USA > Ohio > Hamilton County > Cincinnati > Centennial history of Cincinnati and representative citizens, Vol. I, Pt. 2 > Part 24
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The Teachers' Association was another organi- zation where weekly lectures on educational sub- jeets were delivered. Its president in 1834 was A. M. Bolton. The Western Literary Institute and College of Professional Teachers offered great opportunities of enjoyment as well as cul- ture while the Western Academy of Natural Sci- ences organized in 1835 with its natural history specimens kept in the southwest wing of the Cin- cinnati College Building was an institution of which the citizens were quite proud. Its presi- dent was Robert Buchanan and other officers in- cluded John P. Foote, George Graham, Drs. William Wood, S. D. Gross, John Locke, and J. I .. Liddell as well as J. Dorfeuille and J. M. Per- kins.
MEDICAL. SOCIETIES.
The doctors despite their controversies of course had a number of societies. The Ohio Medical Lyceum for instance, a society for dis- cussing medical subjects, hell its meetings in the Medical College building. Its president was Dr. John Eberle and vice-presidents were Drs. Samuel D. Gross and Isaac Colby. Its orator for 1834
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was Dr. Gamaliel Bailey. The Cincinnati Medi- cal Society 'was incorporated in the winter of 1832-33 and had for its president Dr. Lan- don C. Rives. It finally had a herbarium and a cabinet as well as a library, for the names cura- tor and librarian are given in the list of officers.
CINCINNATI SHOOTING CLUB.
Not the least interesting social organization of this period was the Cincinnati Shooting Club No. 1, organized on the 28th of June, 1831, at a meet- ing at which John J. Wright presided and George W. Neff acted as secretary. This club included in its membership the distinguished sportsmen of . the time and its contests were highly exciting. Its first president was the well known citizen, Robert Buchanan and its secretary, Caleb Jones. Others of its members were J. D. Garrard, N. G. Pendleton, Th. D. Carneal, Jacob Strader, M. L. Harbeson, W. H. H. Taylor, George Graham, Francis Read, B. B. Fessenden, G. K. Shoenber- ger, Joseph Longworth, Kirkbride Yardley, R. Somerby, M. N. McLean, William Tift, James Gibson, W. P. Noble, Jedediah Cobb, Jacob Au- mack and Thomas Winter. The club indulged in frequent dinners at which was served the game killed by the members.
A regular scale of scoring was adopted by which a deer scored 50 points. There seems to have been no record of any one achieving this score. Wild geese scored 30 points, wild turkeys 20 points, pheasants and grouse each 15 points, Spanish curlews 10 points, woodcocks, canvas back, black and mallard ducks five points each. Wood-ducks and baldheads four points, teal and other ducks fit for table three points, rabbits, plo- ver, snipe two points and quail or partridge and rails cach one point. The reports made to the club of the shoots seem to have been very fre-
quent and the members were quite successful, the first score return counting up 333 points for one day's sport; most of these represented snipe, quail and teal duck. The scoring was afterwards simplified.
The minutes of the club show that the meet- ings and dinners which must have been most de- lightful continued for about seven years. The dinners were held usually at Corbin's at Sports- man's Hall "on the Turnpike 3 miles east of Cin- cinnati," and were enlivened by speeches and songs. The last dinner was in the fall of 1838, but the entry recording it was not made until 25 years later at which time, December 9, 1863, Robert Buchanan closed the record of the club with the list of the members then surviving and their ages. As they were all well known citizens, the list is worthy of preservation. It included Jacob Aumack, age 74; George Graham, 66; William Corbin, 69; J. S. Armstrong, 65; E. J. Miller, 57; G. K. Shoenberger, 57; R. Buchanan, 67; C. Schyke, 58; William Tift, 73; M. L. Har- beson, 58; Caleb Jones, 64; Ira Athearn, 64; W. H. H. Taylor, 57; J. Wheelwright, 53; Joseph Longworth, 51 ; and Thomas Winter, 70,-16 in all surviving of the 42 original members.
CINCINNATI ANGLING CLUB.
Another club of somewhat similar character was the Cincinnati Angling Club, a society or- ganized by Robert Buchanan and others about 1829 or 1830. In a letter written to Mr. Mans- field in 1869 Mr. Buchanan states that he was the secretary at the time of its organization and still remained such after a lapse of 40 years. At that time, of the 25 members who originally belonged to it but four were living, William Greene who had then returned to Rhode Island, A. L. Moore, George Grahain and Robert Buchanan.
CHAPTER XXXVI.
FROM THE SEMI-CENTENNIAL TO THE WAR-I.
CIVIL GOVERNMENT.
A FORMATIVE PERIOD, 1839-1861 - THE CITY GOVERNMENT - THE MAYORS - THE COUNCIL -THE ANNEXATIONS AND WARD CHANGES - THE VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT -THE PAID FIRE DEPARTMENT - THE POLICE DEPARTMENT - THE CITY WATER WORKS - THE COURTS - THE "OLD COURT HOUSE " AND ITS SUCCESSORS-THE UNITED STATES COURTS-THE POST OFFICE- FEDERAL OFFICES.
The two decades that intervened between the semi-centennial celebration of the settling of the place and the beginning of the great war between the sections were in many respects the most im- portant in the history of the city. During thesc years came a great number of changes which have influenced very materially the destinies of the Queen City for all time.
Within this period the constitution of the State was changed and as a result Cincinnati from that time has been governed by the general laws of the State with relation to municipal corpora- tions. It is true that the Legislature and the courts for a long time so distorted the constitution as almost to nullify its plain purpose but this has been a restraining influence and although at times it has been irksome it has been in the main in the line of conservatism and has been for the good of the community.
Our system of city government as it is ad- ministered to-day practically dates from this period. The same is true of our courts and it was also within these years that the Federal courts moved into our midst. Then too began the series of annexations that has continued to this day and bids fair to continue for years
to come. The City Water Works, as a public institution, the present fire and police depart- ments, our gas lighting system and the street railways all had their birth in that eventful period. Then too came the steam railroads and the tele- graph.
The first decade of this period, too, showed the greatest development of population and build- ing within the history of the city. Many of our public institutions date from that time and even those that were founded before those days re- ceived a new birth that made their continued ex- istence possible.
All in all, it was a most fruitful and interest- ing period and one most complex in its nature and for that reason most difficult to describe.
THE CITY GOVERNMENT.
The charter of 1834 as already stated was fre- quently amended. In the report of George W. Allen, Jonah Martin and William Bromwell, law committee to the City Council, made in 1850 the charter is said to include the act of 1834 and some forty odd amendments which are printed in the report. Many of these amendments are unt- important while others refer to such matters as 1
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elections, schools, the water works, the night and day watch; burials within the city, taxes and li- censes and a loan of $100,000 to the Little Miami Railroad Company and $400,000 for the comple- tion of the water works and subscription to the capital stock of the Cincinnati & Hillsboro Rail- road Company, the loan of $100,000 for the pur- chase of public grounds and a million dollars for the purchase of stock of railroads terminating in Cincinnati, the erection of the House of Cor- rection, the Poor House, market houses, improve- ment of roads, the annexation of Fulton and the numbering of the lots of the city. The char- ter of 1834 however was practically the basis of the city government until the passage of the general act of 1852.
By the constitution of 1851 the General As- sembly was prohibited from passing any special act conferring corporate powers and it provided that corporations should be formed under general laws. The General Assembly was directed to "provide for the organization of cities, and incor- porated villages by general laws and to restrict their power of taxation, assessment, borrowing money, contracting debts and loaning their credit so as to prevent the abuse of such power." The date when this constitution went into effect was September 1, 1851. Until the present time Cin- cinnati has been governed by the general laws of the State except that the laws in force at that time continued until repealed.
On May 3, 1852 (50 O. L. 225) was passed an act providing for the organization of cities and incorporated villages. All existing corporations were continued under the general classification ; those which had been denominated as cities were continued as cities and divided into the cities of the first and cities of the second class. The cities, having at the last Federal census, that of 1850, a population exceeding 20,000 were classi- fied under the first head. Corporate power was vested in a mayor and a board of trustees to be denominated as the City Council together with other officers mentioned in the act or created under its authority. Two trustees were to be elected from each ward on the first Monday of the following April. These should serve one from each ward for one year and one for two years and thereafter at each election one trustee should be selected to serve for two years. The mayor was to be elected biennially. The duties and powers of the mayor and Council were pre- scribed by different sections of the act. All legis- lative power was vested in the Council, which was given power to establish a Board of Health
and control the streets, alleys, wharves, docks, ferries and the like. The mayors of cities of the first class were directed to report to the City Council concerning the municipal affairs of the city. The mayor was to appoint one chief of po- lice and subordinate officers and watchmen and to have the jurisdiction, in criminal cases, of a justice of the peace, although he was not re- quired to sit in hearing of criminal cases except in cases of urgency or necessity. The voters were to elect the city marshal (with duties similar to those of a sheriff), a city civil engineer, a city fire engineer, a city treasurer, a city auditor,. a city solicitor, a police judge and a su- perintendent of markets. A board of three city commissioners was provided who with the mayor of the city and the city civil engineer should constitute a board of city improvements. This board was to enforce the ordinances of the city, superintend the cleaning and improvement and the lighting of the streets, lanes, alleys, mar- ket places, commons, bridges, sewers and land- ings and perform such other duties as the City Council might by ordinance prescribe. The board was to have charge of the public works of the city. Water works trustees were also pro- vided for. A sinking fund to be created by a tax of not more than one-half a mill was also pro- vided. The first Monday of April was selected as the regular annual period for the election of municipal officers and any person qualified to vote . for county officers resident in the municipality was made a qualified voter at the election of municipal officers.
The year later began the long series of amend- ments of the general acts relating to the organiza- tion of cities. The first of these acts passed March 11, 1853 (51 O. L. 36t), provided for water works and other bonds and regulated tax- ation and the location and narrowing of streets, and other details. It also empowered the City Council to regulate by ordinance the price of gas furnished by gas and coke companies and in default of said companies conforming to the regulation of Council, the Council was directed to select gas works and preclude the gas com- panies from the use of the streets. Cincinnati township (indirectly ) was abolished and the cui- ties of township trustees were imposed upon the City Infirmary directors. The act of 1853 with the almost innumerable amendments constituted the charter of the city for 17 years.
THE MAYORS.
During the period beginning with the open-
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ing of the second half century of the city's ex- istence and closing with the opening of the war, Cincinnati had seven mayors. Samuel W. Davies who had been elected in 1833 held the office for 10 consecutive years until the year 1843, in which year his death occurred on December 22nd. Davies was throughout his life one of the most prominent citizens of Cincinnati and had occupied many offices. He had been president of the Council, recorder of the town and to him the city was indebted for its water works system. He was a man of great intelligence and strict integrity and in appearance being nearly six feet high with a smooth shaven face and old-fash- ioned queue was a most striking figure. Davies was a Whig and an Episcopalian and most zealous in both religion and politics. He was an Englishman by birth.
Another prominent citizen, Henry E. Spencer, succeeded Mr. Davies and held the office for four terms to the satisfaction of all parties. He was a man of great integrity, fine abilities and very spirited. He too of course was a Whig at this time, although some years later he became a Democrat.
Henry E. Spencer was a son of the well known Oliver M. Spencer, the pioneer boy captured by the Indians, and a brother of Judge O. M. Spencer. He was born at Columbia but in early life became a prominent citizen of Cincinnati. He was for a number of years member of the City Council priof to his election as mayor. In business life he was president of the Firemen's Insurance Company, which institution he made very prosperous. He married Henrietta Hal- stead. the sister of the celebrated Chancellor Hal- stead of New Jersey by whom he had 10 chil- dren. His brother, the Judge, had married a daughter of Chancellor Halstead.
Spencer was succeeded as mayor in 1851 by Mark P. Taylor. Spencer was a Whig and Tay- lor a Democrat and as the latter party was at that time in the ascendency, the defeat of Spencer was not.in any way chargeable to dissatisfaction with his administration. Mayor Taylor was at the time of his election and for the rest of his life confined to his bed and as a result he did not succeed in impressing his personality upon the city to any great extent. He had been a very satisfactory magistrate before his election to the mayoralty.
Mayor Taylor was succeeded in 1853 by David T. Snelbaker. Mayor Snelbaker was a native of Philadelphia, where he was born in 1804. He came to Cincinnati in 1833 where he formned a
partnership with Alexander Dalzell under the firm name of Snelbaker & Dalzell in the coop- erage business. This establishment was for a time the largest of its class in the city. lle served as a member of the Council for several years and afterwards as magistrate, which posi- tion he held until the time he was elected mayor in 1853. At the expiration of his term he engaged in the practice of the law which he con- tinned until the time of his death in 1857. He was the father of Thomas Edward Snelbaker, subsequently chief of police in this city. Ile gave way in 1855 to Mayor J. J. Faran. His administration was a very turbulent one and gave great dissatisfaction, much of which was un- justified.
James J. Faran was born in the city in 1809 and graduated at Miami in 1832. He studied law under Judge O. M. Spencer. In 1835 he was elected by the Democrats to the General As- sembly where he remained for several terms, finally becoming Speaker of the House. He sub- sequently represented the city in the State Sen- ate for two terms becoming the presiding officer of that body. In 1844 he was elected to Con- gress where he served two terms. After his term of mayor had expired he was appointed postmaster at Cincinnati by President Buchanan from which position he was finally removed for political considerations. Although Mr. Faran was a lawyer, his principal interest was in jour- nalism. He was an editor of a campaign paper which was published in 1834 at the time of the contest bteween Lytle and Storer for Congress. In 1844 he became one of the proprietors of the Enquirer with which paper he was connected for the largest part of the remainder of his life. He was a man of the highest character and was universally respected by citizens of all parties. He died in 1893.
Mayor Faran was succeeded as mayor in 1857 by Nicholas W. Thomas. Mayor Thomas was for many years one of Cincinnati's most promi- nent and useful citizens. He was born near Philadelphia of Quaker ancestry bnt came to Cincinnati while still quite young, acting at first as a clerk for R. W. Lee, the pork packer. He soon went into the produce business for himself where as in all his undertakings he was quite successful. During his active life he held al- most every office within the gift of the people of the city and at the same time escaped the charge of being an office-seeker. He was president of the Miami Exporting Company's bank, trustee of the water works, city recorder, president of the
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City Council and in fact interested in every phase of the city life. He was a most conscien- tious officer and was universally respected.
Mayor Thomas gave way to Mayor Bishop in 1859.
Richard M. Bishop was a native of Kentucky, of Virginia parentage. He was born in 1812 and carried on business for some years in his native State. In 1848 he came to Cincinnati where he commenced the wholesale grocery business on the Public Landing under the style of Bishop, Wells & Company, afterwards R. M. Bishop & Company. In 1857 he became a councilman and the year later, president of the Council. He de- ·clined the renomination in 1861 for the mayoralty. It was during his term that the Prince of Wales at his invitation visited the city. Although a Democrat Mr. Bishop was very loyal to the Union. He made the address of welcome to the legislatures of Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Ten- , nessee who visited the city in 1860 and also to President Lincoln when passing through the city on the way to his inauguration. He presided at a great Union meeting held during the first year of the war. He subsequently became Governor of the State of Ohio, in which position he served during the years 1878 and i879.
George Hatch succeeded Bishop as mayor just at the outbreak of the war.
THE COUNCIL.
During the period from 1839 to the opening of the war, the presiding officers of the City Council were Edward Woodruff, Samuel Trevor, Timothy Walker, Septimus Hazen, D. E. A. Strong, Joseph G. Rust, Nicholas W. Thomas, W. P. Stratton, Daniel F. Meader, J. B. Warren, William B. Cassilly, Andrew Giffin, James Cooper, Charles F. Wilstach, Tom O. Edwards, R. M. Bishop, Benjamin Eggleston, and John F. Torrence. Judge Woodruff served three years as did Judge Warren, the latter in 1850 and in 1856- 57. A complete list of all city officers up to the time of publication appears in' Williams' "Laws and General Ordinances of Cincinnati," pub- lished in 1854. Mr. Henderson calls attention to the fact that Christopher Van Seggern, still a practicing member of the bar, is probably the oldest living member of the Council. Born. in Oldenburg, Germany, in 1827, he was brought to this city in 1830, and he has resided here ever since, ever a much respected member of the com- munity. He still takes pleasure in recalling the time when he swam from the site of the Mount Adams Inclined Plane to the Ohio River. In
1851 and later he with Judge J. B. Warren and Herman Kleine represented the Ninth Ward in the City Council.
The Council continued to meet in the room over the engine house on the north side of Fourth street on the First Presbyterian Society's lot until June, 1846, when a move was made to temporary quarters in the rear part of the first floor of the Cincinnati College Building. 'In 1850, the Burnet lot on Eighth and Plum (203 feet on Plum to Ninth and 273 to Craven alley) was bought for $60,000, and in September of the following year the contract was let for the building of a one- story building on the alley, running from Eighth to Ninth at a cost of $9,965. The Council moved into this building on February 27, 1852. A second story was subsequently added and this continued to be the City Building until 1888. ( Henderson's City Hall, p. 7.)
The mayor's office continued during the early "forties" in Carr's Building on the north side of Third between Main and Sycamore. At a later time it was on the south side of Sixth between the same streets but finally became established in the City Building. An interesting picture of the original buildings erected on the site of the present fine structure can be seen in the Direc- tory. of 1853. St. Peter's Cathedral is also shown in the picture as well as elsewhere in the book, which contains a large number of most interesting cuts.
THE ANNEXATIONS AND WARD CHANGES.
In 1839 the city was divided into seven wards. The First Ward was bounded by the north cor- poration line, Main, Third and Symmes streets ; the Second ran west of Main between Sixth and Third streets as far as Western row; the Third lay south and east of the First, being bounded by the river, the corporation line, Symmes and Main streets ; the Fourth lay south of the Second, running from Main to Western row between the river and Third streets ; the Fifth ran north from Sixth street to the north corporation line be- tween Plum and Main streets; the Sixth was the river ward, lying west of Western row and south of Sixth as far as Mill creek; the Seventh included the rest of the city being the territory north of Sixth and west of Plum to the north corporation line and Mill creek.
By ordinance of March 27, 1840, the bound- aries of wards one to four were changed. The line between the First and Third wards ran from Main cast on Fourth to Pike, thence to Symmes, thence to High to the reservoir of the .
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City Water Works, thence north 16 degrees east to the line of Fulton township. That between the Second and Fourth wards ran from Main along Fourth to Walnut, thence on Walnut to Baker, thence along Burnet street, Wright alley, McFarland and Ruffner streets to Western row.
In 1843 the city was divided into nine wards. The First Ward included all north of Third, Svmmes and High cast of Main and south of Sixth; the Second and Third wards were changed back to the boundaries of 1839; the Fourth Ward extended one square further west to John street ; the Fifth ran from Sixth street to the corporation line between Main and Race streets being the eastern part of the former Fifth ; the Sixth lay west of the Second and the Fourth between Sixth street and the river; the Seventh was made up of the western part of the old Fifth and the castern part of the old Seventh running from Sixth to the corporation line be- tween Race and Jolm; the Eighth Ward in- cluded the remainder of the western part of the city, that is the part north of Sixth street and west of John; and the Ninth Ward included all between Main street and the corporation line and the line of the First Ward, that is the part lying northeast of Sixth and Main. (Directory of 1843, p. 7; Act Feb. 6, 1843.)
In 1846 there were 10 wards. The first three wards remained practically unchanged; the Fourth Ward was also practically unchanged with its northern boundary line at Third street ; the Fifth Ward was the former Fifth as far north as the Miami Canal; north of the canal as far as Liberty street, and between Plum and Main was the roth; the Sixth remained un- changed; the Seventh was bounded on the north by Liberty, on the cast by Plum from Sixth to the canal, and by the canal to Liberty, on the south by Sixth and on the west by John; the Eighth and Ninth remained unchanged.
By act of February 18, 1848, provision was inade for annexation to the city of the special road district of Mill Creek township, which lay north of the city between Mill creek and the Lebanon turnpike ( Reading road), extending to the section line one mile north of Liberty to Mc- Millan street.
By virtue of an act passed March 22, 1850 (48 (). 1. 365), the fraction of section seven in the third township and second fractional range between the corporation lines of the city and the town of Fulton was added to the city and town- ship of Cincinnati. This lay just cast of the Lebanon turnpike and the newly acquired special
road district. By this addition the corporate limits of the city were established as follows: "Commencing at the northeast corner of said sec- tion number seven ; thence west along the sec- tions numbers seven, thirteen, nineteen and twen- ty-five, in said third township, to Mill creek ; thence down Mill creek with its meanders to the Ohio River, thence eastwardly up the Ohio, River, with the southern boundary of the State of Ohio to the east corner of fractional section number twelve in the first fractional range ; thence west with the south line of the town of Fulton to the southwest corner thereof; thence northeastwardly with the west line of said town of Fulton to the place of beginning."
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