USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > Cleveland > A history of Cuyahoga County and the City of Cleveland, (Vol. 1) > Part 48
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Sprague of Rhode Island, with his staff and members of the Legislature, were welcomed to Cleveland by Governor Denison of Ohio. The Provi- dence Light Artillery came with the Rhode Island party. There was an immense crowd and a great procession headed by J. W. Fitch, marshal of the day. In the parade were eighteen companies of militia, city, county and state officers. Oliver Hazard Perry, son of the admiral; Commander Stephen Champlin of the Scorpion, a cousin of Perry; Capt. Thomas Brownell, pilot of the Ariel in the battle, Masons, Odd Fellows and other civic societies. George Bancroft, the historian, delivered the prin- cipal address at the unveiling, which was conducted by the sculptor. After the formal exercises there was a mock battle on the lake in imitation of the Battle of Lake Erie. The monument was placed on the Public Square and since its dedication the two figures of the sailor boy and the midshipman were added. After being several times removed it now stands in Gordon Park overlooking the lake, protected by a fence recently pro- vided by a daughter of Harvey Rice, the original projector. The popu- lation of Cuyahoga County this year had reached a total of 77,206, and of this number Cleveland contributed more than half, 43,417. When this celebration was held the presidential election in which Abraham Lincoln was to be chosen was in progress.
On April 14, 1861, the Cleveland papers had a full account of the assault upon Fort Sumter and the Cleveland Grays and Company D of the Cleveland Light Artillery were the first to take the field. To show how quickly the community responded, on April 23d Camp Taylor was established at Cleveland. Cuyahoga County furnished three companies of the Seventh Ohio. It had soldiers in sixty-two regiments of infantry and cavalry and in seventeen batteries of artillery. Nine thousand and sixty-eight soldiers were furnished to the Union army from the county. This number includes the navy as well as the army. We can only give a brief account of the participation in the War of the Rebellion, as it would require a volume in itself and much has been written. When it is remembered that the county at the previous census had only a little over 77,000 inhabitants and that the number eligible to military service was only a percentage of those, we can see how well Cuyahoga responded to the call to arms. As an instance of some of the lighter memories that have crept into that great tragedy, O. J. Hodge in his "Memoirs" gives a story which he calls "Henry in the War." Henry M. Chapman of East Cleveland had served several terms in the Legislature before the war broke out. He had also had some military education as a member of an artillery company of state militia. About the time enlistments began he had taken unto himself a wife. He was a young man and never before realized what it was to be married. He wanted to go to war but the wife said "No." He argued that he had been playing soldier for several years and now there was an opportunity to put his knowledge of military affairs to some use, and besides he owed it to his country. The wife insisted that as one of his brothers and two of hers had already enlisted the family quota was full. As Mr. Hodge expresses it, then the civil war came on right at home in the Chapman household. One evening there was a meeting in the village called to secure volunteers for the army. Henry went and was followed by his wife, who took a seat by his side. The speaker stirred up a good deal of patriotic emotion and Henry thought it would be a good thing to have his name first on the list, so he arose and said : "Put my name down." His wife pulled vigorously at his coat tail and said : "Oh, Henry, give some one a cow who will go in your place." Henry was so overcome by his wife's pitiable look that he turned to the audience and said, "Put me down for a cow to the first man that will enlist." A
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young man arose and said he would take the cow, then another arose and said he would go for a cow, and then a third. Finally, Henry turned to his wife and asked if he should give any more. "Yes," said she; "give away every cow on the place if that will keep you home."
In 1879 William J. Gleason, at a meeting of Camp Barnett Soldiers' and Sailors' Society, held in Cleveland, introduced a resolution as follows :
"Resolved, That the president of the society be and is hereby directed to appoint a committee of three, whose duty it will be to
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formulate a plan for the erection of a suitable monument or memorial to commemorate the Union soldiers and sailors of Cuyahoga County." The resolution was adopted and President Charles C. Dewstoe appointed Comrades William J. Gleason, Edward H. Bohm and Joseph B. Moly- neaux as the committee. This was the beginning of the project that brought about the building of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Memorial and Monument on the Public Square, in Cleveland, which was built at a cost of $280,000. It was dedicated July 4, 1894, fifteen years after the passing of the resolution referred to at a soldiers' meeting. Opposition to its location on the southeast corner of the Public Square, the place selected
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by the monument commission, brought much litigation and delay. The detailed account of all the steps taken with the difficulties encountered covers 350 pages of a large volume written by William J. Gleason, entitled "Cuyahoga County Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument." The original monu- ment commission consisted of : President, William J. Gleason ; secretary, Levi F. Bauder; J. B. Molyneaux, J. J. Elwell, Edward H. Bohm, Charles C. Dewstoe, Levi T. Schofield, James Hayr, Emery W. Force, James Barnett, Dr. R. W. Walters and M. D. Leggett. At his post each day as custodian of the monument can be found Capt. J. B. Molyneaux, one of the few survivors of the original monument commission. It should be noted that the cost of the monument was provided by legislation and the money raised by a county tax. While the construction of the monu- ment was nominally under the direction of the county commissioners, by an act of the Legislature passed May 5, 1888, a commission of twelve were appointed independently of the county commissioners. Their design of having both a monument and memorial room that would be historical and educational was carried out. On the walls of the memorial room is carved the name of every soldier who enlisted from Cuyahoga County.
Soldiers of prominence, who became identified with the history of Cuyahoga at a later period, are remembered. Gen. M. D. Leggett, who was a member of the monument commission, and grand marshal of the dedication parade, was a soldier of higher rank than any other. Gen. James Barnett, also on the commission, was the highest ranking officer in the war, who enlisted from Cuyahoga County. His bronze bust is placed over one of the doors, and that of Capt. Levi T. Schofield, the architect and sculptor, over another. Between the arches of the windows are busts of Col. W. R. Creighton, Lieut. Col. Mervin Clark, Maj. J. B. Hampson, Capt. William W. Hutchinson, Capt. William Smith, and Capt. W. J. Hayward, who were killed in action. Others of prominence are given due credit, but it is not the intention here, nor would it be pos- sible in the space allotted, to give a complete description of the monument or of the soldiers who deserve notice. Its place in the history of Cuyahoga County is a large one, and this monument, one of the most original in the country, is a history in stone and bronze of most graphic significance. We can only speak of the soldiers as an army sent out by this county in a cause that was of earth-wide significance. The outcome of the Civil war, which these soldiers fought to bring about, settled for all time the question of human freedom and popular government-that a nation "of the people, by the people and for the people" should not perish from the earth.
"Loom on, O Column, while the stars shall shine ! Wave on, O Banner, centuries are thine! Move on, O City, to thy future vast ! Live on, O Country, while the world shall last !"
The prompt response of the women to the call was as much to be praised. Five days after the President's first call for troops, that is on April 20th, the women of Cleveland met in a general outpouring. They assembled for the purpose of offering aid, but were ignorant of what they could do or what would be of assistance to the soldiers in the field. This movement was duplicated in the townships. In a short time the Ladies' Aid Society was formed in Cleveland and this soon became the head not only of Cuyahoga County but of Northern Ohio. The first officers of the society were: Mrs. Benjamin Rouse, president; Mrs. John Shelley and Mrs. William Melhinch, vice presidents; Mary Clark Brayton, secretary, and Ellen Terry, treasurer. The first meeting is described in the opening
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lines of a history written and published by Mary Clark Brayton and Ellen F. Terry in 1869 entitled, "Our Acre and Its Harvest." It begins with the following notice: "To the Ladies of Cleveland-The ladies of Cleve- land ready and anxious to take their full share in the exertions and priva- tions, if need be, imposed by the public perils, are promptly moving with a view to such an organization as may be most useful and effective. They propose also to offer their assistance to the committee of citizens to be appointed for the purpose of making provision for the wives and children of the brave men who have left and are leaving our city to fight the battles of our country. A meeting of the ladies will be held for this purpose to-morrow, Saturday, at 8 o'clock at Chapin Hall .- Extract from The Cleveland Herald of April 19, 1861. In response to this call, on the appointed hour on Saturday, April 20, 1861, only five days after President Lincoln's first call for troops to suppress the great rebellion, Chapin Hall was filled with ladies who came together to inquire how the charity of woman could best serve her country in its impending peril. There were flushed faces, aglow with exalted feeling, troubled brows, shaded by vague apprehension, grave countenances, pale with nameless forebodings, eyes that sparkled with excitement, and eyes with a startled outlook or dim with gathering tears."
This was the beginning of the Northern Ohio Soldiers' Aid Society. It had in a short time over 500 branch societies, thirty-eight of them in Cuyahoga County, and including all the townships and villages. It dis- pensed in bedding and clothing, hospital furniture and surgeons' supplies and diet and delicacies nearly $1,000,000 in value, a larger sum then than it seems to us now, in the light of present resources and multiplied men of wealth. The story of its organization, its energy, its multiplied activities reads like a thrilling chapter of the war. Among incidents of its work was the Sanitary Fair originated and promoted as in many other cities to raise money for the work. This was inaugurated on February 22, 1864. The building on the Public Square covered an area of 64,000 feet. The courthouse was utilized. Leland's band was much in evidence. General Garfield spoke at the opening and was hailed as the soldier-states- man. The counties of the Western Reserve had especial booths and many townships of Cuyahoga County. The total receipts were over $100,000, as reported by the treasurer, T. P. Handy. Much of the lumber and labor was donated so that this amount was largely net profit. All this was used in relief work at the front, with the exception of that used in the depot hospital or soldiers' home. In the early years of the war a building site for the home was given by the Cleveland, Columbus & Cincinnati Railroad Company comprising 300 feet of the pier upon which the Union Depot stood, parallel with the depot. On this the Aid Society built a building 200 feet long, battened outside and whitewashed inside. On the entrance was a sign: "United States Sanitary Commission-Soldiers' Aid Society of Northern Ohio. Soldiers' Home, Cleveland, Ohio. Sick and wounded soldiers, discharged soldiers awaiting pensions and back pay, or fur- loughed soldiers without money, will find lodging, a resting place and food, free of charge."
A runner with a badge of the Home was in attendance at the arrival of every train. The location, so convenient to the trains, avoided the neces- sity of conveying the sick and wounded up the hill and until the establish- ment of the Soldiers' Home at Columbus, Ohio, a more permanent home, this was much in evidence and a great boon to many. There were ninety- three branch societies contributing to the soldiers' home, including Bedford, Berea, Brecksville. Brooklyn, Brooklyn Center, Butternut Ridge, Chagrin Falls, Collamer, Dover, Dover Congregational Church, East Cleveland,
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Euclid, Mayfield, Newburgh, Olmsted, Olmsted Falls, Parma, Rockport, South Rockport, Strongsville and West Rockport, and from all parts of Northern Ohio. The story of this soldiers' home, remembered by many now living, is full of interesting incidents, humorous and pathetic. Years have passed and the memories are growing dim, but history can yet point to the patriotic women who in those years of trial stood con- stantly to their work. It would be a pleasure to write all their names into this history, as the names of the soldiers are recorded on the walls of the monument on the Square. Their work is not likely to be soon forgotten, for the panel on the south side of the shaft represents the Sanitary Commission, the Soldiers' Aid Society and the Hospital Service. The figures shown are Mrs. Benjamin Rouse, president; Miss Mary Clark Brayton, secretary; Miss Ellen F. Terry, treasurer; Miss Sarah Mahan, clerk; and vice presidents, Mrs. John Shelley, Mrs. William Mel- hinch and Mrs. J. A. Harris. The hospital work is represented by Mrs. R. B. Hayes, Mrs. Peter Thatcher and a sister of charity dressing the arm of a wounded soldier. Under this panel is the official list of names of those who were active in assisting the officers of the commission during the war.
Under the heading of the county and before the City of Cleveland had grown to such proportions as to seem to overshadow it, we can more easily refer to some of the men who became prominent in civil affairs. There was Samuel Huntington, who was a resident of the county when chosen by the Legislature as judge of the Supreme Court, but who had moved to Painesville when elected governor of the state. Reuben Wood comes next, chronologically, serving as governor in 1850 and 1852; then John Brough, the war governor, who was elected in 1864. There was Jacob Mueller, who served as lieutenant-governor in 1872 and Jabez W. Fitch, who served in 1878. By appointment, too, there were Rufus P. Ranney and Reuben Wood, who served as judges of the Supreme Court, Judge Ranney being elected by the Legislature from Warren, Ohio, in 1845, but later coming to Cleveland. There was Arnold Green, who was clerk of the Supreme Court in 1875, and Richard J. Fanning, who served later. Mrs. Virginia Green, the widow of Arnold Green, is now the active and efficient member of the Cleveland School Board. There was Alphonso Hart, who made Cleveland his residence after serving as lieutenant-governor. We have mentioned Stanley Griswold, the first United States senator. There was W. W. Armstrong, who was secretary of state, and Anson Smyth, the first superintendent of the Cleveland schools, who was state school commissioner from 1857 to 1863. The Common Pleas judges up to the adoption of the new constitution of 1851 were Nathan Perry, Augustus Gilbert and Timothy Doan, chosen in 1810; Erastus Miles, Newburgh, and Elias Lee, Euclid, in 1814 ; John H. Strong, Cleveland, in 1817; Samuel Williamson, Cleveland, in 1821 ; Isaac Morgan, Brecksville, in 1824; Reuben Wood, Cleveland, in 1830; Watrous Usher, Olmsted, in 1831; Eben Hosmer, Newburgh, in 1834; Josiah Bar- ber, Brooklyn, in 1835; Samuel Cowles, Cleveland, in 1837; Frederick Whittlesey, Cleveland, in 1838; John W. Willey, Cleveland, in 1840; Asher M. Coe, Dover, in 1842, and Joseph Hayward, the same year ; Thomas M. Kelley, Cleveland, in 1845, and Quintius F. Atkins, Cleveland, in 1849. The first elected judges under the new constitution were Horace Foote, Thomas Bolton, Jesse P. Bishop, Samuel B. Prentiss, Robert F. Paine, Darius Cadwell, G. M. Barber, J. M. Jones, E. T. Hamilton and J. H. Mc- Math. Benjamin Northrop, Strongsville, 1849, and Samuel Stark- weather, Cleveland, should be included in the list of judges who were duly elected by the Legislature.
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The new constitution of 1851 provided for another court to have jurisdiction in probate and testamentary matters, the appointment of administrators and guardians, the settlement of accounts of administrators and guardians, and such jurisdiction in habeas corpus, the issuing of marriage licenses, and for the sale of land by executors, administrators and guardians, and such other jurisdiction in any county or counties as may be provided by law. This new judicial authority was designated as the Probate Court. It is rather interesting to note that there have been only four judges of this court in Cuyahoga County since its establishment, and yet the judges are elected by the people. The term of office is three years as fixed by the constitution. This seems to be a tribute to the good sense of the electorate of the county, that in this court where continuance in office is essential, where constant change would impair the work of the judge, the people have been so considerate. The consideration that has weighed most, however, has been the fact that the right men have been selected. The first probate judge was Flavel W. Bingham; the second, Daniel R. Tilden ; the third, Henry Clay White, and the fourth and present judge, Alexander Hadden.
Judge Bingham served only one term of three years. He was suc- ceeded by Judge Daniel R. Tilden, who, always required to make a cam- paign for reelection, served continuously for thirty-three years. Judge Henry Clay White followed him in 1888, serving seventeen years and until his death, Alexander Hadden being appointed to fill out the re- mainder of the term. Judge Hadden in all the added volume of business due to the increase of the city and county in population and wealth has continued to make the court a people's court, where all could have a hearing and where full consideration has been given to the widows and orphans, and kindly care exercised to protect their rights and direct them in an economical adjustment of all the matters coming before the court. For many years no candidate has been pitted against him, when the elec- tion day arrives, a tribute which speaks for itself. Flavel W. Bingham, the first judge of the Probate Court, was prominent in Cleveland busi- ness circles, serving as president of the Society for Savings and being connected with other business enterprises. Daniel R. Tilden, who served for a third of a century, was a pioneer of the vigorous and spectacular kind. As a speaker at public gatherings he was much in demand and he delighted in reciting incidents of the early days and often spoke before the Early Settlers' Association. He liked a joke and occasionally got one on himself. At one time he was called to decide upon the sanity of a lady who was brought into his court by a sister, O. J. Hodge acting as a friendly adviser. The judge was engaged in the trial of an important case involving a jury and stopped off to pass upon the case of the lady at Mr. Hodge's request. The judge after interviewing the two sisters in his private room came out and said that the lady was crazy alright and proceeded to make out commitment papers, but Mr. Hodge informed him that he was committing the sane and not the insane sister. The judge retired for a further examination and returned, saying: "You are right, she is crazier than the other one." The lady who brought her afflicted sister to the judge, when the mother of a large family, and with a large number of grandchildren, often laughed about the time when she came so near being sent to the asylum by Judge Tilden. As illustrating the old saying that the shoemaker's children go barefoot, the will of Judge Tilden, which was probated during the incumbency of Judge White, whether by design on his part or not, was a very weak one and by its terms was invalid.
Tudge Henry Clay White was born in Newburgh, of Massachusetts
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parents, his parents coming to the county from that state in 1815. He was an orator of great power, and that gift together with his fine legal knowledge and his winning personality enabled him to wrest the probate judgeship from Judge Tilden after that gentleman had held the office for thirty-three years. He "stumped" in the campaign of 1860 that re- sulted in the election of Abraham Lincoln. He was generous to a fault and died poor after holding the office for seventeen years during a period when the office conducted on fees was supposed to afford a large com- pensation.
The present judge, Alexander Hadden, came with his widowed mother to this county, Euclid, when a boy of nine years of age. He can tell you of the district school where his education began, that university where there were no grades but where each "scholar" advanced accord- ing to his individual efforts, where in one room the advanced pupil heard in review the lessons he had gone over and the little tot listened to the recitations of the older ones and picked up information in advance, accord- ing to his ability. Completing his education at the high school of Collamer and at Oberlin College, where he graduated in 1873, he studied law with Spaulding and Dickman in Cleveland, was assistant to and then prosecuting attorney, serving two terms. No greater tribute can be paid to his admin- istration of his duties as probate judge than to say that while an elective office it has under his administration become an appointive office. He is appointed by the people. The term is now four years instead of three. Judge Hadden is president of the Early Settlers' Association and active in its councils.
The history of the Probate Court of Cuyahoga County is one that we are proud to record.
In continuing the civil list of the county we note that there were four prosecuting attorneys appointed before the office became elective, Alfred Kelley, Leonard Case, Sherlock J. Andrews and Varnum J. Card; the latter was the first prosecuting attorney under the elective system. This office has been a stepping stone to higher preferment and in giving the prosecutors previous to the 'SOs we note many names of prominence. They were Simeon Ford, Thomas Bolton, F. T. Backus, Bushnell White, Stephen I. Noble, Joseph Adams, Samuel Adams, Samuel Williamson, A. G. Riddle, Loren Prentiss, Albert T. Slade, Charles W. Palmer, M. S. Castle, James M. Jones, Homer B. DeWolf, William Robinson, Samuel M. Eddy and John C. Hutchins. Not to mention those who served later, among whom were Carlos M. Stone, William B. Neff, Alexander Hadden, Theodore L. Strimple, Cyrus Locher, Harvey Keeler, John A. Cline, Alexander McMahon and others, we have an array of talent of unusual ability. The present prosecutor, Edmund K. Stanton, has made an enviable record. Now serving his second term he has gained the confidence of the entire community for his efficient administration of that office.
The office of county clerk, or clerk of courts, was filled by appoint- ment up to the adoption of the new constitution in 1851. The first clerk was John Walworth, then came Horace Perry, Harvey Rice, Aaron Clark, Frederick Whittlesey and Robert F. Paine. The first clerk elected under the new constitution was James D. Cleveland. Then follow John Parr, Roland D. Noble, Frederick J. Prentiss, Frederick S. Smith, Benja- mir. F. Cogswell, Wilbur F. Hinman, Henry W. Kitchen, Levi E. Meacham, Harry L. Vail, William R. Coates, Charles P. Salem, Charles S. Horner and Edmond B. Haserot. The present clerk, George Wallace, has 1 ac years of service as a deputy in the office, having served under Harry L. .... ] and William R. Coates. He is now serving his second term and is a
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popular official. He is the son of Chief Wallace of the Cleveland fire department. Many deputies deserve mention because of their efficient and long service. Munson S. Hinman, who was journal clerk through many successive administrations; Charles S. Whittern, now grand jury baliff, who was criminal clerk for many years and has been in the courts for a continuous period of more than a third of a century, and Harry L. Nicholas, entry clerk, whose duties are so efficiently administered, and who has continued under various administrations until he seems almost indispensable, are some of those whose names should be noted in connection with this office.
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