Historical collections of Ohio in two volumes, an encyclopedia of the state, Volume II, Part 22

Author: Howe, Henry, 1816-1893
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Cincinnati : Published by the state of Ohio
Number of Pages: 916

USA > Ohio > Historical collections of Ohio in two volumes, an encyclopedia of the state, Volume II > Part 22

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

In 1874, while presiding over the Ohio Constitutional Convention, he was nominated to the high office of Chief Justice of the United States. A telegram was brought to Rufus King, a member of the convention, who arose and read the announcement of Mr. Waite's appointment, whereupon the con- vention burst into vociferous applause. The nomination was unanimously confirmed, and on March 4, 1874, Justice Waite took the oath of office and at once entered upon its duties.

This nomination was brought about on the occasion of President Grant's visit to Toledo, when Mr. Waite made the address of welcome to Grant. This address was so full of good sense, and so free from adulation, that Grant was delighted with it. He had been pleased with Waite's action at Geneva, and he knew Waite to be a man of the utmost probity and no political aspirations. He extended his inquiries, and concluded that he was the man to be appointed Chief Justice of the United States, and sent in his name to the Senate. Waite accepted it, and the country gained by his act.

The most important of Justice Waite's de- cisions were in the civil rights cases, 1878 ; polygamy cases, 1879; the constitutional amendments, 1880, and three decisions in 1881. These were-one regarding the power of removal by the President, one on polygamy cases, and one on the Virginia bond case. In 1883 two important decisions were given, covering the civil rights act. In 1884 came the decision in the Alabama claims, the legal tender act, and the Virginia claim cases. The decision in the noted Chicago anarchist case attracted considerable attention from the interest attaching to their execution. The last of Justice Waite's most important decisions was in the Bell telephone case.

The degree of LL. D. was conferred upon him by Yale and by Kenyon in 1874, and by Ohio University in 1879. "Appleton's Cy-

clopædia of American Biography " describes his person as follows : "Chief Justice Waite was of medium height, broad-shouldered, compactly built and erect. His step was light and firm, and all his movements were quick and decisive. His well-poised, classi- cally shaped head was massive and thiekly covered with handsome grayish hair. His manners were graceful and winning, but un- assuming. He was one of the most genial of men, and his whole bearing commanded instant respect. Ilis private character was singularly pure and noble. Judge Waite was a member of the Protestant Episcopal church and a regular attendant on its services."

JAMES BARRETT STEEDMAN was born of Scotch descent in Northumberland county, Pa., July 29, 1817, and died at Toledo, Ohio, October 18, 1883. At the age of fifteen he entered the printing office of the Lewisburg Democrat. A few years later he came West and acquired control of the Northwestern Democrat, at Napoleon, Ohio. He also en- gaged in contract work, and gave proofs of great executive ability in the construction, in connection with General Gibson, of the To- ledo, Wabash & Western Railroad. In 1847- 48 he was a member of the Ohio Legislature. In 1849 he was one of the "argonauts of '49" going to California, but returned to Ohio shortly after.

In 1857 he was Public Printer under Bu- chanan's administration, and in 1860 was a delegate to the Charleston National Demo- cratic Convention.

At the outbreak of the war he became colonel of the Fourth Ohio Regiment. He was promoted brigadier-general, July 17, 1862, for valuable services at Perryville. In July, 1863, he was given command of the First Division of the Reserve Corps of the Army of the Cumberland. For his ser- vices at the battle of Chickamauga he was promoted major-general, July 24, 1864. The following account of these services is quoted from the Toledo Blade :

" But it was at the battle of Chickamauga that General Steedman's true character as a general and a commander shines out. His division was posted at "Red House bridge," over the Chickamauga river, and he was ordered to hold it at all hazards.' The battle commenced ; he knew there was no enemy in front ; he also knew that Thomas was hard pressed. Longstreet's corps, from Richmond, had reinforced Bragg's army, and early on that Sunday morning in Sep- tember the battle was renewed with fierce and relentless ardor. The right and left of the Union forces were both broken and fly- ing from the field. Rosecrans had given up all hope of reorganizing the disordered forces. Gen. Thomas and his brave Four- teenth corps, though driven from the posi- tion they occupied early in the morning, had rallied and stood like a wall of fire re- pelling assault after assault of the whole rebel line. But they were worn by the force of superior numbers and their ammu- nition was almost exhausted. To this field

160

LUCAS COUNTY.

Steedman marched his men by the sound of cannon and no other guide. He came just in time to turn a defeat into a glorious victory. The news that Steedman had come to the rescue inspired the worn-out, half- dispirited veterans with fresh ardor and cour- age.

"It was at a critical moment in this en- gagement that Steedman ordered his men to advance in the teeth of a tempest of bul- lets. His men hesitated. Up he rode to the color-sergeant and, grasping the flag, shouted, 'Go back if you like, boys, but the colors can't go back with you.' Onward he spurred his horse into the thickest of the fight. The column at once closed up, grew firm, and the soldiers charged with a hearty cheer, sweeping everything before them.

"Then and there the soldier boys gave him the title of 'Old Chickamauga.' His conduct called forth the warmest admiration and eulogy, and led to his promotion to the rank of major-general.

" General Steedman took active and prom- inent part in the campaign of Atlanta, and when Sherman started out on the ‘ march to the sea,' Steedman was left in command of the 'district of Etowah.' At the battle of Nashville General Steedman displayed his usual dash and vigor. On the next day he aided General Woods in storming Overton Hill."

He resigned from the army July 19, 1866, after serving as provisional governor of Geor- gia, and was appointed collector of internal revenue at New Orleans. Later he returned to Ohio and was elected to the State Senate in 1879. He was elected chief of police in Toledo in May, 1883 ; was editor and owner of the Toledo Democrat.

A fine monument to his memory was un- veiled in Toledo May 26, 1887-a gift to the city from his life-long friend, Colonel William J. Finlay.

The credit for ordering General Steedman's movement at Chickamauga is sometimes given to General Gordon Granger; but un- doubted testimony proves that to General Steedman, and to him alone, does this honor belong.

General H. V. Boynton, in a letter to the Cincinnati Commercial-Gazette, written at the time of the unveiling of the Steedman monument, said :

"Every soldier who knew General Steed- man, whether present or absent, will unite with those at Toledo who are to do suitable honor to his memory. No better soldier went into the field. No city in the land has more reason to be proud of the valorous deeds which any one of their citizens performed under the flag. Others rose to higher rank, and, in the ordinary sense, achieved greater renown ; but within the limits which were given him to serve, none was more active, none more alert, none more daring, none more successful, none more worthy of remem- brance for soldierly bearing and for soldierly deeds, than he.

" It was worth a lifetime of the ordinary

emotions of these quiet days to see him at the head of his troops in action. No one ever saw him elsewhere when they were en- gaged. In energetic action and reckless daring he was the John Logan of the Ohio troops."

A few years after the close of the war General DePeyster asked General Thomas, "Who was the best division commander you had under you, most trustworthy, most effi- cient ?" Thomas answered, "Steedman."

Besides General Steedman, Toledo fur- nished a number of most efficient officers for the Union cause. Prominent among these are General JOHN W. FULLER, who was born in England, came to this country when five years of age, and during the war gave such valuable service that at its close he had at- tained the rank of brevet major-general, well earned by very gallant service. From 1874 to 1878 he served as Collector of Customs at Toledo. ISAAC R. SHERWOOD enlisted as a private the day after President Lincoln's call for voluteers. His faithful service brought repeated promotion, until, at the close of the war, he was mustered out with rank of brigadier-general. A notice of his talented wife, Kate B. Sherwood, will be found in the chapter of the county of her birth, Mahoning. CHARLES W. HILL rendered valuable service early in the war in West Virginia, and, as adjutant-general under Governor Tod, most efficiently organized Ohio's volunteer forces. Through injustice on the part of General Mc- Clellan he did not receive, until 1865, his well-deserved promotion of major-general. CHARLES L. YOUNG was said to have been the youngest man in the Union army in com- mand of a regiment. He was a very gallant officer. At Spottsylvania, May 12, 1864, in response to a call for volunteers, these three only answered, viz., General J. H. Hobart Ward, Assistant Inspector-General Young, and Assistant Adjutant-General Ayres (of General Mott's staff), and galloped upon the breastworks at the "bloody angle." Gen- erals Ward and Young returned ; Ayres fell, riddled with bullets. His wife, Mrs. Young, has been actively engaged in various benevo- lent and charitable works.

JESSE WAKEMAN SCOTT was born in Ridge- field, Conn., in 1789, and died at Toledo in 1874. He was the earliest journalist of this region. In 1833, while engaged in the prac- tice of the law, he started the pioneer paper of the Maumee valley-the Miami of the Lake, that then being the appellation of the Maumee river. In 1844 he first made Toledo his residence, and for years edited the Toledo Blade. As early as 1828, while living in the South, he formed his views upon the ultimate results of population and trade in respect to interior cities, and especially his belief that the future great city of the world would be found, not on the seaboard, but in the interior. This belief led him to emigrate, and finally to settle in Toledo, which he felt was to be the Great City of the Futurc. And this conviction he promulgated through life, thereby attracting wide-spread notice from

JAS. B. STEEDMAN, General U. S. V.

MORRISON R. WAITE, Chief Justice U. S. Supreme Court.

162

LUCAS COUNTY.

the boldness of his statement and the ability with which he presented facts in its support. In his day, Mr. Scott was a great power in all

J. W. SCOTT.

matters appertaining to the public welfare. He supplied some original material for the first edition of this work. His son, Frank J. Scott, is a literary gentleman, a resident of Toledo. He is the author of an elegantly illustrated work, published by the Appletons, on the art of beautifying suburban homes.

DAVID Ross LOCKE was born in Vestal, N. Y., September 20, 1833, and died in Toledo, February 15, 1888. He learned the printer's trade in the office of the Cortland Democrat. As a travelling journeyman printer he drifted from point to point. From 1852 to 1860, he was connected, either as reporter, editor or publisher, with the Ply- mouth Advertiser, Bucyrus Journal, Mans- field Herald, Bellefontaine Republican and Findlay Jeffersonian. It was while editor of the latter that he commenced the develop- ment of the character of Petroleum Vesuvius Nasby," a whiskey-drinking, illiterate Ken- tucky politician who wanted to be postmaster, and desired the perpetuation of slavery. The first letter appeared in the Jeffersonian,

April 21, 1861 ; later they were continued in the Toledo Blade, of which Mr. Locke became proprietor and editor.

These political satires sprang at once into tremendous popularity. They were copied in- to newspapers everywhere, quoted in speeches, read around camp-fires of Union armies and exercised an enormous influence in holding public opinion in the north in favor of a vigorous prosecution of the war. Secretary Boutwell declared in a speech at Cooper Union, New York, at the close of the war, that the success of the Union arms was due to three causes-"the army, the navy and the Nasby letters."

Among other publications of Mr. Locke are "Ekkoes from Kentucky," "About Ben Adhem," "Struggles of P. V. Nasby," "Swingin' Round the Cirkle," "A Paper City," and "Nasby in Exile," the latter written during an extended trip in Europe.

JAMES MONROE ASHLEY was born in Penn- sylvania, November 14, 1824; entered the drug business in Toledo in 1851, but was burned out in 1857, without insurance. He had studied law and been admitted to the bar, and in 1856 was a delegate to the National Republican Convention which nominated Fremont. Turning his attention to politics, he was for five successive terms elected to Congress, serving from 1859 to 1869. He was an active supporter of Lincoln's administra- tion, strongly opposed to slavery and early in proposing reconstruction measures.

In 1869 he was appointed by President Grant Governor of Montana Territory. Later, he returned to Toledo, where he prac- tised law. He achieved a reputation as a fine public speaker and politician.

CLARK WAGGONER, journalist and his- torian, was born in Milan in 1820 ; was edu- cated at what Dr. Franklin termed the "Poor Boy's College," the printing-office, and as a trophy of his life-work shows fifty bound volumes of newspapers of which he was pub- lisher and editor. They cover an aggregate of thirty-five years, and include twelve years of weekly and twenty-three years of daily journals : among them are the Blade and the Commercial. In the administration of Mr. Hayes he was appointed Collector of Internal Revenue for this district. Through his efforts largely, and against strong opposition, the public schools of Toledo were opened to colored children. Mr. Waggoner's last achievement is a history of Toledo and Lucas county, a work of immense labor, wherein is embraced much valuable historic material that otherwise would have been lost.

SYLVANIA is ten miles northwest of Toledo, on the L. S. & M. S. R. R. Population, 1880, 523. School census, 1888, 138.

WHITEHOUSE is seventeen miles southwest of Toledo, on the W., St. L. & P. R. R. Population, 1880, 554. School census, 1888, 158.

RICHARD MOTT was born of Quaker pa- rentage al Mamaroneck, N. Y., in July, 1804, and died in Toledo, O., January 22, 1888.

At sixteen he began school teaching to put himself through college, but failed in this, and in 1824 accepted a clerkship in the Bank

163

LUCAS COUNTY.

of New York. In 1836 he removed to To- ledo, where he engaged in the commission and grain business until 1860. He built the first grain warehouse in Toledo. He had charge of the large landed interests of Gov. Washington Hunt and the Hicks family ; was president from March, 1838, to April, 1839, of the pioneer railroad of the West (Erie and Kalamazoo). In 1844 he was elected Mayor of Toledo and re-elected in 1846 ; was a member of Congress for two terms, from 1854 to 1858, when he declined a renomination and retired from active par- ticipation in politics.

His inclinations were for literary pursuits. He was a man of high intellectual attain- ments and averse to active participation in political and official life. Until 1848 he was in sympathy with the principles of the Demo- cratic party, but his strong Anti-Slavery senti- ments carried him into the Free-Soil party, in which he became an active worker.

His pronounced views and unwavering al- legiance to the Anti-Slavery cause led to his being classed by Southern slave-holders with Wm. Lloyd Garrison, Horace Greeley and other Abolitionists by placing a price on his life.

In early life he began to take an interest in the Woman's Rights reform movement, and Mrs. Lucretia Mott. the illustrious wife of his elder brother, found in him a hopeful and en- couraging coadjutor. In 1869, on the forma- tion in Toledo of an association for the po- litical enfranchisement of women, Mr. Mott tendered the association a permanent home in his Fort Industry Block.

Mr. Mott had been so largely identified with the social, moral, educational and hu- manitarian interests of Toledo that his name and labors have been important factors in almost every enterprise that in a long term of years have inured to the welfare and progress of his fellow-citizens. At the time of his de- cease he was probably the most venerated character of the Maumee valley.

JOHN S. KOUNTZ was born in Richfield Centre, Lucas county, O., March 25, 1846. At fifteen and a half years of age he enlisted as a drummer-boy in the 37th O. V. I. In the army he showed great courage; in one instance, at the imminent risk of his own life, he rescued from drowning a soldier who had broken through the ice of the Kanawha river. He took part in a number of battles. In the charge at Mission Ridge he was hit in the thigh by an English explosive ball, ren- dering necessary amputation of the limb.

When at Mission Ridge the order came to charge the enemy's works the boy, Kountz, threw away his drum, and seizing a musket from one of the slain, charged with the men and fell under the enemy's works. This incident furnished the subject of a descriptive poem from Mrs. Kate B. Sherwood, entitled " The Drummer-boy of Mission Ridge," of which we annex two verses :

He pressed to the front our lad so leal and the works were almost won ;

A moment more, and our flags had swung o'er muzzle of murderous gun ;

But a raking fire had swept the van, and he fell 'mid the wounded and the slain,

With his wee wan face turned up to Him who fceleth His children's pain.

O glory of Mission Ridge ! stream on like the roseate light of morn,

On the sons that now are living, on the sons that are yet unborn !

And cheers for our comrades living, and tears as they pass away,-

And three times three for the Drummer-boy, who fought at the front that day !

At the age of twenty-five he was elected county treasurer, and later recorder. Retir- ing from political life in 1877, he entered the fire insurance and real estate business.

He has ardently devoted himself to the interests of the Grand Army of the Republic,

JOHN S. KOUNTZ, The Drummer-Boy of Mission Ridge.

occupying various positions with such marked efficiency that in July, 1884, he was chosen its Commander-in-Chief, being the only pri- vate soldier who has been called to that eminent position.

He was one of the originators of the Sol- diers' Memorial Building in Toledo, and has occupied many positions of trust.

Of Gen. Kountz it has been justly said . "He is a man of fine natural abilities, ener- getic and industrious, and most faithful in the discharge of any duty assigned to him. In his Grand Army work he has few equals and no superiors. It was his work as Com- mander of the Department of Ohio that gave the organization its great impetus in this State, and started it on its upward march to become the banner department of the order. As Commander-in-Chief his work was equally as great."

I64

MADISON COUNTY.

MADISON.

MADISON COUNTY was organized in March, 1810, and named from James Madison, the fourth President of the United States. The soil is clayey, and the surface level. Almost one-third of the surface is prairie land. It is largely a stock-raising county.

Area about 470 square miles. In 1887 the acres cultivated were 106,169; in pasture, 97,489 ; woodland, 19,118; produced in wheat, 429,299 bushels; rye, 2,763; buckwheat, 755; oats, 103,205; barley, 720; corn, 2,288,745; broom corn, 34,000 lbs. brush ; meadow hay, 20,910 tons; clover hay, 3,083; potatoes, 19,544 bushels ; butter, 377,235 lbs. ; cheese, 600 ; sorghum, 474 gallons ; maple sugar, 300 lbs .; honey, 3,752 lbs .; eggs, 460,915 dozen ; grapes, 18,100 lbs. ; wine, 50 gallons ; apples, 3,565 bushels ; peaches, 334; pears, 383; wool, 362,386 lbs. ; milch cows owned, 4,540; stallions, 108. School census, 1888, 6,046 ; teachers, 169. Miles of railroad track, 53.

TOWNSHIPS AND CENSUS.

1840.

1880.

TOWNSHIPS AND CENSUS.

1840.

1880.

Canaan,

607

896

Paint,

1,429

Darhy,

466

1,126

Pike,

529

548

Deer Creek,

345

910

Pleasant,

936

1,433

Fairfield,

505

1,653

Range,

820

1,884

Jefferson,

2,301

Somerford,

761

958

Monroe,

385

650

Stokes,

770

1,285

Oak Run,

613

Union,

1,350

4,443

Population of Madison in 1820 was 4,799 ; 1830, 6,191; 1840, 9,025 ; 1860, 13,015 ; 1880, 20,129, of whom 16,398 were born in Ohio; 754, Virginia; 397, Pennsylvania; 273, Kentucky ; 196, New York ; 90, Indiana ; 917, Ireland ; 195, German Empire ; 103, England and Wales; 37, British America ; 11, Scot- land ; 7, France. Census of 1890, 20,057.

This county is a high table land between the Miami and Scioto rivers. The railroad surveys show London to be 389 feet higher than Columbus. Early in the century about half the surface was covered with water. Ponds were numer- ons, the resort of cranes, ducks and other water-fowl. The land was then con- sidered worthless ; by cleaning and draining it has become highly valuable.

About half the county is clay soil. Sheep, swine and bulls are largely raised. Formerly the farms were very large, going sometimes into thousands of acres. By deaths and the subsequent divisions of estates they are rapidly diminishing. The larger farms are generally sub-let to tenants, largely Irish, who are generally thrifty.

Deer Creek, in this county, was so called by the Indians, because of the many deer that used to frequent it to eat the moss that grew plentifully upon its banks. It was considered by the Indians the best hunting-ground for deer in this whole region of country.

The first court in this county was held in a cabin, Judge Thompson, of Chillicothe, presiding. The grand jury retired to deliberate to an oak and hazel thicket that stood near. The principal business, for the first year or two, was to try men for fighting.

London in 1846 .- London, the county-scat, is twenty-five miles westerly from Columbus. It was laid off in 1810 or '11, as seat of justice, by Patrick McLene, by order of the commissioners ; and by the autumn of 1812 had six or eight

165

MADISON COUNTY.

families. The view shows on the left the court house, and in the distance the academy. London contains 1 Presbyterian and 1 Methodist church, a classical academy, 1 newspaper printing office, 8 stores, and by the census of 1840 its population was 297 .- Old Edition.

LONDON, county-seat of Madison, twenty-five miles west of Columbus, and ninety-five miles northeast of Cincinnati, is on the P. C. & St. L. and I. B. & W. Railroads. The county is a rich agricultural district, and London is a wheat- shipping centre and famous for its cattle sales.

County Officers, 1888 : Anditor, William C. Ward ; Clerk, M. Fraucler Dunn ; Commissioners, William E. Beals, Alfred C. Willett, John P. Bowers ; Coroner, Daniel T. Fox ; Infirmary Directors, Patrick McGuire, James C. Peck, Valen- tine Wilson, Jr. ; Probate Judge, Oliver P. Crabb ; Prosecuting Attorney, Cor- win Locke; Recorder, Samuel Trumper ; Sheriff, John T. Vent; Surveyor, William Reeder ; Treasurer, William M. Jones. City Officers, 1888 : Geo. H. Hamilton, Mayor ; W. M. Ferguson, Clerk ; Charles Maguire, Marshal ; John E. Lotspiech, Chief Fire Department. Newspapers : Enterprise, Republican, John Wallace, editor; Madison County Democrat, Democratic, M. L. Bryan, editor and publisher ; Times, Republican, Carson & Gunsanlus, editors and pub- lishers ; Vigilant, Prohibitionist, F. A. Taylor, editor. Churches : 1 Methodist Episcopal, 1 Baptist, 1 Presbyterian, 1 African Methodist Episcopal, 1 Catholic, 1 Episcopal and 1 Lutheran. Banks: Central, Thos. J. Stutson, president, William Farrar, cashier ; London Exchange, Robert Boyd, president, A. C. Watson, cashier ; Madison National, Stephen Watson, president, B. F. Clark, cashier.

Manufactures and Employees .- G. W. Shank, handles, 32 hands ; J. B. Van- wagner, grain elevator, 3; F. Placier, flour and feed, 5; Wm. M. Jones & Sons, carriages and buggies, 12 ; William Holland, carriages and buggies, 17; E. R. Florence, washing machines, etc., 7; E. J. Gould, doors, sash, etc., 6 .- State Report, 1888. Population in 1880, 3,067. School census, 1888, 1,048 ; school superintendent, J. W. Mackinnon. Capital invested in industrial establishments. $49,000. Census, 1890, 3,292.

THE LONDON LIVE-STOCK SALES. BY HON. JOHN F. LOCKE.

The live-stock sales at London, Madison county, Ohio, have justly obtained a wide distinction throughout the Central and Western States among cattle and horse-dealers. For many years prior to 1856 Madison county had been espe- cially a grazing country, where large herds of cattle were raised and shipped to the Eastern markets. There were many large farms, and all their owners were engaged, more or less, in raising, buying and 'selling cattle. Early in the year 1856 a few of the leading cattle-dealers met in London for the purpose of arranging for monthly sales to occur in London, where buyers and sellers could more conveniently be brought together, and purchases and sales be more easily effected. It was agreed to hold the first sale on the first Tuesday in March, 1856, and thereafter on the first Tuesday of each and every month.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Historical collections of Ohio in two volumes, an encyclopedia of the state, Volume II, Part 22

Author: Howe, Henry, 1816-1893 Publication date: 1907 Publisher: Cincinnati : Published by the state of Ohio Number of Pages: 916

Author: Howe, Henry, 1816-1893
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Cincinnati : Published by the state of Ohio
Number of Pages: 916