OTTAWA COUNTY
Page 359
OTTAWA COUNTY was formed March 6, 1840, from Sandusky, Erie and Lucas counties. Ottawa, says Bancroft, is an Indian word, signifying “trader.” It was applied to a tribe whose last home in Ohio was on the banks of the Maumee. The surface is level, and most of the county is within the Black Swamp, and contains much prairie and marshy land. A very small portion of the eastern part is within the “fire-lands.” There were but a few settlers previous to 1830. The emigration from Germany after 1849 was large; and its population is greatly of that origin. Their farms are generally small but highly productive, the draining of the Black Swamp bringing into use the richest of land. On the peninsula which puts out into Lake Erie are extensive plaster beds, from which large quantities of plaster are taken. Upon it are large limestone quarries, extensively worked. Area about 300 square miles. In 1887 the acres cultivated were 60,922; in pasture, 16,311; woodland, 19,601; lying waste, 6,989; produced in wheat, 228,461 bushels; rye, 46,961; buckwheat, 101; oats, 223,003; barley; 22,134; corn, 505,787; meadow hay, 12,166 tons; clover hay, 5,226; potatoes, 41,237 bushels; butter, 265,064 lbs.; sorghum, 317 gallons; maple sugar, 460 lbs.; honey, 8,786; eggs, 184,174 dozen; grapes, 6,993,216 lbs. (largest in the State); wine, 320,534 gallons (largest in the State); apples, 43;783 bushels; peaches, 86,424; pears, 1,867; wool, 49,823 lbs.; milch cows owned, 3,523.—State Report, 1888. Limestone, 167,054 tons burned for lime, 261,085 tons burned for fluxing, 56,004 cubic feet of dimension stone, 16,333 cubic yards of building stone, 40,272 cubic yards for piers and protection purposes, and 3,534 cubic yards of ballast or macadam.—Ohio Mining Statistics, 1888.
School census, 1888, 7,338; teachers, 137. Miles of railroad track, 89.
Township And Census |
1840 |
1880 |
|
Township And Census |
1840 |
1880 |
Bay, |
231 |
509 |
|
Harris, |
318 |
2,515 |
Benton, |
|
2,712 |
|
Kelley’s Island, |
68 |
|
Carroll, |
262 |
1,697 |
|
Portage, |
357 |
2,094 |
Catawba Island, |
|
520 |
|
Put-in-Bay, |
|
1,222 |
Clay, |
176 |
3,616 |
|
Salem, |
108 |
2,683 |
Danbury, |
515 |
1,599 |
|
Van Rensselaer, |
27 |
|
Erie, |
196 |
595 |
|
|
|
|
Population in 1840 was 2,258; 1880, 19,762, of whom 12,793 were born in Ohio and 3,800 in the German Empire. Census, 1890, 21,974.
The first trial of arms in the war of 1812 in Ohio occurred in two small skirmishes on the peninsula between the Indians, September 29, 1812, and a party of soldiers, principally from Trumbull and Ashtabula counties, one of whom, then a lad of sixteen, was Joshua R. GIDDINGS.
What is known as the PENINSULA is a tract of land, a little less than thirty square miles in area, lying between Lake Erie and Sandusky bay, and attached to the mainland by a narrow neck near the Portage river. Its early settlers were
Page 360
from Danbury, Conn., and gave it the name of Danbury township. The western boundary of the Firelands cuts off a narrow strip of land on the west side of the township, though, as the township is now organized, the western line is that of the Firelands survey.
Catawba Island was organized as a separate township on the development of grape culture. It contains some 600 acres, situated north of the old Portage river bed, that stream now emptying into the lake some eight miles west of its original outlet, what is known as “The Harbors” being the old bed of the river. Catawba Island is connected with the mainland by a bridge over the west harbor.
Port Clinton in 1846.—Port Clinton, the county-seat, laid out in 1827, is 120 miles north of Columbus. It is situated on a beautiful bay, on the right bank of Portage river. It has a good harbor—in which is a light-house—and about sixty dwellings. It is about the only village in the county, and may ultimately be a place of considerable trade.—Old Edition.
PORT CLINTON, county-seat of Ottawa, is on Lake Erie at the mouth of Portage river, and about 110 miles north of Columbus, thirteen miles west of Sandusky, and thirty miles east of Toledo, on the L. S. & M. S. Railroad. County officers, 1888: Auditor, John H. BERLEMAN; Clerk, Wm. A. EISENHOUR; Commissioners, Alexander SCRYMAGER, Frederick HILLMAN, Henry ROFKAR Coroner, George W. WOODWARD; Infirmary Directors, Robert RICHARDSON, Henry RYER, Wm. C. LEWIS; Probate Judge, David R. McRITCHIE; Prosecuting Attorney, Charles I. YORK; Recorder, Frederick W. CAMPER; Sheriff, James BISNETT; Surveyor, Smith MOTLEY; Treasurer, Washington GORDON City officers, 1888: George R. CLARK, Mayor; Wm. BERTSCH, Clerk; John ORTH, Treasurer; Sigmund LEIMGRUBER, Marshal; Wm. BODENSTEIN, Sealer of Weights. Newspapers: Lake Shore Bulletin, Independent, A. W. COURCHAINE, editor and publisher; Ottawa County News, Democratic, George R. CLARK, editor and publisher; Ottawa County Republican, Republican, J. W. GRISIER, editor and publisher. Churches: one Catholic, one United Brethren, one Lutheran, one Methodist Episcopal. Bank: S. A. Margruder & Co., S. A. MAGRUDER, cashier.
Manufactures and Employees.—A. Spies & Co., doors, sash, etc., 6 hands; Seuyfert & Co., carriages, etc., 5; O. J. True & Co., flour, etc., 4; A. Couche & Co., saw mill, 10; Robert Hoffinger, flour, etc., 8.—State Report, 1887.
Population, 1880, 1,600. School
census, 1888, 546; John
McCONKIE, school superintendent. Capital invested in industrial
establishments,
$78,500; value of annual
product, $172,900.—Ohio
Labor Statiatics, 1887. Large fishing depots are
located here. Census, 1890, 2,049.
THE TRIAL OF BENNET G.
BURLEY AT PORT CLINTON.
This was an interesting trial involving the question of recognition of the Confederate States as a government de facto. It resulted from the arrest of Bennet G. Burley, one of the Johnson’s Island raiders. (See Erie County, Vol. I, p: 572.) Burley was tried in the Common Pleas Court at Port Clinton on the charge of robbery, in forcibly taking the watch of W. O. Ashley, the clerk of the steamer “Philo Parsons.”
In bar of proceedings was pleaded the fact that defendant was the authorized agent and acting under the directions of the Confederate government, in all that he did, and that he did nothing not warranted by the laws and usages of war. Judge John FITCH presiding, held that the Confederate States were, at the time named, a government de facto, exercising sovereignty, and being in a state of war with the Federal government; and hence the defendant could not be held amenable under the civil laws for acts performed under the authority of the Confederate government.
The Court cited, in support of such opinion, the fact that the United States had uniformly recognized the Confederate government as belligerent, and treated
Page 361
Top
Picture
OTTAWA COUNTY COURT-HOUSE, PORT
CLINTON.
Bottom
Picture
Drawn
by Henry Howe in
1886.
LIGHTHOUSE AND METHODIST CHURCH,
PORT
CLINTON.
Page 362
its soldiers and agents as
prisoners of war. The
Court, however, held that in case the jury should believe that the
taking of
Ashley’s watch was for the personal benefit of defendant, and
not in the
interest of the Confederate government, he was punishable under the
State laws.
The result was a disagreement of the jury, which stood, eight for
guilty and
four for not guilty. The case was understood to be without precedent,
and the
result was, accordingly, of general interest. The ruling of Judge Fitch
was
generally accepted as correct. These facts are from
Waggoner’s “History
of Toledo.”
That noted event in the late
war in the
Northwest—Perry’s victory—took place on
Lake Erie, only a few miles distant
from the line of Ottawa. A description of this action we annex, from
Perkins’ “Late War:”
Building a
Nag in the Wilderness.—At
Erie Commodore Perry was directed to prepare and
superintend a naval establishment, the object of which was to create
a superior force on the
lake. The difficulties of building a navy in the wilderness can only be
conceived by those who have experienced them. There was nothing at this
spot
out of which it could be built but the timber of the forest.
Shipbuilders,
sailors, naval stores, guns and ammunition were to be transported by
land, over
bad roads, a distance of 400 miles; either from Albany by the way of
Buffalo,
or from Philadelphia by the way of Pittsburg. Under all these
embarrassments,
by the lst of August,
1813, Commodore Perry had
provided a flotilla, consisting of the ships Lawrence and Niagara, of
twenty
guns each, and seven smaller vessels, to wit, one of four guns, one of
three,
two of two and three of one-in the whole fifty-four guns. While the
ships were
building the enemy frequently appeared off the harbor and threatened
their
destruction; but the shallowness of waters on the bar—there
being but five
feet-prevented their approach. The same cause which insured the safety
of the
ships while building,
seemed to prevent their being of
any service. The two largest drew several feet more water than there
was on the
bar. The inventive genius of Commodore Perry, however, soon surmounted
this
difficulty. He placed large scows on each side of the two largest
ships, filled
them so as to sink to the water edge, then attached them to the ships
by strong
pieces of timber, and pumped out the water. The scows then buoyed up
the ships
so as to pass the bar in safety. This operation was performed on both
the large
ships in the presence of a superior enemy.
The Fleet
Ready for Battle.—Having
gotten his fleet in readiness, Commodore Perry
proceeded to the head of the lake and anchored in Put-in-Bay, opposite
to and
distant thirty miles from Malden, where the British fleet lay under the
guns of
the fort. He lay at anchor here several days, watching the motions of
the
enemy, determined to give him battle the first favorable opportunity.
On the
10th of September, at sunrise, the British fleet, consisting of one
ship of
nineteen guns, one of seventeen, one of thirteen, one of ten, one of
three and
one of one—amounting to sixty-four, and exceeding
the Americans by
ten guns, under the command of Commodore Barclay, appeared off
Put-in-Bay,
distant about ten miles. Commodore Perry immediately got under way,
with a
light breeze at southwest. At 10 o’clock the wind hauled to
the southeast,
which brought the American squadron to the windward, and gave them the
weather-gauge. Commodore Perry on board the Lawrence,
then hoisted his Union Jack, having for a motto the dying words of
Capt.
Lawrence, “Don’t Give Up the Ship,” which
was received with repeated cheers by
the crew.
Awful
Silence.—He then
formed the line of battle, and bore up for the enemy, who at the
same time hauled his courses and prepared for action. The lightness of
the wind
occasioned the hostile squadrons to approach each other but slowly, and
prolonged for two hours
the solemn interval of
suspense and anxiety which precedes a battle. The order and regularity
of naval
discipline heightened the dreadful quiet of the moment. No noise, no
bustle
prevailed to distract the mind, except at intervals the shrill pipings of the
boatswain’s whistle, or a murmuring whisper
among the men who stood around their guns with lighted matches,
narrowly
watching the movements of the foe, and sometimes stealing a glance at
the
countenances of their commanders. In this manner the hostile fleets
gradually
neared each other in awful silence. At fifteen minutes after 11 a bugle
was
sounded on board the enemy’s headmost ship, Detroit, loud
cheers burst from all
their crews, and a tremendous fire opened upon the Lawrence from the
British
long guns, which, from the shortness of the Lawrence’s, she
was obliged to
sustain for forty minutes without being able to return a shot.
The Lawrence
Opens Fire.—Commodore
Perry, without waiting for the other ships,
kept on his course in such gallant and determined style that the enemy
supposed
he meant immediately to board. At five minutes before 12, having gained
a
nearer position, the Lawrence opened her fire, but the long guns of the
British
still gave them greatly the advantage, and the Lawrence was exceedingly
cut up
without being able to do but very little damage in return. Their shot
pierced
her sides in all directions, killing the men in the berth-deck and
steerage,
where the wounded had been carried to be dressed. One shot had nearly
produced
a fatal explosion. Passing through the light room it,
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knocked the snuff
of the candle into the
magazine. Fortunately, the gunner saw it, and had the presence of mind
immediately to extinguish it. It appeared to be the enemy’s
plan at all events
to destroy the commodore’s ship. Their heaviest fire was
directed against the
Lawrence, and blazed incessantly from all their largest vessels.
Commodore
Perry, finding the hazard of his situation, made all sail, and directed
the
other vessels to follow, for the purpose of closing with the enemy. The
tremendous fire, however, to which he was exposed soon
cut away every brace and bowline of the Lawrence, and she became
unmanageable.
The other vessels were unable to get up, and in this disastrous
situation she
sustained the main force of the enemy’s fire for upwards of
two hours, within
canister distance, though a considerable part of the time not more than
two or
three of her guns could be brought to bear on her antagonist. The
utmost order
and regularity prevailed during this scene of horror. As fast as the
men at the
guns were wounded they were carried below, and others stepped into
their
places. The dead remained where they fell until after the action. At
this
juncture the enemy believed the battle to be won.
The
Lawrence
a Mere Wreck.—The Lawrence was reduced to a
mere wreck; her deck was
streaming with blood and covered with the mangled limbs and bodies of
the
slain. Nearly the whole of her crew were either killed or wounded; her
guns
were dismounted and the commodore and his officers helped to work the
last that
was capable of service. At two Capt. Elliott was enabled, by the aid of
a fresh
breeze to bring his ship into close action in gallant style, and the
commodore
immediately determined to shift his flag on board that ship; and giving
his own
in charge to Lieut. Yarnell,
he hauled down his Union
Jack and, taking it under his arm, ordered a boat to put him on board
the
Niagara. Broadsides were levelled
at his boat and a
shower of musketry from three of the enemy’s ships. He
arrived safe and hoisted
his Union Jack, with its animating motto, on board the Niagara. Capt.
Elliott,
by direction of the commodore, immediately put off in a boat to bring
up the
schooners which had been kept back by the lightness of the wind. At
this moment
the flag of the Lawrence was hauled down. She had sustained the
principal force
of the enemy’s fire for two hours and was rendered incapable
of defence. Any further
show of resistance would have been a
useless sacrifice of the relies
of her brave and
mangled crew. The enemy were
at the same time so
crippled that they were unable to take possession of her, and
circumstances
soon enabled her crew again to hoist her flag.
Closing
in on
the Enemy.—Commodore
Perry now gave the signal to all the vessels for close action. The
small
vessels, under the command of Capt. Elliott, got out their sweeps and
made all
sail. Finding the Niagara but little injured the commander determined
upon the
bold and desperate expedient of breaking the enemy’s line; he
accordingly bore
up and passed the head of the two ships and brig giving them a raking
fire from
his starboard guns, and also a raking fire upon a large schooner and
sloop from
his larboard quarter at half pistol shot. Having gotten the whole
squadron into
action he luffed and and
laid his ship alongside of the British commodore. The small vessels
having now
got up within good grape and canister distance on the other quarter,
enclosed
the enemy between them and the Niagara, and in this position kept up a
most
destructive fire on both quarters of the British until every ship
struck her
colors.
“We have Met
the Enemy and They are Ours.”—The
engagement lasted about three
hours and never was victory more decisive and complete. More prisoners
were
taken than there were men on board the American squadron at the close
of the
action. The principal loss in killed and wounded was on board the
Lawrence,
before the other vessels were brought into action. Of her crew,
twenty-two were
killed and sixty wounded. When her flag was struck but twenty men
remained on
deck fit for duty. The loss on board of all the other vessels was only
five
killed and thirty-six wounded. The British loss must have been much
more
considerable. Commodore Barclay was dangerously wounded. He had lost
one arm in
the battle of Trafalgar. The other was now rendered useless by the loss
of a
part of his shoulder-blade; he received also a severe wound in the hip.
Commodore
Perry, in his official despatch,
speaks in the highest terms of respect and
commiseration for his wounded antagonist and asks leave to grant him an
immediate parole. Of Captain Elliott, his second in command, he says:
“That he
is already
so well-known to the
government that it would be almost superflous
to
speak. In this action he evinced his characteristic bravery and
judgment, and
since the close of it has given me the most able and essential
assistance.” The
bold and desperate measure of pressing forward into action with the
Lawrence
alone and exposing her to the whole fire of the enemy’s fleet
for two hours,
before the other ships could be got up, has been censured as rash and
not
warranted by the rules of naval war; but there are many seasons when
the
commander must rely more on the daring promptness of his measures than
on nice
calculations of comparative strength. Neither Bonaparte nor Nelson ever
stopped
to measure accurately the strength of the respective combatants. The
result is the
acknowledged and generally the best criterion of merit; and it should
not
detract from the eclat
of the successful commander
that his measures were bold and decisive.
Cowardly
Indians.—Two
days
after
the battle two Indian chiefs who had been selected for their skill as marksmen, and stationed in the
tops of the Detroit for the
purpose of picking off the American officers were found snugly stowed
away in
the hold of the Detroit. These savages, who had been
Page 364
accustomed to ships of
no greater magnitude
than what they could sling on their backs, when the action became warm
were so panic-struck at
the terrors- of the scene and the strange perils
that surrounded
them, that, looking at each other with amazement, they vociferated
their
significant “guonh”
and precipitately descended to the hold. In their British uniforms
hanging in
bags upon their famished bodies, they were brought before Commodore
Perry, fed
and discharged, no further parole being necessary to prevent their
afterwards
engaging in the contest.
Burial
of
Fallen Heroes.—The slain of the crews of both
squadrons were committed to
the lake immediately after the action. The next day the funeral
obsequies of
the American and British officers who had fallen were performed at an
opening
on the margin of the bay in an appropriate and affecting manner. The
crews of
both fleets united in the ceremony. The stillness of the weather, the
procession of boats, the music—the slow and regular motion of
the oars striking
in exact time with the notes of the solemn dirge—the mournful
waving of the
flags, the sound of the minute-guns from all the ships, the wild and
solitary
aspect of the place, gave to these funeral rites a most impressive
influence
and formed an affecting contrast with the terrible conflict of the
preceding
day. Then the people of the two squadrons were engaged in the deadly
strife of
arms; now they were associated as brothers to pay the last tribute of
respect
to the slain of both nations. Two American officers, Lieutenant BROOKS
and
Midshipman LAUB, of the Lawrence, and three British, Captain FINNIS and
Lieutenant STOKE, of the Charlotte, and Lieutenant GARLAND, of the
Detroit, lie
interred by the side of each other in this lonely place on the margin
of the
lake, a few paces from the beach.
This
interesting battle was fought
midway of the lake between the two hostile armies, who lay on the
opposite
shore waiting in anxious expectation its result. The allied British and
Indian
forces, to the amount of four thousand five hundred, under PROCTOR and
TECUMSEH, were at Malden ready, in case of a successful issue, to renew
their
ravages on the American borders.
TRAVELLING
NOTES. A
VISIT TO GIBRALTAR.
Gibraltar is a very
interesting islet. An
indentation in Put-in-Bay Island forms Put-in-Bay harbor. Gibraltar
lies within
the mouth of the indentation and only about a furlong from either
shore. It
contains eight acres and rises, a forest-clad rock, forty-five feet
above the
lake. It bears forty-eight different kinds of trees. When the autumnal
frosts
cover the leaves it rounds “up from the water as a huge bower
of beauty, and
sometimes when the air is calm the lake repeats the bower.
In the war of 1812 the island
was fortified. Perry’s
fleet sailed out from here six miles to a point three miles north of
Rattlesnake Island and there met the enemy.
An Island Castle.—The island is owned by Jay COOKE, and
every
year since the war era it has been his summer home. In 1864 and 1865 he
built
upon it his spacious castellated residence. Part
of the
materials for it were for a time in possession of the
Southern
Confederacy, the doors and window-casings. These were on board the
“Island
Queen” when she was captured by Beall,
“The Pirate of
Lake Erie.” Mr. COOKE was not on board and so escaped
molestation. But could they
have secured and held him and used his great financial talents in
their cause, it might
not have been among the great
variety of things “in the deep bosom of the ocean
buried.”
Upon the island Mr. COOKE has
erected a monument to
the memory of Commodore Perry with a suitable inscription, and near it
stands
mounted cannon, trophies of the victory. A lookout tower one hundred
and thirty
feet above the water gives a magnificent outlook. Some twenty beautiful
islands
and islets come under the eye from its summit, and these are largely
productive
in grapes, peaches, pears, quinces, apples and other fruits.
Tempering
Effect of Water.—It was on
the 20th of October that
by invitation I arrived at Gibraltar to pass a day with Mr. COOKE, and
at even
that late season the temperature of the lake air was so kindly that
lima beans
were still plucked for the table on Put-in-Bay Island, also cantaloupes
and
water melons; a few eatable peaches were lingering upon the trees,
which Mr.
COOKE gathered for my use when he took me over there on the succeeding
morning. Flowers
were also growing in
the open air, as roses, heliotropes, pansies,
Page 365
mignonettes, etc., and
might be for a month
to come, while thirty miles south on the mainland they had long been
overtaken
by frost; such was the tempering effect of surrounding water on the
atmosphere
of the island .
On the
island are about eight
hundred acres in grapes alone, the rest of the island mainly in other
fruit.
The yearly value from fruit and fishing for the people amounts to about
a
quarter of a million dollars. The population is about eight hundred.
Peaches do
remarkably well and also on the Peninsula. The making of fruit baskets
is an
important industry of this region. Peck baskets, wholesale, at about
thirty cents,
and half-bushel baskets at forty-two cents a dozen. When winter shuts
down here
it sometimes does it with so much vim that one can walk upon the ice
from the
Sandusky shore to that of Canada.
An
Enterprising Polar Bear.—The winter of 1813 was especially
severe; not
a square yard of open water that anybody knew of between the islands
and the
North Pole. Whereupon, as the story goes, a white polar bear of
enterprising
spirit started South on an exploring tour until he reached the
Peninsula,
opposite Sandusky, when he was discovered by our kind, who treated him
inhospitably, set upon him and carried off his fur coat. Poor bear!
Owning
an
Island.—There is something romantic in
that idea of having an island
all to one’s self, as Mr. COOKE has in Gibraltar.
Ex-President Hayes felt it
years ago when his children were young, for he bought, a mile or so off
the
Peninsula, a small island as a recreation ground for them, where they
could
camp out and go a-sailing and a-fishing. It is a very small affair, so
small one
might some day take a fancy to pick it up, slip it in his vest
pocket as he would his watch and walk off with it. It has a tiny
name—Mouse
Island—and it contains three acres.
When the war
closed Mr. COOKE had
his house finished. Being a Christian man he felt it was the
Lord’s work,
thinking all the time of the text, “Except the Lord build the
house they labor
in vain that build it.” So every summer for a term of ten
years he was wont in
gratitude to invite the Lord’s ministers to enjoy it with
him, generally
picking out poor men with but lean salaries.
A Christian
Plan.—His
plan was to invite ten at a time, and two of a kind—two
Methodists,
two Presbyterians, two Episcopalians, two Lutherans, etc., whom he
would keep
two weeks and then they would depart for a second ten. When each
departed he
passed over checks to make good their travelling
expenses to and fro. During their stay with him there was perfect
concord,
notwithstanding diverse theological beliefs. Of course, he took his
guests
sailing and fishing and their mutual enjoyment was huge. And sometimes
when
they sat down to the social meal there would lie on the platter for
their
regaling a magnificent white fish or bass that only an hour or two
before had
been sporting in the water not one hundred yards away from the dining
table.
The
Lover’s
Cave.—This rock of
Gibraltar has its
curiosities. The formation being limestone and one side a perpendicular
bluff
it has under it a cave into which a boat can go; it is called
“Lover’s Cave.”
Another is the “Needle’s Eye,” an arched
passage-way formed by an overhanging
rock and another coming up from the bottom of the lake. One spot on the
overhanging bluff is called “Perry’s
Lookout,” where Perry was wont to station
a sentinel to watch for the British fleet, and early one morning he
discovered
it near the Canada shore, whereupon he hoisted his anchors, sailed out
of the
bay and met them, much to their sorrow.
Painful
Suspense.—While the battle was in progress
the sound of
the guns was heard at Cleveland, about sixty miles away in a direct
line over
the water. The few settlers there were expecting the battle and
listened with
intense interest. Finally the sounds ceased. They waited for a renewal.
None
came; the lull was painful. Then they knew the battle was over; but the
result,
ah! that was the point.
One old fellow who had been
lying flat with his ear to the ground soon settled that point.
Springing up he
clapped his hands and shouted. “Thank God
! they are
whipped ! they are
whipped.”
“How
do you know?” the
others exclaimed.
“Heard
the big guns last
!”
Perry’s
guns were the heaviest.
Power
of
Impressibility—I
had not met Mr.
COOKE until this visit, and then I
felt as though I had always known him; that, indeed, he was a very old
friend.
There are some characters that have that power of friendly
impressibility and
don’t know it, and ought not to be blamed for having it. My
philosophy of the
matter is that it is the spirit of humanity and geniality that has got
them in
its full possession, and such would be miserable if they
couldn’t do good to
everybody and everything around them, and this shows in every act,
every word
that falls from their lips and every expression of countenance. How
those old
divines must have enjoyed his princely hospitality and winning, heartful ways.
Mr. COOKE
has a fine personelle. He is of the
blonde type, half an
inch less than six feet in stature and turns the scale at one hundred
and
ninety pounds. He is springy, alert in his movements and his mind acts
with alike alertness. He
has done a great work since that old
Indian chief OGONTZ carried him a small boy on his shoulders on the
streets of
Sandusky. Just
glance at it.
A
Remarkable
Career.—In the
sprint of 1839, when eighteen years old, he went East to seek his
fortune;
entered as a boy the banking-house of E. W. Clarke & Co.,
Philadelphia, the largest
domestic exchange and banking-house in the country. In a few months he
was
head-clerk; in his twentieth year had power of attorney to sign checks
for the
firm and at twenty-one was taken in as partner.
Page 366
Top
Picture
JAY
COOKE
Bottom
Picture
GIBRALTER,
FROM PUT-IN-BAY.
Page 367
And when the war ensured he was the
financial agent of
the Government; and his house of Jay Cooke & Co., of
Philadelphia with
branches in Washington, New York and London, did the greatest banking
business
the world has known. In
the year 1865 it
amounted to nearly three thousand millions of dollars.
In placing the United States bonds he spent
not less than a million of dollars in advertising and publications and
took all
risks. Being of
strong religious
convictions he feels as though he had been an instrument in the hands
of
Providence to provide the funds for putting down the Rebellion. And until there is
revealed the inner
financial history of that stupendous era, the nations will never know
how
greatly its salvation rests upon the financial genius and patriotism of
Jay
COOKE. But he
knows, and that is for his
the best part of it.
The Wine Islands.
The group of Islands in the western part of Lake Erie, sometimes called the “Wine Islands,” lie principally within the State of Ohio, but the largest island—Point Pelee—and a few of the smallest are British possessions. They are as follows:
Ross Island, alias South Bas, alias Put-in-Bay, |
Area |
1,500 acres. |
Floral Isle, alias Middle Bass,. . . . . . . . . . . . . |
″ |
750 ″ |
Isle St. George, alias North Bass,. . . . . . . . . . |
″ |
750 ″ |
Rattlesnake Isle,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
″ |
60 ″ |
Sugar Isle,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
″ |
30 ″ |
Strontian, alias Green Island,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
″ |
20 ″ |
Ballast,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
″ |
10 ″ |
Gibraltar,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
″ |
8 ″ |
Glacial, alias Starve Island,. . .. . . . . . . . .Area |
About |
2 ″ |
Buckeye,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ″ |
″ |
2 ″ |
The above are the islands forming Put-in-Bay township, Ottawa county. Besides these are Mouse, a small island off Scott’s Point, belonging to Ex-President Hayes; Kelley’s Island, belonging to Erie county (see Vol. I, page “5); Gull, a small island, just north of Kelley’s and West Sister’s Island, some eighteen miles west of North Bass. North of the National boundary are Point Pelee Island, Middle Island, the small group known as Hen and Chickens, and East, Sister’s and Middle Sister’s Islands.
Until 1854 these islands were sparsely settled. In that year Mr. J. D. RIVERS, a Spanish merchant of New York, having been favorably impressed with their natural attractions purchased five entire islands, viz.: Put-in-Bay, Middle Bass, Ballast, Sugar and Gibraltar, at a cost of $44,000. He at first turned Put-in-Bay into a sheep ranch, having at one time a herd of 2,000, but gradually disposed of these and converted the island into a fruit farm.
In 1858 Phillip VROMAN, L. HARMES, Lawrence MILLER and J. D. RIVERS commenced the cultivation of the vine. Their success was so great that others followed their example and now the principal industry is the growing of grapes. The quality of the soil, natural drainage and climatic influence surrounding the islands is specially favorable to the growing of fruits. The development of this industry is shown by the facts that in 1887 more than one-third of the grape product and nearly one-half of the wine product of the entire State is credited to Ottawa county, while nearly three times as many peaches were produced as in any other county in the State.
The varieties of grapes grown are mainly Catawba, Delaware and Concord, with some Ives, Norton, Clinton, etc.
At one time the wines from these islands had an extended reputation and were pronounced by the best judges” worthy of being compared to the most prized productions of France;” but the alarming extent of wine adulteration and competition of California wines has seriously affected the industry. Nevertheless, there are several companies that manufacture large quantities of wine of a high grade. One of these has in its cellars two of the largest casks in the United States, each capable of holding 16,000 gallons of wine.
Page 368
Some fifteen or twenty years
ago Put-in-Bay was a
famous summer resort, but the destruction by fire in 1878 of the
principal
hotel, and in recent years the influx of unwholesome characters on
excursions
from the cities of Cleveland, Toledo and Sandusky, who are encouraged
to come
here and patronized the numerous saloons that have sprung up, has done
much to
bring the place into disrepute. Happily,
within the past year a project has been got under way which may once
more bring
this historic and picturesque isle again into popular favor as a summer
resort.
A large hotel and cottages are to be erected and efforts made to
prevent the
lawless element from monopolizing this, Nature’s outing
place, for the people
of Ohio.
The sanitary conditions of
these islands are
unsurpassed, and although there is nothing striking or grand in the
scenery,
yet taken altogether they form a scene of great beauty, while the
morning and evening breezes that blow from the
waters of Lake
Erie are bracing and
invigorating. Rock bass and perch abound in the water; better boating
could not
be desired. Propellers ply between the islands and steamers make
several daily
round trips to Sandusky
.
These islands are favorite
places of resort for
clubs from the larger cities. Ballast Isle is owned by the Cleveland
Club; they
have a fine club-house and numerous cottages are occupied in season by
their
Forest City owners. On Floral Isle the Toledo and Lake Erie Boating and
Fishing
Association have a fine club-house surrounded by the cottages of the
club
members.
Near the centre of
Put-in-Bay Island is a
subterranean cavern that is quite an object of interest. It is 200 feet
long,
150 feet wide and has an average height of 7 feet. At the farther end
is a lake, whose pure, limpid waters
are ice cold and said to
be fifty feet deep in one place and to extend under the rocks to
regions and
depths unknown.
Early in this century these
islands were overrun
with rattlesnakes. The caves, crevices of the limestone rocks, afforded
secure
retreats at all times,
and in the spring season they
were wont to come out and lie upon the warm rocks and bask in the
sunshine. The
name of this horrid reptile is perpetuated in Rattlesnake Island, so
called
because its line of rocky humps suggested to its christener the rattles
of
rattlesnakes.
JAY COOKE
was born in Sandusky,
Ohio, August 10,
1821, and went in 1838
to Philadelphia,
where he entered the banking-house of E. W. Clarke
& Co. as a clerk, and
when twenty-one
years of age became a partner. In 1840 he
wrote the first money article that appeared in Philadelphia, and for a
year
edited the financial column of the Daily Chronicle.
In 1858 he retired from the firm of
E.
W. Clarke & Co., and in 1861 established
a new firm of which he was the head. In the spring of 1861,
when the Government
called for subscription loans,
the firm of Jay COOKE & Co. at
once
organized and carried into operation the machinery to obtain and
forward to
Washington large lists of subscribers. This was done without
compensation.
In 1862 Mr. COOKE was appointed by
Secretary Chase the special agent of the government to negotiate the five hundred
million five-twenty
loan. In this great transaction the government assumed no risks. If the
loan
failed the agent was to receive nothing, and with full success the
remuneration
was not one-twentieth of the amount which European bankers are
accustomed to
receive from a foreign power, in addition to absolute security from
loss. The
enormous negotiations of the great war
loans of the
United States were taken by the subscription agent, with the possible
prospect
of receiving no benefit therefrom,
and the chance of
ruining his own fortune and those of his partners.
The loan
was sold, but even its
remarkable success did not save Mr. Chase and Mr. COOKE from the
detractions
and accusations of the political enemies of the Secretary, who sought
to damage
his Presidential aspirations by charges of favoritism.
Whitelaw
Reid, from whose Ohio in.
the War this
sketch is abridged, says: The clamor of the opponents of Mr. Chase
increased
and finally succeeded. The treasury attempted to negotiate its own
loans and
failed. The consequence was that the Rebellion, which might have been
suppressed in the later part of 1864, was
defiant when the first of January, 1865, came. The force of financial
success would have defeated the Richmond
conspirators, but, familiar with the condition of National finances,
the rebels
waited confidently for the relapse of the Union effort to subdue them. The prospect
was dark and dreary.
The treasury was in debt for vouchers for the Quartermaster’s
Page 369
department, the armies were unpaid and heavy arrearages due, and a debt of three hundred millions of dollars stared the new Secretary in the face, while the financial burden steadily accumulated at the rate of four millions of dollars a day.
This was the condition of affairs when Mr. Feasenden was at the head of the Treasury Bureau. The government could only pay in vouchers and these were selling in every part of the country at a discount of twenty-five to thirty per cent. and gravitating rapidly downward. This was known to the Confederate authorities and excited the hopes of the Rebel armies at home and their sympathizers abroad. Had this condition continued gold would have reached a much higher premium, the vouchers of the government become unsaleable and ruin resulted. The government then tried to obtain money without the aid of a special agent. The endeavor was made, backed by the assistance of the National banks, but proved entirely abortive. With all this powerful machinery the receipts of the treasury averaged but seven hundred thousand per day, one-sixth of the regular expenditure. Mr. Chase and the leading friends of the government earnestly advised Mr. Fessenden to employ Mr. COOKE as the special agent of the Treasury Department, and the Secretary sent for the banker.
The interview was successful. Mr. COOKE asked the amount of the daily sales which would meet the urgent demands upon the treasury. The reply was “Two million five hundred thousand dollars; can you raise the money?” “I can,” was the ready reply. “When will you commence?” “On the first of February,” and the conference ended. This was on the 24th of January, 1865. His commission was sent to Mr. COOKE; he organized his staff of agents and by the first of February was in full operation. Innumerable assistants were appointed; special and travelling were set at work; advertising was ordered by hundreds of thousands of dollars, and in a few days money began to flow into the depleted treasury and cash instead of vouchers paid the purchases for the maintenance of the government and the subsistence of the army.
From the first organization of Mr. COOKE’S machines for popularizing the loan the daily sales averaged from two to three millions of dollars and steadily increased, until at the close of the loan the receipts averaged five millions of dollars per day. In about five months the last note was sold, fifteen or sixteen millions of dollars being sold occasionally in one day, and once forty-two millions. The result of these grand successes was the speedy collapse of the hopes of the Rebels. The vouchers of the government were paid off and new purchases were paid for promptly at a saving of from thirty to fifty per cent. on former prices. Since the close of the war Mr. COOKE has continued to act for the government in connection with other parties m many important matters. He was also the most efficient assistant in the establishment of the National banking system.
It
should be
added that Mr. COOKE’S profits from the percentage allowed by
the government were
far less, than has been generally supposed; they were three-eighths of one per cent. There are on file in the
Treasury
Department letters from him making repeated offers to give up the
percentage
and do the work for nothing if the government would release him from
his
liabilities for loss through any of his
thousands of agents—a risk which constantly
threatened him with ruin.
The department always refused this offer.
TRAVELLING NOTES. A VISIT TO
LAKESIDE.
An Ohio Chautauqua—Lakeside is a peculiar place, a summer resort on the northeast shore of the Peninsula, about ten miles from Sandusky, with which there is constant communication by steamers passing to and from the islands. It is modelled after Chautauqua, and is owned by an association of gentlemen connected with the Methodist Episcopal church. It was founded in 1873 for the renovation of health and moral and religious instruction.
The
location is
in a forest, on a level site, with an expansive lake view, the nearest
prominent visible object being Kelley’s Island, rising from
the water four
miles farther out in the lake. The
grounds contain 175 acres, fronting the lake
with
a wharf. It is enclosed by a
high barb
fence, the entrance gates guarded, and it is under stringent police
regulations. Neither tobacco nor liquors are allowed to be sold.
The visitor is taxed for the use of
the grounds; it is 25 cents for a single day, $1 for a week, and $2 for
the
season. I came here
Saturday, by
steamer, from Sandusky, to rest over the Sabbath.
In the evening the police brought into the business
office a neighboring farmer who had evaded paying entrance fee by
crawling,
snake-like under the fence. The
tongue-lashing he received from the gentleman in charge showed
“the way of the
transgressor is hard”—that is, when caught.
Page
370
A Wholesome
Community.—The
place has a large hotel, a business office
with a post-office, bathing houses on the shore, about 400 cottages,
and an
auditorium—a huge open shed with seats for 3,000. The
cottages are scattered
about in the woods, generally are mere shells, externally painted,
internally
not so; built usually at a coat of from $350 to $400 each; some, from
$1,000 to
$1,600. Then, tents are brought here and some go into camp. On rare
occasions
6,000 have slept on the grounds. The visitors are largely school marms, mothers with children,
and boys camping out. The
cost of living and boarding is cheap. Some females hire cottage rooms
and do
their own cooking. I felt it good to pass a Sabbath in a place from
whence
unwholesome people were excluded, and the moral air was so good. The
Methodists, from their eminently social nature, are the best of all
religionists to manage such a retreat, On
my trip over
we passed Marblehead light-house, which is about two miles from
Lakeside. Near
that point are the famed Marblehead limestone quarries, which supply
the beat
of limestone. The light-houses on the lakes are largely built with it,
while a
large portion of northern Ohio gets its lime from there.
Preaching to
the Wyandot.—On the boat
with me was an old
gentleman, Rev. William RUNNESS, a superannuated Methodist minister,
who began
his life in Portland, Maine, in 1802. He preached among the Wyandots
once a quarter the last four years they remained in Ohio, he being the
presiding elder in the district embracing them. As the Wyandots
had no written language, he preached to them through an interpreter.
This was
Jonathan POINTER, a colored man, taken prisoner when a youth in the war
of 1812
and adopted by them.
The Wyandots were very emotional and
excellent singers. Some of
their members were prone to prolixity in speaking, and
“sometimes,” said he,
they had to choke them off. On one occasion I saw one of
the sisters get very much excited during one of their meetings, when
‘Between-the-Logs,’
an ordained minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church, a native
Wyandot,
struck up a tune and put her down. Then several speakers spoke and
without
interruption. ‘Between-the Logs’ followed them, and
had uttered but a few
words, when the squelched sister, who had a loud, ringing voice, began,
at the
top of her register, singing”
“How happy are they
Who their Saviour
obey.”
Between-the-Logs’
was fairly drowned
out, and took his seat, as much overcome by the merriment as the
music.”
Saved Enough
to Bury Himself—On the boat
with us was an old
gentleman whose talk was lugubrious. He was lamenting the degeneracy of
the
young men. “In old times,” said he, “boys
were bound out to trades, and boarded
with their employers, who looked after their habits, required them to
keep good
hours, and watched them with a father-like interest. With the
introduction of machinery this la now all gone by. The
young men are
largely careless of money and dissolute. In my village of 1,000 people
there
are not three young men who do not drink and smoke; not one who has
saved
enough money to pay his funeral expenses, and yet there is not one who
could
not have saved enough to bury himself three times
over.”
Considering
the
profession of my informant, his illustration was exactly in his line,
and shows
how prone mankind are, when they open their mouths, to introduce the
shop—he
was the village undertaker.
When the old
gentleman thus spoke, it was doubtless under a dreadful sense of great
depression from the memory of unpaid bills. He had my sympathy.
Soldiers’
Reunion.—At
Lakeside
was recently held one of those soldiers’ reunions that have
been
so frequent since the war. These, with thinning, dissolving ranks of
the old
veterans—now fast getting into the sere and yellow
leaf—will soon pass away and
be held no more. Photography will preserve for posterity views of many
of these
meetings, and so help to keep alive and cherish the memory of those
brave men
who grilled all to save our beautiful country. The reunion that was
lately held
here was that of the Twenty-third Ohio, Gen. Hayes’ old
regiment. I have
recently seen a photograph h of it by Mr. Oswald, photographer, of
Toledo. In the background.
near together,
are Mrs. Hayes, Stanley Matthews, Gen. Comly
and Gen.
Hayes. And it is a sad reflection that the ex-president is the only one
of the
four named at this present writing living.
Mrs.
Hayes’ Sympathy for the Soldier.—On their left
is the drum-major, a
very old man, then up in the eighties, having enlisted at the age of 60
years.
Mr. Oswald himself is shown in the foreground, holding a child. The
interest in
this picture is greatly enhanced by the presence of Mrs. Hayes. Indeed,
without
her, it could not be the Twenty-third Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Mr.
Oswald tells
me that when the regiment went into winter-quarters the general was wont to put his family into a
hired house near by, when Mrs.
Hayes became a sort of mother to the boys: Whenever any of them were
sick her
sympathies were keenly aroused and she was all attention.
It is a
precious time to the old soldiers—these
reunions—the last of which, alas, is
too near. The careless thinker, or observer, can have no conception of
the sad
joy of these men when they meet with more than brotherly affection and
talk
over their mutual experiences in that period of stupendous events of
bloody
fields and agonizing hearts: The influence of these meetings upon these
patriotic men, and the power of
comradeship in the
scenes through which they passed pare beautifully delineated in a
speech of
Gen. Hayes at Cincinnati, August 10, 1889, before
Page 371
THE
PUT-IN
BAY AND OTHER ISLANDS N LAKE ERIE.
Page 372
the Ohio Commadery
of the Loyal
Legion. From it we make this extract:
SPEECH
OF GEN. HAYES.
Commander and Companions: Among our
most cherished
associations we have come to know that comradeship in the Union Army
holds a
place in the very front rank. It
has
given us a host of army societies, great and
small.
. . . For us and those who are
nearest
and dearest to us, what an addition ‘the war for the Union
has contributed to
the attractiveness of our American society! Strike out from each of our
lives,
since the grand review at Washington, in May, 1865, all
entertainments
whose chief satisfaction, happiness
and glory
can be fairly traced to the comradeship of the war, and who does not
see how meagre and barren those
years would become
Memory’s
Review.—The interest which
the war has imparted to our lives is not to be measured by the
contemplation
merely of assemblages that are marked by the turmoil and blare of multitudes marching with banners and gathered by music and
cannon; but we must reckon,
also, the ever-recurring hours of domestic and other
quiet scenes, when in narrow
and
noiseless circles the tremendous
events of our
recent history, with their countless
incidents,
sometimes humorous,
sometimes tragic and pathetic, are recalled,
and pass
and repass before us
in never-ending review. The pictures on our walls, the
books we read
with most delight, the magazines and newspapers, the collections of
mementos
and relies gathered in those golden years, all do their
part to keep in fresh remembrance
the
good old times when we were comrades and almost all seemed and were,
true and
brave.
Soldiers’
Friendships.—It is often said that, outside of
the family, no tie is stronger more tender, and more lasting than that
of com
radeship.
This is not the time nor
place to compare as critics
or philosophers the various sorts of friendship which grow up between
men
according to occupation and other circumstances. The fact we do know,
and rejoice to know, is
that to meet our old commander, or the
brave,
good men we commanded,
or the trusted comrade
of many a camp and march and battle, is always like good news from
home, and
fills the heart to overflowing with happiness which no words can fully
tell.
ELMORE is nineteen miles west of Port Clinton, seventeen miles southeast of Toledo, on the L. S. & M. S. Railroad and Portage river. Newspapers: Independent, Independent, W. L. FOULKE & Co., editors and publishers; the Elmore Tribune, Independent, BRADRICK Bros., publishers. Churches: 1 Presbyterian, 1 Disciples, 1 German Methodist, 1 Methodist Episcopal, 1 United Brethren, l German Lutheran, 1 German Reformed, and 1 Catholic. Bank: Bank of Elmore, John H. McGEE president, Thomas E. BAYNES, cashier. Population, 1880, 1,044. School census, 1888, 414.
OAK
HARBOR 18
ten miles west of Port Clinton, on the L.
S.
& M. S. Railroad and the W. & L. E:
Railroad. Newspapers: Ottawa County Exponent,
Democratic, J.
H. KRAEMER, editor; Press, Democratic, George GOSLINE, editor and publisher.
Churches:
1 Disciples, 1
Methodist, 3 Lutheran, and 1 Catholic.
Manufactures and Employees.—Charles A. LEOW, carriages, etc., 6 hands; H. H. Mylander, staves and headings, 33; J. Watts, planing mill, 5; Ampach Bros., saw mill and hoop factory, 55; Wash. Gordon, planing and saw mill, 25; C. Roose, staves and headings, 42; Portage Mills, flour, etc., 2.--State Report, 1887.
Population, 1880, 987. School
census, 1888, 551. Capital
invested in manufacturing establishments, $127,000; value
of annual product, $181,000.—Ohio
Labor Statistics, 1888.
Tile and brick are manufactured here of an excellent quality, and it is in a natural gas field.
CARROLL, P. O. Lacarne, is six miles west of Port Clinton, on the L. S. & M. S. Railroad. School census, 1888, 227.
GENOA is twenty-two miles vest of Port Clinton, thirteen miles southeast of Toledo, on the L. S. & M. S. Railroad. It has six churches. Population, 1880, 930. School census 1888, 373; L. N. SADLER, school superintendent. PUT-IN-BAY is on an island in Lake Erie, twelve miles north of Port Clinton, twenty two miles northwest of Sandusky. It is a famous summer resort, with daily steamers from Sandusky and Detroit during the summer season. Population, 1880, 381. School census, 1888, 231.
LAKESIDE is a summer resort on Lake Erie, and on the L. S. & M. S. Railroad, ten miles north of Sandusky.