Centennial history of Cincinnati and representative citizens, Vol. I, Pt. 2, Part 12

Author: Greve, Charles Theodore, b. 1863. cn
Publication date: 1904
Publisher: Chicago : Biographical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1048

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"But to return to the picture. Among the hundred astonishing incidents that occurred to Lafayette in his journey through our Union, it happened that the same woman mingled with the multitude in this welcome, who gave the nation's guest, as he came out of the prison of Olmuitz, a three-franc piece and a cup of milk. Here was the good German woman no longer in Germany, but at the landing in Cincinnati. Gen- eral Lafayette everywhere showed that such touching remembrances never escaped him. The artist has happily seized upon the cireinstance, and has made the eagerness of the good woman conspicuous by presenting her in her German costume.

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"The lines are formed by companies of in- fantry from the city. They were commanded by three Colonels, McFarland, Borden and Fer- ris. Near them are Daniel Gano and Davis B. Lawler, Esqrs. More to the left of the painting is the marshal of the day, Colonel Carr, and his aid, W. D. Jones. The group in this direction terminates with the fancy figures of which we have spoken, together with a number of young girls running with flowers toward the person who is the center of all thoughts for that day."

The same year two other distinguished citi- zens visited the city. The first of these was Henry Clay who had been tendered a public banquet by his friends and admirers. At this dinner a couple of hundred of citizens were present. This dinner was made the occasion of an elaborate defense by Clay to the absurd charge of the bargain and sale of his influence in connection with the election of Adams to the presidency. At the dinner there were present besides Mr. Clay, Governors DeWitt Clinton of New York and Brown and Morrow. Mr. L'Hommedieu tells us that, although an appren- tice of 19 years of age, he managed to raise the three dollars necessary and attended the dinner. Ile was very much impressed by the distin- guished characters seated at the head table which crossed ends of three or four longer ones and fancied himself in the presence of giants, until after the wine was freely drank, the cloth re- moved and smoking commenced, accompanied . by specches and story telling; he then came to the conclusion that most great men look smaller the nearer you get to them.

Mr. Mansfield tells us that in those days the popular current in Cincinnati was for Jackson, the next strongest for Adams and Clay came last in public esteem. There were not more than 280 original Clay men in Cincinnati, four times as many for Adams and much more than both for Jackson. Clay had already told Dr. Drake before the election that if the election should be thrown into the House of Representatives and be between Adams and Jackson he should vote for Adams on the grounds of his superior civil qualifications. The matter had been dis- cussed in Cincinnati and therefore Clay's speech at this dinner given at the Cincinnati Hotel of Colonel Mack at the corner of Front and Broad- way was one of public interest. The hearers were

fairly startled by it as it was most eloquent in fiery utterance and energetic action. It was not entirely on politics but "when he came to defend his vote in the house for Adams, he fired up, his tall person seemed taller, his head and ex- pression assumed a lofty bearing, with his foot advanced and his arm raised, and his eye flash- ing, he seemed to defy, in his mere presence the whole pack of hounds, who, under the name of Jackson had yelped at his heels, and snarled at his fame." ( Mansfield's Memories, p. 211.)

THIE MIAMI CANAL.

The reason for Governor Clinton's presence in the city was the beginning of the building of the Miami Canal, an event of the highest import- ance in the history of the city. Dr. Drake, it will be remembered, had already referred to the desirability of a canal and Governor Brown in his inaugural address of 1819 and in messages that followed had advocated the inauguration of a system of canals in the State. Several acts were passed by the Legislature concerning the matter and finally a commission was appointed to make the necessary examinations, surveys and estimates for a canal from the Maumee River to the Ohio River. Subsequently the ex- aminations and surveys were placed in the hands of two acting commissioners, Micajah T. Will- iams and Alfred Kelley, and it is to these gentle- men that the State of Ohio owes its canal sys- tem.

Williams, a native of North Carolina, came to Cincinnati in 1812 when but 20 years of age, and after a short residence took the most promi- nent position in the affairs of the town. He was particularly interested in the internal im- provements of the State and when elected to the General Assembly in 1820 he devoted himself to these matters. He was subsequently elected for the session of 1822-23 and was Speaker of the House of Representatives in 1824-1825. It was upon his initiative that the Legislature took up the matter of canals. Not only did he personally inspect every part of the line of. the projected canal, making entries of his observa- tions with regard to physical difficulties to be overcome, but it was due to his personal efforts that the funds were raised by pledging the faith and credit of the State of Ohio. As a result of his exertions, Ohio credit went to a premium.

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The first ground of the Miami route was broken at Middletown in July, 1825. Of course DeWitt Clinton, the father of canals and by many regarded as the greatest living statesman of the time, was invited to come on from New York to add luster to the ceremony. He was es- corted by the local military companies, the Hus- sars, and Cincinnati Guards, to the place selected and the whole affair was made one of great pomp and ceremony. Governor Morrow of course, was present and likewise ex-Governor Brown, who had given the first official stimulus to the under- taking. The prominent people of the city includ- ing such men as Dr. Drake and Mansfield turned out and attended the dedication ceremonies in a body. Governor Clinton and Governor Mor- row together threw the first spadefuls of earth. The presence of Governor Clinton at this point at that time was utilized by certain political in- terests in bringing him and Mr. Clay together at a banquet tendered them in Lebanon.

The first division of the canal, extending from the head of Main street in Cincinnati to the mouth of the Miami feeder, a distance of 44 miles, was completed in 1827 and on the 28th of November three fine boats crowded with citi- zens delighted with the novelty and interest of the occasion left the basin six miles north of Cincinnati and proceeded to Middletown with the most perfect success. The boats made about three miles an hour including detention at the locks and other causes of delay. By the follow- ing November the division from Cincinnati to Dayton was finished. Subsequently the canal was extended through to the Ohio River but the extreme lower end of it was long ago abandoned and turned into Eggleston avenue sewer.

The completion of the canal and its opening .for business was an event of much greater im- portance than would be supposed from present conditions. Before that time the mud roads and river were the only sources of supply and it frequently happened that in a mild winter sea- son the roads were almost impassable and the river so low as to make transportation imprac- ticable. The opening of the canal removed this objection and assured a reliable and easy means of communication throughout the year. As a result the city took on a new life, business im- proved, real estate advanced in value and popu- lation increased rapidly. Mr. L'Hommedieu

tells us that during the 10 years preceding the opening of the canal real estate had receded de- cidedly in market value. He instances a lot on the south side of Seventh street running west from Central avenue, 740 feet front by 100 feet deep, which was sold at public sale in 1817 for $1,000 and was purchased at private sale in 1827 for $2,100, about $3 a front foot. Just at the time of his address (1874) he regarded it as worth $300 a front foot !

The city was much interested in the temper- ance agitation of- 1826. Mr. Mansfield tells us of one of the meetings held here:

"The meeting was held at three o'clock in the afternoon, and for those days was really large and respectable. Many old citizens were present who were familiar with old whiskey and upon whose cheeks it blossomed forth in purple dyes. To these, and indeed to the great body of people in the West, a temperance speech was a new idea. Dr. Drake was the speaker, and they lis- tened to him with respectful attention, and were by no means opposed to the object. The speech, however, was long. The Doctor had arrayed a formidable column of facts. The day was hot ; and after he had spoken about an hour without apparently approaching the end, some one, out of regard for the Doctor's strength, or by force of habit, cried out: 'Let's adjourn a while and take a drink!' The meeting did adjourn, and, McFarland's Tavern being near by, the old soakers refreshed themselves with old rye.' The meeting again assembled, the Doctor finished his speech, and all went off well. Soon after the temperance societies began to be formed, and the excitement then begun has con- tinned to this day."

A prominent visitor of 1827 was Dr. Caldwell, a phirenologist, whose lectures caused a sensa- tion and resulted in the formation of a phreno- logical society. Miss Fanny Wright, the Eng- lish radical, lectured to crowded houses and re- ceived much social attention. The doctrines that she preached excited much opposition, particular- ly the discussion relating to the impropriety and impolicy of the institution of marriage, as well as hier views of religion and female education. She subsequently settled in Cincinnati and lived here until the time of her death in 1852.

In the fall of 1827 for the first time the sub- ject of national politics was brought into local

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elections. At this time a full county ticket was nominated by the adherents of Andrew Jackson. This ticket succeeded in carrying the city, There had been much discussion not only upon the propriety of injecting national politics into local affairs but even as to the propriety of having contests for local offices. At the pre- vious spring election the mayor was for the first time elected by the people. Isaac G. Bur- net had been mayor by the choice of the Coun- cil since the year 1819 at the time of the incor- poration of the city .. Elisha Hotchkiss, at that time a justice of the peace, aspired to succeed him in 1827 and offered himself as a candidate before the people. This aroused a great deal of discussion. It was claimed that it could not be expected that suitable men would serve the public for the paltry emoluments then at- tached to the office unless they could be assured of a continuance in office as a result of good service. In addition it was argued that the proper administration of the office of mayor necessarily aroused the opposition of wrong doers and that these and malcontents gen- erally would be arrayed against any man who had done his duty. For this reason it was thought that Mr. Burnet, who had been a very satisfactory mayor and thoroughly understood the duties of the office, should not be annoyed by opposition. He was successful in the spring election of 1827. In the fall election, as already stated, the matter of national politics entering into local elections was discussed with great vigor. The administration " party, headed by Charles Hammond and Isaac G. Burnet and oth- ers, refused to nominate a county ticket purely on the lines of national politics. The Jackson candidate for Senator, Colonel Mack, was suc- cessful in the city, defeating the Adanis candi- date, Maj. William Oliver, by a vote of 1,318 10 1,03I.

In the spring of 1828 the test for councilmen and township trustees was made distinctly on national lines. The newspapers in those days practically controlled political affairs and Charles Hammond, of the Gasette, and Moses Dawson, of the Advertiser, announced prior to the elec- tion that the fight was to be made a test one. The result of the test must have been a surprise, for the Adams party carried four out of the five wards of the city and elected the township

trustees. The head of their ticket received 1,387 votes as against 1,069.

An incident of the year 1828 was a most destructive fire which took place on December Ilth and swept away one of the most solid busi- ness blocks in the city, that on Main street be- tween Third and Fourth. The weather was bit- terly cold and but two engines were able to play upon the fire. A line was formed to the river by citizens, including men, women and children, who passed fire-buckets but their efforts were not crowned with success.

In 1829 Washington's Birthday was the occa- sion of a great ball. A few days later General Jackson passed through the city on his way to take his seat as President. The fleet consisted of three steamers, which were greeted at the landing with cannon firing. They swept past the city for a little distance, then turned and came down to the landing, the President's steamer a little ahead, where an immense con- course of people watched the General and his suite come ashore. He remained but a few hours and then proceeded to Pittsburg.

At the spring election of 1829 Mayor Burnet again had opposition. He, however, was suc- cessful, receiving almost as many votes as both his opponents. William Corry, the former mayor of the town, received 264 votes. Col. Andrew Mack, so well known as proprietor of the Cincinnati Hotel and as State Senator, the special representative of the Jackson party, re- ceived 789 votes, while Mr. Burnet received 1,042. The aldermen, William Greene, S. F. Hunt and Morgan Neville, had no trouble about their election. This was Mr. Burnet's last term as mayor and at the following election of 1831 he refused to be a candidate and his former an- tagonist, Elisha Hotchkiss, defeated Samuel W. Davies for the mayoralty.

In the fall election of 1828 the Jackson party was successful, the city going 1,833 for Jack- son as against 1,695 for Adams.

An interesting episode was the joint discus- sion which took place between Alexander Camp- bell and Robert Owen in April, 1829. Owen attacked religion altogether while Campbell de- fended it, particularly Christianity. The discus- sion, which was held in the Methodist Church, lasted for eight days and was attended by the people, who came from all parts of the country.

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At its conclusion the audience by a rising vote decided in favor of Campbell. A few years later Campbell took up the cudgels against Catholicism and in January, 1837, another dis- cussion was started between him and Bishop Purcell. In this the whole city took part and the members of the press, including Charles Hammond and James G. Birney, contributed their efforts.

In this same year, the office of the surveyor general of public lands in the Northwest, which had been removed to Chillicothe in 1814 upon the appointment of ex-Governor Tiffin as sur- veyor general and Josiah Meigs as commissioner of the General Land Office, came back to the city as a result of the appointment of Gen. Will- iam Lytle.

The population in 1830 had increased to 24,831 an increase of 260 percent in Io years. In the decade beginning that year the city was to in- · crease an amount almost equal to the population at the beginning of the period. This is a much

smaller percentage, it is true, but the city during this time began to take its place among the great ones of the nation. The Miami Canal was extended this year from the head of Main street across Deer creek by means of a large culvert. This improvement was finished two years later.

In the early days of 1831 a severe fire broke out on Front street in the middle of the night. The building contained powder which exploded and shattered all the glass in the neighborhood. The thermometer was 10° below zero and the suffering* of the people who were fighting the fire was intense. E. S. Thomas, the editor of the Commercial Daily Advertiser, who lived op- posite the place of the fire, assisted by his wife and daughters supplied hot coffee to the multi- tude throughout the night. To this action on the part of Mr. Thomas, which was recognized by the present of a bag of coffee from the Ohio Insurance Company, is attributed the discontin- uance of serving spirits on such occasions. The first macadamized road into the city was built this same year.

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CHAPTER XXXIII.

THE CITY TO THE SEMI-CENTENNIAL-V.

IMPORTANT INCIDENTS FROM 1832 TO 1838.

FLOOD, FIRE, FAMINE AND PESTILENCE-THE FLOOD OF 1832-THE CHOLERA-THE FORTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SETTLEMENT-WEBSTER'S VISIT-REVIVAL OF PROSPERITY-THE RAIL- ROADS-THE RACE AND ANTI-ABOLITION RIOTS OF 1836-JAMES G. BIRNEY-SALMON P. CHASE-THE MATILDA CASE-THE EXPLOSION OF THE " MOSELLE "-THE FIFTIETH ANNIVER- · SARY OF THE SETTLEMENT.

FLOOD, FIRE, FAMINE AND PESTILENCE,

The year 1832 was one of flood, fire and cholera. The gloom which pervaded the city as a result of the many disasters naturally affected the pleasure of the semi-centennial cele- bration fixed for this year. It will be remem- bered that the officers of George Rogers Clark's expedition in 1782 had agreed to meet at the place of their temporary occupation opposite the : mouth of the Licking, if there should be any survivors there to renew their recollections of pioneer days. There were still surviving Gen. Simon Kenton, James Galloway of Xenia, John McCaddon of Newark and others who had taken part in the expedition. The celebration was dis- cussed at length in the papers and Simon Ken- ton delivered an address to the citizens of the Western country in which he called on all those survivors of General Clark's army in accordance with their promise made on the ground on the fourth day of November to join in the celebra- tion at old Fort Washington now Cincinnati. The meeting was to be in Covington on the 3rd; the 4th, the Sabbath, was set apart for divine service and on Monday a final adieu was to be taken on the ground where the old fort stood. Here a corner-stone of a suitable monument was to be laid to mark the site of the old fort. The horrors of disease kept many of the pioneers from attending. A few came however and ex-

changed greetings and reminiscences and were treated as guests of honor by the city. It was a sad occasion however and the pioneers sepa- rated in sorrow, never to meet again.

Some progress Cincinnati made this year both in buildings and population. Three hundred buildings are said to have been erected making the total number 4,016 and the population in- creased about 2,000 to a total of 28,000. The limits of the city were still practically the Miami Canal, the Ohio River and Western row.

A great fire extending from below Third street up almost to Fourth devastated a large section of the city.

THE FLOOD OF 1832.

This calamity was followed by the first of the great floods. On the 8th of February the river began to rise quite rapidly and increased in vol- ume and height for 10 days until on the 18th it reached the maximum height of 64 feet and three inches. There had been no warning as this was before the day of telegraphs or railroads and but little preparation was made to avoid this calam- ity. No such experience had come to the city since its settlement and as a result the loss of property was very great and much suffering was entailed upon the people. Two mien lost their lives by the giving way of foundation walls. The so-called Bottom for an area of 35 squares, practically the whole business portion

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of the city, was inundated. This extended from John street on the west to Deer creek on the east and as far north as Lower Market and Pearl. The region for a mile west of John street was also submerged but fortunately few lived there at that time. The ferry boats landed at the corner of Main and Pearl streets. Many houses were swept away, many more were dam- aged and thousands of people were driven from their homes. The Mill creek bridge was swept away, and that over Deer creek damaged to such a point as to be dangerous. ' A town meeting was held in the council chamber, February 15th, to devise measures of relief for the sufferers. A committee of 15, three from each ward, was appointed to solicit funds and another committee of 15, a vigilance committee to which 20 more were afterwards added, was appointed to prevent theft and destruction of property and to remove persons and goods to places of safety. A shelter committee of five took charge of a provision · house and all public buildings ; school houses and churches were given up for the time being to the refugees. Benefit performances were given at the various houses of amusements, including Mr. Letton's Museum, Mr. Franks' Gallery of Paintings, Mr. Brown's amphitheater and a con- cert of sacred music given in the Second Presby- terian Church on Fourth street as the contribu- tion of the Beethoven Society. Most of the pro- vision and grocery stores were in a district covered by the water and there had not been time to remove the stock before the flood came upon them. This involved a partial famine. What little stock had been saved and carried to the upper floors of buildings was held at ex- orbitant prices. This created great indignation and resulted in a denunciation by the papers which had some effect and helped relieve the situation. Two men were killed, who were in the employ of William Tift, losing their lives while trying to keep the water out of his cellar. While at work, the back wall of the building gave way which allowed the water to rush in and they were drowned before they could get out. The water began to fall very slowly on the 18th about noon and it was many weeks before the city below Third street resumed its wonted appearance. The citizens who were prominent in the measures of relief were as follows : George W. Jones was the chairman and Samuel H. Goodwin was the secretary of the meeting in the council chamber. The committee appointed to receive contributions was made up of E. Hulse, N. G. Pendleton, E. C. Smith, J. W.

Gazlay, John Wood, G. W. Jones, W. G. Orr, W. Holmes, A. Owen, P. Britt, J. Resor, O. Lovell and G. C. Miller. On the vigilance com- mittee were J. Pierce, William Phillips, Samuel Fosdick, William Stevenson, Charles Fox, Henry Taten1, 1. A. Butterfield, James McIntyre, N. M. Whittemore, M. Coffin, James McLean, J. Au- mack, J. D. Garrard, A. G. Dodd and Fullum Perry. The committee of shelter was constituted as follows: T. D. Carneal, J. M. Mason, J. C. Avery, Charles Fox and R. Buchanan.

Before the flood began to abate, the large horse ferry boat came up Main street to Second where she discharged her passengers. The still larger steam ferry boat came up Plum to Second, where she discharged her passengers. On Friday, the 17th, the steamboat "Daniel Webster" discharged her cargo at Tatem's foundry on Plum street above the line of Pearl. The largest steamboats could have passed down Second street or down Front street for a distance of a mile or more. This flood came within two or three inches of the point fixed upon by the Indians to show higli water mark. On Broadway it reached as far up as the market house and at Cromwell's Cincinnati Hotel the water was 20 inches deep on the bar room floor and at the Broadway Hotel 17 inches. When the water receded, it left a sediment several inches deep all over the streets and in the houses. The weather was ex- tremely unpleasant and as a result this sediment froze hard and it was days before it was possible for business to be resumed. (Thomas' Reminis- cences, p. 147.)

THE CHOLERA.

The distress which resulted from the fire and the flood and the famine, which was a conse- quence of these misfortunes, had not passed away, when an affliction more dreadful than all burst upon the city. This was the pestilence known as the Asiatic cholera which carried more of the population to their graves than have all its visitations since, notwithstanding the then small population of 25,000. This dread disease was supposed to have landed from an immigrant ship at Quebec whence it ascended the St. Law- rence, entered the basin of the lakes and swept through the Upper Mississippi Valley into the valley of the Ohio. It had also proceeded down the Champlain Canal and Hudson River to New York City. From Buffalo it was carried by General Scott's soldiers, on their way to engage in the Black Hawk War, across the, lakes to the little town of Chicago on a boat which ar-

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rived at that place on July Ioth. In the two or three days occupied by the trip, out of 200 men, 52 including an officer died and 80 were left sick at Chicago. From many of the other boats the soldiers terrified by the disease had deserted in large numbers and scattered into the country to die of starvation in the woods or be devoured by the wolves. They were shunned by the terri- fied inhabitants as the source of mortal pestilence as they struggled blindly on their way and in many cases were left to die in the very sight of assistance which fear of the disease kept from them. The cholera broke out extensively in Cincinnati about September 20th and staid for 13 months. At first an effort was made to deny its presence in the city but on October ioth an official list of deaths from cholera was published. In the month of October 423 persons, 41 in one day, the 21st of the month, perished from the disease. The epidemic lasted almost to the end of the year but broke out again the following season, when in July 176 fell victims. The total mortality during the two years was 813. Cholera came again in 1834 and caused great anxiety among the people and seriously affected business but fortunately the mortality was slight.

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Centennial history of Cincinnati and representative citizens, Vol. I, Pt. 2, Part 12

Author: Greve, Charles Theodore, b. 1863. cn Publication date: 1904 Publisher: Chicago : Biographical Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1048

Author: Greve, Charles Theodore, b. 1863. cn
Publication date: 1904
Publisher: Chicago : Biographical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1048