The Biographical encyclopedia of Ohio of the nineteenth century. Pt. 2, Part 15

Author: Robson, Charles, ed; Galaxy Publishing Company, pub
Publication date: 1876
Publisher: Cincinnati, Galaxy publishing company
Number of Pages: 760


USA > Ohio > The Biographical encyclopedia of Ohio of the nineteenth century. Pt. 2 > Part 15


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stitution of London, England. They have seven children | school for juvenile offenders, which resulted in the estal)- now living, three daughters and four sons. Their eldest daughter, Dora, is Secretary of the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music.


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ICE, HARVEY, LL. D., Lawyer and Author, was born in Conway, Massachusetts, June 11th, 1800. When seventeen years of age he requested his father, who was a farmer, to give him his free- dom and allow him to acquire a liberal educa- tion. This he achieved by graduating from Williams College, in 1824. From college he went directly to Cleveland, where he had no influential friends to aid him in his advancement. His worldly goods, all told, were the plain suit of clothes he wore and three dollars in money. Cleveland at that time contained but four hundred inhabitants. Ile soon began to teach a classical school in the old academy on St. Clair street, and also to study law under the direction of Reuben Wood, a prominent member of the Cleveland bar. In two years he was admitted to the practice of law, and at once formed a copartnership with Renben Wood, with whom he had read law. This part- nership continued until Mr. Wood was elected to the bench. In 1829 Mr. Rice was elected Justice of the Peace, and in 1830 Representative to the Legislature. Soon after this he was appointed an agent for the sale of the Western Reserve school lands, which comprised a tract of fifty-six thousand acres situated in Virginia Military Dis- trict. Ile opened his office in Millersburg, Holmes county, for the sale of these lands, and in three years had sold them all for one hundred and fifty thousand dollars and paid that sum into the State Treasury as a school fund to edu- cate the children of the Western Reserve, the interest of which is now annually paid by the State for that purpose. In 1833 he returned to Cleveland and was appointed Clerk of the Common Pleas and Superior Courts, and held that position seven years. In 1834 and 1836 he was nominated by the Democratic Conventions for Congress, but was not elected, as the Democrats were in a small minority. IIc was the first Democrat ever sent to the Legislature from Cuyahoga county. In the House Select Committee for revising the statutes of the State he introduced many new provisions, which are still retained on the statute-book. In the autumn of 1851 he was nominated and elected State Senator by seven hundred majority. The General Assembly met for the first time under the new constitution, and new laws were to be enacted to secure to the people the prac- tical benefits of the great reforms which had been achieved by its adoption. It was said of Mr. Rice, that he was al- ways at his post. He took an active part in establishing two insane asylums in the State, and performed great ser- vice in forming a new system for the common schools, so that he was called " The Father of the common schools of Ohio." He introduced a bill to establish a State reform


lishment of the Reform Farm School at Lancaster. In 1857 he was a member of the City Council, and took a leading part in establishing in Cleveland an industrial school, and was afterward active in extending its usefulness. During the same year he introduced a resolution to erect the Perry monument, which now graces the public park of that city. The resolution made the cost to depend solely on voluntary subscriptions of the citizens. As Chairman of the Monu- ment Committee he carried the object of his resolution into effect in three years after he had introduced it. On Sep- tember 10th, 1860, the anniversary of Perry's victory on Lake Erie, the monument was inaugurated with imposing ceremony, Mr. Bancroft, the historian, delivered the ad- dress. By a careful estimate it is supposed that not less than one hundred thousand people were in attendance. In car- rying out the programme the battle of Lake Erie was re- produced in a mock fight on the lake in front of the city. Everything was a perfect success-the monument, inaugura- tion, and the crowd of interested spectators, who fully appreciated the importance of the occasion. In 1861 he was elected a member of the Board of Education, and was appointed President of the Board. In 1862 he was ap- pointed by the Governor, with the approval of the War Department, Commissioner for Cuyahoga County, to con- duct the first draft made in that county during the late civil war. While in the discharge of this duty five or six hun- dred men appeared one morning to demolish his office and records. They had heard that there had been unfairness in the draft, and were greatly excited. Mr. Rice quietly sent to the military camp on the heights for a detachment of soldiers, infantry and artillery, who came to his relief and dispersed the riotous assemblage. To satisfy all, he offered to have a committee appointed to investigate and see that everything had been conducted with fairness. With his aid an elaborate investigation was made. The committee reported that the draft had been conducted justly in all respects. Two of the men who had been instrumental in getting up the mob were drafted on the spot. In 1867 he planned and erected at his own expense, approved by the college anthorities, a beautiful marble monument in Mis- sions Park, at Williamstown, Massachusetts, commemora- tive of American Foreign Missions, originated by Samuel J. Mills, a religious enthusiast-thus : in an out-doors meeting they were driven by a violent storm to take refuge under a haystack ; while there Mr. Mills suggested the idea of mis- sions to foreign heathen lands as a religious duty. Ilis companions agreed with him, and consecrated themselves in solemn prayer to the great work. From this circumstance originated the American Foreign Missions. The monu- ment is erected on the spot where the haystack stood. It is twelve feet high, surmounted by a marble globe three feet in diameter, cut in map lines. The face of the monument has the inscription, " The Field is the World," followed by a haystack sculptured in bas-relief and the names of the five


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young men who held the prayer-meeting, and the date, | hunted wild game in the forest, afterwards felled to make 1806. The monument was dedicated, July 28th, 1867, at Maple Grove, in the park, and by special request Mr. Rice delivered the dedicatory address, which was published in pamphlet form. In 1869 he visited California, and became a correspondent for the papers ; his " Letters from the Pacific Slope; or, First Impressions," were read by thou- sands with deep interest. In 1871 Williams College con- ferred upon him the degree of LL. I>. Ile is widely known as the author of " Mount Vernon, and other Poems," a volume of 250 pages, which attained its fifth edition. In 1875 he wrote another volume, entitled " Nature and Culture," which has received a wide circu- lation. Ilis natural abilities are of a high order ; his mind thoroughly disciplined and cultivated, and although prac- tising at the bar but a short time he won an enviable repu- tation for legal ability, discriminating judgment and gentle- manly deportment. He is a graceful and vigorous writer, and is well known as an able contributor to some of the best periodicals of the day. At present he is engaged in literary and other labors, especially in attempting to pro- mote the success of the reformatory institutions of Cleve- land. He has twice been married : first in 1828, and after- wards in IS40.


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ORRIS, IION. THOMAS, United States Senator from Ohio, was born in Berks county, Pennsyl- vania, January 3d, 1776. He was the fifth of a family of twelve children, born to Isaac and Ruth (Henton) Morris, Ilis mother was the daughter of a Virginia planter. The first represent- ative of the family name came from England in 1637, and settled in Massachusetts. Soon after the birth of Thomas his parents removed to the wilds of western Virginia, and settled in Harrison county, near Clarksburg. Both were members of the Baptist Church, and the father preached the gospel for more than half a century. Ile died in 1830, at the age of ninety-one, leaving three hundred descend- ants. (The number is now estimated at one thousand.) Thomas was instructed in the rudiments of education by his mother, schools being scarce in those wilds. His parents were people of strong anti-slavery convictions, and gave proof of the fixedness of their principles by refusing to re- ceive in bondage four " human chattels " who fell to their lot by heritance. In 1795 Thomas took up his residence in Ohio, then a part of the great Northwest Territory. In the town of Columbia, in this year, he became a clerk in the store of Rev. John Smith, a Baptist preacher, and after- wards one of the first members of the United States Senate from the State of Ohio, Ilis unfortunate connection with the " Burr conspiracy" drove him from home and friends in disgrace. In the employ of this man young Morris re- mained for several years, during which he improved his mind by perusing books. In his hours of leisure he often


way for Cincinnati. On the toth of November, 1797, two years after his arrival in Cohunbia, he was married to Rachel, daughter of Benjamin and Mary Davis, of Welsh; descent, aud natives of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. This union was eminently happy, and existed nearly fifty years. Eleven children were born to them, all of whom lived to become useful members of society. In 1800 the young couple removed to Williamsburg, Clermont county, Ohio, and four years later to Bethel, where they resided the most of their days. In 1802, with meagre facilities, the husband began the study of the law. Two years later he was admitted to the bar. He at once became a leader among his professional brethren. In all his arguments he was fond of quoting from Scripture, and, although a suc- cessful lawyer for forty years, he never encouraged litiga- tion. Ile was oftener found pleading the cause of the poor than the rich, and but for this his large practice would have yielded a great revenue. In 1806 he was elected from Clermont county to the Ohio Legislature. Here he fought the encroachments of the slave power. Ilis legis- lative labors extended over a period of twenty-four years, and his record was spotless, as indeed his political and social life ever was. No matter what party was in power, he was chairman of the most important committees. Ilis entire legislative history was free from selfish ambition. Ile labored long for the repeal of the law making debt a crime punishable by imprisonment. He strongly opposed the canal system, uttering the memorable prophecy : " In twenty-five years Ohio will be covered with a network sys- tem of railroads, and canals will be superseded." During all his service in the Legislature he was an ardent and able friend of the common schools, and voted for the largest ac- cumulation of a fund devoted to this great object. In 1808-9 he was appointed, on the part of the Ilouse, to conduct the impeachment trial of Judges Tod and Pease. Ilis success led to his election as one of the Supreme Judges of Ohio, but an act of the Legislature prevented his being seated. Ile strongly advocated the war with Great Britain in 1812. In the " nullification " troubles of 1832 he was a firm supporter of the general government. In 1826 he was tendered the nomination for United States Senator, but declined. In IS32 he was again tendered the nomination, and his acceptance resulted in his election. lle was a member of the Democratic party, but never failed to follow his convictions, especially in his opposition to the extension of slavery. In December, 1833, he took his seat in the United States Senate. In this new feld of labor he found the stormy cia of sectional prejudices just dawning. But he never hesitated to declare his principles. llis career in the Senate, if not specially brilliant, was highly honorable. Ile measured his reasoning powers with such men as Clay, Calhoun and others, on the subject of slavery, and at one time so roused the ire of the oppo- sition that a Southern member said he ought to be expelled.


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On February 9th, 1839, he made a memorable speech in answer to Henry Clay, who took the side of the inhab- itants of the District of Columbia in their petition to Con- gress against interference on the question of the abolition of slavery in the District. This speech produced a great sensation. The Legislature of Virginia suggested his ex- pulsion. But he was too radical for the conservatism of the times, and a pro-slavery man was elected by his party to fill his seat in the Senate. He met .the defeat calmly, and soon after joined the Liberty party. In August, 1843, a national convention of this party was held at Buffalo, more than a thousand delegates being in attendance. James G. Birney was nominated for President, and Thomas Morris for Vice-President, The ticket received 62,163


votes. He did not long survive this candidacy. On the 7th day of December, 1844, with his intellectual powers unimpaired by age, he was stricken down with apoplexy. Ile died on his homestead farm, four miles from Bethel, Clermont county, Ohio. He lies in the graveyard at Bethel, an appropriately inscribed marble monument mark- ing the spot where rests one of Ohio's most honored sons.


OLDEN, WILLIAM HENRY, M. D., ex-Member of the Ohio State Senate aud House, was born in Caroline county, Maryland, February 20th, 1827. Ilis parents also were natives of Maryland. His father, Peter Holden, he lost while still very young. Ilis mother was then again married. In IS36, or thereabout, he moved with his parents to Ohio, and secured his preliminary education at the schools in Guernsey county. At the age of nineteen years he engaged in teaching school, and pursued this vocation during the succeeding four years. He then commenced the study of medicine with Dr. C. S. McQueen, and attended Starling Medical College, at Columbus, Ohio, during 1851-52. Iu 1853 he removed to California, where he practised his pro- fession for about two years. On his return he was occupied professionally iu Perry county until IS58, when he again intended Starling Medical College, and graduated from this institution in 1$59. Later, he returned to Perry county, where he practised until 1871, at which date he settled in Zanesville, now his home, and where he controls an exten- sive business, probably the largest in the place. In 1861-62 he was a member of the lower House of the Legislature, from Perry county, and in the fall of 1869 was elected to the State Senate from the counties of Perry and Mus- kingum. In 1872 he was re-elected to the latter body, and served continuonsly for a period of four years. For nine years he was Town Treasurer of Monroe, Perry county, and has held other local offices. He has always been a member of the Democratic party, and is one of its ablest and most active workers. Throughout his life he has travelled considerably ; has visited every State in the


Union, also the West Indies, Mexico, Central America and the isle of Cuba. Ile was married, November 20th, 1847, to Miss Wilson, of Guernsey county, who died February 230, 1850. Ile was again married in March, 1853, to Miss Hartley, of Athens county, Ohio.


IIOMAS, REV. THOMAS E., D. D., was born in Chelmsford, now a suburb of London, Eng- land, December 23d, 1812. His father, Thomas Thomas, was of Welsh descent. While a poor lad, engaged in the humblest farm labor, his -piety and talent for extempore speaking attracted the attention of a gentleman of wealth and liberality, who offered to assist him in obtaining an education and prepar- ing himself for the ministry. His offer was gratefully ac- cepted by Mr. Thomas, who went at once to London and entered Hoxton College. Though unable to write when he reached London, his industry and perseverance carried him rapidly through the elementary to the collegiate and theological studies; and he was licensed to preach in two years after he entered the college. He settled first in Chelmsford, and soon after married Elizabeth Robinson, the daughter of a London merchant. Here their eldest son was born. He inherited from his father a clear and power- ful mind, a poetic imagination and eloquent speech; from his mother a fine physical constitution and indomitable en- ergy and perseverance. From both his parents he received a conscientious and thorough training. Ilis father emi- grated to America in IS18. Landing in Baltimore he came to Cincinnati, and there preached for two years to what is now the Second Presbyterian Church. He finally settled in Venice, Butler county, where he had charge of an inde- pendent church, conducted a private school and engaged at different times in missionary labor throughout southern Ohio and Indiana. Prepared for college by his father, the subject of this sketch entered Miami University in 1829, and graduated in 1834. He made a profession of faith in Christ in 1831, and soon after resolved to devote his life to the service of God in the ministry. He was licensed to preach in 1836, and immediately accepted the charge of the church at Harrison. In 1838 he became pastor of the Presbyterian church in Hamilton, Ohio. Here he Iabored for ten years with marked ability and success, He was elected President of Hanover College, Indiana, in 1849, receiving his doctorate from Wabash College in 1850. In 1854 he resigned this position to accept the chair of Bibli- cal Literature and Exegesis in New Albany Theological Seminary. In 1857 the seminary was removed to Chicago, and the two Professors, Drs, MeMaster and Thomas, were laid aside on account of their anti-slavery sentiments. Dr. Thomas filled the pulpit of the First Church, in New Albany, as stated supply, until the spring of 1858, when he accepted the pastorate of the First Presbyterian Church


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of Dayton, Ohio. Here, for thirteen years, he devoted his [ both in public and in private, as a citizen, lawyer, judge, matured power,, his wide stores of knowledge, and his un. weuied efforts to the work of the ministry. In 1871 he was elected to the chair of New Testament Greek and Exegesis in Lane Theological Seminary ; supplying, at the same time, the pulpit of the Broadway Presbyterian Church, Cincinnati, and afterward, the pulpit of the Walnut Hills Church, near the seminary. In the fourth year of his labors in the seminary, he was called. to enter into rest. Physically, Dr. Thomas was of medium stature, strong in constitution and solidly built. His voice was feeble, yet melodious. Ile was a man of great force and earnestness of chiricter ; an eloquent, logical, and polished speaker ; an instructive, devont, and impassioned preacher. He was a prominent and fearless advocate of the anti-slavery cause, when it was at no little cost thu one could avow and defend such opinions; and he was very influential in carrying the Presbyterian Church to the position it now occupies on this question. Through out his life he was an enthusiastic teacher, whether from the pulpit, the platform, or the class- room; and he was eminently successful in teaching. As a theologian, Dr. Thomas held the Calvinistic opinions . ex- pressed in the confession of faith of the church which he represented. But he was ever distinguished for his liberal- ity and fraternal feeling towards evangelical Christians of all denominations. His remains rest in Woodland Ceme- tery, near Dayton. "After he had served his own genera. tion, by the will of God, he fell in sleep."


6 EASLEE, JOIIN B., Superintendent of the Public Schools of Cincinnati, is a native of Plaiston, New Hampshire, at which place he was born, September 34, 1842. Ilis family, which bears a stainless reputation for honesty and integrity, is one of the oldest in thit State. His ancestors, who landed at the port of Newbury in 1640, were among the first inhabitants of northeastern Massachusetts, and pioneers in the settlement of southern and central New Hampshire. Belonging to the Society of Friends, they suffered in common with their sect the indignities and proscriptions born of the religious intolerance of colonial times. Of such circumstances, natural and artificial, as the Quaker pioneers were subject to, is born the highest order of manhood. Persecution, when that persecution is met with the spirit exhibited by that religious sect, is invariably the mother of courage, fortitude, and self-reliance. In visiting curses upon the fathers it lavishes blessings upon the children, as bear witness the vigorous manhood of later generations of this family, a family noted for private worth and not undistinguished in the more extended walks of life. From it the professions have drawn some of their most useful and reputable members. Of recent years it would perhaps be difficult to find a man more esteemed,


and second executive officer of the State, thamn Daniel Peaslee, of Vermont. As a practical surgeon and as a writer on the subject of surgery, Edmund R. Peaslee, of New York, has the esteem and confidence of the medical profession. Its ministers have been numerous and an honor to the profession. The father of the subject of this sketch was educated at Dartmouth College, and was for many years a leading man in the State. Ile was a strenuous advocate of advanced legislation, and in the Constitutional Convention of 1850 he took a prominent part in the legisla- tiou which dispensed with religious and property qualifica- tions for office-holding. His son, having obtained all the benefits of the home district school, entered the academy at Atkinson, New Hampshire, from which, after completing the course, he passed to the Gilmonton Academy, an in- stitution of considerable celebrity at that time, and was graduated therefrom in 1858. The succeeding year he was admitted to Dartmouth College, from which he was gradu- ated with honor in 1863. His oration at the commence- mient, on the subject of the Polish Revolution, was gener- ally noticed by the Eastern press as exceedingly able and learned. Ilaving completed his collegiate course, upon the recommendation of President Lord, he was chosen Principal of the Grammar School of Columbus, Ohio. The duties of this position he performed with such uniform faithfulness and success as to evoke the highest respect and esteem of his school patrons, and to cause his resignation to be deeply and universally regretted. From Columbus Mr. Peaslee, in the fall of 1864, went to Cincinnati to assume the position of First Assistant in the Third District School of that city. During the three years which he held this position, he had the honor of passing his pupils to the inter- mediate schools at the head of the city, a fact the more to his credit as during a part of this time. he was a member of the Cincinnati Law School. In 1865 he graduated from the Law School and was admitted to the bar of Ilamilton county. Two years later he was made Principal of the Fifth District School, a situation which he filled with such success as greatly to increase the honorable popularity already won, and secure his election to the first place in the Second Intermediate School in 1869. Ilere he remained till elected to the office of Superintendent of Schools in 1874. This election, considering the carefulness with which educational bodies select their highest executive officer, the respect they pay to talent, and their uncom- promising antipathy to inefficiency, must be taken as a valuable and just testimonial to his superior worth. More- over, it is a fact, though not generally recognized, that few positions, calling for high executive ability, are filled more ably than that of Superintendent of Schools in the leading cities of the United States. The occupants of this position are, almost invariably, men of broad culture and excellent understanding. The flourishing condition of the Cincinnati schools, and the high tone of the instruction therein under


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his superintendence, arc ample assurance that he embodies the higher characteristics of his office. Mr. Peaslee is also a member of the State Board of Examiners, of which body he is now the President. In the schools, since assuming the duties of Superintendent, he has wrought many long. needed reforms, for an understanding of the nature of which his extended experience in teaching, and consequent intimate knowledge of the child capacity, had eminently fitted him, while his originality of conception and inherent independence of action have peculiarly qualified him for carrying his projects into successful execution. The cram- ming process, as a consequence, has, so far as time would allow, disappeared, and with it the injudicious selection of work. Concerning complex traits of character, it may be said of Mr. Peaslee-as of every man that has ever been the subject of biographical review-the record of his life is a problem from which they are readily determined. Solving, we shall find him possessed of a character for industry comprehending faithfulness yet transcending it, and of a perseverance both energetic and untiring. Personal con- tact with the man reveals immense social and professional enthusiasm, noble generosity, and a fine and sympathetic nature. He is a man of positive character and magnetic influence; one who, having taken a position, maintains it with his whole strength. To these qualities must be added that high sense of honor which forbids the sacrifice of principle to policy. To summarize, we find in him the distinguishing attributes of the excellent official and the worthy citizen,




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