CEMETERIES - 725 A dinner for the workers, at which Reverends Hitchcock and Doolittle presided, was spread on the green grass, under the forest trees. Thus, by gentle hands, guided by fervent hearts, were the first clearings made for the future city of the dead. Nor was it long until that silent city began to be occupied, for under date of July 10, 1849, we read : The first interment in these [cemetery] grounds took place on Saturday last [July 7], being that of Leonora, infant daughter of Aaron F. Perry, Esq., one of the trustees of the association. That lone grave of an infant is the nucleus around which, in process of a few fleeting months, multitudes will assemble in their final resting place. The next interment was that of Doctor B. F. Gard, the circumstances of whose death from cholera on July 11, 1849, have been narrated in another chapter. On July 11, 1849, the new burial place was formally dedicated under the name of Green Lawn Cemetery. The ceremonies took place on the grounds, under the shade of the forest trees, and were opened with prayer offered by Rev. H. L. Hitchcock. After an original ode, which was next sung, Mr. W. B. Hubbard, president of the trustees, in fitting terms presented the grounds for dedication, and a dedicatory ode composed for the occasion by Benjamin T. Cushing was read. Rev. Doctor James Hoge then delivered the dedicatory address. In conclusion a hymn was sung, followed by a benediction. The Ohio State Journal of October 16, 1849, contained the following : The first monument in Green Lawn Cemetery was erected during the current week by Mr. William G. Deshler. . . . The device with which the monument is adorned is a rose branch the bud of which has fallen from the stem and rests upon the plinth below. The inscription is simple, and beautifully expressive, thus : "Olive, wife of William G. Deshler. Aged 19." An expression of the stockholders taken in 1856 as to the admission of colored persons to the privileges of the cemetery resulted adversely to the proposition, ninetyone to twenty. On June 10, 1862, the trustees adopted the following resolutions: That so much of Section M as may be necessary be and is hereby appropriated for the burial of officers and soldiers who may fall in battle or die while in the service of our government during continuance of the present rebellion. The further proceedings as to this section, and also as to the collection for interment therein of the remains of soldiers who died in the vicinity of Columbus, have been narrated in a preceding chapter. An account of the monument erected in the cemetery by the ex-Soldiers' and Sailors' Association has also been given. In 1872 a section was especially set apart for the interment of deceased colored persons. After the opening of Green Lawn Cemetery the North Graveyard fell into a sad state of neglect. Weeds and briars grow in every part of it. Its fences were prostrated, and domestic animals of all kinds roamed at will through its sacred precincts. In 1869 about half the bodies had been transferred to Green Lawn and the emptied graves were left yawning. A few interments had been made in the grounds as late as 1864-5, but afterthat they had been voluntarily discontinued. The appropriation made of part of the graveyard for the use of the Columbus, Springfield & Cincinnati Railway in 1871 has been referred to in the history of that corporation. The value of the strip, comprising one and onethird acres, which the railway company succeeded in having condemned, was fixed by the condemnation jury at $14,625, which sum the company paid to the Probate Court on January 26, 1871. 726 - HISTORY OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS. On February 29, 1864, the trustees of the Green Lawn Cemetery Association proposed to the owners of lots in the North Graveyard to exchange Green Lawn lots for the Graveyard lots, the remains interred in the latter to be exhumed and decently reinterred in the new lots at the expense of the Green Lawn Association, which further engaged "to lay off said North Graveyard into town lots and to lease said lots as a permanent source of revenue for the support and improvement of said [Green Lawn Cemetery."3 In pursuance of this proposition conveyance was made to the trustees of most of the lots contained in that part of the graveyard known as the Doherty tract, heretofore described. Meanwhile condemnation suits were brought by the Columbus, Chicago & Indiana Central Railway Company for the purpose of obtaining part of the graveyard area for the use of that corporation. To the petition in this behalf, John M. Kerr, son of John Kerr, one of the original proprietors of Columbus, made claim that the portion of the graveyard deeded to the city by his father had reverted to the Kerr heirs under the conditions of the deed, and demanding that, in case condemnation should be ordered the railway company should be required to make its payments to him as rightful heir to and owner of the reversionary interest. Mr. Kerr also brought suit in ejectment against the city on the ground that the corporation of Columbus had ceased to use as a burial place the land conveyed to it for that purpose by his father, and had therefore forfeited its title to said land.' These various suits and claims, united with complications of title as to the Brickell tract, caused great confusion and led to prolonged controversy and litigation. In the answer to the ejectment suit, Messrs. Henry C. Noble and Francis Collins, attorneys representing the city, denied that the borough of Columbus had taken possession of the Kerr tract under the deed of 1821, and claimed that in June, 1816, prior to the Kerr ownership, James Johnston, then owner, had deeded the land to the borough for a graveyard. Various additional points were made in the pleadings in dispute of the Kerr title. Pending determination of this suit, the plaintiff, John M. Kerr, proposed to the City Council to relinquish his claim to the ground provided the city would pay him $600 cash, and an annuity of the same amount during his natural life. After this proposition had been before the council for some time Mr. Kerr gave notice of its withdrawal, but the council insisted that it could not be withdrawn, and on August 25, 1873, unanimously adopted it. Mr. Kerr persisted in refusing acceptance, and finally sold his reversionary interest for $3,000 to J. M. Westwater, in whom the title to the tract was judicially confirmed. The exhumation and removal of the remains interred in the North Graveyard, begun soon after the opening of Green Lawn and accelerated by condemnation of part of the old buryingground for the use of the Springfield railway, was not finally concluded until the year 1881. The reopening of the old graves and removal of their contents to Green Lawn were attended by some curious revealments and incidents. On the finger of a young lady whose remains were lifted in 1872 was found, bright as ever, its circlet of gold, but the gems with which the jewel had been set were gone. The body of Cyrus Sells, of whose murder in the Penitentiary an account has been given in the history of that prison, was taken up during the same year, and was well preserved. The skull revealed the fatal cuts made with the axe in the hands of the convict Clark. The remains of Peter Sells and wife, who had been dead for more than forty years, were also well preserved. Substantially the same facts were true of many others. A bit of ribbon binding the hair of an unknown lady whose body had been in the grave more than thirty years, still retained its color. The hair of persons who had been deceased for nearly half a century was sometimes found in a state of almost lifelike freshness. One of the well preserved bodies taken up was that of Jacob Leib, one of the pioneers of Columbus, who, when living, was considered the most pow- CEMETERIES - 727 erful man, physically, in Franklin County. His height was six feet two inches. Solomon Miller, another pioneer whose body was exhumed, had died at the age of 38. In the grave of Mrs. Standish, who had been dead twenty-six years, were found two copper coins, much tarnished. In the grave of Mrs. Cole, who had been dead thirty-one years, were found her heavy gold earrings, which were presented to surviving friends. One of the bodies taken up on December 1, 1881, was that of Henry Foster, the young man killed during the Know Nothing riot on High Street in 1854. The last bodies to be removed were the unclaimed ones and those buried in the Kerr tract, which had been longest in litigation. The northeastern portion of the grounds, owing to its marshy nature, contained but few if any graves. It was reserved by the city as a site for a markethouse. In a preceding part of this chapter mention has been made of the purchase of cemetery grounds on the Livingston Road, now Avenue, southeast of the city. This purchase, originally made in 1839, was completed in 1841. The owner of the land, by whom conveyance was made to the city, was Matthew King. Owing to its marshy nature it was very unsuitable for cemetery purposes, and a considerable portion of it was never platted. It ultimately became a place of sepulture for friendless waifs and paupers. On March 5, 1877, the council adopted the following in reference to it : WHEREAS The further interment of bodies in the East Graveyard has been prohibited by an ordinance passed by this council; and whereas, the fence around said graveyard is almost if not entirely gone ; and whereas the council does not deem it advisable to retain said property for graveyard purposes ; therefore he it Resolved, That all persons having friends buried in said graveyard are hereby requested to remove the remains, and the committee on East Graveyard are hereby instructed to report whether the property had better be laid out into lots and sold or retained by the city for the purpose of a public park. The further history of this tract, including its reservation for a park, has already been given. The history of the Catholic cemeteries accompanies that of the churches. A tract long used as a cemetery by the colored people was sold in 1886, the bodies having been transferred to Green Lawn. The Hebrew cemetery, formerly located in the eastern part of the city, now occupies grounds in the vicinity of the Catholic cemetery, west of-the Scioto. NOTES. 1. This ordinance was intended to take effect on November 1, next ensuing, but before that date, owing to the outcry it evoked, it was repealed. A second and final ordinance forbidding interments in the old cemetery was passed May 30, 1864. 2. Among the names attached to this call were the following : W. B. Hubbard, W. B. Thrall, N. H. Swayne, A. F. Perry, J. E. Rudisill, James M. Westwater. C. P. L. Butler, A. Chittenden, L. Kiibourn, C. Fay, A. P. Stone, W. M. Savage, R. W. McCoy, Joel Buttles, S. Medary, James S. Abbott and S. M. Smith. 3. The trustees of the Green Lawn Association at the time this proposition was made were William A. Platt, Thomas Sparrow, John Greenleaf, William T. Martin, W. G. Deshler, J. M. Westwater and 0. P. Hines. The members of the committee by whom the proposition was prepared and submitted were Messrs. Deshler, Westwater, Hines and Platt. 4. The appraised value of the grounds, exclusive of the Kerr tract, in 1874, was $143,051. The Kerr tract was appraised at $24,000. CHAPTER XLVII. CHARITIES. The appeal made in behalf of the peasantry of Ireland and Scotland, stricken by famine in 1846 and 1847, elicited from the American people a most generous response. That appeal reached the citizens of Columbus, and was one of the earliest claims not of a local nature made upon their benevolence. That it might receive due and systematic attention a public meeting was held on February 18, 1847, at the First Presbyterian Church. At that meeting Hon. Joseph Ridgway was appointed chairman, and an introductory invocation was offered by Rev. Doctor James Hoge. A " plan of action " was reported by a committee appointed for the purpose, and the following committee appointed to execute the plan was named : John Miller, John Noble, James Aston, J. Ridgway, Junior, David Mitchell, John L. Gill, Robert McCoy, Eli W. Gwynne, L. Goodale, George M. Parsons, J. W. Milligan, A. P. Stone, John Funston, Isaac Dalton and Lewis Roster. The work of collecting contributions was extended to the townships of Franklin County, and resulted in the donation of considerable amounts of Indian corn and other provisions. The only organized and systematic charity in the city at this time, or at any previous period, seems to have been that of the Female Benevolent Society, the history of which is reserved for another place. In January, 1852, the ladies of the city gave " a supper and fair " for the benefit of the poor, and realized from their efforts the net sum of $841.25. The tables were spread at the Odeon. A public meeting for the relief of sufferers by " the late calamitous fire at Chillicothe " was held on April 6, 1852, at the City Hall. Rev. James Hoge vas chairman on this occasion, and Samuel Medary secretary. At an adjourned meeting held on April 8, subscriptions to the amount of $1,810 were reported, and resolutions of sympathy for the people made homeless by the fire were adopted. Early in 1853 a benevolent association of ladies was organized, and established a depot on High Street between Rich and Friend, from which supplies could be dispensed to the destitute. Contributions from the citizens were invited. In February, 1853, a charity sewing society made its advent, under the presidency of Sarah A. Harrison, wife of William Harrison. It was still in existence a year later. In 1855 and 1857 Mr. John G. Deshler, a citizen of Columbus, made some notable donations of flour and coal to destitute persons in New York and Cincinnati. A festival for the relief of the poor of the city was held under the auspices of the Odd Fellows in December, 1857. In 1858, Sister Felicitas, a member of the sisterhood of Notre Dame de Paris, established an orphans' home at the corner of Friend and Sixth streets. In February, 1860, Sister Felicitas, who was a lady greatly esteemed for her personal [728] CHARITIES - 729 qualities, as well as for her works of humanity, quitted Columbus for Mexico and the home which she had founded was transferred to the Sisters-of Charity. In November, 1860, the clergymen of the city were requested to appeal, from their pulpits, for contributions in aid of sufferers by the famine then prevailing in Kansas, and the following committee to solicit donations from citizens generally was appointed: P. B. Wilcox, W. B. 'Thrall, William Armstrong, A. P. Stone and L. L. Rice. The claims made upon the benevolence of the people of Columbus in behalf of the soldiers during the Civil War, and the manner in which those claims were met, have already been described. In April, 1861, it was announced that 10,000 flannel shirts, made by the ladies of the city, were ready for distribution to the volunteers. Messrs. Smith, Buttles, Blair, Eberly and Stauring were appointed as a committee of the council to distribute $20,000 appropriated by that body for relief of the families of soldiers. The associate members of the United States Sanitary Commission met at the Starling Medical College on December 7, 1861, and elected : President, Joseph Sullivant; -vice president, Rev. E. M. Fitzgerald ; secretary, John W. Andrews; treasurer, T. G. Wormley.. The members of the commission in the city at that time were Governor William Dennison, Reverends Fitzgerald, .Hemsteger, Trimble and Mees, Doctors Carter, Smith, Awl, J. B. Thompson, Loving and Wormley, and Messrs. J. Sullivant, F. C. Sessions, P. Ambos, J. H. Riley, R. Neil, F. Collins and John W. Andrews. The organization and operations of the Ladies' Soldiers' Aid Society have been described in appropriate chapters. The constitution of that society declared its purpose to be " to furnish relief to the sick and wounded soldiers and sailors of our army and navy, under the direction of and auxiliary to the United States National Sanitary Commission at Washington." The society met daily, from ten to twelve A. m., for the purpose of making up such articles as were needed by the sick and wounded in the hospitals. On October 23, 1862, a public meeting was held at Naughton Hall to raise means for the relief of destitute families driven from their homes by the Indian raid in Minnesota. In June of the same year the sum of $550.50 was collected in the city and remitted for the relief of suffering poor in Ireland. The sum of $5,000 from a contribution of $380,000 from the State of California, was placed at the disposal of the Columbus branch of the Sanitary Commission. The use of a lot for the Commission's hospital was granted by the Columbus & Xenia railway. It was situated near the Union Station. A public meeting to provide relief for soldiers' families was held at the Town Street Methodist Church December 8, 1863. Ex-Governor Dennison presided ; over $1,000 was subscribed. Finance and executive committees were appointed ; also committees for the different townships of the county. In December, 1863, the Soldiers' Aid Society held a bazar from which the sum of $7,028 was realized. Donations of fuel and provisions raised the total value of the receipts to $9,000. " Sawbuck companies" were organized in December, 1863, to saw and split wood donated by the farmers for the families of absent soldiers. The companies were composed chiefly of boys, but some aged men also took part in them. The boys called themselves "Sawbuck Rangers." On December 22, 1863, the directors of the Bee Line Railway appropriated $10,000 for the relief of soldiers' families The City Council voted $600 to the public charities and $300 to the St. Francis Hospital December 21. An exhibition of tableaux given at the Opera House fin- the benefit of the Soldiers' Aid Society in October, 1864, realized the sum of $1,000. At a meeting held in the Second Presbyterian Church November 13 the Christian Commission received donations to the amount of $540. On November 14, 1864, Governor Brough issued a proclamation designating Saturday, November 26, as a day of feasting and jubilee for soldiers' families. In this document the military 730 - HISTORY OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS. committees throughout the State were admonished by the Governor to call upon the farmers to " come in with their wagons loaded with wood," and to " make it heaping measure." In response to these suggestions " wood processions" were formed by the farmers, and in nearly every considerable town in the State one of these novel spectacles was witnessed. One which took place in Columbus in December, 1863, was thus described : 1 Last Saturday was the proudest day for the true lover of the families of our brave volunteers who are now in the field doing battle for the country, that the oldest inhabitant of the city ever saw. About ten o'clock A. m. the sidewalks all along High Street were crowded with admiring citizens of all ages and sex to witness the procession, and it was the most glorious sight we ever saw for the object in view —the relief of the suffering families of soldiers. It is estimated that about six hundred wagons, filled with excellent wood, were congregated in the different streets abutting the roads from the country, and the marshals endeavored at one time to form them into a grand procession along High Street, to move up to Long, thence to Fourth, but it was found impossible. [The wood was unloaded on the sidewalks around the Capitol Square, completely filling them]. . . . After the farmers had deposited their different donations, they repaired to the Atheneum where they had been invited by the Ladies' Bazar and partook of a free dinner. After this dinner the donors were addressed by Governor Tod. The contributions comprised large quantities of provisions, as well as fuel. Some of the townships made their donations in money. In February, 1865, the Ladies' Aid Society received from the business men of the city a cash donation of $2,000. On May 6, 1867, a meeting in behalf of destitute persons in Southern Georgia was held at the First Congregational Church. Governor Cox presided and explained the purposes of the charity sought. The meeting was further addressed by Hon. William Dennison. Several hundred dollars were contributed, and a committee was appointed to canvass the city for further donations. In December, 1868, the City Council ordered a distribution of 3,000 bushels of coal and twentyfive cords of wood to the poor of the city. In November, 1869, a donation of 5,000 bushels of coal to the poor of Columbus was made by W. B. Brooks and Peter Hayden. In October, 1871, a strong appeal was made to the general benevolence of the city by the loss and suffering caused by the great fire in Chicago. The whole city was stirred by this calamity, and a systematic relief work was organized. William G. Deshler was made treasurer of the fund and on October 9 reported cash contributions to the total amount of $13,966.90 ; also several railwaytrain loads of all kinds of supplies, including several carloads of bread baked at the Ohio Penitentiary. In November, 1872, the City Council ordered a distribution to the poor of 5,500 bushels of coal. In October, 1873, the charity of the city was appealed to in behalf of sufferers by a terrible yellow fever scourge in Memphis. On October 30, contributions to the amount of $807.07 were reported. The industrial distress caused by the financial panic of 1873 rendered systematic measures for relief of the unemployed and destitute necessary. The city was divided into districts, relief committees were appointed for each, and a stone-yard at which vagrant mendicants, commonly called tramps, could find honest work if they wanted it in breaking stone, was arranged under the superintendence of Mr. William G. Deshler. The rough material was delivered at the yard at a cost of $1.50 per perch, and 2 cents per cubic foot was paid for breaking it. The stone broken was sold and used as a foundation for the Nicholson pavement then being laid on High Street, and from the proceeds of the sale ninety per cent. of the donations for the stoneyard were repaid to the donors. At first the average number of men employed at the yard was about fifty. A great many vagrants who were offered work refused it ; many others, after working a short time quit in disgust. Other expedients under the name of Bethel Home and Relief Union were tried in 1876. A home for soldiers' widows was opened on North Front Street', by ladies, in 1877. In December of that year a council donation of 1,000 CHARITIES.731 bushels of coal was made to St. Francis Hospital. Relief for yellow fever sufferers at Memphis and other cities of the South was again called for in August, 1878. On September 3, the contributions for this purpose reached $1,700, but donations continued to be solicted and received for some weeks afterwards. 2 On January 20, 1879, the council authorized a distribution of 10,000 bushels of coal by the Poor Committee. Considerable contributions were made in August, 1881, for the relief of sufferers by forest fires in Michigan. An association for alleviating the distress of Hebrew refugees from Russia was organized in July; 1882. In January, 1883 a sum of about $3,000 was contributed by German-American citizens for the relief of sufferers by extraordinary floods in the river Rhine, in Germany. Great distress caused by floods in the Ohio River appealed to the charity of the city in February, 1883, and in response to this appeal donations to the amount of $16,000 were made by citizens of Columbus. Large quantities of clothing and other sup-lies were forwarded to the different centers of distress along the river, and were accompanied by messengers to attend to their distribution.3 On March 11, 1885, a Columbus branch of the Woman's National Indian Association was organized. A terrible cyclone in Fayette County, on September 8, 1885, elicited a proclamation from Governor Hoadly, appealing, in behalf of the sufferers, to the charity of the entire State. The contributions made by the people of Columbus amounted to about $3,000. On December 14, 1885, the charities of the city were united under one organization. On May 6, 1886, the operations of this general organization were suspended. A Friendly Inn, which it had established, was discontinued on December 8, 1887. In January, 1888, Mr. B. S. Brown, of Columbus, gave $25,000 to endow a professorship in the university at Wooster, Ohio. The devastation of the city of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, by the bursting of a dam in the Conemaugh Creek on May 31, 1889, was a disaster of such an extensive and distressing character as to appeal profoundly to the sympathy of the people of Ohio. On June 1 Governor Foraker issued a proclamation calling for general contributions for relief of the sufferers, and on the following day the Board of Trade appointed a committee to receive and forward donations. Mr. W. G. Deshler was appointed by. the Governor as treasurer of the funds contributed from the State, and remitted, in all, fifty-seven thousand dollars. The total amount of cash donations from Columbus, reported by the Board of Trade committee June 8, was about $7,000. Besides the money contributions immense quantities of supplies were forwarded by E. A. Fitch, who had charge of that department. COLUMBUS FEMALE BENEVOLENT SOCIETY. The original organization of this society took place on January 5, 1835, at the Methodist Episcopal Church on Town Street. 4 A constitution prepared by Mrs. John Patterson was at that time adopted, and the following officers were chosen : President, Mrs. James Hoge ; vice president. Mrs. E. W. Sehon ; treasurer, Mrs. Noah H. Swayne ; secretary, Miss M. Kelley, afterwards Mrs. James L. Bates ; board of managers, Mesdames William M. Awl, Demas Adams, Ralph Osborn, Moses Jewett, Samuel Crosby, John Bailhache, Benjamin Blake, Joseph Ridgway, Junior, D. Woodbury and A. Van Horn.' The society held its first business meeting at the house of Mrs. Demas Adams and appointed a visiting committee 732 - HISTORY OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS. for each of the three wards of the city as follows: North Ward, MeJoseph J. B. Harvey, Robert Riordan, JoSeph Ridgway, Junior, Charles Sterritt, J. B. Crist and Sarah Gill ; Middle Ward, Mesdames Demas Adams, William T. Martin, Benjamin Blake, J. M. Espy, Moses Jewett and L. Reynolds; South Ward, Mesdames James Cherry, John McIlvaine, John Patterson, A. Van Horn, McCarty and T. Woodbury. Mrs. John Patterson and Mrs. Noah H. Swayne were appointed to purchase materials for the poor of the city, many of whom were said to be in great need.' In April, 1836, an organization subordinate to the society was formed for the education of destitute children. On a lot donated by Hon. Alfred Kelley in April, 1837, a small schoolhouse was erected and a free school was opened which continued until the public school system of the State was inaugurated. Messrs. D. T. Woodbury, Joseph Ridgway, Junior, and P. B. Wilcox were about the time of the opening of this school appointed as members of an Advisory Board. These were the only men who ever held any direct connection with the societies down to 1888. - On March 5, 1838, the General Assembly passed an act, the first section of which provided That Mary T. Cressy, Maria M. Espy, Sarah Asbury, Maria S. Preston, Mary S. Kelley, Caroline Dryer, Keziah B. Stone and their associates, being females who now are, or who may hereafter, agreeably to the constitution and bylaws of the " Columbus Female Benevolent Society," to become members thereof are declared a body corporate, with perpetual succession, fo the purposes of administering to the wants and alleviating the distress of the pour and afflicted of their own sex, and of affording moral, physical and intellectual instruction and improvement to orphans and other poor children. Thus the society began its corporate existence. A clause in its legislative society charter forbade it to hold property to the value of more than $50,000, but this restriction was afterwards repealed. The second article of the constitution of the society reads: The purpose of this society is to seek the poor and afflicted females in the city of Columbus, and provide them relief, aid, instruction or employment, as may be deemed best, and to afford moral, physical and intellectual instruction and impildrennt to orphans and other poor chiidren, and also to aid and care for worthy women in the pRegularf childbirth, and for infants. Regular life and honorary members are pr vided for. Proposals for membership are submitted to a vote by ballot, and a y such proposal against which ten negative votes are cast is considered rejected.. Life membership is contingent, for members, upon the payment of $25 ; honorary membership upon long and faithful service in the work of the society. The annual meeting of members for hearing reports and electing officers takes place on the first Wednesday in January. Twenty members constitute a quorum. Regular meetings of the directors are held on the first Wednesday of each month. The society is forbidden to incur any indebtedness. All income from life membership, and all bequests and donations received; are placed in a permanent fund, which must be invested in bonds of the United States, the State of Ohio, Franklin County, or the City of Columbus. By payment of $25 to the memorial fund any person may commemorate a deceased friend. The city is districted for the pse of charitable visitation, and t\votwo visitors are assigned to each district. Supplies are distributed to the poor preferably to money. Members pay one dollar each within the month of their initiation, and thereafter each one pays one dollar annually. The officers are president, vice president, secretary an,d treasurer. During the first years of its existence the society held its meetings at the residences of its members, the most frequent places of assembly being the dwellings CHARITIES - 733 of Mrs. Maria M. Espy, Mrs. Joel Buttles, Mrs. Ashel Chittenden and, at a later period, of Mrs. John W. Andrews. The society's records from 1835 to 1869 are imperfect. On August 22, 1848, Mrs. I. G. Dryer, then president, acknowledged receipt of the proceeds of a concert donated by the Columbus band. The total receipts of the society in 1848 were $111.85, its total expenditures $110.35. The applications for relief during that year numbered 52. In February, 1849, six young misses formed a sewing circle and donated to the society its proceeds, amounting to $40.50. The total receipts in 1849 were $150.64, the expenditures $147.14 the applications for relief 74. In 1850 the receipts were $257.40, the expenditures $236.50. In January, 1851, the society received a donation of $70 from the Fame Engine and Hornet Hose companies. Relief was ;ranted in 1851 to 160 applicants. A fair for the benefit of the poor, given in January of that year, realized a net sum of $841.25. The society's receipts in 1853 were $900.85, expenditures $646.35. The report for 1854 stated that about $500 per year had been disbursed during several years preceding. During the spring of 1858 the Industrial School Association was organized with the following officers : President, Mrs. Hannah Neil ; secretary, Miss Matilda Gwynne ; teacher, Miss Ann Robinson. By this association a school was opened in the City Hall with eight pupils, which number was increased by the end of the year to fifty. In 1860 the average attendance at the school numbered sixty and its expenditures amounted to $190. The school held its sittings on Saturday afternoon of each week, from two o'clock until five. This time was devoted to the instruction of destitute children of the female sex. They were taught plain sewing and were trained and instructed morally. Mrs. Martha B. Taylor and Miss Lucy M. Peters were notable workers in this school. " Mothers' meetings " were held in connection with it, and in cases of special need or deserving, useful articles, including those made in the school, were donated to the children. As another branch of this work a mission Sundayschool was organized in 1862 and met in the City Hall. On June 30, 1866, the association was incorporated under the name of Industrial Mission School Association with Messrs. George Gere, I. C. Aston, E. L. Taylor, F. C. Sessions and J. J. Ferson as trustees. Of this board F. C. Sessions was chosen president and E. L. Taylor secretary. The association devoted its work at this time especially to the indigent children of soldiers. Mr. William A. Neil gave it a lot and the Columbus Branch of the United States Sanitary Commission donated for its use, with furniture and fixtures, the Soldiers' Home building situated near the railway station. The wish was publicly expressed that in connection with its school the association would establish a home for friendless women and children. This was accordingly done, and in November, 1868, a judicial decree was obtained conferring upon the joint institution the name of Hannah Neil Mission and Home of the Friendless. Under this name the dual charity, on April 1, 1868, began its work in the Soldiers' Home bnildings already mentioned. Thence it was removed, on December 15, 1869, to the building which had been used for the Asylum for the Feebleminded on East Main Street.' These premises, owned by the mission, comprise three and one quarter acres. In November, 1870, the Industrial School was transferred by the managers of the mission to the Female Benevolent Society, under the care of which it has since been conducted. The following statements concerning the school are taken, by permission, from an interesting paper written in the spring of 1889 by Mrs. W. A. Mahony The work of the Industrial school consists in collecting poor children and giving them instructions, Saturday mornings, in plain sewing, manners and morals. According to the original plan the two hours of the school session were spent mostly in sewing and the garments made were given to the children. Five years ago Mrs. Alice C. Brown, then superintendent of the school, suggested the advisability of making it more distinctly a training school 734 - HISTORY OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS. in Bible truths, in morals and in manners, and laid before the Benevolent Society a plan in which practical lessons in housewifery and useful instructions tending to the moral elevation of girls might be added to the lessons in sewing. That needed habits of selfdenial and economy might be instilled it was thought best to charge a small sum for the garments, which, in the previous years had been gratuitously distributed. After five years the plan has proven successful, and as one of the good results the school has become nearly selfsupporting. Not having a suitable and permanent place for holding its sessions it has always been subject to annoyances and many discouragements. The report of, the school for 1890, by Mrs. George J. Akinson, its secretary and treasurer, made the following showing : Average attendance in January, 105 scholars, 14 teachers, 4 officers; February, 110 scholars, 12 teachers, 4 officers ; March, 117 scholars, 12 teachers, 3 officers ; November, 100 scholars, 14 teachers, 4 officers ; December, 125 scholars, 17 teachers, 4 officers. Concerning the other branch of the dual charity we have, in the paper by Mrs. W. A. Mahony, already quoted, the following interesting account : In 1868 was opened a home or asylum for destitute women and children in a building used as a Soldiers' Home during the Civil War. Twentyone years ago it was removed to its present location on East Main Street. It is known as the Hannah Neil Mission and Home of the Friendless. Its purpose is to provide care and shelter, free or for compensation, to females of all ages, and to males under fifteen years of age, until such time as suitable provision can otherwise be made for them. There are twentysix managers, who, with the officers, constitute the managing board, all ladies, Mrs. E. A. Fitch the president. There is a board of trustees consisting of five prominent business men, of whom Mr. F. C. Sessions is president. The Hannah Neil Mission and Home of the Friendless is regarded in the relation of a sister to the Benevolent Society. Many of the visitors of the latter are officers or managers in the former, and the two societies have always worked together harmoniously. The efficient president of this society for many years was Mrs. R. D. Harrison, who ceased from her labors in this life and entered higher services in the fall of 1887. In a few short months she was joined by Mrs. Ide, who for twenty years had been friend, advisor and comforter in the Home. Mrs. Ide's sister, Mrs. Haver, was the first vice president. At the Home in Janu- ary of this year died the first vice president of the Hannah Neil Mission in 1866. She was known throughout the city as " Auntie [Mrs. M. B.] Taylor " She lived to reach her ninetieth year. A vote of the managers, in 1873, excluding a colored child, caused considerable feeling. A large proportion of the children at the Home of the Friendless was transferred to the Franklin County Children's Home in March, 1880. A similar transfer was made of the children in the County Infirmary. The cash receipts of the mission, from all sources, in 1890, amounted to $1,282. The average number of persons cared for each month during that year was twentyseven. The first permanent fund of the Female Benevolent Society was realized from the sale of the lot donated on April 25, 1838, by Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Kelley. This lot, situated on the east side of Fourth Street, between Oak and State, is believed to be that on which stands the building now used by the Woman's Educational and Industrial Union. The original school building erected on the lot, as heretofore stated, still stands on the rear part of it, and is used as a stable. The sum realized by the society from the sale of this ground was $500. The surplus remaining from the receipts of the State Capitol festival of January 6, 1857, was donated to the society, as has been stated in the history of the Capitol. From this donation a permanent fund of two hundred dollars has been established. A surplus of $200 from money raised in the Second Ward to aid in securing sufficient enlistments to exempt that ward from the draft during the Civil War, was also donated to the society, and is still preserved as a permanent investment. The will of Doctor Lincoln Goodale, probated May 29, 1868, contained the following bequest : " And 1 do hereby give and bequeath said one-fourth of one of said fifteen shares [into which his estate was divided] to the Ladies' Benevolent Society of the city of Columbus, called the Female Benevolent Society." This CHARITIES - 735 also constitutes a permanent fund. Its amount, as stated in the treasurer's report, is $16,885.67. In March, 1876, Mrs. Elizabeth E. Noble donated to the society as a memorial of her mother, Mrs. Matilda A. Edmiston, a railway bond of the denomination of $1,000, to be held and securely invested as a source of permanent income to this charity. On December 25, 1886, the society received from Mr. Benjamin S. Brown, of Columbus, a donation of ten thousand dollars to be invested and known as the Benjamin S. Brown Fund, the income from which should be expended for charitable purposes by the corporation receiving it. On January 5, 1887, Mr. William G. Deshler addressed to the president of the society, Mrs. H. M. Hubbard, a letter containing the following passages : Not long since I became possessed of a series of letters written by my mother, at Columbus, to her relatives in the East, during the years of 1817 to 1827, in which year she died on August 2.8 Her portrayals of the suffering among her neighbors, and in her own home, in consequence of the prevailing diseases incident to a new country, the failure of harvests and the cessation of business, tell us that the founders of Columbus struggled through years of great depression with a patient endurance that can hardly be comprehended by this generation. They also tell us that during all those dark years the wives nobly stood beside their husbands, sacrificing the necessities of life, and spending the little strength of their weakness for each other, and for the children. Her frequently expressed regrets for the little she did and the much she could not do for want of health and means, and her reflections thereon, have prompted the action now taken. I ask that the Columbus Female Benevolent Society become the almoner of my mother, Betsy Green Deshler, in accordance with the deed of. trust herewith. The deed here mentioned conveyed to the society the sum of one hundred thousand dollars " in assets at their cash value," and appointed George W. Sinks, George K. Nash, Andrew D. Rodgers, Rutherford H. Platt and Gilbert C. Hoover as an Advisory Board, they and their successors to have " the exclusive direction, control and management of all investments of money to be made in behalf of said trust." The deed further provided that a specific proportion of the income from the fund should, from year to year, be paid to the treasurer of the Hannah Neil Mission and Home of the Friendless for the benefit of that institution. Receipt of the assets conveyed by the deed was acknowledged by the Advisory Board on January 1, 1887. The next donation received by the society for permanant investment for its benefit was conveyed by will of Sylvester Medbery, of Columbus, March 25, 1887, in the following terms: I give to the Columbus Female Benevolent Society five thousand dollars to be by them invested as a permanent fund, the interest from which to be used by them for the relief of the poor and needy of Columbus, Ohio. On October 20, 1887, Mr. William G. Deshler addressed a letter to Mrs. H. M. Hubbard, president of the society, proposing as follows : The need of a department for special work in the Columbus charities is known to those who have given the subject attention. Under its act of incorporation your society could establish such department if its constitution and bylaws be amended. Action is now taken because that can be done only at an annual meeting of the society, sixty days' previous notice having been given of any proposed amendment. The date for the next annual meeting is January 4, 1888. Circumstances prompt me to provide, in part, at least, for that special work in the name of a loved daughter who for years was an active worker in your society. I desire to establish. the Kate Deshler Hunter Fund of $33,000 as of date September 26, 1887, the income therefrom to be used as provided in the deed of trust. The deed here named contained this section 736 - HISTORY OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS. I do hereby expressly provide, and this trust is always to be subject to this provision, that the said Columbus Female Benevolent Society shall, through a standing committee, to be called the Kate Deshler Hunter Fund Committee, from the money coming into its bands from this trust, to give temporary aid and care to such worthy poor, married or lately widowed women who are or are about to be " in the perils of childbirth," and also such temporary aid to infants as the committee shall determine. In carrying on this work the committee may pay rent, procure medical attendance, medicines, nurses, food, fuel, clothing and such other necessaries as may be proper, and extend such assistance for such length of time as each case, in the opinion of the committee, may require. The committee shall also endeavor to keep so advised that it can promptly aid in procuring wet nurses for those applying in cases of emergency. The Advisory Committee named for the administration of the Betsy Green Deshler fund was appointed for like service as to the Kate Deshler Hunter fund. These munificent gifts by Mr. Deshler were all acknowledged and accepted in appropriate terms by the society, but they by no means exhausted his generous intentions, for on November 27, 1889, he addressed the president of the society as follows : The constitution of your society provides, as a part of its work, the physical improvement of orphans and other poor children. There are and always will be in Columbus such children who are crippled from birth by disease or accident, needing care and mechanical or other appliances to cure. ameliorate or enable them to become workers for their own support in whole or in part. Through your society I desire to provide for some of such afflicted children, regardless of color, nationality or religion, who are under fourteen . years of age and whose parents or parent have lived in Columbus continuously for two years. I desire to establish the Deshler Hunter fund of $17,000 as of date November 12, 1889, the income thereof to be used as provided in the deed of trust herewith. Your work will be the wider spread because I am sure that the best medical and surgical advice and skill will always be gladly given, " without money and without price ;" also because temporary care in public hospitals or charitable homes in Columbus will always be had at nominal cost. Necessity for practical good results alone compelled the exclusion of children whose conditions are so hopeless of betterment that they could not become in part, at least, self supporting. The deed of trust which accompanied this communication was substantially the same as to form and conditions as the deeds which had conveyed Mr. Deshler 's previous donations. The total annual receipts of the society in various years subsequent to 1857 were as follows : 1859, $342.51 ; 1864, $926.54 ; 1865, $2,373.86 ; 1866, $2,331.73; 1868, $8,433.98 ; 1869, $3,799.45 ; 1870, $2,976.80 ; 1876, $3,770.13 ; 1888, $7,559.52 ; 1890, $10,219.51. The total permanent fund of the society in January, 1891, was $205,507.32. On the evening of January 5, 1885, a celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the organization of the society took place at the First Congregational Church. Rev. Washington Gladden, D. D., pastor of the church, presided on this occasion and was one of several speakers who addressed the audience present. Mr. William G. Deshler and the president of the society, Mrs. H. M. Hubbard, delivered semi-centennial addresses. The address of Mr. Deshler contained the following interesting passages concerning the nature and extent of the society's work : Not one cent is paid, nor a single article retained as pay, perquisite, salary or personal expense by anyone connected with the society . . . Since 1869, the cash handled amounts to $51,200, while the expenses have been $122, being less than twentyfour cents on each hundred dollars. . . . The society pays rent, dispenses medicines, provides fuel, procures nurses, purchases food, but gives no money to the poor. The impositions of short weight and scant measure, so often practiced upon those compelled by poverty to buy in small quantities, are prevented, while fair prices and good quality are secured. The cash value of the unnumbered articles of clothing and furniture, and the fuel and medicines collected and distributed, can not be given, nor even estimated ; page after page records these without affixing valuations. CHARITIES - 737 During the later years sudden emergencies under great public calamity have called the machinery of the society into full and immediate action. Being always at work in its own sphere, it was thus ready to take the lead and continue to the end in properly gathering and distributing. The Chicago fire, the Ohio and Scioto River floods and the " stonepile year" are notable cases. During the rebellion the society was constantly and industriously at work for the widows and children of the " brave boys who fell." The work thus done, the moneys thus handled, the garments thus made and the medicines and delicacies thus distributed are not included in the figures above given ; they embrace only the regular work among the poor in Columbus. Mrs Hubbard, in the course of her remarks, thus referred to some of the more prominent workers of the society : Miss Mary E. Stewart, afterwards Mrs Joseph Geiger, discharged the duties of secretary and treasurer for eleven years. Mrs. Alfred Kelley, at one time vice president, is remembered as one devoted to the work, who, while rarely absent from the meetings of the society, manifested her interest by generous contributions to the last day of her life. Mrs. John N. Champion was a zealous worker, for thirty years a visitor. . . . Mrs. John Butler completed a term of thirtyeight years as visitor. At the time she gave utterance to these statements Mrs. Hubbard had been president of the society for eighteen consecutive years. An active worker of very precious memory was Mrs. Richard D. Harrison. The same may he said of Mrs. Harriet E. Ide, Mrs. James L. Bates, Mrs. William M. Awl and many others who, although they have vanished from scenes of earthly activity, yet live in the affections and the usefulness of multitudes whom they have comforted or redeemed. ORPHANS' HOME. On November 16, 1858, a meeting of ladies representing the different churches of the city was held at the Second Presbyterian Church. Doctor William M. Awl presided, and Mesdames J. S. Hall, A. M. Gangewer, J. J. Janney, William Richards and J. N. Champion were appointed to prepare a constitution for an association the purpose of which should be to establish a home for orphan children. At an adjourned meeting Doctor Awl presided and the following ladies, each representing one of the Protestant religious societies of the city, were appointed members of the board of managers : Mesdames W. W. Mather, L. Kilbourn, J. Bartlit, W. E. Ide, Allen K. Mees, W. J. Emmett, A. M. Denig, Ambos, Jones, N. C. McConnell, Taft, S. M. Smith, Doctor Andrews, Lehmann, Vogle, H. Baldwin, L. Hey] and Wood. The following managers worn appointed for the wards: First, Mrs. Champion ; Second, Mrs. G. Denig; Third, Mrs. J. J. Janney; Fourth, Mrs. D. Stone; Fifth, Mrs. Hoster. On January 5, 1859, Miss Kate Chase was chosen secretary of the association, vice Miss Kate M. Tuttle, resigned. A house was engaged and fitted up for the reception of orphan children at Number 126 Front Street. The managers held their first meeting on February 1, 1859, Mrs. A. M. Gangewer presiding, and instructed the matron to receive all children presented for admission, pending investigation by a committee. In April, 1859, John W. Baker donated as a permanent site for the home a lot near the Asylum for the Insane. On petition, pursuant to an existing statute, the Probate Court appointed as trustees for the institution Messrs. John Noble, Luther Donaldson, C. P. L. Butler, N. B. Marple and M. B. Bateham. 47* 738 - HISTORY OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS. On November 1, 1859, the Society of the Orphans' Home of Columbus held its first annual meeting in the basement of the First Presbyterian Church. At this meeting reports were received from the executive committee, managers, treasurer, matron, trustees and physician, and the constitution was so amended as to provide that at an annual meeting to be held on the first Tuesday in November of each year a board of managers should be chosen consisting of two representatives from each Protestant congregation and two from each ward in the city, this board to elect a president, a vice president. a secretary and a treasurer. Twentytwo churches were represented at this meeting ; the following managers of the home were appointed : John Noble, C. P. L. Butler, Luther Donaldson, M. B. Bateham. On November 8, 1859, the following officers were elected: President, Mrs. John S. Hall ; vice presidents, Mesdames A. N. Gangewer, M. B. Bateham and John Miller ; secretary, Mrs. E. King ; treasurer, Mrs. W. B. Hawkes. The matron of the home was Mrs. Force ; its physician, Doctor W. L. McMillen. On October 1, 1860, an appropriation of $300 for the benefit of the institution was made by the City Council. In 1861 the home contained thirteen children ; in 1863 there were seventeen new admissions making, in all, twenty-six children cared for during that year. The whole number of children received in 1865 was 205. We have now reached a point at which, in order to trace the history of this charity, it is necessary to take up and follow another chain of events. On November 3, 1860, Jacob Hare, a native of Pennsylvania who bought a lot on High Street and settled in Columbus in 1812, died at the age of seventynine years. Mr. Hare's fortune at the time of his death amounted to about $46,000, all but about five thousand invested in real estate. His will bequeathed to his wife — " Seeny Ann Hare, formerly widow of John Barcus and daughter of Tarleton Thomas "all his household goods and an annuity of $200 to be increased to $250 after five years, provided she should remain unmarried. He gave nothing to his children, of whom there were several, but disposed of the residue of his possessions in the following terms : All the balance of my estate, after the settlement thereof and the allowance to the widow as above provided, both real and personal, or of whatever nature or kind it may be, I give, devise and bequeath to the City of Columbus, in the State of Ohio, to form a charity fund for the benefit of the poor and unfortunate of said city. It is to be kept separate and distinct from all other city funds, but it is to be forever under the care, management and control of the City Council. . . . and they shall at such time as the state of the fund will justify it, erect a suitable building or edifice to be named the Orphans' Home or Beneficial Asylum and used for the benfit of the fund and institution herein and hereby contemplated. William T. Martin was named as the preferred and James Cherry as contingent executor of this will, a copy of which was presented to the City Council on April 15, 1861, and was referred to a permanent committee designated as the Hare Charity Fund Committee, the members of which were Messrs. Stauring, Wilson and Comstock. Suits brought by the wife and children of Mr. Hare to set aside his will resulted in a compromise which was agreed to by the parties litigant on July 11, 1863, and on November 30 of the same year was judicially confirmed. Thereupon a committee representing the City Council received from William T. Martin, Hare's executor, assets to the value of $7,036.57. In reporting this transaction the council committee recommended that, in accordance with the purposes of the bequest, a building suitable for an orphans' home should be erected within the city, and accordingly, on December 21, 1863, a resolution was passed directing the standing committee on the Hare Charity Fund to report to the council plans for the equipment and government of such an institution. This action seems to have been barren of important results, and the administration of the Hare charity developed no further noteworthy event until February 19,1866, when the trustees CHARITIES - 739 of the Columbus Orphans' Home Society, above described, adopted the following resolutions: 1. That for the purpose of more efficiently promoting the object of the institution, all the property, real and personal, of the same be and hereby is offered to the City of Columbus as an addition to the charity fund established by the will of the late Jacob Hare, to be applied in connection with said charity fund to the erection and maintenance in the city of Columbus of an Orphans' Home, as is contemplated in said will. 2. That, as the value of the property referred to in the foregoing resolution amounts to the sum of six thousand dollars, the offer hereby made is upon the condition that the like sum be appropriated from said charity fund to be expended in the erection of the necessary buildings. 3. That upon the acceptance of this offer the president and secretary of the board are directed to convey to the City of Columbus, or to its assigns, the real estate belonging to this institution, and to transfer in like manner its personal assets. On January 28, 1867, these propositions were accepted by the council, and Mr. J. C. Toll, councilman from the Third Ward, was appointed to receive in the name of the city the deeds, bonds and property of the institution known as the Columbus Orphans' Home. An ordinance providing for the establishment of a home for orphan children was then passed and Messrs. Robert Chadwick, Christopher Kammerer, W. J. Fell and Isaac Beekey were chosen trustees of the institution.' On taking charge of the property donated by the Columbus Orphans' Home Association these trustees found the building then in use by that association in a very dilapidated condition. The average number of children cared for under its roof in 1866 was twenty ; the average expense for each child about $1.50 per week. When the directors undertook to indenture the children about half of them were removed by their friends. The average number of children in the Home during the year 1868 was thirteen ; during 1871 the whole number eared for was fourteen. The receipts for the year ended March 31, 1872, were $2,007.50; the expenses, $2,059.33. In his report for 1871, the Secretary of the Board of State Charities, Rev. A. G. Byers, made some references to the institution which were the reverse of complimentary. In the course of these allusions Secretary Byers said: Of course it would serve no good purpose of your honorable board to reiterate stories of indecency and wrong which, though now only traditional, are sad facts in the history of this welldevised but certainly badly managed charity. That it has been badly managed is as palpable now as that its present condition is one of pitiable neglect. The building is one of a large block situated on [West] Town Street between High and Front streets the very center of business in Columbus) familiarly known as the " Eight Buildings." Nothing could be more ineligible than this building, both as regards its location and construction. It is four stories high and contains but ten rooms. From basement to roof it is out of repair. . . . Not a green thing, nor anything having an appearance of comfort., is to be seen anywhere about the institution, save that there were evidences of kindness and real maternal sympathy upon the part of the matron toward the unfortunate children. There were ten of these, some at the public schools, others at play in the filthy yard. . . . Mr. Chadwick informed me that during the entire spring and summer not to exceed ten dollars had been expended for vegetables out of the fund appropriated for the maintenance of the Home, and that probably nothing but the personal expenditures and care of Mrs. Lonnis, the matron, had averted scurvy from the children. Secretary Byers recommended that, if possible, the Home should be transferred to the " care of the Ladies' Benevolent Society, or some other private charitable organization." Evidently, as a manager of benefactions for the poor the City Council did not strike him as a brilliant success. By an ordinance passed in March, 1868, the Probate Judge was authorized to send uncared for children to the Home. Four years later Mr. J. J. Janney reported resolutions to the City Council declaring that the management of the Home had not been satisfactory and directing its discontinuance. On May 27, 1878, the 740 - HISTORY OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS. council committee on the Hare Orphans' Home reported that the buildings, on Town Street, then occupied by the Home were unsuitable for its uses and recommended that they be sold. Resolutions embracing these suggestions were submitted by the committee to the council and adopted. On November 4, 1878, the council, on unanimous recommendation of the committee on the Hare Orphans' Home, adopted a resolution accepting a proposition from George B. Okey to exchange property comprising one and onethird acres of ground for the Home property in the Eight Buildings and the sum of $3,800 to be paid from the Hare fund. In 1883, at the suggestion of Mrs. Harriet E. Ide, the managers of the Home for the Friendless offered to receive and care for the children, ten in number, then supported from the Hare fund. This proposition was accepted, the council agreeing to appropriate from the fund and pay to the institution receiving the children the sum of $130 per month. This arrangement was considered favorable to the city and proved to be beneficial to the children. The property of the Hare fund, on Woodland Avenue, was meanwhile let on lease. On May 29,1888, the trustees of the Hare fund decided to terminate the contract with the Home of the Friendless, and employed a matron to take charge of the children. The institution now occupies its property on Woodland Avenue, where twenty-seven children are being eared for. On May 19, 1890, the City Council adopted a resolution instructing its committee on the Hare Charity Fund to make a full report of the administration of the fund from the time of its origin to that date. An attorney employed by this committee to collect the information desired submitted a very imperfect report which he stated was the best that could be compiled from the records, the keeping of which had been extremely slovenly. In the course of his report the attorney said : From an examination of the records in the office of the [City] Treasurer I am unable to find any answer showing receipts for any money, bonds, stocks, etc. ; neither can I find from the record in the Probate Court just what the executors turned over. The attorney further stated that he had been unable to obtain from the books in the City Clerk's office " the annual statements of receipts and disbursements for any years prior to 1876." The report contains a list and statement of terms of the different leases of the Hare property constituting the Orphans' Home fund, but furnishes no appraisements or estimates of value. In submitting this report the committee acknowledges that it shows gross negligence " on the part of those who are authorized by the City Council to have the care and management of this bequest." The annual rental under existing leases was reported by the committee at $2,015, which is considered, by persons competent to judge, a very small return on the value of the property. On the whole it may well be doubted whether the estate of Jacob Hare would not have accomplished more good thus far, had it been permitted to go to his legal heirs. WOMAN'S HOSPITAL. An institution bearing this name was organized on December 18, 1867. Its original officers were : President, Doctor S. M. Smith; secretary, James A. Wilcox; trustees, James L. Bates, J. F. Bartlit, Joseph Hutcheson, A. Huston, Thomas Lough, Peter Ambos and William A. Neil. CHARITIES - 741 WOMAN'S HOME. A refuge for destitute, fallen and unfortunate women was established under this name on February 15, 1870, by the Woman's Christian Association, which had been organized during the preceding winter. It was opened on April 15, 1876, under the management of Mrs. L. V. Desellem, who was one of its most active founders. Mrs. Desellem had previously been engaged for several years as matron of the Ohio Penitentiary. The Home occupied a brick building leased for the purpose on East Rich Street. It was supported entirely by the voluntary contributions of its friends and patronesses. The association charged a fee of one dollar for active membership, five dollars for sustaining membership and twenty-five dollars for life membership. The annual report of the association for 1870 showed a roll of 286 active, 44 sustaining and 11 life members. Mrs. James L. Bates was the first president. In 1874 the Home occupied a building on Long Street, in _List Park Place. On May 4 of that year Mrs. Desellem retired from the position of matron. The institution accomplished much good, and was a forerunner of other charities in the same field. Its present successor is the HAIG MISSION. which takes its name from its founder, Rev. James Haig, who, in 1889, established a regular mission at the corner of Washington Avenue and Mound Street, where religious services were held three nights per week. Mr. Haig has succeeded in reinforcing his own very zealous efforts by the cooperation of numerous representatives of the Protestant churches, and has opened a Bethel for the rescue of fallen women on South Seventh Street. WOMAN'S EXCHANGE. Of this helpful and semi-benevolent enterprise Mrs. W. A. Mahony, in the paper already quoted, gives the following account : The Woman's Exchange is a cooperative institution organized five years ago [in 1884] and has enabled many a family to live independently through the earnings of mothers or sisters who can do certain kinds of work in their own homes. The question, " what in the world can 1 do to keep my family together" is asked by many a widowed wife or mother and the Woman's Exchange gives the answer: "Learn to do one thing so well that somebody will want your work, and we will be your agent in bringing your work and a customer together” The noblest charity is in helping women to help themselves ; this the Woman's Exchange does by providing a market for all articles of domestic manufacture. Any lady, in any circumstances, may become a consignor by purchasing a ticket for $1.25 which enables her to place on sale at the Exchange her wares for the period of six months ; a $2.00 ticket gives her the same privilege for one year. Last year there were fifty- six consignors from 742 - HISTORY OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS. Columbus and twentyeight from other cities and towns. . . . One bread consignor last year was paid over $1,000. Orders are received for marking linen and for repairing and cleaning laces. Purchasers do not know whose goods they buy, but are requested to ask the number of the consignor, as the persons making consignments are known by numbers only. WOMAN'S INDUSTRIAL HOME. This admirable institution began its working existence on January 26, 1887, under superintendence of Mrs. Ira J. Bailey, as matron. Continuing the passages just quoted, Mrs. Mahony gives the following account of its origin : The managers. of the Woman's Exchange found it impracticable to sustain the educational branches of their work with which they started out, viz.: The cooking school, kitchen garden, etc.; but earnest women realized the great necessity of more experience and efficiency among working girls and women and in 1886 the Woman's Industrial and Educational Union was organized. The purpose of this association, as stated in the second article of its constitution, is " to unite the women of Columbus in moral and educational work for the benefit of working women and girls, and to protect and promote their moral, industrial and financial interests." There are several departments of educational and industrial training, including a kitchen garden for training little girls in domestic work, an evening cooking school, a dressmaking class, a night school and classes in hygiene ; a home wherein young women disabled or temporarily out of employment are made comfortable ; rooms and board given to working girls at a very moderate price ; a kindergarten for children whose parents have no time to care for them ; a nursery where little children and infants are cared for while their mothers are out for a day's work ; evening classes and social gatherings ; moral and religious training and mothers' meetings ; an employment bureau where may be found a list of employers and those seeking employment ; a small library, to which the managers of the Union would gladly receive additions, and a public reading room with a superintendent in charge. The first president of the association was Mrs. Alice Corner Brown. The Woman's Industrial Home occupies the building which now stands upon the lot donated by Alfred Kelley to the Female Benevolent Society, as stated in a preceding part of this chapter. Under date of August 10, 1890, the following item appeared in an evening paper : Last January Mr. B. S. Brown proposed to the Woman's Educational and Industrial Union to pay the last $5,000 due on the home at 64 South Fourth Street. Since April 1, the remainder has been raised and on August 1, the house passed to the Union for $15,586,14. [Mr. Brown has since made an additional donation to the Home of $500.—A. E. L.] The Home is sustained by voluntary offerings, by membership fees and by moderate charges for board and. rooms. All girls belonging to the Union are entitled to the privileges of the evening classes in the common English branches, plain sewing and dressmaking. The nursery takes care of the infants of work - ingwomen while at their tasks. Girls from 8 to 14 years of age are trained in the kitchen garden for domestic service. Meetings of working mothers are held once a week. CHARITIES - 743 HOME FOR THE AGED. The object of this institution, as declared in its constitution, is "the care, support and maintenance of old people." The movement which resulted in its establishment began with a charity ball, said to have been the first of its kind in Columbus, held at the Princess Rink, West Spring Street, on December 30, 1886. From this ball, gotten up for the especial benefit of the Home project, and chiefly organized and managed by Mrs. Maria Monypeny, the sum of $1,400 was realized. This success furnished a basis as well as encouragement for further active proceedings, and on January 10, 1887, the following trustees for the institution were chosen by the Home Association : J. M. Westwater, D. S. Gray, A. G. Patton, L. C. Newsom, Mrs. Maria Monypeny, Mrs. N. E. Lovejoy and Mrs. A. D. Rodgers. From the beginning of the association until the present time Mrs. Maria Monypenv has been its president. Mrs. A. D. Rodgers, Mrs. W. H. Akin and Mrs. D. S. Gray were the original vice presidents. Mrs. Charles Monypeny was the first treasurer, and Mrs. Ira Hutchinson was the first secretary. On February 22, 1887, a Martha Washington teaparty " for the benfit of the Home was held at the Columbus Club House. During the following spring the project received a most important impetus from the generosity of Mr. William Monypeny, who donated to the association as a permanent site for its proposed institution a lot opposite to the eastern portion of Franklin Park, on East Broad Street. To this lot, 100 x 180 feet, a tract 50 x 180 Feet, on which it is intended to erect a home for aged men, has since been added by purchase. Pending the preparations to build on this tract Colonel A. G. Patton granted to the association the use without charge, of a large dwelling-house with ample and beautiful grounds, situated a few hundred yards west of Franklin Park on East Broad Street. This generous offer was accepted, and in the house the use of which was thus acquired the Home was opened in April, 1887. A " French market " for the benefit of the building fund of the Home was held, beginning December 5, 1887, and proved to be one of the most interesting social events in the history of the city. The " market" took place at the West Spring Street skating rink, then used as the Fourteenth Regiment Armory, and attracted an extraordinary patronage. On the evenings of December 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 musical and dramatic entertainments were given in which the most accomplished amateurs of the city took part, and which were acknowledged on all sides to have been extremely well rendered. The bazar was very skilfully arranged and presented a great variety of original and curious attractions. The net proceeds of the market amounted to $2,012.24, and raised the cash resources of the association to the sum of $6,891.83 On June 26, 1888, the cornerstone of the permanent Home building was laid with appropriate ceremonies, followed by a lawn fete on the grounds of the temporary Home. The building was completed during the year 1888, with twenty-one rooms. Its architect was Charles A. Stribling; the members of the building committee were William Monypeny and E. T. Mithoff. The present indebtedness of the institution is about $1,700. Annually a " harvest home" for its benefit is held in October. Applications for admission to the institution are made to tine Board of Lady Managers. All persons admitted must have resided in Franklin County at least three years, and must be at least fifty years of age. At fifty the admission fee is $500 ; between fiftyfive and sixty $400 ; at and above sixty $300. The Home at present receives aged ladies only. 744 - HISTORY OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS. NEWSBOYS' HOME. In October, 1885, a reading room at which newsboys might spend their evenings was opened, through the efforts of Mrs. Ira J. Bailey, at Number 29 West Rich Street. In a short time a Sundayschool was added and was attended by about thirty boys. Some of these lads apparently having no home, some of the benevolent ladies of the city interested themselves in their behalf and cots, with bedding, for boys who had no .lodging places were provided. The sum of three cents each was charged for the use of the cots, and all of them were occupied. As the number of boys patronizing the home steadily increased, a sixroom frame house on East Long Street was rented, and additional cots were procured. On January 1, 1886, the establishment was transferred to a brick building on West Town Street, and Miss A. E. Pumphrey was engaged as its matron. Here classes in the common English branches of instruction were organized, and at the close of each week an entertainment consisting of dialogues, recitations and music was given. A savings bank in which the boys could put away their pennies was also provided. Of the average yearly expense of maintaining the Home the boys paid about onethird. The residue was obtained mainly from donations and from fees paid by members of the association by which the Home was established. The officers and directors of this association and of the Home, in 1886, were the following : N. S. Smith, president; W. D. Brickell, vice president; F. W. Truman, secretary and treasurer ; George W. Bright, Nelson A. Sims, Clarence Maris, R. S. Smith, L. L. Rankin and W. B. Page. There was also a board of lady managers representing the different churches. The Home is at the present time in a state of suspension. HUMANE SOCIETY. The first organization under this name took place in December, 1873, and seems to have been prompted by the presence in the city at the time of the eminent champion of abused brute creatures and children, Mr. Henry Bergh, of New York. The object of the society was declared to be to enforce existing and future laws for the prevention of cruelty to animals. James L. Bates was chosen president and J. A. Scarritt secretary. in 1874 the directors were D. W. Brooks, president ; J. A. Scarritt, secretary ; E. L. Hinman, E. L. Taylor, William Riches, J. J. Voglegesang, Walter C. Brown, Theodore Comstock, Yeatman Anderson, T. W. Tallmadge, T. Ewing Miller, John G. Mitchell, William B. Hayden, Walstein Failing, Richard Nevins and P. W. Huntington. The annual fee for members was $5; for patrons $1. Police officers and patrolmen were asked to render the society whatever aid they could in the prevention of cruelties forbidden by a statute of April 4, 1871. This association seems not to have been permanent, for under date of November 21, 1883, we read of a meeting of ladies and gentlemen for the purpose of organizing in Columbus a branch of the State Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and Children. J. A. Scarritt was chairman of this meeting and J. J. CHARITIES - 745 Janney secretary. A constitution was adopted and a committee to nominate officers to an adjourned meeting was appointed. On December 7, 1883, the association was incorporated as the Humane Society of the City of Columbus. "After a period of inactivity" this society met in December,1884, and elected the following officers: President, H. M. Neil; vice presidents, J. A. Scarritt, George K. Nash and Miss Lou. Phillips ; secretary, J. W. Myers ; treasurer, W. H. Albery; also a board of directors. The objects of the society were at this time declared to be to prevent cruelty to animals, to protect neglected children and to create a public sentiment against the abuse of innocent creatures whether of the brute kind or human. As an auxiliary movement the children of the public schools were organized in Bands of Mercy, preliminary to joining which they signed the following pledge: " I promise to be kind to all creatures within my reach, and to protect them as far as I can from cruelty and illusage." On December 14, 1885, the society elected the following officers: President, F. C. Sessions; vice presidents, Mrs. H. E. Ide, W. H. Slade, Miss Lou Phillips ; secretary, J. W. Myers ; treasurer, W. H. Albery ; also a board of directors. At an anniversary meeting of the society on December 9, 1889, an address was delivered by its president, 0. A. B. Senter, and a legacy of one thousand dollars was received from Mrs. Mary N. Bliss. The present officers of the society are: President, R. C. Hoffman ; vice presidents, Frank C. Hubbard, Mrs. Lafayette Backus; secretary, E. 0. Randall ; treasurer, W. H. Albery; attorneys, Frank C. Hubbard and E. 0. Randall. The first agent of the society was Mr. Fraser, the second C. M. Morris, the third T. B. Vause, who is now in service. The society is supported entirely by voluntary donations. The annual membership fee is one dollar. CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL. Plans for an institution bearing this name were conceived early in 1890, and on February 27, 1891, articles of incorporation of the Children's Hospital of Columbus were filed with the Secretary of State. The movement aims to provide for the care of sick chidren, pursuant to the belief that this can be done best in an institution devoted to children exclusively. The trustees are James Kilbourn, George W. Sinks, Herman G. Dennison, Charles Parrott, A. B. Cohen, Thomas C. Hoover, Edwin Kelton, Starling Loving, F. C. Eaton, John Siebert, C. F. Clark, C. C. Waite, G. C. Hoover, W. F. Goodspeed and H. A. Lanman. CITY POOR FUND. This fund is disbursed by the City Infirmary director, who states in his report for the year ended March 31, 1891, that 9,307 persons, or about one tenth of the population of the entire city had received during that year the benefit of this charity. The number of families relieved was over eleven hundred. Only to persons who have been bona fide residents of the city for at least one year can the fund be disbursed. The amount of such disbursements during the year ended 746 - HISTORY OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS. March 31, 1891, was $2,346.20. The disbursements of the County Infirmary directors in Montgomery Township during the same year were $15,272.58. The dispensation of the city fund is limited to the demands upon the city infirmary office. NOTES. 1. Ohio State Journal. 2. About $1,000 of this money remained after all calls were satisfied, and was ordered to be refunded to the donors. 3. An act of the General Assembly passed February 15, 1884, appropriated $200.000 for the relief of the Ohio flood sufferers. Pursuant to this act a State Relief Commission was appointed, of which P. W. Huntington, of Columbus, was treasurer. The report of this commission showed total receipts amounting to $145,077.48, of which sum $45,077.48 was derived from private sources. 4. Semi-centennial Manual, 1888. 5. Ibid. 6. Ibid. 7. These buildings and grounds were purchased for the mission October 20, 1869. The amount paid was $12,000. The money with which the first payment was made was collected chiefly by Mrs. Doctor W. E. Ide and Mrs. Doctor S. M. Smith. 8. The letters here referred to by Mr. Deshler, are the same quoted in Chapter XIV of Volume I of this work. 9. This ordinance provided that all rents and income of whatever nature which might be derived from the Hare legacy should be set aside forever for the support of the inmates of the institution and other purposes connected therewith, and that the institution should receive all orphan foundlings and abandoned children of the city which should be brought to it. The organization and management of the Home were placed under the control of four trustees to be chosen by the council. CHAPTER XLVIII. ASSOCIATIVE ORGANIZATIONS—I. MASONIC BODIES. BY DAVID N. KINSMAN, M. D. The Mount Vernon Commandery.-- From the records of Mount Vernon Commandery Number One, now stationed at Columbus, Ohio, we learn that in answer to a petition signed by two Knights Templar (John Snow and Frederick A. Curtis) and five Royal Arch Masons, (James Kilbourn, Chester Griswold, Chauncey Barker, Levi Pinney, and Mark Seely) members of Horeb Chapter Number Three, located then, as now, at Worthington, Ohio, a dispensation was issued by Thomas Smith Webb, Deputy General Grand Master of the United States. The following is a copy of the document : By Thomas Smith Webb, Esq., Deputy General Grand Master of the General Grand Encampment of the United States, to John Snow, Knight Templar, Knight of Malta and of the Red Cross ; Sir Knight : You are hereby authorized and empowered to congregate and assemble together in the town of Worthington in the State of Ohio a sufficient and legal number of Knights of the above mentioned orders, and to open a Council and Encampment in the said town and therein confer the said orders from such tried and worthy companions of the Royal Arch as may make application for the same, conforming in all your doings to the Constitution of the United States of America ; this dispensation to remain and continue in force for the space of three months from the date hereof, unless sooner revoked, and at the expiration of which time the said dispensation to be returned to me, with an account of your proceedings, by virtue of the same, it being expressly understood that any work performed under this authority is to be done in behalf of the General Grand Encampment and for the benefit of its funds, unless a charter should hereafter issue for the permanent establishment of an Encampment in said town consequent upon this dispensation. Given under my hand and seal the 14th day of March. 1818. THOMAS SMITH WEBS, Deputy General Grand Master, General Grand Encampment of United States. Under the authority of this dispensation Sir Knight John Snow summoned all of the Sir Knights living within the distance of forty miles to assemble at the [747] 748 - HISTORY OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS. Masonic Hall in the Academy in Worthington, Ohio. On March 15, 1818, in obedience to this summons, Thomas Smith Webb, hailing from the General Grand Encampment of the United States and the Grand Encampment of Massachusetts and Rhode Island ; John Snow, hailing from St. John's Encampment, Rhode Island ; and Frederick Curtis, hailing from Ireland, as we believe, the only Templars in Ohio, met. They exchanged credentials, read the petition and dispensation, and under the authority of the foregoing dispensation proceeded to form and open a council of Red Cross Knights. The council then " resolved to proceed to confer the orders of .knighthood on such approved companions as may make application for the same." James Kilbourn and Chester Griswold were elected and created and dubbed Knights of the Red Cross after which the council " disbanded in good harmony." Thus began the history of Mount Vernon Commandery Number One. On March 17, 1818, Chauncey Barker, Levi Pinney and Mark Seely received the order of the Red Cross. On March 20, 1818, an encampment of Knights Templar and Knights of Malta of the order of St. John of Jerusalem was opened. " Chester Griswold having been proposed and elected. having been duly prepared and conducted through the various ceremonies appertaining to the orders with firmness and constancy, was dubbed and created Knight of the Valiant and Magnanimous orders of Knight Templar and Knight of Malta of the order of St. John of Jerusalem, the encampment was disbanded in good harmony " On March 25,1818, Chauncey Barker and James Kilbourn were created Templars. On April 10,1818, Levi Pinney and Mark Seeley received the order of the Temple. This closed the list of original petitioners. Joseph S. Hughes and William Little received the order of Red Cross May 29. June 5, Roger Searle, Benjamin Gardiner and Pardon Sprague received the Red Cross. An encampment was then opened and Joseph S. Hughes and William Little received the orders of the Temple and Malta. On the sixth of June Benjamin Gardiner and Roger Searle received the orders of the Temple and Malta. These two men were clergymen and their fees were remitted. Thomas Smith Webb, who had been present at all the meetings, now disappears and on the twenty-seventh of January, 1820, we find at a meeting of Mount Vernon Encampment the following roster of officers : M. E., Sir John Snow, Grand Commander ; E., Sir Chester Griswold, Generalissimo ; E., Sir James Kilbourn, Captain General ; Sir Joseph S. Hughes, Prelate ; Sir' Chauncey Barker, Senior Warden and Sword-Bearer ; Sir Mark Seely, Junior Warden and Treasurer ; Sir William Little, Recorder and Standard Bearer ; Sir Levi Pinney, Warder. At this meeting the charter was received which had been issued September 15, 1819. In this document we find the names of the following Knights: Sir John Snow, who was the first Commander ; Sir Chester Griswold, who was the first Generalissimo ; Rev. Sir Roger Searle, who was the first Captain-General; Rev. Sir Joseph S. Hughes, who was the first Prelate ; Sir James Kilbourn, who was the first Senior Warden ; Sir Levi Pinney, who was the first Junior Warden ; Sir Benjamin Gardiner, who was the first Treasurer ; Sir William Little, who was the first Recorder. To this charter were signed the names of Dewitt Clinton, General Grand Master ; Henry Fowle, Deputy General Grand Master ; John Snow, General Grand Generalissimo ; Ezra Ames, General Grand Captain-General. From the language of the charter we are led to infer that Thomas Smith Webb was already dead and that Mount Vernon Encampment was the last Masonic body to feel the touch of his fostering band. On February 22, 1820, the committee on accounts reported that after all just debts were paid there remained in the treasury nine dollars and eight cents. On this evening the first election was held under the charter which resulted as follows : Sir John Snow, Grand Commander ; Sir Chester Griswold, Generalissimo ; Sir Benjamin Gardiner, Captain-General ; Sir Joseph Hughes, Prelate ; Sir Mark Seely, ASSOCIATIVE ORGANIZATIONS - I - 749 Senior Warden ; Sir James Kilbourn, Junior Warden ; Sir Levi Pinney, Treasurer; Sir William Little, Recorder ; Sir Pardon Sprague, Sword Bearer ; Sir Erastus Webb, Standard-Bearer; Sir Chauncey Barker, Warder. " No further business appearing, the council was dissolved in good harmony." On May 21, 1820, there was a meeting at which the Red Cross was conferred and these zealous Knights met no more until February 22, 1821. At this meeting a committee was appointed to compare the original and transcribed minutes. The committee on bylaws reported a code for the government of the encampment. " A very respectful communication having been received from Sir Benjamin Gardiner stating his reasons for non-attendance they were considered satisfactory by this council. Satisfactory evidence was given that Sir William Little was not within a distance of forty miles at the issuing of this summons for convening this encampment. It being made known satisfactorily that Sir John Snow was absent on Masonic duties, it was considered sufficient reason for his absence. Sir Levi Pinney being absent, and no reason being assigned, it is therefore ordered that a summons be issued requiring him to attend the next Meeting and account for his absence." At this meeting the second election for officers took place. Chester Griswold declined the office of Generalissimo. Such a surprising circumstance is not known to have occurred again in the history of this body. At the next meeting, June 1, 1821, Pinney was excused. Platt Benedict, many years after efficient in Masonic labors in the city of Toledo and Republic, petitioned for the orders. On February 22, 1822, Samuel R. Muller, of Cincinnati, Calvin Conant, Elias Fowler of Putnam, Ohio, and Ezra Griswold, of Delaware, made applica- tion for the orders. The encampment voted to pay postage on all letters directed to members of this encampment, which was no small expense at that period. We find in 1823, that at a meeting on February 22, ten dollars were appropriated to be divided equally among the Sir Knights, members of this encampment, residing at Delaware, as a remuneration of their expenses in obtaining lectures for the benefit of the institution. On February 16, 1824, the petition of William Fielding, of Franklin, Warren County, was presented. This brother was long noted as a blue lodge lecturer throughout the country, and was Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Ohio. To show that many points of interest have been dropped in these records, we cite the following : On February 23, 1824, Bela Latham was elected Prelate of Mount Vernon Encampment, yet the records are silent concerning whence he hailed or how be secured his membership. At this meeting a resolution was passed as follows: Resolved, that this Encampment pay out of any funds in the Treasury a reasonable compensation to Sir John Snow for instructing Sirs E. Griswold and B. Latham members of this Encampment, in the lectures so as to enable us to perform the ceremonies of conferring the degrees of Knighthood with propriety, and that all the necessary expenses incurred by said Sir Knights while acquiring the same be paid also by this Encampment. Later we find thirty dollars were voted for this purpose which were declined by Sir Knight Snow in an affectionate address. The rules, regulations, statutes and by-laws were very elastic along in 1825. In January of this year we find the following : " On motion, unanimously resolved that the by-laws of this Encampment, so far as relates to the admission of candidates, be dispensed with." About this time it was a charming exhibition of knightly courtesy to make the Sir Knight recommending a companion the committee of investigation. During all the period which we have traversed the fees for the orders were $25. In 1825, at the May meeting, General George Sanderson was elected. He for many years lived in Lancaster, where he died and was buried with knightly honors a few years since. He was one of the charter members