USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > Cleveland > Official report of the centennial celebration of the founding of the city of Cleveland and the settlement of the Western Reserve > Part 21
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The achievements of this organization as a unit and the measure of success attained, we hope, are apparent in the manifest interest and in the increasing number of clubs in Ohio. From a nucleus of forty-one clubs as charter members of the Ohio Federation of Women's Clubs, in October, 1894, to-day after a lapse of less than two years, we have one hundred and twelve clubs in the state organization, representing a total membership of four thousand one hundred and seventy-two women. We are con- vinced that woman holds the strongest and noblest influence in the world through her mother influence and family affections .. There is where the home cultured club woman can influence society in its larger sociological sense. This gift and trust she must ever be ready and capable to assume and we are glad to say she realizes her opportunities to exercise her womanliness and ingenuity in various lines of work and thought. I am reminded of a lovely sentiment from the German that expresses and emphasizes my idea of the strength, the firmness and the exalted purposes of our American women:
" The water lily on the wave is playing to and fro, But, friend, thou errst when thou dost say she is straying to and fro, Her feet are rooted, firm and fast in ground beneath the lake, A lovely thought, her beauteous head is swaying to and fro."
We are glad to know that as for most women in this good land of ours, their beauteous heads may sway now and then to and fro, but with grace and dignity unyielding are they in life's great work of liberty and freedom of thought.
Yes, we have faith and we sincerely trust the Ohio Federation of Women's Clubs will forever be impulsed by the best heart beats and the strongest brain throbs from the women of Ohio, aye, from the women of this nation.
The next speaker was Rabbi Moses J. Gries, who said :
I am glad for the privilege of speaking a word of respect and love for woman, and do not speak that word because I stand in the presence of women of the Western Reserve, but I would be glad to speak that word whenever occasion may arise. In the home in which happiness is, love is. Woman has taken her stand in the world side by side with man, but I believe the highest destiny of woman is ever to remain at home, where she can be wife and mother, and I hope that no emancipation will take her out of the home and make her forget her wifehood and motherhood.
Rabbi Gries referred to the influence upon the lives of Lincoln and Garfield wielded by their mothers, and then paid a tribute to ex-Governor Mckinley, who was present, by saying: And so to-day, there is one who asks for the suffrages of the nation, whose years have been spent in devotion and faithfulness to his wife and his mother. Con- tinuing the speaker said: While the world is dark and cruel and unkind, the wanderer turns to home. Home should be the one place on earth for the wanderer, knowing it will be the place of love and light. Let home be the happiest, holiest place under heaven. Let woman have her place, and everyone will call her blessed.
Mrs. Helen Campbell, of Indianapolis, prominent in work among the poor, and the author of various economic treatises, responded to the toast, " Prisoners of Poverty." Owing to the lateness she was very brief. She addressed her hearers as "friends, " remarking :
I like the word friends better than ladies and gentlemen on an occasion like this. When I was asked to speak on " Prisoners of Poverty," at this banquet I said that I would not do so unless I could add to the subject " Prisoners of Hope." I know all of you here to-night are prisoners of hope, for you are hoping to be able to go home soon, so I will detain you only a very short time.
Mrs. Campbell then related a little incident to illustrate a point and said: Every one of us is growing in the sense of solidity. I could talk to you for an hour and more on this subject, but I will say no more to-night.
An equally brief response was made by Mrs. J. C. Croly (Jenny June) to the toast, "The Future Citizen." She said:
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WOMAN'S DAY.
'The citizen of the future is the boy of the street. He will be the voter of tomor- row. lle will have to maintain the order of the city of Cleveland. The boy between ten and twenty stands second in the annals of criminals. That ought to bring serious considerations to us. What remedy can we apply to this? Is it not that we have turned the boy into the street without occupation? I think one of the answers is to organize the boys. We look at the boy, unorganized, unrelated. He is not wicked; he drifts into wickedness. Organize him into a young American guard, that he may be taught to help instead of to injure. It is all possible. We should have in the boys of the streets a guaranty of the safety of the nation.
"The Reserve Force of the Western Reserve-its Women," was the toast to which Mr. W. F. Carr responded. Among other things he said :
The women of the Western Reserve were the mothers of our Wades, our Ranneys, and our Garfields, and the other great and brave men of our land. While men have been building factories, organizing large enterprises, our women, true to their gentle nature, have ever been vigilant in caring for the moral and spiritual welfare of our people.
Mrs. Albert H. Tuttle, great-granddaughter of Judge Eliphatet Aus- tin, Sr., a member of the Connecticut Land Company, had for her toast, " Those Royal Good Fellows, the Men." She said :
At Thanksgiving time in New England our great-great-grandmothers reserved the best of the feast to be served last, the rich, fine spicy plum pudding made by re- ceipt probably brought over in the Mayflower with all the other good things the Ameri- cans are proud of.
This has been strictly a woman's day, and so far we have celebrated in prose and verse and song the deeds of our pioneer, patriotic and philanthropie great-grand- mothers, and now as apt pupils, of those devoted and loyal wives and mothers we, their descendants, here reserved our best toast until the last of this feast, and say as heartily as they did a century ago, " Those royal good fellows, the men, " the gentlemen of the Western Reserve and Cleveland, God bless them.
I on my part long ago showed my deepest appreciation of this city by giving my hand and heart to a son of one of Cleveland's most revered citizens, who always stood for that which was noblest and best, and was always ready to lend a helping hand to those who were struggling to gain a foothold in his city.
They were a noble and unselfish band of men who founded this city and who fos- tered its growth through all the years of the past century. . All honor to the memory of the great and good men whose portraits look down upon us at this feast, and who were the means of Cleveland becoming the City of Homes. I say homes because you have had magnificent palaces within your boundaries, but you have that which is far more desirable for this great republic, many homes, beautiful homes, and pleasant homes which indicate that this great city is filled with good husbands, wise fathers and industrious sons, the best gifts possible to be given unto women.
As the plum pudding of great-grandmothers was rich and spicy and fine, so we find these royal good fellows, the men, rich in all the nobler qualities of the heart, spicy in wit and repartee, and fine in those traits which lead to the noblest manhood. Again we say with all our heart, " Those royal good fellows, the men " of to-day and of the century to come, God bless them.
Mrs. Elroy M. Avery made the final remarks of the evening. She said :
The women of the Western Reserve began the day by hanging on the outstretched arm of Moses Cleaveland a wreath of flowers in token of honor and respect. He was a man. We end the day by presenting to the representative of the Centennial Com- mission a basket of flowers as a token of honor and respect to the men of Cleveland. The hour is late and Mr. Day will not be permitted to reply. The rest of my speech you will find at the end of the program.
" Good night and joy be wi' you a' "
This one-minute address delivered at midnight brought Woman's Day to a close. It was a remarkable day in the history of the city, a fitting prelude to woman's effort in the opening century.
CHAPTER XI.
EARLY SETTLERS' DAY.
JULY 29, 1896.
To no class of citizens did the Centen- nial Celebration appeal more strongly than to the members of the Early Settlers' Asso- ciation. It was their affair, to a large ex- tent, and they felt a common pride in all that was done. The event around which
greatest interest clustered for these worthy citizens, however, was Early Settlers' Day, observed on Wednesday, July 29th, a week later than the meeting in 1893, when the centennial idea was first advanced. The programme of the day comprised the an- nual meeting of the Early Settlers' Asso- ciation in the morning, followed by dinner, and a reception at the log cabin on the Public Square in the afternoon.
The meeting was called to order in Army and Navy Hall at 10 o'clock, with an unusually large and enthusiastic attendance. Hon. Richard C. Parsons, the president of the association, introduced Rev. Lathrop Cooley, who offered prayer, after which the Arion Quartette sang an appropriate selection, and the routine business of the morning was taken up. Hon. A. J. Williams presented the report of the execu- tive committee announcing the names of those who had passed away during the preceding year. The list contained thirty-six names, prominent in the number being those of Dudley Baldwin, General M. D. Leggett, Rev. John T. Avery, Luther Moses, Darius Adams, H. B. Childs and Jackson M. Leland. The treasurer's report was read by Solon Burgess, showing a satisfactory balance on hand. The officers were re-elected and other matters of minor importance were quickly disposed of.
President Parsons's annual address, a carefully prepared historical production, was then delivered. He spoke as follows:
Ladies and Gentlemen of the Early Settlers' Association :
One hundred years ago Ohio was largely a primeval wilderness. With 40,000 square miles and 20,000,000 acres of lands within her borders: with a water front of nearly 700 miles almost girding her frontier, she was waiting the axe of the pioneer. A settlement had been made in 1788 upon the Ohio river, but in the Western Reserve the Indians and beasts of prey alone roamed through her forests. The waters of the Ohio flowed peacefully to the Mississippi, and no sail or steamboat broke the silence of the awful solitude. George the Third was king of England. Napoleon was begin- ning his splendid career of conquest and crime; the Constitution of the United States had but recently been adopted, and George Washington was president of the new Re- public. There were three and one-half millions of people in the States, and save for New England only a narrow strip of land along the shores of the Atlantic, and the Gulf of Mexico, was occupied by a civilized people. The tilling of the soil was the
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EARLY SETTLERS' DAY.
chief occupation of the inhabitants, and commerce, manufactures, the arts and science, were in their infancy. Real money was a rarity, and men lived by the barter and ex- change of their labor and commodities. The people were poor, and the means of edu- cation limited and narrow. Slavery was legal in almost every State of the Union, and the public conscience upon the subject torpid or indifferent. There were no railroads, steamboats, gas-lighted cities, systems of drainage, electric cars or lights, telegraphs or telephones, paved highways, or other means of communication between the States, than the slow, cumbersome stage coaches, and these were few. The farmer cut down his own forests, ploughed his own land, planted it with labor and patience, and gath- ered with his own hands the ripe grain, or the fruits of the earth. The steam plow, the mower and reaper, the threshing machine, and all the artificial aids to labor now so widely known, were then undreamed of and unexpected. No scream of a steam whistle broke the silence of the forests, or the peaceful landscapes upon which villages and towns were beginning to grow into places of influence and power. The great waters of the lakes slept in peace, their majestic bosoms unruffled by a solitary vessel. From Lake Erie to the Ohio River, save at Marietta, the wilderness was unbroken, excepting here and there by some rude settlement of the Indians.
But in 1796 the white man from dear old Connecticut, full of life, energy, ambi- tion and confidence came to our shores, and came to stay. The song and the axe of .the pioneer were heard on every side. The voices of children were heard at play, and the gentle tones of women added grace and music to the land. In 1803 there were 40,000 people upon the soil of Ohio, and she became a State in the Union. From that time her history is one of development and rapid progress. Great cities spread over her bosom, manufacturers flourished, colleges were built, laws just and righteous were enacted, religion lent her powerful influence for good among the people; and every- where a settlement of any importance could be found, there was seen a building sacredly set apart for the worship of God. In the life of one generation Ohio became one of the most thriving, powerful States in the Union, and in all her history no slav- ery was ever tolerated upon her soil. She was the first-born daughter of the ordinance of 1787, and whether that blessed provision was drawn by Thomas Jefferson or Nathan Dane, it has been prolific of nothing but good to all succeeding generations. The great States formed under its influence became the home of free men, and to-day are among the foremost commonwealths in all the world.
Yet a century is but a brief period in the history of nations-only sometimes the record of a single life. As I mentioned last year there died in Cleveland in 1894 a member of this society-Miss Abby Fitch, formerly of Connecticut,-a most attractive Christian lady, who in four months would have been one hundred years old. Her faculties were keen and active to the last. She knew several of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and had seen a large number of the heroes of the Revo- lutionary war. She lived to take her first ride on a pillion upon horseback in a New England village-and in her old age to take her last ride in an electric car, traveling in case and security, through the paved streets of a great city at the rate of twenty miles an hour. She saw almost the first newspaper, and a copy of the first magazine published in America. She read in their order of the discovery of steam power, the building of a steam vessel, and a steam railway, the manufacture of cottons and linens and carpets, and every form of iron of steel production. What wonders were wrought in her single life for the advancement of mankind and the comfort of the race! What marvels did science disclose to a waiting world!
Only a hundred years! The duration of a single life, and yet time enough to create a new civilization-add tens of millions to the human race, and provide for their main- tenance, education and happiness. During the last century the United States have grown from a people of 3,500,000 in number to 65,000,000 souls, and the narrow strip of land occupied on the shores of the Atlantic has widened and broadened until it covers all the acres from that ocean to the Pacific. A vast territory washed by the soft waves of the Gulf of Mexico on the south, and the icy waters of the north at Alaska. Here is every variety of soil and climate, and the giant Republic is yet in its infancy. Here the people rule, and freedom is the heritage of every citizen. No slave can breathe the air of America. The Stars and Stripes in their gorgeous splen- dor, wave over a nation of brave and united people, telling mankind the story of the Pilgrims and Puritans, the self-sacrificing pioneers, of free soul, free labor and free menl.
The history of Ohio is one of special interest in her development from an Indian hunting ground to a great commonwealth, rich and powerful in all the elements of modern civilization. We can give it but a passing glance.
You are all aware that the territory now known as Chio was more than two cen-
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CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OF THE CITY OF CLEVELAND.
turies ago claimed by France, and was a part of the great region known as Louisana.
The first sail vessel known upon Lake Erie was called the "Griffin," a bark of sixty tons burden, one which the famous La Salle, commander of the fort on Lake ()n- tario, built and sailed through the lakes in 1679 as far as Mackinac. In 1763 all the French possessions in North America were transferred by France to England. Both parties were equally ignorant as to the extent or magnificent value of the empire. In 1776 the colonies declared themselves free and independent States. The Revolu- tionary war followed, and in the final treaty of peace between Great Britain and the United States in Paris, 1783, the entire of New England, and all the territory east of the Mississippi River, was ceded to the United States. It is said but for the splendid resistance of John Adams, one of the commissioners, the western boundary would have been limited at the waters of the Ohio.
In 1784, the State of Virginia, which claimed the soil of Ohio as embraced within her charter, ceded the same to the United States. The State of Connecticut, in. 1786, whose charter from England covered a vast territory westward, ceded her jurisdictional claims over all her lands, excepting those known as the Western Reserve of New Con- necticut. In 1787 the first settlement in Ohio was made at Marietta on the Ohio River, by emigrants from New England. In May, 1795, the Legislature of Connecticut passed a law creating a committee to sell the territory she had reserved in Ohio. This com- mittee sold the lands, and gave deeds therefor. By the year 1800, these were the' homes of more than one thousand immigrants, east of the river Cuyahoga, and roads made covering nearly 700 miles in extent. During the early settlements of Ohio, the pioneers suffered terribly from wars and attacks by the Indians. The latter tribes banded together to drive out the white men, and for long years there was strife, suffer- ing, privation and battle. The final blow to the Indian warriors, was made on the Maumee under General Anthony Wayne, August 20, 1794, and their power was broken. The tribes sued for peace and acknowledged the United States their protector.
The first Ohio territorial legislature met in September, 1799: General St. Clair was governor. In 1802 Congress passed an act authorizing a call for a convention to form a State Constitution. The convention assembled at Chillicothe, November first, and on the 20th the Constitution without having been submitted to the people, was ratified by the convention. The first General Assembly met at Chillicothe, March first, 1803. In 1810, the Indian tribes again rallied for war under the leadership of Tecumseh. The Indians were defeated with great slaughter and Tecumseh was shot dead at the head of his army. This battle won for General Harrison the Presidency of the United States, and for Richard M. Johnson, the Vice-Presidency.
In 1825 began the building of the Ohio canal, connecting the lake and the river Ohio-a measure of far reaching importance. The State awoke to new life and com- mercial activity, and her agricultural products found ready markets for their owners.
The first railroad in our State was laid from Toledo to Adrian, Michigan, July, 1837. It was originally intended for horse power but in July, 1837, a locomotive was put upon the track-the first ever kown in Ohio. The introduction of this locomotive changed the entire character of the State, in its methods of intercourse and commer- cial facilities. New villages, towns and cities sprang into life; the importance to the State was very large, and land rose rapidly in value. In 1896 there are over 10,000 miles of railways in Ohio, built at acost of more than $500,000,000. In the year 1840, Ohio had become the third State in the Union.
It is proper to add that this great commonwealth, the daughter of the ordinance of 1787, in the late civil war was found loyal and true to the government of Abraham Lincoln. To the war she sent 320,000 of her sons, and the page of history will glow and glitter forever with the names of her illustrious heroes.
It was in Cleveland that the Soldiers' Aid Society was organized that sent over a million of dollars to the suffering soldiers of the war, in food, clothing and medicmal stores. The good this society accomplished can never be measured, but enough is known to erown all the noble women and patriotic men who aided in the work, with the thanks of a grateful nation. Wherever its emissaries appeared-literally " soldiers of the cross," they were welcomed by the suffering, wounded soldiers with eager delight; the as- perites of war were softened by sympathy and kindness; and the poor soldier, who felt desolate and forsaken, awoke to a sense that he was neither forgotten nor unloved.
The larger part of the actors in the great drama of the war have passed away, and it is our tender hope they will not be forgotten when the Lord gathers up his jewels for his Heavenly Kingdom.
Of the eminent sons of Ohio, William Henry Harrison, Rutherford B. Hayes, Ulysses S. Grant, James A. Garfield, and Benjamin Harrison have been elected Presi- dents of the United States; Salmon P. Chase and Morrison R. Wate have served as
EARLY SETTLERS AT THE LOG CABIN.
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EARLY SETTLERS' DAY.
Chief Justices of the Supreme Court; John McLean, Noah H. Swayne, and Stanley Matthews, Associate Justices.
I cannot stop to call the roll of the distinguished soldiers of Ohio. They would if living form a camp. Three brave generals are, or were, members of this associa- tion. A few weeks ago we laid in the tomb all that was mortal of that grand old hero and genuine patriot, Mortimer D. Leggett. He had reached a ripe old age, and was warmly honored and beloved for his sweet and manly character by all our people. His good gray head was everywhere known, and he went to his grave crowned with the gratitude of every citizen. We have with us to-day General James Barnett and General Elwell, whose military career and exalted character are the property of our city. In their presence I cannot speak of their gallant services in the war, or their many claims to our regard and affection.
The Bar has had its full share of eminent lawyers and jurists. The great Thomas Ewing; the matchless orator Thomas Corwin; the learned, accomplished Henry Stan- berry ; the noble Edwin M. Stanton, and a host of names like Hitchcock. Story, Swan, Wolcott, Williamson, Galloway, Anderson, Foot, Ranney, Starkweather, Rice, Wilcox, Hunter, and many others that adorn its history. Many of these men were cradied in the wilderness, studied their books in the log cabin by torchlight, and in the early days of struggle and privation laid the foundation of lasting fame.
To the pioneer women of Ohio, we owe the greatest debt. They followed their husbands through all the trials and dangers and cruel labors of the forest. They rocked their babies in fear of the tomahawk and torture by the savage. They brought peace and comfort to the disheartened husband and father. They knew how to pray, and where to look for protection and submission. There is not a Protestant church whose spire points toward the sky from the lake to the river, whose corner-stones were not laid through the influence of women. But for the power of women religion would perish. It is they who sew the seeds of piety in the hearts of their children. It is they who train them for lives of usefulness and honor. Scarcely a great man can be named in all the States, who did not trace the source of all his success to the watchful, ten- der, religious care of a devoted mother.
'The first pioneer wives and mothers in Ohio on this centennial anniversary all sleep in their honored graves. Their once busy hands are at rest. They fought the battle of life with heroic fortitude, and unwavering faith. The legacy of their virtues is the precious property of their descendants. The influence they left behind is at this mo- ment the preserving power of the State.
It would ill become this meeting if we failed to pay our tribute of respect and affec- tion to the "little mother " of the Western Reserve, and the larger part of Northern Ohio-the prosperous and beautiful State of Connecticut. She was one of the thirteen colonies that declared themselves free and independent States. The first important settlement within her border was made when that great scholar, preacher and divine, Thomas Hooker, led his followers from Massachusetts to the valley of the Connecticut River, now the wealthy, influential city of Hartford.
Those who remember the valley of the Connecticut, and the noble river running through Vermont and New Hampshire, navigable for nearly 300 miles, need not be told that this valley is one of the most charming in all New England The story of Connecticut is one of the most honorable and useful in history. Bancroft says that for roo years Connecticut was the Acadia of the world. It was in Hartford, I think in 1639, that a model of a constitution was drawn, that largely contained the principal points covered by the Constitution of the United States 150 years thereafter. In 1818. the venerable Benjamin Trumbull writes: "The planters of Connecticut were among the illustrious characters who first settled in New England. In an age when the light of freedom was just dawning, they by a voluntary compact formed one of the most free and happy Constitutions of Government which mankind has ever adopted. Con- necticut has been distinguished by the free spirit of its government, the mildness of its laws, and the general diffusion of knowledge among all classes of its mhabitants. They have been no less distinguished by their industry, economy, purity of manner, population and spirit of enterprise. For more than 150 years they have had no rival in the steadiness of their government, their internal peace and harmony, their love and high enjoyment of domestic, civil and religious order and happiness. They have ever stood among the most illuminated, first, and boldest defenders of the civil and reli- gious rights of mankind." This is very high praise but it is eminently well deserved.
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