USA > Ohio > The history of the state of Ohio; from the discovery of the great valley, to the present time > Part 64
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The Hon. James G. Birney emancipated his slaves, moved across the Ohio River to Cincinnati, and established there a paper in advocacy of freedom. A Kentucky mob followed him, stirred up all the loose fellows of the baser sort, sacked the printing office, smashed the press, threw the types into the river, burned the houses of the colored people, mobbed women and children, and then, frenzied with rum and rage, rushed, yelling like savages, towards the residence of Mr. Birney to tar and feather him and hang him upon a gibbet.
Mr. Chase, who had thrown himself among the mob to watch their proceed- ings, hurried to Mr. Birney's house to warn him of his danger. Boldly he took his stand in the doorway to face the mob. His commanding person, the perfect courage he displayed, and the earnest words with which he re- monstrated against their acts of lawless violence, held the mob in check until Mr. Birney affected his escape.
The course he was pursuing, in thus allying himself with the opponents of slavery, then a peculiarly obnoxious party, was declared by most of his friends to be suicidal. Not long after this he eloquently but unavailingly defended a slave girl, Matilda, who, weeping in despair, was dragged back to bondage. As he was leaving the court-room, a looker on, who had been impressed by his abilities, said :
"There goes a fine young fellow who has just ruined himself."
Another man, however, who was prominent in public life, was so influenced by the integrity, the moral courage, and the intellectual power displayed, that he became an efficient co-operator in placing Mr. Chase in the Senate of the . United States. In this plea, Mr. Chase took the ground that the magistrates of the slave states could not constitutionally call upon the magistrates of the free states to capture and return those flying from bondage.
Mr. Birney was arrested and brought to trial, charged with having sheltered a fugitive slave. Mr. Chase defended him. Here he took the ground which Hon. Charles Sumner subsequently took so effectually in Congress, that slavery was only sectional, while freedom was national, but the court, as usual then, went against him.
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John VanZandt was one of nature's noblemen. He figures in Uncle Tom's Cabin as VanTromp. Loathing slavery, with whose horrors he was well acquainted, he liberated his slaves and moved into Ohio. Never could the trembling, hungry fugitive stop at his door and be driven empty away. The good old man was prosecuted for harboring fugitive slaves. He was defended by Salmon P. Chase and William H. Seward. Notwithstanding their unan- swerable argument, the decision of the United States Supreme Court was against VanZandt, and he was fined so heavily that he was utterly ruined, and died of a broken heart.
But the friends of freedom were rapidly increasing in numbers and in power. Uttered truth, like God's word, never returns void. The State of Ohio and the nation were awakening to the consciousness of the "irrepressible conflict " be- tween freedom and slavery. In 1841 a "Liberty Party" was organized in Columbus, Ohio. The Democracy of Ohio at that time pronounced in favor of freedom.
In 1849 Mr. Chase was chosen United States Senator, receiving the entire vote of the Democratic members of the Legislature, as well as that of a large number of the Free Soilers. Modest, unobtrusive, yet fearless, he immediately occupied a commanding position among those distinguished men. In a debate upon the compromise resolutions of 1850, Senator Mason, of Virginia, alluded to a granite obelisk erected in that state in honor of Thomas Jefferson, which bore the inscription :
" Here is buried THOMAS JEFFERSON, Author of the Declaration of American Independence, of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom. and Father of the University of Virginia."
" It is," said Senator Chase, "an appropriate inscription, and worthily com- memorates distinguished services. But if a stranger from some foreign land should ask me for the monument of Jefferson, I would not take him to Virginia and bid him look on a granite obelisk, however admirable in its proportions or inscriptions. I would ask him to accompany me beyond the Alleghanies, into the midst of the broad Northwest, and would say to him :
" 'Si monumentum quæris, circumspice.'
"Behold on every side his monument ! These thronged cities, these flourish- ing villages, these cultivated fields, these million happy homes of prosperous freemen, these churches, these schools, these asylums for the unfortunate and the helpless, these institutions of education, religion and humanity, these great states -great in their present resources, but greater far in the mighty energies by which the resources of the future are to be developed - these, these are the monuments of Jefferson. His memorial is all over our Western land :
"' Our meanest rill, our mightiest river Rolls mingling with his fame forever !' "
Valiantly Chase fought the terrible battle which was waged between freedom and slavery. In the year 1855 Mr. Chase was elected Governor of Ohio. His
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inaugural address was a document of marked ability, and his fame was so national that he was now widely talked of as a candidate for the Presidency. At his own request, his name was at that time withdrawn. He was re-elected to his high office by the largest vote ever given for governor in Ohio. Upon the election of President Lincoln, and when the most direful war was desolat- ing our country and exhausting our finances, Governor Chase was placed in the responsible post of Secretary of the Treasury. But for the financial skill which he manifested, it may be doubted whether the country could have been success- fully carried through the terrible struggle. There were thousands of miles of frontier to be guarded. We were without an army and without a navy. Trea- son in the government had for years been busy in depriving the nation of all means of defense, that it might be presented helpless before its foes. Millions upon millions of money were to be raised, when all the ordinary transactions of business were broken up, when the European monarchies, rejoicing in our pros- pective overthrow, refused to aid us by loans, when more than half of our territo- rial expanse was in rebellion, and when nearly every young man was compelled to abandon the pursuits of industry for fields of distinction and carnage. The financial abilities of Secretary Chase carried the nation grandly through the gigantic contest.
He resigned the Secretaryship to accept the office of Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, to which position he had been appointed by President Lincoln upon the death of Chief Justice Roger B. Taney. His de- cisions in this position are marked for their clearness and soundness, and are accepted as the best of authority the world over. In this position he died.
There is not perhaps another man in our land to whom our government is more indebted for its signal victory than to Governor Chase. Christian princi- ple guided him through life and sustained him in the hour of death. He left this stormy world for the spirit land in the year 1873, and a nation of forty mil- lion people mourned its loss. As a devout Christian, and as an able and a con- scientious statesman, his name will ever occupy one of the most prominent positions in the annals of our land. He died in the communion of the Episco- pal Church.
HON. WILLIAM DENNISON.
[See page 607.]
We regret exceedingly that we have not been able to obtain a more full record of one of Ohio's best governors, William Dennison. This man by his abilities and patriotism has won national gratitude.
We are first introduced to him in the year 1847, as a lawyer in successful practice at Columbus, the capitol of the state. He was elected by the Whig party, to a seat in the State Senate in the year 1859, where he served one term. His abilities attracted the attention of the government at Washington and he was called to the responsible and difficult station of Postmaster General of the United States.
In January 1860, when forty-five years of age he was placed in the guber- national chair of Ohio. He has been favored with a collegiate education, graduating at Miami University in the year 1815. Being a man of large wealth
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he has exerted a powerful influence in the construction of railroads and other internal improvements in Ohio. At the close of the civil War he returned to his residence in Columbus where he resided, ever actively engaged in useful labors, until called by President Grant to fill the important post of Commissioner in the District of Columbia where at the time of this writing he resides.
HON. DAVID TOD .*
[See page 633.]
David Tod was one of nature's noblemen ; one of the many men of whom our nation may be justly proud. George Tod, the father of David, emigrated from Connecticut to Ohio in the year 1800. Ohio was then but a wilderness of the Northwestern Territory, spreading far and wide its sublime solitude. Bears, wolves, panthers, and savages, more to be dreaded than any wild beasts, roamed its almost unbroken forests.
Mr. Tod was not a man of property. He had but little to depend upon but his ax and his energies. His wife was a very superior woman, noted for her beauty and her rich intellectual and social endowments. Her sister was the wife of Governor Ingersoll, of Connecticut. With sinewy arms the young emigrant felled the trees, opened his clearings, and reared his humble log hut amidst the stumps on the lonely banks of the Mahoning River, in the extreme north of the present State of Ohio.
George Tod was a man of mark. His intelligence and virtues speedily raised him to conspicuous positions of trust and honor. The very year in which he first took up his residence in his log cabin he was applied to by Gov- ernor St. Clair to accept the office of Secretary of the Territory. Two years after, when the State of Ohio was organized, he was elected one of the judges of the Supreme Court. When the war which England provoked in 1812 broke out, Judge Tod resigned his seat upon the bench and entered the army as major and then colonel, to protect the frontiers from the allied Indians and British.
At the close of the war, in which, by his heroism, he won many laurels, he returned to his mansion, still of logs, in Trumbull County, and was soon elected Judge of the Court of Common Pleas. He passed the remainder of his peaceful and useful life in the faithful discharge of all his duties as a neighbor and a citizen until 1841. He then died, universally beloved as well as respected.
David Tod, the subject of this memoir, was born in the log house in what is now the City of Youngstown, Mahoning County, in February, 1805, but soon after he removed to the old log house at Briar Hill where his youth was spent. David was reared as a farmer's boy, hard at work, remote from companion- ship, cutting down the forest, digging up the stumps, burning the brush, smoothing the rugged ground, and creating a farm. He had no access to the school, the church, or the library. And yet this noble boy, in the career of life, far outstripped thousands who have enjoyed every advantage earth can give.
Availing himself of every opportunity for mental improvement, he found his thirst for knowledge increasing with every acquisition he made. As the
* For most of the incidents in this narrative, I am indebted to an admirable sketch of the Life of Governor Tod, from the pen of B. F. Hoffman, Esq., who has enjoyed the best oppor- tunities for truthfully portraying his character.
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population increased he entered the common school, which afforded but very meagre instruction. He then entered Burton Academy, paying his own expenses, as his father could furnish him with no pecuniary aid.
A young man, thus struggling for an education, not only improves every moment, but consecrates his most intense energies to his work. David Tod was by nature endowed with strong powers of mind. They needed but cultiva_ tion to enable him to stand among the foremost of his generation. In his career there was a beautiful exemplification of the familiar words of Longfellow :
" The heights by great men reached and kept, Were not attained by sudden flight; But they, while their companions slept, Were toiling upward in the night."
Finishing his academic course, and with no assistance but from his own ener- gies, he entered the law office of Colonel Roswell Stone, at Warren, Trumbull County, and was admitted to the bar in 1827, at the age of twenty-two. He was then in debt for his education about one thousand dollars. His father and mother still lived, with quite limited means, in the log house at Briar Hill. The farm was heavily mortgaged. Mr. Tod opened a law office in partnership with Hon. Matthew Birchard.
There is probably not one of the Western States to which so many men of intellectual eminence and moral worth emigrated from the East as to Ohio. The courts of Trumbull County were attended, in those days, by lawyers of great dis- tinction. Some of them, as Joshua R. Giddings and B. F. Wade, have attained national celebrity. Trumbull bar was then regarded as the ablest in Ohio.
David Tod soon acquired eminence as a jury lawyer. His commanding person, genial manners and musical voice always secured for him a favorable hearing. His practice became large and profitable. He was not only able to pay the expenses of his education, but enjoyed the great happiness of lifting the mortgage from his father's farm. Thus he conferred an unencumbered farm upon his beloved parents.
He was a man of warm heart, and his noble mother had won his enthusi- astic devotion. He ever spoke of her as his "precious mother." After her death she was his "sainted mother." To her influence he ascribed all that was good in his character, and all his success in life. He could not doubt that in her heavenly home she was still his guardian angel. Through life he was cheered by the hope that he should be reunited with her in the mansions of the blessed. In a beautiful tribute to the memory of Governor Tod, written by Hon. Samuel Galloway, we find the following interesting state- ment. Speaking of his mother, he says :
" To her influence and example he ascribed the elements of his prosperity and successful career. He loved to dwell upon the fact that kindness to his mother was the key which unlocked the treasures which became the source of his wealth. At the beginning of his professional career, when he was without pecuniary resources, owing about one thousand dollars to friends who had. advanced him the means of procuring an academic and professional education, he was painfully assured that his father's creditors were about to sell the old family mansion, and that forbearance so long shown could no longer be extended.
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The thought that his aged father and good old mother, tottering with the infirm- ities of age, should become homeless wanderers, stirred his soul to its utmost depths, and inspired him with the resolve that such a calamity must not and should not occur. Kind friends, admiring and sympathizing with such rare filial devotion, came to the rescue of the young but courageous and affectionate son. With this kind interposition he was enabled to assume all the responsibilities of the debt, and to become the owner of the farm. This act of manhood and of love was afterwards crowned with a rich compensation in the discovery of the coal mine imbedded in the Briar Hill premises, which afterwards became an abundant source of his prosperity and wealth."
This same spirit of self-sacrificing affection was extended to all the family, and to all whom he knew. Never was there a better neighbor or a better friend. There was a poor widow living in his vicinity. He sent some workmen to repair her humble, dilapidated home. "Governor," the grateful woman exclaimed, " how can I ever repay you for your kindness."
The governor, with his accustomed playfulness, replied, " All I ask of you is that you will attend my funeral."
A young man who followed him to his grave, exclaimed, with gushing tears, "I have lost my best earthly friend. He cheered me in my days of poverty, and aided me more than all others to my present condition and competence."
Upon the same occasion another said : " He has been to me not only a tutor, but a father, a brother, a friend, a happiness for thirty-five years."
Blessed is the man who can leave such memories behind him. 1
Mr. Tod continued the practice of the law with great success until the year 1844. He was a great admirer of Andrew Jackson, and became an active mem- ber of the Democratic party, though his father was a Whig. To this party he adhered until the defeat of Stephen A. Douglas in 1860, and the breaking out of the civil war seemed to obliterate all former party lines.
In the year 1844 he removed to' the liome of his childhood at Briar Hill. Here he entered upon the project of developing the coal fields which had been discovered in that region. His integrity, abilities, and social qualities had ren- dered him very popular with both parties.
In the Spring of 1847 President Polk appointed him Minister to Brazil, to succeed Henry A. Wise. The Brazilian Court had requested of our government the withdrawal of Mr. Wise, as his course threatened to embroil us in a war with that Empire. Mr. Tod, entirely unacquainted with the intrigues of diplo- macy, and a stranger to court etiquette, accepted the appointment with no little solicitude.
It soon became so evident to others that he could not but admit himself that he was the right man in the right place. He remained four years in Rio Janiero, leaving home in June, 1847, with his wife and children, and returning in December, 1851. His intelligence, sound judgment, spirit of fairness, and genial nature, all aided him in unraveling entanglements, and in creating the most friendly feelings where before there was distrust and animosity. He suc- ceeded in concluding a convention by which the Brazilian Government paid the United States three hundred thousand dollars. This claim had been under negotiations for more than thirty years. Mr. Tod conducted the affair in so
1
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frank and friendly and honest a spirit as to secure the warm commendation of the Emperor of Brazil.
At the same time he rendered such signal service to his countrymen residing at Rio Janiero that, upon his retirement, he was presented by them with a very elegant piece of silver plate. His important mission was recognized by the government as a complete success. Upon his return to the home of his childhood, his youth and his manhood, his neighbors and fellow-citizens, without distinction of party, gave him one of those cordial greetings which remind one of an ancient Roman triumph.
During his long absence his private affairs had necessarily suffered from want of his attention. He now devoted all his energies to the development of his coal mine, and to opening routes to market by railroads and canals. But for his energetic action, it is not probable that the Mahoning Valley Railroad would have been constructed. He embarked in the undertaking with his whole soul, and his high reputation for integrity and administrative ability enabled the company to secure those loans which were essential to the project. His enterprise gave a new impetus to the beautiful City of Youngstown, adding greatly to its wealth and its attractions.
David Tod was sent, by his Democratic friends, as a delegate to the Charleston Convention of 1860. He was then a warm advocate of Stephen A. Douglas for the Presidency of the United States. Caleb Cushing was chosen President of the Convention ; David Tod, Vice - President, The arrogant, dictatorial air assumed by the pro-slavery party of the South disgusted Mr. Tod. He bade defiance to their threats of secession. The Convention adjourned to Baltimore. The ultra pro-slavery party withdrew, with Caleb Cushing at their head. Mr. Tod was recognized as President of the Baltimore Convention, and Douglas was its nominee for the National Presidency.
One of the most exciting political campaigns our country ever knew ensued. Mr. Tod " stumped " the state for Douglas. Upon the defeat of Douglas and the election of Lincoln, like a true patriot, he declared his resolve to support the administration of Mr. Lincoln. When our national flag was treasonably assaulted at Fort Sumter, Mr. Tod cast aside all party trammels in entire devo- tion to the integrity of the Union.
Again his eloquent voice was raised as he traveled far and wide, advocating the vigorous prosecution of the war till every rebel should be subdued. From that eventful hour he did everything he could do, with both voice and purse, to maintain the supremacy of that dear old flag, in whose folds the interests of all humanity seem to be enshrined. He fully recognized the fact that there was not, upon this globe, another flag which so fully symbolized the brotherhood of man. He subscribed largely to the war fund of his township. He pro- vided Company B, of the Nineteenth Regiment, with their first uniform. And thus till the war ended, he consecrated himself to the salvation of his country.
When President Lincoln's Proclamation of Emancipation reached Youngs- town, Mr. Tod, having perused it, sent for two of his friends, and, with a coun- tenance beaming with animation, inquired :
" Have you read the President's Proclamation, and are you ready to sus- tain it."
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"Yes," they replied, "and whatever else President Lincoln may do to maintain the cause of freedom."
"That is right," Mr. Tod replied ; "Lincoln knows better than you or I what is the best policy for our dear country. We must have a public meeting to-night, and we must all address the people."
The meeting was called and Mr. Tod made the opening speech. He avowed it as his conviction that we could not expect that God would crown our arms with victory until we did justice by the emancipation of the enslaved.
In the darkest hour, and when our country seemed to be in the most deadly peril, the patriots of Ohio met, without distinction of party, and nominated David Tod for Governer. He was elected by a majority of fifty-five thousand. During the years 1862 and 1863 great discouragement prevailed. In Ohio, as in all the other states, there were many who did everything in their power to embarrass the actions of the government. Ohio was threatened with invasion from the South. Being quite unaccustomed to war, our military affairs were in a very chaotic state. We needed more troops, better organization, immense sums of money, means of transportation, surgeons, nurses.
Governor Tod was then found to be the right man in the right place. He was unwearied in his devotion to the sick and the wounded. The widows and orphans of those who fell in this cruel war received his constant care. His sound judgment enabled him to appoint officers of great efficiency. His first inquiry was, in reference to any candidate for office :
"Does the applicant ever indulge to excess in intoxicating drinks ?"
If this question could not be answered in the negative, he would not even look at any other qualifications. It can not be doubted that, during the war, thousands of precious lives were sacrificed to the orders of drunken officers.
Governor Tod made but few requests of President Lincoln, or of Mr. Stanton, Secretary of War. This drew from the President the remark : " David Tod aids me more and troubles me less than any other governor."
Upon his retirement from the Executive office, the Legislature of Ohio, passed a series of resolutions complimentary, in the highest degree, of his rule. These resolutions were entered on the journals and published in the volume of Ohio laws for 1864. The war was still raging. The following extract from this im- portant document demands insertion here :
" Resolved, That the thanks of the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, are hereby tendered to Governor Tod, for the able self-sacrificing and devoted manner, in which he has discharged all the duties of chief magistrate of the state ; for his devotion in ministering to the sick and wounded soldiers ; for his kindness, courtesy, and assistance to the friends and families of the soldiers, in their anxious inquiries for those exposed in camp, upon the battle-field, and in hospitals ; for his pecuniary sacrifices for the soldiers' encouragement and com- fort ; for his patriotic addresses made to the regiments, from time to time, when going into service ; for his well-arranged system of half-fare tickets, by which the relatives of the soldiers were enabled to visit the hospitals and battle-fields, to convey relief, or bring to their resting place amid the homes of the loyal North, the remains of those who had given their lives for their country's pro- tection ; for the enduring memorials to the dead of the rank and file, in the
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