USA > Ohio > Crawford County > History of Crawford County and Ohio > Part 39
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Dr. R. Cahill, from Wayne County, Chio, practiced here from April, 1846, to April, 1848. when he returned to Wayne County, afterward went to Bluffton, Allen County, Ohio, at which place he died a few years ago.
Dr. Henry Mack practiced here during the summer of 1846 ; also the writer.
Dr. Thos. A. Mitchell practiced here from 1850 to 1872 or 1873.
Dr. H. S. Bevington, now of Sulphur Springs, from 1855 to 1861.
Dr. Benjamin McKee has been practicing here for the past seven or eight years.
Leesville .- As far as we have been able to learn, Dr. John MeKean located at this point in the year 1834. The road known as the Colum- bus and Sandusky State road had been ent out but for a short time, and was, at best, little, short of a succession of " corduroys," while a large part of the country north and northeast of the place was little better than a swamp. Un- der these unfavorable circumstances Dr. Me- Kean, to use a familiar expression, "grew up with the country," and had no competitor, as far as we have been able to learn until 1847, when Dr. Peter Rupp began practicing, and remained until 1853 or 1854, when he went to South Bend, Ind., where he still resides and is en- gaged in the drug business.
In 1853. Dr. Adrian located here and re- mained about a year. We have heard him spoken of as a gentleman of considerable abil- ity.
Dr. McNutt practiced here from 1857 to 1859, went thence to Caroline, remained there a short time, then located in New Washington, at which place he remained until the breaking-out of the rebellion, when he entered the army.
Dr. Clutter has been practicing here for past seven or eight years.
Benton, or Poplar .- As far as we have been able to learn. Dr. Peitzel was the first physi- cian of the place. coming here about 1844 or 1845, and remaining until 1858, when he went to Richville (see Richville). Dr. Bissel came about the same time, but did not remain long. Dr. John Atwood practiced here from 1846 to 1849, going then to Galion and afterward to MeCuchenville.
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Dr. Yates came here soon after Dr. Atwood, and remained three years.
Dr. D. Alvord came here in 1847 and re- mained until 1873. when he removed to Bloom- ville, at which place he still resides. Dr. Al- vord, soon after his arrival here. engaged in an active and laborious practice, which he kept up until 1863, when bad health compelled him to give up active practice to a very great extent. Although entirely unassuming, he is a gentleman of marked ability, both in a pro- fessional and literary sense, and always had the confidence of the people of Benton and vicinity.
Dr. Jones, now of Nevada, located here in 1863, and remained until 1865.
Dr. Porter came in 1865, and left in 1866, go- ing to Michigan.
Dr. Beiler came here shortly after Dr. Por- ter, remained two years, and then went back to Europe.
Dr. Jacob practiced here from 1871 to 1877, then went to Bucyrus.
Dr. Jerome Bland has been here since 1868.
Dr. Schwan came here in 1877, and still re- mains. Dr. Schwan graduated in 1867, practiced in Peoria, Ill., and afterward in Dubuque, Iowa, where he held the position of lecturer on Chemistry, Physiology and Hygiene in the Zwingle Normal Institute.
New Washington .- Dr. Andrews located here in 1840, when the village was made up of a very few log cabins, but remained only about one year. During his short stay he lost two children, which apparently disheartened him so much that he returned East.
Dr. Main came here in 1842, and remained two years.
Dr. Stoutenour came about 1845, and left in 1851.
Dr. Wandt succeeded Dr. Stoutenour, but after a short time committed suicide.
Dr. A. B. Heshizer practiced here in 1855 and 1856.
Dr. John S. Heshizer located here in 1857 and still remains.
Dr. McNutt practiced here from 1860 to 1862. Dr. Benner has been here for past two or three years.
Dr. Heinz, a young man, practiced here a short time in 1878.
When we visited this place first, in 1841, it did not offer a pleasant or profitable field for . the medical profession. There were then a few scattered rough log cabins-the roads (?) lead- ing to the place did not deserve the name- " corduroys" as a general rule-and some of these made on a most gigantic scale-logs one or two feet in diameter being put across the track instead of the ordinary small timbers about the size of fence rails. During part of the year, there was enough water in the line of the road to float even these large logs in some places, which rendered the route over them en- tirely impracticable except to a person on foot, and it required some care on his part to pre- vent his slipping off and between these moving, rolling logs. South and southeast of the place, there was a succession of marshes and swails covered with water or ice nearly all the year, and during the latter summer months so covered with decaying vegetable matter, and the pro- verbial green seum, as not to tell well for the health of the neighborhood.
The owners of the lands had but recently pur- chased them from the Government ; and, when health permitted, had in a few places, scattered far and wide through the neighborhood, cleared up a small patch of ground, erected a primitive cabin, many of these structures not having an ounce of iron or other metal in their composi- tion. One end served as a huge fire-place, the bare earth constituted the floor, and an open- ing, frequently covered by an old quilt, served as a door. Malarious diseases were, of course, very prevalent; but the greatest scourge of the country was " sick stomach," or " milk sick- ness." This disease was attended with very
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distressing symptoms, the patient suffering from intense burning pain in the stomach, great thirst, with incessant nausea, retching, vomiting and obstinate constipation, which frequently only ceased with his life. Much time has been spent in the endeavor to get at the origin of this poison, but all efforts have as yet proved una- vailing. Some persons have been very certain that it is of mineral origin, and dissolved in the water ; others equally certain that it has its existence in some plant. It is usually conceded that, when suspected places are cleared up and grass growing on them, that the disease is not propagated. Young cattle, sheep, hogs, dogs and horses become frequent victims. Milch- cows never suffer to any extent, the poison being thrown off from the system through that secretion. Man and animals using the milk almost invariably suffered from it. In the lower animals, the most marked symptoms were, apparently, those of extreme nervous prostra- tion. In animals, it was often called “the trembles." since they usually exhibited that symptom prominently until convalescence or death.
Milk sickness, in its habitat, closely resem- bles the mirage of the desert. You can always hear of it in the neighborhood where it exists, but never reach the actual place, there being few land-owners who will admit its existence on their own premises ; but, of course, are satisfied that it exists on the lands of some one else.
George Keller, uncle of the writer, who set- tled here very early, was the only man we ever met who admitted that the cause of the disease was on his own farm. Since there were no pasture-lands in the carly times, it became nec- essary to have cattle run at large ; but after the country became so far improved that pasture could be furnished domestic animals, the dis- ease has disappeared, or nearly so. The worst districts were the northern and central portions of Cranberry and Auburn Townships and two or three points in the northern part of Vernon.
Crestline .- This place not being regularly laid out until 1850 or 1851, has not a very old medical history.
Dr. W. P. Carnyham located here in 1852, and remained until his death-about ten years later.
Dr. Pope came here in the spring of 1855 and practiced until about 1870, when he became connected with the Franz & Pope Knitting Machine Works, a history of which will be found in another part of this work.
Dr. Edwin Borth came here about 1860 and remained until his death in 1879.
Dr. Alex Jenner began practicing here in 1854, but went to Dayton a few years ago.
Dr. Young has been practicing here since 1865.
Dr. John McKean, formerly of Leesville, has been here since 1867. He has been practicing medicine longer than any other physician of the county.
Dr. Charles Jenner has been practicing here for about ten years.
The other physicians of the place at present are Drs. Gibson, G. A. Emery, James Borth, and Bennett, a Homeopathist.
Dr. C. W. G. Ott has been practicing in New Winchester for nearly a year, and Dr. Sheckler in North Robinson for past three years. Dr. Lea has been practicing for several years at Wingert's Corner, or Broken Sword.
Galion .- Since Galion was a comparatively small village until the building of the Cleve- land, Columbus & Cincinnati and Bellefontaine & Indiana Railroads, we do not have the op- portunity of giving the history of as many pio- neer physicians here as at some other points in the county. As far as we have been able to learn, a Dr. Johnson was among the first physi- cians of the place, coming here about 183-, and remaining a few years. His wife assisted by another lady of the village were instrumental in establishing the first Sunday school. Shortly after he came. Dr. Bleymeyer, now of Delaware,
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HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY.
Ohio, located here, and in 1838, sold out to John S. Reisinger, who practiced here until his death in 1866.
Dr. Reisinger was a real practitioner of medi- cine-practiced his profession for the sake of suffering humanity rather than for the money he might obtain for his services. During the building of the Cleveland, Colum- bus & Cincinnati Railroad, cholera visited this portion of the State, and many of the employes of the contractors were stricken down with the disease. As might be expected, many of these men were badly provided with the ordinary comforts of a sick room, and lacked proper nursing. Under these circumstances, Dr. Reis- inger himself supplied these wants as far as he could, gave his patients all the attention he could, supplied their wants to the extent of his ability, and,at their death, dug their graves and buried them. In 1866, he received a telegram stating that his son, a student of medicine in Cincinnati, had been attacked by cholera. Hastening there as rapidly as possible, he was himself attacked by the disease and died eight hours before his son. Their bodies were brought to Galion and interred in the village cemetery.
Dr. Reisinger, during a residence of nearly thirty years in this place had deservedly the confidence of the community, both as a citizen and as a practitioner of medicine.
Dr. Reisinger was born in York County, Penn., and came to Ohio in the year 18 -.
There were several physicians here between the years 1840 and 1850, but they generally remained but a short time.
Dr. E. Stieffel was born in Warburg, Ger- many, educated at the university of that place, and came to the United States in 1850. He remained in New York until 1852, and then located here. With one or two brief interrup- tions, has been practicing here since that time.
Dr. N. E. Hackedorn was born in Juniata County, Penn., studied medicine there, and came to Ohio in 1847, locating for a time in
Delaware County and Morrow County, com- ing to Galion in 1854, and has been practicing here since that time. During nineteen years of this time, he was connected with the drug trade.
Dr. McBeth came here in 1857, and left for Denver. Colo., in 1872.
Dr. H. M. Duff located here in 1858 or 1859, and remained until his death in 1876.
Dr. Frank Duff, died here about four years ago.
Dr. Kelly has been practicing here since 1868.
Dr. Campbell, since 1872.
Dr. Barber (homeopath), since 1864.
Dr. Coyle, since 1865.
Dr. Ridgeway, since 1878.
Dr. J. Will Kelly, a few months.
Dr. McIlvaine, about eighteen months.
Dr. Brown (homeopath), about same time.
Dr. Griffin; about six months (Dr. Griffin had for several years been located at Lykens).
Dr. Chase, four or five months.
Galion has always been rather an unhealthy place, especially when compared with Bucyrus, but certain improvements in a sanitary direc- tion, recently made, have added much to the healthfulness of the place.
We might remark, in conclusion, that several efforts have been made during the past thirty years to organize a county medical society, but thus far they have always proved decided fail- ures. We have learned that an effort in that direction is now being put forth, with what re- sult the future will determine.
In conclusion, permit us to remark that we have endeavored to fairly present a history of the carly physicians of the county. These sketches are, of necessity, brigf, since we were, in the onset, restricted to a Ignited amount of space, and we again thank those physicians and others for the aid they have rendered us. The diseases of the county were, for the first thirty or forty years, principally malarial. For reasons which are obvious to the profession,
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but which we cannot here explain, those forms of pulmonary disease like consumption, were comparatively rare. With the decrease of malarial disease, lung diseases such as we have just mentioned, will, no doubt, increase in numbers and fatality. Diphtheria, which, during the past twenty years, has been preva- lent in different portions of the United States and elsewhere, has never shown itself to a very
great extent in the county. Around and in Bucyrus, there have not probably been a half- dozen cases of the disease in the past seven- teen years. As far as I can remember, there have been only two seasons attended with much dysentery, since year 1854. As regards the profession, it is, of course, in a greatly ad- vanced state from the days of lobelia, pepper and steam.
CHAPTER V.
RELIGIOUS HISTORY-EARLY PREACHERS-EDUCATIONAL-SCHOOLS, PAST AND PRESENT-THE NEWSPAPERS-RAILROADS.
C YOTEMPORANEOUSLY with the howling of the wolf and the yelling of the savage came the preacher as " one crying in the wil- derness," and proclaiming to the scattered pio- neer families the "glad tidings of great joy" given to the shepherds that blessed morn on the plains of Bethlehem. On the wild frontier, far beyond the borders of civilization,
" Where nothing dwelt but beasts of prey, Or men as fierce and wild as they,"
the pioneer preacher was found, fulfilling his mission of preaching " salvation without money and without price." With no companion but the faithful horse he rode, and with no guide but his knowledge of the cardinal points, he traveled over the country, and thus reaching the desired settlement, he presented to the as- sembled hearers the claims of the Gospel. Then, after a night's rest in the humble cabin, and partaking of the simple meal, he entered upon the day's journey to preach again at a dis- tant point at night. It was thus that the circuit of hundreds of miles was traveled, month after month, by these faithful ministers of Christ, and to them do we owe the planting of churches and the Christianizing influences seen and felt everywhere.
That holy religion which is at last the only sure basis of permanent social or political improve- ment, was introduced into Crawford County with its first settlers, who were God-fearing men. Upon the almost burning embers of the war-fire round which some barbarous chief but yesterday, as it were, recounted to his listening tribe, with horrid exultation, his deeds of hero- ism, we, to-day, find temples dedicated to that religion which announces " peace on earth, and good will toward men." Yes, all over this land, once the home of the red savage, now side by side with the schoolhouse, stand those
" Steeple towers And spires, whose silent fingers point to Heaven."
Among the first preachers in this county, of whom we have any reliable account, was an old Presbyterian by the name of Matthews, and the renowned Methodist evangelist, Russell Bigelow. The following sketch is given of the Rev. Mr. Matthews : " He stopped at Daniel Cooper's to stay overnight, and proposed to preach to the people of the place that night, if they could get together. Mr. Cooper imme- diately sent out word, and by early candle-light had gathered in some fifteen or twenty men. women and children, to hear the glad tidings of
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salvation from the man of God, as he was the first of the kind that had ever been through on that errand."
This old minister left an appointment four weeks hence, and agreed to preach once a month during the year for $15. Think of this, ye high-salaried, stall-fed pastors, who roll in luxury, and " fare sumptuously every day." Even this small pittance he traded for dressed deer-skins. which he said his good lady could use to "face the boys pantaloons before and behind," as seems to have been a common ens- tom in those days in the backwoods. The Methodists formed a circuit, embracing the larger part of Crawford County, in 1828, and made Galion a station. Russell Bigelow was the preacher. " Preaching." says a writer of the time, " was heard for the sake of the Word. Denominational prejudices did not then exist, and the houses of all the settlers were thrown open to Rev. Bigelow." The following de- scription by one who knew him, is given of this able pioneer missionary : " He was a good speaker ; an eloquent man, mighty in the Scrip- tures. He was a very large, muscular man ; had a voice like a lion ; sharp, piercing eyes, that when he became excited seemed almost to flash fire. He preached a great deal of hell-fire ; was a very successful preacher, and an exemplary Christian in his deportment. His influence with the people was such, that he got many namesakes, the old ladies readily believing it would have a good influence over their sons to be called after such a powerful man as Russell Bigelow."
Rev. Aaron Cary located in Cranberry Town- ship as early as 1826, and was a local preacher of the Methodist Church. In Vernon Town- ship, church societies were organized in 1827. The first religious services were held in Whet- stone Township, at the settlers cabins as early as 1824. Rev. Solomon Mynheer was an early Methodist circuit rider in this part of the county. The fine grove of maples, which grew
where now stands the town of Galion, was once a famous camp-meeting ground. Bishop Harris of the M. E. Church, and who was born and raised in Morrow County, Ohio, was converted at a camp-meeting at this place. He is repre- sented as having been a very bad boy, and that he grew to manhood with little improve- ment for the better. He went to this meeting, it is said, on purpose to raise a disturbance, but the Spirit smote him, and he was converted to God. Afterward he became a professor in the Ohio Wesleyan University, and is now a Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
But we will not dwell further upon the churches and pioneer preachers here. In the township histories which follow, ample space will be given to the subject, and all the par- ticulars of interest will be fully written up.
The schools of the county deserve more than a passing notice. To the excellent school sys- tem of our country are we indebted, more than to anything else, for our prosperity as a nation. No other country on the face of the earth has the facilities for educating their people that the United States have. As early as 1647, the New England colonies made a move looking to the establishment of common schools. It was enacted by them in that early day, that "every town or district having fifty householders should have a common school, and every town or dis- trict having 100 families, should have a gram- mar school, taught by teachers competent to prepare youth for college." A modern writer, commenting upon this movement, says : "It was the first instance in Christendom, in which a civil government took measures to confer upon its youth the blessings of education. There had been, indeed, parish schools con- nected with individual churches, and founda- tions for universities, but never before was em- bodied in practice a principle so comprehensive in its nature, and so fruitful in good results as that of training a nation of intelligent people by educating all its youth." One hundred and
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forty years later, when our forefathers declared, in their ordinance of 1787, that knowledge with religion and morality " was necessary to the good government and happiness of mankind," and that " schools and the means of education should forever be encouraged," they suggested the very bulwark of American liberty.
In the early development of Ohio, there was a great variety of influences in the way of general education. The settlements were sparse, and money or other means of remunerating teachers was scarce, as the pioneers of new countries are nearly always poor. There were no schoolhouses erected, nor was there any public school fund, either State or county. All persons, of both sexes, who had physical strength enough to labor, were compelled to take their part in the work of securing a support- the labor of the female being as heavy and im- portant as that of the men ; and this continued so for years. In the last place, both teachers and books were extremely scarce. Taking all these facts together, it is a great wonder that they had any schools whatever.
But the pioneers of Ohio deserve the highest honors for their prompt and energetic efforts in the cause of education. Just so soon as the settlements would at all justify, schools were begun at each one. The teacher or pupil of the present day, comfortably situated in their pleasant schoolhouses, has no conception of the difficulties under which an education was ob- tained right here in Ohio sixty or seventy years ago. It may be of some interest to the rising generation to read a description of the pioneer schoolhouse. A description of one will suffice for all, as there was but one style of architecture observed in building them. They were erected, not by subscription, but by labor given. The neighbors would meet together at some point previously agreed upon, and, with ax in hand, the work was soon done. Logs were cut, sixteen or eighteen feet in length, and of these the walls were constructed. Broad
boards composed the roof, and a rude fire-place and clapboard door, a puncheon floor, and the cracks filled with "chinks," and these daubed over with mud, completed the schoolhouse, with the exception of the windows and furniture. The window, if any, was made by cutting out a log the full length of the building, and over the opening, in winter, paper saturated with grease served to admit the light. Under this window, two or three strong pins were driven into the log in a slanting direction. On these pins a long puncheon was fastened, and this was the writing-desk for the whole school. For seats, they used benches made from small trees, cut in lengths of ten or twelve feet, split open, and in the round sides, two large holes were bored at each end, and in each a stout pin, fif- teen inches long, was driven. These pins formed the legs. On the uneven floors, these rude benches were hardly ever seen to have more than three legs on the floor at one time. And the books ! They were quite as primitive as the houses.
The New Testament, when it could be had, was the most popular reader, though occa- sionally a copy of the old " English Reader " was found, and very rarely, the "Columbian Orator " was in a family. Pike's and Smiley's Arithmetics, Webster's Speller was the first used, and after awhile the " Elementary Spell- ier " came in. Grammar was scarcely ever taught ; when it was, the text-books used were Murray's and Kirkham's Grammars. The schools were made by subscription, the terms be- ng from $1 to $2.50 per scholar for a term of three months, the schools usually being taught in midwinter, to give the boys a chance to attend, as at that season there was but little work to do on the farm, But enough ! Those who know only the perfect school system of the present day, with comfortable schoolhouses, elegantly furnished and well-lighted and ventilated, can form but a slight idea of the system and its limited capacity half a century ago. There are
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many, however, still living in Crawford County, who can testify to the truthful picture drawn of the pioneer schoolhouse.
Who taught the first school in Crawford County, and where and when, are questions not easily answered at this time. Schools were established, however, as soon as there was a suf- ficient number of children in the different com- munities to compose schools. The first school in the town of Bucyrus, it is said, was taught by a man named William Blowers, though in what year we could not learn. Ile charged 50 cents a month for each pupil, and " boarded around." The house in which he taught was a log shanty on the river-bank and near the end of Spring street. The first building erected for school purposes in Bucyrus was of round logs, of the regular pioneer pattern, and stood near the present Catholic Church. Some of the early teachers in this house were Zalmon Rowse, Horace Pratt, Sallie Davis and others. The first schoolhouse was built in Galion in 1822, and stood near the residence of C. S. Crim, on West Main street, and was a log structure. David Gill was the first teacher in this building. The first teacher remembered in Holmes Township was John Pretz, who taught in an unoccupied cabin in 1829. The first school in Sandusky Township was taught in a cabin built of round logs, in 1826-27, by Miss Jane Hogan. Phares Jackson was an early teacher in the county, and taught as early as 1825. James Dunlap taught in 1826, in a house built for the pur- pose, 12×14 feet in dimension. A schoolhouse was built in Whetstone Township in 1828; Elizabeth Bear taught the first school in it. The first school in Chatfield Township was tanght by Elizabeth Thompson in 1834. Thus, we see, schools were formed in every settle- ment as soon as the population would justify.
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