USA > Ohio > Hamilton County > College Hill > Historical sketch of Farmers' College > Part 8
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We forbear to indulge in reminiscence of the many escapades and pranks and practical jokes which were incident to the old student life at College Hill. Many of them are now in the wane of memory, though it is quite remarkable how many are resurrected at Reunion times. The "Old Boys" still tell how very cheap things were. They could get grapes, watermelons, roasting ears, and chickens, etc., in the neighborhood for mere nothing. All they had to do was to go for them after night !
There were two flourishing Literary Societies,-The Burritt and Philomathcan. They came from the Acad- emy and were provided with fine halls in the College building, which the members handsomely furnished, and they had at the time of the transfer libraries of 600 volumes each. The halls were full of the better class of students, and many were the spirited discussions they held, especially on questions of national importance. How they worked in preparation and struggled in de- bate! And how they disposed of the affairs of the nation! Thus they settled the Mexican war and the Tariff, but were hopelessly divided on the Slavery question !
The oldest society, The Burritt, never seemed to have revived after the suspension of the College in 1865. But the Philomathean lived and was at the re-
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vival in 1873, and it appears became the trustee of the Burritt's library.
In that year the Ohio Female College passed out of existence, and the Philomathean society became also the holders in trust of the libraries and furniture of the two literary societies of that Institution,-the Hes- perian and Somerville,-thereby augmenting its library to over 2,000 volumes. In the same year the co-educa- tional feature was inaugurated, the register showing ladies 20, gentlemen 39, and the young ladies organized a literary society of their own called the Browning. These two societies,-the Philomathean and the Brown- ing, -- continued to flourish during the remaining years of Farmers' College and also under its successor.
These societies were regarded, as similar societies are in all Institutions, with much favor by the Officials and Faculty. In their catalogues they uniformly bear testimony to the benefit of their exercises in recitations, original compositions, and discussions as tending "to develop independent thought, to cultivate good literary taste ; to induce self-reliance ; to encourage free investi- gation, and contribute in no small degree to a practical education."
Indeed, Dr. Myers added the following announce- ment as to these societies :
"They are regarded as a part of the regular College Course, and students who can not or do not take part in them will be required to do an equivalent amount of literary work under the immediate direction of the Faculty."
A very different sort of adjunct to the College were the papers issued by the students in 1854, and for some years thereafter. They served to give vent to the wit, humor, or sarcasm, of which the editors at least imagined 9
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they had a plenty. Generally they indulged in pleasantry or ridicule, devoid of malice.
The principal of these papers that came from the College was "The Thunderbolt," edited by Jupiter, as- sisted by Cyclops and Vulcan; and one eminated from the Ohio Female College as its organ, -- "The Dew Drop." This last was a target for the shafts of ridicule and satire of "The Thunderbolt," and especially the Head of that Institution for his stringent rules. But it was loyal to Mr. Cary and his "Model Farm" scheme, and to President Allen. A sample of its flings at the Dew Drop may be given as follows-"The Dew Drop speaks very frequently of flats! The flattest things we have been able to discover are its pages." Cyclops in pen- ning that could not have appreciated fully this from the Dew Drop :
"Why are certain classic students of Farmers' Col- lere more favored than Enoch? Because he had but one translation, while they have many."
There was one monthly publication called "The Cincinnatus," which deserves notice here as a Maga- zine of unusual dignity and merit, edited by F. G. Cary, aided by the Faculty. It began in 1856, and continued for four or more years.
It was intended to promote the interests of the Col- lege generally, but especially those of the "Experimental Farm," or more accurately, "The Department for In- truction in Scientific and Practical Agriculture and. Horticulture," then being established. It was pub- lished under the auspices and authority of the College, and was a pioneer in its line. It could not have failed to substantially advance the cause it so earnestly and ably espoused. We have heretofore alluded to its
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well-established claim of priority in its Agricultural Department.
We could, with some degree of propriety, close this sketch here, but, imperfect as it is, it would be incom- plete without more special reference than we have made hitherto to some of the leading men that centered around Farmers' College and were connected with it officially or professionally, and were its most influen- tial friends and supporters.
And here it may be well to say that we will not be able to include in this category any of the alumni or students, except passing mention of a very few. This is to be regretted, as many of them became prominent and distinguished and deserve special recognition and remembrance. But the number runs up into the thou- sands, and we feel that too much space would be required for that purpose, and besides it would be difficult, per- haps impracticable, to get the necessary data at this late time. But we append a list of the old students of Far- mers' College as far as the committee can ascertain their names. It is doubtless incomplete.
XXI. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
The Cary Family-Dr. Bishop-Dr. Allen-Dr. Mycrs.
In briefly sketching some of the more striking points in the character and lives of those most prominently associated with the career of Farmers' College we naturally turn first of all to the Cary family-the father, William, and his two sons, Freeman G. and Samuel F. They were originally of English stock. The father was born in New Hampshire in 1783 and emigrated to Cin- cinnati in 1802, where his sons were born-Freeman, April 9th, 1810, and Samuel, February 18th, 1814.
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(There was another son, Woodward, who died com- paratively young.) In the latter year, when Samuel was an infant, the father purchased and settled on a tract of 491 acres, then an unbroken wilderness, in that part of Millcreek Township now College Hill, and resided there until he died in 1862 at the age of seventy- nine. His wife, Rebecca Fenton, the daughter of Roswell Fenton, a Revolutionary soldier, came from the State of New York, and was in every way worthy of her sterling husband and of her distinguished sons. She died at the advanced age of ninety-seven. This tract be- came known as the "Cary Farm," and forty years after- wards a part of it went into and constituted a large por- tion of the "Model Farm" attached to the College. Through this by donation William Cary endowed a pro- fessorship in the College, and during all his life here he was in full accord and sympathy with his son Freeman in his great educational work. From this source these sons inherited extraordinary gifts and became giants in their respective spheres. They both grew up to strong manhood amid these picturesque and healthful surround- ings. Ambitious for a collegiate education, they went to Miami University, Freeman graduating in 1832 and Samuel in 1835. They were cousins of the Cary sisters, Alice and Phebe, the famous poetesses, whose early home was between College Hill and Mt. Healthy.
Freeman Grant Cary.
Freeman Cary chose teaching for his life-work, and devoted more than thirty years to it with a zeal, ability, and success rarely equaled. His career in the cause of education was generally recognized as remarkable. From the beginning in 1833, when he opened his own home
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to four pupils (whose names should be preserved, the tradition in the Cary family being that two of said pupils were Israel and Lewis Garrard), on through the building of the Academy and the founding of the College with the Experimental Farm. the important events have been treated in this history in the order of occurrence and Mr. Cary's relation thereto as the principal figure. It will be unnecessary to repeat these events here. They largely constitute his biography and his monument. He was a man of strong, rugged force, physical and mental. While not an orator, he was an earnest, convincing speaker. He was splendidly endowed by nature to teach, lead, and control young men. He won their confidence and retained it. And yet he was impulsive and passionate at times, especially when any of the boys defied the rules of the school or good morals. But a word of apology or regret brought him to tears. He was singu- larly tender-hearted, and had a strong sense of justice. Perhaps his predominanting quality was his energy. This was apparently exhaustless, and its influence mag- netic. He fairly energized the lives of the young men that came under his charge as a teacher, and they soon found him their best friend and advisor as well. His was a most busy life. Much of his thought was given to the soil. He loved its grains, its fruits, and its flowers. He made himself a practical farmer. He learned how to make farming prosperous by the intelligent application of science. In his course the Academy was a great result, the College much greater ; but he had ideals be- yond to reach, and here he advanced ahead of his time and inaugurated the "Experimental Farm," as a part of the College plan, and to manage that he even sur- rendered the Presidency of the Institution. In addition
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he established and edited the "Cincinnatus" already men- tioned. Mr. Cary's purpose was to reach and benefit the masses with a practical education, one best suited to their pursuits in life.
The scheme of the farm, successful for a number of years, mainly through his efficiency, gradually declined under financial pressure. We are reminded here to refer to the accredited story, how Dame Fortune at one time stood at the very gates of Farmers' College ready to enter, when Charles McMicken, a close friend of Mr. Cary, and the donor of $10,000 to a professorship in the Col- lege, had become so favorably impressed with the Insti- tution and Mr. Cary's plans, that he had instructed his lawyer to so change his will as to leave the bulk of his fortune to that Institution. but died before the change could be made. And thus Farmers' College lost a mag- nificent bequest and College Hill a crown of glory. In September, 1858, Mr. Cary, a grievously disappointed man, resigned as President of the Farm Department. In a few years the farm was sold, and Mr. Cary retired to a splendid fruit farm and beautiful home in Butler County, where he spent his remaining years in his loved occupation, and died August 26th, 1888, in his seventy- ninth year. He had been married twice. He first married when he began to teach in 1833 a Miss Melvina McCan. She was a woman of great excellence, and as a wife was a faithful help. To the sick boys in school she came as a guardian angel, and many of them she took to her home for proper attention. Of this union there were eight children, only three of whom are now living: Mrs. George Roll, of Ft. Worth, Texas; Mrs. John M. Henderson, of Cleveland, Ohio, and Samuel F. Cary. This wife died in 1872. and he later married the widow
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of Dr. James Richardson, who survived him. He was a devoted member of the Presbyterian Church, and one of the founders of that Church in College Hill. It can be truthfully affirmed of him that but few men in his time in the West made a more beneficial or lasting impression in the education of young men. Now that he has gone hundreds will speak of him in words of affectionate re- memberance and extol his great work. We close this sketch by adopting some well-chosen words of Mr. Murat Halstead uttered on the occasion of Mr. Cary's funeral : "The time would come when the teaching of Mr. Cary by voice and example of scientific farming -- the preserva- tion and enrichment of the soil-and his career in a College, which was a social experience of the utmost interest, would be more highly estimated than now, and he would be honored as one who had done much to preserve for future generations the rich inheritance that their fathers had won in this goodly land."
Samuel Fenton Cary.
General Samuel F. Cary lived all his long life of eighty-six years on College Hill. After graduating at Miami University in 1835 he studied law in the Cincin- nati Law School, and was admitted to the Bar in 1837. He practiced his profession until 1844, and soon rose to distinction as a criminal lawyer. He had remarkable sway over a jury. But he sought a wider field for his oratory, of which he possessed marvelous powers, and abandoned the law to devote his talents to the promotion of temperance reform. He lectured in all the leading cities of the English-speaking world, and attracted great audiences everywhere. He also became celebrated as a political speaker, rivaling the greatest stump orators of
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the day. And he was the intimate friend of the most noted men of his time. For over half a century he was the most picturesque figure in American politics. He had a most striking personality, and his matchless oratory swayed masses of men. During the Civil War his fiery eloquence stirred up the patriotism of the North on behalf of the Union, and his voice never tired. He was an ardent friend of the laboring man, and that element elected him to Congress as an independent candidate.
It would take a volume to give anything like an adequate sketch of General Cary's unique and remarkable career.
With all his great duties that called him so much away from home he took a deep interest in the affairs of College Hill. He was one of the founders of the Pres- byterian Church there, and an active member of it for over fifty years. He was at one time a part owner of the Ohio Female College, and he took special interest in the educational enterprises and plans of his brother Freeman. Ile allied himself with them and promoted them with all his zeal and ability. He took a pardon- able pride in his brother's success. He was one of the charter members of the Corporation of Farmers' College, was on the Board from the beginning, and for twenty-one years its Treasurer, resigning in August, 1866. In the crisis of 1873 in the affairs of the College both Samuel and Freeman favored liquidation on the ground that the income was insufficient to maintain the College and was constantly growing less, but those advocating per- petuation prevailed. Samuel, like his brother, was twice married, the first time to Martha Louisa Allen, and a daughter by this marriage, Mrs. Ella Cary Sayre, is still living on the Hill. His second wife, Lida Stillwell,
SAMUEL F. CARY
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survived him about three years. Two children of this marriage survive both-Mr. S. F. Carry and Miss Jessie Cary, the latter of whom lived in the old homestead where the father had lived for fifty-four years, until recently it gave way for a large, fine improvement. Gen- eral Cary was a man of high character and purposes. He left an untarnished name. No one used his brilliant gifts more for the good of his country or the cause of humanity.
Dr. Robert H. Bishop.
Dr. Bishop died April 29th, 1855, seventy-eight years of age. In his death Farmers' College sustained its greatest loss. Apart from Mr. Cary he was pre-eminently its tower of strength. He was one of the great educa- tors of the country, and above all the leader in the West. He came from Miami University to Farmers' College at its opening and took the Chair of History and Political Economy. He was deeply interested in the organiza- tion of the College, and delivered an address at the lay- ing of the corner-stone April 13th, 1846, which was an able plea for the dignity of labor, and for the plan of a higher, practical scientific education proposed to be taught in the new College.
Dr. Bishop was a native of Scotland, born in 1877, was educated in Edinburgh University when the cele- brated Dugold Stewart was connected with it. He was of the large Scottish type, towering physically and men- tally. His presence was patriarchal and impressive. He came to this country when a young man to teach Eccle- siastical History in an Institution in New York City, then being founded, but this failed, and he came out West and was an itinerant preacher in Ohio and Ken-
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tucky for a number of years. He was then chosen a Professor in Transylvania University at Lexington, and was there for many years and, as stated by his friend, Dr. John W. Scott, was the only successful combatant of infidelity, which got hold of that Institution and finally ruined it. Henry Clay was his fast friend during all this warfare, and said that Dr. Bishop was the only hope of the University. His next call was to Oxford College. He was its President for many years, built it up, and made it the "Yale of the West."
But he was too liberal a man for the straight-jacket policy then in control there; so he readily turned with favor toward the organization of Farmers' College, and allied himself with its broad, liberal system, and re- mained with it until his decease. He was in full accord with Mr. Cary in his noble work and in every way upheld his hands. He was extremely popular with the students, who regarded him with the deepest affection and reverence. He was devoid of all sham or pretense, and, although having a certain bluntness of manner, he was simple as a child. His uncompromising belief in God and the Christian faith dominated his whole nature. As a Historian, Political Economist, and Logician, he was a great master. His knowledge seemed to be all classified, and his sermons and lectures and his instruction in the class-room all partook of that method. Young men could not fail to receive lasting impressions from him. They grew strong, both in knowledge and character, from his teachings. The few living, who were in his class, may well remember his familiar: "Wull, wull, Jones, give us the leading facts in the reign of Queen Anne," or "In the life of Napoleon Bonaparte." He put every boy on his metal to read and find out, and then tell the
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story in his own way. He enjoyed the telling, and always corrected or criticized in a kind and considerate manner. He indeed seemed to be a father to everybody he came in contact with.
At his request his body was buried in a mound in the rear of the College building. And his good wife followed him in two weeks thereafter. They left a son, Robert H. Bishop, LL. D., who became President of Miami University, and for a time was Professor of Ancient Languages at Farmers' College.
It was not until after the death of Dr. Bishop that it appeared how extensively he was known. Being so humble himself and indifferent to fame, his name was not much trumpeted on the tongues of men. But his death elicited from the press and distinguished men every- where their estimate of him as "one of the best of men, and one of the most able and useful in his day and generation."
Dr. John W. Scott.
Dr. Scott was born in Pennsylvania, January 22d, 1800. He graduated at Washington College in 1823, then went to Yale to have the benefit of the instruction of Prof. Benjamin Sulliman in physics and the natural sciences. He was then elected to a professorship in his Alma Mater in that department. In 1828 he was called to the same chair in Miami University, which he held until 1845, when, in that year, he and Dr. Robert H. Bishop went to Cary's Academy to help found Farmers' College. He became Professor in that College of "Chem- istry and Its Application to Agriculture and the Arts," a position he filled with perfect satisfaction. He was also a preacher of convincing power.
Unfortunately for the College, he felt constrained to
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give up his place in 1849, to give his attention to the Young Ladies' School under his charge, which he re- moved to Oxford. He was a very popular teacher, and a very genial and lovable man. With Dr. Bishop he was greatly interested in the success of the College scheme, and at the very inception of the undertaking he voluntarily went out among the people, and explained the plan and got subscriptions to the stock so readily that he reported favorably, and the movement went on with enthusiasm.
As an incident of the time and place, which long since became widely known, Benjamin Harrison (afterwards President), then a young student at Farmers' College, followed Dr. Scott to Oxford with a double intention, to graduate there and to marry the Doctor's handsome daughter, Carrie, both of which he successfully accom- plished. The Doctor conducted his school for many years, and it became noted and popular. He finally drifted to Washington City and into the Government service, but resigned when his son-in-law was elected President. Dr. W. C. Gray told the story that he asked the Doctor why he resigned a place in the Government service after his son-in-law, Ben. Harrison, became President. He replied, because he was not willing to come under the curse: "The elder shall serve the younger."
The story illustrates the orthodox character of the man. His death occurred of recent date, some years above cighty. His connection with the early history of Farmers' College was short in duration, but beneficent in result.
The "Old Boys" always cherished a feeling of love and gratitude toward Dr. Scott.
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Hon. Isaac Jackson Allen.
Isaac J. Allen was the second President of Farmers' College, succeeding Freeman G. Cary when he took Charge of the Farm Department. He was tendered the position December 24th, 1853. He accepted, and delivered his Inaugural Address June 7th, 1854, which was elo- quent and scholarly and in harmony with the Agricultural and Scientific scheme of education then being inaugu- rated. He held the position until the latter part of 1856, when he resigned from inadequacy of salary, which was only $1,200 per annum. He was eminently fitted for the place, and, although his administration was of short duration, it. was more successful than any that followed. And he was strong in the affection and confidence of the young men. Judge Allen descended from good old Revolutionary stock that achieved honor in that war. He was born at Morristown, New Jersey, January 21st, 1814. His father, Job Allen, came to Ohio in 1814 and settled in Knox County, where the son spent his boy- hood days. He graduated as a physician from Kenyon College, but, preferring the law, he studied that profession with Hon. Henry B. Curtis at Mt. Vernon, and was admitted to practice in all the Courts. He began his career as a lawyer at Mansfield, Ohio. under partnership relations with Mr. Curtis. In 1841 he married Miss Susan Brown, daughter of Judge Peter Brown, of New Foundland, N. J., and of this union three children were born-Theodore F., Arthur, and Caradora.
In politics Mr. Allen was a Whig, and in his day was a prominent figure in the intellectual and political life of Ohio. He was a candidate on several occasions, and showed his popularity in a Democratic stronghold. By
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selection of the Bar and appointment he served as Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Richland County.
When the Civil War broke out he bought an in- terest in the Ohio State Journal, and edited that paper with conspicuous vigor and ability at Columbus during the stormy period of the war. Near the end of the war President Lincoln offered him the appointment of United States Consul General at Hong Kong, China, which he accepted, and was absent on this service several years. He returned to Cincinnati in 1870 and made his home in Avondale until 1886, when he removed to the scene of his birth, Morristown, N. J., after an absence of over seventy years. In 1889, by invitation of the publishers of the Standard Dictionary, he took the editorial posi- tion on that work as Special Definer in charge of the Departments of Law and Medico-Physical Science, and continued in that service four years, not missing a single working day at the age of about eighty.
Judge Allen until within a short time before his death, which occurred on the 25th of March, 1906, in his ninety-third year, remained in excellent health, both physical and mental, and by no means lived in the past, but marched in the front rank in all the events of the day. His son, Theodore F. Allen, of Cincinnati, sur- vives him.
So far as we are advised, he lived to a greater age than any other official or teacher ever associated with Farmers' College. It would seem that his mental force and equipment should have secured him a long tenure of the Presidency. For when he left the College was on the high tide of prosperity, the last year of his term being the banner year for attendance in the history of the Institution.
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