USA > Indiana > Lake County > The First Hundred Years (1938) > Part 40
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We have met here this afternoon of August 26, 1922, to emphasize the words of the poet Longfellow,
"Lives of great men all remind us, We can make our lives sublime And departing, leave behind us, Footprints on the sand of time."
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These words speak of philosophy of real living, the sublim- ity of life that is worth while, the passing out of life and yet having so lived that that life goes on in an ever increasing circle of usefulness. We do not often stop in our modern hurry to measure the ever-widening circle of influence that the good deeds of a righteous man reaches. From generation to genera- tion those deeds shine forth, not with positive information as to their origin but with positive results that tell in human char- acter. In the modern speech of radio-activity, the good deed is broadcasted from its basic center and is picked up and utilized by untold thousands who are tuning their characters to the proper wave length. To all others it may be only a discordant note of buzzing vibrations.
To recall some of the characteristics, some of the historic facts, some of the activities of his life and to draw forth refresh- ing lessons for the present generation from his noble living have we gathered this afternoon to speak of the Honorable Bartlett Woods.
Bartlett Woods was born July 15, 1818, in Winchelsea, England. He was baptized in the Winchelsea Church. He after- wards moved with his parents to Hastings, on the English Channel, where his father, John Woods, was postmaster. Here the boy received such an education in a small way as would become the son of a postmaster. He never had the advantages of academic or college training. This loss of training must have proved a great handicap to him in later life. His natural ability to analyze human motives, foresee and combat political and economic intrigue would have been largely augmented if he could have been trained in collegiate atmosphere.
Mr. Woods was fond of telling the fact that his father's. memory was remarkable, he being able to recall and repeat al- most word for word whole sermons that were listened to in a Sunday service.
In May, 1836, Mr. Woods, accompanied by his brother, Charles Woods, crossed the Atlantic on their way to America. Arriving at New York in August, 1836, they made their journey westward by Erie Canal and then by stage coach to Michigan City, Indiana. Mr. Woods came to Lake County in 1837. In that year he purchased from the government the two hundred forty acres of land which was to become his home, paying for the same $1.25 per acre. He built a log house on the site of the present home. These beautiful locust trees which adorn this lawn were planted by him when they were no larger than. wHip Sticks!a Cui.
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On April 17, 1841, he was married to Sarah Ann Griffin. By her he had one son who served in the Civil War and lost his life on a forced march while sick. The record of the death of Mrs. Woods seems to have been lost. On January 28, 1847, Mr. Woods traveled with a yoke of oxen and a heavy wagon to the home of Samuel Sigler near Liverpool and there married Ann Eliza Sigler and brought her to the farm home. To this marriage were born the following children :
Caroline Matilda Woods Randolph, Crown Point, William Woods, Ross Township, Jefferson B. Woods, Boone Grove, Sam. B. Woods, Ross Township, Charlotte Ann Woods Merrill, Chicago, Walter Lincoln Woods, Chicago, Alice Woods Cormack, Chicago.
Mrs. Woods was a woman of fine traits. She was a great companion and helpmeet to her husband. Her skill in spinning the wool and weaving it into homespun cloth, and her ability to make it into garments for her family helped to fill the great need in the Woods household. Her son, Sam B. Woods, proud- ly related to me the joy he had in the wearing of rye straw hats woven, by his mother from the straw gleaned from the field; a common hat for common wear and a finer one for Sun- day. Mr. Woods also relates how when in husking corn, the wife seeing him struggle at the task (for he was not a practical farmer at that time) showed him how to make a husking peg, making the first one as a sample.
O, those pioneer mothers of ours, those mothers who bore the tasks of life, with heroism and with joy, who led the way along life's pathway with such uplifting courage, such wonder- ful devotion, such marvelous faith in the future, such abound- ing omniscience, such abiding love for childhood. To them, my friends, let us bow reverently this afternoon and thank God for loving, devoted motherhood.
Mr. Woods as an early pioneer responded to the call of the times and the natural qualities of his nature and became very much interested in the welfare of his neighbors and of the county in which he resided. The first activity that demand- ed his time and energy was his farm and home life. Mr. Woods was a farmer, and as such, he devoted his life to being as good a farmer as possible. He knew the needs of the farmer in those days and was very active in organizing them into such societies
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and gatherings as would aid in a more complete understanding of the needs of each other.
The Crown Point Herald under date of October 1, 1873, gave a sketch of the County Fair in part as follows:
"The display of stock was large and magnificent. Its offi- cers deserve great credit for the degree of excellence the Asso- ciation has attained and when President Bartlett Woods after four years of service, asked a release it was denied him and he was re-elected for another year."
The Harvest Festival in September, 1873, was an outpour- ing of patrons of husbandry. The Crown Point Register re- ports a procession of teams over two miles in length. Among other speeches, Mr. Woods was quoted as saying: "This grand country of ours, with mere wealth of soils and mines than any other in the world, is today a Republic-tomorrow, it may be a despotism. On this generation rests the responsibility of so shaping its destiny that it may forever remain. Let them remember that education and intelligence are the fundamental conditions for sustaining a Republic form of government."
"The boys and girls of today look upon this sudden acquisi- tion of wealth and think that the old-fashioned way of getting a living is very slow. They prefer a short cut to wealth. With this idea, men lose their manly feeling, their independence. Will such men make good citizens?"
In another address delivered to the Lowell Grange in 1874 he discussed frankly the problems of farm life. The value of association to strengthen the farmer, his idea of service to his fellowmen is best shown by the sentence, "If we can lift up a fallen brother, let us do it. It is always safe to do good." Again he says, "In fact all, old or young, men or women, within the grange, if they follow its teachings are stronger in the faith of a more generous feeling towards each other; of a more extended charity; of a more elevated thought; greater self respect, and enlarged views of the dignity of labor and reverence for the great Creative Power."
This emphasis of the dignity of labor; the realization of the great Creative Power-God; his constant effort to crystalize in public sentiment the need of inter-relationship of man to man in the great brotherhood of community life; his great interest in the social and economic habits of the young, as to whether those habits would produce a qualitative citizenship; all of those marked characteristics of his life's activity, exhibit to me, as I believe it will to you today, the high ideals of the most worthy citizen to whom we today pay homage.
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Mr. Woods was a politician-a politician in the broad, true sense in which that word is so seldom used. He believed in government-in a republican form of government-that form which to attain its highest ideals requires of every citizen an intelligent study of political questions and an independent thinking and independent action of individual voters. He may have believed in political parties, but he would use the party to produce good government and not to enthrall private judg- ment. He began his political life in 1848 at the age of thirty years when he attended the first Free Soil meeting in Lake County.
With such heroic characters of Lake County as Judge Clark, Alex McDonald, Wellington Clark, Alfred Foster, Dr. Pettibone, Dr. Wood of Lowell, John Wood of Deep River, Samuel Sigler, David K. Pettibone and many others, he met to organize public sentiment in favor of human liberty in America, regardless of color. At this meeting, Judge Clark presided, while Wellington Clark and Bartlett Woods were secretaries.
Bartlett Woods and Alexander McDonald were chosen to speak on those issues in every community in Lake County.
Mr. Woods in 1884 declared that it was his belief that the Free Soil ideas then declared became the germ from which sprang the Republican party. Lake County became a strong follower of those principles and demonstrated its adherence to those principles by being one of the foremost counties of the State in the support of Fremont, Lincoln, Grant and Colfax. So active was Mr. Woods in the furthering of Free Soil ideas that he was frequently referred to as the "Black Abolitionist," to which charge he proudly pleaded guilty. From 1861 to 1865 he represented his district in the legislature as State Representa- tive.
His independence in political thought is best illustrated by his controversy with the Crown Point Register as printed in the Crown Point Herald under date of August 31, 1874 :
"The Crown Point Register has blown its blasts of opposi- tion to the Independent County Convention. This was to be expected, and a fairly manly opposition is perfectly legitimate and proper. As to my being the chief mover in the matter is immaterial. The Register knows why I oppose the Republican party and so does every reading man in Lake County. I oppose it on its domineering and relentless spirit towards Charles Sum- ner and Carl Schurz. . .. Honestly believing all this and more, as a citizen, I have a perfect right to oppose, and if neces- sary with others to assist in organizing a movement in which
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all the people can fraternize. You may say you do not think so-if so-stay with and in the party. I can allow others to differ with me, and all I ask is the same privilege. The men of Lake County, whose labor has made the county what it is, know their rights and will maintain them."
At another time when Congressman Crumpacker had used his individual privilege to vote as his judgment dictated and not as the Republican leaders demanded, when he, as one of three, voted against the annexation of Hawaii, and because of that vote the Rensselaer Republican and Lowell Tribune both spoke in scathing terms of his independence, in voting against his party, Mr. Woods, in an open letter to the Crown Point Star again indicates the spirit of political independence and upholds Mr. Crumpacker as follows :
"The foundation principle of the Republican party was free speech, free thought, free men, the right of private indivi- dual judgment, and Mr. Crumpacker as an American congress- man exercised all these rights and after mature deliberation said he was opposed to such annexation. Believing this, he had the courage of his convictions and voted against annexation as he had a perfect right to do. It shows he is a free man and not a slave to some assumed authority. Would you have our congress- man a mere automaton, a mere machine, one who has not the sense to think for himself, or the courage to defy the despotism of a majority."
Whether the question of annexation was right or wrong, is not germane to this biography. What I do desire to em- phasize is the fact that Mr. Woods was at all times a bold and fearless thinker, one who demanded the freedom of thought and the press for all, whether friend or foe. He always stood unconditionally for the high ideals of American principles and opposed unalterably to any sense of bondage or serfdom of party leaders. He therein set a high ideal and on this occasion, I can do no higher honor to his name than to commend his action to the present generation. Had we more of such men in our county, our local political matters would undoubtedly have a higher tone of moral and civic life.
Mr. Woods was a student of social and economic questions. While he was a Republican in politics he never could and never did subscribe to the high tariff policy of that party. His study of economics led him to favor open competition in the markets of the world. In a well-written article in 1873 he foresaw the burden of taxation which the tariff put on the farmer. He discussed the government control of transportation and the
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right of fixing prices by law to counteract the monopoly of product and service necessary to the welfare of the public. Both of which he classes as undesirable in policy by a free nation. "Competition is the solution to the control of products and prices. If we are compelled to seek the world's market to sell in, we should have the world's market to buy in." This is not far from the thought of the modern commerce idea brought on by the great world war problems of economic life. His discussions of the monetary question during the greenback craze are very interesting. Being fundamentally honest and demand- ing justice for all, he could not consistently stand by and allow the printing presses of the nation to turn out the valueless green- back dollar that had the stamp of fiat money. His reply "the whole scheme is a delusion and a snare, this continual demand for more paper money is a plan to get something for nothing to rob labor of its just rights; and would end in a general crash and national bankruptcy."
The truth of his argument is plainly discernible today by all those nations of Europe who endeavored to pay their debts by operating printing presses. And no one is more sure of the fallacy than those who, in spite of the warning of conserva- tive bankers, bought the German mark, or the Austrian kronen, as an investment only to find now that they are valueless. His sense of economic righteousness had not left him when the silver craze led by Bryan passed over the country. Then it was that he stood again for the honest dollar produced in competition by honest labor and declared that only men who would denounce the president for curbing mob-law in Chicago and could control a convention that would demand a dishonest dollar.
As early as 1881, when the question of compulsory educa- tion was hardly recognized, we find Mr. Woods championing the cause in a well defined article in the Crown Point Star, thereby showing him to be a real leader of the people in estab- lishing sentiment for advanced ideas of civic life.
I quote him as follows :
"Every American citizen should be educated, not only for his own individual good, but for the better fitting him for the duty that devolves on him as a citizen. He is intrusted with a vote, a voice in the government and to execute this properly, and intelligently, he should be educated. It is on the theory of necessity that the State takes on itself the great work of instructing the people-every child is considered a ward of the State, and to every child is provided an elementary educa- tion. Because life and property is safer in the midst of an
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intelligent community, than surrounded by a mass of ignorance and ignorance in a republic is a constant menace to the nation's life. To have an equivalent of this, and to yield the best re- sults, all the children should go to school."
No sane man objects now, many did then. The above, written thirty years ago, I say again, shows the value of Mr. Woods to his community as a leader in all civic and economic questions of his day.
Mr. Woods also had a vision of the importance of the great Calumet region. In the early days of 1881, when hardly any factory had located in the county he penned the following pro- phetic picture : "Geographically Lake County stands without a rival in the State. From east to west in command of the en- trance to Chicago-it is on the world's highway of commerce. It requires but little stretch of the imagination to believe that the day is coming when we may see an Atlantic steamer from Bremen or Liverpool floating on an inland harbor, within the borders of Lake County." All this is a provision of the Illiana Harbor and the Great Lakes Waterway which is demanding the attention of this great district and the whole middle west. And yet, with all this vision before him in 1881 it is somewhat hum- orous to know that but a few years before, in 1876, while dis- cussing the wisdom of the county commissioners in purchasing Fancher Lake site for county fair grounds, which proposition he strongly opposed, he spoke as follows :
"But the Lake County of the future will have a large population and meetings of two thousand people will be noth- ing uncommon. How are they to get there By their own teams, of course. Four persons to a team will make five hundred teams. This plan of tying teams to the fences of the present vacant lots outside will cease. We must buy more lands so farmers can have a place to tie their horses and with their families eat a picnic dinner and be happy."
Little did our kind-hearted old friend dream of the rapid automobile that does not need fences not trees to tie to.
Then again, Mr. Woods was a man of peace. After the terrible turmoil and unsettling of civilization resulting from the great World War, the terror of which he could scarcely have dreamed, it is refreshing to know of his attitude just before the Spanish-American war. In an article to the Star he says :
"Let us stand by President Mckinley, who, brave and de- termined to do his duty to his country, facing embarrassments and complications, is still strong to avert war, and every citizen, regardless of politics, should stand by him in this crisis of our
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country's history. If there should be war, 'yellow' journalism will in a great measure be responsible. The majority of our people look upon war with all its modern engines of destruction as horrible. Let us avert these horrors of certain death to our men, and lift the dark clouds of anguish from our homes. This is the effort of the men and women prompted by the noblest and best impulses."
Mr. Woods was a man of deep religious feeling. Born in old England and christened into the old English church and reared under the creed of Episcopal faith, one would expect him to be at least formally religious. But Mr. Woods was so independent in his thinking, so adverse to being bound down by formalities that he rebelled against the creed of his fathers and became an independent apostle of religious liberty in the community. He had a very deep reverence for God, the creator of all things. He had a deep appreciation and many times ex- pressed that appreciation of the love of God toward humanity. To him, love was the great controlling force in human nature and in human life. He was fond of quoting that Scripture text, "Love worketh no ill in his neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law."
It was the sentiment of his thought that reverence of chil- dren for their parents was like unto reverence for God. To a man who had that deep, active force of love working within him, there must have come into his spiritual life the realization of a close communion with the creator of all things. Was it not the Master of Galilee who said at one time when the scribes pressed him for a decision regarding which was the greatest com- mandment, there is no greater commandment than these com- mandments of love. If you have followed them completely thou are not far from the Kingdom of God.
Thus have we characterized this early pioneer of Lake County. We have endeavored to emphasize his worth as a citi- zen, as a friend, as a student of life, as a father, as a husband, as a man of high ideals, as a man of sturdy habits, noble aspira- tions, a disciple of love, a man of God.
On October 6, 1900, the wife and mother passed away, and on May 1, 1903, the husband and father joined her in the Great Beyond. They were both laid to rest in Maplewood Cemetery at Crown Point.
Today we pay reverence and homage to this worthy man. Today we unveil this monument to his memory. This monument of granite that has withstood the storm of the world making for untold ages is a fitting emblem to one who withstood the
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storms of character making for so many years. And while the granite rock shall carry untarnished this bronze tablet to tell the brief story of his life, may we trust that the real monument shall be that of his worthy living instilled into the hearts of the generations as they pass this way.
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Now as a parting shot
I want to say Good Bye,
Good Luck, Long Life and prosperity, and give you the secret of obtaining all these things.
Work hard and long. Eat plenty of good nutritious food.
Keep Limber, Loving and a little Loony.
-Sam B. Woods.
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LAKE COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
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I GEN 977.299 WOOD Woods, Sam B. F The first hundred years of Lake County, Indiana
LAKE COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY INDIANA
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