100 - MEMOIRS OF LUCAS COUNTY 1824-25. From one of the encampments in the depths of forty miles of forest south of the Auglaize river, M. T. Williams, under whose direction the survey was being made, left the party, and, with proper guides, explored in advance the route to the foot of the Maumee rapids. Taking there a small boat, he sounded carefully the depth of the water in the river from the foot of the Maumee rapids to Turtle Island, so called, off the north cape of the bay. His report of these soundings, as communicated to the engineer on his return to camp, and afterward stated in his official report to the legislature, clearly indicated the mouth of Swan creek, now the site of Toledo, as the point where the immense commerce in the future to seek Lake Erie would be transferred from canal boats to lake vessels. The next step in the progress of events was the procurement, chiefly through the agency of the members of Congress from Indiana, of a survey of the canal by a corps of United States topographical engineers. A corps of engineers, under the command of Col. James Shriver, was detailed for this survey by order of the War Department. After a tedious journey through the wilderness, the survey was commenced at Fort Wayne in May or June, 1826. But little progress had been made when the whole party was prostrated by sickness, and Colonel Shriver soon afterward died in the Old Fort. He was succeeded in command by Col. Asa Moore, his assistant, under whose direction the survey was continued during 1826 and 1827, down the Wabash to the mouth of Tippecanoe, then considered the head of navigation. The work was continued along the Maumee in 1827 and 1828, until Colonel Moore also fell a victim to disease, so prevalent at that time in these forest-covered valleys, dying in his tent at the head of the Maumee rapids, Oct. 4, 1828. This survey was completed to the Maumee bay by Col. Howard Stansbury, who, from the beginning, had been of the party. An Act of Congress "to aid the State of Ohio in extending the Miami Canal from Dayton to Lake Erie, and to grant a quantity of land to said State to aid in the construction of the canals authorized by law," etc., was passed by Congress and approved May 24, 1828. Section 4 enacted that "the State of Indiana be, and hereby is, authorized to convey and relinquish to the State of Ohio, upon such terms as may be agreed upon by said States, all the rights and interest granted to the State of Indiana to any lands within the limits of the State of Ohio, by an act entitled, 'An act to grant a certain quantity of land to the State of Indiana, for the purpose of aiding said State in opening a canal, to connect the waters of Wabash river with those of Lake Erie,' approved on the 2d of March, A. D. 1827, the State of Ohio to hold said lands on the same conditions upon which it was granted to the State of Indiana by the act aforesaid." Under the section above quoted, commissioners with plenipotentiary powers were appointed by both States—W. Tillman, of Zanesville, on the part of Ohio, and Jeremiah Sullivan, of Madison, on the part of Indiana—by whom a compact was agreed upon in October, 1829, which, after some delay on the part of Ohio, was ratified by both States, Indiana agreeing to surrender to Ohio the land within her territory, and Ohio stipulating to construct the canal, and guaranteeing ROADS, CANAL, AND PUBLIC BUILDINGS - 101 its use to the citizens of Indiana on the same terms as her own citizens. From this period, the canal, though one work as respects its commercial interests and bearings, became separated into two divisions, as regards its finances, construction and management. As already stated in a previous chapter, the matter of canal construction and location was prominent in the Michigan-Ohio boundary question, and was materially delayed by that dispute. Different plans, meantime, were under discussion. In the case of the Wabash canal it was proposed, in 1834, to employ slack-water for navigation, by so improving the Maumee river with dams and locks as to make it navigable for steamboats from the bay to Defiance and for canal boats thence to Fort Wayne. The comparative advantages of horse and steam power for towing boats were then discussed. It was suggested that "a steamboat could tow two canal boats with their horses on board from Defiance to the head of. the rapids (thirty-two miles) cheaper than horses could tow them on a forty-feet-wide canal." Another difficulty that caused delay was the strife between Toledo and the villages of Perrysburg and Maumee for the ending of the canal at the lake level, and contracts were not let on the northern end until flay, 1837. The citizens of Perrysburg and Maumee desired the canal to end there, at the foot of the rapids. Toledo made urgent claim to the terminus ; and residents of Manhattan, near the Maumee bay, desired that to be the place where connection with the river was made. Meantime the claim of Ohio to the Harris line as the northern boundary of the State was sustained by Congress. On Aug. 22, 1836, the canal commissioners met at Perrysburg, and there the rival parties gathered the next day in great numbers and asserted their different claims with such warmth that each place was granted canal connection with the Maumee. This decision was confirmed by Governor Lucas at his visit to the seyeral places, Nov. I I, 1836. The contract for the making of the canal from the mouth of the Maumee river at Manhattan to the grand rapids was awarded at the village of Maumee in the spring of 1837. The contractors gathered about 2,000 laborers and began their payment in Michigan "wild-cat" bills that they had borrowed. Then came the financial panic of 1837, and in May, 1838, the contractors had trouble with the laborers on account of the non-payment of them for five months. The difficulty was compromised, however, in many cases by orders on stores and due-bills, and full payment of these obligations in good money was made in June. From the commencement of the work the contractors labored under difficulties "to an extent that no other work in the State has been subjected," says the Board of Public Works in their annual report of Dec. 3o, 1839. "The high price of provisions which were necessarily brought from long distances, the consequent high price of labor. and severe sickness which droye the men out of the valley during the summers," were the reasons assigned. The report of Jan. 12, 1841, states that the prospect of obtaining money for completing the work was so doubtful that the contractors were advised of the fact at the close of 1839, and were recommended to use their own discretion and consult their own convenience in prosecuting the job, consequently not much 102 - MEMOIRS OF LUCAS COUNTY. work was performed during the first three months of 1840. After April 1, however, work progressed better than in 1839, on account of there being less sickness, and in June, 1842, the canal was opened for -traffic from Toledo to the grand rapids. The State board of Public Works, in its annual report of Jan. 2, 1843, states that "the whole of this work is now so far completed as to admit the water when the proper season for using same shall arrive, and nothing but unforeseen accidents will from this time forward prevent, at all proper seasons of the year, an uninterrupted navigation. For the last fifteen months there has not been paid one dollar in money to the contractors on this canal, and the amount now due is equal to $500,000. Almost the whole resources and credit of that portion of the State in the vicinity of this work have been used up and invested in the construction of the same." The canals were opened to traffic from Toledo through Fort Wayne, May 8, 1843, and the first boat to pass to Lafayette was the Albert S. White, Capt. Cyrus Belden, of Toledo. She was greeted along the way with great joy. the larger towns giving the captain and crew public receptions. The first packet or lighter boat fitted for passengers, soon followed under Capt. William Dale. Fort Wayne advertised a grand canal-opening celebration for the Fourth of July, 1843. and representatives were present from Toledo, Lafayette, Detroit, Cleveland, and intervening places. Gen. Lewis Cass delivered the principal address to this, the largest civil meeting held at Fort Wayne up to that date. There was delay in the construction of the Miami & Erie Canal through the dense forest south of Junction. Paulding county, ten and a half miles west of south of Defiance, and the point where the Wabash & Erie Canal connected with the Miami & Erie ; and the first boat from Cincinnati did not arrive at Toledo until June 27, 1845. In that year the United States government made its first use of this canal in the transportation of soldiers from Toledo and ports southward to Cincinnati on their way to the Mexican war. The soldiers from Detroit. Southern Michigan, and Northwestern Ohio. were taken this way, the commissioned officers being carried on packets and the non-commissioned officers and privates on freight boats. Until the year 1856 these canals were recognized as part of the great national military highway between New York city and New Orleans. They came into full use as the cheapest, easiest and safest mode of communication and transportation devised up to this date. They soon developed into great thoroughfares which exceeded the fondest hopes of their promulgators, not only for freight of all kinds to and from the rapidly developing country for many miles on each side of their lines, but for passengers— business men eastward bound to purchase goods, and immigrants of all classes, from farmers to clear homes in the wilderness to men and women learned in the schools of the East for teachers and the professions. New faces, new activities, and new developments of all kinds were seen in every direction. Many of the laborers who were attracted in -thousands from the older States by the good wages paid during the making of the canals, remained along the lines or bought lands on ROADS, CANAL, AND PUBLIC BUILDINGS - 103 which they settled with their families to add to the general thrift. The value of the produce transported to Toledo by the canal during the season of 1846 exceeded $3,000,000 ; and the value of the cargoes sent from Toledo during this season was estimated at $5,000,000. The flow of water from boats passing through the locks afforded power at lower levels to numerous sawing, flouring, and other mills, which were necessary factors to the subsistence of the increasing population, the clearing of the forest, and to the revenues of the State from water rentals and general taxes. Packet boats became quite numerous, some of which came from the New York & Erie canal, and the better class of them were well fitted for the convenience of passengers. C. E. Slocum, in his "History of the Maumee River Basin," says that the sleeping berths for the first-class passengers were ranged on each side of the upper cabin, generally in two rows one above the other, but occasionally in three rows, and some were made to shut up or swing out of way by day. Hammocks and cots were provided for the overplus passengers, and many would sleep on the deck. The dining room was below, generally midboat but sometimes forward, and the food was generally good. These boats carried express freight, and some of them carried the United States mail. They were drawn by two to six horses, according to the size of the boat and the load, and the horses were generally kept on a trot by the driver. who rode the saddle (left rear) horse, attaining a pace of from six to eight miles an hour. Relays of horses were sometimes carried in a narrow stable in the center part of the packet, as on freight boats, but generally the packet relays were stationed at convenient ports. These boats were considered a rapid and comfortable mode of traveling. The journey from Toledo to Lafayette, about 242 miles, was advertised to he made in fifty-six hours. On June 28, 1847, the packet Empire, Captain Wiggin, left Dayton, and arrived at Toledo the morning of the 30th, the distance being 180 miles. Among the passengers were Gov. William Bebb. Ex-Gov. Thomas Corwin, Robert C. Schenck, John G. Lowe, H. G. Phillips, J. Wilson Williams, Edmund Smith. Edward W. Davis and A. H. Dunlevy, the passengers expressing in a card published in the Toledo Blade great appreciation of the comforts and accommodations furnished to them on the boat. The rate of fare was generally three cents a mile on the packets and two and a half cents on the freight boats, which also accommodated many passengers. For the longer distances meals and lodgings were included in these rates. Thirty-five to forty passengers were considered a good load, but double these numbers would not be turned away. There was competition between all the boats for speed, and in the meeting and passing of boats of all kinds. the rules for position of horses. towlines. and of precedence of packets over freighters, must needs be closely observed, or a strife of words, anti sometimes of blows, resulted. The greatest stress occurred at the wharves, and at the locks particularly, where the slightest unnecessary detention was quickly resented. The time required between Toledo and Cincinnati was reduced to four days and five nights, and this was considered good time. It in- 104 - MEMOIRS OF LUCAS COUNTY cluded the numerous stops for passengers and freight, the latter often requiring considerable time to load and unload, and the time passed at the numerous locks, averaging one about every hour and ten minutes, with frequent delays on account of the precedence of other boats. The largest boat on the canals for a long time was the Harry of the West, which was brought through Lake Erie from the New York & Erie canal, in i844, by Capt. Edwin Avery. The first steam canalboat, the Niagara, was built in 1845, at a cost of about $io,000, for Samuel Doyle, but -it could not successfully compete with those of horse power. Another steamer, the Scarecrow, was more successful, and she made her first run from Toledo in November, 1859, with a load of lumber for Franklin. She had a small portable engine, with flywheel carrying a belt to a pulley on the propellor wheel shaft. Steam was used for propelling a few other boats, but objections were raised to their use on account of the commotion of the water to the detriment of the canal banks, and to other boats. On May 25, 1862, the canal propellor, Union, Capt. William Sabin, arrived at Toledo from Lafayette, with a cargo of 1,75o bushels of wheat, and having in tow a boat containing 2,050 bushels of grain, twenty barrels of pork, and two casks of hams, the total being 115 tons weight. The distance of 204 miles was run in five days and three and one-half hours. It was not unusual at that time for the boats to accumulate in Toledo to the number of fifty or sixty, unloading and reloading at the wharves and grain elevators, or awaiting their turn. Corn was at first carried for eight cents a bushel medium distance, and a little more was charged for wheat. These prices were profitable to the boatmen, but later prices varied according to the quantity of freight and the competition, and but few owners of boats made constant large or even good profits. The completion of the canal marked the beginning of the active era of clearing the forest and in developing the great agricultural wealth of Lucas and adjoining counties. Logs, ship-timber cut by power from canal-water, and firewood, were taken to market on the canal by rafts as well as in boats. Land was very cheap, and the timber was yet looked upon as a detriment to be gotten rid of as easily as possible by the settlers. The two locks connecting the canal with the mouth of the Maumee river at Manhattan were abandoned by an act of the legislature,. signed March 26, 1864, and the Manhattan extension in Toledo with the aqueduct over Swan creek, amounting to 3.75 miles, was abandoned by the Act of Jan. 31, 1871. On or about March 26, 1864, the locks to the Maumee river at the village of Maumee were also abandoned, and since that date the only canal connection with the lower Maumee river has been through Swan creek at Toledo. With the increase and competition of railroads, the business of the canals declined, first in grain and other of the more valuable freight. Opposition to the canals increased, it being led by their competitors or those who desired their right of way for individual or company uses, and these factors were so strong, in 1861, as to induce the legislature to lease the canals for seventeen years to private companies. During this period their business still further declined, and as little attention was given to repairs as pos- ROADS, CANAL, AND PUBLIC BUILDINGS - 105 sible. When returned to the State, in 1878, their "condition was deplorable," and they have since been repaired, maintained and operated at an annual expense to the State of from $5,00o to $4o,000. More minute details of the Miami & Erie canal and its course through the city of Toledo and Lucas county are given as follows by Mr. Slocum, in the publication heretofore mentioned : From the lower miter-sill of the outlet lock at Manhattanville, mouth of the Maumee river, to the head of the Toledo side-cut into Swan creek, a distance of five miles, there was an elevation of fifteen feet, which was overcome by two locks near the river. This Manhattan extension was declared abandoned by the State by Acts of March 26, 1864, and Jan. 31, 1871, as before mentioned. The course of this abandoned canal is now occupied in its northern part by the Wheeling & Lake Erie railway to Cherry street, Toledo, thence the course turns nearly south, crossing Oak street at Allen, crossing Adams between Ontario and Michigan, Madison at Ontario, Jefferson a little nearer Ontario than Erie, Monroe nearer Erie, Washington at Erie, thence turning westward to cross Lafayette at Ontario, thence southward crossing Nebraska avenue just west of Thirteenth street, and Swan creek just east of Wyandot street. Since the abandonment of the Manhattan extension, the connection with the lower Maumee has been through the Toledo side-cut, which drops fifteen feet into Swan creek by two locks. From the head of the Toledo side-cut, one mile from its entrance into Swan creek, the canal ascends forty-eight feet to the village of Maumee, a distance of eight and five-sixths miles, by six locks to No. 9 of the present list. Here there was formerly a side-cut to the Maumee river, with a fall of sixty-three feet, by six locks. This side-cut was abandoned in about 1865. The size of these locks is ninety feet in length and fifteen feet in width. Between Toledo and Junction, ten and one-half miles southwest of Defiance—sixty-nine miles in all—the prism is sixty feet wide at the water's surface, forty-six feet wide at the bottom, and six feet deep. There are expansions at the ports and necessary intermediate points for turning the boats when desired. The present canal, from the head of the former Maumee village side-cut, at Lock No. 9, to the head of the grand rapids, is fifteen and a half miles without lock. At Grand Rapids is the first Maumee river State dam, or rather two dams, 661 and 1,700 feet in length, respectively, with an island intervening, and five and a half feet in height. Here is a guard lock, No. 1o, to protect the canal against high water, and above this guard lock boats run in the river slack-water nearly one mile. The building of the canal caused speculation in town lots and in land generally to become rife, and in this, as in general, but few of the speculators won. Between the foot of the lowest rapids and the mouth of the Maumee river, a distance of about fifteen miles, fifteen village plats were made, of which Perrysburg of 1816 and Maumee of 1817 remain, the last named including the Miami of 1810. Port Lawrence of 1817 and Vistula of 1832 united in 1833 as the nucleus of Toledo, which, later; absorbed the Manhattan of 1834-37, at the mouth of the river on the left bank, with Presque Isle opposite, Oregon of 1834-37 and Lucas City above. Austerlitz of 1834-37, six miles above 106 - MEMOIRS OF LUCAS COUNTY the mouth of the Maumee ; Marengo of 1834-37, nine miles ; Orleans of the North of 1815, under Fort Meigs near the foot of the rapids ; with Havre de Grace, Ottokee, Yondota, and Florence intervening—all have disappeared from the map, and the majority of the residents or owners of their sites know not their stories, nor even their names. PUBLIC BUILDINGS. The first public buildings in Lucas county, as may readily be inferred, were simple and in keeping with their surroundings. As stated in a former chapter, the first building used for a court house was the school house on Erie street, between Monroe and Washington, in the city of Toledo. Here courts continued to be held for about a year, when accommodations were furnished in Daniels & Goettell's building, northwest corner of Summit and Monroe streets. In January, 1839, a proposition by Richard Mott, to lease to the county a building on the northeast corner of Summit and Cherry streets, for use as a court house, was accepted, and the same was so used until the removal of the county seat to Maumee, in 1840. In August, 1838, the proprietors of Oliver's Addition to Toledo having set apart grounds, to be known as "Court House Square," on Broadway, and about fifty rods west of the site of the present Oliver House, steps were taken for the erection of county buildings thereon. The proprietors of Toledo had agreed to contribute $20,000 for that purpose, and the plan adopted for the court house was that of the Ashtabula building. William P. Daniels was appointed superintendent of the work, which had progressed so far as to provide the .foundation for the court house, when, in view of the probability of the removal of the county seat to Maumee, operations were suspended in February, 1839. In June, 1840, Maumee became the seat of justice of the county. through the decision of commissioners selected by the legislature to review and re-locate the same. Temporary accommodations were furnished for the courts and county offices, and on June 17, 1840, the proposals of John E. Hunt, Horace White, and Thomas Clark second, for the erection of county buildings at Maumee, were accepted. On Oct. 8. 1841, the courthouse so furnished was accepted by the county commissioners and an appropriation of $8,735 was made toward the cost of the same. This building was in use until the removal of the county seat back to Toledo, under the vote in October. 1852. The Maumee building having been furnished largely through contributions made by residents of that village, they, upon the removal of the county seat to Toledo, asked for a return to them of the several sums thus paid. The county commissioners, under legal advice, including that of the attorney-general of Ohio, decided to comply with such request. to the extent of $9,265. That sum was paid in the amounts stated, to the following named persons : Dr. Oscar White, $100; James Wolcott, $100; J. E. Hunt, $3,000; George Richardson, $100 ;J. H. Bronson, $100 ; William St. Clair, $100 John Hale, $50 ; James W. Converse, $5o ; Young & Waite, $259.41: Thomas Clark 2d, $552.58: Andrew Young, $100 ; A. H. Ewing's estate, $2,000 ; D. F. Cook, ROADS, CANAL, AND PUBLIC BUILDINGS - 107 $201 ; George B. Knaggs, $100 ; James H. Forsyth, $40; R. A. Forsyth, $500 ; Horatio Conant, $132 ; Horace Waite, $250 C. C. P. Hunt, $r00; Isaac Hull, $250; Samuel Wagner, $25. This list is of interest, as showing who were the enterprising citizens to whom Maumee was largely indebted for the county seat for twelve years. A condition precedent to the removal of the county seat to Toledo from Maumee; in 1852, was the provision of the former of certain accommodations for a court-house and jail.. To secure ful- fillment of such condition, a bond, in the sum of $20,000 was required. This was given jointly by the city and twenty-eight citizens of the county, as follows : H. D. Mason, Matt. Johnson, William Baker, Ezra Bliss. J. H. Whitaker, T. H. Hough, S. Linsley, Thomas Watkins, Jr.. George W. Scott, Hez. L. Hosmer, V. H. Ketcham, James Myers, C. A. King, Valentine Wall, John P. Freeman, L. T. Thayer, Simeon Fitch, Jr., Daniel Segur, Daniel McBain, Sanford L. Collins, C. W. Hill. John U. Pease, James White, H. D. Warren, D. C. Morton, Edson Allen, Ira L. Clark. For temporary purposes, and contingent upon the removal of the county-seat to Toledo, by the vote in October. 1852, the city leased of Silas J. Duell, for two years, a building on Summit street, between Cherry and Walnut, known as "Duell Block," including a room then known as "Duell Hall," and eight other rooms ; the rent for all to be $700 per annum. The old Duell block has long since disappeared. The county-seat question of 1852 overshadowed even the Presidential campaign in Lucas county, involving an intense degree of bitterness between the competing points—Toledo and Maumee—and calling out a vote at those places, unprecedented. The intensify of feeling between the rival interests is shown in the votes cast, especially at Toledo and Maumee, the competing points. The result of the election was 2.186 in favor of removal and 1,452 against, a majority in favor of Toledo of 734 votes. The effect of a county-seat question in swelling a popular vote is seen in the fact that the vote in 1852 (3,638) was greater by 1,244, or more than fifty per cent than was that at the exciting election two years later (1854), when it was but 2,394. In accordance with the conditions under which the vote on removal was taken and the county-seat returned to Toledo, a court-house was erected on Adams street, which was later extended by several different additions and remained in use until the constriction of the present commodious building. The old court-house was built in 1853, when W. F. Dewey. of Sylvania ; D. F. Cook, of Maumee ; and Joel Kelsey, of Toledo, were the commissioners of Lucas county. The site selected was at that time the bank of the abandoned canal bed, and the building faced Adams street, being located near the corner of Erie and Adams. It was torn clown in 1897, the new building, which adjoined it, having been dedicated on the first day of that year. The matter of construction of a new court-house was repeatedly discussed. and in 1886 authority was obtained from the legislature, under which the county commissioners were expected to expend $500.000 for such purpose. So vigorous was the opposition to such action. however, that through judicial interposition it was prevented, after 108 - MEMOIRS OF LUCAS COUNTY plans for the proposed building had been prepared under direction of the commissioners. But the old building finally became entirely inadequate, and in the fall of 1892 the voters, by an overwhelming majority, cast their ballots for a new structure. The late C. P. Griffin, then a member of the legislature, introduced a special Lucas county bill authorizing the issue of $500,000 bonds. The bill was passed, after which David L. Stine was employed as architect. At the time the contract was let, Jacob Engelhardt, W. W. Cooke, and J. L. Pray were members of the board of county commissioners. The contract was awarded to Dun, Perley & Company, and the corner stone was laid Sept. 3, 1893. On that occasion the late E. D. Potter delivered an historical address and there were other appropriate ceremonies. At the time of the completion and dedication of the new courthouse, which is one of the finest in the country, the members of the board of county commissioners and building board were Phil Hassenzahl, Jr., Oscar M. Boyer, Dr. J. V. Newton, W. T. Brainard, and J. C. Romeis. It was estimated that 40,000 people attended the dedicatory exercises, which were informal. The building is modeled after the court-house at Buffalo, N. Y., and experts declare it can hardly be equalled for beauty and utility anywhere in this country. It was erected within the appropriation and without any extras or even a suspicion of graft. An old canal bed formerly stood in a deep marsh where the court house is located, but now the building is surrounded by as fine a lawn as can be found anywhere, dotted here and there by beautiful flower beds artistically arranged. The park, too, has been greatly beautified by the addition of the McKinley monument, the gift of all the people in contributions of a dime. At a meeting of the county commissioners held June 4, 1837, the dwelling house of the sheriff (C. G. Shaw) was declared to be the jail of Lucas county for the confinement of prisoners under the law. At the same time it was resolved to invite proposals for building in Toledo a jail, 20x30 feet in size, one story high, with an entry or hall six feet wide, and three cells, each 10x14 feet. Also, proposals were invited for a jail as suggested by the Toledo council, toward which the city was to pay $300. On Jan. 6, 1838, the proposals of Albert Swift, to build a jail on the plan outlined, were accepted. The timber was to be twelve inches square, the whole to be planked around on the outside with plank two inches thick, the building to be completed, except the locks, by the contractor. It was to be owned jointly by the county and the city of Toledo, the latter paying one-half the cost, and C. G. Shaw was appointed to superintend the work. This building, the walls of which were wholly of logs, stood between Summit and Superior streets, below and near Cherry street. It was used as a jail until the removal of the county-seat to Maumee, in 1840. In 1855 it was purchased by Scott & Company (S. B. Scott and Richard Mott) for the sum of $2.50, and was then taken down and reconstructed for use as an office, on Water street, in connection with the forwarding and commission business of that firm. At the same time it was given a new roof, its walls were stuccoed, and it was otherwise improved. in appearance and utility. In the record of the proceedings ROADS, CANAL, AND PUBLIC BUILDINGS - 109 of the county commissioners, Jan. 12, 1845, it is stated that proposals for building a jail at Maumee were examined and that the offer of Isaac Hull was accepted, the contract price being $4,500. This building continued in use as the county jail until after the county-seat was again established at Toledo, when of course it ceased to exist as the county's bastile. At a session of the board of county commissioners, held in December, 1854, Edgar F. Potter was authorized to "take charge of the jail at Maumee City, for the purpose of receiving female prisoners, criminals, insane persons, and perhaps some county paupers." In June, 1858, the old county buildings at Maumee were directed to be sold at public auction. Subsequently they were sold to the city of Maumee, the jail bringing $250 and the court-house $360—in each case the land being included. On the return of the seat of justice to Toledo, in 1852, a brick jail was built in connection with the court-house, on Adams street, and it continued in use, with more or less of changes and improvements, until in 1866. when a jail and sheriff's residence was erected on the present court square, about midway between Adams and Jackson streets and facing Erie street. This building remained in use until after the building of the present court-house, when, with the surplus funds left of the appropriation levied for the last named building, the present county jail and sheriff's residence was built. Other county buildings are the Lucas County Infirmary and the Miami Children's Home. The infirmary is located within the corporation limits, southwest of the main portion of the city, and it constantly cares for some 300 sick, infirm, insane, epileptic and idiotic people. The grounds comprise 115 acres, of which eighty-three are cultivated, and the institution raises all the hay, corn, oats, vegetables and pork it requires. The first steps toward establishing a county infirmary were taken in January, 1838, when William P. Daniels and Eli Hubbard were appointed a committee to purchase a "county poor farm." On April 9, following, the north half of section 16, township 3 (the tract now being included within the city limits) was accepted for infirmary purposes. and $1,000 was voted for its improvement. The infirmary consists of a number of buildings, in which are sheltered the poor and superannuated. who have thrown themselves upon the charity of the county. Besides cultivating and improving the land, the male inmates who are able to work have the care of quite a respectable quantity of live stock. The women do the indoor work, and the kitchen and laundry. where they perform most of their labor, are patterns of order and cleanliness. Good, wholesome and substantial food is provided in abundance, as is also comfortable and seasonable clothing, and, occasional religious services supply the spiritual needs. The Miami Children's Home is located outside of the city limits, and on its forty-seven acres of ground is raised a considerable portion of its supplies. It is managed by a board of four trustees, who are appointed by the county commissioners. CHAPTER VII. POLITICS AND OFFICIAL HONORS. EARLY POLITICAL CONDITIONS-FIRST ELECTION IN THE COUNTY-PANIC OF 1837-"LOG CABIN AND HARD CIDER" CAMPAIGN-SUBSEQUENT CONTESTS- ELECTION STATISTICS-GREENBACK OR NATIONAL PARTY-STATE OFFICIALS FROM LUCAS COUNTY-JAMES MYERS-JOHN C. LEE-JAMES B. STEEDMAN- ABNER L. BACKUSMEMBERS OF CONGRESS, WITH BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES- STATE SENATORS, WITH SKETCHES. Lucas county was created but one year prior to the first presidential contest between Van Buren and W. H. Harrison. Until 1834, the party adverse to the Democratic organization had been known as National Republicans and Anti-Masons, but in that year all that were opposed to the Democracy formed a coalition and changed their name to Whig, and under this banner fought their battles until 1854, when a fusion between the Free-Soilers and Know-Nothings was made, and both elements combined under the name of Republican. There existed, however, for many years in Lucas county, a small but brave and earnest body of Abolitionists, who were denounced and persecuted by both Democrats and Whigs. who vied with each other in making assaults upon the "incendiary Abolitionists." But it was only upon this common ground that the two powerful parties would make common warfare. The leaders of the opposition to those who would abolish the institution of slavery called themselves "conservative" men who deemed it their duty to emphasize their dislike of fanatics who advocated freedom for the black man as well as the white. The "conservative" men of that day decried such agitation, because, they said, it disturbed business interests." They were the psychological ancestors of those vainglorious men of today who oppose every measure of reform that appears abstruse to their benighted reasoning powers. Those of the present generation seem to think that the Emancipation Proclamation was the culminating achievement of this Christian civilization, and that the enemies of human progress were all slain when the demon of chattel slavery perished. Reasoning thus, they do not consider it their duty to study proposed reform measures, and in the conflict of opinion their weapons are sneers and vituperation instead of reason and logic. - 111 - 112 - MEMOIRS OF LUCAS COUNTY But this is a digression, and we will return to the proper subject. The first election in the county took place in what is now Maumee City, at the house of Aurora Spafford, in 1816. The first township organization was then formed, the name selected being Waynesfield, and at this first election twenty-five votes were cast. About the time that Lucas county was rapidly increasing her population, during the first years of her existence as a separate division, and as a component part of the State of Ohio, the country experienced one of those financial panics which so frequently shake commercial communities to their very center. As this had an important influence upon the political events of that time, it may be well to enter briefly into the details in so far as they relate to political action. In December, 1816, a new United States bank was chartered for a term of twenty years. This institution, located at Philadelphia, became in the course of years the center of business interests. It was the custodian of the moneys of the government, and the government was the owner of a considerable amount of its stock ; it could and did control the rates of discount. It could make or break private or state banks by a bestowal or withdrawal of its confidence, and as it controlled the pockets of the nation, so it began to also control its opinions and political action. President Jackson attacked the bank in his first annual message, in 1829, and returned to the attack in the annual messages of 1830 and 1831. Notwithstanding the hostility of the President, Congress, in July, 1832, passed an act granting the bank a new charter. This act the President promptly vetoed, but its failure produced no immediate effect, as the old charter did not expire until December, 1836. The Presidential campaign of 1832 was then in progress. Jackson was nominated for re-election, and the re-chartering of the bank was one of the issues between parties at that election, but the greater part of what is now Lucas county being then considered a part of Michigan, and that domain being yet in its territorial stage of existence, the inhabitants of the disputed strip could take no part in the settlement of the vexed controversy. Jackson was re-elected, and with him a House of Representatives sympathizing with his financial views. In his message of that year the President recommended the removal of the deposits and the sale of the bank stock belonging to the United States. So thoroughly entrenched was the bank in the business interests of the country that Congress did not dare to make the attack. But as soon as Congress had adjourned, the President directed the Secretary of the Treasury to remove the deposits. The Secretary, William J. Duane, hesitated. There were about $1o,000,000 of government funds in the bank ; the bank loans amounted to $6o,000,000, and were so distributed as to effect almost every hamlet in the nation, and the secretary had not sufficient courage to jostle the monster that might easily crush whole parties, and whose destruction, if accomplished, would bring ruin on almost every business house, and whose dying throes would be felt in every household in the land. The President at length made a peremptory order to remove the money, and to deposit it in certain state banks. The Secretary promptly refused, and the President as promptly removed him and appointed Roger B. Taney, of Maryland, POLITICS AND OFFICIAL HONORS - 113 to the Secretary's office. The business community was startled, and prophecies of widespread disaster freely made, but an iron hand was at the helm of State, and nothing would stay its work or change its purpose. The new Secretary commenced the removal in October, 1833 the greater part was removed within four months, and the entire work was completed within nine months. The designated State banks received the deposits, and to relieve the threatened financial disaster, discounted freely. Indeed, the deposit of the national funds among several rival banks stimulated reckless speculation. Each bank was anxious to do more business than its neighbor, and therefore in every possible way made money easily obtainable. They believed the money would remain until needed by the government for ordinary governmental purposes, and therefore treated it as so much capital, and increased their circulation in proportion to the deposit. Money was plenty, and business was unduly stimulated. Internal improvements and all the industrial pursuits were inordinately revived, and reckless speculation. especially in real estate, was largely indulged in, and in 1836 it amounted to a mania. Says Lossing : "A hundred cities and a thousand villages were laid out on broad sheets of paper, and made the basis of vast moneyed transactions." If Jackson was an enemy of extravagance he also was a firm believer in the doctrine of State Rights. and during his administration the doctrine was strictly and severely enforced. He was not prepared, like Calhoun, to carry it to the length of nullification and secession, but so far as he believed in it, he unrelentingly applied it to the affairs of the general government. By that code all the receipts of the government. in excess of its expenditures on the narrowest basis, belonged to the States, and to them it should go. Accordingly, in January, 1836. Congress directed the Secretary of the Treasury to divide the money in excess of $5,000,000 among the several States, on the basis of their representation in the House of Representatives. Notwithstanding this portent of the gathering storm, it was unheeded, and reckless speculation continued and increased into madness. In the midst of this widespread financial dissipation ( July I I; 1836) the President caused a treasury order to be issued, directing that all duties should be paid in gold and silyer coin. A deputation of New York merchants waited on him to secure its rescission. But he was inexorable. He told them hard times were produced by reckless expenditure and speculation, and any measure that would stop the flood-tide of extravagance, although productive of present distress, would eventually be of service to the country. It was in times such as these that the people of the disputed strip first participated in the election of a President of the United States. But to continue the story of the panic of 1837, which latter-day apostles of a certain economic theory delight in attributing to the compromise tariff law of 1833. At length the time fixed by Congress for the distribution of the government funds arrived. More than, a year had elapsed since the passage of the act gave notice to the banks and the business community to prepare for the effects of shortened capital, but no preparation had been made. On the contrary, recklessness had 114 - MEMOIRS OF LUCAS COUNTY increased in proportion as the time for the preparation shortened. In proportion as the currency was converted into coin for payment to the Government, the amount available for business purposes was decreased. Discounts could not be obtained, and therefore business could not be continued. In the months of March and April, 1837, there were failures in the city of New York aggregating more than $100.000.000. A deputation of merchants waited on Mr. Van Buren, then just seated in the Presidential chair, and asked him to defer the collection of duties on imports, to rescind the treasury order of July 11, 1836, and to call. an extra session of Congress. He refused, and on May 10 all the banks of New York suspended payment, and the banks of the entire country followed their example. Such conditions in the financial and industrial world could not fail to have a great influence in American politics, and 1840 was a year of great political excitement. The opposition to the Jackson Democracy had been out of power for twelve years, and extraordinary efforts were made to regain it. Contrary to expectation, the times had not improved since 1837, but were constantly growing worse. In 1838, and even in 1839, men had been kept at work, and although paid in "wildcat" money, they were busy, and consequently had no time to grumble. But now nearly the whole working class was out of employment, discontented, and complaining. The Whigs affected to believe the hard times were all chargeable to the destruction of the United States Bank, and seemed to think that with such an institution in the country, extravagance and patent violation of the laws of trade would go unpunished. They had again nominated Gen. William Henry Harrison for the Presidency, and adopted coon skins, hard cider, and log cabins, as their insignia, and crying "Corruption" at every breath, they made the campaign. On their banners was the inscription, "Two dollars a day and roast beef under Harrison, 6% cents a day and sheep's pluck under Van Buren." The campaign, although perhaps greater in the intensity of excitement, was not unlike that of 1896 in some respects. The idle, the dissolute, and the unthinking rushed after the banner that promised so much, and joined in the hue and cry against the party in power. The material for large processions was at hand, for mechanics and laborers had little else to do. 1 hose who could not sing hallooed themselves hoarse in the praise of hard cider, Tippecanoe and Tyler too. Log cabins were constructed in most cities and towns, with such provision of accommodations and ornamentation as best carried out the pioneer idea. Toledo was not without such a structure. A great Harrison mass meeting was held at the Fort Meig.s battle ground, near Perrysburg, June 11, 1840, at which the Presidential candidate was one of the speakers. On his return from the meeting, pursuant to the invitation of the citizens of Toledo, General Harrison made a short stop there. He was escorted from the boat landing to the American Hotel, where he received the calls and congratulations of those who had not previously had an oportunity of taking him by the hand. The reception at the landing was enthusiastic, while his escort to the hotel by the military, under Generals Chase and Dodd, and their staffs, and the Toledo Guards, under Captain Hill, was POLITICS AND OFFICIAL HONORS - 115 creditable. The Blade's report said : "After receiving the calls of all who desired an introduction, which was conducted in an easy, gentlemanly, and dignified manner by our worthy and excellent mayor, M. H. Tilden, Esq., the General was escorted back to the boat, and took his departure about 12 o'clock, noon, amidst the deafening cheers of a multitude of people who had assembled on the bank of the river to witness the departure of him upon whom many in the crowd looked as the last hope of the Republic." The Van Buren administration was literally swept out of existence, and Whig partisans retired to winter quarters to dream of the two dollars a day and roast beef that awaited them under Harrison's administration. Lucas county gave Harrison a majority of 415. Encouraged by the signal success of the "Log Cabin and .Hard Cider" campaign of 1840, the Whigs naturally were ready for a repetition of the same policy in the Presidential contest of 1844. While "the spirit of 1840" was yet with the party leaders and earnestness among the rank and file, the novelty of former methods had disappeared. To vary the programme, the "Coon" was made specially prominent in 1844, and a favorite picture with the Whig press throughout the campaign was one which presented the Democratic emblem (the rooster) on his back, with the coon on top and "making the feathers fly." The result of the campaign, however, was such that this picture was not in use after the Presidential election. In Lucas county, for President, Polk received 789 votes ; Clay, 1,069 ; and Birney, 12. In the Presidential contest of 1848. a convention of Free-Soilers, held at Buffalo, N. Y., placed in nomination a candidate for the Presidency and adopted a chart of principles satisfactory to nearly all the Abolitionists and to many others of the old parties. But the campaign was not as active as its two immediate predecessors, notwithstanding the new feature of a "third candidate." Martin Van Buren ran as the "Free Soil" or Anti-Slavery champion, Gen. Zachary Taylor was the nominee of the Whigs, and Gen. Lewis Cass that of the Democrats. The candidacy of Van Buren operated differently in different States. In Ohio. its result was the success of the Cass electors, while New York was by such means given to Taylor, and his election assured. In Lucas county the vote stood : Lewis Cass, 1,197 votes ; Zachary Taylor, 1,298: Martin Van Buren, 327. Majority for Taylor over Cass, In the Presidential campaign of 1852, the candidates were : Whig, Gen. Winfield Scott and William A. Graham, of North Carolina ; Democratic, Franklin Pierce and William R. King; Anti-Slavery, John P. Hale and George W. Julian. The majority for Pierce over Scott in Lucas county was 33. Between this and the quadrennial election following the very name and machinery of the Whig party had passed out of existence. 1853—At the State election in Lucas county, for governor, Nelson Barrere (Whig) received 886 votes, and William Medill (Democrat), 1,570 votes. 1855—At the State election in Lucas county, for governor, Salmon P. Chase (Republican), received 1,618 votes, and William Medill 116 - MEMOIRS OF LUCAS COUNTY (Democrat), 1,4o9 votes. The majority of the Republican ticket was elected, although the plurality of Mr. Chase was the largest. 1856—The political chaos caused by the combined influences of the Kansas-Nebraska movement and the Know-Nothing or American organization, had so far been resolved to order, in 1856, as to bring, forth the Republican party for the Presidential campaign. That organization was composed mainly from the Whig party, which prac- tically ceased to be in 1854, and large numbers of anti-slavery Democrats. The American party maintained its organization and placed in the field a ticket (Millard Fillmore for President, A. J. Donelson for Vice President). The Republican ticket consisted of John C. Fremont and William L. Dayton, while that of the Democrats was composed of James Buchanan and John C. Breckinridge. Between the two leading parties the main issue related to the slavery question, as raised in the Kansas-Nebraska bill. On that, the South was a unit, while the North was divided, and the result was the success of the Democratic ticket. Buchanan received 1,866 votes and Fremont 1,639, in Lucas county, a plurality for Buchanan of 227. 1860 In its direct and indirect results, the political campaign of 1860, beyond all question, was the most important of all which had occurred under this Government up to that time. Without stopping here for detailed statement or for discussion of the momentous National issues and results, it will suffice to say that the one question of the day was, whether the institution of human slavery should be regarded and treated as local or national in its legal status and rights. The Republican party, while recognizing the right of the States to establish and maintain slavery within their limits, and the obligation of the General Government to respect such right, squarely and positively denied the right of such States, separately or collectively, to extend or maintain the institution beyond their several jurisdictions. That party further insisted that all domain of the Government was free, and denied the right of Congress to establish or to recognize slavery within the territory belonging to the United States. The candidates of the Republicans were Abraham Lincoln and Hannibal Hamlin. The Democrats of the country were divided as to the policy which should prevail in the treatment of slavery outside the States. One portion, holding to what was known as "Squatter Sovereignty," insisted that the settlers of an organized Territory should have the same power in the management of the matter that the people of a State had, and thus admit or reject slavery, as they might choose, and not await the organization of a State government. This portion had Stephen A. Douglas for its Presidential candidate and Herschel V. Johnson for Vice-President. The other portion of the Democratic party held to the nationality of slavery, in so far that slaves could lawfully be taken and held, not only in any territory belonging to the United States, but for temporary business or sojourn within any State of the Union. The candidates of this wing of the Democratic party were John C. Breckinridge and Joseph Lane. A fourth ticket, composed of John Bell and Edward Everett. was presented by the "Constitution and Union" party, made up chiefly of members of the "American" POLITICS AND OFFICIAL HONORS - 117 party of 1856. In their platform of 186o, they omitted the distinctive doctrine of the previous campaign as to native and foreign-born citizens, and limited their policy to the defense of the Constitution and laws of the United States, as the sole guaranty for the preservation of the Union and of the rights of the people in all its parts—making no special reference to slavery. The campaign was marked by much spirit and no little bitterness, and was largely sectional in its character—the Republicans finding their sole effective support in the free States, while the opposing factions divided the Democratic party, both North and South, although the Breckinridge portion was predominant at the South, while of the other two, the Douglas portion polled much the larger vote at the North. This contest terminated the "irrepressible conflict" between the Free and Slave States, as Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Steward had declared several years previous that it was destined to become, and, so far as law could make it so, placed the former master and slave on the terms of civil equality. In the State election of 1859, William Denison (Rep.) had carried Lucas county by a majority of 152 over R. P. Ranney (Dem.), and the entire Republican ticket was elected, this being the first instance in the political history of the county when the regular nominees of the Democratic party were entirely overthrown by the new political organization. In 186o- the county sustained her Republican majority, giving to Lincoln (Rep.) a vote of 2,889, to Douglas (Dem.) a vote of 1,716, Bell 131. and Breckinridge 83, making the majority for Lincoln over the vote of his chief competitor, 1,173. 1864—The Presidential campaign of 1864, being for the first National election after the commencement of the Civil war, was attended by all the interest which such an occasion could excite. The Democratic party, by the platform adopted in connection with the nomination of General McClellan for President and George H. Pendleton for Vice-President, declared the war for the suppression of the Southern uprising to have been to that time "a failure," and on that ground demanded that it cease, and that steps be taken by the Government for such peaceful arrangement with the Confederates as might be found practicable through negotiation. On the other hand, the Union convention by acclamation nominated President Lincoln for re-election, and put forth a declaration of purpose to prosecute the war against the Confederates to final success. It was further declared that the Constitution should be so amended as to abolish slavery. With the issue of the continued prosecution of the war to final success or its abandonment without conditions thus squarely presented, the deepest feelings and most earnest efforts of the friends of each side were enlisted. The Union party was at one time somewhat embarrassed by a movement on the part of a few disaffected advocates of a policy more radical as to slavery than was that then pursued. The latter held a convention looking to separate action in support of. those views, but the plan was never carried into execution, and failed of results. In Lucas county Lincoln's (Rep.) vote was 3,800, and McClellan's (Dem.) vote was 2,095. 1868—There were no new issues of special importance in the 118 - MEMOIRS OF LUCAS COUNTY campaign of 1868, except the question of payment of United States bonds and of interest thereon—one side holding that both these should be done with "Greenbacks," or legal-tender notes, while the other side held that such payment should be made in coin. General Grant was nominated by the Republicans for President, and Schuyler Colfax for Vice-President. The Democrats, for those offices, nominated Horatio Seymour and Frank P. Blair. The November election in Lucas county resulted in a majority for Grant of 1,732. 1872—The National political canvass this year was peculiar in the fact that Horace Greeley (always theretofore a leading Republican, as well as editor of the New York Tribune) was the Presidential candidate of both the Democratic party and of what were known as "Liberal Republicans." The selection of that gentleman was made upon the belief that his personal record and political character would command Republican votes sufficient to secure his election over General Grant, the Republican nominee for re-election. This state of things invested the campaign with some peculiar features, but the result was a disappointment to those who relied upon Mr. Greeley's strength to secure his election. At the November election of this year in Lucas county, Grant received a majority of 2,275 votes over Greeley, thus proving conclusively that the latter was not very popular with Lucas county Democrats.The vote stood : Grant. 5,108; Greeley, 2,833. Indeed the unpopularity of the candidacy of Mr. Greeley is emphasized when we look at the vote of the county in the October election, less than one month prior to the close of the Presidential campaign. For Secretary of State, Wikoff (Rep.) had but 704 majority, while in November Grant's majority in the county was 2,275. 1876—The local political campaign of 1876 was invested with the special interest common to such contests in Presidential years. There was no political issue to heighten this feeling, except as the currency question, in connection with the resumption of specie payment, Jan. 1, 1879, under the act of 1875, be recognized as such. In Lucas county that matter seemed to receive more attention than was common elsewhere. This, no doubt, was due to special causes, local in their nature, and it developed itself mainly among the Republicans, where a strong anti-resumption sentiment existed. The vote of the county at the November election was : Haves (Rep.), 6,524 ; Tilden (Dem.), 5,155. 1880—Garfield (Rep.), 7,157; Hancock (Dem.), 5,985. 1884—Blaine ( Rep.) , 8,314 ; Cleveland, ( Dem. ) , 7,387. 1888—Harrison (Rep.), 9,443 ; Cleveland (Dem.), 8,638. 1892—Harrison (Rep.), 11,211 ; Cleveland (Dem.), 9,860. 1896 McKinley (Rep.), 16,758 ; Bryan (Dem.), 13,684. 1900—McKinley (Rep.), 17,128 ; Bryan (Dem.), 15,390. 1904—Roosevelt (Rep.), 22,924 ; Parker (Dem.), 8,259. 1908—Taft (Rep.), 18,715 ; Bryan (Dem.), 16,208. The figures of 1904 represent the largest vote and majority ever given to a political party in Lucas county. And, though there can be no doubt that the Republicans have a comfortable majority in the POLITICS AND OFFICIAL HONORS - 119 county, the Presidential election of 1904 is not a fair criterion by which to judge its size. It is but stating a truth in history to say that Mr. Parker was not a popular candidate with the "rank and file" of the Democratic party, and especially was this true after he exhibited his weak conception of the coinage question. With such an independent character as Mr. Roosevelt in the field, many Democrats considered it an opportune time to consign Mr. Parker, "irrevocably," to the shades of political oblivion. But, notwithstanding the great majority for Roosevelt in 1904, at the State election of 1905 the vote for governor was as follows : Pattison (Dem.), 13,739 ; Herrick (Rep.), 13,442 ; a Democratic majority of 297 votes. It will be seen, in the statistics given, that since 1856 the Republican candidate in Presidential years has carried the county, and that the Democrat vote reached the high-water mark in 1908, when it registered at 16,208. In that campaign Mr. Bryan's wonderful personality, magnetic force, and matchless oratory, contending for a platform of principles that was unequivocal in meaning and clear in expression, succeeded in arousing an interest in political affairs to an extent seldom if ever witnessed before, with the exceptions of 1896 and 1900, the former campaigns of Mr. Bryan. The campaign of 1896 was perhaps the more remarkable, as in Lucas county every district schoolhouse became a political forum, and interest in everything else waned while the "Battle of the Standards" was in progress. The vote given to Mr. Bryan in 1908, however, was considered the greatest achievement that has ever been accomplished by the Democrats of Lucas county. In local and State affairs an independent spirit has been manifested more or less ever since the close of the Civil war. The voters of the county have been generally given to "scratching" their tickets, and it has been difficult to estimate results, particularly as regards candidates for county offices, until the votes have been officially canvassed, and members of the minority party have frequently been incumbents of official positions. In 1874, the Democratic candidate for secretary of state received a majority of 262 votes in the county, and that party was also successful in the county in the State elections of 1879,1881, 1882, 1883, 1905, and 1908, while the Greenback party carried the county in the elections of 1877 and 1878. With these exceptions, however, the heads of the Republican State tickets have carried the county at every election from and including 1858. What came to be known as the Greenback or National party first made its appearance in 1876, when Peter Cooper was its candidate for President and Samuel F. Cary for Vice-President. Lucas county was a chief locality of its strength, it being the only county in the State in which it cast a plurality of the ballots, its vote in 1877 having been forty per cent of the total vote cast. The main occasion for its organization was the proposed resumption of specie payments by the Government, which it resisted, proposing instead the permanent use of Government paper and the exclusion of coin as a basis for currency. With the successful inauguration of resumption, Jan. 1, 1879, and the favorable decision of the United States Supreme Court in 120 - MEMOIRS OF LUCAS COUNTY regard to the legal tender quality of "the greenback"—for which the party also stood—it began rapidly to disintegrate, and soon it had virtually disappeared as a separate organization. At the elections of 1877 and 1878, its local tickets, in both the city of Toledo and Lucas county, were elected. The writer has attempted to perject an official list of Lucas county, including state and county officers, from the formation of the county to 191o, and also to include with the list biographical matter concerning some of the gentlemen who have borne the official honors. In some instances the favored ones have passed away, leaving neither "kith nor kin" to preserve their records, while in others, either from indisposition, churlishness, cupidity, ignorance, or some other cause, those who could have done so have manifested no disposition to furnish the required information. Notwthstanding these difficulties, considerable information is here presented concerning residents of Lucas county who have held official honors. For court judges and officers, see chapter on Bench and Bar, and the biographical department of this work also contains additional information. Lieutenant-Governors—From 1854 to 1856, James Myers : from 1868 to 1872, John C. Lee. James Myers was born in June, 1795, in Dutchess county, New York, of German ancestry. While he was young his parents moved to Albany, and soon thereafter to Schenectady, where his boyhood days were passed. Upon the completion of the Erie canal, in 1825, he became connected with the operations of the same, as Collector of Tolls at Schenectady, and he remained in such position until 1836. Meantime he was engaged in the construction of several roads in that section. In the year last named he removed to Toledo, where he soon became connected with the construction of the Miami and Erie canal, including the weigh-locks at Toledo, in which he was successful. After the completion of the canal, he devoted his attention mainly to the management of his property, chiefly real estate, in which he was fortunate, especially in his investments on Monroe street. For much of the twenty years preceding his death his time was largely devoted to public affairs, having held several Positions of important trust. In 1848 he was elected state senator, the district comprising a large portion of Northwestern Ohio, and he was re-elected in 185o, serving four years, during a portion of which time he was speaker of the senate. In 1853, under the new Constitution, he was elected lieutenant-governor, and as such presided over the same body for two additional years. In 1861, following the outbreak of the Civil war, he was nominated for representative in the legislature from Lucas county by the Union convention, representing supporters of the Government, irrespective of former political affiliations, and with the balance of the ticket he was elected without opposition. At an early date he was elected by the legislature and served as .associate judge of Lucas county under the former judicial system, and at different periods he was a member of the Toledo city council and board of education, in both of which positions he devoted his special attention to the interests committed to his charge. The later years of his life were attended POLITICS AND OFFICIAL HONORS - 121 by more or less of feeble health, enjoining restraint of habitual activity. and he suffered much pain toward the close, which came July 19. 1864, he dying at his residence, northwest corner of Jefferson and Superior streets. John C. Lee was born Jan. 7, 1828. in Brown township. Delaware county, Ohio. His mother died in 1836, and the family removed to the town of Delaware in 1838 and there remained until 1844., when they went to Union county, and in 1847 to Tiffin, Seneca county, and thence, in 1851, to the West, where the father pursued farming until his death in Missouri, in 1859. at the age of sixty-one years. The educational privileges of the son began in a rude log school-house and were limited to that until the removal of the family to Delaware, where the way was opened for his preparation for Central College, Franklin county, where he was for one year, and then he went to Western Reserve College, at Hudson. in 1845, and was graduated in 1848. For two years he taught in academies—one at Atwater. Portage county, and one at Tiffin. Selecting the law for his profession, he entered the office of R. G. Pennington. at Tiffin. in 185o, and pursued his reading until July, 1852, when he was admitted to the bar and became a partner of his tutor, whom he soon succeeded in the practice. In 1857. he was the Republican candidate for judge of the Common Pleas Court, with George E. Seney (Dem.) as the successful candidate. Upon the outbreak of the Civil war, in April. 1861, Mr. Lee surrendered his professional business to enter the military service of the Government. enlisting in the Fifty-fifth Ohio infantry, of which he was at once made major, and he was promoted to its colonelcy before reaching the field. In January. 1862, he reported his command to General Rosecrans in West Virginia. After spending the month of March as a member of a court-martial at Charlestown, he rejoined the regiment at Romney. By order of Gen. R. C. Schenck he was given command of the District of the South Potomac. and in May. 1862. under that officer, marched for the relief of General Milroy, at McDowell ; took part in the Shenandoah campaign ; and was in the battles of Freeman's Ford, White Sulphur Springs, Warrenton. Bristow Station. New Baltimore, New Market, Thoroughfare Gap, Gainesville. Chantilly. the second Bull Run. and others, in which he bore parts which challenged the approval of his superior officers. At Chancellorsville. in 1863, he commanded a brigade, consisting of the Twenty-fifth, Fifty-fifth, Seventy-fifth, and One Hundred and Seventh Ohio regiments, each of which did noble service there, while their commander's prominence was indicated by his horse being shot under him. In May. 1863. in consequence of the death of a child and the serious illness of Mrs. Lee, he was forced to leave the field, and his resignation was accepted May 18, 1863. During the ensuing political campaign in Ohio he took an active part in support of John Brough and against C. L. Vallandigham, candidates for governor. The condition of his family warranting his absence from home, in the spring of 1864 he accepted the command of the One Hundred and Sixty-fourth Ohio infantry (National Guard), which was assigned for service chiefly about the fortifications of the city of Washington ; and there it re- 122 - MEMOIRS OF LUCAS COUNTY mained, with more or less of activity, until the aggressive movements of Grant about Richmond compelled the abandonment of the Confederate movement against the Capital. During May, June, and July, 1864, Colonel Lee was in command of all troops from Long Bridge to Chain Bridge in the defenses of Washington. Upon leaving the army he resumed the practice of the law at Tiffin. With this he was largely identified with different interests of a public nature, serving for five years as a member of the city board of education and for seven years as chief engineer of the fire department. In 1869 he removed to .Toledo, where he then formed a partnership with James M. Brown, who had been a student under him at Tiffin. For a few years after becoming a voter, Mr. Lee acted with the Whigs, but from its organization he co-operated with the Republican party, both as a voter and in such more general methods as occasions opened to him. Upon the declination by Samuel Galloway, in 1867, of a nomination as the Republican candidate for lieutenant-governor, he was selected for that position and was elected, being again nominated and elected to the same place in 1869, serving throughout both terms with Gov. R. B. Hayes. On the occasions of three State Republican conventions he was called to preside over the same. In 1868, he was a delegate-at-large from Ohio to the Republican National convention ; was a Presidential elector-at-large for Ohio and president of the State Electoral College in 1872. He was appointed United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, in 1877, his term expiring in March, 1881. Members of the Board of Public Works—From 1852 to 1856, James B. Steedman ; 1858 to 1861, Abner L. Backus. James Blair Steedman was born in Chillisquaque township, Northumberland county, Pennsylvania, July 29, 1817, and died at Toledo, Oct. 8, 1883. He was of Scotch parentage, his parents dying while he was yet a boy, leaving him the eldest of three children. At the age of fifteen he became an apprentice in the office of the Lewisburg (Pa.) Democrat. Two years later he went to Louisville, Ky., where he worked at printing for a time, but soon joined Gen. Sam Houston's expedition for the independence of Texas. Returning to Pennsylvania, he was employed on the public works there. In 1838 he came to Northwestern Ohio, first stopping at Napoleon, where he soon became publisher of the Northwestern Democrat, and was married to Miss Miranda Stiles, then recently from New Jersey. Not long thereafter he was a contractor on the Wabash & Erie canal. In 1841-2 he served two terms in the Ohio House of Representatives. In 1849, with a party from this State, he made the overland trip to California in search of gold, but returned the year following, and in 1852 was elected as member of the Board of Public Works, and in 1855 was re-elected to that position, serving most of the time as president of the board. In December, 1857, he was chosen as Congressional Printer. He was elected major-general of the Fifth division, Ohio militia, in 1857, holding that office until the breaking out of the Civl war. Between 1857 and 1861, he was for some time the editor of the Toledo, Times, meantime being admitted to the bar as an attorney-at-law. As a member of the Democratic POLITICS AND OFFICIAL HONORS - 123 National Convention, at Charleston, S. C., in 1860, he acted with the friends of Stephen A. Douglas, with whom he continued to co-operate, taking part in the nomination of that gentleman for President at a subsequent convention, held at Baltimore. The same year he was the Democratic candidate for Congress in the Toledo district, running against James M. Ashley (Republican), who was elected. Upon the opening of war at Fort Sumter, General Steedman identified himself with the support of the Government, and co-operated in raising and organizing the Fourteenth Ohio regiment, of which he was chosen colonel. He remained with that regiment until promoted and made brigadier-general, July 16, 1862. He led his brigade at Perryville, Ky., in the battle at that point, Oct. 9, 1862, receiving special recognition from General Buell. At Stone River he took an active part, and in the Tullahoma campaign commanded a division, being complimented by General Thomas. In July, 1863, he was assigned to the command of the First division of the Reserve corps, under Maj.-Gen. Gordon Granger. and soon thereafter moved to Chattanooga, where his command was put in charge of Red House Bridge, whence, on the second day of the battle of Chickamauga (Sept. 20), under command of General Granger. the division made the timely and successful march to the support of General Thomas. In that movement, so creditable to the sagacious judgment and prompt action of General Granger, General Steedman bore a conspicuous and effective part. Throughout the desperate contest in which his division was engaged, his activity and courage contributed largely to the effectiveness of his command's heroic service, for which distinguished action he was promoted to the rank of major-general. He took a prominent part in the Atlanta campaign. and was assigned as commander of the District of Etowah, when General Sherman entered upon his "March to the Sea." At the battle of Nashville General Steedman bore a prominent part. After the close of the war he was assigned as Military Commander of the State of Georgia, and resigned July 19, 1866. He was appointed Internal Revenue Collector for the New Orleans district, resigning the office in January. 1869. Returning to Toledo, he soon resumed his connection with the press. acting as editor of the Northern Ohio Democrat, which relation he held for most of the time until his death in 1883. In 1874. he was elected a member of the State Constitutional Convention. vice M. R. Waite, then appointed Chief Justice of the United States was senator from the Toledo district in 1878: was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1880: and a candidate for state senator in 1881, though not then elected. His last public position was that of Chief of Toledo Police. He was prominently connected with the Grand Army of the Republic, of which he was at one time the commander for Ohio. William J. Finlay, of Toledo. for many years an intimate friend of General Steedman, having proposed to erect a monument to the memory of the latter at St. Clair Place (junction of Summit and St. Clair streets), the Toledo city council set apart that ground for such purpose and changed its name to Finlay Place. The monument proper is in four parts. as follows : 1. Base. 2. Die. 3. Shaft. 4. Statue. The base is of Vermont marble, 124 - MEMOIRS OF LUCAS COUNTY nine feet square, and sets directly in the center of the terrace. The die, on its four sides bears these inscriptions : 1. Fronting Cherry street—"James B. Steedman, Major-General, U. S. V." 2. On Summit street side, "Born, 1817—Died, 1883." 3. On St. Clair street side, "Erected by W. J. Finlay." Near the top of the shaft, and between two mouldings, are these inscriptions : 1. Fronting Cherry street, "Chickamauga." 2. Fronting Summit street, "Carrick's Ford." 3. Fronting St. Clair street, "Perryville." 4. In rear, "Nashville." Surmounting the shaft is a cap on which stands the bronze statue. It is somewhat larger than life size,- and represents the General as just dismounted, with field-glass in hand. The total height of the monument is twenty-six feet. The pedestal was placed in August, 1886, and the statue in March, 1887. The triangle, both inside and outside the terrace, is covered with 6-inch sawed Berea flagging. Surrounding the triangle is an iron railing, formed by two bars supported by limestone posts. The public ceremonies of unveiling the monument took place May 26, 1887. Abner L. Backus was born in Columbus, Ohio, June 27, 1818 When he was seven years old his father died, leaving a widow with five children to care for and with limited resources for such charge. Beyond the means for an education he received nothing from the father's estate. His school facilities were good, he having been educated at Marietta, then in educational advantages in advance of any other point in Ohio. His advent in business life was made during the winter of 1837-38, as rodman in the civil engineers' department in the construction of the Ohio State canals. From that foundation-start he gradually advanced in position, becoming in order constructing and superintending engineer, canal collector, and member and president of the Ohio Board of Public Works, until his withdrawal in 1878—the service (with the exception of six years) being continuous for forty years. In 1857 he was elected as member of the board, while every other candidate on his (the Democratic) ticket was defeated. He was detailed in 1843 to close up the constructions accounts of the Western Reserve & Maumee Road (Perrysburg and Bellevue), and subsequently for several years had charge of that work. Politically Mr. Backus was always a Democrat and until 186o was actively identified with that party. He then was an alternate delegate to the Democratic National Convention held at Baltimore and was a warm supporter of the nomintion of S. A. Douglas for President, but became so far dissatisfied with the course of events in that connection that he never afterward took active part in partisan management, though always, through his ballot, seeking to promote the true principles of Democracy. For some years prior to 186o he was engaged in different mercantile enterprises on the Maumee river. In 1863, associated with Samuel M. Young (firm of Young & Backus), he purchased 200 feet river front, west of Adams street, and built thereon the large grain elevator, which they operated continuously until July. 1880, when that firm was succeeded by A. L. Backus & Sons, who also operated largely in the grain commission business. In 1872, Mr. Backus was one of a few citizens of Toledo, by whose enterprise and energy the Columbus &