USA > Ohio > Richland County > History of Richland County, Ohio, from 1808 to 1908, Vol. I > Part 6
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Abner Slutz was a member of Captain Wiley's company of the 16th O. V. I., of the First call service. He came to Mansfield soon after the
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HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY
close of the Civil war, opened a law office on the north side of the public square, and a few years later was elected mayor of Mansfield by the Repub- lican party. He later removed to Cleveland and is now dead.
Homer Lee, a son of the late John A. Lee, reversed Horace Greeley's advice to go West and grow up with the country. Homer went East and won a fortune.
The Rev. James Trimble was the rector of Grace Episcopal church,. Mansfield, from 1864 to 1869, and is kindly remembered by the older parish- ioners.
A picture of Samuel Cutting recalls a popular landlord of the past. Mr. Cutting was a Penobscot Yankee and came from Maine to Ohio in the Thirties and settled at Bellville. He also kept hotel in Mansfield for a num- ber of years. He was the landlord of the Cutting House before, during, and after the Civil war. He was upright, honorable and charitable, but. eccentric.
And here is Pat Ford as a boy. Long before he donned the blue to become a Union soldier in the war of the Rebellion.
Mr. Beck was a member of the 120th O. V. I. in the Civil War. His- clerical attainments caused him to be taken from the ranks and placed in the quartermaster's department. He has souvenirs in the way of orders and recommendations which show and attest the fact of his efficiency.
THE MONROE SEMINARY OF LONG AGO.
The Monroe seminary was one of the most successful schools ever con- ducted in Richland county. It was situate in the southwestern part of Monroe township, and was founded by the late Rev. Richard Gailey, in May, 1851.
In 1849 the Rev. Richard Gailey became pastor of three United Pres- byterian congregations in the county, known as "Monroe," "Troy" and "Pine Run." The Monroe congregation previously had a house for worship in Worthington township, near Traxler's, on the road leading from Bellville to Newville. The pastor of that Worthington church was the Rev. James- Johnson, who was the United Presbyterian minister in Mansfield from 1821 until his death in 1858. The second minister at Worthington was the Rev. George Wilson, who later went to the Baptist denomination and published a book on baptism by immersion, which created considerable comment at the time.
When a new building was needed a site was selected in Monroe town- ship, three miles north, which was considered more central for the members. A substantial brick edifice was built, which is yet standing and used at present as a place of worship for a congregation of the denomination known as the Disciples of Christ.
Roads cross and diverge to five towns from the Monroe church-eight miles to Mansfield and four miles each to Lucas, Newville, Bellville, and Butler. The location is a pleasant one at the head of a little valley, where pure water flows abundantly from several springs.
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The Rev. Richard Gailey was an Irishman, who came to America when he was twenty-one years of age, took a collegiate course, and then entered the ministry of the United Presbyterian denomination, and after becoming the pastor of the Monroe church conceived the idea of conducting a school in addition to his ministerial duties. He was never so happy as when en- gaged in teaching, whether in the schoolroom or in the church. He was a great worker, and after teaching his classes by day frequently rode miles to preach in some schoolhouse in the evening. He was honest and earnest, but conservative and collected. His delivery was pleasant, his language well chosen and his diction pure, his aim being more to instruct and convince rather than to please or amuse.
The church building was at first used for recitation purposes, after the seminary was started, but a schoolhouse was soon built upon the glebe. The seminary grew and prospered until students were in attendance not only from other counties, but also from other states. Farmers opened their homes to the students and boarded and lodged them.
After conducting the seminary sucessfully for ten years Mr. Gailey removed to Lexington, where the same work was continued with even greater success, until his death in 1875.
While many of the students of the Monroe seminary later attained position and prominence, space will permit of only a few being mentioned here.
The Hon. John M. Henderson, now a prominent lawyer of Cleveland, was a Monroe seminary pupil, as was also George L. Reed, of Kansas, and his brother, Hugh F. Reed, of Colorado Springs. A number of young men were there prepared for the ministry and are now filling important positions. Jerry Needham, of Troy township, was a pupil of Mr. Gailey's after the academy was removed to Lexington.
This imperfect sketch is not intended as a history of the Monroe sem- inary. It is only a desultory sketch of an institution of learning that was a benefit not only to its students, but also to the community at- large, for it created an interest in educational matters that was like unto bread cast upon the waters in its after results.
There is a cluster of houses still near the old seminary site. The Gailey residence is now the hospitable home of Mr. and Mrs. I. N. Thompson, and a home it is indeed, for there peace, plenty and happiness abide and abound.
MANSFIELD'S CENTENNIAL.
The Centennial Anniversary of the Founding of Mansfield Appropriately Celebrated Under the Auspices of the Richland County
Historical Society, Thursday, June 11, 1908.
At the annual meeting of the Richland County Historical Society, held in Mansfield, June, 1906, a Centennial commission was created to arrange for and conduct a celebration of the centennial anniversary of the founding of Mansfield. The commission was composed of the following gentlemen : Hon. Huntington Brown, Peter Bissman, M. B. Bushnell, A. J. Baughman,
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CENTENNIAL PARADE, MANSFIELD, JUNE 11, 1908
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HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY
Captain A. C. Cummins, R. G. Hancock, T. B. Martin, Rev. F. A. Schreiber and Charles H. Voegele. Huntington Brown was chosen president of the commission and A. J. Baughman, secretary. During the year 1907, Captain A. C. Cummins resigned and was succeeded by General R. Brinkerhoff.
A few months after the creation of the commission, the old log block- house that had been built on the public square in 1812, by the soldiers of the war of 1812, was purchased and removed to the courthouse grounds, where it was reerected partly as an advertisement of the contemplated Centennial celebration, but chiefly as a memorial to the pioneers of Richland county and the soldiers of the war of 1812.
At first it was thought to hold the celebration for a number of days, but owing to a financial depression that existed at the time, it was deemed best to confine the festivities to one day. The morning of the day of June 11th dawned auspiciously ushering in an ideal day. The crowd which came to the city was simply immense, being conservatively estimated at from twenty thousand to twenty-five thousand. The following account of the day and exercises are taken from the Mansfield papers. The following is from the Mansfield News:
My son-thou wilt dream the world is fair, And thy spirit will sigh to roam, And thou must go ;- but never, when there, Forget the light of home.
With impressive ceremonies the city of Mansfield today takes cognizance of the fact that it has reached the end of the first century of its history and now enters the second century of its life.
This centennial anniversary marks an important epoch in the city's his- tory and the celebration arranged for this occasion drew the interest not alone of present residents of Mansfield but attracted to the city many former residents who had not been here for years, and drew large crowds from the surrounding towns and country.
Early in the morning the crowds began gathering in the vicinity of Central Park and by 9 o'clock the park and nearby streets were filled with people who enjoyed the band concert which was given in the park and which continued while the procession was being formed for the parade.
At 10 o'clock there was a programme of addresses in front of the block- house, the speakers standing on the courthouse steps where a large audience had gathered.
GENERAL BRINKERHOFF'S ADDRESS.
In connection with the exercises which took place at the blockhouse im- mediately after the band concert in Central Park, the following address was delivered by General R. Brinkerhoff:
One hundred years ago, on the 11th day of June, 1808, the city of Mans- field, whose history we celebrate today, was located, laid out and named by James Hedges, Joseph Larwell and Jacob Newman. They agreed to name
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HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY
the new town Mansfield after the then surveyor general of the United States, Colonel Jared Mansfield, under whose instructions Hedges and his com- panions were working. The original plat of the city was a square, of which the public square, now known as the Central Park, was the center. It ex- tended north one block beyond Fourth street, south across Ritter's Run one block beyond First street; east one block beyond Water street, and west one block beyond Mulberry street. From this small beginning the city has grown during the century to its present population of over twenty thousand, and a fair probability of an annual increase of a thousand more for many years to come. ,
The first house in Mansfield was a log cabin built by Samuel Martin on lot 97, where the dry goods store of H. L. Reed Co. is now located, and it was the only house built in 1808. Ohio at that time was largely a wilder- ness, and in Richland county there were less than a dozen settlers. The growth of Mansfield has been steadily northward and westward, and its cen- ter of population today is near the Mansfield Savings bank, on the north- west corner of Main and Fourth streets.
During the war of 1812 two block houses were erected on the public square as a protection against the Indians. One was of round logs and the other of hewed logs, the latter standing near the center of the north side of the park. After the war, or rather before the war ended, this hewed block house was used for the first courthouse in the county. The preparation of this block house for a courthouse is officially warranted and preserved in the commissioners' records under the date of June 10, 1813, which states that "the commissioners proceeded to examine the block house in Mansfield, and to order the same to be prepared for the reception of the court, and that the lower part of the same be prepared for the reception of prisoners as a jail. And do further order that the said lot of carpenter work be sold to the lowest bidder on the 24th day of July inst. which sale is advertised accordingly."
On the 4th of August following the bids were opened and Luther Coe was the lucky man. His bid was $46.00 with an additional $2 for the con- struction of a handrail for the outside stairway. This building is the one before which we are now assembled, and in the main is what it was when first occupied by the court on August 13, 1813, and for the three following years, until a new courthouse was completed. On December 3, 1816, by order of the commissioners "the two block houses standing on the public square were set up at public auction and were bid off as follows: the hewn log house to Alexander Curran at $56.40 and the round log house to Jacob Snider at $20."
The round log house has disappeared, but the hewed log house remains practically, as you now see it.
The new courthouse was built of hewn logs and answered its purpose about ten years, when in 1827 a new courthouse of brick was built and occupied, with some additions and improvements, until 1873 when the present courthouse, located east of the square, was occupied.
The two buildings before us indicate fairly well the progress made in
WINDING UP OF CENTENNIAL PARADE, MANSFIELD, JUNE 11, 1908.
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HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY
Mansfield during the century in all directions. Instead of log cabins com- fortable homes, owned for the most part by those who occupy them, are found on all our streets; our churches in number and architecture are not surpassed and, so far as I know, are not equaled by any other city of its size in the state. Our school buildings, also in number, structure and man- agement are widely recognized and commended. In short, our city as a whole is creditable to those who have contributed to its development in the past century, and we are not ashamed to commend it to those who come after us.
Mansfield, outside of its material development, has much to com- mend it in the years that are gone. Certainly in men of ability in all the departments of human endeavor, no city of its size has furnished a larger number; and for legislators and judges in state and nation there are few, if any, even of the larger cities in Ohio, that have done as well.
The settlement of Ohio was a mighty work. Those who did it were men of iron nerve, undaunted courage and persistent force.
God Almighty has so arranged and constituted the nature of things that nothing great or good or strong in matter or mind, comes to the earth except it comes through struggle and through storm. It is this law and the struggle under it which has made Ohio, of all the states in the Union, foremost in war and in the councils of the nation.
Long before another centennial day shall be celebrated in this place you and I who are gathered here today will have passed away, and our chil- dren also will have passed away. Even our tombstones will be mossgrown and crumbling, but we may, if we will, keep our memory green by trans- mitting to that generation unimpaired the faith and liberty received from our fathers.
Now in conclusion, to those who may assemble in Mansfield a hun- dred years hence, as we are today, we send greeting, and bid them to love God and their country and transmit untarnished to their children the bless- ings they have received.
At the conclusion of General Brinkerhoff's address he introduced Judge Edwin Mansfield, who spoke of the importance of the epoch which this event marked and referred in a touching manner to the hardships endured by the early settlers of Mansfield. He contrasted the block house, which served as Richland county's first courthouse, with the present structure. The address was one of decided interest and was followed by much applause.
During the Centennial parade, much interest was centered in the three Mexican war veterans occupying a carriage in the parade. They were Samuel Wirts, Jacob Oyster and William Ferguson. Messrs. Wirts and Oyster were members of Captain George Weaver's Company D, Fourth Regiment, and although they had served together during the war, Centennial dy was their first meeting since they had been discharged from the service in 1847. Their meeting after a separation of sixty-one years was a very pleasant one, as each was possessed of a fair degree of health, strenuous war service and advanced age being considered.
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HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY
CENTENNIAL NOTES.
Among the interesting characters in attendance at the centennial cele- bration is Louis C. Hayes, of Jackson township, who handles the bass drum in the Hayes' drum corps, which participated in the parade. Mr. Hayes was born May 21, 1839. He has been in the blacksmith, wagon and carriage business for more than fifty years and has been a Ma:on for forty-two years. For twenty-seven years he has been a member of Mansfield Commandery No. 21, Knights Templar, and has missed only a few meetings in all of that time. He belongs to the Methodist church and has spent his entire life on the farm where he now resides.
As a boy he was a passenger on the first free excursion that was ran on the Sandusky, Mansfield and Newark railroad. He holds a commission as lieutenant in the state militia, which was issued to him by Governor Todd near the close of the civil war.
Among the pioneers of Mansfield whose descendants still reside here were Samuel Carrothers and his family who came to Mansfield in 1815 and located on he northwest corner of Fourth and Diamond streets. The elder Carrothers lived there until his death, June 20, 1865, at the age of eighty-six. Samuel L. Carrothers was born on that corner May 12, 1819, and at his death, January 24, 1902, aged eighty-three, was the oldest man in Mansfield who was born here. He lived here his entire life and within a stone's throw of where he was born, his son, John C. Carrothers, still residing in the home where his father lived so many years, at the south- west corner of Fourth and Franklin avenue.
The museum in the Memorial building was open during the entire day and many people took advantage of this opportunity to make an inspection of it.
Congressman J. Ford Laning arrived in the city from Norwalk at 2 o'clock Thursday afternoon and proceeded at once to the afternoon meet- ing at the opera house.
The old block house on the courthouse lawn attracted many visitors and was open for inspection during the entire day.
Merchants and citizens showed their interest in the celebration by dec- orating their stores, homes and lawns and the city presented a very attract- ive scene with its profuse display of flags and red, white and blue bunting.
At the conclusion of Judge Mansfield's address, the parade was formed, as described by the following taken from the Mansfield Daily Shield :
When the centennial parade started at 10:30 o'clock the down town streets were lined with thousands.
Chief Weil of the police department and Chief Knofflock of the fire department, headed the procession in Chief Knofflock's buggy. Then came the city's finest, with military step and swinging clubs.
Major Marquis, Captain Hastings and Lieutenant Bever-tock followed on horseback and then came the Mansfield City band followed by Com- pany M in command of Captain W. S. Bradford, making a fine appear- ance in their dressy uniforms.
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HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY
A long line of automobiles followed, containing members of the Rich- land County Historical Society, speakers, members of the Centennial com- mission and guests of honor, who included a number of pioneers.
In one of the automobiles were noticed three pioneer citizens, Fred Wal- ter, Peter Ott and M. L. Miller.
William Courtney, the oldest male citizen of Mansfield, rode in his own carriage, accompanied by his wife.
The Lewis Hayes' drum corps headed Mclaughlin Post.
There was a large turnout of the veterans and they attracted much attention along the line of march.
One of the most interesting features of the procession was the pres- ence of three Mexican war veterans in the parade, who rode in B. Frank Palmer's carriage in the rear of the G. A. R. They were Samuel Wirts of Madison township, Jacob Oyster, of Jefferson township, and William Ferguson of this city.
The German Pioneer Society followed the soldiers and had a large turnout. The German pioneers had much to do with the growth and development of the city and they attracted considerable attention along the line of march.
The Citizens' band of Bellville made a good appearance and headed the uniformed Maccabees who made a very creditable appearance.
Next in the parade were the firemen and apparatus from the three fire stations of the city. There were five pieces of apparatus in the proces- sion and the firemen made a splendid appearance. The three sections were in charge of the different captains; Captain Marks of No. 1 Station, Captain Bell of No. 2 station and Captain Longsdorf of No. 3 station.
A motor truck loaded down with people was a feature of the parade. It is a product of the Commercial Motor Truck Company of Plymouth.
Then came carriages and automobiles containing city and county offi- cials.
One of the striking features of the procession was a beautifully dec- orated auto, the property of Jud Lantz.
The little folks from the Children's home in their holiday attire rode in the procession in a decorated wagon. The children attracted a great deal of attention.
The parade was viewed from the balcony of the Southern Hotel.
HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Immediately following the parade there was a short meeting of the Richland County Historical Society at the G. A. R. hall at which General Brinkerhoff presided and during which an address was delivered by John C. Burns of Chicago, a former Mansfield attorney.
The afternoon centennial program was opened by the drum corps, which played in front of the Memorial Opera House. The crowd soon began to assemble about the building. By the time the speaking began the house was comfortably filled.
On the stage were seated the speakers, members of the historical soci-
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HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY
ety, members of the ministerial association and the musicians. General R. Brinkerhoff was the chairman of the meeting. After the invocation by Dr. D. J. Meese, General Brinkerhoff introduced the most important speaker of the day, Hiram Smith, Mansfield's grand old man.
Mr. Smith was greeted with rounds of applause. Many had come just to hear this noted man. It is doubtful if any in the house had ever before listened to an address by a man of Mr. Smith's age. The address was well delivered, Mr. Smith's voice being so strong and clear it could be distinctly heard in all parts of the house. The crowd paid Mr. Smith the utmost courtesy by the close attention it gave him. Mr. Smith spoke in part as follows :
Asa Smith and Ilannah Richmond Smith, my father and mother, moved from Seneca county, New York, in the spring of 1810 and settled on the banks of Lake Erie at Huron, Ohio, where I was born January 7, 1813. Before and during the war of 1812 the settlers experienced a great many hardships and their lives were in constant danger from the Indians. At the first election in Huron, Ohio, Asa Smith was elected justice of the peace. My father died in 1815.
On the fourth of July, 1824, my sister, Clarrissa Smith, was married to Hugh McFall, of Mansfield, and about two months later, in September of the same year, she had me, her youngest brother, then only eleven years of age, come to Mansfield and make my home with her.
Mr. McFall was one of the early merchants of Mansfield and he came here in 1820. He took me into the store to do chores. I went to school in the winter. My teacher was Alexander Barr. The schoolhouse was on the north side of East Fourth street, near the big spring. The boys had to take turns in chopping wood and building fires, and the girls in sweeping in the schoolroom at noon. I finished my education under Judge James Stewart's school on Park avenue west.
In 1828 James Hedges was a member of the Ohio legislature and through his influence, Hugh McFall was made a presidential elector for this congressional district. In January, 1829, Hugh McFall went to Colum- bus and cast his vote for Andrew Jackson for president. Mr. McFall made the trip on horseback as there were no stages running at that time.
On his return he brought a small keg of oysters in his saddle bags, the first oysters ever received in Mansfield. The keg contained about three quarts. We had a good deal of trouble in eating them as we did not know which end of the oyster to put in our mouths first, but with the assistance of our neighbors we got them all eaten.
General Andrew Jackson was inaugurated president March 4, 1829, and a short time thereafter Hugh McFall received the appointment of postmaster which he filled during Jackson's two terms.
I was appointed deputy postmaster and had special charge of the office. In 1830 there had accumulated a surplus of funds in the office of twelve hundred dollars. We received an order from the postoffice department at Washington to deposit the money in the Franklin bank of Columbus. Stages were not yet running. The money being all in silver, the bulk was
ممهور.
MANSFIELD PUBLIC SQUARE, 1830
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HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY
both large and heavy. Mr. McFall having been over the road so lately explained the way to go and the stopping places. My first stop was Fred- ericktown where I got my horse fed and dinner at Abner Ayer's hotel. From Fredericktown there was a new road cut through to Sunbury in Del- aware county which was very thinly settled. At one place it was five miles between cabins.
The first night I stopped at Mr. Potter's Tavern near the west line of Knox county. Mr. Potter in taking the saddle bags of the horse remarked, "Young man this is very heavy." I explained to Mr. Potter the contents and requested him to put the saddle bags in a safe place. The next morn- ing I started off all right. As the sun was going down I came to a cross road and learned from the guide board that it was nine miles to Columbus and two miles to Worthington. I realized that I could not get to Columbus until late in the night, so I went to Worthington which was a new town laid out by Colonel Kilbourn who entertained travelers. When I rode up to the house Mr. Kilbourn came out and took the saddle bags off the horse. He made the same remark that Mr. Potter had made.
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