History of Cincinnati, Ohio, with illustrations and biographical sketches, Part 62

Author: Ford, Henry A., comp; Ford, Kate B., joint comp
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Cleveland, O., L.A. Williams & co.
Number of Pages: 666

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exception of one hundred and fifty dollars. The board adjourned to meet on the same day of the following week, when the deficiency was reduced by the agent to twenty-five dollars, and on the same day an order was passed to remit the entire amount to Barings & Brothers, London, to be paid to the manufacturer, on the order of Dr. J. Lamont, of Munich, to be given on the packing of the instrument. The last twenty-five dollars was obtained, and placed in the treasurer's hands, immediately on the adjournment of the board.

Thus was completed, as it was supposed, by far the most difficult part of the enterprise. All the cash means of the society had now been exhausted, about eleven thousand dollars had been raised, and to extend the effort yet farther, under the circumstances, seemed to be quite impossible. Up to this time nothing had been done toward the building, and after paying for the instrument not one dollar remained in cash to commence the erection of a building which must cost, at the lowest estimate, five or six thousand dollars.

Some two or three thousand dollars had been subscribed, payable in work and materials. Owing to a slight change in the plan of the building, the foundation walls, already laid in the fall of 1844, were taken up and relaid. Finding it quite impossible to induce any master- workman to take the contract for the building, with the many contin- gencies by which our affairs were surrounded, I determined to hire workmen by the day and superintend the erection of the building per- sonally. In attempting to contract for the delivery of brick on the summit of Mount Adams, such an enormous price was demanded for the hauling, in consequence of the steepness of the hill, that all idea of a brick building was at once abandoned, and it was determined to build of limestone, an abundant supply of which could be had on the grounds of the society by quarrying. Having matured my plans, securing the occasional assistance of a carpenter, about the beginning · of June, 1844, I hired two masons, one of whom was to receive an extra sum for hiring the hands, keeping their time, and acting as the master- workman. One tender to these workmen constituted the entire force with which I commenced the erection of a building which, if prosecuted in the same humble manner, would have required about twenty years for its completion. And yet our title-bond required that the building should be finished in the following June, or a forfeiture of the title by which we hold the present beautiful site must follow. My master- mason seemed quite confounded when told that he must commence work with such a force. In the outset difficulties were thick and obsti- nate. Exorbitant charges were made for delivering lime. I at once commenced the building of a lime-kiln, and in a few days had the sat- isfaction of seeing it well-filled and on fire; true, it caved in once or twice, with other little accidents ; but a full supply of linie was obtained, and at a cheap rate.

Sand was the next item, for which the most extravagant charges were made. I found this so ruinous that an effort was made, and finally I obtained permission to open a sand-pit, which had long been closed for fear of caving down a house on the side of the hill above, by further excavation. An absolute refusal was at first given ; but syste- matic perseverance again succeeded, and the pit was re-opened. The distance was comparatively short ; but the price of mere hauling was so great that I was forced to purchase horses, and in not a few instances fill the carts with my own hands and drive them to the top of the hill, thus demonstrating practically how many loads could be made in a day.

Another difficulty yet remained-no water could be found nearer than at the foot of the hill, half a mile distant ; and to haul all the water so great a distance would have cost a large sum. I selected one of the deepest ravines on the hill-top, and throwing a dam across while it was actually raining, I had the pleasure of seeing it fill rapidly from the hillsides ; and in this way an abundant supply was obtained for the mixing of mortar, at a very moderate expense of hauling.

Thus prepared, the building was commenced, with two masons and one tender during the first week. At the close of the week 1 had raised sufficient funds to pay off my hands, and directed the foreman to employ, for the following week, two additional masons and a tender. To supply this force with materials several hands were employed in the quarry, in the lime-kiln, and in the sand-pit, all of whom were hired by the day, to be paid half cash and the residue in trade.

During all this time, I may remark, I was discharging my duties as professor of mathematics and philosophy in the Cincinnati college, and teaching five hours in the day. Before eight o'clock in the morning I had visited all my workmen in the building, in the lime-kiln, sand-pit, and stone-quarry ; at that time my duties in the college commenced, and closed at one. By two o'clock p. M. I was again with my work- men, or engaged in raising the means of paying them on Saturday

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night. The third week the number of hands was again doubled; the fourth week produced a like increase, until finally not less than fifty day laborers were actually engaged in the erection of the Cincinnati observ- atory. Each Saturday night exhausted all my funds; but I commenced the next week in the full confidence that industry and perseverance would work out the legitimate results. To raise the cash means re- quired was the greatest difficulty. I have frequently made four or five trades to turn my due-bills, payable in trade, into cash. I have not unfrequently gone to individuals and sold them their own due-bills, payable in merchandise, for cash, by making a discount. The pork merchants paid me cash for my due-bills, payable in barrels and lard- kegs; and in this way I managed to raise sufficient cash means to prosecute the work vigorously during the months of July and August, and in September I had the satisfaction to see the building up and covered, without having incurred one dollar of debt. At one period, I presume, one hundred hands were employed at the same time in the prosecution of the work, more than fifty hands on the hill, and as many in the city in the various workshops, paying their subscriptions by work for different parts of the building. The doors were in the hands of one carpenter, the window-frames in those of another ; a third was em- ployed on the sash ; a painter took them from the joiner and in turn delivered them to a glazier, while a carpenter paid up his stock by hanging them, with weights purchased by stock and with cords ob- tained in the same way. Many locks were furnished by our townsmen in payment of their subscriptions. Lumber, sawing, flooring, roofing, painting, mantels, steps, hearths, hardware, lathing, doors, windows, glass, and painting, were in like manner obtained. At the beginning of each week my master carpenter generally gave me a bill of lumber and materials wanted during the week. In case they had not been already subscribed, the stock-book was resorted to, and there was no relaxing of effort until the necessary articles were obtained. If a tier of joists was wanted, the saw-mills were visited, and in some instances the joists for the same floor came from two or three different mills.

On covering the building, the great crowd of hands employed as masons, tenders, lime-burners, quarrymen, sand and water-men, were paid off and discharged ; and it now seemed that the heavy pressure was passed, and that one might again breathe free, after the responsi- bility of such heavy weekly payments were removed.

In February, 1845, the telescope came, and the next month was placed in position. The Observatory soon afterwards went into full operation, with Professor Mitchel installed as director, and residing in the building with his family. The structure had been completed in time- by June, 1845-to save the grant of Mr. Longworth, which was conditioned upon its completion within two years from the date of the gift. Mitchel devised two very ingenious and delicate instruments for recording observations in right ascension and difference in de- clination, and added them to the working apparatus of the Observatory. He received and instructed students, and continued to make astronomical observations with much success. At times, however, his finances were ex- tremely limited; and he had to eke out a subsistence by engineering on the route of the Ohio & Mississippi rail- road and by lecturing, in which he finally obtained much renown, and left brilliant memorials in two published volumes. After his departure for the military service, to which he gave his life, the Observatory languished; but after the war its grand opportunity came, in the estab- lishment of the Cincinnati university. For the uses of this institution the Astronomical society tendered the entire property of the Observatory; and it was made a department of the University. By this time, however, the growth of the manufacturing and other interests of the city had wrapped the summit of Mount Adams fre- quently in clouds of smoke and fog; and there were other reasons for removal to a more retired locality, with more quiet surroundings and a clearer air.

When the situation of the Observatory upon Mount Adams had become unsuitable for its purposes, the heirs of Mr. Longworth united with the Astronomical society in agreeing to transfer the grounds originally given to it by Mr. Longworth to the city, upon the specific trust that it should be sold or leased, and the proceeds applied upon the endownment of the University school of Draw- ing and Design, and further conditioned that the city should sustain a new observatory, to be also connected with the University. For the establishment of that the Astronomical society presented to the city the equatorial and other instruments collected for the older institution, with all its apparatus and astronomical records and books. The Mount Adams property was leased to the Passionist Fathers, who now use it for a monastery and school, at a ground-rent of three thousand dollars per year, with the privilege of purchase at discretion. Mr. John Kilgour gave a site of four acres, at Mount Look- out, near Oakley, just beyond the northeast corner of the city, for the new observatory, and also ten thousand dol- lars for building it and supplying a further equipment. Mr. Julius Dexter added a gift of one thousand dollars in 1874. The corner-stone of the new building-the same as that laid by the assistance of John Quincy Adams thirty-five years before, with many of the same articles enclosed-was laid with due ceremony in the spring of 1873; and the edifice went rapidly up, without any of the embarrassments which clustered about the in- domitable founder of 1843-5. It was occupied the next year, with Professor Ormond Stone as director, and has since been in successful and useful operation, in the training of students for professorships and astronomical inquiry, and in making observations and discoveries. Among much other good work, the star-measurements of Professor Mitchel, which were still in manuscript, have been reduced and made ready for the printer. A short summer term is held at the observatory, for the benefit of teachers and others who desire to take special studies. Mr. Henry T. Eddy is now professor of astronomy, and Mr. Stone remains director.

THE CINCINNATI SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY.

We adopt in full, for this important society, with some additions, the historical sketch published in the first num- ber of its Journal, April, 1878:

The Cincinnati Society of Natural History was organ- ized, and a constitution adopted, on the nineteenth day of January, 1870, at No. 6 West Fourth street, in the city of Cincinnati. The following persons were enrolled as original members: Dr. F. P. Anderson, Ludlow Apjones, Robert Brown, jr., Dr. R. M. Byrnes, J. B. Chickering, Robert Clarke, Lucius Curtis, V. T. Chambers, Julius Dexter, Charles Dury, C. B. Dyer, John M. Edwards, Dr. H. H. Hill, R. E. Hawley, Dr. W. H. Mussey, R. C. McCracken, Dr. C. A. Miller, S. A. Miller, Dr. William Owens, Henry Probasco, J. Ralston Skinner, Dr. John A. Warder, Dr. E. S. Wayne, Dr. E. Williams, and Horatio Wood.

The society was regularly incorporated on the twentieth day of June, 1870, as shown by church record book, No.

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HISTORY OF CINCINNATI, OHIO.

2, page 633, of the records of Hamilton county, Ohio. On the second day of February, 1870, the society met and proceeded to elect permanent officers, Mr. John M. Edwards having presided at the preliminary meetings. Dr. John A. Warder was elected president, which office he continued to fill, by re-election, to the satisfaction of the members, until April 6, 1875. Dr. W. H. Mussey was elected first vice-president, and was continued in the office until April 6, 1865. Mr. Ludlow Apjones was elected corresponding and recording secretary, and served as such until the regular election held April 4, 1871. Mr. Robert Brown, jr., was elected treasurer; Dr. F. P. An- derson, custodian; Dr. Edward S. Wayne, curator of mineralogy; and Mr. Horatio Wood, curator of botany.

The membership of the society increased very rapidly, and during the summer arrangements were perfected for renting room No. 41 College Building, on Walnut street, above Fourth street, at one hundred dollars per year. The society held its first meeting in College Building on the evening of October 4, 1870. At this meeting Mr. Robert Brown, jr., resigned the office of treasurer, and Mr. Horatio Wood was elected to fill the vacancy; Professor John M. Edwards was elected custodian in place of Dr. F. P. Anderson; and Mr. Charles Dury was elected taxidermist. The society held meetings regularly every month, and at the meeting held March 8, 1871, had the pleasure of knowing that the trustees of the Cin- cinnati college had remitted the rent, and consented to the occupation of room No. 41 College Building free of charge, save such as would be incurred for light and fuel, until such time as the trustees might find it necessary to use the room for other purposes.

At the annual meeting, held on the evening of April 4, 1871, the treasurer reported that the total receipts of the society to that date amounted to one hundred and sixty dollars, and that there had been expended one hundred and sixty-five dollars and seventeen cents, leaving a bal- ance due the treasurer of five dollars and seventeen cents. The library was reported as containing thirty-five volumes. Previous to this meeting there had been pro- cured for the society five upright cases, all of which the custodian reported were well filled by the specimens of natural history which had been donated by members of the society. At this meeting the officers were elected for the year, with the following changes: Mr. Ludlow Apjones was elected second vice-president; Mr. L. S. Cotton was elected corresponding secretary, and contin- ued to be re-elected annually, and served until April 6, 1875; Rev. R. E. Hawley as recording secretary, in which position he served for two years. Mr. Horatio Wood was elected treasurer, and was continued in the office until he declined to serve longer, April 4, 1875. Dr. H. H. Hill accepted the position of librarian, and was re-elected April 2, 1872, and April 1, 1873. Profes- sor John M. Edwards was elected custodian, and was continued in the position for two years. Dr. R. M. Byrnes was elected curator of mineralogy, which position he has held to the present time. The fine collection and careful arrangement of the minerals in the posses- sion of the society bear witness to the intelligent and

faithful work of this officer. Mr. Samuel A. Miller was elected curator of palæontology, and was subsequently re-elected and continued in the curatorship until April 7, 1874. Dr. H. H. Hill, curator of conchology, who was re-elected the following year; Mr. Lucius Curtis, curator of entomology, who was continued in office until April 1, 1873; Dr. William Owens, of botany; and Mr. Charles Dury, taxidermist, who was twice re-elected, and contin- ued in office until the position was abolished in April, 1874, and the curatorship of ornithology instituted.

The donations of specimens in the various depart ments of natural science being numerous at every meet- ing, it was found necessary to provide additional cases for preserving the collections. At the meeting held June 6, 1871, five new upright cases, uniform with those pre- viously in the possession of the society, were procured.

At the meeting held September 5, 1871, the society received from the Western Academy of Natural Science three hundred and fifty-one dollars in money, two hun- dred and sixty-five volumes of books, and the remnant of its collection, being all of its property and effects of every kind then remaining. The money was invested, and has remained at interest since that time. Mr. S. A. Miller read a paper on the "Silurian Island of Cincin- nati," which was published the next day in the Cincinnati Enquirer.

At the meeting held on the second day of January, 1872, the society received from Mr. Robert Buchanan one hundred and eleven volumes from his library, and three upright cases with drawers, containing fossils, shells, and minerals. This donation was a valuable acquisition to the society, and was brought about through the gen- erosity of Mr. Probasco and nine other gentlemen, who presented Mr. Buchanan with one thousand dollars, as a partial compensation for his parting with his collection. The society elected Mr. Robert Buchanan an honorary member at the meeting held the following month.

The society assembled for the February meeting in rooms forty-six and forty-eight, College building, which had been kindly placed at its disposal by the trustees of the Cincinnati college, and which the society continued to occupy until it was able to purchase a building and removed to 108 Broadway.

On the fifth day of March, 1872, at a regular meeting, Messrs. Robert Clarke, U. P. James, George Graham, D. E. Bolles, John L. Talbot, S. T. Carley, and Robert Buchanan, surviving members of the Western Academy of science, were duly elected to life-membership in this society, in pursuance of the arrangement made at the time of receiving the donation from the Western acade- my. Mr. S. A. Miller read a paper on the "Geological History of this Locality, from the Tertiary Period to the present time,"-which was published in the Cincinnati Enquirer of the succeeding day, and was continued at a subsequent meeting of the society and published in the same paper on the seventeenth day of June following.

At the annual meeting held April 2, 1872, the report of the treasurer showed the receipts to have been, from dnes of members for the preceding year three hundred and eighty-five dollars, and from the Western Academy

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of Natural Science three hundred and fifty-one dollars and forty-five cents. Mr. Samuel A. Miller was elected second vice-president, which position he continued to hold until the April meeting in 1875; and Miss M. J. Pyle was elected curator of botany.

At the meeting held June 4, 1872, Dr. Charles A. Miller was elected curator of conchology, in place of Dr. H. H. Hill, who resigned; and Mr. G. A. Wetherby was elected curator of entomology, instead of Mr. Lucius Curtis, who had also resigned.

The society exhibited a large collection of specimens at the Cincinnati Industrial Exposition, held during the months of September and October of this and the follow- ing year. At both expositions the display made by this society attracted much notice, and the section devoted to its use was generally well attended by visitors.

At a meeting held November, 1872, Professor W. H. Mussey presented to the society a large number of skele- tons, of domesticated and wild vertebrate animals. He had previously shown his generosity to the society by contributing books, minerals, and other valuable speci- mens, and has continued to be one of its most steadfast and liberal benefactors down to the present time.

At the annual meeting, held April 1, 1873, it appeared from the treasurer's report that there were one hundred and seventeen members of the society, that the dues col- lected for the year amounted to four hundred and ten dollars and thirty-six cents, that the expenses had been three hundred and twenty-four dollars and ninety-three cents, and that there remained in the treasury the sum of one hundred and twenty-two dollars and twelve cents, not including the funds received from the Western Acad- emy of Science. At this meeting Mr. John M. Edwards was elected recording secretary; Mr. R. B. Moore custo- dian, which position he continued to fill until elected president, April 3, 1877; Dr. Charles A. Miller, curator of conchology, who was re-elected the following year; Mr. V. T. Chambers, curator of entomology; Mr. John Hussey, curator of botany; Dr. D. 'S. Young, curator of ichthyology, a position he has held ever since; Professor W. H. Mussey, curator of comparative anatomy, who was re-elected the following year, At this meeting a resolu- tion was adopted providing for a committee to take charge of a building fund, having for its basis the promise of a contribution of one hundred dollars annually for five years from Mr. Julius Dexter, and of twenty-five dollars per year for a like period from Professor A. J. Howe and Mr. Ludlow Apjones, and of the sum of ten dollars for a like period from Mr. A. E. Tripp and Mr. Horatio Wood.

At the meeting held May 6th, of this year, Mr. Charles H. Browning presented to the society a magnificent col- lection of marine shells and corals, collected by his father, Lieutenant R. L. Browning, United States navy.

At the meeting held August 5, 1873, Mr. S. A. Miller read a criticism on that part of the first volume of the Ohio Geological Survey relating to the Cincinnati Group of rocks and its fossil contents, which was published in the Cincinnati Enquirer on the seventh day of the month.

The annual meeting in 1874 was held April 7th, when it appeared, from the report of Mr. R. B. Moore, the

custodian, that the society had in its collection forty-five hundred specimens of minerals, two thousand palæonto- logical specimens, five thousand shells, six thousand bo- tanical specimens, four hundred entomological specimens, two thousand archæological specimens, and one hun- dred each of anatomical, ichthyological, and ornitholog- ical specimens, making a grand total of twenty thousand two hundred specimens. He also reported that the library contained about one thousand volumes. The treasurer's report showed that the society had received during the year: Members' dues, five hundred and fifty- three dollars and ninety-five cents; interest, twenty-one dollars and eight cents; while it had expended four hun- dred and fifty-six dollars and thirty-four cents, leaving in the treasury the sum of two hundred and forty dollars and eighty-one cents. The report further showed that there had been collected of the subscription to the building fund, three hundred and fifteen dollars, and interest accrued on the same, eleven dollars and forty-seven cents ; making the total building fund three hundred and twenty-six dollars and forty-seven cents. At this meeting, Mr. William Colvin was elected recording secretary; Mr. John M. Edwards librarian, who was re-elected the following year ; Mr. John W. Hall, jr., curator of palæontology, in which position he was continued until April 3, 1877; Mr. A. G. Wetherby curator of entomology; Dr. H. H. Hill curator of archæology, and has been continued in the position ever since; and Mr. Charles Dury curator of ornithology, who continues to fill the curatorship.

No election for curator of botany having been made at the annual meeting, Mr. Paul Mohr, jr., was elected to the position May 5th, and was re-elected the succeed- ing year.

Mr. Charles Bodman was elected a member of the so- ciety at the meeting held September 1, 1874.

The society received a letter at the meeting held De- cember, 1874, from a lady eighty years of age, containing a present of two hundred dollars, and signed "A Friend of Science." It was ascertained, however, that the gen- erous donor was Mrs. Abbie Warren, residing at No. 299 George street, in Cincinnati.

At the meeting held April 6, 1875, it appeared from the treasurer's report that the receipts from members' dues were five hundred and fifty-eight dollars and thirty cents ; from Mrs. Abbie Warren, donation two hundred dollars; and interest on invested funds, twenty-six dollars and eight cents; which, added to the balance in the treasury from the previous year, amounted to one thousand and twenty-five dollars and nineteen cents. The expenditures for the year amonnted to five hundred and thirty-one dollars and forty-six cents, leaving a balance of four hun- dred and ninety-three dollars and seventy-three cents; of this latter sum four hundred dollars had been placed at interest. In addition to this the sum of three hundred and fifty-one dollars and forty-five cents, which was received from the Western academy, was safely invested, and further that the building fund had during the year been increased by collection of subscriptions and accrued interest to the sum of four hundred and ninety-nine dol- lars and eighty-five cents; making a total of all funds to

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History of Cincinnati, Ohio, with illustrations and biographical sketches, Part 62

Author: Ford, Henry A., comp; Ford, Kate B., joint comp Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Cleveland, O., L.A. Williams & co. Number of Pages: 666

Author: Ford, Henry A., comp; Ford, Kate B., joint comp
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Cleveland, O., L.A. Williams & co.
Number of Pages: 666