USA > Ohio > Wayne County > History of Wayne county, Ohio, from the days of the pioneers and the first settlers to the present time > Part 29
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He was widely known as one of the most upright and dis- tinguished members of the Ohio bar, and to the citizens of Wayne and adjacent counties as "an honest lawyer," in the completest acceptance of the term.
From the time of his emigration to the town he signalized him- self as a man of ability and enterprise, employing his energies constantly toward advancing the general welfare and promoting the best interests of the new community in which he had anchored his fortunes. The usefulness of a man like Judge Cox, at such a time and under such circumstances, can not be over-estimated. That he was a man of public spirit, and had genius and brains, and was unselfish, all will admit. The very best elements of human
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character were blended in him, and his very presence in society gave it gravity, dignity and tone.
The introduction of the newspaper press in Wooster is due to his intelligence and enterprise. He established in 1817 the Ohio Spectator, the first newspaper ever published in the county, thereby depositing the seed which germinated and grew, and now in 1878 blossoms in the Republican and Democrat-two of the most vigor- ous and ably conducted weekly papers in Northern Ohio.
All honor to Judge Levi Cox for this most praiseworthy of his achievements ! At the close of a long life of active toil he left behind him no wealth, no statues of bronze, no home intrench- ments of brick or stone for a monument ; no brown fronts or gran- ite hotels, no college legacies, no flaunting portraits of himself- simply and only a name.
His neighbor testifies to his goodness; the business man asserts his integrity ; the lawyer vouches for his honesty ; the moralist en- dorses his private life; the philanthropist asks, "Who is this man?" and receives from his minister the answer of, "Christian gentleman." He is not a robber of his neighbor's goods; he is not a swindler in his dealings with his fellow man; he is not an extortioner in his profession, sucking blood from his clients and stabbing with the spear of his cupidity the unfortunate patrons of his office. A believer in human nature, and holding on with a death grasp to the original elements of his soul, he meets the world with a bold face and deals with his fellow man as with a brother.
He had faith in an independent press, and amidst doubts, dan- gers and difficulties, he planted it in the new town of his choice. He believed in the editorial age-the age of intellect. It is an old, worm-eaten Gothic dogma of the world, thought he, to sup- pose that publicity given to every event by the press is fatal to the interests of mankind. He had faith in the jury for the trial of criminals, and to him the press was the living jury of the nation.
He served as County Recorder for fourteen years, was in the Ohio Senate, and for five years he was Presiding Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, under the old Constitution, besides hold- ing other important and responsible positions. He discharged the duties of these various trusts with the strictest regard to honesty, and a desire to deal justly with all men. An immense philan- thropy possessed him, and with his means he was liberal to a fault. With those who had professional contact with him he dealt most
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kindly. His charities were only compassed by his ability to be- stow them. His nature glowed with the heat and sunshine of sum- mer. His moods were always pleasant and genial.
"All his tickets from nature were stamped with a smile."
For several years previous to his death he was a member of the Episcopal church.
He died at his residence in Wooster on the 31st of Decem- ber, 1862.
DAVID MCCONAHAY.
David McConahay emigrated from the neighborhood of Lewis- town, Pa., to Wayne county as early as 1816, when he entered a farm south-west of Smithville about a mile, and began improve- ments thereon. Being single when he first came out, in the course of a year or so he went back to Pennsylvania and married Lydia Dunn, a native of that State, when he returned to Wayne county and settled upon his farm in Greene township.
In 1822-23 he removed to Wooster and started a tannery, oc- cupying the two lots just south of the present residence of E. Quinby, Jr., following this pursuit until about 1837, when the busi- ness passed into the hands of J. E. McConahay, a nephew of his. He had two children, Jane E. and Catharine McConahay. His death occurred Dec. 6, 1841, his wife surviving him until May 5, 1862, both of whom were members of the Presbyterian church.
He was twice elected to the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, and was one of the early Associate Judges of the Com- mon Pleas Court of Wayne county, serving at the May term in 1819.
LINDOL SPRAGUE.
Lindol Sprague, a native of Cooperstown, Otsego county, New York, was born October 12, 1798. His father was a Rhode Islander, a tradesman and farmer, and removed to the Empire State in 1794, and with whom his son remained until 1815.
Mr. Sprague first commenced public life by clerking in a store in Hartwick village, a few miles from where he was born, kept by Dr. John Seymour, with whom he read medicine three years.
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Before going west, he taught school one term of three months, for which he received in round numbers $36.00, having boarded with the scholars. His capital consisted of $33.00 when he departed from home, arriving at Columbus, Ohio, May 24, 1818, a distance of seven hundred miles, which he made on foot.
From Columbus he immediately pushed to the country, eight miles distant, where he began teaching school, teaching five con- secutive terms.
He next went to Columbus to acquire a fuller knowledge of his trade, that of jeweler, working under instructions from William A. Platt one year. On the 9th of November, 1820, he came to Woos- ter, since which time he has resided here. He formed a partnership under the firm name of Lindol & Hezekiah S. Sprague, which con- tinued until 1829, when Hezekiah removed to Newark, Ohio.
He was married December 23, 1828, to Margaret Lippincott, of Belmont county, Ohio. In 1838 he built the brick house which he now occupies on the corner of Walnut and West Liberty streets.
When Mr. Sprague came to Wooster, in 1820, Cox and Avery were the only lawyers, and McPhail and Daniel O. Hoyt the only doctors here, and stores were kept by Benjamin Jones, William McComb, Bentley and the Larwills.
Mr. Sprague has been a member of the Presbyterian church for forty years, and is a worthy and respected citizen.
JOHN CHRISTMAS.
John Christmas was born in Manchester, England, and emigra- ted to America when he was eighteen years of age. He lived for a time in Washington county, Pa., across the Monongahela river from Brownsville, and from there removed to Georgetown, at the mouth of the Little Beaver, opposite Smith's Ferry.
Here he followed merchandising until 1818, when he came to Wooster, and engaged in mercantile pursuits. His wife was of the Beall-Stibbs family. His son, Joseph Christmas, became a Presbyterian minister, and preached the first sermon ever delivered in the old brick Presbyterian church. He was an artist and poet of ability, and died in New York city, at the age of 27.
Charles Christmas, his oldest son, was born in Washington county, Pa., November 20, 1796, and removed with his father to Wooster, in 1818. In February, 1821, he was appointed Surveyor of Wayne county, by Judge Parker, serving three consecutive
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terms, by appointment. In 1829 he surveyed public lands on the Elkhart Plains; in 1830-31 he surveyed in Michigan, and in 1832 on the Seneca Reservation.
In 1850 he left Wooster, and arrived at the Falls of St. Anthony in July of that year. He helped to organize Hennepin county, Minn., in 1852, had the first appointment as Surveyor of the coun- ty, and helped to establish Minneapolis, the county seat. He was married to Mary A. Rogers, in December, 1820, and had fifteen children. He is now, if living, 81 years old, and the only survi- vor of the family bearing the name. He surveyed a great deal of the present site of Wooster, and is the author of what is known as "the old Christmas map" of Wayne county. His father built the brick house now occupied and owned by Samuel Johnson, Esq., and the stream known as "Christmas Run" was named for him.
EDWARD AVERY.
Edward Avery was born, we believe, in the State of Connecti- cut, and, according to our information, was a graduate of Yale Col- lege.
He settled in Wooster in 1817, and was married December 28, 1823, to Jane, daughter of John Galbraith, of Steubenville. With Judge Levi Cox, he was one of the pioneer lawyers at the Wooster bar.
He was elected Prosecuting Attorney of Wayne county in 1819, and held the office until 1825. He was a member of the Senate of the State of Ohio, serving from December, 1824, to De- cember 4, 1826.
He served in the capacity of Judge of the Supreme Court of the State of Ohio prior to the adoption of the New Constitution.
He died June 27, 1866. On the 28th of June a bar meeting was held at the office of Rex & Jones, at which George Rex, Wil- liam Given and John McSweeney were appointed a committee to draft resolutions expressive of the sense of the meeting.
Judge Avery was a distinguished jurist, possessing many public and private virtues, his life long, honorable and useful to the com- munity and State. In all ways he was an enlightened, patriotic citizen, an accomplished, honorable man, and a consistent member of the Presbyterian church.
23
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HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.
JAMES JACOBS, SR.
James Jacobs was born in Mifflin county, Pa., September 18, 1799, and moved to Ohio in February, 1826.
Ambitious in his disposition, resolute in his determination to accomplish something for himself, he directed his steps to the West.
Being of graceful deportment and having quick business quali- fications, and withal a courteous and affable gentleman, he soon found employment as clerk in the office of Hon. Wm. Larwill, at that time Register of the Land Office, of Wooster. This relation was sustained during that summer, and in fact into the autumn, when, desiring to be released from the restraints of an employe, and with the bolder purpose of conducting and controlling his own personal affairs, he concluded to surround himself with the perils as well as the profits of business. In pursuance of this resolu- tion, in the fall of 1826, he entered into commercial transactions with Mr. J. S. Lake, making a specialty of no particular branch, but conducting a general dry goods, hardware, queensware, &c. busi- ness. This partnership existed for about four years, when a dissolu- tion both desirable and mutual in its character took place, when Mr. Jacobs proceeded to conduct affairs on his own account.
From this time forward, and until his retiracy from the active concerns of a life of assiduous business toils, he was the same en- terprising, persevering citizen which so distinctly characterized him from the hour of his entrance upon business life.
He was married May 14, 1830, to Miss Elizabeth W. Eichar, the nuptials being solemnized by Rev. Samuel Irvine, one of the eminent pioneer ministers of the county.
His death, a sudden one, occurred June 30, 1863, in his sixty- fourth year. His wife, Elizabeth, with whom he lived over a quar- ter of a century, was first to enter the Valley of the Shadow, hav- ing died November 23, 1858, in her fifty-first year.
" For years they climbed life's hill together- They sleep together at its foot."
James Jacobs can not properly be identified with the pioneers of the county, but his embarkation hither was at that opportune moment when that element of our population so surely needed the infusion of his public spiritedness, the zeal of his character and the momentum of his enterprise.
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He was a patron of the common school and a co-operator in the cause of education, not because he had sons and daughters to educate, but because he believed it a companion that no enemy could alienate, no clime destroy, or no despotism enslave. He was a staunch adherent of the church, and a believer in the ulti- mate triumph of all truth. Hence he gave of his means for the promulgation of Bible truth, for he was of opinion that the princi- ples of Christianity had projected themselves into the civilization of the age with the fixedness with which a continent thrusts itself into the sea. He was one of the earnest advocates of railroad communication with our city, and, with Dr. Day, the Larwills, and others, contributed largely to the location and completion of the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railroad, that has proven so incalculable a benefit to the whole community.
In his business relations he was unswervingly affable and po- lite; so in his private walks was he cheery, agreeable and intelligent. He was modest, calm and self-possessed under almost any emer- gency.
He was a Presbyterian of the rigid order, ardently attached to the Sunday-school, ever present at the prayer meeting. There was no looseness in his views of theology. The screws had to be tight on every.bolt. He could have said :
" I have never known the winter's blast, Or the quick lightning, or the pestilence, Make nice distinctions when let slip From God's right hand."
For he believed there was a special providence in the fall of a sparrow. He was a lover of all that was beautiful in the world. To him a beautiful church was a sermon in stone; its spire, a fin- ger pointing to the Throne. A lady, speaking to us of Mr. Jacobs, remarked that he was a handsome man. Such he was, and of ele- gant grace, genial disposition and serene dignity. He was a gen- tleman by birth and culture. The emerald was in his composition, and one ray of it constantly streamed upon his soul.
He was kind, gracious and indulgent, not only in the circle of home, but in his relations with every one. He had a pleasant word for all, and a special fondness for children. The little boys on the street, "these young princes of God," knew him, and he had a smile for them, which was a benefaction. His kindness to
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the poor was proverbial, and his feelings were easily aroused, either with pity for suffering, or indignation at injustice or wrong.
He loved home, friends, kindred, the good that is in the world, that was, and will be. His heart was set to the music of friend- ship, as the stars are to the melodies of Heaven. He had the Christian's love for his fellow-man, and if at times its disc was clouded by a resentment or a doubt, they soon vanished in the warm sunshine of his nature, as the ice-jewels of an autumn morn- ing disappear before the radiance of the sun.
This, and no more than this, must we say :
"To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die."
NEWSPAPER PRESS.
"The newspaper has become the log-book of the age."-Anon.
" I consider the newspaper to be the grand agency by which the Gospel is to be preached, ignorance cast out, oppression dethironed, Heaven rejoiced and God glorified. In the clanking of the printing press, as the sheets fly out, I hear the voice of the Lord Almighty, proclaiming to all the dead nations of the earth, ' Lazarus, come forth !' and to the retreating surges of darkness, 'Let there be light!' "-Talmadge.
To the late Judge Levi Cox is justly due the credit of supply- ing the people of the county with the first newspaper press. In the earlier portion of the year 1817 he imported from the East the materials of a journal office, and about the same time issued pro- posals for the publication of a weekly paper to be entitled the Ohio Spectator, in the village of Wooster. Having after a short time realized, as he supposed, an adequate support, he took into partnership a young man from Wilkesbarre, Pa., named Samuel Baldwin, he being a practical printer, Mr. Cox not being familiar with "small caps," "nonpareil," etc. Having called in their subscription lists they went to work, and after a brief time the Ohio Spectator appeared, under the imprint of Cox & Baldwin. This was the midsummer of 1817.
The size of the paper was a medium. The materials being all new and the workmanship good, the paper though small, made a respectable appearance. The character of the paper was neutral with regard to party politics. Its aim was to promote the general welfare, comprising within the same wide field the interests and prosperity of the town and country. The subscription patronage
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was a little over three hundred, the advertising maintaining an average of two dollars per week. The partnership of Cox & Bald- win closed at the end of the first year, Mr. Cox withdrawing, and a Mr. Asa W. W. Hickox, of the Western Reserve, taking his place. The latter left at the end of the year, when Mr. Baldwin continued it alone ; but being bodily quite infirm, he soon fell a vic- tim to that terrible scourge, consumption.
Dr. Thomas Townsend, a relative of the deceased, assumed control of the paper and closed out the remainder of Mr. Baldwin's year. He managed the business of the office, edited the paper, and Mr. Joseph Clingan executed the printing of it. At the end of the year the paper became defunct, and the county was without an organ for a time, excepting a temporary sheet, published oc- casionally, termed the Electioneerer, established exclusively to advance personal claims to office in the pending election of 1820. Mr. Cox having a lien upon the office, resumed the possession of it, and soon thereafter issued proposals for a renewal of the Spec- tator. The offer not being sufficiently patronized, Mr. Cox con- cluded on relinquishing the enterprise and sold out his property in the press to Mr. Benjamin Bentley, of Wooster, who had conceived the idea of instituting a paper there. Being in no sense a practi- cal printer, he proposed a partnership to Mr. Clingan in the con- templated sheet, to which he readily assented.
Subscription papers were soon issued and returned, and on the 13th of January, 1820, the Wooster Spectator breathed the breath of life. It was published for two years jointly by Mr. Clingan and Benj. Bentley, when the latter withdrew, Mr. Clingan purchasing Mr. Bentley's interest in the press and conducting for five years longer the paper himself.
In the spring of 1826 Col. John Barr, of Hagerstown, Md., bought the office, preparing and issuing from it a paper entitled the Ohio Oracle, devoted to the support of General Jackson for President. This pretentious journal, in name at least, had a career of about four years. It is probable it had no prototype and will have no successor. Col. Barr sold his office to Mr. David Sloane, of Wooster, who issued therefrom a paper denominated the Wooster Fournal and Democratic Times. He ran the issue four years and then transferred it to his brother-in-law, Mr. J. W. Schuckers, who published it for a like period. Both papers were well gotten up, and the "man of the quill " was understood to be
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Col. John Sloane, one of the most bitter, vituperative, incisive and powerful writers of the day. A Mr. Wharton was the printer.
Mr. Schuckers disposed of the concern to Daniel Sprague, who took charge of it June 23, 1836, conducting it under the caption of the Wooster Journal and Democratic Times. September 16, 1840, he changed the title of the paper to the Wooster Democrat. Having ably conducted the paper for over 16 years, he sold out, his successors, H. C. Johnson and Enos Foreman, assuming con- trol of it August 5, 1852. For a time we believe Mr. O. H. Booth, a practical printer, and at the present time the efficient telegraph superintendent at Mansfield, had an interest in the con- cern.
May 12, 1853, its managers resolved to change the name of the paper, and thereafter the winged messenger appeared in the baptismal freshness of the Wooster Republican. August 12, 1858, H. C. Johnson retired from the management and office, remov- ing to Sandusky City, Mr. Foreman issuing the journal himself, being both proprietor and editor. Mr. Johnson was a pleasing and fertile writer and a man of fair ability and excellent private char- acter. We regret that we can not record the date of his death. July 25, 1861, Mr. Foreman issued a daily from the Republican office, which was continued, without intermission, until November 30, of the same year. This was the first daily in the county and was devoted to war news. Mr. Foreman disposing of the office August 4, 1870, Captain A. S. McClure and Joseph G. Sanborn as- sumed the proprietorship and publication of the Republican.
We have thus concisely and as sententiously as possible en- deavored to indicate the origin of one of the lines of the press, and to sharply pursue that course down to the present time. Another remains to be treated in like manner, and to this end we turn.
Some time in the summer of 1826 Mr. Joseph Clingan prepared for the publication of another paper in Wooster. In the same year, we may here announce, that a Mr. John Sala, from Canton, Ohio, established in Wooster a German paper, entitled the Wooster Correspondent, which had an extremely meager circulation, and died in the very agonies of its birth. Mr. Clingan having consummated his arrangements, as above set forth, in September of the year 1826 sent out, booming with force and freshness, the Republican Advocate. Its partial object was the advancement of the claims of General Jackson to the Presidency. It was liberally encouraged and supported, and was continued twelve years under its originator,
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when he sold out to a Mr. Samuel Littell, who purchased the Western Telegraph, established by Mr. Martin Barr.
Mr. Littell merged the two papers, their politics being identical, and then issued a sheet entitled the Democratic Republican. This journal had a life of three years, when it was transferred by lease to James G. Miller and a Mr. Carpenter, a practical printer, they publishing it for a year and then abandoning it. Mr. Isaac N. Hill then leased the office and issued the Democrat from it for a few years. After this Mr. Littell sold the office to Messrs. Carny and Means, who published until the death of Mr. Means.
Hon. John Larwill obtaining proprietorship of the paper after the death of Mr. Means, sold the office to Jacob A. Marchand, who owned the Democrat up to the time of his death, which occur- red August 28, 1862. On the Ist of April, prior to his death, Mr. Marchand rented the office to Messrs. Franklin Harry and John H. Oberly, for the term of one year. His decease necessitated the sale of the Democrat, when it was purchased by John H. Oberly, in 1863, who for a year conducted it with vigorous and signal ability. In 1864 Mr. Oberly sold to Colonel Benjamin Ea- son, who, on the Ist of November, mounted the editorial tripod.
In 1866 Mr. Eason sold the office to Hon. John P. Jeffries, under whose auspices it was managed for a year, with his son, Lin- næus Q. Jeffries, as publisher, when he sold it to Benjamin Eason and Asa G. Dimmock, the former doing some of the writing, but especially invested with the managerial interests of the paper, as Mr. Dimmock was at that time Prosecuting Attorney of Coshoc- ton county. In May, 1867, Mr. Eason sold his interest to Mr. Dimmock, who took Lemuel Jeffries into partnership, under the firm name of Dimmock & Jeffries. Subsequently they sold the Democrat to James A. Estill, of the Millersburg Farmer, who took charge of it April 30, 1868. Mr. Estill retired February 25, 1869, Hon. E. B. Eshelman, of the Columbus Statesman, purchasing his interest, the paper being conducted by Messrs. Eshelman, Frank- lin Harry and John J. Lemon. On the 23d of October, 1872, Mr. Lemon sold his interest to John H. Boyd, who, on August 2, 1876, transferred his share to Thomas E. Peckinpaugh, the Democrat now (1878) being owned and published by E. B. Eshelman, Franklin Harry and T. E. Peckinpaugh, under the firm name of E. B. Esh- elman & Co.
Cotemporary with these two series of papers, there were a few others, but disconnected with them, and which had but short tar-
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ryings on "the gay island existence." Born in the day-light, they absorbed and reflected little of its lustre. Darkness encompassed, them for a while, but like the fire-fly, which "lights, if not to warm, the gloom," they revealed a "gleaming wing," then fell from sight forever.
One of these was by R. V. Kennedy, christened the Wayne County Standard, which "rose to explain" in 1844. It was a large sized paper, mechanically well executed, and edited with considerable ability. But with all these deserving commendations it did not survive beyond its first year. In politics it was Demo- cratic. Another of these isolated issues was the "American Eagle," which was established about 1855, by a young man and a native of the county, named Howard Coe. It was to be feathered anew, under the auspices of the then office-holders of the town, who had promised the owner of the bird crumbs of comfort, rare tid-bits and much fat and singular picking. But, says Mr. Clingan, to whom we are indebted for much of the above data: " Alas! for the too confiding wight, they scarcely doled him a pitiful morsel, in consequence of which the poor fowl dropped from its lofty roost to earth, greatly to the damage of its center of gravity, and like to the fall of Lucifer, it never rose again." And says he, "It was certainly deserving of a better fate, for it was a neatly plumed bird, and during its brief period of six months it behaved itself in the sight of male and female with commendable propriety and decency of deportment."
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