USA > Ohio > Seneca County > History of Seneca County, Ohio, containing a history of the county, its townships, towns, villages, school, churches, industries, etc., portraits of early settlers and prominent men; biographies; history of the Northwest territory; history of Ohio; statistical and miscellaneous matter, etc., etc > Part 60
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The network of piping consists of cast and wrought pipe, about fifteen miles in length: there are two water mains separately connected with this net- work in the city, one sixteen-inch and one twelve-inch, one on the east and one on the west side of the river; there are 107 hydrants and about 350 water consumers. The first officers were S. L. Wiley, president and manager, and M. Scannell, superintendent. The present officers are M. Scannell, president and manager, and George William Ballou, treasurer and secretary.
Places of Amusement .- Tiffin Opera House Company was organized De- cember 9, 1878, with the following membership: Scudder Chamberlain, O. P. Snyder, A. L. Flack, G. Ernest, W. P. Noble, J. M. Kaull, J. A. Blair, J. F. Bunn, George E. Seney, John McCauley, J. M. Naylor, Edward Jones, M. Kirchner, S. B. Sneath and C. Mueller.
The National Hall, which took the place of the old Methodist Episcopal Church as the home of the drama, built by William C. Hedges, in 1862, forms the leading place for the drama in the city. Where this building stands was "Rat Row," comprising the American House, Abbot's, Gallup's and Gipson's stores and Dresbach's and Rawson's offices.
Roller Skating Rinks .- This novel diversion, which has, in many instances, won the attention of old as well as young away from the business office, school or home, was established at Tiffin in the fall of 1884, by Messrs. Ross & Bowers, of Boston, Mass. The amusement was known as "the skating rink craze." So great was the support tendered to the new enterprise, a competitor appeared in May, 1885, and a new rink was constructed on the west bank of Rock Creek, fronting on Market Street. Whether the roller skate is an es- tablished institution, like base ball, remains for the future to decide. During the winter of 1884-85 it appeared to have gained many admirers.
The Tiffin Board of Trade was organized in January, 1881, with the follow- ing named members: G. E. Seney, Harrison Noble, S. B. Sneath, Thomas J. Kintz, Perry M. Adams, J. A. Blair, S. Chamberlain, A. C. Barbour, A. J.
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HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY.
Brickner, George D. Loomis, J. Scheiber, Francis Wagner, W. P. Noble, O. T. Locke, G. W. Stephenson, George Ernest, P. Grammes, E. Andre, F. Grummel, Bloom & Bro., E. Baker, P. Scheib, C. J. Yingling, J. H. Frost, G. A. Corthell, S. J. Kintz, Charles Martin, George P. Huss, J. F. Mar- quardt, John A. Hall, Fred K. Holderman, E. B. Hubbard, F. Nicolai, George Vanderpool.
CONCLUSION.
In the pages just written every branch of life connected with the city, from the earliest times, finds a notice without elaboration-a statement of fact without exaggeration. Many points of interest in the city's history being so in- terwoven with the county, it was deemed well to give them a place in the pages of the general history, and thus many interesting incidents and names cannot be found in this chapter.
There is no history of failure attached to the city. The men who settled here knew no such word as fail; consequently it is a story of success, following industry, perseverance, toleration and intelligence. We could name 300 men to whose liberal policy and untiring zeal the city is indebted for its growth and position among the large towns of the Northwest. To the wisdom and policy of him who selected the location, and fostered early manufacturing and busi- ness enterprises, a great deal of Tiffin's success is due, but the great achieve- ment which placed the city's business and social life on their present substan- tial footing must be credited to our own times and men, to their enterprise and virtues.
CHAPTER XVIII,
EDEN TOWNSHIP.
T' THIS township boasts of being the first agricultural settlement in the county, and the first in fertility of soil and beauty of landscape. In 1820 it was known as Township 1 north, Range 15 east, and in this year it was surveyed in quarter-sections by David Risdon and James T. Worthington, the Van Meter Reservation being the exception. This reservation extended west from the center of Sections 5 and 8 to the west line of the township, or the east line of the Walker Reservation in Bloom. The treaty of the foot of the Rapids of the Miami, negotiated April 29, 1817, provided for the establish- ment of this reservation in the following words: "To John Van Meter, who was taken prisoner by the Wyandots, and who has ever since lived among them and has married a Seneca woman, and to his wife and wife's three broth- ers, Senecas (Brandts), who now reside on Honey Creek, 1,000 acres, to begin north, 45° west, 140 poles from the house, in which the said John Van Meter now lives, and to run thence south 320 poles, thence and from the beginning east for quantity." This tract was purchased by Lloyd Norris in 1828 from John Van Meter, Jr., and his uncles, the Brandts, and forty years later formed the farms of Clementine Kishler, J. W. Miller, S. J. Seed. Thomas Lahere, M. A. Trexler, H. Lease and Eden Lease. The greater part of the Van Meter Huckleberry Swamp was in the south center of the northwest quar- ter of Section 7, and the lake on the northwest quarter of Section 8, within the reservation.
537
EDEN TOWNSHIP.
The Sandusky River courses through Section 31. Hone Creek, an Eden like stream, enters the township in Section 24, flows southwest by Melmore- and enters on its northwestern course in the southwest quarter of Section 27, leaving the township in the northwest quarter of Section 6. Rock Creek enters the township in Section 1, flows south to Section 12; thence in a general course west to Section 10, and northwest to Section 4, leaving the township in the northeast quarter of that section. Brandt Creek, which flows through a small lake on Section 8, enters Honey Creek above the mill-race. Numerous streams course through this favored division of the county, and springs, as well as spring creeks, are found in almost every section. The surface is gen- erally rolling, broken along the streams, and the soil fertile.
Organic and Official .- Eden Township was set off in 1821, and the first election held June 4, 1821, at John Searles' house. Henry Craw, James Mathers and John Welch were elected trustees; David Clarke, clerk; John Searles, treasurer; Ira Holmes and John Searles, overseers of the poor; Dan- iel Pratt and John Searles, fence viewers; Hugh Welch and Ira Holmes, appraisers; Samuel Knapp and John Welch, road supervisors, and Thomas Welch, constable. The early records were kept so very poorly, the board con- tracted with John Lamberson in 1834 to have them copied. The board of trustees from 1824 to 1827 comprised Richard Jaqua, I. J. Halsey and Elisha Williams. In the following record the names of trustees are given first, while the name of the clerk holds the last place on each line:
1828 .- Elisha Williams, Selden Graves; John Kagy.
1829 .- Ira Holmes, John Kensor, Chris. Sponable; B. Hutchins.
1830 .- Ira Holmes, John Kensor, Chris. Sponable; Dan Palmer.
1831 .- S. S. Martin, John Welch, D. McClung; John Kinger.
1832 .- S. S. Martin, John Welch, D. McClung; M. J. Cornell.
1833 .- Thomas Baker, Samuel Saul, Noah Seitz; M. M. Wright.
1834. - John T. Bretz, Samuel Saul, D. McClung; John Lamberson.
1835 .- Martin Welch, William Watson, D. McClung; James Gray.
1836 .- George Denison, S. S. Martin, John Baker; James Gray.
1837. - Case Brown, S. S. Martin, John Baker; James Gray.
1838 .- George A. Blackwell, Abram Hess, John Baker; James Gray.
1839 .- Case Brown, Abram Hess, Thomas J. Baker; Chester Brown.
1840. - Noah Seitz, S. Saul, James C. Murry; H. W. Burrows.
1841 .- William Randall, Ezra Brown, S. Saul; John Lamberson. 1842 .- D. M. Eastman, Jonah Brown, William Randall; John Lamberson.
1843 .- Jonas Hershberger, George A. Blackwell, Jonah Brown; Hiram Flack.
1844. - William Marquis, Jonas Hershberger, G. A. Blackwell; Hiram Flack.
1845 .- John Bretz. Jonas Hershberger, Aaron Howell; J. D. Burns. 1846-47 .- Sylvanus Arnold, John Bretz, Aaron Howell; John Lamberson. 1848 .- Philip Bretz, S. Saul, H. S. Berber; Sylvanus Arnold. 1849. - Martin Welch, H. S. Barber, Philip Bretz; James M. Stevens.
1850 .- John Kagy, Aaron Howell, John T. Bretz; Moses King.
1851 .- John Kagy, Levi Chamberlain, Matt Elliott; Moses King.
1852 .- John White, Richard Jaqua, Matthew Elliott; John Rosegrat.
1853 .- John White, Richard Jaqua, George Kennedy; James M. Stevens. 1854 .- Samuel Herrin, R. Jaqua, George Kennedy ; James M. Stevens. 1855 .- William Watson, H. H. Shanck, R. Jaqua; Henry J. Crouse.
1856 .- H. H. Shanck, W. Watson, P. Bretz; Henry J. Crouse.
1857 .- H. S. Barber, S. Chamberlin, H. H. Shanck; J. J. Crouse.
1858 .- H. S. Barber, S. Chamberlin, H. H. Shanck; W. W. Grant. 1859 .- G. Cowles, S. Chamberlin, T. J. Baker; J. J. Crouse.
538
HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY.
1860 .- M. S. Paynter, T. J. Baker, S. Chamberlin; J. J. Crouse.
1861 .- M. S. Paynter, T. J. Baker, S. Chamberlin; J. J. Crouse.
1862 .- Abram Brown, S. Chamberlin, M. S. Paynter; J. J. Crouse.
1863 .- David Huss. Richard Baker, Abram Brown; A. S. Beryman.
1864 .- William Furgeson, David Huss, R. Baker; J. J. Crouse. 1865. - William Furgeson, Ed. Andre, Benjamin M. Gibson; Samuel Snover. 1866 .- William Watson. William Furgeson. Ed. Andre; J. J. Crouse. 1867 .- William Barrick, W. Furgeson, William Watson; J. J. Crouse. 1868-69 .- John T. Reed. William Fleet, William Barrick; J. J. Crouse. 1870 .- William Snyder. John Tuttle, William Barrick; J. J. Crouse. 1871 .- John L. Cross, James Brinkerhoff, William Barrick; J. J. Crouse. 1872 .- E. Shumaker, S. Herrin, J. Brinkerhoff; J. D. Stalter.
1873 .- Isaiah Kline, William Snyder, J. Brinkerhoff; Henry C. Pittman.
1874. - Lorenzo Rogers, Isaiah Kline, J. Brinkerhoff; Henry C. Pittman.
1875 .- John Loose, Isaiah Kline, J. Brinkerhoff; Henry C. Pittman.
1876 .- J. H. Loose, E. Shumaker. I. Kline; Henry C. Pittman. 1877 .- David Berger, L. Barrick. I. Kline; Henry C. Pittman. 1878 .- John Wax, David Berger, S. D. Brundage; Henry C. Pittman.
1879 .- David Berger, G. H. Baker. W. B. Hamlin: Henry C. Pittman.
1880 .- W. B. Hamlin, G. H. Baker, J. H. Brinkerhoff; J. W. Warner. 1881 .- J. H. Brinkerhoff, A. Swigert, W. P. Steele; J. W. Warner. 1882 .- W. P. Steele, A. Swigert, Adam Keifer; J. W. Warner.
1883 .- W. P. Steele, Lemuel Downs, Adam Keifer; J. W. Warner.
1884 .- David Berger, Adam Keifer. Aaron Swigert; H. C. Pittman.
1885 .- G. W. Snyder, Adam Keifer, George Heabler, trustees; H. C. Pitt- man, clerk; Joseph Rhodes and James Patton, justices of the peace; Isaiah Kline, treasurer; R. A. Cole, assessor; William Osborne and John Carroll, constables.
General Statistics .- The assessment roll of Eden Township, made in 1841. shows 12,935 acres of land, valued at $71,158; town lots valued at $4.863; horses, 377, valued at $15,080; cattle, 662, valued at $5, 296; mercantile capi- tal and money at interest, $5, 873; pleasure carriages, 6, valued at $255. Total, $102,525. Total tax. $1,409.71. Delinquencies since 1840, 8165.48.
The valuation and taxation of Eden Township for 1884-85 are given as fol- lows: Acres of land, 22,793, valued at $918,400, with personal property val- ued at $235, 750, making a total of $1, 154,150. The population of the town- ship in 1880 was 1,598, to each of whom (were such a thing as communal division possible) $722.02 would be given. The total tax for 1884-S5 is placed at $12, 719.29, together with $93 dog tax. The State tax forms $3.231.62 of the total. The true valuation of this township approximates $3,200.000. The general statistics of Eden Township for 1884 are as follows: 4.342 acres of wheat; 23 of rye; 3 of buckwheat; 1.342 of oats yielding 52,274 bushels; 2.995 of corn producing 82,850 bushels; 1,011 acres of meadow, 1,310 tons of hay; 1,516 acres of clover, 1,916 tons of hay, 1,259 bushels of seed, and 31 acres plowed under; 107 acres of potatoes, 12,33S bushels; home-made butter, 55, 250 pounds: 1 acre of sorghum, 44 gallons; 788 pounds of maple sugar, 583 gallons of maple syrup; 92 hives, 1.038 pounds of honey; 34,675 dozens of eggs; 4 acres of vineyard, 700 pounds of grapes in 1883. 10 gal- lons of wine; 10 bushels of sweet potatoes: 402 acres of apples, 4, 837 bushels: 2 bushels of peaches, 230 of pears, 9 of cherries and 2 of plums; 15,380 acres of land cultivated; 2,304 in pasture; 4, 144 in woodland, 119 acres waste; total acreage, 21,947; wool, 47, 432 pounds; milch cows in 1883, 551; dogs. 94; sheep killed and injured by dogs, 11; domestic animals died of disease, 28 hogs, 89 sheep, 13 cows and 6 horses.
539
EDEN TOWNSHIP.
School Statistics .-- In June, 1838, the township of Eden was laid off into nine school districts, and the first regular school organization established. The present condition of the schools of Eden is set forth as follows: Local tax, $2,086; receipts, $5,497; expenses, $3,435; schoolhouses, 10; value of prop- erty, $2,700; number of teachers, 16; average pay, $40 and $20; male pupils, 100; female pupils, 110.
Pioneer History. - The first settlers of the township were undoubtedly the remnant of the Mohawk band of Indians, who came here about the last quar- ter of the last century, a few Wyandots, and their captives, Catherine Walker and John Van Meter. Consul Butterfield, the first historian of the county, and himself a pioneer of this township, writing in 1847, says: "Vanmeter was captured by the Wyandot Indians, in the month of March, 1778, at the age of five, at Greenbriar, near West Liberty, in the State of Virginia. The people in the neighborhood, having been frequently alarmed by Indian aggressions, had assembled for the purpose of building a fort to protect themselves from savage cruelty. It was a beautiful day in the spring of the year, and two of the elder boys of the family were directed to proceed to a 'chopping,' and arrange some brands. John accompanied them, and the father proceeded to the fort. The boys had but just commenced their work, when they were sud- denly beset by a party of Indians. The elder boys made good their escape, but John was easily captured. The Indians then directed their course to the house of Vanmeter, set it on fire, murdered his wife and daughter, and imme- diately fled to the wilderness. carrying with them their captive boy, He ever afterward lived among the Indians. completely forgetting his native tongue, though he learned it again before he died, so as to converse quite fluently. He was afterward induced to visit his relatives and friends; but refused to remain among them, preferring, as he said, 'the innocent and unrestrained indulgences of the Indian's life to the arbitrary restraints of civilized society.' Vanmeter was a man of more than ordinary decision of character, of a benevolent dis- position, and friendly to the whites. Owning a large stock of cattle and sev- eral horses, early settlers relied much upon his generosity; and it was not in vain that they sought relief at his hands in times of distress and destitution. He married a woman of the Seneca nation (a relative of the celebrated Brandt, whose name is well known in the State of New York), and died some years ago on the grant made him by the United States." Johnny married a Mohawk Indian woman, commonly called Susan Brandt, and became an Indian of the Indians. The marriage ceremony was very simple: Johnny went into the forest and killed a deer, which he brought to Thomas Brandt's cabin. Susan . gathered some corn, and returning to her brother's cabin received Johnny's present of the deer, cooked the corn and venison together, of which both ate in the presence of witnesses, and thus a marriage ceremony was gone through. Some few years after the death of one of the Welch brothers, about 1826, John Vanmeter. Sr., died here. Having learned to speak the English lan -. guage between 1819 and the date of his death, he became a favorite with the first white settlers, all of whom attended his funeral, and one of whom exhumed his body in 1829 or 1830 for the purpose of obtaining the skeleton. The families of John Vanmeter, Jr., old Susan Vanmeter, the three families of the Brandts, the negro preacher, Jonathan Pointer, and twenty other lodges of Mohawks left their happy hunting-grounds on Honey Creek for that portion of Kansas now known as Cherokee County, but subsequently moved 100 miles south to the Lower Neosha Country.
Thomas and Hugh Welch, who settled in Eden Township in February, 1819, on land which was the property of David Olmstead in 1847, and Martin and
540
HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY.
John Welch, who settled in Eden in June, 1819, were the pioneers of Ameri- can civilization. Butterfield noticing the settlement says: "In the month of February, 1819, Thomas and Hugh Welch started from Huron County to seek a home in the wilds of Seneca. Having reached the limits of the county, as since defined, they soon struck a beautiful stream of water, where they encamped for the night. On awakening in the morning a beautiful sight met their vision. The sun just peeping over the distant horizon, giving a fantastic glimmer to the lovely forest trees, whose lofty stems and wide-spread branches, the latter covered with verdant leaves, and overshadowing them as they lay under the broad canopy of heaven, shielded by naught but these 'monarchs of the for- est,' the grand old oak, the now precious black walnut, and the less pretentious hickory! All these trees, in nature's bounteousness, thickly grouped together, formed one dense, but valuable forest. Here and there, amid this beauteous scene, were growing in the infant spring the odoriferous leek, and a few wild flowers disseminated their fragrance in the silent woods. The spot was pro- tected from the severity of winter by the overhanging branches of the surround- ing trees, which assisted nature in the production of this early vernal vegeta- tion. The stream where they had encamped was Honey Creek. The following morning they proceeded down the stream until they arrived within the present limits of Eden Township. In the vicinity of what is now the resi- dence of William Fleet, they came upon a band of Seneca Indians employed in making sugar, and with them they again encamped for the night. The next morning, pursuing their journey down the creek, they arrived at a Mohawk In . dian village, consisting of about twenty log-huts, pleasantly situated upon both sides of the stream. This village was located on a tract of land of 1,000 acres, granted at the treaty of the Miami of Lake Erie to one John Vanmeter, a white man, and to his wife's brothers."
John Searles, of whom reference is made in the history of Tiffin and Fort Ball, was one of the first resident citizens within the old fort in 1820. He moved to Eden Township in the fall, and, in April, 1821, assisted by the Welch brothers, including Henry, not hitherto mentioned, opened a road from Section 30, Clinton, to Section 4, Eden. This Searles was a soldier of 1812, and a useful citizen of the county up to his death in 1844.
Ira Holmes, an old settler of Chenango County, N. Y., and a native of that State, came in immediately after the Searles family, and about the same time the Sponables. Clarks, Browns, Knapps, Craws and Daniel Pratt came to the county and decided on making their homes in Eden.
Personal Mention of Pioneers .- A. N. Armstrong came in 1847.
Baker family, four brothers, Franklin, Thomas, John and Richard, and four sisters, Mary Baker, Sophia (Baker) Stearns, Lucretia (Baker) Arnold and Ann (Baker) Knapp, all children of Samuel Baker, and natives of Connecticut, were represented in the township in 1822 by Franklin and Thomas. John came in 1823; Sophia (Stearns) settled with her husband on Rock Creek in 1828, and Richard near Melmore in 1835, the latter coming from Steuben County, N. Y.
. John W. Barrick, born in Maryland in 1817, and his mother, Mrs. George Barrick, who died in 1858, settled here in 1846. . .. Rev. Joseph Bever, a native of Virginia, after doing considerable pioneer work in other parts of the State, settled here in 1823. ... Peter Bever came at the same time .... George Bever, a native of Rockingham County, Va., in 1800, and one of the old residents of this county, died in 1869 .... John and Eliza (Lewis) Bigham, natives of Maryland, parents of John Bigham, of Jackson Township, came to Eden Township in 1834. .. . Mrs. Sarah Boroff, of Virginia, widow of Henry Boroff, came to this county at an early day, bringing four children, of whom Mrs.
541
EDEN TOWNSHIP.
John L. Cross, of Eden Township (married in 1839), is one .... Jacob and Phila (Wolf) Bretz, parents of Mrs. Capt. R. H. Bever, of Tiffin, were pio- neers of Eden Township. ... The Brundage family came in 1824. . . . Aaron Bur- ton, who died in the county infirmary in December, 1884, resided in Eden for over half a century. It is said that he was between one hundred and three and one hundred and four years old at the time of his death. He recollected and could relate many incidents of the Revolutionary war, and remembered distinctly having seen the horse rode by Gen. George Washington .... Anson Burlingame, of Chinese treaty fame, was an early settler and school teacher of Eden Town- ship .... Jacob and Adeline (Wilson) Buskirk came from Pennsylvania in 1832, to Melmore, bringing their infant son, Albert Buskirk, who was born that year in Pennsylvania. Here Jacob Buskirk died in 1837; his widow died in Lima, Ohio, in 1880 .... Amroy Butterfield, who was killed July 16, 1836, at Mel- more, was one of the early settlers of Eden. His son, Consul Butterfield, was the first historian of the county, publishing a small book in 1848, and a history of Crawford's campaign and death, subsequently. His daughter, a contributor to Madame Demorest's Magazine, New York, and subsequently a correspondent of the New York Herald at Paris, married the ex-priest Hyacinthe, at one time a celebrated preacher. There were six other children, all of whom were pio- neers of this township .... Ezra Brown, who settled in Eden Township in 1821. with his brother, Case Brown, was a soldier of 1812, and a comrade of Richard Jaqua, escaping with him from Canada, and participating in many of his ad- ventures.
Jacob and Elizabeth (Johnson) Chamberlain, parents of Scudder Chamber- lain, of Tiffin, who was born in New Jersey in 1819, came from New Jersey, settling in Melmore in 1836 .... Matthias Clark and his wife, Maria (Cope- land) Clark, natives of Pennsylvania, were pioneers of Wayne County, Ohio, and early residents of Seneca County, Ohio .... Samuel Clark, of Eden Town- ship, died in 1832 .... James Corbett, father of Martin Corbett, settled in Eden Township prior to 1830. ... John and Deborah (Comegys) Cross, natives of Maryland, parents of John L. Cross, of Eden Township (who was born in Virginia in 1812), came to Eden Township in 1828.
John and Elizabeth (Eckhart) Ditto, married October 14, 1814, settled in Clinton Township in 1822, and also owned an eighty acre tract in Eden Town- ship. John died in 1853. He served in the war of 1812, located at Pickaway, Ohio, after the war, and came to Seneca to share in the hunt with the Mohawks and Wyandots .... Mrs. Eliza Ditto was born on the Atlantic Ocean, while her parents were emigrating to America from Germany, June 23, 1795. She and her husband settled in Seneca County at a very early day, and for over sixty years resided on their farm. She died August 9, 1885. . .. John and Caroline (Hol- den) Downs, former a native of Virginia, latter of Kentucky, parents of John L. Downs, of Eden Township (who was born in Ohio in 1812), came to Eden Township in 1824, Mr. Downs having previously been here to enter and clear up land.
William Ferguson, born in Pennsylvania in 1817, came to Seneca County in 1845. first living on Silver Creek, then purchasing the farm where he now resides in Eden Township .... William Fleet, a native of New York State, father of Dr. W. D. Fleet (who was born in 1849 in Eden Township), came to. Ohio in 1830, settling in Eden Township, where he afterward owned about 1,600 acres of land. He died in 1880. ... Charles C. and Caroline B. (Boyd). Fox, former a native of New York, latter of Pennsylvania, parents of James B. Fox of Fostoria (who was born in 1840 in Eden Township), were pioneers here. Charles C. died in Wyandot County in 1880, aged seventy-six years.
542
HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY.
Madison P. Geiger, a native of Baden, Germany, came to Seneca County in 1835; died in 1861 .... John Gibson, whose parents came from Ireland about the period of the Revolutionary war, settled in Eden Township late in the summer of 1822, and there had erected on his farm the first barn ever raised in Seneca County. He was a most estimable citizen. In early years it was his custom to call his sons together in the evening, propose a subject for discussion, and apportion, as it were, to each the affirmative or negative. The debate was carried on in his own presence, and followed by his criticism and judgment. Gen. Gibson, his son, who was brought to the township in 1822, the year of his birth, is an example of what such a training is capable of developing .... Dr. Selden Graves, James Gray and a few others mentioned in the chapters on lawyers, physicians and general history, were among the pioneers.
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