HISTORY OF CINCINNATI, OHIO - 225
whatever time might be asked by the trustees, the amount bearing interest at seven per cent., and secured by mortgage. It looked now as though the much-wandering institute would get at last a permanent home.
The history of the efforts of the members of the institute for intellectual improvement during its first quarter-century includes an unsuccessful attempt made in the winter of 1833-4 to organize a course of lectures on the History of Letters, by Professor C. E. Stowe, of Lane Seminary; two lectures per week by Dr. Craig during most of 1835, one course of which was delivered to ladies; and lectures from time to time by Dr. John Locke. No regular course was delivered for several years, owing to the limited interest taken in them and the pecuniary embarrassments of the institute, and the want of a proper hall; but in the winter of 1844-5 a profitable course was pronounced in the college hall by Mr. U. T. Howe and Mr. C. P. Cranch. Various other lectures was delivered, and sundry classes formed; but it would be tedious to follow their history in detail.
Early in 1838 arrangements were actively made for the first exhibition of manufactured articles, under the auspices of the institute. In February a grand mechanics' and citizens' ball was given at the National Theatre in aid of the enterprise, which netted for it about two thousand four hundred dollars. The fair was held May 3o and 31, and June t, 1838, in the Bazaar building, and proved a worthy pioneer in the long line of Cincinnati industrial expositions. About four hundred articles were shown, the products of western artisans, crowding all available space in the building. A pleasing incident of the occasion is thus related by one of the older writers:
The hall of the institute [the Trollopean Bazaar] occupies the site on which Fort Washington was built in 1789, to defend the first settlers of this country against the Indians. General Solomon Van Rensselaer, who had been stationed at that fort in 1792, being in this city on a visit to his former commander and early friend, General Harrison, was, with him, invited to attend the exhibition of the fair. The directors were desirous to improve the opportunity which this exhibition afforded of displaying the proofs of the rapid progress of the arts in the west to those whose youthful energies were devoted to the rescue of these fertile regions from the dominion of those savage barbarians whose occupation of them was incompatible with any improvement in the social condition of their inhabitants which benefit or the sciences which enlighten mankind. They were aware that the best reward the patriot soldier can receive is that of witnessing the blessings which his labors, privations and sufferings have contributed, through the blessings of Providence, to procure for his country. General Van Rensselaer expressed the high4st gratification in being enabled, after an absence of so large a portion of his life from the scenes of the toils and dangers of his early years, to witness the marks of rapid progress of civilization and refinement in the country which he remembered as the hunting-ground of the savage. It was a pleasing circumstance, in the decline of life, to be recognized as one of the early benefactors of this fair and fertile land.
An address was delivered during the fair by Mr. J. C. Vaughan, a prominent editor of the city, and Mr. E. D. Mansfield closed it with remarks on "the mechanic arts as an essential element in the continual happiness and progressive elevation of the human mind." Exhibitions of art and industry were held annually thereafter by the institute, with occasional interruptions, the first twelve of them yielding considerable revenue to the society for those days, the yearly profits therefrom being six hundred to twenty-five hundred dollars. The exhibition in 1843, after the lease of the Bazaar to Dr. Curtiss, was held in College hall, where music was furnished gratuitously by the Amateur Musical society.
March 8, 1847, following the grant of the amended charter by the legislature, the institute adopted a new constitution, substantially the same as now governs the society, and published it with the new charter.
The cornerstone of the building now occupied by the institute was laid on Independence day, 1848, with fitting ceremony, under the direction of Nova Caesarea Harmony Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons. A heavy debt was soon incurred. The subscriptions of the citizens were quickly exhausted; cholera was prevalent, and more could not be had, and the trustees were compelled to assume debts and borrow money on their personal credit, or let the work stand still. They persevered, however, and finished the building within a reasonable time. By the opening of 1854 the debt of the institute amounted to forty-nine thousand three hundred and ninety-one dollars. Two of the principal creditors, members and trustees of the institute, Miles Greenwood and Marston Allen, offered to cancel the debts due them—twelve thousand four hundred and seventy-six dollars and seventy-three cents to the former, and five thousand three hundred and forty-nine dollars and fifty-five cents to the latter—if about thirty thousand dollars were raised to pay the debts against them as trustees. An attempt was made to secure the sum within the specified period, by an appeal to the mechanics of Cincinnati; but it met with little response, and, but for an extension of time by Greenwood and Allen, their munificent gifts must have been lost. A more general effort was now made, reaching the mercantile, professional, and other classes of the community, from whom a subscription of twenty-six thousand two hundred and fifty-eight dollars was soon obtained. Brat a financial crisis came upon the city, one of the worst in its history, and many of the subscriptions proved uncollectible. Still more time was given by Greenwood and Allen, and from the subscription sixteen thousand four hundred and ninety dollars and eighty-six cents were realized, making the total reduction of the debt thirty-four thousand three hundred and seventeen dollars and fourteen cents.
About this time Dr. J. M. Locke delivered a course of twenty-four lectures on chemistry aad natural philosophy to the institute and public, and Barnum gave a lecture on "Humbug." A society of the younger members was formed, called the "Philomathean," for intellectual culture; but it was short lived.
The thirteenth exhibition of the institute was given May 9-25, 1854, and netted a profit of one thousand and forty-eight dollars and sixty-six cents. It was the first one held in the new institute building. The fourteenth, May 9 to June 2, 1855, netted five hundred and fifty dollars and thirty-one cents. The committee in charge reported that, in the number of exhibitors and articles displayed, as well as in their novelty and value, this exhibition was superior to any previous one held by the institute, and the premiums awarded are not only greater in number, but also mostly of the higher grades.
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During the year 1855-6, Dr. Locke delivered another elaborate course of lectures on chemistry and physics; Dr. W. W. Dawson, eight lectures on geology, and Professor John Locke a short course on "Animated Nature." The, lectures were not a financial success.
The next year a highly favorable arrangement was made with the board of education of the city, by which the Mechanics' institute and Public School libraries were consolidated in the building of the institute, a part of which was leased to the board for ten thousand dollars. The institute was also thus relieved from the cost of care and issue of its own library, and of gas, fuel, etc., for library and reading rooms. The debt on the building and lot was completely cleared, and only some minor and easily managed indebtedness remained. The trustees according surrendered their trust, and made a clear deed of the property to the institute. December 16, 1856, due acknowledgments were made and honors rendered to Messrs. Greenwood and Allen, by electing them as a board of emeritus trustees and advisory directors for life. The next March Mr. John P. Foote was added to this board, in token of his long service as president and his usefulness otherwise to the institute.
During 1856 the plan of a mechanical museum for permanent exhibition was under the advisement of the directory; but not much interest was manifested by others in the project, and it had to be dropped. The school of design, however, was organized in the fall of that year, and has since been prosperously maintained, the total enrollment to the year 1879, inclusive, being four thousand four hundred and twenty-five.
The lecture arrangements for the season included the novelty of two brief lectures on different topics the same evening—twenty-six lectures on chemistry by Professor E. H. Foote, and the same number on anatomy and physiology by Professor W. W. Dawson, on Thursday and Friday evenings, with thirteen lectures on physics, and as many on geology, by the same gentlemen, on Wednesday evenings. The new feature failed to draw, however, and again the courses proved a financial failure.
The Young Men's Polytechnic association of the Ohio Mechanics' institute was organized about this time, and continued with much success during the winter of 1856-57; but did not survive beyond the second season.
The fifteenth exhibition of the institute was held September 10 to October 8, 1857. An additional building—the frame work of gas-pipe and the roof of sheet-iron, attracting much attention from visitors—was erected for it ; and the large expense (eight thousand dollars) thus incurred resulted in a net loss of three hundred dollars. It was thought, however, to have been the most successful and important of any exhibition ever held in the west. Lectures were delivered during the next winter by Professors Zachos, Vaughn, Ward, Warriner, and Allen, Dr. Samuel Silsbee, and Messrs. W. M. Davis and J. R. Hamilton. The attendance upon them was still small.
In 1858, the outstanding indebtedness, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-seven dollars and sixty-two cents, was paid—the institute thus, in little more than four years, accomplishing the superb feat of clearing over fifty thousand dollars debt. The sixteenth exhibition, held September 6th to October 2d of this year, yielded a profit of one thousand six hundred and eighty-eight dollars. The seventeenth, occupying the entire month of September, 1859, lost the institute nearly two hundred dollars, though receipts were over five thousand dollars. It was held in Pike's Opera house. During this year important improvements and repairs were effected upon the building, and a large increase made in the periodicals provided for the reading-room. The opening lectures of the courses proposed for the winter were so poorly attended that the rest of the programme was given up altogether.
A special effort was made for the eighteenth exhibition, which proved to be the last under the auspices of the institute, and it netted a profit of three hundred dollars. The large building erected for the Catholic institute was used, as well as the building of the Mechanics' institute. Fifteen hundred dollars were given in awards. The winter lectures were again omitted.
Then came the war, No exhibition, no lectures, nothing new, could now be undertaken. Rents in the building were reduced, and the revenues of the institute became very small. Attendance upon the school of design decreased so much (to less than one-third of the former number), that at one time its temporary suspension was seriously contemplated. "The main duty of the board," says the Historical Sketch, "was to keep the institution free from debt, and work quietly along the different branches of the same." The school of design was continued, and in 1862 moved from Greenwood hall into the fourth story of the institute building, which had been vacated by the Eagle lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. This change gave the board the large hall to rent for exhibitions, concerts, etc. In 1863-4 the attendance upon the school increased to one hundred and fifty and the institute treasury gained a balance of more than one thousand seven hundred dollars, after paying over eight hundred dollars for improvements in Greenwood hall. The balance in March, 1865, had increased to three thousand and forty-nine dollars and fourteen cents, and there were no debts. After the war the association prospered, financially, and by March, 1866, had four thousand dollars invested in United States bonds. Repairs and alterations were made the year before to the amount of two thousand three hundred and forty-five dollars and eighteen cents, and improvements costing one thousand six hundred dollars the next year. In 1866-7 the school of design had two hundred and eighty members; the treasury balance increased to seven thousand dollars, and lectures were delivered by Rev. Drs. A. D. Mayo and I. W. Wiley, and Professor Daniel Vaughan. About seven hundred dollars were now spent annually for reading matter, mostly technical and scientific. Classes in natural philosophy and chemistry were organized the next winter, with lectures upon the respective topics by William M. Davis and J. F. Wisnewski, but neither class instructions nor lectures were well attended. The large hall was entirely remodeled, and fine portraits of them-
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selves given for it to the institute by Messrs. Charles F. Wilstach, Miles Greenwood, and Marston Allen. It was the most prosperous year known in the history of the school of design, the attendance reaching two hundred and eighty-eight. The next year found nine thousand dollars in the treasury. There were no lectures, but the school of design was still highly successful.
In April, 1868, a circular was issued by the institute and sent far and wide, proposing a "grand exhibition of arts and manufactures" in the Queen City Skating Rink, in September of that year ; but of five hundred persons and firms to whom it was sent, only twenty-six returned responses, and the project was therefore abandoned.
August 12, 1868, Mr. Marston Allen, an emeritus director of the association, died in the eightieth year of his age. He was much mourned by the members of the institute and citizens in generally.
In 1869-70 important changes were made in the storerooms on the first floor of the institute building, whereby the rents were increased six hundred and fifty dollars a year. The balance in the treasury March, 1870, was twelve thousand one hundred and thirty-five dollars and twenty-four cents. A resolution was adopted October 5, 1869, for the holding of a grand industrial exhibition during the fall of the next year—a movement which, with the co-operation of the chamber of commerce and board of trade, resulted in the magnificent series of expositions held that year and since, whose history is detailed elsewhere. The public library removed to its own building during the year 1869-7o, and, after considerable negotiation and calculation, the institute paid to the board of directors the amount of the lease money agreed upon July 31,1856, ten thousand dollars, less one thousand five hundred dollars for books of its library lost or damaged, for the cancellation of the lease. In 1871-2 a new roof was placed upon the institute building, and other improvements made—all together costing the society two thousand seven hundred dollars. Further changes were made 1873-4 in the Vine street stores of the building, to the value of one thousand and fifty dollars, and repairs were made to the main Ball the next year, involving an expenditure of more than three thousand dollars. A class in natural philosophy was organized the next year, but not with much success. At the exposition of 1875 the institute offered large special premiums of its own for the best cut off stationary steam engine, and for the best stationary steam engine, slide valve, not less than twenty-five nor more than seventy-five horse-power. In 1876 another temporary investment was made by the institute of two thousand dollars in Federal securities. The next year, partly as a means of escape from the halls in case of fire, being warned by the then recent terrible calamity at Brooklyn, the stairways and entrances to the halls from the different floors were thoroughly remodeled, and several new ante and wash-rooms were provided, with a costly steam apparatus for heating. About ten thousand dollars were expended on these improvements. When the great Music hall was projected the institute gave one thousand dollars towards its erection, and afterwards five hundred toward the construction of the wings, or Exposition buildings proper.
In the fall of 1878 the directors of the institute organized a new "department of industrial improvements," for the purpose of examining into the merits of alleged new improvements in the industrial arts, and conferring awards upon such as, after thorough investigation, are found worthy; this action, the prospectus of the department says, "being taken in furtherance of the original objects of the Ohio Mechanics' Institute, viz.: 'To promote improvements in manufactures and the mechanic arts."
November 20, 1878, occurred the semi-centennial anniversary of the foundation of the institute. It was in contemplation to have a formal observance of this day, with fitting ceremonies ; but it was finally determined instead to issue an historical sketch of the society, as had been done at the quarter-centennial, twenty-five years before. It contains about one hundred pages, and represents very creditable work, in the points of industry and literary skill. We have found it invaluable in the preparation of this synopsis.
The School of Design was very successful during the year 1878-9, its enrollment mounting to two hundred and twenty. A system of awards for attendance and other merits was introduced, in the shape of medals and certificates of progress, and worked well. An agreeable incident of the year was the complimentary entertainment, consisting of instrumental and vocal music, recitations, sketches, etc., tendered to the school and its friends on the evening of January r r, 1879, in Grenwood hall—an affair which passed off very happily.
During 1879-80 the enrollment was two hundred and thirty-five, and ten teachers were in charge. The system of awards was continued with success, and gold badges of chaste and appropriate design were added to the medals and certificates. The announcements for the twenty-fifth annual session of the school, which began October 22, 1880, set forth three departments—mechanical, for machinists, metal workers, pattern makers, founders, blacksmiths, etc.; architectural, for carpenters, masons, wood workers, builders, etc.; and artistic, for free-hand drawing, perspective, crayon, etc., for painters, plasterers, carvers, gilders, cabinet-makers, etc.—besides special classes in original designing, for advanced pupils in drawing and for instruction in designing as applied to manufacturers; modeling in clay, as applied in the several branches of industrial art; and drawing from life. Mr. John B. Heich has been principal for a number of years of this very useful arm of the institute's work.
Still another interesting feature was added to the institute in early December, 188o, by the organization of a department of science and arts, to which admission may be had for the small sum of three dollars. Several professors of the university and other prominent scholars in the city signified at once their intention of joining it.
During 1879-80 there were kept on file in the .reading room one foreign and fourteen domestic dailies and twenty-six weekly papers, and sixteen monthly periodicals, mostly technical. "The board of directors espe-
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cially request," says their announcement, "a general use of the reading room," yet, to prevent growing abuses, it was resolved this year to welcome none to its benefits except those possessing cards of admission, which can be obtained by any well disposed person simply upon application to a director, and are good for six months, renewable thereafter, on continued good behavior of the recipient.
The financial condition of the institute, after all its vicissitudes and pecuniary dangers, is sound and safe. During the fiscal year 1879-80 there were received, on account of rents alone, seven thousand nine hundred and eighty-nine dollars, from memberships six hundred and eighty-nine dollars, and small amounts from other sources. The “Day will trust fund," a sum in the hands of the to treasurer for the benefit of the institute, amounted to three thousand one hundred and forty-eight dollars and fifty-four cents, from which substantial benefits were realized. A satisfactory balance was in the treasury at the close of the year; the institute was practically far out of debt; and its future was radiant with promise. It has bad a notable past, and it will have a yet more noteworthy future.
The leading officers of the institute, since its organization, have been as follows:
Presidents-1828 to 1847, John P. Foote; 1847 to 1854, Miles Greenwood; 1854 to 1871, Charles F. Wilstach; 1871 to 1881, Thomas Gilpin. It is thus seen that, during the fifty-two years of the society's existence, it has had but four presidents, with an average terra of thirteen years each.
Vice-Presidents—Calvin Fletcher, 1828-39; George C. Miller, 1840-41; G. Muscroft, 1841--2; W. S. Merrill, 1843-4: Jacob Ernst, 1844-5; Joseph G. Rust, 1846-7; Benjamin Bruce, 1847--51; R. C. Phillips, 1851--2; Charles F. Wilstach, 1852-3; George Graham, 1853-4; William Huddart, 1854--6; George D. Winchell, 1856--8; H. H. Smith, 1858-9; E. M. Shield, 1859-60; H. E. Nottingham, 1860--I ; Isaac Greenwald, 1861--2; Andrew Erkenbrecher, 1862-3: Eli C. Baldwin, 1863-6; Isaac Greenwald, 1866--9; P. P. Lane, 1869-7I; John F. Wiltsee, 1871-2; James Dale, 1872--81.
Secretary—D. T. Disney, 1828-9 and 183o-1; John L. Talbot, 1829-3o, 1831-2, 1837-8, and 1841-2; John Laughlin, 1832-4; Clement Dare, 1834-5; Joseph Gest, 1835-6; 13. Fisher, 1836-7; L. T. Wells, 1838-9; Robert Lawson, 1840-I; 1841-2, Charles W. Thorp (to fill vacancy caused by resignation of Mr. Talbot); Thomas G. Shaeffer, 1842-4, and 1845-7; J. W. Applegate, 1844-5.
Recording secretaries—J. L. Whetstone, 1847-9; Henry M. Ritter (vice Whetstone, resigned); H. W. Stephenson, 1849-5 and 1854-5; J. W. Thomas, 1851-2; W. G. Neilson (vice Thomas, resigned); George W. Kendall, 1852-3; James A. Semple, 1854-5 (vice Stephenson resigned); C. D. Meader, 1855-6; Caleb C. Whitson, 185661; W. W. Innes, 1861-2; Hugh McCollum, 1862-72; E. A. Townley, 1872-3; H. W. Stephenson, 1873-9; 1879-81, W. B. Bruce.
Corresponding secretary—John B. Foote, 1847-8; John G. Anthony, 1848-50; John L. Whetstone, 1850-1, 1852- 3, and 1854; W. B. Chapman, 1851-2; George W. Kendall, 1853-4; A. L. Burke, 1854-8 (1854-5 vice Whetstone, resigned); John F. Wiltsee, 1858-9; B. R. Alley, 1859-60; W. W. Innes, 1860-1; W. P. Swain, 1861-2; George T. Jones, 1862-3;. A. Erkenbrecher, 1863-6; Thomas Gilpin, 1866-71; Frank Millward, 1871-8; P. P. Lane, 1878-9 (to fill vacancy caused by death of Mr. Millward); Harvey Jones, 1879-81.
Treasurer—Clement Dare, 1828-9, and -1830-4; Luman Watson, 1829-30; George Graham, 1834-6; Joseph Gest, 1836-7; G. C. Miller, 1837-4? J. L. Talbot, 1840-I; James Pearce, 1841-2, 1843-5, and 1846-8; John W. Applegate, 1845-6; H. W. Stephenson, 1848-9, 1858-9, and 1871-2; J. A. James, 1849-50; L. T. Wells, 1850-2; Benjamin Bruce, 1852-4; W. B. Chapman, 1854-8; John T. Wiltsee, 1859-71; Hugh McCollum, 1872-81.
Clerk of the board of directors—John B. Heich, 1856-81.
The record of officers-elect for 1839-40 is lost; also that of 1842-3, except as to president and secretary.
THE CINCINNATI OBSERVATORY.
This renowned institution, one of the crowning glories of Cincinnati, owes its origin, in the first instance, to the enterprise and energy of just one man—a young lawyer and teacher named Ormsby M. Mitchel. While serving as professor of mathematics, natural philosophy and astronomy in the Cincinnati college, he found his instructions seriously hampered by the lack of a sufficient equipment of apparatus; and his plans for its procurement gradually grew in his teeming brain until they included the magnificent project of an astronomical observatory, with one of the finest telescopes in America and other instruments and apparatus to correspond. He began in the spring of 1842, by an effort to excite the interest of the local public in astronomy by a series of lectures upon the subject, and faced an audience of sixteen at his opening—a strange contrast to the audience of two thousand which crowded one of the largest audience-rooms in the city upon the repetition of his last lecture. Broaching his project in due time, in three weeks he had secured the formation of the Cincinnati Astronomical society and a subscription of seven thousand five hundred dollars, in three hundred shares of twenty-five dollars each, for an observatory. Mitchel sailed from New York June 16th, of the same year, for Europe, carrying in his heart the hope of a great equatorially-mounted, achromatic, refracting telescope. Not half a dozen glasses fit for such an instrument then existed; but he found an unfinished one, of twelve inches, in the cabinet of Mertz, successor of the celebrated Frauenhofer, at Munich, which he had tested and very thoroughly approved. Notwithstanding scarcely three-fourths of the requisite amount had been subscribed, he had the nerve to close a contract for the mounting of this at a cost of ten thousand dollars, and in a hundred days from the date of starting was at home again, having meanwhile taken time to visit and inspect carefully several of the great observatories abroad, undertake some special studies there, and make some important acquaintances among foreign astronomers. He reported his suc-
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cess to an immense gathering of the members of the association and other friends of the enterprise; and the pecuniary prospects of the scheme decidedly looked up thenceforth. Mr. Nicholas Longworth gave the society permission to select any four acres out of twenty-five of his property on Mount Auburn, to be held for the uses of the observatory. The next succeeding events can best be told in the eloquent words of Professor Mitchel himself, as he tells the story in one of his brilliant lectures:
On the ninth of November, 1843, the corner-stone of the observatory was laid by John Quincy Adams, in the presence of a vast multitude, with appropriate ceremonies, and followed by the delivery of an address replete with beauty and eloquence. The season was too far advanced to permit anything to be done toward the erection of the building during the fall ; and, indeed, it was not the intention of the board of directors to proceed with the building, until every dollar required in the payment for the great telescope should have been remitted to Europe. At the time of laying the corner-stone, but three thousand dollars, out of nine thousand five hundred, had been paid. This was the amount required in the contract, to be paid on signing, and the remaining sum became due on finishing the instrument.
The contract having been made, conditionally, in July, 1842, it was believed the great refractor would be shipped for the United States in June, 1844, and to meet our engagements the sum of six thousand five hundred dollars must be raised.
This amount was subscribed, but, in consequence of commercial difficulties, all efforts hitherto made to collect it had been unavailing; and in February, 1844, the board of control solicited the director of the obseivatory [Mitchel] to become the general agent of the society and to collect all old subscriptions, and obtain such new ones as might be necessary to make up the requisite sum. The accounts in the hands of the previous collector were accordingly turned over to me, and a systematic effort was made to close them up. A regular journal was kept of each day's work, noting the number of hours employed, the persons visited, those actually found, the sums collected, the promises to pay, the positive repudiations, the due-bills taken, payable in cash and trade, and the day on which I was requested to call again. These intervals extended from a week or ten days to four months. The hour was in general fixed, and when the day rolled round and the hour arrived, the agent of the society presented himself and referred to the memoranda. In many cases another and another time was appointed, until, in some instances, almost as many calls were made as there were dollars due. By systematic perseverance, at the end of some forty days, the sum of three thousand dollars was paid over to the treasurer, as the amount collected from old subscribers. Nearly two thousand dollars of due-bills had been taken, payable in carpenter work, painting, dry goods, hoots and shoes, hats and caps, plastering, bricklaying, blacksmith work, paints and oils, groceries, pork-barrels, flour, bacon, and lard, hardware, iron, nails, etc.; in short, in every variety of trade, materials, and workmanship. The due-bills, in cash, brought about five hundred dollars in the course of the next thirty .days, and a further sum of three thousand dollars was required for the last remittance to Europe.
It was determined to raise this amount, in large sums, from wealthy and liberal citizens who had already become members of our society. The list first made out, and the sums placed opposite the names of each person, is now in my possession. Gn paper the exact amount was made up in the simplest and most expeditious manner; eight names had the sum of two hundred dollars opposite them, ten names were marked one hundred dollars each, and the remaining ones fifty dollars each. Such was the singular accuracy in the calculation that, when the theory was reduced to practice, it failed in but one solitary instance, One person, upon whom we had relied for two hundred dollars, declined absolutely, and his place was filled by another.
I called on one of the eight individuals marked at two hundred dollars, and, after a few moments' conversation, he told me that, in case one hundred dollars would be of any service to me, he would gladly subscribe that amount. I showed him my list, and finding his name among those reckoned at two hundred dollars, he remarked that he would not mar so beautiful a scheme for the sum of one hundred dollars, and accordingly entered his name in its appropriate place.
At a meeting held in May, of the board of control, the treasurer reported that the entire amount was now in the treasury, with the exception of one hundred and fifty dollars. The board adjourned to meet on the same day of the following week, when the deficiency was reduced by the agent to twenty-five dollars, and on the same day an order was passed to remit the entire amount to Barings & Brothers, London, to be paid to the manufacturer, on the order of Dr. J. Lamont, of Munich, to be given on the packing of the instrument. The last twenty-five dollars was obtained, and placed in the treasurer's hands, immediately on the adjournment of the board.
Thus was completed, as it was supposed, by far the most difficult part of the enterprise. All the cash means of the society had now been exhausted, about eleven thousand dollars had been raised, and to extend the effort yet farther, under the circumstances, seemed to be quite impossible. Up to this time nothing had been done toward the building, and after paying for the instrument not one dollar remained in cash to commence the erection of a building which must cost, at the lowest estimate, five or six thousand dollars.
Some two or three thousand dollars had been subscribed, payable in work and materials. Owing to a slight change in the plan of the building, the foundation walls, already laid in the fall of 1844, were taken up and relaid. Finding it quite impossible to induce any master-workman to take the contract for the building, with the many contingencies by which our affairs were surrounded, I determined to hire workmen by the day and superintend the erection of the building personally. In attempting to contract for the delivery of brick on the summit of Mount Adams, such an enormous price was demanded for the hauling, in consequence of the steepness of the hill, that all idea of a brick building was at once abandoned, and it was determined to build of limestone, an abundant supply of which could be had on the grounds of the society by quarrying. Having matured my plans, securing the occasional assistance of a carpenter, about the beginning of June, 1844, I hired two masons, one of whom was to receive an extra sum for hiring the hands, keeping their time, and acting as the master-workman. One tender to these workmen constituted the entire force with which I commenced the erection of a building which, if prosecuted in the same humble manner, would have required about twenty years for its completion. And yet our title-bond required that the building should be finished in the following June, or a forfeiture of the title by which we hold the present beautiful site must follow. My master-mason seemed quite confounded when told that he must commence work with such a force. In the outset difficulties were thick and obstinate. Exorbitant charges were made for delivering lime. I at once commenced the building of a lime-kiln, and in a few days had the 'satisfaction of seeing it well-filled and on fire ; true, it caved in once or twice, with other little accidents ; but a full supply of lime was obtained, and at a cheap rate.
Sand was the next item, for which the most extravagant charges were made. I found this so ruinous that an effort was made, and finally I obtained permission to open a sand-pit, which had long been closed for fear of caving down a house on the side of the hill above, by further excavation. An absolute refusal was at first given ; but systematic perseverance again succeeded, and the pit was re-opened. The distance was comparatively short ; but the price of mere hauling was so great that I was forced to purchase horses, and in not a few instances fill the carts with my own hands and drive them to the top of the hill, thus demonstrating practically how many loads could be made in a day.
Another difficulty yet remained—no water could be found nearer than at the foot of the hill, half a mile distant ; and to haul all the water so great a distance would have cost a large sum. I selected one of the deepest ravines on the hill-top, and throwing a dam across while it was actually mining, I had the pleasure of seeing it fill rapidly from the hillsides ; and in this way an abundant supply was obtained for the mixing of mortar, at a very moderate expense of hauling.
Thus prepared, the building was commenced, with two masons and one tender during the first week. At the close of the week I had raised sufficient funds to pay off my hands, and directed the foreman to employ, for the following week, two additional masons and a tender. To supply this force with materials several hands were employed in the quarry, in the lime-kiln, and in the sand-pit, all of whom were hired by the day, to be paid half cash and the residue in trade.
During all this time, I may remark, I was discharging my duties as professor of mathematics and philosophy in the Cincinnati college, and teaching five hours in the day. Before eight o'clock in the morning I had visited all my workmen in the building, in the lime-kiln, sand-pit, and stone-quarry ; at that time my duties in the college commenced, and closed at one. By two o'clock P. M. I was again with my workmen, or engaged in raising the means of paying them on Saturday
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night. The third week the number of hands was again doubled ; the fourth week produced a like increase, until finally not less than fifty day laborers were actually engaged in the erection of the Cincinnati observatory. Each Saturday night exhausted all my funds ; but I commenced the next week in the full confidence that industry and perseverance would work out the legitimate results. To raise the cash means required was the greatest difficulty. I have frequently made four or five trades to turn my due-bills, payable in trade, into cash. I have not unfrequently gone to individuals and sold them their own due-bills, payable in merchandise, for cash; by making a discount. The pork merchants paid me cash for my due-bills, payable in barrels and lard-kegs ; and in this way I managed to raise sufficient cash means to prosecute the work vigorously during the months of July and August, and in September I had the satisfaction to see the building up and covered, without having incurred one dollar of debt. At one period, I presume, one hundred hands were employed at the same time in the prosecution of the work, more than fifty hands on the hill, and as many in the city in the various workshops, paying their subscriptions by work for different parts of the building. The doors were in the hands of one carpenter, the window-frames in those of another ; a third was employed on the sash ; a painter took them from the joiner and in turn delivered them to a glazier, while a carpenter paid up his stock by hanging them, with weights purchased by stock and with cords obtained, in the same way. Many locks were furnished by our townsmen in payment of their subscriptions. Lumber, sawing, flooring, roofing,
painting, mantels, steps, hearths, hardware, lathing, doors, windows, glass and painting, were in like manner obtained. At the beginning of each week my master carpenter generally gave me a bill of lumber and materials wanted during the week. In case they had not been already subscribed, the stock-book was resorted to, and there was no relaxing of effort until the necessary articles were obtained. If a tier of joists was wanted, the saw-mills were visited, and in some instances the joists for the same floor came from two or three different mills.
On covering the building, the great crowd of hands employed as masons, tenders, lime-burners, quarrymen, sand and water-men, were paid off and discharged ; and it now seemed that the heavy pressure was passed, and that one might again breathe free, after the responsibility of such heavy weekly payments were removed.
In February, 1845, the telescope came, and the next month was placed in position. The Observatory soon afterwards went into full operation, with Professor Mitchel installed as director, and residing in the building with his family. The structure had been completed in time—by June, 1845—to save the grant of Mr. Longworth, which was conditioned upon its completion within two years from the date of the gift. Mitchel devised two very ingenious and delicate instruments for recording observations in right ascension and difference in declination, and added them to the working apparatus of the Observatory. He received and instructed students, and continued to make astronomical observations with much success. At times, however, his finances were extremely limited; and he had to eke out a subsistence by engineering on the route of the Ohio & Mississippi railroad and by lecturing, in which he finally obtained much renown, and left brilliant memorials in two published volumes. After his departure for the military service, to which he gave his life, the Observatory languished; but after the war its grand opportunity came, in the establishment of the Cincinnati university. For the uses of this institution the Astronomical society tendered the entire property of the Observatory; and it was made a department of the University. By this time, however, the growth of the manufacturing and other interests of the city had wrapped the summit of Mount Adams frequently in clouds of smoke and fog; and there were other reasons for removal to a more retired locality, with more quiet surroundings and a clearer air.
When the situation or the Observatory upon Mount Adams had become unsuitable for its purposes, the heirs of Mr. Longworth united with the Astronomical society in agreeing to transfer the grounds originally given to it by Mr. Longworth to the city, upon the specific trust that it should be sold or leased, and the proceeds applied upon the endownment of the University school of Drawing and Design, and further conditioned that the city should sustain a new observatory, to be also connected with the University. For the establishment of that the Astronomical society presented to the city the equatorial and other instruments collected for the older institution, with all its apparatus and astronomical records and books. The Mount Adams property was leased to the Passionist Fathers, who now use it for a monastery and school, at a ground-rent of three thousand dollars per year, with the privilege of purchase at discretion. Mr. John Kilgour gave a site of four acres, at Mount Lookout, near Oakley, just beyond the northeast corner of the city, for the new observatory, and also ten thousand dollars for building it and supplying a further equipment. Mr. Julius Dexter added a gift of one thousand dollars in 1874. The corner-stone of the new building—the same as that laid by the assistance of John Quincy Adams thirty-five years before, with many of the same articles enclosed—was laid with due ceremony in the spring of 1873; and the edifice went rapidly up, without any of the embarrassments which clustered about the indomitable founder of 1843-5. It was occupied the next year, with Professor Ormond Stone as director, and has since been in successful and useful operation, in the training of students for professorships and astronomical inquiry, and in making observations and discoveries. Among much other good work, the star-measurements of Professor Mitchel, which were still in manuscript, have been reduced and made ready for the printer. A short summer term is held at the observatory, for the benefit of teachers and others who desire to take special studies. Mr. Henry T. Eddy is now professor of astronomy, and Mr. Stone remains director.
THE CINCINNATI SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY.
We adopt in full, for this important society, with some additions, the historical sketch published in the first number of its Journal, April, 1878:
The Cincinnati Society of Natural History was organized, and a constitution adopted, on the nineteenth day of January, 187o, at No. 6 West Fourth street, in the city of Cincinnati. The following persons were enrolled as original members: Dr. F. P. Anderson, Ludlow Apjones, Robert Brown, jr., Dr. R. M. Byrnes, J. B. Chickering, Robert Clarke, Lucius Curtis, V. T. Chambers, Julius Dexter, Charles Dury, C. B. Dyer, John M. Edwards, Dr. H. H. Hill, R. E. Hawley, Dr. W. H. Mussey, R. C. McCracken, Dr. C. A. Miller, S. A. Miller, Dr. William Owens, Henry Probasco, J. Ralston Skinner, Dr. John A. Warder, Dr. E. S. Wayne, Dr. E. Williams, and Horatio Wood.
The society was regularly incorporated on the twentieth day of June, 1870, as shown by church record book, No.
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2, page 633, of the records of Hamilton county, Ohio.
On the second day of February, 187o, the society met and proceeded to elect permanent officers, Mr. John M. Edwards having presided at the preliminary meetings. Dr. John A. Warder was elected president, which office he continued to fill, by re-election, to the satisfaction of the members, until April 6, 1875. Dr. W. H. Mussey was elected first vice-president, and was continued in the office until April 6, 1865. Mr. Ludlow Apjones was elected corresponding and recording secretary, and served as such until the regular election held April 4, 187 1. Mr. Robert Brown, jr., was elected treasurer; Dr. F. P. Anderson, custodian; Dr. Edward S. Wayne, curator of mineralogy; and Mr. Horatio Wood, curator of botany.
The membership of the society increased very rapidly, and during the summer arrangements were perfected for renting room No. 41 College Building, on Walnut street, above Fourth street, at one hundred dollars per year. The society held its first meeting in College Building on the evening of October 4, 187o. At this meeting Mr. Robert Brown, jr., resigned the office of treasurer, and Mr. Horatio Wood was elected to fill the vacancy; Professor John M. Edwards was elected custodian in place of Dr. F. P. Anderson; and Mr. Charles Dury was elected taxidermist. The society held meetings regularly every month, and at the meeting held March 8, 1871, had the pleasure of knowing that the trustees of the Cincinnati college had remitted the rent, and consented to the occupation of room No. 41 College Building free of charge, save such as would be incurred for light and fuel, until such time as the trustees might find it necessary to use the room for other purposes.
At the annual meeting, held on the evening of April 4, 1871, the treasurer reported that the total receipts of the society to that date amounted to one hundred and sixty dollars, and that there had been expended one hundred and sixty-five dollars and seventeen cents, leaving a balance due the treasurer of five dollars and seventeen cents. The library was reported as containing thirty-five volumes. Previous to this meeting there had been procured for the society five upright cases, all of which the custodian reported were well filled by the specimens of natural history which had been donated by members of the society. At this meeting the officers were elected for the year, with the following changes : Mr. Ludlow Apjones was elected second vice-president; Mr. L. S. Cotton was elected corresponding secretary, and continued to be re-elected annually, and served until April 6, 1875; Rev. R. E. Hawley as recording secretary, in which position he served for two years. Mr. Horatio Wood was elected treasurer, and was continued in the office until he declined to serve longer, April 4, 1875. Dr. H. H. Hill accepted the position of librarian, and was re-elected April 2, 1872, and April 1, 1873. Professor John M. Edwards was elected custodian, and was continued in the position for two years. Dr. R. M. Byrnes was elected curator of mineralogy, which position he has held to the present time. The fine collection and careful arrangement of the minerals in the possession of the society bear witness to the intelligent and faithful work of this officer. Mr. Samuel A. Miller was elected curator of palaeontology, and was subsequently re-elected and continued in the curatorship until April 7, 1874. Dr. H. H. Hill, curator of conchology, who was re-elected the following year; Mr. Lucius Curtis, curator of entomology, who was continued in office until April 1, 1873; Dr. William Owens, of botany; and Mr. Charles Dury, taxidermist, who was twice re-elected, and continued in office until the position was abolished in April, 1874, and the curatorship of ornithology instituted.
The donations of specimens in the various depart ments of natural science being numerous at every meeting, it was found necessary to provide additional cases for preserving the collections.
At the meeting held June 6, 1871, five new upright cases, uniform with those previously in the possession of the society, were procured.
At the meeting held September 5, 1871, the society received from the Western Academy of Natural Science three hundred and fifty-one dollars in money, two hundred and sixty-five volumes of books, and the remnant of its collection, being all of its propertv and effects of every kind then remaining. The money was invested, and has remained at interest since that time. Mr. S. A. Miller read a paper on the "Silurian Island of Cincinnati," which was published the next day in the Cincinnati Enquirer.
At the meeting held on the second day of January, 1872, the society received from Mr. Robert Buchanan one hundred and eleven volumes from his library, and three upright cases with drawers, containing fossils, shells, and minerals. This donation was a valuable acquisition to the society, and was brought about through the generosity of Mr. Probasco and nine other gentlemen, who presented Mr. Buchanan with one thousand dollars, as a partial compensation for his parting with his collection. The society elected Mr. Robert Buchanan an honorary member at the meeting held the following month.
The society assembled for the February meeting in rooms forty-six and forty-eight, College building, which had been kindly placed at its disposal by the trustees of the Cincinnati college, and which the society continued to occupy until it was able to purchase a building and removed to 1 o8 Broadway.
On the fifth day of March, 1872, at a regular meeting, Messrs. Robert Clarke, U. P. James, George Graham, D. E. Bolles, John L. Talbot, S. T. Carley, and Robert Buchanan, surviving members of the Western Academy of science, were duly elected to life-membership in this society, in pursuance of the arrangement made at the time of receiving the donation from the Western academy. Mr. S. A. Miller read a paper on the "Geological History of this Locality, from the Tertiary Period to the present time,"—which was published in the Cincinnati Enquirer of the succeeding day, and was continued at a subsequent meeting of the society and published in the same paper on the seventeenth day of June following.
At the annual meeting held April 2, 1872, the report of the treasurer showed the receipts to have been, from dues of members for the preceding year three hundred and eighty-five dollars, and from the Western Academy
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of Natural Science three hundred and fifty-one dollars and forty-five cents. Mr. Samuel A. Miller was elected second vice-president, which position he continued to hold until the April meeting in 1875; and Miss M. J. Pyle was elected curator of botany.
At the meeting held June 4, 1872, Dr. Charles A. Miller was elected curator of conchology, in place of Dr. H. H. Hill, who resigned; and Mr. G. A. Wetherby was elected curator of entomology, instead of Mr. Lucius Curtis, who had also resigned.
The society exhibited a large collection of specimens at the Cincinnati Industrial Exposition, held during the months of September and October of this and the following year. At both expositions the display made by this society attracted much notice, and the section devoted to its use was generally well attended by visitors.
At a meeting held November, 1872, Professor W. H. Mussey presented to the society a large number of skeletons, of domesticated and wild vertebrate animals. He had previously shown his generosity to the society by contributing books, minerals, and other valuable specimens, and has continued to be one of its most steadfast and liberal benefactors down to the present time.
At the annual meeting, held April 1, 1873, it appeared from the treasurer's report that there were one hundred and seventeen members of the society, that the dues collected for the year amounted to four hundred and ten dollars and thirty-six cents, that the expenses had been three hundred and twenty-four dollars and ninety-three cents, and that there remained in the treasury the sum of one hundred and twenty-two dollars and twelve cents, not including the funds received from the Western Academy of Science. At this meeting Mr. John M. Edwards was elected recording secretary; Mr. R. B. Moore custodian, which position he continued to fill until elected president, April 3, 1877; Dr. Charles A. Miller, curator of conchology, who was re-elected the following year; Mr. V. T. Chambers, curator of entomology; Mr. John Hussey, curator of botany; Dr. D. S. Young, curator of ichthyology, a position he has held ever since; Professor W. H. Mussey, curator of comparative anatomy, who was re-elected the following year, At this meeting a resolution was adopted providing for a committee to take charge of a building fund, having for its basis the promise of a contribution of one hundred dollars annually for five years from Mr. Julius Dexter, and of twenty-five dollars per year for a like period from Professor A. J. Howe and Mr. Ludlow Apjones, and of the sum of ten dollars for a like period from Mr. A. E. Tripp and Mr. Horatio Wood.
At the meeting held May 6th, of this year, Mr. Charles H. Browning presented to the society a magnificent collection of marine shells and corals, collected by his father, Lieutenant R. L. Browning, United States navy.
At the meeting held August 5, 1873, Mr. S. A. Miller read a criticism on that part of the first volume of the Ohio Geological Survey relating to the Cincinnati Group of rocks and its fossil contents, which was published in the Cincinnati Enquirer on the seventh day of the month.
The annual meeting in 1874 was held April 7th, when it appeared, from the report of Mr. R. B. Moore, the custodian, that the society had in its collection forty-five hundred specimens of minerals, two thousand palaeontological specimens, five thousand shells, six thousand botanical specimens, four hundred entomological specimens, two thousand archaeological specimens, and one hundred each of anatomical, ichthyological, and ornithological specimens, making a grand total of twenty thousand two hundred specimens. He also reported that the library contained about one thousand volumes. The treasurer's report showed that the society had received during the year: Members' dues, five hundred and fifty-three dollars and ninety-five cents; interest, twenty-one dollars and eight cents; while it had expended four hundred and fifty-six dollars and thirty-four cents, leaving in the treasury the sum of two hundred and forty dollars and eighty-one cents. The report further showed that there had been collected of the subscription to the building fund, three hundred and fifteen dollars, and interest accrued on the same, eleven dollars and forty-seven cents; making the total building fund three hundred and twenty-six dollars and forty-seven cents. At this meeting, Mr. William Colvin was elected recording secretary; Mr. John M. Edwards librarian, who was re-elected the following year; Mr. John W. Hall, jr., curator of palaeontology, in which position he was continued until April 3, 1877; Mr. A. G. Wetherby curator of entomology; Dr. H. H. Hill curator of archaeology, and has been continued in the position ever since; and Mr. Charles Dury curator of ornithology, who continues to fill the. curatorship.
No election for curator of botany having been made at the annual meeting, Mr. Paul Mohr, jr., was elected to the position May 5th, and was re-elected the succeeding year.
Mr. Charles Bodman was elected a member of the society at the meeting held September r, 1874.
The society received a letter at the meeting held December, 1874, from a lady eighty years of age, containing a present of two hundred dollars; and signed "A Friend of Science.” It was ascertained, however, that the generous donor was Mrs. Abbie Warren, residing at No. 299 George street, in Cincinnati.
At the meeting held April 6, 1875, it appeared from the treasurer's report that the receipts from members' dues were five hundred and fifty-eight dollars and thirty cents; from Mrs. Abbie Warren, donation two hundred dollars; and interest on invested funds, twenty-six dollars and eight cents; which, added to the balance in the treasury from the previous year, amounted to one thousand and twenty-five dollars and nineteen cents. The expenditures for the year amounted to five hundred and thirty-one dollars and forty-six cents, leaving a balance of four hundred and ninety-three dollars and seventy-three cents; of this latter sum four hundred dollars had been placed at interest. In addition to this the sum of three hundred and fifty-one dollars and forty-five cents, which was received from the Western academy, was safely invested, and further that the building fund had during the year been increased by collection of subscriptions and accrued interest to the sum of four hundred and ninety-nine dollars and eighty-five cents; making a total of all funds to
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the credit of the society, one thousand three hundred and forty-five dollars and three cents. At this meeting Mr. S. A. Miller was elected president; Mr. Horatio Wood was elected second vice-president; Mr. L. M. Hosea corresponding secretary, to which office he was re-elected the next year; Dr. J. F. Judge recording secretary, in which office he has been continued to this time; Dr. J. H. Hunt treasurer; Professor A. J. Howe curator of comparative anatomy, since which time he has been annually re-elected to the position.
At the meeting held May 4, 1875, the president, Mr. S. A. Miller, read a "Review of the Glacial Theory, as presented in the Ohio Geological Survey," which was published in the July number of the Cincinnati Quarterly Journal of Science.
Professor A. G. Wetherby read a paper entitled a "Description of Lepidopterous Larvae, with their habits and affinities," at the meeting held October 5, 1875, which was published in the Cincinnati Quarterly Journal of Science for the same month. Professor A. G. Wetherby read, at a meeting held December 7, 1875, a paper on the "Variations in form as exhibited by Strepomatid, with descriptions of new species," which was published in the month of January following, under the title of Proceedings of the Cincinnati. Society of Natural History. It is the only publication the society has ever issued. At various times attempts have been made by members to have the society definitely adopt the policy of a regular publication of its transactions, but without success until the last, which has resulted in the present undertaking of publishing a journal of the society quarterly, which is designed to embrace the proceedings of the society and such original papers of value as may be prepared for the society by its members or others.
The next annual meeting was held April 4, 1876. The treasurer's report showed that the receipts for the year had been, from members' dues, three hundred and forty-seven dollars and fifty-four cents; from interest, forty-five dollars and eight cents; the expenditures amounted to four hundred and fifteen dollars and ninety-five cents, leaving a cash balance of one hundred and two dollars and forty cents. The building fund was reported as five hundred and fifty-five dollars and sixty-three cents. At this meeting Professor W. H. Mussey was elected president; Mr. John M. Edwards, first vice-president; Mr. George W. Harper, second vice-president, who was in the second year re-elected; Mr. S. E. Wright, treasurer, and continues in office to this time; Mr. J. C. Shroyer, librarian, who was re-elected the following April; Mr. J. W. Shorten, curator of entomology; and Mr. Davis L. James, curator of botany.
Professor A. G. Wetherby read a paper at the meeting held June 6th, on the "Tulotoma," which was subsequently published n the Quarterly Journal of Conchology, Leeds, England.
At the meeting held October 3d, Professor Ormond Stone was elected curator of mathematics and astronomy, and Professor R. B. Warder curator of chemistry and physics, each being re-elected at the annual meeting the following year.
At the meeting held March 6, 1877, Dr. August J. Woodward was elected curator of herpetology, and reelected at the annual meeting next month.
At the meeting held on April 3, 1877, the treasurer's report showed the financial condition to be as follows :
