History of Geauga and Lake Counties, Ohio, Part 36

Author: Williams Brothers
Publication date: 1879
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 443

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USA > Ohio > Geauga County > History of Geauga and Lake Counties, Ohio > Part 36

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He possessed a wonderful power of throwing himself for the time into an en- terprise, or current of thought, or new ideas. He was by nature something of an orator, had great natural eloquence, was a fine conversationalist, and hence was always an effective advocate or partisan. In politics a moderate Whig, a stanch Republican, but there was nothing in politics that aroused his easily- excited enthusiasm. Curiously enough, with this light surface shiftiness, his in- tellect, though of a brilliant, sparkling order, was strong, clear, and its workings logical. The mental balance was always in good normal order. A frank, natural, intensely sincere man, he was as incapable of concealment or finesse as possible. His fault was his frank directness; and when it is remembered that he was a hater of hypocrisy and a merciless pulverizer of shams, that he abhorred all mean- ness and made open war on all unmanliness and mental and moral cowardice, it may be supposed that, with his plain, forceful speech and power of sarcasm, he stirred up the gall of many. I speak of him as I knew him best, before he was forty. When he came to know men and himself better, he had a more catholic philosophy of human life.

The peculiarities of his mind appeared in his notions of names. The perpetu- ation of family names was with him a subject of ridicule. If a boy was snub- nosed, snub him again by calling him Bob, because he had a more snub-nosed and worse snubbed Uncle Bob. Perpetuate unpleasant personal peculiarities, and add to them whatever of odium some older relative may have acquired. Or make

contrasts : Let little John succeed big John, and short John be tagged out with long John. In the instances of his own children : At the birth of his eldest daughter, in 1828, he was solacing his own misfortunes with the history of the beautiful and unfortunate queen of France, and she was named Marie Antoinette. On the birth of a son, in 1831, he was studying botany, and the boy was called after the Swedish naturalist Linnaeus. Another was born in 1833, when the doctor and my elder brother were experimenting with an electrical machine, and he received the name of Franklin. Later, in 1835, while he was laughing over " Knickerbocker's History of New York," a third son was presented him, and he naturally took the name of its author, Irving. On the arrival of the fourth, in 1837, he was renewing his acquaintance with the Spartans, and this boy became Lycurgus; and it may be added that there was something in the appearance of each of these large-headed, grave, dark-faced boys fitting well to the names. A daughter, in 1842, received the name of Josephine. A third, in 1847, was blessed with the name of her mother,-a rare and blessed woman, who, on the birth of his youngest son, in 1849, bestowed his father's name of Oliver on him.

A man of large-heartedness, generous to injustice to himself and his own, though always with a large practice, his kindness and easiness with his patients made him content with the smallest, and often with no compensation. As may be supposed, he was foremost in all educational movements, largely in advance of his time. Himself by special gifts a teacher, no man had such a power of revealing matter to be imparted, of investing it with such attraction, and of inspiring a pupil with such a desire to learn. Common, dull, routine things, in his hands, became new, fresh, and surrounded with a charm. Largely an object-teacher, he early employed all the later means; and though early withdrawn from the charge of schools, ho exercised a wide and most enlightened influence over them, giving his time, giving his means, and often disgusted at the stupid indifference of the common people to the greatest possible subject of concern, the wise educa- tion of themselves and children. In his charities he was as wide as his knowledge of men's needs, and as free as his capacity to contribute. Nor did he hesitate to strip himself or family to supply them. A man came along one day quite barefooted, and the doctor not only provided him with food, but sent him on his way in Franklin's boots, although that philosopher had but a single pair. On a small home-farm this youth one year raised eighteen or twenty bushels of beans, and dreamed of marketing them. The doctor's buggy distributed them if wisely yet too well, and in a few months beans had to be purchased for the family.

Many individual instances of his benevolence might be quoted. At an early day one autumn a young man in ill health found his way to the doctor's house, a weak, slender, helpless, homeless youth. He was taken in, cared for, nursed, cheered, tended, fed, clothed, and loved. He became one of the family. The helpless one, spite of the doctor's skill, at the end of a year died. At his grave his benefactor set up a neat monument, on which was inscribed,-

" Here rests his head upon the lap of earth A youth to fortune and to fame unknown. . . . . He gave to misery all he had,- a tear ; He gained from heaven-'twas all he asked-a friend."

Dr. Ludlow was raised by his mother in the tenets of New England ortho- doxy, and notes from his diary, while in Burton, show that he then adhered to her teachings, and was familiar with the struggles of mortal depravity with the allurements and chains of Satan, against whom he seems to have held his own. As he grew older, and mastered the secrets of science, especially of the younger geology, he broke from these narrower, and, as. it seemed to him, dark and dis- crediting views, and orthodoxy came in for his sarcasm. Later still, he found a way of reconciling the seeming discrepancy, and sought for a plan,-for a kind of rationalism, which at best is a kind of pious infidelity. More latterly, despair- ing of finding a resting-place for revelation, the strong religious instincts so early nurtured by his mother found expression in the religion of humanity, of which he was a true, heroic, and tender-hearted practicer. He recognized men as his brothers, became reconciled to them, relinquished impossible expectations, sought the good that was in all, found much, and managed to content himself with it. He ceased to require of men what was not in them, and no longer up- braided them for its absence. He learned to moderate his expectations, and formulated a wise, practical philosophy of human life. He pursued his profes- sion in accord with his views of the average man, and what he himself owed to the great whole of men, giving his utmost, requiring the least return. Loving much, he gave more; worthy to lead, he was servant of all. One incident of his early professional career illustrates the broad humanitarian ground he early occu- pied, and which, through his after-life, was better for his foot-prints upon it. In infancy of his eldest daughter, she, as was feared, was mortally ill. While she was seemingly failing, he was called to attend the confinement of a poor woman, already the mother of three quite young and otherwise helpless children. The

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HISTORY OF GEAUGA AND LAKE COUNTIES, OHIO.

case was most critical and protracted. There was no other medical help. His own child was failing ; his anxious wife sent repeated messages for his return. He dispatched the best advice and encouragement possible, but remained with his charge for three days. He conducted the poor woman safely through, saved her child, and left her to sustain the others. His own child recovered. The principle of his conduct was that his child, though dear, dear as life, was but one. Here were five, and he did not hesitate. The world finally came to know that here was a broad, natural, cultured man, of most active life, who lived on this principle, and when he died they built his monument.

As a physician, well learned, with rare powers of perception and observation, he studied his cases, corrected his reading, and the theories of the books, and so reached a power and skill to deal with human ailments rarely equaled. Impa- tient was he, and often baffled, like the gods, by the stupidity of mortals. So persistently would they violate the plainest rules of conduct in their lives, and then hurry off a messenger to him for relief, that they often withered under his reproof while his skill relieved their bodies. "Glutton ! you fill yourself to the mouth with green corn and cucumbers. I've half a mind to let you work it out. I will next time." What he might he did to disseminate practical sanitary ideas and rules to insure healthful, vigorous lives among his people. This slight sketch would be incomplete, and injustice would be done the subject of it, if I omitted to light up another part of his life.

Dr. Ludlow inherited that so often fatal tendency which sooner or later calls into activity that insatiable, never again sleeping, always clamoring appetite, which once awakened ever possesses the soul and sense of the victim of it. Supposed to be more irresistible when thus derived than when engendered by the unfortu- nate's own excesses, how early it manifested itself cannot now be known. The subject of it, himself, always solemnly averred that the world could not have known it till years after the charges made upon him, referred to above. How soon he became aware that he was possessed of a devil-a veritable, malignant, restless, sleepless fiend-he may not himself have known. All his passions were strong.

His was a nature in which the potent elements of human character-of force and will-were the predominant in the main, though often worsted by a baffling, mocking spirit that brought wavering and uncertainty among them at times. At some time, and early, perhaps before his Newbury life, he must have become aware that, lurking in his nature, never to be expelled or wholly silenced, he carried this almost super- human foe,-that, in the wonderful processes of conception and development which to him were ever a miracle, spite of the care and love of mother, spite of the living walls of her body, this pre-existent spirit of evil came and possessed itself of the pulpy embryo, to cry out, war against, overwhelm, and perhaps destroy, the good and glory of his life and soul. However this was, that knowledge came to him at some time, and the varying struggle began,-the struggle which in some form is fought out in every human soul,-not between this fiend and the better angels of man's nature, but between them and the lesser forces of passion and appetite. We know that the conflict was waged, and raged for years in a strong nature, a high soul, between Michael and his angels, and Satan and his,-an awful conflict in the nar- row prison-house of a man's physical nature, in the boundless realm of a power- ful, darkened soul. It is a war which the soul must fight alone,-one in which friends and dearest lovers can have little part, and from which the inscrutable God seems to withdraw himself, and leave the good to its own strength and weakness.

Through the busy hours of waking day, the nights of solitude and silence, in the family surrounded by wife and little ones, by the bed of the sick, at the council board, in the long lonely rides by noon, under the stars, whose motions he always observed with wondering awe, for days and weeks, months and years, the conflict went on. Sometimes the fiend triumphed, and days-darker than night- of humiliation, shame, and remorse. Despite his calling upon God, his hopes of human love, of wife and children, ambition, the praise of men, the scoffs of ene- mies, he fell, to rise and renew the fight. Many and many a time the good, brave, and true prevailed, and the hosts of evil were driven below and chained, barred down, and walled over, were kept imprisoned for years, and the exultant soul went forth in the redeemed sunlight with joy, only to be waylaid and overwhelmed again in darkness. Gradually the stronger, better elements grow yet stronger and more vigilant. The will more inflexible, the foe was driven to narrower and more lim- ited regions, till the diminished prison was closed up, and no angel of evil ever after had strength to roll the stone from the living tomb.

All the later years of his life were years of serene, successful labor,-a great soul was redeemed to purity and unwavering strength. It was the days of consequent shame and anguish, as he recovered from a lost battle, that taught the recovering spirit the presence of the electric bond of brotherhood. That however proud in conscious superiority and elevation, it was, nevertheless, twin of the least en- dowed, of the most abased. This gospel of humanity he reverently accepted, and lovingly taught by the power and persuasion of a daily life and example.

His marriage, which brought the lamp of a pure, unselfish love to light up the abyss of his early life, shone strong and steadily over all his after-days,-a true, tender, strong, brave woman's heart, with all her instincts, courage, and purity of life, with the clear-mindedness, the hopefulness, and much of the strength of her race .* She was the strong man's help,-often his stronger help,-and at the end of that last, long, toilsome August day, her arms received the sinking form, and her breast sustained the head never again to lift itself in conscious manhood.

On the whole, few lives within our observation have been better rounded and more complete. A wise teacher of a charitable philosophy of human life, and finally himself more wisely taught. His people marked their just appreciation of him ; but the example of a strong man, greatly tempted, often falling, but finally triumphing, redeeming himself to a life of wide usefulness, charity, and benevo- lence, will survive the marble with which they would commemorate their estimate of him.

THOMAS W. HARVEY.

Among the learned professions, that of the teacher has but recently found for itself a place. But a few years ago, and the church and law and medicine occu- pied the only recognized highways leading to scholastic fame. Through them, and through them alone, was it possible for the young aspirant, thirsting for knowledge and its ultimate rewards, to realize the bright dreams of his ambition.

129 Jun Loo

THOMAS W. HARVEY.

But "the world moves," and conditions change. To-day there are other workers in iron besides the smith at his forge, and other workers of wood than the carpenter, with his saw and planc. The field of mechanical labor has widened, and whereas at one time it lay open only to a few rude workers, it now admits a multitude of handicraftsmen furnished with new tools and new methods provided by the inventive spirit of the times, and the result is, the world has been the gainer. The productions of mechanical labor are now of almost endless variety, meeting every requirement which utility can make; the products are better fashioned and greatly cheapened, until now the humblest person may enjoy comforts and luxu- ries which a few centuries ago were undreamed of by kingly power.

What is true of the department of mechanical labor is also true of other fields of human activity, and especially true of the profession of teaching. From ob- scurity it has rapidly risen to prominence. Whereas but a few years since, the workers were few and unskillful, now they are many, and form an organized body of devoted 'laborers, everywhere recognized as belonging to a profession which honors them, and which many of them honor. In this important department of human activity are now employed much of the best brain and broadest culture of our land. How fitting that in the teacher we should find the highest order of talent ; that he should be a man of thought and learning, eminent for scholarly attainments, and of unimpeachable character ! for enlightenment and integrity

. Mrs. Ludlow was Harriet, the youngest daughter of Thomas and Sybil Metcalf, late of Chardon, and a sister of Mrs. Sidney Converse. She is a woman of great strength of character, and much sweetness, quietness, and tenderness of nature. She survives her husband, and re- sides with B. F. Ludlow, their son, on the Auburn homestead. The other sons and daughters survive.

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HISTORY OF GEAUGA AND LAKE COUNTIES, OHIO.

both look to him more than to any other for encouragement, for life, and for future growth.

We of to-day should feel grateful that we live at a time when the educator has become an acknowledged force in this country. The soldier and statesman, the lawyer and jurist, the priest and bishop, with men skilled in physic, have been always, but the press and the public school are of to-day and the future. Each department has an important work to perform, but to the successful educator more than to any one of the others must society look for the realization of its best and brightest hopes.

Among the foremost educators of our State the subject of our sketch is justly ranked. For more than a third of a century he has been an industrious and constant laborer in his chosen profession. He is a New Englander by birth, and was born in New London, New Hampshire, on the 18th day of November, 1821. His early boyhood was lived in the old Granite State; but when he was about twelve years of age his father, Moses E. Harvey, removed to Ohio with his family, and purchasing a farm in the northeast corner of Concord township, settled thereon. Here young Thomas lived for the next four years, with pretty much the same experiences, no doubt, as were common to other farmer-lads of that day. But the sullen routine of farm-work was not congenial to his tastes. He could and did perform the endless variety of farm duties after a fashion, such as wood-chopping and brush-gathering, fence-building, corn-hoeing and husking, grass-mowing, and hay-hauling, potato-digging, cow-driving, milking and churn- ing, and pig-feeding, but his heart was not in his work. In his breast there was a burning desire for knowledge that called loudly for a change regarding the life-labor which he must perform. And the change came.

In 1836, when fifteen years of age, he came to Painesville, and entered the printing office of Horace Steele, then the publisher of the Republican. Here he remained about six years, including the two years of his apprenticeship. His yearning for knowledge and his desire for a good education now increased. There was something about the very atmosphere of the printing-office that stimulated this thirst. Three or four months of attendance at the district school had been all each year of his boyhood and early manhood had afforded him. His leisure hours were now improved with rigid economy. He devoted them to reading and study. At first he was his own instructor, but as he began to make some progress, and by practicing economy to save a little out of his earnings, was soon able to employ a tutor, which he did for about two years. He attended the Western Reserve Teachers' Seminary, at Kirtland, during part of the years 1842, 1843, and 1844, at that time a most excellent school, and in a flourishing condition. At this place he made rapid progress as a scholar, and soon after leaving this school he estab- lished the Geauga High School, an academical institution, at Chardon, Ohio. After occupying this position for three years, some time in 1848 he removed to Repub- lic, Seneca county, and became principal of an academy, in which he labored for three years. As his reputation as a well-qualified and successful instructor be- came more general, his services were sought in wider fields of labor, and in 1851 he became superintendent of schools at Massillon. Up to about this time public schools in Ohio existed only in name; there was scarcely no attempt made to classify or grade the scholars according to advancement in studies. The " High School" was almost unheard of, and State supervision slight. The teachers were often illy qualified, and always scantily paid. The profession had no standing ; few ambitious men were content to remain in its ranks, but used it as a means of support while obtaining an education, and at the first opportunity leaving it for something more promising as a profession. Not so with Professor Harvey ; others might desert their calling, others might serve it as a stepping-stone to other pro- fessions, but with him teaching was an enthusiasm, a labor of love, to which he would willingly devote his lifetime. He remained at Massillon fourteen years, when he was, in 1865, called to occupy a similar position at Painesville, in which capacity he served until 1871. At this time his name was brought before the Republicans of Ohio as a candidate for State commissioner of common schools. Although the names of other eminent educators were likewise presented to the convention, Professor Harvey was nominated and afterwards elected, and held the office for the regular term of three years.

In this capacity he rendered the State good service, doing much to strengthen the public school system, making many improvements, and adding thereby to his already wide reputation as a manager and able worker in the cause of education. In 1877, Professor Harvey again became superintendent of the Painesville schools, which position he at present occupies. His abilities as an educator were so well known that he has been tendered the charge of the schools at Cleveland, as also those at Columbus, but declined serving in both instances, being at the time engaged in work that claimed his time and attention, and entirely congenial to his tastes. Mr. Harvey's contributions to educational literature have been considerable and valuable. His long experience in the class-room made him thoroughly familiar with text-books, and, realizing their many imperfections, and

their lack of adaptation to the pupil's wants, it became a cherished purpose to do something towards improving them. But the duties of his profession were exact- ing and absorbed his time, leaving him little opportunity to carry out his plans. However, while engaged in the discharge of the most arduous school-room duties, he was still able to employ a few moments of each day in the work of preparing a series of text-books, which at last were published, and immediately came into favor with leading school-men. Among the titles of his books are " Practical Grammar," " Elementary Grammar," " First Lessons in Language," and a series of readers and spellers. He also assisted in the preparation of the Eclectic series of geographies. All these books are now published by Van Antwerp, Bragg & Co., Cincinnati. Mr. Harvey has contributed at intervals for many years to the lead- ing educational periodicals of the day.

During all the years of his professional life Professor Harvey has been fre- quently called upon to lecture in various localities, and in this way filled in inter- vals he could spare from his literary labors. In 1845 he attended at Chardon the second teachers' institute held in the State. In this field he has been a worker from the beginning, and as a lecturer and instructor has a reputation far beyond State limits. Professor Harvey has been a tireless and systematic student all his life, and has been very successful in imparting knowledge to others. He is a man of large and varied information ; careful, painstaking, and thorough in every- thing he undertakes. He is modest and unassuming in his disposition, sensitive to praise, plain in his habits of living, and in his method of speaking direct and forcible. In manners he is affable and genial to an unusual degree. He is still in the prime and vigor of manhood. With regular habits of life, pleasant family and social relations, a kindly disposition, a mind well trained by observation and study, and stored with the riches of books, advancing years will sit lightly and pleasantly upon him, and may be looked forward to as bringing him more and more of the ripe fruit of the golden autumn of a well-spent life.

ALLILS

A. L. TINKER.

We have been unable to obtain the data with which to prepare this gentleman's biography; and all we can say is that he stands confessedly at the head of the bar of his own county, and is regarded as one of the foremost lawyers in northern Ohio. His field of practice is very extensive. His wife is the eldest daughter of John A. Ford, formerly of Burton.

HON. JOEL F. ASPER.

Joel F. Asper was born in Adams county, Pennsylvania, April 20, 1822. He removed with his father to Ohio in 1827, was admitted to the bar in 1844. He was a delegate to the Buffalo convention in 1848, and editor of the Western Reserve Chronicle in 1849. From August 13, 1850, until March 25, 1852, he edited the Chardon Democrat. In 1861 he raised a company and was mustered into the volunteer service as captain, serving at the battle of Winchester, where he was wounded. In 1862 he was promoted to the lieutenant-colonelcy of the Seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and in 1863 was mustered out of service on account of wounds received in action. In 1864 he organized a regiment of

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History of Geauga and Lake Counties, Ohio, Part 36

Author: Williams Brothers Publication date: 1879 Publisher: Number of Pages: 443

Author: Williams Brothers
Publication date: 1879
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 443