USA > Ohio > Richland County > A centennial biographical history of Richland county, Ohio > Part 11
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CONCLUSION.
We should not ignore our obligations to the pioneers, but rather con- gratulate ourselves that we live in an age of improved utilities. They were the manufacturers of almost everything they used, not only their farming implements, but also the fabrics with which they were clothed. How dif- ferent now !
All earthly things are given to change, and the firesides of the pioneer period have given place to the furnaces and registers of to-day. Still the remembrance of the associations of the past has an attractive charm and a strong hold on our sentiments and affections. Though the scenes of our memory may be darkened with shadows, yet still it is a sweet indulgence to recall them. The rose and the thorn grow on the same bush; so the remem-
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brance of our friends who have "crossed over" is mingled with both pleasure and sorrow.
The "fireside" is typical of a home and is endeared by many affectionate recollections. At the fireside our parents recounted the history of their earlier years, the difficulties they had encountered and the objects they had sought to attain; and of all the members of the family circle who gathered around that fireside the mother is the most lovingly recalled. "My mother!" is an expression of music, of melody and of love. It takes us back to the days of our childhood and places us again kneeling by her side to receive her caresses and loving benediction.
BIOGRAPHICAL.
GENERAL R. BRINKERHOFF.
momm דרוודנו מנמונ O compendium such as the province of this work defines in its essential limitations will serve to offer fit memorial to the life and accomplishments of the honored subject of this sketch,-a man remarkable in the breadth of his wisdom, in his indomitable perseverance, his strong individuality, and yet one whose entire life has not one esoteric phase, being as an open scroll, inviting the closest scrutiny. True his are "massive deeds and great" in one sense, and yet his entire accomplishment but represents the result of the fit utilization of the innate talent which is his and the directing of his efforts along those lines where mature judgment and rare discrimina- tion lead the way. There is in General Brinkerhoff a weight of character, a native sagacity, a far-seeing judgment and a fidelity of purpose that com- inand the respect of all. A man of indefatigable enterprise and fertility of resource, he carves his name deeply on the records of Ohio.
General Brinkerhoff was born in Owasco, Cayuga county, New York, June 28, 1828. The Brinkerhoffs of America are all descended from Joris Dericksen Brinkerhoff, who came from Drentland, Holland, in 1638, with his wife, Susannah, and settled in Brooklyn, New York, then New Netherlands. The members of the family are now numerous, for the most part residing on Long Island and in the valley of the Hudson, but a few of the representatives of the name can be found in almost every western state. Most of these are descended from Hendrick, son of Joris Dericksen Brinkerhoff, who settled in New Jersey in 1685. General Brinkerhoff, of this review, is of the seventh generation in America. His father, George R. Brinkerhoff, was born near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, but his grandfather, Roeliff Brinkerhoff, came from Hackensack, New Jersey. His ancestors on his mother's side-the
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Bouviers-and on his grandmother's-the Demarests-were French Hugue- nots, who, fleeing from religious persecution, found safety and a home among the tolerant Dutchmen of New Netherlands.
Roeliff Brinkerhoff, the subject of this sketch, was employed as a school teacher in his native town when but sixteen years of age, and at the age of eighteen he was in charge of a school near Hendersonville, Tennessee. At nineteen he was the tutor in the family of Andrew Jackson, Jr., at the Hermitage, and there remained until 1850, when he returned to the north and became a law student in the office of his kinsman, the Hon. Jacob Brinker- hoff, of Mansfield, Ohio. In 1852 he was admitted to the bar and entered the practice, remaining in active connection with the profession until the war of the Rebellion. During that time, 'from June, 1855, until 1859, he was also one of the editors and proprietors of the Mansfield Herald. In Septem- ber, 1861, he entered the military service as first lieutenant and regimental quartermaster of the Sixty-fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and in Novem- ber of the same year he was promoted to the position of captain and assistant quartermaster. In the succeeding winter he was on duty at Bardstown, Kentucky, and after the capture of Nashville he was placed in charge of the land and river transportation in that city. Subsequently to the battle of Pittsburg Landing he was ordered to the front and placed in charge of the field transportation of the Army of the Ohio, and after the capture of Corinth he returned home on a sick furlough. He was then ordered to Maine as chief quartermaster of that state. Later he was transferred to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, in charge of transportation and army stores and thence to Washington city as post quartermaster, remaining on that duty until June, 1865, when he was made a colonel and inspector of the quartermaster's department. He was then retained on duty at the war office with Secretary Stanton until November, when he was ordered to Cincinnati as chief quarter- master of the department. In September, 1866, he was brevetted a brigadier- general of volunteers and was also tendered a commission in the regular army, but declined the honor. On the Ist of October, at his own request, he was mustered out of service, having completed five years of continuous service in the army. General Brinkerhoff is the author of a book entitled The Volunteer Quartermaster, which is still the standard guide for the officers and employees of the quartermaster's department.
On the 3d of February, 1862, General Brinkerhoff married Mary Lake Bently, of Mansfield, a daughter of Baldwin Bently and a granddaughter of General Robert Bently, by whom he had four children,-two sons and two daughters: Robert Bently, Addie Horton, Mary and Roeliff. Robert is a
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lawyer in New York city; Addie is at home; Mary is deceased; and Roeliff is judge of the probate court of Richland county.
It so happened that the most active years of General Brinkerhoff's life covered the most important events of the anti-slavery period, commencing with the repeal of the Missouri compromise and closing with the war of the Rebellion and the reconstruction and reconstructive incidents growing out of it. During that period it was his fortune to know intimately many of its leading men, and again and again he has been at the turning points of history and has taken a part in shaping events. During all these years, in many ways, as educator, lawyer, editor, soldier, statesman and philanthropist, he has been active and prominent. Among the close friends of General Brinker- hoff at that time, and for years afterward, were Salmon P. Chase, James G. Blaine, General Garfield and General R. B. Hayes.
For several years after the war General Brinkerhoff was an active factor in politics, and was prominent in conventions and upon the platform, in many directions and in many states. In 1873 he retired from active politics and accepted the position of cashier of the Mansfield Savings Bank, with which he has been associated ever since, and for years past has been its president. In 1878 General Brinkerhoff was appointed a member of the board of state charities and has continued in that position under all administrations and is now serving his eighth term.
As a philanthropist there are but few men, if any, more widely known. He has visited and inspected, probably, more benevolent and correctional institutions than any other man in the world, for he has traveled for that purpose in every state in the Union except one, South Dakota; also in the Dominion of Canada, the republic of Mexico, and all the countries of western Europe ; and the record of his observations in these directions is a history of all modern progress in dealing with the dependent, defective and criminal classes. The great advance made in the last two decades in the care of the insane by the abolition of mechanical restraints, and other improvements, was inaugurated in Ohio, and no one, perhaps, has done more to educate public opinion upon these subjects than General Brinkerhoff. The establish- ment of the Toledo Hospital upon the cottage system, which really marked a new era in the treatment of the insane, was largely due to General Brinker- hoff, who was a member of the commission to locate the asylum and select plans for its construction, and his earnest advocacy for the segregate or cottage system secured its adoption. For a time it was known as "Brinker- hoff's Folly," but it is now recognized as the model asylum of the nation.
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The Ohio Archeological and Historical Society was organized in Octo- ber, 1875, at General Brinkerhoff's home in Mansfield, and he was its first president. After serving for several terms he declined a re-election, and was succeeded by General R. B. Hayes, and upon the death of ex-President Hayes General Brinkerhoff again became the president of the society, which position he continues to hold.
General Brinkerhoff early took an interest in historical matters. He came to Richland county to make it his home in 1850, and conceived the idea of preserving the annals of its early history. He married the daughter of one of its best known pioneers, and his associations brought him in contact with the men and women of those days, and he felt that a record of their lives should be preserved for the instruction of the generations that would follow them. With this object in view he began to gather information in regard to pioneer times. The results of his labors have been given to the public, not only in newspaper articles but also in book form. Pioneer meetings were held at irregular intervals and in November, 1898, the Richland County Historical Society was organized, with General Brinkerhoff as the president and A. J. Baughman, secretary.
General Brinkerhoff is a charter member of the Mansfield Lyceum, and for the past thirty years has been one of its principal supporters. He was also active in the establishment of the Mansfield Library and the Museum. The Sherman-Heineman park is one of General Brinkerhoff's creations. He conceived the idea of the park and worked indefatigably until the same became a beautiful reality, extending for a mile and a half along the western border of the city. He is one of the park commissioners and is the president of the board. Future historians will proclaim the fact that General Brinkerhoff was a benefactor of his day and generation.
Professor A. H. Currier, of Oberlin College, in the April number of the Bibliotheca Sacra, 1901, reviews General Brinkerhoff's book, Recollec- tions of a Lifetime, from which the following extracts are taken: "The 'Lifetime,' whose 'Recollections' are here garnered and dwelt upon, has cer- tainly been filled with memorable, and marked by an extraordinary, public service. On this account the writing of the book and all that is implied of personal satisfaction in the record are justified. He would be a captious critic who would accuse the author of unbecoming egotism. There is no more egotism here than is needful to give an autobiographical sketch of this kind an interesting personal flavor, like that given to conversation by a person of wide experience, who takes us into his confidence and talks with
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us freely of the notable people he has met, the important events he has wit- nessed, the impressive scenes and places he has visited, and the enterprises of public concern he has had a hand in promoting. This is in substance what General Brinkerhoff does in his book. Among the prominent events he witnessed and describes were the Pittsburg Convention of February 22, 1856, at which the Republican party, previously existing only in a few states, became national in extent. He was present likewise at the national Republican convention in Philadelphia, June 17, 1856, where Fremont was nominated for the presidency. He was present in Washington at the inauguration of Lincoln in 1860. He was present four years later at Ford's theater when Lincoln was assassinated,-heard Booth's pistol shot, saw the assassin scramble over the front rail of the president's box and to the stage, run across it and disappear, and felt the horror and dread that thrilled the audience as the truth gradually dawned upon them of what had occurred."
"Few men have traveled so much with such open-eyed intelligence as he. We have interesting accounts of cities and states, east and west, north and south, and over the sea. He confesses that he has been a man of 'hobbies,' -using the word 'hobby' as signifying 'a favorite theme of thought and study outside of regular business pursuits.' Into these avocations his mental power and public spirit have overflowed or found congenial employment. In them, moreover, he has manifested not simply a brief superficial interest, like that of most men in such things, who take them up to gratify a transient curiosity or passing whim, but an interest so deep and thoroughgoing that he has achieved in each a notable success, which has made him through them a great public benefactor."
"General Brinkerhoff has come to be widely known as one of the fore- most authorities of our country and times upon the subject of charity organi- zation, penology and prison reform. The fact that he was selected to write the article on Prison Discipline, in the American Supplement to the ninth edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica, is proof of this."
While undoubtedly he is not without that honorable ambition which is so powerful and useful as an incentive to activity in public affairs, he regards the pursuits of private life as being in themselves abundantly worthy of his best efforts. His is a noble character-one that subordinates personal ambi- tion to public good and seeks rather the benefit of others than the aggrandize- ment of self. His is a conspicuously successful career. Endowed by nature with high intellectual qualities, to which are added the discipline and embellish- ments of culture, his is a most attractive personality.
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HISTORY OF THE OHIO STATE REFORMATORY.
The Ohio State Reformatory had its origin in the teachings and con- tinuous recommendations of the Board of State Charities, commencing with its first report in 1867. After fully considering the conditions then existing in the Ohio state penitentiary the board declared that "it has become apparent that the capacity of the penitentiary is insufficient and that the state must either enlarge it or build a new prison. There are several very strong rea- sons why we should establish a new prison instead of enlarging the old one." The board then gave, very fully, its reasons for such conclusions, from which the following are brief extracts :
"In reaching the best method of treating criminals for reform, the first step in advance of our present system must be classification, made indispens- ably necessary from this fact,-that among all criminals the inevitable tendency is for the worse man to drag the better down to his level instead of the worse rising to the plane of the better. Taking the men now in our penitentiary, we could safely range them under one or the other of these two classes, namely: Those who desire to be better men, and who would be such under favorable circumstances; and men who have no such desire, but are incorrigibly, willfully bad. But as it is not for man to look into the heart of man, probably the best basis of classification as a beginning would be age, antecedents, kind of crime and number of convictions,-scrupulously keeping young men, and those susceptible of good influence, from those more hardened in crime."
"Such a system would require the establishment of one new prison exclusively for young men. This would give us the foundation of a grand system of model prisons, with the reform farm on one side of the new prison for juvenile offenders, and the penitentiary on the other for all the more hardened and incorrigible class."
This recommendation of the new prison "intermediate" between the penitentiary and the reform farm was not acted upon by the general assembly.
The next year (1868) the board said "another year's experience of very close relation with our convicts has only strengthened the conviction that the plan proposed embodied the foundation of a most successful prison system," and additional reasons therefor were given. In 1869 the board again renewed its recommendations for an intermediate prison and gave the results of such systems in other countries, and especially of the Crofton system in Ireland. In response to their repeated recommendations a bill was introduced by Representative Lewis D. Campbell, of Butler county, to carry them into effect, but no action was taken upon it. This bill met the hearty approval
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of the board, and in its report for 1870 it urged its passage. Nothing came of it, however, and in 1871 the board was abolished. In 1876, however, through the recommendation and influence of Governor Hayes, the board was reorganized, with the governor as ex-officio president, and in its first report at again pressed the subject upon the attention of the general assembly ; but no action was taken. Again, in 1877, the reason for such an intermediate prison or reformatory was fully presented. In 1878 Governor Bishop, in his first annual message, called the attention of the legislature to the importance of providing a reformatory, and the board in its annual report gave his recommendations hearty endorsement.
On the 21st of January, 1879, General R. Brinkerhoff, representing the board, delivered an address before the general assembly in which, after referring to the recommendations of the governor, he said: "We take it for granted that early action will be taken, and that the present session will not be adjourned without providing for at least one additional prison. I say one, for the time is not far distant when two additional prisons will be needed, and this fact should be borne in mind, in view of the proper location of the one first built. The best experience of the world condemns our present system of aggregating all our convicts in one place. It prevents proper classification and thereby inflicts great harm upon the work of reformation which, after all, should be the great aim of all proper prison discipline. Two moderately-sized prisons would cost but little more to build and manage than one large one like that at Columbus, and the beneficial results would be more than double. One such prison, accommodating five or six hundred, would answer for a number of years to come, and should be located near the center of the north or south half of the state, leaving the other location for occupancy when another prison is required. Both of these prisons should be reforma- tory, leaving that at Columbus for the more hardened criminals. The punish- ment of criminals and the prevention of crime present more difficult problems for solution than almost any other department for legislation, and they are now occupying much of the very best thought of the world. The recent International Prison Reform Congress at Stockholm is an indication of the interest taken, and it is very evident that we are approaching very revolu- tionary changes in our existing systems; but in the line of prison manage- ment the changes will be in the direction of reformatory classification and a more intelligent supervision. In fact in all our public institutions, if we keep pace with the times, we must have a more cultured management. We cannot extemporize men for that position any more than we can extemporize navigators for our navy or generals for the army. They should be trained
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for their work. Prove their growth upward. To direct efficiently such an institution as our Ohio penitentiary requires as much capacity and trained experience as it does to command a ship of war; and, until we recognize this fact to its fullest extent our public institutions will never be what they ought to be and are capable of being."
Among the recommendations adopted by the late international congress, and about which there was no difference of opinion, was this: "Resolved, That we favor the professional education, in some form, of prison officers and employes, and the payment of such salaries as will attract and retain com- petent persons in prison service. Such education, we think, should be in the prison itself, in the prison service. Those entering it should do so at merely nominal wages, and their promotion to higher positions and better pay should be in accordance with their capacity and fidelity."
No action was taken upon these recommendations, and the board in its next annual report again pressed the subject upon the attention of the legis- lature and presented very fully the methods in operation at the State Reforma- tory at Elmira, New York. Nothing, however, was done, and the board in various ways renewed its recommendations, year by year, until at last its per- severance was rewarded by the enactment of a law entitled "An act to estab- lish an intermediate penitentiary and to provide for the appointment of a board of managers to locate, construct and manage the same." This act was introduced into the senate by Hon. Elmer White, of Defiance, and was passed April 14, 1884. (O. S., vol. 81, page 206.)
Section I of this act provided "that there be established an intermediate penitentiary for the incarceration of such persons convicted and sentenced under the law of Ohio as have not previously been sentenced to a state peni- tentiary in this or any other country."
Section 2 provided "that, for the purpose of carrying into effect the pro- visions of this act, there shall be and hereby is appropriated for the years 1884 and 1885 ten per centum of all the moneys received under an act passed April 17, 1885, entitled 'An act further providing against the evils resulting from the traffic in intoxicating liquors.'"
Section 3 authorized the governor to appoint, by and with the consent of the senate, three persons to act as a board of managers, not more than two of whom were to belong to the same political party.
Section 4 authorized the board of managers to locate and construct said in- termediate penitentiary, and fixed their salaries at one thousand dollars a year.
The other five sections provided for the government and discipline of the reformatory.
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In compliance with the provisions of this act the governor appointed, as a board of managers, John M. Pugh, of Columbus; John Quincy Smith, of Clinton; and Frank M. Marriot, of Delaware. Various sites in different portions of the state were proposed for the new institution, and the board after spending several months in their visitation and consideration finally selected that now occupied by the reformatory at Mansfield and comprising one hundred and eighty-two acres of ground. The board then selected as the architect Captain Levi T. Scofield, of Cleveland, Ohio, and proceeded to the consideration of plans, and finally selected those which are now (1900) approaching completion. The estimated cost of the entire structure, includ- ing all of the different trades, was one million, three hundred and twenty-six thousand, seven hundred and sixty-nine dollars and ninety-five cents; and thus far all contracts have been let inside these estimates.
The corner-stone of the intermediate penitentiary was laid with fitting ceremonies on the 4th day of November, 1886. The newspaper reports of this event are as follows: "Fully fifteen thousand strangers were in the city that day, and over ten thousand were present at the ceremonies. After prayer by Dr. Bronson, General Brinkerhoff in a short address introduced Mayor Clugston, who delivered an address, after which Senator Sherman, the president of the day, was presented and spoke briefly concerning prisons, and then introduced John Q. Smith, the president of the board of managers, who gave a history of the work done. Governor Foraker and S. Sacker Williams performed the ceremony of laying the corner-stone, according to the ritual of Masonry. Governor Foraker then gave a brief address, in which he said that Ohio had been slow in prison reforms, but that this would be a new era and the 'intermediate' would be a credit not only to the state but also to the United States and the civilized world. Ex-President Hayes fol- lowed with a few remarks, in which he asked all who were in favor of keep- ing politics out of the penitentiary to lift up their hands, and twenty thousand hands were lifted up." Ex-Governor Hoadley was on the program for an address, but was unavoidably absent ; but ten years later, in a long letter pub- lished in the Columbus Dispatch of December 16, 1896, he gives the genesis and purposes of the reformatory as follows :
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