Historical Collections of Ohio

By Henry Howe

Vol. I

©1888

 

FRANKLIN COUNTY—Continued

 

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most praiseworthy efforts of the officers and employees, the main building was totally destroyed, and several of the side wings greatly damaged. One hundred of the 614 inmates were sent home owing to this calamity, and the remainder were crowded into the buildings which had escaped destruction, where the good work of the institution was carried on notwithstanding the inconvenience of insufficient room, for three years before the work of rebuilding had been completed. Profiting by the experience of this disaster, fire proof materials were used in the construction of the new building; and additional security for the safety of the inmates in case of fire, provided by iron stairways erected on the outside walls of the building leading from each story and extending several feet away from the outside walls of the lower windows to the ground. Electric bells also communicate with the main office from every quarter of the building, so that a fire alarm can be instantly given and the fire located.

 

Objects of the Institution–At the close of the last school year, July, 1888, the institution contained 725 inmates, and it is a sad fact to record that only 125 had homes to visit during the vacation season, leaving 600 idiots without any home except that provided by the State.

 

“The important objects of the institution are the amelioration of the condition of the imbecile, the accompanying relief of the family of the burden of care and anxiety for them and their future, by so training them that they may attain the greatest possible degree of self-helpfulness and even usefulness; the obtaining of such information as will reduce as far as possible the hereditary and accidental cases of idiocy and imbecility by so informing the world in regard to the conditions liable to their production that they may be avoided. The first is accomplished by the careful training and development of the child, surrounding it with the most efficient influence for the unfolding of a capacity for usefulness in its station. The second, by the careful study of the cases individually, as near as possible, to the events that have reduced them to the condition, and which will offer a better opportunity to arrive at reliable conclusions, no matter how patiently the histories may be pursued at a later age.

 

Fortunately, the rights of the child to its opportunity for education go hand in hand with the sympathies of all in this case; indeed, they have the double right as enjoined by the people, not only of special means of education, but of the care and custody of those of minds diseased. If the duty of caring for them at all is enjoined, then, certainly, the doing of it in the best manner is not to be questioned. There is no excuse for neglecting them as children, that they may be taken charge of when of adult age and size, to be cared for frequently in all respects as infants whose infancy has been prolonged by neglect. Nor is there reason for the admission to an institution of an adult imbecile for simple care and custody, to the exclusion of a young and improvable child from a family of young children, who may be saved from the depressing influence of being reared with such associations, and from which they never recover, the parents from the discouragements and depression which frequently causes pauperism of the whole family.

 

The duty of the public to provide for all is clear, but in making provision for them it should be done in an intelligent and efficient manner, with the view of lessening the burden to the utmost by the highest possible development of them as children, in order that they may, when of adult age and strength, contribute to the extent of their ability toward their own support. To the State it matters little whether a helpless case is in an institution or in the family; if there should be any difference it would be in favor of the institution, even granting the best of care possible in the family. In the institution their care is associate and with proper facilities. In families they are single and do not have these facilities, and are expensive to the State in the proportion that their helplessness withdraws from the general body of workers and producers to attend upon them; their condition frequently requiring the public to support a whole family on account of one imbecile member consuming the energies of those who should give it support while sustaining all the others dependent upon them. The object of the institution is to prevent this condition of things by assuming the care and development of the child.

 

Beauty of the Location.–A ride of about two miles directly west from the state house at Columbus brings the visitor to the site of the present institution. Passing through the entrance gate one cannot fail to be impressed with the beauty of the grounds. A broad avenue, shaded on each side by overhanging branches of rows of trees, leads to the main building, which is upon a rising knoll, about one-eighth of a mile from the main entrance. Immediately in front of the buildings is a magnificent park of many acres and covered with grand old trees, under which the inmates pass many a happy hour deriving the benefit of healthful exercise in the air and bright sunlight. In the woodland beyond the park are about thirty Shetland ponies, which are the property of the superintendent and have been provided for the amusement of the juveniles of the establishment.

 

We were conducted through the buildings and grounds by Miss Harriet F. PURPLE, who has been the able and efficient matron of the institution for nearly thirty years. Every department gave evidence of a system of management which only years of experience, devotion and intelligence on the part of those in charge could produce.

 

 

 

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these unfortunates, the results obtained by persistent effort and great patience on the part of the teachers is most beneficial in the majority of cases, while the proficiency obtained by some of the pupils excites the wonder of visitors.

 

Devices for Instruction.–In the department containing low-grade pupils the work of instruction is necessarily slow and laborious. Many on entering are unable to talk, and the teacher considers that much has been accomplished when the pupil’s mind and attention has been concentrated upon one special object. Many ingenious devices have been invented for this purpose. Bright-colored toys, strings of beads and similar articles are given to the children, who finally learn to separate and fit together the different parts. When evidence is thus given of the possibility of advancement it is taken advantage of and the especial point reached opens an avenue for further development.

 

In the high-grade department the pupils are taught geography, arithmetic, history, penmanship, calisthenics, etc., and while considerable difficulty is experienced owing to weak memory the results accomplished by patient and persistent effort are remarkable when a comparison is made between the condition of the pupil before and after receiving the benefits of the institution. Examples in arithmetic of no little difficulty are solved, the specimens of penmanship are remarkably well done, while considerable proficiency is shown in geography and history.

 

An Exhibition in Calisthenics.–We were favored with an exhibition of calisthenics, which was most skilfully executed, the pupils going through the different movements to musical accompaniment and without an error. Their leader was a boy about seventeen years of age, whose display of memory in leading the pupils through a long series of movements was most remarkable. When the performance was over the class went through several intricate marching figures, each in turn depositing their dumb-bells in the space designed for them at the end of the hall, and marched out of the door, the sound of their footsteps marking perfect time to the music as it gradually died away in the distance.

 

The Imbeciles’ Band of Music.–We were next favored with a performance that excited wonder and surprise that such results could be obtained in an art that requires not only many long hours of faithful, laborious study, but also intelligence and natural aptitude. We refer to the concert by the band of the institution. This organization is composed of about thirty-five performers and is what is known as a military reed band, the leading instruments being composed of wood or reed wind instruments, such as clarionets, flutes, piccolos, oboes, bassoons and saxaphones. Good performers on the last three named instruments are very rare everywhere, owing to the difficulty in mastering them.

 

Standard overtures, operatic selections, and even classical compositions of the old masters are performed by this band and in a style that would do credit to professional musicians. Only those who have studied the beautiful art of music can fully appreciate what an immense amount of labor and perseverance it requires to go through the many intricate steps that are necessary to bring a band of musicians of normal intelligence to a degree of proficiency. That so much has been accomplished by this band of feeble-minded musicians is another evidence of the efficient work that is being accomplished at this institution toward the improvement, development and happiness of this unfortunate class of our fellow-citizens.

 

While permanent cures of idiocy are seldom effected, yet there are instances in the history of this institution where they have occurred and the patients became useful citizens. We were told of one man who, having learned the carpenters’ trade at the institution, is now earning $2.50 a day working at his trade and has saved sufficient money to buy a home. While cures are only possible when idiocy is caused by disease, the improvability of all is practicable to a greater or less degree, except with the class known as “cretins.” Some of these latter are congenital cases, deformed in body as well as in mind, and are generally small in stature, with large, flat heads, thick necks and short limbs.

 

Their Gratitude.–While physically they are capable of improvement, little can be done to advance their mental condition. Sometimes they are taught to say a few words, and they also understand some things that are said to them, but their condition is more like that of the lower order of dumb animals than of human beings. The kindness and humanity that governs all the officers and teachers in their treatment of the inmates is fully appreciated by the “cretins,” who show affection and gratitude for their attendants similar to that of a dog for his master. Generally the inmates are feeble and stunted in body as well as under size. Children apparently ten or twelve years of age we found to be on inquiry sixteen to eighteen. In going through the institution it seems as the home of one huge family.

 

Consanguinity, or the inter-marriage of persons of the same kin, contrary to the general public impression, is not a prolific source of imbecility. The records of this institution, for all that period of time from its foundation to the date of the fire of 1881, showed that comparatively few cases could be charged to consanguinity. That these records were destroyed by the fire is a great misfortune, as much valuable matter, from which to form a basis of calculation as to the causes of idiocy and its prevention, was thereby lost.

 

 

 

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come very good shoemakers, tailors, carpenters, and plumbers, and not only do all necessary work of this kind for the institution, but thus obtain a means of livelihood upon leaving it. One man is employed in the plumbing department who has shown remarkable mechanical skill in the building of a working miniature engine. Although almost a hopeless idiot, the constructive faculty has been developed when other faculties of the mind were totally deficient.

 

The beautiful and extensive surroundings, consisting of 188 acres, contribute not a little toward the mental as well as physical improvement of the inmates. The garden supplies all of the vegetables used here. Milk is furnished by a fine herd of cows, fifty in number, who have been trained to enter the barn at certain hours, walking in single file, each one stepping out of the line into its own accustomed feeding-place as it comes to it. They are milked night and morning by the inmates.

 

Healthfulness.–That there is so little sickness in an institution filled with persons, whose infirmities cause weak and delicate constitutions, is owing to the perfection of its sanitary regulations. In its entire history there has been but one epidemic which was attended with serious results: that was in November, 1882, when there were 183 cases of scarlet fever. The death-rate was the largest since the foundation of the asylum. The school-rooms and dormitories were converted into hospital-rooms, and the teachers and attendants became nurses. Every precaution was taken to prevent the spread of the disease, which finally disappeared after twelve weeks of self-sacrificing devotion, courage and fortitude of the attendants, during which time they were constantly exposed to the dangers of a disease, the results of which are fearful even when death does not ensue.

 

The General Results.–The reports show that 69 per cent. of its inmates learn to work, 74 per cent. to read and write, 43 per cent. make useful progress in arithmetic, while all are improved in personal habits.

 

A Public Duty.–With the increase in population of the State, and consequent larger number of this unfortunate class, the necessity for making permanent provision, and enabling them to make the best possible use of such faculties as they already possess, together with the necessity for placing them under such restrictions as will prevent the increase and perpetuation of their kind, must be apparent to every thoughtful citizen; and this the spirit of humanity demands of the State.

 

Except in very few cases this class is not fitted to go out into the world; yet under proper management a large proportion could not only earn sufficient to support themselves, but largely aid in the support of their kind. There is at the present time a large number of adult imbeciles who have arrived at maturity since entering this institution, and this number is constantly increasing. They have no place to go except to the county infirmaries, or to wander at large through the community, dependent upon the charity of the public for support; no longer under improving influences, but relapsing into their former helpless condition, to become criminals or paupers. The institution is at present crowded far beyond its capacity, and between 300 and 400 applications for admission were refused last year owing to this fact.

 

An Outlook for the Future.–For the permanent provision of this class it has been suggested that an appropriation should be made by the General Assembly to purchase a large tract of land at a convenient distance from the institution, on which should be erected plain and substantial farm-buildings, with all needful appliances for the various industries of the farm and workshop. As there are in the asylum at the present time a sufficient number of unemployed inmates to work 1,000 acres of land, the value of such an arrangement needs no argument. The sale of the products of the farm and workshops would realize enough to pay all its expenses, thereby utilizing what has been heretofore a public expense and burden, and permitting the asylum to carry out the objects of its foundation.

 

The education of the feeble-minded youth in Ohio has been unusually successful, and it is the largest institution of the kind on the globe. Its success is largely owing to the ability and efficiency of both past and present trustees and officers, and the untiring energy and zeal of its superintendent, Dr. G. A. DOREN, who, having held this position since 1859, has made the bettering of the condition of this class his life-work.

 

The officers and trustees in 1888 are: Trustees–Silas A. CONRAD, Massillon; Robert MEHAFFEY, Herring; Benjamin B. WOODBURY, Chardon; Edward SQUIRE, Defiance; Ross J. ALEXANDER, Bridgeport; superintendent, G. A. DOREN; steward, George EVANS.

 

THE OHIO PENITENTIARY.

 

The penitentiary system was introduced into Ohio in 1815. Previous to that date certain crimes, afterward punishable by imprisonment in the penitentiary, were punished by whipping. For instance, upon conviction of larceny the offender was sentenced to be whipped; not exceeding thirty stripes on the naked back for the first offence, and not exceeding fifty stripes upon a second conviction for a like offence.

 

In 1815 was enacted the first Ohio statute for the punishment of larceny by imprisonment in the State prison. It provided that conviction of larceny of the value of ten dollars and upward should be punishable by imprisonment at hard labor for not less than one nor more than seven years. In 1821 the amount of larceny to constitute a State-prison offence was increased to fifty dollars, but, in 1835, was reduced to the present amount–thirty-five dollars.

 

 

 

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1813, on a ten-acre lot in the southwest corner of Columbus, which was conveyed to the State for that purpose by the original proprietors of the town. It was a brick building fronting on Scioto street; the dimensions were sixty by thirty feet and three stories in height, which included the basement partly below ground. The basement contained the living-rooms of the prisoners, and could only be entered from the prison-yard. The second story was the keeper’s residence. The third or upper story contained the prisoners’ cells, thirteen in number, nine of which were light and four dark cells.

 

The prison-yard, about 100 feet square, was enclosed by a stone wall from fifteen to eighteen feet high.

 

In 1818 a new brick building was erected, and the prison-yard enlarged to about 400 by 160 feet, enclosed by stone walls twenty feet high and three feet thick, with a plank floor and hand-railing on the top. Workshops were arranged within the yard. The new building was 150 by 34 feet, two stories high, and formed a connecting-line with the old building, which was remodelled as a residence for the keeper.

 

The dining-room, kitchen, and fifty-four cells occupied the ground floor of the new building; below ground, accessible only by a trap-door in the hall, were five dark and solitary cells, and on the second floor two adjoining rooms served for a hospital.

 

Until 1819 the keeper or warden was appointed by five inspectors chosen by the Legislature. That year, however, the office of State agent was created, and both agent and keeper elected by the Legislature for a term of three years. It was the State agent’s duty to receive from the keeper all manufactured articles, make sales, collect debts, and pay over to the State treasurer all cash receipts. The office of State agent was abolished in 1822.

 

The first warden or keeper of the penitentiary was James KOOKEN. At that time the prison contained but few convicts, the keeper was kind-hearted and as lenient as was consistent with official duty, and, there being at times but little work for the prisoners, they were permitted to indulge in various amusements, one of which was ball-playing; and when as sometimes happened, the ball was knocked over the prison walls, a dog they had trained for the purpose would run to the main entrance, summon the guard, pass out, get the ball, and return with it to the players.

 

The labor of the prisoners was employed in blacksmithing, cabinetmaking, gunsmithing, wagon-making, shoemaking, coopering, weaving, and tailoring, the manufactured articles being sold or exchanged for provisions or raw materials.

 

Attempts at Escape.–There were more or less individual attempts to escape, but only one outbreak at all general in its character. One day, during the year 1830, about a dozen prisoners, under the leadership of a daring fellow, Smith MAYTHE by name, secreted themselves near the outer door of the prison, and, when the turnkey unlocked the door, MAYTHE sprang upon him, securing a firm hold, while his companions rushed out. Then, releasing the turnkey he bounded out, and joining his fellow-conspirators fled to some woods a short distance southeast of the prison. Their liberty was short-lived, however, for soon they were all recaptured and returned to the prison. MAYTHE, the leader, was eventually hung by a mob in Kentucky for an attempt at robbery and murder.

 

Liberties to Convicts.–Previous to 1836 convicts were frequently taken out to work in different parts of the town, and sometimes without a guard. Among others who were allowed great liberties in this respect was one SCOTT, a printer, who was permitted to earn money, a part of which he was allowed to keep for himself, by working at his trade outside the prison. On one occasion he got uproariously drunk, and, meeting Gov. LUCAS on the street, he besought him to grant him a pardon, and backed up by the whiskey he had imbibed, became very urgent, much to the governor’s discomfiture. Perhaps it is needless to state that Mr. SCOTT served out his full term, and with restricted privileges.

 

The Asiatic Cholera.–In the summer of 1833 the cholera broke out in Columbus, and soon became epidemic within the penitentiary. Out of 303 convicts few were exempt from sickness. One hundred were confined in the hospital, forty of them with pronounced genuine cholera, and there were eleven deaths before the disease disappeared.

 

In 1849, the prison having been removed to its present quarters, the cholera again made its appearance, and with a fatality that was appalling; and notwithstanding every precaution, more than one-fourth of the inmates became its victims.

 

Heroic Devotion.–It broke out in the prison on the 30^th day of June, having previously prevailed in Columbus and surrounding towns for eight or ten days. The first day there were two fatal cases, and the daily mortality increased to five on July 7, eight the day following, and twelve on the 9^th of July. Dr. LATHROP, the regular prison physician, was attacked by the disease July 3; fifty to sixty new cases were occurring daily, and, although Dr. TREVITT was in attendance, having been called the first day the epidemic broke out, Dr. LATHROP felt that his duty was at his post; and although advised by his physicians to keep his bed, totally unfit for any labor, on the 6^th of July he was again at work administering to the sick and dying. His heroic devotion cost him his life five days later.

 

 

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MORRISON. Medical students and citizens where also engaged as attendants and nurses.

 

Distressing Scenes and Panic.–The hospital being crowded the abandoned workshops were divided into wards, nurses and attendants assigned, and they were soon filled with the sick and dying. Just at this time, when their services were most needed, the guards fled, panic-stricken. Necessarily discipline was very much relaxed. For sixteen days and nights the cell doors remained unlocked and the prisoners commingled freely. Some of them were stoically indifferent to their surroundings, others were manly, heroic, and rendered very efficient service in ministering to the sick, while another class of prisoners were filled with nervous fear and trembling, imploring physicians, attendants and nurses, with piteous cries, to speak to the governor and have them pardoned out.

 

Governor Ford acted with great discretion in this emergency. An article written by Hon. Charles B. FLOOD and published in

 

Drawn by Henry Howe in 1846.

THE OHIO PENITENTARY.

[The above view was drawn from the west bank of the Scioto. Since then the front has been changed and the institution greatly enlarged, while the vicinity has been made black and grim with Iron works and other hives of solid labor.]

 

 

 

Cincinnati long after the incidents occurred, describes his action: “When the cholera broke out in the Ohio penitentiary Gov. FORD was absent from Columbus. To be used in extraordinary cases, he had left a small number of blank pardons with Mr. Samuel GALLOWAY, the secretary of state. The scene in the penitentiary and in the city was fearful. GALLOWAY could not withstand the piteous appeals for liberty, and he soon exhausted the pardons and wrote to FORD at his home in Burton, Geauga county, for more. This the governor refused, but wrote Mr. GALLOWAY that he would come down to Columbus immediately. He did so; went to the prison, examined the hospital and patients, assembled the convicts and told them that no pardons would be issued while the cholera was in the prison; that to those who behaved well, nursed the sick and aided in cleaning the prison, pardons on the recommendations of the officers would be freely granted when the danger was passed; even those who had homes to go to could not be half as well nursed or attended to as in the prison hospital, and that the appearance of a single man in the neighborhood who was known to have been in prison and pardoned because of the cholera would create alarm and perhaps produce the much-dreaded disease. The men were satisfied. The effect in the city was good, and the heroism and good sense of Gov. FORD were much commended. At the risk of his life he personally went among the sick and personally attended to their wants. July 10th the epidemic reached its height, the number of deaths being twenty-two, a greater mortality than on any other single day. On that day Dr. GARD was attacked and Dr. LATHROP again stricken down by the disease. The two heroes both died noble sacrifices on the altar of professional zeal and large-hearted humanity. On July 11th Dr. G. W. MARIS filled the vacancy caused by Dr. GARD’S fatal sickness, and from this date the virulence of the epidemic gradually declined until July 30th, when the last death from cholera occurred.

 

Number of Deaths.–During the thirty days of the epidemic 116 prisoners had died from cholera, and out of 413 convicts, the number had been reduced by deaths and pardons to 273. With the subsidence of the disease the prison discipline was gradually resumed.

 

When the cholera prevailed in Columbus between August 30th and November 29th of the year 1850 there were twenty-two deaths attributed to dysentery and other disease by the regular prison physician, but since then the prison has been exempt from epidemic diseases.

 

 

 

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Otis CROSBY, Samuel CROSBY and D. W. DESHLER–succeeded in securing the property for the State and guaranteed a perfect title. The property consisted of fifteen acres of land, to which was added a small strip purchased of John BRICKELL for $50 by the directors of the penitentiary. The whole site cost the State but $800.

 

Work was started on the building in 1832 by the preparation of much of the material, but the structure itself was not commenced until the following spring, and operations were suspended during the summer owing to the cholera epidemic. Convicts were employed in the work. When the building of the new penitentiary was begun, convicts whose time would not expire before its completion were promised a pardon when the building was finished if they would faithfully perform the tasks assigned them and make no attempt to escape. Those making this promise were employed accordingly, and in no case was there a violation of the terms.

 

New Rules and Regulations.–In 1834 the new building was occupied; and in 1835, with a new building, new officers, new rules and regulations, the old system of barter was abandoned and the present system of hiring the convicts by the day to contractors and manufacturers, who employed them in the prison workshops, was inaugurated. Rules of great severity were rigidly enforced which have been relaxed of late years and kindness and humane treatment substituted, with the object of reformation as well as punishment of the offender. Solitary confinement instead of the “shower bath” and the “cat” is now used to bring the refractory convict into subjection.

 

In 1837, at the east end of the main building, an addition was constructed which contained eleven cells, with capacity for twice that number. This addition was used as a separate apartment for female prisoners.

 

The cost of the new penitentiary, when completed, was $93,370, besides 1,113,462 days of convict labor expended upon it. The buildings and prison walls formed a hollow square containing about six acres of land, which was increased in 1868 by the addition and enclosure of ten acres of land lying north of the prison. These ten acres of land were purchased from the representatives of Dr. Lincoln GOODALE at a cost of $20,000.

 

New Humanizing Features.–Many improvements have been made in the labor system since the adoption of the contract plan; a recent one is that of having piece-work given out to the convicts, who are thus stimulated to greater industry, and many of them, by increased application to their labors, often leave the prison upon the expiration of their sentences with sufficient money saved by working extra time to start them in useful callings. During our visit mention was made of one prisoner who will shortly leave with $540 earned in that way. The habits of industry thus acquired, with the consciousness of possessing the reward of faithful efforts, cannot fail to have a beneficial effect upon criminals and do much toward making them honest and industrious citizens.

 

All prisoners who are physically able are employed in the different labor departments. Those who are experienced in any particular trade upon entering the prison are given work in their specialty; but the majority of the convicts have never learned trades when first imprisoned.

 

In the female department a number of the inmates are employed making stogies, and we were informed during a recent visit to the institution that in every instance the trade was learned in the prison. The cooking and laundry work in this department is all done by the female prisoners. At the present time there are only about thirty-five females in the department, who are entirely separated from the rest of the prisoners. It has two dark cells or dungeons, which are seldom used, as the women generally are well behaved.

 

The Reformatory Principle.–Every effort is made to improve the moral and religious condition of the convicts, and to carry out the reformatory principle as far as possible. Religious exercises are held every Sunday, in which the prisoners take an active part. The prison Sunday-school is divided into classes that are taught by different teachers from the city. Convicts who are members of the Catholic denomination have a large chapel devoted to their special use. The uneducated are obliged to attend night-school for a few hours every evening, with the exception of a few vacation months in the summer. The prison library, which contains over 2,000 volumes, besides a large number of monthly magazines, furnishes another means for intellectual improvement, and is a great aid to moral reformation. Humanity and kindness is shown in every possible way in the treatment of the prisoners, every incitement to good behavior given them. As a result of the influences, out of over 1,200 convicts there are not over six or seven daily infractions of the rules.

 

The Suit of Honor.–the prisoners are graded by different-colored clothing. The wearing of a suit of clothes striped gray and white instead of striped black and white is a badge of good behavior. The plan was suggested by the prisoners themselves, originated here, and works so well that this “Ohio idea” is being copied in other States. To entitle the prisoner to don the gray he must sign a special agreement to implicitly obey all the rules and regulations in spirit as well as in letter, and must for six months receive the highest possible rating for good behavior. With these conditions fully met, the convict becomes entitled to his mark of honor–the suit of gray. The plan works well as a reformatory measure.

 

 

 

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In the insane department of the penitentiary there are at present about twenty-five inmates, who are given the best medical treatment, and owing to their unfortunate condition of mind are allowed many privileges. Being incapacitated from work of any kind they exercise in the yard adjoining, and are only locked in their cells at night. Many of the convicts feign insanity with the hope of being sent to this department to enjoy its freedom and idleness; but such attempts at imposition are soon discovered. There are also numerous applications for admittance to the hospital by those who are perfectly well and under the plea of sickness hope to escape work.

 

Hopefulness of Life convicts.–At present about 125 convicts are serving life sentences, and we were surprised to learn that this class of prisoners, instead of giving way to the hopelessness of their position, are generally in a cheerful frame of mind, and seldom realize that the remainder of their lives are to be spent in prison; they invariably expect that through some unforeseen good fortune or a pardon they will regain the liberty of which their crimes have deprived them.

 

The cells are built of stone and have iron barred doors; they are about 4 x 7 feet in size, and are not occupied by the prisoners during the day, as they are then engaged in the workshops. Each cell contains a bed or cot, which can be turned up against the side wall, and the furniture is of the simplest kind, although they are permitted to furnish them more expensively if they or their friends have the means to do so. There are two stories or tiers of cells in each section of the prison; they face the outside walls of the buildings in which they are located, having wide corridors between them and the walls. Dampness in the lower cells is avoided by an air-duct, which runs under the stone flooring.

 

When Gen. MORGAN escaped from the Ohio penitentiary, during the war, he discovered the existence of this air-passage by sounding the floor of the cell; and having secretly obtained a case-knife, he cut through the stone flooring until this passage was reached and the hole made large enough to admit his body to the space below, when he crawled through the passage to the outside of the prison, and thus gained his freedom. The cell occupied by this famous rebel raider still shows the marks of his work, but the air-passage now opens inside instead of outside of the prison-walls.

 

The Condemned Murderers’ Quarters.–In the east end of the penitentiary is located the annex which has recently been constructed for the accommodation of criminals condemned to death. It consists of three rooms, one of which is called the cage, because one side of it is protected by an iron lattice-work partition. It is the place of confinement for the condemned criminal, who for several days previous to his execution has what is called the death-watch set upon him; this vigil is kept by guards on the outer side of the latticed partition; here also is a large alarm-clock, which rings a bell every half hour of the night, so as to insure wakefulness on the part of the guard on duty.

 

The Execution Room.–On the south side of the cage and guard-room is built a stairway, which the prisoner ascends when going to execution. A door at the top of this stairway opens on a balcony built in the adjoining execution room. On this balcony, which is about seven feet above the floor of the execution room, is the death-trap. The doomed prisoner stands upon the trap, a cap is drawn over his head, the rope adjusted, and at a given signal a string is touched, which opens the trap, and the prisoner falls about six feet, when the rope tautens with a jerk and the neck is broken by the force of the fall. Most criminals condemned to death declare their innocence to the last, but they rarely meet death with calm demeanor.

 

So superior is the management of the Ohio penitentiary, that convicts are sent here both by the United States and also by some of the Territories, their expenses being paid by the government sending them. At present there are ten Apache Indians sent here by the United States authorities to serve sentences of from ten to thirty years for manslaughter. These prisoners have been employed in weaving chair-seats, no difficulty having been experienced in making these representatives of a wild and savage race maintain the best behavior. We were informed that they had killed a number of their own race, members of a hostile tribe, in revenge for some injury done.

 

The Parole system.–In 1885 a parole system was inaugurated at the Ohio penitentiary, in pursuance of an act passed by the Legislature on May 4th of that year. Section 8 of that act is as follows:

 

That said Board of Managers shall have power to establish rules and regulations under which any prisoner who is now, or hereafter may be, imprisoned under a sentence other than for murder in the first or second degree, who may have served the minimum term provided by law for the crime for which he was convicted, and who has not previously been convicted of a felony, and served a term in a penal institution, may be allowed to go upon parole outside the buildings and enclosures, but to remain, while on parole, in legal custody and under the control of the board, and subject at any time to be taken back within the enclosure of said institution; and full power to enforce such rules and regulations, and to retake and reimprison any convict so upon parole, is hereby conferred upon said board, whose written order, certified by its secretary, shall be a sufficient warrant for all officers named therein, to authorize such officer to return to actual custody any conditionally released or paroled prisoner, and it is hereby made the duty of all officers to execute said order the same as ordinary criminal process.

 

 

 

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Bertillon’s Method for Identification.–In 1887 the penitentiary management adopted what is known as the Alphonse BERTILLON’S new method for the identification of criminals by anthropometic descriptions. This system looks more directly to the detection of recidivists–a term applied to confirmed criminals–and, when carefully applied, renders their identification as certain as can be made.

 

It consists of certain measurements and “notation of various bone dimensions which remain unchangeable on the same subject, and which are recorded in a uniform way. These are principally the stature or height of the figure, the length and width of the head, the length of the foot, middle finger, etc.”

 

The measurements are by the metric system and has, with its corresponding classification, been carried on in France for the past four years, during which time, from 1882 till April, 1886, eight hundred and seventy-three (873) criminals under assumed names were recognized.

 

Warden R. W. McCLAUGHRY, of the Joliet, Illinois, State Penitentiary, who presented this subject in a thoroughly comprehensive paper, with practical illustrations of methods employed, at the late Prison Congress, held at Toronto, Canada, quotes Mr. BERTILLON as saying, that, in respect to the “identification of a criminal under an assumed name is, as far as the general welfare is concerned, equivalent to his direct arrest on the public highway for some other crime.” Under the existing law of our State relating to “habitual criminals,” the system of identification of recidivists–a second or third termer–who appears under an assumed name, becomes a matter of the first importance. The method of taking measurements is entirely simple and expeditious–“an operation requiring two or three minutes of time, and within the range of the intelligence of an ordinary man.” This system is now employed in our State Penitentiary, and has the approbation of the entire management, and will be carefully applied, and will, no doubt, in time yield satisfactory results.

 

The State Board of Pardons was created; in 1888. Section 2 of the act providing for this board reads as follows:

 

SEC. 2. Every applicant for the granting of a pardon, commutation of sentence, or reprieve, of a person duly convicted of crime, shall be made directly to said board, which shall carefully consider the same, and shall thereupon recommend in writing to the governor, the advisability of granting or rejecting said application. They shall also transmit to the governor, with their recommendation, a full and concise statement of the facts in each case, together with all papers and documents pertaining thereto.

 

This board consists of Lorenzo D. HAGERTY, President, Henry KAHLO, Thomas T. THOMPSON, Nathan DRUCKER and Charles E. PRIOR, Secretary, ex-officio.

 

The statistics of the penitentiary furnish some very interesting facts. For the year ending Oct. 31, 1887, the number of convicts enrolled was 649, of whom 636 were males, 13 females; 579 of these were whites and 70 colored. Seventeen were under 17 years of age, 296 were between 21 and 30, and 18 between 60 and 76 years of age. One hundred and five cannot read, 275 have a common school education, 17 have a high-school education, and 8 a collegiate education. Four hundred and five confess to intemperate habits. Number of first convictions 567; second convictions, 69; and third convictions, 10.

 

The present management of the institution is most efficient. Dr. A. G. BYERS, Secretary of the Board of State Charities, in his twelfth annual report to the General Assembly, says:

 

The Management.–“Having been familiar for nearly a quarter of a century with the management of the penitentiary, I feel it due to the present board of Managers, without any reflection upon preceding boards, to say that in the selection of officers, in the supervision of prison labor, in patient investigation of disciplinary measures, and in the exercise of official and personal interest in individual prisoners, the board has manifested an unusual interest and a wise discrimination in the discharge of its duty, that has brought the institution to a higher standard of prison management than was ever attained before.

 

The warden (E. G. COFFIN) has developed more than ordinary qualifications for his position, attributing the success of his administration to the wise counsel and generous support of the Board of Managers and to the efficient co-operation of his deputy, W. B. CHERRINGTON, and subordinate officers. This modest appreciation of his own service is possible the best indication of a capacity to command the service of others.

 

Earnings.–Just what the financial operations of the year have been cannot now be stated, but it is probable that the earnings of the year have fully equalled the expenditures. If this end has been attained there can be no just grounds of complaint.

 

No public interest demands a revenue to the State from prison labor.”

 

Board of Managers.–Jacob J. JOHNSON, New Lexington; Isaac D. SMEAD, Toledo; Thomas MURPHY, Zanesville; Robert M. ROWND, Columbus; William R. PHIPPS, Cincinnati; J. W. CLEMENTS, Secretary, Hamilton.

 

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

 

 

 

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manifold misfortunes, the amiability with which he encountered personal reverses, the fortitude with which he endured calumny will be recounted. Men will do justice to the services he rendered us in our darkest hours, and he will leave an enduring and an honorable fame.”

 

Irvin McDOWELL was of Scotch-Irish descent, and the branch from whence he sprang were early emigrants to Kentucky. He was born in 1818, was educated at West Point, served in the Mexican war, and died in San Francisco in 1885, having been retired in 1882 from the army and the position of major-general, in command of the Division of the Pacific.

 

The great misfortune of his career was, that it fell to his lot to command the Union troops at the first great battle of the war–that of Bull Run–and he was made the scapegoat of that mortifying disaster. Of his generalship there Mr. REID says: “His plan was excellent, and though there were innumerable faults of execution, they arose more because of the materials with which he had to work than from his own inexperience or lack of judgment. After all the display of ability which the war has called out, we would be puzzled to-day if called upon to name any officer who, if then put in McDOWELL’S place, would have done better. We may doubt, indeed, if there are any who would have done so well.”

 

The long and full narrative of his career, as given by Mr. REID, is a pitiful tale of cruel wrong against a high-minded and patriotic soldier made the victim of calumny. It is one of the peculiarities of war that while it often develops the most noble and heroic qualities of patriotism and self-sacrifice the diabolical and atrocious has its fullest scope. “No jealousies,” wrote the late Col. Charles WHITTLESEY, “are equal to those between military men,” and history records innumerable instances of multitudes slain through the exercise of this passion against a brother officer.

 

LUCAS SULLIVANT, the leading pioneer in Franklin county, was born in Mecklenburgh county, Va., in 1765. Losing his parents in youth, he learned surveying, and first went to practise his art in the new lands of Kentucky, then an outlying county of Virginia. Col. Richard C. ANDERSON, surveyor-general of the Virginia military land district of Ohio, appointed him as deputy. With a party of twenty men he advanced into the wilderness of Ohio, and in the summer and fall of 1797 laid out the town of Franklinton; there he resided the remainder of his life. He died in 1823, in his fifty-eighth year. He was a man of high character; kind, courteous, eminently public-spirited, benevolent and helping, with strong natural powers, and left a large fortune, the just fruits of a spirit of daring, useful enterprise. He left three sons–William Starling, Michael L., and Joseph.

 

WILLIAM S. SULLIVANT, his oldest son, was born at Franklinton in 1803, graduated at Yale College, returned home, and although immersed in the active business of life while yet in early manhood, he found time to acquaint himself with the flora of Central Ohio, discovering in his researches several species hitherto unknown, to one of which by his Eastern botanical associates was given the name “Sullivantia Ohioensis.”

 

 

 

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MICHAEL L. SULLIVANT, the second son, was born in 1807, was educated at Athens and Centre College, Ky., and, inheriting a large body of land, became on an immense scale a grazier and stock feeder. At an early day, owing to a want of market, the grain was largely fed to stock driven to the Scioto valley from various quarters–even as far as from the prairies of Illinois–in the fall and winter months, where they were what is termed “stall-fed,” i.e., fattened and driven over the mountains and sold on the seaboard. To purchase and feed cattle for sale East was extensively practised in the valley. Mr. SULLIVANT was one of the originators of the Ohio Stock Importing Company and of the Ohio State Board of Agriculture, of which he was twice the president. In 1854 he sold out his Ohio possessions, and moving to Illinois, bought two immense tracts at government prices, called respectively “Broadlands” and “Burr Oak.” The first named was in Champaign county, and each comprised tens of thousands of acres. On these he commenced farming on an immense scale. The newspapers of the time were full of notices of his stupendous experiment, which involved a small army of retainers as laborers. The experiment, however, failed, and proved a great financial loss. He died in 1879.

 

JOSEPH SULLIVANT, the youngest son, was born in 1809, received a collegiate education, and lived an honored life. He interested himself in varied public matters, literary, scientific, and material education, agriculture, and projects for the general welfare. He wrote a pamphlet on “A Water Supply for Columbus,” and projected “Greenlawn” cemetery, etc., etc. His bust is in the hall of the “Sullivant School,” a contribution from the teachers and scholars, as evidence of their high regard for his useful services. He died in 1882.

 

Dr. LINCOLN GOODALE was born in Worcester, Mass., and, in 1788, when a child of six years, came with his father to Marietta. In the war of 1812, while acting as assistant surgeon, he was taken prisoner at Hull’s surrender. In 1814 he came to Columbus, engaged in merchandising, acquired great wealth, and died in 1868, aged eighty-seven years. He gave the beautiful Goodale Park to the city, wherin was placed, in 1888, his bust in bronze, a fine piece of work by J. Quincy A. WARD.

 

The most prominent of the four men who founded Columbus was LYNE STARLING, and it was by a mere ruse that they succeeded. Col. James KILBOURNE was actively at work for his town, Worthington, and had a majority of one pledged in the Legislature in his favor. As Worthington was almost the exact geographical centre of the State, and his proposals liberal, success seemed assured. When the time came for voting two of Kilbourne’s supporters could not be found, and so the colonel lost by one majority. Those two missing members had been successfully hived in a secure retreat with cards and wine.

 

Mr. STARLING was born in Mecklenburgh county, Va., in 1784, and died at his lodgings in the American Hotel in 1848. In 1806 he came from Kentucky to Franklinton, and assisted his brother-in-law, Lucas SULLIVANT, who was clerk of court for Franklin county. Later he held the office, and for many years; was also a successful merchant and trader. “He was a warm-hearted, eccentric, honored, and useful citizen, and to-day ‘Starling Medical College,” founded through his munificence, perpetuates his name.”

 

It was fortunate for the beginning of Columbus that it had for its first clergyman a man of such marked character for usefulness as Rev. Dr. JAMES HOGE. He was born in Moorfield, Va., in 1784, of Scotch-Presbyterian stock, and was the son of a famous Presbyterian divine, Rev. Dr. Moses HOGE. The father was president of Hampden Sidney College, author of “Christian Panoply,” an answer to Paine’s “Age of Reason,” and noted for his pulpit oratory. John RANDOLPH said of him, he was the most eloquent preacher he had ever heard.

James HOGE being licensed to preach by the Presbytery of Lexington, Va., in 1805, when just twenty-one years of age, came out as itinerant missionary to Ohio. In 1806 a Presbyterian church was organized in Franklinton, and he was soon called to be its pastor. In 1812 a brick building was erected there for a church. It was destroyed by a tornado. In 1814 a church built of logs was erected in Columbus on land belonging to him. He continued in this charge until 1858, when, after a pastorate of over half a century, age and infirmity compelled his resignation.

 

Dr. HOGE was the pioneer of the temperance movement in Ohio, and, although born in a slave State, was an ardent abolitionist. He was instrumental in establishing the State Deaf and Dumb and Insane Asylums, was a trustee of two educational institutions, and a founder of the Ohio Bible Society.

 

Hon. ALFRED KELLY, son of Daniel Kelly was born in Middletown, Conn., November 7, 1789. When nine years of age his father removed with his family to Lowville, N.Y. Alfred was educated at Fairfield Academy, N.Y., and studied law with Jonas PLATT, a judge of the Supreme Court of that State.

 

 

 

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mitted to the bar and appointed prosecuting attorney on his twenty-first birthday, to which office he was continuously appointed until 1821. In 1814 Mr. KELLY was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives; and was the youngest member of that body, which met at Chillicothe, then the capital of the State.

 

From a very valuable and interesting sketch of “Reminiscences of Alfred KELLY,” by Judge Alfred YAPLE, who was his friend and a member of the last Legislature in which he served, we have made copious extracts throughout this article.

 

“At an early day during one of the sessions, he prepared and introduced a proposition to reform the practice in our courts. His proposition looked to the lopping off of all the formalities and verbiage of the old system of pleading and to simplify it. This proposition was the forerunner of our code, which came some thirty years later. It also provided for the abolishment of imprisonment for debt, except in cases of fraud. This was the first time, as I have heard him say, such a measure was ever seriously urged in any legislative body in the civilized world.

 

“Dickens’ flaming pen had not then flashed light into the gloomy recesses and revealed the sufferings and wretchedness within the walls of the ‘Old Marshalsea,’ and aroused the English people to apply the plowshare to turning over the ground upon which its foundations had stood. Three years after he introduced it in Ohio, Kelly’s bill was passed by the Legislature of one of the States, New York,–I think–but not in Ohio until about 1837 or 1839. At the time he introduced it, it was considered so impracticable and radical that it defeated his entire plan of judicial reform. He introduced it, as he said, because he held that property should be the basis of credit, and property alone taken for debt; that to discharge debt, the person could not be sold, and for debt personal liberty should not be restrained. This principle is now, I believe, incorporated in the constitution of every State, and is upon the Federal statute-book of the United States, and has been enacted by the Parliament of England.

 

“He was the master spirit, whether in or out of the Legislature, of our canal policy. He urged it as a necessary means of developing the resources of the State, and to the extent that he advocated and aided it, it was eminently a success. Instead of three bushels of wheat being required to purchase a bushel of salt, one bushel of the former would purchase three of the latter. The same thing happened in the prices of iron and all other imported heavy articles. We got them no longer by pack-saddle.

 

“When the system was finally decided upon, it was generally supposed that the contemplated works could not be completed within the lives of any then living, and certainly not within the limits of the estimated cost. He, having been the prime mover in the undertaking, having framed the statutes authorizing and governing these works, was made an active canal commissioner, the Legislature thus, in effect, saying: ‘You claim that this work can be done with a given amount of money; now do it.’ He accepted the trust, abandoned his profession, sacrificed his health by exposure to the wet and malaria of the valleys, and accomplished the work. And the work was well done.”

 

To make sure that everything was honestly done he personally inspected the work, living at one time in a cabin on the line of the canal with his family. He used a long iron rod with which he was accustomed to probe the embankments to discover the tricks of contractors who were apt to fell huge tree bodies, cover them with earth, and then draw pay therefor at so much a cubic yard.

 

Mr. Kelly had that peculiar quality of mind which could not only grasp large enterprises in their entirety but at the same time direct the perfecting of every detail without losing hold on the main purpose.

 

Once having undertaken any matter, he assumed entire responsibility, and with indomitable will and perseverance exacted implicit obedience to orders from all under him. His was the mind that projected the methods, his subordinates’ duties were to execute orders. His opinions and plans were formed after careful thought, and when formed he was sure he was right, would brook no opposition, and was therefore impatient of criticism. This sometimes caused him to be considered despotic toward those in his employ, but as long as his orders were strictly obeyed he was an easy taskmaster. An illustration of this is given in the following anecdote: A gentleman, Mr. John J. JANNEY, an old citizen of Columbus, as he informs us, calling at his house, saw two men, one on the roof apparently making some change in a chimney top, the other sitting on a stone on the ground. Inquiring if Mr. KELLY was in the house, Mr. JANNEY was told that he might be found at a certain designated point with some men who were at work in a ditch. Upon reaching it, Mr. KELLY was found at the bottom of the ditch laying drain tile, not the modern tile for they had not yet come into use, but the flat paving tile; two hired men were standing by looking on. Mr. KELLY would not trust them to do the work even under his own personal supervision, but was as much besmeared with dirt and mud as either of his hired laborers.

 

 

 

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directions exactly, but if you don’t do that he will not want you.”

 

Another anecdote illustrates Mr. KELLY’S character, and shows how great an interest he took in the property and business interests of the State: While on a tour of inspection, the boat he was on came to a lock: Mr. KELLY got off the boat and while examining the lock discovered a lot of brush lodged against one of the gates; he called up the division inspector–a recent appointee who did not know Mr. KELLY by sight–and pointing to the brush, said, “Why don’t you remove that brush? It is liable to cause damage if not removed.” The inspector replied, “Well, I’ve been trying to get a man to go in there and take it out, but have not found one as yet.” Without another word Mr. KELLY, clothes and all, plunged into the canal and cleared out the brush. Then, dripping with muddy water, he went up to the astonished inspector and said, “My name is Alfred KELLY; some political influence secured your appointment to this position, but we shall have no further use for your services. I will send another man to fill your place immediately.”

 

The Ohio canal was the great life-work of Mr. KELLY, and although a public work, Mr. KELLY gave so much of himself both to its origin and construction, was so devoted and untiring in its behalf, surmounting all difficulties, and was with all so economical in its management that when in 1835 the Ohio canal, connecting the Ohio river with Lake Erie, was completed, the actual cost did not exceed the estimate.

 

During the memorable financial crash from 1837 to 1841 he, then living at Columbus, where he risided until his death, was appointed fund commissioner. While holding this responsible position during that critical period the State of Mississippi repudiated her debt. Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois, and perhaps other States, had failed to pay the interest on their bonds. The State of New York and the government of the United States were in the New York market seeking in vain to raise money. The Ohio treasury had not enough money to pay her January interest. He was in New York endeavoring to raise money for that purpose by the sale of bonds and prevent the disgrace of bankruptcy. In the midst of it, resolutions were introduced and backed by certain Solons in our legislature, to follow the example of Mississippi and repudiate our debt; and in Illinois the same disgrace was being urged for adoption. Communication was slow, the mails being carried by stage coach.

 

Capitalists in New York, in view of these resolutions and the character of the times, refused to lend the State of Ohio a single dollar on its credit. But at last and just in time to save the State, KELLY backed Ohio by giving his own individual notes for it, to an amount more than twice what he was then worth, risking the impoverishment of himself and his family; but he raised the money and paid the interest. Some of these notes are now in possession of his family, or were at his death, which occurred at the beginning of our late war.

Through his financiering, his system by this time having become known and appreciated, Ohio’s bonds went up from fifty cents on the dollar to much above par, and have ever since remained there. Those who bought them at a low figure became, and justly and fairly so, enriched by the investment.

 

After saving the State’s credit in New York by pledging more than twice the aggregate of his own life-accumulations, and before the marked advance in Ohio bonds, he made an expose of the State finances, and fore-shadowed the necessity for the adoption of a new system of taxation. These considerations led to his being sent again to the State Senate. There he introduced and carried through the tax law of 1846, the principle of which was–saving a blunder, which the Supreme Court has held prevents the deduction of debts from credits–incorporated into our present constitution, and which, by letting the “blunder” part of the constitution “slide,” is our present tax law, passed in 1859.

 

Through the influence of ex-Governor DENNISON, the KELLY system has been adopted for the District of Columbia, and the fierce opposition against its introduction there enables us to realize the difficulties with which KELLY, on its first introduction, had to contend in Ohio. Men who invest $100,000 in one kind of business, and are free from taxation, will look with complacency upon the $100,000 of their neighbors, invested in real estate, taxed to bear all the expenses of government to protect both; and will strenuously object to being compelled to pay an equal share. But after one year no one will attempt or desire to return to the former partial and unjust system.

 

At the same session of 1846 the currency of the State was worthless. The people were suffering from losses entailed by the Bank of Gallipolis, the new Bank of Circleville, etc. KELLY then introduced and procured the passage of the State Bank and Independent Bank Laws, requiring them to redeem their issues, dollar for dollar, in gold, at the will of the holder, without loss; and made each branch of the State Bank liable for the issues of every other branch. This was the banking system in force at the beginning of the late war, and which was superseded by our present national banking system; the federal statutes governing which were copied from KELLY’S law. KELLY’S system was the best the State ever had, and as good as that ever possessed by any State in the Union. This is proved by the fact that it was taken as the model to frame the national system.

 

 

 

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determined to abandon the attempt to construct the road, its friends made a last desperate rally, and Mr. Richard HILLIARD, of Cleveland, came to Columbus to induce Mr. KELLY to take charge of its affairs. Mr. HILLIARD represented the almost hopeless condition of the enterprise and that unless he came to their rescue the venture would be likely to fail. Although the interview was prolonged until late in the night he was compelled to retire with a negative answer. But next morning Mr. KELLY went to him and told him that he had reconsidered the matter, that it was of such great importance to the interests and welfare of the State that he felt it his duty to accede to his propositions. He accepted the presidency of the road, and from that moment its success was assured. He entered upon the work with an energy and vim only exceeded by his exertions in behalf of the Ohio canal. With his own hands he dug the first spadeful of dirt and laid the last rail.

 

In stature Mr. KELLY was between five feet seven and eight inches; he was compactly built, neither broad nor slender; his head was set firmly, his appearance being that of a man carved out of a block of marble. He neither affected popular manners nor sought popularity. He possessed, emphatically, the fortiter in re, with but little or none of the suaviter in modo. His mind worked with the accuracy of the geometric lathe, and his action and conduct adhered strictly to the line of his ideas. This made him unpopular with all who sought, from personal interest or supposed better information, to induce him to depart from or vary plans or purposes he had formed; to such he listened with impatience, and showed them but little respect, but adhered firmly to his purpose and moved straight toward the object he had in view. This enabled him to construct the canals within the time and for the sums estimated. He would not vary the proper line of the work to accommodate any local interests, and this caused many people to feel hardly toward him; but feeling that he was right, he was heedless of their clamor and opposition.

 

“He despised cant and hypocrisy. An incident related to me, and occurring before I knew him, but which I am certain occurred, well illustrates this. One session, when he was urging some measure in caucus, a member, who was opposed to it, but who could not answer KELLY’S arguments, began to talk of obeying the dictates of his conscience, and all that. KELLY settled his neck and head stiffly on his shoulders, buttoned his coat up to the throat, and arose almost choking with wrath. Said he: ‘Mr. Chairman, when a mere politician comes here, and in place of good sense and sound argument begins, by a formal parade, to set up his conscientious scruples and tender piety, I set him down for a rascal right from the start–right from the start.’ The scrupulous member subsided.

 

“Kelly tried in every way to get the Legislature to adopt his plan for the semi-annual collection of taxes–finally tacking it on the general appropriation bill; but he failed, because the House voted it down. When that vote was taken, the end of the session and the time for adjournment was at hand. It was after midnight–a night dark, blustering, and stormy; snow and rain commingled, and falling thick and fast. KELLY listened with stern anxiety to the roll-call and the responses of the members. The ‘No,” as uttered by many, was not only emphatic, but delivered in a tone and manner as if intended for him to hear and see that he was aimed at, and indicated intentional insult to him. The result was announced, the measure declared lost, and KELLY buttoned his coat up to his throat, drew tightly around his neck his fur collar, adjusted his head squarely and firmly upon his shoulder, and started for the door. Feeling mortified at the disrespect shown him I sought his side and expressed my regret for what had transpired. ‘Oh,’ said he, ‘I am used to it. It don’t trouble me. These are honest, well-meaning men enough; but I do wonder how many of them were ever able to find their way from home to Columbus. I hope they will find their way back in safety, and turn their attention to something they know more about than legislation. Sir,’ said he, ‘remember this: I would rather deal with fifty scoundrels than one fool; the rascal knows when you have him, but the fool knows nothing.’ And then, with a manner that spoke his assurance of the adoption of the law for the semi-annual collection of taxes at no distant day, in spite of the action of that Legislature, the old man disappeared in the darkness of the street, in that midnight storm, his living voice to be heard no more forever in the councils of the State.”

 

After retiring from public life he gradually declined in vitality and strength, broken in health by his arduous labors in behalf of the people of the State. On December 2, 1859, he passed away, after having lived a life of as great if not greater usefulness to his fellow-citizens of Ohio than that of any other one man the State has had.

 

One of the most elegantly courtly men known to the legal profession in Ohio was HENRY STANBERY. He was in stature about six feet, erect, with dignified bearing and a very pleasant face. He features were large and strongly marked, and when suffused with the light of his genial spirit nothing could be more captivating. Indeed he was grace itself and seemed as a prince among men. The memory of his fine presence is to many living a valued lifetime possession. And he was deserving of the regard which his presence inspired, for he was the soul of honor and integrity; scorned to mislead a court or jury, or to deceive an opponent by any misstatement of law or fact.

 

 

 

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and regard. He was a member of the Episcopal communion and in all his deportment and career showed his love for justice, truth and beauty.

 

Henry STANBERY was born in New York city, and in 1814, when a lad of eleven years, came with his father, a physician, to Zanesville. He was educated at Washington College, Pennsylvania, studied law at Zanesville, and was admitted to the bar in 1821, when he was invited by Hon. Thomas EWING to begin the practice at Lancaster and ride the circuit with him, which offer he accepted and for many years resided there.

 

When, in 1846, the office of attorney-general of Ohio was created he was elected by the General Assembly to be its first occupant. He then removed to Columbus, where he resided during his entire term of five years. In 1850 he was a member of the Constitutional Convention from Franklin county, and was conspicuous in its debates.

 

On leaving Columbus he for several years practiced law in Cincinnati. In 1866 he was appointed Attorney-General of the United States by President JOHNSON, which office he accepted from a desire to assist in carrying the government safely through the perilous times following the war. He resigned this office to become one of the counsel of the President upon his impeachment. His health at that time was so delicate that most of his arguments on that trial were submitted on paper. He died in New York in 1883, aged 80 years.

 

Hon. Henry C. NOBLE, now of Columbus, who in his boy-days knew him at Lancaster, NOBLE’S birthplace, and later was his pupil in the law, gave in a personal sketch this synopsis of his professional qualities:

 

“He was from the first a most accurate lawyer, fond of technicalities and ready in applying every refinement of pleading and all the nice rules of evidence and practice. It was, however, in the discussion of the general principles of the law which arose in his cases in which he generally delighted. Upon all young men who studied the law he would urge the essential importance of mastering general principles in order to attain the highest success. He was especially fond of the Latin maxims, which he regarded as the very embodiment of terse wisdom.

 

In his manner as a practitioner Mr. STANBERY was a model. Always courteous and dignified, he was nevertheless as alert and ready as a soldier on guard. He was quick to perceive the slightest weakness of an opponent’s cause, and on it dealt his blow with overwhelming suddenness.

 

His manner in the examination of witnesses was admirable. He never bullied nor attempted to mislead them, but with sincere frankness and winning address would secure from the reluctant or the unfair witness often full and true answers to his questions.

 

His language was of the purest English and his style free from all the glitter of mere words. To court and jury alike his speeches were clear. His arguments on the law were models of orderly arrangement and logical force, often eloquent from these very qualities. His addresses to the jury were masterly discussions of the facts, ingeniously mustered to sustain his views, and were exceedingly attractive.

 

In writing he was a marvel of accuracy. Often his manuscripts were printed from the original draft, with scarcely a correction. He was systematic and thorough as a worker, never putting off anything for a more convenient season, but at the earliest moment analyzing his case and settling the law and the facts which would control it.”

 

WILLIAM DENNISON, the first of Ohio’s trio of war governors, was born at Cincinnati, Nov. 23, 1815. His father was the proprietor of the highly popular and widely known “Dennison House” in that city, and a grand specimen of the old style of Western landlords. He graduated from Miami university, and entered upon the study of law in Cincinnati in the office of Nathaniel G. PENDLETON and Stephen FALES. In 1840 he was admitted to the bar; shortly afterward he married a daughter of William NEIL, of Columbus, the famous stage proprietor in the days of stages, and removed to that city.

 

 

 

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ing that position until 1866, when President JOHNSON began to assail the Union party and he resigned his portfolio. In 1880 he was a leader of the friends of Senator John SHERMAN in the effort to secure his nomination in the National Republican Convention of that year. Governor DENNISON accumulated a handsome fortune in his private business and contributed largely to Dennison College at Granville, Ohio. He died at his home in Columbus, June 15, 1882.

 

Governor DENNISON was a man of fine social connections, tall, courtly and elegant in manner, with a foresight and ability unsuspected by those not intimately associated with him, but which was fully demonstrated during his administration as Governor of Ohio, during which the true, pure metal of the man rang out with a resonance that should have left no doubt as to its composition. Notwithstanding that in his political debates he had given evidence of ability and unexpected reserve power, the general public with singular pertinacity held to the opinion that he was superficial and of mediocre ability, and even after he had clearly shown by the valuable results of his measures that he had been misunderstood and his ability underestimated the Ohio public were slow to acknowledge his merits and give him due credit for his valuable services to the State and nation.

 

In the confusion and excitement at the outbreak of the war almost every citizen felt that he knew just what ought to be done. Troops should be raised and sent to the front at once. Such matters as equipment, organization, etc., did not enter into their calculations, and because this was not done by the saying of it the governor must be inefficient. The critics having prejudged Governor DENNISON said so, and it seemed as though each citizen had received a special commission to join the critics and malign him. Every step he took brought down senseless abuse from every quarter. DENNISON bore it nobly, not a word of reproach escaped him, and when for some months the newspapers of the State were abusing him for mismanagement at Camp Dennison he uttered no complaint, but generously kept silence, when in truth he had at that time no more to do with the management of Camp Dennison than any private citizen of the State, it being under the control of the national government. A word from the officer in command at Camp Dennison would have shown the injustice of this abuse. Whitelaw REID, in his comprehensive and valuable work on “Ohio in the War,” says in reference to this unjust criticism: “To a man of his sensitive temper and desire for the good opinion of others the unjust and measureless abuse to which his earnest efforts had subjected him was agonizing. But he suffered no sign to escape him, and with a single-hearted devotion and an ability for which the State had not credited him he proceeded to the measures most necessary in the crisis.”

 

He succeeded in favorably placing the loan authorized by the Million War bill. Having secured money, the “sinews of war,” he then looked around for arms, of which Ohio had a very meagre supply, and learning that Illinois had a considerable number, he secured five thousand muskets from thence and proposed a measure for uniting all the troops of the Mississippi valley under one major-general.

 

It was through Gov. DENNISON that West Virginia was saved to the Union. He assured the Unionists of that State that if they would break off from old Virginia and adhere to the Union, Ohio would send the necessary military force to protect them. And when afterward it became necessary to redeem this pledge Gov. DENNISON sent Ohio militia (not mustered into the United States service at all), who, uniting with the loyal citizens, drove the rebels out of West Virginia.

 

His course in dealing with Kentucky at the commencement of the war, although afterward proven to be a mistaken one, was the same as that adopted by the general government.

 

One action of Gov. DENNISON’S during his administration as governor shows him to have been a man courageous enough to meet almost any emergency. When the general government was about to refund to Ohio money used for military purposes the State auditor and the attorney-general decided that this money could not legally be used again for military purposes. DENNISON therefore, by means of his personal agents, caused it to be collected form the United States government and used it for military purposes instead of turning it into the Ohio State Treasury. It was again refunded to Ohio, his agents again collected it, and it was thus used over and over again, so that he intercepted in all $1,077,600. The measure was a high-handed one, but thoroughly justifiable upon the ground of public necessity. For every dollar he presented satisfactory accounts and vouchers to the Legislature, and not a shadow was ever cast upon the integrity of the governor or his officers through whom it was disbursed.

 

 

 

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things were done grew to be the most influential of all the State executives at Washington at the very time when at home he was the most unpopular of all who had within the memory of a generation been elevated to that office.

 

It was his misfortune that the first rush of the war’s responsibilities fell upon him. Those who came after were enabled to walk by the light of his painful experience. If he had been as well known to the State and as highly esteemed two years before the outbreak of the war as he was two years afterward, his burdens would have been greatly lightened. But he was not credited with the ability he really possessed, and in their distrust men found it very easy to assure themselves that he was to blame for everything.

 

. . . .He met the first shock of the contest, and in the midst of difficulties which now seem scarcely credible organized twenty-three regiments for the three months’ service and eighty-two for three years, nearly one-half the entire number of organizations sent to the field by the State during the war. He left the State credited with 20,751 soldiers above and beyond all calls made by the President upon her. He handled large sums of money beyond the authority of law and without the safeguard of bonded agents, and his accounts were honorably closed.”

 

His fate was indeed a singular one. The honest, patriotic discharge of his duty made him odious to an intensely patriotic people. With the end of his service he began to be appreciated. He was the most trusted counsellor and efficient aid to his successor. Though no more than a private citizen, he came to be recognized in and out of the State as her best spokesman in the departments at Washington. Those who followed him on the public stage, though with the light of his experience to guide them, did not (as in the case of most military men similarly situated) leave him in obscurity. Gradually he even became popular. The State began to reckon him among her leading public men, the party selected him as President of the great National Convention at Baltimore and Mr. LINCOLN called him to his Cabinet.”

 

JOSEPH R. SWAN, jurist, was born in Westernville, Oneida county, N. Y., in 1802, and in 1824, after studying law with his uncle, Gustavus SWAN, in Columbus, he was admitted to the bar. In 1854 the opponents of the repeal of the Missouri Compromise elected him Supreme Judge by over 77,000 majority, and he eventually became Chief-Justice. His prominent characteristic on the bench was great conscientiousness, so that neither personal interest nor sympathy could in any manner influence his judgement of right or law. He prepared a number of elementary law books which stand very high with the profession and have been of wide-spread utility, as “Swan’s Treatise,” an indispensable companion for every justice of the peace; “Guide for Executors and Administrators,” “Swan’s Revised Statutes,” “Pleading and Practice,” etc. He died December 18, 1884.

 

The late NOAH H. SWAYNE, Judge of the Supreme Court of the United States, was born in Culpeper county, Virginia, in 1804, of Quaker parentage. When nineteen years of age he was admitted to the bar and, disliking slavery, came to Ohio. At the age of twenty-six he was appointed by Gen. JACKSON United States Attorney for Ohio, when he removed from Coshocton, where he was settled, to Columbus. In 1839 President VAN BUREN appointed him United States District Attorney. He soon acquired high reputation as a jury lawyer, his peculiar forte being the examination of witnesses and in skilful analysis of testimony. On retiring from this office he took no part in politics until 1856, when in the Fremont campaign he made speeches against the extension of slavery.

 

 

 

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ALLEN G. THURMAN was born the son of a clergyman, Rev. P. THURMAN, in Lynchburgh, Va., November 13, 1813. The next year the family removed to Chillicothe. He was educated at the Chillicothe Academy, and studied law with his uncle, William ALLEN, later governor, and Noah H. SWAYNE, afterward judge of the United States Supreme Court. In 1835 he began the practice at Chillicothe. In 1844 he was married to Mary DUN, of Kentucky, and also elected to Congress. In 1851 he was elected a judge of the superior court of Ohio, and from 1854 to 1856, the date of the expiration of his term, was chief-justice. The “Ohio Reports” containing his decisions gave him a wide reputation as a lawyer and jurist. In 1853 he removed to Columbus, and on leaving the bench resumed his law practice. “His opinions on important legal questions were much sought after and relied upon by the bar all over the State, and he was retained as counsel in the supreme court in many of the most important cases. He has always been a laborious student; indefatigable in the preparation of his cases, and a forcible and direct speaker, who wastes no time on immaterial points.”

 

In 1868 he was first elected to the United States Senate, and was a leading member for many years, where he became chairman of the judiciary committee.

 

“In the session of 1877-78 he reported the bill commonly called the “Thurman Bill,’ to compel the Pacific railroads to secure their indebtedness of nearly seventy millions to the government, and supported it by a written report sustaining its constitutionality and propriety, and also by elaborate and able arguments in the debate that followed. The constitutionality of the bill was relentlessly assailed by its opponents, but the law has been sustained by the Supreme Court.

 

Judge THURMAN has always been a Democrat of the strictest sect, and not inclined to run after temporary expedients in politics. He firmly believes that the welfare of the country depends upon the preservation of the Democratic party,” and to a singular degree he has the respect of the public, irrespective of parties, for integrity and uprightness. In selecting him as their candidate in the canvass of 1888 for the high office of Vice-President the Democratic party is widely judged to have especially honored themselves.

 

Prof. LEO LESQUEREUX, paleao-botanist, was born in 1806, in Fleurier, canton of Neuehatel, Switzerland. His ancestors were Huguenots, fugitives from France after the Edict of Nantes. He was destined for the church, but, at nineteen years of age, when he entered the Academy of Neuchatel, he met Arnold GUYOT, and together they became much interested in natural science, toward which LESQUEREUX’s tastes and disposition had always inclined. Completing his course in the Academy of Neuehatel, he went to Eisenach, and taught the French language while perfecting himself in the German language, preparatory to entering the University of Berlin.

 

In 1829 he returned to Switzerland as principal of the College of La Chaux-de-Fonds, canton of Neuchatel, but, becoming deaf, he gave up this position, and for twelve years supported himself by engraving watch-cases and manufacturing watch-springs; in the meanwhile, however, he continued his studies and researches in natural science, devoting his attention particularly to mosses and fossil botany. In 1832 he married Baroness Sophia von WOLFFSKEEL, daughter of Gen. von WOLFFSKEEL, of Eisenach, Saxe-Weimer.

 

His researches on peat-formations led to his being commissioned in 1845 by the Prussian government to make explorations on the peat-bogs of Europe. In 1848 he removed to the United States, first locating at Cambridge, Mass., and later at Columbus, Ohio, where he now resides. Appleton’s “Biographical Cyclopaedia” says of his career in the United States:

 

“He became associated with William S. SULLIVANT in the study of American bryology. Together they published ‘Musci Americana Exsiccati’ (1856; 2d ed., 1865), and subsequently he assisted Mr. SULLIVANT in the examination of the mosses that had been collected by Capt. Charles WILKES on the South Pacific exploring expedition and by Lieut. Amiel W. WHIPPLE on the Pacific railroad exploration, and finally in his ‘Icones Muscorum” (Cambridge, 1864). His own most valuable researches, beginning in 1850, were studies of the coal formations of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Kentucky, and Arkansas, on which he contributed memoirs to the reports of the State surveys. His investigations on the coal flora of Pennsylvania are of special value. He prepared a ‘Catalogue of the Fossil Plants which have been Named or Described from the Coal Measures of North America’ for the reports of Henry D. ROGERS in 1858, and in 1884 furnished ‘The Coal Flora’ (3 vols. of text, with an atlas) for the second geological survey of Pennsylvania, which is regarded as the most important work on carboniferous plants that has thus far appeared in the United States. Since 1868 parts of the material in fossil botany have been referred to him by the various national surveys in the field, and he has contributed to their reports the results of his investigations. He is a member of more than twenty scientific societies in the United States and Europe, and in 1864 was the first member that was elected to the National Academy of Sciences. The titles of his publications are more than fifty in number, and include twelve important volumes on the natural history of the United States, besides which he has published ‘Letters Written on Germany’ (Neuchatel, 1846) and ‘Letters Written on America’ (1847-55). He has also published with Thomas P. JAMES, ‘Manual of the Mosses of North America’ (Boston, 1884).”

 

 

 

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should be the home of three such eminent scientists as Prof. Leo LESQUEREUX, William S. SULLIVANT, and Dr. T. G. WORMLEY. Of the first two sketches have already been given; the latter, now of the University of Pennsylvania, but formerly professor of chemistry and toxicology in the Starling Medical College at Columbus, is the author of “the most valuable contribution to toxicology and medical jurisprudence that America has ever made to medical science, and in many of its features is unsurpassed by any contribution to these departments from European science.”

 

Mrs. T. G. Wormleyad nat. del. et sculp.

FORMS OF POISON CRYSTALS.

 

[The above are copies of two of the seventy-eight engravings in the “Mirco-Chemistry of Poisons,” which show the exact appearance of the Poison Crystals after doing their work of death upon cats and dogs with different poisons, and were obtained by analyzing their blood and the contests of their stomach.]

 

 

This work is an elaborate chemical and microscopiacal analysis of the nature and operation of many different poisons in their relation to animal life. It is the result of years of patient experimenting, and at the cost of the lives of some 2,000 cats and dogs of the city of Columbus, whose blood and contents of whose stomachs were analyzed to determine the exact appearance of the poison-crystals after producing death.

 

That the exact appearance of these poison-crystals should be reproduced with the utmost accuracy was absolutely necessary to give to the world the benefits of Dr. WORMLEY’S researches.

 

Throughout the course of his experiments he had been assisted by his wife, who, with remarkable accuracy and delicacy, had made drawings of the crystalline forms. This was a work requiring the most patient and persevering labor, the difficulty of which was immeasurably increased by the volatile character of the forms to be represented, which could only be seen under the microscope, and then but for a few seconds at a time, necessitating their reproduction again and again until the drawings were completed.

 

When the work was ready for publication the most distinguished engravers in the country were consulted as to the engraving of the drawings. They all agreed that it would take years of labor, almost a fortune of money, and that there were but one or two engravers in America possessed of the skill necessary to do the work properly. One of them engraved a plate but it was not acceptable.

 

Among other engravers consulted was Mr. F. E. JONES, of Cincinnati, long connected with the Methodist Book Concern. Impressed by the exceeding delicacy of the drawings, he said to Dr. WORMLEY, “Whoever made the drawings must engrave the plates.” “Impossible,” replied the doctor, “for the person who drew the figures knows nothing of engraving.” “Whoever can draw like that on paper,” said Mr. JONES, “can etch on steel.” “It was my wife,” said the doctor, beginning almost to despair of having his plates engraved, “and she knows nothing of etching or any other part of engraving.”

 

From an article published in the Ladies’ Repository for January, 1868, we quote the following: “The doctor was at length persuaded to procure a steel plate and points. The artist prepared the plate, gave a few items of instruction and explanation to the doctor who was to carry his message and instructions home to his wife.

 

 

 

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first she had ever seen. She had no knowledge how to take an impression from the plate, nor an engraver’s press with which to do it if she had. She was delighted and encouraged when she saw a proof of her first effort which was then taken for her by Mr. JONES. It was so good that with a little correction it might have been used; but she felt that she could do better, and the plate was cancelled. The number of steel plates necessary for the whole work was then ordered. Mrs. WORMLEY began the labor and in less than a year finished the etching of thirteen plates, containing in all seventy-eight figures.

 

Encouraged by her success in the use of the point, Mrs. WORMLEY thought she would try the graver, a tool she had not yet used, and necessary in the finishing of the plates. Her success in that was equal to her etching. She then requested permission to use the ruling machine, of which she knew as little as she had known of the point or graver. In a little while she was mistress of the ruler, and presented to her husband the whole series of plates, the delicate touches of which defy criticism, even under the scrutiny of a microscope! Indeed, the details of many of the figures can only be obtained by means of the lens. They have been pronounced by competent judges the finest set of microscopic plates ever produced in Europe or America. We look upon the result as one of the most wonderful achievements of womanly patience, skill, and perseverance, the full greatness of which it is impossible to make apparent to those who are unacquainted with the difficulties and mysteries of the engraver’s art.”

 

Dr. WORMLEY, although born at Carlisle, Pa., was a resident of Ohio for about a quarter of a century. He has been elected to honorary membership in many of the most prominent scientific societies of Europe and America. His wife is a native of Ohio, a daughter of Mr. John L. GILL, one of the oldest residents of Columbus, and first president of the Columbus board of trade, and to whom the city is more indebted than to any other citizen for the development of its manufacturing interests.

 

PHINEAS BACON WILCOX was born in 1798 on “Forty Rod Hill,” his father’s farm near Middletown, Conn., and died at Columbus in 1863. He was educated at Yale, came to Columbus in 1824, and became eminent as a land and also as a chancery lawyer. He was by turns prosecuting attorney, reporter for the Supreme Court and United States commissioner, which last office he resigned rather than be made instrument in remanding a fugitive slave to bondage. He was a fine classical scholar, and had one of the finest law libraries in the West. He had deep religious convictions and was said by a friend to have lived upon Coke and the Bible. He prepared various law works, as “Ohio Forms and Practice,” “Practical Forms Under the Code of Civil Procedure,” etc. With politics he would have nothing to do, other than voting, although a staunch Republican. He never doubted but that the rebellion would be squelched, but the great peril would come after the war from want of loyalty of the South to the General Government.

 

SAMUEL GALLOWAY was born of Scotch-Irish stock in 1811 at Gettysburg, Pa., and died at Columbus in 1872. He graduated with distinguished honor at Miami university in 1833; was for a time a professor there and at South Hanover, Indiana; later was admitted to the bar at Chillicothe, where he became a partner of Nathaniel MASSIE. In 1843, being chosen secretary of state, he removed to Columbus. In the session of 1854-5 he represented the Columbus district in Congress, being elected by the Republicans. His speech there on the Kansas bill was a theme for widespread eulogy, alike in this country and in Europe. During the war he was judge advocate for the examination of the prisoners at Camp Chase, and was in constant private correspondence with Mr. LINCOLN, who set a high value upon his advice and statesmanlike qualities. He was the trustee for several of the State benevolent institutions and took a prominent part in the councils of the Old-school Presbyterian church. As a lawyer he had great power with a jury, and in wit and humor on the political arena he had scarcely an equal anywhere. His reputation in this respect was late in life a source of regret to him, as the same was with Thomas CORWIN. Both gentlemen found that the gathering crowds when they spake came to be amused rather than instructed, which each in turn experienced was an injury to his reputation for the possession of the solid qualities of mind and character which along can bring respect and confidence.

 

We here insert a curiosity from the Columbus Gazette of Aug. 20, 1822. At an early day there was a law offering a bounty for the scalps of squirrels. Whether in force at that time we do not know; if so, it must have made quite a draft upon the public treasury.

 

 

 

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house of Christian HEYL, on Saturday the 31^st inst., at 2 o'clock P.M. Should the time above stated prove too short for the townships to hold meetings, as above recommended, the following persons are respectfully nominated and invited to attend the meeting at Columbus:

 

Montgomery, Jeremiah McLENE and Edward LIVINGSTON. Hamilton, George W. WILLIAMS and Andrew DILL. Madison, Nicholas GOETSCHIUS and W. H. RICHARDSON. Truro, Abiathar V. TAYLOR and John HANSON. Jefferson, John EDGAR and Elias OGDEN. Plain, Thomas B. PATTERSON and Jonathan WHITEHEAD. Harrison, F. C. OLMSTEAD and Capt. BISHOP. Sharon, Matthew MATTHEWS and Bulkley COMSTOCK. Perry, Griffith THOMAS and William MICKEY. Washington, Peter SELLS and Uriah CLARK. Norwich, Robert ELLIOTT and Alanson PERRY. Clinton, Col. COOK and Samuel HENDERSON. Franklin, John McILVAIN and Lewis WILLIAMS. Prairie, John HUNTER and Jacob NEFF. Pleasant, James GARDINER and Reuben GOLLIDAY. Jackson, Woollery COONROD and Nicholas HOOVER. Mifflin, Adam REED and William DALZELL.

 

In case any township should be unrepresented in the meeting those present will take the liberty of nominating suitable persons for said absent township.

 

RALPH OSBORN, LUCAS SULIIVANT, GUSTAVES SWAN, SAMUEL G. FLENNIKEN, CHRISTIAN HEYL, JOHN A. MCDOWELL.

 

A subsequent paper says: “The hunt was conducted agreeably to the instructions in our last paper. On counting the scalps it appeared that 19,600 scalps were produced. It is impossible to say what number in all were killed, as a great many of the hunters did not come in. We think we can safely challenge any other county in the State to kill squirrels with us.”

 

Franklin county at the period of this squirrel-hunt must have been in the course of an army of emigrating squirrels. The exodus of squirrels was an occasional sight in the early part of this century in “the new country,” as the West was generally termed. A personal experience is in place here. Early on a November morning of 1844, after a night’s rest in the cabin of a mountaineer, while on a pedestrian tour through Western Virginia, passing through an open forest, we suddenly found ourselves in the midst of an immense multitude of squirrels. The woods were fairly alive with them. Thousands must have been under our view without turning our head. Their tameness was surprising–close, thick around us, almost under our feet were the graceful, nimble, little creatures, hopping around and evidently enjoying themselves.

 

They were of various colors, gray, red and black. The gray was the predominant color, and those were the largest and most plump. Only about one in twenty was black, and he was black as ink. Later we were told they had been for a day or two previously swimming the Kanawha, and therein multitudes in the high wind that had prevailed had perished.

 

The theory of their emigration was that in their old homes the “mast,” as beech nuts, walnuts, chestnuts, etc., were termed, had given out, and they were moving north to find a more prolific region for their sustenance during the cold of the approaching winter. They were evidently under some leadership and knew where to go; perhaps might have sent out advance couriers on tours of exploration and, guided by their reports, had gathered as a mighty host with banners and under some chosen Moses among them were moving toward the promised land.

 

HAYDEN FALLS are situated some 12 miles northwest of Columbus, on a small creek which empties into the Scioto river, about 100 rods from the falls. The rock formation thereabouts is of limestone, and the water coming over the rocky ledge has a fall of about sixty feet; the amount of water is not large and, like all western streams, the quantity varies according to the season of the year. Owing to the remoteness of the falls from any of the public highways and railways, it has not been much visited by the people, who have little idea of the wild, picturesque beauty of the spot, which is enhanced by contrast with the general prairie formation of this part of the State.

 

WESTERVILLE, 14 miles north of Columbus, on the C. A. & C. R. R., in the centre of a fine agricultural country, is the seat of Otterbein University. Newspaper: Public Opinion, A. R. KELLER, editor and publisher. Churches: 1 United Brethren, 1 Methodist, 1 Presbyterian, 1 Evangelical, and 1 African Methodist Episcopal. Bank of Westerville, O. H. KIMBALL, president, Emery J. SMITH, cashier.

 

Industries.–People’s Mutual Benefit Life Association, Farmers’ and Stock Breeders’ Live Stock Insurance Association. Population in 1880, 1,148. Sehool census in 1886, 393; Thos. M. FOUTZ, superintendent.

 

CANAL WINCHESTER is 16 miles southeast of Columbus on the C. H. V. & T. R. R. and Ohio canal, and is a substantial and thrifty village. Newspapers: Winchester Times,. Independent, B. F. & O. P. GAYMAN, editors and publishers. Churches: Reformed, Methodist Episcopal, United Brethren and Lutheran.

 

Industries.–C. B. & D. H. COWAN, flour and feed; N. C. WHITEHURST, flour and feed; Geo. BARRIES, doors, sash, etc.; Geo. POWELL, drain tile, also manufacturer of force pumps and wood and wire fences. Population in 1880, 850. School census in 1886, 288; W. H. HARTSOUGH, superintendent.

 

Franklin County Indian Story.–An interesting anecdote, illustrating the peculiar characteristics of the Indians as our first settlers of Columbus found them, is related of Keziah, the youngest daughter of John and Mary HAMLIN.

 

In 1804 Mr. HAMLIN built the first cabin east of the Scioto river, on the spot where HOSTER’S brewery now stands, and here, Oct. 16, 1804, his daughter Keziah, the first white child in Columbus, was born.

 

At this time a tribe of Wyandot Indians were located near a bend in the river just below the present Harrisburgh bridge. They were very friendly to the HAMLINS, and were specially fond of Mrs. HAMLIN’S freshly baked bread. On bread-baking days they would come to the cabin, and lifting aside the curtain which served for a door, enter and help themselves to the contents of the larder without asking permission or saying a word to the occupants. Upon leaving they would throw a hunk of benison or whatever game they had upon the floor as compensation, and then silently take their departure.

 

One day when Mrs. HAMLIN was attending to her household duties with nobody present save her infant daughter, who was calmly sleeping in her crib, several of the Indians entered the cabin, and without saying a word deliberately took up the sleeping infant and carried her away with them to their village, leaving Mrs. HAMLIN trembling with fear and anxiety for the safety of her child. As the hours passed by and the child was not returned, she suffered the greatest mental anguish and suspense, until, toward the close of day, her sufferings were relieved by the reappearance of the Indians bringing with them the child, which wore a beautiful pair of beaded moccasins upon her little feet, and which the Indians had been industriously working upon all day, and had felt the necessity of having the child with them so as to insure a perfect fit. This token of the appreciation of a savage race for the kindness and hospitality shown them by early pioneers was preserved until a few years ago, when the scion of a younger generation of the same house unfortunately destroyed them when too young to appreciate their value.

 

 

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