History of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Ohio; their past and present, Part 69

Author: Nelson, S.B., Cincinnati
Publication date: 1894
Publisher: Cincinnati : S. B. Nelson
Number of Pages: 1592

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SCHOOLS.

The first schoolhouse in the northern part of Springfield township was built on land owned by John Schooley, a mile and a half west of Springdale. The next was built at the Presbyterian cemetery in that village, and the third was a hewed log building at the corner of Hickory and Peach streets. The Springfield Academy at Springdale was for some years a local institution of great importance. It occupied the brick building that constitutes the present quarters of the Y. M. C. A. This was erected by the school authorities but left in an incomplete condition. The boys in the village, more enterprising than their elders, raised funds, employed a carpen- ter, and assisted in the work of completing the structure for occupancy. At the dedication the entire school formed in procession at Dr. Cox's office and marched to the new building to the music of an improvised band composed of Judge Cox, Governor Morton of Indiana, Collector Chesman of the Port of San Francisco, and Dr. Braden, of the Methodist church, while Bishop Foster of that church, then a young clergyman on the circuit, offered prayer. The old academy has certainly given a full quota of distinguished names to the public history of this and other States.

A ladies' seminary of some celebrity was conducted many years ago on the Mt. Pleasant pike, a mile south of that village, by David S. Burnet, in a large house erected by Oliver M. Spencer, a wealthy Cincinnati banker. This house was one of the largest and most pretentious in the vicinity of Cincinnati, and was known as " Spencer's Folly." Burnet's school ranked high among institutions of its classs

The various villages treated in this chapter are all provided with commodious school buildings. At Glendale the first public school was opened in 1852, with Rev. Spencer as first principal. W. M. Bateman and Ezra Elliott composed the first school board. The present principal is C. F. Dean, and the number of teachers employed is five. An interesting feature of educational work here is the "Glendale Monitor," a school monthly that has been published since December, 1887. The present school building at Lockland was erected in 1881. The school building at Wyoming was erected in the same year, and the high school building in 1889. Mt. Pleasant constituted a separate school district before its incorporation as a village, and has a large and substantial brick school building.

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HISTORY OF CINCINNATI AND HAMILTON COUNTY.

Glendale College is one of the oldest and most widely patronized institutions for the higher education of women in the Ohio Valley. The quarto-centenary anniver- sary of its founding was celebrated June 12, 1879, when the president, Rev. L. D. Potter, D.D., in an address of welcome and historical reminiscence, gave the follow- ing account of the founding and growth of the college: "This institution was founded by Rev. John Covert, A. M., in September, 1854, and named by him 'The American Female College.' Mr. Covert and his accomplished lady, Mrs. Covert, who received her education at two of the institutions of eastern New York, had been connected with an institution in that State, subsequently founded a seminary in Ohio, near Columbus, and still later founded and conducted the 'Ohio Female College,' at College Hill. In April, 1856, he transferred this institution to Rev. J. G. Monfort, D.D., Rev. S. S. Potter, and Rev. L. D. Potter, who assumed the pos- session and management on the 15th of May, five weeks before the close of the second collegiate year. We changed the name next year to 'Glendale Female Col- lege.' All of the party just named and their wives had had considerable experience as practical teachers. Your speaker, though the youngest of the three, had had, however, a longer experience, having been connected, in some capacity, for ten years, with some interruptions, as scholar, teacher, or principal in boarding institu- tions similar in character to this. Madame C. Rive and her sister (now Mrs. Kitchell) were already here, having come with Mr. Covert from College Hill. Mrs." McFerson, our lady principal for five years, and who is with us to-day, having given up her seminary in Bloomington, Ind., joined us in September following. During the latter part of the summer vacation of 1856 a fire occurred, cause unknown, which destroyed the chapel, a music building with its contents, and other structures of lesser importance. The work of reconstructing the chapel, and of the addition of a better music building attached to the main building, was immediately com- menced. The session was opened, however, at the time appointed, and continued until the new buildings were finished, though with many inconveniences on account of room, as many of the old scholars present remember. Rev. S. S. Potter left us in 1860, and Mrs. McFerson in 1861. Rev. J. G. Wilson, now United States con- sul at Jerusalem, became connected with us in 1861, but left in 1862. Dr. Monfort left in 1865, after a successful administration as president for nine years, at the end of which time the college seemed to have become settled upon a secure and perma- nent basis. The steam-heating apparatus, quite a novelty at the time, was intro- duced in the summer of 1856, and various improvements to the grounds and buildings have since been added from year to year. The number of scholars has been tolerably uniform from the beginning, with three exceptions-1. During the first years, when our public school was small and ungraded, the number of day scholars was much larger than it has been since; 2. During the first two years of the war our numbers were greatly diminished, and 3. From 1871 to 1875, after the late financial crisis commenced, we were crowded almost beyond what our accommo- dations would warrant."

Dr. Potter further stated that this was the first institution "to adopt the regular classification and four-fold division of studies, in the form and under the designa- tion historically known as applied to colleges for males-Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, and Senior." Many of the alumna of the institution have taken high rank as teachers and authors; others have married professors in higher institutions or gentlemen in the learned professions, some of whom have attained conspicuous eminence. In 1892-93 the college was attended by 105 students, of whom seventy were non-residents. The Faculty numbers thirteen members. Rev. L. D. Potter, D. D., continues as president, having been connected with the institution in an execu- tive capacity since 1856.

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HISTORY OF CINCINNATI AND HAMILTON COUNTY.

CHAPTER XXXVI.

SYCAMORE TOWNSHIP.

EARLY HISTORY AND ORGANIZATION-VILLAGES-CHURCHES-ODD FELLOWS HOME AT ROSSMOYNE-EDUCATIONAL.

TAMES CUNNINGHAM " was the first to break the forest in what is now Syca- more township," says John G. Olden in his Historical Sketches. Mr. Olden's researches have revealed many interesting circumstances in the life of this pioneer. He was a native of Lancaster county, Penn., and immigrated to Kentucky in 1785. Here he was employed for some time with four other young men in building cabins for settlers about twenty miles south of Covington. One of their number was killed by the Indians, and the party thereupon removed to the vicinity of Louisville. Here in 1787 Cunningham married Janette Park, and two years later they removed to Cincinnati. On May 26, 1789, he entered land warrant No. 139, "which he located on the west half of Section 28, Township 4, East Range 1, about a mile and a half north of the present village of Reading." His brothers-in-law, Arthur, Andrew, and Culbertson Park, assisted in constructing his first improvements. This must have occurred prior to 1792, for in that year he was one of the petitioners for a road from Cincinnati to Runyan's settlement. As the frontier enjoyed almost unbroken peace in 1789, Mr. Olden supposes that he probably located upon this land in that year, and remained until the commencement of hostilities in the following winter, when he returned to Cincinnati. Here he resided near the corner of Wal- nut and Columbia streets, and was in the government service as a teamster for a year or more. However this may be, it is well authenticated that in 1793 he made his permanent residence in Sycamore township, where he built the first grist and saw mills and was an active and influential citizen.

Regarding Carpenter's settlement Mr. Olden writes as follows: "James Car- penter was one of the early settlers of Columbia. He located lands in Section 15, Township 4, Range 1, now in Sycamore township. The precise time when he com- menced his improvements is not known, but it was probably during the fall of 1793, or in the spring of 1794. Price Thompson, a Revolutionary soldier, who was from Essex county, New Jersey, was among the founders of this settlement. He came to Mason county, Kentucky, in 1790, and remained there for two years, when, on the 26th day of November, 1792, he entered warrant No. 103, and located the north- east quarter of Section 21, Township 4, Range 1, adjoining the lands of James Car- penter. David and Abner Denman, brothers-in-law of Price Thompson, Benjamin Willis, also a brother-in-law to Thompson, Elihu Crane, and Richard and Samuel Ayres, were among the first settlers. They built ordinary cabins near to each other, at the corner of the four sections 15, 16, 21, and 22, or near where the Plain- field schoolhouse now stands. Others came to the settlement soon after peace was established with the Indians, among whom may be named James and John Mathers, Daniel and Nathaniel Reeder, Joseph McKnight, Morris Osborn, Moses Hutchings, Matthias Crow, Henry, Benjamin and Isaac Devie, Nathaniel Jarrard, Samuel Knott, and perhaps others, all of whom settled prior to 1797. The settle- ment was never annoyed by Indians, and there was nothing to encounter but the wild animals and the almost interminable forests."

In 1808, when Sycamore township included Symmes, but did not include the two western tiers of sections that constitute part of its present area, its tax duplicate con- tained the following names: (The original is no longer in existence, having been de-

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HISTORY OF CINCINNATI AND HAMILTON COUNTY.

stroyed in the courthouse fire; this list was transcribed and published by Mr. OIden): Ayres, Richard; Ayres, Benagh; Abbott, Joseph; Bolser, Henry L. ; Bolser, John H .; Bodine, Richard; Benham, Richard; Bates, Daniel; Bolser, Henry, Jr. ; Bolser, Joseph; Bolser, Peter; Buck, Conrad; Berry, Samuel; Bowman, John; Bates, Uzab; Bolser, John; Burns, John; Burns, James; Bolser, Henry; Bell, Peter; Bell, John; Bolser, Samuel; Beann, David; Beann, John; Ball, James; Boon, William; Buckingham, E. & L .; Bates, Seth; Bealer, Henry; Betson, John; Bonnel, Nathaniel; Borreft, Michael; Cugler, Matthias; Cameron, Duncan; Crist, Joseph; Cram, David; Col- man, William; Carlin, John; Cumming, Robert; Crain, Cyrus; Crain, Elihu; Crist, Moses; Clark, James; Clark, John; Cannady, Rebecca; Cannady, David; Crist, George; Cannady, Francis; Car, Robert; Carver, Abraham; Cummins, John; Car- ver, John; Cochran, John; Camel, John; Cochran, William; Davies, Samuel, Sr .; Davies, Isaac; Davies, James; Dusky, Eli; Dusky, Elizabeth; Dusky, Leman; Davis, Hugh; Davis, Samuel; Davis, George; Degullior, Anthony; Denman, Sarah; Den- man, Abner; Denman, Joseph; Denman, Nathaniel; Edwards, Amos; Edwards, Thomas; Elliot, John; Engil, Lewis; Eason, Alexander; English, William; Felter, Jacob; Felter, David; Felter, Cronymus; Felter, William; Freeman, Henry; Ferris, John; Ferris, Isaac; Fox, James; Gilbreth, William, Garrison, Jacob; Gordon, George; Godfaster, James; Gaston, Hugh; Gaston, Robert; Harvey, Cronymus; Hitchler, Jacob; Herron, James; Harris, Amos; Hasbrook, Daniel; Hankins, Abra- ham; Hankins, John; Hayden, Christopher; Hess, Francis; Hames, Joseph; Hurley, Gilbert; Hunter, James; Irwin, Samuel; Jones, Joseph; Jones, William; Johnston, Nicholas; Kerns, Jacob; Kerns, John; Kerns, Catherine; Kerns, Peter; Kitchel, Samuel; Kerns, Mathias; Lyons, John; Lock, Andrew; Logan, William; Landon, William; Lyon, Samuel; Lee, Adam; Long, Joseph; Mesner, David; McCasky, William; Mitchel, William; Miller, Burgen; Mckinney, David; McCowan, William; Mitchel, William; Mccullough, Samson; Mathers, John; Mathers, James; McKnight, Joseph; McGee, Joseph; Mclaughlin, John; Myers, John, Sr .; Myers, John, Jr .; McCain, John; Meeker, John; Meeker, Randolph; Miller, U. Miller; Myers, Joseph; Morgan, Mathias; Morris, Bethuel; Niseley, K. Peter; Nicholas, Francis; Osburn, John; Osburn, Bernab; Osburn, Edward; Osburn, Morris; Patmore, Abraham; Pol- lock, James; Pearron, Mathias; Price, Clarkson; Pearron, Samuel; Peckinpaugh, Fred; Price, Daniel; Patterson, John; Patterson, James; Rowan, Alexander; Rowan, Robert; Rude, Felix; Rosa, Jacob; Reeder, Daniel; Reed, William; Rude, Rachel; Rude, James; Rick, Thomas; Reeder, David; Robeson, Alexander; Reeder, George; Rafogal, David; Ridenour, Joseph; Ross, James; Runyan, Henry, Sr .; Runyan, Henry, Jr. ; Stewart, John; Sheal, Thomas; Sheal, James; Snyder, Cornelius; Stickel, Mathias; Sipes, Charles; Sipes, Frederick; Schenk, David; Smith, Edward; Sheal, Daniel; Sears, Samuel; Sears, Gideon; Sears, Benjamin, Sr .; Sears, John; Sears, Benjamin, Jr. ; Stewart, John, Sr .; Sheal, Isaac; Shuff, John; Shered, Rich- ard; Sinkey, John; Terwillegar, John; Terwillegar, Nath .; Taulman, Joseph; Tise, Henry; Thompson, Samuel; Thompson, Samuel, Sr. ; Thompson, John; Thompson, Price; Whitesides, James; Weller, Lodwick; Wallis, Nathaniel; Williams, John; Williams, George; Weller, Andrew; Whitesides, William; Waldsmith, Christian, Waldsmith, Peter; Waldsmith, John; Winans, John; Whitaker, William; Whitaker, Nathaniel; Whitaker, Jonathan; Willis, Benjamin; Winans, Mary; Youst, Abraham.

VILLAGES.

Reading .- The first settlement at Reading was made in 1794 by Abraham Voor- hees. He was accompanied by his sons, Miney, Abraham, Garrett, John, and Jacob, and his sons-in-law, Thomas Higgins and John Rynearson. For purposes of mutual protection and defense. They united in the erection and occupancy of a large log house, the location of which was on the west bank of Mill creek within the present

William Connell

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HISTORY OF CINCINNATI AND HAMILTON COUNTY.

limits of Lockland. This house was designed also as a fortification, but fortunately no occasion arose for its use in this respect. It was removed in 1817. This settle- ment was made on the southern half of Section 33.

In the early spring of 1795 the Voorhees settlement was reinforced by the arrival of the Redinbo family, consisting of Henry and Margaret Redinbo and their eleven children, viz., Solomon, Frederick, John, Philip, Samuel, Andrew, Henry, Adam, Ann, Barbara, and Margaret. Mr. Olden, from whose sketches these facts are de- rived, states that they were from Reading, Berks county, Pennsylvania, and that Solomon was drowned while crossing the Schuylkill river, just as they set out on their departure for the West. The Redinbos located upon the southern half of section 27, and constructed their improvements on land subsequently owned by Dr. Thomas Wright.

Regarding the further history of the Voorhees family, Mr. Olden says: "Abra- ham Voorhees, Jr., was a blacksmith, and, in anticipation of a rapid settlement in the neighborhood, he built himself a cabin and blacksmith shop on the east side of a road that had previously been opened, leading from White's Station to Runyan's settlement, at a point where now stands the dwelling and storehouse of James Browne on the northeast corner of Main and Columbia streets in Reading. There he carried on his business for a number of years, using a hickory stump as an anvil. Miney Voorbees, the second son, commenced a clearing and built a cabin on the northwest quarter of Section 32. He built his house on the west bank of Mill creek, a few hundred yards south of where the iron bridge now spans the creek between Lockland and Reading, and in what is now Conklin's addition to Lockland. He and his brother Abraham built a sawmill there at a very early day. The house was still standing in 1834. Garret Voorhees, the third son, made his improvements on the lands now owned and occupied by his son Harvey. Thomas Higgins, who mar- ried Nellie Voorhees, settled on the west bank of the creek some distance north of Garret's improvements, and John Rynearson, who married Ann Voorhees, located still west of Higgins, near where the old residence of the late Jeremiah Dunn now stands. John Higgins, a brother to Thomas, settled north of and on adjoining lands to his brother. All these improvements have long since disappeared. Frederick and John Redinbo also built cabins on their father's lands. And about the year 1798. Abraham Voorhees laid out the town of Reading, although the plat was not recorded until 1804. It was first called Voorheestown, but at the suggestion of Henry Red -- inbo it was changed to Reading, in honor of his native place in Pennsylvania."

The plat of Reading was acknowledged by Abraham Voorhees before Justice Adrian Hagerman, January 7, 1804. Several lots were added by Abraham Voorhees, Jr., in 1813, and several important additions have been made in recent years.

Reading was incorporated as a village by legislative enactment of March 20, 1851, and the first officers were as follows: Mayor, James Clark; recorder, Ralph Voorhees; council, James Blackman, George Thornhill, Henry Wachendorf, D. S. Ackerman, and David Lee. The succession of mayors has been as follows: 1851,

James Clark; 1852, Robert Carson; 1853, Ralph Voorhees; 1854-55, Solomon Burk- halter; 1856-57, Ralph Voorhees; 1858, Benjamin Saxton; 1859, Ralph Voorhees; 1860, William H. Ludlow; 1861, Michael Williams; 1862-63, M. S. Williams; 1864, Benjamin Saxton; 1865, Luther Melendy; 1865, Solomon Burkhalter; 1866-67, C. H. Helmkamp; 1868-69, Luther Melendy; 1870-71, C. H. Helmkamp; 1872-77, W. S. Brown; 1878-79, Joseph J. Mueller; 1880-81, W. A. Huntsman; 1882-87, C. O. Decamp; 1888-89, H. D. Root; 1890-93, Jacob Greiner. The town hall is a brick building on Columbia street, formerly used as a Presbyterian church. Water works. and electric light plants are now under construction under village auspices. The esti- mated cost is $40,000. The trustees in charge of these improvements are Julius Hesterberg, Edward Hebenstreit, and D. W. McClure, with Andrew G. Ankenbauer as clerk.

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HISTORY OF CINCINNATI AND HAMILTON COUNTY.

One of the oldest villages in the county, Reading has been, throughout its history, one of the most prosperous. Local industries of importance were early established here, but its growth in population received its first impetus in the development of the manufacturing industries of Lockland. Later it became the objective point of a large German immigration, and this nationality constitutes the large majority of the population. There are four churches, two German Lutheran, one German Catholic, and one English Catholic.

The manufacture of ready-made clothing constitutes the principal industry of Reading. Coats and vests are made exclusively and in large quantities for the' wholesale clothing trade of Cincinnati. There are also two fireworks factories, and a vinegar works. The Reading branch of the Consolidated Fireworks Company of America was removed to this point in 1885 from Mt. Adams, Cincinnati, where the business was begun in 1848 by H. P. Diehl. Seventy-five operatives are em- ployed here. The A. L. Due Fireworks Company, of which A. L. Due is president, and Henry Krucker secretary and treasurer, was established in 1891, and employs ninety operatives. This is the only factory in the country that is operated independ- ently of the trust. The Union Vinegar Works were established in 1882, and have a capacity of fifty barrels per day. H. Laers and H. Rennecker are the proprietors.

Montgomery is one of the oldest towns in the county. It was originally platted in 1802 by Nathaniel Terwilliger, but settlement had been made here before the close of the last century. In 1795 Jacob Irominius and David Felter and their three brothers-in-law, Cornelius Snyder, Nathaniel Terwilliger, and Jacob Rosa, located upon Section 4, having immigrated from Ulster county, New York. The section was purchased from Thomas Espy, June 27, 1796, for $1,440, by Snyder, while the larger part of Section 3 was bought by Terwilliger. Perhaps the history of the village is best told in the language of Mr. Richard Nelson in his work on "Suburban Homes," from which the following extracts are made:

"Like most towns of its size Montgomery has no written history. Situated on a leading road, it became a resting place for teamsters and travelers, and so grew up from a single tavern to what it now is, a town of five hundred inhabitants, A log cabin formed the first tavern of the place. This was situated on the southeast corner of Main and Mechanic streets, on what is known as the Station road, and kept by John Osborn. A man named Yost opened another tavern on the diagonal corner. Some idea of the extent of travel, or the drinking habits of the people of that time (1809), may be formed when we state that a fifty-barrel supply of whiskey for the year failed to meet the demand upon Yost's bar.

"In 1806-7 a number of citizens from Montgomery, Orange Co., N. Y., came by the way of Fort Pitt (Pittsburgh) and Columbia, and settled around this point, as a good place for trade and farming. Among these were Jacob and Cranmer Felton, Cornelius Snider (grandfather of James Snider), John C. Weller, Nathaniel Terwil- liger, Joseph Taulman, H. Crist, Jacob Roosa and others. Coming from Montgom- ery they naturally named the new place in honor of their old home. In 1810 a com- pany of these men was organized for the purpose of erecting and running a gristmill. Some of the names were Elliott, Crist, Snider and Sears-the latter was the millwright. Soon after commencing business in the mill, they opened a store on the corner now occupied by R. Parrott. In 1816 additions to the town were made by Joseph Taulman and Lodwick Weller, and subsequently two more by Daniel Hayden and Eli Dusky.

"As early as 1807 a rifle company was formed, and Montgomery soon became a place for battalion muster. Quite a military spirit was excited, which was maintained for many years afterward.

" Some of the early industries of Montgomery, besides those mentioned, were the manufacture of wagons for the southern market, pork packing and cabinet making. Henry Snider conducted the wagonmaking business, and built his own boats to carry

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HISTORY OF CINCINNATI AND HAMILTON COUNTY.

his freight. The gunwales of these boats consisted of logs fifty or sixty feet in length, and were hewed in the village. To get them to the river they were placed upon wheels, and being hard to manage, required a steersman as well as a teamster. To steer this caravan, a pole was inserted in the center of the hind axle and made to project backward; this was the tiller, and the man on foot behind the logs was the steersman.

"One of the oldest citizens of Montgomery is Abraham Roosa, who is seventy- nine years of age. His father, Jacob Roosa, and family, came out from New York in 1799. With him came also a man named Ayres, who was one of the builders of the first ocean vessel, a brig, built at Columbia. In Abraham's boyhood, wolves had not been exterminated, and as cattle were allowed to run at large it was necessary to have them brought home in the evening and securely penned. As soon as Abraham was able to handle a gun this duty devolved upon him. Provided with musket, ammunition and a faithful dog, he would track the objects of his search by the sound of the bells, and before the shades of evening set in, have them secure.

" Montgomery has contributed her quota of public men. For the early militia, she furnished a general of note-Cornelius Snider. John Snider she sent to the leg- islature many years ago, and Dr. Alexander Duncan to Congress. California is in-

debted to her for a governor-Weller was a Montgomery boy-and the legislative halls of the State were reinforced by Dr. William Jones, on more than one occasion, and by George Crist, of the firm of Creighton & Co., at another time. In the Pres- byterian church, the Rev. Daniel Hayden served with distinction, and in the Univers- alist church, the Rev. A. Laurie, who was ordained in Montgomery church, was a distinguished advocate of the doctrines of his denomination. Thirty-eight years of practice of medicine in the vicinity, entitles Dr. Naylor's name to a place here.

"Of Dr. Duncan's history and habits, we learned something from Dr. Jones, and had the pleasure of examining his portrait, made by a young artist named Sweet, who carried it across the Atlantic and over Europe, as a specimen of his skill in painting. The Doctor's history is an interesting one. He was a lover of public life, and an ardent advocate of Democratic measures. He was also attached to out-door pleasures, driving and fishing, and when in company with a friend, would often not exchange words for miles of travel, and when he did break silence, it would be by the utterance of some remarkable statement, or by propounding some difficult prob- lem. It was the Doctor's custom when about to engage in a fishing expedition, to catch his minnows in Sycamore creek, but some said that he was often fishing for votes when he was supposed to be engaged in legitimate piscatorial pursuits; accord- ingly the knowing ones would account for his absence from home, by saying he was ' catching minneys in the Sycamore.'

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History of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Ohio; their past and present, Part 69

Author: Nelson, S.B., Cincinnati Publication date: 1894 Publisher: Cincinnati : S. B. Nelson Number of Pages: 1592

Author: Nelson, S.B., Cincinnati
Publication date: 1894
Publisher: Cincinnati : S. B. Nelson
Number of Pages: 1592