Centennial History of Butler County, Ohio, Part 133

Author: Bert S. Bartlow, W. H. Todhunter, Stephen D. Cone, Joseph J. Pater, Frederick Schneider, and others
Publication date: 1905
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1149

USA > Ohio > Butler County > Centennial History of Butler County, Ohio > Part 133

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Professor Morrison, in his biography, says: "The fruit of his untiring labors in and about Hamilton is not all seen in the congregation he there collected, or the num- ber of persons brought into that branch of

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the church of which he was a member. The influence of Dr. MacDill was felt all over that country. . . . There was perhaps no man in Butler county who did more to mold public opinion for good than Dr. Mac- Dill. He was ever on the lookout for op- portunities of doing good to men and ad- vancing the glory of God."

JOSEPH EWING M'DONALD.

Joseph E. McDonald, late senator from Indiana, was born in Fairfield township, on the 29th of August, 1819. His father, John McDonald, was of Scotch extraction, a na- tive of Pennsylvania, and by occupation a farmer. He was a man of sterling worth, determined, industrious, and self-sacrificing. He died when his son was still in infancy. His mother, Eleanor (Piatt) McDonald, was a Pennsylvanian. Her ancestors were French Huguenots, who located first in New Jersey, and afterwards settled perma- nently in Ohio. She was a woman of a su- perior order of intellect. She was a woman of refined tastes, a pleasant writer, and, for the amusement and advancement of her chil- dren, wrote many sketches and scraps of song. She and her husband were both earn- est members of the United Presbyterian church.

Several years after the death of John McDonald she was married to John Kerr, of Fairfield township. Mr. Kerr was a na- tive of Ireland, a frugal, industrious farmer always out of debt, a just and courteous neighbor, a firm but kind parent, and the father of seven children, four sons and three daughters. He moved with his family to Montgomery county, Indiana, in the fall of 1826, entered land and opened a farm. He was a member of the Old School Presby- terian church. He died in 1856.

Joseph was seven years of age when, in 1826, his parents located in Montgomery county, then an almost unbroken forest. He remained on the place until the age of twelve years, excepting two years spent at Crawfordsville attending school. Such spare time as he could command from his labors on the farm was occupied in pursu- ing a course of study which aided much in laying the foundation for the eventful fu- ture in store for him. At an early age he conceived a strong love for the law, and when ten years old he had determined upon making that profession his life work, at the cost of any personal hardship or sacrifice. In his twelfth year the ambitious aspirant for future honors at the bar became an appren- tice at the saddler's trade at Lafayette, In- diana. In that capacity he served five years and nine months, except three months spent in attending school. For fidelity to their in- terests his employers released him from the last three months of his apprenticeship, which time he spent in prosecuting his studies.

Following the resolution made before going to learn a trade, he pursued his studies with vigor at such times as he could snatch from work or rest. He had already become quite proficient in the English branches and rudiments of learning. His favorite study was history, in which he be- came well versed. During his apprentice- ship he had access to the extensive and well- selected library of Dr. Israel T. Canby, who was then receiver of the public moneys of the land office at Crawfordsville, Indiana. This opportunity was well improved, and he was prepared when leaving there, in 1838, to enter upon advanced fields of knowl- edge.

At the age of eighteen he entered Wa-

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bash College, at Crawfordsville, and began kiel B., Malcolm A., Frank B., and Annie the study of the higher branches of learn- M. McDonald, afterwards Mrs. Caldwell, who died June 2, 1877. ing with success, supporting himself mainly by plying his trade at such times as it was He was re-elected prosecuting attorney over Robert Evans, a prominent lawyer and politician, in August, 1845, serving in all a period of four years. In the fall of 1847 he moved to Crawfordsville and entered on the practice of the law, where he lived until 1859. He was elected to the thirty-first con- gress from the old eighth district in August, 1849, and served one term. In 1856 he was elected attorney-general of Indiana, being the first chosen to this office by the people. and was re-elected in 1858, serving in all four years. He was not a candidate for a third term. possible to do so. He continued his studies at college till the spring of 1840, except for a short period in the spring of 1839, when he acted with the engineers' corps of the state of Indiana, who were then surveying the bed for the Wabash and Erie canal. In 1840 he entered Asbury University, at Greencastle, Indiana, and remained six months, returning to Crawfordsville, where he was the rest of the year, and taught school one term. In the spring of 1841 he went to Williamsport, Indiana, taking a po- sition as clerk in the store of James Mc- Donald, his brother, being there one year.

In the spring of 1842 he began the study of law at Lafayette, Indiana, with Zebulon Beard, one of the first lawyers in the state, as his preceptor. He advanced with rapid strides, his quick and firm grasp of its prin- ciples being remarkable. He was admitted to practice by the supreme court of Indiana, consisting of Judges Blackford, Dewey and Sullivan, in the spring of 1843. He was nominated for the office of prosecuting at- torney before he received his license to prac- tice, and was elected to that position at the August election following, over Robert Jones, a Whig and a prominent member of the Lafayette bar. This was the first elec- tion of that class of officers by the people. they having formerly been chosen by the legislature.

In the spring of 1859 he removed to In- dianapolis, forming a partnership with Ad- dison L. Roach, ex-judge of the supreme court of Indiana. In 1864 McDonald was nominated for governor of Indiana by the Democratic state convention, and made a joint canvass with Oliver P. Morton, the Republican nominee. At the election he re- ceived six thousand more votes for governor that the Democratic state ticket did in 1862, when the entire Democratic state ticket, to- gether with a majority in both branches of the general assembly, was elected. Mr. Mor- ton was elected, however, by nearly twenty thousand votes.

In 1868 E. M. McDonald became the law partner of his father, and the next year Addison L. Roach retired from the firm. E. M. McDonald died January 1, 1873. Frank B. McDonald, his youngest son, after- ward became the law partner of Mr. Mc- Donald.

On the 25th of December, 1844, he was married to Nancy Ruth Buell, at William- sport, Indiana. She was the daughter of Doctor Buell, a practicing physician and Senator McDonald's wife died on Sep- surgeon. The issue of this union was Eze- tember 7, 1872. On the 15th of September,

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1874, he married Araminta W. Vance, of Crawfordsville, who died February 2, 1875. In 1882 he was married for a third time. March 5, 1875, he was elected to the United States senate for six years. He was chair- man of the committee on public lands, and the second member of the judiciary com- mittee of the senate, and ranked as one of the best lawyers of that body. He was a consistent Democrat of the Jefferson type. After retiring from the senate he devoted himself to the practice of his profession until his death on June 21, 1891.

LEVI RICHMOND.

General Levi Richmond was born on the 29th day of January, 1805, in Ross town- ship, in this county, and was, at the time of his death, in the forty-fifth year of his age. He was married on the 4th day of December, 1823, by the Rev. John A. Baughman, to Martha Powers Akers, a most estimable lady, and had by her six children.

The greatest portion of his life was spent in the immediate vicinity of the spot where the light first fell upon him. From April, 1835, until in October, 1841, he re- sided in the town of Millville, when he re- moved to Rossville, where he continued to reside up to the time of his death.

He received from his parents what, in the days of his youth, was considered a liberal education. Although but limited in comparison with the instruction now to be obtained, it was yet sufficient for one of such close observation and thirst for in- formation to enable him by a very extensive general reading to qualify him for all the useful and practical pursuits of life.

Coming upon the theater of action when recollection of the glorious achievements of

our heroic army of the war of 1812 was fresh in the memories of all true-hearted Americans, and accustomed to hear the war- worn veterans recount their deeds of per- sonal valor, his spirit became fired with en- thusiasm, and he longed for the opportunity of offering his services to his country. De- voting a great amount of time to the study of military affairs, and being attached to the Eighth Company of the Second Regiment in the Third Brigade of the First Division of the Ohio militia, he was, on the 15th day of June, 1830, commissioned a lieutenant in his company. On the 10th day of Jan- uary, 1832. he was promoted to the rank of captain. Shortly afterwards he was raised to the rank of major of the regiment, and afterwards he was promoted to lieutenant- colonel, and then colonel of the Second Regi- ment, and finally was elected and commis- sioned a brigadier-general of the First Di- vision.

A long period of peace having blessed our flag no opportunity was afforded him to display what all military men acquainted with him agreed that he possessed in a most eminent degreee-military skill.

When the war with Mexico broke out, being pretty well advanced in years, and hav- ing a large family to claim his support and protection, he was induced to abandon his wish to accompany our army in that coun- try, but his voice was heard urging the young men to rally around the flag.

The great aim of his life appeared to be to render himself a useful member of so- ciety. Ardent and liberal in all his senti- ments, he was a firm and unwavering friend of the people's rights. Having attached him- self to the Democratic party early in life, he never lost sight of the party's interest; and

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the ardor and enthusiasm which charac- terized him in political affairs rendered him one of the strongest pillars which supported that political creed. For seven successive years he served as township clerk of his na- tive township, and was twice elected justice of the peace of St. Clair township. In 1843 he was appointed postmaster of Rossville, which office he held until a Whig adminis- tration came into power, when he was re- moved on political considerations.

HENRY LEE MOREY

was born in Milford township. Butler county, April 8, 1841; attended common schools of Butler and Preble counties until 1856, when he was sent to the Morning Sun Academy to prepare for a collegiate educa- tion. In 1859 he entered Miami University ; enlisted in the University Rifles, organized at Oxford, on the day following the fall of Fort Sumter. This company was attached to the Twentieth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and was actively engaged in the campaign of West Virginia. Mr. Morey subsequently enlisted in the Seventy-fifth Regiment. which he helped to recruit and organize at Camp McLean, near Lockland. He was elected second lieutenant and served with his regiment until the close of the war, being successively promoted to first lieuten- ant and captain. The Seventy-fifth Regi- ment participated in the battles of Monterey, Franklin. Cross Keys, Cedar Mountain, Chancellorsville and numerous other ones of less note. Captain Morey commanded his company in every engagement after the bat- tle of Monterey. He was taken prisoner at Chancellorsville and confined in Libby prison for a short time, when he was ex- changed. After the war he studied law;

graduated from the Indianapolis Law Col- lege, and located in this city in 1867, where he afterward resided. He was, in 1871, elected city solicitor to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Elijah Vance; was shortly after re-elected for a full term; was the same year elected prosecuting attorney of Butler county, overcoming and wiping out a Democratic majority of two thousand. He was elected a representative in congress in 1880, and was re-elected in 1889, serving until March 3, 1891.

Mr. Morey was a Republican in politics, and was a leader in his party in Ohio. As a political orator he ranked with the best in the state. After retiring from congress he held no political office until his appoint- ment to membership on the board of man- agers of the Dayton Insane Asylum, which position he retained until his death, Decem- ber 29, 1902.

Mr. Morey was the senior member of the law firm of Morey, Andrews & Morey, which had a large and lucrative practice. Mr. Morey was an able and courteous gentleman, and stood well with his party and the community in general.

TAYLOR WEBSTER.

Taylor Webster was born in Pennsyl- vania, and when a child immigrated with his father and mother to Butler county, Ohio, in 1806. He received a limited edu- cation in the schools of that early day, and for a time pursued his studies at the Miami University. when that institution was in its infancy.

Mr. Webster was identified with the press of Butler county for a long time. From about the year 1828 until the year 1836 he edited and published the Western

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Telegraph, which was the organ of the old Jackson Democracy. Subsequently the Telegraph was carried on by John B. Wel- ler. During the first part of this period the Hamilton Intelligencer, the opposition paper, was edited by John Woods, and sub- sequently it was edited, printed and pub- lished by Lewis D. Campbell. These four Hamilton editors all represented the district in congress-Mr. Woods four years, Mr. Webster six years, Mr. Weller six years, and Mr. Campbell, the only survivor, eleven years.

In 1829 Mr. Webster was elected clerk of the house of representatives of the Ohio ' legislature. In 1830 he was the representa- tive of Butler in the Ohio legislature, and was elected speaker. In 1832, 1834 and 1836 he was elected representative to con- gress from the district composed of the counties of Butler. Preble and Darke. In 1838 he was succeeded by John B. Weller. Subsequently he was the successor of John Reily, deceased, as clerk of the court of com- mon pleas, and of the supreme court of the state of Ohio for Butler county.

During the administration of Jackson and Van Buren, when he was actively in the field of Ohio politics, he was not such a leader as were William Allen, John Brough, or John B. Weller. He was not an orator, but in a less ostentatious way he performed more telling service than either of them. Their great powers were displayed in ha- ranguing the multitude and exciting their friends to action without, perhaps, making very many converts from the opposition. Mr. Webster's great strength lay in his in- defatigable industry, and his principal strength was in what was called the button- hole and fence-corner system of electioneer-

ing. He had no superior in the Miami val- ley in organizing political forces in detail during a campaign, and bringing them into action when a decisive battle was to be fought. He was naturally of a mild and unassuming disposition-calm, discreet, and considerate in action. He was always tem- perate, industrious and persevering, and he discharged with honesty and fidelity the functions of the various official positions with which he was intrusted. He died on the 27th of April, 1876, at the residence of his son, in New Orleans.

GEN. ARTHUR ST. CLAIR.

Gen. Arthur St. Clair was born at Thurso, in Carthuess, Scotland, in the year 1734. Educated at the university at Edin- burgh, studying the sciences of medicine under the famous physician, Dr. William Hunter, of London, his tastes yet led him to that of arms. He became an ensign in the British army and in 1788 arrived at Amherst before Louisburg; a lieutenant's commission was issued to him and he was assigned to the command of General Wolfe, who had been selected to reduce Quebec. On September 13, 1759, on the Plains of Abraham was decided the fate of the French nation in America, and the thrilling history of that battle has been embalmed in history, among the bravest of the brave being both the opposing leaders-Wolfe and Mont- calm. In the fatal struggle on the Plain, Lieutenant St. Clair seized the colors, which had fallen from the hands of a dying soldier, and bore them until the field was won by the British. St. Clair was in all the strug- gles and privations of the war until the French capitulated on September 8, 1760.

He then obtained a furlough, came to

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Boston. married Miss Phebe Bayard, an ac- complished lady who brought as her mar- riage portion seventy thousand dollars, and this with his own savings made him a wealthy man. Resigning his commission in the army he moved to the Lagonia valley, in western Pennsylvania, where he had a large tract of land. erected a fine residence and gristmill. the first one in the valley, and entered actively into the duties of civil life in opening up and improving that most beautiful valley. He was appointed sur- veyor for the district of Cumberland, justice of the court of quarter sessions and com- mon pleas, member of the governor's coun- cil.

With the outbreak of the Revolutionary war he at once espoused the side of the col- onists. Congress issued to him the com- mission of colonel, and President Hancock addressed him a letter pressing him to come at once to Philadelphia and take his com- mand. Although surrounded as he was with affluence, a rising and happy family, he at once bade them adieu and obeyed the sum- mons, saying: "I hold that no man has a right to withhold his services when his country needs them. Be the sacrifice ever so great, it must be yielded upon the altar of his country." He was in nearly all the battles of the Revolution, side by side with Washington; rose rapidly to the post of major-general for meritorious services ; hon- ored by the warm friendship of Washing- ton, which he never lost; a friend and as- sistant of Lafayette; president of the Con- tinental congress. Handsome in form, dignified in bearing, he was a national leader, winning all hearts.

By accepting the governorship of the Northwestern territory he sacrificed his for-

tune, the comforts of his home and brilliant political prospects there. He arrived at Marietta on the 9th of July, 1788, and or- ganized the new territory in September. March 4. 1791, under an act of congress, President Washington appointed Gen. Arthur St. Clair major-general of all the troops to be employed on the frontiers, with directions from General Knox, secretary of war, to march to the frontier country and endeavor to effect a just, liberal and lasting peace with the Indians; but failing in this, to use such coercive means as he saw proper and had the means of using, and he was authorized to establish such posts to com- municate with Fort Washington. on the Ohio, as he might judge proper.

Gen. St. Clair arrived at Fort Wash- ington on May 15 and set about to organize the forces of the United States. An ex- pedition was organized against the Indians, and terminated in the most disastrous de- feat known in the military history on No- vember 4, 1791. The whole country was shocked.

St. Clair, after his return from the ill- fated field. worn down by age, disease and the hardships of a frontier campaign, as- sailed by the press, and the current popular feeling against him, went to Washington as to a shelter from the storm. Washington did him justice. He did not forget his old meritorious services. He took him to his heart as of yore. and retained him as gov- ernor of the territory, which position he held until November. 1802, when he was removed by Thomas Jefferson.

No man ever questioned the bravery, in- tegrity or faithfulness of General St. Clair to the cause of American liberty. For it he sacrificed all he had, a large fortune, do-

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mestic ease, the affection of the friends, and when the credit of the government would not enable him to provide supplies for his army, give his own individual promise to pay what amounted to about five thousand dollars, for which his home and lands, which cost him fifty thousand dollars, were sold. The government, under one pretext or another, refused to reimburse him, al- though his claim was strongly urged by Henry Clay, Gen. William H. Harrison and many others of the best men of the nation. He finished his career at eighty-one years, the keeper of a wayside inn, a log cabin, on Chestnut Ridge, Pennsylvania, having for a long time been in the most abject want. Of the pension of sixty dollars per month wrung from congress from very shame, not one cent reached him, for it was seized by a creditor at the very door of the treasury.

JOHN SUTHERLAND.

John Sutherland, one of the earliest set- tlers of Hamilton, and among the most prominent men of his day, was born in Carthnesshire, Scotland, in 1771. He was the son of a farmer, and when about seven- teen years old he emigrated to the United States, and immediately went to the west- ern part of Virginia, where he remained a few years and then came to Ohio, which was then almost entirely unsettled and over- run by savages. The Indian was then at his height. In 1793 he became a captain of pack-horse, engaged in transporting pro- visions and stores from Fort Washington to Fort Hamilton, St. Clair and Greenville, then posts in the interior of the country. Mr. Sutherland continued in the employ- ment for some time, and afterward held some post in the commissariat department of

the army, until after Wayne's treaty at Greenville, in August, 1795, after which he settled in Hamilton, where he opened a store and traded largely with the Indians. The friendly Indians then occupied most of the country west of the Great Miami river as hunting grounds; their camps were in what is now Darke and Preble counties, and in parts of Butler county. A great portion of his trade for some time was with the Indians for furs and peltries. As late as 1808 a party of eighty or a hundred In- dians came in and encamped in the lower part of Rossville, where they remained sev- eral weeks, trading with Mr. Sutherland. When they retired further west he employed several persons, whom he supplied with goods, to go to their towns between the Mississinewa and the headwaters of the Wabash river to trade with them. Years afterward Mr. Sutherland traded largely in beef cattle, which he purchased in Kentucky and the Miami valley, and drove them through the wilderness to Detroit, where he . disposed of them principally to citizens of Canada. Soon after he commenced business in Hamilton. Mr. Sutherland formed a partnership with Henry Brown, and did business for several years under the firm name of Sutherland & Brown. After some time they divided their goods and estab- lished a store in Dayton, which was placed under the management of Mr. Brown, where it was continued until they finally dissolved partnership in the year 1810. About 1813 Mr. Sutherland entered into partnership with James P. Ramsey, a brother of the late Mrs. Sutherland, and did business under the firm name of Sutherland & Ramsey until the year 1820, when they dissolved partner- ship.

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Mr. Sutherland first commenced business in Hamilton in a double log building, which stood south of the pickets of the garrison; a part of the same building is the one in which the office of the clerk of the court for Butler county was afterward kept. It was south of where the United Presbyterian church now stands. He then removed to the east side of Front street, between Mar- ket and Dayton streets, where he built a store and dwelling-house on lot 120, and afterward built the frame house opposite to the northwest corner of the public square, to which he removed his store and family. This building is still standing, and is now occupied by John Holtzberger.

Mr. Sutherland was, at one time, the wealthiest man in Butler county, and among the wealthiest in the state of Ohio. Inde- pendent of abundant capital to carry on his business he possessed a large amount of real estate in both Ohio and Indiana. His credit was unbounded. In 1818, and for some subsequent years, he engaged largely in the pork and flour trade, and made heavy shipments to New Orleans. In this Mr. Sutherland lost heavily, and having become indorsee for some of his friends for large amounts, which he had finally to pay, he became embarrassed, had to suspend busi- ness and was enabled only to save from the wreck a small portion of his fortune. Mr. Sutherland was a man of unbounded char- ity and hospitality. He rejoiced when he heard of a poor man meeting with success in his worldly affairs. He always adhered to the old Scotch Associate Reformed church, and his home was always the stop- ping place of the clergy of that denomina- tion when they visited Hamilton. He died

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Centennial History of Butler County, Ohio, Part 133

Author: Bert S. Bartlow, W. H. Todhunter, Stephen D. Cone, Joseph J. Pater, Frederick Schneider, and others Publication date: 1905 Publisher: Number of Pages: 1149

Author: Bert S. Bartlow, W. H. Todhunter, Stephen D. Cone, Joseph J. Pater, Frederick Schneider, and others
Publication date: 1905
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1149