LAKE COUNTY
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LAKE COUNTY was formed March 6,
1840, from Geauga and Cuyahoga, and so named from its bordering on Lake
Erie. The surface is more rolling
than level; the soil is good, and generally clayey loam, interspersed with
ridges of sand and gravel. This
county is peculiar for the quality and quantity of its fruit, as apples, pears,
peaches, plums, grapes, etc. Its
situation tends to the preservation of the fruit from the early frosts, the
warm lake winds often preventing its destruction, while that some twenty miles
inland is cut off.
Area about 215 square miles. In 1887 the acres cultivated were
55,817; in pasture, 38,401; woodland, 18,181; lying waste, 2,221; produced in
wheat, 81,789 bushels; rye, 14,942; buckwheat, 1,046; oats, 249,240; barley,
9,017; corn, 194,241; meadow hay, 15,949 tons; clover hay, 8,396; flaxseed,
5,321 bushels; potatoes, 59,562; tobacco, 7,830 lbs.; butter, 307,705; cheese,
166,372; sorghum, 19 gallons; maple sugar, 32,983 lbs.; honey, 6,762; eggs,
129,435 dozen; grapes, 1,169,435 lbs.; wine, 787 gallons; apples, 146,471
bushels; peaches, 15,674; pears, 3,042; wool, 68,023 lbs.; milch cows owned,
3,816. School census, 1888, 4,387;
teachers, 160. Miles of railroad
track, 118.
Township And Census |
1840 |
1880 |
|
Township And Census |
1840 |
1880 |
Concord |
1,136 |
722 |
|
Mentor |
1,245 |
1,822 |
Kirtland |
1,777 |
984 |
|
Painesville |
2,580 |
5,516 |
Leroy |
898 |
722 |
|
Perry |
1,337 |
1,316 |
Madison |
2,801 |
2,720 |
|
Willoughby |
1,943 |
2,524 |
Population of Lake in 1840 was
13,717; 1860, 15,576; 1880, 16,326, of whom 10,583 were born in Ohio; 1,905 New
York; 549 Pennsylvania; 43 Virginia; 32 Indiana; 19 Kentucky; 649 Ireland; 481
England and Wales; 244 British America; 141 German Empire; 19 Scotland; 4
France, and 11 Sweden and Norway.
Census of 1890, 18,235.
FIRST SETTLEMENT.
Mentor, according to the
statement of Mrs. TAPPAN, in the MSS. Of the Ashtabula Historical Society, was
the first place settled in this county.
In the summer of 1799 two families were there. Among the earliest settlers of Lake was
the Hon. John WALWORTH, who was born at New London, Ct., in 1765.
When a young man he spent five years at sea and in
Demerara, South America. About the
year 1792 he removed, with his family, to the then new country east of Cayuga
lake, New York. In 1799 he visited
Cleveland, and after his return, in the fall of that year, journeyed to
Connecticut, purchased over two thousand acres of land in the present township
of Painesville, with the design of making a settlement. On the 20th of February,
1800, he commenced the removal of his family and effects. They were brought on as far as Buffalo,
in sleighs. At that place, after
some little detention, the party, being enlarged by the addition of some others,
drove in two sleighs on the ice of the lake, and proceeded until abreast of
Cattaraugus creek, at which point they were about ten miles from land. At dusk, leaving their sleighs and
horses some 50 or 60 rods from shore, they made their camp under some hemlock
trees, where all, men, women and children, passed an agreeable night, its earlier
hours being enlivened by good cheer and social converse. The next afternoon they arrived at
Presque Isle (now Erie, Pa.), where, leaving his family, Mr. WALWORTH went back
to Buffalo for his goods. On his
return to Erie, he, with his hired man and two horses and a yoke of oxen,
followed the lake shore, and arrived in safety at his new purchase. His nearest neighbors east were at
Harpersfield, 15 miles distant. On
the west, a few miles distant, within or near the present limits of Mentor, was
what was then called the Marsh settlement, where was then living Judge Jesse
PHELPS, Jared WOOD, Ebenezer MERRY, Charles PARKER and Moses PARKS. Mr. WALWORTH soon returned to Erie, on
foot, and brought out his family and effects in a flat boat, all arriving safe
at the new home on the 7th of April. The
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the first fortnight they lived in a tent,
during which period the sun was not seen.
About the expiration of this time Gen. Edward PAINE–the first
delegate to the legislature from the Lake county, in the winter of
1801-2--arrived with seven or eight hired men, and settled about a mile
distant. Mutually assisting each
other, cabins were soon erected for shelter, and gradually the conveniences of
civilization clustered around them.
Shortly after the formation of the State
government (states the Barr MSS.)
Mr. WALWORTH, Solomon GRISWOLD, of Windsor, and Calvin AUSTIN, of
Warren, were appointed associate judges of Trumbull county. In 1805 Judge WALWORTH was appointed
collector of customs for the district of Erie. In August he opened the
collector’s office at Cleveland, and in the March ensuing removed his
family thither. He held various
offices until his decease, September 10, 1812, and was an extensive land
agent. Judge WALWORTH was small in
stature, and of weakly constitution.
Prior to his removal to the West it was supposed he had the consumption;
but to the hardships and fatigue he endured, and change of climate, his
physicians attributed the prolongation of his life many years. He was a fearless man, and possessed of
that indomitable perseverance and strength of will especially important in
overcoming the obstacles in the path of the pioneer.
WILLOUGHBY is on the Chagrin
river, 3 miles from Lake Erie and 11 miles southwest of Painesville, on the L.
S. & M. S. R. R. and N. Y. C. & St. L. R. R. Newspaper: Independent, Independent, J. H. MERRILL, editor and publisher. Churches: 1 Congregationalist, 1
Methodist Episcopal, 1 Episcopal, 1 Disciples, 1 Catholic. Bank: Willoughby, S. W. SMART, president
S. H. SMART, cashier. Population,
1880, 1,001. School census, 1888,
323.
Willoughby in 1846.–The
village and township were originally callen Chagrin, and changed, in 1834, to
the present name, in honor of Prof. WILLOUGHBY, of Herkimer county, N. Y. It was settled about the year 1799, by
David ABBOT (see page 579), Peter FRENCH, Jacob WEST, Ebenezer SMITH, Elisha
GRAHAM, and others. ABBOT built the
first grist mill on the site of the WILLOUGHBY mills: SMITH was the first man
who received a regular deed of his land from the Connecticut land company. In 1796 Charles PARKER, one of the
surveyors, built a house at the mouth of the river, and a number of huts for
the use of the land company; the house was the first erected in the township,
and probably the first in the county.
PARKER became a settler in 1802; in 1803 and 1804 John MILLER,
Christopher COLSON, James LEWIS and Jacob WEST settled in Willoughby. Dr. HENDERSON, the first regular
physician, came in 1813, and the first organized town meeting was held April 3,
1815. A bloody battle, says
tradition, was fought at an early day between the Indians, on the spot where
the medical college stands: human bones have been discovered, supposed to be of
those who fell in that action.
The village of Willoughby
contains 4 stores, 2 churches, 18 mechanic shops, 1 fulling mill, and in 1840
had 390 inhabitants. The engraving
shows, on the right, the Presbyterian church; on the left, the Methodist
church, and in the centre, on a pleasant green, the Medical University, a
spacious brick edifice. This
flourishing and well-conducted institution was founded in 1834: its number of
pupils has been gradually increasing, and in 1846 its annual circular showed
174 students in attendance.–Old
Edition. This institution was
removed, in 1846, to Columbus, and became the foundation for Starling Medical
College.
THE MORMONS.
Nine miles southwest from
Painesville, on the east branch of Chagrin river, in a beautiful farming
country, is the little village of KIRTLAND, so famous in the history of
Mormonism. We reproduce here from
our old edition the account we then gave as to the origin of the sect and their
position at that time.
Kirtland is widely known, from having
formerly been the headquarters of the Mormons. While here, in the height of their
prosperity, they numbered nearly 3,000 persons. On their abandoning it, most of the
dwellings went to decay, and it now has somewhat the appearance of a
depopulated and broken-down place.
The view taken shows the most prominent buildings in the village. In the
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centre is seen the Mormon Temple;
on the right, the Teachers’ Seminary, and on the left, on a line with the
front of the temple, the old banking house of the Mormons. The temple, the main point of attraction,
is 60 by 80 feet, and measures from its base to the top of the spire 142
feet. It is of rough stone,
plastered over, colored blue, and marked to imitate regular courses of masonry. It cost about $40,000. In front, over the large window, is a
tablet, bearing the inscription: “House of the Lord, built by the Church
of the Latter Day Saints, A. D. 1834.” The first and second stories are divided
into two “grand rooms” for public worship. The attic is partitioned off into about
a dozen small apartments. The lower
grand room is fitted up with seats as an ordinary church, with canvas curtains
hanging from the ceiling, which, on the occasion of prayer meetings, are let
down to the tops of the slips, dividing the room into several different
apartments, for the use of the separate collections of worshippers. At each end of the room is a set of
pulpits, four in number, rising behind each other. Each pulpit is calculated for three
persons, so that, when they are full, twelve persons occupy each set, or
twenty-four persons the two sets.
These pulpits were for the officers of the priesthood. The set at the farther end of the room
are for the Melchisedek priesthood, or those who minister in spiritual
concerns. The set opposite, near
the entrance to the room, are for the Aaronic priesthood, whose duty it is to
simply attend to the temporal affairs of the society. These pulpits all bear initials,
signifying the rank of their occupants.
On the Melchisedek side are the
initials P. E., i. e., President of
the Elders; M. P. H., President of the High Priests; P. M. H., President of the
High Council, and M. P. C., President of the Full Church. On the Aaronic pulpits are the initials
P. D., i.e., President of Deacons; P.
T. A., President of the Teachers; P. A. P., President of the Aaronic
Priesthood, and B. P. A., Bishop of the Aaronic Priesthood. The Aaronic priesthood were rarely
allowed to preach, that being the especial duty of the higher order, the
Melchisedek.
We have received a communication
from a resident of Kirtland, dated in the autumn of 1846. It contains some facts of value, and is
of interest as coming from an honest man, who has been a subject of the Mormon
delusion, but whose faith, we are of opinion, is of late somewhat shaken.
The Mormons derive their name from their
belief in the book of Mormon, which is said to have been translated from gold
plates found in a hill, in Palmyra, N. Y.
They came to this place in 1832, and commenced building their temple,
which they finished in 1835. When
they commenced building the temple they were few in number, but before they had
finished it they had increased to two thousand.
There are in the church two
Priesthoods–the Melchisedek and the Aaronic, including the Levitical,
from which they derive their officers.
This place, which they hold to be a stake
of Zion, was laid off in half acres for a space of one square mile. When it was mostly sold, they bought a
number of farms in this vicinity, at a very high price, and were deeply in debt
for goods in New York, which were the causes of their eventually leaving for
Missouri. They established a bank
at Kirtland, from which they issued a number of thousand more dollars than they
had specie, which gave their enemies power over them, and those bills became
useless.
They adhered to their prophet, SMITH, in
all things, and left here in 1837, seven hundred in one day. They still hold this place to be a stake
of Zion, to be eventually a place of gathering. There is a president with his two
counsellors, to preside over this stake.
The president is the highest officer; next is the high priest, below
whom are the elders–all of the Melchisedek priesthood. The lesser priesthood are composed of
priests, teachers and deacons. They
have twelve apostles, whose duty it is to travel and preach the gospel. There are seventy elders or seventies, a
number of whom are travelling preachers: seven of the seventies preside over
them. There were two seventies
organized in Kirtland. They ordain
most of the male members to some office.
They have a bishop with two counsellors to conduct the affairs of the
church in temporal things, and sit in judgment upon difficulties which may
arise between members; but there is a higher court to which they can appeal,
called the high council, which consists of twelve high priests. The president and his council sit as
judges over either of these courts.
There are, however, three presidents who preside over the whole in all
the world–so termed.
The method of conducting worship among the Mormons is
similar to other denominations. The
first ordinance is baptism for the remission of sins; they lay on hands for the
gift of the Holy Ghost, and to heal the sick;
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Top Picture
Drawn by Henry Howe in 1846
PUBLIC BUILDINGS IN WILLOUGHBY
Bottom Picture
Drawn by Henry Howe in 1846
MORMAN TEMPLE AT KIRTLAND
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anoint with oil; administer the sacrament;
take little children and bless them; they hold to all the gifts of the
Apostolic church, believing there is no true church without them, and have the
gift of speaking in different tongues; they sometimes interpret for themselves,
but commonly there is some one to interpret for them.
A prophet has lately risen among the
Mormons, viz., James J. STRANG of Wisconsin, who claims to be the successor of
Joseph SMITH. He has been with them
only about two years, and was a young lawyer of Western New York. He claims to have received
communications from Heaven at the very hour of Smith’s death, commissioning
him to lead the people. He has
established a stake in Walworth county, Wisconsin, called the city of Voree, by
interpretation signifying, “Garden of Peace,” to which they are
gathering from Nauvoo and other places.
He has lately visited Kirtland and re-established it as a stake of Zion, and organized the church
with all its officers. There are
now here about one hundred members, who are daily increasing, and it is thought
that the place will be built up.
STRANG is said to have found plates of brass
or some other metal. He was
directed by an angel, who gave him a stone to look through, by which he made
the discovery. They were found
three feet under ground, beneath an oak of a foot in diameter. These he has translated: they give an
account of a race who once inhabited that land and became a fallen people. STRANG preaches pure Bible doctrine, and
receives only those who walk humbly before their God.
The Mormons still use the temple
at Kirtland. This sect is now
divided into three factions, viz.: the Rigdonites, the Twelveites, and the
Strangites. The Rigdonites are the
followers of Sidney RIGDON, and are but a few in number. The Twelveites–so named after
their twelve apostles–are very fanatical, and hold to the spiritual wife
system and the plurality of Gods.
The Strangites maintain the original doctrines of Mormonism, and are
located at this place and Voree.
We derive, from a published
source a brief historical sketch of Mormonism.
Joseph SMITH, the founder of Mormonism,
was born in Sharon, Vermont, December 23, 1805, and removed to Manchester,
Ontario county, N. Y., about the year 1815, at an early age, with his parents,
who were in quite humble circumstances.
He was occasionally employed in Palmyra as a laborer, and bore the
reputation of a lazy and ignorant young man. According to the testimony of
respectable individuals in that place, SMITH and his father were persons of
doubtful moral character, addicted to disreputable habits, and, moreover,
extremely superstitious, believing in the existence of witchcraft. They at one time procured a mineral rod,
and dug in various places for money.
SMITH testified that when digging he had seen the pot or chest containing
the treasure, but never was fortunate enough to get it into his hands. He placed a singular-looking stone in
his hat, and pretended by the light of it to make many wonderful discoveries of
gold, silver and other treasures, deposited in the earth. He commenced his career as the founder of
the new sect, when about the age of eighteen or nineteen, and apoointed a
number of meetings in Palmyra for the purpose of declaring the divine
revelations which he said were made to him. He was, however, unable to produce any
excitement in the village; but very few had curiosity sufficient to listen to
him. Not hqaving means to print his
revelations he applied to Mr. CRANE, of the Society of Friends, declaring that
he was moved by the Spirit to call upon him for assistance. This gentleman bid him go to work or the
State prison would end his career.
SMITH had better success with Martin HARRIS, an industrious and thrifty
farmer of Palmyra, who was worth about $10,000, and who became one of his
leading disciples. By his
assistance 5,000 copies of the Mormon bible (so called) were published, at an expense
of about $3,000. It is possible
that HARRIS might have made the advances with the expectation of a profitable
speculation, as a great sale was anticipated. This work is a duodecimo volume,
containing five hundred and ninety pages, and is, perhaps, one of the weakest
productions ever attempted to be palmed off as a divine revelation. It is mostly a blind mass of words,
interwoven with scriptural language and quotations, without much of a leading
plan or design.
Soon after the publication of the Mormon bible, one
Parley B. PRATT, a resident of Lorrain county, Ohio, happening to pass through
Palmyra, on the canal, and hearing of the new religion, called on the prophet,
and was soon converted. PRATT was intimate
with Sidney RIGDON, a very popular preacher of the denomination called
“Reformers,” or “Disciples.” About the time of the arrival of PRATT
at Manchester, the SMITHS were fitting out an expedition for the western
country, under the command of COWDERY, in order to convert the Indians, or
Lamanites, as they termed them. In
October, 1830, this mission, consisting of COWDERY, PRATT, PETERSON and
WHITMER, arrived at Mentor, Ohio, the residence of RIGDON, well supplied with
the new bibles. Near this place, in
Kirtland, there were a few families belonging to RIGDON’S congregation,
who, having become extremely fanatical, were daily looking for some wonderful
event to take place in
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the world: seventeen of these persons
readily believed in Mormonism, and were all reimmersed in one night by COWDERY. By the conversion of RIGDON soon after,
Mormonism received a powerful impetus, and more than one hundred converts were
speedily added. RIGDON visited
SMITH at Palmyra, where he tarried about two months, receiving revelations,
preaching, etc. He then returned to
Kirtland, Ohio, and was followed a few days after by the prophet, SMITH, and
his connections. Thus, from a state
of almost beggary, the family of SMITH were furnished with the “fat of
the land” by their disciples, many of whom were wealthy.
A Mormon temple was erected at Kirtland,
at an expense of about $40,000. In
this building there was a sacred apartment, a kind of holy of holies, in which
none but the priests were allowed to enter. An unsuccessful application was made to
the Legislature for the charter of a bank.
Upon the refusal they established an unchartered institution, commenced
their banking operations, issued their notes, and made extensive loans. The society now rapidly increased in
wealth and numbers, of whom many were doubtless drawn thither by mercenary
motives. But the bubble at last
burst. The bank being an
unchartered institution, the debts due were not legally collectable. With the failure of this institution the
society rapidly declined, and SMITH was obliged to leave the State to avoid the
sheriff. Most of the sect, with
their leader, removed to Missouri, where many outrages were perpetrated against
them. The Mormons raised an armed
force to “drive off the infidels,” but were finally obliged to
leave the State.
The last stand taken by the Mormons was at
Nauvoo, Ill., a beautiful location on the Mississippi river. Here they erected a splendid temple, one
hundred and twenty feet in length by eighty in width, around which they built
their city, which at one time contained about 10,000 inhabitants. Being determined to have their own laws
and regulations the difficulties which attended their sojourn in other places
followed them here, and there was constant collision between them and the
surrounding inhabitants. By some
process of law, Joseph SMITH (the prophet) and his brother Hyram were confined
in the debtor’s apartment in the jail at Carthage, in the vicinity of
Nauvoo, and a guard of eight or ten men were stationed at the jail for their
protection. While here, it appears
a mob of about sixty men, in disguise, broke through the guard, and firing into
the prison, killed both Joseph SMITH and his brother Hyram, June 27, 1844. Their difficulties still continued, and
they determined to remove once more.
In 1840 a work was published at
Painesville, by E. D. HOWE, called a “History of Mormonism,” which
gives almost conclusive evidence that the historical part of the book of Mormon
was written by one Solomon SPALDING.
From this work we derive the following facts:
Mr. SPALDING was born in
Connecticut, in 1761; graduated at Dartmouth, and having failed in mercantile
business, removed in 1809 to Conneaut, in the adjoining county of
Ashtabula. About the year 1812 his
brother John visited him at that place.
He gives the following testimony:
He then told me that he had been writing a
book, which he intended to have printed, the avails of which he thought would
enable him to pay all his debts.
The book was entitled the “Manuscript Found,” of which he
read to me many passages. It was an
historical romance of the first settlers of America, endeavoring to show that
the American Indians are the descendants of the Jews, or the lost tribes. It gave a detailed account of their
journey from Jerusalem, by land and sea, till they arrived in America, under
the command of NEPHI and LEHI. They
afterwards had quarrels and contentions, and separated into two distinct
nations, one of which he denominated Nephites, and the other Lamanites. Cruel and bloody wars ensued, in which
great multitudes were slain. They
buried their dead in large heaps, which caused the mounds so common in this
country. Their arts, sciences and
civilization were brought into view, in order to account for all the curious
antiquities found in various parts of North and South America. I have recently read the “Book of
Mormon,” and to my great surprise, I find nearly the same historical
matter, names, etc., as they were in my brother’s writings. I well remember that he wrote in the old
style, and commenced about every sentence with “and it came to
pass,” the same as in the “Book of Mormon,” and according to
the best of my recollection and belief, it is the same as my brother Solomon
wrote, with the exception of the religious matter. By what means it has fallen into the
hands of Joseph SMITH, Jr., I am unable to determine.
JOHN SPALDING.
Mr. Henry LAKE, of Conneaut, also
states:
I left the State of New York late in the year 1810,
and arrived at this place the 1st of January following. Soon after my arrival I formed a
copartnership with Solomon
Page 39
Top Picture
Drawn by Henry Howe in 1846
VIEW IN PAINESVILLE.
The Public Buildings on the
left face the south end of the Public Square.
Bottom Picture
Geo. W. Barnard, Photo., Painesville, 1886
VIEW IN PAINESVILLE.
The Public Square and
Soldiers’ Monument are shown in the distance.
Page 40
SPALDING, for the purpose of rebuilding a
forge which he had commenced a year or two before. He very frequently read to me from a manuscript
which he was writing, which he entitled the “Manuscript Found,” and
which he represented as being found in this town. I spent many hours in hearing him read
said writings, and became well acquainted with its contents. He wished me to assist him in getting
his production printed, alleging that a book of that kind would meet with a
rapid sale. I designed doing so,
but the forge not meeting our anticipations, we failed in business, when I
declined having anything to do with the publication of the book. This book represented the American
Indians as the descendants of the lost tribes, gave an account of their leaving
Jerusalem, their contentions and wars, which were many and great. One time, when he was reading to me the
tragic account of Laban, I pointed out to him what I considered an
inconsistency, which he promised to correct: but by referring to the
“Book of Mormon,” I find to my surprise that it stands there just
as he read it to me then. Some
months ago I borrowed the Golden Bible, put it into my pocket, carried it home,
and thought no more of it. About a
week after, my wife found the book in my coat pocket, as it hung up, and
commenced reading it aloud as I lay upon the bed. She had not read twenty minutes till I
was astonished to find the same passages in it that SPALDING had read to me
more than twenty years before, from his “Manuscript Found.” Since that, I have more fully examined
the said Golden Bible, and have no hesitation in saying that the historical
part of it is principally if not wholly taken from the “Manuscript
Found.” I well recollect
telling Mr. SPALDING that the so frequent use of the words “And it came
to pass,” “Now it came to pass,” rendered it ridiculous. SPALDING left here in 1812, and I
furnished him means to carry him to Pittsburg, where he said he would get the
book printed, and pay me. But I
never heard any more from him or his writings, till I saw them in the
“Book of Mormon.”
HENRY LAKE.
The testimony of six other
witnesses is produced in the work of Mr. HOWE, all confirming the main facts as
above given. As Mr. SPALDING was
vain of his writings, and was constantly showing them to his neighbors,
reliable testimony to the same general facts might have been greatly multiplied.
The disposition SPALDING made of his
manuscripts is not known. From
Conneaut SPALDING removed to Pittsburg, about the year 1813, remained there a
year or two, and from thence went to Amity, in the same State, where he died in
1816. His widow stated that, while
they resided at Pittsburg, she thinks that the “Manuscript found”
was once taken to the printing office of PATTERSON & LAMBDIN, but did not
know whether it was ever returned.
We again quote verbatim from the work of Mr. HOWE:
Having established the fact, therefore,
that most of the names and leading incidents contained in the Mormon Bible
originated with Solomon SPALDING, it is not very material, as we conceive, to
show the why and manner by which they fell into the hands of the SMITH
family. To do this, however, we
have made some inquiries.
It was inferred at once that some light
might be shed upon the subject, and the mystery revealed, by applying to
PATTERSON & LAMBDIN, in Pittsburg.
But here again death had interposed a barrier. That establishment was dissolved and
broken up many years since, and LAMBDIN died about eight years ago. Mr. PATTERSON says he has no
recollection of any such manuscript being brought there for publication,
neither would he have been likely to have seen it, as the business of printing
was conducted wholly by LAMBDIN at that time. He says, however, that many manuscript
books and pamphlets were brought to the office about that time, which remained
upon their shelves for years, without being printed or even examined. Now, as SPALDING’Sbook can nowhere
be found, or anything heard of it after being carried to this establishment,
there is the strongest presumption that it remained there in seclusion, till
about the year 1823 or ‘24, at which time Sidney RIGDON located himself
in that city. We have been credibly
informed that he was on terms of intimacy with LAMBDIN, being seen frequently
in his shop. RIGDON resided in
Pittsburg about three years, and during the whole of that time, as he has since
frequently asserted, abandoned preaching and all other employment, for the
purpose of studying the Bible. He left there, and came into the county
where he now resides, about the time LAMBDIN died, and commenced preaching some
new points of doctrine, which were afterwards found to be inculcated in the
Mormon Bible. He resided in this
vicinity for about four years previous to the appearance of the book, during
which time he made several long visits to Pittsburg, and perhaps to the
Susquehanna, where SMITH was then digging for money or pretending to be
translating plates. It may be
observed also, that about the time RIGDON left Pittsburg, the SMITH family
began to tell about finding a book that would contain a history of the first
inhabitants of America, and that two years elapsed before they finally got
possession of it.
We are, then, led to this conclusion:–that
LAMBDIN, after having failed in business, had
Page 41
recourse to the old manuscripts then in
his possession, in order to raise the
wind, by a book speculation, and placed the “Manuscript Found,”
of Solomon SPALDING, in the hands of RIGDON, to be embellished, altered, and
added to, as he might think expedient; and three years’ study of the
Bible we should deem little time enough to garble it, as it is transferred to
the Mormon book. The former dying,
left the latter the sole proprietor, who was obliged to resort to his wits, and
in a miraculous way to bring it before the world; for in no other manner could such
a book be published without great sacrifice. And where could a more suitable
character be found than Jo SMITH, whose necromantic fame of arts and of
deception had already extended to a considerable distance? That LAMBDIN was a person every way
qualified and fitted for such an enterprise we have the testimony of his
partner in business and others of his acquaintance. Add to all these circumstances the
facts, that RIGDON had prepared the minds in a great measure of nearly a
hundred of those who had attended his ministration, to be in readiness to
embract the first mysterious ism that
should be presented–the appearance of COWDERY at his residence as soon as
the book was printed–his sudden conversion, after many pretensions to
disbelieve it–his immediately repairing to the residence of SMITH, 300 miles
distant, where he was forthwith appointed an elder, high priest, and a scribe
to the prophet–the pretended vision that his residence in Ohio was the
“promised land,”–the immediate removal of the whole SMITH
family thither, where they were soon raised from a state of poverty to
comparative affluence. We,
therefore, must hold out Sidney RIGDON to the world, as being the original
“author and proprietor” of the whole Mormon conspiracy, until
further light is elicited upon the lost writings of Solomon SPALDING.
When the main body of the Mormons
left Kirtland the family of Mr. and Mrs. STRATTON held the key of the temple
and claimed to have a title to it.
A few years since a body calling themselves the “Reorganized
Church of Latter Day Saints” returned to Kirtland and laid claim to the
old deserted temple. Mr. George A.
ROBERTSON, writing of this society, says:
This new body is aggressive, dogmatical,
earnest. Its missionaries go forth
into all regions and preach the gospel to the lowly. They returned four years ago [1883] and
laid claim to the old deserted temple.
Mrs. Electa STRATTON still held the key. A few dollars expended in renovating
made the old building a presentable structure, as good or better than the
ordinary country church. The
“Reorganized” branch laid claim to the property and have obtained
at length a clear title to it.
Kirtland, which for fifty years has been stranded away from the beaten
routes of travel, is again having a “boom.” It is the Mecca of a church. It is the centre of a conference, and
here resides one of the principal bishops.
The conference which has just closed its
sessions here is the largest ever held by the denomination. Its deliberations were participated in
by all the prominent men of the church, and near its close Joseph SMITH II.,
the son and heir of the prophet, on whom the prophetic mantle fell, delivered
an important revelation from the spirit.
These anti-polygamous Mormons are growing
in the estimation of the public.
Barring their alleged fanaticism and their faithful belief in Joseph
SMITH as a prophet, they do not differ materially from other Christian
sects. They very strenuously oppose
the use of liquor or tobacco, and are particular about the observance
ordinances of the New Testament as they understand them. They are certain to take no mean place,
so far as membership goes, in the denominations of the world.
Painesville
in 1846.–Painesville,
the county-seat, and the largest village between Cleveland and Erie, Pa., is
thirty-one miles east of Cleveland, and one hundred and seventy miles northeast
of Columbus. The Grand river skirts
the village on the east, in a deep and picturesque valley. Painesville is one of the most beautiful
villages in the West: it is somewhat scattered, leaving ample room for the
cultivation of gardens, ornamental trees and shrubbery. A handsome public square of several
acres, adorned with young trees, is laid out near the centre of the town, on
which face some public buildings and private mansions. The view represents the principal public
buildings in the place. The first
on the left is the Methodist church; the building next, without a spire, tower
or cupola, is the Disciples church; the one beyond, the Presbyterian church,
and that most distant, the court-house: these last two front the west side of
the public square. Painesville is a
flourishing town, containing 1 Episcopal, 1 Presbyterian, 1 Disciples and 1
Methodist church, 14 mercantile stores, 1 flouring mill, 1 bank, 1 newspaper
printing office, and has increased since 1840, when it had 1,014
Page 42
inhabitants. The Painesville Academy is a classical
institution for both sexes, and in fine repute: a large brick building is
appropriated for its uses. Near the
town is the Geauga furnace, which employs a heavy capital.
Painesville was laid out about
the year 1805, by Henry CHAMPION, and originally named Champion: it was
afterwards changed to that of the township which derived its name from Gen. Ed.
PAINE, a native of Connecticut, an officer of the Revolution, and an early
settler: he died only a few years since, at an advanced age, leaving the
reputation of a warm hearted and excellent man.
Among the aborigines familiarly
known to the early settlers at Painesville, was a fine specimen of manhood,
called by the whites, Seneca; by the Indians Stigwanish, which being rendered in English, signifies the Standing
Stone. Says an old pioneer, in the
Barr MSS:
Whoever once saw him, and could not at
once perceive the dignity of a Roman senator, the honesty of Aristides and the
philanthropy of William PENN, must be unacquainted with physiognomy. He was never known to ask a donation,
but would accept one exactly as he ought, when offered. But it was not suffered to rest there;
an appropriate return was sure to be made, and he would frequently be in
advance. He drank cider or Malaga
wine moderately, but was so much of a teetotaller, as to have abjured ardent
spirits since the time when, in a drunken frenzy, he aimed a blow with his
tomahawk at his wife, which split the head of the papoose on her back. He seldom wanted credit in his trading
transactions, and when he did, there was no difficulty in obtaining it, as he
was sure to make punctual payment in specie. Once, when himself and wife dined with
us at Painesville, he took much trouble to instruct her in the use of the knife
and fork. Vain attempt! his usual politeness forsook him, and
bursts of immoderate laughter succeeded, in which we were all compelled to
join. The last time I saw
Seneca–the fine old fellow–was at Judge WALWORTH’S in
Cleveland, a short time before hostilities commenced with Great Britain. He expressed to me a fear that war was
inevitable, and that the Indians, instigated by the British, would overwhelm
our weak settlements; but gave the strongest assurances that if it should be
possible, he would give us seasonable notice. If he was not prevented by age or
infirmities from redeeming his pledge, he was probably killed by his own people
while endeavoring to leave their lines, or by some of ours, through a mistake
of his character.
The Hon. Samuel HUNTINGTON, who
was Governor of the State from 1808 to 1810, resided at Painesville in the
latter part of his life, and died there in 1817. Prior to his removal to Painesville, he
resided at Cleveland. One evening,
while travelling towards Cleveland from the east, he was attacked about two
miles from the town, by a pack of wolves, and such was their ferocity that he
broke his umbrella to pieces in keeping them off, to which, and the fleetness
of his horse, he owed the preservation of his life.–Old Edition.
PAINESVILLE, county-seat of Lake,
is 150 miles northeast of Columbus, twenty-nine miles northeast of Cleveland,
on the L. S. & M. S., N. Y. C. & St. L. and P. P. & F.
Railroads. Fairport Harbor is about
two miles north of the city.
County Officers: Auditor, Walter
C. TISDEL; Clerk, John C. WARD; Commissioners, Charles A. MOODEY, Stephen B.
BAKER, Henry C. RAND; Coroner, Henry M. MOSHER; Infirmary Directors, Benjamin
H. WOODMAN, John W. CROCKER, Charles M. THOMPSON; Probate Judge, George H.
SHEPHERD; Prosecuting Attorney, Homer HARPER; Recorder, Henry B. GREEN;
Sheriff, Albert BUTTON; Surveyor, Horatio N. MUNSON; Treasurers, Harcy
ARMSTRONG, William D. MATHER.–State
Report, 1888.
City Officers: S. K. GRAY, Mayor; H. P.
SANFORD, Clerk; A. D. CROFUT, Marshal; S. L. THOMPSON, Treasurer; S. T.
WOODMAN, Chief of the Fire Department; Horace ALVORD, Solicitor. Newspapers: Advertiser, Republican, Robert N. TRAVERS, editor and publisher; Democrat, Democratic, D. G. MORRISON,
editor; Northern Ohio Journal,
Democratic, James E. CHAMBERS, editor; Telegraph,
Republican, J. F. SCOFIELD, editor.
Churches: 1 Catholic, 1 Episcopal, 1 Baptist, 1 Disciples, 1 Methodist. Banks: Lake County, Aaron WILCOX &
Co.; Painesville
Page 43
National, I. P. AXTELL,
president, C. D. ADAMS, cashier; Painesville Saving and Loan Association, H.
STEELE, president, R. K. PAIGE, cashier.
Manufactures and Employees.–COE & WILKES, machine work, 21 hands; The Paige
Manufacturing Co., machine work, 48; Solon Hall, iron castings; R. LAROE, sash,
doors, etc.; Painesville Manufacturing Co., window shade rollers, 26; Moody
& Co., flour, etc.; S. BIGLER & Co., flour, etc.; SWEZEY & JOHNSON,
butchers’ skewers, 43; Geauga Stove Co., stoves.–State Report, 1888.
Population in 1880, 3,841. School census, 1888, 1,121. G. W. READY, school superintendent. Capital invested in industrial establishments,
$232,000. Value of annual product,
$340,500.–Ohio Labor Statistics,
1888.
Census, 1890, 4,612.
An interesting fact in connection
with Painesville is that here is located the “LAKE ERIE FEMALE
SEMINARY,” an institution of high repute. Its site is on the border of the town,
in the midst of its finest residences.
The seminary buildings are large and imposing, and placed on an
attractive lawn of noble trees.
Fairport in 1846.–Three
miles below Painesville, at the mouth of Grand river, is Fairport, laid out in
1812, by Samuel HUNTINGTON, Abraham SKINNER, Seymour and Calvin AUSTIN, and
Simon PERKINS. The first warehouse
in this region, and perhaps on the lake, was built about 1803, on the river,
two miles above, by Abraham SKINNER, near which in the dwelling of Mr. SKINNER,
the first court in the old county of Geauga was held. Fairport has one of the best harbors on
the lake, and so well defended from winds and easy of access that vessels run
in when they cannot easily make other ports. The water is deep enough for any lake
craft, and about $60,000 has been expended in improving the harbor by the
general government. Lake steamers
stop here and considerable commerce is carried on. Fairport contains eight forwarding
houses, several groceries, from twenty to forty dwellings and a light-house,
and a beacon to guide the mariner on the fresh water sea.
Richmond, one mile above
Fairport, on the opposite and west side of the river, was laid out about ten
years ago in the era of speculation.
A large village was build, a steamboat was owned there, and great things
promised. Not having the natural
elements of prosperity it soon waned; some of its dwellings were removed to
Painesville, while many others, deserted and decaying, are left to mark the
spot.–Old Edition.
In 1835 the Painesville and
Fairport Railroad Company was chartered, and in 1837 was running horse cars
over hard wood rail. In 1836 the
Fairport and Wellsville Railroad Company was chartered, and in fifteen days
$274,800 stock subscriptions were made.
Other railroads were projected and Fairport’s prospects were
booming, when the panic of 1836-37 came on and the boom burst. At one time Fairport, with contiguous
towns and territory, was considered a rival of Cleveland, but the latter
secured the terminus of the Ohio canal, early railroad connections, and
Fairport ceased to be a rival at a very early day.
The wonderful development,
however, of the lake commerce within the past few years has again attracted
attention to the natural advantages of Fairport as a shipping point to and from
the great Northwest. In view of
this a communication from Mr. George E. PAINE, setting forth the present
condition of affairs, with a prediction
for the future, will be of interest:
“Before December, 1889, over 8,000
feet of new docks will be completed at Fairport and Richmond, equal to the best
on the lakes, and equipped with the very best machinery for handling ore and
coal; and elevators for handling Duluth wheat, with warehouses for the rapidly
growing Northwestern trade, will soon be built, to be used by the Baltimore and
Ohio Railroad, the distance by rail from Fairport via Pittsburg to Baltimore
being less than the distance by rail from Buffalo to New York.
“Grand river, with its old river bed extending
westward five miles, affords in all sixteen miles of water front, with flats
and bayous, into which slips can be cut to any desired extent, making hundreds
of acres of land accessible alike to vessels and cars, avail-
Page 44
Top Picture
John Garfield
Bottom Picture
Barnard, Photo., 1887.
LAWNFIELD.
Page 45
able for ore and coal docks, lumber yards,
warehouses and elevators, iron mills and factories of all kinds, which require
large quantities of iron, steel and wood.
And this harbor, with its wonderful natural advantages, can be reached
by railroads from the Mahoning valley at Niles, Ohio, and from the Shenango
valley, just above Sharpsville, Pa., on maximum grades not to exceed thirty
feet per mile either way, with no costly bridges or earthwork. There is no other direct route for a
railroad from the Shenango and Mahoning valleys to any other lake port at less
than seventy-eight feet maximum grade per mile.
“Many now living will see Grand
river valley, from ‘New Market” to ‘Mentor Marsh’ (the
mouth of the old river bed), a distance of eight miles, covered with ore, coal
and lumber docks, iron mills, elevators and warehouses, and crowded with
steamers, vessels and tugs.
“And the prediction is now made that
the Grand river valley, including the old river bed in Mentor, will become the
centre of the greatest iron and steel manufacturing district in the world,
within the next hundred years, as the best iron ores in the world and the best
fuel of all kinds will meet there at the cheapest average rates; and when made
into iron and steel, and the ten thousand forms of finished goods required by
the civilized world, the shipping facilities by water and by railroad to all
parts of the globe, taken altogether, will be surpassed by no other
manufacturing locality, domestic or foreign.”
BIOGRAPHY.
JAMES ABRAM GARFIELD, twentieth
president of the United States, was born in Orange, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, Nov.
19, 1831, and died in Elberon, N. J., Sept. 19, 1881. His father, Abram GARFIELD, was a native
of New York and of English Puritan ancestry. His mother, Eliza BALLOU, was born in
New Hampshire and was of Huguenot descent.
In 1830 Abram GARFIELD removed to
the “Western Reserve,” to found a home for himself and family in the
then “wilderness.”
Shortly after settling here he died of a sudden attack of fever, and
left his wife with four small children.
With grand courage and fortitude, the self-sacrificing mother fought
against poverty and privation, impressing upon her four children a high
standard of moral and intellectual worth.
At three years of age James
GARFIELD commenced his education in a log hut. From this time on he attended such
schools as the district afforded, working at manual labor betimes at home and
on the farms of neighbors. He
seized with avidity upon all books that came within his reach, and early
developed a habit of voluminous reading that remained with him through
life. The Bible and American
history were especially familiar to him.
One book of sea tales, which he read while a boy, filled him with an
intense desire for the sea, and at sixteen years of age he tried to ship as a
sailor on a Lake Erie schooner at Cleveland, but failing in this, he drove for
a canal boat for some months, from
the coal mines of Governor TOD at Brier Hill to Cleveland.
At this time Governor TOD, having
occasion to visit the boat one Sunday, found all the hands playing cards,
except young GARFIELD, who was seated in the forward part of the boat studying
United States history. An anecdote
of one of his canal boat experiences shows that at this time he was, as in
after life, of strong physique, courageous, manly and generous. He had offended one of the canal
boatmen, a great hulking fellow, who started to thrash him. Dave rushed upon him, with his head
down, like an enraged bull. As he
came on, Garfield sprang to one side, and dealt him a powerful blow just back
of and under the left ear. Dave
went to the bottom of the boat, with his head between two beams, and his now
heated foe went after him, seized him by the throat, and lifted the same
clenched hand for another buffet.
“Pound the d–d fool to death, Jim,” called the
appreciative captain. “If he
haint no more sense than to get mad at an accident, he orto die.” And as the youth hesitated, “Who
don’t you strike? D–n
me, if I’ll interfere.”
He could not. The man was
down, helpless, in his power. Dave
expressed regret at his rage.
GARFIELD gave him his hand, and they were better friends than ever.
In the winter of 1849-50 he attended Geauga
Seminary at Chester, Ohio practicing the trade of carpenter during vacations,
helping at harvesting, teaching
Page 46
school, and doing whatever came
to hand to pay for his schooling.
At Chester he first met Miss Lucretia RUDOLPH, a school teacher, who
became his wife, Nov. 11, 1858, at which time he was President of Hiram
College. Of this marriage four sons
and one daughter were living in 1887.
His early training was strongly
religious, his mother being a staunch Campbellite, and while at Chester he was
baptized and received into that denomination.
In 1851 he entered Hiram College;
three years later entered Williams College, from which he graduated in 1856
with the highest honors of his class.
He than returned to Ohio as a teacher of Latin and Greek at Hiram
College and a year later was made its president.
While acting in the capacity of a
very successful educator, he entered his name as a student-at-law in the office
of Williamson & Riddle, of Cleveland, Ohio, although studying in Hiram, and
in 1858 was admitted to the bar. A
year later, without solicitation on his part, he was elected to the Ohio
Senate.
In this new field his industry
and versatility were conspicuous.
He made investigations and reports on geology, education, finance and
parliamentary law; and although at this time it was not believed that the South
would take up arms, he was somewhat apprehensive, and gave especial study to
the militia system of the State.
The war came, and in August,
1861, he was commissioned lieutenant-colonel in the Forty-second Ohio Volunteer
Infantry.
We give a chronological record of
GARFIELD’S career; to give anything like a full sketch would exceed the
limitations and scope of our work.
His life, however, is such a remarkable example of what may be
accomplished by honest, persistent endeavor, by those of the most humble origin
and surroundings, that it should be studied in its details by every child in
the land:
1831.Nov..
19, born at Orange, Cuyahoga county, Ohio.
1848. Drives
for a canal boat.
1849-50 Attends
Geauga Seminary, where he meets Miss Lucretia RUDOLPH, his future wife. Is baptized and received into the
Disciples Church.
1851. Enters
Hiram College as a student.
1854. Enters
Williams College.
1856. Graduates
from Williams College with the highest honors of his class. Returns to Ohio, to teach Greek and
Latin in Hiram College.
1857. Is
made president of Hiram College.
Preacher in the Disciples Church.
1858. Nov.
11, is united in marriage with Miss Lucretia RUDOLPH, at Hudson, Ohio.
1859. Admitted
to the bar by the Supreme Court at Columbus. Elected to the Ohio Senate.
1861. In
August commissioned lieutenant-colonel in the Forty-second Ohio
Volunteers. In December reports to
Gen. BUELL, in Louisville, Ky.
1862. Out-generals
Gen. MARSHALL and, re-enforced by Generals GRANGER and SHELDON, defeats
MARSHALL at Middle Creek, Ky., January, 10. In recognition of this service is
commissioned brigadier-general.
April 7, takes aprt in the second day’s fight at Shiloh. Engaged in all the operations in front
of Corinth. In June rebuilds
bridges on Memphis and Charleston Railroad. July 30, returns to Hiram from ill
health. Sept. 25, on court-martial
duty at Washington, and on Nov. 25, assigned to the case of Gen. Fitz-John
PORTER.
1863. In
Feb. returns to duty in the Army of the Cumberland, and made chief of staff
under Gen. ROSECRANS. At the battle
of Chickamauga, Sept. 19, GARFIELD volunteered to take the news of the defeat
on the right to Gen. Geo. H. THOMAS, who held the left of the line. It was a bold ride, under constant fire;
but he reached THOMAS and gave the information that saved the Army of the
Cumberland. For this was made major-general. Dec. 3, resigns from the army to take
seat in Congress, to which he had been elected fifteen months previously.
1864. Jan.
14, delivers first speech in Congress.
Placed on Committee on Military Affairs.
1865. Jan.
13, discusses constitutional amendment to abolish slavery. Changed from Committee on Military
Affairs to Ways and Means Committee.
April 15, delivers from the balcony of the New York
Custom House, to a mob frenzied by the news of President LINCOLN’s death,
the following speech:
“Fellow-citizens: Clouds and darkness are around
him; his pavilion is dark waters and thick clouds; justice and judgment are the
establishment of his throne; mercy and truth shall go before his face! Fellow-citizens: God
Page 47
Barnard, Photo, 1887
GARFIELD’S STUDY AT LAWNFIELD
The room and its objects are
just as left by him where last there.
Page 48
reigns, and the Government at Washington lives!”
1866. In
March made his first speech on public debt, foreshadowing resumption of specie
payments.
1867. Made
Chairman of Committee on Military Affairs.
1869-71. Chairman
of new committee of Forty-first Congress on Banking and Currency.
1871-75. Forty-second
and Forty-third Congresses, Chairman of Committee on Appropriations.
1875. Member
of Ways and Means Committee. (House
Democratic, Forty-fourth, Forty-fifth and Forty-sixth Congresses.)
1877. Chosen
member of Presidential Electoral Commission.
1880. January
13, elected to United States Senate.
April 23, delivers last speech in House of Representatives. June 8, nominated for the presidency. Nov. 2, elected President.
1881. March
23, nominates William H. ROBERTSON to be Collector of the Port of New
York. May 5, withdraws all New York
nominations. May 16, Senators
CONKLING and PLATT resign. May 18,
Collector ROBERTSON confirmed. July
2, shot by GUITEAU. Sept. 6, taken
to Elberon, N. J. Sept. 19, died of blood-poisoning from pistol-shot
wound. Sept. 21, remains carried to
Washington. Sept. 22 and 23,
remains lie in state in rotunda of Capitol.
1882. Sept.
26, remains placed in Lake View Cemetery at Cleveland, Ohio.
“GARFIELD’S tragic death,”
writes a biographer, “assures to him the attention of history. It will credit him with great services
rendered in various fields, and with a character formed by a singular union of
the best qualities, industry, perseverance, truthfulness, honesty, courage; all
acting as faithful servants to a lofty and unselfish ambition. Without genius, which can rarely do more
than produce extraordinary results in one direction, his powers were so many
and well trained that he produced excellent results in many. If history shall call GARFIELD great, it
will be because the development of these powers was so complete and
harmonious.”
The speeches of GARFIELD are almost a
compendium of the political history of the stirring era between 1864 and
1880. Said ex-President HAYES:
“Beyond almost any man I have known, he had the faculty of gathering
information from all sources and then imparting it to an audience in
instructive and attractive oratory.”
TRAVELLING NOTES.
A VISIT TO LAWNFIELD, THE GARFIELD HOME.
The home of the murdered President will
always be a place of melancholy interest.
Lawnfield is near the village of Mentor, twenty-two miles east of
Cleveland, about seven west of Painesville and three from the lake. It is a level, grassy region, from which
it derives its name.
On Tuesday morning, Sept. 28, 1886, I left
Painesville by the cars. Lawnfield
is over a mile from the Mentor depot, and, on arriving, I started directly
thither on foot, in a pouring rain and with no umbrella. I soon reached the Mentor school-house;
a plain brick building standing back from the road, with a grove in front. Half a dozen boys were in the doorway,
like so many flies, to get out of the rain. I went in for shelter and to inquire my
way.
THE HILARIOUS SCHOOL CHILDREN.
It was the noon recess. Some dozen boys and girls were in the
room and had disposed of their noon lunch, and seeing I was wet from the rain,
put in more wood in the box-stove and set a chair for me. As I was drying myself mid the roarings
of the burning wood, I looked around upon the children, who were full of
glee. One boy, dancing after a
girl, said, “I’ll put a head on you!” This seemed entirely superfluous; she
had a good head already. Another
called out, “To-morrow is Wiggins
day–the world is going to be destroyed! This was from a weather prediction of
WIGGINS, a Canadian crank.
Prophecies of the
end of the world, coming at certain dates, have been common in the past
centuries. The most notable prophet
of our time was William MILLER,
Page 49
a Baptist preacher, who began his predictions
in 1831 and had over 50,000 converts, who were called Millerites. They eventually formed a religious
denomination known as “The Second Adventists,” who believed that
the second appearance of Christ was then near at hand. In my town, about the time of the
expected fulfilment of one of the prophecies, one winter night, in the midst of
a heavy fall of snow, the heavens were lighted up with an ominous glow, and
every snow-flake came down lighted like a flake of fire; the like had not been
seen before, and many cheeks grew pale; not those of Black Milly, a pious old
negress, a great shouter at Methodist meetings. Next day, in telling of it, she said,
“I felt sure my blessed Jesus was a coming, and I got up and put on my
best clothes, and lighted my candles, and set my house in order and waited,
singing and praying, to give him a welcome; and oh, I was so happy!”
This unusual phenomena was occasioned by the
burning of paper-mills three miles away, and the snow-flakes being large and
moist reflected the light. In a
term of years, prior to each of these dates, several different times were set
by the prophet, as others had failed of being correct. Some of his adherents sold their
property, to get the free use of cash for the short time they felt they were to
stay here below. One of these went
to a neighbor to sell a young pig.
The latter demurred; “too young.” “No,” rejoined the
Millerite, “he’ll grow.”
“Not much; for, according to your belief, he will be roasted pig
altogether too soon for my use.”
Well dried and warmed, I arose to leave the
gleeful group, and as I opened the nearest door, an urchin behind me called
out, “You are going into the girls’ closet!” Sure enough, a little room, with bonnets
and wraps, opened to my vision.
Female paraphernalia is always interesting; and this sight of the
clothing of the innocents was not an exception.
CYRUS AND HIS GARFIELD FUND.
I inquired the way to Mrs. GARFIELD’S,
when one of the boys called out, “She’s got lots of
money.” “Yes, I knew
about how that came;” but did not pause to tell the lad what I tell here.
The death of President GARFIELD was a sad
shock to the nation, and as it was understood the widow and young family were
left in restricted circumstances, Cyrus W. FIELD, of Atlantic cable fame,
originated a popular subscription in their behalf. Happening to call upon him at that
juncture, I found this man of millions in a plainly furnished office, in a back
room on Broadway; a rather tall, slender old gentleman of sixty years; quick,
nervous, agile as a youth, kindly in manner, a rapid, voluble talker, bending
over to one as he talked, with the manner, “no matter who you are,
I’ll hear you; your wants are as great to you as mine are to me.” With him was a confidential clerk,
advanced in life, evidently a fossil from old England, for he had the cockney
dialect; and then at a side table sat a plainly-dressed boy of twelve,
apparently a German lad, and he attracted me. Before him was perhaps a half peck of
letters, just in by the mail, with contributions for the GARFIELD FUND. These the lad was opening, taking the
names of the donors, with the amounts from each, for publication in the next
day’s papers, and piling up the bills and checks. In a few days the fund amounted to over
$360,000, in sums from single contributors, varying from the single dollar to
the thousands; it came some from working people; some from millionaires. The money poured in so bounteously that
Mr. FIELD had to shut down receiving, and he so published.
It was about this
time or a little later that Mr. FIELD erected a monument to the British spy,
Major-Andre, on American sooil. He
did this out of his exuberance of good feeling to those “bloody
Britishers;” for they had allowed him to fasten one end of his big wire
rope around their tight little island, and then, what was more, loaned him
their biggest ship, the “Great Eastern,” to stow away the remainder
when she started for our shores, paying it out as she steamed until she
Page 50
reached our side. Whereupon their great man, John BRIGHT,
for his success, had called Cyrus the “Columbus of modern times, who, by
his cable, had moored the new world alongside the old.”
That compliment and fact made no difference,
and so one dark night some enterprising people, who had no stomachs yawning to
glorify the memory of a British spy, put under the monument on the North river
at least half an ounce of gunpowder, set a match to it; so, when the sun arose
next morning, it failed to catch any of its glowing rays. But the big rope still remains at the
bottom of the ocean, continually wagging at both ends, telling people on both
sides “what’s up.”
In this respect it is like old Mother Tucker, of Tuckerton, on the
Jersey coast, a great talker, of whom it was said, “her tongue hung in
the middle, and she talked with both ends.” This was the story I heard in my youth,
but I never believed so wonderful a thing could be done until this demonstration
of the cable of Cyrus.
LAWNFIELD, THE GARFIELD HOME.
I write the above for the benefit of the
Mentor children who may read it.
Five minutes after leaving them I was at the Garfield place. It is on a level spot, with broad green
fields in front and around, and an orchard in the rear. The buildings occupy much ground. The old GARFIELD home which fronts the
cluster is a wooden building; its entire front a vine-clad porch of say fifty
feet in length. Behind the cluster
is a small barn-like structure called the “Campaign Building.” During the GARFIELD campaign a bevy of
clerks were kept there busy mailing campaign documents, and from it telegraphic
wires extended over the Union up to the night of the election and victory.
A serving-man answered my ring. He had the exquisite suavity common to
his class–they outdo their lords.
I laid my card on his waiter.
He bowed and left, and soon returning, I was ushered into a sort of
double room. It was dark there; the
overhanging portico and the rainy, murky sky outside uniting to that end. The room and ceilings were low and I
could discern but little. Pictures
were on the walls, apparently old family portraits; but I could not tell male
from female, the place and day were so dark. The rooms around opened into each other,
and the interior seemed comfortable, old-fashioned and home-like.
As I sat there musing in the gloom, I
suddenly felt the presence of some one by my side. I looked up, and there stood a young man
of say twenty-five; slender, reticent, dark-eyed, hollow cheeks, olive
complexion–looked like a thinker.
It was Harry A. GARFIELD, the eldest of the sons. His mother was occupied with guests, and
Grandmamma GARFIELD was away. No
matter, it was business I was upon, and I arranged with him for my sending a
photographer to take some views, which are given. He subsequently gave me by letter the
items in the following paragraph:
The Mentor farm was purchased by Mr. GARFIELD
about the year 1877. His idea was
to eventually run the farm into cattle, raising good stock upon it, etc.; and
this is what the family are now trying to carry out. The house was originally a story and a
half high. In 1880 a story and a
larger piazza were added. In 1885
Mrs. GARFIELD added to the modest frame house of her husband a palatial
“Queen Anne structure of stone.” It was in accordance with an intent
expressed by Mr. GARFIELD while living, as a repository for his extensive
collection of books.
To the foregoing items I annex a published
description of that period, by a visitor who had a facile pen with which to
write, and a bright day in which to observe:
“The new part of the
GARFIELD mansion is behind and wholly subservient to the old house in which the
President lived. This still remains
the head and front of the GARFIELD home, although remodelled to conform with
the addition. There are probably
thirty rooms in both old and new houses.
They are all furnished in modern style and with considerable
elegance. Although the house is far
in the country it has all the conven-
Page 51
iences of a city home, in plumbing, gas-fitting and
steam-heating. A natural gas well
has been bored on the farm and the yard is kept lighted day and night. The main entrance is through the old
house. In the hall facing the door
is an old wall-sweep clock. To the
left is the smoking-room. To the
right is the old parlor, now a reception-room. Bibles and other books are upon the
tables, and the furniture is much the same as when the family left for
Washington.
To the left is a modest little room occupied by the
aged “Grandma” GARFIELD.
She is eighty-five, but a vigorous old lady yet, who reads her Bible
every day. Her room is modestly but
richly furnished, and the face of her son looks upon her from every side. A handsome fire-screen, with a transparency
of the dead, stands before the hearth.
A half dozen other portraits of him hang where the eye meets them at
every turn. Over the mirror of the
dresser is a picture of him as a young man, taken in 1852. On an opposite wall is a picture in colors
of the old pioneer home of the GARFIELD family. But the great relic of this room is the
last letter of the son to his mother, of which so many thousand fac-simile copies were sold. Here is the original:
WASHINGTON, Aug.
11, 1881.
DEAR MOTHER: Do
not be disturbed by conflicting reports of my condition. It is true I am still weak, but am
gaining every day, and need only time and patience to bring me through. Give my love to all the friends and
relatives, and especially Aunt Hetty.
Your
loving son,
JAMES A. GARFIELD.
There is less simplicity in other parts of the great
house. The paintings in the parlors
are works of art. But the one great
idea in this home is GARFIELD the father, GARFIELD the statesman. Pictures and busts of him are everywhere. On the stairway leading to the library
is an oil portrait of him, made in 1862, when he came from the war. Above it hang his swords. The library is the refuge-room. It is in the upper story of the new
part, and an ideal spot for rest or literary labor. There are about 2,000 volumes here
arranged for convenience. The
tables are loaded with art, books and magazines. Where there are walls above the books,
pictures of authors with their autographs attached are hung. The autographic portraits of BISMARCK
and GAMBETTA occupy prominent places.
With Mrs. GARFIELD live her father, Mr. RUDOLPH, a
brother and his family. A half
dozen men are employed on the farm, which consists of 160 acres.”
THREE OLD MEN AND THE MONEY-GRABBER.
On leaving the mansion it was still raining,
and I sought shelter in the post-office opposite the school-house. It was a small place. The postmaster, an elderly personage,
was behind the letters in his cage.
Three old men were seated out in front of the cage talking: the business
of life about wound up with them. I
told them where I had been, and then they were loud in the praises of the
GARFIELDS. Mrs. GARFIELD paid
generously the people who worked for her on her place; and as for Mr. GARFIELD,
in his lifetime, he was one of the most social, genial of spirits. One of them said, “He got me to
build him a manger, and he came down and watched the job; and I found he knew
more than I did about mangers. He
talked with everybody about their business; learned all they knew; added it to
what he knew, and then knew more than all the rest of us put together.”
I got back to the depot at three
o’clock. The cars were to
return at six. There was no
tavern. A sign, “Boarding
House,” was over the door of a two-story dwelling. I knocked and entered. Two ladies well along in the afternoon
of their earthly pilgrimage were there, with “their things on,”
ready to go out. I made known my
wants. One, a bright, cheery soul,
threw off her wraps, saying to her friend, “You go on; I’ll join
you soon; I’ll get his dinner.
I’m a money-grabber–I
want the two shillings.” Soon
I heard the stove roaring in the adjoining room, and in a trice my dinner was
ready–stewed chicken (poultry of her own raising), cold pork, vegetables,
fruits, apples, pears, grapes, pie and hot coffee, and on my part a relishing
appetite.
While I was at table she started the fire in
the box-stove in the room I was in, and it roared for my drying; for I was wet
through from knees down. Then she
left me to dry and cogitate; and hanging myself over two chairs, I smoked my
cigar and meditated, while the old clock ticked away the hours from its
wall-perch.
To the young waiting
is dreary; action and acquisition is their occupation. To the old the passing of time is as
nothing. The leaves of the book of
life are full, when memory glides in and turns over to their vision page after
page of the mor-
Page 52
tal panorama, made sacred in the dim hallowed
light of the vanished years. And
when the life has been imprinted with blessing thoughts and deeds, these
retrospective hours are as calming to the spirit as the mellow suffusing glow
of an autumnal sunset.
A WELL-FIXED PEOPLE.
The cars came. My cigar was in ashes, my clothes dry;
and I was done with Mentor. Three
hours later I was seated ruminating in a chair on the pavement in front of the
Stockwell House, Painesville. The
storm had passed; the stars looked down with their silent eyes, and my ears
were open. Two old men were sitting
near me in the darkness, sounding the praises of the Western Reserve; and they
both agreed. One of them was a
retired general officer of our army, over seventy years of age. He had lived in every part of our
country; at the far East and the far West; in Kansas and California; was
familiar with Canada and every part of the Mississippi valley. “Elsewhere,” said he,
“in places they produce larger single crops, some in corn, some in wheat,
and some grow more hogs; but here the soil is rich and of the nature that it
give a a wonderful variety of everything; grain, fruit, vegetables, etc.,
which, with the climate, makes it the choicest spot of our land.”
And he might have added a word more upon the
people, their general thrift and intelligence, fortified with the truthful
statement that the Reserve exceeds all other populations of equal number in the
amount of domestic correspondence, and books magazines and newspapers received
through the mails. This old veteran
who spake with such enthusiasm, was General R. B. POTTER, President of the
Military Commission before whom C. L VALLANDIGHAM was tried for treason. The old soldier has since that night
answered his last roll-call.
BIOGRAPHY.
JOHN FLAVIAL MORSE, born in Massachusetts in
October, 1801, removed with his father to Kirtland in 1816. He was a third time member of the Ohio
legislature in 1848, when, in connection with Dr. N. S. TOWNSHEND, he was
instrumental in the election of Salmon P. CHASE to the United States Senate,
and in the repeal of the Black Laws. (See Vol. I., page 100.) In 1851 he was Speaker of the Ohio house
of representatives; in 1860 elected to the State senate. In 1861 was captain of the Twenty-ninth
Ohio Volunteer Infantry. In 1862
Secretary CHASE offered him employment on the public buildings, in which service
he continued until 1876. Mr. MORSE
died January 30, 1884.
WILLIAM H. BEARD was born in Painesville,
April 13, 1825. He is famous for
his caricatures of the vanities and the foibles of men through the portrayal of
their prototypes in the animal kingdom.
He began his professional career about 1846 as a travelling portrait
painter. In 1856 visited and
studied in Europe. In 1860 settled
in New York city, and two years later was elected a member of the National
Academy.
His brother, JAMES H. BEARD, was born in
Buffalo, N. Y., in 1814, and then in infancy was brought to Painesville, where
he spent his boyhood days. Later
was for a number of years engaged in portrait and other painting in Cincinnati. In 1870 he settled permanently in New
York, and two years later was elected a full member of the National Academy, of
which he had been an honorary member since 1848. Of late years he has devoted himself to
animal painting, and has attained great eminence as an artist.
The works of the
brothers are largely permeated with the spirit of humor. James H. has several sons, all artists
of fine capacity. When in
Cincinnati James H. designed the engraving, for distribution by the Western Art
Union, entitled “Poor Relations.” A family of aristocratic dogs, consisting
of a mother dog, with her plump, well-fed pups, are in their parlor receiving
their poor relations, consisting of a mother dog, with her pups, lean and of a
half-starved look, who
Page 53
have just entered the door. The expressions of contempt and pride on
the faces of the first are in marked contrast with those of the visitors, whose
abject, crouching forms are pitiful to behold.
While in Cincinnati BEARD painted his
celebrated picture, “The Last Man,” which for a long term of years
has been hanging on the walls of the Burnet House there, and has been the
admiration of thousands of the guests of that famous hostelrie. The last man is the last victim of the
ancient flood, who awaits, on a crag, the closing in upon him of the angry
waters. His wife has perished, and
floats in the surges at his feet.
The rain still beats down from the black wind-tossed sky. The storm-pelted man knows his fate, and
awaits it with a stern sadness and a grand fortitude. Few paintings equal this as a dramatic
conception, and few arouse the same deep feeling by suggestion.
In the American
Magazine for December, 1889, is an article upon Mr. BEARD, by Leon ADAMS,
from which the following is derived.
It is entitled “The Apprenticeship of an Academician.” Mr. MEAD begins with an extraordinary
fact:
“James H. BEARD has devoted more than sixty
years to the art of painting, and has long been a member of the National
Academy of Design. He has painted
the portraits of some eminent personages, and, both as portrait
JAMES H. BEARD
painter and animal painter, has had numerous admirers
that have paid good prices for his productions; and yet, he has never had any
instruction in either drawing or color, has never studied the anatomy of either
man or beast, and has not had more than a year’s schooling in his
life. This career is a noteworthy
instance of how a strong natural bent will assert itself in spite of very
discouraging obstacles.”
Mr. BEARD was born in Buffalo. His father, James BEARD, a shipmaster on
the lakes, commanded the first brig that sailed on Lake Erie. His wife was the first white woman that
visited the post where Chicago now stands.
The subject of this sketch began to draw when he was a small boy, and
grew to manhood in Painesville, Ohio, and Cleveland. At sixteen he met at Painesville a
wandering sign and portrait painter, and concluded to try his own luck with the
brush. He found sitters who were
not very critical, and painted them in red, white and brown–the only
colors he could find at a cabinet-maker’s. He made his own implements, except the
brushes, and prepared his own canvas.
There was something about his pictures that rendered them a success, and
insured his popularity. At length
he visited Ravenna and painted a full-length portrait for ten dollars, a sum
that he considered munificent, for it cost him but $1.25 a week for his board,
lodging and washing at the Ravenna hotel.
From this time until he was eighteen BEARD was a
wanderer chiefly, and experienced many hardships. He reached Pittsburg, and saw for the
first time in his life a paved street and the wonders of an early Western
museum. A keelboat, on which he
worked his passage, brought him to this city. At Cincinnati he was paid off with the
rest of the hands, and within an hour after landing he parted with his friend,
the sign-painter, having determined to take a trip to Louisville. The deck passage was two dollars, but no
one came to collect his fare, and so he enjoyed a free sail, though it was not
his intention to defraud the steamboat company. Not knowing but that he was entitled to
them, he took his meals regularly in the cabin. At night, together with a young man who
had two blankets, he slept on a pile of pig iron. He spent a week wandering about
Louisville, adding several unimportant experiences to his budget, and then
returned to Cincinnati with about eight dollars in his pocket.
Putting on a bold face, BEARD
obtained work in Cincinnati as a chair painter who had had
“experience.” No one
ever discovered that he was not an experienced chair painter. During his leisure time he used to make
pencil drawings at the house where he boarded, of different things, and drop
them carelessly on the floor so that they would attract attention. The landlord possessed a strong, char-
Page 54
acteristic face, and BEARD drew him in uniform, he
being a colonel in the militia. The
young artist also dropped this drawing on the floor of his chamber. His chief ambition was to get to
painting portraits again. He thought this drawing would please the colonel, and
it did. In short, it led to
BEARD’S receiving a commission to paint the portraits of the colonel and
his entire family, consisting of five members, at five dollars a piece. With this work to occupy him, BEARD left
the chair factory and resumed his portrait painting. But the income was precarious, and he
was often “hard up.”
The article concludes as follows: Mr. BEARD was about
twenty-two when he married Miss Mary Caroline CARTER. Her father, Colonel CARTER, was a
river-trader. Soon afterwards he
went down the river, taking charge of one of the boats of his
father-in-law. Before reaching New
Orleans he confronted many dangers, and passed through many adventures with the
river pirates and dishonest traders.
On one of his trips to New Orleans Mr. BEARD stopped
at Baton Rouge, and painted a three-quarter length life-size portrait of Gen.
TAYLOR. At this time it was
generally conceded that TAYLOR would be nominated for the Presidency. One day, while at work on the portrait,
the artist said to his distinguished sitter, “General, I will vote for
you, but under protest. I never
knew you as a statesman, and I am not certain that a military man is qualified
for the office.” TAYLOR
replied, “You are right. I am
no more fit to be President than you are.
Don’t vote for me.”
Afterward Mr. BEARD made a copy of this portrait of Gen. TAYLOR, and
sold it to a gentleman who presented it to the city of Charleston. In 1840 he painted for the city of
Cincinnati a full-length portrait of Gen. Wm. Henry HARRISON.
Since 1863 he has devoted himself principally to
animal painting. His animal
pictures appeal to popular taste, being generally intended to tell a story,
humorous or pathetic, and the intention of the painter is easily
discernible. There is no better
example of his work in that line than “The Streets of New York,”
which he sold for $3,000.
Mr. BEARD, with a studio in New York, resides at
Flushing, L. I., where he is passing a serene old age, delighting his visitors
with some of the incidents of his varied experience. Well preserved, tall, erect, with a yellowish
grey beard and abundant white curly hair flowing down his shoulders, wherever
he appears he is a striking figure, picturesque and patriarchal.
We have spoken of the great suggestion in Mr.
Beard’s “The Last Man.”
One of his most recent paintings, “It’s Very Queer,
Isn’t It?” Is almost
equal to a dissertation on Darwinian theory. No one could ever tire of a picture
marked by such concentrated humor and philosophy. The contrasted skulls of the man and of
the monkey are a powerful illustration–but who can say of what?
This picture shows an old monkey, with the face of a
sage, seated in a chair in a meditative mood. On one side of him is the skull of a
man, on the other that of an ape.
It is evident that they have been a subject of study, and he is
pondering whether man came from the monkey or the monkey from the man.
GEORGE TRUMBULL LADD was born in Painesville,
Ohio, Jan. 19, 1842; graduated at Western Reserve College in 1864. He preached in Edinburgh, Ohio, for two
years. In 1879 was professor of
moral and intellectual philosophy in Bowdoin College. In 1881 was called to the chair of
philosophy in Yale College. The
same year the Western Reserve College conferred on him the degree of D. D. He is the author of “Doctrine of
Sacred Scripture” (New York and Edinburgh, 1883) and other publications.
THOMAS W. HARVEY was born in New Hampshire in
1821, and removed to Lake county when twelve years of age. He early developed a strong desire for a
good education, made a beginning under adverse circumstances, and through life
has been a hard student and able worker in the development of education in
Ohio. Prof. HARVEY is recognized as
one of the leading educators of the State.
He was for fourteen years superintendent of schools in Massillon, and
has served many years in a similar capacity at Painesville. He was three years State commissioner of
common schools. As a lecturer and
instructor he has a widespread reputation, and a number of valuable text-books
bear testimony to his ability as an author.
MADISON is eleven miles east of Painesville,
on the L. S. & M. S. R. R., and on the old stage route from Cleveland to
Buffalo, and a station on the Underground Railroad. The George HARRIS of “Uncle
Tom’s Cabin” was arrested here and rescued at Unionville. Newspaper: Monitor, Independent, F. A. WILLIAMS, editor and publisher. Bank: Exchange, L. H. KIMBALL,
president; A. S. STRATTON, cashier.
Churches: 1 Baptist, 1 Congregational, 1 Methodist Episcopal, 1
Catholic. Population, 1880,
793. School census, 1888, 197.
MENTOR is near Lake
Erie, six miles west of Painesville, on the L. S. & M. S.
Page 55
and N. Y. C. & St. L. Railroads. It has 1 Methodist Episcopal and 1
Catholic church. Population, 1880,
540. School census, 1888, 218.
Little Mountain is said to be about the highest point of
land on the Western Reserve. It is
seven miles south of Painesville; a small and abrupt eminence of about 200 feet
in height above the surrounding country, and can be seen from a far distance. It is much visited, and commands a
beautiful prospect of the adjacent country and Lake Erie, distant ten
miles. A cool breeze generally
blows from the lake to brace the nerves of the visitor, while around and below
the earth is clad in beauty.