Centennial history of Cincinnati and representative citizens, Vol. I, Pt. 2, Part 33

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

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CHAPTER XXXVIII.

FROM THE SEMI-CENTENNIAL TO THE WAR-III.

NOTABLE EVENTS OF THE "FORTIES."

A NEW ERA-THE COFFEE HOUSES-THE GAS CONTRACT -THE BANK RIOT OF 1842 -DICKENS IN CINCINNATI - SOCIAL FUNCTIONS - THE ELECTION OF HARRISON TO THE PRESIDENCY -- THE CINCINNATI HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY-GRAPE CULTURE - PUGH & ALVORD'S FIRE-THE CIN- CINNATI OBSERVATORY -- THE WESLEYAN CEMETERY -- THE MILLERITES-THE CINCINNATI HIS- TORICAL SOCIETY -CINCINNATUS - SPRING GROVE CEMETERY-THE CINCINNATI LAW LIBRARY ASSOCIATION-THE FIRST RAILROAD-THE FLOOD OF 1847-THE RIOT OF 1848-THE YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION -- THE OHIO MECHANICS' INSTITUTE-THE CHOLERA OF 1849- THE LITERARY CLUB OF CINCINNATI-THE YEAR OF MURDERS.

A NEW ERA.

The beginning of the second half century of Cincinnati's life was signalized by its first lasting experience in municipal ownership. On Janu- ary 23, 1839, it purchased the rights and prop- erty of the Cincinnati Water Works Company for the sum of $300,000.

The same year was established the first Supe- rior Court of the city with David K. Este as judge and Daniel Gano as clerk.

The portrait of this latter worthy with his elaborately ruffled shirt adorned with its magnifi- cent breast pin and his old-fashioned Revolution- ary plaited queue tied with a black ribbon and hanging down his back between his shoulders is familiar to every Cincinnatian.

Daniel Gano was for many years one of the most interesting figures in Cincinnati life. He was born near the mouth of the Little Miami River on May 29, 1794, and died at Cincinnati August 17, 1873. He was a grandson of the Baptist minister, Rev. Jolin Gano, and the son of

the latter's fourth surviving son, John Stites Gano, who was one of the original settlers at Columbia. John S. Gano, it will be remembered, married a daughter of Judge William Goforth. During the infancy of Daniel Gano, his parents moved from Columbia to Cincinnati where he at- tended the school kept in Fort Washington by Edward Harrigan. At the age of 13 he rode 1,100 miles on horseback to Providence, Rhode Island, where he entered Brown University. He soon returned to Cincinnati and became assistant clerk and afterwards deputy in the office of his father then clerk of the County Court. Upon the resignation of his father, the latter removed to Covington. Daniel Gano succeeded him as clerk which position he continued to hold, with the in- termission of a short period when it was held by General Harrison, until 1856 at which time he re- tired, some 45 years after he first entered into the office. When 18 years of age he was commis- sioned as aide to his father who was then major- general. Upon the appointment of James Find-

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lay to succeed his father, he received a new com- mission with the rank of major. He took a large part in preparing the soldiers for the War of 1812. He was particularly interested in the lo- cation of the Miami Canal and had five canal boats built and equipped. He was also interest- ed in all kinds of live stock and published a work on horses. At the time of the visit of Lafayette to the city in 1824, the distinguished Frenchman was entertained by Major Gano at the latter's house. In his later life he became interested in Dr. Samuel Thompson's botanical system of med- icine and in an amateur way gave some attention to the practice of medicine. He also became in- terested in animal magnetism and spiritualism. He was an earnest advocate of the abolition of slavery. He married Rebecca Hunt Lawrence, daughter of Benjamin Lawrence, by whom he had six children of whom but two survived their father. His son Stephen survived until 1903.

Almost at the end of the year ( 1839) died one of Cincinnati's most brilliant young men, the son and father of distinguished citizens: General Lytle the second.

Robert T. Lytle was a son of the celebrated Gen. William Lytle and grandson of the Revo- lutionary soldier, Col. William Lytle. He was born at Lytlestown, afterwards Williamsburg, Ohio, on December 9, 1804, and died at New Orleans, December 22, 1839. He was educated at the Cincinnati College and afterwards studied law with his uncle Judge Rowan at Louisville. He returned to Cincinnati to engage in the prac- tice of the law in 1824. He was subsequently elected to the Legislature and in 1832 to Con- gress, defeating Col. N. G. Pendleton. In Oc- tober of the following year, being offended at some criticisms with relation to the manner of his election, he resigned and submitted himself once more to the electors at the November elec- tion. He was triumphantly elected once more. A year later he was defeated by Bellamy Storer, although running at the head of his ticket. Dur- ing his term in Congress he became specially noted for his support of the Jackson administra- tion and he was subsequently appointed surveyor general of the Northwest Territory, an office pre- viously held by his father. Upon the death of Maj .- Gen. James Findlay, he was appointed ma- jor-general of the Ohio militia. He was re- . peatedly urged to run for the governorship and from 1836 was asked to become a candidate for the United States Senate, but his health would not permit any further political life. He was

finally obliged to go South where he died in the midst of a brilliant career. Gen. Robert Lytle was regarded as one of the most brilliant young men who had ever lived in Cincinnati. As an or- ator he has never been surpassed and he was cap- able of arousing the enthusiasm of his audience to a degree equaled by few men of his time. He was married at Cincinnati on November 30, 1825, to Elizabeth Haines. Their children were: Gen. William Haines Lytle who died at Chickamauga and two daughters, one of whom became the wife of Nathaniel Foster and the other that of Samuel Broadwell.

Almost the last public appearances of General Lytle were at the various meetings held in 1839 with reference to the negro colonization scheme. He was the originator of the "Abhorrence Meet- ing" held March 9, 1839.

Other deaths of the year were those of Morgan Neville and John Bartle.

The well known Union Bethel was organized for mission work in January, 1839. Its first head- quarters were in the old Commercial Row on the river bank. It was originally under the patron- age of the Western Seaman's Friend Society. Subsequently the Boatmen's Bethel Society was formed and the school for a time was removed to East Front street near Pike to the "Old Museum" building, but after about three years it returned to its original location.

The Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce, which has always taken a prominent part in the public affairs of the city, was organized on October 22. 1839. At first it met but once a month in the rooms of the Mercantile Library. Seven years later the Chamber was combined with the Mer- chants' Exchange, and in 1850 the institution was chartered under the name of the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce and Merchants' Ex- change. The president at the time of the organi- zation in 1839 was Griffin Taylor.

During the year 1840 the Young Men's Mer- cantile Library Association which had been in ex- istence since 1822 moved its quarters to the old Cincinnati College Building on Walnut street, and this has been the site of the library since that date. At that time the College Building opened on to a garden on the south which extended to the corner of Fourth street and was planted with shrubbery and trees.

On the night of March 31, 1840, a disastrous fire destroyed the celebrated Franks' Museum, the successor to the Western and Dorfeuille mu- seums.

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TIIE COFFEE HOUSES.

During the first year of this period the ever recurring liquor question occupied a large part of the time of the City Council whose proceedings were largely devoted to granting licenses to coffee houses. The prices at which these licenses were fixed varied from $25 to $150,-almost a prohib- itive sum at that time,-and the lobbying with members of the Council to procure favorable ac- tion became a public scandal.

Just prior to the spring election of the follow- ing year, the Council passed an ordinance abol- ishing coffee houses and submitting the whole liquor qustion to the votes of the people who ex- pressed by their choice of councilmen their de- sires with regard to this matter. Among those selected as candidates in favor of no license were such men as E. Hinman, Nathan Guilford, Miles Greenwood, Charles Cist, S. S. L'Hommedieu, A. G. Gano, E. Woodruff, O. Lovell, H. E. Spencer, E. Gaither, David Griffin and A. Val- entine.

The papers were full of editorial discussions concerning the liquor question and columns of advertisements announced the various candidates and ward meetings. Just prior to the election the death of a drunken man as a result of a coffee house brawl at the southwest corner of Vine and Columbia streets was used as a campaign argu- ment. As a result of the election, a majority of the new Council was pledged to support the sup- pression of drinking houses.

The feeling against the coffee houses became so intense that on December 30, 1841, a large number of citizens met at College Hall to take measures for their suppression. Timothy Walker presided over this meeting, Elami P. Langdon acted as vice-president and Thompson Neave and John C. Vaughan officiated as secretaries. A committee of vigilance with S. S. L'Hommedieu as president ; Charles Cist, vice-president ; W. T. Truman, secretary and 10 prominent citizens in each ward were selected.

TIE GAS CONTRACT.

By ordinance of June 16, 1841, James Conover, the well known newspaper man, together with his associates was vested with the full and exclusive privilege of using the streets, lanes, conimons and alleys of the city for the purpose of convey- ing gas to the city and the citizens for the term of 25 years and thereafter until the same should be purchased by the City Council. Conover was to furnish gas maius and such quantity of gas as

should be required by the City Council for public lamps at two-thirds of the lowest average price at which gas should be furnished to private indi- viduals in New Orleans, Baltimore, New York, Louisville and Pittsburg. The works were to be commenced and $2,000 expended within six months and within two years 6,000 feet of gas mains were to be laid and 4,000 feet annually thereafter until the principal parts of the city should be supplied and at any time after the expi- ration of.25 years the City Council was to have the right to purchase the plant at a fair price to be determined by arbitration. Associated with Con- over originally was J. H. Caldwell. A charter was subsequently obtained under the title of The Cincinnati Gas Light & Coke Company and the capital stock was originally $100,000. Works were located on Front, between Smith and Park, and by 1851 between 18 and 20 miles of pipe had been laid and 500 lamps erected. This com- pany with numerous increases of capital stock and with a recent change of name to The Cincin- nati Gas & Electric Company, still supplies the citizens with gas. To quote the language of the president of the Historical Society: "It is the same old meter with a different colored bill." (Joseph Wilby before Optimist Club.)

The year 1841 was disgraced by several riots, one occurring in June and another in September. The negro question was at the bottom of both of these. They are described in another chap- ter.

THE BANK RIOT OF 1842.

The ever present Cincinnati mob made itself manifest once more on January 11, 1842. O11 the evening preceding, the Miami Exporting Company's bank at the southwest corner of Main and Court streets, made an assignment, and on the following morning the Bank of Cincinnati closed its doors. Consternation on the part of the depositors was widespread, and by eleven o'clock the angry crowds had gathered about the doors of the bank. Very soon somebody gave the suggestion and the doors of the bank were broken in and all movable property destroyed. Included in the destruction were the books and papers, many of which were of value to the miem- bers of the mob themselves as well as to the bank. Presently io of the city guards head- ed by Capt. (). M. Mitchel came to the scene and succeeded in driving the rioters away. Thinking that quiet had been restored, they retired but were assailed by the regathering crowds. They finally fired into the mob and wounded two or three of the citizens.

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Attack was also made upon John Bates' Ex- change 'Bank at No. 154 Main street, and upon the exchange office of Noah Lougee on Main, be- tween Third and Fourth streets, adjoining Bates' Exchange Bank. Lougee was one of the direc- tors of the Bank of Cincinnati. Both of these institutions were sacked completely.

The amount of property destroyed was not great, but a large amount of money was stolen from the Miami Exporting Company's bank. Bates had steadily redeemed his own paper and there was no excuse for the assault upon his bank. The mob seemed to be utterly without restraint. Charles Fox was called upon by the sheriff to read the riot act which he did, but he was seized by the mob and very roughly handled. Ten of the city guards with other citizens who finally succeeded in quelling the riot in- cluded some well known citizens. They were John Jeffries, Oliver Lovell, Jr., John D. Lovell, J. H. Beard, W. H. Comstock, H. Aydelott, J. Wheelwright, A. Young, W. W. Northrop, W. Cassilly, C. Thorp, T. P. Taylor, J. Sprigman, S. Withington, C. P. James and S. Scudder.

The feeling against Mayor Davies by reason of his failure to take more vigorous action at the time of these riots resulted in a trial before the deserving of censure, but his conduct was ex- Council on charges preferred. He was found cused by reason of ill health. He died shortly afterwards.

DICKENS IN CINCINNATI.

The famous visitor of the year 1842 was the celebrated English novelist, Charles Dickens, who brought with him his wife. He remained here but a short time and subsequently went down the river on a steamboat to Louisville. Upon his return he also stopped a day. He went from here to Sandusky by way of Column- bus, traveling in the great mail coach. His nar- rative of his trip gives a very fair idea of the travel of those days.

He came from Pittsburg on the "Messenger" occupying three days on the trip. He was struck with the dismal demeanor of the passengers, all of whom seemed to have tremendous secrets weighing on their minds. There was "no con- versation, no laughter, no cheerfulness, no soci- ality, except in spitting; and that is done in silent fellowship round the stove, when the meal is over." The solitude prevailing along the banks of the river impressed him as well as the loud, high pressure blasts from the boat's en- gines. On the return trip from Cincinnati to

Sandusky along the macadamized road six miles an hour in a great mail coach "whose huge cheeks are so very ruddy and plethoric" and hold- ing a dozen passengers inside, the trip seemed but little more gay to him. The taciturnity of the company seems to have overwhelmed him. He found Cincinnati a "lively city," however, "with other boats, and flags and moving wheels and hum of men around it; as though there were not a solitary or silent rood of ground within the compass of a thousand miles. = *

"There happened to be a great Temperance Convention held here on the day after our arrival ; and as the order of march brought the procession under the windows of the hotel in which we lodged, when they started in the morning, I had a good opportunity of seeing it. It comprised several thousand men; the members of various 'Wash- ington Auxiliary Temperance Societies,' and was marshalled by officers on horseback, who can- tered briskly up and down the line, with scarves and ribands of bright colors fluttering out be- hind them gaily. There were bands of music, too, and banners out of number; and it was a fresh, holiday looking concourse altogether.

"I was particularly pleased to see the Irish- men, who formed a distinct society among them- selves, carrying their national Harp and their portrait of Father Mathew high above the peo- ple's heads. They looked as jolly and good- humoured as ever ; and, working the hardest for their living, and doing any kind of sturdy labor that came in their way, were the most independ- ent fellows there, I thought.

"The banners were very well painted, and flaunted down the street famously. There was the smiting of the rock and the gushing forth of the waters; and there was a temperate man with a 'considerable of a hatchet' (as the stand- ard-bearer would probably have said) aiming a deadly blow at a serpent which was apparently 'about to spring upon him from the top of a barrel of spirits. But the chief feature of this part of the show was a huge allegorical device, borne among the ship carpenters, on one side whereof the steamboat Alcohol was represented bursting her boiler and exploding with a great crash, while upon the other the good ship Teni- perance sailed away with a fair wind, to the licart's content of the captain, crew, and passen- gers.

"After going round the town, the procession repaired to a certain appointed place, where, as the printed programme set forth, it would be received by the children of the different free

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schools, 'singing Temperance Songs.' I was prevented from getting therc in time to hear these little warblers, or to report upon this novel kind of vocal entertainment :- novel, at least, to me : but I found, in a large open space, each society gathered round its own banners and listening in silent attention to its own orator. The specches, judging from the little I could hear of them, werc certainly adapted to the occasion, as having that degree of relationship to cold water which wet blankets may claim : but the main thing was the conduct and appearance of the audience throughout the day, and that was admirable and full of promisc.

"Cincinnati is honorably famous for its free schools, of which it has so many that no per- son's child among its population can, by possi- bility, want the means of education, which are ex- tended, upon an average, to four thousand pupils annually. I was only present in one of these establishments during the hours of instruction. In the boys' department, which was full of little urchins (varying in their ages, I should say, from six years old to ten or twelve), the master offered to institute an extemporary examination of the pupils in algebra :- a proposal, which, as I was by no means confident of my ability to. de- tect mistakes in that science, I declined with some alarm. In the girls' school reading was pro- posed, and as I felt tolerably equal to that art, I expressed my willingness to hear a class. Books were distributed accordingly, and * some half- dozen girls relieved each other in reading para- graphs from English history. But it was a dry compilation, infinitely above their powers; and when they had blundered through three or four drcary passages concerning the Treaty of Ami- ens and other thrilling topics of the same nature (obviously without comprehending ten words), 1 expressed myself quite satisfied. It is very possible that they only mounted to this extreme stave in the ladder of learning for the astonish- ment of a visitor, and that at other times they keep upon its lower rounds; but I should have been much better pleased and satisfied if I had heard them exercised in simpler lessons, which they understood.

"As in every other place I visited, the Judges here were gentlemen of high character and at- taiments. 1 was in one of the courts for a few mintites, and found it like those to which 1 have already referred. A nuisance cause was trying ; there were not many spectators; and the wit- nesses, counsel, and jury formed a sort of fam- ily circle, sufficiently jocose and sung.

"The society with which I mingled was intel- ligent, courteous, and agrecable. The inhabit- ants of Cincinati are proud of their city, as onc of the most interesting in America, and with reason ; for, beautiful and thriving as it is now, and containing, as it does, a population of fifty thousand souls, but two and fifty years have passed away since the ground on which it stands (bought at that time for a few dollars) was a wildwood and its citizens were but a handful of dwellers in scattered log huts upon the river's shore." ( American Notes, chap. II.)

SOCIAL FUNCTIONS.

An advertisement of Messrs. Tosso and Win- ters in the current papers at the beginning of this period announces a cotillion party at the Cincin- nati Assembly Rooms in Pearl street at which the attendance of the ladies is respectfully solic- ited. Confectionery, fruits, etc., were furnished by F. G. Ringgold of whom tickets could be obtained for the small sum of $1.50. These parties were opened to the public and were quite generally attended by people of prominence.

Another. ball of great brilliancy was the Me- chanics' and Citizens' Ball given for the benefit of the Ohio Mechanics' Institute on March 4, 1839. This was a very elaborate entertainment held at the National Theatre and tickets of admis- sion commanded the high price of $5. The decorations were in charge of Platt Evens, at that time the principal storekeeper in the city. The hall was decorated with portraits of pronti- nent citizens and on the floor we are told were "the military glittering in rich uniform, jealous husbands and their wives, jealous lovers and their ladies, crusty old bachelors reassuming their complaisance, sighing youths forgetting their troubles and widows who had just doffed their sables, widowers half resolved to throw another die and beautiful mothers and their more beautiful daughters" and while the boxes were filled, those who had descended to the floor would have suffered no disparagement by the contrast. "Very quiet observers could detect now and then the arch smiles of a mischievous mouth and the touch of the hand that sometimes led to something serious. All went to be pleased and were pleased up to as late an hour as two o'clock in the morning." (Gasette, March 6, 1830.)

The people of the early days were munch given to banquets and a favorite occasion for such functions was Franklin's Birthday, which then as now was celebrated by the members of the print-

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ing fraternities. In those days however the public generally were invited to attend and did attend in large numbers. The list of toasts given at the Franklin's Birthday celebration on January 13, 1839, fills two closely printed columns of the daily papers. Among the local worthies toasted were Thomas Palmer, James H. Looker, Maj. James F. Conover, Judge James Hall, George W. Bradbury, F. W. Thomas, J. T. Bruce, J. M. Campbell, S. S. L'Hommedicu, Edward A. McLaughlin, General Harrison. Charles Ham- mond, Nathan Guilford, Charles R. Ramsey, and Mr. Ringgold, the caterer.

Another social event of interest was the "mil- itary fete" given by the Citizens Guards at the assembly rooms on Washington's Birthday. In the list of managers appear such names as O. M. Mitchel, W. H. H. Taylor, N. Reeder, David T. Woodrow, J. R. Wheelwright, Richard W. Keys, James M. Dickson, and Daniel P. Strader.

One of the visitors to the city during the year 1839 was the Florentine exile, Madame Elina Ameriga Du Vespucii, who claimed lineal descent from the celebrated Americus Vespucius from whom the continent takes its name. She received much attention while here and was the occasion of several public meetings at which resolutions of welcome were adopted and petitions were for- warded to Congress asking an allotment to her of a portion of public lands. She received much social attention as well and was honored on the occasion of a complimentary benefit to James M. Scott, the well known actor, by being handed to her box by Gen. William Henry Harrison. (Diary of John D. Caldwell, July 22, 1839.)

Important additions to the population of the city were the albino lady and the Irish giant who arrived at the Western Museum at Main and Pearl streets early in 1839. This distin- guished couple seem to have attracted much at- tention and the papers of the day mentioned them both editorially and in numerous com- munications. Miss Shore the albino was said to be "in form and features like others of her sex,- perfect,-with hair white as the driven snow like the finest spun glass. Her eyes were prismatic and of variegated pink changing their color and position every moment." Mr. O'Claney from County Wicklow, Ireland, was coneeded to be one of the tallest of well proportioned men in the world.

Another attraction at this time was a fancy glass blower who in five minutes in the presence of visitors could spin from glass without the help of moulds or instruments any bird, beast,

fish or ship that might be called for. He could also spin one thousand yards of glass in a min- ute. It was quite the fashion of the day to at- tend these exhibitions.

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Centennial history of Cincinnati and representative citizens, Vol. I, Pt. 2, Part 33

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