USA > Ohio > Hamilton County > Cincinnati > The Cincinnati pioneer > Part 12
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He dwelt on the progress of the race within the last seventy years in the matter of locomotion. The speed of a message in the days of
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Pharaoh was not greater than that of a horse, say twelve miles an hour. In 1807, until steamboat travel, there was no conveyance of greater speed. Now a trip is made to New York in twenty-eight hours, which is wonderful contrast to a pioneer trip of twenty-eight days. Three thousand years brought less improvement than has been effected in the last seventy years. It is this distinguishing peculiarity of our age that is to lift up Africa and all benighted lands-all races that can be reached by the chariot of progress, the car of commerce.
This great impulse has, in a short space of time, caused ten States to spring up (with Cairo at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi, as axial point) from a region of one hundred thousand to that of sixteen millions of souls. Here is soon to be the Seat of Empire, with the scepter never more to be taken from its Western grasp.
It is the unexampled facilities of education possessed by Ohio, both of its schools and the press, which have proved the factors securing its rapid growth and commanding influence as a State. In her schools nine hundred thousand children have advantages of culture unsur- passed on the globe. Nowhere, so potently as in Ohio, are schools and the press having so powerful a sway. The briefest phrase to ex- press its grand character is that of the prophet Daniel: " In these latter times, men will run to and fro, and knowledge will increase." With Berkley it can be said-
" Westward the Star of Empire wends its way."
As the sun in its setting lights the clouds with brilliant colors and pictures, so he hoped for the aged Pioneers, that the_ setting of their sun may be bright with hope and with the cheering vision of the world to come. 1
Dr. OTHO EVANS, of Franklin, O., was introduced, and made a few remarks.
ADDRESS BY A. H. DUNLEVY.
A. H. DUNLEVY being called on for some remarks on the occasion, merely said that there was only time to state that he was a Pioneer by birth, having been born at Columbia, Hamilton County, on the 2 Ist day of December, 1793. When about four years old his father, the late Judge Francis Dunlevy, removed with his family to the neighborhood where Lebanon was laid out six years afterward. My first visit to Cincinnati was in the Spring of 1804. Cincinnati was
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then a very small place. The hotel where I put up was near the North-east corner of Main and Fifth Streets, and was kept by one James Conn, or rather by his wife, who was the most efficient of the . family. Here, for some five years, I was accustomed to stop during the sittings of the courts, and there I always met, with others, those judges of the Court of Common Pleas not residing in the city. Among these early judges, besides my father, then the presiding judge, were Luke Foster, James Silver, I think, and Dr. Stephen Wood. Judge Goforth also was on the bench, but lived in the city. Here, too, I frequently met Judge John Cleves Symmes. In the early part of court he was always thronged with purchasers of his lands, and I have seen him, while supping his tea, of which he was excessively fond, writing deeds or contracts and talking with his friends and those who had business with him, all at the same time. From the custom- ers at this hotel, I think it was considered the best then in Cincin- nati. But at this time the forest trees stood on the south, east, and north of this hotel property. Directly south, across Fifth Street, Tom Dugan, an old bachelor, who left a large property in Cincinnati, had a rough iron-store ; and there were very few buildings of any size south along Main Street, until the corner of Main and Fourth, where, on the north side, James Ferguson had the best store, I think, then in Cin- cinnati. The only access to the Ohio, where wagons could descend, was at the foot of Main Street, and this consisted simply of a wide road cut diagonally down the steep bank of the river. In high water there was no other levee than this road. In low water, however, there was a wide beach, but this could only be reached by this road. It may be there was a similar approach to the river at the foot of Broadway, but, if so, I did not see it. All north of Fifth Street, with the exception of one or two houses, was in woods or inclosed lots, without other improvements. In coming to Cincinnati from Lebanon, miles of the route were in the woods, out of sight of any improve- ments ; and from Cumminsville, then only a tavern, kept by one Cum- mins (John, I think), there were but two residences on the road until you came near to Conn's Hotel. One of these was the residence of Mr. Carey, I think, father of General Samuel Carey, of Hamilton County, as well known.
At a very early age, according to the customs of the times, I was sent on business to almost every point in the Miami Valley, and as I passed through the grand forests of the Miami country, I imbibed a love of these forest scenes which has followed me to old age. I have
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since traveled over a great part of the United States and Canada, but I think I never found so uniformly grand forests and so rich a soil as every-where marked the Miami country at this early day.
First Public Edifice built of Stone in the N. W. Territory.
THE Cincinnati Pioneer Association having arranged to make an excursion to Chillicothe, had a badge prepared for its members to be worn on occasion of their visit. As above, it bore a representation of the "Old State-house" at Chillicothe, commenced in 1800, under di- rection of Thomas Worthington, President of the Board of Commis- sioners of Ross County. It was of stone, two stories high, with a cupola and bell, situated on the public square ; donated to the county by Massie, at the junction of Paint and Main Streets. It was torn down about 1854.
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CINCINNATI PIONEER.
NUMBER 5-JULY, 1875.
The Pioneers at Chillicothe.
THE invitation given by Governor Allen to visit the ancient me- tropolis was accepted, and the Cincinnati and Marietta Railroad, with great liberality, placed at disposal of the Committee a train of cars, and the happy party left the Plum Street Depot on the morning of the 28th of June.
The publisher prefers that the history of what transpired should be in the language of others, and thus places on permanent record what is reported by the Cincinnati Commercial and the Chillicothe Advertiser. The first is by a lady, who writes over the signature of "E. A." This is her letter :
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Byron said if he had his choice of what he should be in this world, he would choose to be a pretty woman until he was thirty years of age. Now, if I had my choice of what I should be, I'd rather be a Cincinnati Pioneer until I was thirty years old than any thing else. To have a railway train to carry you through a hundred miles of pure, genuine country, past green hills and fields and shining little toy-box rivers, and land you finally in one of the loveliest sleepy old towns in the universe, where carriages wait, as if they had sprung up at the rubbing of Aladdin's lamp, to convey you to the residence of this and that hospitable citizen, who lunches you on the fat of the Scioto Valley, and next day sends you in a carriage to the residence of the Governor of Ohio, our own William Allen, who (don't tell the crusaders) entertains you with two or three kinds of wine, the vintage of his own farm at Fruit Hill ; and, last of all, to have John D. Cald- well coming around with a smile that is childlike and bland, and in-
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quiring into your life, and making you believe every thing that ever happened to you is, a matter of thrilling historic interest to all crea- ation-I pause for breath, and ask, What can be more delightful this side of Swedenborgian heaven ?
The gay and festive old boys and girls declare that this trip to Chillicothe was the most fun they ever had. The hospitality of the citizens of Chillicothe was as perfectly graceful and thorough as could be, and the arrangements they had made for the reception of all the aged Pioneers went off without a hitch. May they be petted Pioneers themselves, some day, when they can't keep from being old any longer.
We Pioneers assembled at the depot at nine o'clock last Friday . morning, and bundled into the cars which waited for us. It was such a sight as you would see once in a life-time, that assemblage of two or three hundred old people. The feminine 'fashions of the last fifty years must have been gathered together at the train that morning. Old ladies, with hooped petticoats and lace "mitts," stood side by side with venerable ladies wearing the Quaker costume, and the old lady who always dressed like a rail draped in mourning, chatted cheerfully with gay old grandmothers wearing brilliant scarlet flowers and gorgeous chains and jewelry. It was like a strange, curious masquerade. Masculine fashions of forty years ago came before you mostly in the shape of groups of old gentlemen, with smooth, clean shaven faces, reminiscences of the days when preachers in the pulpit thundered against the awful sin of the wearing of beards, and when a mustache meant a foreigner and a freethinker, and every thing else bad and crazy.
Then, too, in each old face you read a history, the history of a man's or woman's life. Some were beautiful, calm, sweet faces, rimmed with silver hair, and others, for a pity, were avaricious, peevish faces, with frowning wrinkles and puckered mouth. It must be that every day writes its history in our faces.
The oldest person I ever saw in my life made a brief speech to us on Friday evening. This was Colonel Augustus Stone, of Marietta, ninety-five years of age, and eighty-five years a resident. Think what changes he has witnessed in Ohio in that time. He is small in stature, and I have seen many a young man of twenty who didn't seem half so spry as this frisky little man. One of the most pleas- ing incidents of the Pioneer picnic was the meeting of this Colonel Stone with Mrs. Elizabeth D. Robb, a Cincinnati Pioneer, now eighty
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years of age, who was a young schoolmistress in Marietta in 1812, and knew Colonel Stone then. Think of meeting an old friend some fine day, and asking him how he has felt since you have seen him last, sixty years ago !
Another Pioneer was Rev. Samuel West, ninety-three years of age. We had with us, too, General Leslie Coombs, of Kentucky, who is eighty-two years old, and numerous others in the neighborhood of eighty.
The first formal meeting of the ancients was held on Friday after- . noon. Upon the platform of Masonic Hall, where we old fellows all came together, we noticed an old table dingy with years, and whit- tled and hacked up as if it had stood in a country school-house for a century. It was unpainted, and about the size and shape of your oval dining-table. It wasn't very pretty to look at ; but we sharpened up our eyes and looked at it with all our might, when the Governor told us that upon this very table was signed the first Constitution of the State of Ohio, in the year 1803. (If I remember my history cor- rectly, it didn't take the Pioneers of Ohio quite so long to draft a. Constitution as it did our great statesmen a year ago.)
The meeting opened by a gentleman announcing that another gen- tleman, whom he called the " Mare of Chillicothe," would give us a brief address of welcome. (Wherefore do the American people call a mayor a mare?) The Mayor's brief address was answered, on behalf of us Pioneers, by the venerable Elder W. P. Stratton, who has joined eleven hundred couples in the bonds of holy matrimony, and does n't seem a bit impressed by the thought of the mischief he has done, either. In the course of his address, Elder Stratton mentioned that Ross County, the county in which Chillicothe is, had furnished four governors to the State, Governors Tiffin, Worthington, M'Arthur, and Allen ; and we all clapped our feet very hard when the elder slyly in- sinuated that, in his opinion, the stock of governors had n't run out yet in Ross County. I should think Ross County might be called the mother of governors.
On the left of the historical old table sat Governor Allen himself, with General Leslie Coombs beside him. Each speaker in turn made some beautiful allusions to our noble governor, who is present with us to-day, and every time Governor Allen primped his lips and tried desperately to look as if he had n't been doing any thing ; but he could n't quite succeed. Imagine a picture of General Jackson stepping down out of its frame, and flourishing a huge, scarlet bandana, and taking
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a pinch of snuff, and you will have Governor William Allen in your mind's eye. After several others had spoken, the Governor himself made a short speech, warmly welcoming us to Chillicothe and his home. After his speech, Governor Allen underwent the ordeal of shaking hands with a hundred or so of his old Pioneers.
" I should think," said I to him, by way of having something to say, "I should think your hand would be shaken off."
" I don't know," says the Governor, "there 's considerable of it left yet, you see." And he smiled gently, and held up a hand, which · was certainly one of the most tremendous human hands I ever saw.
In the evening, besides the regular address of the Hon. E. D. Mansfield, President of the Pioneer-Society, we had the unexpected pleasure of a speech from General Leslie Coombs, of Kentucky. I wish I might write a column instead of a paragraph of this brave, chivalrous, and now, I fear, somewhat lonely and saddened old man. I don't know how it is, but I think I never met a human being who interested me so strangely and profoundly as General Coombs.
I can hardly give you an idea of his speech. It was eloquent, witty, pathetic, thrilling, and poetical, by turns. He says he is eighty- two years old, and keeps his hair dark by pouring the oil of human kindness into his heart. He told us he lived in the Blue Grass country, a limestone region, which was the only region which could grow the corn that could make Bourbon whisky. Then he told us how he had been in the battle of the River Raisin, in the war of 1812 ; that he had been wounded in the shoulder, and taken prisoner by the Indians, and made to run the gauntlet. The Indians were about to put him and the other prisoners to death. The British General Proctor had refused to interfere to save them, but just before the massacre be- gan an Indian had sprung upon the ramparts and shouted that it was a shame to murder defenseless prisoners. "And that Indian," said General Coombs, in thrilling tones, "that Indian was Tecumseh !"
I think we could have listened to General Coombs all night, and I hate speeches, too, as a rule.
Saturday we picknicked at Governor Allen's and General Worth- ington's. Governor Allen's home is the old home of his father-in-law, Governor M'Arthur. It is a noble domain of fourteen hundred acres, as lovely a home as the heart of a man could desire. Governor Allen has been a widower for twenty years, and his home at Fruit Hill is presided over by his only child, the beautiful and stately Mrs. Scott, who, with her father, welcomed us to Fruit Hill that delicious May
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morning. Mrs. Scott strongly resembles her father, I think. From the Governor's we old folks were driven to the residence of General Worthington, where an equally agreeable welcome awaited us.
The picnic at Chillicothe will linger like a bright dream in the recollection of many an aged person to whom more than once has come the thought that this life was hardly worth the living. But my gracious ! you ought to have seen the old ladies drink wine at Governor Allen's. I would n't ever have thought it of 'em, these grandmothers who are expected to set a good example to the rising generation Bless their dear, kindly, old hearts, and I know it did 'em good. E. A.
The Pioneer excursion and entertainment at Chillicothe is thus reported by the Chillicothe Advertiser:
THE PIONEERS.
A PLEASANT GATHERING OF THE OLD FOLKS-SPEECHES, MILITARY PARADE, RECEP- TION, AND GOOD CHEER-THE ANCIENT CAPITAL DOING THE HONORS-ELEGANT HOSPITALITIES DISPENSED, AT THE HOMESTEADS OF THE EARLY GOVERNORS, BY GOVERNOR ALLEN AND GENERAL WORTHINGTON -- DAYS LONG TO BE REMEMBERED.
FRIDAY last, the 28th of this month, was the day appointed for the meeting of the Pioneers at this place. The Marietta and Cincinnati Railroad had liberally tendered an excursion train from Cincinnati, leaving there Friday morning and returning on Saturday afternoon. A large number availed themselves of the opportunity thus presented to visit the early capital of the State, to inspect its objects of interest, to partake of the hospitality of its citizens, to see the respected Chief Magistrate of the Commonwealth at his own home, and amid these in- spiring surroundings to invoke the recollections of early times.
All things were propitious. The day was a delightful one. Nature had donned her freshest robes, and the tardy Spring, with manifold charms for eye and ear, did her best to make up for lost time. The guests of the city were, immediately on their arrival, taken in charge by the committees ; and the Pioneers found rest from their journey and substantial cheer at the homes of our citizens.
In the afternoon they were all escorted to the Masonic Hall, where the formal welcome and reception took place. It was an ex- ceedingly interesting sight to behold such a large concourse of old men and women gathered together from distant places on an occasion of such peculiar and distinctive interest to themselves-meeting thus in this old city, the first seat of government in this great Northwest,
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to recall the men and things of "auld lang syne." They seemed to enter into the spirit of the occasion and to enjoy it with all the infinite zest and relish which belongs to enthusiastic youth ; old times came back so vividly that for the time their very youth seemed renewed. Yet there were very aged people of both sexes among them-many of them being more than ninety years of age. People whom we had been accustomed to consider and who considered themselves quite venerable were transformed into mere boys and girls by comparison.
We noticed General Putnam (father of Captain John H., the Gov- ernor's private secretary), who is the highest authority on all matters of ancient date-a very Pioneer of the Pioneers, who made martial music for the army of 1812.
Many of these gay excursionists had kindly brought along with them their forty, fifty, and sixty year old children and grandchildren, in order to give them a holiday and a chance to see something of the world.
Truly it was well worth going far to see the noble faces of these old men, the sweet, kindly faces of these old ladies. They were ser- mons in themselves, and spoke eloquently of well regulated and virtu- ous lives. The welcoming address was delivered by Mayor Mick, and responded to by Elder W. P. Stratton, Governor Allen, and Gen- eral Worthington, who, in brief and appropriate terms, addressed the assemblage, giving expression to the pleasure which all felt.
Later in the day the two military companies -- Sill Guards and Campbell Light Guards-turned out on dress parade, and finished up with exhibition of drill in front of the Emmitt House. These exer- cises were viewed by a great concourse of people and created a great deal of interest. The companies in their new and handsome uniforms made a brilliant display, and they won deservedly high encomiums for the regularity and precision with which they performed the various evolutions. Our soldier boys certainly did their full share toward giving éclat to the occasion.
In the evening a large concourse of citizens and guests assembled at the Masonic Hall to hear the addresses of General Leslie Coombs, of Kentucky, and honorable E. D. Mansfield, the President of the Pioneer Association.
Leslie Coombs is a marvel of mental and physical preservation. He is eighty-one years old, yet with the figure of a man in his prime and erect as a soldier. His hair is still dark, his teeth all sound, his voice still strong enough to be distinctly heard in the remotest corners of the hall. A jolly, genial old chap, and a genuine Kentucky gentle-
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man withal. His story about running the gauntlet in 1813, when captured by the Indians, and his eulogy on Bourbon whisky were each in their way exceedingly interesting. The General was listened to with the utmost attention and his speech was interrupted by frequent rounds of applause. Mr. Mansfield followed him and delivered a very finished and scholarly address, well worthy of his reputation and the occasion.
The next morning (Saturday) opened with rain, and for a time the prospects looked rather gloomy ; but before long the clouds broke away, and the sun shone out gleefully. Then conveyances, private . and public, were brought into requisition, and the city's guests and a large number of our citizens went out to Fruit Hill to visit Governor Allen. After spending some time there they visited Adena, the beau- tiful Worthington homestead ..
Governor Allen entertained his guests with the most profuse and hearty hospitality. The substantials and the luxuries, the best of every thing to eat and to drink, were furnished in unstinted measure. About four hundred guests assembled there. The Governor met them at the entrance. Dr. Scott, the Governor's son-in-law, and Captain John H. Putnam, his private secretary, assisted in receiving and looking after the comfort of the visitors. Within doors Mrs. Dr. Scott, the graceful and accomplished daughter of Governor Allen and granddaughter of Governor M'Arthur, was the presiding spirit of the happy scene, and welcomed the thronging visitors to the fine old mansion, made famous by the distinguished character and generous hospitality of both her father and her grandfather.
At a later hour, Adena, once the home of Governor Worthington, and the present residence of his son, General James T. Worthington, was the scene of like festivities. This fine old mansion was an object of curious interest. Itwas built by Governor Worthington and has remained without alteration to this day. It was the first stone house built in the North-western Territory. Its window-glass was the first brought west of the Alleghany Mountains. Its mantle fronts of marble, the door knobs, and other manufactured articles used in its construction, were brought from the East, and the mansion, when completed, was the wonder and admiration of the whole country.
General Worthington exhibited to the Pioneers and their friends many objects of interest connected with early times, and among them a tomahawk presented by the celebrated Indian warrior Tecumseh to Governor Worthington.
Mrs. Worthington, who is a sister of Don Piatt and of General A.
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View of Chillicothe.
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Saunders Piatt, and a lady of unusual culture and social accomplish- ment, did the honors of the famous mansion in the most delightful way.
Thus some hours were passed on the hill where have resided three governors of Ohio, and which, looking down upon the Scioto Valley and the city of Chillicothe, commands a view of unexampled loveli- ness.
ADDRESS OF WELCOME BY MAYOR MICK.
FELLOW-CITIZENS, PIONEERS OF OHIO, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN : It affords me great pleasure to convey to you, on behalf of the citizens of Chillicothe, their good wishes and friendly greeting, and to extend to you a cordial welcome to the hospitalities of the ancient metropolis.
It is a fitting time, while on every hand are being celebrated the stirring events of a hundred years ago, that those who were contempc- rary with the early history of our own State, should meet together here, in the old State capital, where its first organization was effected, the home of four of its governors, one of whom is now present among you, and at whose invitation you have met here to-day.
Hoping the occasion may prove a pleasant one to all of you, and that you will all live to enjoy many more reunions, I again bid you a hearty welcome.
REPLY BY ELDER WILLIAM P. STRATTON.
WORTHY MAYOR, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN : I regret exceedingly that Mr. Mansfield, our president, is not present with us; but I trust that he will be here before nightfall; and as he is not here, the duty seems to devolve upon me, and to say what arises in not only my heart, but in all of our hearts. Receive our thanks for the noble and generous welcome you, and those you represent, have tendered us,- so much in keeping with the character always given of the residents of the ancient metropolis of our noble State. Permit me to say that many of my colleagues and myself have had an ardent desire to visit the ancient metropolis, where it is my pleasure to be acquainted with some of your leading men, and where have been the homes of Gov- ernors Edward Tiffin, Thomas Worthington, and Duncan M'Arthur ; and if I were a native of this region of the State I should be proud of it and of such men who discharged the duties of the office of gov- ernor as honorably as they did. And now the people of Ohio have had the pleasure of seeing another of your citizens, our present governor, who was with us at our meeting last year, and in the fullness of his
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