USA > Ohio > Fairfield County > Pioneer period and pioneer people of Fairfield County, Ohio > Part 5
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Of Fairfield County, Ohio.
Born on Tuesday evening, January 24, 1854, at 8} o'clock, James White Latta, son of William and Eliz- abeth T. Latta.
Born on Tuesday morning, at 92 o'clock, May 8, 1856, William Latta, son of William and Elizabeth Latta.
Born on Tuesday evening, August 17, 1858, at Io2 o'clock, Katharine Latta, daughter of William and Elizabeth T. Latta.
Born on Wednesday evening, November 21, 1860, at 84 o'clock, Elizabeth Latta, daughter of William and Elizabeth T. Latta.
Born on Friday at 3} o'clock p. m., September II, 1868, Morton Brazee Latta, son of William and Eliza- beth T. Latta, Lancaster, Ohio.
James H. Smith, father of Mrs. E. T. Latta, was one of a distinguished pioneer family. He was a mer- . chant in partnership with his brother-in-law, Tunis Cox. They married sisters, daughters of the Rev. William White. Smith died about the year 1835. His widow married Joseph Grubb, then a prominent Lancaster man.
MARRIAGES.
John Latta and Effia Wilson were married Decem- ber 2, 1824.
William Latta, son of John and Effia Latta, and Elizabeth Tacy Smith, daughter of James H. and Elizabeth Smith, were married December 10, 1850, Lancaster, Ohio.
DEATHS.
John Latta died on Sunday, the 8th day of March, 1846, at 2 P. M.
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Effia Latta died July 15, 1828, at 5 A. M., Tuesday. Jane Latta died on Sunday, February 24, 1828.
William Latta died on Friday, the 13th day of No- vember, 1874, at 6:30 o'clock A. M., aged 49 years, 9 months and 28 days.
REMINISCENCES
OF THE SEVERAL VISITS OF THE LATE JAMES G. BLAINE TO LANCASTER
C HE first visit of James G. Blaine to Lancaster was made when a lad twelve or thirteen years of age. He came to visit the children of his cousin, Mrs. Senator Ewing, and his stay here extended over several months. This visit was early in the forties, during a time of great political excitement. One of the incidents of this visit was a trip, made by the three boys, Tom, and Hugh Ewing, and Blaine, to Columbus, where they put up at the hotel of Colonel John Noble, once a famous landlord of Lancaster and the father of Secre- tary Noble. On their trip, in passing Greencastle, they discovered a hickory pole and flag, the emblem of Democracy; when Blaine and Tom Ewing took off their hats and waving them in the air gave three cheers for Harrison. Hugh remonstrated with them for what he called unbecoming conduct, remarking that every- body knew their father's carriage and if their conduct was repeated on their return home they would walk to Lancaster, a distance of nine miles. At Columbus, after spending a day or two sight-seeing they ordered out their horse and called for their bill, supposing their means would be exhausted. Col. Noble replied : " Boys, you are welcome, Mr. Ewing's boys cannot pay me anything for entertainment." With one accord they declared they would stay another day and ordered their horse back to the stable, greatly to the amusement of Colonel Noble.
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The next day, on their way home, the two boys re- peated their offense at Greencastle and Hugh, true to his word, put them out of the carriage, drove off and left them to walk home.
Mr. Blaine's next visit to Lancaster was made at the time he was Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. The occasion was a Presidential cam- paign and he was received by a great concourse of people. He was the guest of General Tom Ewing at the old Ewing mansion. Mr. Blaine was then a new man in Ohio politics and many strangers came to meet him, among them General Comly of the Ohio State Journal.
Mr. Blaine's great memory has often been referred to, and on this occasion, after a quarter of a century since his first visit as a boy, he surprised the committee by his questions and remarks. Just as we left the depot he said, pointing to an old building, "There was old Mr. Lilly's marble shop; down there was the swimming hole; Dan Sifford used to be the postmaster ; are Reber and Kutz still in business?" When surprise was ex- pressed at his remarks he replied: "Oh, I remember every ash pile in town."
His third visit here was made during the campaign of Foster and Tom Ewing for Governor. He made a speech or two in the State, but positively refused to say a word in his relative's own town and among his neigh- bors.
His fourth and last visit here was made during his candidacy for the Presidency. He was the guest of Judge P. B. Ewing, whose wife was his cousin. All will remember the great reception accorded to him and his brilliant speech. On this occasion he was accom-
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panied by his favorite son, Walker. Mr. Blaine had a warm side for Lancaster and he never forgot the acquaintances formed on his visits here.
The writer had occasion to visit Washington City during his last term as Speaker and called upon him at his room in the capitol. His recognition was instant, his greeting hearty and cordial. After inquiring about Lancaster friends, he said: " You see I am busy with calling members. You must excuse me. Go to the door-keeper in the rear of the speaker's desk and tell him that I sent you and to give you a seat on the floor of the House." I was given a vacant seat behind Gen- eral Sherwood, who, turning round, recognized me and said: "How did you get in here? I cannot get a friend in."
This was a great compliment bestowed by a great and kind-hearted man who remembered Lancaster and the kind attentions he had received there.
It has often been stated that Mr. Blaine, on his first visit here, attended Williams's Greenfield Academy one term. But that is a mistake, as Mr. Blaine so stated on the occasion of his third visit here.
The Blaine connection, through the Gillespie family, was very large at one time in Lancaster. General Beecher, Judge Irvin and Hugh Boyle married sisters, John Gillespie, a brother, married Miss Myers, of Lan- caster, afterwards Mrs. Wm. Phelan. The father of the late Henry Miller, of Columbus, married a cousin of the three sisters named. The father of T. Ewing Miller, of Columbus, also married a cousin of the three, and of John Gillespie.
Senator Ewing's wife was a daughter of Hugh Boyle. The wives of Attorney General Henry Stan- bery and Judge Van Trump were daughters of General
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Beecher. Colonel Wm. Irvin, who served in the Mexi- can war, and who afterwards died in Texas, was the only son of Judge Irvin. Mrs. P. B. Ewing was the daughter of John Gillespie.
Many descendants of these honored pioneers of Lancaster are living elsewhere.
THE LAST SPEECH OF JAMES G. BLAINE IN LANCASTER O.
WHEN A CANDIDATE FOR THE PRESIDENCY IN 1884. AN ELOQUENT SPEECH RECALLING HIS BOYHOOD DAYS THERE AND THE BOYS IT HAS SENT FORTH TO FAME AND HONOR.
A T the public reception given him on Saturday night, October 12, in Lancaster, and in re- sponse to a serenade by the Republican clubs of the town, Mr. Blaine delivered the following speech :
MY FRIENDS: - I confess that in this place and at this time I hardly feel disposed to make any allusion to public affairs. The recollections that rush upon me as I stand here carry me back through many years, to a time before most of you were born. In 1840 I was a schoolboy in this town, attend- ing the school of a Mr. William Lyons, a cultivated English gentleman (younger brother of the Lord Lyons and uncle, I believe, of the British Minister at Washington), who taught with great success the youth of this vicinity.
I know not whether he be living, but if he is I beg to make my acknowedgments to him for his efficiency and excel- lence as an instructor.
As I look upon your faces I am carried back to those days, to Lancaster as it then was. In that row of dwellings, on the opposite side of the street, in one of which I am now a guest, lived at that time the first three lawyers of Ohio, Thomas Ewing, Henry Stanbery and Hocking Hunter. I vividly recall their persons and their peculiarities. Shortly before that time there had come home from West Point a tall and very slender young man, straight as an arrow, with a sharp face, and a full suit of red hair. His name was Sherman, and he had in his pocket an order to join the army in Florida. You have heard of him since. [Laughter and cheers. ] You have heard of him
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and he will be heard of as long as the march through Georgia holds its place in history. He will be heard of as long as lofty character and military genius are esteemed among men. [Re- newed cheering.]
About the same time, from a country town to the south- west of this place, there was sent to West Point a sturdy strong-headed youth, who also was heard of in the war, and whose fame has since encircled the globe. His name is Ulysses S. Grant. [Great cheering.] Right in the adjoining county of Perry there lived a short, stout boy, who has since become known to the world as Phil Sheridan. [Three cheers Sheridan.] Combative, yet gentle in nature, he achieved a reputation not unlike that which they obtained in the Napole- onic wars. So that Ohio was then preparing military leaders for great contingencies and for unforeseen crises. I remember another youth of this town, slender, tall, stately, who had just left school, and was a civil engineer on the Muskingum River improvements. You have since heard of him. His name is John Sherman. [Cheers.] At that time this town seemed to my boyish vision to be the center of the universe, and my idea was that the world was under deep obligations for being per- mitted to revolve around Lancaster. [Laughter and cheers.]
I recall these scenes, I recall my early attachment and love for this town, and for the near kindred and the near friends that were in it, some of whom were here when Arthur St. Clair was Governor of the Northwest Territory, and some of whom are here still; and when I think of those days, and of the deep attachments I inherited and have since maintained, I feel more like dwelling upon old stories and old scenes than talking about political contests. [Hurrah for Blaine.] But after all these things are gone by for more than forty years, and a new generation meets, in a new era and under new re- sponsibilities, we meet upon the eve of an important election, and the people of Ohio, as is their wont, and has been their fortune, are placed in the vanguard of the fight. I am satisfied that on Tuesday next you will show, as you have shown in preceding presidential elections, that Ohio is fit to be entrusted with the responsibility of leadership in great national contests. [Great cheering.] I do not stop to argue any question; the time for argument has passed.
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Of Fairfield County, Ohio.
I do not stop even to appeal to you ; appeal has been made. I stop only to remind you that if you do your duty on Tuesday next as becomes men of your lineage and your inheritance, the Republican administration of this Government will be con- tinued; [Cheers] the protective tariff will be upheld; [Great cheering] the patriotism and the fruits of the civil struggle will be maintained, and the Government of the Union, pre- served by the loyalty of the Union, will continue to be admin- istered in loyalty to the Union. Good night. [Prolonged cheering.]
Mr. Blaine spent a quiet Sunday as the guest of his cousin, Honorable P. B. Ewing. In the forenoon he attended Presbyterian service ; and the afternoon he devoted to visiting, in company with Judge Ewing; old relatives and friends, of whom he has a large number in this vicinity.
6
TO CALIFORNIA.
THE FIRST OVERLAND EXPEDITION TO LEAVE LANCASTER, FIFTY YEARS AGO.
T N the spring of 1852, Thomas Sturgeon and Samuel Crim, being then partners in the buying and sell- ing of horses, purchased 100 horses for the Cal- ifornia trade.
They took with them 16 wagons and expected to fit out mule teams for each one at St. Joseph, Mo. The trip to Cincinnati was over the pike via Circleville. At Cincinnati the horses and equipment were shipped by steamer to St. Louis and St. Joseph, Mo. They em- ployed forty of the best young men in the county to go with them and take charge of the horses and teams.
At St. Joseph they entered the savage Indian coun- try and passed through what is now the fertile plains of Kansas and Nebraska, and after many months reached San Francisco, without the loss of a man and very little stock.
We give herewith the names of the men who were members of the Crim & Sturgeon expedition. Forty- eight winters have come and gone since 1852, and but few of the number remain. Horatio Westlake resides in Columbus, Ohio.
Horatio Westlake, Thomas A. Black, Albert Brown, Joshua Stukey, Richard Miller, Sim Street, David Brown, Lancaster.
Robert McFarland, O. P. Courtright, Greenfield.
Ed. Wilson, W. B. Wilson, W. H. Ijams, Richland.
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Of Fairfield County, Ohio.
Samuel Thompson, William Thompson, Rushcreek. William Kuqua, David Ginger, A. R. Ginger, Berne. Solomon Ghaster, William Paul, Samuel Smetters, D. B. Miller, Liberty.
George Watson, William Watson, Peter L. Geiger, David Weaver, Thomas Lamb, D. D. Wickliffe, Adam Shane, Sol Brenneman, Walnut.
Dan Walters, E. M. Walters, Pleasant.
P. S. Julian, Madison.
William Mallon, Wm. Jacobs, L. P. Foust, John Boyer, H. C. Mehorter, H. H. Hamlin, James Dallas, D. Alexander, Tarlton.
About the same time John D. Jackson, John Cannon and Jonathan Rising left Lancaster for the coast via Panama. Rising died on the steamer. He was a brother of Philip Rising. But few of the Fairfield peo- ple who went to California - and there were hundreds - ever returned.
FAMOUS AND WELL KNOWN MEN
OF LANCASTER WHO HAVE PASSED AWAY TO THE UNKNOWN LAND SINCE 1855.
I T is well occasionally to call to mind the names of the departed. It brings to mind pleasant mem- ories, reminiscences of old times, and prepares us better to bear the burdens of life and perform the duties of good citizens. We propose to name the prominent men in the various walks of life, who in the great drama of their existence, contributed their full share in mak- ing Lancaster famous, men, a majority of whom are worthy to be remembered for their good deeds, good lives and splendid characters and talent :
Thomas Ewing, H. H. Hunter, H. C. Whitman, P. Van Trump, P. B. Ewing, Judge Wright, Dr. James White, Dr. T. Edwards, Dr. P. Carpenter, Dr. H. Scott, Dr. M. Effinger, Dr. O. E. Davis, General Sher- man, General J. Stafford, Colonel J. M. Connell, Cap- tain Emanuel Giesy, Colonel H. B. Hunter, Captain Stinchcomb, General W. J. Reese, General Sanderson, Captain A. F. Witte, M. B. Gregory, George G. Beck, Henry Miers, Jacob F. Beck, David Rokohl, Henry Little, Augustus Mithoff, C. F. Garaghty, J. R. Mumaugh, Theodore Mithoff, John Reber, Jacob Ulrick, J. C. Maccracken, John G. Willock, Alvord Stutson, Samuel Herr, S. McCabe, W. C. Embich, F. A. Shaeffer, N. Young, Isaiah Vorys, Dr. E. B. Olds, James Weaver, Dr. J. W. Lewis, Henry F. Blaire, Joseph C. Kinkead, Christian Flem, William Geiser,
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Of Fairfield County, Ohio.
Martin Beck, Henry Cless, Mahlon Smalley, J. Wagen- hals, Samuel Beery, Daniel Sifford, Rev. A. Reck, John Gibbs, T. G. Dodson, Charles Hood, W. Binin- ger, Eran Julian, Allen House, John C. Cassell, Peter Titler, J. L. Tuthill, Silas Hedges, Thomas B. Cox, T. U. White, Tunis Cox, George H. Smith, sr., John B. Reed, Henry Bell, Jacob Guseman, G. L. Eckert, Judge Leonard, Jacob Cly, Robert Gates, Daniel Devor, Jacob Shoff, Judge Perry, Alvah Perry, Henry Arnold, Samuel Carpenter, J. M. Pratt, William Upfield, Isaac Church, Charles Borland, John Searles, W. Boden- heimer, Charles Shaug, Joseph R. Parker, James Miers, Edwin Wright, William Brumfield, John Matlack, James Miller, William Fismer, F. A. Steck, Henry Brink, Joel Smith, Colonel Charles Sager, Captain Stewart, A. L. Clark, John A. Jones, Reuben Banks, Joseph Green, G. W. Pratt, John H. Wright, S. A. Griswold, Rev. C. Spielman, John U. Giesy, Dr. Miller, Conrad Winter, John Shaeffer, E. Becker, Charles F. Rainey, Gilbert Devol, William Pursell, John Van Pearse, Salem Wolfe, Joseph Work, sr., James Work, Thomas Whiley, Thomas Wetzler, C. Bauman, Otto Kraemer, George Carter, Reverend Wil- liard, John H. Wright, Henry Stanbery, John D. Martin, Governor William Medill, M. A. Daugherty, John T. Brasee, Dr. G. W. Boerstler, Dr. M. Z. Kreider, Dr. Wagenhals, Dr. Bigelow, Dr. Crider, Dr. J. D. Nourse, Governor Brough, General Tom Ewing, General N. Schleich, Major H. H. Giesy, Colonel A. W. Ebright, Captain E. Rickets, General Maccracken, General Charles Ewing, Captain J. Henley, George Kauffman, E. L. Slocum, Joseph Reinmund, Lippen Lobenthall, John C. Fall, Philip H. Kraner, Charles Dresbach, John C. Weaver, John Garaghty, Darius
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Talmadge, Henry V. Weakly, Daniel Kutz, John Mac- cracken, John H. Tenant, William P. Creed, F. J. Bov- ing, Christopher Rudolph, Jacob Embich, John Lyons, J. N. Little, James McManamy, G. W. Claspill, Philip Bope, John C. Flood, Joshua Clarke, William Kinkead, Samuel Doty, Ferdinand Getz, Henry Springer, John Baughman, Robert Fielding, G. Steinman, Perry Stein- man, G. J. Wygum, Simeon Denton, Gerhard Miller, David Foster, M. O'Gara, George Hood, P. W. Bin- ninger, Samuel Crim, George Crawford, William Cas- sell, Colonel A. McVeigh, John Stallsmith, Jacob Holt, William Latta, Thos. U. White, John McClelland, Theo. Tong, Thos. Reed, Adam Guseman, V. M. Griswold, V. E. Shaw, Joel Radebaugh, Jas. Gates, Walter McDonald, John Shrieves, Chas. Schneider, O. H. Perry, Benj. Connell, B. F. Reinmund, Amos Hun- ter, Jno. Williams, Josiah Wright, Thomas Shannon, John Borland, M. Thimmes, John Pearse, Wm. Vorys, Wm. Richards, Sam'l Rudolph, Wash. Homan, Chris. Lehman, Chas. Miller, Andrew Hunter, W. G. Blaire, Chas. Beaumaster, Jno. Gebelein, Benj. Smith, Geo. W. Martin, W. L. Jeffries, Nelson Smith, Rev. C. Peters, Elijah Lewis, G. Williams, C. Stropel, Col. Jno. Noble, Geo. H. Smith, Jr., John Gromme, Stephen Smith, Jno. B. McNeill, J. G. Doddridge, Jacob Plout, John C. Rainey, John C. Smith, John Arney, George Ring, James Rice, John Work, Joseph Work, Jr., Samuel Whiley, Robert Reed, Jacob Wetzel, David Cowden, George Smith, Abe Berry, Robert Work, Edwin Wright.
These names were written from memory and doubtless some worthy men have been overlooked.
For a more elaborate history of Lancaster, for one hundred years, the reader is referred to "Centennial
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Lancaster." The book can be found in the State Li- brary and in the public libraries of Columbus, Cincin- nati and Lancaster.
We depart from our plan so far as to sketch the career of Lancaster's most distinguished native sons, John Sherman and Gen. W. T. Sherman.
HON. JOHN SHERMAN
Lancaster has the distinction of having been the birth place of the most distinguished brothers known to the annals of the United States of America. Wil- liam T. Sherman, one of the great military men of the age, and John Sherman, one of the distinguished statesmen of the world. Sons of the great lawyer and jurist of Lancaster, Charles Robert Sherman.
John Sherman was born May 10, 1823, in the frame house still standing on Main Street, Lancaster, just west of the residence of Philip Rising.
His father died in 1829, at Lebanon, Ohio, where he was holding court, of cholera, leaving a widow and II orphan children. John was then six years of age. In 1831, when eight years of age he was taken to Mount Vernon, Ohio, by a cousin of his father, named John Sherman, to make his home in his family. Here he remained four years attending a school kept by Matthew Mitchell and made some progress in his studies. At the age of 12 years the growing family of his cousin, made it necessary for him to return to his mother in Lancaster.
He then entered the academy of Mark and Samuel L. Howe, which stood where C. F. Kirn's dwelling now stands on Mulberry street. He continued in this excellent school two years and became proficient in mathematics. In 1837, at the age of 14, his friends
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secured for him the position of rodman with Col. Samuel B. Curtis, in charge of the Muskingum river improvement. He remained with Col. Curtis two years, giving good satisfaction and spending his leis- ure hours in study. In the year 1839, on account of a change in the State Administration Col. Curtis was removed and young Sherman returned to Lancaster. At this time he was 16 years of age. On his return home Dr. M. Z. Kreider, clerk of the court, gave him temporary employment in his office at $1.50 per day.
In the spring of 1840 he went to Mansfield and en- tered the law office of his brother, Charles Taylor Sherman, as a law student.
As a law student he had the advice and encourage- ment of his uncle, Judge Parker, a learned lawyer, and a man of good common sense. May 10, 1844, on his twenty-first birthday, he was admitted to the bar at Springfield, Ohio.
He became a partner of his brother, and entered at once upon his wonderful career. He soon took an active interest in politics, and for so young a man, became a very prominent Whig politician. He was a delegate to the National convention at Philadelphia, that nominated General Zachary Taylor for the presi- dency. He was a delegate to the Whig convention held at Columbus, where he made a reputation in a brief speech. He had been urged to become a can- didate for Attorney General, but declined to enter the race against Henry Stanbery.
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In the same year, 1852, he was a delegate to the Whig National convention held at Baltimore, when General Winfield Scott was nominated for the presi- dency. He was a stump speaker and took part in all these campaigns - grew in popularity and became
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Of Fairfield County, Ohio.
ripe in experience and his name soon became noised about in connection with Congressional honors. In 1854 he was nominated and elected to Congress from the Mansfield district. December, 1855, he was sworn in and entered upon a public career without prece- dent in this country. As Congressman, Senator and Cabinet officer he served his country forty-three years.
Elected to Congress as a Whig, he soon became a Republican and followed the fortunes of that party throughout his long career, and no man, in public life more fully represented the traditions and princi- ples of the Republican party, than did John Sherman.
He entered Congress at a time of great excite- ment and peril to his country. The Missouri Com- promise, the Nebraska trouble and national finances were questions that called for real, patriotic states- manship.
Sherman met and discussed these questions in a calm, dispassionate and conservative manner, dis- playing great ability, and rose rapidly in public esti- mation. He was appointed one of the committee to investigate the Kansas trouble and more than met the expectation of his friends. He was not an aboli- tionist, but was opposed to slavery extension, and as contrasted with the abolition members of the Republi- can party, he was very conservative.
In 1859 he was a candidate for speaker of the House, but was defeated by Mr. Pennington, of New Jersey.
March 4, 1861, he was sworn in a Senator of the United States. After the close of a brief extra session he came to Ohio and was authorized by Governor Dennison to raise a brigade.
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He raised two regiments of infantry, one of cav- alry and a battery of artillery; this he did in a great measure at his own expense. His services were deemed of more importance in the Senate, and this brigade was turned over to other officers, but was ever after known as the Sherman brigade. Only last summer the Senator attended a reunion of his old brigade.
He returned to the Senate and found a great ques- tion confronting the country. How to raise money and carry on the war and sustain the public credit. The question was partly solved by the issue of green- backs with the legal tender feature. Sherman was the champion of this measure, carried his party with him and the bill was passed.
The result has shown that no more valuable ser- vice was ever rendered by any public man. When the time came for the resumption of specie payments Sherman was the great and everywhere acknowledged champion of the bill - the best speeches of his life were made for the measure, and he had the supreme satisfaction of witnessing its passage January 1, 1879.
As Secretary of the Treasury under Hayes, it was his duty to redeem the greenbacks when presented. But as he had predicted when date for redemption grew nigh greenbacks were worth their face in gold, and not one dollar was presented. In 1880, 1884 and 1888, John Sherman's name was before the National convention as a candidate for the presidency. For fifty or more years our greatest statesmen have not reached the presidency, Abraham Lincoln being an exception.
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.
The friends of Senator Sherman believe that he made a mistake in leaving the senate to become Sec- retary of State.
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