History of Belmont and Jefferson Counties, Ohio, and incidentially historical collection pertaining to border warfare and the early settlement of the adjacent portion of the Ohio Valley, Part 185

Author: Caldwell, J. A. (John Alexander) 1n; Newton, J. H., ed; Ohio Genealogical Society. 1n
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Wheeling, W. Va. : Historical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 728

USA > Ohio > Jefferson County > History of Belmont and Jefferson Counties, Ohio, and incidentially historical collection pertaining to border warfare and the early settlement of the adjacent portion of the Ohio Valley > Part 185
USA > Ohio > Belmont County > History of Belmont and Jefferson Counties, Ohio, and incidentially historical collection pertaining to border warfare and the early settlement of the adjacent portion of the Ohio Valley > Part 185

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The first newspaper published here was the Philanthropist, a weekly, small quarto size of eight pages, issued every Saturday at $3.00 a year. It was printed by Charles Osborne and de- voted to the news of the day and the discussion of subjects of moral ethics. The first number made its appearance September 8, 1817. Mr. Osborne continued the paper until October 8, 1818, when he sold the establishment to Elisha Bates, who continued it under the same title, but reduced it from a quarto to an oc- tavo of sixteen pages. Mr. Bates issned his first number De- cember 11, 1818, and published it till April 27, 1822, when it suspended.

In 1821 Benjamin Lundy published the Genius of Universal. Emancipation. The paper was printed at Steubenville, and Mr. Lundy traveled on foot from Mt. Pleasant with his manuscript and returned with his printed paper. He continued it several months and removed it to Jonesboro, Tenn. This was the first genuine abolition paper in the United States.

The Village Banner was published in 1835, one year, but none of the files remain.

In 1837-8 a paper was published by Elisha Bates, devoted to moral and religious subjects, but it has shared the fate of most of the others, its very name being forgotten. Still later, the Life Boat was published by John B. Wolf. It was a strong tem- perance paper. Besides these, there appears to have been sev- eral other periodicals published at various times.

On the 16th of September, 1822, Howard issued the first num- ber of the Juvenile Museum, a semi-monthly magazine of eight pages, devoted to the entertainment and instruction of youtb. With the eleventh number it was changed from a semi-monthly of eight pages to a monthly of sixteen pages. In the number for September 27, 1823, appears the editor's valedictory and the publication ceased. Then there was published from July, 1827, to perhaps 1831 or 1832, the Miscellaneous Repository, by Elisha Bates, a monthly periodical devoted to moral and religious sub- jects. Besides the periodical literature aforesaid, the press of the village sent forth a considerable number of books, among which may be found Barton's Poems, a 12 mo. vol., Mount Pleasant, 1823 ; The Juvenile Expositor, or Child's Dictionary, by Elisha Bates, square 12 mo., Mount Pleasant, 1823; Sacred History, or the Historical Part of the Holy Scripture of the Old and New Testaments, by Thomas Elwood, 2 vols., 8 vo. shp., Mount Pleasant, 1854, together with many other books.

THE POSTOFFICE-POSTMASTERS.

The Postoffice Department at Washington established a post - office at Mount Pleasant, April 1, 1813, and the following is a complete list of the postmasters, who have served as such from that time down to 1879, with dates of their appointments :

April 1, 1813-James Judkins. December 29, 1823-William Judkins.

September 25, 1825-Samuel Steer.

March 1, 1828-John Watson. April 12, 1837-Amos Jones. November 1, 1853-David Chambers. August 22, 1861-Robert W. Chambers. March 23, 1869-Miss Harriet Atkinson. December 19, 1870-Robert W. Chambers.

LEADING BUSINESS HOUSES IN MOUNT PLEASANT.

THOMAS HORTON .- This establishment keeps a general as- sortment of family groceries, dry goods, &c.

H. HEBERLING .- This house keeps a general assortment of dry goods, groceries, boots and shoes.

DR. C. SCHOOLEY, practices medicine in all its branches. DR. JAMES E. FINLEY, is a general practicing physician.

A. M. WITHROW, dentist, is prepared to do all the duties of bis profession.

ALEXANDER D. HUMPHREYVILLE, cabinet maker and under- taker, attends to all business in his line.

WILLIAM GLASS carries on the blacksmithing business in all its branches.

R. W. CHAMBERS keeps a general assortment of drugs and medicines.

F. M. HEATON, boot and shoemaker, attends to all branches of business in this line.

T. J. EVANS, of Trenton, carries on the coach-making busi- ness in all its branches.

H. ELBERT carries on the boot and shoe-making business in all its branches.

MOUNT PLEASANT UNION SCHOOL.

The school house is a substantial two-story brick building- main part 60x30 and wing back 36x30. It contains four school rooms, two 36x30 and two 30x24. It was built in 1867 at a cost of $1,100.

In 1861, the school was organized upon the " graded system," and a course of study adopted, embracing, besides the primary branches, philosophy, physical geography, natural philosophy, chemistry, higher arithmetic, algebra, geometry and Latin grammar. Up to the present time, forty-five pupils have grad- uated. The attendance has been from 140 to 180, including 30 to forty non-resident pupils.

There are four departments, and three grades in each, re- quiring - years to complete the course of study. The present members of the school board are Hon. J. T. Updegraff, William Reid and J. T. Mercer

Since 1868, the school has been under the charge of its pres- ent principals, Messrs. White. The school has been both ag- gressive and progressive.

FRIENDS BOARDING SCHOOL, MT. PLEASANT.

The Ohio Yearly Meeting of Friends was established in the year 1813. Soon after its formation it began to move toward the founding of a boarding school for the complete education of the children of ber people. In the year 1816 the Yearly Meet- ing appointed the following ten persons as a committee to re- ceive contributions for that purpose: Abel Knight, Jonathan Taylor, Nathan Updegraff, Isaac Parker, William Herald, David Brown, Emmor Bailey, James Paty, Richard Barrett and George Shugart. Some of the good friends opposing the creation of such a school on the ground that it might foster pride and beget słothfulness, that matter reached no definite conclusion until the Yearly Meeting of 1824. That meeting being informed that Thomas Rotch had bequeathed the sum of five thousand dollars for that express purpose were so refreshed by that information that it gave renewed action to the measure by appointing a com- mittee to receive the money so bequeathed from the executors. But the disturbing influence of the Elias Hicks defection so in- terfering with the stability of the membership everything re- mained unarranged until 1831. When the committee above mentioned being informed that "many friends" of other Yearly Meetings had expressed a lively interest in the 'erection of such an institution, and had subscribed considerable money for that purpose, reported these facts to the yearly meeting of that year. That Yearly Meeting accordingly appointed a joint committee to receive and solicit subscription of funds, to select and pur- chase a site for such school house near Mt. Pleasant, Ohio, and to prepare and report a plan of such building. That committee consisted of forty-one members. It found that six thousand nine hundred and twenty-seven dollars had been subscribed al- ready, and large amounts were promised by other friends in New England, England, and at many other places. It made its first purchase of land for school house site of Dr. William Hamilton in 1832, consisting of sixty-four acres at $42 per acre, and situ- ate near Mt. Pleasant, Jefferson county, O.

At the Yearly Meeting of 1832 the committee reported that in their opinion the boarding school house should be a finishing school for the youth of both sexes ; that two departments should be built so that the sexes should be entirely distinct and separate from each other; that to secure these ends the building should consist of a centre honse for family uses, and other purposes of a general nature, and a wing on each side for school, lodging and dining rooms for teachers and scholars of the two sexes. It also reported that friends in New England had promised con- siderable moneys; that others in England had subscribed $2,000 if the erection of the school house was proceeded with, and other moneys with which to begin a library. The Y. M. referred the whole subject to meeting on "sufferings." That meeting ordered the committee to proceed with the building.

534

HISTORY OF BELMONT AND JEFFERSON COUNTIES.

The contract for the erection of "Boarding School House" was made by and between Benjamin Wright, David Updegraff and others, committee, and Abel Townsend, contractor, at a cost of ten thousand dollars. The house as put up was as follows : Centre building, 40 feet front hy 46 feet back ; a wing at each side of centre building 36 feet front by 32 feet back; the centre building three stories high, besides basement; the wings cach two stories high, besides basement; a belfry on the top of centre building at rear, with a walk around the top of centre building.

The house was completed in 1836, and on the 23d day of the first month, January, 1837, first school opened in it for reception of pupils. First superintendent was Daniel Williams; first matron, his wife Elizabeth. The teachers in male department were Robert S. Holloway and George K. Jenkins; female de- partment, Abby Holloway, wife of Robert, and Abigail Flanner. All of these teachers were residents of Mt. Pleasant. Susan Judkins was cook, and her husband, James, was janitor; Amy Ray assisted Susan. Betsey Bundy, a colored woman, did the washing; Esther Osborn did the ironing, and Tacy Wilson was nurse.

The total cost of site, building and fifteen other acres of land between the school farm and yearly meeting lot was $21,827.49.

The year was divided at first into two school session of twen- ty-four weeks cach, but in the process of time several changes were made in the arrangement of the sessions of the school year. The first school session had one hundred and twenty pupils at $GS per annum, but the receipts were less than the expenses by the sum of $280.28, or $3.30 per scholar. In 1838, Lewis Carey was first governor of the institution. Teachers : George K. Jen- kins, Parrin Wright, Abby Flanner and Susan M. Thomas. Ex- cess of expenses that year, $794.61 ; average attendance ot pu- pils, sixty-nine. For three or four years the expenditures ex- ceeded the incomes of the institution, but after that paid hand- somnely.

At first the cooking was done with old-fashioned instru- ments-Dutch ovens, frying pans, bake ovens, skillets, reflect- ors and pots swung on cranes at spacious open fire places-cook- ing stoves, ranges and the trumpery of modern culinary ar- rangements were then unknown. Of course everything ad- vanced with the so-called progress of the times.

For some time after the boarding school had opened, the teachers and pupils attended Short creek meeting, but during the year permit meetings were allowed at the institution on the first and 5th days by the Short creek monthly and afterwards sanctioned by the yearly meeting, and ever after continued.

In 1838, Louis Taber, of Vermont, was employed as teacher and lecturer. He taught from one to two hours a day and lec- tured twice a week. He continued to be employed in that ca- pacity for several winters.

G. G. and J. M. Plummer succeeded Williams and wife as su- perintendent and matron and they were followed in 1842, by Benjamin and Mary Hoyle, who remained until the spring of 1847.

In 1854, occurred another disruption among the orthodox Friends that divided them into what is known as the Gurney and Wilbur parties. By some means the Wilbur party retained control of the boarding school, which they held nntil the su- preme court of Ohio settled the title in favor of the Gurney di- vision, which immediately set about making extensive repairs preparatory to starting the school again. After expending $3,- 566.22 work was suspended for the winter, but on the night of January 17, 1875, the entire building was consumed by fire and it has not yet been rebuilt, though such a scheme is in contem- plation.

HISTORY OF THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE IN MOUNT PLEASANT.

The first society was organized in 1855, with a pledge to drink no alcoholic or distilled liquors, but permitting the use of fermented liquors, and known as the " halt way " society. The first society on the principle of total abstinence from all intoxi- cating liquors, was organized in the year 1837.

In 1840, the Sons of Temperance were organized by Isaac McDonald and E. L. Worthington, of Steubenville.

In the same year the Martha Washington society was formed. There is still in possession of D. N. Nulner a silk banner manufactured in the Mt. Pleasant factory, and presented to the ladies of the society. On one side was the motto, "Our canso is God's, our course is onward ;" on the other was "On female influence rests the destiny of man."

The Sons of Temperance continued in active operation for about fourteen years and was succeeded by the Temple of Honor,

which was organized Sept. 9, 1854, and kept up its organization for about ten years, but disbanded during the war, on account of the absence of the young men.

The Good Templars Lodge was organized in 1869, and con- tinued in active operation for four or five years.

The women of Mt. Pleasant assisted in the work of the woman's crusade by organizing and helping the work in the ad - joining towns.

The Murphy movement has been in active operation from 1876. Besides the societies already mentioned there was the Social Degree in connection with the Temple of Honor, and tho society for the juveniles, the " Band of Hope."

There has always been a strong temperance sentiment in Mt. Pleasant. The people were among the earliest in the country in the opposition to drinking customs, and in efforts to suppress the liquor traffic.

In the spring of 1847, D. M. Mulner opened the " Temperance Exchange Hotel," keeping the house strictly on temperance principles. This was somewhat of an experiment, but in the days of the coach line, when Mt. Pleasant was quite a business place, it was hoped that a man could keep a hotel without keep- ing a whisky shop.

For about twenty-five years no intoxicating liquors havo been sold publicly. While the business of the place has greatly fallen off because of no railroad connections, yet because of its temperance people and moral sentiment, the town has been an attractive place.

UNION SABBATHI SCHOOL.

Previons to 1843 some feeble attempts had been made to estab- lish a Sabbath school, but the effort resulted in nothing perma- nent, until in the summer of that year, a Miss Sarah Clark, of Philadelphia, who was visiting in Mount Pleasant, and learning there was no Sabbath school interested herself in the cause, and by her influence induced the citizens to take the matter in hand, and a union school wasorganized. Pinckney Lewis was elected superintendent, and George K. Jenkins, librarian. In 1849 Mr. Lewis, having been elected state senator, resigned and John H. Mercer was elected to fill to the place. Mr. Mercer performed the duties of the office until 1870, when he was succeeded by Dr. T. N. Lewis, who served until 1873, and was succeeded by Oliver Flanner, who performed the duties of the office until 1875 when J. H. Mercer was again elected, having served eighteen years since 1849.

About 1850 the school made an undertaking to pay $50 for five years to educate two Indian children at the Ossiliwa Mission, at Red Lake, Minnesota Territory. Rev. Mr. Bardwell, one Sun- day morning, brought into school with bim an Indian boy. Bringing a live Indian into Sabbath school where few, if any, had ever seen one, created quite a sensation. The school or- dered that two children be selected by the Mission, one to be named Anna Mendenhall, for a faithful teacher in the school, and one for J. H. Mercer, the superintendent. The school never heard much from them after the five years' support was given.

It was not long after this undertaking was completed, that the little red missionary box, that made its weekly rounds to the classes, was missing from the locked library in the church. It contained $40, and what became of it was never known.

One cold winter of deep and frequent snows, as the propriety of adjourning the school till spring was being discussed, little Maggie Taylor, who had walked two miles through the snow, came tripping in, and the motion to adjourn was withdrawu without any further argument.

Until within the last ten years most of the schools in the township were conducted on the union principle, but now cach church has its own school under its control.

Of those who conducted this school in 1843, but few now re- main. John H. Mercer and David N. Milner are the only per- sons now connected with it, who took part in its organization in 1843.

THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD.

The people of Mount Pleasant being mostly Friends or Quakers, were from principle opposed to slavery, in fact many of them had left their pleasant homes in the bright sunny South and settled in this wilderness land with its bleak climate on ac- count of their abhorrence of the institution with its wrongs and cruelties inflicted upon the poor helpless slaves.

As early as 1817, a slave would occasionally get across that boundary line between slavery and freedom, the Ohio river, and strike out for Mount Pleasant, where that class was always

535

HISTORY OF BELMONT AND JEFFERSON COUNTIES.

kindly received by these good people and helped off on their way to a land beyond the reach of their masters, These fugitives continued to increase year by year in numbers and the means of sending them beyond the reach of their owners became more and more systematized, until a regular chain of posts between here and Canada was established, so that when a slave once reached one of these posts he was safe from pursuit. This was termed the underground railroad and Mount Pleasant became famed as the leading station in the United States on this road. The travel over this ronte increased, till it became almost a reg- ular business with many citizens. Hundreds of slaves every ycar escaped over these lines, amounting to many thousands during its existence, and the travel only ceased with the close of the war.

INCIDENTS.

FIRST ABOLITION STATE CONVENTION.

The first anti-slavery or abolition state convention in Ohio was held at Mount Pleasant in the spring of 1837. Gamaliel Bailey, who afterwards published the Cincinnati Herald, and still later established the National Era at Washington City, was the secretary of that convention. Among other early abolition- ists there assembled, were James G. Birney, who in 1840, was the candidate of the Liberty party for president, John Keep, William Donaldson, Christian Donaldson, John Rankin, A. A. Guthrie, Major Nye, George Whipple, President Finney, of Oberlin, and Asa Mann.

FREE LABOR STORE.

The people of this place act upon their convictions of duty. They are consistent; what they profess they believe, and their belief of what is right is carried out in practice. They believed slavery was a grievous wrong inflicted upon their fellow men ; they believed that buying and consuming the products of this labor was ministering to the avarice of the slave holder and making the purchaser and consumer of the fruits of the unre- quieted toil of the slave a party to the crime. To avoid any par- ticipation in this wickedness they resolved to avoid using any- thing produced by the unpaid labor of slaves. In 1848, a free labor store was established, from which everything was sedn- lously excluded that was not the result of free, paid labor. This store was successfully carried on for about ten years.

ANNA DICKINSON.

The mother of this widely famed lady once lived in Mount Pleasant. Her maiden name was Mary Edmondson. She taught school in 1826 or 1827, in Sbort creek church.

THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS OF MT. PLEASANT.

Among the carly settlers of Jefferson county, the Society of Friends formed a considerable portion as to numbers, and by no means an unimportant part as to influence. These pioneers brought, not only the indomitable industry and thrift which soon transformed the wilderness to a community of prosperons homes, but also an intensity of religions fervor, and a fidelity to clearly defend convictions of right, which made them a strong power in shaping the contour of thought around them.

The stream of immigration flowed from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina-many coming as far as Friends' settlements in Western Pennsylvania as early as 1799, and waiting there until Government was prepared to dispose of lands west of the Ohio river. Numbers from North Carolina songht this more rigorous climate that their children might grow up free from the association of slavery. Baltimore yearly meetings had for a long period held a testimony against this prevailing evil, and throughout the limits of the society a strong feeling on the subject existed which bore fruits in the new land. The first Friends meeting west of the Ohio river, was probably held in the autumn of 1800, near the tent of Jona- than Taylor, where he first located in what is known as Con- cord, Belmont county, about five miles from Mt. Pleasant. Ho had encamped in the forest while building his cabin in this new wilderness home. The little gathering consisted of himself, his wife and a few other individuals, seated under spreading branches upon newly felled logs. When the cabin was put np and covered, and the floor, which consisted of punchcons partly laid, the meetings were transferred to it. The first meeting

held in this cabin was on a First-day of the week. It had been preceded by a time of considerable rain, which in anticipation, rendered the accommodations very desirable. The poles design- ed for sleepers on which to lay the remainder of the floor, sorv- ed as seats. We are justified in supposing that meetings for worship were from this time regularly held, as meetings for transacting the business of the society were regularly establish- ed, under the care of Friends in the east, as early as 1802.

The Stantons, Lipseys, and a number of other Friends fami- lies settled near Mt. Pleasant in 1800. Jonathan Taylor soon removed from Concord to within a short distance of that place, on what is now known as the Updegraff farm. The years of 1801-2-3, were laborious ones. Forests were to fell, and the ground to prepare for planting sufficient for present need. Houses were to be built, and the pressing wants incident to pio- neer lifo were to be met, but in 1804 a log meeting house was built near where the Short Creek Honse now stands, one half milo west of Mt. Pleasant. The records of a monthly meeting, called Short Creek, open Third month, 5th, 1804. At this first meeting the subject of the pious and gnarded education of the youth and the state of schools was weightily considered, and a committee appointed to give the subject further solid consider- ation. Nathan Updegraff was appointed to serve as clerk, Jesse Hall and Henry Lewis from Short Creek preparative meeting and James Carr, from Plymouth Preparative meeting, to serve as overseers. The records of this meeting show a rapidly in- creasing membership by direct application and certificate brought by families moving within its limits, from the monthly meetings to which they previously belonged. So prosperous was the society, that in 1806 ten aeres of land was bought. The deed was executed by Horton Howard, September 25, 1806, and made "to Nathan Updegraff, Aaron Brown, Enoch Harris and Jonathan Taylor, as trustees of the Society of Friends or Quak- ers, on behalf of themselves and jointly with the whole Short Creek monthly meeting of the Society." The consideration money was $30. The Short Creek meeting house, which still stands, was built in 1807, on this land, at an expense of $2,000. Its dimensions are 45x70. This lovely spot has truly come to be a city of the dead. The burying ground upon its summit, which overlooks a wide expanse of beautiful scenery, having received with nature's tenderness the forms of generation after genera- tion of those who have gathered there for worship.

In the spring of 1807 Short creek quarterly meeting was or- ganized, consisting of five monthly meetings, viz., Concord, Short Creek, Salem, Miami, and West Branch. Four of these were in Ohio and West Branch in what was called the Indiana territory.

Ohio yearly meeting was set off from the yearly meeting of Baltimore in 1812, and was composed of friends west of the Al- legheny mountains. The first yearly meeting was held at Short creek in 1813. During the years 1815-16 what is well known as the yearly meeting house was built in Mt. Pleasant, and first occupied in 1816. It is a large brick building 90x62, and vari- ously estimated as capable of accommodating from 1500 to 2500 persons. Although the exclusive property of the yearly incet- ing, it has been used by the Society for particular meetings since 2d mo., 1817, for the greater convenience of friends residing in towns or country homes made this a more central point. Mem- bers to the west of Mt. Pleasant still worshipping at Short Creek.

For a series of years the records of Short Creek monthly meeting show a rapid increase of membership. The minutes of Tenth month, 1813, recommend Friends to continue their labor with those "who are still deficient in supporting our testimony respecting spiritnous liquors." and a committee was appointed to have the subject in care. Marriages in accordance with es- tablished usage were frequent. The meeting of Twelfth month 20, 1814, records as follows: "Benjamin Lundy and Esther Lewis appeared in this meeting and signified their intention of marriage with each other. They having consent of parents ; George Kinsey and Ansalem Patterson are appointed to inquire into his clearness in other like engagements and report to the next meeting." According to custom a like committee was ap- pointed in the women's meeting to make similar inquiries ro- specting the proposed bride. The meeting of First month 24, 1815, records that "the committee appointed to inquire into Benjamin Lundy's clearness, report that they find nothing to ob- struet his proceeding in marriage with Esther Lewis. They are therefore at liberty to accomplish the same," and a committee was appointed in both the men's and women's meetings, to at- tend the marriage and report the orderly accomplishment." From the meeting of Second month 21st, we further learn that "the Friends appointed to attend the marriage of Benjamin

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History of Belmont and Jefferson Counties, Ohio, and incidentially historical collection pertaining to border warfare and the early settlement of the adjacent portion of the Ohio Valley, Part 185

Author: Caldwell, J. A. (John Alexander) 1n; Newton, J. H., ed; Ohio Genealogical Society. 1n Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Wheeling, W. Va. : Historical Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 728

Author: Caldwell, J. A. (John Alexander) 1n; Newton, J. H., ed; Ohio Genealogical Society. 1n
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Wheeling, W. Va. : Historical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 728