The History of Warren County, Ohio, Part 49

Author: W. H. Beers & Co.
Publication date: 1882
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1081

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This mob, and other persecutions to which the first Shakers were subjected, as might have been anticipated, benefited the society. Many persons from the neighborhoods of Lebanon, Middletown, Hamilton and more distant regions, were induced to visit them from curiosity or sympathy, and from among these visitors new converts were received. From 1810 to 1818, the accessions to the society were numerous. The following is the account given by the Shaker writers of this mob and other persecutions. It is condensed from "The Mil- Jenial Church, or United Society of Believers, commonly called Shakers," a work first published in 1823:

" The great opposition which was raised against the testimony in the West was first instigated by the principal leaders of a class of people who styled themselves Christians, in contradistinction to all others who professed that name, under different denominations. Some of these had been distingnished leaders in the late revival; but, instead of advancing forward in that increas- ing work, to which the spirit of the revival had so powerfully directed them, they became the foremost in opposition, and exerted all their influence to pre- judice the minds of their hearers and excite them to acts of violence. Hence arose the scenes of opposition and persecution which followed. These scenes began by opposing, molesting and disturbing the believers in their testimony and worship, by various kinds of mockery, railing and cursing, threatening, pushing, collaring, and other acts of personal abuse and insult.

" On the 27th of August, 1810, a body of 500 armed men, led on by officers in military array, appeared before the principal dwelling of the society in Union Village. This formidable force was preceded and followed by a large concourse of spectators of all descriptions of people; estimated at nearly two thousand in number, whose object was to witness the mighty conflict expected to take place between a body of 500 armed men and a few defenseless Shakers. Among the concourse were many who were friendly to the society, and whose only wish was to prevent mischief and preserve peace; but many were armed in mob array, some with guns and swords, some with bayonets fixed on poles, and others with staves, hatchets, knives and clubs. These formed a motley multitude of every description, from ragged boys to hoary-headed men, exhib- iting altogether a hideous appearance. The troops having taken their sta- tion near the meeting-house, a deputation of twelve men came forward, headed by a Presbyterian preacher, Rev. Matthew G. Wallace, who acted as chief speaker, and, after making a number of unreasonable demands, stated as their principal requisition that the society should relinquish their principles and practice, mode of worship and manner of living, or quit the country. The an- swer of the society was mild and calm, but plain and positive: That they es- teemed their faith dearer than their lives, and were determined to maintain it, whatever might be the consequences ; as to quitting the country, they were upon their land, which they had purchased with their own money, and they

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were entitled to those liberties granted by the laws of their country, including the liberty of conscience.

" The calm, peaceable and harmless deportment of the believers, together with the expostulations of a few respectable individuals, the liberty given to examine the youth reported to be held in bondage, the marks of contentment and the decent and orderly appearance of everything around, all conspired to change the sentiments and feelings of the vindictive warriors to such a degree that all withdrew without committing any abuse."

The manuscript journals of the society show that there were other mobs in the years 1812 and 1813, and on July 31, 1817. At the last-named date. Richard McNemar opposed the forcible entrance of the rioters, and was after- ward indicted by the Grand Jury for assault and battery. At the trial of the case, Mr. McNemar, as was his legal right, demanded to be heard in his own defense. He argued the case before the jury with such skill and ability that he was triumphantly acquitted.

A VISIT TO UNION VILLAGE IN 1811.

The earliest account of the Shakers at Union Village and their religious exercises which we have seen is contained in a letter written by James McBride. and dated at Hamilton, Ohio, July 14, 1811. The religious exercises described by Mr. McBride are somewhat different from those of the Shakers at this day- their dancing exercises being to-day less violent and not protracted for so long a time, and shouting being now rarely heard in their public meetings. The fol- lowing are extracts from the letter:

"I have known several instances of women leaving their husbands and children and going to the Shakers; and of husbands leaving their wives wretched widows, to shift for themselves in the wide world, and attaching them- selves to the Shakers. One woman whom I knew survived the separation but a few months, I believe principally from the unnatural and unheard-of conduct of her husband -- wretched, unnatural man. I last Sunday saw him in their church, engaged in their religious dances, as unconcernedly as any of the other members around him. I looked upon him as the worst of murderers. My blood ran cold from the extremities of my body, and threw my whole system into an involuntary tremor. Great excitement has been produced in the public mind by the conduct of the Shakers -- so much so that the Legislature of the State. at their last meeting, passed a law for the relief of unfortunate women, who might be abandoned by their husbands who joined the Shakers; and, in the fall of last year, a large mob of people assembled and marched to the Shaker village. They numbered about two thousand men, generally armed with rifles and muskets, and threatened to extirpate the Shakers from the face of the earth, which they undoubtedly would have effected had not some of the most respectable characters in the country interposed their influence to prevent mis- chief.

"I, in company with another gentleman, who had seen them before, left here on Saturday evening and rode to within two or three miles of their village. where we lodged for the night, in order that we might get early to their church on Sunday morning, before their ceremonies of worship should commence, which we accomplished. When we came within their settlement, my attention was attracted by the regularity and neatness of their farms and gardens, which appeared to be cultivated with great care and considerable taste. When we arrived at their church, I was surprised at the appearance and neatness of the building, which was a frame (the dimensions I do not know, but it was very large), with two doors of entrance on the west side. Inside, it was handsomely plastered, ceiled overhead, but destitute of seats, except four or five rows of

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wooden benches on the west side of the house, between the two doors. The . building is situated in the center of a lot of ground inclosed with a neat paling fence, covered with a beautiful sward of grass. The entrance is by two gates, on the west, opposite the doors in the church, with fine graveled walks between them.

" The men were all dressed in gray homespun cloth, their coats somewhat in the Quaker fashion, or of that cut and fashion which was probably the mode some fifty or a hundred years ago. The females were still more uniform in their dress. In the first place, from the little girl of six or seven years of age, to her old grandmother of seventy, they all wore long-eared caps, clean and white as snow, and which set close to their heads all round, without a single ribbon or bow-knot about them, except two short pieces of white tape at their ears to tie them under the chin. They all wore petticoats fastened around their waists, and a garment made something in the manner of a Dutch woman's short-gown, but so long as to come within a finger-length of their knees. These were all white muslin. Around their necks each wore a plain, clean, white, three-cornered handkerchief, but no beads, no lace, no ribbon or superfluity whatever. Their shoes were somewhat in the form of a Jefferson shoe, rather heavy and clumsy; this completed their dress, except a bonnet of black or brown muslin.

" They were all in the same dress, every mother's daughter of them; not a single exception was to be seen in the whole society. In coming to the church they all walked in single file, like a flock of ducks coming from the creek in the evening. It was then that I discovered the use of the two gates, and the two doors of the church.

" On entering the church, the men took off their hats and hung them on wooden pegs at the north end of the room. The women likewise took off their bonnets, and disposed of them in like manner at the other end of the room. They then took their seats flat on the floor-not cross-legged, as the Turks do, nor with their feet extended at full length before them, to incommode their neighbors, but sitting flat, with their feet at a convenient distance before them, and their petticoats drawn under their knees.

" After sitting some time silent, they all rose at once, as by general consent, and commenced singing a tune, in which each one joined, and sang so loud that it made my very ears tingle. In short, I think, if noise could crack the ceiling of the house, this would have long since been fractured, although it is the strongest frame building I have ever seen-perhaps the strongest of the kind ever erected. In their singing, I could not discover that they sang any particular hymn or song, as I could not distinguish any words, but merely a humming sound to make the tune. In this exercise they continned about an hour, with only short intervals to change the tune, after which they resumed their seats on the floor as before. An elderly gentleman then stepped from amongst them, advanced to the space between the members and the spectators who sat on the benches, and delivered a discourse about as long as a common sermon. I paid particular attention to what he said, and, had I time, I believe I could give you his discourse in nearly the words in which he delivered it, in which he gave us some of the outlines of their doctrine. Who he was I know not, but he certainly was an ingenious man. He clothed his discourse in hand- some language, and prepared the minds of his audience, by his preliminary observations, by drawing them on step by step, well calculated to prepare the mind of the superficial thinker to adopt his conclusions, which were deduced from premises which none could deny. At the conclusion of the discourse, the speaker observed to the Shaker members that it was time to prepare for divine worship. The men immediately went to their end of the building, took off

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their coats, put them away, and returned; in the meantime, about half a dozen men singers and an equal number of women singers arranged themselves along the side of the house opposite their respective sexes, and commenced singing a lively air of a tune, on which the whole assembly joined in a dance, but without running any regular. figures, or the men and women intermingling together, each dancing on the space which they occupied, keeping exact time to the music, and, at each turn of the tune, turning half round and facing their next rank. At this they continued ten or fifteen minutes at a time, when a pause took place long enough for the singers to change the tune, when at it they went again. At certain times during their dance, some of them would jump up, clap their hands, whirl round on their toes or heels, like a top, cutting all kinds of extraordinary capers, and sometimes. the whole assembly shouted so loud that I thought, beyond all doubt, they would bring the house about our ears.

" The tunes which they sung were brisk, lively airs, such as I have often heard played on the violin at a country dance. They kept dancing in this manner for about two hours. The day was very warm, and before they con- cluded, their clothes were as wet with sweat as if they had been engaged in a harvest-field."

IMPORTANT EVENTS.

A record of important events in the history of the Shaker Society at Union Village has been kept, from which the following is selected:

1805-March 22, arrival of first missionaries from New Lebanon, N. Y .; Malcham Worley embraces the new faith March 27; Ann Middleton, March 29; Cornelius Campbell, March 31, and about the same time, Joseph Stout, and soon after, Francis and Polly Bedle, and Richard and Jenny McNemar April 24; on May 23, the first meeting of the believers held at David Hill's, about a mile from Union Village, south by west.

1806-June 5, Elder David Darrow and all the brethren and sisters who came from the East removed from Malcham Worley's, hitherto their place of sojourn, to their own premises, afterward called the South House, having at first only some small cabins to dwell in; August 11, log blacksmith shop put up for Daniel Mosely; September 1, new frame house raised.

1808-February 16, first saw-mill started; June 15, John McLean at Leb- anon commences printing first edition of the book entitled "Christ's Second Ap- pearing," which is completed December 31.

1809-January 8, meeting held in the first meeting-house.

1812-January 14, first ministry constituted their order and the church covenant is signed; it is estimated that in what might be called the first gath- ering of the society before its organization into a church order in 1812, there were, old and young, 370 souls; February 11, the step manner or square order of exercise in worship is introduced.

1813-Carding house and machine built.

1815-Grist-mill started.

1816-Oil-mill started.

1817-The shuffle manner of worship introduced.

1818-Church covenant renewed and signed by 259 covenenting members.

1819-The Sheriff takes a horse and a yoke of oxen for muster fines: Nathan Sharp, finding the animals in Lebanon, turns them loose, and they re- turn home.

1821-Three thousand pounds of wool carded.

1823 -- Printing-press put in operation.

1829-Three hundred and four covenant members; whole number of mem- bers, about five hundred.

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1831 -- Many leave the society this year, perhaps more than in any other year.

1832-February, 12, the greatest flood known in the country; February 22, John Wallace and his fellow-apostates attempt to take and hold possession of the grist-mill; March 25, flax barn set on fire and burned; April 11, west saw-mill set on fire, but the flames were extinguished.

1835-February 7, mercury sixteen degrees below zero; February 8, eight- een degrees below zero; June 9, greatest flood known in the history of the society; all three mills swept away, clothier's shop carried away, oil-mill much injured, a considerable part of the grist-mill race filled up; damages estimated at from $10,000 to $12,000; September 9, Nathan Sharp leaves the society. [The defection of Nathan Sharp, who was a leading business man and financial agent of the society, caused the Shakers much trouble. ]

1836-A careful enumeration shows 330 members --- a serious diminution since 1829.

1837 -- Palm-leaf manufactory started.

1839-During this and the succeeding year, there prevailed a remarkable revival, which was accompanied with communications from the spirit world, which are recorded in the sacred records of the society. There were also won- deful bodily exercises, such as jerking, shaking, bowing, dancing, falling in a trance and singing new songs learned by the visionists in the spirit land. The records describe frequent displays of heavenly lights playing upon the walls of the rooms. The balls of light often had brilliant writing inscribed upon them, which were read by the inspired visionists. The record, under the date of May 22, 1839, contains the words and music of a little song received through a girl under inspiration. "She learnt the song from a company of angels who were singing it, and we soon learned the song from her as she sang it with the an- gels."

1841-Two hundred and eight church members, exclusive of the minors, of whom there are many.

1854-July 31, stock imported from Scotland arrives apparently jaded and sadly used up from the effects of a long sea voyage.

1855-March 17, sold blooded Durham cattle from March 1, 1854, to date, $8,420 worth.

1860-The society numbers 364.

LEBANON.

The town of Lebanon was laid out in September, 1802. The original pro- prietors of the lands on which the town, as originally platted, stood, were Icha- bod Corwin, Silas Hurin, Ephraim Hathaway and Samuel Manning. The orig- inal plat of the town embraced portions of four sections of land.

At the time the new town was projected, the formation of a State govern- ment was under consideration by the people of the Northwest Territory, and the projectors of Lebanon hoped that in the division of the new State into counties their town might become the capital of one of the counties. A num- ber of the land-owners in the neighborhood about the site of Lebanon, it seems, were anxious for the establishment of a town in the Turtle Creek Valley, which had already become well known for the fertility of its soil and the good char- acter of its inhabitants. It is reported that there was a meeting of the citizens of the vicinity for the purpose of selecting a name for the town, and that the . one agreed upon, and which was given it, was not satisfactory to Francis Dun- levy. It is also a tradition that the land to the east of the original plat, and now included in the eastern part of Lebanon, was desired for its location, but Samuel Manning, the owner, refused to lay out a town upon his farm, saying

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that, " it would never be anything but a nest of thieves." Only a narrow strip of Mr. Manning's land was included in the original plat. In after years, how. ever. he laid out additions to the town, and it is said that these proved more profitable to him than the original lots to their owners. The latter were com- pelled to make liberal donations for the purpose of erecting county buildings in order to make the town the county seat.

If The original plat of the town comprised only 100 lots, which were bounded on the north by Silver street, on the south by South street, on the west by Syc- amore street, and on the east by the alley between Cherry and East streets. The plat was the seventh document received by the Recorder of Warren County for record, although it was not acknowledged before a Justice of the Peace for more than one year after the survey was made. Attached to the plat were the following descriptive heading and certificate:

An accurate plat of the town of Lebanon, as laid out in September, Anno Domini One Thousand Eight Hundred and Two, containing one hundred lots, each lot containing fifty square rods, except the four lots bearing the following numbers : No. 1, No. 97, No. 57 and No. 68, each of which four lots contain twenty-five square rods, the half of said lots being given to the publick by the proprietors. The street marked and named Broadway, being six poles wide, the remainder of the streets are four poles wide. The alleys are twelve feet wide, all of which lots, streets, alleys, are due east, west, north and south.

Surveyed by me. ICHABOD B. HALSEY.

Warren County, ss. : Personally appeared before me, one of the Justices, in and for said county, Samuel Manning, Ichabod Corwin, Silas Hurin and Ephraim Hathaway, pro- prietors of the town of Lebanon, and acknowledged this plat as surveyed by Ichabod B. Halsey, to be their free act and deed for the purposes and uses herein mentioned. In testimony of which I. hereunto set my hand, this 18th day of October, Anno Domini 1803. MATTHIAS CORWIN.

Among the early additions of lots made to the town were those by Peter Yauger and Ephraim Hathaway, in 1806; by Samuel Manning, in 1807; by Levi Estell, in 1808; by Ichabod, Corwin, in 1809; and by Matthias Ross, in 1814. Moses Collett was the surveyor of the first-named addition.

The town was laid out in a forest of lofty trees and a thick undergrowth of spice-bushes. At the time of the survey of the streets, it is believed that there were but two houses on the town plat. The one first erected was a hewed-log house, built by Ichabod Corwin in the spring of 1800. It stood near the center of the town plat, on the east of Broadway, between Mulberry and Silver streets, and, having been purchased by Ephraim Hathaway, with about ten acres sur- rounding it, became the first tavern in the place. The courts were held in it during the years 1803 and 1804. This log house was a substantial one, and stood until about 1826. The town did not grow rapidly the first year. Isaiah Morris, afterward of Wilmington, came to the town in June, 1803, three months after it had been made the temporary seat of justice. He says: "The popu- lation then consisted of Ephraim Hathaway, the tavern-keeper; Collin Camp- bell, Joshua Collett and myself." This statement, of course, must be under- stood as referring to the inhabitants of the town plat only. There were several families residing in the near vicinity, and the Turtle Creek Valley throughout was perhaps at this time, more thickly settled than any other region in the county. The log house of Ephraim Hathaway was not only the first tavern and the first place of holding courts, but Isaiah Morris claims that in it he, 88 clerk for his uncle, John Huston, sold the first goods which were sold in Leb- anon. Ephraim Hathaway's tavern had, for a time, at least, the sign of a Black Horse. At an early day, the proprietor erected the large brick building still standing at the northeast corner of Mulberry and Broadway, where he con- tinued the business. This building was afterward known as the Hardy House.

The second house erected on the original plat was the residence of Silas Hurin, which stood south of the crossing of Main and Cherry streets, and near

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the southeast corner of the plat. About 1800, Silas Hurin and his brother-in- law, Capt. John Tharp, became the joint owners of the west half of Section 35, on which the southeast portion of Lebanon stands. Esquire Hurin built the residence here referred to and established a tan-yard, which with a shoe- shop afterward added, he carried on successfully for several years. Capt. John Tharp had served in several campaigns against the Indians, and, it is said, was Captain of the artificers in Wayne's army. He settled at Lebanon about 1804.

The first two white children born on the original town plat, it is said, were born in the houses just referred to as the first houses on the plat. The eldest of these was Mrs. Catherine Skinner, wife of Richard Skinner and daughter of Silas Hurin, born November 28, 1800. The second was Mrs. Lucinda Dunlevy, wife of A. H. Dunlevy and daughter of Ichabod Corwin, born ten days later. Both reached a venerable age.

The town was incorporated January 9, 1810. For many years, the officers elected by the people consisted of a President, Recorder and five Trustees, who were required to be either freeholders or householders of the town. These offi- cers appointed a Marshal, Collector and Treasurer. The name of the body cor- porate was " the President, Recorder and Trustees of the Town of Lebanon." In after years, a Mayor, Clerk and six Councilmen took the places of the Presi- dent, Recorder and Trustees, and the legal style of the corporation became " the Incorporated Village of Lebanon." Since 1878, the legal style has been "the village of Lebanon." The device of the corporate seal is " a cedar tree in the center, surrounded with the words, The Corporation of Lebanon, Ohio."

THE SITE OF MIAMI UNIVERSITY.

In 1809, Lebanon was selected as the seat of Miami University. The town- ship of land granted for the support of this institution was intended for the benefit of the inhabitants of the tract between the Miami Rivers known as Symmes' Purchase. The township not being selected until all the townships within that purchase had been sold in whole or in part, in 1803, the township of Oxford, west of the Great Miami, was selected, in lieu of one between the two rivers. In February, 1809, the Legislature passed an act " to establish Miami University," the first section of which provided that the institution should be established " within that part of the country known by the name of John Cleves Symmes' Purchase, which university shall be designated by the name and style of the Miami University." The act appointed Alexander Camp- bell, Rev. James Kilburn and Rev. Robert G. Wilson, Commissioners, to fix the place of the institution, and directed that they should meet at Lebanon, and, after taking an oath or affirmation, should proceed to select the most proper place for the seat of the university in Symmes' Purchase.

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The History of Warren County, Ohio, Part 49

Author: W. H. Beers & Co. Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Number of Pages: 1081

Author: W. H. Beers & Co.
Publication date: 1882
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1081