50 - GREENE COUNTY 1808-1908. The contract for the erection of the second jail—the first building in the county erected for this specific purpose--was let on July 2, 1804., to Amos" Darrough, to be built of hewed logs, and to be completed by the 15th of September. It was located on the public square. Only a few months later, on March 12, 1805, this building was found inadequate to the needs of the young county, where, it would seem, crime was keeping pace with the progress that was evidenced in other matters, and it was ordered that an addition be built to the county jail, the contract being given to James Collier for the sum of $640. The contractor was slow in completing the work and much fault was found by the county commissioners. When the building was finally accepted, August, 1806, Mr...Collier Was docked $50 for imperfections, as the .original contractor, Mr. Darrough, had been docked $30 for defective work. In the latter part of .1807, this jail was burned; but the contract for erecting the third jail was not given until December, 1808, when it was ordered that public jail be erected in the town of Xenia on the ground staked off. The foundation to be 18 inches deep and 20 feet square, and all the material of the old jail that was saved to be used in the new one." This building was a two-story building constructed of hewed .logs, and was situated near the north end of the square, on the ground afterwards occupied by the market house. This jail in the fall of 1808 was also burned. Very soon after the burning of jail number three, the contract was let for the building of a stone jail. This contract was let to James Miller, the lowest bidder, at $1,084. . It was located on the north side of the public square, being completed and accepted December 15, 1815. This was used as a county prison until 1836, when it was replaced by a brick building, larger and more Modern, erected by Daniel Lewis at a cost of $4600 and this also was located on the public square fronting to the north. The cells for the prisoners were on the east side, next to Green street. A hall ran through the center of the building and on the west side were two rooms for the use of the sheriff. This jail, as well as the stone one which preceded it, had a room used only for debtors, as in the early days of Greene County it was not uncommon to imprison A HISTORICAL SKETCH OF GREENE COUNTY - 51 for debt. To some debtors was granted the liberty of the jail yard ; some were only prohibited from leaving the county, while others were confined to the debtors room. That the county commissioners were a thrifty set of -men is shown in the fact, found in some old records, that on the second day of December, 1822, as there were no prisoners in the debtors' room, there was no necessity for a fire, and rather than have the stove in that room idle, it was rented. to John McPherson for seventy-five cents a month, "to be returned at .any time on the order of the jailor, after a sufficient time allowed for it to get cool." There was, during the early days, a sugar tree upon the public square which served as a whipping pOst. A culprit who had stolen a set of plow irons received a sentence of eight lashes on the bare back in October, 1808. This was the second and last public whipping for crime in our fair county, the first being one stripe for stealing leather to half-sole a pair of shoes. The present jail, with the residence of the sheriff, was built in 1860, the location being then changed from the public square to the southwest corner of Market and Whiteman streets. The cons tract was awarded to John Scott for the sum of $7,340, and the building was accepted by the commissioners on the 8th day of December, 1860. This is the sixth county jail and the fifth building erected for that purpose. THE PUBLIC LIBRARY. The first public library in Xenia was organized in 1816, with fifty-two subscribers. The constitution stated that each subscriber should pay to the librarian "five dollars on each share annually." The subscribers were to "meet on the fourth Saturday of March, 1816, and on the same day annually forever" for the purpose of electing directors and transacting all necessary business. Each subscriber was entitled to draw books in proportion to the number of his shares. In spite of the fact that this constitution declared that the subscribers were to meet "annually forever" the existence of this library seems not to have been of long duration. We find in the archives of the county no record of any other library being established until in the forties, when was in existence 52 - GREENE COUNTY 1803-1908. an organization known as "The Lyceum" and to it is credited the beginning of Xenia's present library. After several years the Lyceum ceased to exist, but the books collected formed the nucleus of a library which later passed into the hands of the Y. M. C. A. This library was short-lived. The books from it again changed hands, coming into the control of a reading club of eight ladies, organized in 1878. Appreciating the need of a public library in Xenia, this club formed itself into "The Young Woman's Library Association." Claiming to possess only energy and perseverance, they hoped for success if assistance be given them. They met with encouragement and at this time the books from the former library were placed under their control. In 1881, the Association became an incorporated body and each year showed marked increase and success. The same organization continues in control, and through its earnest efforts Xenia is now in possession of a handsome Carnegie Library. CHURCHES. It has well been said that "religion entered the county hand in hand with the pioneers," for, before churches were erected, we find the people forgetting not the assembling of themselves together for prayer and praise. Caesar's Creek Baptist Church is probably the oldest organized church in the county. It is located on the dividing line between New Jasper and Silver Creek Townships. It was organized in 1803 and a log cabin erected and dedicated as a place of worship. Reference has been made to the Rev. Robert Armstrong, who came to this county as early as 1802, and his work in the Associate Reformed Church. Rev. Armstrong first preached in the house of James Galloway,Sr., and also in his barn, in which he baptized the children of the family. He also performed the first marriage ceremony—that of James Bull and Ann Gowdy, about 1804, at which, the house being too small to entertain the guests, a large log-heaped fire was built outside. The first church of this congregation was built on the Stevenson farm, near where the old graveyard is now situated. Mr. Armstrong lived on the other side of Massie's Creek and in times of high water would cross on stilts. A HISTORICAL SKETCH OF GREENE COUNTY - 53 Men and women rode or walked twelve and fifteen miles and sat in the coldest weather without fire, to hear two sermons. From such material Martyrs and heroes are made. The same religious denomination soon established churches in Sugar Creek and Xenia, and out of these congregations has sprung the nucleus of almost all the congregations of the United Presbyterian churches in the \Vest. As early as 1803 and 1804, four adjoining surveys of land were made and settled by the Bonner, Sale, Butler, Davis, Heath and other families from Dinwiddie County, Virginia, and to the entire settlement was given the name of Union. These families were soon joined by others from the Old Dominion. This was a strong Methodist community, and meetings were at once organized and services held at Mr. Bonner's under the stately forest trees, "God's first temples." Under the supervision of Francis Asbury, the first Methodist Episcopal Bishop in America, and through the preaching of such men as William Young and James B. Finley, and others of like vigor, the fires of Methodism were kept burning. A few years later the first Methodist Episcopal church of Xenia was organized and previous to that a large circuit had been formed known as Mad River circuit. In 1805, the Dunker. (German Baptist) Church effected an organization in Beavercreek Township, holding services at their homes continuously until 1843, when a church was erected. As early as 1812, the Society of Friends was organized in Silver Creek township. On the site of what is now known as Beaver Church, in 1809, was erected the first German Reformed (now known as the Reformed) church in the county. Later this congregation built a second log "meeting house" on the site and designated it as Beaver Church. About 1812, a widow, Mrs. Davis, a stanch Presbyterian, occupied a little cabin on the site of the Yellow Springs House. She was the means of congregating about her those of her faith, and establishing one of the earliest Presbyterian churches in the county. In 1844 there were five Catholic families in Xenia, and Mass was celebrated on the porch of Mr. Klein's residence on Main 54 - GREENE COUNTY 1803-1908. street during that year. The records of St. Mary's Church, Piqua, show that from time to time until 1849 the little congregation here was under the jurisdiction of St. Mary's Church and the basement of the Court House was used as a place of worship, this room being open to all denominations alike. From 1849 there was a definite organization in Xenia and on October 31, 1852, the new church building was dedicated by Archbishop Purcell and given the name of St. Brigid's in honor of the patroness of Ireland. This consummation of untiring effort on the part of the congregation was nobly aided by the pastor, Rev. Thomas Blake, who continued to be their faithful leader for more than thirty years. St. Brigid's Church proudly claims the largest organization of the Father Matthews' Total Abstinence Society in the State. The parochial school was established in 1855. From these earlier churches have sprung many others of the same denominations, while later years have seen through the county, as well as in the county seat, uniting in the uplifting work with the older congregations, very vigorous organizations of other creeds, as the Episcopal, the Christian, Protestant Methodist, Wesleyan Methodist, Campbellite, Lutheran and Mennonites. Special mention should also be made of religious work among the colored people. There are in the county today, outside of Wilberforce, 17 colored churches, most of them self-supporting, as well as separate schools of a high character and taught by their own race. Many years ago, it is said, there -lived near Yellow Springs a peculiar class of people calling themselves Owenites or Communionists, led. by Robert Owens. In creed and manners they bore a strong resemblance to the Shakers, except that they married while the Shakers do not. They occupied one large building which, with the contents, was considered common property, and profits from labor, if any existed after living expenses were deducted, were to be divided equally. The house stood in the ravine near the cliffs and was divided into apartments, that is, a private room for each family, and a common dining room and kitchen. The building was of logs—one hundred feet long and twenty-one feet wide. Soon the majority assumed to be leaders A HISTORICAL SKETCH OF GREENE COUNTY - 55 and the minority performed the labor. This was followed by a lawsuit and thus ended the existence of the Owenites. EARLY SCHOOLS. A cursory glance at the history of the county impresses one with the prevailing desire to educate the rising generation, which is shown by the little log school houses springing up in every neighborhood. Indian hostilities had largely ceased prior to the forming of the county and the dangers from that source were small as compared wth those of some other localities. The first schools were conducted on the subscription plan and only three months of each year. The log school houses were furnished with seats made of hewed planks and with desks constructed by driving pegs in the wall and laying slabs of timber thereon. Light was admitted by means of greased paper covering the apertures between the logs, and the floor was often of Mother Earth. A huge fireplace occupied at least one-third of the wall, and it is comforting to think that, at a time when many of the children were so miserably clad, there was at least an abundance of fuel to be had for the chopping. The early text-books were Dilworth's or Pike's Arithmetic, Webster's Spelling Book and the Testament. The teachers of the Ohio subscription schools were not examined and a high standard of qualification was not required by the patrons, still there occasionally appeared in the new country a highly educated wanderer who eked out a scanty subsistence by teaching a subscription school and "boarding 'round." However, the greater number of the instructors were only fairly well informed citizens, accepting the opportunity of teaching in order to pursue studies that would qualify them for a more lucrative calling. The early schools knew no holidays. The teachers were hired by the month and were expected to teach each working day in the calendar month. Young America then knew nothing of the almost innumerable holidays in the calendar of the twentieth century, but the desire was there and expressed itself in the rough though good-natured demand for a "treat" from the teacher on 56 - GREENE COUNTY 1803-1908. such days as Christmas or New Year's. It was always a specific demand upon the teacher, of which the following well preserved pattern embraces the material points, varying only in the quality and quantity with locality and circumstances : "Dec. 23, 1817. Mr. John Smith, (Teacher) Sir :—We, the undersigned committee, in behalf of the unanimous vote of scholars of your schools, demand that you treat, according to custom, to the following articles in amount herein named, to wit: 200 ginger cakes, 2 bu. hickory nuts, 1 peck of hazel nuts, 10 lbs. of candy, 10 lbs. of raisins, delivered at the school house, noon hour, December 25, for the enjoyment and pleasant remembrance of this school. If this meets your approbation you will please sign and return to the undersigned tomorrow, December 24, at noon, saying, over your signature, 'I agree to the above.' " This forceful demand was always signed by a committee of the older boys of the school. Occasionally a teacher, not fond of " the rough and tumble fun that would follow a refusal, meekly signed as directed and complied. But many a teacher was more facetious and preferred a little preliminary skirmishing. When the demand was handed him he would read and deliberately tear into small fragments, thus indicating defiance. Then the fun began. On the day preceding Christmas, before dawn, the school house was occupied by the older boys, provided with fuel and provisions sufficient to withstand a siege, and all openings barricaded. One after another the children appeared and were cautiously admitted (none tardy on that day), and when the teacher arrived he found the cabin full of jolly boys and girls denying him entrance until he acceded to the demands for the morrow. This was commonly called a "barring out." Some fun-loving athletic teachers would refuse this and start homeward, only to be followed by a yelling, hooting crowd of boys and girls, and a merry chase he A HISTORICAL SKETCH OF GREENE COUNTY - 57 would lead them through the woods until caught and bound hand and foot. Then he was treated to a mock burial in the snow and guarded until he would relent and promise the treat, when he Would be released and school duties taken up for the day ; no punishment and no followed this fun. On Christmas, at noon, the treat arrived, and children; parents and teacher enjoyed the feast and later indulged in an old-fashioned spelling match. XENIA PUBLIC LIBRARY. The country was so thinly settled that was often difficult to make up the requisite number of pupils (fifteen) in the immediate neighborhood, and children were frequently compelled to go a long distance to obtain even the meager instructions provided for them. In the advantages boys and girls shared alike unless the parents were unable to afford the expense of both, then the boys generally got the schooling. But notwithstanding the restrictions there was the desire for knowledge and again and again was verified the old saying that, "Where there is a will, there is a way." GREENE COUNTY 1803-1908. The first school house in the county of which any account can be found was built prior to 1800 in Beaver Creek Township on the Shakertown road near Zimmerman. This school was taught by a very eccentric English gentleman who signed himself Thomas Marks Davis, the Second, and received for his services an uncertain salary of from eight to ten dollars a month. The first school house in Xenia was built in 1805 and was of logs and of the usual type. At that time there were but four families living in Xenia (Towler, Beatty, Collins and Marshall), The school house was situated on the north side of Third street, a little west of King, and the first teacher was Benjamin Grover. About 1812 what was known as the Xenia Academy, a one-story brick structure, was erected on the southeast corner of Market and West Streets, Prof. Espy being the principal instructor.. In the spring of 1816, Thomas Steele, a native of Ireland, taught the first school on the lot now occupied by the Central High School of Xenia, which he continued until 1848. He was a man of deep religious convictions and much merit as a teacher: A very few of the older residents of the town remember his humble dwelling and school house, both situated on this int. ng well as the thoroughness of his teaching. PUBLIC SCHOOLS. The first record of union or public schools in Xenia is dated September 28, 1838. At that time Xenia was organized into what was known as a corporation district, and the first board of education consisted of the following citizens : William Ellsberry, David Monroe and Alfred Trader. On the first day of January, 1849, Mr. Josiah Hurty was employed as the first superintendent of the public schools of Xenia at a salary of $600 per annum, which position he occupied for nearly three years. During this time the school was graded and the term "high school" applied to the highest department. It may not be out of place to give the names of some of the superintendents who succeeded him. Lack of space only prevents us A HISTORICAL SKETCH OP GREENE COUNTY - 59 from speaking at greater length of each of these whose names and memories are held today in deepest respect by many to whom they gave inspiration to nobler manhood and womanhood. Prominent among them. we find the names of D. W. Gilfillen, Rev. James P. Smart, P. H. Jaquith, J. Twitchell and George S. Ormsby. . About the year 1857 there was a change in the State school laws which greatly raised the standard of the schools, and at this critical period Mr. J. E. Twitchell, a New England man, was called to the superintendency, his appointment being a most opportune one as he was abundantly able to give the schools the prestige needed, which standard was ably sustained by his successor, Prof. Ormsby, and has since been kept up. Prof. Ormsby is the only one of the former superintendents now living and old age finds him still keen and alert, physically and mentally. To this list of superintendents might, if space permitted, be added a long list of teachers, mostly women, whose conscientious work and example of noble living left an indelible impress upon the lives of hundreds who were so fortunate as to be instructed by them. PRIVATE SCHOOLS. At different times, private schools had been conducted with More or less success. These private schools had much to do with molding public sentiment, and boys and girls there received a moral and religious impetus the influence of which is still felt. Among the earlier ones was a fashionable boarding school conducted by Mrs. Hannah Wright. It was located on what is known as the Arnold property on the hill south of the depot. With the elegance of manner and purity of diction possessed by Mrs. Wright, accompanied by a lovable disposition, the popularity of the school was widespread. The late Dr. Samuel Wilson taught the classics in this school. It is impossible to give the exact date of this institution but during the forties it is remembered to have been in a very flourishing. condition. Contemporary with this school was a similar one for young ladies conducted by Mrs. Mulligan on East Church street, in what is now the Kelly property and in a part of the same house that is now 60 - GREENE COUNTY 1803-1908. on the lot. This school was later merged into the Xenia Female College, on the same street. Possibly near the dates of these two schools for girls, were conducted two schools for boys on East Market street, one on the western end of the lot now occupied by the Central High School, conducted by Prof. John Armstrong, and the other instructed and managed by Dr. Hugh McMillen in what is now the Chew XENIA FEMALE COLLEGE. - From an old cut The buildings still look much as above. home, immediately east of Central High School. It seems quite a coincidence that so many institutions of learning, from the days of Prof. Steele to the present time, should have centered about that locality. Prof. Armstrong was noted as a mathematician and the story is given credence that at times difficult problems were sent to him from English universities for solution. For some years after his death his two daughters. conducted a private school for children in the same home. A HISTORICAL SKETCH OF GREENE COUNTY - 61 Dr. McMillen, of the other school, was not only desirous but competent to instruct his own son, but not desiring him to be educated alone, he opened his doors to other .boys. The school was in no sense conducted for revenue ; those who could were expected to pay, but many were the proteges of Dr. McMillen. About 1853 was opened the Union Female Seminary in what is now the dormitory of the Theological Seminary. More of this school appears in another article. It was in existence about ten years, when it became what was known as a Musical Academy, with an entire change of management, and for some years, this was a very successful institution. Notable among the private schools was the one known as the Xenia Female College, located on East Church street, and under the control of the Methodist Episcopal Church. This school flourished from 1850 until about 1887, when it was absorbed by the larger schools of the church. From 1857 until 1884 there was at the head of this institution one who deserves to be classed with McMillen, Steele and others of more than local distinction as educators. Reference is made to Prof. William Smith, known and loved by hundreds of pupils who sat under his instruction and who can testify to his high principles in life, tireless enthusiasm and great personal interest. There was one other private school that should be mentioned here, as it seems to have been a kindergarten which was conducted on similar lines to the kindergartens of the present time, and long before the Froebel methods were in general use. This school was conducted by Mrs. Elizabeth Farquer Patton, in the fifties in the basement of the First United Presbyterian Church. A few of the earlier public schools through the county can yet be located. The first school house in Bellbrook was on the site of the present residence of Jacob Haines, Jr. It was of the usual style and presided over by Jacob Bain. The first school house in Cedarville Township was built on the Townsley farm in 1806, and the first teacher was James Townsley. The second school house in this township, on Massie's Creek, was built in 1810, and was considered quite an improvement over the first, as it boasted of a puncheon floor, 62 - GREENE COUNTY 1803-1908. whereas the other had only a dirt floor. William Jenkins was probably the first teacher here. There are at present within the county, higher institutions of wide reputation : The Theological Seminary in Xenia ; Antioch College at Yellow Springs, Wilberforce University and Cedarville College. But each of these, as well as the Ohio Soldiers' and Sailors' Orphans' Home, will be fully treated in separate articles. NEWSPAPERS. There are published in Greene County, outside the county seat, six weekly papers as follows : The Yellow Springs News, founded in 1880, as the Yellow Springs Review ; The Osborn Local, which has flourished under different names for more than twenty-five years ; The Cedarville Herald, founded in 1877; The Jamestown Journal, established in 1870 as The Jamestown Echo, the first paper established in Jamestown, and the first paper in the county outside the county seat (the name of the paper has several times been changed) ; The Greene County Press of Jamestown, established in 1898; and The Twin City Vidette, published at Spring Valley. The Vidette was established in 1905, taking up the work formerly done by the Spring Valley Blade and Bellbrook Moon, both of which were established about twenty years ago. In the county seat are published two weekly papers, the Xenia Republican, established in 1867, and the Xenia Herald, established in 1891, formerly the Democrat News ; also a semiweekly and daily paper, both under the same management, and known as the Xenia Gazette. In 1838 was founded the Xenia Torchlight, a weekly paper, starting as a Whig organ. With many changes in the editorial staff and passing through many vicissitudes the Torchlight, which also published a daily for several years, was in 1888 absorbed by the Xenia Gazette. The Xenia Gazette was founded in 1868 as a weekly paper. At that time was bought, by the Gazette company, the first cylinder press ever used in the county. The weekly edition of the Gazette was abandoned for a semi-weekly in 1885, and the daily edition was started as early as 1881. It is the oldest paper in the county, as A HISTORICAL SKETCH OP GREENE COUNTY - 63 the Gazette dating back forty years, and as successor to the Torchlight, dating back seventy years. As far bark as 1815, we find a county paper published in Xenia called The Xenia Vehicle. Occasionally there is to be found a stray copy of a paper published in 1829, called The Xenia Gazette, but it was short-lived. During the time from 1829 to 1833, Thomas Coke Wright, one of the notable characters of early Xenia, edited a paper called the Xenia Transcript. The Xenia Free Press, established in 1831, and edited by J. H. Purdy, flourished for: ten years or more. At the top of the first page appeared this motto : "Pledged but to truth, to liberty and law, No favor sways us and no fear shall awe." Beginning in 1826 and continuing for some years there watt published in Xenia a paper called The People's Press and Impartial Expositor, with the motto, "While I have Liberty to write I will write for Liberty."—Knox. The editor was James B. Gardiner, his terms were $2.00 in advance or a note of hand for the amount payable in three months, $2.50 if paid within six months or $3.00 if not paid until the expiration of the year. The paper also stated that "country subscribers may pay the whole amount of their subscription in the following articles, Flour, Wheat, Feathers, Beeswax, Bacon, Tow and Flax Linen, Sugar and Tallow at cash prices." About 1830, William D. Gallagher, a man of acknowledged literary ability, who spent the most of his life in the neighborhood, of Cincinnati, came to Xenia where he spent a year or two, and started a campaign newspaper called The Backwoodsman. Mr. Gallagher was an enthusiastic Whig and the main object of his paper was "to hurrah for Clay and to use up Jimmy Gardiner," then editor of the Jackson organ of Xenia. About 1838, there was established The Democratic Spark, Mr. Ramsey, editor, giving as its object "the diffusion of information and the arraignment of all abuses at the bar of public reason." It boomed "for President, Martin Van Buren and a Constitutional Treasury." 64 - GREENE COUNTY 1803-1908. Associated with the Xenia newspapers have been several men of much more than ordinary literary attainments. Prominent among them were Rev. Otway Curry, Col. Coates Kinney, Whitelaw Reid and Senator Preston B. Plumb. The last two, Mr. Reid and Senator Plumb, were at one time, during the fifties, editors of a paper called the Xenia News. Senator Plumb came into prominence in later years as U. S. senator from Kansas, in which state he located just previous to the war of the Rebellion. It may be of interest to note that at one time, during his early boyhood, W. D. Howells was a resident of the county. The Hon. William Maxwell, who spent his declining years in Greene County and is buried in Beaver Creek Township, edited the first paper published in the Northwest Territory, "The Centinel of the Northwestern Territory," with the motto, "Open to all parties, influenced by none." GREENE COUNTY SOLDIERS. As early as 1806 there was in the county a strictly enforced militia system, under a territorial law enacted in 1788. All the men bearing arms formed one regiment and every able-bodied man between the ages. of eighteen and forty-five was required to muster on the first day of the week at 10 A. M. adjacent to the place of public worship. They were inspected by the commandant on the first Sabbath of each month. The prairie north of Oldtown was one of the favorite places of drilling. These were gala days. At the captain's command to "stand at ease" the sergeant passed along the line with a bucket of whiskey from which every one, if he so desired, helped himself. In 1830, Captain William McIntosh (the first white person born in Greene County) raised and commanded a rifle company. They were uniformed in yellow hunting shirts, which gave rise to their titled of "Beaver Creek Yellow Jackets." Captain McIntosh gave much time to their drilling and they acquired. considerable proficiency. The uniform of. the rank and file of the militia was the regular everyday dress of the pioneer, consisting of a tow linen shirt, buckskin breeches with blue linsey hunting shirt secured A HISTORICAL SKETCH OF GREENE COUNTY - 65 with leather belt and buckle, and wool hat. Much might be said of their strength. and valor, of their sharpshooting and of their courage, for Greene County has a record, in war times, beginning with the War of 1812, of which there is much to be proud. The War of 1812 found the county with not yet a decade of history to its credit, but the patriotism for which it has ever been noted was not less then than was shown in the greater struggle of a half century later, as well as in the forties, during the Mexican War, and the Spanish-American, of later date; in both of which Greene County was well represented. On the 23rd of April, 1861, nine days after the fall of Sumter, in response to Lincoln's call for 75,000 men for three months 193 men from Greene County had enlisted and offered. their services to Governor Dennison. From this number Company A went to Columbus to be mustered in: John W. Lowe, captain; Robert Lytle, 1st lieutenant; M. W. Trader, 2nd lieutenant. Company B awaited a call from the State which came a little later. Colonel Lowe was destined to fall soon after at the head of the Twelfth Regiment, O. V. I., at Carnifex Ferry, the first of Ohio's line officers to fall in the cause of liberty. One company of the Forty-fourth 0. V. I. was raised in Greene County and at the expiration. of their term of service they rem-listed in the Eighth Ohio Cavalry. . The Seventy-Fourth O. V. I. was organized in camp at Xenia, in October, 1861, to the extent of seven companies, and the following February was ordered to Camp Chase; where three full companies were added. After two years hard service they were granted a thirty-day furlough at home; then, on March 23, . 1864, being re-organized with the addition of one hundred recruits, they started to rejoin their brigade in Georgia, and during that year were with Sherman in his memorable march through Georgia. On the 24th of May, 1865, this regiment joined in the Grand Review in Washington, and was mustered out July 10, 1865. This regiment was known as "the fighting parson's regiment," being commanded by the Rev. Granville Moody, a well-known and popular Methodist preacher and orator. The Ninety-Fourth O. V. I. was organized at Camp Piqua, THE COURT HOUSE. South Front. Photo by Canby. A HISTORICAL SKETCH OF GREENE COUNTY - 67 containing two companies from Greene County. This regiment,, within the space of one month, was recruited with its full complement. Without uniforms or camp equipage, and never having been drilled as a regiment, the Ninety-Fourth was ordered to Kentucky to meet the forces under Kirby Smith. At Cincinnati they were partially uniformed and provided with a limited amount of ammunition. The Ninety-Fourth also participated in Sherman's March to the Sea, and in the Grand Review. at Washington. It was 'mustered out of service June 6, 1865, "with an aggregate of three hundred and thirty-eight men—all that was left of them —left of one thousand and ten." The One Hundred and Tenth 0. V. I., commanded by Gen. J. Warren Keifer, afterwards brigade-commander, was organized at Camp Piqua, Ohici, October-3, 1862, and its members were from Greene, Miami and Darke Counties. It was immediately ordered to join the Eastern Army. At Winchester it was assigned to the Eighth Army Corps, but in March, 1864, it became a part of the Second Brigade, Third Division, Sixth Army Corps. The One Hundred and Tenth was in 21 engagements and sustained a loss of 795 men. This regiment, having captured more flags than any regiment in the corps, was selected as a guard of honor, April 17, 1865, at the presentation of captured flags to General Meade.. The Sixth Corps, at the time of the Grand Review in Washington, was still in northerri Virginia and western North Carolina on guard against any possible trouble that might arise, and consequently was granted by the President and Cabinet what was termed a "Supplemental Review" on June 8, 1865, upon its arrival in Washington, D. C. This compliment caused the Sixth Corps to be called the "pets of Washington City." The One Hundred and Fifty-Fourth Regiment 0. V. I., Robert Stevenson, colonel, was organized at Camp Dennison, Ohio, May 9, 1864, to serve one hundred clays. It was composed of the Twenty-Third Battalion, .Ohio National Guard, from Madison County, and the Sixtieth Regiment, Ohio National Guard, from Greene County, a body of men enlisted for State service for a period of five years in the fall of 1863. It was sent to West Virginia where it performed guard, picket and escort duty during 68 - GREENE COUNTY 1803-1908. its period of service. August 4, 1864, at New Creek Station, West Virginia, it was attacked by, and gallantly repulsed, a force of rebels under Johnston and McCauslin, four thousand strong.. Upon the expiration of its time of service it was mustered out at Camp Dennison, Ohio, September 1, 1864. The Tenth and Seventeenth Ohio Batteries drew largely from Greene County and a part of one company was also furnished the Fifth Ohio Independent Cavalry as well as one company to the Thirty-Fourth Regiment, Piatt's Zouaves, which belonged to the honor roll of "Three Hundred Fighting Regiments of the War." Space has only permitted the most meager statement of the services of these troops and there are yet in the county many brave survivors of other regiments. Four thousand of Greene County's loyal sons went forth as brave soldiers, many of whom never returned, but when the last reveille has been sounded and the last veteran called home, history will still recount the story of. their brave acts and their children's children will proudly tell of them to other generations. The loyal women of Greene County tearfully, yet cheerfully, gave up their dearest treasures, their fathers, husbands, sons and lovers, and ceaselessly aided, to their fullest power, to preserve the Union. But aching hearts at home did not make idle hands. Immediately was formed the organization known as the "Soldiers' Aid Society." At the head of the woman's work in this organization, during the five years of the war, was Mrs. Amanda Trotter. This indefatigable leader was ever an incentive to greater efforts and she met with free and noble responses from the women, not only of Xenia, but of the entire county, as an appeal had been sent out for general cooperation. A few years ago Gen. O. O. Howard, in an address delivered at Cleveland, Ohio, paid to Xenia a very high tribute regarding the treatment of Federal troops. He said there was no town anywhere in which the troops received such treatment as was given them in Xenia, and where greater kindness was shown them. It is a fact that rib regiment ever passed through the town without being feasted. In fair weather long tables would be spread in a pasture adjoining the railroad and when the weather A HISTORICAL SKETCH OF GREENE COUNTY - 69 was inclement, the freight house would be transformed into a banquet hall. Not satisfied with that, the loyal women of the town and surrounding country would prepare great baskets of provisions. to send with the soldiers on their departure. One good man, whose wife excelled in the art of making doughnuts, would go through the train laden with a bushel basket of the good home-made doughnuts, passing them out right and left. with the recommendation, ."My wife made them." Everybody aided in every possible way. Men who could not go to the front gave freely, not only of their abundance, but many of them deprived themselves of necessities that they might help the cause. School rooms were turned into departments of aid, and school children were provided with shingles and knives with which to scrape lint. Special mention might be made of many, many :women who worked and prayed without ceasing throughout the long struggle. But one, in particular, must not be forgotten whose ability and strength made it possible for her to visit the hospital camp and soothe, with her prayers and mother hands, the dying hours of many a soldier boy, and again, to bring into her home and nurse back to health, others who might not have survived with but the meager care that was sometimes all that could be given them in hospitals. Reference is made to Mrs. Elizabeth Farquer Patton. THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD. Previous to the War of the Rebellion, with no fixed limit as to date, there was a constant trail of escaped slaves stealthily pursuing their way north and to freedom, often with only the north star to guide their foot-steps and an abounding faith in God and humanity to give them hope and courage. In 1831 a Kentucky slave escaped from bondage and swam the Ohio river near Ripley. He was closely followed by his master in a skiff, who had no trouble keeping him in sight until he landed, but once on shore the slave soon disappeared-from view. A most diligent search failed to reveal the fugitive, and the disappointed slave owner, when asked as to what had become of his slave, said he thought "he must have gone off on an underground road." The story was repeated with a great deal of amusement and the inci- 70 - GREENE COUNTY 1803-1908. dent gave rise to the name "Underground Railroad." But the practice of aiding slaves ante-dated this incident many years. Safety necessitated zig-zag routes, but after crossing the Ohio, all roads led to Canada. Many exciting and thrilling occurrences are related of the hiding and transporting of fugitive slaves,, and the bitter feeling often engendered thereby. During the forties and later, there was at least one station in Xenia, at the home of Mr. David Monroe, on East Market Street. Many times a group of six or eight slaves cowered during the day in Mr. Monroe's barn waiting for night to fall, when his youngest son, the late James B. Monroe, then a mere lad, would conduct them to Green Plains, a noted station of the "Underground Railroad" in a Quaker settlement near Selma. The travel was all by night and usually in a covered conveyance. Sometimes the signal of their approach would be the hoot of an owl. When practicable a communication was sent ahead warning friends of the time of the arrival, the communication being always couched in mysterious language understood only by the initiated. For instance, one was worded as follows : "Dear Sir : By tomorrow evening's mail you will receive two volumes of the "Irrepressible Conflict," bound in black. After perusal, please forward and oblige, Yours truly, G. W. W." and again : ' Dear Grinnell : Uncle Tom says if the roads are not too bad you can look for those fleeces of wool by tomorrow. Send them on to test the market and price. No back charges. Yours, H.” At one time Mr. David Monroe, who had on his residence lot a shop where he manufactured furniture, was called from his bed to receive a wagon load of what purported to be furniture. In his broadest Scotch dialect he inquired, "Con it wok ?" and received an affirmative answer. There was a time when Mr. Monroe's stand was so well known in Kentucky that a price was A HISTORICAL SKETCH OF GREENE COUNTY - 71 placed upon his head, but instead of putting a stop to the business it only increased it ; and it was the means of a great number of slaves being informed as to where. friends might be found. About. this time a slave holder came to Xenia, stopping at the old Ewing, House, in search of a slave who was hiding in this station. But the slave was sent out of town carrying over his shoulder a bushy sapling which partly concealed his features. When he reached the edge of town he was picked up and hurried to safety. There were no records kept of these times. Everything done was necessarily secret and underhanded. In fact, it often meant social ostracism and the man who dared to do this work, as his conscience dictated, frequently lost friends in the doing. In the State of Ohio, previous to the efforts of P. Chase, in 1830, a negro had no rights that a white man was bound to respect. They were excluded from schools and could not testify in court and it was a penal offense to give employment to a black or mulatto. Much of this condition existed until. about 1850 when many of the so called black laws were repealed. For some years previous to 'the Rebellion a number of families from southern states, being impressed with the sin of the slave traffic, 'settled in this vicinity, freeing their slaves" and for many of them purchasing homes in this county. Later, about 1856, the purchase of Tawawa Springs, at one time a fashionable summer resort, and the establishing upon that site of Wilberforce University brought to the county an influx of the better class of colored people. ANTI-SLAVERY CONVENTION. The first anti-slavery convention held in Xenia met with such opposition that viewed in the light of the present day it seems almost incredible. A few copies of Dr. Jay's "Inquiry" and the "Liberator" published by William Lloyd Garrison, of Boston, came to Xenia. Among the early converts to the anti-slavery doctrine was the late Rev. Samuel Wilson, from 1830 until 1856 pastor of the 72 - GREENE COUNTY 1803-1908. Associate, now the Second United Presbyterian Church of Xenia. He soon found that there were at least four of his acquaintances who shared in his convictions. Very slowly others came over' to their way of thinking and through the efforts of this little body of men a few good speakers were procured from time to time to address anti-slavery meetings until finally the little group of enthusiasts had the temerity to call an anti-slavery convention. Committees were appointed to make the necessary arrangements. The first and greatest difficulty encountered was the finding of a place of meeting. For a time they had been permitted the use of the Court. House but the further use of it for this purpose was refused the committee. Application was made to the deacons of the Associate Church, also the Associate Reformed, and in both instances met with prompt refusal. Public sentiment made it impossible for meetings to be held on the street and now the convention must be given up unless some citizen could be found who would be brave enough to offer. 'his private grounds for the purpose. The Rev. Samuel Wilson was the only one who dared offer his home which was situated. on East Market street on the lot now occupied by the First United Presbyterian Church. A platform was erected in the yard just about under the space now occupied by the pulpit of that church. While the convention was a success it was not held without great difficulties. A mob collected on the opposite side of the street and serious trouble would undoubtedly have resulted had it not been for the timely interference of a stalwart old black smith and pump-maker by the name of John McClellan, who was possessed of a high sense of justice. Mr. McClellan stated that he was in no sense in sympathy. with this movement but he believed in free speech. With club in hand he dared any man to cross the street and molest his preacher. And through his intervention was carried to a successful finish the first anti-slavery convention ever held in Greene County. It is impossible to fix the exact date of this convention, but it was sometime previous to the organizing of the "Free-Soil" or "Liberty" party in 1846. Apropos of this movement of the people who had the courage of their convictions it might not be out of place to record here A HISTORICAL SKETCH OF GREENE COUNTY - 73 the name of Joseph Collins, of Bath Township, who, for more than twenty years, cast the only abolition vote in the township. Greene County possesses a silk banner of which she is justly proud. Its width at base is 6 feet 3 inches, tapering gracefully 12 feet, where it forks abruptly. Its center is white; on each side are three stripes of white, blue and rose, tapering from base to point. On one side in large gilt letters, "Ohio has sent 291,952* of her gallant sons to' the field," and on the other side, "Ohio true to the Union." This banner was given to Ohio in the winter of 1864 for having furnished the most troops according to its military population. The Governor of Ohio presented it to Greene County as having furnished the most of any county in the State. Lewis Post No. 347, G. A. R. of Xenia, is. now the custodian of this much valued relic. * During the entire period of the war Ohio troops numbered 385,000. 74 - GREENE COUNTY 1803-1908. SOME OF THE MEN WHO HAVE MADE GREENE COUNTY. JOHN FRANCIS ORR. IT is an invidious task to select from so many who have risen to prominence in their times the names of a few former citizens who, by their preeminence, are entitled to honorable mention in this book. The list is foredoomed to be incomplete, but at the. risk of leaving out some who ought to be mentioned, justice will be clone to a few. The history of our county naturally divides into three periods : The time from the earliest settlement up to the year 1820 may be denominated the pioneer period ; from 1820 to 1860, the period of construction; and from 1860 to the present time, the modern period. Of each period there was a leader, 'whose sway was, indeed, disputed, but of whose primacy history will leave little doubt. Of the pioneer period several might have claimed the title of leader. There was Col. John Paul, the keen-sighted land speculator, who, in his position as clerk of the county court obtained first knowledge of the decision of the associate judges as to the location of the county seat, and who allowed no grass to grow under his feet while acquiring the title to the town site. He it was who gave the county the court house site, and he was our member of the first Constitutional Convention and of the first