Centennial history of Cincinnati and representative citizens, Vol. I, Pt. 2, Part 21

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

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In 1839 there were a few changes in the faculty. The chair of surgery was in charge of Dr. Willard Parker and Drs. Liddell and Dodge were no longer in the faculty. The dissections were in charge of Carey A. Trimble and clinical instruction in the Cincinnati Hospital was given by Drs. Drake, Parker and Rives.

In 1836 the law faculty of the Cincinnati Col- lege was composed of John C. Wright, professor of practice, pleading, evidence and criminal law ; Joseph S. Benham, professor of commercial law and the law of personal property; Timothy Walker, professor of constitutional law and the law of real estate. This department during the year had 25 students in attendance and was about to confer the degree of Bachelor of Laws upon five members of the class. (Directory of 1836, Pp 227-228. )

In 1839 the law department was under the ex- clusive direction of Timothy Walker.

In the academic department of the college there had been by 1839 practically no change. James B. Rogers of the medical department was pro- fessor in chemistry in its application to the arts, agriculture, mineralogy and meteorology. Tim- othy B. Mason was in charge of vocal music and Sauvere Bonflis was professor of modern lan- guages and literature. The engineering depart- ment was under the care of Prof. Ormsby M. Mitchel. The number of the students in the in- stitution is given as 134. ("Cincinnati Almanac." 1829 and 1840.)

The president of the board of trustees of the Cincinnati College in 1836 was William R. Mor- ris; Peyton S. Symines was secretary and J. Smith Armstrong was treasurer.

Among the most distinguished men that ever

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lived in Cincinnati was Dr. Samuel David Gros's. He was born in Pennsylvania in 1805 and gradu- ated at Jefferson Medical College in 1828. In 1833 he came to Cincinnati to become a member of the faculty of the Medical College of Ohio. Here he delivered the first systematic course of lectures on morbid anatomy ever given in the United States. Five years later he became pro- fessor of surgery in the university at Louisville and afterwards returned to Philadelphia to be- come professor of surgery in the college where he had received his degree. This position he oc- cupied almost until the time of his death, which occurred in 1884. Dr. Gross, during his resi- dence in Cincinnati, made a number of experi- ments of a medical nature which, afterwards in- corporated in his works, added much to the knowledge of his profession. He was one of the most prolific of medical writers.

Dr. John Eberle was born in Pennsylvania in 1787 and was a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania. He served as surgeon of militia in the War of 1812. He was one of the found- ers of Jefferson Medical College in 1822 and was a member of its faculty until 1831, when he was called to Cincinnati to accept a professor- ship in the Medical College of Ohio. He left Cincinnati in 1837 to become a member of the faculty of Transylvania University at Lexing- ton. There he died in 1838. Dr. Eberle was one of the best known writers on medical subjects of his time and during his residence in the city his name, in addition to that of Dr. Gross and Drake, made the medical profession of Cincinnati well known throughout the country.

Dr. Jared Potter Kirtland, another distin- guished physician, was born in Connecticut in 1793. He was educated in the academies of his native State and became an expert in the culti- vation of fruits and flowers and a close student of botany. He subsequently attended the med- ical lectures in Edinburgh and afterwards - at Yale, where he graduated in 1815. Some years later he removed to Poland, Ohio, and served three terms in the Ohio Legislature. In 1837 he was called to the faculty of the Medical College of Ohio and remained here five years. He also served as assistant in the geological survey of Ohio and made a report on the zoology of Ohio. He moved in 1841 to Cleveland, where he be- came very prominent. His contributions to the study of natural history made him well known throughout the country and he became a member of many scientific organizations. He was one of the founders of the Cleveland Academy of Sci-

ence in 1845 and was its first and only president as in 1865 it became the Kirtland Society of Nat- ural History. He is said to have been a man of great learning and peculiar personal magnetism and his influence in improving agriculture and horticulture and diffusing a love of natural his- tory was felt throughout all the Northwestern States. He died in Cleveland in 1877.

Dr. John Morehead ( Moorhead) was born in Ireland in 1784. He was a graduate of the University of Edinburgh and afterwards was in the medical survey of the regular British Army. He came to Cincinnati in 1820. He was con- nected with the Medical College of Ohio foi many years, in fact until 1845. At this time his father, who was a member of the nobility and proprietor of a large estate, died and Dr. More- head returned to Ireland to assume the title of Sir John Morehead. He died in 1873.

Dr. John P. Harrison was born in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1796. He studied medicine in the University of Pennsylvania. After his gradu- ation he returned to his native city. In 1835 he came to Cincinnati as a professor in the Cincinnati College and remained in that school for the four years of the existence of the medical department. He subsequently became a member of the faculty of the Medical College of Ohio, which position he held until the time of his death from cholera in 1849. He was an officer of many medical associations and one of the editors of the Western Journal of Medicine and afterwards of the Western Lancet. He published several works on medical subjects, particularly one on the subject of materia medica.

Another well known physician of this time, who was a student under Dr. Goforth, was Ed- ward Young Kemper.

The earliest German physician is said to have been Dr. Mondhenck, who came here in 1815 and left about the time of the birth of the city. In 1819 came Dr. F. J. C. Oberdorf, a native of Heidelberg and a resident of Cincinnati for 37 years. Dr. Frederick Bunte was here for a short time and during the 10 years after 1830 there settled here Drs. Schneider, Telleampf, Huber, Paul, Topp, Wilhelm, Wocher, Emert and Homberg.

The position of health officer was created in 1821 and in 1826 a smallpox scare caused an es- tablishment of a Board of Health of five mem- bers, of which the mayor was one. The board increased a little, to seven members, and con- tinued to render excellent service for some years.

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THE THEATRES.

The controversy about the theatre, 'mentioned in an earlier chapter, did not seem to discourage the manager, Alexander Drake, and in April, 1819, lie intimated his willingness to take charge of a permanent establishment devoted to amuse- ments. This of course reopened the discussion and a storm of attack burst upon those favorable to the new idea. A meeting of citizens, how- ever, was held at the Reading Room, where a company was formed in which were included as stockholders a number of prominent citizens and where Mr. Drake pledged himself to preserve the purity and morality of the stage. A subscrip- tion paper was circulated and its success was indicated by the paragraph in the directory of that year, where the theatre calls for the follow- ing comment :

"Until within a short period, there have been no successful attempts to introduce the drama here on a permanent footing. An edifice for the purpose is now, however, commenced on Second street, between Main and Sycamore, to be finished in a style of neatness and elegance. It is to be constructed of brick; the dimensions ninety-two by forty feet-the front to be ornamented by a pediment supported by pillars. It is contem- plated the building will be so far completed as to admit of performances by the first of March ensuing, when it is to be opened under the man- agement of Messrs. Collins and Jones with a full and respectable corps of comedians."

The building was finished in the spring of the following year. It contained a pit, two tiers of boxes and a gallery and could accommodate al- most 800 people. From the pit there was a door that opened to the alley running from Second to Front streets which was on the west side of the theatre. A proscenium arch was on cach side and a panel door from which the actor or the manager could, if he desired, address the audience. The stage itself was of good size and was furnished with footlights lighted by sperm oil. In the auditorium was a chandelier of lamps and there were lamps running about the balustrade of the second tier of boxes. The theater had for its motto, placed over the green curtain, "To Hold, As "Twere, The Mirror Up To Nature."

This building was regarded as the best struc- ture of the kind in the West and from the de- scriptions that have been handed down it must liave been quite attractive in appearance and well adapted for its purpose. It seems to have gone by the name of the Columbia Street Theatre,

although at other times it was called the Globe Theatre. The management of the theatre was under the control, as stated, of Messrs. Collins and Jones, who owned half of the stock. Sev- eral years after its erection a drop curtain con- taining a view of Cincinnati from Covington was painted by a man of the latter town, named Lu- cas. This was regarded as a work of great beauty and added materially to the attractiveness of the little playhouse.

Mansfield tells us that this theatre was of a better character than many others. Here he heard Booth, the elder, in "Richard III" and there particularly was he delighted by Alex. Drake, who with his wife, a superior woman, was famous in the Western country. "I had seen 'Old Barnes,' as he was called, in New York, and many years after, Burton. Aleck Drake, totally unlike either, was, in the spirit of comedy, equal to them. He was superior to Barnes, but not equal to Burton, in gentlemanly bearing. In the power to make fun, without coarseness, Drake was unrivaled. His wife was superior to him-not so much on the stage as in mind and character. I once saw a little inci- dent showing what an energetic, spirited woman she was.

"A fire broke out on Main street, and at that time there were no fire-engines, and the only mode of carrying water was by fire-buckets, filled at the river, and handed from hand to hand. So a line was formed from the fire to the river. In that line, among the men, was Mrs. Aleck Drake, handing buckets vigorously. She was a person of mind and character, and always a great favorite with the public .. I saw her once in the character of 'Meg Merrilies,' which she looked and acted as thoroughly as Meg herself must have done in her wild freaks among the Gypsies, and in her character as prophetess an- nonneing : .

And Bertram's right and Bertram's might Shall meet on Ellengowan Height.

"Drake died while she was yet in her prime, and she married Captain Cutter, the poet. He was author of the 'Song of Steam,' a noted piece in its day. Cutter was very intemperate, and great efforts were made by his friends to save him, but in vain. This marriage was an un- happy one. They were separated, and in a few years both were dead." ( Mansfield's Memories, p. 192.)

Of this same theatre Mrs. Trollope speaks in lier book :

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"The theatre at Cincinnati is small, and not very brilliant in decoration; but in the absence of any other amusement our young men fre- quently attended it, and in the bright, clear nights of autumn and winter the mile and a half of distance was not enough to prevent the less enterprising members of the family from some- times accompanying them. The great induce- ment to this was the excellent acting of Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Drake, the managers. Nothing could be more distinct than their line of acting, but the great versatility of their powers enabled them often to appear together. Her cast was the highest walk of tragedy, and his the broadest comedy ; but yet, as Goldsmith says of his sister heroines, I have known them change characters for a whole evening together, and have wept with him and laughed with her, as it was their will and pleasure to ordain. *

* His comic songs might have set the gravity of the judges and bishops together at defiance. Liston is great, but Alexander Drake was greater. * * *

"Her talent is decidedly first-rate. Deep and genuine feeling, correct judgment, and the most perfect good taste, distinguished her play in every character. Her last act of Belvidera is superior in tragic effect to anything I ever saw on the stage, the one great exception to all com- parison, Mrs. Siddons, being set aside.

"It was painful to see these excellent perform- ers playing to a miserable house, not a third full, and the audience probably not including half a dozen persons who would prefer their playing to that of the vilest strollers. In proof of this, I saw them as managers give place to paltry third- rate actors, from London, who would imme- diately draw crowded houses, and be over- * * whelmed with applause .*

"The theatre was really not a bad one, thoughi the very poor ,receipts rendered it impossible to keep it in high order."

Another actor who subsequently became a fa- vorite in Cincinnati appeared here in 1822 and 1823. This was Edwin Forrest, then a youth of 16, who was at that time beginning his career with a strolling dramatic company. His performance of "Jaffier" in "Venice Preserved," on July 4, 1823, was for the benefit of Cargill and his newly made bride, an actress well known at the time- Amelia Seymour. The company was one which had been organized for engagements alternately at Pittsburg, Lexington and Cincinnati. Forrest had already attracted the attention of the dis- cerning, but had not as yet achieved any popu- larity. We know that his pay at this time was

but eiglit dollars a week and that the circuit in- volved hardships utterly unknown at the present day. For instance, in Pittsburg the theatre was so leaky that umbrellas were needed on rainy nights. The company traveled down the Ohio River on a flat-boat taking five days for the trip to Maysville, where a performance was given. From there they went to Lexington and from that place to Cincinnati. They traveled across the country, with men on horseback and the women in covered wagons, and the whole car- alcade was such as to leave but little of the il- lusions of stage splendor. In Cincinnati in ad- dition to the performance already mentioned For- rest acted in tragedy, danced, sang comic songs, tried the part of "Richard Ill" and even distin- guished himself as the daughter of a broken- down soldier who comes on the stage to the fid- dling of her father as he wails :

Oh, cru-el was my parients as tored my love from me; And cru-el was the great big ship as took him off to sea ;

And cru-el was the capitaine, and the bo'sain, and the inen,

As didn't care a shillin' if we never met again.

The Cincinnati season, however was not suc- cessful and the company stranded here. Forrest and others undertook a barn storming expedition, traveling from town to town in a couple of ram- shackle wagons each drawn by a superanmiated horse. At a later time they appeared again in Cin- cinnati and Forrest played the part of "Young Norval" in the play of "Douglas," "Sir Edward Mortimer" in the "Tron Chest" and at one time that of a plantation negro. Even this versatility however could not charm the dollars from the Cincinnati pockets and the theatre was obliged to close and Forrest and others had to obtain food by stealing the corn from the fields and having it cooked for them by some kindly negro washer- woman. (Robins' Twelve Great Actors.)

The theatre was opened on March 8, 1820, with quite imposing ceremonies. Mr. Garner acted in "Devil's Bridge" a little later. Mrs. Belinda Groshon, who according to Liberty Hall took "precedence in rank of all other actresses of the West," acted in "Meg Merrilics," "Abaelino," "Pizarro," "Richard III" ( with Mr. Collins). "The Apostate," "Macbeth,"and "The Stranger." After the coming of Mr. Drake's company. she divided the honors with Mrs. Drake, appearing with her in such plays as "The West Indian, "George Barnwell," and "Alexander the Great." Mrs. Groshon died rather unexpectedly on Jan- ary 31, 1822, and was buried from the house of

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639

Mrs. Junge on Sycamore street near Lower Mar- ket. Mr. Henderson's benefit in "Columbus or The Discovery of America" announced for the following day was postponed for three days by reason of this sad event.

A few weeks later in May, Messrs. Collins and Jones announced the engagement of the distin- guished tragedian, Thomas Apthorpe Cooper, then one of the leading actors on the English speaking stage. For this engagement the box seats were sold at auction. Cooper appeared as "Othello" and "Macbeth" and in other well known plays. He was supported by Mrs. Drake and the company. The discriminating frontier critics thought his "Macbeth" inferior to that of Kean.

Among the theatrical announcements in the first volume of the Independent Press which started July 4, 1822, we find the advertisement of the Pavilion Theatre where Messrs. Dumilieu and Charles announce a number of feats in nat- ural philosophy and apparent necromancy. The same theatre on July 19th offers the favorite French comedy "Matrimony or the Mutual Sur- prise." At Mr. Cargill's benefit on July 26th was given the first performance of "The Spectre Bridegroom" followed by the farce "The Prize." The newspaper states that Mr. Cargill "is a man of irreproachable character in private life and is to say the least a very respectable per- former." Firing at a target with a six-pounder in a field a little east of the Court House is another forin of amusement announced at the same time. At Miss Seymour's benefit the com- edy "Twenty Years Ago" was given. Another melodrama given in August of the same year (1822) was "The Forest of Bonday or Dog of Montargis." A theatrical notice of a different sort was the announcement of the marriage by Adam Hurdus of Austin Cargill to Amelia Sey- mour, the recipients of the benefit performances referred to. Miss Seymour's name appears as Mrs. Cargill for the first time on August 22, 1822, as one of the cast of Monk Lewis' "Castle Spectre" and the farce "The Village Lawyers or Justice and Mutton." In the museum Mr. Let- ton announced a very large alligator ten feet four inches in length. "The Blind Boy," "The Prize," "Each for Himself or The Rival Candi- dates" (the last named on election evening) were the plays given during the fall of 1822. On March 6, 1823, the theatre which had remained closed for several months reopened with a num- ber of new performers said to be first class. Among those who made their first appearance on

this evening were Mr. Pellig, Mr. Forrest, Mrs. and Miss Riddle, Mr. Eberle and Miss Fenton. The play given was "The Soldier's Daughter" followed by a favorite ballet called "Little Red Riding Hood" and the farce "Ella Rosenberg." Mr. Forrest took the part of "Young Malfort" in the comedy. Other play's announced for the season were "Damon and Pythias," the melo- drama of "The Wandering Boys," the historical drama of "Marion or the Hero of Lake George," the farce "Too Late for Dinner" and the dramatic romance of "The Vampire." Cooper the cele- brated tragedian passed through the town on the same day but was unable to remain long enough to give a performance. A performance of "Rich- ard III" given on March 22nd of that year was the occasion of a great triumph of Mr. Forrest. A writer of the Press says that although a mere boy of 18 years of age (he was in fact but 16) he was a most promising actor and asks for a repetition of the play to give the town further opportunity of seeing a performance of the char- acter of Richard which was better given than any heretofore on this side of the mountains. "Ile rose as he advanced with grandeur and sublimity -his first burst upon the feelings and sensibility of his auditory was in the scene with Lady Ann, where he portrayed the character as drawn by the great bard in a manner which drew forth spontaneous bursts of applause from his behold- ers. From this he marched forward with as- tonishing vigor and increase of conception of the character. #

* The manner and readings in some measure were new to its; however there were so much grandeur and elegance of acting that we were rivited with astonishment and gratification. * **

* The audience expressed their gratification by the most unbounded pland- its." Mr. Forrest's success was so great as to call for special editorial mention.

The Columbia Street Theatre after a number of alterations was opened as a summer theatre under the name of the Globe Theatre-Vauxhall in May, 1823. It was at this time that the scen- ic view of Cincinnati painted by Mr. Lucas was added. The warm weather made the attendance small but the play "How to Die for Love" was performed with spirit and correctness. The theatre itself was well lighted and the scenery not inferior to that of the city theatre. Better order was preserved than seems to have been the case the summer before. "Virginius," "The Castle Spectre" (this time with Forrest in the cast ). "The Innkeeper's Daughter," "Abaelino" and "Brutus" are among . other plays advertised

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as given during the early part of this summer '( 1823) at the Globe Theatre. The advertisements do not include all the plays given, however, for the news columns of the papers fre- quently refer to others. For instance, "Othello" with Forrest in the title rôle was given June 17th. This it is said was his first attempt in the charac- ter and was not quite regarded as so successful as his "Richard." The jealous scenes however were particularly well acted. Mr. Cargill's "Iago" was the principal success of the evening. The critic finds fault with the costumes, saying with justice that a man dressed in a nightgown sitting by a lady's workstand with another man with a soldier's coat by his side did not give a fair pre- sentation of the Duke and Senate of Venice as- sembled on business.

A different form of amusement was an exhibi- tion of ventriloquism given this spring at the Cincinnati Hotel by a Mr. Nichols.

An actor who seems to have aroused the espe- cial ire of the editor of the Press was a young man named Yeatman who appeared under the name of Courtney. He seems to have been 'cast in most of the plays given during the spring of 1823 but if the sarcastic account contained in the paper of his performance in the play of "Rich- ard III" can be credited he must have made a ridiculous spectacle of himself. The inference was that he mistook the applause given to For- rest as intended for himself and as a result drew upon himself the ridicule of the audience.

The columns of the Press for the summer and fall of 1822 make a number of references to musi- cal matters. A music school which is regularly advertised is that of Messrs. Thomas and Mat- thews. The Press speaks rather severely of a concert consisting of singing and dancing which was given at the Cincinnati Theatre in the pres- ence of about 20 persons by a Mr. and Mrs. Smith formerly Miss ()'Neal. Mr. Smith is said to have acted the clown and to have been beastly drunk while the lady was not much better off. They were advised to leave town.

The Haydn Society publishes frequent notices of their meetings. In October, 1822, they an- nounce the purchase of a fine large tone organ with seven stops and 68 keys in the hope that the citizens would lend a helping hand in paying for the same. The society, which had been or- ganized for about three years, gave its concerts in the Episcopal Church on Sixth street and here was held the first performance on the new organ. This performance which was given on December 19, 1822, included a so-called "Select Oratorio"

which in fact was made up from selections of a number of. oratorios concluding with Handel's "Hlailelujah Chorus." The performance was so successful as to call for a repetition and the en- tire text of the songs and choruses is given in the paper. Another musical entertainment was brought about by the visit of the well known singer, Philips. It included the comic opera of Thomas Moore called "M. P. or the Blue Stock- ing." Another opera given a little later was "The Mountaineers." The Euterpian Society with George Warren as secretary also appears to have been meeting regularly at this time.

Another concert given in Mack's ball room at the hotel seems to have included the whole family of Mr. Lewis. His five children, the oldest twelve years old and the youngest but four years old, all took part. Two of them gave a grand overture on the piano with a cello accompani- ment. The piano was played by a young girl of eight years of age. Two others played a duet on violins while the four-year-old not only played on the piano but gave a performance on the vio- lin. Unfortunately the paper does not contain an account of this performance.

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Centennial history of Cincinnati and representative citizens, Vol. I, Pt. 2, Part 21

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