USA > Ohio > Miami County > Troy > Centennial history. Troy, Piqua and Miami county, Ohio > Part 22
USA > Ohio > Miami County > Piqua > Centennial history. Troy, Piqua and Miami county, Ohio > Part 22
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HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY
quired half the week to print the meager edition on the miserable presses then in vogue, whereas to-day the large editions of the present county weeklies and dailies are thrown off in an hour or two on the modern cylinder press. The names of the subscribers to the old-time weeklies were laboriously written at the top of the first page by the "editor," who frequently took a turn at the press himself. I recall the old press that used to be operated in the office of the Troy Times as late as the days of the Civil War, and I often envied the operator of the ponderous- lever his strength.
In those days the industrious reporter was unknown. There was no county cor- respondence, no recording of neighbor- hood doings, no localizing at all. The old newspapers just plodded along. The pub- lishers took nearly everything in exchange for subscriptions, wood, flour, garden produce, and even whiskey. There was no "display" in the few advertisements that found their way into the first newspapers of the county, and the knack of writing ad- vertisements had not been discovered. There were advertisements of musters, strayed animals, runaway apprentices, and little more. I believe that the newspapers of the past were as much read by their patrons as are those of the present day, because they had nothing else to read, if we except the few dry volumes that looked lonely on the bookshelf of the home. The papers then were read aloud at night to the household by the head of it, including the month-old news that filled the narrow columns. News not over a month old was considered "fresh," and if a paper print- ed anything with no more than a week's
age upon it, it was looked upon as a mar- . vel of enterprise.
It amuses one to place side by side one of these old newspaper and the excellent county paper of to-day. But years ago the articles were written with a precise- ness as to grammar and spelling, and the editor of the past was a man who prided himself on these things. He was always glad to get hold of an original article, and when some local poet burst upon the world and sent in an effusion, it was given a prominent place in the sheet, whereupon the author considered himself the equal of Milton or Pope. "Top of the page" and "next to reading matter" were terms which were not known in the editorial rooms till long afterward. The old-time compositor was usually a character. He tramped the country afoot, and when the editor was out of town, he "set up" the paper, worked the press himself, collected subscriptions and, in short, was the "whole thing." Some of these geniuses did not belong to the temperance societies and now and then the non-appearance of the paper was owing to their chronic "in- disposition," to use no harsher term. The "tramp printer" has about disappeared, though now and then one puts in an ap- pearance, works a few days and again be- comes the "Wandering Jew" of the pro- fession.
The first newspaper that appeared in the county was issued July 6, 1820, at Pi- qua. It went under the name of the Piqua Gazette, and its printer and editor was William R. Barrington. He was a Phila- delphian. He was a man of considerable culture and his editorials were forcible and noted for their clearness. He became mayor of Piqua. Mr. Barrington contin-
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ued the publication of the Gazette till 1837, when he sold the paper to Jeremiah A. Dooley, who changed the name of the sheet to the Intelligencer. Dooley did not con- duct it very long, but sold out and the paper then passed through several hands and numerous vicissitudes till it became the property of John W. Defrees, who aft- erwards established the Miami Union, at Troy. Mr. Defrees sold the Intelligencer to Writer & Brading. The former soon became sole proprietor and when the war broke out he exchanged the pen for the sword, went into the army and served creditably there. The Intelligencer advo- cated the principles of the old Whig party, but under Mr. Defrees' management it be- came a Republican newspaper and con- tinned so until it passed out of existence.
In 1822 the Miami Reporter was started in Troy by Micajah Fairfield. Its motto was "Be just and fear not." It was an eight-page sheet, and its subscription price was two dollars and fifty cents a year. The editor announced that "almost every kind of produce will be received at the market price for subscriptions." Since eggs at that time were three cents a dozen and chickens a drug on the market at fifty cents per dozen, with whiskey at twelve cents per gallon, it took no inconsiderable amount of produce to keep abreast of the times. In the presidential campaign of 1828 the Reporter advocated the election of John Quincy Adams, and some of its onslaughts on Jackson were sharp and vigorous.
When Mr. Fairfield grew tired of sup- plying his readers with mental pabulum in weekly installments he sold ont to John T. Tullis, who published the Reporter for eight years, when H. D. Stout took charge
of it. Furnas & Little and Marvel & Mun- son afterwards published it and it fell into the hands of E. C. Harmon, still living, who christened the paper the Troy Times, in 1857. It was published as the Troy Times till 1869, when it ceased as a news- paper. The Times was operated by Mr. Harmon all through the Civil War, and contained, among other things, many com- munications from the soldiers at the front.
In 1865 the present Miami Union was started by John W. Defrees. This gentle- man opened a new era in Miami County newspapers. He was a lucid and fear- less writer, a strong advocate of the prin- ciples of the Republican party, and drew down upon his head many sharp criticisms from members of the opposing political party. Once when a subscriber demurred to some of Mr. Defrees' editorial utter- ances and burst into the sanctum with, "I'm going to stop the Union!" Defrees calmly scratched his name from the books, escorted him into the printing room, and pointing to the press at work, said with a smile, "You see, sir, that the Union is still going right along." Mr. Defrees re- mained at the head of the Miami Union until his death, when his son, Lucius L., took charge of it and ably conducted it for some years. After the death of L. L. Defrees it passed under the control of the Miami Union Publishing Company, at the head of which is Walter S. Thomas. The Miami Union enjoys the largest week- ly circulation patronage of any newspa- per in the county, having a large corps of neighborhood correspondents who cover the entire local field and make the paper bright and newsy.
The Troy Sentinel was first published in 1871 by J. A. McConahey, but it soon
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passed into the hands of J. M. Kerr, who published it to its discontinuance in 1880. Its materials were then purchased by the Imperial Publishing Company and the name changed to the Troy Imperial. The paper did not exist very long and soon ceased to be published. Another newspa- per called the Weekly Bulletin was pub- lished for a time by the Bidlack Brothers, had a short life and was no more. Later on the Troy Chronicle and Daily Trojan were published by Dr. C. H. Goodrich, but after a brief and stormy existence they fell into the hands of Frank Lowing and were no longer published.
The Troy Democrat was issued first by J. P. Barron, who ran it ably for some years as an exponent of the principles of the Democratic party. This newspaper is now published by Charles H. Dale and enjoys a large circulation and an extensive advertising patronage. It is one of the neatest and most progressive Democratic weeklies in Ohio and the office has all the facilities for excellent newspaper and job work.
Twelve years ago the Daily Record was established by the Croy Brothers and has continued to the present day. It has proved the only successful daily of the several that have been started in Troy. It enters nearly every home in the city and is much sought after. The Daily Record is Republican in principle and takes an active part in all political campaigns.
The year 1891 found the late Captain Elihu S. Williams at the head of the Buck- eye, a weekly with a purpose. Captain Williams was perhaps one of the most able and fearless editors that ever wielded a pen in the county. When he had any- thing to say he said it in a manner that
admitted of no dispute. Under his man- agement the Buckeye soon became a power in the county and it was amid general re- gret that he quitted the editorial helm. He sold the newspaper to O'Kane & Huff- man. In 1902 Captain Williams again took charge of the paper and was editor of it when he died. Afterward it was pub- lished by Captain Williams' daughter, Miss Olive, who conducted it on the ad- mirable lines established by her father till its purchase by the present proprietor, Mr. H. A. Pauley. The Buckeye was a regular storehouse for local and pioneer reminiscences and cultivated a field not cultivated by any other newspaper in the county. It enjoys today a good patron- age and is well and intelligently edited.
Returning to Piqua, the first Demo- eratic newspaper that was edited and pub- lished by David M. Fleming in 1847. It was first published as the Enquirer, but in 1860 Mr. Fleming changed his politics from Democratic to Republican and the Enquirer became the Piqua Journal. He published the paper till his death, when a stock company bought it, with E. M. Wilbee at its head, but the new regime was short lived.
The Miami County Democrat made its appearance in 1860, under the manage- ment of Horton & Teverbaugh, both of whom went into the army, when the paper was published by Samuel C. Cole, and sub- sequently by the Smiley Brothers. The Helmet afterwards came into existence, under the editorial management of Isaac S. Morris, a Republican and a strong ad- vocate of temperance principles. The Helmet, under Mr. Morris' editorial su- pervision, was ably conducted and at one time had a large circulation. From the
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same office there was issued later on the Daily Call, owned by the late John W. Morris, but now controlled by other par- ties. The Call is edited by Mr. H. R. Snyder, an experienced newspaper man, who has edited the Dayton Journal and other newspapers of more or less note. Under his management the Call has been brought into the front rank of interior dailies and maintains a high degree of ex- cellenee.
The Piqua Leader-Dispatch, daily, is edited and controlled by Henry Kampf, one of the most virile of the younger elass of newspaper editors in Ohio. Kampf is a good editorial writer, fearless and ag- gressive and often throws his gauntlet into the newspaper arena by way of challenge. Under his supervision the Leader-Dis- patch has become well known, not only in the county, but in every part of the State. It has a large circulation and is eagerly read by members of both political parties, though it is radically Democratie in prin -. ciple, while its rival, the Call, espouses the Republican cause.
The only German newspaper in the county, the Miami Post, is published at Piqua, by A. Bartel. This newspaper cir- culates largely among German citizens and enjoys the good will of all.
As early as 1853 Tippecanoe City had a weekly paper named the Reflector. It was published by one Hudson, and after a brief existence it went out of business. It was followed some years later by the City Item, which, like its predecessor, the Re- flector, dropped into an unknown grave. In 1869 Col. J. H. Horton issued the Her- ald, which he conducted till 1880, when Caldwell & Co. took charge of it. After passing through the usual vicissitudes in-
cidental to newspaper life, the Herald fell into the hands of the present management. It is now edited by J. Maurice Ridge. The Herald is a strong Republican newspaper and enjoys a good circulation, especially in the southern part of the county.
S. W. Ely, one of the best known news- paper men in southwestern Ohio, estab- lished the Stillwater Valley Gazette at Covington in 1870. In May, 1883, W. F. and Robert Cantwell bought out the Ga- zette and continued its publication in Cov- ington. Until the above date the Gazette had been published by W. A. Browne, now owner and editor of the Greenville Adro- cate. The Covington Gazette circulates everywhere through the Stillwater region. Robert Cantwell died in 1908, and the newspaper is now in charge of his brother and partner, William. The Covington Tribune is another of the Stillwater Val- ley weeklies that has made good. It is a newsy, well edited sheet, making no loud pretensions, but an excellent journal, how- ever, and well edited by J. H. Marlin.
The present West Milton Record, by the Radabaugh Brothers, has no rival on the west side of the county. It is a neat appearing weekly and receives the patron- age it richly deserves. A few years ago Dr. Pearson conducted the West Milton Buckeye, which was sold to Captain E. S. Williams and moved to Troy, where it is still published. Dr. Pearson moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he has re- sumed the practice of medicine.
The foregoing is a list of the newspa- pers that have been and are published within the limits of the county. During nearly a century of editorial toil and trouble, the press of Miami County is to be congratulated upon its good work and
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HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY
the success it has had in furnishing read- ing matter to the masses. It long ago passed through the incipient stages of newspaperdom to emerge into brighter and more profitable fields. Not all the news- paper ventures have lived or thrived, but the fittest liave survived and so far as is known, their present appearance indicates prosperity. The citizens of the county are a reading and intelligent people and there is probably no home within the borders of Miami that some local paper does not enter.
LOCAL LITERATURE.
. In the production of general literature the county, during the first hundred years of its existence, has not been very prolific. Few books have been written and pub- lished by home authors. I have searched the literary records from the earliest years and find the name of home book- makers very scarce. The late G. Volney Dorsey was perhaps the first citizen to put forth a book. Dr. Dorsey was a gen- tleman of the highest culture and a deep scholar. He published many years ago a free translation of some of the famous Greek poets, a work which evinced much learning. In later years Mrs. W. C. Rog- ers (Margaret Douglass) issued a volume of verse, as did Miss Adeline E. Gross, while Mrs. J. F. Mckinney published some interesting local reminiscences and Miss Fanny Fleming published an account of her travels in Europe in book form. This seems to have been Piqua's contribution to general literature.
Judge A. L. Mckinney, of Troy, wrote two books, one of which was a life of I. N. Walters, a prominent minister of the Christian Church, and Rev. J. P. Watson published "The Light of Other Days."
N. H. Albaugh, from the southern part of the county, issued a poetical volume en- titled "Wayside Blossoms," and Boyd E. Furnas, of Newton Township, put forth "Poems of Heart and Home." Lawrence . G. Gates, of Tippecanoe City, wrote and published a little volume called "Mus- ings," which met with local success. Of the local authors east of the Miami, T. C. Harbaugh, who adopted literature as a profession in 1867, has published three books of poems, viz .: "Maple Leaves," "Bugle Notes of the Blue" and "Lyrics of the Gray," besides many serials, short stories and poems. J. M. Kerr, a former citizen of the county, has edited and com- piled numerous standard law books, and his brother, J. A. Kerr, of Tippecanoe City, has had published a historical novel which was favorably commented upon by prominent critics.
In 1885 Mrs. Sarah Furnas Wells, M. D., a Miami County woman by birth and education, returned to the home of her girlhood and published a book of travels entitled "Ten Years' Travel Around the World." This book told of journeys in Europe, Asia, North and South America. It is well written and is a most entertain- ing account of the people of many lands. Mrs. Wells is now lecturing. Horace Rol- lins, artist and author, has also issued a book.
The above appears to be the whole lit- erary output of the county since its forma- tion. Many interesting reminiscences have appeared from time to time in the local press. Some of these should have ap- peared in book form, but the modesty of the authors doubtless prevented. About 1828 there arose in the county a local poet who rejoiced in the not very euphonistic
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name of Benjamin R. Bulfinch. He wrote rather vohuninously for the local press at the time, and his contributions were al- ways accorded a generous welcome. His poems have never been collected, and even the author's name is forgotten. He touched upon almost every subjeet, but there were times when his muse became Anaereonie, as witness the following poem, which ap- peared in the Troy Reporter in August, 1828:
TO MYRA.
Wert thou an artless village maid, And I but an humble swain, To only share with thee, yon glade, Would rapture be to power or gain.
Beyond the blue Atlantic wave, Blest would I be with thee to rove!
To decorate our simple cave, And taste again the sweets of Love.
Did I possess Golconda's mine, Fair India's domain all my own-
Circassian beauties look divine, But you should grace my diamond throne.
Of valour, were those charms the prize, Thy shaft, O Death! I would defy;
Approved only in thine eyes, Would live with thee, or for thee die. -Benjamin S. Bulfinch.
Whether the beautiful maiden who in- spired the foregoing verses by the heart and hand of the first Miami County poet became Mrs. Bulfinch or not history does not record; but she must have been indif- ferent to the wooings of her troubador if her heart was not melted into love by his "passionate" stanzas!
CHAPTER XIV.
AGRICULTURE
Primitive Farm Machinery of Pioneer Days-Lack of Transportation Facilities-The Early Farmers Without Wagons-Improvements Gradually Introduced-The First Crops Grown in Miami County-Livestock Easily Raised-Orchards Planted-The First Agricultural Society-Miami Represented at the State Pomological Exhibi- tion in 1851-The Miami County Agricultural Society-Fair Grounds Purchased -Present Condition of the Society and Roster of Officers-The Grange Move- ment-The Farmers' Institute-The Miami County Horticultural Society-Farm Products of Miami County-Stock Breeding.
The pioneers of Miami County de- voted themselves principally to agricul- ture. The majority were tillers of the soil and brought with them from their former homes the industrious habits that mark the successful farmer. Those who came from east of the Alleghanies had but little to learn in the wilderness of the Miami, while the immigrants from the South were largely cotton producers and not used to the sturdier system of farming which awaited them in the North. The southern pioneers soon adapted themselves to the habits of the new region and became, in time, the most progressive farmers of the early day. Many of the settlers brought with them the agricultural implements of the times. These were exceedingly prim- itive as compared with the improved farm machinery of the twentieth century. The wooden moldboard was then in existence,
the grain was cut with the sickle and either flailed or tramped out in the first barns of the county. The progress made by the early agriculturist with his simple imple- ments excites amazement now. He was handicapped in many ways, not only by a paucity of machinery, but the sore needs of good markets. The nearest places at which he could dispose of the produce of the little farm were Dayton and Cincin- nati. His products had to be hauled to market by wagon or flat-boated down the Miami to the two places, then in their com- mercial infancy. Prices were low, but the farmer's needs were few and he was satis- fied with the fruits of his labor. The few mills in the county gradually took up some of the produce, but it was usually set apart for home consumption. Boys were sent miles through the woods on horse- back carrying sacks of grain to the pioneer
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HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY
mills and waiting there, sometimes for several days, till the grists were ground, when the return was made.
For a long time the early farmers were without wagons. Not all of them had brought wagons across the mountain bar- riers. Those who did not, built wagons of their own. These were stout affairs, fashioned from the sturdy trees of the for- est, with heavy wheels and ponderous axles, with great beds and other strong accessories, enough to test the strength and endurance of the teams which drew them over the poor roads that irregularly bisected the county. With all the difficul- ties that beset him on every hand, the pio- neer farmer got along very well. He wid- ened the scope of his labors as his scant means permitted. He added to his agri- cultural domain, taking up the best land and, as his boys grew to manhood, farmed the whole of it.
In course of time the eabin which had graced the clearing gave way to a better habitation, a frame house with real glass in the windows and good carpets on the floors-the product of the weavers' looms -of which a number sprang up in every township. It must be said that some of the first farmers were ingenious artisans, for not a few of the early farm houses are still standing. These structures were well built and quite roomy. Building material was cheap and always at hand. All that was needed was the labor, and that was ever ready. When the harvest was to be cut, the farmer found neighbors who stood ready to help get it in and the assistants were repaid in kind. As has been stated, the sickle was the first harvest implement, but the scythe soon followed it and this was considered a wonderful improvement
in agricultural science. It took stout arms to sweep the scythe through the heavy grain that covered the Miami bottoms, and some of these scythe wielders became mar- vels in their way.
The principal kinds of grain produced at the dawn of local history were Indian corn, wheat, rye, oats and barley. Indian corn was to be found on every farm. It is said to have yielded from sixty to one hundred bushels per acre, but the average crop for the whole region was about forty- five. Wheat was raised almost as gen- erally as Indian corn. Twenty-two bushels may be said to have been the average crop, though at times forty bushels per acre were produced. The bearded wheat with reddish chaff was preferred, as least liable to injury from the Hessian fly and weavel, two pests which were known in the county as early as 1815. The cultivation of rye was much more limited, as it was only em- ployed in the distillation of whiskey and as provender for horses. For the former purpose it was mixed with Indian corn. Its average crop was about twenty-five bushels per acre. The common crop of oats was about thirty-five bushels, and that of barley thirty. The latter was not extensively cultivated before the erection of two large breweries at Cincinnati, into which the barley product of the county went.
Another thing raised by our first farm- ers was fax. A good many flax fields were to be seen and flax raising became quite an industry. It will be recalled that the Dilbones were working in their flax field when attacked and killed by Indians. Hemp was cultivated to some extent in the bottoms until a depression in price, when the raising of it was discontinued.
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The early meadows of the county were luxuriant and produced wonderfully. Tim- othy, red and white clover and spear-grass were cultivated. Timothy and clover then produced abont two tons to the acre.
Farmed meadows were not used as pas- tures, because in the early stages of agri- culture in the county the woods abounded in grass and herbage proper for the sub- sistence of cattle. The various prairies supported hogs, which grew and fattened on the fleshy roots, so that the raising of pork required no particular attention.
Some land in Miami County which to- day commands $100 per acre was orig- inally purchased for twenty dollars per acre. In remote sections it could be had for ten dollars. An average for the set- tled portions of the county, supposing the land fertile and uncultivated, may be stated at eight dollars; if cultivated, at twelve. The alluvial or bottom lands com- manded the best price. The dry and fer- tile prairies were esteemed of equal value. Next to these were the uplands support- ing hockberry, pawpaw, honeylocust the sugar tree and different species of hickory, walnut, ash, buckeye and elm. Immedi- ately below these in the scale of value was the land clothed in beech timber; while that which produced white and black oak chiefly commanded the lowest price of all. After the War of 1812, when immigration received a new impulse, the nominal value of farm land advanced from twenty-five to fifty per cent.
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