700 - HISTORY OF OHIO. screen, where Cowdry could not see him, he professed to look through the Urim and Thummim, and thus translated the unknown symbols, sentence by sentence. The work proceeded very slowly, and month after month passed away while it was in progress. During this time John the Baptist appeared to them, having been sent by the Apostles Peter, James, and John, and ordained first Smith and then Cowdry into the priesthood of Aaron. The family of the prophet's father became converts, and then an individual by the name of Martin Harris. The character of this man's mind may be inferred from the fact that he had been a Quaker, Methodist, Baptist and finally a Presbyterian. Harris had some property, and Smith importuned him to furnish funds to publish the book, assuring him that it would produce an entire change in the world and save it from ruin. Mr. Harris, a simple-minded, well-meaning man, was very anxious to see the wonderful plates, but the prophet avowed that he was not yet holy enough to enjoy that privilege. He, however, after much importunity, gave Mr. Harris a transcript of some of the characters on a piece of paper. As Mr. Harris was parting with his money, he evidently felt some solicitude lest he might be deceived, since all around him were speaking contemptuously of the prophetic claims of Joe Smith, and he adopted the wise precaution, probably urged to if by some of his friends, of submitting the paper containing the hieroglyphics to Professor Charles Anthon, a distinguished Oriental scholar in New York. Mr. Howe, in writing a history of Mormonism, subsequently wrote to Professor Anthon making inquiries upon this subject, He received a reply, under date of February 17, 1834, from which we make the following extracts : " Some years ago a plain, apparently simple-hearted farmer called on me with a note from Dr. Mitchell, requesting me to decipher if possible the paper which the farmer would hand me. Upon examining the paper I soon came to the conviction that it was all a trick, perhaps a hoax. Wien I asked the person who brought it how he obtained the writing, he gave me the following account. " A gold book, containing a number of plates fastened together by wires of the same material, had been dug up in the northern part of the State of New York, and along with it an enormous pair of spectacles. These spectacles were so large that if any person HISTORY OF OHIO - 701 attempted to look through them, his two eyes would look through one glass only, the spectacles being altogether too large for the human face. '.Whoever,' he said, `examined the plates through the glass, was enabled not only to read them but fully to understand their meaning.' "All this knowledge, however, was confined to a young man, who had the trunk containing the book and spectacles in his sole possession. This young man was placed behind a curtain, in a garret in a farm-house, and being thus concealed from view, he put on the spectacles occasionally, or rather looked through one of the glasses, deciphered the characters in the book, and having committed some of them to paper, handed copies from behind the curtain to those who stood outside. "The farmer had been requested to contribute a sum of money towards the publication of the Golden Book. So urgent had been these solicitations, that he intended selling his farm and giving the amount to those who wished to publish the plates. " On hearing this odd story, I changed my opinion about the paper, and instead of viewing it any longer as a hoax, I began to regard it as part of a scheme to cheat the farmer of his money ; and I communicated my suspicions to him, warning him to beware of rogues. " The paper in question was, in fact, a singular scroll. It consisted of all kinds of singular characters, disposed in columns, and had evidently been prepared by some person who had before him, at the time, a book containing various alphabets, Greek and Hebrew letters, crosses and flourishes. Roman letters inverted or placed sideways, were arranged and placed in perpendicular columns. The whole ended in a rude delineation of a circle, divided into various compartments, arched with various strange marks, and evidently copied after the Mexican calendar, given by Humboldt, but copied in such a way as not to betray the source whence it was derived. " Some time after the farmer paid me a second visit. He brought with him ' the gold book ' in print, and offered it to me for sale. I declined purchasing. I adverted once more to the roguery which in my opinion had been practiced upon him, and asked him what had become of the gold plates. He informed me that they were in the trunk with the spectacles. I advised him to go to a magistrate and have the trunk examined. He said the 702 - HISTORY OF OHIO. curse of God would come on him if he did. On my pressing him, however, to go to a magistrate, he told me he would open the trunk if I would take the curse of God upon myself. I replied that I would do so with the greatest willingness, and would incur every risk of that nature, provided I could only extricate him, from the grasp of the rogues. " He then left me. I have given you a full statement of all that I know respecting the origin of Mormonism ; and I must beg you, as a personal favor, to publish this letter immediately, should you find my name mentioned again by these wretched fanatics. " Yours respectfully, " CHARLES ANTHON." When the Mormons say that an illiterate young man could not fluently dictate, in connected series, a voluminous work, it is replied that all that marvel is removed by the supposition that, hid behind the curtain, he was reading Spaulding's manuscript. Still, Joe Smith was very reluctant to have the plates examined. But the clamors of an incredulous community became so loud, that it was " revealed " to Joe that they were to be shown to three witnesses chosen by the Lord. The witnesses thus selected were Oliver Cowdry, who had been the scribe to write the translation, Martin Harris, who had furnished the funds for printing the book, and a new convert, David Whitmer, who subsequently, getting into a quarrel with some of the Mormons, was accused, together with Cowdry, of being connected with a gang of counterfeiters, thieves, liars and blacklegs of the deepest dye, to deceive, cheat and defraud the saints." The " Elders' Journal " also spoke of Martin Harris in the following disrespectful terms : "Martin Harris is so far beneath contempt, that a notice of him would be too great a sacrifice for a gentleman to make." These men, according to the declaration of Joe Smith, were the divinely appointed apostles to testify to the authenticity of the golden plates. Their meagre testimony was as follows : " An Angel of God came down from Heaven and brought and laid before our eyes, that we beheld and saw the plates and the engraving thereon." No one doubted that Joe Smith had provided himself with some yellow plates upon which certain unintelligible characters were inscribed. Still, strange as it may appear, there were men and women found who were willing to accept Joe Smith as a divinely HISTORY OF OHIO - 705 appointed prophet. On the first of June, 1830, he organized a band of thirty followers, at Fayette, Ontario County, Pennsylvania. But these saints were held in such slight repute where they were known, that their leader thought best to remove with them, and to establish his headquarters at Kirtland, Lake County, Ohio. Here, having assumed the name of the " Latter Day Saints," three thousand persons gave in their adhesion to Joe Smith. Many of the persons had considerable property. It was " revealed " to Joe that they should build him a house. They did so. It was " revealed " to him that they should " provide for him food and raiment and whatsoever thing he needeth." They did so: It was revealed to him that they should erect a temple, at the expense of forty thousand dollars. They did so. Whenever Joe Smith wished to have anything accomplished, he simply resorted to a new " revelation," and it was promptly done. " Thus," it is written in the history of Mormonism, "from a state of almost beggary, the family of Smith were furnished with the fat of the land by their disciples, many of whom were wealthy." Joe Smith established a bank which he said " could never fail," as it was instituted " by the will of God." It did fail, however — miserably. The prophet explained : " The Lord," said he, " promised a blessing only upon condition of the bank being conducted upon proper principles." The managers failed in their duty. The prophet, in his autobiography, gives the following account of what ensued : "At this time the spirit of speculation in lands and property of all kinds was taking deep root in the church. As the fruits of this spirit, evil surmisings, fault-finding, disunion, dissension and apostacy followed in quick succession. It seemed as though all the powers of hell were combining to overthrow the church at once, and make a final end. Other banking institutions refused the Kirtland Safety Society's notes. The enemy abroad and apostates in our midst united their schemes. Many became disaffected towards me, as though I was the sole cause of those very evils I was most strenuously striving against, and which were actually brought about by the brethren not taking heed to my counsel." In addition to these troubles, the outside barbarians in and around Kirtland, who fancied themselves swindled by these banking operations, became excited and procured legal process for the 706 - HISTORY OF OHIO. arrest of Joe Smith and Elder Rigdon. They both ran away. Smith thus describes the affair : "A new year dawned upon the church in Kirtland, in all the bitterness of the spirit of the apostate mobocracy, which continued to rage, and grow hotter and hotter, until Elder Rigdon and myself were obliged to flee from its deadly influence, as did the apostles and prophets of old, and, as Jesus said, ' When they persecute you in one city flee to another ; ' and on the evening of the 12th of January, about 10 o'clock, we left Kirtland on horseback to escape mob violence, which was about to burst upon us, under cover of legal process to cover their hellish designs, and save themselves from the just judgment of the law. The weather was extremely cold, and we were obliged to. secrete ourselves sometimes to elude the grasp of our pursuers, who continued their race more than two hundred miles from Kirtland, armed with swords and pistols, seeking our lives." In consequence of these persecutions, the Mormons purchased a large tract of land in Independence, Jackson County, Missouri, to which place they gradually removed from Ohio. Converts were multiplied ; a printing press and a weekly newspaper were established, and a thriving town sprang up, as by magic. This little settlement soon numbered twelve hundred Mormons ; and this singular fanaticism seemed again to be borne along on the tide of prosperity. CHAPTER XXXVII. EXPULSION AND EMIGRATION OF THE MORMONS. CHARACTER OF THE MORMONS-LAWLESSNESS- MOB ACTION-GOVERNMENTAL ACTION - THE FLIGHT TO ILLINOIS- RAPID INCREASE - ASSASSINATION OF JOE SMITH - STATEMENT OF THE GOVERNOR-THE MORMONS DRIVEN FROM ILLINOIS-INCIDENTS OF EMIGRATION - TESTIMONY OF COLONEL KANE PICTURESQUE ENCAMPMENT - HOME IN UTAH. HAVING SPOKEN of the origin of Mormonism, in Ohio, and its expulsion from the state, the reader will undoubtedly be interested in a brief narrative of its subsequent career. There were doubtless, among the Mormons, deluded persons, of sincere and worthy characters. But their conduct as a body was such as to excite the intolerable disgust of the people of Missouri. No respectable person wished to live near them ; and their presence in the County of Jackson diminished the value of all surrounding property. The Mormons were defiant in tone and action. They raised a large military force which was thoroughly armed, and under perfect discipline. Sustained by this force they declared that they were a law unto themselves, and seemed disposed to bid defiance to the authority of the sparsely settled State. To meet this state of things, and to prevent an outbreak of lawless violence, which was daily anticipated, the Governor marshaled a force of four thousand militia, probably intending so to intimidate the Mormons as to compel them to leave the State. Indeed there had been already several pretty serious disturbances. In one conflict eight Missourians were wounded, and twenty-five Mormons were killed and thirty wounded. The enraged Mormons burned the small towns of Gallatin and Millport. They also ravaged the country in mid-winter, driving the women and children from their homes and laying the farm houses in ashes. General J. B. Clark was in command of the governmental 708 - HISTORY OF OHIO. force. The feelings of the community in reference to the Mormons may be inferred from the following extract, taken from a letter from General Clark to the governor : " There is no crime," he wrote, " from treason down to petit larceny, but these people, or a majority of them, have not been guilty of; all, too, under counsel of Joseph Smith, the prophet. They have committed treason, murder, arson, burglary, robbery, larceny and perjury. They have societies, formed under the most binding covenants and the most horrid oaths, to circumvent the laws and put them at defiance ; and to plunder, burn, and murder, and divide the spoils for the use of the church." The governor issued an order which was unfortunately worded. "The ringleaders of this rebellion," he wrote, " should be made an example of. If it should become necessary to the public peace, the Mormons should be exterminated, or expelled from the state." No one can blame the inhabitants of Missouri for desiring to be rid of such neighbors. But the threat to extirminate sounds very savage in our country and in this age. The people of Jackson. County, to induce them to leave peaceably, made them the extraordinary offer that they would purchase the lands and improvements of the Mormons at a price to be fixed by three disinterested arbitrators, with one hundred per cent. in addition. They refused to leave. Four thousand of the militia were sent against them. They were disarmed. Joe Smith and about forty leading Mormons were made prisoners. They were compelled to enter into a treaty, by which they agreed to withdraw from the state. Five commissioners were appointed to sell, their property, pay their debts, and aid them in removing. The state appropriated two thousand dollars for their relief. The citizens of the adjacent counties also contributed liberally. Still, there was much suffering, as, in midwinter, these numerous families traversed nearly the whole breadth of Missouri, and crossing the Mississippi River entered the State of Illinois. The cry of persecution had preceded them, and the inhabitants of Illinois received the fugitives very kindly. They established themselves in Hancock County, on the eastern bank of the Mis sissippi, and commenced with great energy rearing a new city, which they called Nauvoo. Missionaries of the new faith had been sent abroad in all directions. Converts were multiplied. They flocked to Nauvoo. But a short time elapsed ere the new HISTORY OF OHIO - 709 city contained fifteen thousand inhabitants. Smith had a new revelation. The faithful were enjoined " to bring gold and precious materials for the building of a temple for the worship of God and a house for the dwelling-place of his prophet." Ere long it was estimated that, by the labors of missionaries in this country and in Europe, the Mormons numbered one hundred and fifty thousand. Nauvoo assumed a very thriving aspect. A military band was organized, consisting of four thousand men, well-armed and disciplined. And now Joe Smith had a new revelation, not only authorizing the " saints " to take more than one wife, but enjoining it as a duty that each should take several maidens to wife, and thus lead them to heaven. This step shocked quite a number of the simple-minded victims of this strange fanaticism, and led them to withdraw. But more were lured to join them by the license, and converts were multiplied more rapidly than ever. Joe Smith was accused of attempting to seduce the wife of Dr. Foster. The injured husband published affidavits clearly proving the charge. A warrant from a neighboring magistrate was secured for the arrest of the culprit. Joe Smith summoned his armed band and drove the sheriff from the city. The majesty of law being thus insulted, caused great excitement in the community around. The militia was ordered out to enforce the laws. There was every prospect 0f civil war. The governor repaired to Nauvoo. Joe Smith knew that the whole military power of the United States was pledged for the maintenance of law, and that in such a conflict he must be crushed. Joe and his brother Hyrum surrendered to the governor, under the warrant, upon pledge of safety from personal violence. They were both taken to the county jail at Carthage, where they were held on the charge of treason. Popular excitement and indignation were intense. A guard was placed around the jail to protect the prisoners from an exasperated community. The cry was loud for the destruction of Nauvoo, and the expulsion of all of its inhabitants. At six o'clock on the evening of the 27th of November, 1844, two hundred men in disguise approached the jail, thrust the guard aside, broke open the doors, and shot the two Smiths. Joe's last words were, as the bullets pierced his body, "0 Lord my God." The governor was deeply aggrieved by this violation of the public faith. He issued a manifesto, in which he said : 710 - HISTORY OF OHIO. " I desire to make a brief but true statement of the recent disgraceful affair at Carthage in regard to the Smiths. They have been assassinated in jail. By whom it is not known, but it will be ascertained. I pledged myself for their safety. Upon the assurance of that pledge they surrendered themselves as prisoners. The Mormons surrendered the public arms in their possession, and the Nauvoo legion submitted to the command of Captain Singleton, of Brown County, deputed for that purpose by me. All these things were required to satisfy the old citizens of Hancock that the Mormons were peaceably disposed, and to allay jealousy and excitement in their minds. It appears, however, that the compliance of the Mormons with every requisition made upon them failed of that purpose. The pledge of security to the Smiths was not given upon my individual responsibility. Before I gave it I obtained a pledge of honor, by a unanimous vote from the officers and men under my command, to sustain me in performing it. If the assassination of the Smiths was committed by any portion of these, they have added treachery to murder, and have done all they could to disgrace the state and sully the public honor. " On the morning of the day the deed was committed, we had proposed to march the army under my command into Nauvoo. I had, however, discovered the evening before that nothing but the utter destruction of the city would satisfy a portion of the troops, and that, if we marched into the city, pretexts would not be wanting for commencing hostilities. The Mormons had done every thing required, or which ought to have been required of them. Offensive operations, on our part, would have been as unjust and disgraceful as they would have been impolitic, in the present critical season of the year, the harvest and the crops. " For these reasons I decided, in a council of officers, to disband the army, except three companies, two of which were reserved as a guard for the jail. With the other company I marched into Nauvoo to address the inhabitants there, and tell them what they might expect in case they designedly or imprudently provoked a war. I performed this duty, as I think, plainly and emphatically, and then set out to return to Carthage. When I had marched about three miles a messenger informed me of the occurrences at Carthage. I hastened on to that place. The guard, it is said, did their duty, but were overpowered." HISTORY OF OHIO - 711 The news of the prophet's death created the wildest excitement at Nauvoo. In their organization a man by the name of Brigham Young was president of a band called The Twelve Apostles. The Twelve chose Brigham as the successor of Joe Smith, to be the head of the church. Sidney Rigdon rebelled, demanding the position for himself. Brigham arrested him, declared him to be an emissary of the devil, excommunicated him, and "delivered him over to the buffetings of Satan in the name of the Lord." For a short time the Mormons had a respite from trouble. A very imposing temple was reared at Nauvoo, one hundred and twenty-eight feet long by eighty-eight wide. It was very substantially built, and of pleasing architecture. The Mormon Times and Seasons says : " Our temple, when finished, will show more wealth, more art, more science, more revelation, more splendor and more God, than all the rest of the world." The calm in the outside community after the assassination of the Smiths was but a lull in the tempest. It was extensively believed that Nauvoo was a vast depository of stolen goods, and that in the seclusion of its harems every loathsome vice was perpetrated. A convention was held of delegates from the surrounding counties. The resolution was adopted that the Mormons must leave the state. Brigham Young saw that it was impossible to oppose the popular fury. Immediate preparations were made to emigrate beyond the boundaries of the United States into the territory of Mexico. Brigham Young displayed consummate skill in the arrangements to remove a community of fifteen thousand souls many hundred miles, over an almost pathless wilderness, to a new home which they were to hew out for themselves. The first band of about two thousand crossed the Mississippi on the ice in February, 1846. The Nauvoo Times and Seasons says : " To see such a large body of men, women and children compelled by the inefficiency of the law to leave a great city in the month of February, for the sake of the enjoyment of pure religion, fills the soul with astonishment, and gives the world a sample of fidelity and faith brilliant as the sun, forcible as a tempest, and enduring as eternity.' The journey before them, as their heavily-laden wagons were slowly drawn by mules and oxen, occupied nearly three months. 712 - HISTORY OF OHIO. Colonel Thomas L. Kane, brother of Dr. Elisha Kane, who became so illustrious by his polar tour, witnessed this emigration. He writes : " There were, along three hundred miles of the road, over two thousand emigrating wagons, besides a large number of nondescript turn-outs, the motley make-shifts of poverty, from the unsuitably heavy cart that lumbered along mysteriously, with its sick driver hidden under its counterpane cover, to the crazy two-wheeled trundle, such as our poor employ for the conveyance of their slop-barrels this pulled along perhaps by a little dry, drugged heifer, and rigged up only to drag some such light weight as a baby, a sack of meal, or a pack of clothes and bedding." It was necessary on this long journey over the prairies occasionally to go into camp for a few days to give rest to the women, the children and the sick, and to replenish the strength of the weary cattle. This advance-guard laid out for those who were to follow a road through the Indian Territory twelve hundred miles in length. Over all the small streams they constructed substantial bridges. At the larger rivers they established permanent ferries. Here and there on the route they erected what they called tabernacle camps, where all conveniences were held in store for the sick and the weary. Mr. Kane gives the following pleasing description of one of these temporary settlements : " The summer camps of the Mormons formed an interesting spectacle. They were gay with bright white canvas and alive with the busy stir of swarming occupants. In the clear blue morning air the smoke streamed up from more than a thousand cooking fires. Countless roads and by-paths checkered all manner of geometric figures on the hill-sides. On the slope herd-boys were seen, lazily watching immense herds of cattle, sheep, horses, cows, and oxen. Along the creeks where the tents were sometimes pitched, women in great force would be washing and rinsing all manner of white muslins, red flannels, and parti-colored calicoes, and covering acres of grass-plat with their variously-hued garments. Groups of merry children were playing among the tents. " The romantic devotional observances of the Mormons, and their admirable concert of purpose and action, met the eye at once. After these the stranger was most struck, perhaps, by the trict order of march, the unconfused closing up to meet attacks, HISTORY OF OHIO - 715 the skillful securing of the cattle upon the halt, the system with which the watches were set at night to guard them, with other similar circumstances, indicative of a high state of discipline. " Every ten of their wagons was under the care of a captain. This captain of ten obeyed a captain of fifty, who, in turn, obeyed his captain of a hundred, or directly what they call a member of the High Council of the Church. All these were responsible and determined men, approved of by the people for their courage, discretion, and experience. So well recognized were the results of this organization, that bands of hostile Indians have passed by comparatively small parties of Mormons to attack much larger, but less compact, bodies of other emigrants. "The most striking feature, however, of the Mormon emigration was undoubtedly their formation of the tabernacle camps and temporary stakes or settlements, which renewed in the sleeping solitudes everywhere along their road the cheering signs of intelligent and hopeful life. " I will make this remark plainer by describing to you one of those camps, with the daily routine of its inhabitants. I select at random, for my purpose, a large camp on the delta between the Nebraska and Missouri. The camp remained pitched here for nearly two months, during which period I resided in it. It was situated upon some finely rounded hills, which encircled a favorite cool spring. On each of these a square was marked out. The wagons, as they arrived, took their positions along its four sides, in double rows, so as to leave a roomy street or passage-way between them. The tents were disposed also in rows at intervals between the wagons. The cattle were folded in high-fenced yards outside. The quadrangle inside was left vacant for the sake of ventilation; and the streets, covered in with leafy arbor work and kept scrupulously clean, formed a shaded cloister walk. This was the place of exercise for slowly-recovering invalids, the day-home of the infants, and the evening promenade of all. " Every day closed as every day begun, with an invocation of the Divine favor, without which, indeed, no Mormon seemed to dare to lay him down to rest. With the first shining of the stars laughter and loud talking were hushed. The neighbor went his way. You heard the last hymn sung, and then the thousand-voice murmur of prayer was heard, like babbling water falling down the hills." 716 - HISTORY OF OHIO. A few of the Mormons were left behind at Nauvoo. A Missouri mob, impatient at their delay, fiercely attacked them and drove them in penury into the wilderness. The question arises, were these Mormons thus cruelly persecuted simply on account of their religion ? Joe Smith left Palmyra because his reputation was so bad there, where he was known, that he could get no foothold. At Kirtland, he was compelled to run away to escape arrest and imprisonment as a felon, for swindling operatians. In Missouri, they bade defiance to the laws of the state, and all the lewd fellows of the baser sort, from far and wide, flocked to their town, for the license which their religion afforded. Nauvoo became a pest house, which no healthy community could endure. Colonel Kane, who regarded the Mormons with the most friendly feelings, gives the following very emphatic testimony respecting the character of the community collected at Nauvoo : " When the persecution triumphed there, and no alternative remained for the steadfast in the faith but flight out of Egypt into the wilderness, all their fair-weather friends forsook them. Priests and elders, scribes and preachers deserted by whole councils at a time ; each talented knave, of whose craft they had been the victims, finding his own pretext for abandoning them without surrendering the money-bag of which he was the holder. " One of these, for instance, bore with him so considerable a congregation that he was able to found quite a thriving community in Northern Wisconsin, which I believe he afterwards transplanted entire to an island in one of the lakes. Other speculative heresiarchs folded for themselves credulous sheep all through the western country. One Rigdon held a cure of theth in Pennsylvania. " Quite recently an abandoned clergyman who, shortly before the exode was excommunicated for improper conduct, has presented a memorial to Congress, in which he charges the Mormons with very much more than he himself appears to have been guilty of." The war with Mexico brought Utah, to which territory the Mormons had emigrated, within the enlarged boundaries of the United States. There were sincere and good men among the Mormons beyond all question. Brigham Young was a man of undoubted ability and great sagacity, but with an exceedingly coarse and vulgar mind. Upon the arrival of the Mormons to their place of designation, upon the borders of the Great Salt Lake, he issued a HISTORY OF OHIO - 717 proclamation to all the world, from which we make the following extract : " The Kingdom of God consists in correct principles, and it mattereth not what a man's religious faith is, whether he be a Presbyterian, a Methodist, a Baptist, a Latter Day Saint, a Mormon, a Campbellite, a Catholic, an Episcopalian, a Mohammedan, or even a Pagan, or anything else. If he will bow the knee, and with the tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ, and will support good and wholesome laws for the regulation of society, we hail him as a brother, and will stand by him as he stands by us in these things; for every man's faith is a matter between his own soul and his God alone. " But if he shall deny the Jesus, if he shall curse God, if he shall indulge in drunkenness, debauchery and crime, if he shall lie and swear, and steal, if he shall take the name of the great God in vain, and commit all manner of abominations, he shall have no place in our midst ; for we have long sought to find a people that will work righteousness, that will distribute justice equally, that will acknowledge God in all their ways, that will regard those sacred laws and ordinances which are recorded in that sacred book called the Bible, which we verily believe, and which we proclaim to all the earth." The Mormons, in their various settlements in Utah, have numbered perhaps thirty thousand. They have made the extravagant claim that they could count in this country and Europe more than two hundred thousand converts to the Mormon faith. But the extraordinary delusion is now manifestly on the wane. The community is fast crumbling. The flood of emigration now sweeping with ever-increasing flow across the plains will doubtless ere long obliterate every vestige of the Mormon faith. CHAPTER XXXVIII. LIVES OF THE GOVERNORS OF OHIO. THE TERRITORIAL GOVERNORS. — EDWARD TIFFIN, SAMUEL HUNTINGTON, RETURN JONATHAN MEIGS, OTHNIEL LOOKER, THOMAS WORTHINGTON. In the course of this narrative, the action of several of the Governors of Ohio has been interwoven with the story. The lives of Governors St. Clair, Meigs, and General Harrison were inseparably blended with the heroic adventures which attended the organization of the state. But there were other governors, men of no less mark, but whose privilege it was to administer the government in more peaceful times, the memory of whom history should not permit to die. We are indebted to the courtesy of the Western Reserve Historical Society, of Cleveland, for opening to us the historical treasures it has accumulated. Among those treasures there is a manuscript collection of a large number of the Governors of Ohio, by the late A. T. Goodman, Esq. Mr. Goodman was the corresponding secretary of that important society. With great labor, and at not a little expense, he collected all the attainable facts in reference to many of the past governors of the state. For this valuable record, the community owe him a debt of gratitude. To his labors we are indebted for many of the incidents in the following brief narrative. We have also availed ourselves of such other sources of information as we have been able to obtain, scattered through the many books of reference which we have had occasion to examine. HON. ARTHUR ST. CLAIR. [See page 153.] Many of the details of the eventful life of this distinguished man are interwoven in the preceding pages. He was appointed by the National Government Governor of the Northwestern Territory from the year 1788 to 1802. He was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in the year 1735 ; received a University education there ; studied medicine and became a surgeon in the British Army, Crossing the Atlantic, he served as lieutenant under General Wolf in his campaign against Quebec in 1759. HISTORY OF OHIO- 719 When peace was established between France and England, St. Clair was entrusted with the command of Fort Ligonier in Pennsylvania. Weary of garrison life, he entered into agricultural pursuits, and held several civil offices under the colonial government. In the rising troubles with Great Britain, he cordially espoused the colonial cause. In 1776 he was created colonel in the Continental Army, and with wonderful energy, in six days he raised a regiment ready for the field to serve in Canada. In the Autumn of that year, promoted to the rank of brigadier general, he took part in the battles of Trenton and Princeton. The next year, as major general, he was entrusted with the command of Fort Ticonderoga. Here he lost reputation ; for with a garrison of two thousand men he was compelled to evacuate the fort, as Burgoyne took possession of Sugar Hill, which he had neglected to fortify. Afterwards he did good service in protecting Congress, and was with the army at Yorktown when Cornwallis surrendered. In 1786, he was sent to the Continental CongreSs, and the next year was chosen President of that body. The following year he was appointed Governor of the Northwestern Territory. As governor, and with the military rank of major general he entered upon his disastrous campaign against the Miami Indians, which we have already described. This defeat, which was attributed to want of caution, greatly exasperated the country. He was removed from office by President Jefferson in 1802. The following reason has been assigned as the occasion of his removal : General St. Clair was a strong Federalist. One evening, at Chillicothe, in conversation with Jeremiah Morrow, Judge Dunlevy, and Judge Foster, who were members of a constitutional convention then assembled at Chillicothe, he expressed himself as having no confidence in Republican institutions, and that we must adopt a stronger form of government or anarchy would be the consequence. A copy of these remarks, attested by the three gentlemen, was forwarded to President Jefferson ; St. Clair was immediately removed. Notwithstanding the deplorable lack of judgment displayed in his terrible de- feat, St. Clair was a man of ability, of fine scholarship, and a true gentleman. His patriotism and integrity were unquestioned. He had neglected his private concerns, and, upon removal from office, was ruined in fortune. His last years were enveloped in gloom, and he died in the extreme of poverty. NOTE.—Charles W. Byrd, of Hamilton County, was Secretary of the Territory at the time of the removal of General St. Clair in the latter part of 1802, and by virtue of his office became Acting Governor. He performed the duties of the office until the organization of the State of Ohio, and the inauguration of Gov. Edward Tiffin, March 3, 1803. There are no records in existence from which a sketch of his life can be obtained, neither has there been a picture of him preserved from which an engraving can be made. 42 720 - HISTORY OF OHIO. HON. WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON.* [See page 71.] William Henry Harrison was born in Virginia at Berkeley, on the James River, the 9th of February, 1773. His father was a gentleman of wealth and distinction, an intimate friend of George Washington, and a member of the Continental Congress. He was a man of large stature, full of fun, and exceedingly popular with all classes. Twice he was chosen Governor of Virginia. His son, William, enjoyed all the advantages which wealth and intellectual companionship could give. He graduated at Hampden Sidney College with honor, and studied medicine in Philadelphia under the celebrated Dr. Rush. The Indians were committing fearful ravages on our frontiers. St. Clair was stationed with a small military force in the solitudes of the far away waters of Ohio, where Cincinnati now stands. Young Harrison, then but nineteen years of age, joined the army, notwithstanding the remonstrances of his friends. He received a commission as ensign from President Washington, just before St. Clair's awful defeat which we have already described. The youthful soldier crossed the Alleghanies on foot to Pittsburgh. There he embarked in a flat-bottomed boat and floated down the Ohio to Fort Washington. The heroic character he displayed caused him at once to be entrusted with duties of much responsibility. We hardly know how to account for the fact that even then he had adopted the principles of a thorough temperance man. He was rapidly promoted. As lieutenant, he accompanied General Wayne on his triumphant march. In Wayne's great battle, Lieutenant Harrison so signalized himself that his commanding officer wrote : " Lieutenant Harrison was in the foremost front of the hottest battle. His person was exposed from the commencement to the close of the action. Whereever duty called he hastened, regardless of danger, and, by his efforts and example, contributed as much to secure the fortunes of the day as any other officer subordinate to the commander in chief." Promoted to the rank of captain, Harrison was entrusted with the command of Fort Washington. Here he married a daughter of John Cleaves Symmes, a wealthy frontiersman. In 1797, he, being then twenty-four years of age, was appointed Secretary of the Northwestern Territory and ex-officio Lieutenant Governor. Gen. St. Clair was then Governor of the Territory. In the Spring of 1800, this almost boundless territory was divided by Congress into two por- *There appears to be some doubt as to whether or not General Harrison was ever appointed Governor of the Northwestern Territory. In a paper prepared by A. H. Dunlevy, Esq., of Lebanon, Ohio, from the papers of his father, Judge Francis Dunlevy, and read before the Ohio Historical Society, of Cincinnati, by Robert Clarke, Esq., June 24, 1869, giving the reasons for the removal of Gen. St. Clair by President Jefferson, it is asserted that Gen. Harrison was immediately appointed to the office of Governor upon the removal of Gen. St. Clair. Judge Dunlevy above referred to was one of three persons who were instrumental in securing the removal of Gov. St. Clair (see life of St. Clair) and his papers would naturally be considered good authority. If Harrison was appointed, it is quite evident that he never en. tered upon the duties of the office. It may have been that the time from his appointment until the organization of the state was so brief that it did not admit of his acceptance of the office. The records of the State of Ohio show that he never filled the position, save as ex-officio Lieutenant Governor when Secretary of the territory before its division. HISTORY OF OHIO - 723 tions ; the eastern portion, comprehending the present State of Ohio, was called the territory northwest of the Ohio. The western portion, including the States of Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin, received the name of the Indiana Territory. William Henry Harrison was appointed by President John Adams Governor of the Indiana Territory. Soon after this, Upper Louisiana was added to his domain. In point of territory, his realms were now almost as extensive as those of any other ruler upon the globe. There were then in the Indiana Territory but three white settlements. Land was purchased of the Indians. Emigration poured in. A territorial legislature was organized. The governor, a man of intelligence, kind-hearted, and of dignified bearing, occupied the gubernatorial chair for twelve years with dignity which commanded universal respect. There perhaps never was a man of more scrupulous sense of honor in all his business transactions. Many of the hunting groundS of the Indians were sold by individual chiefs, who had no legitimate title to the lands, and who were drugged with whisky to induce them to enter into disastrous treaties. Tecumseh, one of the most intelligent and noble of the Indian chiefs, endeavored to unite the tribes in an agreement that no more of their hunting grounds should be sold without the consent of all the tribes. It was then supposed that Tecumseh was endeavoring to ally the tribes, with the intention of exterminating the whites. Governor Harrison's anxieties were aroused. Anxious to ascertain the facts, he invited Tecumseh, and his brother, the prophet, to an interview at Vincennes. The proud chief came, with a retinue of four hundred warriors, in their most gorgeous barbaric array. The chief solemnly declared that he had no idea of making war, but that he was determined to prevent, if possible, any further disposal of their hunting grounds. This led to mutual recriminations. A bloody conflict was narrowly escaped, in which each party would have accused the other of treachery. The militia of Vincennes were under arms, and could easily have overpowered the Indian warriors. But the governor had promised the chief protection coming and going. Not long after this, the governor visited Tecumseh, at his village on Tippecanoe River. The chief reiterated his declaration that he had no intention of making war ; but that if he could prevent it, no more of the Indian lands should be given up, without the consent of all the tribes. The months rolled on. Rumors of an Indian outbreak filled the air. Governor Harrison placed himself at the head of a thousand troops ; marched to the valley of the Tippecanoe. A fierce battle ensued. Each party accused the other of being the assailant. Tecumseh was absent in the South. His brother, Olliwacheca, called the Prophet, led the Indians. The Indians, having lost nearly two hundred of their warriors, fled. Governor Harrison burned their town, trampled down their crops, and destroyed everything which could aid them in any future hostilities. The second war with England came. The Indians, maddened by what they declared was a totally unjustifiable attack upon them, eagerly enlisted under the British standard. We have had occasion, in the foregoing narrative, minutely to recount all these scenes. Hull surrendered Detroit. Harrison was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Northwestern army. Through mid- 724 - HISTORY OF OHIO. night marches, bloody conflicts ; through storms of sleet and snow, encountering hunger and cold, sickness and toil, he marched to victory. Urged by Governor Harrison, the government constructed a fleet on Lake Erie. Perry encountered the English ships and reported to the government, " We have met the enemy and they are ours." Harrison recaptured Detroit ; pursued the retreating British into Canada, and won the victory of the Thames. Peace ensued. Governor Harrison's acquaintance with the Indian character rendered him eminently useful in treating with them. Though his energetic course, in arresting the fraudulent plans of unprincipled men, had raised up many enemies against him, the masses of the people appreciated his virtues. In 1816, he represented the District of Ohio in the National House of Representatives. In Congress he occupied a conspicuous position. His past achievements, his patriotic views and his powers of eloquence gave him much distinction. He condemned General Jackson's invasion of Florida. The general never forgave him. In 1819, Governor Harrison was elected to the Senate of Ohio, In 1824, as one of the Presidential electors, he gave the vote of the state for Henry Clay. The same year he was chosen to the Senate of the United States. In 1828, John Quincy Adams appointed him Minister Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Colombia. Andrew Jackson, upon his accession to the Presidency, peremptorily recalled him. He repaired to his farm at North Bend. At one time he owned a distillery. He abandoned the business and condemned it as sinful. At the age of eighteen he inherited slaves. His own reflections led him to denounce the institution, and he became a strong abolitionist. Dueling was fashionable with southern gentlemen. He declared the practice to he a sin against God. In 1836 he was brought forward as a candidate for the Presidency of the United States. He lost the election. The Hon, Martin Van Buren was chosen. Four years later he was renominated. His triumph was signal. He received two hundred and thirty-four electoral votes. Mr. Van Buren received sixty. His passage to the capital, through our cities and villages, presented a constant triumph. He was inaugurated on the 4th of March, 1840. On the 4th of April he died, of a violent pleurisy fever, after a sickness of but a few days. His death was universally regretted. Not a stain has sullied his character. Through all time the name of William Henry Harrison will be pronounced with love and reverence. HON. EDWARD TIFFIN. [See page 211] Somewhere about the year 1798, Edward Tiffin, a young man but twenty years of age, emigrated from Philadelphia to the boundless wilderness west of the Alleghanies, then known only as the Northwestern Territory, and inhabited mainly by savages. He was. born in England, in comfortable if not in affluent circumstances. Having there obtained a good English education, he came to the new world to seek his fortune. He entered a medical school at Phila- HISTORY OF OHIO - 725 delphia, and, graduating with honor, before he had attained his twenty-first year, turned his adventurous steps toward the setting sun. Upon the banks of the Scioto there was a small hamlet of log houses beautifully situated, which was called Chillicothe. Edward Tiffin would have been an accession of value to any settlement in the West. Here he selected his residence. He was a man of well cultivated mind, gentlemanly manners, a friendly spirit, and his conduct was guided, not only by high morality, but by true Christian principle. He immediately identified himself with his new home and its enterprising people. He rapidly acquired reputation, not only for his skill as a physician, but also for his virtues as a man. Immediately he was introduced into political life in the legislature, and was chosen President of the Constitutional Convention in 1802. His fame and popularity rapidly extended, and he was almost unanimously elected the first governor of the newly formed state. This important office he held for five consecutive years, with wise statesmanship, seeking in every way to develop the resources of the state. In the year 1809 he was chosen to the Senate of the United States. In this enlarged sphere of power he did very much to promote the interests of Ohio. Public lands were surveyed, new measures of transporting the mails organized, and the navigation of the Ohio River much improved. His devotion to the public interests was so entire that he neglected his own private affairs. But for this he would unquestionably have accumulated a large property. Retiring from the Senate, he was in the year 1812 appointed by President Madison Commissioner of the General Land Office. In 1814 he was appointed, by the same President, Surveyor General of the Northwest. These duties he discharged with such ability that he retained the office through the four administrations of Madison, Monroe, Adams and Jackson. He died at Chillicothe, still holding several important offices, on the 9th of August, 1829. The community mourned the loss of a great and a good man. Though not largely rich he had ample means, and refined taste embellished his beautiful home. His earnest piety was an important element in promoting the best interests of the town ; and numerous guests, the most distinguished in the land, were lured to his hospitable board. A costly monument marks the spot where his body now rests. HON. THOMAS KIRKER. [See page 231] In the year 1807, there was, as we have mentioned, a hotly contested election for Governor of Ohio. Return Jonathan Meigs and Nathaniel Massie were rival candidates. Return Jonathan Meigs received the majority of votes. The General Assembly, however, declared him ineligible, pronouncing him to be a non-resident. Mr. Massie was also declared not elected, he not having received the necessary number of votes. Hon. Thomas Kirker was then Acting Governor, by virtue of his office of Speaker of the State Senate, when Edward Tiffin resigned that office to take his seat in the United States Senate. He continued in office until another election in 1808, when Samuel Huntington received the suffrages of the people. 726 - HISTORY OF OHIO. But little information can now be obtained respecting Governor Kirker. Nothing of interest occurred during his brief administration, and we know not where he was born or where he died. HON. SAMUEL HUNTINGTON [See page 255.] In the year 1765, Samuel Huntington was born at Norwich, Connecticut. This town, now one of the most beautiful in this or any other land, was then a small, struggling village, hewn out of the wilderness on the banks of the Thames. He was of Puritan stock. His were noble Christian parents. Could the whole story of his eventful life be told, it would occupy a volume, and would constitute one of the most interesting and exciting of narratives, full of the elements of what is usually called a sensational story. Samuel was born of an illustrious family. He graduated at Yale College in 1735, an accomplished scholar, and an unusually courteous gentleman. Studying law, he commenced practice in his native town. In 1793 he married an accomplished lady of his own name. Even then the mighty West was drawing its emigrants, and large companies were being formed to speculate in the public lands. Samuel Huntington became interested in the " Western Reserve" lands. At the age of thirty-five, he started on an exploring tour to these regions. He set out on horseback for the long, circuitous and weary journey, across mountains and ravines, and through prairies and forests. He first visited Southern Ohio, and reached Youngstown the latter part of July, 1800. Thence he visited Marietta, where he was cordially received by Governor St. Clair and other distinguished men who were prominent in the organization of that colony. The young lawyer was SO much pleased with the country and the hospitality of the people that he decided to emigrate with his family, and took immediate measures to be admitted to the bar of Ohio. In the Fall he returned to Norwich, via Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. The following Spring he took his wife and children in what was then called an " Ohio. wagon," canvas-covered, for their long and rough journey of many hundred. miles. With their heavily laden wagon, drawn by two horses, they could seldom make more than thirty miles a day. The incidents he encountered upon this long journey, often through solitudes of indescribable gloom, must have been very eventful. Mr. Huntington established his permanent residence at Cleveland, in the midst of its stumps and girdled forest. Many of the settlers had vacated the cabins which they had at first reared, and had erected new huts on the high land, back of the town, hoping to escape to si ckness which had sorely afflicted them on the lower grounds. It must have been for some time a sad life for a lady so accomplished and so unaccustomed to privation as was Mrs. Huntington. It was necessary for her husband often to be absent, leaving her alone with her children in their solitary hut. Often Mrs. Huntington was compelled to bar the door of the block-house, which was called their wooden castle, to shut out drunken and riotous Indians HISTORY OF OHIO - 727 who were striving to break in. Rapidly Mr. Huntington rose to distinction. General St. Clair appointed him lieutenant colonel in a regiment of Trumbull County militia. He was then elevated to the position of Presiding Judge in the Court of Quarter. Sessions. In 1802 he became a member of the Constitutional Convention, and by that body was appointed State Senator for Trumbull County. For some time he was Speaker of the Senate, and was elected by the Legislature to a seat on the Supreme Court of Ohio. Upon the organization of the Territory of Michigan, he was offered the position of Judge of the District Court of that Territory, but he declined the office. Other important offices were pressed upon him, which he declined. The prospects of Cleveland, in its early settlement were not encouraging, as very serious sickness prevailed there. Mr. Huntington, then Judge of the Supreme Court, removed to Newburg, where he took great interest in erecting a grist mill, which was a very important affair for that young community. Not long after this, in the year 1809, he purchased a finely located farm, on the eastern shore of Grand River, between Painesville and Lake Erie. Here he erected a mansion, commodious, and, for those days, quite imposing in its architecture. The house still remains, attesting the good taste of the original proprietor. It stands in a position which commands a lovely view of the Grand River Valley, rich in fine scenery; of the distant summits of the mountains of Geauga County in the south ; and, far away in the north, of the expanded waters of that inland ocean, Lake Erie. Many shade trees which his own hands planted still ornament the grounds. It is worthy of note, that while Judge Huntington was on the bench, a severe conflict arose between the legislative and judicial departments of the state. The Legislature passed a law conferring certain rights upon justices of the peace, which the judges of the Supreme Court declared to be unconstitutional. The lower house filed articles of impeachment against the judges. But in the meantime the people of Ohio chose Judge Huntington governor of the state. He therefore resigned his judicial seat, and was not brought to trial. Not quite a two-thirds majority could be obtained against the other two judges, and they consequently escaped conviction. After occupying the gubernatorial chair for one term, during which nothing of moment occurred, he retired to his pleasant home on Grand River. His prominence was such that he could not well keep out of public life. In 1812 he was a member of the Ohio House of Representatives, when the second war with Great Britain came upon us. England, in possession of the Canadas, endeavored to arm all the savage tribes, over which she could obtain control, to desolate our frontiers. Hull surrendered Detroit. Beneath the banners of England the howling savage marched with dripping tomahawk and scalping-knife. Cottages blazed in midnight conflagration. Women and children were butchered or carried into captivity worse than death. Universal consternation reigned throughout the whole extent of our northwestern border land. Governor Huntington, with General Cass, visited Washington to represent to the National authorities the dreadful state of affairs in Northern Ohio. The Governor was appointed District Paymaster, with the rank of colonel, and returned to the camp of General Harrison, with a supply of funds, in the 728 - HISTORY OF OHIO. shape of government drafts, and with the promise of additional aid. He remained for many months with the army, co-operating in all the ways in his power to its efficiency, until peace was declared, when he returned again to the blessed employments of a tranquil home and a peaceful life. In the year 1817 he died, after a lingering sickness, leaving the reputation of unusually accomplished scholarship, of great executive ability, and of integrity of the highest order. HON. RETURN JONATHAN MEIGS. [See page 273.] Return Jonathan Meigs, who inherited the name of an illustrious father, was born in Middletown, Connecticut, in 1765. When twenty years of age he graduated at Yale College, with the highest honors of his class. Returning to his native town, on the banks of the Connecticut River, he studied law and entered upon its practice. When twenty-three years of age he married Miss Sophia Wright, and, with his young bride, set out for the boundless wilderness of the Northwestern Territory. He had selected the infant settlement of Marrietta for his residence, and had purchased a large tract of land there. In the course of this history we have already had occasion to refer to many of the heroic enterprises in which he was called to act a part. When Mr. Meigs arrived at Marrietta, in the Autumn of the year 1788, the whole region was an almost unbroken wilderness. Still in the little cluster of log huts, which were gathered for protection around the Campus Martius, there were many families who, in intellectual culture, in social virtues and in refinement of manners would have been ornaments to any community. Mr. Meigs commenced with great energy cultivating his spacious lands. Occasionally his professional services were required in settling the little difficulties which arose among the inhabitants scattered widely around. A man of true worth will soon become known and revered wherever he may be. Mr. Meigs rapidly gained the confidence of the community. Governor St. Clair became his warm friend. England, after the war of the Revolution, continued, for a long time, very unfriendly to the United States. Her proud government could not forget the humiliation of defeat. In anticipation of another war, her officials in Canada, as we have mentioned, were assiduous in their endeavors to win the co-operation of the savages, and to feed the flame of their hostility against the United States. This could easily be done, for even the most unintelligent Indian could not fail to perceive the rapid encroachments of civilization upon their ancient hunting grounds. In the year 1790, Governor St. Clair sent Mr. Meigs with dispatches to the British Commandant, at Detroit, remonstrating against the unfriendly measures which the authorities there were pursuing. The remonstrance was of no avail in arresting Indian depredations and incursions. Mr. Meigs, however, performed his mission to the entire acceptance of the government. A full record HISTORY OF OHIO - 729 of his adventures with the Indians, his perils and his hair-breadth escapes would occupy more space than could here be allotted to it. Many of the events are recorded in previous pages. In the Winter of 1802 he was elected, by the Legislature, a judge of the Supreme Court. The associate judges were Samuel Huntington and George Tod, whose son David was subsequently governor of the state. In the year 1804 the United States Government having purchased of France the vast Territory then called Louisiana, President Jefferson appointed Mr. Meigs to the command of the upper portion of that district, with the title of brevet colonel in the United States Army. Here, with the additional dignity of a judge of the Supreme Court of Louisiana, he remained but little more than a year, when, in consequence of a failure of health, he returned to Ohio. Soon after this President Jefferson, in appreciation of his high abilities, appointed him United States Judge for the District of Michigan. He had but just entered upon the duties of this office when he was nominated for the gubernatorial chair of Ohio. He was elected by a majority of votes over the rival candidate, General Nathaniel Massie. But the State Senate declared his election void, as it was said he had forfeited his citizenship by his residence in Louisiana and Michigan. Very gracefully Judge Meigs bowed acceptance to the decision of the Senate. He was immediately elected Judge of the Supreme Court, and soon after was sent to the United States Senate to fill out the unexpired term of the Hon. John Smith, who had resigned that post to avoid impeachment for alleged complication with the Aaron Burr conspiracy. At the same session of the Legislature Judge Meigs was chosen to a full term in the United States Senate from the 4th of March, 1809. The next year he was chosen Governor of Ohio, after a very hotly contested election, by a majority of over two thousand. His reputation was greatly increased by the remarkable ability displayed in his inaugural address. Soon the cruel war with Great Britain and the savages broke out. Governor Meigs consecrated all his sleepless energies to the defense of the frontiers, and thus saved many lives and much property. His tireless devotion to this work and the military ability he displayed gave him national renown. President Madison called Governor Meigs into his Cabinet to fill the very important office of Postmaster General. Here he proved to be the right man in the right place. For nine years he discharged these arduous duties with admirable skill, winning the highest commendation both of the government and of the nation. Declining health rendered it necessary for him to retire. His declining years he spent, revered and beloved by all, in his quiet home at Marietta. He died on the 29th of March, 1825. In the graveyard at Marietta his body now reposes, awaiting the judgment trump at whose summons the dead shall rise. In all the relations of social life his conduct was worthy of Imitation. And all who knew him testified to the remarkable fidelity with which he discharged all the duties as a patriot and a Christian. 730 - HISTORY OF OHIO. HON. OTHNIEL LOOKER. [See page 291] Othniel Looker was born of humble parents in the State of New York on the 4thof October, 1757. With scarcely any advantages for education in early life, he enlisted as a private in the War of the Revolution, and immediately after peace, probably receiving land for his services, emigrated across the Alleghanies to the Northwestern Territory. He built his cabin, with his own ax opened his clearing in the gigantic forests, and commenced his life labors as a hard-working farmer. Being a man of integrity, of sound judgment, and of constantly increasing intelligence, he gradually gained the respect and confidence of the community. He was first sent to the Legislature. Availing himself of all the advantages of that practical school of political knowledge, he so rose in public esteem as to be sent to the Senate. The worthy character of the man is shown in the fact that he eventually became Speaker of the Senate. While in that position, Mr. Meigs, who was then Governor, resigned his chair, to accept the office of Postmaster General under President Madison. Thus Mr. Looker, by virtue of his office, was promoted to the dignity of the Chief Executive. He served but eight months, when he was succeeded by Thomas Worthington. There are no documents now remaining to give us the details of his uneventful life. The fact of his rising from so humble an origin to such a position, indicates that he was a worthy man, of good abilities, and of commendable industry. Having well performed his part in life, he passed peacefully away to the spirit land. HON. THOMAS WORTHINGTON. [343.] Thomas Worthington was born in what is now Jefferson County, Virginia, on the loth of February, 1769. His parents, estimated by the standard of that time and region, were wealthy, and they gave their son an excellent education. But little is known of his early life. At the age of twenty-one he entered upon a large inheritance, consisting mainly of slaves and plantations. A few years after this, when the United States had fought and won their battle of independence, beneath the banner of equal rights for all men, Thomas Worthington very nobly manumitted his slaves, sold his real estate, and removed to the free soil north of the Ohio. After visiting Marietta, Cincinnati, and several other infant settlements north of the Ohio River, he decided to take up his residence at Chillicothe, in the fertile valley of the Scioto. here he purchased a large tract of land and erected the first frame house in that section. This was in the Summer and Autumn of 1797. The next April he removed with his family to his new home. Several of his former slaves accompanied him as hired laborers. To each negro he assigned a portion of land, and all hands went vigorously to work to cut down the forest, to break up the soil, and to cause the desert to bud and blossom as the rose. This Summer he built, HISTORY OF OHIO - 731 on a little stream called the Paint, the first saw-mill which was erected in the Valley of the Scioto. This was an inestimable blessing to that rapidly growing community. His wealth, his public spirit, his moral and social virtues rendered him very popular, and several offices of trust were urged upon him. He became Assistant Surveyor of the Public Lands, a member of the Convention to frame a Constitution for Ohio, and was elected to represent the new state in the United States. Senate. The duties of all these offices he discharged with great fidelity and success. Mr. Worthington was an influential member of the Senate, and took an active part in the debates upon all important questions. He gave his earnest support to the administration of President Jefferson. Though at first he was opposed to the war with England, hoping by diplomacy to induce that government to cease from its unendurable insults upon our flag, insults which, to-day, would rouse the whole nation to arms from the St. Lawrence to the Gulf. But when he found that England would pay no heed to our remonstrances, he gave his hearty cooperation to the war measures of the government. At the close of his senatorial career, Mr. Worthington returned to private life. He then erected for himself, about the year '80.% quite an elegant residence a few miles out from Chillicothe. The mansion occupied a fine site on the banks of the Scioto River, to which place he gave the name of Adena. It is said that the beautiful property still remains in the hands of one of the sons of this illustrious sire. In the year 1810 he was again elected to the United States Senate, where he fully sustained his former reputation as an intrepid, conscientious and able statesman. In the 1814 he was elected Governor by a majority of over seven thousand votes. He discharged the duties of this office with such acceptance he was reelected by a still increased majority. It will be remembered that that Governor Worthington had nobly manumitted his slaves, and had made generous provision for many of them on the free soil of Ohio. During his last term as Governor, quite a serious difficulty arose between the States of Kentucky and Ohio ; the former demanding the enforcement of the fugitive slave law, which law the consciences of the freemen of Ohio repudiated with indignation. The situation of the Governor was very embarrassing. While he detested slavery, he still felt bound, by his oath, faithfully to administer the laws of the National Government. For many years this unhappy question became an ele ment of discord throughout all the northern states. It led eventually to the most desolating civil war, and to woes over which angels might weep. Governor Worthington, upon his retirement from the office of the chief magistracy, returned to the tranquility and the privacy of his beautiful home in the beautiful Valley of the Scioto. He still took a deep interest in all public improvements. his useful life was terminated in 1827, at the age of but fifty- five years. His social virtues won the affection of all who knew him, while his wise and energetic devotion to the public interests, secured for him the homage of the state and an enviable national reputation. CHAPTER XXXIX. LIVES OF THE GOVERNORS—CONTINUED. ETHAN ALLEN BROWN, ALLEN TRIMBLE, JEREMIAH MORROW. HON. ETHAN ALLEN BROWN. [See page 363.] On the Connecticut shore of Long Island Sound, about half way between New York and New Haven, there is now a beautiful region whose green. embowered and silent eminences are decorated with the summer mansions of New York merchants, and from whose fertile fields much produce is carried by the thrifty farmers to the great city. A hundred years ago this region was solitary in the extreme, there being but a few farm houses scattered over the wide expanse, which was mostly covered with forest. Here Roger Brown lived, an intelligent farmer of ample means for that region and those times. On the 4th of July, 1766, a son was born to him, to whom he gave the name of Ethan Allen Brown. This boy early developed a mind of unusual activity and great eagerness for learning. But in that sparsely settled country there were no schools. Mr. Brown, anxious for the welfare of his children, employed a scholarly man to instruct them privately a few hours of each day, the same man probably assisting the remainder of the time in work upon the farm. Young Ethan proved an apt scholar, and having an unusually retentive memory, became quite a proficient in the French, Latin and Greek languages. With his mind thus excited and his powers enlarged, he became weary of the manual labor of the farm, and, upon attaining his majority, decided to study law. He obtained some books and commenced the study in the farm house, by side of the winter's evening fire, still assisting his father in all those arduous labors which the tillage of New England soil demands. After a time, feeling deeply the need of some intellectual guide, he went to New York and entered the law office of Hon. Alexander Hamilton, who was then at the height of his celebrity as a lawyer, an orator and a statesman. New York opened to the young and ambitious student a new world. The city then contained but about fifteen thousand inhabitants. But here Brown, fresh from the farm, was introduced to the most refined and cultivated families, and to the ablest men in our land. This irtercourse roused to intensity his HISTORY OF OHIO - 733 ambition to excel. He soon won the esteem and warm friendship of Mr. Hamilton. If our information is correct, Mr. Brown was not admitted to the bar until 1802, he being then thirty-six years of age. This indicates protracted studies, many interruptions, and probably the necessity of devoting much time to business matters, that he might raise funds to meet his expenses as a student. In some way Mr. Brown had, by this time, acquired considerable property. Taking quite a sum of money with him, he set out, in company with a cousin, Captain John Brown, to seek his fortune in the Far West. The two men mounted their horses for this long journey, and, through old Indian roads, traversed the vast solitudes of interior and western Pennsylvania until they reached Brownville, on the east bank of the Monongahela River. The little settlement there, where emigrants usually took boats to float down the river, was then called Sandstone. Here the adventurers purchased two large flat-bottom barges which they loaded with flour for the New Orleans market. Having engaged a sufficient number of boatmen, they pushed out from the shore and embarked on their arduous and somewhat perilous enterprise. In that day, such a inland voyage of nearly two thousand five hundred miles must have been full of interest to any one possessed of poetic sensibilities. The barges floated sixty miles down the winding, forest-fringed stream of the Monongahela. Then entering La Belle Riviere, they were borne placidly along over those smooth waters, through enchanting scenery, with antlered deer upon the banks, and water fowl of varied plumage sporting upon the mirrored surface of the river, a distance of more than nine hundred and fifty miles, when their boats emerged from the mouth of the Ohio, upon the majestic Father of Waters. There was then still before them a voyage of about one thousand two hundred miles. As they swept rapidly along they passed forests sublime in solitude and gloom, prairies, ocean-like in their expanse, enameled with the most gorgeous flowers and picturesque bluffs, whose pinnacles, cliffs and towers, seemed fashioned as by a divine hand in shapes of beauty. At one time the river would expand into an almost shoreless lake. Again, contracted between the bluffs, the mighty volume of water would rush on with accelerated velocity. The Indian's birch canoe, floating like a bubble, would be often seen skimming over the surface of some sheltered cove, while Indian children would be gamboling upon the beach, and a cluster of Indian wigwams would cheer the eye with those charms which distance ever lends to such a view. About one hundred miles below Cincinnati they came to a rude hamlet of a. few log huts, at a place which was called Rising Sun. It was in what is now the State of Indiana, but was then merely a portion of the boundless waste called the Northwestern Territory. Here the voyagers moored their boats for a few hours. They were much impressed with the salubrity of the climate, the fertility of the soil, the grandeur of the forest, and with what is called the lay of the land. Continuing their voyage for two or three weeks, they at length reached New Orleans in safety. Here they found, much to their disappointment, that so much flour had been brought down the river that they could not sell their cargo but at a loss. With enterprise characteristic of the men, they shipped their 734 - HISTORY OF OHIO. flour for Liverpool, England ; and took passage themselves, on board the same vessel, for that distant port. Here they sold their flour, we believe to advantage, and returned to the United States. They landed at Baltimore, Maryland, after a long and circuitous route, late in the Autumn of that year. Mr. Roger Brown, of Darien, wrote to his son requesting him to go on an exploring tour down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, to select a spot of several thousand acres, to which he wished to remove with his family. Ethan Brown at once embarked on this new enterprise. Having already traversed the whole region, and with a watchful eye, his thought at once reverted to the tract of country which had already so charmed him, around Rising Sun. Here the purchase was made, and Mr. Brown, for comparatively a small sum of money, became a large landholder. An elder brother of Ethan was sent out first to clear the land, prepare it for crops, and make those general arrangements essential for the reception of a family accustomed to all the comforts of life. Mr. Roger Brown did not remove to his new possessions until 1814 just as that portion of the Northwestern Territory was being incorporated into the State of Indiana. Ten years before the removal of the family, in the year 1804, Ethan Allen Brown took up his residence in Cincinnati, and entered upon the practice of his profession. His energy was crowned with immediate prosperity, and he was soon in receipt of a large income. He at once took a high position among the leading members of the bar. In 1810, he was elected, by the Legislature, Judge of the Supreme Court, and for eight years he performed the duties of that important office with distinguished success. In the year 1818, Judge Brown was chosen Governor of Ohio. His inaugural address honored the man and his constituents who had the intelligence to elect him. His administration gave a new impulse to internal improvements. In this respect it has been said that Ethan Allen Brown was to Ohio what De Witt Clinton was to New York. He took a very active and efficient interest in the construction of that great work, the Ohio Canal. It was called at the time, by the opponents of the measure, Brown's folly. But it proved, like the great Erie Canal, to be a work of consummate wisdom. In 1821, Governor Brown was promoted to a seat in the United States Senate. Here again he won high commendation for his ability, and his untiring industry. In 1822, he was appointed Canal Commissioner. In 1830, President Jackson entrusted him with the responsible office of Minister to Brazil. At that time there were several important questions pending, which Mr. Brown caused to be settled, much to the satisfaction of both parties. In 1834, Mr. Brown, then sixty-eight years old, retired from the Brazilian Court, and sought repose, after twenty years of unremitted public labor, in his bachelor home at Cincinnati. But a few months passed ere President Jackson again sought his services, and, inviting him to Washington, urged him to accept the position of Commissioner General of the Land Office. Retiring from these arduous labors two years after this, he repaired to Rising Sun, where was the grave of his father, and where many of his kindred still dwelt. Here, in the gentle employments of agriculture, and in literary pursuits, for which he had a decided taste, he passed the serene evening of his days. He died very suddenly, HISTORY OF OHIO - 737 after the brief sickness of half an hour, on the 24th of February, 1852. He was then attending a Democratic Convention at Indianapolis. He had been remarkably healthy throughout his life. It is said that all his sickness would not have amounted to one week of time. His remains were conveyed to the beautiful cemetery at Rising Sun. A fine marble shaft rises over his ashes, with this inscription : " ETHAN ALLEN BROWN. " A man distinguished during a long life, by devotion to the service of his country, in the office of Judge of the Supreme Court, Governor of the State of Ohio, Senator of the United States, Commissioner of the United States Land Office, Envoy to Brazil, etc., and more highly distinguished as one whose unblemished character, whose truthfulness, and purity of heart and life, reflected honor on offices which are supposed to confer honor on their incumbents. " Was born in Connecticut " In the year 1766. "Died at Indianapolis, February 24, 1852." HON. ALLEN TMMBLE. [See page 399.] In the north of Ireland there is a community possessing remarkable characteristics from the blending in their characters of the peculiarities of the Scotch and Irish. Their ancestors emigrated from Scotland, and they are almost all staunch Protestants. In consequence of their origin they are called the Scotch-Irish. Many of the most valuable emigrants' from the Old World to this, are these Scotch-Irish, from the north of Ireland. Somewhere about the year 1750 a young man of this community named John Trimble crossed the Atlantic, seeking a new home in the wilds of America. We know but very little respecting him save that he was a man of Puritanic integrity and of indomitable energy. About one hundred and fifty miles from the sea-coast of Virginia, there is a range of the Alleghany Mountains called the Blue Ridge. Beyond this ridge there is one of the most beautiful valleys on this globe, bounded still farther west by other ridges of these gigantic mountains. This magnificent Valley of Virginia had been, from time immemorial, one of the favorite abodes of the Indians. The climate was mild and delightful, the soil fertile, the forests and prairies magnificent in extent and luxuriance, and the game abundant. It was an Indian elysium. To this remote yet attractive region, John Trimble, with his wife and one or two small children, boldly directed his steps. He reared his log cabin, planted his corn, ranged the streams with his fishing rod, and the fields with his rifle. The Indians were friendly. Other emigrants repaired to the valley, and settled not far from him. Summers and winters came and went with all the vicissitudes of joys and griefs which are the inevitable lot of humanity. At length an awful storm of darkness and woe descended upon his dwelling. 738 - HISTORY OF OHIO. The savages became hostile. One night the family was startled from its slumbers by the awful war whoop. A band of demoniac savages came rushing upon them. The fiend-like deed was soon perpetrated. Mr. Trimble, fighting valiantly, was killed and scalped. So far as we can learn, all the family perished excepting one son, James, a little boy who was taken captive. The torch was applied, and the cabin, with its murdered inmates, was reduced to ashes. The morning dawned, revealing one of the most cruel of those deeds which man's inhumanity has ever been inflicting upon his brother man. The neighbors from many miles around rallied, and hotly pursued the retreating band which perpetrated this bloody deed. It was not difficult to follow their trail through meadow and forest. Colonel Maffit, who led this party of avengers, had married a daughter of John Trimble. With tireless, energies he pursued them beyond the western ridge of the Alleghanies, struck them by surprise when they supposed that they were beyond the reach of danger, shot several of them, dispersed the rest terror-stricken, and recovered James Trimble and several other prisoners whom the Indians had taken. James grew up to manhood. He never forgot that midnight scene of terror and of blood, in which his father and others of the family perished. The memory of that awful hour often nerved his arm in many a subsequent sanguinary battle with the Indians. In the year 1774, being then twenty-one years of age, he took part in the terrible battle of Point Pleasant, which has been described in previous pages of this work. It will be remembered that this battle was fought between troops from the Valley of Virginia and a coalition of several Indian tribes, under the renowned chief, Cornstalk. In the Revolutionary War, when England was hurling the savages against our defenceless frontiers, James Trimble was in command of a company of border troops to range the wilderness, and beat back their fiend-like foes. Heroically he acted his part. At the close of the Revolutionary War, Mr. Trimble married Miss Jane Allen, and in 1784 removed to what is now Kentucky, settling upon lands which he received in payment for military services. A company of emigrants was organized to establish a colony in those vast wilds over which countless Indian tribes were roving. As they were to go beyond the reach of organic laws, or of governmental protection, it was necessary for them to combine for mutual protection, and form themselves into somewhat of an independent community. Major General Henry Knox, who, during the war, had acquired much reputation, not only as a soldier but also as a statesman, was the chosen leader of this band. This little band of adventurers pressed forward on their long journey through the almost trackless region, until they reached a spot called McConnell's Station, where the City of Lexington now stands. Mrs. Trimble made this arduous journey on horseback, carrying in her arms her little son Allen, then a babe eleven months old. It was late in the Autumn when they set out. The journey occupied several weeks. There were days of rain, when no shelter could be obtained. It was necessary to camp out every night. Their food had to be cooked on the way, and most of it to be taken by the fishing rod or the rifle. In the month of November they reached their distant home. These men, of Scotch-Irish descent, were intelligent, energetic, upright, and HISTORY OF OHIO - 739 were endowed with that worldly wisdom which was pretty sure to secure for them pecuniary prosperity. Mr. Trimble, in the course of eighteen years, became a wealthy man for that region. He was a large landholder, and owned quite a number of slaves. As there were no schools, he employed a private teacher to instruct his children. Gradually he awoke to the consciousness, not only of the inexpediency, but of the enormous wrong of slavery. Often he wistfully cast his eyes across the Ohio River to the soil beyond, consecrated forever to freedom. We know not how long or how intense the struggle, but it must have been both long and intense before he fully made up his mind to abandon so much of what the community around him regarded as legitimate property, and again, in his declining years, to seek for a new home. He might have sold his slaves for a large sum of money. But nobly he resolved not to do this, but to give them their freedom. In the year 1802, he took his son Allen with him, who was then about nineteen years of age, and explored the Valley of the Scioto, then mostly an unbroken solitude. In this lovely region he purchased a large quantity of land, and following up the Paint River, one of the important tributaries of the Scioto, to its upper waters, he bought, on Clear River, in what is now Highland County, twelve hundred additional acres, in an admirable location. Upon this purchase, on the banks of Clear River, he decided to locate his family. The next year, in 1803, this noble man presented his slaves with their deeds of manumission. They were handed in to the county court of Woolford County for record. So great was the reluctance of the authorities, at that time, to encourage emancipation, that the record would have been refused but for the powerful interposition of Henry Clay. In the Autumn of this year, Mr. Trimble, still remaining in the old homestead, sent his son Allen and his brother in law, Mr. LewiS, to purchase, at the scattered farmhouses, four hundred swine, on speculation. Mr. Allen furnished the funds. This herd was to be driven six hundred miles to Central Virginia, two hundred of which were through an uninhabited mountain wilderness. It was a long and tedious journey, for the slow-paced animals could never travel more than fifteen or twenty miles a day. They lived upon such nuts and roots as they could pick up on the route. This was the first speculation of the kind. It proved eminently successful. The hogs cost in Kentucky two dollars each, or eight hundred dollars for the whole. They were sold in Virginia for nine dollars per head, being three thousand six hundred dollars for the whole. That left a profit of two thousand four hundred dollars. From this was to be deducted only the wages of the drovers, who could be hired for a few dollars a month. Young Allen Trimble, who went in charge of this herd, spent the Winter with his relatives in Virginia. Upon his return to Lexington, in the Spring, he found that his father had gone to his new purchase on Clear River, where he was erecting a house and planting an orchard. While engaged in these labors the good man died, in the year 1804, at the age of fifty. Thus Allen, before he had attained his majority, became the responsible head of the family. Through the kind care of his father, he had received a good 43 740 - HISTORY OF OHIO. English education, and a thorough knowledge of surveying. Both by nature and education he was a good business man. His Scotch-Irish blood gave him strong self-reliance, great decision of character, and unyielding integrity. He had an intelligent and noble mother, and the intelligent son well knew how to appreciate her virtues. The success of the speculation with the swine induced young Trimble, in partnership with a Mr. Bell, to make another similar purchase. The enterprise occupied his time for nearly half a year. In the Spring of 1805, the family took possession of the estate in Ohio. Days of timult, terror, and demoniac war soon came. The exasperated Indians rushed, in frenzies of despair, upon our frontier settlements. The British government supplied them with arms and ammunition, and the savage bands were often led to their most inhuman deeds by British officers. Allen had two younger brothers, William and Cary. They accompanied General Hull on his disastrous campaign, and at his surrender became prisoners of war. When exchanged, they again joined the army, and proved brave and efficient soldiers. William subsequently became a member of the United States Senate, and also received from Ohio the important appointment of Indian Commissioner. Allen Trimble rapidly gained reputation in the ever increasing community where he had found his new home. Several offices were conferred upon him, such as Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas and County Recorder. For seven years he occupied these positions, taking up his residence at Hillsborough, the county seat of Hillsborough County. He thus became familiar with the practice of the courts, and being a large landholder and an excellent surveyor, he soon became one of the most prominent men of that region. General Hull's disastrous surrender had exposed the whole Northwestern frontier to the depradations of the Indians. With abundance of ammunition, and armed with the best of English rifles, the injury which these roving bands were able to inflict upon lonely cabins and scattered settlements was awful almost beyond conception. Tales of woe were circulated through the land which caused the ear which heard them to tingle. Mr. Trimble, though a civilian, and having a small family now dependent upon him, volunteered his services to face these perils, and, if possible, to drive back the savages. In two campaigns he rendered efficient service, in 1812 he was appointed colonel of one of the regiments raised in southern Ohio. Valiantly leading this band, he marched to the relief of far distant Fort Wayne, with orders to attack and chastise with the utmost severity the hostile bands on the waters of the Upper Wabash and Eel Rivers. He executed this commission with so much military ability as to merit and receive the warm approval of General Harrison. Upon the expiration of his term of enlistment he returned to his home, to engage in the more congenial occupations of peace. Again, in the year 1813, he promptly responded to a call from Governor Meigs to repair to the cruel fields of battle. A regiment was raised from his own county and the adjoining County of Adams, of which regiment Colonel Trimble was chosen Major. With these troops he marched a couple of hundred miles to the Upper Sandusky. Little does the reader appreciate the HISTORY OF OHIO - 741 significance of such a campaign. The hunger, the fatigue, the exposure ; the dreary march through bogs and streams with ragged shoes and dripping clothes ; the midnight bivouac on the wet soil swept by chill winds and deluged with rain ; the hours of languor, sickness, pain, with no possibilities of relief ; all these circumstances were combined to render this expedition through the wilderness one of extreme suffering. Such was the price which the fathers of Ohio paid for the beautiful domain which they have transmitted as a legacy to their children. Upon the conclusion of this direful war, Colonel Trimble returned to his home, his agricultural pursuits, and to the varied duties of an influential civilian. In 1816 he represented Highland County in the Legislature of the State. The next year he was promoted to a seat in the State Senate. His popularity was great and he was returned to this position by large majorities for four successive terms. In the year 1818 he was chosen Speaker of the Senate, and occupied that chair of honor for eight years by almost unanimous consent. In the year 1826, Allen Trimble was chosen Governor of Ohio. It is said that he retired from the Senate with the reputation of having been the most able presiding officer who had ever occupied the Speaker's chair. His popularity was so great that seventy-one thousand four hundred and seventy-five votes were cast in his favor at the gubernatorial election. This gave him a majority of over sixty-two thousand above three other candidates. The United States Government, interested in the promotion of all those internal improvements which were deemed of national importance, had granted to Ohio five hundred thousand acres of the national domain within the state, to aid in the construction of the great canal. Governor Trimble, aided by Mr. Lewis Davis, of Cincinnati, was commissioned to the performance of the difficult and delicate task of selecting these lands. They spent several weeks in the careful exploration of the Valleys of the Maumee and the Sandusky. The choice they made received the hearty approval of the Legislature. In the year 1828 the State of Ohio was greatly agitated, as was also our whole nation, by one of the most stormy political conflicts our country has ever experienced. The two great parties were arrayed against each other in the most vehement strife. Andrew Jackson led the Democrats ; Henry Clay the Whigs. In this exciting canvass, Governor Trimble was re-elected as the representative of the Whig party. His administration was conducted with wisdom and impartiality which secured the approbation of all candid men. Just before this last election there occurred infinitely the most important event in the earthly life of Governor Trimble. There is no thinking man who can reflect without awe upon that eternal existence which reaches out so sublimely beyond the grave. Compared with it this life, with all its joys and griefs, is indeed hut a dream ; an empty show. Governor Trimble was always a man of the strictest integrity, and of the highest sense of honor. He valued his good name above all price. But for many years he lived without any distinct recognition of his accountability to God. Like many other men, whose consciences will not allow them to do a mean or dishonorable thing, he was living without God in the world. 742 - HISTORY OF OHIO. In the year 1821 he buried three brothers within twelve months. This led him to reflect very seriously upon his own departure, to the spirit land and hi; preparation to stand before God's bar in judgment. One of his sons had be. come a Christian and entered the ministry. The father went to hear his son preach when the young man was still a member of the Ohio University. The proclaiming by his son of salvation, through faith in our atoning Saviour, moved the father's heart as it had never been moved before. This sermon was preached in Hillsborough in the Spring of 1828. The Governor did not make his feelings known at the time. He was then a candidate for the governorship, and the election was near at hand. He feared that his open espousal at that time of the cause of religion might be attributed to a wrong motive. He, however, wrote to his son, referring to the sermon which had roused him to so keen a sense of his own unworthiness in the sight of God, and declaring his earnest desire to become a Christian and to consecrate his energies for the remainder of his days to the promotion of the cause of Christ. After his re-election he, as required by law, repaired to Columbus, to be preseat at the counting of votes for the President and Vice President of the United States. It so happened that at that time there was a very powerful revival of religion in connection with the Methodist Church. Governor Trimble, in a letter to his son, dated November 19, 1828, gives an account of what followed. The reader will be interested in receiving the narrative in the Governor's own words : " Though I was exhausted with the ride and not very well, I determined to go immediately to the church. The house was full to overflowing. Fathers Collins and Elliot were there. The latter was preaching, and half through his sermon, which was animated and powerful. Father Collins gave an exhortation and invited mourners to the altar. I had to pass through a long and narrow way, but resolved to go. When I kneeled I found myself beside my son C., who had no knowledge of my being in the house, for none of the family at church knew of my arrival home. " After a prayer, we were requested to occupy a seat. Not until he arose did C. discover me ; and then his surprise and joy were equally great. He threw his arms around my neck, and when the invitation was given to unite with the society on probation, he proposed to me to go with him and to join the church. I advised him to wait until the next day, and that his mother would probably then go with us. The next morning your sister E. insisted upon being permitted to join with us. After the first sermon, an invitation was given by Father Collins. C. led the way, and we all, your mother, sister, and myself followed. In the evening, after another sermon, mourners were again invited to the altar. No tongue can describe the deep solemnity which pervaded the congregation. " My own feelings I shall never forget. A darkness hung over my mind which produced unutterable anguish. Before the meeting closed I felt a partial gleam of hope, and my mind became more calm. But in the night my fears returned, and I thought I was deceiving myself. Sleep left my eyes and I was in great distress until morning, when Father Collins came in and prayed for us, collect- HISTORY OF OHIO - 743 ively and separately, in a most tender and effecting manner. I told him the state of my mind, and he said that it was no doubt a device of the Devil to throw me back into despair, and that I ought not to indulge in such thoughts, but think only of God's goodness, in providing a Saviour, and by faith lay hold of the promises, trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ ; that if I did so God would pardon all my sins. I have felt very much relieved since then, and ready, I trust, to take up my cross and follow Christ through evil and through good report." From that time, Governor Trimble, having become " a new creature in Christ Jesus," entered upon the life of a consistent, uniform, and exemplary Christian. Openly and energetically he engaged in the service of his Redeemer. Fully convinced that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the wisdom of God and the power of God for the salvation of this lost world, he did everything in his power by his words and his example to win others to the Saviour. He took a lively interest in every thing which related to the progress and purity of the church. For many years he was a trustee of the Ohio Wesleyan University, and a Vice President of the American Bible Society. Governor Trimble's first wife was Miss Margaret McDowell, to whom he was married in the year 1806. The happy union lasted but three years, when death separated them. Soon after he married Miss Rachel Woodrow. For sixty years they shared together the joys and griefs of this momentuous life. Amidst all the cares and agitations of time's stormy battle-field, Governor Trimble ever found refuge in his peaceful home, and in the love of his gentle, intelligent and congenial wife. "The chamber where the good man meets his fate, Is privileged above the common walks of virtuous life, Quite in the verge of heaven. ' The dying hour came ; that hour of indescribable sublimity, when the "chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof" are in attendance, to transport the redeemed soul, through the constellations, to its Father's home, where it is received as a son and an heir. The patriarchal saint had attained the age of eighty-seven years. It was the third of February, 187o. As he reposed upon that peaceful pillow of death, which Jesus can make " soft as downy pillows are," he turned his eyes to the weeping group standing around and said : " The Lord has been my God. It is my earnest prayer that he may be the God of my children, and my children's children to the latest generation. Bless the Lord ! 0, my soul. How thankful I am for the victory." Soon after he sweetly fell asleep. "Asleep in Jesus, blessed sleep, From which none ever wake to weep." Eight months after the death of Governor Trimble his beloved wife followed him to the paradise of God. A very beautiful sketch of Governor Trimble's life and character appeared, soon after his death, in the Ladies Repository, of Cincinnati. It was from the pen of Rev. J. Marley, pastor of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Hillsborough, at the time of Governor Trimble's death. He was intimately acquainted with the governor. To this sketch we are indebted 744 - HISTORY OF OHIO. for several of the most interesting incidents in the above narrative. Very appropriately he closes his article with the verse, " O, may we all like him believe, And keep the faith and win the prize ; Father, prepare, and then receive Our hallowed spirits to the skies, To chant, with all our friends above, Thy glorious, everlasting love." HON. JEREMIAH MORROW. [See page 437.] Gettysburg, Orleans County, Pennsylvania, will in all future time be renowned, for one of the most terrific battles whose thunders ever reverberated upon this war-cursed globe. Neither Marengo nor Austerlitz nor Waterloo has witnessed a more direful and sanguinary conflict. One hundred years ago, upon these then silent fields, a very worthy man of Scotch descent and Scottish intelligence, energy and virtue reared his humble dwelling, and cultivated his silent and lonely yet fertile fields. His son, Jeremiah Morrow, was born on the 6th of October, 17 7 I. The early days of the boy were passed on his father's farm. He worked diligently through the Summer months in the fields, and in the Winter attended a private school which the inhabitants of the little hamlet had established. He was a bright boy and made rapid progress, particularly in his favorite branches of mathematics and surveying. In the year 1795, young Morrow, then twenty-four years of age, left the paternal roof for the boundless field of enterprise for energetic young men, the far West. He first directed his steps to a cluster of a few log cabins at the mouth of the Little Miami River. Only six years before a few emigrants had reared their huts upon that spot and called the place Columbia. It was six miles east from Cincinnati, and was the second place settled in the state. Here the new emigrant, with nothing to depend upon but hand and brain, picked up such jobs as he could find. He taught school. He surveyed land. He worked on farms At length, having saved a little money, and those wild lands over which the savages were roaming being very cheap, he ascended the Little Miami River about twenty miles, into what is now Warren County, where he purchased a large farm. In this profound seclusion he reared a log cabin, and was so fortunate as to persuade Miss Mary Packhill, a young lady of piety, intelligence and amiability, to share his lonely cabin with him. The buds of the Spring of 179g were swelling when he led his bride into their humble home. Ere long quite a flood of emigration commenced, and the increasing community rapidly appreciated the intelligence and moral worth of Jeremiah. Morrow. In 1801 he was elected to the Territorial Legislature, which held its session at Chillicothe. During this session arrangements were made to call a Constitutional Convention to organize the State of Ohio. Mr. Morrow was chosen a delegate to this convention. He was then thirty years of age. Nearly half a century after this, in the year 1850, another convention was HISTORY OF OHIO - 745 assembled, in the opulent City of Columbus, the capital of the majestic state, Mr. Morrow, a venerable man of three score years and ten, was then visiting the capital. The convention passed the following resolution : "Resolved, That the President of this Convention be requested to extend to the Hon. Jeremiah Morrow, of the County of Warren, one of the surviving members of the convention which framed the present Constitution, an invitation to a seat within the bar of this convention during his stay in the city." In 1803 Mr. Morrow was elected to the Senate of Ohio. In June, of the same year, he was chosen the first representative, in the United States Congress, of the new state. Ohio then, and for the ten subsequent years, was entitled to but one member in the lower house of Congress. During that period of five terms. Mr. Morrow worthily represented the state of his adoption. Though making not the slightest claim to oratorical display, his sound common sense ever secured the attention of the House to his remarks. As chairman of the Committee on Public Lands he rendered signal service to Ohio, and to the country at large. The insolent encroachments of the British Government, in arresting and imprisoning on board their men-of-war, without trial, citizens of the United States, upon the simple declaration of a naval officer that such citizens were subjects of Great Britain, roused his indignation! Cordially he sustained the United States Government in the War of 1812, into which it was driven by these outrages. In 1813 the Legislature of Ohio conferred upon Mr. Morrow the honor of a seat in the Senate of the United States. In this august body he was also appointed Chairman of the Committee on Public Lands. With so much wisdom did he discharge these duties that he acquired the reputation of knowing more about the public lands than any other man in the country. He drew up most of the laws for the survey of the public domain.. Henry Clay, in one of his most eloquent speeches in the Senate, alluding to Jeremiah Morrow, said : " A few artless but sensible words, pronounced in his plain Scotch-Irish dialect, were always sufficient to insure the passage of any bill or resolution he reported." In 1814 Mr. Morrow, while a member of the United States Senate, was appointed Indian Commissioner, to treat with the Indian tribes west of the Miami. These tribes, having received great provocations from vagabond white men, were very restless. Mr. Morrow, eminently a fair-minded man, did every thing in his power to conciliate the deeply-wronged savages. He discharged his difficult duties to the perfect satisfaction of the government. Upon leaving the Senate, Mr. Morrow retired to his farm, which had far more charms for him than the agitating scenes of public life. He was an earnest Christian. In his early youth he had become a member of the United Presbyterian Church, and throughout his whole life he continued to take an active interest in its welfare. He was ever ready to contribute of his time and money to promote the religious and intellectual interests of the community. He had no ambition to accumulate property, or to seek posts of honor. In his old age he has been known to walk to church over dusty roads and beneath a blazing sun for a distance of four miles. He is now doubtless reaping the reward which follows the sentence, " Well done, good and faithful servant." 746 - HISTORY OF OHIO. The community will not leave such a man undisturbed in his retreat. In 1822, the almost unanimous voice of the people called him to the Chief Magistracy of Ohio. In 1824 he was reelected. So popular was he, where best known, that, at his first election, but a single vote, in his own township, was cast against him. During his administration the distinguished Governor of New York, De Witt Clinton, by special invitation, visited Ohio. The New York Central Canal, the great achievement of De Witt Clinton's life, was just completed. He was invited to be present at the commencement of the work upon the Ohio Canal, and to deliver an address upon the occasion. During the same year, General La Fayette, the nation's guest, visited Ohio. The enthusiasm of the whole Northwest was roused on this occasion, to confer honor upon the distinguished Frenchman who had so signally aided us in obtaining liberation from the thraldom of Great Britain. He descended, in a flat-bottomed boat, the beautiful river —La Belle Riviere, which his own enterprising countryman had first discovered. At Cincinnati the whole population of the thriving town, with thousands from the surrounding region, flocked to welcome their great benefactor. Governor Morrow met La Fayette at the wharf, and, in a few touching, unaf- fected words, assured him that a nation's heart greeted him with its love and homage. Upon Governor Morrow's retirement from the executive chair, he was still so earnestly solicited to fill several responsible public offices, that he could not well decline, though his inclinations urged him to enjoy the tranquility of an unambitious home. On the 4th of July, 1839, he, being then in the sixty-eighth year of his age, was selected as the most appropriate person to lay the corner stone of the new State Capitol, at Columbus, and to deliver an address on the occasion. In 1840 he was again found in the National House of Representatives ; first, to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Hon. Thomas Corwin, and, soon after, he was chosen for the whole of the succeeding term. The good old patriarch, revered and beloved by all, full of years and honors, then again sought the retreat of the acres which his own hand had hewn from the wilderness. Here the sun of his earthly life gently sank in cloudless serenity and splendor. A plain marble tombstone marks the spot where his body reposes. It bears the simple inscription which, probably, he himself, with characteristic modesty, had directed should be placed upon it "JEREMIAH MORROW, "Died March 22, 1853. " Aged 80 years, 5 months and 16 days." Governor Morrow's treasures were not in this world. He left but little prop. erty. His energy was indomitable. No obstacle, not absolutely insurmountable, could swerve him from his purpose. He was of medium stature, compactly built, and with a boundless kindness of heart, was endowed with much vivacity and cheerfulness of spirit. He was a delightful companion, a deep thinker, and was blessed with a memory which was well stored with anecdotes and with reminiscenses of distinguished men. He was proverbially generous and hospi- table. Of a family of seven children, his eldest son only survived him. CHAPTER XL. LIVES OF THE GOVERNORS - CONTINUED. DUNCAN MCARTHUR, ROBERT LUCAS, JOSEPH VANCE, WILSON SHANNON, THOMAS CORWIN. HON. DUNCAN McARTHUR. [See page 459] Duncan McArthur, who was Governor of Ohio from 1830 to 1832, was like many others of our most successful men of Scottish descent. He was born of poor parents in the year 1772, in Dutchess County, New York. When eight years of age, his parents moved to an humble log cabin in the solemn wilderness of Western Pennsylvania. Duncan was a stout lad and was hired out at day's work and month's work on the adjacent clearings. Nothing can be more cheerless in aspect than the commencement of clearings in the gloomy forest. The dead, girdled trees, with their leafless, skeleton branches deforming the sky ; the blackened stumps ; the decaying trunks of gigantic trees, uprooted by the wind ; the rough and broken soil ; the rank weeds, and the comfortless looking, windowless but of logs, all combine to present a picture which to the eye of taste is revolting. Amid such scenes, a day laborer, coarsely clad and coarsely fed, Duncan McArthur was reared. Little could he then have supposed that he was to become one of the most wealthy men in the nation, that he was to occupy the highest posts of honor, and take his stand as the acknowledged equal of the most distinguished men. He contrived, by occasionally spending a few weeks in school, to pick up a little learning, so that he could read and write. Having naturally a strong and inquisitive mind, he was ever gaining additional education and rising in mental culture. Like most of the young men of his day, who had energy of character and their fortunes to make, he decided to emigrate to the West. With that object in view, and having no money, when about eighteen years of age he enlisted under General Harmar, for his campaign against the Indians north of the Ohio River. In a previous part of this volume we have given an account of that disastrous expedition. Barely surviving the perils and hardships of this terrible campaign, in 1792 he again enlisted as a private in that terrible war with the 748 - HISTORY OF OHIO. savages, which for so many years desolated our western frontiers with smouldering ruins and blood. At the battle of Captina, which was fought in May, 1792, young McArthur took a conspicuous part. The conflict took place in May, 1792, in what is now Belmont County, Ohio. The American troops, a small band, were attacked by an overwhelming force of savages. We find the following statement in reference to this event : " The commanding officer was shot early in the action. McArthur, although the youngest man in the company, was chosen to its command. His conduct on this occasion was such as to elicit the hearty applause of his associates. Young McArthur showed the best of judgment, and fought in such a manner as to protect his men from the fire of their enemies as much as possible. When the order for retreat was finally given, Captain McArthur, with a gallant little band of troops, covered the retreat and ordered the wounded to be sent in advance. This fight made him the general favorite of the frontiersmen." Returning from this campaign, Captain McArthur, still a young man, but twenty years of age, hired himself out for a few months to work at some salt springs in Maysville, Kentucky. Looking for jobs wherever he could find them, he ere long engaged as chain-bearer to assist General Massey in surveying the Scioto Valley. There again he was employed as a scout to watch the proceedings of the Indians and to give warning of their approach. This was one of the most difficult and perilous of enterprises. It required the greatest sagacity, coolness and bravery. The scouts, two only together, had to paddle up the lonely river and penetrate the forests to great distances. They were ever in danger of encountering bands of hundreds of Indian warriors. If captured, death, by the most awful torture, was their inevitable doom. Several of his adventures we have already described. In the Spring of the year 1793, four of these heroic scouts were employed continually to explore the Kentucky bank of the river, a distance of about 150 miles from Maysville east, to the mouth of the Big Sandy. Bands of Indian warriors, more ferocious than wolves, were continually crossing the river from the northern wilds, carrying woe and death to the humble homes of Kentucky. The object of these scouts was to keep a vigilant eye upon the river, and give the immediate alarm when the savages appeared. The names of the four young men who quite signalized themselves in this service were Duncan McArthur, Samuel Davis, Nathaniel Beasley and Samuel McDowell. These heroes went in pairs, through the pathless, uninhabited wilderness, two leaving each extremity of the route each week, and meeting nearly opposite the mouth of the Scioto. The vigilance of the howling savages was such that it was dangerous to fire a gun at game, or to build a fire, lest the smoke by day or the gleam by night should bring the moccasined foe, with his soft tread, upon them. Occasionally the four would unite in exploring some solitary stream. Two would, as noiselessly as possible, screening themselves beneath the overhanging foliage, paddle the birch canoe, while the other two would advance on foot, through the dense forest, about a mile in advance, keeping a sharp lookout. After spending several months in these perilous labors, Captain McArthur HISTORY OF OHIO - 749 again engaged in the service of General Massey, as assistant surveyor. In thiS employment he was occupied for several years. He assisted in laying out several towns, and among others, Chillicothe, where finally he took up his residence. It was in this service that he laid the foundation of his large fortune, for thuS he became acquainted with the richest lands in Ohio, and was enabled to make investments which afterwards brought him in perhaps an hundred fold. With increasing wealth and reputation, and ever growing confidence in his own abilities, he began to feel ambitious of political distinction. There were, however, other men in his county of equal ambition, and men of far higher intellectual acquirements. Captain McArthur had formidable rivals to contend against. In the year 1805 he was elected to the State Legislature. His roundabout common sense and his industry enabled him to take, from the beginning, a very respectable position in that body. His services as a soldier influenced him to take a deep interest in the military organization of the state, and he rose in office until he attained the rank of major general. In the war of 1812, he marched, as colonel of one of the Ohio regiments, to Detroit with General Hull. In this unfortunate expedition Colonel McArthur was second in command. Upon the surrender he became a prisoner of war to the English, and being released on his parole, returned to Ohio, deeply mortified and exasperated. Much as General Hull's military character suffered from this expedition, the reputation of Colonel McArthur remained unblemished. Soon after this he was elected a member of the Congressional Legislature on the Jeffersonian, or Democratic, ticket. He succeeded Hon. Jeremiah Morrow, and was elected by an unprecedented majority. Being released from his parole by exchange, he immediately resigned his seat in Congress and re-entered the army as brigadier general, under General Harrison. In 1814 he succeeded General Harrison in command of the Northwestern army. He proved an able and a gallant officer. At the battle of Malcolm's Mills he defeated the British_ with great loss on their side. Upon the declaration of peace, General McArthur again retired to his farm.. But he was immediately sent to the Legislature, and soon after was appointed Commissioner to the Indians at Detroit, Fort Meigs and St. Marys. For three. years he was employed in these arduous duties, by appointment of the President of the United States. After filling several state offices, he was again, in 1822,, sent a representative to Congress from the Chillicothe district. Having served one term very acceptably, he declined a re-election, and devoted his energies to his long neglected private affairs. He was now a man of large wealth, and his business was widely extended, in furnaces, mills, and real estate. In 1830 he was chosen Governor of Ohi0. The two years of his administration passed tranquilly in the ordinary routine of business. Weary of public life, he retired to his beautiful residence, called " Fruit Hill," near Chillicothe. Here he spent the evening of his days until his death, which occurred in 1840, in the 68th year of his age. About ten years before an accident befel him at Columbus by which he was dreadfully mangled, and which caused him the most excruciating pain. This accident was the ultimate cause of his death. Governor McArthur was emphatically the architect of his own fortune. He died, leaving to his children the legacy of a good name and a large estate.