USA > Ohio > History of Ohio; the rise and progress of an American state, Volume Three > Part 30
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OF AN AMERICAN STATE
As an adjunct to carrying out the plans for acquiring wealth for the church, the Prophet had a revelation that he should start a bank. He thereupon appealed to the Legislature for a charter for that purpose, but it was refused. Thereupon, disregarding the refusal of the Legislature, he organized in January, 1837, the "Kirtland Safety Society Bank." Smith was made president and Sidney Rigdon, the cashier; the capital stock was fixed at $5,000. It exercised banking powers as freely as if it had been incorporated, and issued its bills with the assurance by Smith of future payment and that the Lord would take care of them.
The bank was expected to be of great aid in warding off financial distress, which was becoming apparent. The first evidence came when Newell K. Whitney and Sidney Rigdon were sued on a note by the Bank of Geauga at Painesville. This was settled, only to be followed by a suit against the general store syndicate composed of Rigdon, Smith and Cowdery. A judg- ment for a large amount was given against these parties. Distress again followed in July, 1837, when as a result of financial complications, Sidney Rigdon, Joseph Smith, Jr., Oliver Cowdery, Hyrum Smith, Reynolds Cahoon and Jared Carter executed a mort- gage on the Temple to secure an indebtedness of $4,500. The climax was reached when a proceeding was insti- tuted against Smith and Rigdon for acting as bank officers without authority of law. They were arrested, and at the October term of the court in that year, they were found guilty and ordered to pay a fine of $1,000 each. On their trial, they claimed that they repre- sented a mutual savings association and not a bank,
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and that the bills issued were individual notes. The case was taken up on error on these grounds; it was never decided, as all of the defendants fled beyond the jurisdiction of the court before the time of hearing.
As the year 1837 was drawing to a close, it was apparent that the Mormon church had reached a critical period of its history. In November, the bank suspended specie payment and closed its doors. This was the fatal blow to Mormonism in Ohio. After this, followed scenes of revolt and open crimination against the Prophet. In the midst of schism, opposi- tion, apostasy and personal threats, it must be said that he stood his ground as long as there was any show of stemming the tide that had set in against him. But the dangers grew apace with the hours, and he saw only attempted revenge, arrest, prosecution and punishment in the near future for him. It was on the last Sabbath of 1837 that Smith and Rigdon met their people in the Temple to combat and suppress the religious mutiny. They failed to quell the opposition and on a vote, the Prophet's spiritual powers were not recog- nized.
The end can best be described by Smith himself. Afterward in The Evening and Morning Star, he thus wrote of his departure from Kirtland: "A new year dawned upon the church at Kirtland in all the bitter- ness of the spirit of apostate mobocracy, which con- tinued to rage and grow hotter and hotter, until Elder Rigdon and myself were obliged to flee from its deadly influence, as did the apostles and prophets of old, and as Jesus said, 'When they persecute you in one city, flee ye to another.' And on the evening of the twelfth
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OF AN AMERICAN STATE
of January [1837] about 10 o'clock, we left Kirtland on horseback to escape mob violence which was about to burst upon us under the color of legal process, and to cover their hellish designs and save themselves from the just judgment of the law. The weather was ex- tremely cold, and we were obliged to secrete ourselves sometimes to elude the grasp of our pursuers, who continued their race more than two hundred miles from Kirtland, armed with pistols, etc., seeking our lives."
The fleeing Prophet and his High Priest found safety and a welcome among the Mormons at Far West, Missouri, where another Zion was planted, modelled after Kirtland. A town was platted and another temple projected and a stormier career was entered upon. The Missourians inaugurated a war that event- ually drove the Saints to Illinois, where in 1840 they founded the town of Nauvoo. Here another temple was planned and the construction commenced. The introduction of polygamy aroused bitter hostilities against Smith and his followers, culminating in riot . and bloodshed. Joseph and Hyrum Smith were arrested on the charge of treason and imprisoned in the Carthage jail. June 27, 1844, a mob attacked the jail and murdered them both.
This event practically disorganized the church. Brigham Young succeeded Smith and led a small minority of his church to Utah, where under his polyg- amous reign it started a career in which it has developed great wealth and power.
The original Mormon faith as established by Joseph Smith, Jr. was adhered to by a small band of followers.
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THE RISE AND PROGRESS
It is known now as the "Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, " and is a strong opponent of the doctrine and practice of polygamy. They own and occupy the Kirtland Temple, having acquired a complete title to it in 1880. The Court of Common Pleas of Lake County in an action in which "The Church in Utah of which John Taylor is President and commonly known as the Mormon Church" was chief defendant, decreed that the ownership was in the "reorganized" church. The allegations in this suit to establish title were not disputed, therefore they are interesting from an historical viewpoint. In its peti- tion, the plaintiff, the reorganized church, after giving a detailed statement of its origin and settlement at Kirt- land, and a description of the land conveyed to Joseph Smith, Jr. as Trustee for the use of that church, says:
"And upon said lands said Church had erected a church edifice known as the Temple, and were then in possession and occupancy thereof for religious pur- poses, and so continued until the disorganization of said Church, which occurred about 1844. That the main body of said Religious Society had removed from Kirtland aforesaid, and were located at Nauvoo, Illinois, in 1844, when said Joseph Smith died, and said Church was disorganized and the membership (then being estimated at about 100,000) scattered in smaller frag- ments, each claiming to be the original and true Church before named, and located in different states and places.
"That one of said fragments, estimated at ten thous- and, removed to the Territory of Utah under the leader- ship of Brigham Young, and located there, and with accessions since, now constitute the Church in Utah,
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OF AN AMERICAN STATE
under the leadership and Presidency of John Taylor, and is named as one of the defendants in this action.
"That after the departure of said fragment of said church for Utah, a large number of the officials and membership of the original church which was dis- organized at Nauvoo, reorganized under the name of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and on the 5th day of February, 1873, became incorporated under the laws of the state of Illinois and since that time all other fragments of said original Church (except that one in Utah) have dis- solved, and the membership has largely become incor- porated with said Reorganized Church which is the plaintiff in this action.
"That the said Plaintiff, the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, is a Religious Society, founded and organized upon the same doc- trines and tenets, and having the same church organiza- tion, as the original Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, organized in 1830, by Joseph Smith, and was organized pursuant to the constitution, laws and usages of said original Church, and has branches located in Illinois, Ohio, and other States.
"That the church in Utah, the Defendant, of which John Taylor is President, has materially and largely departed from the faith, doctrines, laws, ordinances and usages of said original Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and has incorporated into its system of faith the doctrines of Celestial Marriage and a plurality of wives, and the doctrine of Adam-God worship, contrary to the laws and constitution of said original Church."
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The court proceeded to decree that the reorganized church was the true and lawful successor to the original church founded by Joseph Smith, Jr., in 1830, and entitled in law to all its rights and property. Thus the Temple passed into the hands of the followers of those who built it. It has been restored and a branch of the reorganized church now worships therein. The present membership in Ohio according to the official church records of 1910 numbers one thousand seven hundred and six persons.
CHAPTER XIV.
HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS COLUMBUS MADE PERMANENT CAPITAL THE FLOOD OF 1832 THE "TOLEDO WAR" SKETCHES OF GOVERNORS
T HE locating of a state capital is always attended with rivalries and conflicts both commercial and political. The establish- ment of Ohio's seat of government was no exception to this rule. In its territorial period it was at Cincinnati, Chillicothe, and again at Cincinnati. After statehood was assumed it was moved from Chilli- cothe, where the first constitution fixed it until 1808, to Zanesville, and from there it was temporarily removed to Chillicothe.
This migratory tendency was terminated by the Tenth General Assembly in session at Zanesville in 18II-12. After considering nine propositions for a site from different persons in Franklin, Delaware and Pickaway counties, the Legislature finally adopted that of Lyne Starling, John Kerr, A. Mclaughlin and James Johnston. They proposed that if the legis- lature would establish the permanent seat of govern- ment of Ohio on the east bank of the Scioto River opposite the town of Franklinton on certain lands described, that they would lay out a town thereon before the first day of July following, that they would convey ten acres of land for state buildings and a like amount for a penitentiary, and that they would erect such buildings to the value of fifty thousand dollars. A bond of one hundred thousand dollars was offered, conditioned that the proposition would be carried out. After some modifications, one of which was that the location was not to be fixed beyond 1840, the legisla- ture accepted the offers of Lyne Starling and his asso- ciates. This was done by an act passed February 14, 1812, which also provided for the removal of the capital
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THE RISE AND PROGRESS
to Chillicothe pending the construction of the state buildings at the newly fixed seat of government. The location of the capital was not determined without bitter controversy. The representatives of the respec- tive sites offered maintained lobbies and used every means known to legislative legerdemain to secure a victory. That it was fixed at what is now Columbus is undoubtedly due to the zeal, industry and persever- ance of Joseph Foos, the Senator from Franklin County. The public press of that day freely accorded to him this honor. To him also can be credited the naming of the capital Columbus.
The future capital of Ohio was a virgin forest un- marked, save by a single cabin, with the habitation or work of man. Except the designation of the "High bank on the east side of the Scioto River opposite the town of Franklinton," it had no name to insert in the official records. This was remedied February 2Ist, when the General Assembly by a joint resolution declared that the "permanent seat of government of this State shall be known and distinguished by the name of Columbus."
The four proprietors of Columbus proceeded to lay out the town as required by their contract, and on June 18, 1812, the day the war was declared against England, the first sale of lots took place. The little town took on immediate growth so that a census taken in the spring of 1815 showed over seven hundred inhabitants. On February 10, 1816, it was incor- porated under the name of "The Borough of Colum- bus," and on the 17th of the same month the General Assembly passed an act fixing the seat of government
THE FIRST STATE BUILDINGS AT COLUMBUS
The State House-on the right-was built of brick and extended seventy-five feet north and south on High Street and fifty feet east and west along State Street; the state offices were in the building to the left of the State House; it was a two-story brick, twenty-five by one hundred and fifty feet on High Street, in direct line with the State House; it was occupied by the Secretary of State, the Audi- tor of State, the Treasurer of State and the State Library; the old State House was destroyed by fire, February I, 1852. The state buildings were taken down in 1857.
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THE RISE AND PROGRES
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The future capital of Ohio was a virgin forest un- marked, save by a single cabin, with the habitation or work of man. Except the designation of the "High bank on the east side of the Scioto River opposite th town of Franklinton," it had no name to insert in the official records. This was remedied February 2Ist when the General Assembly by a joint resolution declared that the "permanent seat of government o this State shall be known and distinguished by th name of Columbus."
The four proprietors of Columbus proceeded to la out the town as required by their contract, and or June 18, 1812, the day the war was declared again: England, the first sale of lots took place. The littl town took on immediate growth so that a census takes in the spring of 1815 showed over seven hundre inhabitants. On February 10, 1816, it was inco porated under the name of "The Borough of Colun bus," and on the 17th of the same month the Genera Assembly passed an act fixing the seat of government
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OF AN AMERICAN STATE
at Columbus from and after the second Tuesday of October, 1816. Accordingly the state offices were removed from Chillicothe to Columbus, and on Decem- ber 2d of that year the General Assembly met for the first time in Columbus in the new State House, which was completed two years ahead of the time fixed by the contract.
The first Governor of Ohio to be inaugurated in the new capitol was Thomas Worthington of Chillicothe, who assumed his second term and delivered his inau- gural address before both Houses of the Legislature on December 9, 1816. He had been elected to his first term in 1814, and to accept the Governorship he resigned his seat in the United States Senate. As one of the coevals of Tiffin, Massie, Burnet and Put- nam, he helped to create and build the State. In other chapters (II, III), we have read of his labors in the Territorial period, and his prominent part in the struggle for statehood, but his place in the his- tory of Ohio rests more upon his record as United States Senator and Governor. His great labors on behalf of his State in these offices are worth more than a passing notice.
He was one of the two United States Senators from Ohio elected by the first Legislature which met March I, 1803. Senator Worthington at once took an im- portant rank in the Senate as a man of affairs, and he was recognized as a practical authority on the wants of the new State and the West generally. He was not a stranger at the seat of government. In the struggle for statehood he was first at Philadelphia, and after- ward at Washington representing the Democratic-
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Republicans in their fight against Governor St. Clair, and in their movement for the admission of Ohio to the Union. He was recognized by President Jefferson as one of the influential leaders of the party to which both belonged, and as a staunch friend of the adminis- tration.
On the questions of canals, internal improvements and public lands he was an acknowledged authority. The Secretary of the Treasury, Albert Gallatin, wrote to President Jefferson, November 25, 1807 (Writings of A. Gallatin, I. 323), concerning Worthington as follows: "Whatever relates to land cannot be too closely watched. Worthington is the only one in the Senate, since Breckinridge left, who understands the subject. He has been perfectly faithful in that respect, trying to relieve as much as possible the purchasers generally from being pressed for payment." On the last day of his first term in the Senate he secured the passage of a resolution that was the pre- cursor of the government's construction of the National Road.
He was again elected to the Senate, December 10, 1810, to serve out the unfinished term, ending March 4, 1815, of Return J. Meigs, Jr., who had been elected Governor. Again he became the authority on the Public Domain. He served on the Committees on Public Lands, Manufactures, and Indian Affairs. The establishment of the General Land Office was the result of a bill introduced by him, which became a law, April 24, 1812. He secured an appropriation of $30,000 to finish the first section of the National Road, which was one of the results of his project of internal improvements.
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OF AN AMERICAN STATE
Although a Democrat, he opposed and voted against the declaration of war against Great Britain in 1812 because he believed it was ill-advised and the country was not prepared for the conflict. His opposition, however, stopped with his vote, for he supported all the war measures of that time.
On December 8, 1814, he was inaugurated at Chilli- cothe as Governor. He had resigned from the United States Senate the day before. The war was still on and Governor Worthington lent all his energies to sustaining the National Government and protecting Ohio. During his term as Governor he constantly urged the Legislature to take steps looking to the construction of canals and the advancement of educa- tion. His lasting personal memorial is the State Library which he founded in 1817. By the economical management of the contingent fund of the Governor's office he, unexpectedly to the public, announced to the Legislature that he had selected and purchased a library of 509 volumes, which was to constitute a collection for the use of the State officials and the Legislature. From this beginning has grown the present State Library of 75,000 volumes. Nearly all the books selected by Governor Worthington are in the Library to-day.
After serving two terms as Governor, he represented Ross County in the Twentieth and Twenty-First General Assemblies in 1821-23. He afterwards acted on the Canal Commission with Alfred Kelley, and did much to promote a canal system, being the first Governor to advocate that improvement.
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THE RISE AND PROGRESS
Thomas Worthington may justly be styled one of the master spirits of Ohio. His long public career was productive of much good. He was distinctly a constructive statesman, giving his whole life to found- ing and building Ohio to greatness. When we look over his work in this State we find that he was the first Governor to urge free schools for the poor, to restrict the liquor traffic in favor of temperance, to found a great library, to recommend a Governor's mansion, to grant prisoners in the penitentiary a portion of their labor income, to urge a state normal school, to establish county infirmaries, to advocate canals, and to promote internal improvements by state roads. Measuring his full career both in National and State affairs, we can well agree with Salmon P. Chase, that he was a "gentleman of distinguished ability and great influence."
Lafayette, the distinguished compatriot and friend of Washington, paid a formal visit to Ohio in 1825. He was received at Cincinnati in May of that year by Governor Morrow and his staff in the presence of 50,000 people. Amid the thundering of cannon and the ac- clamations of a grateful multitude, the friend of the Nation in its darkest hour was welcomed by a new generation. It was truly a marvelous scene. When last in America, sharing with Washington the hard- ships of the camp and the glories of the field, the territory upon which he now landed was absolutely wild with savage beasts and still more savage men. Since then a new empire of the West had grown up, cities had arisen where once forests grew, and the great unknown and uncivilized West of the Revolu-
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OF AN AMERICAN STATE
tionary era had developed into a territory inhabited by three and one-half millions of people. To Lafayette it was indeed a soul-stirring sight. He loved the Republic and republican institutions wherever found. The new world received the Great Republican of the old, not only for the glorious help he gave in the Revolu- tion, but because for liberty's sake he had since then suffered fines and persecutions and imprisonment.
Lafayette had arrived in this country the summer before, and his visit was a continual ovation from a grateful Nation unforgetful of patriotic memories. He was escorted to Cincinnati by the Governor of Ken- tucky and a splendid suite, and received, as before stated, by the Governor of Ohio. Among those promi- nently identified with Lafayette's reception were Gen- erals Harrison and Lytle, and Judge Burnet, a trio of pioneers who revived strongly the days of the North- west Territory.
An interesting incident occurred on this occasion. Among the thousands that welcomed the great guest on that bright May morning was a good German woman who, years before, gave Lafayette a cup of milk and a three-franc piece as he came out of the fortress of Olmutz, where he had been long and cruelly imprisoned as a friend of liberty. Lafayette upon meeting her gave her an affectionate and tender greeting.
He could not find time in the press of his engage- ments to visit the interior of Ohio. He traveled on the Ohio River, and visited Gallipolis, where he was enthusiastically received by the small remnant of French settlers at that place. Governor Morrow accompanied him eastward as far as Wheeling, where
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THE RISE AND PROGRESS
he was welcomed by the people of Virginia with great honor and hospitality. Bidding him goodbye and God-speed, Governor Morrow returned to the State Capital.
In 1832 occurred one of those remarkable and devas- tating floods in the Ohio River, which work occa- sionally so much destruction to Ohio property and business. The summer and autumn of the previous year were very rainy; in those seasons there fell in the Ohio Valley three feet of rain, whereas that fall was the usual one for the entire year. Snow fell heavily up in the mountains, so that when the breaking up of the winter arrived in February, additional falls of snow and rain found the Ohio River high in its banks and rising rapidly. In the last ten days of January there fell sixteen inches of snow, then for twelve days came a rain of eight inches accompanied with a warm temperature. The result was an im- mense inundation. The destruction and devastation which followed are simply indescribable. To the danger and damage of property was added the terror and helplessness of the people along the river in the presence of a calamity no human means could avert or lessen. At Marietta on Saturday and Sunday, the 11th and 12th of February, the river was a floating mass of ruins. Dwelling houses, stables, haystacks, boards, timber, trees and farming implements, all piled in confusion, floated down the stream. In one place where their progress was impeded, these accumulated ruins heaped up to the height of thirty feet. At an is- land below Marietta over thirty buildings were crowded upon each other by the resistless flood. In some
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of these were complete stocks of country stores. An instance is known of a barn that floated one hundred miles and landed at Long Bottom, Meigs County, with a horse safely resting within. Much stock was drowned, and the whole territory along the river was a sad scene of devastation. Outside of the towns, the loss in Ohio was estimated at about five hundred dollars per mile. The destructiveness of the flood seemed to have penetrated the interior of the State. The continued rains filled all the rivers to overflowing. The Maumee, the Great Miami, the Scioto and other streams of less importance leaped their banks, destroy- ing bridges, mills, fences, stock and produce.
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