USA > Ohio > Ohio's progressive sons; a history of the state; sketches of those who have helped to build up the commonwealth > Part 12
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Every river town and city, from East Liverpool to Cincinnati, not only suffered the loss of property of incalculable value, but also the loss of many human lives. East Liverpool, Steubenville, Mingo Junction, Marietta, Pomeroy, Middleport. Gallipolis, Ironton, Ports- mouth, Manchester, Cincinnati and hundreds of villages and hamlets situated on the banks of the river were totally, in some instances, or partially submerged. In Cincinnati the yellow waters washed the buildings on Third street, while in many lower parts of the city only the roofs and chimneys of factory and residence buildings were visible. On the 14th of February the flood had reached its summit : then the waters receded, after having caused damages amounting to many millions of dollars and the loss of many human lives.
JOHNCHERMAN
LAST RESTING PLACE OF JOHN SHERMAN MANSFIELD, OHIO
A year of misfortune for Cincinnati was that of 1884. After the flood came the riot, resulting in the destruction of the Hamilton County Court House and the loss of more than fifty lives. The cause of the riot was the leniency of the Hamilton County courts in deal- ing with criminals, especially those guilty of capital offenses. Crime ran riot in the city- one murder was followed by a more appalling one. In March, 1884, there were not less than twenty-three murderers in the Hamilton County Jail, most of whom had received very light punishment or were awaiting new trials. It seemed impossible that justice could be dealt out in the courts of Hamilton County, and it was an open secret that juries could be bought like cattle. Rich and influential criminals need not fear. They were exempt from punishment. The conditions were such that human life had hardly any value in Cincin- nati. A change had to come, even though the costs were to be paid in blood. The frenzy of the citizens knew no bounds when, on the 24th of March. 1884, another farce was played in the criminal courts of Hamilton County. In the winter of that year a terrible murder had shocked the community, when a drayman, William Kirk, was slaughtered for the miserable
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sum he had in his pockets, and the body thrown into the Millcreek, a brook west of the city. The murderers, William Berner, a white man, and Joseph Palmer, a mulatto, were arrested soon afterwards. The white, Berner, was tried first, and notwithstanding con- vincing evidences and an open confession, was found guilty of "manslaughter" and sentenced to but twenty years in the penitentiary.
On the evening of that memorable day, the 28th of March, 1884, a mass meeting was called in Music Hall, attended by more than eight thousand people, among whom were many of the most influential citizens of Cincinnati, to protest against the mockery of justice in the courts of Hamilton County. "Something has to be done," said the speakers, and
PUBLIC LIBRARY BUILDING TOLEDO, OHIO
"something has to be done" thought the people present, but if the speakers imagined that their speeches would lead to reform in criminal matters in a peaceable way, they had made a fatal mistake. There was a very dangerous sentiment among those present. The "reso- lutions" were read and adopted, and the speakers already congratulated themselves that they had started a successful, peaceable reform, when all at once the cry was heard: "To the jail!" Who was it that uttered the cry? Nobody knew, but that cry, electrifying as it was, had changed the situation in an instant, and had forced action upon the thousands of excited people. "To the jail!" they repeated in thunderous tones, and soon a whole army of desperate men was on its way to the Hamilton County Jail.
Sheriff Hawkins, in the meantime, had given the riot call, but before police or militia could appear to his aid, the mob had reached and forced its entrance into the jail, vainly searching for the murderers. They did not find them, however. Berner, in anticipation of
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the action of the m b, the very same afternoon had been removed to Columbus, and Palmer, who was nearly white, was not recognized by the searchers. Sheriff Hawkins and his dep- uties tried their best to defend the jail, but to no avail. Disappointed in their search, the mob became clamorous : a pistol shot was fired by an unknown party, which was followed immediately by a stifled cry. The first blood in the murderous riot had been shed-the bullet had pierced the heart of a youth of seventeen years. A hand-to-hand fight ensued in the hallways and on the stairs of the jail, when suddenly the points of many bayonets appeared. The first troops of the Ohio National Guard had arrived in answer to a hasty call by the Sheriff and were led through a secret passageway from the Court House into the Jail. After the arrival of the militia the mob was driven out of the building, but not until some more lives were extinguished by the bullets of the soldiers. Driven to the street, the mob began to lay siege to the jail, bringing to its aid barrels of coal oil. All efforts to burn the jail were frustrated by the militia, who fired volley after volley into the ranks of the rioters. The turmoil prevailed all night, and it was not until the next morning, when the last of the mob were routed and the squares surrounding the attacked building were in the possession of the militia and police. The day following, Sat- urday, was quiet, but soon after dark mobs began to attack the Court House and Jail. The fighting was more fierce than on the day previous, as the rioters came to the scene of action well prepared and well armed, and thirsting for re- SOLDIERS' AND SMILORS' MONUMENT CLEVELAND, OHIO) venge. Early in the evening Cap- tain John J. Desmond was killed while defending the Court House. It soon became evident that the local police and militia were no match for the frenzied riot- ers and the Governor of the State was appealed to, but before reinforcements from Colum- bus. Springfield and other cities could arrive in Cincinnati, the Court House was a heap of smoking ruins, burned by the enraged populace. The fire not only destroyed the entire building, but also a great many documents of inestimable value. The last engagement between the rioters and the defenders of law and order took place Sunday night on Court street, but after a gatling gun had been brought into action, the streets surrounding the
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Jail were cleared and the riot came to an end. During the three days of fighting not less than forty-five people had lost their lives and about one hundred and fifty more were wounded, many of them fatally. The terrible Cincinnati riot brought a thorough reform into the courts of justice in Hamilton County, but at a frightful expense.
It is needless to say that Ohio played an important and highly patriotic part in the war against Spain in 1898. In the first instance, it was a distinguished son of the Buckeye State, William McKinley, who, as President of the United States, brought the war to a suc- cessful conclusion, the first war ever declared for humanity's sake alone. In the second half of the last decade of the nineteenth century the conditions caused by Spanish misrule in Cuba had become unbearable, and at last, after the blowing up of the battleship "Maine" in the harbor of Havana the people of the United States became aroused to a frenzy of excitement. The result was a demand of Congress, "that Spain at once relinquish its author- ity and government in the island of Cuba and withdraw its land and naval forces from Cuba and Cuban waters." There could have been only one conse- quence to this demand-an imme- diate declaration of war. President William McKinley, though conserv- ative in his views upon the subject of precipitating the country into a foreign war, was far-seeing and prompt in preparing for action, both on land and sea, and when the war broke out, our country was fully prepared for any emergency. With- in six days after Congress declared that war existed, Admiral Dewey won a decisive victory in far-off Manila Bay, and destroyed the Spanish fleet. On the 23d of April the President called for one hundred and twenty-five thousand volunteers and on the 25th of May, 1898, he called for seventy-five thousand more. The citizen soldiers were organized and in camps within a few days, and some of them were immediately hastened with the available regulars to Santiago, Cuba. Ohio had at the beginning of the Spanish war, John Sherman as Secretary of State, and William R. Day, as First Assistant Secretary of State. Day soon became the suc- cessor of Sherman, and he had the distinguished honor of negotiating FOUNTAIN SQUARE, CINCINNATI, O. the protocol, and as president of the treaty commission, the Paris treatv Photo by Young & Carl, Cincinnati, O.
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CHAMBER OF COMMERCE TOLEDO, O.
with Spain. Furthermore, Ohio had two of the most able representatives in the United States Senate, Joseph B. Foraker and Marcus A. Hanna, and these, and others in Congress from Ohio, supported the President with singular ability in preparation for and in prose- cution of the war with the utmost vigor. It was an Ohioan, Senator Joseph B. Foraker, who brought the situation to a climax, and caused the United States to change her position from neutral to hostile, and one other Ohio man, above all others connected with the United States army, is entitled to credit for efficiency and ability in speedily perfecting the organ- ization and equipment of the regular and volunter forces for field service-General Henry C. Corbin. He had already made a good record in the Civil War, and, through merit, had been advanced to the rank of Brigadier General and Adjutant-General of the United States army. Throughout the regular army and the navy were many of Ohio's sons. Ohio, as usual, had her full quota of officers and men in both, some of whom had won distinction in the Civil War. When President Mckinley issued his first call, Ohio fur- nished four hundred and twenty-eight officers and eight thousand and fifty-two enlisted men, and under the second call seventy-three officers and six thousand, eight hundred and one enlisted men, including hospital and signal corps men, engineers and immunes-a grand total of fifteen thousand three hundred and fifty-four, a considerably larger number than her quota, based on population. Ohio had two commissioned general officers in the Spanish War from civil life. The State furnished ten infantry regiments, all of full strength, save the Ninth Ohio (colored), which had only one battalion ; one volunteer light artillery, and one volunteer cavalry regiment, and to the Second United States Volunteer Engineers two hundred and seventy-three men : to the United States Volunteer Hospital Corps, four hun- dred and sixty-one nien ; to the United States Volunteer Signal Corps, fifty men ; and four companies of United States Vol- unteers (immunes), four hundred and twenty men. Of these regiments, the Fourth, under Colonel S. B. Adams, saw service at Arroyo, Guayama and San Juan, Porto Rico; the Sixth, under Colonel William V. McMaken, at Cienfuegos and Santa Clara. Cuba ; and the Eighth, under Colonel Curtis V. Hard, at Siboney, Sevilla and San Juan Hill, Cuba.
The total deaths in all the Ohio volunteer organizations while in the United States service were thirty-seven officers and two hundred and twenty-three enlisted men. In the Spanish War, Ohio's officers and soldiers, with others from the North, were organized into brigades, divisions and army corps with those from the South, and all proudly and loyally affiliated, often under officers who fought on opposite sides in the Civil War. In February, 1899, an insurrectionary war broke out in the Philippine Islands, which required an army, both regular and volunteer, larger than had heretofore been neces- sary. Again Ohio furnished her full quota. During this war Brigadier-General Funston, U. S. A., an Ohioan, born at New Carlisle, Ohio, successfully executed a plan for the cap- ture of Aguinaldo, the chief insurgent, which brought his activity in the insurrection to an end. Again the heroic sons of Ohio took part in actual warfare before the close of the nineteenth century, this time in far-away China, during the Boxer movement. Ohio men
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participated in the battle of Tien Tsin, and were among those who marched to Imperial China's capital and within its gates (1899) helped to dictate the release of the imperiled Christian missionaries, and exact guarantees for their future safety and the safety of the native Christians. During the Spanish War Ohio had also a number of officers and sailors on the battleships which participated in the actions at Manila Bay and Santiago. The most important officer from Ohio was Commander Edward P. Wood, who distinguished himself as the commander of the little "Petrel," which was attached to the squadron at Manila. The history of Ohio in the army and navy is one of honor and renown, of daring adventure and distinguished achievement.
STEUBENVILLE, OHIO, IN 1905
On the 29th of November, 1902, the centennial celebration of the adoption of Ohio's first constitution took place at Chillicothe, the first capital of the young State of Ohio. This important event was appropriately celebrated by the unveiling of a tablet, marking the location of the first State House of Ohio, which is the site of the present Courthouse of Ross County. This tablet bears the following inscription: "On this site stood the first State House of Ohio, wherein was adopted the original constitution of the Commonwealth. November XXIX, MDCCCII." As the convening of that memorable constitutional con- vention, in 1802, which adopted the first constitution of Ohio, and its deliberations were an inseparable part of the proceedings by which Ohio was organized into a State, the centen- nial anniversary exercises may be regarded as a proper prelude to the celebration of the hun-
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dredth anniversary of Ohio's Statehood, in May, 1903. Hon. Daniel J. Ryan, ex-Secretary of State of Ohio, and Trustee of the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society, deliv- ered the oration on "Ohio's First Constitution," and Honorable William T. McClintick made an address upon "The Men and Times of the First Convention." The celebration of the centennial of the admission of Ohio into the Union as a State opened at the Ross County Courthouse, at Chillicothe, at 9 o'clock Wednesday morning, the 20th of May, 1903. At this session a medallion portrait of the first Governor of Ohio, Edward Tiffin, which was placed in a niche above the Judge's bench, was unveiled by Miss Emma Cook, a great granddaughter of Governor Tiffin. The exercises proper at the centennial anniversary of Ohio's Statehood began at 10 o'clock of the same day, and were held in a large tent, erected for the purpose in the beautiful Yocktangee Park, Chillicothe. An audience of some five thousand were assembled to participate. The addresses covered the entire history of the State of Ohio, from the time when the territory was a vast wilderness up to the beginning of the twentieth century. The centennial exercises took place under the auspices of the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society.
CINCINNATI
THE OHIO RIVER IN THE GRASP OF THE ICE KING CINCINNATI
Politically, Ohio is at present, as she has been for the years of her existence as a State, divided into but two parties, namely, the Democratic and the Republican, the latter the successor, since 1856, of the Whig party, which, with the death of Daniel Webster and Henry Clay, became extinct. A distinguished American some time ago leaped into fame by saying, "Some men are born great-some are born in Ohio." To be born in Ohio is surely no handicap. The State of Ohio has the proud distinction of being the "mother of Presidents." Out of the twenty-six Presidents of the United States, five were born in Ohio, and one was an Ohioan by adoption. The history of the United States presents only one parallel for this eminence among the States. Within the borders of Virginia seven of the Presidents were born. During the first half of her existence, Ohio furnished but one President of the United States, but he, a man typical of the Ohio spirit and a popular leader of civilizing influences throughout the new Northwest. Since the close of the Civil War every successful candidate for President on the Republican ticket, except President Roose- velt, has been a native of Ohio. Three of the Ohio Presidents died in office: William
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Henry Harrison, James A. Garfield and William Mckinley. The two latter died martyrs to their country from the hands of the assassin. Every one of the illustrious group had won their spurs on the field of battle for the Union, and had sharpened their lances in the halls of the Congress of the United States. They were men of wide statesmanship and National reputation prior to their elevation to the highest office in the gift of the American people. The country has signally honored Ohio in selecting her sons to guide the destinies of the great Republic; Ohio has given of her best and truest whenever and wherever pos- sible to give. The Buckeye State has furnished the following Presidents of the United States : William Henry Harrison, Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Gar- field, Benjamin Harrison and William McKinley.
Hardly less distinguished than the list of Presidents from Ohio is the number of those illustrious men who, coming from the Buckeye State, served their country as members of the different Cabinets. Their names are as follows :
NAME OF OFFICER
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
PRESIDENCY
Return J. Meigs, Jr
Postmaster General.
Madison and Monroe (1814-1823).
John M'Lean.
Monroe (1823-1828).
William Dennison, Jr.
Lincoln and Johnson (1864-1866).
Thomas Ewing
Secretary of the Treasury.
Harrison (1841).
Thomas Corwin
Fillmore (1850-1853).
Salmon P. Chase.
Lincoln (1861-1864).
John Sherman
Hayes (1877-1881).
Charles Foster.
66
6.
66
- Harrison (1889-1892). Taylor (1849). Grant (1869).
Columbus Delano.
Grant (1870-1875).
Edwin M. Stanton
Lincoln (1862-1865).
William T. Sherman
Grant (1869).
Alphonso Taft.
Grant (1876). Buchanan (1860-1861).
Edwin M. Stanton
Henry Stanberry
Johnston (1866-1868).
Alphonso Taft.
Grant (1876-1877).
Judson Harmon
Cleveland (1895-1897).
John Sherman
Secretary of State.
McKinley (1897-1898).
William R. Day
William H. Taft
Secretary of War.
McKinley (1898-1900). Roosevelt (1904).
.
66
6.
66
66
Thomas Ewing
Secretary of the Interior. 66 6 66
Jacob D. Cox
6.
66
Secretary of War. Sec'y of War (ad interim) Secretary of War. Attorney-General.
66
During the first century of her Statehood Ohio has been represented in the United States Supreme Court by not less than seven of her distinguished sons, two of whom have graced the chair of the Chief Justice of the highest judicial body of the United States. John McLean served from 1829 to 1861, the time of his death; Noah H. Swayne from 1862 to 1881, resigning in that year; Salmon P. Chase, Chief Justice, died in 1873, after he had served for a period of nine years. Chief Justice Morrison R. Waite was the successor of Chase, holding that position from 1874 until the time of his death, in 1888. Stanley Matthews
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..
.6
was a member of the United States Supreme Court from 1881 to 1889. The present repre- sentative of Ohio in the highest tribunal of the United States, William R. Day, was appointed in 1903. The seventh member of the United States Supreme Court from Ohio, Edwin M. Stanton, was appointed in 1869, and served only four days, when he died.
In the United States Senate Ohio has been represented by thirty-one different men, Garfield included, who was elected, but never qualified. These men, more than many others, were instrumental in shaping the affairs of the country. Only nine of the Ohio Senators were born in Ohio-Pugh, Matthews, Pendleton, Sherman, Garfield, Brice, Hanna, Foraker and Dick, but it may be remarked that sons of Ohio born in the State have in large numbers been chosen to represent in the Senate other States of which they had become citizens. There are, in 1905, in the United States Senate, six such Senators, making, with the two accredited to Ohio, a total of eight, outside of the Vice President of the United States and President of the Senate, Charles W. Fairbanks, also an Ohioan.
The representation from Ohio in the Senate of the United States began with the elec- tion by the General Assembly, in joint session in the hall of the House of Representatives,
ICE GORGE ON THE OHIO RIVER CALIFORNIA, OHIO
Chillicothe, on the first day of April. 1803, of two Senators from Ohio, in the persons of John Smith, of Hamilton County, and Thomas Worthington, of Ross County. The term of Senator Worthington expired on the 4th of March, 1807, and to succeed him, the General Assembly, in the January preceding, elected Governor Edward Tiffin. By a resolution of December 20, 1806, the Assembly requested Senator John Smith to "either resign his seat in the Senate of the United States, or to proceed at once to his post." The resignation followed in 1808. and Judge Return J. Meigs, Jr., of the Supreme Court, was elected to suc- ceed him, and was also re-elected to succeed himself, in a joint session of the two houses of the Assembly, held on the 12th day of December, 1808. Senator Smith had served with distinction as a member of the Territorial Legislature, and is highly spoken of by the vener- able Judge Burnett in his "Notes on the Northwest Territory. His resignation was brought about by his supposed sympathy with the conspiracy of Aaron Burr. Thomas Worthington was returned to the Senate by the General Assembly in 1810, to succeed Senator Meigs, who had resigned to accept the office of Governor of the State.
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A NATURAL BRIDGE ACROSS THE OHIO RIVER CINCINNATI
Photo by Young & Carl, Cincinnati, O.
With this beginning of her representation in the councils of "the highest legislative body known in history," Ohio has since been represented in that body by the following :
YEAR
NAMES OF SENATORS
COUNTY
DATE OF ELECTION
1803-1807. .
John Smith
Hamilton.
April 1, 1803.
1807-1808. .
Edward Tiffin
Ross
January, 1807.
1809.
Return J. Meigs, Jr
Washington ..
December 12, 1808.
1809-1810 ..
Return J. Meigs, Jr
Washington. .
December 12, 1808.
Alexander Campbell
Brown
December 8, 1809, vice Griswold.
1810.
Return J. Meigs, Jr
Washington ..
December 12, 1808.
[ Alexander Campbell
Brown
December 8, 1809.
18II-1813. .
Thomas Worthington
Ross.
December 15, 1810, vice Meigs.
Jeremiah Morrow
Warren
February 6, 1813, vice Campbell.
1813-1814. .
Thomas Worthington
Ross.
December 15, 1810.
Jeremiah Morrow
Warren
February 6, 1813.
1815.
Joseph Kerr
Ross.
December 10, 1814, vice Worth- ington.
Benjamin Ruggles
Belmont.
February 4, 1815, vice Kerr.
Jeremiah Morrow
Warren.
February 6, 1813.
Benjamin Ruggles
Belmont.
February 6, 1815.
Benjamin Ruggles
William A. Trimble
Highland
January 20, 1820.
1822-1825. .
Ethan Allen Brown
Hamilton
January 3, 1822, vice Trimble, deceased.
1825-1829. .
William Henry Harrison
Hamilton
January, 1825, vice Brown.
1829-1831.
Jacob Burnet.
Hamilton
December 10, 1828, vice Harrison
1831-1833. .
Thomas Ewing
Fairfield.
January, 1831, vice Burnet.
1833-1837. .
Thomas Morris
Clermont
December 15, 1832, vice Ruggles.
Thomas Morris
Clermont.
December 15, 1832.
1837-1839. .
William Allen
Ross
January 18, 1837.
1839-1845. .
Benjamin Tapp
Jefferson
December 20, 1838.
1845-1849. .
Thomas Corwin
Warren
December 5, 1844.
1849-1851 ..
Salmon P. Chase.
Hamilton
February 22, 1849.
Salmon P. Chase.
1851-1855 . .
Benjamin F. Wade.
Ashtabula
March 15, 1851.
{ Thomas Worthington.
Ross.
April 1, 1803.
John Smith
Hamilton
April 1, 1803.
Edward Tiffin
Ross.
January, 1807.
Stanley Griswold
Cuyahoga
Appointed vice Tiffin resigned.
1815-1819. .
1819-1821 ..
Benjamin Ruggles
Benjamin Ruggles.
Benjamin Ruggles
Benjamin Ruggles.
Thomas Ewing
William Allen
William Allen
S Thomas Corwin
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YEAR
NAMES OF SENATORS
COUNTY
DATE OF ELECTION
1855-1800 ..
| Benjamin F. Wade. ( George E. Pugh [ Benjamin F. Wade. Salmon P. Chase
Hamilton
March 4. 1854.
1860.
Hamilton February 2, 1860. Resigned to enter Cabinet of President Lin- coln.
1861-1860 . Benjamin F. Wade. ( John Sherman
Richland. March 21, 1861, vice Chase re- signed.
1869-1877 .. [ John Sherman ( Allen G. Thurman. 1877-1879 .. ! Allen G. Thurman. ( Stanley Matthews Allen G. Thurman. George H. Pendleton. George H. Pendleton. James A. Garfield
Franklin
January 15, 1868.
Hamilton March 20, 1877, vice Sherman. Resigned to enter Cabinet of President Hayes.
1879-1881 ..
Hamilton.
January 15. 1878.
1881.
Lake.
Richland.
January 14. 1880 (declined De- cember 23). January 18, 1881, vice Garfield.
1881-1885. .
( John Sherman George If. Pendleton. ( John Sherman
1885-1891. . John Sherman Henry B. Payne.
Cuyahoga Richland
January 15, 1884.
1891-1897. John Sherman Calvin S. Brice. John Sherman
Allen
January 15, 1900. Resigned March 3. to enter the Cabinet of President Mckinley
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