USA > Ohio > Montgomery County > Dayton > History of the city of Dayton and Montgomery County, Ohio, Volume I > Part 22
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Mrs. Conover speaks of the trepidation on the part of the pupils on the occasion of his frequent visits to the schools, but adds that the fears were unfounded as Mr. Steele was more interested in the "child learning" than in the "man learned" and
Tantafax
MAIN STREET, NORTH OF FIFTH STREET, DAYTON
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DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY
that even the "unbaked philosophical arguments" of the boys in the Philomathean Society received his sympathetic attention.
In 1853, he was made secretary of the Woodland Cemetery Association and in 1858 its president, continuing in this position till the time of his death, September 24, 1891. At his death he left a widow and four daughters and two sons.
He was one of the earliest members of the Montgomery County Agricultural Society and an active member of the several horticultural societies successively organized and served as a member of the state board of agriculture. In the time of the Civil war, he was a member of the sanitary commission and chairman of the citizens' committee to assist in raising the Ninety-third Regiment of Ohio Volunteers.
Mr. Steele was active in the organization of the Young Men's Christian Asso- ciation in 1870 and was made its first president. He was a life-long member of the Presbyterian church. He served six years as a trustee of the Children's Home, beginning with its organization in 1867.
His varied and continued service in public places may be explained by a general remark made by himself. Said he, "a man who would work effectively must work quietly or he runs the risk of losing the chance to work at all." The spirit of his life is well indicated by a remark made by him in early life. When told that he did not have the physical strength for the work that he had marked out for him- self he replied: "Very well, I shall help others to do theirs."
His "History of Dayton," as written by one who had a knowledge of facts at first hand, he himself being a chief actor in the events which he relates, will have a permanent value.
MARY DAVIES STEELE.
The story of Mis's Steele's life is already half told, when it is said that she was the like-minded daughter of Robert W. Steele, and that as a student and writer it was her congenial lot to work along with him for many years. She died Feb- ruary 25, 1897. She was never strong and much of her work was performed under the handicap of continued invalidism.
Her articles were sought by the best magazines. She wrote more largely, how- ever, for the local newspapers, using them as a medium for reaching the people on matters of public interest and welfare. She used also her close acquaintance with a wide circle of influential friends in working for the public good.
In helping to save the log cabin from destruction, in securing the appointment of a police matron, in stimulating and directing in the formation of womans' clubs and bringing historical materials to public notice to promote a true and intelligent civic pride at the time of Dayton's centennial, she performed a service that will not be forgotten. Her books, "Early Dayton" and a "Happy Life," earn for her the gratitude and esteem of all our citizens.
MARY BELLE EAKER.
In the list of Dayton's benefactors the name of Miss Mary Belle Eaker deserves a high place. She was born in Dayton April 24, 1822. Her parents were William
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DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY
and Letetia Lowry Eaker. An account of her father has already been given. Her mother was a daughter of Archibald Lowry, brother of the David Lowry, a chain- carrier in the surveying of the territory about Dayton in 1795. January 2, 1817, she was married to William Eaker, then a prosperous Dayton merchant who died January 7, 1848, leaving to his widow and four children a large amount of prop- erty. The large estate was managed by a son, Frank Eaker, till his death, when the daughter, Mary Belle, and the mother assumed full management. The mother, who, like her husband, was always characterized by a generous public spirit, died in 1882.
Miss Eaker graduated from the academy at Fourth and Wilkinson streets. She was closely associated with the oldest families of Dayton and the roll of her close friends printed at the time of her death included the names of the most worthy and substantial people in the period to which her life belonged. She passed from apparently good health into the beyond May 30, 1902.
The following is taken from Mrs. Conover's interesting description of her : "All will remember the plain dress, the plain hat, and the plain face under it, the slight figure, and the quick walk. * She was the type of a business woman, concise, methodical, accurate, alert. The things that made life interesting to her were flowers, poor people and public concerns."
Her gifts for public purposes were always made after a full inquiry into the merits of the appeals presented. Her gifts were not influenced by those near about her. She rather used their knowledge and judgment in reaching the ends to which she was devoted. She found the superior wisdom and conscientiousness of Mr. D. A. Sinclair a great help to her in bestowing her benefactions.
Her interest in the Young Men's Christian Association is indicated by the fol- lowing paragraph: "Much of my life has been passed in this home, and I gladly give it for this purpose believing that it could be consecrated to no better use and that the people of Dayton will build upon it a suitable Christian home for our young men."
Some of her bequests in addition to her gift of the site of the splendid new Young Men's Christian Association were fifty thousand dollars for the erecting and equipping of a building for the Miami Valley Hospital, fifteen thousand dollars each for the home and foreign mission boards of the Presbyterian church, ten thousand dollars for the freedmen in the south. The residue of her property, after paying other bequests, was to be divided between the Young Men's Chris- tian Association and the Woman's Christian Association. Valuable leasehold property was given as an endowment to the Woman's Christian Association and the Miami Valley Hospital. In all, her benefactions amounted to about five hundred thousand dollars.
Her spirit in giving is shown in the following extract from her will: "My life has been most pleasantly spent in Dayton. I am interested in the Master's work and as His steward desire to make these investments for the good of the com- munity in which I have lived. Let God have the honor. It is my imperative wish that no memorials, nor tablets of any kind be erected in my name in connection with the bequests made in this will and my executors are instructed to see that this wish is respected."
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MRS. HARRIET N. STEVENS.
Mrs. Harriet N. Stevens, for whom the Harriet Stevens Club is named, was a sister of the late Eliam E. Barney and was long identified with the highest inter- ests of Dayton. She first came to the city when her brother was principal of the old Dayton Academy. Born and brought up near Sackett's Harbor on Lake Ontario she had known in her childhood some of the struggles incident to frontier life. These had developed thoughtfulness and self-reliance, and the strong relig- ious character of her parents was imitated in her own spirit of devotion and self- sacrifice. She was also associated with her brother in starting and building up the Cooper Academy for young ladies and, later in life, was for some time a teacher in the high school of Dayton. An ardent student herself, she was strong, tactful and patient in developing the minds and hearts of her pupils. She was a stanch Baptist and helped largely to build up that denomination in Dayton. At the same time she was broad and generous in her Christian sympathies and interested in everything which pertained to the cause of freedom, education and religion. She delighted in any opportunity to do good. Her heart went out in earnest efforts for the humble; for the Indian, the negro and the heathen in foreign lands. A great number of pupils remember with gratitude her wise and faithful guidance. Even to her old age she kept in touch with thoughtful and studious pursuits. A devoted and loving parent to her own children, she became also an honored mother in the schools and in the church. She was twice married; first to Mr. Orsamus Os- good, of whom she was soon bereaved by death. Her second husband was Mr. A. E. Stevens, well known in Dayton, at first as a teacher and later as connected with the car works. Her busy and happy life was extended to the age of eighty- five. Her death occurred on March 9, 1903. She was one of the noble women whose memory is both a benediction and an inspiration. The Harriet Stevens Club commemorates her literary and personal worth.
LOUIS B. GUNCKEL.
Notice of what Mr. Gunckel was as a lawyer will be given in another connec- tion. His wider relations to the community claim some attention here. Mr. Gunckel was born in Germantown, Ohio, October 15, 1826. His grandfather, Judge Philip Gunckel, and his father, Colonel Michael Gunckel, came to the vi- cinity of Germantown in 1804. He graduated at Farmers College in 1848 and from the Cincinnati Law School in 1851, and in the same year was admitted to practice. In the eventful and critical period from 1862 to 1866 he was a mem- ber of the Ohio senate. In this position he did much in giving support to the war and in caring for the families of soldiers. No one contended more courageously or persistently for eliminating all unnecessary expenses, but he desired no retrench- ment at the expense of his country or of its noble defenders. More than any other one he was instrumental in bringing the Soldiers' Home to Dayton. He was one of the board of managers for the first twelve years, during ten of which he was secretary of the board and local manager. He was one of the presidential electors in 1864 and cast his vote for Abraham Lincoln. It may or may not be a compli- ment to say that he resembled the great emancipator in form and in manner. In
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DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY
1871, President Grant appointed him special commissioner to investigate alleged frauds against the Indians. In 1872, he was elected to congress, serving for the two-year term. In 1884, he was again nominated for congress but declined the nomination.
Mr. Gunckel was a visitor to Europe and on his return delivered at different places and later published a lecture on "What America Can Learn from the Old World." He also wrote and spoke interestingly on "Recollections of Famous Men" that he had met.
His great kindness of heart caused him to be much interested in charity work to which he sought to apply scientific principles. No one saw more clearly than he that true charity seeks rather to remove the causes of poverty than merely to administer relief. From the organization of the Associated Charities in 1896 to his death, October 3, 1903, he was its president, devoting much time and study to promoting the work of the association. A genuine interest in the public welfare and in men as men was apparent in all that he did.
In 1860, Mr. Gunckel married Miss Kate Winters, the daughter of Valentine Winters. He died at his home in Dayton.
PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR.
Granted the apt child to begin with, Paul Laurence Dunbar was in a special sense a Dayton product, almost too much so to be the poet of his race. On Howard street where he was born June 27, 1872, no colored family other than the family to which he belonged was living. He attended the public schools graduating from the high school in 1891. He was given the honor of writing the class poem. Yet, by every drop of his blood, by family tradition, by surroundings in church, on the street, and in common employments he was the typical American negro.
His great-grandmother, Aunt Becca Porter, was brought from Kentucky to Dayton by Samuel Steele and given her freedom. His grandmother was given her freedom when no longer able to work and followed her mother to Dayton. His mother, Matilda Jane Burton, while a slave, was married to Wilson Murphy, a slave owned by a different master. By the will of her master, his older slaves were to be cared for, but the others were to be freed on condition of their going to Liberia. The war saved the young wife and her two children from deportation, and they came to Dayton. The husband, after having served as a soldier in the Union army, joined them here. He died a few years later. Subsequently, the widow was married to Joshua Dunbar, who had escaped from slavery in Kentucky to Canada and later had served in the Union army. Their one son is the subject of this sketch. A daughter died in childhood. The father was an intelligent man of quiet and dignified bearing. He died when Paul Laurence was about ten years old and lies buried in the cemetery at the Soldiers' Home. The mother, still living, is a woman of good judgment and marked strength of character.
Shut out of other lines of employment by race prejudice, Paul Laurence, on graduating from high school, became elevator boy in the Callahan building at four dollars per week. Intelligent friends had noticed his genius and application, and gave him help and encouragement. In 1892, some of his poems were published in a volume under the title "Oak and Ivy." Later, he was made page in the com-
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DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY
mon pleas court at five dollars per week, his money being added to the earnings of his mother for their common support. For a time, he worked as a factory hand. In 1893, he was given by Frederick Douglass a position in a department at the world's fair at Chicago, to which city he went, taking his mother with him. While there he published his second volume, "Majors and Minors." In 1895 he visited England where he gave readings from his works. On his return, he was given a library position at Washington, he continuing all the while to write. For one term, he taught literature in the Tuskegee Institute. For a time he resided at Denver, but returned to Dayton in 1903, where he resided till his death which occurred February 9, 1906.
March 6, 1898, he was married to Miss Alice Ruth Moore, a lady of literary ability and reputation, but after a few years they separated. The memory of his wife lived in his heart and appeared in his song. To the public, he passed over the separation with the remark that he could not live east and his wife . would not live west.
He was buried in Woodland cemetery in his mother's lot, but in 1909 his body was removed to a lot selected and purchased by a committee having in charge the placing of a monument at the head of the poet's grave. The monument consists of a large boulder upon which is placed a bronze tablet suitably inscribed. On it are graven the poet's lines :
"Lay me down beneaf de willers in de grass, Whah de branch'll go a-singin' as it pass
An' w'en I's a-layin low I kin heah it as it go, Singin', 'Sleep my honey, tek yo' res' at las'.' "
The early favorable criticism of W. D. Howells helped to open to Paul Laurence Dunbar a large and fruitful field. His twenty-one volumes of poetry and story given to the world in the short course of fourteen years were received with favor and are yet in steady demand.
W. D. HOWELLS.
Many will be surprised at seeing the name of W. D. Howells introduced here, and in fact the use of the name in connection with Dayton is only half-serious. Yet someone was heard to say "Don't forget W. D. Howells. I remember when he used to come around and throw his father's paper into our yard." In May, 1849, William C. Howells came to Dayton from Hamilton, where he had been publishing a paper, and purchased the Dayton Transcript and began its publication in daily, tri-weekly and weekly editions. His whole family, including William Dean, his afterward famous son, then twelve years of age, worked in the printing office getting out the paper. William Dean often worked in the printing office till II p. m. and then rose at 4 a. m. to carry papers. The undertaking was too great for the enterprising publisher, and after every turn and resource had been tried, failure had to be acknowledged. W. D. Howells afterward reported that when the Howells saw that no further effort would avail, they "all went down to the Miami river and went in swimming." After a two years' stay in Dayton, they sojourned for a year in Greene county, living there in a small log house. They afterward
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went to Columbus and other points where better fortune awaited them. Yet neither W. C. Howells nor his more famous son forgot or ceased to appreciate their experiences in the Miami valley.
Thus far the aim has been to give the story of Dayton in the form of a general account of its life and growth. As distinct branches have been developed or as expansions such as might not interest the general reader have been thought neces- sary, these have been left for the special chapters that follow.
We have noticed the struggle for existence and comfort ; the movement toward righteousness and the realization of ideals; the multiplication of wants and the increase in the means of supplying them. The energy of the people has been stored up in vast enlargement of wealth. Passing from the view of meager and pre- carious beginnings, we now look out upon a city covering more than sixteen square miles of territory and including an estimated population of a hundred and thirty thousand people.
The Dayton of the pioneers lies far in the distance. The picturesque village with its long rope walks, spreading tan yards, nail and hat factories and its mag- nificent distances between cabins has given place to a city of solid blocks, lofty buildings, a thousand factories, and world-wide commerce. The hardy virtues and spiritual life of the earlier days have their counterpart in the personal devotion of those now on the stage of action and in the great institutions that represent the stored up intelligence, energy and purpose of the past.
ORIGINAL PLAN OF DAYTON, RECORDED IN THE RECORDS OF HAMILTON COUNTY.
Parcel Ludlowe
Given under my hand this 27th day of April 1602
353
352
325
324
317 3/6
309
308
301 300
293 2521
310
307
J02
299
290 29/
335
330
327 322
328
96
97
144
145
192
193
240
201
208
2
97
50
95
95
146
19/
194
239
842 287
96
90
99
142
147
190
195
238
243 286
32
93
100
191
146
169
237
244
205
263
No
41
19
137
152
185
200 233
248 281
10
90
57
105
136
+33
154
83
202.
23/
279
10
39
87
86
107
85
108
GROUND
PUBLIC
161
201
229
252 277
The outlots contain yon acres
The alleys are one pole wide
Ground , which are six poles wide
and all oil up and down the River cross of
note - The streets running from the River run as 16.Z. and
TOWN OF DAYTON
51
56
52
50
49
49
45
-
43
mod
-
37
421
38
99
40
41
-
96
-
31
32
33
34
-3.
1
-
23
28
24
25
26
27
22
1
1
1
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15
1
9
10
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00
2
3
5
6
Y
33/
:326 3231
315
19 314
311
306
298
295
290
290
269
336 129
original plan of the Town of Dayton !
Great Miami
19
35
62
83
110
30
159
178
207
226
274
32
33
67
69
160]
/71
200
225
238
278
17
1
1
31
66
79
78
115
26
163
25
202
221
260 269
20
89
28
69
76
124
163
166 171
814
219
262
.67
22
17
70
7/
74
19 122
170
121
361 J68
162
077
337
1349
195
146
334
359 342
147
37/
J791
379.
1
339
-
100 3f.
1
-
-
TI, RI
Secte
Sec 9 7.4 7.7
PLAN OF THE
for Don't C. Cooper
yat the above or within plat is atrue copy of the
36
61
09
180
205
228
253
276
79
206
227
254
River
63
00
128
16/
176
209
162
175
210
225
2.56
170
179
211
2/3
220
267
268
75
110.
23
264 765
20 25
347
367
360
365
J73
46
47
48
Book ER, Toje 58, Hamilton County Rocards
plan of the Town of layton, as recorded in need
I hereby certify that this map is a correct copy of the
River
EHayman . Eva.
Received ) Recorded 28% April 1008
30
-29.
Jec 33. T. R1
16
17
18
19
20
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1
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-
000
12
- 2
those running
282]
02
103
/38
151
186
193
134
347
2JZ
299 280
184
201
182
200
230
25%
270
/2
37
60
03
82
92
101
140 149
188
197 235
44
The lots are six pales wide and twelve long including the dies
a four poles wide , except those crossing in the Public
1
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53
Se 35, T2,77.
--
-
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135.
108
27
67
77
335
200
218
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312
CHAPTER VII. PLATS-EXTENSIONS.
PLAT OF 1795 -- PLAT OF 1803-REVISED PLAT OF 1809-LAND TITLES-THE TOWN SITE-ANNEXATIONS -- WEST DAYTON-DAYTON VIEW-RIVERDALE-NORTH DAY- TON-EDGEMONT-EAST DAYTON -- SOUTH PARK.
PLAT OF 1795.
The original plat of Dayton, made November 4, 1795, by Israel Ludlow, has largely maintained its first character down to the present time. Somewhat un- fortunately, in order to make it correspond to the river front, it was placed six- teen degrees out of harmony with the points of the compass and the section lines. All of the lots were ninety-nine feet wide by one hundred and ninety-eight feet deep, including the alleys and faced to the streets running east and west. The streets were sixty-six feet wide, with the exception of the two streets crossing in the center of the plat, which were ninety-nine feet wide. The streets are not named in the plat. The plat was a rectangle bounded by Monument avenue and Sixth street and a street next east of Mill street and a street next west of Wilkin- son street and parallel to it. To the east were fifty out-lots of ten acres each. This plat was certified to by Ludlow, April 27, 1802, and recorded at Cincinnati the next day. It must be understood as having force and value at the time when it was recorded as well as at the first.
PLAT OF 1803.
September 5, 1803, Mr. Cooper, who had become titular proprietor of the town, made a new plat which was entered for record September 9, 1805. The contract between Daniel C. Cooper and the county commissioners, signed June 27, 1805, refers back to agreements made in 1803, when the special commissioners to locate the county seat were negotiating with Cooper and others, the contract in- cluding the language, "the said Daniel having heretofore made certain proposals for granting lots to the county and other property for and in consideration of having the seat of justice established at Dayton." The early agreements which were modified and fixed by the contract of 1805, doubtless influenced the plat of 1803. No question was raised as to Cooper's right to make the plat and it was recognized as valid for all purposes.
It is interesting to notice the changes as compared with the earlier plat. The lots east of Mill street and north of Third were left out and lots were laid out
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DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY
west of Main street between Monument avenue and the river. The names of the principal streets appear, being the same as used later, with the exception that Cherry street was later changed and named Perry. They probably had been in use from the first with very little change. Main street was widened to 132 feet, Third to a trifle over 117 feet, the other streets to 99 feet with the exception of the bounding streets on the east, west and south, which were 66 feet. The lots remained the same size with the exception of the tier of lots on the north side of Third street including the lots in that tier fronting on Main street which were 220 feet deep. An exception must be made, however, as to the court-house lots. Owing to the increased depth of the tier of lots on the north side of Third street, the lots of this tier that were made to face on Main street had an excess of twenty-two feet as compared with the width of other lots. Mr. Cooper numbered this excess abutting the Main street alley as lot 313 and did not convey it to the county. In 1806, the commissioners entered into an arrangement with Cooper whereby the county was to receive this lot in exchange for other lots, and the commissioners proceeded to sell this lot a short time later for $134. For some reason, these arrangements were never carried out, and in 1813, Cooper sold the lot to Henry Brown. In 1853, the county commissioners bought the lot of Henry Brown's successors for $3,500. From that time, lot 313 as a separate lot dis- appeared from the city maps. It would have been wise if then or earlier the county had acquired the entire square. The lots abutting Main street were made to face Main street, the next adjoining lot being divided and the parts included to suit this change. All lots on Monument avenue, however, were left as they were before. In this plat, the dimensions for lots were exclusive of the alleys. Thus, supposing the half-block at the southwest corner of Main street and Monument avenue where Newcom's tavern stood to remain as before, the street lines not touching this half-block would be moved from one to about eighteen rods. These changes, however, made little difference to the few settlers near the river front. It was from this plat that all donations to the county and the town were made in 1803 or 1805. The out-lots north of Third street were left to be replatted later. In the plat of 1803, Cooper reserved as much of Water and Mill streets as his mills required. He also reserved the right under certain conditions to take water through any of the streets. Purchasers were given the privilege of plant- ing trees sixteen and one-half feet in front of their lots, thus being indicated the width of sidewalks. If they made a good walk on the outer half of this strip they were allowed to inclose the inner half in a door yard. It will be noticed that this plat in its essential provisions has remained unchanged.
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