USA > Ohio > Highland County > Hillsboro > Hillsboro crusade sketches and family records > Part 2
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After breakfast the fragments were taken from the pocket-book, which James explained was in the pocket of his blouse when he was feeding the gluttonous beast (and the rest of the critters, as he called them), who turned and snatched the pocket-book instead of the fodder, and began chewing up two thousand dol- . lars of bank-notes as fast as if they'd been grass. "I took to my heels for the house," said he; "snatched my gun from the shelf, and Betsey
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FAMILY RECORD.
startin' after me, thinkin' I was going to kill myself; but I made straight for the greedy ox, and I ripped open his throat in no time, and there it was! Sure enough, there it was! Nasty, villainous thing! But I'll work it out, governor; I'll work it out, if it kills me."
"Don't get so excited, James," said Mr. Trim- ble. "We'll see what can be done;" and he took up the wet mass of paper and said to his wife: "Can you have the patience to spread these separate pieces out on a table, if some one helps you, until they dry, and then paste them on tissue paper, reconstructing the face of the bills if possible; the bank may yet receive them at some discount." Little Eliza was allowed to stand on a chair by the table, and watch her mother and one of her uncles all day, while they separated and combined this "filthy lucre." The banks received the notes, finally, making only a small discount. Poor James wanted to bear the loss; but the governor paid him a premium instead, for his brave and honorable conduct.
Mrs. Trimble and the family resided in Hills- boro during the years of Mr. Trimble's executive work in Columbus, and he always claimed that the repose and strength he received during the short vacations in his Hillsboro home repler - ished his mind for its labors and public cares:
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THE MAKING OF AN EARLY GOVERNOR.
believing that "the only heart that can help us is one that draws, not fromn society, but from itself, a counterpoise to society;" and he con- trasted the quiet, beautiful, and industrious life of his wife with the gay extravagance of other women whom he constantly met, and felt as much comfort and pride as a man can feel in the knowledge that he has a perfect companion. Mrs. Trimble's taste for all that was pure and beautiful showed itself in her finely-selected, half-Quaker toilets; her choice of good old ma- hogany furniture and beautiful china; her culti- vation of flowers; and her exquisite table-for never was there a more perfect housekeeper. Once while Miss Katherine Beecher was visiting Mrs. Trimble she inquired of Miss Katherine what subjects she was writing upon just then? "Housekeeping," Miss Beecher answered, ami- ably. "How would you enjoy some practical experience in that line?" said Mrs. Trimble ; "I can furnish you with some to-day." "O!" said Miss Beecher, "it is so much easier to write about than to put into practice."
!
II. HIS ONLY DAUGHTER.
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II. HIS ONLY DAUGHTER.
S UNDAYS were representative days in the old Hillsboro home, and the visits of chil- dren, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren made the grandparents' hearts glad, even after the infirmities of extreme old age prevented them from attending Church services. It had been their habit to drive to the Methodist Church (of which they were loyal members, the Presby- terian and Quaker belief having fused itself into the religion of the Wesleys) in their elegant, tasteful carriage. This carriage was a great source of pride to the grandchildren, who were not allowed to touch the dove-colored cloth and silk, nor even the ivory buttons, or disturb the composure of the white horse. They could enjoy the horses "Red-bird " and " Jenette " and "Pony," but not "grandma's white' church- horse," as they call it.
Dr. Joseph M. Trimble, the oldest of Gover- nor Trimble's sons, after an active and useful life in the ministry of the Methodist Church, lo- cated in Columbus, Ohio. He was well known throughout the State, and represented his Church
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FAMILY RECORD.
at the General Conferences for many years. He had a large interest, as his father had, in edu- cational institutions, to one of which he left a handsome endowment. He was possessed with the spirit of reform, of self-sacrifice, of firm and abiding religious conviction. He married Sarah Starr, a niece of General Trimble, of Balti- more, who assisted him in a cheerful manner in all he undertook. She still lives to enjoy the abundance of good his industry and wisdom sur- rounded her with. Of her cheerful Christian virtues much could be written.
Mr. James Madison Trimble, the second son, married a daughter of Mr. John Smith, of Hills- boro, a wealthy citizen. Mrs. Trimble was a woman of just pride and dignity of character. Their large and interesting family added greatly to the pleasure of Governor and Mrs. Trimble's life, as they resided in Hillsboro in a handsome property near by. Mr. Madison Trimble resem- bled his father in appearance, and had the same sense of humor and keen wit and talent for ac- cumulating money, and the same enjoyment of political affairs. These two oldest sons were chil- dren by the first marriage. Wm. H. Trimble, Cary A. Trimble, and Eliza Jane Trimble were the chil- dren of the second marriage. Dr. Cary A. Trim- ble, who was well known in the medical profes- sion, married Mary McArthur, the youngest
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HIS ONLY DAUGHTER.
daughter of Governor Duncan McArthur, of Chillicothe, Ohio, a woman of rare beauty. His second marriage was to Anne Porter Thompson, a sister of Hon. James H. Thompson. Dr. Trim- ble represented his district most ably in Congress. He was a man of the world, courteous and inter- esting. The double tie of relationship, brought about by his marriage with Mr. Thompson's sister, was most happy for both families, and their son Allen, named for Governor Trimble, was a very unusual boy, as was the daughter by the first marriage with Mary McArthur. Mrs. Trimble's rare intelligence, and exemplary taste in Wash- ington life and in their Chillicothe, Columbus, and Florida home, is still a matter of pride to all her relations.
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Colonel Wm. H. Trimble married Martha Buckingham, of Zanesville, Ohio, the youngest daughter of Ebenezer Buckingham, a man of large wealth and high business qualifications Colonel Trimble was full of energy, ambition, and public spirit, and it was an hereditary in- clination which led him into the War of the Rebellion. His home was the result of fine taste and costly selections made by his wife. Landscape gardening was much studied by them both, and good architecture. Their place called "Woodland," a suburban residence, is now owned by Mrs. Trimble's nephew, Rev. George Beecher,
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FAMILY RECORD.
nephew of Henry Ward Beecher. He has built a costly gray-stone house also in this beau- tiful wooded lawn. The three children of Col- onel and Mrs. Trimble, alas! died in the bloom of youth and fortune, leaving beautiful characters.
Now we come to Eliza Jane Trimble, the only daughter, who married James Henry Thompson, September 21, 1837, when a girl of twenty-one. It was a marriage blest with the approval of parents and the extravagant enthusiasm of friends. On the morning when the bridal party started on the wedding journey the sun shone out in all its splendor. The carriage occupied by the bride and groom, groomsman and brides- maid, had come from Kentucky with its colored driver, an old family servant, who felt the vast responsibility resting upon him to bring the bridal party in safety back to Kentucky.
To Governor Trimble and his wife it was a serious fact that their only daughter was now married. This spirited girl of twenty-one, weigh- ing only ninety pounds, with wavy, auburn- brown hair (or "chestnut sorrel," as her husband called it), brown eyes, and an unusually fine and lofty forehead, had married a courteous, indus- trious, and talented young lawyer, whose family was in perfect harmony with her own. He was a man destined to claim, now and then, in his long laborious life, the luxury of being a
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HIS ONLY DAUGHTER.
dreamer. On his wedding-day he luxuriated in this way, and was consequently very silent. Finally, being questioned by his groomsman, who sat opposite to him, on his behavior, he exclaimed :
"Can't you let me spend one day in silence, thanking God that Eliza was ever born?"
"O yes," said Mr. Mathews, "excuse me for even giving you an incidental glance. Being my- self an old bachelor, I did n't know what etiquette required toward a bride. I had always supposed the groom spoke to her occasionally;" where- upon the whole party roared out laughing, and the colored driver whipped the horses into a terrible speed.
Harrodsburg, Mercer County, Ky., was a home similar in history to the one in Ohio, which had given to the young, promising lawyer his wife. Much hospitality and much admiration was await- ing the young couple. Even the slaves were joy- ful over the appearance of so much festivity.
" Lord 'a' mercy," said old black mammy, " Mr. Henry never tire pettin' the young bit of a bride, little enough to put into his pocket."
The "generous hospitality, beautiful women, and fine horses," for which Kentucky is noted, were fully appreciated by the young Ohio bride. "Montrose," the home of the groom, was much more to the bride's taste than the elegant place
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FAMILY RECORD.
of Colonel George Thompson, their uncle, so celebrated, with its three thousand acres, three hundred slaves, deer-park. Dinner-parties served with silver-covered dishes, and extravagance in all directions; and while she had presided at her father's table, even when a child, over large political dinners (during the ill-health of her mother) on important occasions-for instance, when De Witt Clinton, governor of the State of New York and his staff were present-yet the main thread of her life had been one of industry and economy, except her Cincinnati education, which was then considered a luxury, and her visits to Boston and Saratoga with her father; and she claimed little knowledge of the big world, but instinctively she knew it; and it was this keen insight into human nature and human affairs which was to distinguish every action of her life. As a child she had been made to rise at midnight and pray with her grandmother (with whom she slept) ; to rise at daybreak, and ride on horseback with her father; and to sit by her mother, and complete tasks which were the most irksome sometimes to her little spirited nature. Yet discipline was believed in by the parents. She had been taught that to treat divine things frivolously was wicked. And so the spirit of Ken- tucky society, with its wit and humor and gay- ety, and its fields of sport, was novel to her
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HIS ONLY DAUGHTER.
mind. After having enjoyed this peep into the Sunny South, so different in its conventionalities and social usages from the Middle and Northern States, the bride and groom returned to Ohio.
After residing with Governor Trimble in Hills- boro for a short time, they went to Cincinnati to live. The life there was among the most congenial friends, and Mr. Thompson's rank at the bar was high, as his colleagues were always willing to admit.
Little "Allen" and "Anna," the first chil- dren, were tenderly and daintily cared for. The fine old gardens of Nicholas Longworth were in the near neighborhood, and afforded a charming resort for the children, as the social life at this unusual home did for the parents. Many years afterward, Mrs. Thompson took her two younger daughters, Marie and Mary,* by invitation, to visit at this old mansion, where the millionaire of Cincinnati, in his old age, walked about among the various members of his household, like a little king out of some fairy story.
Mr. Thompson, although a Kentuckian by birth, came of Virginia parents, John B. Thomp- son and Nancy P. (Robards) Thompson. He was the third child in a family of ten children.
* These children wanted the same name, and were gratified when their parents told them one might be French and the other English Mary.
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FAMILY RECORD.
His grandfathers were both officers in the Revo- lutionary army, one a colonel, and one a captain. His father was a lawyer, who achieved an envia- ble reputation at the bar and in local statesman- ship. He was of English and Scotch blood, and his mother was of Welsh and French Huguenot blood. Mr. Thompson's brothers, Hon. John B. Thompson, United States senator from Kentucky, and Philip B. Thompson, one of the leading spir- its of the Kentucky bar, and his brother Charles Thompson, were men like himself-possessed of energy and ability. His five sisters were supe- rior women. One of them married the youngest brother of his wife, Hon. Cary A. Trimble. So these Virginia families, the Thompsons and the Trimbles, were by ties related by blood, by pro- fession, and by sympathy.
From 1838 to 1842 Mr. and Mrs. Thompson remained in Cincinnati, but removed to Hills- boro on account of its more healthful climate, where they have ever since resided. Mr. Thomp- son always engaged in a large circuit practice of five surrounding counties, also in the circuit and district courts of the United States, of Ohio, and in the Supreme Court of the State. (Biograph- ical History of the Scioto Valley, page 203.) "In the reports of this court his name and arguments appear as counsel from 1840 to 1894, as many times, if not more, as are the number of the vol-
" FOREST LAWN."
Owned originally by Judge Thompson, purchased by Mr. Joseph Richards, who has enlarged the house, and is the place where altruistic society meets, held by Mrs. Richards.
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HIS ONLY DAUGHTER.
umes of the Reports; but his best reputation was achieved as a land lawyer, in the complex titles of the Virginia Military District."
"At the time they removed to Hillsboro, Gov- ernor Trimble and Mr. Thompson were both ar- dently supporting General Harrison, the old-line Whig, and in 1844 he took an active and prominent part in favor of Mr. Clay, and at the last Whig Convention at Baltimore urged the nomination of General Scott. At the beginning of the War of the Rebellion he threw his influence with the Republican party. "His family were residing in the beautiful home which he had planned and built, a place which to-day is called "Forest Lawn." My first recollections of my mother come from these days, which afforded me a joyful childhood. The face, the form, the walk, and the voice left an impression upon me as a child, of a spiritual nature, of a being from whom much light in the home radiated. But little did I think of all that mother's face and form and walk and voice would be to me in after years. There was a charm about my father which captivated and fascinated me. The cheerful hospitality of Mr. and Mrs. Thompson in those days in their beau- tiful home was most generous.
A school-friend of Anna Porter Thompson has latetly written the following paragraphs: "Years went by; the spacious mansion and surrounding
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FAMILY RECORD.
groves echoed with the sound of children's tiny feet, and were full of the music of baby voices. Allen grew toward manhood a wonderfully beau- tiful boy-such as we dream Absalom may have been-his hair of a flaxen tinge, his eyes blue as the skies of old Highland, his voice vibrant with a boyish melody, which never left it, even in his mature years. He left the University of Dela- ware to enter the ministry, and married a hand- some brunette girl, the daughter of Rev. Dr. George Crum. The parent's hearts were filled with pride and content as they realized how bril- liant the young clergyman was, what a power in the Church, what pathos and what eloquence ; but sorrow began to trace deep lines on the faces of the joyful parents." "Anna, their oldest and beautiful daughter, had developed at the age of eighteen into a fine and noble womanhood, "when the angels came," says her classmate, "and laid white roses on her pulseless breast, and shut out forever the light from her soul- inspiring eyes." But the crushed mother said : "Thy will be done." "It was the faith which had fed the Trimble blood for generations," says this writer, "that compelled her to be still, and know that it was God." A fortitude more heroic, a resignation more exalted than the after life of the poor, bereaved mother, is not for record; but to Mr. Thompson there came no surcease of
THE OLD HOME.
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HIS ONLY DAUGHTER.
grief, and learned though he was, says this same writer, "he found no balm in Gilead." "Thou wilt come no more, gentle Anna," he exclaimed, as he walked the spacious house over; but "the eternal womanhood led her husband on," and he united with the Church, and tried also to say, "Thy will be done." He had interested himself in helping to build the Hillsboro Female College, and now, although Anna, one of its first gradu- tes was gone, Marie and Mary were still to be educated.
The declining years of Governor and Mrs. Trimble claimed the attention of their only daughter. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson moved to the old residence with the children. Forest Lawn was sold to Mr. Joseph Richards, who still occupies and improves it each year, and the family henceforth resided, as they do to-day, un- der the old ancestral roof.
The sad days of the War of the Rebellion were closing in about all, and Joseph, the second son, entered the army, while Allen, the oldest son, was raising his eloquent voice before crowded audiences, in pulpits and lyceums over the great plan of salvation, and the war for freedom. He exclaims, on a Fourth of July, when making an oration :
"On this day, shame upon the man who would obtrude his political prejudice, or theolog-
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FAMILY RECORD.
· ical dogma, or private pique, as an apple of dis- cord upon the festive, joyous, heart-dancing as- semblies of the free! Nay, this is the day to prove the poet's inspiration and truthfulness, who sang,
'Divide as we may in our own native land, To the rest of the world we are one.' "
He had, in those days, charge of the large Wesley Chapel of Cincinnati; but the enormous duties it brought, the vast audiences, together with domestic cares, were too much for him. Discouragement and insufficiency began to take hold of his strong nature. Must he be defeated for want of endurance? Had he miscalculated his strength, or would he not glory in the con- flict of life. These were the thoughts brought keenly before him every day. By " acting rashly he might buy the power of talking wisely." (Em- erson.)
His gentle-hearted wife, with her dark, handsome eyes, looked on with admiration, be- lieving that he would long live to assail the powers of darkness, and plead for the elevation of the masses. But a sad and silent elapse of his work, of his energies, followed for a short time, and then once more he came forth, like one who had been captured by an enemy.
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HIS ONLY DAUGHTER.
but suddenly released, and on the rostrum and in the pulpit, even of Henry Ward Beecher, he held vast crowds entranced. There came an- other Fourth of July, when, after an oration, he took cold, and, pneumonia following, he struggled into the new birth of the life to come with the following words on his lips: Though suffering intensely, he was well aware, he said, " that the icy stillness of promised death had settled upon him." He called for his wife, had his little daughter Sallie on one side, and his son George on the other, and clasping them in silence, he offered his wife and children his last embrace. (See "Memoirs of Allen T. Thompson," pub- lished in 1868.)
In the memoirs many resolutions, such as the following are to be found :
"He loved the cause we still love to honor and perpetuate, and we deem it but a small return for what he has done and suffered, that we inscribe our tribute of respect and regard upon the tablets which commemorate his vir- tues, and never-to-be-forgotten labors among us. But he has passed to his reward, calmly and sweetly, as the true Christian sinks to rest, leav- ing us to mingle our tears, and offer our deepest sympathy and kindest regards to his bereaved and heart-stricken family."
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FAMILY RECORD.
He had begun writing his autobiography, and among other paragraphs this one, regarding his mother, appears :
" I can not refrain from a moment's tribute to her-my mother-whose hand of sympathy was never refused, and whose tremulous words of wise warning and kind entreaty, never ceased till its mournful cadence was changed for the subdued, but no sweeter tone of present praise; who seems to me now more like an angel, too pure for earth, but left awhile in Divine mercy to woo and win souls to Jesus and heaven."
This experience and death was a serious blow to the entire family. The old governor mourned for his namesake; but the martyr heart of Mrs. Thompson spoke in language bold, clear, and courteous to those who came to offer sympathy.
The widow and children came to the old home, and were tenderly cared for. These old rooms, with their large windows, the panes of glass so small and numerous, still let the light of heaven in. The wood-fires burned brightly, and the high, old mantel-shelves, with their Doric columns painted black and faced with red brick, and the red hearths upon which stood elegant brass fire-irons supporting the big logs, all looked very quaint and attractive to the little ones. The glow of the fire fell upon some por- traits on the opposite wall, and lighted up the
THE LILACS AND CEDARS.
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·
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HIS ONLY DAUGHTER.
rich old family heirlooms; and "Grandma Thompson," as they called my mother, sat in her rocking-chair, with her foot on a footstool, while her fingers flew among the wool and steel needles to make little stockings for her grand- children, as she had made them for her darling boy Allen. There were now, during the war times, five generations, fourteen people at the table of Governor Trimble.
Marie and Mary visited in Cincinnati, and in 1870 Marie was married to Dr. Edward Rives, a gifted man of high family birth and unusual education. Mary went to Europe to study art. Herbert Tuttle, whom she met abroad-a man of rare character and attainments, who was then the Berlin correspondent of the London Daily News a native of Bennington, Vermont-came to Hillsboro, where they were married, July 6, 1875, at the old homestead. They lived in Eu- rope for four years. On their return to America, Mr. Tuttle, as teacher and historian, distinguished himself among scholars. Dr. Rives and his wife left Cincinnati for the better climate of Hills- boro, where the doctor's large experience as lec- turer and practitioner in the medical profession was highly estimated. Mrs. Rives, since the death of her husband, has been a beautiful ex- ample of unselfish devotion to parents and joy to friends.
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FAMILY RECORD.
Joseph, the second son, at the close of the war went to the far West, where, after several years engrossed with the fascinations of that life and climate, he lost his life after heroic endurance. And it was thought that the anguish which my mother experienced over this the death of her third child would terminate her own life. But life is not terminated by grief, else would few survive the terrible stroke.
Henry, the third son, graduated in the med- ical college of Cincinnati, but declined to practice medicine, preferring the business life with his youngest brother, John Burton Thompson, in Colorado. They plunged into pioneer life, as their forefathers had done. The unselfishness of Henry and John Burton in financial affairs, and the generosity of the daughters, make the old age of Mr. and Mrs. Thompson serener than it could otherwise be.
Sallie, the daughter of Allen Thompson and Lucy, his wife, the beautiful blonde, married John A. Collins, of Hillsboro, son of Charles A. Collins, the lawyer and poet. After a few years of happy married life in Hillsboro, the young lawyer pre- ferred to go West-to beautiful Pueblo-where Sallie died, so young and so beloved.
George, the son, resides at Xenia, with his mother and his wife, Maude (daughter of Colonel
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HIS ONLY DAUGHTER.
Thomas, of London, O.), and two little flaxen- haired babies, the great-grandsons of Judge and Mrs. Thompson, who are coming, as these lines are being written, to brighten the old ancestral home with the ring of their childlike glee.
III. HILLSBORO CRUSADE SKETCHES.
"And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
"For whosoever will save his life, shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it."-LUKE IX, 23, 24.
#From the Union Signal, Chicago, May 4, 1895. 51
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PORTRAIT OF MRS. THOMPSON.
SKETCH
OF THE LIFE OF MRS. ELIZA J. THOMPSON.
IT is an old saying, and true as it is old, that God not only raises up people for emergen- cies, but also fits them for these by special op- portunities, and often by trials. The writer of these sketches, a daughter of Hon. Allen Trim- ble, one of Ohio's honored governors, was born in Hillsboro, Ohio, August 24, 1816. She grew up in a home characterized by comfort and cul- ture, and careful training. To the educational advantages which an intelligent community afforded her, were added those of the schools of Cincinnati, as well as of acquaintance with many of the prominent people of the day.
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