USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > Annals of the Early Settlers Association of Cuyahoga County, number I > Part 39
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" In New England "-the birthplace of our pioneer-" nature gave almost nothing, and all that men obtained had to be won by unflinching and incessant toil. Not wealth and prosperity merely, but a bare sub- sistence had to be wrung from a niggardly soil and from the cold and stormy sea which washed its jagged cliffs."
The earliest pioneers of Ohio were in constant contact and frequent struggles with the tribes of that weird race of men, specimens of which are now placed on exhibition with wild animals for the wonder- ment of our youth. I mean that disinherited race, of whom there is nothing left with us, save the strange music of their names, mingling with the names of England and France on the hills and rivers of this their ancient heritage. They were the pioneers of an earlier age, and we may seem no more than they to the later heirs of future ages. A distinguished writer gives us the following picture of the North Ameri- can Indian : " His senses were acute ; he was swift of foot ; he never domesticated an animal for milk or food. By the labor of his general drudge, the squaw, he gave the earth a precarious tillage. He had no feeling, no cheerfulness, no sense of the comic. His joy always became frenzy. He had passions which were those of the maniac; jealous, envious, vindictive and unforgiving to the last degree. A master of dissembling when inspired by deep revenge, without genuine courage, strategems, stealth and ambush were his forte. He was devoid of pity.
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His swift tomahawk made no distinction between the strong arm of a foe and the helplessness of old age and infancy. Intrepid under priva- tions and suffering, it was not the intrepidity of heroism, but of indomit- able pride and stern rigidity of nature. His whole education was to bid grim defiance to his foes. Quick to perceive and slow to reason ; silent, taciturn and deliberate, but not reflective, with oratory, pitched. in a high key of grand and pompous magniloquence, he sometimes moved by grand imagery and pathetic appeal."
Such was this stoic of the woods and wigwam. It is difficult to esti- mate the influence of this human animal as an educator upon the pio- neer in his life in the forest.
The success of the Puritan in his dealings and relations with the Abo- rigines was most remarkable. He was the only English colonist who ever inspired either awe or confidence in the North American savage.
Better than the peace-loving Quaker with Penn, was the stern, promp justice and inflexible honesty of Standish and his men at Plymouth, in gaining the respect of the red man. The same elements of character gained the mastery on the Cuyahoga over the native savage.
There was a shrewd sagacity, a mixture of Puritan rigor and steady kindness, which saved the settlement at Cleveland from the savage bar- barities visited upon other settlements; and while the Indian held permanent ground just west of the river, and his contact with the pio- neers was close and constant, he was held in wholesome subordination to the same blood that had mastered " Squanto " and Massasoit into peaceful and helpful subjection.
Colonial Puritanism underwent a great change in consequence of the minor social results following the War for Independence. The relation of the Revolutionary struggle to the settlement of Ohio has never re- ceived, as I believe, the notice its importance and influence demand. It is my purpose here simply to point to a few of the secondary and less obvious effects of the war, in the qualities of individual manners and character they produced.
Not alone in the southern part of Ohio, but on our own Western Reserve, the reflections from the watchfires of the great war continued long to glow upon the hearths and in the hearts of the settlers. This military discipline and experience through which many of' them had passed,
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gave a peculiar flavor and tone to the habits of these early pioneers. The Anglo-Saxon of all races is most susceptible of irradicable impressions and biases from continued occupations . The spirit of militarism, domi- nating the citizen soldier, is a healthful educator toward the prompt and efficient observance of public duties. The patriotism of the Puritan was the result of his religious fervor. It was the narrow patriotism of the Hebrew. It required a struggle for purely political rights in the fierce, fiery baptisms of war, that his love of country might be secular- ized and broadened.
Says Lecky, "War is the great school of heroism. It familiarizes the mind with the idea of noble actions performed under the influence of honor and enthusiasm. It elicits, in the highest degree, strength of character, accustoms men to the abnegation needed for simultaneous action, compels them to repress their fears, and establish a firm con- trol over their affections. It leads them to subordinate their personal wishes to the interests of society." The Revolution was a great school for the inculcation of this sentiment of patriotism. It infused into the conservative veins of the staid Englishman the ardent blood of restless adventure. This chivalrous spirit thus inherited produced a race of pioneers who were ever faithful in the discharge of civil or military duty. In a day when party fealty bound him by a slight tenure he never failed in his conscientious regard for the public welfare, nor to cast his ballot at each recurring election. No class of men ever placed a higher value on the rights and privileges of our common citizenship. The dis- cipline of the camp, the march, the field, filled him with a fortitude, hardihood and command of expedients, which made it comparatively easy for him to adjust himself to his new condition of life.
In a large measure the Puritan of New England inherited these qual- ities from the Cromwells and Hampdens of the Commonwealth ; but in the colonial struggle they were taught the great lesson of the value of civil liberty for its own sake.
The absence of intermediate governmental agencies and corporate intervention between the pioneer and his social duty, was an important circumstance in the strengthening and development of individual char- acter. He did nothing by proxy. He could lay the kindly offices of benevolence upon no "Board of Organized Charities," as can we. Did
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a sick or wounded settler seek his cabin that cabin must be the hospital, and the pioneer must be the nurse. While his wants were few and simple, yet his necessities gave great diversity to his employments. He often became a tradesman, a farmer, a hunter and a mechanic upon his own clearing. He had no trouble with the "labor problem." He neither sought nor expected aid from any government nor association in his struggle with nature. All he wanted was an equality of chances in the pursuit of happiness. These are the factors of strong character. These are some of the influences of situation which tended to modify, mould anew and soften somewhat the asperities of the Puritan pioneer.
The religious and political opinions of men at the close of the last century were greatly colored and affected by the ideas born of the French Revolution. We do not at this distance rightly appreciate the force upon men of the new habits and modes of thought which found their way to America out of this great historic convulsion. No spirit has more reacted upon Puritanism than the spirit which arose out of this great upheaval. The political and religious doctrines of this grand epoch mingled with the nascent elements of society in these western wilds. They turned men for a time from the formalities and outward observances of religion. It was so with the rudiments of social growth even in the Puritan settlement of Cleveland. History records the fact that infidelity achieved an early and strong hold among the settlers. It was open and agressive. It is said that in ribald mocking the' effigy of Jesus was shockingly paraded in the new streets of the village. It was many years before any organized religious work found favor here ; and by many years the distillery antedated the church. The first church edifice built here was not the work of Puritan nonconformists, but was for an Episcopal parish.
The grandest product of American civilization is personal character. The lives of three typical Americans, born within four hundred miles of this western city, have elicited the world's homage more than all other great men of the century-Lincoln, Garfield and Grant. Bestow the full and justest meed of praise on all their great achievements, and yet each, in his own distinctive manhood and character, rises infinitely higher than all his works. If we make the last analysis, we shall find that nearly all the conditions which' made these great lives possible
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sprang directly out of the institutions and ideas of western Puritanism.
We need to turn oftener to the Puritan ideals of life to elevate the moral tone of society. Perhaps we need no less of science, but cer- tainly more of sincerity. We should get more of the Puritanical hatred of shams and falsity in life and manners. The one supreme ingredient to mingle in our western brusqueness and activity is more New England honesty. We look to the past for men of giant mould.
Our honorable minister at the court of St. James once said in fitting phrase : " There is something easier to state than to describe in the influence of the time upon the quality of men produced in the begin- ning of a state. It is akın to what is seen in some agricultural pro- ducts, which are better in the virgin soil than any cultivation can ever make them afterwards. Whether it is the dignity of their employment as the founders of institutions-whether it is in the vigor and freshness which attend the youth of a state, like the youth of a life-or whether such emergencies bring to the surface and into conspicuity a higher order of men-whatever the reason may be, the fact remains, the fathers are larger than the children." And yet he adds this hopeful, optimistic sentence : "As change is the condition in life, so compensation is an unfailing condition of change Whatever time takes away it compen- sates in what it brings. Much that is precious perishes as it passes ; but with new life comes always new beneficence."
I summarize the following as the grand gifts of Puritanism to our modern social life :
First. Reverence for Moral Law.
Second. The imminence and power of the Deity.
Third. The dignity and worth of the individual.
Fourth. The eternal permanence of character.
I know that these teachings of the despised Puritans do no enter force- fully the currents of modern thought. But it should never be forgot- ten that the Mayflower was freighted with the best fruitage of the Prot- estant Reformation. It should never be forgotten, as said by a quaint old Puritan, "God sifted all England that he might send choice grain into this wilderness." May that " choice corn " never lose its vital power to germinate and grow ! No truer tribute of tongue or pen to the Puritan was ever offered than what follows from the eloquent New
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Yorker already quoted : "Unchanged as the eternal sky above us is the moral law which they revered. Unfailing as the sure succession of the seasons, its operation in the affairs of men. All the prosperity-the power-the permanence of the republic-more than ever the pride of the children-more than ever the hope of mankind-rests in obedience to the unchanged and unchangeable law. The essence of the father's faith is still the elixir of the children's life ; and should that faith decay -should the consciousness of a divine energy underlying human society, manifest in just and equal laws, and, humanely ordering individual rela- tions disappear, the murmur of the ocean rising and falling upon Ply- mouth Rock would be the endless lament of nature over the baffled hopes of men."
The mission of the pioneer in our civic and social economy is eternal. The border-line between the pursuit and the achievement is ever carried forward by all our diversified currents of life. I address those of my own generation with these suggestions. Into the ways of commerce- into the ministries of truth and justice-before the forge of industry- on the farm and into the home-carry everywhere the spirit of the true pioneer ! Move on with the great social engineries of the Puritan-the home-the school-the church. The great business of life is to build human character. Man in the world-God in the universe-human character forever ! To these ends work all the historic forces of all the ages.
THE INFLUENCE OF WOMAN IN THE EARLY SETTLE- MENT OF THE COUNTRY.
A SPEECH BY HON. JOHN HUTCHINS.
Whatever mistakes may be charged to Moses by those wiseacres who think they know more now than Moses did when he wrote, his account of the motive for the creation of woman is not one of them.
" And the Lord God said it is not good for man to be alone, I will make an helpmeet for him."
The truth of this is well established in the history of all peoples, bar- barous and civilized, and is as conspicuously prominent in the history of
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the early settlers as anything relating to it used as themes in the ad- dresses, papers and remarks at our annual meetings.
For the most part heretofore at our meetings the acts and characters of prominent men have been referred to, while those of the women have beed kept in the background. I will therefore say a few words on the influence of woman in the early settlement of the country. I am en- couraged in this direction by the action of the society three years ago in the election of Mrs. J. A. Harris as vice-president. The quick-witted, the late George C. Dodge, to whom we are indebted largely for the formation of this society, elated at this new departure and understand- ing full well the meaning of it, arose and making use of two of the marked characters in the works of Dickens, thus happily expressed his approval of it : " I desire to congratulate our society upon haviug settled one question : We have vindicated Sarey Gamp and squelched Betsey Prig. There is a Mrs. Harris."
This action of your society is a just recognition of the influence of woman in the events resulting in the unique success of the early settlers. In fact, without this influence the settlement of the country would have been a miserable failure. It needs no argument to prove this ; it is one of those self-evident propositions that the simple statement of it is its best proof. Without it the men would have had no inducement to visit the new country, and no motive to remain if they had visited it, and they would have sighed and sighed and then have died. In a ten min- utes' speech no details of the influence of particular women can be given. A few suggestions applicable to all must suffice.
The wives of the pioneers who accompanied their husbands into, or joined them in the new country, were animated with the same heroic purpose to brave dangers, submit to privations and perform labor and drudgery necessarily connected with new settlements as their husbands, and therefore are entitled to equal credit. In addition to the perils, anxieties and cares of maternity, the wives and daughters of the early settlers performed more hours of hard labor than husbands and sons. The shades of evening gave husbands and sons a chance for repose. Not so with mothers and daughters. Dishes had to be washed and put away ; dresses had to be made and mended ; stockings had to be knit and darned ; pantaloons, coats and vests had to be made, patched and
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repaired. The merchants in those days could not afford to sell ready- made clothing at cost, and give away houses and lots and other valuable property to their customers. The daughters had not the opportunity to spend their winter evenings in roller rinks or their days in riding schools, but " when night found them weary, in innocence they slept."
The mothers in early times brought up their sons and daughters to lives of industry, and consequently to lives of usefulness, and the sons, therefore, did not grow into dudes, nor the daughters into Flora Mc- Flimsies. The daughters had something to do and something to wear, but nowadays those girls who have nothing to do generally have nothing to wear.
The mothers of early times were not believers in the notion that to complete the education of their daughters it was necessary to send them abroad to be taught to ape the manners, habits and customs of the aris- tocracy of Europe.
What a change in the character of the young men and women of our cities of to-day would there be if our city mothers were imbued with the philosophy of their mothers and had the nerve to apply it in training and educating their children. It is not because city mothers have less love for their children than their mothers had that city children are edu_ cated on what is falsely called a higher plane than was possible in early times. The kind mothers of to-day are anxious to have their children enjoy all the advantages at command, and believe that education and culture, and what are called accomplishments in society, will contribute more to the happiness and usefulness of their children than those lessons of rigid economy and healthful and useful labor to which they were sub- jected when children. Hence, manual labor is to be shunned, and the evidences of industry must not be seen on the hands or faces of their children. The children are willing converts to this theory. Hence, the tender care and wealth of parents contribute in many cases to the effeminacy of their children. The lessons of experience are ignored or forgotten. The taper fingers of the young men, and the soft hands of the young ladies of our cities, if joined together, will never influence to any great extent the affairs of business, or guide the welfare of the state or the nation.
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Would it not be wise for the mothers of today to pay more attention to the example of the mothers among the early settlers ?
The tree of this example, like other trees, is known by its fruit. The pioneer mothers taught their children, by precept and example, the necessity and value of useful labor in the development of human char- acter, but their influence did not end there. Upon them to a large ex- tent was imposed the task of the moral training and education of their children, and most faithfully, and with a self-sacrificing devotion, of which only mothers are capable, did they execute this task. School books must be furnished ; there were in those days no free school book advocates ; they had not then been born and it was generally for the mothers to see that their children were suitably provided and equipped for attending on week days the school and on Sundays the church. The means which the united labor of fathers and mothers had earned and their joint economy had saved were legally under the control of the fathers, but the details of application were left to the mothers and many faithful mothers were put into their graves prematurely by reason of their assiduous devotion to the moral and educational training of their children. The result was the children of the families of the early settlers were well taught in the rudiments of a common education and in com- mon sense. Most of the prominent and influential men and women in this city to-day and in the state and nation are largely indebted to the love and devotion of their mothers for the moral training, education and habits of industry and economy which have enabled them to achieve distinction.
It was natural, therefore, that our esteemed and lamented friend, George C. Dodge, should be elated at the election of Mrs. J. A. Harris vice president. She is a fitting type of thousands among the early set- tlers, who, without romance, ostentation or mystery, in a quiet way, con- tributed largely to the growth and prosperity of the country.
I have not referred to the influence of woman in the history of the early settlers to detract from the influence of man, but to show that in what we most admire in that history woman was the coequal of man and " a helpmeet for him," and besides I wanted to vindicate Moses, and could not do it better than by reference to the character of pioneer women. A word to the ladies by way of advice, which is generally
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cheap, unless given by lawyers : You, by the action of our society, are eligible to office and you may wish to know how to hold on to it. Culti- vate inoffiensive partisanship and you will then be as wise as men and harmless as doves.
At the suggestion of Vice-President Mrs. Harris, the ladies of the association formally recognized the tribute paid them by Mr. Hutchins-
Mrs. Lohmann then rendered " The Old Barn Window, John," and gracefully responded to an encore with " The Devoted Apple." Hon. John A. Foote moved a vote of thanks to Mrs. Grace Perkins Lohman for her inspiring musical selections. Mr. Foote said that he had never known the difference between a chord and a discord, but the vocal music had touched his heart as it had never been touched before. The motion was unanimously adopted.
GOVERNOR CLINTON AND THE OHIO CANAL.
A PAPER READ BY GEORGE B. MERWIN.
MR. PRESIDENT:
The important subject of opening and rendering permanent a naviga- ble water communication between lake Erie and the Ohio river had been discussed by the press and business men for some length of time in various parts of the state, and in January 1822, the legislature enacted a law and appointed commissioners to examine the country and report on the practicability of making a canal from Lake Erie to the Ohio river.
These commissioners employed the Hon. James Geddes, of Onondaga county, New York, as an engineer, who arrived at Columbus, the seat of government, in the month of June 1822. On his way he had examined the Cuyahoga summit.
In the spring, summer and autumn of 1822, Mr. Geddes examined the country for a canal a distance in length amounting to nine hundred miles; our engineers leveled eight hundred miles. The commissioners themselves assisted in the examination, devoting nearly all their time to this service, and continued the examination of different canal routes
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during the whole season of 1823-4 and finally early in the year 1825, deter- mined on commencing at Cleveland, and ending at Portsmouth on the Ohio river, a distance of three hundred and fifty miles.
All this being done, Judge Bates, of Rochester, New York, was ap- pointed chief engineer ; every other necessary preparation being made, the canal commissioners and all our constituted authorities, invited De- Witt Clinton, Governor of New York, to be present and dig the first shovelfull of earth, which was to be done on the Licking ummit, in Licking county, about three miles or more westwardly of Newark, on the fourth of July, 1825.
Governor Clinton was a warm friend and advocate of internal im- provements throughout the United States by the general government, and was on that account looked upon as a probable presidential candi- date at the next ensuing election and was considered the father of the Hudson and Erie canal. He wrote that he would arrive in Cleveland the last day of June.
The Superior was due that day, but it was uncertain whether he would come on the steamboat or in the stage.
My father sent me down to Condit's tavern in Euclid, where the stage horses were changed, to see if Governor Clinton was in the stage and told me to come home lively; in half an hour the stage arrived but that very distinguished gentleman was not among the passengers.
I mounted my horse and started at a lively gait; just as I passed the residence of Nathan Perry, he took the bit in his teeth and ran away with me. As I came to the public square my hat fell off, and I came through the square and Superior street John Gilpin-like, my hair flying in the wind, my coat tails at right angles with my body and my hands clinched in the mane. Fortunately the stable door was shut and I received no in- jury.
Many of the citizens, learning of my errand to Euclid, on seeing me return in such a very unceremonious manner came to me and inquired if Governor Clinton was on the stage; being answered in the negative, we all went down to the bank of the lake to see if the boat was in sight. She was about ten miles off.
It was a heavenly day, not a cloud in the sky, the lake calm as the river, its glistening bosom reflecting the fierce rays of an almost tropi-
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ical sun; she soon passed Water street, dressed with all her flags, and came to anchor about a mile opposite the mouth of the river and fired her usual signal gun.
Her commander, Captain Fisk, ordered the steps to be let down and her yawl boat to be placed along side of them; then taking Governor Clinton by the hand seated him in the stern of the boat, and was followed by his aids, Colonel Jones, Colonel Read, and Colonel Solomon Van. Rensallaer, who had traversed the state when a wilderness, as an officer under General Wayne. Messrs. Rathbone and Lord, who had loaned us the money with which to commence the canal, and Judge Conkling, United States District judge, of New York.
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