History of Union County, Ohio; its people, industries and institutions, Part 71

Author: Curry, W. L. (William Leontes), b. 1839
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: Indianapolis, Ind., B. F. Bowen & Co.
Number of Pages: 1322

USA > Ohio > Union County > History of Union County, Ohio; its people, industries and institutions > Part 71

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There was then no school law in Ohio; the school house was built by common consent, usually in the center of the clearings and on an eminence, reminding one of Beattie's lines :

"Ah, who can tell how hard it is to climb The steep where fame's proud temple shines afar."

It was constructed of unhewn logs, floored with puncheons, and roofed with clapboards, having at one end a fire-place capable of receiving a twelve-foot back-log, and at the other a door and a latch-string. It was completed by sawing out a log on each side, inserting in the opening a light frame, and stretching over this frame some foolscap paper well oiled; this served for the transmission of light, which fell with mellow beams upon a sloping board on which the copy books of the advanced scholars were to be placed. In the center of the room were benches without backs, made of slabs, by inserting upright sticks at their extremities. The subjects taught were reading, writing, spelling and arithmetic, as far as the rule of three. Grammar was ranked among the natural sciences, and geography as among the classics.

Happily there were other means of instruction and mental development -the debating club, the neighborhood meeting, the singing school, etc., but, above all, the home. Our young poet heard his father relate the tale of the Revolution, the wrongs of the Colonists, their determined rebellion, their bloody battles and final triumphs ; he also heard him describe the characters of the leading statesmen and warriors of that period, the organization of the state and national government, the causes and actors and consequences of the War of 1812.

Moreover, the pious mother had her pleasant legends and fairy tales with which she kept down the rising sigh and kept up the leaden eyelids of the little ones as she sat plying her spinning wheel and waiting for the return of her husband from the mill, when the driving snow storm delayed him far into the hours of night. She seemed, indeed, to have been no ordinary woman ; she was accustomed to relate over and over at her fireside the whole story of "Paradise Lost," as well as many other classic poems, so that young Otway was familiar with their scenes and character long before he could read. She often beguiled the weary hours of summer nights, as she sat in her cabin door with her young ones, watching for the return of the oldler from the perilous chase, by naming the constellations as they came above the horizon and explained the ordinances of heaven.

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The school education of Otway was impeded by the events of the War of 1812. When it broke out the father was summoned to Chillicothe, as a member of the Legislature; the oldest brother went out with the army. As the young poet grew up he began to read the books of his father's library, which, though very small, was very choice, consisting of Milton, Locke and other great minds. Moved by romantic impulses, he, in company with a Henry Wilson, made a skiff and launching it at Millville, a small village on the Scioto, when the waters were swelled with rains, and descended that stream to its mouth, safely passing mill-dams, rocks and all other obstruc- tions. He then descended the Ohio to Cincinnati. Here he determined to visit the rice fields and orange groves of the South. Procuring passage on a flatboat for himself and a chest of tools, he proceeded down the Ohio and Mississippi and spent a year at Port Gibson before he returned.

About this time he summoned courage to offer, anonymously, some verses to the newspapers, among which were his sweet poems, "My Mother" and "Kingdom Come." It is probable that he had written poetry long be- fore, but we are not able to trace the progress of his mind from the first rude attempts of versification up to his best original composition.

Mr. Curry's first published poetry was so full of fine sentiment and pleasing imagery and was withal so melodious in versification that it at- tracted attention and won admiration at once. On his return to Cincinnati he contributed more freely to the press over the signature of "Abdallah." It was at this time that he formed the acquaintance of William D. Gallagher, who was induced to seek for him by reading his stanzas. "The Ministrel's Home."

Mr. Otway first appeared in public life in 1836, when he was elected a member of the Ohio House of Representatives. In this capacity he won the respect of his colleagues and the confidence and approbation of his constitu- ents, who re-elected him in 1837. In 1838 he became united with Mr. Gal- lagher in the editorship of the Hesperian, at Columbus, a monthly literary journal of high order, which, not being adequately sustained, was discontin- ued at the end of the third volume. In 1839 he removed to Marysville and commenced the study of law. In 1842 he was again returned to the Legisla- ture; during that term of service he purchased the Greene County Torch Light, a weekly paper at Xenia, whither he removed in the spring of 1843. He conducted his paper, the name of which he changed to Yenia Torch Light, for two years, when he sold and removing to Marysville. devoted himself to his profession. In 1850 he was elected a member of the second

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Ohio constitutional convention and, with manly firmness and dignity, he resisted some of the principles of the instrument which that able body elabo- rated. In 1853 he purchased the Scioto Gasette, a daily at Chillicothe, which he edited about a year, when, his wife's health failing, he sold out and removed to Marysville, resuming his legal practice.

Mr. Curry's words, whether written or spoken, were few and well chosen. This is the more remarkable, considering that his early education was so limited. He would allow no thought of his to go abroad in an un- suitable garment, however protracted might be the process of fitting it. When he wrote for the press his first drafts were scanned, laid aside, ex- amined again, altered, and re-written, sometimes often, before they were published. Every word was scrutinized. Hence his poems bear criticism and will be best appreciated by those who most closely examine them.

Rebecca S. Nichols, herself a child of song and a friend of Mr. Curry, thus beautifully describes his soul life :

"Within, the holy fire of poesy burned clear and bright, refining the material man, and lifting the more entherial element of our two-fold nature up to the realms of love and faith and peace, where the indwelling soul pre- ludes the feast of immortal joys. No petty ambitions, no goading desires for name or fame, among the great of earth, ever soiled the bosom of our friend. To move quietly in the accustomed round of his prescribed duties- to enjoy the communion of chosen and congenial minds-to yield himself up to the manifold enchantments of inspiring nature-to utter in verse, smooth and musical as his favorite streams, the live thoughts of the passing moments, made up the sum of his daily happiness ; and if a shade of sadness, as of some secret and acknowledged sorrow, bordered the placid beauty of existence, it only added tenderness to the hearts of those who knew and loved him, and made them more eager to minister to his simple and unadul- terated pleasures."

His life began in melody, progressed in conflict, but closed in peace. We know nothing in it that might not be written in an epic. His writings are also pure; they contain nothing that might not safely be read by all men. His mind was in harmony with nature; he had a relish for all beauty. To him it was not in vain that God painted the landscape green, cast the channels of the streams in graceful curves, lighted up the arch of night, and turned the gates of day on golden hinges amid the anthems of the grateful world.

Mr. Curry taught the lessons of dying well no less than living well. May

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we not hope that he closed his eyes on earth in full view of heaven and its angels. On the 7th of February. 1855. he was laid in an humble grave, which perhaps may be sought for after the monuments raised to our heroes shall have been forgotten.

Among the many poems which this gifted Ohio poet wrote, space can only be permitted for one in this connection, while his 1840 Campaign Song will be found elsewhere in the work:

THE GREAT HEREAFTER.

'Tis sweet to think, when struggling The goal of life to win, That just beyond the shores of time The better days begin.

When through the nameless ages I cast my longing eyes Before me, like a boundless sea, The Great Hereafter lies.

Along its brimming bosom Perpetual summer smiles And gathers, like golden robe, Around the emerald isles.

There in the long blue distance, By lulling breezes fanned, I seem to see the flowering groves Of old Beulah's land.

And far beyond the islands That gem the wave serene, The image of the cloudless shore Of holy Heaven is seen.

Unto the Great Hereafter- - Aforetime dim and dark- I freely now, and gladly, give Of life the wandering bark.

And in the far-off haven, When the shadowy seas are passed,

By angel hands its quivering sails Shall all be furled at last.

MY MOTHER.

My mother; though in darkness now The slumber of the grave is passed, Its gloom will soon be o'er and thus Wilt break away to last, And dwell where neither grief nor pain Can ever reach thy heart again.

Sleep on-the cold and heavy hand Of death has stilled thy gentle breast,

No rude sound of this stormy land Shall mar thy peaceful rest; Undying guardians round thee close, To count the years of thy repose.

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A day of the far years will break On every sea and every shore, In whose bright morning thou shalt wake, And rise, to sleep no more- No more to molder in the gloom And coldness of the dreary tomb.

I saw thy fleeting life decay, Even as a frail and withering flower, And vainly strove to while away Its swiftly closing hour; It came with many a thronging thought, Of anguish ne'er again forgot.

In life's proud dreams I have no part, No share in its resoundIng glee; The musings of my weary heart Are in the grave with thee. There have been bitter tears of mine Above that Iowly bed of thine.

It seems to my fond memory now, As it had been but yesterday, When I was but a child, and thou Didst cheer me in my play; And in the evenings still and lone, Didst lull me with thy music-tone.

And when the twilight hours begun, And shining constellations came, Thou bad'st me know each nightly sun, And con its ancient name; For thou had'st learned their lore and light, With watchings in the tranquil night.

And then, when leaning on thy knee, I saw them in their grandeur rise, It was a joy, in sooth to me. But now the starry skies Seem holier grown and doubly fair, Since thou art with the angels there.

The stream of life, with hurrying flow, Its course may bear me swiftly thro'; I grieve not, for I soon shall go, And by thy side renew The love which here for thee I bore, And never leave thy presence more.

THE CLOSING YEAR.

The year has reached its evening time, And well its closing gloom May warn us of the lonely night That gathers round the tomb.

But many a distant year and age May slowly come and go, Before the sleepers of the grave, Another spring-time know.

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And yet, beyond the gloomy vale, Where death's dark river flows, On sunniest shores our faith is fixed- Our deathless hopes repose.

We trust that when the night of time Shall into morning break, We shall, from long and heavy sleep, With song and gladness wake.

THE BLOSSOMS OF LIFE.

Life is like a sweeping river, Ceaseless in its seaward flow- On whose waves quick sunbeams quiver, On whose banks sweet blossoms grow-

Blossoms quick to grow and perish; Swift to bloom and swift to fall; Those we earliest learn to cherish Soonest pass beyond recall.

Shall we lose them all forever, Leave them on this earthily strand? Shall their joyous radiance never Reach us in the spirit land?

Soon the tide of life upflowing Buoyantly from time's dim shore, Where supernal flowers are growing, Shall meander ever more.

There the hopes that long have told us Of the climes beyond the tomb, While superber skies enfold us, Shall renew their starry bloom.

And the bloom that here in sadness Faded from the flowers of love, Shall with its immortal gladness Crown us in the world above.

HENRY W. MOREY.

One of the oldest merchants of Marysville, Ohio, is Henry W. Morey, who has been engaged in the furniture and undertaking business for the past thirty-five years. He has always been very active in his support of all public- spirited measures affecting the general welfare of Marysville, and is the kind of a man who stands for good citizenship above all things. In his younger life he was a dentist, practicing for eighteen years in his native town, but in 1880 took over his father's business and retired from the dental profession six years later. The family have been in Marysville for nearly seventy years. his father establishing a furniture and undertaking business in this village in

HENRY W. MOREY.

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1846. The family have always taken a prominent part in the various phases of the life of the county and for nearly three score and ten years have been prominent factors in its history.

Henry W. Morey, the son of Abraham and Abby B. ( Kinney) Morey, was born in Marysville, Ohio, September 22, 1849. His father was born in Pennsylvania and his mother in New York. They reared a family of eight children : Henry W., Charles D., William F. and John F. live in Marysville ; Dr. Albert H., of Hendersonville, North Carolina; Mrs. Estelle M. Flower, of Albion, Pennsylvania : Carrie, who died at the age of two years.

Abraham Morey was reader in Delaware county, Ohio, from a small boy, and then went to Columbus where he learned the trade of cabinet maker. In 1846 he came to Marysville and established a furniture and undertaking business which he conducted until 1880, at which time he was succeeded by his son, Henry W. He then retired from active business life, and his death occurred June 26, 1910, lacking a few days of being eighty-eight years of age. His wife still survives him and is now past eighty-six years of age. Both were earnest members of the Congregational church. Mr. Morey was a charter member of the Odd Fellows lodge in Marysville.

The paternal grandparents of Henry W. Morey were Jacob and Barbara (Jacobs) Morey, natives of Pennsylvania, of German ancestry, and died at a ripe old age. They reared several children, Abraham, David, Esther, Catherine, Elizabeth, Jacob, William, John and Israel. The maternal grand- father of Mr. Morey was Dr. S. F. Kinney, who was twice married. His first wife was Abby Brockway and his second wife was Roxanna Head, the grandmother of Mr. Morey. Doctor Kinney and his second wife were both natives of New York state and early settlers in Marysville, where he prac- ticed medicine for many years. Three children were born to Doctor Kinney and wife, Sarah, Martha and Abby. To his first marriage were born seven children, Maria, Laura, Eliza, Elisha, Lathrop, Mary and John. John Kin- ney was chief justice of Utah for several years and one of his children was the first white child born in the state of Nebraska.

Henry W. Morey was reared in Marysville and attended the public schools of this place. He then took a commercial course in Cincinnati and entered his father's store, where he worked for some time. He then studied dentistry under Dr. L. A. Powell, in Marysville, and afterwards bought out the business of Doctor Powell. In 1872 he took the degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery at the Philadelphia Dental College and practiced his pro- fession in Marysville until about 1886. In that year he turned his dental

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business over to his brother, Dr. A. H. Morey, and took the management of his father's furniture store which he had previously bought in 1880. He has given all of his attention to the furniture and undertaking business since 1886 and has built up a trade which extends throughout a wide territory sur- rounding Marysville. The building which he erected in 1902 has three floors, twenty-eight by one hundred and thirty-five feet, all filled with a first class stock of furniture.

Mr. Morey was married December 31, 1874, to Clara A. Woods, the daughter of Samuel and Mrs. Lydia Ann ( Burnham) Hathaway Woods, and to this union two children were born, Dana W. and Lucile E. Dana W. is in the pay department of the United States regular army and has his head- quarters at Columbus, Ohio. He married Ethel Cross. Lucile E. died at the age of eighteen, January 2, 1902.

Mrs. Morey was born on a farm seven miles south of Marysville and her parents, both of whom were reared in this county, are now deceased. She has one brother, Leon. The paternal grandparents of Mrs. Morey were Rev. Samuel and Margaret ( Power) Woods, natives of Pennsylvania, while the maternal grandparents of Mrs. Morey were Eliphaz and Lydia (Smith) Burnham, of Connecticut.

Samuel Woods, the father of Mrs. Morey, married Lydia Ann S. (Burn- ham) Hathaway, the widow of Elias Hathaway, in 1848. Her death oc- curred in 1855, and in 1859 he married Maria Stokes. Her father died in 1880, having spent most of his life and his last years on the original farm of his father. the Rev. Samuel Woods. Leon Woods, the only brother of Mrs. Morey, is now living on the old Woods farm.

Mr. Morey and his wife are earnest members of the Congregational church, of which Mr. Morey is a deacon. He is a member of Palestine Lodge No. 158, Free and Accepted Masons; Marysville Chapter, No. 99. Royal Arch Masons; Marysville Council. Royal and Select Masters; Mount Vernon Commandery, No. 1, Knights Templar, of Columbus, Ohio, and Aladdin Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, of Columbus, Ohio. He holds his membership in the Knights of Pythias at Marysville.

In politics, Mr. Morey is a Republican and has been one of the leaders in his party for many years. He was a member of the city council for four years, served on the school board for four years and was county coroner for two terms. He was one of the organizers and first president of the board of trade in Marysville. He was the first president of the Marysville Building and Loan Association, and is now president of the board of trustees of the

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Marysville Hospital. He is also president of the Standard Stamping Com- pany, of Marysville, and a director in the Bank of Marysville.

Mr. Morey has been prominent in the Ohio Embalmers Association and the Ohio Funeral Directors Association. He was one of the men who advo- cated the union of these two associations, was president of both organizations before their consolidation and the main factor in their consolidation. He has also served as president of the Ohio State Furniture Dealers Association and took an active part in the deliberations of this association for several years.

JOHN W. KEARNS.

A retired farmer and highly respected citizen of Taylor township, Union county, Ohio, is John W. Kearns, who has been a resident of this county since 1860. His labors along agricultural lines have been crowned with success, as is shown by his well improved farm of one hundred and thirty- five acres in Taylor township.

John W. Kearns, the son of Gideon and Mary (Green) Kearns, was born in Knox county, Ohio, December 20, 1851. His father was born in Pennsylvania in 1825 and his mother in Harrison county, Ohio, on Febru- ary 26, 1829. Gideon Kearns came to Ohio before his marriage and after his marriage located in Union county in York township, where he lived un- til his death. His widow is still living in this county at the advanced age of eighty-five. Gideon Kearns was a member of Company E. One Hun- dred and Ninety-sixth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, during the Civil War and served at the front for nine months. There were born to Gideon Kearns and wife five children, two of whom are living: Sarah, the wife of W. H. Pfouts, of Washington township, and John W., of Taylor township.

John W. Kearns was nine years of age when his parents moved from Knox county, Ohio, to Union county, and consequently his education was received in the schools of both counties. He helped to clear his father's farm in York township, in this county, and remained at home until his mar- riage at the age of twenty-seven. He then began farming for himself and has accumulated a well improved farm of one hundred and thirty-five acres. on which he has placed many extensive improvements.

Mr. Kearns was married December 15. 1878, to Julia Spicer. the daugh- ter of Joseph and Amanda Spicer. Her father gave his life in defense of

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his country during the Civil War. Mr. Kearns and his wife are the parents of six children, three of whom are now living: Dora, who is clerking in a store at Broadway, Ohio: James A., who is still single and living with his parents ; and Edward C., who married Agatha Amerine and lives in Taylor township. Edward C. has one daughter, Mildred; Ethel and Bertha are cleceased.

Mr. Kearns and his wife are both members of the Baptist church. Fra- ternally, he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and is a past noble grand of his lodge. He also holds his membership in the Patrons of Husbandry. Politically, he gives his stanch support to the Republican party and is now serving as one of the trustees of Taylor township.

RICHARD SANNY FRY.

In the spring of 1850 there arrived in Union county, Ohio, from Eng- land, a young married couple who had come across the broad Atlantic to make their home in this country. Immediately after their marriage in Eng- land they had started on their honeymoon trip to America and for eleven long and joyous weeks their sailing vessel was tossed upon the waves of the broad Atlantic. This young couple arrived in Union county full of nope and happiness, coming here with the intention of making a permanent home for themselves, their children and their children's children. This young married couple who arrived in this county in the middle of the nineteenth century, were the parents of Richard S. Fry, who was the first son born to this young English couple.

Richard Sanny Fry, the son of William and Mary Ann ( Parrett) Fry, was born in Jerome township, Union county, Ohio, 'October 19, 1851. His parents were both born in Somersetshire, England, and reared to maturity in the land of their birth. Immediately after their marriage they came to America and at once went westward to Union county. They had little money, but their hearts were full of hope, and theirs were willing hands. They came here with the intention of making a permanent home, of acquiring an estate, and well did they succeed. William Fry went to work for John Curry and in the fall of the following year bought a farm of fifty acres in Jerome township on which he moved his little family and started in to work for himself. As the years passed by child after child came to bless their home, and acre after acre was added to the farm until at the time of William

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RICHARD S. FRY AND FAMILY

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Fry's death in 1902 he was the owner of five hundred acres of fine land, all in Jerome township, and he had lived to see seven children gathered about the fireside. The mother died in 1910. These seven children are as fol- lows: Richard S., of Jerome township; A. W., of Columbus; Mary, the wife of John Crees, of Mill Creek township; Rose, the wife of Addison McKitrick, of Columbus, Ohio; Augusta, who died when about nineteen years of age ; Alfred, of Jerome township; Lenora, the wife of Reed May, of Columbus, Ohio. William Fry was a prominent man in his county for more than half a century. He was Republican in politics, Presbyterian in religion, and a public-spirited citizen at all times.

Richard Sanny Fry was educated in the public schools of Jerome town- ship and spent a term in the normal school at Worthington, Ohio. He then taught three years in Delaware county, but decided that he would rather engage in farming than follow the profession of a teacher. He returned to the farm in the fall of 1876 and began farming for himself, and has made this his life work. That he has succeeded is shown by his fine farm of three hundred acres. He raises full blooded Percheron horses and high grade live stock of all kinds.

Mr. Fry was married November 10, 1881, to Alice Maria Herriott, a daughter of James and Margery (Cunningham) Herriott, and to this union nine children have been born, eight of whom are living: William Richard, Margery, Chorene, Urton Anderson, Augusta Jane, Alice Herriott, Royal Sanny. Mary Ann, Harold Eugene and Helen. William Richard was born August 23, 1882, married Edith Comstock, and is now living in Jerome township. Margery Chorene was born December 20, 1883, and is the wife of Harley Huffman, and lives in Union township. She has one son, Gerald Harley, born April 3, 1913. Urton Anderson, born November 15, 1885, was married to Nannie Orr in 1912, and he is now living in Madison county. Ohio. Augusta Jane, born August 29. 1887, is still residing with her par- ents. Alice Herriott, born September 4, 1889, was married in 1912 to Kelton McKitrick, and lives in Jerome township. She has one daughter, Alice June, born June 10, 1914. Royal Sanny, born March 23, 1891, was married in 1911, to Hazel Hooper, and to this union have been born two children, James Richard, born in 1911, and Mary Eloise, born June 23, 1913. Mary Ann, the seventh child born to Mr. and Mrs. Fry, was born March 17. 1893, and died January 25, 1894. Harold Eugene was born December 14, 1895. Helen, born January 12, 1898, is a student at the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, Ohio.

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History of Union County, Ohio; its people, industries and institutions, Part 71

Author: Curry, W. L. (William Leontes), b. 1839 Publication date: 1915 Publisher: Indianapolis, Ind., B. F. Bowen & Co. Number of Pages: 1322

Author: Curry, W. L. (William Leontes), b. 1839
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: Indianapolis, Ind., B. F. Bowen & Co.
Number of Pages: 1322