USA > Ohio > Darke County > History of Darke County, Ohio, from its earliest settlement to the present time, Volume I > Part 30
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As a teacher few were more successful. In the class-room as well as in society he was a man of few words but his con- versation was to the point. "His commanding appearance and amiable disposition endeared him to the heart of every stu-
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dent while the purity of his motives, soundness of his judg- ment, and wisdom of his instruction was not doubted."
In March, 1880, he was elected a member of the London Mathematical Soiety, being the fifth American so honored. Greenville was highly honored in having such a distinguished man as a teacher in the public schools for several years, but his unsurpassed talent recommended him to a much higher position and in the summer of 1879 he moved with his family to Kirksville, Missouri, where he assumed a professorship in the State Normal School. This position he occupied with distinction and was marked for a higher and more remunera- tive position when he was prostrated with a fever in Septem- ber, 1883, and died on October 8th, after an illness of twenty- four days, in the thirty-eighth year of his age. His death caused a profound sensation among the students and profes- sors of the State Normal school by whom he was highly hon- ored and respected. After appropriate and impressive ser- vices at Kirksville, his remains were brought to Greenville, Ohio, whither they were accompanied by President Blanton, who had been appointed for this purpose by the faculty, and by W. T. Baird acting in behalf of the regents of the college and the citizens of Kirksville.
The following extract from President J. P. Blanton's trib- ute which was offered at the funeral service indicates the character and disposition of Professor Seitz: "Enoch Beery Seitz was an etraordinary man. He commanded without effort the respect of everybody. He was a man of the most singularly blameless life I ever knew. His disposition was amiable, his manner quiet and unobtrusive, and his decision, when circumstances demanded it, was prompt, and firm and unmovable as the rocks. He did nothing from impulse; he carefully considered his course, and with almost infallible judgment came to the conclusions that his conscience ap- proved and then nothing could move him. While he never made an open profession of religion, he was a profoundly religious man. He rested his hopes of salvation in the sacri- fices of the tender and loving Savior, and I am thoroughly convinced he has entered that rest which remains for the people of God." Also this tribute from Prof. John S. Royer : "Professor Seitz's external life was that of a modest, deep- hearted, perfect gentleman. His great ambition was to be good and true-true to himself, true to his family, true to his friends, and true to his country's welfare. He had a thor-
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oughly healthy, well balanced, harmonious nature, accepting life as it came, with its joys and sorrows, and living it beau- tifully and hopefully without a murmur. Though the grim monster Death removed him from this sphere of action before he fully reached the meridian of his greatness. yet the work he performed during his short but fruitful life will be a lasting monument to his memory, amply sufficient to immor- talize his name."
Professor Seitz was the father of four sons, one of whom, Clarence, died at the age of five years. The other three sons, William K., Raymond and Enoch B., have all been care- fully reared under the guiding hand of their devoted and tal- ented mother. All three of the surviving sons graduated from the Kirksville school. William K., who inherited his father's talent, made the highest average grades in mathematics in the University of Missouri of any student up to the time of his graduation on June 4. 1906. He was an assistant profes- sor of mathematics for two years after his graduation. Then he went to St. Joseph, Mo., where he acted as first assistant city engineer, and engineer of the utility commission, having in charge the parks and boulevards of that progressive city. In 1913, he went to St. Louis where he is now at the head of the Missouri Valley Construction Company, in which he is associated with his brothers.
Raymond E. Seitz was born October 30, 1876, in Green- ville, Ohio. He moved with his parents to Missouri in 1879, and returned to Greenville some time after his father's death, continuing in the public schools until he had completed the freshman year. He then returned to Kirksville in 1894, and completed the course in the State Normal in 1898. After this he taught history and literature in the high school at Park City, Utah. He then attended the University of Cincinnati, Ohio. Returning to Missouri he taught four years in the high school at Unionville and later was elected superintendent of the schools at Jackson, Mo., where he remained four years. Then he served as superintendent at Caruthersville, Mo., for two years, after which he became a member of the con- struction company above mentioned, which is now undertak- ing a large contract for constructing terminal facilities at East St. Louis for a large railway company. This company operates a large quarry at Alton, Ill., where they secure rock for construction purposes.
Enoch Beery Seitz, youngest son of E. B. and Anna E.
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Seitz, was born July 26, 1883, graduated from the Missouri State Normal School at Kirksville, Mo., in June, 1901 and taught the next four years in the high school and for two years acted as superintendent. From 1905 until March 15, 1913, he was superintendent of the school at Milan, Mo. which position he resigned to engage in construction work with his brother, W. K. Seitz.
Enoch B. Seitz was married to Miss Hazeldean Bolt, August 20, 1907, and has one child, Ruth, aged five years. He lives at Alton, Il1.
Dr. Anna E. Seitz, the widow of the subject of this sketch, and mother of three exceptionally able sons, is a woman of unusual ability. After the death of her husband she became principal of the Teacher Training Department, in the Mis- souri State Normal School at Kirksville, in which capacity she served very ably for four years, advising, criticising and supervising the work of a corps of teachers. At about this time the field of osteopathy was enlarging rapidly and a great demand developed for competent practitioners in various parts of the country. In response to this demand and her own ambitious promptings, Mrs. Seitz gave up her work in the State Normal and entered the Columbian School of Osteo- pathy at Kirksville, from which she graduated in 1899. She then practiced her profession at Richmond, Indiana, and later at Cape Girardeau, Mo., and Phoenix, Ariz. Early in 1904 she completed a post graduate course in the American School of Osteopathy at Kirksville, and in February of that year established herself in Greenville, Ohio, her home town, where she has remained in the successful practice of her profession ever since, being first and only lady osteopathic practitioner in Darke county.
Barnabas Collins and Family.
The old saying, "Poets are born, not made." was well ex- emplified in Barnabas Collins, the son of Wm. Collins, a law- yer and clergyman of high standing. The father had ob- tained a good English education although handicapped by poverty and adverse early conditions and became one of the clearest thinkers, strongest reasoners and finest speakers of his day. He settled in Randolph county, Indiana, in 1831, where, in 1832, he married Margaret Burres (who was born in Cecil county, Md., in 1811). About 1835 he located in
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Euphemia, Preble county, O. When quite a young man he began preaching in the United Brethren denomination, but was condemned for joining the Masons and subsequently be- came a Methodist. In 1849, he moved to Greenville, Ohio, where he built up an extensive law practice and, at the same time, officiated in the pulpit. He died in 1855, leaving a family of six children, viz .: Ad. Barnabas, William, James, Lafayette and Rachel. Barnabas, the second son, was born May 26, 1836. He became a printer when a boy and worked at this trade several years. thus supplementing, no doubt, the meager education which he had acquired by a few years' study in the common schools. After a brief pupilage under the well known Calvin Parker, he attended the Ohio Wes- leyan University at Delaware for a short time. Nothing daunted by early difficulties, he continued to read extensively in literature and in science until he became noted for his marked literary attainments. After his schooling he read law under Calderwood and Calkins and was admitted to the bar in 1857, when twenty-one years of age. On March 15, 1858, he married Mary J. Calderwood, a daughter of A. R. Calderwood of the above named firm. In 1861 he located in Adams county, Indiana. He was soon called to his country's service and enlisted in the 89th Indiana Regiment of Volun- teers, in which he acted as quartermaster. A'ter his return from the army he again settled in Greenville and practiced law. He was nominated by the Republicans as a candidate for the Ohio Constitutional Convention of 1874. In 1876 he represented the Fourth Congressional District in the Re- publican National Convention at Cincinnati, Ohio, that nom- inated R. B. Hayes for president. Being of a decided liter ary turn of mind he gratified his tastes at the expense of his profession and produced considerable literature of a decidedly high class, in the way of historical articles, poems and es- says. Some of his most cherished poems were on local themes, and are quoted in this volume. Others were espe- cially metrical. and have been set to music. Barney Collins was a lover of the beautiful in nature and art, a fine reader and reciter and an excellent lecturer and an impressive ex- tempore sepaker, with a fine command of the English lan- guage. His voice is described as strong, vet soft and mus- ical, and his personal appearance as fine and attractive. He had a florid complexion, heavy, light colored evebrows, light silken hair and weighed about one hundred and eighty
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pounds, making a commanding appearance on the platform. His lecture on "The Rise, Progress and Influence of Poetical Literature" and his defense of Shakespeare in the Baconian controversy are classed as fine pieces of literature. About 1879 the Collins family moved to California, where the sons, William, Ulric and Enos, all made their mark.
Wm. C. Collins, later known as "Wilkie," was born at Decatur, Indiana, February 10, 1862, and came to Greenville with his father shortly afterward. Here he received his ed- ucation, and like his distinguished father, learned the print- er's trade when a boy of thirteen, setting type in the office of the Courier and writing locals for that paper. He went with the family to Chico, Cal., in 1879, and soon found em- ployment in the newspaper offices of that city. In 1884, he edited a campaign paper at Biggs, Cal., but soon returned to Chico, where he remained until 1886, when he accepted a position on the editorial staff of the Sacramento Daily Bee. While at Chico he wrote articles that attracted the attention of newspaper men all over the state, and wrote three strik- ing stories that were published and illustrated in eastern newspapers. He was the dramatic critic of the Bee for many years and his "Green Room Gossip" was one of the most readable portions of the paper. It is said that he knew every distinguished man in California and was especially well ac- quainted with the great actors who played in his city. He remained on the staff of the Bee until his death on December 30, 1908. It was said of him by a contemporary newspaper man: "I always regarded him as one of the best equipped, squarest and most lovable men in the newspaper profession." The editor of the Bee, in the first issue following his death, uttered the following beautiful sentiments concerning him : "To those who had known him so long and loved him so well, his death was not so much of a blow as a relief. They had seen that staunch heart, that noble soul suffering intense tortures daily, and yet never complaining-never a cross word-never a murmur from his tongue. * * * True friend, courageous soul, loyal heart, your brothers left behind stand at salute and bid you Hail and Farewell! God rest you, Christ receive you!" Among his noblest traits were de- votion to duty, sacrificing loyalty to his profession, and love of his family and kin. He left a son, Ray, who also became an actor.
Ulric Collins, brother of Wilkie, also manifested a decided
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talent for the theatrical profession and has become a well known playwright and actor. He wrote "Hearts of Tennes- see" and other plays of merit and has appeared as leading man in various popular plays, starring in New York, Chica- go and the largest cities of the country and keeping at the top notch of his profession.
Enos Collins, another brother, has given his attention to railway business, being several years in the employment of the Western Pacific at Beekville, Cal.
Mrs. Bessie Dorritt. a sister, lived for several years at WV. Berkeley, Cal.
The mother, Mary J. Collins, is a woman of considerable ability, taste and refinement and is much devoted to her fam- ily. We close this article by an appropriate tribute from the pen of George Calderwood, a brother-in-law of Barney Col- lins, and a poem composed and recited by the latter brilliant genius and poet at the opening of the Greenville (now Trainor's) Opera House in 1873, the building having been just erected by Greenville Lodge I. O. O. F. No. 195 at con- siderable expense and, as proved later, an unprofitable ven- ture :
"Darke county produced some very good advocates at the bar-some fairly good stump speakers, but in my judgment but one orator-Barney Collins. The unfortunate thing about Barney was his timidity. He was afraid to unfold him- self. He had the voice, the magnetism, the platform demean- or, the poetry of words, the abundance of information on many topics, the sincerity of his convictions, but it was hard to get him started. But when he did start and got thorough- ly warmed up he was a giant. Art, science, literature, poli- tics, history, law and progress, each in its place, were handled in masterly grandeur. Had he left Greenville in his youth and gone to some large city and remained there he would have had opportunities to unfold himself day and night and weave into his mannerism readiness of action. There was nothing in Greenville for a man of his intellect to do and so he just waited and waited and waited for something, he knew not what. He was induced to come to California and locate in a sparsely settled county where the people talked about mining, fruit culture, wheat raising and stock raising. What did Barney Collins know about such things? Nothing, and he cared less. His wasn't the kind of mind that was meas- ured by the metes and bounds of a valley ranch or a 600 foot
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ledge. No one seemed to know him and for a long time after he came out here he kept aloof from public gatherings. He appeared a few times at the county conventions and was a delegate to one of two state conventions. About the time that his fame began to spread as an orator he was elected to the Assembly and died before he had an opportunity to address the Speaker."
I'm no actor! Greet me with no applause! Nor hiss-unless you first shall find a cause. No prompter I, behind the scenes to call, When speaking ill, or failing not at all.
No love of praise commands me here to rise ; What! brave the critic's test and beauty's eyes? Proud of this temple and pleased with this stage. Where soon the drama will our thoughts engage. I. midst its richly painted scenes appear. To welcome wit and playing talent here! Icarian Thespis, first in his day,
Performed his plays upon a Grecian dray. A generous "Order" patronizing art, Builds here this stage to glad the public heart ! Our people need travel now no more abroad To shed tears, to laugh, condemn -- applaud. For now, at home, a place has been supplied Where virtue may be praised and vice decried ! Where we may weep when pity wounds the breast, Beholding passion's burst, or grief represt. Yes, here tonight the rightly acted part May swell the breast with joy, or melt the heart. Here may our youth life's follies learn to shun, And riper age reverse its faults begun ! Happy, some breast, which Nature has inspired With Shakespeare's art, may here this night be fired ! Taste, that law which raises art, refines the senses, Turns fools to wits and gives them elegance. Which damns a play and ridicules the line- Though sprung from Genius, lest they purely shine, Mav, from this date, to us her pleasures bring, Teach us to judge-avoid the critic's sting ! To give, when she shall here her standard raise. To sterling worth the recompense of praise! Teach to distinguish quickly truth from frand. So we may see the point, and then applaud!
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For if the chaste, the learned, would have to act, We must be critics, not in name-in fact ! The modern stage, of modern life the school, Paints nature true, nor varies in the rule ! All follies, vices, shams and things "too thin," With manners, fashions, worldly ways and din; Before our eyes, on colors strong and bright, She spreads, that we may see and choose the right. The Stage explodes the vile imposter's claim, And fraud and falsehood boldly drags to shame.
The arts, letters, eloquence, culture, lore, Rose with the Stage in Greece, nor rose before! The hero's-patriot's-cause in every age Has found a friend and ally in the Stage! This neight behold the scene where Emmett stood, Who gave to Erin and Liberty his blood.
"Annie Oakley."
At this time when much is being said and written con- cerning "woman's sphere" of activity in the various enter- prises of the world, it is refreshing to study the career and note the opinions of one who has achieved distinction in a unique profession. The use of firearms is not usually asso- ciated with the gentler sex, yet who will question the right of developing talent or skill nowadays wherever found? In fact, is not ideal success that which allows the freest and fullest realization of personality consistent with the welfare of the individual and the greatest good of society? As civil- ization advances a wider scope is given to the cultivation of special talent, and a keener appreciation of merit is developed. The man or woman who can do one thing better than any one else is the person in demand at this hour, and the ques- tion of age and sex is given less consideration than formerly.
With these reflections we study the life of "Annie Oak- ley" (Mozee), who has attained international fame, as a rifle and pistol shot. Along in the '50's her parents left the mountains of Pennsylvania and settled in the northeastern part of Darke county. Here in a wild tract of land known as the "fallen timbers" Annie was born in the early "sixties." Her mother was a Quaker and exhibited some talent for art. which was expressed in pencil sketches and a few paintings, but limited by circumstances of poverty and hard work. Her father was a natural athlete, fond of shooting wild game. but
"ANNIE OAKLEY".
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not an expert shot. From one she probably inherited skill and a generous disposition ; from the other agility and a love of out-door sports.
It is said that when but a small child she would secretly follow her brother on his hunting expeditions, and when dis- covered and reprimanded, would plead to remain with him and help shoot. One day, when a little over eight years of age, while her brother was away from the house, she caught sight of a fox squirrel frisking along the fence, and taking his muzzle loading rifle, she rested it on the rail of the porch, fired and cut the animal's throat. When the brother re- turned he was surprised, and in order to wreak vengeance on his offending sister he secretly put a double load in his shot- gun, and giving her the weapon, threw up his hat as a target. To his surprise this, too, was quickly pierced, and the sister, undaunted, won the day. From this time on she progressed in marksmanship, and at twelve years of age was given a light muzzle loading shotgun and a breech-loading rifle as a tribute to her skill.
Anna's early education was limited, and before her ninth birthday she commenced to work for a living. The father died, leaving a family of small children, and a small, heavily mortgaged farm. By hunting and trapping quail and pheas- ants and other game and doing manual labor she saved enough to pay off the mortgage before her fourteenth year. Being variously employed at housework for a couple more years she finally went to live with a sister at Cincinnati, Ohio, where she married Mr. Frank E. Butler, a frank, genial gen- tleman and an expert shot, whom she met at a shooting con- test, and with whom she later visited professionally nearly all civilized countries. Mr. Butler was at that time about $1,500 in debt. Many interesting anecdotes might be told of their early trials and struggles.
During the first year of her public life she played with vaudeville companies, probably doing feats of fancy marks- manship. The two years following she exhibited with Sells Brothers circus, shooting from horseback. Then followed a long engagement with Buffalo Bill's Wild West, beginning in the early spring of 1885, during which she shot at the London and Paris expositions, and the world's fair at Chica- go, and exhibited before nearly all the crowned heads and the aristocracy of Europe. She remained with this world famed show seventeen years, seven of which were spent abroad, during which she visited fourteen countries.
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She gave five exhibitions before the Prince of Wales and shot game on his estate at Sandringham, for which she was richly paid. At Earl's Court, London, she exhibited before three kings, two princes and five other titled people. Prob- ably no American lady, except Mary Anderson, ever received as generous and enthusiastic reception in high European cir- cles and her impression is that the educated classes of Eu- rope are lavish in the recognition of talent when shown, while Americans, though more ready to hail aspiring genius, are less enthusiastic in applause.
Her autograph album contains the names of a large num- ber of noted persons, among which are noticed the following: Princess May of Teck, the Duchess of Cumberland, Hilde de Clifford, the famous English beauty; Lady Paget, Lord Windsor, Duc de Orleans, Seignor Crispi, Count Spaletti, the Chinese Embassy at London, Dinah Salifou, Sitting Bull, Rain in the Face and Curly, the Crow Indian Scout and sole surviving member of Custer's famous braves. The names of Lillian Lewis, Ellen Terry. Henry Irving, Chauncey Depew and Thomas A. Edison appear, not to mention a great host of others. One of the most prized is that of H. C. Bonner, deceased, the founder of Puck. It reads as follows :
"It was a pleasant day As near the first of May As days come in pleasant April weather, That Miss Anna Oakley shot Her hundred pigeon pot, And the record on the clays broke together.
And may all the days she knows,
As through the world she goes,
Be as lucky for her all time through,
As that pleasant day in spring,
When she showed us she could wing,
One hundred birds in miutes six and seconds thirty-two!"
Besides being feted by Queen Victoria, she has received jewels and presents from nearly all the crowned heads of Europe, and her collection of trophies in the way of jewels, firearms and mementoes is quite elaborate. Her salary as early as 1900 when with the Wild West was $150 per week with expenses paid, and it is said she gave generously of this for charity, being mindful of her own early struggles.
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Strange as it may seem, she is not fond of public exhibition and social life, but prefers out of door sport, and yearns for the time when she can enjoy the seclusion of private life.
Some of her best records with the rifles are 945 tossed balls out of 1,000; 96 small clay pigeons out of 100; 50 straight double clays; 49 live birds out of 50.
With 5,000 balls she broke 4,772 in one day's shooting ; and on the second thousand her best record of 984 was made. She is fond of swimming, walking, running and bicycle rid- ing, and makes a point of getting plenty of outdoor exercise, to which custom may be attributed her remarkable vitality and sustained good health. Her guns weigh about seven pounds, and she sometimes shoots 150 shots in a day, thus lifting over 1,000 pounds. She has shot wild deer in Amer- ica, wild boar in Germany, and roebuck in Austria.
In personal appearance she is slight, below average height, with black flowing hair, keen, blue-gray eyes, clear-cut ex- pressive features, and a rather piquant face. One might ex- pect that such a life as hers would produce coarseness and lack of refinement, but Miss Annie has certainly resisted such an effect, and possesses a rare modesty and a charming personality. Unaffected, simple and sincere, she exhibits a grace and tact rarely met. With a girlish voice, a genial vivacious disposition and winning ways she is a ready con- versationalist and is, withal, charitable, thoughtful and re- fined. Caring naught for the privileges of suffrage she only asks a fair chance for her sex to develop such talents as nature and education gives.
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