History of Delaware County and Ohio, Part 60

Author: O. L. Baskin & Co; Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892?
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago, O.L. Baskin & Co.
Number of Pages: 818

USA > Ohio > Delaware County > History of Delaware County and Ohio > Part 60

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October 16, 1820, that the editor is " in posses- sion of a New York paper of the 29th ult., which contains a mass of very interesting foreign intelli- gence, including London dates to August 19th." A very serious obstacle in the way of success to newspapers of that time was the inefficiency and cost of mails. Even for the circulation of this little paper, a private mail liad occasionally to be supported, and papers, by the Government service, often were a week old before they gained their destination within the county. In relation to the transmission of subscription money, a New York paper contains the following : " We do not com- plain of paying from 2 to 5 per cent discount on bank notes, which we have done on almost every dollar that has traveled more than 100 miles. But as to specie, several times have we received a dollar in silver by mail, and paid three-fourths for postage. On Tuesday last, we received a letter from one of our agents in South Carolina, covering $1 in quar- ters, with the postage of one hundred cents charged on the back of it. This would, indeed, have struck a balance, had not the letter-carrier required the addition of two cents for his trouble." The contrast between that and this day of free delivery, postal orders, and a once " lightning mail," is wonderful enough for a fairy tale. There is little wonder that Mr. Griswold, at the end of the fourth volume, writes : "The duties of an editor are arduous and often perplexing ; and the printing business is so overdone, in this State, as to render it embarrassing in most situations, and it is seldom undertaken in any of our small towns with any prospect of profit. A mere subsistence is all that an editor can promise himself, if his dues are punctually remitted to him ; and, if not, the closing of his business in a state of bankruptcy is most likely to be the consequence." As the " new purchase " began to be settled up, the name of the paper was changed to the Delaware Patron and Sandusky Advertiser, and continued under this caption until May 13, 1830, when it was changed to Ohio State Gazette and Delaware County Journal. In January of the next year, Mr. Griswold sold the paper to William Milliken & Co., who changed the name of the paper to Delaware Journal, and retained the old proprie- tor as editor. The new firm evidently failed to complete the sale, as we find Mr. Griswold as pro- prietor right along after that period. On Decem- ber 27, 1834, however, he sells the paper to G. W. Sharpe, and Mr. Griswold takes leave of journalistic pursuits forever in a closing editorial

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in which he says : " The experiment I have tried for fourteen years * *

* has fallen short, far short, of affording an adequate reward for that constant application and incessant toil, which, in most other honorable pursuits, would have pro- duced a competency for declining life." Politically, there was no division of opinion in the community until 1827, and after that time, for years, the senti- ment was so entirely in favor of the Whigs that there was no call for any other organ. When there were two papers, the difference was not political, and the Gazette was supplanted by its rival simply because it failed to cater successfully to the public taste. Mr. Griswold was a native of Connecticut, and came with his father to Worthington in 1803. He was a pioneer in the editorial profession, and was, in his life, connected with the most important papers of the State. He died in 1863, at the age of seventy-one years.

The new proprietor, with a view to giving it a local designation, changed the name of the paper to the Olentangy Gazette, and, in the fall of 1835, associated Mr. Abraham Thomson with him in the business. In the latter part of the year, Mr. David T. Fuller bought out Mr. Sharpe, and later sold an interest to Mr. Thomson. The firm of Fuller & Thomson continued the publication until 1837, when Mr. Thomson purchased Judge Fuller's interest, and adopted the name of Drake's original paper, the Delaware Gazette. In 1864, he took his son, Henry C., into partnership, and the firm name became A. Thomson & Son, till August 17, 1866, when Lee & Thomson suc- ceeded to the proprietorship. December 2, 1870, H. C. Thomson was succeeded by G. H. Thom- son, and, in 1874, A. Thomson bought out Mr. Lee. The firm has since been A. Thomson & Son, save about a year, while George H. retained an interest. The present proprietors are A. Thomson and his son, Frank G. Thomson. It has been an advocate of the Whig, and, in later years, the Republican, principles. Ten hands are em- ployed, and a cylinder press prints its edition. In the issue of March 25, 1880, the editor says : " With the present number, the Gazette enters upon its sixty-third volume. We are glad to say that at no period of its existence has it enjoyed so large a subscription list as at this time, and no pre- vious six months has equaled the last in accessions of new names. Our regular edition is now nearly two thousand, and, at the present rate of increase, we shall in a few months exceed that number; and, not only is our list as large as is often attained by

country. papers, but it is also first-class in charac- ter, there being but few of the substantial fami- lies of the county in which it is not regularly received, many of its most warm and steadfast friends being those who have read it from their childhood."

The first Democratic paper, called the Ohio Eagle, was established in Delaware about the year 1840, by John Converse, who afterward went to Congress from this district, and was later Post- master in the town. There was but little support for such a paper in Delaware at that time, and, after continuing it for two years, he closed up the business for want of patronage. In October, 1845, George F. Stayman started a paper of sim- ilar political faith, and called it the Locofoco, from the popular name which then attached to the party-a name that originated in an incident which occurred in a Democratic caucus held in New York about that time. The lights suddenly went out and left the assembled sages groping in the dark, until one of the members sang ont, " I've got a locofoco !" the name applied to a match then of recent invention, and light was restored. This name caught the public ear, and became the popular designation of the party now known as Democratic. This name soon degenerated into slang, and, becoming distasteful to the members of that organization in Delaware, Mr. Stayman, in 1847, changed the name to the Democratic Standard. Its first office was in a building which stood where Riddle & Graff's building stands. It continued till the fall of 1865, when he sold to T. P. Reed, who changed the name to the Delaware County News. This was a time when pronounced Demo- cratic views found little support in Delaware, and the paper was conducted as an "independent " organ for about one year, when a number of rep- resentative Democrats formed a stock company and established the Delaware Herald upon the remains of the News. In 1867, E. F. Poppleton assumed proprietorship, and soon after sold to John Cone, and from him the paper passed into the hands of R. F. Hurlbut. In January, 1879, a firm, consisting of Daniel Flanagan, Alfred Matthews and T. J. Flanagan, bought the estab- lishment, and have continued its publication since. It is a nine-column folio, printed on a sheet 28x54 inches. The principal editor, Mr. Daniel Flana- gan, was editor of the Kenton Democrat for eight years, and of the Union Democrat of Ur- bana for something over two years before coming here.

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HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY.

The Delaware Signal, the organ of the Pro- hibition party, was started by a joint-stock com- pany on September 23, 1873. The principal movers in the matter were Dr. L. Barnes, Col. Lindsay, J. W. Sharpe and Thomas Evans, Jr., who formed a company known as the Delaware Printing and Publishing Association. About one year previous to the starting of the Signal, a small paper called the Delaware Prohibitionist had been established by Milton R. Scott, and the asso- ciation published this for a month or so, until arrangements could be effected to publish a paper more suitable to their purpose. The Signal was then started as a large-sized nine-column folio, with Messrs. Sharpe, Barnes and Lindsay as editors, and Mr. Evans as Treasurer and manager. Under this arrangement, the paper was published at a loss until 1876, when Mr. Evans took it off the associa- tion's hands to pay the debts of the concero. Since then, he has given up his business elsewhere, and devoted his whole time and attention to the paper. He reduced the size to eight columns, and, by rigid economy, has succeeded in making it pay the full expenses of the office. Its circulation is be- coming of a more satisfactory character; it is accepted as the State organ of the party, and is the oldest and one of two papers of its kind in the State. Although so far it has paid nothing for the time and labor bestowed upon it by the proprietor, he considers it a labor of love, and cherishes com- plete confidence in the ultimate success of the cause.

The News is a weekly six-column folio, printed on a sheet 21x30 inches. It formerly had an existence at Ashley, in this county, where it was known as the Enterprise, and appeared semi-monthly. It was brought here by Broderick and Lattin in 1877, and is now owned and con- ducted by M. C. Broderick.

The Delaware Daily Reporter is the only representative of the daily press in the city. It was started in April, 1879, as the daily edition of the Herald, but, in the following August, the Browning Brothers bought it and gave it its pres- ent title. January 1, 1880, G. R. Browning bought out his brother's interest, and has since been publishing it alone. Since December last, the Reporter has rented office room and use of material of the News, and, though together in office, are separate in business.

The beginning of the war of the rebellion found Delaware busy with enterprises looking for their fulfillment-in the future, but, with the first sound

of the war, tocsin, the citizens laid down their work, and girding on the sword, went out to fight their country's battles. What they achieved and suf- fered has been given in detail elsewhere, and we can but briefly note here some of the activities of those whom duty called to stay at home. One of the earliest organizations in the State for providing comforts for the able-bodied, and delicacies for the sick, among the soldiers, the " Ladies' Soldier's Aid Society," found a ready response among the ladies of the city and county. An auxiliary society was formed in the city, with branches in each township, which joined in those ministrations of loyal affection that nerved the heart and upheld the hands of those who bore " the burden and heat of the day." Abler pens have paid a fitting tribute to woman, whose sacrificing labor of love proved such a powerful aid in the great struggle, and-

" Freely let her wear

The wreath which merit wove and planted there ; Foe though I were, should envy tear it down, Myself would labor to replace the crown."

Volunteers werc easily secured, and the city, realizing that many were illy prepared to leave their families, did all in its power to relieve their necessities. On May 3, 1861, the Council appro- priated $5,000 for this purpose, and at other times various sums, as occasion demanded. The Cleve- land, Columbus, Cincinnati & Indianapolis Rail- road donated $10,000 to the various counties through which the road passes, for this purpose, and Delaware's share, $789.20, was distributed by the Commissioners. There was a company of " Home Guards " in the city, that has failed to find a place in any permanent record, that was more remarkable in its composition than in its service. Many of the members were men who were noted for anything save military pursuits, and comprised teachers, professors, lawyers, county officers, etc. The regiment to which it belonged was commanded by Prof. Harris, then of the Ohio Wesleyan University, and now a Bishop in the Methodist Church. It is related that when called out for service, on the occasion of the Morgan raid, quite a number were placed hors du combat by the first march-not to give it a less dignified title- and the picture given of the appearance of the company, the Colonel marching with fan in hand, is a far more laughable affair than such a stern array is usually found to be.

The old martial spirit that flourished so vigor- ously in the early days, and responded so nobly in

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HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY.

later times of national peril, still manifests itself in the State militia organization of the present. Com- pany K of the Fourteenth Regiment of Ohio National Guards was organized in the city, and was mustered into service on the evening of the 13th of February, 1879. The first officers elected were F. M. Joy, Captain ; Orie S. Shuer, First Lieutenant, and B. F. Freshwater, Second Lieu- tenant. A short time afterward, Lieut. Fresh- water resigned his commission, and John W. Jones was elected to his place. About the 1st of July, in the same year, the name of Joy Guards was adopted by the company, in honor of the Captain. The organization numbers fifty-eight privates and non-commissioned officers, is uniformed with the national fatigue suit of blue, and armed with Springfield rifles.

In March, 1873, a petition, asking the Council to take the necessary measures to advance the incorporated village to a city of the second class, was signed by a large number of the citizens and presented to the City Fathers. In accordance with this peti- tion, the Council submitted the matter to the people at the election in the following April, when the proposition to take on the new honors was ratified, and Delaware became vested in all the rights and responsibilities of a city of the second class. In the following July, the city was laid off into three wards, and, in 1878, was re-apportioned into five wards. The officers of the city are all elective, save the members of the police, the City Engi- neer and Clerk, who are appointed by the Council. The officers are a Mayor, Marshal, Solicitor, Street Commissioner and two members of the Council from each ward, who are elected for a term of two years. The County Treasurer acts for the city. The Council are divided into seven committees-on Finance and Taxation, Street Improvements, Claims, New Streets and Grades, Cemeteries and Parks, Sidewalks and Crossings, and on Gas. The officers, since Delaware became a city, are as follows :

1872 - Mayor, John Van Deman; Clerk, Edward A. Pratt; Marshal, C. V. Owston; So- licitor, Jackson Hipple; Commissioner, William Owston.

1874-Mayor, W. O. Seaman ; Clerk, Edward A. Pratt ; Marshal, J. A. Anderson ; Solicitor, Jackson Hipple; Commissioner, W. H. Adams.

1876-Mayor, J. A. Barnes ; Clerk, Edward A. Pratt; Marshal, C. V. Owston ; Solicitor, G. G. Banker; Commissioner, William Hollen- baugh.

1878-Mayor, C. H. McElroy ; Clerk, Edward A. Pratt ; Marshal, C. V. Owston ; Solicitor, G. G. Banker; Commissioner, George Clark.

The manufacturing establishments of Delaware seem rather the happy result of fortuitous circum- stances than of intelligent investigation of any advantages the place may possess for such enter- prises. In early times, when the pioneers depended upon the industrious skill of their women and the flax-fields of their own cultivation for clothing, the production of flax occupied a prominent place in the agriculture of the country. But an impor- tant part of this crop was lost to the farmer because of the lack of facilities to work up the seed which it produces in abundance. In 1835, Mr. Abel Moore determined to save this great waste, and procured a press to extract the oil. The process of manufacture was crude enough at first. The seed was ground, or rather chopped, at the mill, and then carried to the press, which was simply a large log set upright, with a mortised hole in which bags containing the ground seed were placed. Wedges were driven in at the sides of the sacks, and a pressure maintained in this way until a large part of the oil was extracted. A few years later, he sold the business to Robert Cunningham, who set about improving his facili- ties for the manufacture of oil. He secured the most improved machinery of the time, and, with the rest, a "compound-lever press." He soon found his resources inadequate for the successful prosecution of his ambitious and enterprising schemes, and gave an interest in the business to Mr. C. F. Bradley for the use of certain moneys. Mr. Bradley, thus connected with the manufactur- ing interests of Delaware, became the leader and mover in all the projects that have been made to establish such enterprises, and to him, through the oil-mill and its outgrowths, the city owes more, perhaps, than to any other one man. Mr. Bradley soon purchased the whole interest in the mill, and immediately associated Mr. Edward Pratt with him in the business. About a year afterward, Mr. Pratt sold his interest to Mr. Alexander Kilbourn, when the factory. was removed from its prem- ises on Franklin street to the east side of the river, on North street. . Here the old " compound-lever press " gave way to the newer invention of an hydraulic press, and machinery for water power was added. The rapid settlement of the country and the growth of manufactures ren- dered the cultivation of flax of less importance, and, with their increased facilities, the proprietors

tiek

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HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY.

of the oil-mill soon found the supply of seed inad- equate to their demands. To supply this defi- ciency, Bradley took his team, traveling over Franklin, Union, Delaware, Marion and Morrow Counties in quest of seed. He got 200 bushels and tried to prevail upon the farmers to take it and raise a crop of flax. He found the farmers loath to do it, as they claimed that the crop impov- erished the land. He succeeded, however, in loaning out some one hundred bushels to the farm- ers about, and, among others, John Powers, who lived near Scioto. Mr. Powers sowed about ten acres, which yielded twenty-six bushels to the acre. This was a fine yield, and, what was more encouraging, while wheat only brought 50 cents and corn from 16 to 20 cents per bushel, flax brought 62} cents. In the next year, Mr. Brad- ley easily loaned 400 bushels, and, as a conse- quence, his business vastly improved. In the winter of 1846, the dam washed out, and, tired of the uncertain power offered by the river, the fac- tory was transferred to the brick building used afterward by a carriage manufactory. The busi- ness was enlarged, and the firm, by the accession of William Davis, Alexander Kilbourn and J. A. Burnham, became Kilbourn, Davis & Co., and, in 1847, added the foundry business. There were several changes in the firm within a few years, resulting in the end in simply replacing Mr. Davis by Mr. John J. Burnham. In 1850, the build- ing was burned, but, with the firm's characteristic energy and enterprise, the order for rebuilding was issued before the fire was out. In 1855, Mr. Kil- bourn died, and Messrs. Finch and Lamb were taken into the firm. In this year, there was a separation of the business, the oil enterprise being sold to Manley D. Covell and Edward Pratt, who removed the business to a frame building which stood where the present stone structure stands. It changed hands several times until 1862, when the present owner, Mr. J. A. Barnes, bought the establishment. The business is now carried ou in a stone structure 100x54 feet, and is three stories high. The first-story walls are three feet thick, the second, two and one-half feet, and the third, two feet. The motor power is supplied by a forty-five-horse-power engine, manufactured in Delaware, which is placed, with the boilers, in a fire-proof building. On the north of the mill is the cooper-shop, a fire-proof building, where the barrels that are used in the business are all made.

When the firm added the foundry business to the interests of the firm in 1847, Mr. Bradley and

J. A. Burnham superintended the work and fitted up the building on the corner of Spring and San- dusky streets, used now as a carriage shop by George A. Hayward. For the first year or two, stoves only were made, but, in 1850, Mr. J. A. Burn- ham being a practical machinist, the firm deter- mined to engage in the manufacture of steam engines. The first of these built was to the order of Elijah Main, who used it for saw-mill purposes, and was doing duty up to a very late date. The business expanded until, in 1854, finding their old quarters too small to accommodate their business, they erected the large stone structure on Williams street, east of the river, beyond the railroad. In 1860, the establishment was purchased by J. C. Evans and Eugene Powell, but in the following year Mr. Powell sold out his interest to his part- ner and went into the army. For ten years the es- tablishment was a scene of busy activity. Some thir- teen hundred plows were turned out in a single year, besides engines and horse-powers. A revolving scraper, the invention of the proprietor of the ma- chine works, was largely manufactured, reaching as high as a hundred per week. In 1873, the prop- erty was sold to Smith, Wason & Carpenter, car- builders of Cleveland and Chattanooga, who con- tinued it about a year, when it was closed for lack of business.

The flax-mill, as it is popularly called, is another enterprise that may be said to be due to the old oil- mill. In 1855, Messrs. James M. Hawes and D. S. Brigham, from the East, became interested in turning to account the large quantity of flax straw that failed to find a ready market here, and, inter- esting Judge T. W. Powell in the 'project, they built a factory 40x50 feet, two stories high, and filled it with machinery for preparing the straw for market. This soon proved unprofitable, as the freights absorbed the whole margin, and, in 1857, the firm put in machinery for the manufacture of cotton baling. This was manufactured with profit until the beginning of the war, when the demand for the article ceased. Judge Powell had with- drawn at the end of the first year, and at this time Mr. Hawes bought out the remaining partner. He then set about at heavy expense to change the whole concern, fitting it for the manufacture of twines, burlaps, woolsacks, and seamless grain bags. In the meanwhile, a stock company was formed under the title of the Delaware Manufact- uring Company, and in 1863, the large mill was erected. This structure was 50x100 feet, two stories high with an attic. A new engine of 125

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HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY.

horse-power was added. At the end of the war, the machinery was again changed for the manu- facture of bagging and cotton baling. A ware- house 40x100 feet was added. In 1870, 182 persons were employed, drawing $4,000 per month, In the crash of 1873, the enterprise foundered, and the property has been recently sold to the Del- aware Chair Company.

This latter business is a comparatively new enterprise, but one of the most flourishing in the city. It originated in 1870, with Messrs. T. E. Powell, C. W. Clippinger and R. G. Lybrand. John G. Strain, an old chair-maker, interested these gentlemen in the general subject, and, put- ting up buildings and 'furnishing stock, they put him to work. Mr. Strain did not make it quite as successful as he hoped, but developed the fact that there was a demand for the goods. Mr. R. G. Lybrand, who was. engaged in the stove business at the time, gave it up, and devoted his whole time to the chair factory. Their first building-a frame structure 28x60 feet-stood on Winter street, east of the river. The first year's business was small, but the Chicago fire, in 1871, made a great demand for all kinds of furniture, and these chairs rose rapidly in popular favor. Since then, their trade has been steadily increasing, requiring additions to be made to their building in 1872, '73 and '74, until the building, which the Com- pany has recently left, has grown to 74x100 feet, and three stories high. On the 10th of March, the business was transferred to the Flax Mill building, as noted above. The number of hands now em- ployed is 182, requiring a monthly pay-roll of $2,500. Hitherto they have manufactured about 40,000 chairs, annually, but, with increased facilities, this business will be enlarged. The Company began in the manufacture of the splint chair, but have since adopted the double-caned seat. They were pio- neers in the business, and have given the name of "Delaware chair" to all this class of work. The present firm is composed of T. E. Powell, R. G. Lybrand, A. Lybrand, Jr., and S. Lybrand-the two latter gentlemen taking Mr. Clippinger's place in 1871.

The Delaware Fence Company might more properly be called a general manufacturing com- pany. It was organized in 1868, by A. J. Rich- ards, the inventor, who in that year associated Mr. Eugene Powell with him in the manufacture of the fence. In 1879, Mr. Powell, and Cyrus Falconer, Esq., became sole owners of the business; and, in the winter of that year, the Company

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History of Delaware County and Ohio, Part 60

Author: O. L. Baskin & Co; Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892? Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Chicago, O.L. Baskin & Co. Number of Pages: 818

Author: O. L. Baskin & Co; Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892?
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago, O.L. Baskin & Co.
Number of Pages: 818