USA > Ohio > Franklin County > Columbus > Columbus, Ohio: its history, resources, and progress : with numerous illustrations > Part 20
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Many improvements were needed and had to be made to render the building suitable for a hospital. It was a season of trial for the noble and kind-hearted sisterhood. They were poor and needed help. It came at last in the shape of the proceeds of fairs held for their benefit, under the auspices of the Catholic churches of the city, assisted by citizens not members of any
STARLING MEDICAL COLLEGE AND SAINT FRANCIS HOSPITAL.
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of these churches. The net proceeds of these fairs amounted to the large sum of six thousand five hundred dollars. Seven hundred dollars net were also realized for the sisters from a supper given about three years after the fairs.
During the ten years that have passed since the sisters first located a hospital in Columbus, they have received, by donation, from the city council, the sum of eighteen dollars, and three loads of coal from the council committee on the supply of fuel to the poor. This statement is made in justice to the sisters and the community at large, as it is generally supposed and frequently stated that they receive important aid from the city authorities.
The whole number received into the hospital since its opening to this date, December, 1872, is over four thousand. The aver- age number per year is about five hundred. The present num- ber is sixty, of whom eighteen are aged and infirm persons. There is an average of thirty deaths per year in the hospital.
All sick, aged, infirm, and poor persons, without distinction as to religious belief, nationality, or race, are admitted into the hospital, and gratuitously fed, clothed, and cared for. No ques- tions are asked about pay. If the beneficiary can afford to pay, the sisters will not refuse a compensation, but the lack of money is no bar to a participation in their wide and outflowing charity.
There are in the institution eighty-five beds. The second story is devoted to sick and infirm women; the third, to sick and infirm men. There are bath-rooms in every story, supplied with both hot and cold water. The city water-works furnishes water to all parts of the building.
There is a drug store connected with the hospital, where med- icines are prepared by the sisters.
Sister Blanka is the superior of the institution. She has six- teen associates.
The spiritual director is Rev. Bernard Hildebrand.
Medical and surgical services are rendered gratuitously by the faculty of Starling Medical College, and Dr. Wm. H. Drury.
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STUDER'S COLUMBUS, OHIO.
THE HOUSE OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD, FOR PENITENT FEMALES.
Located on West Broad, corner of Washington street. Spir- itual directors-Bishop Sylvester H. Rosecrans, Very Rev. Vicar General J. B. Hemsteger, Mother Superior Sister Gertrude.
Object. This is twofold: 1st. The reformation of penitent women and girls of all ages. 2d. The preservation of female children, by giving them a plain, useful education, and teaching them all kinds of needle-work. Penitents come and go as they like, no compulsion being used to retain them. As a general thing, they do not desire to leave; but should they do so and fall again, they are again received into the institution.
The order from which the above house derives its name was established in 1651, in the city of Caen (Normandy), in France, by the Rev. John Endes, receiving the confirmations of Popes Alexander VII, in 1666, and Benedict XIV, in 1741. In the year 1835, new life and vigor was given the order, by Madame Pelletier, superioress at Angers, in France, who, before her death in 1868, had established no less than one hundred and ten houses, in all parts of the world, in charge of the sisters of the order.
The happiest results have been produced in Europe by permit- ting female convicts to spend the last six months of their impris- onment with the sisters, who do their utmost to rescue the unfor- tunate and instill into their minds the love of virtue and morality.
As their name very properly indicates, like the Divine Master, they seek after the lost sheep, bestowing all their attention, and spending all their time in good works, looking to their amelior- ation and restoration to society.
The House of the Good Shepherd, in this city, was opened on Spring street, east of High, in May, 1855, in a rented dwelling, remaining there some nine months. The same may be said of this, as of all other good works, that the institution in the start had its trials and difficulties. The small size of its abode checked its growth to a considerable extent, and compelled its inmates to submit to much inconvenience. The good sisters at first being but little known, people did not appreciate all their usefulness, and they received little encouragement. In 1856, the want of more room compelled the change to the present advantageous
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location, where their facilities are much greater, but still not sufficient for the demands made by penitents, who flock thither from the prisons in our city, from our county infirmary, from our streets, and other places, to find shelter under the benign wing of the Good Shepherd.
The rapid progress of the institution is shown by the follow- ing figures: There are at present in the house 39 penitents, and 48 children, making 87 inmates. There are 17 sisters who man- age the house, 3 novices, and 1 mother superior, making in all an aggregate of 108 persons in the institution. The inmates are all engaged in some kind of useful employment; such as em- broidery, sewing, laundry, and ironing, while others are engaged at the sewing machines. Very fine and good needle-work of all kinds is done in the best style. The inmates, by close applica- tion to their work, under the direction of the sisters, become expert seamstresses and embroiders, thus enabling them to sup- port themselves when they return to the world. All are subject to strict rules of discipline, which must be complied with. All manual labor is gone through with in silence and in order. The time, aside from that allowed for rest, meals, and recreation, is devoted to some useful purpose calculated to promote virtue, in- dustry, and the purity of the soul. All work, from the mother superior to the least of the inmates, according as their strength will permit, toward the support of the institution. The aim of the sisters is to make new beings of their charge, and they are fully aware of the fact that souls can not be rescued from bad to good, unless they do themselves what they require others to do. To inspire the inmates with the love of labor and the practice of moral virtues, the sisters themselves bear the greater part of the work done.
The good example shown, and the good treatment the inmates receive at the hands of the sisters, produce such an impression that they naturally feel inclined to perform all they are requested to do. On first entering the house, many feel indisposed to work ; but with very little persuasion, their reluctance vanishes, and they soon become satisfied that everything required of them is for their own good. There are at the house of the Good Shep- herd no iron doors or armed guards, nor are any severe punish-
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ments inflicted for violations of the rules. Notwithstanding this, but few attempts to escape have been made.
The inmates know that the sisters have stronger claims upon them than could be obtained by force or violence. State prisons very often bind the soul as well as the body of the prisoner ; but the sisters hold their "prisoners" with the strong claims of moral suasion, love, and affection. They do all in their power to make their charges happy, and many feel so much at home there that they desire to be nowhere else. Truly, may it be called, " Home for the fallen to save the falling.".
The institution is commended to the attention and good-will of the public. Orders for any kind of needle-work, sent to the superior, Sister Gertrude, will receive prompt attention.
It is by the labor of the sisters and the inmates, that the house is supported, the receipts from other sources being very small.
CHAPTER XII.
THE PRESS-EDUCATIONAL, LITERARY, AND SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTIONS.
FROM the time the first printing-press was put in operation in Columbus, the city and county have been abundantly supplied with newspapers of home production. We have at present a goodly number. Some of them date back many years, while others are of recent origin. A multitude that once flourished and entertained the town and country have ceased to exist. We shall first give sketches of the living papers and periodicals of the day, tracing their genealogies, where they have any, and giving such account of their present condition as we have been able to obtain. Brief notices will then be given of extinct papers and periodicals not previously described.
THE OHIO STATE JOURNAL.
Issues daily and weekly editions. J. M. Comly, S. M. Smith, proprietors and publishers ; editor, General James M. Comly ; city editor, Samuel Johnson; foreman of news-room, James Turney ; general business manager, A. W. Francisco. Office, corner High, Chapel, and Pearl streets.
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THE PRESS.
The present Ohio State Journal claims descent from the first newspaper published in Franklin county, and called the West- ern Intelligencer. It was started at Worthington, in 1811, by Col. James Kilbourne, who projected and laid out that town. He issued two numbers of the paper, and then transferred it to Buttles & Smith, who published it about a year, and then turned it over to Colonel P. H. Olmsted, Dr. Hills, and Ezra Griswold, Jr. In July, 1814, Joel Buttles purchased the interest of Dr. Hills in the paper, and it was removed to Columbus, and took the title of Western Intelligencer and Columbus Gazette. Col. Olmsted became sole proprietor of the paper in 1815, and drop- ping the first part of the title, called it simply the Columbus Gazette.
In September, 1825, Colonel Olmsted associated with himself in the publication of the paper John Bailhache and George Nashee. The latter had been elected, by the Legislature, State printer, an office created at the previous session. The paper was enlarged, and its title changed to that of Ohio State Jour. nal and Columbus Gazette. Nashee died before the expiration of his official term, and Colonel Olmsted was appointed his suc- cessor. At the session of 1827-28, Judge Bailhache was elected State printer. Olmsted & Bailhache then purchased the West- ern Statesman, and merged it in their paper. In September, 1831, Colonel Olmsted sold out his interest to Judge Bailhache, who then became sole proprietor as well as editor.
In the spring of 1835, Judge Bailhache transferred to Charles Scott and Smithson E. Wright. The latter was afterward, for many years, treasurer and auditor of the Little Miami Railroad Company. Scott & Wright united with their paper the Colum- bus Sentinel. In 1837, Wright parted with his interest to Scott, who formed a partnership with John M. Gallagher. The latter had, some months before, started a paper called the Politi- cal Register, which he now merged in the joint publication. Gallagher, in the spring of 1839, sold out to Samuel Douglas, who, after a few months, disposed of his interest to Scott, the latter becoming sole proprietor and manager.
The first number of volume one of the Daily Ohio State Journal was issued on Monday evening, December 3, 1839
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1
with this standing announcement : "Published every evening, by Charles Scott, at his old stand, on State street, opposite the market-house. James Allen, editor." In December, 1843, John Teesdale became associated with Scott, and the paper was pub- lished in the name of Charles Scott & Co., until October, 1846, when Judge William B. Thrall, still a well-known and highly esteemed citizen of Columbus, became proprietor with Scott, and editor of the paper.
Henry Reed, who has since become a noted journalist, came into the establishment June 15, 1848, and the paper purported to be published by Thrall & Reed till October 31, 1849, when William T. Bascom, now editor of the Xenia Torchlight, be- came a partner of Scott and editor of the paper, which was pub- lished by the firm of Scott & Bascom. In 1854, Charles Scott made an assignment for the benefit of his creditors, and the paper was continued by his trustees till the Ohio State Journal Company was formed, to whom the paper was transferred and by whom it was published, under the editorial management of Oran Follett, afterward president of the Sandusky and Cincin - nati Railroad Company, assisted by William T. Bascom and John Greiner, commonly called "Governor Greiner," from having been for a while acting governor of New Mexico. In 1856, the Journal was transferred to William Schouler & Co., Mr. Schouler, late adjutant-general of Massachusetts, being its editor.
On the 28th of April, 1858, the Journal appeared as published by A. M. Gangewer, editor and proprietor, who merged in it a weekly paper called the Columbian. On the 19th of Novem- ber following, it was announced that John and Henry Miller, of the firm of J. & H. Miller, of Columbus, and Henry D. Cooke and C. E. Bill, of the firm of H. D. Cooke & Co., of Sandusky, had become proprietors of the paper, under the firm of Cooke & Millers, Mr. Cooke being editor. The Daily Journal, which had previously been an evening paper, was then issued in the morning, as it has been since. Of the new publishers, the Mil- lers were well-known business men of this city-Henry still re- siding among us, and John having removed to Chicago; H. D. Cooke & Co. were the publishers of the Sandusky Register. Of this firm, Mr. Bill appears to have had but a mere nominal in-
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terest in the Journal. Henry D. Cooke was the brother, and became afterward the partner of Jay Cooke, the famous banker.
J. & H. Miller, April 15, 1859, sold their interest to H. D. Cooke & Co., who remained sole proprietors until the 3d of No- vember ensuing, when F. W. Hurtt became associated with them, under the firm of Cooke, Hurtt & Co. On the 4th of July, 1861, Mr. Cooke dissolved his connection with the paper, and Mr. Hurtt associated with him Dr. I. J. Allen, afterward Consul in China, under the name of Hurtt, Allen & Co., Dr. Allen officiating as editor.
The paper was next transferred, October 1, 1864, to the Ohio State Journal Company, with W. H. Foster, of this city, as busi- ness manager.
January 21, 1865, it came under the control of William T. Coggeshall. & Co. Mr. Coggeshall had been State librarian, and was afterward sent as United States minister to Ecuador, in South America, where he died.
The next transfer of the Journal was made November 8, 1865, to General James M. Comly, Dr. G. W. Robey, and Dr. S. M. Smith, under the name of Comly, Robey & Smith.
On the 19th of the same month, the name of the Daily Ohio State Journal was changed to Daily Morning Journal, and its form from a folio of four to a quarto of eight pages.
Aaron P. Miller, formerly of the Chillicothe Gazette, bought, October 12, 1866, Dr. Robey's interest, and the paper was then published by Comly, Miller & Smith, until May 6, 1867, when Comly and Smith became sole proprietors.
J. Q. Howard, afterward consul in Nova Scotia, became asso- ciated with Comly & Smith in the publication of the Journal, January 24, 1868.
The long-used name of the daily paper, that of Daily Ohio Journal, was resumed about the 1st of January, 1869, and its form changed back to the folio.
In the issue of March 22, 1871, appeared the names of J. M. Comly, S. M. Smith, and J. Q. Howard, as publishers and pro- prietors, with James M. Comly as editor. General Comly, March 27, 1872, purchased Mr. Howard's interest, Comly & Smith be-
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coming again sole proprietors, General Comly remaining, as he still does, at the head of the editorial department.
The Journal, during the existence of the Whig party, was its staunch defender and its able advocate, as it has been of the Republican party since its formation. With equal firmness and ability, the paper now sustains the administration of General Grant.
THE OHIO STATESMAN.
In the Daily Ohio Statesman of March 31, 1870, appeared the following historical sketch :
" The first Democratic paper printed in Columbus was the Ohio Monitor, commenced by David Smith and Ezra Griswold, in 1816, just after the close of the war with Great Britain. In 1835, the paper, which had in the meantime been published by Trimble, who had bought out Griswold, was sold to Jacob Medary, who consolidated it with the Western Hemisphere. The States- man is the legitimate successor of that paper. The publication of the Hemisphere was commenced by Gilbert and Melcher in 1832. Afterward, Melcher sold his interest to Russell C. Bryan. Gilbert and Bryan sold to Governor Medary and Colonel Many- penny. Then it passed into the hands of Sacket Reynolds, who sold it again to Governor Medary.
"All this time it had been the Hemisphere, but on the 5th of July, 1837, the name of the paper was changed, and it appeared as the Ohio Statesman, with S. Medary & Brothers as proprie- tors, Colonel Medary being editor of the paper. When the Statesman first appeared, its office was on East Broad street, near High, in a one and a half storied frame building, which has long since disappeared. It was then issued weekly, except during the sessions of the legislature, when it was published twice a week. Eventually, it was published as a tri-weekly, and was continued in this way until August 11, 1847, when the first number of the Daily Ohio Statesman was issued.
" From its location on East Broad street, the Statesman was moved, in 1839, to the Exchange building, on Broad, between High and Front streets. It remained there until 1844. It was next published in the frame building on the corner of State street and Pearl, adjoining the site on which the City Hall is now being erected. It continued there until 1847-48, when it was removed temporarily to a frame building standing on the lot now occupied by Seltzer's music store. It remained there until the brick building now occupied by Charles Wagner, on
.
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State street, was completed, when it was moved into that struc- ture. Here it remained until 1853, when the office was removed to the Buckeye Block, corner of High and Broad streets.
" In 1858, the Statesman was removed to its late office in Neil's building, on High street. It remained in this building until its present removal to the large four-story brick, No. 74 North High street, fronting 22} feet on High street, and running back on Elm street, 187 feet, to Pearl alley. It was purchased in Febru- ary last by Mr. Richard Nevins from Lafayette Lazell, by whom it was erected in 1868."
Samuel Medary having become sole proprietor of the States- man, in July, 1845, transferred it to C. C. & C. R. Hazewell-C. C. Hazewell, editor. In July, 1846, C. R. Hazewell became sole proprietor, C. C. still continuing editor, until the 23d of the en- suing October, when his name disappeared from the paper. On the 4th of November, 1846, the name of Colonel S. Medary appeared in the Statesman as sole proprietor and editor. No other change was published until April 1, 1853, when James H. Smith and Samuel S. Cox were named as editors and proprietors, Mr. Smith, January 2, 1854, sold his interest to Mr. Cox, who became sole editor and proprietor.
Of two or three men connected with the Statesman up to this time a few words may not be out of place. Colonel Samuel Medary, during an active editorial life of nearly forty years, was the Ajax of the Democratic party in Ohio. He held for many years the office of State printer, was postmaster of this city, and governor of Kansas and Minnesota, during their territorial exist- ence. Samuel S. Cox was for eight years a member of Congress from this district, and at present represents in the same body one of the wealthiest of the districts into which New York city is divided. James H. Smith at one time represented this county in our State legislature, and was afterward elected clerk of the Court of Common Pleas for this county.
Mr. Cox did not long remain in the position of sole proprie- tor of the Statesman. In April, 1854, he became associated in the proprietorship with B. W. Spears and H. V. Mann, under the firm of Cox, Spears & Co., Mr. Cox retaining his post of editor. This partnership was of short duration, as Mr. Cox an- nounced, in the paper of May 23, 1854, that it was sold to the
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proprietors of the Daily Ohio State Democrat and a gentleman of Cincinnati, under the name of the Franklin Printing Com- pany. The proprietors of the Democrat were Osgood, Blake & Knapp, and the "gentleman of Cincinnati" was understood to be W. H. Derby, a bookseller of that city.
The Statesman and Democrat were consolidated, and the paper took the name of Ohio Statesman and Democrat. The editors of the Democrat, Horace S. Knapp and Charles B. Flood, became the editors of the consolidated paper. But on the 10th of February, 1855, the paper was transferred to Col. S. Medary, who, for the third time, became sole proprietor and editor. The words "and Democrat" were dropped from the title of the paper, and it took its original name of Ohio States- man.
On the 16th of February, 1857, the paper purported to be published by S. Medary and R. Nevins, the former being its editor. The name of James B. Marshall, however, appeared as editor on the 1st of May following. On the 17th of August, 1857, the announcement was made that the paper had been sold to James Haddock Smith, proprietor and editor, with whom Charles J. Foster became associated in the editorial depart- ment, in place of Mr. Marshall. On the 5th of June, 1858, Mr. Smith sold one-half interest in the paper to Thomas Miller, of this city; and on the 4th of January, 1859, the latter and George W. Manypenny, also of this city, became proprietors of the Statesman, Colonel Manypenny taking the position of editor. The paper was sold to the Ohio Statesman Company on the 17th of January, 1864, and Amos Layman announced as editor, with whom Lewis Baker was associated on the 1st of March ensuing. The name of the latter disappeared on the 7th of December, 1864, and that of E. B. Eshelman was substituted. Mr. Layman's name also disappeared January 28, 1867, and Mr. Eshelman's remained as sole editor.
The Statesman was transferred, November 13, 1867, to Rich- ard Nevins, and Charles B. Flood became editor with Mr. Eshel- man. Both the editors' names disappeared from the paper on the 15th of January, 1869; but a month afterward appeared the announcement that the paper was published by R. Nevins
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and C. S. Medary, under the firm of Nevins & Medary, with C. B. Flood as editor. On the 31st of March, 1870, the paper was published by Nevins, Medary & Co., James Mills, editor.
The Statesman was sold, April 1, 1872, to Dodd & Linton, by whom it was changed from a morning to an evening paper. On the 22d of June following, it purported to be published by the Statesman Company; and a month afterward, an announce- ment appeared, signed "Statesman Company, by J. F. Linton, manager," stating substantially that the Daily Statesman had been merged in the Daily Dispatch, an evening paper, pro- fessedly non-partisan in politics. The Statesman Company con- tinued, and still continue to publish the Weekly Ohio States- man and also the Sunday Statesman. Office, 26 North High street.
THE DAILY DISPATCH AND DAILY OHIO STATESMAN.
An evening paper, issuing a daily only. Published by the Dispatch Printing Company. Editor, John M. Webb; city editor, William Galer; foreman of news-room, Samuel Brad- ford; general manager, William Trevitt, Jr. Office, No. 26 North High street.
The Columbus Dispatch Printing Company was incorporated June 28, 1871. Object, a general newspaper and job printing business. Capital stock, $10,000, divided into shares of $100 each. Incorporators: Samuel Bradford, Willoughby W. Webb, William Trevitt, Jr., T. McMahon, James O'Donnell, John M. Webb, Joseph S. B. Given, P. C. Johnson, L. P. Stephens, C. M. Morris.
The Dispatch Printing Company, composed of newspaper men, issued the first number of the Daily Dispatch, an evening paper, on the 1st of July, 1871. The editor was Willoughby W. Webb, who was succeeded, in October, 1871, by Captain John A. Arthur, and the latter, in September, 1872, by John M. Webb, the present editor.
In May, 1872, the company commenced the issue of a weekly edition, which was continued until the 23d of July following, when it was merged in the Weekly Statesman, and the Daily Statesman was merged in the Dispatch, and the title of the lat-
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ter was changed to the Daily Dispatch and Daily Ohio States- man.
THE COLUMBUS GAZETTE.
Several papers published in this city prior to 1840 assumed the name of the Columbus Gazette, as a part or the whole of their titles. They were all predecessors, if not ancestors of the present paper bearing that name. Elijah· Glover, book and job printer, commenced, in 1840, the publication of a weekly paper called the Ohio Tribune. It was edited in succession by Walter Thrall and Gideon Stewart. George M. Swan was, in 1848, associated with Mr. Glover in its publication, and subsequently became its sole proprietor. He changed the name of the paper to that of Swan's Elevator. In May, 1854, the Maine Law Ad- vocate, which had been published in Columbus by Charles V. Culver since the preceding October, was merged in the Elevator, which was then called the Columbus Elevator, published by Swan & Culver. It was purchased by Gamaliel Scott in 1855, and in the following year, when John Greiner became its editor, the name was again changed to the one it bears at present-the Columbus Gazette.
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