

PIONEERS AND SOLDIERS - 77

APPOINTED.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RESIGNED.

1856 R. W. McFarland, Mathematics.

1858 J. C. Cristin, M. D., Modern Languages, 1860

1863 J. Y. McKee, Greek, 1866

1866 Arthur Burtis, D. D., Greek [pro tem.]

S. H. McMullin, Greek.

Caleb H. Carlton, Military Science.

Joseph Millikin, Greek.

Henry S. Osborn, LL. D., Natural Science.

James D. Coleman, Greek.

PIONEERS AND SOLDIERS.

GENERAL ANTHONY WAYNE.

GENERAL ANTHONY WAYNE was born in Chester County, Pennsylvania, on the 1st of January, 1745. He was the son of an Irishman, who emigrated to this country in the year 1722, and afterward became a member of the provincial assembly and an officer in the various military expeditions which were fitted out against the Indians. After leaving school, in which his attention to the mathematical sciences was marked, Anthony Wayne became a surveyor. That calling he followed for a number of years, devoting part of his time, however, to various county offices to which lie had been chosen. In 1774 he was one of the provincial deputies who met in Philadelphia to deliberate upon the state of affairs, and was also a member of the convention and of the Legislature. In 1775 he was a member or the committee of safety. Before the close of that year he had raised a regiment for immediate service, and, as its commander, he joined General Sullivan for duty in Canada. He was in the engagement of Three Rivers. He had command of five regiments at Ticonderoga and Mount Independence until May, 1777, when he joined General Washington, in New Jersey, and aided in driving the enemy out of that State. He was defeated at Paoli, by a superior force, when in command, as brigadier-general, of fifteen hundred men. General Wayne led the attack of the American right wing at Germantown, and gave much efficient service to the American cause. He fought nobly at the battle of Monmouth. When Stony Point was to be captured, General Wayne was fixed upon by Washington as the proper man for the service, and he fulfilled the expectations of his commander. The place was defended by six hundred men and a strong battery of artillery. At midnight he led his troops with unloaded muskets, flints out, and fixed bayonets, and, without firing a single gun, carried the fort by storm, and took five hundred and forty-three prisoners. He was struck in the attack by a musket ball, in the head, and was supposed to have received a mortal wound. He called to his aids to carry him forward and let him die in the fort. But he did not die. He recovered his health in time to take part in the Southern campaign in 1781. After the surrender of Cornwallis, General Wayne was assigned to the command of Georgia, and succeeded in driving the enemy from that State. When the war closed he remained in Georgia, being a member of the Constitutional Convention of that State, and also served for a short time as a member of Congress.

After the defeat of St. Clair, General Washington looked for some man who could recover the laurels we had lost by that disaster. His choice was finally fixed upon General Wayne. In the Summer of 1792 that officer repaired to Pittsburg, when he proceeded to recruit and discipline an army. On the 30th of April, 1793, General Wayne moved from his winter-quarters to the neighborhood of Fort Washington. They set out for the North on the 7th of October.

The next Summer they negotiated with the Indians, but unsuccessfully. The British had promised them aid, and the red men relied upon them.

On the 28th of July, Wayne having been joined by General Scott, with sixteen hundred mounted Kentuckians, moved forward to the Maumee. By the 8th of August the army had arrived near the junction of the Auglaize with that stream, and commenced the erection of Fort Defiance at that point. The Indians, having learned from a deserter of the approach of Wayne's army, hastily abandoned their head-quarters at Auglaize, and thus defeated the plan of Wayne to surprise them, for which object he had cut two roads, intending to march by neither. At Fort Defiance, Wayne received full information of the Indians, and the assistance they were to derive from the volunteers at Detroit and vicinity. On the 13th of August, true to the spirit of peace advised by Washington, he sent Christian Miller, who had been naturalized among the Shawnees, as a special messenger to offer terms of friendship. Impatient of delay, he moved forward, and on the 16th met. Miller on his return with the message that if the Americans would wait ten days at Grand Glaize [Fort Defiance], they (the Indians) would decide for peace or war. On the 18th the array arrived at Roche de Bceuf, just south of the site of Waterville, where they erected some light works as a place of deposit for their heavy baggage, which was named Fort Deposit. During the 19th the army labored at their works, and about eight o'clock on the morning of the 20th moved forward to attack the Indians, who were encamped on the bank of the Maumee, at and around a hill called Presque Isle, about two miles south of the site of Maumee City, and four south of the British Fort Miami. From Wayne's report of the battle, we make the following extract :

" The legion was on the right, its flank covered by the Maumee ; one brigade of mounted volunteers on the left, under Brigadier-general Todd, and the other in the rear, under Brigadier-general Barbee. A select battalion of mounted volunteers moved in front of the legion, commanded by Major Price, who was directed to keep suf-

78 - HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY.

ficiently advanced, so as to give timely notice for the troops to form in case of action, it being yet undetermined whether the Indians would decide for peace or war.

"After advancing about five miles, Major Price's corps received so severe a fire from the enemy, who were secreted in the woods and high grass, as to compel them to retreat. The legion was immediately formed in two lines, principally in a close thick wood, which extended for miles on our left, and for a very considerable distance in front; the ground being covered with old fallen timber (probably occasioned by a tornado), which rendered it impracticable for the cavalry to act with effect, and afforded the enemy the most favorable covert for their mode of warfare. The savages were formed in three lines, within supporting distance of each other, and extending for near two miles at right angles with the river. I soon discovered, from the weight of the fire and extent of their lines, that the enemy were in full force in front, in possession of their favorite ground, and endeavoring to turn our left flank. I therefore gave orders for the second line to advance and support the first; and directed Major- general Scott to gain and turn the right flank of the savages, with the whole force of the mounted volunteers, by a circuitous route ; at the same time I ordered the front line to advance and charge with trailed arms, and rouse the Indians from their coverts at the point of the bayonet, and when up, to deliver a close and well-directed fire on their backs, followed by a brisk charge, so as not to give them time to load again.

" I also ordered Captain Mis Campbell, who commanded the legionary cavalry, to turn the left flank of the enemy next the river, and which afforded a favorable field for that corps to act in. All these orders were obeyed with spirit and promptitude ; but such was the impetuosity of the charge by the first line of infantry, that the Indians and Canadian militia and volunteers were drove from all their coverts in so short a time that, although every possible exertion was used by the officers of the second line of the legion, and by Generals Scott, Todd, and Barbee, of the mounted volunteers, to gain their proper positions, but part of each could get up in season to participate in the action ; the enemy being drove, in the course of one hour, more than two miles through the thick woods already mentioned, by less than one-half their numbers. From every account the enemy amounted to two thousand combatants. The troops actually engaged against them were short of nine hundred. This horde of savages, with their allies, abandoned themselves to flight, and dispersed with terror and dismay, leaving our victorious army in full and quiet possession of the field of battle, which terminated under the influence of the guns .of the British garrison. . . .

"The bravery and conduct of every officer belonging to the army, from the generals down to the ensigns, merit my highest approbation. There were, however, some whose rank and situation placed their conduct in a very conspicuous point of view, and which I observed with pleasure and the most lively gratitude. Among whom, I must beg leave to mention Brigadier-general Wilkinson and Colonel Hamtramck, the commandants of the right and left wings of the legion, whose brave example inspired the troops. To those I must add the names of my faithful and gallant aides-de-camp, Captains De Butt and T. Lewis, and Lieutenant Harrison, who, with the adjutant-general, Major Mills, rendered the most essential service by communicating my orders in every direction, and by their conduct and bravery exciting the troops to press for victory. . . .

" The loss of the enemy was more than that of the Federal army. The woods were strewed for a considerable distance with the dead bodies of Indians and their white auxiliaries, the latter armed with British muskets and bayonets.

" We remained three days and nights on the banks of the Maumee, in front of the field of battle, during which time all the houses and corn-fields were consumed and destroyed for a considerable distance, both above and below Fort Miami, as well as within pistol-shot of the garrison, who were compelled to remain tacit spectators to this general devastation and conflagration, among which were the houses, stores, and property of Colonel McKee, the British Indian agent and principal stimulator of the war now existing between the United States and the savages."

The loss of the Americans in this ba.ttle was thirty- three killed and one hundred wounded, including five officers among the killed, and nineteen wounded.

One of the Canadians taken in the action estimated the force of the Indians at about fourteen hundred. He also stated that about seventy Canadians were with them, and that Colonel McKee, Captain Elliott, and Simon Girty were in the field, but at a respectful distance, and near the river. When the broken remains of the Indian army were pursued under the British fort, the soldiers could scarce be restrained from storming it. This, independent of its results in bringing on a war with Great Britain, would have been a desperate measure, as the fort mounted ten pieces of artillery, and was garrisoned by four hundred and fifty men, while Wayne had no armament proper to attack such a strongly fortified place. While the troops remained in the vicinity, there did not appear to be any communication between the garrison and the savages. The gates were shut against them, and their rout and slaughter witnessed with apparent unconcern by the British. The Indians were astonished at the lukewarmness of their allies, and regaMed the fort, in case of defeat, as a place of refuge.

On the 27th Wayne's army returned to Fort Defiance, by easy marches, laying waste the villages and corn-fields of the Indians for about fifty miles on each side of the Maumee.

The battle of Fallen Timbers ended the Indian wars,

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one years of age. His sister lived at that time in Danville, Lincoln County, and at her house he remained for five or six years, making it his home. He labored on the farm each Summer and Winter, excepting when he was employed as a carpenter, although he had never regularly learned that trade. He also made plows, harrows, and other agricultural implements for the use of the settlers, and during the last year of his residence in Kentucky he taught an English school. The settlement of Ohio was then just commencing, and Mr. Reily concluded to cast in his lot with those who were beginning the new commonwealth. He came to Columbia, now the eastern part of Cincinnati, on the 18th of December, 1789.

That place was begun by Major Benjamin Stites. There was little provision in the neighborhood, and the colonists were obliged to gather roots and bear grass for food. The roots of the latter were pounded up into a kind of flour, which served as a substitute in making bread. Several settlers who were in Columbia subsequently became residents of Butler County, among others .Mr. Benjamin Randolph and Mr. James Seward. An attack being made on Dunlap's Station, now Colerain, on the 10th of January, 1791, the patriotic citizens of Columbia turned out in their defense, and among them was Mr. Reily. They armed themselves with rifles, and, mounted on the best horses that could be procured, set out for the relief of the settlement. Mr. Reily and Thomas Moore. who was afterward of Butler County, were directed to proceed a short distance in advance, as pickets, to give notice if the enemy should appear. On reaching the fort, they found that the siege had been abandoned, and that the garrison had sustained but little injury. There had been a vigorous effort to take the place by assault, but the attack had been frustrated.

On the 21st of June, 1790, Mr. Reily opened an English school at Columbia, which was the first one taught in the place (or, indeed, in the whole Miami country), which he continued as long as he resided there. In 1791, Francis Dunlevy, who was afterward the first judge of the Court of Common Pleas in this county, joined Mr. Reily at Columbia, and took part in the conduct of his school. Mr. Dunlevy taught the classical department, and Mr. Reily the English. 'This they continued for some time, but it was finally abandoned when Mr. Reily found other and more active occupations. Judge Dunlevy afterward removed to Warren County, where he lived until 1839.

After St. Clair's defeat, General Wilkinson issued a call for volunteers to accompany an expedition he was about to send out for the purpose of burying the dead. A company was formed at Columbia, under command of Captain John S. Gano, of which Mr. Reily was a member. They were joined by two other companies at Fort Washington, and by two hundred regular soldiers. In one of these companies William Henry Harrison, afterward President, was an ensign. They started on the 25th of January, General James Wilkinson commanding.

There was a very heavy snow on the ground, which obliged them to take sleds along, to carry their provisions and baggage. The first night they encamped near the present site of the college, at College Hill, seven miles from the city ; the next morning they arrived at Fort Hamilton, where they stayed a couple of days. John S. Gano acted as major. On the 28th they crossed the river, with their horses and baggage, on the ice, about where the Junction railroad now bridges the river. They took the old trace opened up by General St. Clair, and that night encamped at Seven-mile Creek. The next day they reached Fort Jefferson, which was under the charge of Captain Shaylor.

At this place General Wilkinson issued an order announcing that, in consequence of the depth of the snow and the severity of the weather, he would abandon one object of the expedition, which was to destroy an Indian town, on a branch of the Wabash, fifteen miles below St. Clair's battle-ground, directing the return of the regular soldiers, who were on foot, to Fort Washington, as they would not be needed, and stating that he would proceed with the mounted volunteers and the public sleds to the battle-ground, for the purpose of bringing away such artillery and other property as might be recovered.

The next day they continued their march, and encamped within' eight miles of their destination. On the ensuing day, at eleven o'clock, they arrived at the field of the disastrous defeat, and encamped where St. Clair's artillery had stood, with a view of beating down the snow to facilitate their finding the object of their search—cannon and corpses. On their last day's march, when within four miles of the field of battle, where the pursuit had ceased, the scene, even though covered with snow, was most melancholy. The bodies of the slain laid strewed along the road and in the woods on each side. Many of them had been dragged from under the snow and mutilated by wild beasts. One of the party counted seventy-eight bodies between the point where the pursuit terminated and the battle-field. No doubt there were many more who, finding themselves disabled, crawled to a distance, out of sight of the road, and there perished. The great body of the slain were within an area of forty acres. The snow being deep, the bodies could be discovered only by the elevation of the snow where they lay. They had been scalped and stripped of all their clothing that was of any value. Scarcely any could be identified, as their bodies were blackened by frost and exposure,.although there were few signs of decay, the Winter having been unusually early and severe. Major Gano and others supposed one corpse to be that of General Richard Butler, and had little doubt as to its identity. It lay in a group of the slain, where evidently had been the thickest of the carnage.

Having dug a large pit—a work of much labor, as they were poorly supplied with spades and other implements—they proceeded to collect and bury the frozen bodies. Probably not more than one-half, however, were

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interred, as they worked at it only on the day of their arrival. They were so numerous, however, that when all were piled together and covered with earth, it raised a considerable mound. Here, in the silent gloom of the beech woods, reposes many a heart which once beat warm to every impulse of honor and noble feeling which elevates our race.

They found that the artillery, with the exception of one six-pounder, had been dismounted and carried off or secreted, and some of the carriages had been burned. After encamping on the ground nearly two days and two nights, the party returned to Cincinnati, taking with them the field-piece above mentioned, two uninjured gun- carriages, the irons of the carriages that were burnt, and a few muskets. Many of the volunteers were badly frostbitten on the march. Mr. Reily said the snow was so deep that in moving about it gave them great annoyance by getting in at the top of their leggings.

In 1791 Mr. Reily had purchased a tract of land, about seven miles from Cincinnati, in the same quarter- section on a part of which the town of Carthage has since been laid out. In 1793 he gave up his interest in the school at Columbia to his friend Mr. Dunlevy, and associated with himself Mr. Prior, the two owning land near each other, and prosecuting their improvements jointly. All did not go well with them, however. Their horses were soon stolen, and they suffered other injuries from the Indians. They had not been long at this new business when Mr. Prior undertook to make a trip from Fort Washington to Fort Hamilton, in company with others. On their way, the men were attacked by the Indians, and Mr. Prior was killed.

Mr. Reily was left alone, and concluded to abandon farming. He returned to Columbia, and resumed teaching, which he continued until April, 1794, when he went to Cincinnati, and was employed in the office of General John S. Gano, then clerk of the Court of Hamilton County. Here he remained until 1799, acting as deputy, and conducting a large portion of the busifiess of the office. In this situation he received high encomiums from the attorneys and others who had business with the court, for the neatness and accuracy with which his books were kept.

The people of the Territory held their first election for representatives to the General Assembly in 1799, and those elected began their sessions at Cincinnati on the 16th of September. John Reily was elected clerk, and served as such until their adjournment on the 19th of December following. He acted in the like capacity fi)r the next two sessions, and was heartily esteemed by those with whom he was associated. He devoted his entire time to the duties of his office, filling them with ability and discretion.

When Cincinnati had a charter granted to it, John Reily was made one of the town trustees, and at the first meeting he was elected the clerk and collector. He became one of the stockholders of the first public library in the Northwest, and, sixty years after, was the next to the last survivor. He was made one of the receivers of money for the United States arising out of the claims of persons residing on Symmes's purchase for relief, and with William Goforth was appointed a board to hear and determine such claims. Mr. Reily acted as clerk of this board, made a map of the country where the claims lay, prepared the report on the claims adjudicated, and entered those allowed on the map and the record. The next year he was renewed in the same office, Dr.. John Selman being his associate.

In 1802 the Congress of the United States passed "an act to enable the people of the eastern division of the territory northwest of the river Ohio to form a constitution and State government, and for the admission of such State into the Union on an equal footing with the original States, and for other purpos'es," which was approved the 30th of April. The law fixed the boundaries of the State, and authorized the-citizens within its limits to elect representatives to a convention to form a constitution. The election was held on the second Tuesday of October following, and the convention met in Chillicothe on the first Monday of November. Mr. Reily was elected one of the representatives of Hamilton County, which then embraced Butler ; and, though he did not take much part in the debates, his industry and strict attention to business, and the confidence placed by his fellow-members in his judgment and experience, gave him a very perceptible influence in the convention. That body continued in session twenty-nine days, and formed the first constitution of the State. It met with the approbation of the people, and they lived under it many years.

Mr. Reily moved to Hamilton in 1803, being the agent of the proprietors of Rossville, and resided here until the time of his death. Some of the buildings of the old fort were yet standing, and many of the pickets which had made the inclosure were still to be seen. The inhabitants of the town were few in number, and had been chiefly soldiers of the various armies. After* the erection of the county of Butler Mr. Reily acted as the clerk of the court. He held the office under successive reappointments until the fourteenth day of March, 1840, a period of nearly thirty-seven years, when he declined further service. He was also clerk of the Supreme Court of Butler County from the 11th of October, 1803, until the 3d of May, 1842, when he resigned. Judge Burnet states that this was a longer term than any other person had held such an office, with the exception of Mr. Hugh Boyle, of Fairfield County.

The only lawyer residing in Hamilton at that time was William Corry, whose office was in the same room in which Mr. Reily kept his. Mr. Reily was appointed the first recorder of Butler County in 1803, and held the position until May, 1811, when he was succeeded by James Heaton, who had been the first county surveyor.

82 - HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY.

Mr. Reily was also clerk of the board of county commissioners from 1803 to 1819, when he resigned. His sterling qualities and thorough practical knowledge of the routine of the office gave him a great influence with the successive boards. In fact, during the time he held the position he had the chief management and control of the finances of the county, and conducted them with great prudence.

In 1804, under the administration of Thomas Jefferson, a post-office was established in Hamilton, of which Mr. Reily was appointed postmaster. His commission was signed by Gideon Granger, postmaster-general, and bears date August 2, 1804; This was then the westernmost post-office north of the Ohio. He held this place until July, 1832, when he resigned, being succeeded by James B. Thomas.

In 1809, when Oxford University was founded, Mr. Reily was made a trustee, and served in that capacity for many years. He was its president until the organization of the college in 1824, when by law the president of the college, by virtue of his office, became president of the board of trustees. He was always a warm friend of this institution, attending the meetings of the board with regularity. For years his name appears in the newspapers as secretary. He resigned his trusteeship in 1840, on account of advanced age and the inconvenience of being so often absent from home.

Mr. Reily was a man of the utmost regularity of habits. He came to his room at a certain hour, and departed from it at a certain hour. His papers were all methodicalry filed away, and he could at any time refer to any paper with which he had any thing to do, although it might have been a quarter of a century before. He trusted nothing to another person which it was possible himself to do. He held office many years, and during the whole course of his life his integrity and veracity were never questioned, nor does the writer recollect in any of the old newspapers whose files he has examined an attack upon his character—an exemption which no one else enjoyed. His judgment was excellent, his memory good, his patriotism of the highest. He took part in the Revolution while still a mere boy; he was an actor in the scenes of pioneer life when in early manhood, and he discharged important trusts to his fellow-men when he had reached the maturity of his powers. He was frequently a trustee of estates or guardian of children, and occupied other fiduciary positions. He was educated in the Presbyterian faith, and liberally contributed to the support of that denomination. He also gave largely to other Churches.

His death occurred in Hamilton on the 7th of June, 1850. He was then eighty-seven years of age. He had enjoyed good health nearly all his life, and his death was not preceded by any long sickness. The decease was announced to the Court of Common Pleas, which was then in session, by Governor Bebb, who paid a feeling tribute to his memory. Resolutions were adopted by the bar, which were ordered to be entered upon the journal of the court, and adjournment then took place.

He died on Friday. On Sunday a discourse was pronounced by the Rev. William Davidson, of the United Presbyterian Church, and the body was conveyed to its last resting-place in Greenwood Cemetery, which had been opened only a short time before. The attendance at the funeral was vast. People came from every township in the county, as well as from over the border and from Indiana. The solemnities were rendered more impressive by the presence of many old men, who had been associated with him in the foundation of the commonwealth which had now grown so great.

The constitutional convention was at that time in session at Columbus. On Tuesday, June 1 1 th, Judge Elijah Vance, a member of the convention from Butler County, arose and said :

" Mr. Speaker,—I have been induced, sir, by a letter which has been placed in my hands by an honorable member of this convention, to announce to this body the decease of Mr. John Reily, late of Butler County. It is known, perhaps, to every member upon this floor that the deceased was one of the members of the convention which framed the present constitution of Ohio, and that he had been for many years a citizen of the Northwest Territory or the State of Ohio."

After giving a detailed sketch of the life and public services of Mr. Reily, the judge continued :

" He was a man of many peculiarities, but of the most strict and uncompromising integrity. In every department of life he was faithful and scrupulously honest. It is an incident worthy of profound contemplation that, at the very period of time in which our people are seeking to enlarge the sphere of constitutional liberty—while they are about to bid farewell to the constitution under which they have lived and prospered for near fifty years, and to seek enlarged blessings under a new form—the mind that so largely aided in diffusing these blessings under the guarantee afforded by organic law, has been remodeled, regenerated, and prepared for usefulness in a wider and better sphere of existence.

" Mr. Speaker, I offer for adoption the following resolutions :

" Resolved, That this convention has heard with deep sensibility the annunciation of the death of John Reily, Esquire, late of the county of Butler, a soldier of the Revolution, one of the early pioneers of the West, one who filled important trusts under the territorial government, and one of the framers of the present constitution of Ohio.

" Resolved, That this convention deeply sympathize with the family of the deceased on this melancholy occasion.

" Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions, signed by

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the president and secretary of this convention, be forwarded to the family of the deceased."

Judge George J. Smith, a member of the convention from Warren County, then rose and said :

" Mr. President,—I hope I may be pardoned for rising to make a few remarks by way of seconding the resolutions offered by the honorable member from Butler. I live in an adjoining county to that in which the deceased resided, and have been intimately acquainted with him for a period of some thirty years. I first became acquainted with Mr. Reily about the year 1821, just after I had commenced the practice of law, and was uniformly in the habit of attending the courts of Butler County, in the practice of my profession, whilst he was clerk of the Court of Common Pleas and of the Supreme Court of that county. I know that I speak the sentiments of every member of the profession who had the good fortune and the pleasure of practicing in the Court of Common Pleas of Butler County during the time he was clerk of the -the court, when I bear witness to the urbanity of his demeanor and the politeness and courtesy which he always bestowed upon every member, and especially upon the younger members of the profession. Toward the latter his deportment was peculiarly kind and paternal.

" In some respects Mr. Reily was a most extraordinary man ; and, as the gentleman from Butler has well remarked, in the qualities of punctuality and honesty and the most strict and marked integrity I do not think ho had his superior anywhere. During the whole period of my service on the bench of the Court of Common Pleas he was clerk of the court, which brought us into official relation. During more than thirty years that he served as clerk of the court, he discharged his duties with the strictest fidelity and utmost punctuality. Indeed, as a clerk he was a model. As an instance of his rigid punctuality, he never knowingly permitted any large amount of fees to accumulate in his office without paying them over to those who were entitled to receive them. This was a rule with Mr. Reily which, in my opinion, made him an exception to any other gentleman I have known who filled that office. He did not usually wait until the witnesses or other persons having money collected in his office would call for it, but would seek opportunities of searching for the claimant, and sending it to him as soon as collected. I mention this as an instance of his scrupulous honesty.

" I have heard it remarked by some of the older citizens of Butler, who from an early day have been familiar with the fiscal concerns of that county, that to Mr. Reily, more than to any other man, was to be attributed the correct and prudent manner in which the fiscal concerns of that county were always managed during the period in which Mr. Reily, to a very considerable extent, had their oversight and management. Such was the care and attention which he bestowed in the discharge of the duties of every office he was called to fill that no one ever complained of his neglecting or omitting his official duties.

" I had the pleasure of an interview with Mr. Reily in the month of March last, at his own residence. I have been uniformly in the habit, since, from the infirmities of age, he has been almost wholly confined to his house, of calling on him on all proper occasions when visiting the town in which he resided. The interview to which I refer was after the passage of the law of the last session of the General Assembly which has called this assembly together. ',Mr. Reily was emphatically a gentleman of the old school. He had his principles and opinions, and was firm in the maintenance of them; at the same time paying due respect and regard to the opinions of others. On the occasion referred to he spoke of his Revolutionary services, and of the proceedings of the convention of 1802. He looked forward with deep interest to the proceedings of this convention, and remarked to me that, although he felt the inconveniences and defects of the present constitution, still he looked forward with some forebodings as to what might be the result of the deliberations of this convention. At the same time that he acknowledged the defects in the existing constitution, he was apprehensive that, amidst the turmoil and excitement of contending parties, the public good might be sacrificed to party feeling, and the organic law of the State despoiled of some of its essential provisions. Mr. Reily, in the ordinary acceptation of the term, was not a partisan. He never obtruded his opinions upon any one. When he formed opinions he maintained them upon all proper occasions with becoming firmness and commendable modesty.

" If I am not mistaken, he was originally attached to the Federal party. My impression is (though in this I may be in error) that at one period he supported the claims of General Jackson for the presidency. It is proper, also, to remark that in his latter years he was attached to the Whig party. But no one ever heard him condemn any man, or set of men, for entertaining and expressing political opinions different from his own. He was perfectly tolerant and gentlemanly in his deportment toward every person with whom he came in contact, amiable and courteous in his manners and in all his social relations. Full of years, honored and respected by all who knew him, he has gone from among us. But his memory will live after him, highly esteemed as he was when living, and revered when dead. Respectable for his intelligence and official qualifications— permit me, Mr. President, to say that, in my estimation, the crowning glory of his life was his spotless purity, his scrupulous honesty, and his unsullied integrity. He lived and died a humble, pious Christian."

Mr. Edward Archbold, a member of the convention from Monroe County, rose and said that, though an entire stranger to the deceased, he joined heartily in the honorable testimonials which had been offered by the

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gentlemen from 'Butler and Warren. He had learned that there were but four or five members of the convention which fram' ed the present constitution of Ohio now living, and that from the time he was returned a delegate to this convention till he came up to this place he had indulged the idea of obtaining the services of some one of these time-honored survivors to preside during the preliminary organization, and perform those duties which were so ably discharged by his friend, the senior member from the county of Wayne (Mr. Larwell). He had thought that while such a thing would constitute an appropriate expression of respect for those honored and honorable representative of the past, it might also reflect a very wholesome influence upon the convention itself.

The resolutions presented by Judge Vance were then unanimously passed, and a copy of them was forwarded to the family of the deceased.

Mr. John Larwell then moved that, as a further testimonial of respect for the memory of the deceased, the convention now adjourn, which was carried.

Mr. Reily was married on the sixth day of February, 1808, to Miss Nancy Hunter, a daughter of Joseph Hunter, who was living in the neighborhood of Hamilton. Mrs. Reily died July 18, 1881. They had three sons and two daughters. Joseph H. Reily, who was born November 8, 1809, was educated at the Miami University. He possessed a natural taste for art, and painted many portraits and landscapes, which are still in thq possession of our older families. He died at Hamilton, on the twentieth day of March, 1849, in the same room in which he was born.

James Reily was born July 3, 1811, and was graduated at the Miami University in 1829. He studied law with John Woods, of Hamilton, and practiced for a while in Mississippi, but went from there to Texas. During the short life of that republic as a separate government, he was sent to Washington as its minister-plenipotentiary. He became a large landholder, and at the beginning of the Rebellion entered the Confederate service. He was killed at the head of his regiment, when leading them at the battle of Bayou Teche, in 1863. He married a niece of Henry Clay, a Miss Ross, who is now also dead.

Robert Reily was born June 1, 1820, and was in mercantile business in Cincinnati. In the war of the Rebellion he was a field officer in the Seventy-fifth Ohio Infantry, doing much fighting, and receiving deserved encomiums. On the 30th of April, 1862, at the battle of Chancellorsville, Reily, who was then the colonel of the regiment, received a severe wound at the close of the day, of which he died on the 5th of May, 1863. His troops had been handled admirably, and there was a universal manifestation of regret at his loss.

Caroline Reily, the oldest daughter, died in infancy. The younger, Jane H. Reily, who was born October 9, 1815, is still living. She is the wife of Lewis D. Campbell, formerly Member of Congress, and one of the most influential men in the nation. A full sketch of him will .be found elsewhere. Mrs. Reily made her home with him and her daughter until her decease.

GENERAL RICHARD BUTLER.

RICHARD BUTLER, after whom this county was named, was born in Ireland. With his brothers, he came to America before 1760, and was for a long time in the Indian trade. Just before the outbreak of the American War he was settled in Pennsylvania, where his courage and knowledge of character made him a man of influence. It was a matter of great importance to persuade the Indians not to take up arms against us, and as agent and interpreter he went to Fort Pitt, in April, 1776, hoping to dissuade the Six Nations from entering the field as our antagonists. They were the most powerful of all the Indian tribes, and had been able to maintain their independence against both the French and English. With the latter, however, they had formed an alliance at the close of the war that added Canada to the British dominions, and, while not unfriendly to the Americans, it was feared that the solicitations of English agents would finally turn them from neutrals into enemies. Mr. Butler met the Indians in formal conference, and during their meetings delivered three speeches, two to Kiosola, the leading Indian chief, and one to the Delawares, who were in a sense subsidiary to the Iroquois. His efforts were for the time successful ; Kiosola declared himself in favor of the Americans, and every thing promised prosperously, but the current of feeling was too strong for the chief, and he and the Six Nations finally drifted into an alliance with the English, a movement which proved in the end fatal. to the confederated tribes.

Butler was made a lieutenant-colonel of the Pennsylvania line at the beginning of the war, and in the Spring of 1777 was lieutenant-colonel of Morgan's rifle corps, which was present at the battle of Saratoga, and distinguished himself by his conduct on several occasions. He was in the battle of Monmouth. While with a detachment commanded by General Lafayette, near Williamsburg, Virginia, on the 26th of January, 1781, he attacked Colonel Simcoe's rangers, gaining the advantage. He held the rank of colonel of the Ninth Pennsylvania regiment at the close of the war, and acted as a commissioner in settling affairs with the Indians at about that time. He took up his residence in Carlisle, where with General Irvine and General Armstrong, and a few others, an agreeable society was formed. In conjunction with these officers, he quelled a mutiny at Fort Pitt.

In 1784 he was one of the United States commissioners at a treaty held at Fort Stanwix, New York. His fellow commissioners were Oliver Wolcott, of Connecticut, and Arthur Lee, of Virginia. It does not appear that they had any particular knowledge of the Indian charm ter, and the bulk of the business fell upon General Butler. New York State sent a commissioner, Peter Schuyler, to

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protect her interests, as the chief portion of the lands which were indisputably in the possession of the Six Nations were within her limits, and for all west of New York a treaty some twenty years old was in existence. The United States commissioners adopted a very high and lofty tone to the Indians, and but for the conciliatory policy adopted by New York in her treatment it is probable an Indian warfare would have broken out, retarding the settlement of Western New York, as, at the same time, Indian troubles did the territory northwest of the Ohio. The Indians advocated their., side at this meeting with much ability.

General Butler subsequently attended at Fort McIntosh, and in September, 1785, left his home in Carlisle to proceed to the Miami, where it was thought desirable a treaty should be made. He kept a journal, which is full of interesting matter. From it we learn that the journey was down the river, and occupied considerable time. James Monroe, afterward President, and then a Member of Congress, accompanied him a considerable part of the way. Three months after starting, at the mouth of the Great Miami, a treaty was concluded between the American commissioners— General Parsons, General Butler, and General Clark—and several tribes of Indians. The honors were with General Butler, who delivered the principal address to the Indians. Tradition has imparted to this scene some startling particulars not to be found corroborated in history.

In 1791 he joined the expedition of St. Clair, tonther with a brother, Colonel Butler. He was appointed second in command, and was charged with the arrangements necessary for the recruiting service. He established a rendezvous at Baltimore, and several points in Pennsylvania. Those enlisted east of the mountains assembled at Carlisle, where they were disciplined and prepared to march for the West. He joined the army at Fort Hamilton, on the 27th of September, and the army was set in motion on the 4th of October, being led by General Butler. They crossed the river by wading. At Fort Hamilton, General St. Clair issued an order prohibiting more than two or three women for each company from proceeding with the army. This, however, was disregarded, and when the men commenced crossing the river they also plunged into the stream, but the water being deep, their progress was considerably obstructed by their clothes. Many of them got out of the water on the artillery carriages, and rode over astride of the cannon.

We have elsewhere given an account of the march to the fatal field where St. Clair's army was destroyed. General Butler had been active and vigilant, and when the attack came, on the 4th of November, fought bravely. He and General St. Clair were continually going up and down the lines. As one of them went up one line, the other was going down the other line. About an hour after the charge made by Major Thlnas Butler's troops, General Richard Butler was mortally wounded, when passing on the left of that battalion. Four soldiers put him in a blanket, and carried him back to have his wounds dressed by a surgeon. They placed him in a sitting posture on the blanket, leaning against a tree. He was vomiting blood at the time. Almost immediately afterward, while the surgeon was examining General Butler's wounds, a single Indian, who had penetrated the ranks of the regiment, darted forward, and tomahawked and scalped the general before his attendants were aware and could interfere.

Such was the end of life to this brave soldier. He came of a patriotic family, three of his brothers having been in the service of the United States, fighting nobly for us. His son has caused his journal to be published ; and the other descendants of the family have filled high stations in Kentucky and Pennsylvania.

GENERAL ST. CLAIR.

ARTHUR ST. CLAIR, once governor of the Northwest Territory, and a soldier of the Revolution, was a native of Edinburgh, Scotland, where he was born in the year 1735. He received a classical education, and afterward studied medicine. He became a surgeon in the British army, and in that capacity crossed the ocean. He served under Wolfe, at Quebec, actively participating in the fighting when that city was taken, and previously being in General Amherst's army, as a member of the Sixtieth British Regiment, at the taking of Louisbourg, in 1758. After the peace with France, in 1763, he was assigned to the command of Fort Ligonier, in Western Pennsylvania, receiving there a grant of a thousand acres of land. In 1771 he was commissioned as, a justice of the peace of Bedford County, and by virtue of his office sat as one of the judges. In 1773, upon the organization of Western Pennsylvania into the county of Westmoreland, Arthur St. Clair was appointed prothonotary, or clerk of the court. St. Clair also represented the Penn family in the western portion of the colony, a highly honorable position. When the war broke out, he espoused the cause of the colonists, and was appointed a colonel of Continentals. In six weeks lje was ready for the field. A month after the Declaration of Independence he was appointed a brigadier-general, and served as such in the battles of Princeton and Trenton. The next year he was made a major-general, and placed in command of Fort Ticonderoga, which, though garrisoned by two thousand men, he abandoned at the approach of Burgoyne. For this action he was charged with incapacity and cowardice, but after a thorough investigation of the circumstances by a court-martial, he was honorablykcquitted, and Congress, by a unanimous vote, indorsed the decision—his action, however unpopular, being justified as a wise one, since an attempt to hold the works must have resulted in defeat, with a useless sacrifice of men whose services were needed elsewhere. He served during the following years in various parts of the country, and was present at

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Yorktown in 1781, at the surrender of Cornwallis. Subsequently, he joined the army of General Greene, in the South, and when the war closed, returned to his home in Ligonier, and engaged in the labors of his farm. In 1786 he was appointed a delegate to the Continental Congress, and was soon after chosen president of that august body. After the passage of an act for the government of the Northwest Territory, he was appointed the governor, coming to Cincinnati, then Fort Washington, and organizing the county of Hamilton, in 1790. In 1791 he commanded the expedition known by his name, which had for its object the punishment of the Indians who lived on the table-land between the Lake and the Ohio River.

General St. Clair," says Mr. Smucker, " received elaborate instructions from General Knox, the Secretary of War, and in April proceeded to Pittsburg to complete arrangements for raising his army and organizing it. General Richard Butler, of Pennsylvania, a gallant officer in the Revolution, who served with honor in Morgan's rifle corps, and was the ranking officer of the Pennsylvania levies, was appointed the second officer in St. Clair's army. He was actively engaged, in the Spring and early Summer, in recruiting. Slowly the troops gathered at Fort Washington and Ludlow Station, six miles distant, when, on the 17th of September, being then 2,300 strong, they marched forward -and built Fort Hamilton, the first in the chain of forts to the Maumee, being distant twenty-two miles from Fort Washington. On the 12th of October they commenced the erection of Fort Jefferson, forty-four mil6s from Fort Hamilton, within the present county of Darke, six miles from Greenville, the county seat. On the 24th of October the march was resumed, the fort having been completed. The commander-in-chief was suffering from sickness, provisions were not abundant, the roads were wet and heavy, the militia were daily deserting, and circumstances generally were unfavorable for a successful campaign, the effective men now numbering only 1,500, not including those that were garrisoning Forts Hamilton and Jefferson and those looking after the deserters and guarding the supply-trains. Such being the condition of things on the evening of November 3d, when the army was encamped on a branch of the Wabash, now in Mercer County, Ohio, within a mile or two of the Indiana State line and in the south-western part of the county, five miles distant from the Darke County line. Here, on the morning of November 4, 1791, was defeated and fearfully cut up the army of General St! Clair by probably about 2,000 Indians, the militia being first attacked, who gave way. The right wing or first line was commanded by General Butler, and the second line by Colonel Darke. The militia under the command of Colonel Oldham had been marched across the small, fordable stream, a. tributary of the Wabash, and encamped on high ground, about four hundred yards distant from the first line, or right wing, commanded by General Butler, and about seventy yards farther from the second line, under command of Colonel Darke.

" The battle commenced early in the morning, and continued three or four hours. General St. Clair was evidently surprised, both as to the time of the attack and as to the strength of the. enemy. He had no idea that the wily savages were present in such overwhelming numbers. In the last personal interview had with President Washington, St. Clair was reminded by him of the character of the enemy he was to encounter, and was, moreover, earnestly and repeatedly admonished against being surprised. No marvel, therefore, at the strong and emphatic expressions and very unusual manifestations of grief and disappointment by the President when hearing of the disastrous defeat of his former gallant and esteemed companion in arms, and of the almost total destruction of his army !

" It may be urged in extenuation that General St. Clair failed, from some cause, to obtain a knowledge of certain facts that were reported to Colonel Oldham and General Butler by Captain Sloo, as the result of reconnoitering outside of the camp until midnight, and which facts were well calculated to raise the presumption of the presence of the enemy in considerable strength. Had the information obtained by Captain Sloo been communicated toromptly to the commander-in-chief he would probably have been more vigilant.

"At about half an hour before sunrise (but after the morning parade), the militia, posted as above indicated and while engaged in preparing their morning meal, were unexpectedly attacked by a large body of Indians, supposed to have been commanded by the infamous renegade, Simon Girty. The distinguished Little Turtle,' however, was chief commander of the Indians An attack upon raw militia under circumstances so well calculated to throw them into confusion was, of course, successful. They made a small show of fight upon the first onslaught, but soon fled (many of them throwing away their arms), ran over the creek and through the first line of the main army, producing there some consternation and disorder. The Indians closely pursued, and in a short time the battle became general, the enemy' being in force sufficient to make simultaneous assaults almost around the entire encampment of St. Clair's army. In General St. Clair's official account of the battle it is stated that the great weight of the enemy's fire was directed chiefly against the center of the first and second lines, where he had placed his artillery, and that his artillerists were repeatedly driven from their positions by the enemy, with great slaughter. Great confusion thereupon ensued, and Colonel Darke was ordered to make a bayonet charge upon the enemy, with a view of turning their left flank. This order was executed with great spirit, and the Indians gave way and were driven back three or four hundred yards ; but, for want of a sufficient number of riflemen

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to pursue this advantage, the Indians soon renewed the attack with much vigor, being probably re-enforced, and Colonel Darke and his troops were in turn obliged to give way and retreat. A similar order, and with the same results, was executed in gallant style by the second regiment, composed of the battalions of Majors Butler and Clark. For several hours these successes and reverses rapidly followed each other, continually resulting, however, in great loss of life, especially among the officers. All the officers of the second regiment were killed or seriously wounded, except three ; and when the artillery was all silenced every artillery officer had been killed except Captain Ford, and he was badly wounded.

" For three hours the battle thus raged, and the conduct of the troops (after the flight of the militia at the commencement) was worthy of all praise. By this time more than half of the army had fallen, and an immediate retreat was decided upon. The remnant of the army was accordingly placed in position to march toward Fort Jefferson; but to get possession of the road leading to that point another bayonet charge had to be made upon the enemy, which was attended with further loss of life. The artillery was all abandoned, of necessity, as not a single artillery horse was left alive. During the entire engagement General St. Clair was in the thickest of the fight, and narrowly escaped with his life, a number of balls having passed through his clothes, and three horses 'being killed under him or as he Was endeavoring to mount them. He left the field at last on a pack-horse, which he had hurriedly mounted after his third horse was shot, just before the retreat was ordered.

" The retreat, of course, was precipitate, a flight rather, the Indians pursuing the routed army for four miles, killing many that were unable, from various causes, to keep up with the main body, which reached Fort Jefferson late in the day.

" Six hundred and thirty men were killed, and two hundred and forty were wounded, not counting civilians, such as wagoners, drivers of cattle, pack-horsemen, and others. Quite a number of women—the wives of soldiers—were also killed or wounded. The proportion of officers lost in this disastrous campaign was unusually large. Among the conspicuous officers killed were General Richard Butler, Colonel Oldham, and Majors Ferguson, Hart, and Clark. Adjutant-general Winthrop Sargent, Colonel William Darke, Lieutenant-colonel Gibson, Major Butler, and the Viscount Malartie (the gen eral's aid-de-camp) were of the wounded Many captains, lieutenants, and other subaltern officers were also killed or wounded.

" At a council of war held at Fort Jefferson on the night of the 4th of November it was decided to return with all due speed to Fort Washington, which point was reached on the evening of the 8th of November, the army leaving Fort Jefferson at ten o'clock at night, soon after the prompt return to Fort Washington was determined upon, and marching all night.

" The principal tribes which General St. Clair's army encountered were the Delawares, Miamis, Shawnees, Wyandots, and Ottawas, with some Chippewas, and Pottawattomies. The number of warriors in the battle has never been ascertained ; their estimated strength generally ranges, however, between one thousand and three thousand. General St. Clair in his special report stated that he was overpowered by numbers ; that in a few minutes after the attack his whole camp, which extended above three hundred and fifty yards in length, was entirely surrounded and attacked on all quarters.'

" General St. Clair made an official report of his engagement with the Indians to the Secretary of War, General Knox, under date of November 9th, and on the 12th of December that officer communicated its substance to Congress.

" General St. Clair, aware of the public odium that rested upon him, asked of the President the appointment of a court of inquiry to investigate his conduct. This was not deemed expedient ; but a committee of Congress was appointed, on motion of Mr. Giles, of Virginia, to consider the subject, who, after maturely deliberating upon the matter referred to them, reported that the causes of the failure of the expedition were the delay in preparing estimates for the defense of the frontiers and the late passage of the act for that purpose ; the delay caused by neglect in the quartermaster's department; the lateness of the season when the expedition was commenced ; and the want of discipline and experience in the troops.' The report concluded with a full and complete exoneration of General St. Clair from all blame in relation to every thing before and during the action.' In commenting upon his honorable acquittal of all blame by the committee of Congress appointed to inquire into the causes of the failure of the expedition, and of the concurrence therein by the Secretary of War, as given in a report to Congress, Judge Marshall, in his Life of Washington, remarks with his usual felicity of manner, that more satisfactory testimony in favor of St. Clair is furnished by the circumstance that he still retained the undiminished esteem and good opinion of President Washington.'

" Notwithstanding the foregoing facts, which were highly favorable to him, General St. Clair became very unpopular with the unthinking, inconsiderate masses, and continued to be a greatly maligned patriot. He had been defeated, and that was sufficient with the ignorant, the thoughtless, and with superficial thinkers and those of limited knowledge of the facts of the case, to bring down upon him, all over the country, one loud and merciless outcry of abuse, and even detestation.' The undoubted patriotism, unflinching courage, and eminent services to his country of General St. Clair were worse requited by his countrymen, and his reputation held

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further below his real merits by them, than was the case with any other of the many gallant chieftains who appeared upon the fiery theater of Western Indian warfare. If our Western history furnishes a parallel to it, it is . presented in the case of Captain Michael Cresap, with whose reputation his countrymen have also dealt with exceeding harshness ; and I might place General William Hull in the same category."

General St. Clair held the office of territorial governor until 1802, the year after the transference of the capital from Cincinnati to Chillicothe, when he was removed by President Jefferson. The reason of his removal is stated by Judge Burnet to have been dissatisfaction caused by his seeming disposition to enlarge his own powers and restrict those of the territorial legislature, which was manifested in his veto of nineteen out of thirty bills passed at its first session. Judge Burnet, in his favor, adds : " He not only believed that the power he claimed belonged legitimately to the executive, but was convinced that the manner in which he exercised it was imposed on him as a duty by the ordinance, and was calculated to advance the best interests of the Territory." While in the public service General St. Clair had neglected his private interests, and at the close of his official career he returned to Ligonier, in Pennsylvania, poor, aged, and infirm. The State of Pennsylvania granted him an annuity, however, a few years afterward, which comfortably supported him during the remainder of his life. He was a man of superior ability, fair scholarship, and of unquestionable patriotism and integrity. He is described as having been, while in public life, plain and simple in his dress and equipage, open and frank in his manners, and accessible to persons of every rank. His family consisted of one son and three daughters. Arthur St. Clair, the son, was many years ago a prominent lawyer in Cincinnati, and was the first prosecuting attorney of Butler County. One of the daughters also lived here for many years. Robert Clarke & Co., of Cincinnati, are about to publish the papers of General St. Clair, which have been in possession of the State of Ohio for years, and justice will then be done to his memory. The volume will be edited by William Henry Smith, of Chicago, and will contain a copious biography.

ISRAEL LUDLOW.

ISRAEL LunLow, an early surveyor of the Northwest Territory and the founder of the town of Hamilton, was born at Long Hill Farm, near Morristown, New Jersey, in 1765. His ancestors were English, and emigrated to New Jersey from Shropshire, England, to escape persecution on the restoration of Charles the Second, the Ludlows having been actively identified with the cause of the parliament and prominent in the affairs of the commonwealth. The head of the family at that period, Sir Edmund Ludlow, was one of the judges who passed sen tence of death on Charles I, became lieutenant-general of Ireland under Cromwell, and, banished after the restoration, died an exile in Vevay, Switzerland. Israel Ludlow was appointed, in 1787, by Thomas Hutchins, surveyor-general of the United States, who was " assured" of his " ability, diligence, and integrity," to survey for the government the boundary of the large tract of land purchased in this neighborhood by the New Jersey association, of which Judge John Cleves Symmes was principal director. He accepted the appointment, and received his instructions, with an order for a military escort to protect himself and assistants during their performance of the work. But the military posts on the western frontier had no soldiers to spare, and General Joseph Harmar, then in command of the forces in the Northwest Territory, advised Mr. Ludlow of the impossibility of giving his expedition an escort, at the same time warning him as to the danger of attempting the survey, without such protection, among the hostile tribes of the Ohio wilderness. But, being a man of great energy, Mr. Ludlow undertook the task, and, keeping up friendly intercourse with the Indians, they did not molest him or hinder his operations. In 1789 he became one-third partner, with Matthias Denman and Robert Patterson, in the proprietorship of the lands about Fort Washington, and is claimed to have given the present city of Cincinnati its name, in honor of the Society of the Cincinnati, composed of officers who had served in the Revolutionary war, of which his father, Cornelius Ludlow, was a member. He began, in the year just mentioned, the survey of the town—a plat of which he placed on record. There was a controversy about its correctness, one having been previously made and recorded by another person ; but the community soon became satisfied that the plat prepared and certified by Mr. Ludlow was the correct one. Ludlow Station was established in 1790 near the north line of the original town, a block-house having first been built for protection, the Indians at that date being exceedingly hostile and dangerous. In the Summer of 1791 General Arthur St. Clair's army encamped at and about the above-named station, previous to its march into the Indian territory. It was not until 1792 that Mr. Ludlow, then known as Colonel Ludlow, completed his survey of the Miami Purchase; but, having done so, in May of that year he made a full report of the survey, together with a report of all the expenses incidental thereto, which was accepted by Alexander Hamilton, then Secretary of the Treasury. Colonel Ludlow was subsequently the founder and sole proprietor of Hamilton, having surveyed its town plat in 1794.

There had been considerable competition for the location of the county seat, and Colonel Ludlow made several stipulations, which were not entirely filled, however, at the time of his death.

In 1795, in company with Generals St. Clair, Dayton, and Wilkinson, he also founded the present city of Day-

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ton. After General Wayne's treaty with the Indians at Greenville, in the same year, Colonel Ludlow was appointed to survey the boundary line between the United States and the Indian Territory. This was a work of great danger ; but it was of the highest importance that the boundary should be established ; and, as no military escort could be furnished, he undertook the task, and, with only three backwoodsmen as spies to give warning of danger, he accomplished it. Colonel Ludlow married Charlotte, daughter of General James Chambers, of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, November 10, 1786. He left four children,—James C., Sarah B., Israel L., and Martha.C. Ludlow.

THOMAS IRWIN.

THIS name should be preserved as that of one of the earliest pioneers. Thomas Irwin was born in the county of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in the year 1768. His father was in humble circumstances, and in 1782 set out for the western frontier of Pennsylvania. Land was held so cheaply there that any one could get it, and Mr. Irwin took up a tract near Washington, Washington County, Pennsylvania. The boy aided his father in clearing up the farm there purchased, and remained with him until he was twenty-one years of age, when he set out for the West.

In company with James. Burns and another neighbor, he journeyed to Pittsburg, where a small flat-boat was bought, in which the party intended floating down the Ohio River. They set out on their voyage on the last week in March, 1789, and at Wheeling were joined by a family which had intended going on to Kentucky with them. Becoming frightened, however, they refused to proceed, and Mr. Irwin and his companions )vent on without them. They had reason for apprehension. The Indians were in the habit of shooting at the travelers, which they could do with impunity, as the boats offered a very distinct mark, and those who fired at them did so under the shelter of the trees and bushes on the shore.

Two of those who had started with Irwin left him at Limestone, and he and Burns proceeded on their voyage down the stream. Arrived at Columbia, they spent some time in examining the place, which had just then begun. There were a number of families living there, in a very exposed situation, scattered over a wide extent. Eight miles further down there was another small settlement, opposite the Mouth of the Licking River, but offering no superior advantages. As they wished to see it, they took their guns and went overland, through bushes and thickets, till they reached a double shanty, occupied by seven men, most of whom had been employed the previous Winter in surveying Symmes's purchase. This was the first improvement made in Cincinnati, and these persons were the first settlers of Cincinnati. Joel Williams, an agent of the owners, was also there, and he encouraged the two young men to stay and become residents place, which they determined to do. Both Burns and Irwin purchased lots.

The first hewed log-house was erected by Robert Benham, and Irwin and all the men in the settlement helped to put it up. It was situated near Front and Main. The settlers at that time had to depend chiefly upon the hunters for their meat. Irwin went frequently on these excursions, and much improved his knowledge of hunting thereby. No Indians were visible at this time. Mr. Irwin, three months after arrival, accompanied one of the settlers, Mr. Kitchell, up stream, in a boat which had been built at the infant settlement, after a tedious time arriving at Wheeling, and then going to his father's house in Pennsylvania, where he remained until the following year. In the Summer of 1789 Major Doughty descended the Ohio River from Fort Harmar, at- the mouth of the Muskingum, with one hundred and forty men, and began the construction of a fort at the settlement opposite the mouth of the Licking. This structure, known as Fort Washington, was one of the best forts of wood ever built in the West. Josiah Harmar, who had borne arms with credit as a colonel during the Revolutionary War, was commissioned as brigadier-general, and assigned to the command of the Western army, in 1789. He arrived at Fort Washington with three hundred men, on the twenty- ninth day of December in that year. The continuance of Indian hostilities and depredations on the infant settlements of the West determined the general government to make an effort to terminate the war by marching an army into the Indian country, and attacking the enemy on their own ground. A call for volunteers and a requisition or draft of militia from the States of Pennsylvania and Kentucky were made for the contemplated expedition, under the command of General Harmar, against the Indians. Major James Paul, of Uniontown, Pennsylvania, raised a battalion of volunteers, which was joined by Thomas Irwin. He belonged to the company under the command of Captain Faulkner, who had been an officer in the War of the Revolution. Mr. Irwin was elected ensign, and Mr. Hueston lieutenant. They descended the Ohio River in boats, in December, 1790, landing at Fort Washington on the 19th. The principal object of the expedition was to destroy the Indian villages at and near the confluence of the St. Joseph River and St. Mary's River, where they unite and form the Maumee, near where Fort Wayne was afterward built. Colonel Hardin took the advance, and marched to Turtle Creek, a short distance west of where the town of Lebanon now is, and there encamped, General Harmar following with the main body, four days later. His force consisted of three hundred and twenty soldiers of the regular army, forming two battalions, commanded respectively by Majors Wyllys and Doughty, and a company of artillery under the command of Captain Ferguson, with three brass pieces, and eight hundred and thirty-three volunteers and militia of the from Pennsylvania and Kentucky.

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The army followed the trace made by General George Rogers Clark with his army in his expedition against the Indian towns in October, 1782, as far as the Piqua towns. The route pursued was through what is now the northeast part of Hamilton County, then by Lebanon, Xenia, and Mad River. The expedition was successful in one of its objects, that of burning the Indian town at the forks of the Maumee, and after this began sending out small parties to harass the Indians.

But a different fate awaited some of them. On the 18th of October a detachment of three hundred men was sent out with a view of seeing what discoveries they could make. Ensign Irwin was with this body, as was also Captain John Armstrong, afterward commandant at Fort Hamilton. They returned at sunset. The next morning the same troops were ordered out, and were placed under the command of Colonel Hardin. During the day they found numerous fresh tracks of Indians, who appeared to have been making a hasty retreat. Colonel Hardin was so eager for pursuit that he immediately started out with the principal portion of his troops, in such a hurry that he neglected to communicate his movements to Captain Faulkner, who was stationed at one side, and out of sight of the others.

The captain, however, discovered it soon, and followed. They had not gone far before they met Major Fontaine, who had returned to inform them of Colonel Hardin's movements. They were moved on at a quick pace, but in a short time met two of the mounted men, riding at full speed., having each a wounded man behind him. They called out "Retreat! retreat! The main body in front is entirely defeated, and there are Indians enough to eat us all up." Captain Faulkner and his men, however, moved on until they gained an elevated piece of ground, when they discovered our troops in rapid retreat, the Indians in close pursuit, shouting and yelling like demons. The party to which Ensign Irwin belonged halted and formed a line on each side of the trace, and secreted themselves behind trees, intending to give the Indians a fire when they came up. The officers of the defeated party stopped when they reached where Captain Faulkner was, and remained in that position until all the retreating troops had passed by. When the Indians came up, the small party on either side of the trace gave them a fire, which checked them for a moment, and the detachment then slowly retreated, covering the fugitives. The latter continued coming into camp until twelve or one o'clock at night. It seemed that the Indians had set a trap for our troops, and we were caught in it.

After destroying every thing practicable, the army set out on its return march on the 21st of October. A few men were left to watch the proceedings of the Indians. They reported to Colonel Hardin the same night, and said that the Indians had returned to their camp, and were engaged in hunting for buried provisions. Colonel Hardin, inflamed with a desire to allow his troops to distinguish themselves, and wipe off the stigma they had incurred a few days before, determined to attack the Indians. Ensign Irwin and seven men volunteered from Captain Faulkner's company. The troops were divided into two parties. Major Fontaine, who was in advance, stumbled upon a small number of men, who shot him as he sat upon his horse. This gave the alarm. The fight soon became general ; the Indians fought with the greatest bravery and resolution, and stubbornly maintained their ground. At length, however, they yielded, and retreated. Our loss was great, but if the forces had been larger, it was the general opinion we should have inflicted upon them a lasting chastisement. In this engagement there were killed, on the American side, one hundred and seventy-eight, and twenty-one were wounded. The number of Indians killed could never be ascertained, but Mr. Irwin was of opinion that their loss was very heavy.

An affecting incident occurred at the place of crossing the river. A young Indian, with ids father and brother, was crossing the river, when a ball from the rifle of a white man passed through the body of the young Indian. The old man, seeing his boy fall, dropped his gun, and attempted to raise his son, in order to carry him beyond reach. At this moment his other son was also shot at his side. The old man drew them both to the shore, and then sat down between them, and with fearless composure awaited the approach of the pursuing foe, who soon came up, and killed him also.

Duncan McArthur, formerly governor of the State of Ohio, who was in this battle, relates the following circumstance, which tends to show the cool, undaunted courage of Mr. Irwin. While his company was covering the retreat of the troops, and slowly retiring before the fire of the enemy, the strap which held his powder-horn was cut from his shoulder by a ball. As soon as he missed it, he turned about, ran back several paces in the full face of a considerable body of the enemy, secured his powder- horn, and then again joined his companions in their retreat. He was soon again observed to halt and commence picking the flint of his gun. McArthur, who was close by him at the time, addressing him, said : "Damn it, come along ; the Indians are upon us." Irwin coolly replied: " I want to get one more shot before I leave them."

The army took up its line of march for Fort Washington the day after the battle, arriving on the third day of November. The Indians pursued them, in sight of the army, almost the whole distance, without, however, committing any serious depredations. As soon as the army arrived at the fort, the militia were disbanded and dismissed, and General Harmar left soon afterward for Philadelphia, the seat of government. After the disbandment, Mr, Irwin remained in Cincinnati during the ensuing Winter and Summer.

While in that city, an attack was made upon the settlers at Dunlap's Station. Two or three hundred Indians

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surrounded the fort, and began firing at those within. Cox, afterward one of the first to take up lands in Union Township, happened to be out hunting in that neighborhood, and being satisfied in his own mind as to the cause, went to Cincinnati, and informed Governor St. Clair. A volunteer force of twenty-five or thirty men, of whom Irwin was one (being in Cincinnati at the time), turned out immediately. The same number of men were taken from the regulars, the whole being placed under the command of Captain Truman; and about twenty volunteered to go from Columbia the next morning The Indians had, however, left before the troops reached the station. Two of the savages were found lying dead, as well as a white man, named Hunt, whom they had captured the day before.

About the 1st of September, 1791, Thomas Irwin joined St. Clair's army. He was engaged as one of the wagoners who had charge of the gun-carriages for transporting the cannon. The army moved from Ludlow's Station on the 17th of September, and marched, under the command of Colonel William Darke, to the Great Miami River, striking it about half a mile below where the court-house now is, in' the city of Hamilton. There were two companies that had charge of the artillery wagons, Mr. Irwin belonging to one of these companies. They lay at this camp until the fort was built, or at least so far completed as to be in a condition to receive a garrison.

We have sufficiently described the events of the campaign elsewhere, and shall only mention those matters which particularly concerned Mr. Irwin. At the disastrous defeat he was posted near the artillery, which was in the center of each wing, and against which the great weight of the attack was directed. The enemy, impelled to vigorous exertions by all the motives which operate on the savage mind, rushed up boldly, tomahawks in hand, to the very mouths of the cannon, and fought with the daring courage of men whose trade is war. The artillerymen were driven from their posts with great slaughter, and two pieces were captured by the enemy. Shortly after, Colonel Darke charged the Indians with bayonets, and drove them out of their coverts with consternation. The artillery was retaken, and the Indians driven across the creek out of sight, when the colonel gave the order to march back. This they did through the mass of Indians, those they had driven back following and keeping up a deadly fire in their rear. When they arrived where the artillery and baggage-wagons stood, they found them in the possession of the Indians, and surrounded by them in great numbers. By this time there were not more than thirty of forty of Colonel Darke's command left standing : the rest had been shot down, and were either killed or wounded. To avoid this fate for the remainder of the men, the little band charged again, and at the same time a charge was made on the other side by the battalions commanded by

Majors Butler and Clark. It was successful, and the artillery was again retaken. General St. Clair ordered up the whole train of artillery in order to sweep the bushes with grapeshot ; but the horses and artillerymen were soon destroyed by the terrible fire of the enemy before any effect could be produced. As fast as the artillerymen were shot down they were replaced by men from the infantry, but with no avail.

The men fell in every portion of the camp. No more hotly contested action was ever fought. The ground was covered with the bodies of the dead and dying ; the freshly scalped heads were reeking with smoke, and in the heavy morning frost (as one who was present expressed himself) looked like so many pumpkins in a cornfield in December. The little ravine that led to the creek was literally running with blood. The men were evidently disheartened.

Under these circumstances, General St. Clair determined to save the lives of the survivors, if possible. The troops were massed, and by a charge regained the road from which they had previously been cut off. Thomas Irwin was near the front when the retreat began, but for some reason was delayed, and fell nearly in the rear. The savages were in full chase, and scarcely twenty yards behind him. He exerted himself to place a more respectable distance between himself and the pursuing foe, although it required considerable caution to avoid the bayonets of the guns which the men had thrown off in their retreat, with the sharp points toward the pursuers, great numbers of men having thrown away their arms, running with all their might. The Indians pursued them about four miles.

The battle began half an hour before sunrise, and the retreat commenced about ten o'clock. They reached Fort Jefferson a little before dark.

In the month of December following, Mr. Irwin having received his discharge, left Cincinnati, and returned to his father's residence in Washington County, Pennsylvania. The next April Mr. Irwin again descended the Ohio River to Cincinnati, and in January, 1793, was married in Cincinnati, by Justice William McMillan, to Miss Ann Larimore. He remained there a few years, when he removed to this county, buying land in the neighborhood of Blue Ball, Lemon Township, where he resided until the time of his death. As the country was entirely new, he had much work in clearing up the trees, and erecting the necessary buildings.

In the war of 1812 he served a tour of duty of six months as a major in the Ohio militia, under the command of General John S. Gano. The regiment in which Major Irwin served was commanded by Colonel Henry Tumalt. After the expiration of his term of service he returned to his home, in March, 1814. This closed his active military career, but shortly after he was elected a colonel, and commanded a regiment of militia, which gave him the title of colonel, by which he was uniformly called.

92 - HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY.

In October, 1808, Mr. Irwin was elected a member of the State Senate of Ohio, to which he was successively reelected until his whole term of service was twelve years, or until the year 1820. In the Fall of 1824 he was chosen to the Lower House of the Legislature from Butler County, and served in that body one session. In 1823 he was elected a justice of the peace for Lemon Township, holding the position for nineteen years. He always discouraged strife, and invariably counseled a peaceful settlement of any matter brought before him.

Colonel Thomas Irwin died on Sunday evening, October 3, 1847, aged eighty-one years. On the succeeding Tuesday his remains were interred with military honors by the Monroe Guards, in the burying-ground of Mount Pleasant, a little north of Monroe. He died a consistent Christian, having been an elder in the Associate Reformed Church from 1805. He was a man of exemplary habits, an affectionate father, and an irreproachable citizen.

SAMUEL DICK.

OUR country owed much of its rapid development to those who came here from foreign lands to seek their fortunes. Among these, in proportion to its size, Ireland has been the most prolific. Fully one quarter of our population have some Irish blood in their veins. Among these hardy immigrants was Samuel Dick, a native of the county of Antrim, where he was born on the 21st of April, 1764. His parents, who were in a respectable position of life, died when he was quite young, and left him to the care of some relatives. In the Spring of the year 1783, being then nineteen years of age, he sailed from Belfast for America. Two of his brothers were settled in Baltimore, where they had been selling goods, but on his arrival they proposed to take him into partnership, and establish themselves in business in Gettysburg. He refused this offer, although they were well-to-do and he was poor, for he had resolved to carve out his own fortunes. He went, however, with his brothers to Gettysburg, with the intention of going to school that Winter ; but only a few days after his arrival he met some one who wished to have brandy distilled from apples. Mr. Dick was somewhat acquainted with the process, and offered his aid. It was accepted, and in this same employment he remained all Winter, being well compensated.

The next Spring the young man crossed the Alleghanies, and among other things he engaged to teach the son of Mr. George Gillespie the art of distilling. This necessarily brought him much about the house, and in frequent intercourse with the family, which resulted in an intimate and lasting friendship. Mr. Gillespie had a daughter, Martha, of comely figure and good disposition, whom Mr. Dick admired very much. One day her father treated her rather harshly, and in a fit of exasperation she said she would accept the first respectable man that offered. Mr. Dick was close by, and said to her, laughingly, " Here is your man." In the end what was said in a joke was taken in earnest, and he married her in 1785. They lived in great harmony together until her death, at the homestead on Indian Creek, in 1833.

The place where he was residing at the time of his marriage was Washington County, Pennsylvania ; but in 1790 he concluded to go farther West, taking his wife and two children with him. He purchased a lot in the new settlement of Cincinnati, on which he erected a house. He opened a grocery, and occasionally was engaged in forwarding provisions and supplies for the troops at Fort Hamilton and other forts in the interior. He afterward kept a tavern in the house where he resided. He was one of those who went forth to the relief of Dunlap's Station, when it was attacked, and also saw Harmar, St. Clair, and Wayne each march out on their respective expeditions.

At an early period he became the purchaser of a section of land containing six hundred and forty acres, lying on the head-waters of what is now known as Dick's Creek, adjoining the Butler County line, in Warren County. The United States lands west of the Great Miami River were first brought into market in the year 1801. At the first sale Mr. Dick bought six hundred and forty acres in the rich bottom of Indian Creek, in the present town of Ross, where he removed the next year. On this land he spent the remainder of his days, bringing up his family in great respectability.

Mr. Dick was one of the grand jurors in July, 1803, at the first session of the Court of Common Pleas of Butler County. At the general election in October, 1803, he was elected a member of the House of Repre'sentatives of the State of Ohio that met at Chillicothe, on the first Monday of December in that year. He served in the Legislature during that session, but ever afterward refused to permit his name to be used for office.

He died at the house of his son-in-law, Judge Fergus Anderson, in Ross Township, on the 4th of August, 1846, aged eighty-two years; and was buried beside his wife, in the burying-ground at Bethel Chapel. He was a man of high moral principle, thorough and painstaking, prompt in his engagements, and full of sagacity. His business undertakings were successful, and he amassed a considerable fortune. During a great portion of his life he was a member of the Presbyterian Church, and in his will bequeathed a legacy to the one in Venice, which he attended.

He left five sons and four daughters. George, who married Jane Anderson; David, who married Judith Bigham ; Samuel ; James; Elizabeth, who married Joseph Wilson ; Jane, who married John Wilson ; Mary, who married Fergus Anderson ; Martha, who married James Bigharni and Susan, who married Thomas J. Shields.

JAMES SHIELDS.

THIS gentleman was a native of the north of Ireland. His parents were in moderate circumstances. He was

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born in the year 1763. He received the rudiments of the Latin and Greek languages at a classical school in his native land, and completed his education at the University of Glasgow. He had a quick and retentive memory, a sound, discriminating judgment, and a heart formed for friendship and benevolence. Possessing a mind so capable of receiving and retaining instruction, and enjoying the advantage of well-qualified tutors, it need not be wondered at that he laid a deep and solid foundation for future improvement. He had an extensive acquaintance with every branch of useful knowledge. With natural, civil, and ecclesiastical history, and with law, physic, and divinity, he obtained a very general acquaintance. Few men possessing knowledge so various and extensive made so little display of their attainments or so reluctantly acknowledged the extent of their acquisitions.

Having early imbibed an ardent love of liberty, with an unconquerable aversion to priestly and royal domination, he resolved to leave the land of his birth, and to cast in his lot with the sons of freedom in the United States. He landed in this country in 1791. He spent a short time in the State of Pennsylvania, after which he removed to Virginia. In this State he spent thirteen years in cultivating his own mind, and in the useful and honorable employment of instructing youth. In 1804 he married Miss, Jane Wright, daughter of Mr. James Wright, of Berkeley County, Virginia. In 1805 he removed to Morgan Township, in this county, where he had previously purchased land. He began farming in the midst of a dense forest, surrounded by few settlers, and these entire strangers. It must be confessed that from the natural disposition and former habits of Mr. Shields, he was little qualified for this course of life. But while he was reasonably successful in his undertaking, he speedily rose to a commanding influence among his fellow- citizens, that must have recompensed him for the failure to reap great pecuniary success. His immediate neighbors soon discovered that they were blessed with a friend of superior acquirements, and they uniformly looked up to him for counsel, but never in vain.

He was successful in political life. He never took a step, wrote a line, or dropped an expression to obtain preferment, yet the public demonstrated their conviction of his superior worth by sending him to the State Legislature for a period of nineteen years. He was chosen a presidential elector, and for the last two years of his life was a member of Congress. Each and all of the duties incumbent upon these stations were discharged with the utmost punctuality and regularity, and although, when Congress assembled for its second term, the disease had begun which finally carried him off, he would not allow himself to be absent from any session. His duty was to be there, and he was there.

Mr. Shields was a man of the highest moral character. During his long residence in Morgan Township all with whom he had any intercourse knew that he would never approach a dishonorable action. His word was, in all cases, his bond, and his declaration in regard to facts which he had witnessed was never disputed. He was uniformly abstemious in eating and drinking. In pecuniary transactions he would rather suffer loss than contend with a neighbor. His conduct was uniform. He was never seen at any convivial party, without a special call on important business ; and wherever he was, in his family, on his farm, in a party of friends, or in public company, his conduct strictly conformed to the rules of moral rectitude.

He was an enlightened and firm believer in revealed religion. Few men have studied the subject more diligently. He had read, not only those brief and ephemeral attacks on Christianity which are at all times to be found, but also those more learned and elaborate works of Herbert, Hobbes, Bolingbroke, Hume, Gibbon, Voltaire, Volney, and Rousseau. He was a man who made up his opinion on evidence, and consequently read the answers to infidel publications written by Leland, Halyburton, Leslie, Watson, Paley, Beattie, Campbell, Chalmers, Dick, and others. His religious opinions were strictly evangelical and orthodox.

He was warmly attached to the Bible Society, Sabbath- schools, missionary societies, the American Colonization Society, and every other institution which had for its object the illumination, liberty, and happiness of men. To establish a Sunday-school in his immediate neighborhood he exerted all his influence ; and while he refused the superintendence of the school he most cheerfully became a teacher, and the diligent, profitable, and agreeable manner in which he taught was not soon forgotten by those who had the privilege of being his scholars. He was never absent, never late in attendance. He attended public worship regularly.

James Shields died on the 13th of August, 1831, after a lingering sickness. He had returned home from Washington, with extreme difficulty, and from the day of his arrival was generally confined in bed. He did not lose his cheerfulness, although his sufferings were great. He left an affectionate wife and twelve children to lament their loss.

THE WAR OF 1812.

THE second war with Great Britain was a very important one to us. Without saying, as do some historians, that England had never given up her hopes of forcing us to come back until after 1815, it is clear that there were many questions upon which, if successful, she could have ordered matters to suit herself. Her fleets could have filled the Northern lakes ; Oregon would have been hers, as well as a Arip of more than one hundred miles wide running out to the Rocky Mountains;

94 - HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY.

Maine would have lost her northern frontier, and the Indians would have threatened us for the next quarter of a century. Here, in Butler County, a success to Great Britain meant an army marching down to Cincinnati, and devastation by the Indians all through the western part of Ohio. Happily, we were victorious.

The declaration of war was immediately followed by the raising of troops in Cincinnati, Dayton, Franklin, Middletown, and Hamilton. There were at least eight companies from this county, or chiefly from this county, but it is impossible to give a list of them. Their muster- rolls are decaying in some garret, or have before this been used as kindling The customary term of enlistment was for six months, and several of the later companies embraced men who had been out before. The disastrous experience of the American army at the beginning of the Revolutionary War had not taught our authorities its rightful lesson, and we had again, at the opening of the Rebellion, to be shown that troops enlisted for short periods are of very little value. When some slight experience is gained, their term is up, and it is time to go home again.

The best known of those who went out from this county was Joel Collins, who had been a soldier in the Indian wars, and was then settled in the township of Oxford.

In organizing the militia of the county, previous to the commencement of hostilities with England, two rifle companies were ordered to be made up by voluntary enrollment, one out of the militia residing on the east, the other out of the militia residing on the west side of the Miami River. Collins himself enrolled as a private soldier under Captain William Robeson, who had been elected to command the company on the west side of the river. Captain Robeson was, however, shortly after promoted to a brigade-major, and the company then chose his lieutenant, John Taylor, to be their commander. He died in 1811, and Joel Collins was elected his successor. His commission bore date the 16th of May, 1812, giving him the rank of captain of a rifle regiment; he was attached to the first battalion, second regiment, third brigade, and first division of Ohio militid. In the Spring of the year 1812, General James Findlay, who had command of the third brigade, in preparing to join Hull's army, sent an order for the two rifle companies in Butler County to parade in the town of Hamilton on a given day, and the company which should have the largest number of volunteers on the ground would have the honor of being taken into the service and attached to Findlay's regiment. General Findlay acted in the capacity of a colonel in the expedition, under General Hull. Unfortunately for Captain Collins, as he thought at the time, many of his men were prevented from appearing, being unable to cross the streams of water, that day flooded by the torrents of rain which had fallen the night previous, and Captain John Robinson, who resided on Dick's Creek, Lemon Township, who commanded the other rifle company, received the appointment. Thus a kind providence (though much against his own will) permitted Captain Collins and his men to escape the disaster by which the first army of the North was overtaken. They, however, held themselves in readiness for the next call. It was determined, in the course of the Summer, to furnish the army on the northern frontier with an additional number of troops from Ohio. The counties of Hamilton, Clermont, Warren, and Butler were to make up one battalion, the counties farther north to make up another, the two to compose one regiment. Early in August he received orders to march with his company to the town of Lebanon, in the county of Warren, the place appointed for the rendezvous of the troops from the counties first named Accordingly he gave notice to the men composing the rifle company to parade in Hamilton on the tenth day of August, 1812, and a company ninety-two strong, including officers, was on the ground that day, a muster-roll of which was then made out, and was in his possession for many years. It is as follows :

MUSTER-ROLL OF CAPTAIN JOEL COLLINS'S VOLUNTEER

COMPANY OF RIFLEMEN.

Captain—Joel Collins.

Lieutenant—Ephraim Gard.

Ensign—John Hall.

Sergeants—Jeremiah Gard, David Sutton, Joseph Haines, John Price.

Corporals —Zachariah Parrish, Joseph Douglas, George Sutton, Jacob Gard.

Musicians—Hays Taylor, Henry Thompson.

PRIVATES.

John Malone,

Samuel Gray,

William Smith,

Isaac Watson,

Nicholas Woodfin,

John Shields,

Henry Jones,

Andrew Smith,

Benjamin Pines,

Joseph McMahan,

Jacob Gates,

William Rainy,

Jacob Rinehart,

Andrew Lintner,

Jacob Dickard,

William Teagard,

James Anderson,

James Martin,

George Teagarden,

George Beeler,

Silas Owens,

Samuel Stephens,

George Boyers,

Peter Garver,

Joseph Price,

Patrick Sullivan,

Samuel Steel,

Samuel Simpson,

James McNeal,

John Hyde,

Samuel Malone,

John Smiley,

Richard Scott,

John Simmons,

Thomas Stephens,

John Sackett,

Vincent Dilcoe,

William Sullivan,

William Heath,

Thomas Howard,

John Harper,

William Sutton,

Andrew Woods,

John Isaacs,

John Stonebraker,

John Bone,

Archibald Starks,

Eber Watson,

Geo. Kirkpatrick,

John Smiley,

John Deneen,

Jacob Garver,

Jacob Kerr,

James Cooper,

Wm. De Camp,

James Kerr,

Joseph Wickard,

John Thompson,

Joseph Welliver,

Isaac Rutledge,

Robert Crane,

Moses Gard,

Robert Orbison,

Philip McGonigle.

Samuel Thompson,

Chris. Mosteller,

Robert Taylor,

David Smith,

Robinson Newkirk,

James Smiley,

Alexander Steele,

John Brown,

Simeon Broadberry,

William McMannis,

James Broadberry,

Jacob Salmon,

Thomas Wilson,

John McKinstry,

Paymaster Torrence wrote to Major-general John S. Gano, concerning them as follows :

John Scott,

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" FORT HAMILTON, August 17, 1812.

" SIR :—Captain Collins has agreed to meet the detachment at Lebanon, as you wished. I promised to them payment of his company about ten o'clock. He has really one of the finest companies I ever saw ; somewhere about one hundred strong. They are as fine, cheerful a set of fellows as can be well placed in exercise. Whatever is offered to them, they are ready and willing to march when and where they are wanted. I expect to be in Cincinnati to-morrow. They have some tents, and are preparing more. They expect orders from you for marching. I am, sir, respectfully,

" Your obedient servant,

" GEORGE P. TORRENCE."

They then marched to Lebanon, where they were joined by three other rifle companies, under Captains McMeans, Leonard, and Hinkle, a company of artillery, under Captain Joseph Jenkinson, and a company of light infantry, under Captain Matthias Corwin. The commissioned officers met in the evening, and elected Captain Joseph Jenkinson major. The command of his company devolved on Lieutenant Gibson. Thus organized, they next day took up their line of march for Urbana, making quite a formidable appearance. But before reaching the town of Dayton, they received the news that Hull and the whole of his army were made prisoners by the enemy, and that the British, with their Indian allies, were rapidly advancing upon the frontier settlement of the State.

At Urbana they were joined by the second battalion, under the command of Major James Galloway, of Xenia. The commissioned officers of these battalions elected David Sutton, of Warren County, to command the regiment. Colonel Sutton had raised a company, and gone out with the first army as a captain, had been sent into the interior by General Hull, for the purpose of transacting some business connected with the army, and was with Jenkinkinson's battalion on his return, when they received the intelligence of Hull's surrender.

General Hull, who was an old and esteemed officer of the Revolutionary army, was in command of the forces on our frontier. Being without proper support, and without provisions, he surrendered his troops to the British, on the 16th of August, 1812. A storm was immediately raised about his head, he was court-martialed, and his countrymen mentioned his name, for years, with only less detestation than that of Benedict Arnold. So strong was the feeling of patriotism which pervaded the country at that time, that it appeared as if every able-bodied man, whether old or young, who could possibly raise a horse and gun, was on the move for the frontier, and in a few days a large and promiscuous multitude were collected in and about Urbana. But they were without leaders, and knew not what to do.. At length Governor Meigs and General Tupper, with other leading characters, appeared on the ground, with the agreeable news that General

Harrison was coming on to take command. Harrison was then governor of Indiana Territory, and had been invited to Frankfort, Kentucky, by Charles Scott, governor of Kentucky, to consult on the subject of defending the northwestern frontier. Governor Scott, on the 25th of August, 1812, appointed William Henry Harrison major- general of the Kentucky militia, which appointment he accepted. This measure, although complained of by some at the time, appears to have answered a good purpose. The supposed defection of General Hull had implanted a spirit of suspicion and distrust in the minds of both officers and men, and some of them were not slow to express themselves unwilling to enter the service under the command of any but a man of acknowledged patriotism, and who possessed at least some experience in the art of war. The year before he had gained a brilliant victory over the Indians at the battle of Tippecanoe. The appointment of General Harrison, therefore, seemed to be a measure called for by the public feeling at the time. On the seventeenth day of September following the President of the United States appointed General Harrison commander-in-chief of all the troops in the Northwestern Territory.

Governor Meigs gave orders for tke troops to spread out for the protection of the frontier. It was deemed proper, in making arrangements, to divide Colonel Sutton's regiment ; and Major Jenkinson, with his battalion, was ordered to file to the left, by way of Troy and Piqua, in the direction of Fort Wayne, while the colonel, with Galloway's battalion, joined the troops destined to form the center line, and took up his line of march in the direction of Fort McArthur. Soon after Jenkinson's arrival at Piqua, General Harrison, with two or three regiments from Kentucky, appeared on the left wing, and assumed the command.

Major Jenkinson called a meeting of his captains, soon after, and informed them that he had orders to send one company as an escort of a train of wagons on their way to Fort Wayne ; one company to act as road-cutters, to open a wagon-way along Wayne's old trace from Fort Loramies to St. Mary's; and another company to relieve a company of militia from Ohio, stationed at Loramies; the remainder of the battalion to remain at Piqua for further orders. Major Jenkinson permitted the captains to decide the matter by lot, as to what company should be assigned to each particular duty. Tickets were accordingly prepared, and placed in a hat. On drawing them out, it fell to the lot of Captain Collins and his company to open the road. They performed that duty in about eight days, and were directed to remain in their last encampment. One night, about ten o'clock, while they were lying at that place, Lieutenant Nathaniel McClain came to them, as an express, to inform them that Captain Corwin's company, which was acting as an escort to twenty wagons loaded with valuable supplies for the army, was encamped about three miles

96 - HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY.

in their rear ; that there was good reason to apprehend that a party of Indians intended to make an attack on the escort before morning ; and that Captain Corwin wished Captain Collins to re-enforce him with as many men as he could spare. Captain Collins soon had his company on parade, and was obliged to make a detail of men to remain and keep their own camp, for every man wanted to go to the relief of his comrades. Captain Collins, with more than half his company, moved off in quick time. Lieutenant McClain led the way, he being mounted on a horse furnished him by the wagoners. When Captain Collins arrived at the camp, Captain Corwin was himself going the rounds, relieving his guards, at that part of the line of sentinels which they first reached. He informed Captain Collins that a considerable number of the Wabash Indians (who pretended friendship for the whites) had visited the settlements in the neighborhood of Piqua, with the expectation that the inhabitants would afford them maintenance through the Whiter. But our army needed all the spare provisions, and the people, after these Indians had been among them a few weeks, became tired of them, and insisted on their returning to their own homes. They had left in rather an angry mood, two or three days before the departure of the wagons for Fort Wayne. It was also reported to him, by some of his men, that Indians had been seen in the dusk of the evening near his encampment, apparently in the act of spying out his position. Besides, it seemed reasonable to suppose that the contents of the wagons afforded a strong temptation to a band of starving savages, who, they had every reason to believe, were within striking distance, and who knew that they were loaded with the provisions they so much needed. He had thrown out a guard sufficiently strong to form a close chain of sentinels entirely around his encampment, at least one hundred and fifty paces in advance of the wagons. It was decided that out of the re-enforcements now arrived, a second chain of sentinels should be made fifty paces in advance of the first line. Accordingly, Captain Collins proceeded to place at that distance one of his men opposite to each space between the sentinels of the first chain. While in the performance of that duty, Collins heard the snap of a musket, nearly in the direction he was going.

" Hail, sentinel I "

"Who comes there?"

" Captain Collins, on his way placing out another line of sentinels."

" Good Lord! If my musket had not missed fire, you would have been a dead man."

" Call the sergeant to go round and let the guards know of this arrangement."

Here was an error committed for want of thought. A notice of the plan adopted should have been given to the sentinels before its execution commenced. Mr. Collins, however, said he could not well censure Captain Corwin for not performing that duty or making the sug gestion, as he claimed to outrank him because of his age and experience, though it was a military blunder that had nearly cost him his life.

The encampment was not disturbed by the Indians during the night, but in the opinion of those experienced in Indian warfare, it was believed that the care and vigilance of the escort in guarding against a surprise prevented them from making the attempt. It will be recollected that these same Indians shortly afterward became so hostile and took such a decided part against the whites that a regiment of six hundred men, composed of a few regulars, a volunteer company from Pennsylvania, and some militia from Kentucky and Ohio, were sent out under the command of Colonel Campbell of the regular army, to drive them from their towns and destroy their habitations. But before the colonel could finish, the Indians collected in great numbers, and gave him battle. Colonel Campbell and his men, however, being on their guard and well prepared, succeeded in repulsing the enemy, with the loss, on his part, of some fifty men in killed and wounded.

There are many well known instances where the Indians have abandoned a meditated attack because they could not find the white people off their guard, and therefore could not take them by surprise. Now, if Colonel Campbell of the standing army has justly received the applause of his countrymen for saving himself with the loss of fifty men killed and wounded, there can be no impropriety in thinking well of a young militia captain who, by his own care and the vigilance of his men, saved all without losing any thing.

The hostile Indians on the Wabash and Illinois having thrown themselves under the protection of the British, General Winchester left a small garrison for the protection of Fort Wayne, and moved with his army down the Maumee. In the mean time, General Harrison had received his commission of major-general in the regular army of the United States. He had ordered Colonel William Jennings to join General Winchester at old Fort Defiance, at the mouth of the Auglaize River, with a large drove of beef cattle and other army supplies. Colonel Jennings was advised of the probable time at which General Winchester would arrive at Defiance, and was ordered not to advance nearer than ten or fifteen miles without having certain intelligence that the army had arrived there. Our spies, however, discovered that old Fort Defiance, at which they were to form this junction, was occupied by the British and Indians, at least three days after the time set for General Winchester's arrival there. This intelligence was immediately communicated by express to the commanding general at St. Mary's, who ordered that the troops at that place should forthwith be supplied with three days' rations, and an additional supply of gun-flints and ammunition ; and by three o'clock in the afternoon of the same day, Colonels Poage's and Barbee's regiments of Kentucky volunteers, Colonel Sim-

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rall's regiment of dragoons, Garrard's troop of horse (also from Kentucky), and Captain Collins's company of riflemen, from Butler County, Ohio, amounting in all to upward of two thousand men, were put in motion on a forced march, to ascertain what had become of General Winchester ; the light horse in front, Captain Collins's company of riflemen forming the rear-guard. The troops marched on at a quick step in this order until it became dark, when a halt was called. General Harrison, in riding round to form the hollow square, ordered Captain Collins to fill up with his company the space in the rear line, between the two Kentucky regiments of infantry, and to throw out a guard sufficiently strong to protect his own front. At the break of day next morning, the bugles sounded, and they were again in motion. Shortly after sunrise it commenced raining, and continued to rain hard all day. But they pushed on, without making a single halt, until four o'clock in the afternoon, when they arrived at Jennings' encampment, at the mouth of the Little Auglaize. The men, being burdened with heavy packs and drenched in the rain, had a most fatiguing and disagreeable day's travel. Toward evening it was observed that numbers of the Kentuckians were lying by the way-side, entirely exhausted and unable to proceed. Many of them were young gentlemen who had been delicately raised, and were unaccustomed to hardships of this kind. Captain Collins, and Ensign John Hall of his company (being originally from Kentucky), were rather disposed to sympathize with them ; Lieutenant Ephraim Gard, of the company, when he came to where any number of them had given out, would sing out at the top of his voice, "Hook up, my rugged sons of Ohio, these brave Kentuckians will soon be able to relieve the rear guard." As further provocation, some of the riflemen would spring up and strike their heels together, as they passed. General Harrison was informed by an express, which met him at Fort Jennings, that the enemy had retreated, and that General Winchester, with his army, now occupied the ground at Fort Defiance. He thereupon gave orders that the regiments of Colonels Barbee and Poage, and Captain Collins's company of riflemen, should remain at Fort Jennings until f'urther orders, and he continued his march for Defiance On the next morning, Colonel Jennings (with whom Captain Collins had been acquainted in Kentucky, and to whom he had reported himself on the previous evening) came to where Captain Collins's company were encampel, and inquired for some men called mounted rangers (a small company of whom had been for some time in the employ of the army as spies), stating that General Harrison had informed him that some of those men were in the rear, and would be up that night ; and left orders that one or two of them should be sent with two friendly Indians to ascertain whether the enemy in retreating had not taken the direction of Fort Wayne. Captain Collins was unable to give him any account of the men inquired for. Colonel Jennings appeared to be much disappointed, and expressed his fears that the general would not receive the needful information in time. Captain Collins told him that rather than that should be the case, if the general had left no orders for the disposition of his company, he would, if furnished with a good horse, go With the Indians, make the examination, and report to the general that night. This offer was readily accepted.

A horse and saddle were soon provided for Captain Collins As soon as he was mounted Colonel Jennings brought to him the two Indians and James Conner, an interpreter. The Indian guides were young men, said to be brothers, belonging to a tribe residing on the Auglaize River. They were directed to pilot Captain Collins to a point on the Maumee River, six miles above old Fort Defiance. One of the guides, through the interpreter, requested Captain Collins to remove a handkerchief which he had tied on his head, and by all means to keep his hat on ; for there was danger of their being taken as belonging to the enemy and fired on by the Kentuckians. Captain, Collins took the hint, and complied with the request. The Colonel ordered him to satisfy himself by a careful examination whether the enemy had or had not evaded the army of General Winchester, and were still on their march for Fort Wayne. They then started on their journey, and after they were clear of the encampment the elder of the two guides gave Captain Collins to understand that, while they would be careful to keep the proper course, the other man and Collins were to keep a good lookout in every direction, intimating that there was danger of their falling in with the enemy. By pushing their horses as fast as they were able to go, they arrived at Maumee River, above Defiance, a short time before night, and by the time they had made an examination sufficient to satisfy themselves that the enemy had not taken that direction, it commenced getting dark. Captain Collins being much fatigued, and observing that the horses needed rest and time to feed, proposed that they should encamp for the night ; but the guides insisted that they could find the main army that night, and by signs gave him to understand that it was not more than four miles distant. Accordingly, they hurried on, and about nine o'clock came in hearing of horse-bells, upon which the guides halted ; and when Captain Collins came up, one of them, placing his mouth close to Collins's ear, said, in a low voice :

" Hallison, Hallison."

" Yes, yes," Collins replied, " General Harrison is here ; come on ;" and took his position in front of the guides. It was so dark that they were unable to see each other. They, however, soon came to a piece of rising ground which brought them in full view of the fires of the encampment, which extended down the river as far as they could see. When they came to where they supposed they were near the chain of sentinels, the Indians commenced hurrying their horses by a peculiar kind of

98 - HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY.

language, mixed with coughing and whistling, sufficiently loud to apprise the guards of their approach. In a short time they were hailed by a sentinel, not more than twenty paces in advance of them.

" Who comes there ?"

" Two friendly Indians and a white man who have been out spying by order of General Harrison. Can we pass ?"

" Well, I suppose you may go along."

In the same manner they hailed at the guard-fire, and were permitted to pass into the encampment. This want of vigilance grew out of the necessity there was for permitting the horsemen to pass out and return through the chain of sentinels, for the purpose of procuring grass for their horses. At length they came to where they heard quite an animated and apparently warm conversation, which seemed to be going on in a marquee near the center of the encampment. Among the voices engaged Captain Collins readily recognized that of the commanding general ; upon which he dismounted, leaving his horse in the care of the guides.

On General Harrison coming out, Captain Collins made himself and his business known to him. General Harrison expressed some surprise at seeing him there, and inquired what he had done with his company. To which Captain Collins gave an explanation, and was about to report the discoveries made by him as a spy, when General Harrison interrupted him by saying that the enemy had left the neighborhood and retreated down the river some five or six days before. At the request of General Harrison, Captain Collins went with him to his marquee.

The next morning Captain Collins was ordered by General Harrison to retrace his steps to Fort Jennings, take command of his company, and return to St. Mary's, where they went into Winter quarters and remained until their term of service expired, in March, 1813, when they were discharged and returned to their homes. While Captain Collins and his company remained at St. Mary's, some of the officers in command of the Kentucky troops, who were continually passing and repassing, stated to a part of his company, who were on detached duty, that they knew Captain Collins from a boy, and that if ever he came in contact with the enemy they would find him to be " a fighting man "

Some of the Kentuckians at times felt themselves at liberty to charge the Ohioans with cowardice in not rushing to the relief of Fort Wayne when it was besieged by the enemy. This produced a high feeling, and often occasioned words. But as it was known that Captain Collins was on the line, and had the command of a rifle company from Ohio, there were a few old officers among the Kentuckians who were not slow to make an exception in his favor. Every member of the rifle company from Butler County, at the expiration of their term of service, returned home in safety, without a scar. They had not the fortune to be ordered into battle ; consequently, they returned unencumbered with those laurels and high honors which some imagine can only be obtained on the battle-field. Still it is justly claimed for them that they did good service in opening roads, making water-craft to transport supplies down the St. Mary's River, and pushing on provisions and other needful supplies for the use of the army. They did their duty by promptly performing any service that was required of them by those in command.

Immediately after Mr. Collins returned home, in 1813, he received the appointment of captain in the standing army of the United States, and was ordered to proceed to Cincinnati and enlist men for the service. He soon had twenty-three men enlisted, when he was ordered to rendezvous at Franklinton. He left Hamilton in company with Lieutenant Alexander Delorac early in the month of October, and proceeded to Franklinton, where they remained about a month, when they were ordered to Sandusky, and from thence to Detroit, where he was stationed for some time. On the 4th of March, 1814, he was appointed to the command of the force at Sandwich, in Canada, and proceeded to build the fort at that place. He was also, for a short time, commander of Fort Malden, in Canada. He was afterward ordered back to Detroit, where he took command of the place, and continued in the service until the close of the war in 1815, when he retired from the army with credit and honor to himself. He then returned to his farm in Oxford Township. During the time Captain Collins was in the army he disbursed considerable sums of money on account of the government, and when he retired from the service his accounts were promptly closed, and a small balance found due to him from the government by the accounting officers.

In a letter received by Mr. McBride, Joel Collins, in relation to citizens of Butler County who served in the War of 1812, wrote :

" Brigadier John Wingate, with his brigade major, William Robeson, served a tour of six months' duty in the army of the northwestern frontier. Colonel James Mills, with his regiment, assisted in defending Fort Meigs during both the times it was besieged by the enemy. Captain John Hamilton was wounded and Lieutenant Harper was killed in Dudley's defeat at the river Raisin. I saw Colonel Thomas Irwin at Detroit in the Winter of 1814. He had with him at least two companies from Butler County. I regret being unable to recollect the names of his captains and other officers. I saw passing through Detroit, in the Summer of 1814, a company of mounted riflemen from Butler County, under the command of Captain Zachary P. Dewitt, of Oxford Township. They had volunteered to accompany General McArthur, who that Summer made an incursion into the enemy's country with about five hundred mounted volunteers. They met and dispersed some of the advanced parties of the enemy engaged in collecting supplies near the center

THE WAR OF 1812 - 99

of the province of Upper Canada, at a place called Ramsours' Mills.

" In making up the officers of the Twenty-sixth Regiment of United States Infantry, four lieutenants were selected from Butler County, to wit : Robert Anderson, Alexander Delorac, John Hall, and Anderson Spencer. Lieutenant Anderson was early sent on with the first recruits. He volunteered at Lower Sandusky, and served with distinction as an officer of marines in the naval force on Lake Erie. Lieutenant Delorac marched with me to Fort Malden in Upper Canada, and did faithful service in that region. He was my messmate, and a most agreeable companion. I understood that the other gentlemen were ordered to the Niagara frontier, and remained in the service during the war."

Captain John Robinson commanded a company from the neighborhood of Hamilton. He was a large, jovial, good-natured man, who lived after the war about four miles north of Hamilton. The colonel of the regiment was James Mills. The lieutenant of Robinson's company, which was in the First Regiment, Third Brigade, and First Division of Ohio militia, was William Shafor, who survived the war for sixty-five years, at the time of his death being the oldest man in Butler County. He preserved his muster-rolls, commission, and order-book, and kept a diary for most of the time. It seems to be unfinished. Each of the soldiers received an advance of ten dollars, the ensign of twenty, the lieutenant of thirty, and the captain of forty dollars.

Lieutenant Shafor's diary is as follows :

" February 6, 1813, rendezvoused at Fort Hamilton. Engaged in the United States service for the term of six months in a company of Ohio militia commanded by Captain John Hamilton, First Regiment, Third Detachment, and started the 17th instant for St Mary's, arriving there the 27th. We were then ordered to Fort Logan.

" March 1st, myself and a part of the company were ordered to Fort Wayne, to escort pack-horses with provisions.

" March 7th, arrived there.

" On the 24th we returned to St. Mary's.

" On the 26th we arrived at Fort Logan.

" April 9th, we were ordered to Amanda, and on the same night started to Fort Jennings, arriving there on the 11^th.

" On the 12th we went to Brown, and on the same night to Defiance, and on the 14th to Camp Meigs.

" On the 27th the enemy made their appearance on the other side of the river, and saluted us with small arms. The compliment was returned with one or two cannon.

" The 28th, they came in the same manner.

" On the 29th, in the morning, they crossed the river, and saluted us on every side.

" On the 30th they began to fire on us early in the morning, and wounded some slightly and one mortally, who died in a few days.

" On the night of the 30th they began to cannonade.

" May 1st, it was continued all day warmly on both sides, but not much damage done. Two were killed and a few wounded.

" Sunday, May 2d, the British played on us more warmly than the day before. No great damage was done. Three were killed and a few wounded.

" On the 3d they began early, and kept it up all day very warmly, and killed and wounded more than any day before. A memorandum of the balls and bombs shot by the British on the 3d is said to be five hundred in the day and thirty-three in the night, besides the Indians shooting all the time all around us, and yelling like wolves night and day.

" May 4th, it began to rain before day, and continued till about eight o'clock, during which time the firing ceased. When the rain stopped, the firing began,' and was kept up all day. Not much damage was done. Some were wounded, but it is not known to me how many.

" May 5th, a severe engagement took place on both sides of the river. Colonel Dudley's regiment from Kentucky landed on the north side of the river, and advanced down to the British batteries, driving them away and spiking their cannon, but was by a superior force obliged to retreat. They suffered greatly. Out of the whole regiment there were only one hundred and fifty or Sixty who came in. The number of prisoners is not yet ascertained.

" On the 6th there was a cessation of arms. Harrison sent a flag of truce to get liberty to bury the dead. The British refused to give the privilege unless General Harrison would give up the fort.

" On the 7th they came over with a flag, and brought a list of names and number of prisoners, which was three hundred and fifty. The number of British prisoners was forty-two. They were sent home on parole for thirty days.

" On the 8th our prisoners were sent home on parole during the war.

" On the morning of the 9th the British struck their colors and left their batteries.

" On the 10th myself and a part of the company volunteered to go out to assist in hunting the dead and burying them on the south side of the river. The number I do not know.

" On the 11th myself and a part of the company volunteered, with a number of Ohio and Kentucky troops, to cross the river to gather the dead. The number found was about forty-seven.

"June 7th, an express came to Camp Meigs that Queenstown was taken, upon which our batteries opened four rounds of cannon as a rejoicing.

" June 20th, we got word that the British were coming to see us again.

100 - HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY.

" July 2d, a party of men left Camp Meigs to go to Defiance, but were attacked by a party of Indians. Two were found dead; the rest were all missing, except one, who got back to the fort. He said they were all killed and taken prisoners.

" July 19th, Captain Patrick Shaw and his company of Ohio militia of the First Regiment, Third Detachment, marched from Camp Meigs to Portage, there to remain until further orders.

" On the night of the 20th July, 1813, the enemy was discovered at the old fort.

" On the morning of the 25th the Indians attacked the wood-guard, which was sent out at reveille, and killed five or six, and then continued firing on the garrison all day, doing no damage.

" The 23d, there were one hundred regulars, one hundred and twenty Ohio militia, and some spies sent out to search the woods for batteries, but found none. There appears to be a great stir among the enemy ; but what their intentions are we can't tell.

" On the 26th the enemy began firing about four hundred yards from the garrison, and kept it up twenty minutes or more, which alarmed the garrison very much. Thinking that General Harrison was coming with a re- enforcement and was attacked, officers and men were very anxious to go to their assistance. General Clay assured us that it was a sham to get men out ; there were no reenforcements so soon.

" On the 28th the enemy set sail. From the appearance of their craft they were very numerous."

Several of the soldiers died on the march or in encounter with the foe. Among them were James Harper, May 5, 1813 ; Samuel Colby, May 21st ; Samuel Colbey, May 21st; John Byram, May 27th; Robert Van Vickie, July 2d ; Abraham Huffman, July 15th ; John Cain, corporal, July 17th. Others deserted. Among these were James Carlisle and John Morton. The property of these men was sold and the proceeds turned over to the relatives, who gave Mr. Shafor receipts. Here are some of the prices that the articles brought:

Blanket, $2.50 ; pantaloons, $1.15 ; shirt and pantaloons, $2 ; hunting shirt, $2 ; handkerchief, 6kc. ; vest, 25c. ; hat, $1.87; ; socks, 50c.; shoes, 75c. ; knapsack, 25c.; pair of mittens, 31i-c. ; flannel shirt, 25c. ; cup and spoon, 311c. ; fine comb, 18/c. ; comb, 18/c. ; roundabout, $3.50; surtout coat, $5 ; linen pantaloons, 25c..; woolen pantaloons, $1; belt and knife, 12'c. ; overalls, 75c. ; seven twists tobacco, 30c.

Mr. Shafor records in his book the orders received, and other official papers. On the 17th of June J. H. Hawkins, acting adjutant, issued an order to the troops by authority of General Green Clay. Colonel Miller was thanked for the ability and thoroughness with which he had discharged his duties. The commandants of the Ohio and Kentucky regiments of militia were instructed to cause their respective commands to be exercised each day at least four hours by companies in the manual exercise, marking time, facings, wheelings, etc. From opening of the gates until seven o'clock of the morning, bathing and swimming would be allowed, and after this it would not be permitted. Swimming to the opposite shore was positively forbidden. At four o'clock e,-,7y morning four men from each company were to be permitted to pass the sentinels, accompanied by a commissioned officer, to gather fruit and salad, the men to go out and return by twelve o'clock. One gill of whisky would be issued daily to each man returned fit for duty. Those returned on the sick list would be furnished at such time and in such proportions as the surgeons might deem proper, for which whisky would be lodged with the hospital stores. The officers were earnestly recommended in every case to pay the strictest attention to the cleanliness of their men. Saturday the men were to be permitted to wash their clothes.

On the 24th of June Adjutant Hawkins issued an order permitting the men to fish.

On the 25th the commanding general made known a letter from the Secretary of War, saying :

" The President has been pleased that I should communicate to you, and through you to the troops composing the garrison of Fort Meigs, his thanks for the valor and patriotism they displayed in the defense of that post, and particularly to the different corps employed in the sorties made on the 5th instant (May)."

The general adds that he is persuaded the gallant troops which served at Fort Meigs will duly appreciate the approbation of the chief magistrate of their country, and that it will prove a stimulus to future exertions.

The Fourth of July was observed. Orders were issued to the troops as follows :

" The general announces to the troops under his command the return of the day which gave liberty and independence to the United States of America, and orders that a national salute be fired under the superintendence of Captains Gratiot and Cushing. All the troops reported fit for duty shall receive an extra gill of whisky, and those in confinement and those under sentence, attached to this corps, be forthwith released, and ordered to join their respective corps. The general is induced to use this lenity alone from the consideration of this ever- memorable day, and flatters himself that in future the soldiers under his command will better appreciate their liberty by a steady adherence to their duty and prompt compliance to the orders of their officers, by which alone they are worthy to enjoy the blessing of that liberty and independence, the only real legacy left us by our fathers. The court martial now constituted in this camp is hereby dissolved."

It is one of the most difficult things in war to keep up the standard of health., Officers, as well as men, neglect an attention to details which is necessary for that purpose. This difficulty was met at Fort Meigs. General

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Harrison declared that he was mortified that the police of most of the corps was still very deficient. He adds :

" Will the officers never learn that attention to the health and comfort of the men is, perhaps, the most important and most honorable of their duties, and that the neglect of this is certain to bring along with it contagion and disease infinitely more destructive than the sword of the enemy ? The general assures the officers that future neglects of this kind will not be passed ever. The lives of the soldiers are too precious to be trifled with. The commandants of corps are directed to make an extra separate weekly report to the genera], personally, of the state of their commands as regards police, particularly noting those officers who are attentive to and who neglect this sacred duty. The former will be applauded, whilst the latter will be taken from his commands and made to exchange situations with such of the recruiting officers as are now longing for an opportunity to distinguish themselves."

A reward of eight gills of whisky was shortly after given to the best shot, and four gills to the next best. This was to encourage marksmanship.

The following is the muster-roll of the company:

MUSTER-ROLL

Of a Company of Infantry Militia under command of Captain John Hamilton, of the Third Detachment of Militia from the State of Ohio, now in the service of the United States, commanded by Lieutenant-colonel James Mills, from the sixth day of February, 1813, when first mustered to continue in service, until the sixth day of August, 1813.

Captain—John Hamilton.

Lieutenant—William Shafor.

Ensign—James Harper.

Sergeants—John Haynes, Adam Stonebreaker, Levi Hall, Ebenezer Budge.

Corporals--John Shortman, John Miller, John McCloskey, Eli Davis.

Musicians—Joseph Blosorn, Abraham Huffman.

PRIVATES.

Robert Vansickle,

John C. Newhouse,

Thomas Wear,

Joseph Frazer,

David Conger,

Abraham Squier.

Everet Vansickle,

Christian Stine,

SUBSTITUTES.

A number of the men did not go out, but appointed substitutes. They are as follows :

Benjamin Berry, substitute for L. Hull.

Christopher Kiger, substitute for Joseph Blosom.

Thomas Gregory, substitute for Jacob Rush.

Enoch Galloway, substitute for A. Squier.

William Price, substitute for John Brinley.

John Wells, substitute for Shobal Vail.

James Wynn, substitute for B. Blew.

John Martin, substitute for Jeremiah Johnson.

David Vinnedge, substitute for John Bridgeford.

John Immick, substitute for David Donan.

Jacob Miller, substitute for G. Stonebreaker.

Warner Windsor, substitute for G. Iseminger, Jr..

Thomas W. Spencer, substitute for William Martin.

John McCain, substitute for B. Goble.

James Dickey, substitute for L. Leffer.

Samuel Bowles, substitute for William Riddle.

Samuel Chambers, substitute for J. C. Newhouse.

Mark Briney, substitute for D. Conger.

Alexander Fleming, substitute for N. Curtis.

Samuel Fleming, substitute for P. Muchner.

Robert McCain, substitute for S. Robbins.

James Heaton was appointed clerk of the regiment February 8, 1813, and Samuel Bayles was appointed adjutant the 1 lth of February.

The next muster-roll, formerly in possession of Lieutenant Shafor, is dated May 31st. Upon it appear the names of James Carlisle, Winthrop Emerson, Thomas Spencer, Benjamin Stone, John Wells, and Warner Wynn. Eli Davis was fourth sergeant, Nicholas Bailey first corporal, John Cain third corporal, and John Porter fourth corporal. Christopher Kiger was left sick at Amanda ; John Martin had deserted at Hamilton, February 17th ; Robert Jordan was appointed brigade quartermaster at St. Mary's, April 7th ; James Heaton was appointed brigade quartermaster at St. Mary's, April 7th ; Samuel Bayles was appointed adjutant, February 1 lth ; Benjamin Stone was appointed sergeant-major, February 16th; John Wells was appointed quartermaster's sergeant, February 16th ; John Bailey deserted from Fort Logan, April 8th ; and James Carlisle died, May 21st, at-Camp Meigs. At the time of making out the roll four non-commissioned officers and nineteen privates were present fit for duty ; the lieutenant, four non-commissioned officers, and seventeen privates were sick, present ; two privates were sick, absent ; eight were on detached duty and on extra service ; four men had been promoted ; the captain was a prisoner ; the ensign was missing ; two had deserted, and two were dead. This made a total of fifty-three, against eighty-one on their original roll. It afterwards appeared that Ensign Harper, who was reported missing, was dead.

Lieutenant Shafor was tried for sleeping on his post. The charge was not substantiated, but the discipline

William Dodd,

Geo. Iseminger, Jr. ,

Joseph Abbot,

John Craig,

William Martin,

John Thompson,

Jacob Rush,

Robert Jordan,

George Russel,

David Squier,

Benoni Goble,

Stephen Scudder,

John Brown,

Moses Rush,

Henry Thomas,

Thomas Johnson,

Solomon Leffer,

John Fuster,

John Brinley,

Thomas Street,

Nicholas Curtis,

Shobal Vail,

William Street,

John Porter,

Benjamin Blew,

John Keller,

Benjamin Stone,

William Anthony,

Leonard Selby,

Philip Muchner,

Benjamin Wynn,

Ezekiel Vannote,

Samuel Robbins,

Joseph Denny,

James Barcalow,

John Bailey,

Daniel Clark,

Joseph Hincle,

Henry Frazer,

Jeremiah Johnson,

James Heaton,

Samuel Coleby,

John Bridgeford,

William Robinson,

Silas Anderson,

John Byram,

John Hunter,

Nathan Corbin,

David Donar,

Joseph Powers,

Charles Stuart,

Geo. Stonebreaker,

William Potts,

Daniel Baker,

Peter Brozune,

Nicholas Bailey,

Arthur Parks,

Philip Hawk,

William Riddle,

John Pierce,

102 - HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY.

which prevailed at the time must have been very free and easy.

The charge was sleeping on his post, while officer of guard No. 3, about three o'clock of the night of the 6th of July, 1813, and suffering his men to sleep on their posts also. The court was composed of Captains Shaw, Hatfield, McKune, and Engle, Lieutenant Hopkins, and Ensigns Spence and Culp; judge advocate, Samuel Bayles.

Colonel Anderson, the complainant, was sworn. He testified that on the night of the 6th, after going the grand rounds, between eleven and twelve P. M., going a second time at two, o'clock, or thereabout, in passing the blockhouse where Lieutenant Shafor had charge of the guard, the sentinel hailed faintly. He then asked the sentinel where the officer of the guard was ; receiving answer that he was asleep or sleeping. The sentinel then asked : " Shall I wake him?" and made some attempts to do so. Colonel Anderson told him he need not, but to tell him, after waking, that the officer of the day had been there, and had found him asleep. He saw no one about the guard but what was asleep, excepting the sentinel. He did not see the officer of the guard himself, or if he did see him he did not know him.

Benjamin Stone, the sentinel, said that between two and three o'clock the night of the 6th he hailed the officer of the day, who gave the countersign. Stone then called to the sergeant to parade the guard. The officer of the day said it was not worth while to parade the guard, but tell the officer of the guard that the officer of the day had been there. He called his officer twice, but received no answer.

Question by the Court. " Do you know whether the lieutenant was asleep or not?" Answer. "I do not. He arose immediately after the officer of the day was gone. There was no noise that could have awakened any person after the colonel went away before, the lieutenant rose."

Q. "How far were you from the lieutenant when he arose?" A. " About one rod and a half."

Q. " How far were you from the officer of the day when you hailed him?" A. " About two rods."

Q. " Did, or did not, you hail loud enough for a man to hear, that was not asleep ?" A. " I can not

tell."

Q. "Was your hailing Colonel Anderson louder than his answer ?" A. " I think the answer was the loudest."

John Johnson, the sergeant of the guard, heard Colonel Anderson tell the sentinel that he need not parade the guard, but tell the officer of the guard that the officer of the day had been there. Sergeant Johnson did not know whether Lieutenant Shafor was asleep or awake at the time in question.

John Collins testified that he was on guard that night with Lieutenant Shafor, sitting up nearly all night. He did not find him asleep at any time. He had' heard the questions of the officer of the day, and the hail of the sentinel.

After deliberation, the court-martial found Lieutenant Shafor not guilty of the charge, and unanimously acquitted him.

Lieutenant Shafor's commission read as follows :

COMMISSION.

"THOMAS KIRKER, Speaker of the Senate, now acting as Governor and Commander-in-chief of the State of Ohio, to WILLIAM SHAFOR, EsQ., greeting:

"Know you, That from the special trust and confidence which is reposed in your fidelity, courage, activity, and good conduct, I have, by virtue of the power vested in me, appointed you, the said William Shafer, lieutenant to a company of militia in the second battalion, first regiment, second brigade, first division, Ohio militia, and do, by these presents, commission you accordingly, with all the privileges thereunto appertaining. You are, therefore, carefully and diligently to discharge the duties of lieutenant as aforesaid, agreeably to law, and such instructions as you shall from time to time receive from your superior officers and the commander-in-chief.

"In witness whereof, the said THOMAS KIRKER, HOW acting as Governor and Commander-in-chief of the State of Ohio, hath caused the great seal of the State of Ohio to be hereunto affixed, at Chillicothe, the 19th day of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seven, and of the independence of this State the fifth.

"THOMAS KIRKER.

"By the Governor,

"Attest: WILLIAM CREIGHTON, JUN., Secretary of State." This has endorsements :

" STATE OF OHIO, Butler County.—Before me, Daniel Strickland, justice of the peace, came William Shafor, and took the oath of a lieutenant in a company in the second battalion, second brigade, first regiment, and first division of Ohio militia, and took the oath to support the Constitution of this State and of the United States.

" Given under my hand, this 15th day of February, 1813.

" DANIEL STRICKLAND, J. P."

The other indorsement is his discharge :

" BUTLER COUNTY, 88.-I do hereby certify that I have this day accepted the resignation of William Shafor.

" Given under my hand, this eighth day of April, 1815.

"THOMAS IRWIN,

" Col. 1st Reg't., 3d Brigade, 1st Division, of Ohio Militia."

In Liberty Hall, a newspaper of Cincinnati, May 13, 1812, we find the following account of John Robinson's company :

"SPIRIT OF BUTLER COUNTY.

" Agreeable to general orders, the company who volunteered from the third brigade of the first division of Ohio militia, commanded by Captain John Robinson, who have manifested their zeal and attachment to our govern-

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ment by making a tender of their services in the cause of our country and its rights and privileges, met at Middletown, in the county of Butler, on Monday, the 27th instant, for the purpose of marching to the general rendezvous at Dayton. On that occasion, and to manifest an approbation of the courage and integrity of those brave volunteers, the citizens of Middletown and its vicinity, animated with that spirit which the government, freedom, and privileges of the American people ought always to inspire, came forward and gave a liberal and elegant breakfast to the corps on the morning of the 28th instant, before they proceeded to march. The subscribers, the Rev. Matthew G. Wallace and Mr. William Bigham being present, were invited to partake with the corps. The repast being ended, an appropriate address was delivered by Mr. Wallace to the corps before they left the table, and concluded with a prayer well adapted to the occasion. The greatest attention and good order prevailed amongst the soldiers and numerous crowds of citizens who attended the scene ; after which the volunteers took their station to march, with the greatest spirit and composure; and being impressed with a just sense of the zeal and patriotic spirit manifested by the people, and as an acknowledgment to those worthy citizens, and the ladies in particular, who contributed such attention and the most extreme exertion to accommodate and accomplish such a noble and generous act, the subscribers thought it their duty to communicate the same to the public prints, as a testimonial of the gratitude we feel toward such generous and noble actions.

" WILLIAM ROBESON, B. M. ,

" THOMAS IRWIN, M. ,

" JOIIN WINGATE, B. G. "

MIDDLETOWN, April 28, 1812."

At a respectable meeting of citizens of Fairfield Township, at the house of Mr." Joseph Colby, in Hamilton, on the 4th of July, the following toasts were drunk:

1. " The United States—May her sons possess the fire of patriotism which animated the bosoms of their ancestors, and drive the proud Britons by the sword, and with the tune Yankee Doodle,' from her shores into Pandemonium."

2. " The Army of the United States—May they have no Arnolds, or other accursed traitors, for their commanders."

3. " The Canadas—May they see the perfidy and oppression of their old mother, and with disdain flee from her ranks to the standard of the American arms, and learn to feel the glow and animating spirit of patriotism."

4. " Our Militia—May they be well organized, and with Roman valor fight to a man for liberty, in the present war."

5. " Congress—May the cursed tories, if any, in our national councils, be hurled headlong from their seats to the gallows."

6. " May we find plenty of Washingtons and Waynes in our present war, who will hang all tories, traitors, and British spies."

7. " May the Americans support their standard, and bid defiance to all foreign despots."

8. " The President of the United States--May his determined mind, in signing the proceedings of Congress in the present crisis, be remembered to our latest posterity."

9. " George Clinton—May his successors emulate his virtues."

10. " The State of- Louisiana—May the dignity in which she is placed cause her to be an ornament to her sister States."

11. " The Savages on our Frontiers—As their existence depends on our arms, may they sue to us for peace."

12. "The departed Heroes—May their sons emulate their fathers' virtues."

13. " General Hull—May he soon hoist the American standard in Malden."

14. " Our Navy—Despised by Britain, may they deal destruction to the British ships."

15. "May all the British ships which attempt to sail through Hellgate, to burn New York, sink to Hell eternally."

16. " The State Of Ohio—May her patriotism be an example to her sister States."

17. " The Kentucky Militia—The dread of our savage foes."

18. " The Fair Sex—May their embraces be an ample reward for our intended victory."

VOLUNTEER-BY MRS. POWERS.

" The Surviving Patriots who fought in the late Revolution— May they live to see an honorable peace proclaimed."

We find, also, in an old newspaper of the time the following advertisement of the recruiting officers :

ENCOURAGEMENT TO ENLIST.

To every able-bodied man, from the age of eighteen to forty-five years, who wishes to enlist in defense of the honor and independence of their country for the term of_five years,

A Bounty of Sixteen Dollars

will be paid ; and whenever he shall have served the said term, or obtained an honorable discharge stating the faithful performance of his duty while in service, he shall be paid three months' extra pay, and

160 Acres of Land;

and in case he should be killed in action, or die in the service, his heirs and representatives will be entitled to the said three months' pay and one hundred and sixty acres of land, to be designated, surveyed, and laid off at the public expense.

To those who prefer enlisting for eighteen months the same bounty, additional pay, and clothing will be given (the bounty in land excepted), as if enlisted for five years. The following places are appointed, and a rendezvous opened for

104 - HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY.

the enlistment of soldiers in the new army for this district, under the undersigned officers:

At Cincinnati, HUGH MOORE, Captain U. S. Army.

At Hamilton, Butler County, LEWIS HOWEL, First Lieutenant U. S. Army.

At Middletown and Eaton, Preble County, PHILIP P. PRICE, Second Lieutenant U. S. Army.

At Staunton and Troy, Miami County, E. B. BASKINVILLE, Ensign U. S. Army.

CINCINNATI, July 11, 1812.

Besides those mentioned above, Thomas Irwin served a tour of duty of six months in the Ohio militia as a major. Robert Anderson, of the township of Ross, entered the commissary and pack-horse service at the beginning of the war, but in the early part of 1813 received a commission as lieutenant. He was first placed upon the recruiting service, then joining General Harrison's army at Sandusky. The fleet was insufficiently manned, and Lieutenant Anderson volunteered his services, acting as an officer of marlins during Commodore Perry's active service on the lake. He received a silver medal, by order of Congress, as a testimonial of his bravery and good conduct during the action. He then joined the northern army, in which he served until the conclusion of the war. General Brown was his commander.

Dr. Daniel Millikin marched at the head of a company of his neighbors up to the frontier, and narrowly escaped being shot by an Indian. John Woods, afterwards the leader of the bar here, but who then lived in Warren County, did his duty as a soldier. He was included in the last draft of the Ohio militia, which was made in 1814, and was in the garrison at Fort Meigs when peace with Great Britain was proclaimed. The Rev. Matthew G. Wallace, to prove that the clergy were not behind the laity, also went out as a captain.

Colonel Matthew Hueston, who had served valiantly in Wayne's army, saw service in the war of 1812. General Hull surrendered on the 16th of August of that year, and the whole country immediately armed to prevent a recurrence of the disaster. Hueston• volunteered his services, and marched, with a number of others, to Fort Wayne, for the relief of that place, which was then besieged. After being out two or three months, he was appointed purchasing agent for the contractor of the Northwestern army. He bought a vast number of horses and a large quantity of provisions in Butler County for the supply of the army. He continued to act in that capacity until the close of the war.

Charles K. Smith, then a mere lad, was out with his father, who was a paymaster, and acted as clerk.

Hundreds of others might be mentioned did we possess perfect records, and the reader will find accounts of many of them scattered through the township histories. The war of 1812 marks an epoch in the annals of this county. Settlements had then been begun in every quarter, and, although the forests covered a much larger extent of the country than the cultivated land, yet there were farms and cleared patches everywhere. Schools were beginning ; there were a dozen Church organizations, although but three or four meeting-houses ; and the main roads were laid out. It would seem to us now very savage ; but it was in reality a great advance upon the wilderness. The population was 11,150, lust about a quarter of what it is at present.

TAMMANY SOCIETY.

IN the year 1812 a secret political society was formed at Hamilton as a branch of the Tammany Society of New York. Their place of meeting, which they called " Wigwam No. 9," was first established at the house of William Murray, who then kept a tavern on the corner of Dayton and Water Streets. It was afterwards removed to the house of Michael Delorac, who also kept a house of entertainment in the upper part of Rossville. James Heaton was their first grand sachem, and Benjamin D. Pardee, a printer, was secretary. Their number, in the most flourishing condition, amounted to about one hundred. Many of the most respectable citizens of Butler County were initiated members of the society. From the time of their organization they continued to meet regularly at stated periods, until some time in the year 1816. They had their celebrations and long talks, as they called their orations, and on certain anniversary occasions paraded the streets in procession with their flags and banners " waving in the breeze" and buck-tails stuck in their hats by way of plume. At the head of the procession was borne the-flag of the United States, and at intervals in the procession were carried small white flags, corresponding in number with the number of the States in the Union, with the name of a State painted on each. They had a seal or emblem, having in the center the word " Illumino," a rising sun above, with a heart below, and the wing of an eagle on each side. A celebration and procession was held at Hamilton on the twelfth day of May, 1815, at which a " long talk" was delivered by Thomas Henderson, of Cincinnati. A celebration was also held at Middletown on the twelfth day of October, 1815, and a " long talk " delivered by Benjamin D Pardee.

In their notices and transactions they gave their own peculiar names to the months. January they called the month of beavers, February the month of snows, May the month of flowers, June the month of heats, October the month of travels, etc., and dated from the year of discovery (A. D. 1609).

This society was a fraternity bound together by a written constitution, the members of which pledged themselves, under the solemnities of an oath, to keep the proceedings of the society a profound secret. At their

COUNTY OFFICERS - 105

business meetings, which were usually held at night in their wigwam, illuminated by a council fire, they deliberated on the weighty affairs of the country, and decided what was to be done, dictated politics, interfered with elections, and decided who should be elected to office ; which decision every member of the fraternity was bound to support, denouncing every other person who did not belong to their society as federalists and enemies to their country. They kept a regular system of espionage, issued circulars, and employed runners to carry them and learn what was doing in every part of the country, thus enabling them to spring upon their opponents like savages from an ambuscade.

During the short time they flourished at Hamilton they furnished abundant evidence that self-interest was their ruling, if not their only, motive. They exerted an influence which was extensively felt, and in the short period of their existence did considerable mischief. Through the efforts of the Tammany Society the civil institutions of our State were nearly reduced to a state of anarchy, from which a recovery was effected with difficulty. The society created considerable excitement and opposition in the community at large during its existence ; but about the year 1816, four years after its organization, it dwindled away, and was no longer publicly known.

The following is a copy of one of their notices of a meeting, published in the newspapers of the time :

" NOTICE.—The members of the Tammany Society No. 9 will meet at their wigwam at the house of brother William Murray, in Hamilton, on Thursday, the first of the month of heats, precisely at the going down of the sun. Punctual attendance is requested.

" By order of the Grand, Sachem.

" The ninth of the month of flowers, year of discovery 323.

WILLIAM C KEEN, Secretary."

Tammany was an Indian chief of the Delaware nation. Mr. Heckewelder, in his historical account of the Indian nations, devoted part of a chapter to this chief. He spells the name Tamaned. All we know of him is that he was an ancient Delaware chief who never had his equal. We infer from Gabriel Thomas, who published "An Historical and Geographical Account of Pennsylvania and West Jersey," at London, in 1698, that Tammany might have been alive as late as 1680 or 1690.

" The fame of this great chief extended even amongst the whites, who fabricated numerous legends respecting him, which, however, Heckewelder says he never heard from the mouth of an Indian, and therefore believes them all fabulous. In the Revolutionary War, Tammany's enthusiastic admirers dubbed him a saint, and he was established under the name of St. Tammany,' the patron saint of America. His name was inserted in some calendar, and his festival celebrated on the first day of May in every year. On that day a numerous society of his votaries walked together in procession, through the streets of Philadelphia, their hats decorated with bucks' tails, and proceeded to a handsome rural place, out of town, which they called the Wigwam ;' where, after a long talk or Indian speech had been delivered and the calumet of peace and friendship had been duly smoked, they spent the day in activity and mirth. After dinner, Indian dances were performed on the green in front of the wigwam, the calumet was again smoked, and the company separated."

It was not until some years after the peace that these yearly meetings were discontinued. In New York, however, they worshiped Tammany as an Indian saint, and a benevolent society was named after him. In a few years it became a political society, but until the diffusion of universal suffrage, in 1846, had not acquired the unsavory odor it now has. Since the close of the Revolutionary struggle, Philadelphia, and perhaps other places, have had their Tammany societies, Tammany balls, etc. Among the, multitude of poems and odes to Tammany, the following is selected to give the reader an idea of the acts said to have been achieved by him.

" Immortal Tammany of Indian race,

Great in the field, and foremost in the chase!

No puny saint was he with fasting pale;

He climbed the mountain, and he swept the vale,

Rushed through the torrent with unequaled might;

Your ancient saints would tremble at the sight ;

Caught the swift boar, and swifter deer with ease,

And worked a thousand miracles like these.

To public views he added private ends,

And loved his country most, and next his friends.

With courage long he strove to ward the blow

(Courage, we all respect, even in a foe),

And when each effort he in vain had tried,

Kindled the flame in which he bravely died.

To Tammany let the full horn go round,

His fame let every honest tongue resound,

With him let every gen'rous patriot vie,

To live in freedom, or with honor die."

COUNTY OFFICERS.

WE have been at the pains to compile a list of county officers from the beginning In some cases there has been great difficulty in procuring the names. The county was organized in 1803, and a special election was then held.

The first sheriff was chosen only to fill the place pro tem., and the same year another person was elected to occupy the office. He is chosen every two years, and is

Carey's Museum, p. 104.

106 - HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY.

not eligible as sheriff for a longer term than four years in any term of six years. The names are as follows :

SHERIFFS.

James Blackburn, special election, June, 1803 ; William McClellan, 1803 to 1807 ; John Wingate, 1807 to 1809; William McClellan, 1809 to 1813; James McBride, 1813 to 1817; Pierson Sayre, 1817 to 1821; Samuel Millikin, 1821 to 1825 ; John Hall, 1825 to 1829 ; Pierson Sayre, 1829 to 1831 ; William Sheely, 1831 to 1835 ; Israel Gregg, 1835 to 1839; John K. Wilson, 1839 to 1843; William J. Elliott, 1843 to 1847 ; F. Van Derveer, 1847 to 1849 ; Aaron L. Schenck, 1849 to 1851; Peter Murphy, 1851 to 1856 ; Joseph Garrison, 1856 to 1860 ; A. A. Phillips, 1860 to 1864 ; A. J. Rees, 1864 to 1868 ; R. N. Andrews, 1868 to 1872 ; William H. Allen, 1872 to 1876 ; M. Thomas, 1876 to 1880; F. D. Black, 1880 to 1884.

CLERKS OF THE COURT.

The constitution of 1802 required each court to appoint its own clerk, to serve for the term of seven years. The following are the names of persons who have served as clerk of the Supreme Court and of the Court of Common Pleas :

John Reily, 1803 to 1842 ; Taylor Webster, 1842 to 1846 ; James McBride, 1846 to 1852.

By the constitution of 1851, the office of the clerks of the courts was made elective by the voters of the county, to hold their office for the term of three years. The following are the names of the persons elected to that office since that time :

Michael C. Ryan, 1852 to 1858; John McElwee, 1858 to 1864; Edward Dalton, 1864 to 1866 ; Patrick Gordon, 1866 to 1873 ; Jervis Hargitt, 1873 to 1879 ; Barton S. James, 1879 to 1880; W. S. Caldwell, 1880 to 1881 ; R. B. Millikin, 1881.

COUNTY TREASURERS.

The office of county treasurer was first filled by appointment, made by the associate judges. Afterward the appointment was made by the commissioners of the county, until the year 1827, when it was made elective by the people, the term of office to be two years.

Joseph F. Randolph, 1803 to 1811; Hugh B. Hawthorn, 1811 to 1812 ; Hugh Wilson, 1812 to 1827 ; Charles K. Smith, 1827 to 1828.

On the 24th of January, 1827, the Legislature passed a law making the office elective by the people, to serve for the term of two years.

Charles K. Smith, 1827 to 1835 ; William Hunter, 1836 to 1844; Richard Easton, 1844 to 1848.

Richard Easton committed suicide on the morning of the 4th of June, 1848, by shooting himself in the head with a pistol ball, in his bed at the United States Hotel, in Cincinnati. When the door of his room was opened he was found dead, and the pistol lying beside him. A committee appointed by the Court of Common Pleas to examine the condition of the treasury reported a defalcation of about eight thousand dollars. However, on the prosecution of a suit against his securities, various credits and offsets were allowed, which .reduced the judgment which was rendered at July term, 1855, to $552.44.

Robert B. Millikin was appointed June 7, 1848 ; Henry Traber, 1850 to 1853.

About the 1st of July, 1853, it was discovered that Henry Traber was a defaulter in his office to the amount of about seven thousand dollars, and on the 16th of that month he resigned. Suit was commenced against his securities, and at the September term of the Court of Common Pleas, 1855, judgment was obtained against them for $6,991.84, which was promptly paid.

Franklin Stokes was appointed July 16, 1853 ; John W. Snyder, 1854 to 1858 ; Elias H. Gaston, 1858 to 1862 ; Nathan G. Oglesby, 1862 to 1864 ; David W. Brant, 1864 to 1868 ; John C. Lindley, 1868 to 1870 ; Sheldon A. Campbell, March, 1870, to September, 1870 ; John C. Lindley, September, 1870; William Russell, December, 1870, to 1872; David Yeakle, 1872 to 1876; Hugh H. Jones, 1876 to 1880 ; William B. Oglesby, 1880 till 1882 ; James T. Gray, 1882.

AUDITORS.

The board of commissioners first met on the eleventh day of June, 1804, and appointed John Reily their clerk, who continued to serve in that capacity until the first day of March, 1819, when he resigned, and John McClure, Jr., was appointed in his stead. John McClure continued to serve as clerk until he was appointed auditor of the county, in 1821.

On the eighth day of February, 1820, a law was passed directing the appointment of county auditors, and in pursuance of that act the Legislature, on the second day of February, 1821, by resolution, appointed John McClure, Jr., auditor of Butler County ; and by a law passed on the same day, the auditor was, by virtue of his office, required to be clerk of the commissioners. The Legislature passed a law, dated February 23, 1824, making the office of auditor elive by the people. The auditor holds his office for the term of two years.

John McClure, 1821 to 1831 (died February 22, 1831) ; James O'Conner, appointed, 1831 to 1832 ; James B. Cameron, elected, 1832 to 1843 (died 3d September, 1843) ; James B. Cameron, Jr., appointed, 1843 to 1844 ; Ludwick Betz, elected, 1844 to 1847 (died) ; Alfred Thomas, appointed, 1847 to 1848 ; Franklin Stokes, 1848 to 1850 ; Wilson H. Layman, 1850 to 1852 ; William S. Phares, 1852 to 1858 ; James Daugherty, 1858 to 1860 ; Henry H. Wallace, 1860 to 1862 ; William C. Hunter, 1862 to 1866 ; Sheldon A. Campbell, 1866 to 1870 ; Adolph Schmidt, March, 1870, to February, 1874 ; H. P. K. Peck, February, 1874, to November, 1874 ; Henry H. Wallace, 1874 to 1876; S. B. Berry, 1876 to 1881‘; Joseph B. Hughes, 1881.

COUNTY OFFICERS - 107

ASSOCIATE JUDGES.

According to the constitution of 1802, there was appointed by a joint ballot of both houses of the General Assembly, in each county, not more than three nor less than two associate judges of the Court of Common Pleas, to hold their offices for the term of seven years. In Butler County there were three associate judges: James Dunn, John Greer, John Kitchel, 1803; Henry Weaver, 1805 ; Celadon Symmes, 1806 ; Ezekiel Ball, Daniel Millikin, Robert Lytle, 1810 ; Daniel Millikin, Henry Weaver, Robert Taylor, 1817 ; Robert Anderson, 1823 ; Henry Weaver, Robert Taylor, 1824 ; Daniel Millikin, 1827 ; John Knox, 1827 ; Joel Collins, 1829 ; Daniel Millikin, 1834 ; Squier Littell, 1834 ; Fergus Anderson, 1836; John McCloskey, appointed by the governor, 1840; Vincent D. Enyart, 1840 ; James O. Conner, 1841; Nehemiah Wade, 1841 ; Charles K. Smith, 1848 (resigned March, 1849) ; Joseph Traber, 1849.

By the constitution of 1851, the offices of associate judges were terminated, and the office discontinued, after the second Tuesday in February (February 9th), 1852.

COUNTY COMMISSIONERS.

The Legislature passed " an act establishing boards of commissioners," which bears date 13th of February, 1804, according to which three commissioners were to be elected in each county, to hold their office for the term of three years, in pursuance of which an election was held on the first Monday of April, 1804, at which Ezekiel Ball, Matthew Richardson, and Solomon Line were elected, meeting at Hamilton on the eleventh day. of June, 1804. After having taken the oath of office, they determined, by lot, that Ezekiel Ball should serve until the second Tuesday of October, 1804 ; Matthew Richardson, until the second Tuesday of October, 1805 ; and Solomon Line, until the second Tuesday of October, 1806. After the first board, the following persons were elected in the years hereinafter stated :

Ezekiel Ball, 1804; James Blackburn, 1805; Matthew Richardson, 1806 ; James Smith, 1807 ; James Blackburn, 1808 ; William Robeson, 1809 ; John Winton, 1810; James Blackburn, 1811; William Robeson, 1812 ; Matthew Richardson, 1813 ; Joseph Hough, 1814 ; Joseph Henderson, 1815 ; William Robeson, 1816 ; Thomas Blair, 1817 ; William Robeson, 1818 ; Joseph Henderson, 1819 ; Thomas Blair, 1820 ; John Knox, 1821 ; William Kerr, 1822 ; Dennis Ball, 1823 (resigned, and moved from the county) ; John Knox, 1824 ; Joel Kennedy, 1825; John Crane, 1825; Matthew Hueston, 1826 ; Matthew Hueston, 1827 ; John K. Wilson, 1828 ; Joel Kennedy, 1829 ; James Comstock, 1830 ; Matthew Hues- ton, 1831; William B. Vanhook, 1832 ; Joel Kennedy, 1833; Matthew Hueston, 1834; Edward Rockhill, 1834; Edward Rockhill, 1835 ; Thomas Blair, 1836 ; Isaac McKinney, 1837 ; Jacob Ogle, 1838 ; John McCloskey, 1839 ; John Traber, 1840 ; Isaac McKinney, 1840 ; Jonathan Pierson, 1841 ; Isaac McKinney, 1842 ; John Traber, 1843 ; Isaac McKinney, 1844 ; John W. Erwin, 1845 ; John Traber, 1846 ; John Weaver, 1847; William Hunter, 1848 ; John W. Sohn, 1849 ; John Weaver, 1850 ; Christopher Hughes, 1851; Jacob Mathias, 1852; John M. Cox, 1853 ; John Wakefield, 1854 ; James Giffin, 1855; J. J. Owens, 1857; William Davidson, 1859; W. W. Caldwell, 1864 ; William M Miller, 1865 ; David Marts, 1866; J. J. Owens, 1867; James Line, 1870; George B. Tobias, 1871 ; W. W. Caldwell, 1872 ; S. M. Long, 1873 ; David Sample, 1874 ; John Weidenborner, 1875 ; Thomas Slade, 1879 ; Eli Long, 1880 ; A. G. McKeon, 1881.

COUNTY SURVEYORS.

On the 15th of April, 1803, the Legislature passed a law creating the office of county surveyor, by which law it was made the duty of the Court of Cothmon Pleas to make the appointment. James Heaton was the first surveyor. He was followed by George R. Bigham, in 1822. On the 3d of March, 1831, the Legislature passed a law making the office elective, by the people, and fixing the term of office at three years. George R. Bigham, 1833 to 1836 ; Ludwick Betz, 1836 to 1842 ; Benjamin F. Raleigh, 1842 to 1840 ; Matthew R. Shields, 1849 to 1856 ; Alexander King, 1856 to 1863 ; A. Marts, 1863 to 1871; Mason Hamilton, 1871 to 1874; J. C. Weaver, 1874 to 1882.

RECORDERS.

The judges of the Court of Common Pleas were by law authorized to appoint persons to fill the office of county recorder. John Reily, 1803 to 1811, resigned. The first deed was recorded 25th of August, 1803. James Heaton, 1811 to 1820; Isaac Hawley, 1820 to 1821 ; Charles K. Smith, 1821. On .the 11th of February, 1829, the Legislature passed "an act to provide for the election of county recorder." Charles K. Smith, 1835 (resigned, August 25, 1835) ; William S. Ingersol, appointed, 1835; Isaac T. Saunders, 1835 to 1841; Israel Gregg, 1841 to 1844 ; James George, 1844 to. 1847 ; John H. Gc4don, 1847 to 1853 ; Henry H. Wallace, 1853 to 1859 rJohn H. Gordon, 1859 to 1863 ; William Russell, 1863 to 1869 ; Samuel Davis, 1869 to 1875 ; Peter Bender, 1875 to 1878 ; Alexander Getz, 1878 to 1884.

PROBATE JUDGES.

Thomas H. Wilkins, 1852 to 1855; William R. Kinder, 1855 to 1860 ; D. W. McClung, 1860 to 1861 ; Z. W. Selby, 1861 to 1867; Joseph Traber, 1867 to 1873; William R. Cochran, 1873 to 1876; B. F. Thomas, 1876 to 1882 ; W. H. Harr, 1872.

PROSECUTING ATTORNEYS.

The office of prosecuting attorney was filled by appointment of the Court of Common Pleas until the year 1833, when the Legislature changed the law, and made it elective by the people. Daniel Symmes, 1803; Arthur

108 - HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY.

St. Clair, 1804 to 1808 ; William Corry, 1808 to 1810 ; David K. Este, 1810 to 1816 ; Benjamin Collett, 1816 to 1820 ; John Woods, 1820 to 1825 ; Jesse Corwin, 1825 to 1833.

On the 29th of January, 1833, the Legislature passed a law making the office elective by the people, and making the term of office two years. It has lately been made three years. Jesse Corwin, 1833 to 1835; John B. Weller, 1835 to 1839; Elijah Vance, 1839 to 1843; John Woods; appointed by court, 1843, one term ; Thomas Millikin, appointed by court, 1843, one term ; Oliver S. Witherby, 1844 to 1848 ; M. C. Ryan, 1848 to 1852 ; Isaac Robertson, 1852 to 1856 ; Z. W. Selby, 1856 to 1860 ; F. Van Derveer, 1860 to 1862 ; S. Z. Gard, 1862 to 1866 ; E. Vance, 1866 to 1.870 ; John W. Wilson, 1870 to 1871 ; S. Z. Gard, 1871 to 1872; H. L. Morey, 1872 to 1874; J. L. Vallandigham, 1874 to 1876; James E. Campbell, 1876 to 1880 ; John F. Neilan, 1880 to 1885.

CORONER.

According to the constitution, there is elected in each county one coroner, who shall hold his office for the term of two years. The persons hereafter named have successively filled this position :

Samuel Dillon, 1803 to 1805 ; Joshua Delaplane, 1805 to 1807 (died in 1807) ; David Beatty, 1807 to 1815 ; Samuel Dillon, 1815 to 1817 ; John Hall, 1817 to 1819 ; Joseph Wilson, 1819 to 1821; James B. Camron, 1821 to 1825; William Blair, 1825 to 1831; William Hunter, 1831 to 1833; James S. Greer, 1833 to 1835; William J. Elliott, 1835 to 1839 ; John M. Flagg, 1839 to 1840; John Crane, 1842 to 1846; B. F. Raleigh, 1846 to 1848 ; Clement Clifton, 1848 to 1852 ; Joseph L. Garrison, 1852 to 1854 ; Jacob Troutman, 1854 to 1856; J. Longfellow, 1856 to 1858; S. L. Hunter, 1858,1864; Thomas Reed, 1864 to 1866 ; William Spencer, 11366 to 1870 ; Thomas Knox, 1870 to 1872 ; William Spencer, 1872 to 1884.

THE MIAMI RIVER.

AT the present time, when bridge building has been reduced to a science, and bridges are made in sections, transported a thousand miles, and then set up, it must be a very large structure, such as those in St. Louis, Cincinnati, or Brooklyn, which excites more than the most moderate measure of curiosity. But sixty-five years ago we had not accomplished so many marvels as we since have, and the erection of a roadway across the Great Miami at this point was an event in the history of the country. Travelers went a long distance out of their way to view it, many grown men having never before seen a bridge of any kind more elaborate than a log or a couple of planks thrown across a brook. It was the earliest structure of this kind in all the surrounding country.

The Miami, it is well known, is subject to great fluctuations in its quantity of water. Some seasons it is very low. Boys can wade across it at these times almost anywhere. At other times it is full, up even to its banks, and, where those banks are low, overflows the country. It has wrought, at different times, great devastation in this way, and frequently, in these rises, changes its course more or less. Where it meandered previously, it makes a direct cut across, and where it once went in a straight channel, it is deserted for a more tortuous one. The soil on either side is entirely alluvial, and affords no permanent obstacle. Indeed, the whole valley, for a mile or two back, displays evidences of having been the bed of the river at some remote period.

The earliest of the great freshets or inundations which have been recorded was in the year 1805. At this time the whole of the Miami River rolled in the bed now called Old River, and ran in a deep channel along the eastern bank, on the side next Hamilton, and where the present sand-bar appears below the bridge. Four-mile Creek then emptied into the river on the west, a short distance above the upper part of the town, where the mouth of New River now is. The occasion of the change in the channel of the river was owing to the erection of certain water-works on Four-mile Creek.

In the years 1803 and 1804 Messrs. James Smith and Arthur St. Clair (son of General St. Clair) erected a mill at the bend of Four-mile Creek, about a mile and a half above its mouth, and dug a race from the Miami River to bring the water from the river to their mills, in order to supply an additional quantity of water when the creek should be low. In the month of March, 1805, an extraordinary flood occurred in the Miami River, which tore away the head gates of their race, and let the water of the river have a free passage to their mills, and thence down the channel of Four-mile Creek. This flood wholly destroyed their mills, and carried their works down the current, after which time the channel continued to widen and deepen, until, in a few years, at ordinary stages of the river, the whole of the water passed by that channel, which acquired the name of New River. The river was at its highest on the 10th of March. The island formed between this channel and that of Old River contains about three hundred and fifty acres, and was formerly owned by Dr. Daniel Millikin, but now by L. D. Campbell. The Hamilton and Rossville Hydraulic Company have constructed two dams across the old channel of the river, and formed a grand reservoir, about a mile long, to retain water for the supply of their mills and factories in Hamilton.

This flood in the Miami River was the greatest ever known since the first settlement of the country, and was long remembered by the inhabitants resident there at the

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time, and with them formed an epoch in the history of the country.

In speaking of events; it was long afterward customary to designate the time by stating that it was so many years before or after the " great flood."

The whole of what is now called the island and all the low bottoms along the Miami River were entirely inundated, and much damage done to persons residing in the river bottoms. The water of the river backed up on the low ground above Hamilton, inundating Bigham's bottom, and flowing out, passed over the out-lots (where the east branch of the Hydraulic. Canal has been constructed), inundated the lower part of the town, to the depth of several feet, and discharged into the river above where the bridge now is. The water in Front Street, between Stable and Dayton Streets, was deep enough to come midside on a horse, and in some places would swim a horse.

Previous to this flood, a grove of sycamore and cottonwood trees lined the bank of the river, on the eastern side, from where the bridge now stands to the upper part of the town. They were all washed up, destroyed, and carried away by the force of the current. Cedar bushes then grew indigenous along the river bank from Buckeye Street to the upper part of the town, and a few straggling bushes remained growing in 1809.

The ground where the sycamore grove was, near the Columbra Bridge, extending up some distance on the present sand-bar, was then a fertile field, which had been for many years cultivated in corn, having a house standing upon it. The flood swept over the whole, carrying away the house and the alluvial soil, and when the water subsided nothing appeared but a naked beach of gravel.

The bridge between Hamilton and Rossville had long been felt to be a necessity. At the times when the river was very full, no communication existed between the east and west banks of the river, and in ordinary stages the charges for ferriage were high. The Legislature passed an act, in the year 1816, incorporating Joseph Hough, John Sutherland, Joseph Wilson, John Hall, Samuel Dick, Isaac Falconer, Samuel Millikin, Thomas C. Kelsey, William Murray, Pierson Sayre, Robert Taylor, William Riddle, Thomas Blair, William Blair, and Michael Delorac into a company to erect and build a bridge across the Great Miami River, between the towns of Hamilton and Rossville, in the county of Butler. The style of the corporation was to be the " Miami Bridge Company."

Under this act stock was subscribed, and on the twenty-third day of March, 1818, a contract was made and entered into by the directors of the company with Nathan S. Hunt, for the erection and completion of the bridge. However, in September, 1819, Mr. Hunt died, before the work was ended, but it was afterward finished by William Daniels. The whole length of the bridge, exclusive of the wing-walls, was three hundred and sixty feet. The superstructure was composed of two arches resting on two abutments, one on each side, and one pier in the middle of the river, the chord-line of each arc being one hundred and sixty-five feet and six inches, and the rise from the chord to the apex being twenty-two feet. It cost $25,194.84. The venture proved a highly profitable one, and although there was, from time to time, grumbling in the public journals respecting its charges or its management, yet no other bridge was for many years erected, either in Hamilton or elsewhere in this county.

The stockholders in the Miami Bridge Company, in the year 1824, were Adam Andrew, Joseph S. Benham, Miss Loretto M. Brenan, James Brown, the Commissioners or Butler County, John Clark, Edward Cornthwaite, Samuel Davis, Samuel Dick, George Dick, William S. Hatch, Matthew Hueston, Robert Irwin, John C. Kibby, Squier Littell, Andrew Lewis, James McBride, Andrew McCleary, David McMechan, William. McMechan, Tobias Miller, Robert B. Millikin, John Rainey, John Reily, Elizabeth Rhea, John E. Scott, Robert Scott, John Slack, Abel Slayback, Joseph Smith, Oliver Smith, John Sutherland, William Taylor, John Henry Traber, William Wallace, Joseph Wilson, John Winton, Michael Yeakle, and James Young.

The navigation of the Miami was, in the beginning, regarded as good as that of any other stream in the State, excepting the Ohio, and not far behind that. There were obstacles, however, which could easily have been abated. Here and there was a sand-bar or a shallow channel, and the various dams were not always constructed in the best manner. By a small expenditure of money the river could be much improved. In one of the newspapers of 1824 appeared the following

CIRCULAR.

" To the citizens of Hamilton and its vicinity:

" At a meeting of the citizens of Dayton and the neighborhood, convened on the 24th ult., we were appointed a committee to address the citizens of the Miami country on the subject of the navigation of the Great Miami River.

" We consider the navigation of the Great Miami River of the utmost interest to the inhabitants of this district of country (on this subject we conceive there can be no difference of opinion), and as we consider you to be acquainted with the difficulties and obstructions as well as the advantages to be derived from a free navigation of the river, we shall be brief.

" It is generally known that the navigation of the Miami River was very little inferior to that of the Ohio, previous to the dams being placed in it. By/the compact between the State of Ohio and general government, said river was declared to be and remain a public highway ; that the Legislature have, from time to time enacted laws respecting the navigation of the said river, none of which have been complied with, and the time granted

110 - HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY.

for placing locks in the river has long since expired, and the obstructions still remain.

" We are confident that a moderate expense will be sufficient to open and deepen the channel, so as to admit steamboats of reasonable draft and burthen, to navigate the river for the greater part of the year, provided that some method be adopted by which they may pass the mill-dams in safety, or those obstructions removed. This, we are confident, can be effected by placing locks in the sides of the dams or river bank, through which boats may ascend or descend. By this means the produce of the Miami country may be conveyed to any place on the Ohio River by steamboats in safety and at a trifling expense, while merchandise may be brought up the Miami from either Pittsburg, Wheeling, Louisville, or Cincinnati for about the same.

" Believing the navigation may be effected, that it is important, and will be of great benefit to the country, we earnestly solicit your assistance and co-operation with us in effecting so desirable an object. We would further take the liberty to request you to make this public in your neighborhood, and obtain the sense of the people on it, by a public meeting or otherwise, and a correspondence with us.

Committee

“C. R. GREENE

G. S. HOUSTON

" DAYTON, May 1, 1824."

Nothing came of this appeal. The State of Ohio soon after began the construction of the Miami Canal, and after that went into operation there was no longer any reason for the improvement of the river. But until 1833, or thereabouts, boats descended the stream and carried the products of this country to Louisville, St. Louis, and New Orleans. The voyages were long, and at the end the boats were sold or broken up, and the owner or captain returned overland. It was necessary to send down the boats while the water was high, and this generally occurred in the Spring of the year.

In 1823 the Spring shipments were as follows: Flour, 6,495 barrels, at $3.25 each ; pork, 1,424 barrels, at $6 each ; whisky, 945 barrels, at 22 cents per gallon ; cucumbers and pickles, 50 barrels, at $4 each ; corn meal, 600 barrels, at $1.50 each ; beans, 28 barrels, at $2.50 each ; trout, 15 barrels, at $4 each ; lard, 950 kegs of 60 pounds each, at 4 cents per pound ; corn in ears, 7,000 bushels, at 12 1/2 cents per bushel; potatoes, 1,400 bushels, at 25 cents per bushel ; chickens, 200 dozen, at 75 cents per dozen ; cherry lumber, 30,000 feet, at $12 per M ; butter, 80 kegs, of 50 pounds each, at 8 cents per pound.

Seventy-nine boats, chiefly flat-bottomed, descended the Miami, and passed under the bridge, for the New Orleans market, from January to June, 1823, with flour, whisky, lumber, etc., averaging 300 barrels, at $5 per barrel, or $118,000.

Sixty-six hundred live hogs passed over the bridge at Hamilton, from October, 1822, to January, 1823, averaging 200 pounds, at $5.

A great part of the flour and whisky from Butler County was transported in wagons to Cincinnati, then shipped to New Orleans, probably as much as descended the Miami.

In the earlier years of the century, a rise of the river was annual, or even oftener, and boats would lie for months waiting their opportunity. In 1847 there was an overflow between Christmas and New-Year's. The rain had fallen steadily for more than a week, and the ground was completely saturated. The Straub House was inundated, and the landlord, Peter Shurz, was compelled to move his valuables up stairs. Robert Howard had just bought the iron store lately occupied by Daniel Shafer. It had a large and capacious cellar, and in it had been placed, by David Yeakle (a cooper, living a little west of town), two or three hundred whisky barrels, to be kept there until prices raised. When the water began to rise, it naturally filled the cellar, and the barrels, which were good sound specimens of the cooper's art, were soon afloat, and began striking the ceiling. Those on the main floor heard a mysterious thumping, but were unable to account for it. Presently there was a crash, the floor heaved upward, the hardware tumbled down, and the stove capsized, sending up a great cloud of steam. Only one person was in the store at the time, who was overthrown with the rest. He gathered himself up and fled.

The water extended up Main Street as far as Lau- back's shoe store, then a dry-goods store, kept by James and William Traber. A boat was rowed to the post in front, by James Traber, and was there hitched. On the west bank of the river, where the tan-yard now is, was, at that time, a stable belonging to Andrew McCleary. This was washed away, and in its descent struck the abutment of the old bridge, tearing out a considerable portion.

In September, 1866, there was a remarkable freshet. Great damage was done to all the surrounding country, and railroad travel was interrupted for a long time. Upon the island, just east of the Globe Flour Mills, stood a very large sycamore tree. It is a peculiarity of the floods of the West that they wash out the earth from beneath a tree while it is still standing, and finally, when there is no support, cause its fall. It was so in this case. The mighty tree stood looking over the flood until its equilibrium could no longer be maintained, when it fell, and began rapidly floating down the river. Projecting from the main trunk was a huge snag, which sometimes showed above the water, and at other times was buried. Experienced observers saw the danger which it might occasion, and warned persons on foot or in carriages from crossing. Colonel Moore distinguished himself in this respect. Jesse Havens, the express driver, was passing through the bridge at the time, with his two

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boys. Pushing the children ahead, he urged them to get out, and hurried on as fast as he could himself. He found himself unable to get out in time, and stopped, turning around to witness the catastrophe. Just before the tree reached the bridge, above and west of the middle pier, it disappeared. But not for a great while were the people in suspense. The snag came crushing up through the timbers and planking, destroying every thing it touched, and then quietly floated down stream. It narrowly escaped striking the railroad bridge, which would also have been destroyed. The remainder of the bridge was carried away at about half-past ten the same evening.

Near the east end of the new bridge may be seen the stone set up by the contractors of the old bridge It reads as follows :

MIAMI BRIDGE COMPANY,

Chartered A. D. 1816.

Bridge erected in 1818 and 1819.

DIRECTORS.

JOHN RILEY, PRESIDENT; JAMES M. BRIDE, SECRETARY;

JOSEPH HOUGH, JOHN SUTHERLAND, SAMUEL DICK, THOMAS BLAIR, AND JOHN HALL. NATHAN S. HUNT, CONTRACTOR; WILLIAM DANIEL,

MECHANIC; JAMES M'BRIDE, ARCHITECT

AND SUPERINTENDENT.