History of Columbiana County, Ohio and representative citizens, Part 26

Author: McCord, William B., b. 1844
Publication date: 1905
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Biographical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 912

USA > Ohio > Columbiana County > History of Columbiana County, Ohio and representative citizens > Part 26

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"But I am not here to speak of the memo- ries that throng upon us today, for every mind is full of these without my prompting. I am instead to speak a word for the bench and bar of Lisbon. I say for, rather than of, the bench. and bar, because a lawyer's name (I mean a lawyer as distinguished from those of our pro- fession, who, going into other pursuits achieve

186

HISTORY OF COLUMBIANA COUNTY

fame) is 'written not in sand, but in water, swift running water,' and it is therefore the duty as well as the pleasure of every lawyer devoted to his profession, to speak when he may, the word that may recall his brethren of the law, if only for an hour, from the valley of the shadow of the past, that they may be given something of that due which the world denies them, for the beautiful service they have rendered it.

"The bar of Lisbon-New Lisbon, I love still to call it-has not produced any lawyer of overshadowing reputation, such for instance, as Judge Rufus P. Ranney. But the State has not produced his equal, and but few who can be said to have approached his powers. This bar has, however, produced many men who at home and abroad have commanded a first place among the lawyers of this and other States, and who with abundant learning and devotion have served their generations faithfully and well. As from my reading and personal ac- quaintance with two generations of these law- yers I recall their learning in their profession, their force of character and the industry of many of them, I am sure that the reason why they do not fill a larger place than they do in history, is that they did not chance to have great duties laid upon them.

"For no truth is more patent to the observ- ing man in this world than that great places and great duties make great men, in profes- sional as certainly as in business and political life. The necessities of great occasions call forth in men unexpected powers, and known powers develop an unsuspected strength. If the man who will certainly look larger in the his- tory of his country than any other whom this village or county has yet produced, had died 10 years ago, before great opportunities were given him in business and national politics, the next generation would scarcely have known of him-yes, great places and great opportuni- ties make great men.

"The freedom and frequency with which courts are invading the authority of the exe- cutive and legislative branches of the govern- ment, state and national, have brought thoughtful men everywhere to ask whether as

much danger is to be feared from an unre- strained bench as from an unrestrained Con- gress or Legislature. The alternative is not an omnipotent Congress or Legislature, but rather that such cases be made that constitutions may be more easily and promptly amended than now, so that when the intangible authority which we call the 'public'welfare' of the State or nation demands it, constitutions may be promptly changed and obstructing courts be set aside.

"The day for figures of speech and for literary ornament in the court room has dis- tinctly passed, and the effective orator of our day is he who puts into every sentence some new thought and meaning that advances its argument towards its conclusion. Some say that the newspaper has usurped the place of the orator in this country and destroyed his power. But the truth is, I think, that the public school, while making impossible the older style of oratory, has left the master of the new with undiminished power in the courts and in the . country.

"From reading the decisions of cases the trials of which in the lower courts I distinctly remember, I find that I was 'called to the bar,' as an English lawyer would say, very certainly before I had arrived at the age of 10 years, --- and I cannot remember the time when judges and court officers did not indulgently permit me to sit within the rail of the bar. The lead- ers of the local bar, as I remember it, were Thomas S. Woods, Judge Lyman Potter, James L. Smith, S. L. Wadsworth, Judge J. H. Wallace, Judge Simon Wisden, and I may be permitted with propriety to add, my own father. Potter and Wadsworth I do not re- member as they appeared in court, but only as the fathers of the playmates of my childhood. They both died in their bright prime.

"T. S. Woods was an educated, accom- plished lawyer of fine appearance and forceful manner. He was clearly marked for a large share of the leadership of the bar of this part of Ohio, but he died in his early manhood, be- fore the full maturity of his powers.

"In sharp contrast with Woods was James L. Smith, a self-made man, careless of appear-

187

AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS.

ances, with a manner of speech far from pleas- ing, but of an intense earnestness such that he was much feared as an antagonist in a jury trial. You all remember how, when a layman asked a lawyer why it was that Scarlett, the great English advocate, was so successful with juries, the envious and deprecating reply was, 'Because there are 12 Scarletts in the jury box.' But no greater compliment could be paid a lawyer than to say of him that with his different training he can yet persuade the 12 men in the jury box, perhaps unlearned, to accept his point of view of a case as their own, and carry them to his conclusion. This was Mr. Smith's distinguishing power.

"Judge Wisden, of fine appearance and with impressively strong manner, enjoyed a large practice for many years before he was elected to the bench. Soon after leaving the bench, in what should have been the years of the summit of his accomplishment, he died. In every way he maintained the high local standard of his profession as a lawyer and an upright and respected citizen.

"Judge Wallace is the only one of those early leaders who lived to an age permitting me to know him when I was myself a practic- ing lawyer at this bar. Most of you remember his unfailing courtesy and suavity of manner, leading persons often to speak of him as a perfect type of the gentleman of the old school. I do not know why this distinction should be drawn between a gentleman of the old school and our school, or of any other. If both be really gentlemen, the difference is slight; and Judge Wallace was certainly a gentleman.

"Judge Wallace was a man of unremitting attention to business, and more than any lawyer I have ever known, it seems to me, was always ready for the trial of his cases, though for many years he enjoyed certainly the largest practice in this county. He was elected to Congress from this district, defeating Mr. Mc- Kinley, afterwards President, and he served for several years acceptably as judge of the Court of Common Pleas. He died full of years and honors, and in the highest respect of this entire community.

"Col. William Jordan, after distinguished

military service in the Civil War, came to the bar late and died too early to admit of his making a great professional reputa- tion, but in his short service at the bar he showed qualities of mind and char- acter which placed him in the front rank of his professional brethren. He died respected by all who knew him, lawyers and laymen, and he was mourned by a large circle of friends sincerely attached to him by his high character and gentle and generous ways.

"One of the most remarkable of the younger men of the generation of which I am speaking, was Judge William A. Nichols. An unusually clear and strong thinker, Judge Nichols was, to be sure, clear and convincing in his statement of facts and law of his cases. I say 'to be sure,' for clear statement always goes with clear thinking, and never without it. The man in clear possession of an idea never lacks words to express it.

"But a few years after he was elected to the bench, Judge Nichols was cut down at the threshold of what was by universal consent recognized as a distinguished judicial career. He was of that high type of man, of lawyer and of judge which has so steadily been charac- teristic of this bar through the whole century of its existence.

"I cannot close even this rude sketch of the bar of Lisbon, without some mention of that triumvirate of great lawyers, which has added so much to the character and learning, and so much to the honor of this bar. I mean, of course, J. Twing Brooks and Judges Ambler and Laubie, of Salem.

"Mr. Brooks was one of the greatest men, intellectually and in force of character, that I have .ever known, and I have known many great men. His executive powers were of such high order that he was induced to leave the law to take up business in its largest phases, in connection with the affairs of the Pennsyl- vania Railroad Company, but this was not until he had made for himself a high place among lawyers of the State and country. He was an honor to his profession and to this bar.

"Judge Ambler, though yet with us, has largely retired from practice, and is now enjoy-

188

HISTORY OF COLUMBIANA COUNTY

ing the rich reward of a life well spent. He achieved early a great distinction as a lawyer and judge and later on in the Congress of the United States. For many years Judge Ambler was a lawyer to meet all comers at the bar of whatever order of talent and he enjoyed a prac- tice extending far beyond the limits of the State.

"And what I shall say of Judge Peter A. Laubie, who has served this county and cir- cuit with such distinguished ability for many years as circuit judge ? The reports of his courts are filled with his decisions, which certainly are not surpassed by any of the decisions of the Supreme courts of his time. With an abundant learning and with powers of analysis of a high order, he more than once points out amid the conflict of decisions, what the law is, and then with the boldness of an original thinker and genuine minister of justice, goes on and declares what the law should be and what it would be if simple justice had not been lost sight of in a mass of artificial reasoning by earlier courts. If merit alone had been the stepping stone to the Supreme Court, Judge Laubie would long since have been upon the bench, and would have shown himself a worthy successor to Ranney and Thurman, to White and McIlvaine. As it is, his decisions will re- flect luster upon this bar, from which he sprang, long after his generation and that which fol- lows shall have made up and closed its record1 and passed

"To the land of the great departed, Into the silent land."

Maj. W. W. Armstrong, of Cleveland, a former editor of the Plain Dealer, who was brought up in Lisbon, spoke briefly and said in part :

"Your committee has kindly assigned me a place on this program, an honor which I thank them for. I am glad to meet here so many of the old settlers of Columbiana County, a large number of whom were friends and ac- quaintances of my father, who for many years was prominent in the religious, social and polit-

ical world of Lisbon. The last of the family, I am glad to return to the old home, for if there be in retrospection's chain one link that brings us to our boyhood's dream again, it is the mem- ory of a mother's love. In your little cemetery, the mother who bore me is quietly sleeping, and I come here to visit her grave and to recall to my memory the many good and true words uttered to me."

Lisbon never presented so gorgeous an appearance as during her centennial week. Be- sides the excellent work of the professional decorators, the Lisbon people did their best to imitate them and the result was that every part of the town was gay with artistic designs in colored bunting and flags.

The Court House was covered with bunt- ing, and two immense arches over the inter- section of Walnut and Market streets gave an imposing effect. The Firestone-Gailey Block and the Rogers & Elder Block were hand- somely decorated .- Of the private houses many were beautiful, notably Capt. William M. Hostetter, W. S. Potts, Ed. A. King, Mrs. Susie LeMoyne, Frank Adams, I. P. Farmer, Jennings Marquis, George H. Huston, D. S. Gailey, John Graham, John .Hawkins, Tom Johnson and F. M. Benner.

The Lisbon Gas Company had two arches of gas pipe on Walnut street, with the dates "1803" and "1903" formed of flaming gas jets.

OUTLOOK AT THE OPENING OF THE NEW CENTURY.

And so Columbiana County and its oldest incorporated city or town have entered upon their second century. The period has been one of wonderful development and growth, as has been partially shown, but which shall be more fully demonstrated in the future pages. The tilling of the soil, which was 100 years ago a work most primitive in its character, has been measurably reduced to a science. `And yet, it is a somewhat remarkable fact that the industry most susceptible, at least in this sec-

سيتي. ٨جم

METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, LISBON .

CHESTNUT STREET SCHOOL, LISBON

LEPPER LIBRARY, LISBON

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, LISBON

AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS.

tion of country, to the largest measure of improvement in ways and means by which to make the best of it, is the one which does not seem to come up to the measure of its opportunities. The effect of this lagging be- hind will be seen by a comparison of figures in some of the crop statistics, which will be given in this chapter. But that better things are in store for the Columbiana County farmer, dairyman and fruit grower, during the new century, is shown by the growing disposition manifested to take advantage of improved appliances and methods. It is in the rapid de- velopment of the mineral resources of the county, and in the establishment and growth of manufacturing enterprises, that the greatest advancement is making and is likely to be made during the coming years of the new century. It is this that is causing the rapid and substan- tial growth of the cities and towns; but this in turn is bound to so stimulate the farming in- dustry as shall soon cause every hillside and valley and expansive plain not only to "blos- som as the rose," but respond to the labor of the husbandman with rich and abundant har- vests.

POPULATION AND OTHER STATISTICS.

Some crop statistics will be appended, run- ning back 50 years or more, which will prove interesting by way of comparision. In 1850 the population of the county was 33,621. Some of the products of the county for that year were: Flax, 18,898 pounds; maple su- gar, 50,000 pounds, and 4,324 gallons of maple molasses ; wool, 323,000 pounds ( Columbiana County was at that time the second county in wool production in the State-Harrison being the first ) ; honey and beeswax, 15,000 pounds. In corn, 14,457 acres were planted, which yielded 516,821 bushels, about 36 bushels to the acre ; 35,720 acres of wheat, yielding 606,261 bushels, an average of about 17 bushels an acre-which was a large yield for even those years, when the soil was 50 years nearer its virgin condition, though commercial fertilizers had not yet come into use. In 1852 6,306 horses were listed for taxation at $350,925;

14,097 cattle, valued at $106,852; 75,117 sheep, valued at $89,213, and 13,122 hogs were valued for taxation at $21,037.

In 1867, a little less than 40 years ago, 461,910 bushels of rye were produced in the county. The same year, from 12,580 acres, 130,025 bushels of wheat, or about 10 I-3 bush- els to the acre, were harvested. Of rye, 38,- 385 bushels were produced; also 15,272 bushels of buckwheat, 41,791 tons of hay and 10,235 bushels of barley; 15,762 acres yielded 503 .- 359 bushels of corn ; 1,355 acres of flax yielded 12,450 bushels of seed and 46,423 pounds of fiber. The same year there were produced 468,213 pounds of wool, 612,547 pounds of butter, 109,542 pounds of cheese, 8,492 gallons of sorghum syrup, 20,523 pounds of maple sugar and 7,691 gallons of maple syrup.

A comparison of the agricultural products of the county between the years of 1872-73 and those of 1903, 30 years later, will be found interesting. In 1873 there were 31,850 acres of meadow, producing 32,600 tons of timothy hay; in 1902, 35,259 acres produced 42,128 tons. In the former year 7,300 acres of clover yielded 7,650 tons of hay and 740 bushels of seed; in the latter year, 6,41I acres yielded 7,737 tons of hay and 935 bushels of clover seed. The report of the Secretary of State for 1874 showed that Columbiana was one of the nine counties of the State to produce more than 30,000 tons of hay each. In 1873 there were 760 acres of flax, which yielded 7,440 bushels of seed and 563,430 pounds of fiber ; in 1902 and 1903 no report was made to the Secretary of State of the production of flax in this county; so that the cultivation of that once very important staple in Columbiana County seems to be a thing of the past; and the old-fashioned "home-spun" garments have likewise disappeared, as has also the time-hon- ored spinning-wheel, except where, here and there, it occupies an honored place among "grandmother's attic treasures."

In 1873 the products of the dairy in the county were : Butter, 959.900 pounds and cheese, 203,970 pounds ; in 1902 the yield was, 1, 188,431 pounds of butter and 442,705 pounds of cheese; and in the latter year 1, 169,171

192

HISTORY OF COLUMBIANA COUNTY

gallons of milk were sold for family use. The decreasing yield of maple sugar and maple syrup is one means of showing the gradual disappearance of the old-time sugar camps from the county. In 1873 the products of these sugar camps were 11,860 pounds of sugar and 9,060 gallons of syrup, while in 1903 the yield was but III pounds of sugar and 2,478 gallons of syrup. The sheep husbandry con- tinues to decline also; for while the yield of wool in 1873 was 556,880 pounds, that in 1903 was but 122,708 pounds. The acreage. in orchards, too, shows a shrinkage; but the yield -which of course in the case of orchard fruits is quite variable in this latitude-still holds up well. In 1873 there were 7,470 acres in or- chards yielding 206,020 bushels of apples, 180 bushels of peaches and 2, 110 bushels of pears; in 1902 6,005 acres produced 205,865 bushels of apples, 3,015 bushels of peaches and 496 bushels of pears.

The total number of births, marriages and deaths in the county, as shown by the Secretary of State's report, for the year ending March 31, 1903, were as follows: Births-white, male, 606; female, 548; colored, male, 6; fe- male, 5; total, 1, 165. Marriages-white, 758; colored, 3; total, 761. Deaths-white, male, 282 ; female, 247; colored, male, 4; female, 6; total, 539.

The population of Columbiana County, ac- cording to the federal census of 1890 and 1900, was: In 1890, 59,029; in 1900, 68,590.

The population of the incorporated cities, towns and villages in the county, in 1890 and 1900, was :

1900.

1890.

Columbiana

1,139

1,112

East Liverpool

16,485

10,956,

East Palestine

2,493

1,816

Hanoverton

399

366

*Leetonia

2,744

2,826

Lisbon

3,330

2,278

Salineville

2.353

2,369

Salem

7,582

5,780

Wellsville

6,146

5,247

*In 1900 certain industries in Leetonia were down, which affected its population adversely; but these have since resumed and the loss shown has been more than .regained; then there are villages, viz., New Waterford,

The following interesting agricultural, horticultural and dairy statistics, including table on page 194, for Columbiana County were gleaned from the assessor's returns, made in June, 1905. They relate chiefly to 1904 :

In a total of 4,134,996 pounds of commer- cial fertilizer used in the county in 1904, Knox township leads with 767,900; Butler second with 403,000, and Hanover third with 297,000.

Of a total of 376,603 bushels of apples pro- duced in the county last year, Unity township leads with 59,930 bushels; Fairfield second with 49,295 bushels; Elkrun third with 36,- 975 bushels, and Knox fourth with 31,690 bushels.

In peaches the county produced last year 11,614 bushels, of which Center township pro- duced 3,656 bushels, Yellow Creek 2,100 bush- els and Madison 1,430 bushels.

In plum culture Unity township leads with 2,435 bushels; Knox second with 1,203 bushels and West third with 1,070 bushels. The total production of plums in the county in 1904 was 7,612 bushels.

Fairfield township leads with 745 out of a total production of 1,538 bushels of cherries produced in the county last year, and Knox township leads with 596 out of a total of 2,205 bushels of pears grown in the county last year.

Knox township was the only township in the county to produce winter barley in 1904, its crop amounting to 3,375 bushels.

Sugar corn was grown in but one town- ship in 1904,. Madison producing seven tons,

Center township leads in onion culture with 500 bushels. The crop was small in Knox township, the only other township in which they are cultivated to any extent.

In production of factory and creamery cheese, West township leads with 131,582 pounds ; Butler second, 25,854 pounds; Han- over third, 1,600 pounds.

West township, with 18,000 pounds, also leads in the production of cheese in homes dai- ries ; Perry second, 8,000 pounds; Center third, 4,000 pounds; Hanover fourth, 3,700 pounds.

Washingtonville, Franklin Square, Rogers, Negley, Signal, Elkton and others, which by the next census will show up well in population and business.

AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS.

193.

Of the 19,395 dozens of eggs shipped from the county out of the State, 11,795 dozens were shipped from New Waterford.

A total of 3,462 gallons of maple syrup and 216 pounds of maple sugar was produced in the county in the spring. Knox township produced 1,049 gallons of syrup and 165 pounds of sugar; Center township 1, 188, West 419, and Fairfield 293 gallons of syrup .. Comparatively small amounts were produced in other townships.

There are 248 hives of bees in the county,

Elkrun township leading with 40; Yellow Creek second, 37 ; West third, 27; Knox fourth, 26, and Madison fifth, 24.

In the production of honey in 1904, West township leads with 420 pounds; Yellow Creek second, 270 pounds; Elkrun third, 250. pounds ; Knox fourth, 205 pounds. The total production was 1,987 pounds.

Every township in the county contributed to the 125,785 pounds of wool shorn in 1904, Elkrun contributing 16,680; Fairfield 13,035, and Franklin 12,440.

TOWNSHIPS

Wheat

1904

Rye

1904

Buckwheat

No. of Bushels

Corn-No. of

Bushels Shelled

No. of Bushels Irish Potatoes

Hay Produced Tons of Timothy

Hay Produced Tons of Clover

Sold for Family Gallons of Milk

Pounds of But-

Dairies 1904

, ter made in Home

and Creameries made in Factories Pounds of Butter

No. of Dozen

1904

No. of

April, 1905

No. of

Hogs Owned

April, 1905

Butler township ....

23,842

145

60,705

27,920

5,045

4,785

442

18,125

2,800

220,557

70,625

647

2,044

606

1,064

Center-North precinct.

8,221

295

18,038

11,735

6,285

1,851

64,200

19,700

27,520

252

602

790|

312

Center-South precinct ..

7,544

21,410

19,965

5,400

2,019

215

34,140

30,178

202

421

1,080

180

Elkrun . .

19,411

45,525

37,710

10,745

4,600

742

8,650

108,415

116,100

543

1,223

2,738

554

Fairfield

24,460

315

55,960

29,495

26,855

5,882

462

3,310,700

72,250

136,690

715

1,656

1,797 806

Franklin

7,531

24,620

18,135

6,675

2,319

1,300

27,700

29,015

207

572

1,778

238

Hanover ..

16,052

43,620

30,945

11,801

3,845

147

61,395

19,640

46,700

521

1,123

2,584

555

Knox

52,178

823

4,835

1,796

1,685

551

162,995

3,650

4,545

364

131

Madison

9,535

134

30,412

19,079

9,615

3,036

5,635

41,830

31,805

315

803

1,303

442

Middleton-Negley.

2,060

227

6,515

3,725

3,790

1,005

18,100

7.350

203

593

111

-Rogers.

2,199

6,873

3,895

1,110

668

8,585

5,420

165

365

Perry . . .

6,716

8,804

4,710

8,540

1,445

108,850

27,550

10,550

392

683

276

Salem-Leetonia .

725

1,960

475

800

180

25,400

36,080

20,000

32,050

248

640

879

498

-- Franklin Square

10,615

26,235

14,200

6,740

2,293

551

6,000

41,050

47,230

330

802

740

439

St. Clair.

4,449

20,822

8,074

.15,055

2,164

44,400

27,100

24,875

276

557

125

224

, -- East Palestine.

5,014

13,965

9,385

2,870

1,552

24,350

25,200

5,925

18,250

139

407

327

182

" -New Waterford. ..

6,862

193

16,912

10,395

9,332

1,442

244

102,180

16,644

16,405

252

604

781

330

Washington .

4,270

13,850

11,920

3,610

1,519

5,700

21,200

20,600

142

372

739

106

Wayne .

7,857

135

299

23,953

21,565

3,230

2,634

36,700

27,900

202

615

1,062

325

West-N. Chambersburg

10,785

30,275

28,880

14,820

2,219

221

24,325

7,114

51,331

324

935

600

1.070

" -East Rochester.

11,029

23,747

26,592

27.736

1,878

400

8,550

61,360

23,130

261

795

399

344

Yellow Creek. .

3,420

14,490

9,640

5,630

1,652

83,800

19,200

23,200

160

435

438

176

Totals . .

264,923

2,309

3,350

562,903

427,472

233,889 57,905

5,101

4,058,680

703,809

341,206

964,604

7,403 19,134 21,131

9,384

-Washingtonville

8,045

22,474

10,870

6,616

1,766

311

10,000

Unity-Unity precinct ..

8,657

1,960

20,481

17,350

7,860

1,860

205

10,095

3,000

11,375

222

660

757

373

14,000

4,620

127

-Clarkson.

2,579

6,622

4,825

32,044

4,030

1,155

14,600

39,295

23,350

146,460

696

2,231

417

592

Liverpool.

711

1904

Oats

1904

Use 1904

No, of Bushels

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History of Columbiana County, Ohio and representative citizens, Part 26

Author: McCord, William B., b. 1844 Publication date: 1905 Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Biographical Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 912

Author: McCord, William B., b. 1844
Publication date: 1905
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Biographical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 912