USA > Ohio > Union County > History of Union County, Ohio; its people, industries and institutions > Part 22
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The pastor in 1914 was Rev. H. J. Duckworth, D. D. ; clerk, Mrs. S. E. Goff : trustees, Joseph Snyder, Oscar Goff. Tell Reed, William Shillings and Eli Sheidler. The following have served as ministers at this point : Revs. Ellis, S. A. Hutchinson, C. L. Winget. C. C. Phillips, Chrissman, McDaniels, Dunlap, Harrod, Shane, C. M. Hagans. J. B. Hagans, Humphries, Knight, J. Warner. A. D. Mann, Dyer and H. J. Duckworth, the present pastor.
There are now only six Christian churches in Union county, each having a Sunday school. These churches all belong to the Central Ohio conference, which is made up of twenty-six churches. The six in this county are at Ray- mond. Watkins, Mill Creek, Mt. Pleasant, Mt. Olive and Milford Center.
The county supports a successful Young Men's Christian Association, which was organized in 1910, with headquarters at Marysville. Each town- ship in the county has an interest in the association, which is doing much good among the young men of the county.
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TIIE UNIVERSALIST CHURCH.
The Universalist people have never been very numerous in this county. Near Pharisburg, about 1889. a church of this faith was organized, but only existed for a few years on account of a lack of membership and financial support. Isaac Zane, Stephen Davis. Amasa Rosencrantz and Abijah Gandy were included among the prominent members of this society. Revs. Arba. Gass and Waite were the ministers who had charge of the society during its brief existence. A church edifice was erected.
At Pharisburg a Universalist church was organized in August, 1879. in the Methodist Protestant church by Rev. Mrs. Letta D. Crosley. The so- ciety began with only a few members, but increased to about forty. Among the earlier members were George W. Cary and wife, William Foster and wife. John Gandy and wife, Jasper Cary and wife, John Elliott and wife. Lester Webster and wife. George Hill and wife. Othneil Jewett and Andrew Hartman. Services were held once each month at the Methodist Protestant church building.
THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
St. Mary's Episcopal church, at Marysville, was organized September 21, 1899, by Archdeacon A. A. Abbott, of Cleveland, Ohio. It now has a membership of twenty-nine. It has church property valued at three thousand dollars. The various rectors have been in the order here given: Revs. John H. W. Fortescue Cole, Thomas G. C. McCalla, Sylvester S. Powell, Albion W. Ross and John Stuart Banks, the present rector.
Until 1900 the society worshiped in the Masonic hall. In the spring of 1901 a small house was rented, fitted and furnished for public worship. Thomas G. C. McCalla came as rector in October, 1903, and during his ministry the present church property was purchased, which is now valued at three thousand dollars. Beautiful memorial gifts have been given to the church : a brass cross and brass vases from Mrs. Coleman, in memory of her husband: a brass altar desk and prayer-book for the altar, in memory of Mrs. Kendricks, by her children: a cross inlaid with olive wood from the Garden of Gethsemane, was given in memory of Pride Shields, the young son of Mr. and Mrs. Gamble Shields.
The present rector came to take charge on Easter Sunday, 1914.
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THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS.
In the northwest corner of Washington township, away back in the seventies, there was a Society of Friends formed. with a membership of only about half a dozen persons. It was known as Rush Creek church. and its membership gradually grew. These Friends resided in this county and also in Hardin and Logan counties. A log school house was their first meet- ing house. \ few years later, through the efforts of Obediah Williams, Bennett Watkins, Isaac Penoc and a few more, a frame meeting house was erected, and there services were held every Sabbath and a Sunday school was maintained for many years.
There is also a Friends church at the village of Peoria.
CATHOLIC CHURCHES.
Before the year 1854 missionary priests attended to the spiritual wants of the Catholics of this vicinity. To assist in mass and to hear the word of God the few scattered members frequently walked to Delaware and Milford Center. Later they were visited from time to time by priests from Columbus, Delaware and Urbana, who held services at private homes, especially the homes of T. Martin and Mr. McGraw. Among the first priests who held divine services at Marysville were Revs. P. Meagher, resident priest of Colum- bus; H. Weis, of Delaware: Casper Borgess, who later became bishop of Detroit ; Rev. D. G. Cogan, of Urbana, and Rev. J. S. Kearney, of Spring- field. To accommodate the residents and furnish greater facilities for the practice of religion it was evident that a change was necessary. In 1867 a lot was purchased on Chestnut street, near the high school. Later this was sold and the present location, on Oak street, acquired. In 1868 H. Fehlings, of Delaware, erected a small frame house of worship, which, in the fall of the year 1869, was dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes and blessed by Rt. Rev. Sylvester Rosecrans, brother of General Rosecrans, of Civil War fame. The debt on the church was paid by contributions solicited by Michael Cody, Sr., and Lawrence Martin. Thereafter Marysville was attended as a separate mission by Rev. M. McGrath, from Plain City, and for a short time by Rev. Engbers, D. D., professor at St. Mary's Seminary, Cincinnati.
In 1872 Rev. H. Keffmyer was appointed pastor and was succeeded by Rev. H. Paul in 1874. He was pastor until April, 1875, when Rev. H. Menke took charge. In 1876 came Rev. P. P. Mazuret, by whom the first pastoral residence was built. He was followed by Rev. M. L. Murphy and
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Rev. J. H. Brummer, successively. From 1881 to 1880 Rev. Alfred Dexter was pastor and during his incumbency St. John's cemetery was laid out and improved. Rev. John Hiekes was next appointed to the pastorate, remain- ing until 1891, when the late Rev. John Venneman took charge. He was an active worker and guarded the flock untiringly for twelve years. The church was remodeled in the year 1900, by adding to its length and otherwise beau- tifying its various appointments. In the same year Rev. Venneman, who looked after the spiritual wants of the Catholics at Milford Center, pur- chased a lot in that village and erected the Sacred Heart church. He was succeeded by Rev. H. Reehtin in 1903. . \ new parsonage was needed. The members of the congregation were ready to do their part and responded nobly. The erection of the present large residence was begun at once. It was ready for occupancy in April, 1905. After three years of faithful work he went to Hamilton, Ohio, and Rev. John J. Kelley took charge in August. 1906. The congregation numbers twenty-eight families. Messrs. R. De- vine, M. Cody, Jr., and Joseph Foley served as a committee to assist the pas- tor. There are two societies formed among the members, which greatly contribute to the successful work of the parish. St. Joseph's Men's Society, with M. Cody, Jr., as vice-president, and the St. Anthony's Aid Society. with Mrs. Charles Liggett as president. Services are held on the first and third Sundays of each month. To this parish are attached the two missions of Mechanicsburg and North Lewisburg.
At Milford Center the Catholic church was organized in 1893 by Father Venneman. A building was erected that year and additions, made in 1914, bring its present value up to ten thousand dollars. There are twenty-three families in the parish now. The work is in a flourishing condition. The pas- tors who have served this church are Revs. Venneman, Rechtin, Santen. Fennig, Priesthoff and G. F. Hickey. Father William O'Connor, of Urbana, Ohio, now has charge of the church.
At Richwood the Catholic work is what is termed a "station." There is no church there and mass is said in a private house. It belongs to the LaRue missions, and the priest from LaRue has charge of it. There is no cemetery for this church at Richwood, but interments are made at Marion and elsewhere, or in the public cemetery of Richwood. The present presid- ing priest, who resides at LaRue, as above mentioned. is Rev. Father Edward J. Creager.
CHAPTER XIV.
EDUCATIONAL HISTORY.
In a paper read before the Pioneer Association in 1894, Hon. H. Sa- bine said: "As to the school matters of the early days in Union county. I have two points of evidence from our venerable associate. Andrew Keys. He said that Neighbor Irwin was a school teacher; that he had been a stu- (lent at his school. Mr. Irwin lived on the banks of Little Darby, a little southeast of Irwin Station. He said that Irwin was one of the most intelli- gent men that ever lived in Union county. He was well read, an excellent student, precise and elegant in speech and stately in his manners. He was superior to any man who came at a later date.
"Levi Phelps, a leading man many years in Union county, was fron. Connecticut. At first he settled near where Homer was at a subsequent date. He taught for a few years. For many years he was one of the best known men in Union county. He was the county's first land surveyor and enjoyed the esteem and confidence of all who knew him. By such men was our schools conducted: by such men were our earliest families developed in their English education.
"With such men and such means for a good English education and with such teachers as I have named, have we not occasion to feel that we shall find it difficult to maintain that with our superior advantages of today we compare with our first families?"
SCHOOLS.
It was several years after the first settlements were made in the county before attention was turned to educational matters. The people had been too busily engaged in preparing their homes and clearing the ground for cultivation. As soon, however, as circumstances would admit, instructors of the youthful mind found employment and the simple log cabin in which the school was kept sent smoke from its chimney curling upward through the trees of the forest. The dwellings of the inhabitants were often tempo- rarily used as schoolhouses, and the pedagogue who found himself placed in charge of a troop of youngsters, was welcomed by their parents as a valuable
EAST SCHOOL BUILDING, MARYSVILLE.
STREET SCENE, MARYSVILLE.
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addition to their little community. He enjoyed all the pleasures of "board- ing around," and partook of the homely fare set before him with as keen a relish as any of his entertainers. When a schoolhouse was built, it was of a simple sort so often described-a "rude log structure," with a great chim- ney and a wide fire place : an opening cut in the logs for a window and stopped with greased paper, which admitted a softened light ; slab benches standing on wooden pegs ; a slab desk running around the sides of the room and resting on wooden pins placed in holes bored in the logs. The books used were few and made to do long service; arithmetic was thoroughly known to the more advanced scholars as far as the "single rule of three," or perhaps beyond that, after the teacher had taught them about as far as he knew, and then they were ready to quit school. Reading and writing were taught in all schools, and these formed nearly the sum total of the branches which it was deemed necessary for the pupils to understand. A little later. geography, grammar and other studies were introduced, and step by step, as the times demanded, the schools developed until finally the magnificent sys- tem now in use was adopted, and even that has been greatly improved since its introduction.
The first school in Union county was taught in 1812 or 1813, in Darby township, in a private dwelling near the Mitchell graveyard, by Alexander Robinson. Abner Chapman taught a school near Plain City in 1813: this was attended by members of James Robinson's family, from Darby town- ship. In 1814 a school was taught in a log schoolhouse which stood near the residence of Thomas Robinson, also in Darby township. Henrietta Milling- ton first presided over this school. As the settlements progressed, schools were organized and schoolhouses erected in various parts of the county, and excellent educational facilities have been enjoyed for many years.
PIONEER SCHOOLS AND LOG SCHOOLHOUSES.
Perhaps no better way to set forth the conditions under which the early settlers had for providing an education for their sons and daughters can be given than to reproduce what was recorded in a recent history of Jerome township. While no two localities in the county had just the same sort of buildings or schools, yet in general what applied to one was true of all, hence, the following paragraphs from Curry's History of Jerome township:
"Until the year 1852 or thereabouts, when the select school building was erected at New California, the schoolhouses were all built of logs. The
(16)
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schoolhouse attended by the children in the vicinity of the village was located in the center of a great woods, about three-quarters of a mile northwest from New California, on the farm of Perry Buck.
"There was no cleared ground and the paths leading to the schoolhouse were marked by blazing trees, and ran through the woods in many direc- tions. The house was built of heavy logs, and consisted of one room about thirty feet square, fitted with benches without any backs. The desks con- sisted of long boards about a foot and a half wide, resting on wooden pins fastened into the logs by an inch and a half auger hole. Windows were on three sides, and the front wall, with one door in the corner, was taken up by the black board.
"The house was heated by a long, heavy iron box-stove. The children from at least twenty families attended this school, and in those days the families were not small as they are today. I think it is safe to say that there were sixty pupils in the district, and it seems an impossibility, as we go back in memory today, to see how they could all be crowded into a room of that size. Still, we did go to school there and learned something-in fact the writer and many others never attended any other district school.
"The district was in a radius, say commencing with the farm of James Robinson on the Watkins road, now owned by Mr. Seigman, taking the McCampbells, Woodburns, Mitchells, Gills, Currys, Cones, Beards, Bucks, and Taylors on the Marysville road.
"We had a lot of fun in winter, playing fox and hounds in the snow. running miles through the woods, choosing and having our snow ball bat- tles. Base, black man, corner ball, town ball, anti-over, and two-old cat and three-old cat were the favorite games. The professional baseball of today was fashioned from the old town ball played in the early days. The ball was made by unraveling old woolen stockings, winding the thread around a burnt cork, wetting it so that it would shrink and harden, and then covering it with sheep-skin. There was a pitcher, a batter and a catcher. The other partici- pants did some desultory outfield work and took their turns on the infield. Good pitching, batting, catching and running were all developed in town- ball playing, and there was plenty of material to draw from when profes- sional baseball was first organized.
"Of other games and sports, there was running, jumping, wrestling. boxing, and now and then a real fight with knuckles, for there were clans and gangs in those days. In the summer time the boys would build play- houses out of poles and cover them with green leaves and twigs for the
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girls, where they had their stores of May-apple blossoms or berries to ex- change for ginseng or snake root, as that was the usual commodity in trade.
"There were spelling schools frequently, when the good spellers from surrounding districts would come in for a contest, and the excitement would be up to fever heat as one by one the pupils went down on a hard word. The next week our best spellers would visit other schools, so it would con- tinue through the winter months.
"Among the early teachers of this particular school should not be for- gotten : Caroline Buck, Olive Gill, Maria Buck, Rev. I. N. Laughead, Jane Porter, Polly Snodgrass, Emma Dodge. Eliza Gill, Sophia Dodge, Nan Mc- Campbell, Lorinda Wilkins, Dr. D. W. Henderson, Elijah Brown, Charles Green, George Thompson, Milton Roney, and perhaps others whose names are not now recalled.
"On Friday afternoons there were declamations by the boys and com- positions by the girls. Parents would come in and we had a great time doing examples on the blackboard, parsing grammar lessons, and spelling.
"The teachers did not spare the rod, but used it on all occasions, if in his or her opinion it was necessary. It did a boy a lot of good to have a teacher send him out for a switch to whip a boy he did not like very well. I have a very distinct recollection of a boy getting a good whipping for inducing a little fellow to eat a piece of Indian turnip, with the result that it burned his mouth seriously. But the greatest disgrace of all was to be 'kept in' at recess or after school for some infraction of the rules.
"In writing lessons, we used quill pens, and it was a part of the duty of the teacher to make and repair all pens. In the old 'First Reader' in use those days, there was a picture of a cow in a pond. In one of our Friday afternoon exercises I remember of a boy getting up and reciting a verse about the cow which was as follows :
The cow is in the pond. The cow gives us milk. We must not hurt the cow.
"That was all he said, and sat down well satisfied with his effort. The older boys used to tease him about it until he was a young man. He was a fine young man and has passed to his reward.
"For a number of years the township elections were held in the school- house. At these elections many of the voters would spend the entire day at the voting place, and the discussions on political questions between the
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Whigs and Democrats were often very warm and loud. A club of the Know-Nothing party, as it was called, was organized here, a political party opposed to foreigners voting as soon as they set foot on our shores, and was largely recruited from the Whig party. It was only in existence a few years when members of that party and the Whigs organized the Republican party. The Know-Nothing party was a secret organization. Their meetings were held in the old schoolhouse, for it was out in the dense woods, hence thought a very safe place for their deliberations-away from the world.
BARRING THE TEACHER OUT.
"In those days it was the custom, in many districts to 'bar the teachers out' on New Year's morning, and keep them out until they capitulated by agreeing to treat all the scholars, usually with candy and raisins; as apples and nuts were plentiful and were no rarity with the pupils. New Year's morning some of the older boys would be at the schoolhouse by daybreak, and one of the favorite ways of barring the door, as there were no locks, was to cut down a sapling from the woods near by, about six inches in di- ameter, put the pole through a rear window, then cut it off so it would reach from the floor at the rear wall to the top of the door and there brace it solid. The boys would then nail down all the windows but one, which was left so the pupils could be lifted in as they arrived. A fire was started in the stove and a sufficient amount of wood carried in to last through the siege, which would sometimes continue for half a day. The scholars would arrive early, and by the time the teacher arrived all would be ready for the parley, which was generally conducted by the big boys. Some of the teachers would take it good naturedly, accept the terms dictated, and surrender at once. In that case the door would be opened and a couple of boys dispatched to the village for the treat.
"Other teachers would become indignant and at first refuse a confer- ence, and even attempt to smoke the scholars out by climbing upon the roof and covering the chimney with a board. In one instance recalled, sulphur was dropped down into the fireplace, but the scholars were prepared for the emergency by having a bucket of water and the fire was soon put out. Ulti- mately the teachers came to terms, and all went merry and frequently a half holiday was proclaimed. It was a lot of fun and usually ended in a convivial time for all.
"Sleigh riding and skating were also great sports in winter season. In those days before the streams were ditched, and the trees and bushes were
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growing along the banks, when the January freshets came the water would not rush in such a torrent. By reason of the logs, drifts and fences, the water would spread out over the low pasture grounds and meadows, and when it would freeze there would be acres of ice. In the evenings the boys would congregate by the dozen, build great fires along the banks, play 'shin- ney' and other games, often until midnight. The thick woods along the narrow roads would protect the snow and it was not an unusual thing to have five or six weeks of good sleighing, which was enjoyed by old and young in sleighing parties and attending singing school.
JEROME TOWNSHIP.
"The old schoolhouse standing on the northeast corner of the square at New California is among the last of the old landmarks left in the village of buildings erected more than half a century ago.
"The house was very substantially built, as was the custom in those early days, otherwise it would not have stood intact for three score years. The frame is of heavy hewn oak ; doors, windows, casings, weatherboard- ing and walnut shingles, all worked out by hand. As you enter the front door there is a small room twelve or fourteen feet square, used for hat and cloak room, and a similar room on the left, used for election purposes. The main room will seat about seventy-five persons, and was heated by a huge box-stove, standing in the center of the room. It is undoubtedly the oldest schoolhouse in Union county at this date, and according to the recollections of the oldest inhabitants it has received but one coat of brown paint since it was erected. This house was erected in 1852 and the first 'select school' was taught by Llewellyn B. Curry in the winter of 1852-53. Sweet are the fond memories of this old building to some still living in the county and state -- as the old song runs :
"'School days, school days, Good old Golden Rule Days, Reading and writing and 'rithmetic, Taught to the tune of a hickory stick.'
"Pleasant days to think about now, but not all so pleasant when the schoolmaster used the rod with a heavy hand, as he was wont to do on fre- quent occasions, but usually not amiss.
"Then there are the sad memories when we recall the great majority,
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who with us, pored over the hard examples in Ray's Arithmetic and parsed with the thirty-five rules of the old Kirkham Grammar, Gray's 'Elegy' and Hamlet's Soliloquy who have crossed the dark river. No other period of a man's life is fraught with as much unalloyed happiness as the good old school days.
"The citizens of that day, who by their enterprise and with the view of raising the standard of the common schools, erected the building have all passed to their reward, but their work has borne good fruit. Among the many old settlers who were interested and assisted both by work and con- tributions may be named Jesse Gill, John, Alfred, Samuel, David and An- drew McCampbell, Samuel B. and John Woodburn, John, William, Tem- pleton and Henry Liggett, James A. Stephenson, Robert and John Curry, Nelson Cone, Jesse and David Mitchell, Dixon, Thomas, James, Moderwell and Mitchell Robinson, Walter Gowans, John McDowell, Rev. I. N. Lau- head, Perry Buck, Judah Dodge, James and David Dort, Jame Ketch, Will- iam Bigger, William Taylor, Anthony Wise, Elijah, Ira and Henry Fox, Landon Bishop, John Reuhlen and John Nonnemaker.
"The building fund was secured by private subscription, except fifty dollars donated by the township, with the proviso that it could be used for election purposes and other township meetings. Sunday school and singing meetings were also held there for nearly a half century. The original idea in erecting this building was for the purpose of establishing a select school, where the higher branches might be taught and where students might be prepared for teaching or college. The best of instructors were usually en- gaged. A literary society was organized, and the select school was contin- ned for about forty years until a graded school was established in the vil- lage. This school was largely attended and at one time it was shown by the records that there was a sufficient number of teachers in Jerome township to supply all the schools in Union county.
"Among the teachers of this quite celebrated school are recalled these following: Llewellyn B. Curry, Rev. I. N. Langhead. Rev. Isaac Winters, Olive Gill, David Cochran, Samuel Graham, Mr. Johnson, Thomas Evans, R. L. Woodburn, George Ruehlen, Mr. McCharahan, Leroy Welsh, James Curry, John Stockton, E. L. Liggett, Calvin Robinson, David H. Cross and J. W. Baughman.
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