ROSS
COUNTY—Continued
Page 501
W. Va. (afterward governor of
Ohio). In 1790 Dr.
TIFFIN united with the Methodist church, was ordained deacon by Bishop
Asbury,
and all throughout his subsequent career continued to preach with much
fervor
and power.
In 1796 he
manumitted his slaves, and
accompanied by his brother-in-law and Robert Lucas (all three
subsequently
became governors of Ohio), removed to Chillicothe. Dr. TIFFIN was of
genial
temperament, of high professional and general culture, and above all of
high
moral purpose and character. It is small wonder that such a man became
immensely popular. Gen. Washington, in a letter to Gov. St. Clair,
speaks of
“Dr. TIFFIN’S fairness of character in private and
public life, together with
knowledge of law, resulting from close application for a considerable
time.” In
1799 he was
chosen to the Territorial Legislature and unanimously elected
Speaker, which position he held until Ohio became a State.
In 1802 he was
chosen president of the
first Constitutional Convention, and his superior ability and
acquirements so
impressed his fellow-delegates that at its conclusion the convention
made him
its candidate for governor, to which office he was elected in January,
1803, without
opposition. Two years later he was re-elected, again without
opposition, and
the office was tendered him a third time, but declined.
The new
State of Ohio was
fortunate in having as its first chief executive a man of such
extraordinary
and versatile talents and acquirements. The formative condition of
affairs gave
opportunity for the display of Gov. TIFFIN’S genius, and
his able
administration was of inestimable value in developing and advancing the
interests of the young Commonwealth. The moat notable incident of his
administration was the suppression of the Burr-Blennerbassett
expedition. In his message of January 22, 1807, President Jefferson
highly
compliments Gov. TIFFIN for his prompt and efficient action in this
affair. At the
close of his second term
Gov. TIFFIN was elected to the United States Senate, and performed
valuable
services for Ohio by securing appropriations for the improvement of the
Ohio river, the mail
service, and the survey of public lands.
In 1809 the death of
his much-beloved wife
was a serious blow to Senator TIFFIN; he resigned his seat in the
Senate, and
determined to retire from public life; but in the following year he was
elected
to the State legislature, and was made Speaker of the house, serving
for several
terms.
He married a
second wife, Miss
Mary PORTER, of Delaware. Like his first wife, she was a woman of much
beauty
of person and character.
Upon
Madison’s election to the
Presidency he appointed Senator TIFFIN to organize the land office.
When Washington
was burned by the British, in 1814, Dr. TIFFIN
was so prompt and espeditious
in removing the records of his office to a
place of safety, that his was the only department whose books and
papers were
unharmed. Wishing to return to Ohio, he, with
the consent of the
President and Senate, exchanged offices with Josiah MEIGS,
Surveyor-General of
the West. He held this latter office until within a few months of his
death,
when he was removed by President Jackson. Dr. TIFFIN died August 9,
1829, his widow
survived him until 1837; three of their daughters were living in 1889.
Their
only son, who had studied his father’s profession, was killed
in a rail-road
accident while returning home from Paris, where he had been attending
medical
lectures.
Drawn by Henry Howe in 1846
ADENA.
Two or three miles northwest
of Chillicothe, on a
beautiful elevation commanding a magnificent view of the fertile valley
of the
Scioto and it bounding hills,
Page 502
is Adena, the seat of the late Gov. WORTHINGTON. The mansion itself is of stone, is embosomed in shrubbery, and has attached a fine garden. It was erected in 1806, at which time it was the most elegant mansion in this part of the West, and crowds came to view it, in whose estimation the name of the place, “Adena,” which signifies “Paradise,” did not perhaps appear hyperbolical. The large panes of glass and the novelty of papered walls appeared especially to attract attention. Its architect was the elder Latrobe, of Washington city, from which place the workmen also were. Nearly all the manufactured articles used in its construction, as the nails, door-knobs, hinges, glass, etc., were from east of the mountains. The glass was made at the works of Albert Gallatin and Mr. Nicholson, at Geneva, Pa. The fire-place fronts were of Philadelphia marble, which cost $7 per hundred for transportation. The whole edifice probably cost double what it would have done if erected at the present day. It is now the residence of the widow of the late governor, of whom we annex a brief notice.—Old Edition.
THOMAS WORTHINGTON, one
of the earliest
and most distinguished
pioneers of Ohio, was born in Jefferson county,
Va.,
about the year 1769, and settled in Ross county in 1798. He brought
from
Virginia a large number of slaves, whom he emancipated, and some of
their
descendants yet remain in Chillicothe. A man of ardent temperament, of
energy
of mind and correct habits or life, he soon became distinguished both
in
business and in political stations. He was
a
member of the convention
of 1803, to form a
State constitution, in which he was both able and active. Soon after
that he
became a senator in Congress from the new State, and was a participant
in the most important
measures of the administrations of Jefferson
and Madison. At the
close of his career in Congress, he was elected governor of the State,
in which
capacity he was the friend and aid of all the liberal and wise measures
of
policy which were the foundation of the great prosperity of Ohio. After his retirement from the
gubernatorial
chair he was appointed a member of the first board of canal
commissioners, in
which capacity he served till
his death. A large
landholder, engaged in various and
extensive business, and for thirty years in public stations, no man in
Ohio did
more to form its character and promote its prosperity. He died in 1827.
The pioneer author of the Scioto valley, Col. John McDONALD, should be gratefully remembered. He was of Scotch (Highland) stock; was born in Northumberland county, Pa., January 28, 1775. In the spring of 1792 he joined Gen. Massie’s settlement at Manchester. He was a boatman, hunter, surveyor, Indian fighter, and, under Massie, took a prominent part in all the expeditions leading to the settlement of the Scioto valley. He was a colonel in the war of 1812, and held various civil offices. He died on his farm at Poplar Ridge, Ross county, September 11, 1853. He was a modest, valuable man. His little book, now out of print, “McDonald’s Sketches,” details the woful experiences of the early explorers of the valley with lifelike truthfulness and simplicity. The sketches of Worthington, Massie, and McArthur, herein given, are abridged mainly from his “Sketches.”
NATHANIEL MASSIE was born in Goochland county,
Virginia, Dec. 28,
1763. His father, a farmer in
easy circumstances,
and of plain good sense, educated his sons for the practical business
of life.
In 1780 Nathaniel, then being seventeen years of age, was for a short time in the revolutionary army. After his return he studied
surveying, and in
1783 left to seek his,
fortunes in
Kentucky. He first acted as a
surveyor,
but soon joined with it the locating of lands.
His Characteristics.—Young MASSIE soon became an expert
surveyor, and it was a matter of
astonishment (as he was raised in the dense population east of the
mountains)
how soon he acquired the science and habits of the backwoodsmen. Although he never practised the
art of hunting, he was admitted by all who knew his qualifications as a
woodsman, to be of the first order. He
could steer his course truly in clear or cloudy weather, and compute
distances
more correctly than most of
the old
hunters. He could endure
fatigue and
hunger with more composure than
the most
of those persons who were inured to want on the frontier. He could live upon meat without
bread, and
bread without meat, and was perfectly cheerful and contented with his
fare. In all the perilous
situations in which he was
placed, he was always conspicuous for his good feeling and the happy temperament of his mind. His courage was of a cool and
dispassionate
character, which, added to great circumspection in times of danger,
gave him a
complete ascendancy over his companions, who were always willing to
follow when
MASSIE led the way.”
Surveys
Land.—He
also soon became in-
Page 503
GEN.
DUNCAN McARTHUR,
THOMAS WORTHINGTON,
WILLIAM ALLEN,
Governor of Ohio, 1830-1832.
Governor of Ohio 1814-1818
Governor of Ohio 1874-1876
Page 504
terested with
Gen. James
Wilkinson in speculations
in salt, then an article of great scarcity
in the West—with
what pecuniary success,
however, is unknown.
He was employed as a surveyor by Col. R. C.
Anderson, principal
surveyor of the Virginia
military lands, and for a time was engaged in writing in the office of
Col.
Anderson, who had the control of the land warrants, placed in his hands
by his
brother officers and soldiers.
“A very large amount of
these, so soon as the act of
Congress of August, 1790, removed all further obstruction, he placed in
the
hands of MASSIE, to enter and survey on such terms as he could obtain
from the
holders of them. As the risk of making entries was great, and as it was
desirable to possess the beat land, the owners of warrants, in most
cases, made
liberal contracts with the surveyors. One-fourth,
one-third, and sometimes as much as one-half acquired by the entry of
good
lands, were given by the proprietors to the
surveyors.
If the
owners preferred paying money, the usual terms were ten pounds,
Virginia
currency, for each thousand acres entered and surveyed, exclusive of
chainmen’s
expenses. These terms cannot appear extravagant, when we consider that at that time the danger encountered
was
great, the exposure during the winter severe, and that the price of
first-rate
land in the West was low, and an immense quantity in market.
“The locations of
land-warrants in the Virginia
military district between the Scioto and the Little Miami, prior to
1790, were
made by stealth. Every creek which was explored, every line that was
run, was
at the risk of life from the savage Indians, whose courage and
perseverance was
only equalled by the
perseverance of the whites to
push forward their settlements.”
Founds Manchester.—In 1791 MASSIE made
the first settlement within the Virginia
military
district at Manchester. During the winter of ‘92-’93, he
continued to locate and survey the best
land within a reasonable distance
of the station of Manchester. “In the fall of the
year 1793 MASSIE determined to attempt a surveying tour on
the Scioto river. This,
at this time,
was a very dangerous undertaking;
yet no danger, unless very imminent, could A deter him from
making the attempt. For that
purpose he employed about thirty men,
of whom he chose three as asaistant surveyors. These
were John BEASLEY, Nathaniel BEASLEY, and Peter LEE.
It was in this expedition MASSIE
employed, for, the first time, Duncan McARTHUR
as a chainman or marker.”
Explores
the
Scioto Valley.—”In the month of October some canoes were
procured, and Masaie
and his party set off by water. They
procedded up the Ohio to
the mouth
of the Scioto thence up the Scioto to the
mouth of Paint creek. While
meandering the Scioto,
they made some surveys on the
bottoms. After
reaching the mouth of Paint creek, the surveyors went to work. Many
surveys
were made on the Scioto, as far up as Westfall.
Some were made on Main,
and others on the north fork of Paint creek, and the greatest parts of
Rose and
Pickaway counties in the district were well explored and
partly surveyed. MASSIE finished
his
intended work without meeting with any
disturbance from the Indians. But one Indian was seen
during the excursion, and to him they gave
a hard
chase. He, however, escaped. The party returned home
delighted
with the rich country of the Scioto valley which they had explored.
“During the winter of
1793-4 MASSIE, in the midst of
the most appalling dangers, explored the different branches to their
sources,
which run into the Little Miami river,
and thence
passed in a northeastern direction to the heads of Paint and Clear
creeks, and
the branches that form those streams. By these expeditions he had
formed, from
personal observation, a correct knowledge
of the
geographical situation of the country composing the
Virginia military
district.”
Hardships.—”During the winter of 1794-5 MASSIE
prepared a party to
enter largely into the surveying business. Nathaniel BEASLEY, John
BEASLEY, and
Peter Lee were again employed as the assistant surveyors. The party set off from Manchester,
well
equipped, to prosecute their business, or, should occasion offer, give battle to the Indians. They took the route of
Logan’s trace, and
proceeded to a place called the deserted camp, on Tod’s
fork of the Little Miami. At
this point they commenced surveying, and
surveyed large portions of land on Tod’s
fork, and up
the Miami to the Chillicothe town
(now in
Clark county), thence up
MASSIE’S creek and Caesar’s
creek nearly to their heads. By the time the party had progressed thus
far
winter had set in. The ground was covered with a sheet
of snow from six to ten
inches deep. During
the tour, which continued upwards of thirty
days,
the party had no bread. For
the first two
weeks a pint of flour was distributed to each mesa once a day, to mix
with the
soup in which meat had been boiled. When
night came, four fires were made for cooking, that
is, one for each mess. Around
these fires, till sleeping-time arrived, the company spent their time
in the
most social glee, singing songs
and
telling stories. When danger
was not
apparent or immediate, they were as merry a set
of men as ever assembled. Resting-time
arriving, MASSIE always gave the signal, and the whole party would then
leave
their comfortable fires, carrying with them their blankets, their
firearms, and
their little baggage, walking in perfect silence two or
three hundred yards from their fires.
They would then scrape away the snow and huddle down
together for
the night. Each mess formed one bed;
they
would spread down on the ground one-half of the blankets, reserving the
other
half for covering. The
covering blankets
were fastened together by skewers, to prevent them from slipping apart.
Thus
prepared, the whole party crouched down together with their rifles in
their
arms, and their pouches under their heads for pillows I lying
spoon-fashion,
with three heads
Page 505
one way and four the other, their
feet extending to about the middle of their bodies. When one turned the
whole
mass turned, or else the close range would be broken and the cold let
in. In
this way they lay till broad daylight, no noise and scarce a whisper
being
uttered during the night. When it was perfectly light, MASSIE would
call up two
of the men in whom he had most confidence, and send them to reconnoitre
and
make a circuit around the fires, lest an ambuscade might be formed by
the
Indians to destroy the party as they returned to the fires. This was an
invariable custom in every variety of weather. Self-preservation
required this
circumspection. Some time after this, while surveying on
Caesar’s creek, his
men attacked a party of Indians, and they broke and fled.
After the defeat of the Indians by
Wayne, the surveyors were not interrupted by the Indians; but on one of
their
excursions, still remembered as “the starving
tour,” the whole party,
consisting of twenty-eight men, suffered extremely in a driving
snow-storm for
about four days. They were in a wilderness, exposed to this severe
storm,
without hut, tent, or covering, and what was still more appalling,
without
provision and without any road or even track to retreat on, and were
nearly 100
miles from any place of shelter. On the third day of the storm, they
luckily
killed two wild turkeys, which were boiled and divided into
twenty-eight parts,
and devoured with great avidity, heads, feet, entrails and all.
Founds
Chillicothe.—In 1796 MASSIE laid the foundation
of the settlement of the Scioto valley,
by laying out on his own land the now large and beautiful town of
Chillicothe.
The progress of the settlements brought large quantities of his land
into
market.
MASSIE was high in the confidence
of
St. Clair; and having received the appointment of colonel, it was
through him
that the militia of this region were first organized. Colonel MASSIE
was an
efficient member of the convention which formed the State constitution.
He was
afterwards elected senator from Ross, and at the first session of the
State
legislature was chosen speaker. He was elected the first major-general
of the
second division of the Ohio militia under the new constitution.
Elected
Governor and Refuses the Office.—MASSIE was at this time one of the
largest landholders in Ohio, and selected a residence at the falls of
Paint
creek, in this county, where he had a large body of excellent land.
“In the
year 1807 Gen. MASSIE and Col. Return J. MEIGS were competitors for the
office
of governor of Ohio. They were the most popular men in the State. Col.
MEIGS
received a small majority of votes. The election was contested by
MASSIE on the
ground that Col. MEIGS was ineligible by the constitution, in
consequence of his
absence from the State, and had not since his return lived in the State
a
sufficient length of time to regain his citizenship. The contest was
carried to
the General Assembly, who, after hearing the testimony, decided that
Col. MEIGS
was ineligible to the office, and that Gen. MASSIE MASSIE was duly
elected
governor of the State of Ohio. MASSIE, however desirous he might have
been to
hold the office, was too magnanimous to accept it when his competitor
had a
majority of votes. After the decision in his favor he immediately
resigned.”
After this, he, as often as his
leisure would permit, represented Ross county in the legislature. He
died Nov.
3, 1813, and was buried on his farm. “His character was well
suited for the
settlement of a new country, distinguished as it was by an uncommon
degree of
energy and activity in the business in which he was engaged. His
disposition
was ever marked with liberality and kindness.”
DUNCAN M’ARTHUR, who was of Scotch
parentage, was born
in Dutchess county, New York, in 1772, and when eight years of age, his
father
removed to the frontiers of Peunsylvania. His father was in indigent
circumstances, and DUNCAN, when of sufficient age, hired out as a
laborer. At
the age of eighteen years, he was a volunteer in Harmar’s
campaign. In 1792, he
was a private in the company of Capt. Wm. Enoch, and acted with so much
intrepidity in the battle of Captina, as to render him very popular
with the
frontier men. After this, he was for a while a laborer at some
salt-works near
Maysville, Ky., and in the spring of 1793, engaged as a chain-bearer to
Gen.
Nathaniel MASSIE, and penetrated with him and others into the Scioto
Valley to
make surveys, at a time when such an enterprise was full of danger from
the
Indians. He was afterwards employed as a spy against the Indians on the
Ohio,
and had some adventures with them, elsewhere detailed in this volume.
He was
again in the employment of Gen. MASSIE, and after the treaty of
Greenville,
studied surveying, became an assistant surveyor to Gen MASSSIE, and
aided him
to lay out Chillicothe. He, in the course of this business, became
engaged in
the purchase and sale of lands, by which he acquired great landed
wealth.
In 1805 he
was member of the Legislature from Ross; in 1806 elected colonel, and
in 1808,
major-general of the State militia.
In
May, 1812, he was commissioned colonel
Page 506
in the Ohio volunteers, afterwards
marched to Detroit,
and himself and regiment were included in Hull’s surrender.
He was second in
command on this unfortunate expedition; but such was the energy he
displayed,
that, notwithstanding, after his return as a prisoner of war on parole,
the
Democratic party, in the fall of 1812, elected him to Congress by an
overwhelming majority. In March, 1813, he was commissioned a
brigadier-general
in the army, and having been regularly exchanged as prisoner of war,
soon after
resigned his seat in Congress to engage in active service.
Military
Services.—About
the time the
enemy were
preparing to attack Fort Stephenson, the frontiers were in great
danger, and
Harrison sent an express to M’ARTHUR to hurry on to the scene
of action with
all the force he could muster. Upon this, he ordered the second
division to
march in mass. “This march of the
militia was
named the ‘general call.’ As soon as
Governor Meigs
was advised of the call made by General M’ARTHUR, he went
forward and assumed
in person the command of the militia now under arms. General
M’ARTHUR went
forward to the scene of action, and the militia followed in thousands.
So
promptly were his orders obeyed, that in
a few days the Sanduaky
plains were covered with
nearly eight thousand men,
mostly from
Scioto valley. This rush of
militia to
defend the exposed frontier of our country,
bore
honorable testimony that the patriotism of the Scioto valley did not
consist of
noisy professions, but of practical service in defence
of their country. This general turn-out of the militia proves that
General
MASSIE, and the few pioneers who followed him into the wilderness, and
assisted
him in making the first settlements in the fertile valley of the Scioto
river,
had infused their own daring and enterprising spirit into the mass of
the
community. Among these
eight thousand militia were found in the
ranks
as private soldiers, judges, merchants, lawyers, preachers, doctors,
mechanics,
farmers and laborers of every description;
all anxious to repulse the ruthless invaders of our soil. Indeed, the Scioto country was so
stripped of
its male population on this occasion,
that the women
in their absence were compelled to carry their grain to mill, or let
their
children suffer for want.” These troops having arrived at
Upper Sandusky, formed
what was called the “grand camp of
Ohio militia.” Gen.
M’ARTHUR was detailed to
the command of
Fort Meigs. The
victory of Perry, on the 10th of September, gave a fresh impetus to the
army,
and Harrison concentrated his troops at Portage river,
where, on the 20th, the brigade of M’ARTHUR, from Fort Meigs,
joined him. On the 27th, the
army embarked in boats and
crossed over to Malden, and a few days after, Gen. M’ARTHUR,
with the greater
part of the troops, was charged with the defence
of
Detroit. After the resignation of Harrison, in the spring of 1814,
M’ARTHUR, being the senior
brigadier-general, the command of the N. W.
army
devolved on him. As the enemy
had retired
discomfited from the upper end of Lake Erie, and most of the Indians
were suing
for peace, the greater part of the regular troops
under
his command were ordered to
the Niagara
frontier. M’ARTHUR had a number
of small
forts to garrison along the frontier, while he kept his main force at
Detroit
and Malden, to overawe the Canadians and the scattering Indians still
in the
British interest. The dull monotony of going from post to post was not
the most agreeable service to
his energetic mind. He
projected an expedition into Canada, on
which he was absent about a fortnight from Detroit,
with 650 troops and 70 Indians. At
or
near Malcolm’s mill, the detachment had an action with the
force of about 500
Canadian militia, in which they defeated them with a loss of 27 killed
and
wounded, and made 111 prisoners;
while
the American loss was only 1 killed and 6 wounded.
In this excursion, the valuable mills of the enemy in the
vicinity
of Grand river were
destroyed, and their resources in
that quarter essentially impaired. After returning from this successful
expedition, the war languished in the northwest.
General M’ARTHUR continued in service and was at
Detroit when peece was
declared.
The U.
S.
Bank Contest.—In the
fall of 1815 he was again elected to the Legislature. In 1816 he was
appointed
commissioner to negotiate a treaty with the Indians at Springwell,
near Detroit; he acted in the same capacity at the treaty of Fort Meigs, in September, 1817, and
also at the treaty at St. Mary’s
in the succeeding year. In
1817, upon being elected to
the Legislature, he was a
competitor with the late
Charles Hammond Esq., for the Speaker’s chair, and triumphed by a small majority.
The neat summer, the party strife on the United States
bank question,
which had commenced the previous session, was violent.
M’ARTHUR defended the right of that institution
to place branches
wherever it chose in the State, and on this issue was again a candidate
for the
Legislature and was defeated. “A considerable majority
of members elected
this year were opposed to the
United
States bank. Mr. Hammond was
again
elected a member of the assembly, and by his talents and readiness in
wielding
his pen, together with his strong and confident manner of speaking, was
able to
dictate law to this assembly. A law was passed at this session of
the
Legislature, taxing each branch of the United States bank, located in
the State
of Ohio, fifty thousand dollars. When the time arrived for collecting
this tax, the branch banks
refused to pay. Mr. Hammond
had provided in the law for a case
of this kind: the collector was authorized, in case the bank refused to pay the tag, to employ
armed force
and enter the banking house and seize on the money,
and this was actually done; the collector, with an armed
force, entered
the branch bank in the town of Chillicothe and took what money he
thought
proper.
Page 507
“The bank brought suit in
the United States circuit
court against all the State officers concerned in this forcible
collection. Mr.
Hammond, a distinguished lawyer, with other eminent counsel, was
employed by
the State of Ohio to defend this important cause. The district court
decided
the law of Ohio, levying the tag, unconstitutional,
and, of course null and void; and made a decree, directing
the
State to refund to the bank the money thus forcibly taken. The cause
was
appealed to the Supreme Court of the United
States. Mr.
Hammond defended the suit in all
its stages.
The Su Supreme Court decided this
cause against the State of Ohio. Thus
was
settled this knotty and vexatious question, which, for a time,
threatened the
peace of the Union.”
Political
Honor.—In 1819 M’ARTHUR was
again elected to the Legislature.
In 1822 he was again chosen to Congress, and became an undeviating
supporter of
what is called the American
system. “While
General M’ARTHUR remained a member of
Congress, he had considerable influence in that body. His persevering
industry,
his energetic mind, his sound
judgment,
and practical business habits, rendered him a very efficient member. He
would
sometimes make short, pithy remarks on the business before the house
but made
no attempts at those flourishes of eloquence which tickle the fancy and
please
the ear. After having served two sessions in Congress, he declined a re-election, being determined to devote all his
efforts to arrange his
domestic concerns. He left
the field of politics to others,
and engaged with an unremitted attention
to settle his land business.”
In
1830, M’ARTHUR was elected governor of Ohio by the
anti-Jackson party, and on the
expiration of his term of office was a candidate for Congress, and lost
his
election, which terminated his political career. By an unfortunate
accident in
June, 1830, M’ARTHUR
was horribly bruised
and maimed: From this severe misfortune his bodily and mental powers
constantly
declined, until death, several years after, closed his career.
Duncan M’ARTHUR was a
strong-minded, energetic man and
possessed an iron will. He was hospitable, close
in
business, and had many bitter and severe enemies.
TRAVELLING
NOTES.
Upland Cemetery, at Chillicothe, is an especially interesting spot, both historically and pictorially. In it lie the remains of four governors of the State: Edward TIFFIN, the first governor, 1803-1807; Thomas WORTHINGTON, 1814-1818; Duncan McARTHUR, 1830-1832, and William ALLEN, 1874-1876. The cemetery contains about 100 acres of woodland, partly old forest trees; largely intermingled are evergreens, as Irish juniper, Norway spruce, white and Austin pine. Among the interesting monuments is that to the memory of Gen. Joshua W. SILL, a very promising young officer, one of the earliest of the sacrifices of the war. He was a graduate of West Point, but at the outbreak of hostilities was in civil life. He fell at Stone river, December 31, 1862, universally lamented.
The
cemetery is
about a mile south of the city, on the western hills.
There, on the most northerly point, at an elevation of 170
feet,
overlooking the beautiful city
which he founded, is the
monument and tomb of Nathaniel MASSIE. The
view is singularly, beautiful and
commanding, embracing the city, the windings of the Scioto, with Mount
Logan in
the distance. The shaft of
the monument
is of Scotch granite, about thirty feet high, and on its face is this
inscription:
Gen. Nathaniel Massie, Founder of C H I L L I C O T H E. Born in Goochland county, Virginia Dec. 28, 1763 Died, Nov. 3, 1813 |
Page 508
Top
Picture
Drawn
by Henry Howe in
1846.
THE
FIRST OHIO STATE-HOUSE
Bottom
Picture
THE COUNTY
BUILDINGS, CHILLICOTHE.
These
occupy the site of the
old State-House
Page 509
Mr. MASSIE was originally buried on his farm. In June, 1870, the remains, with those of his wife, were removed here. Near the MASSIE monument is the Soldiers’ monument, an imposing structure. It is of marble, about twenty-five feet high; consists of two cubes on a pedestal; on them are bronze tablets, with inscriptions, and figures in basso-rilievo. The whole is surmounted by the figure of a soldier in bronze, at rest, in graceful attitude, leaning on his musket.
The Old
State
Capitol,
shown in the engraving, was
destroyed in 1852. The old building stood on the site of the present
court-house, exactly where is now the court-room
of the latter. The small building on the right was used by the
treasurer and
auditor. The building partly
shown in the
rear was the stone jail. The
church in the rear is yet standing. In the year I made the sketch,
March 6,
1846, a noted burglar and murderer, Henry THOMAS.
was hanged on a gallows
erected before the front door.
It was the second criminal execution in the county since its
organization. He
was hanged for the murder of Fred. EDWARDS,
storekeeper at Bourneville. THOMAS
sold his body to Dr.
HULL, of
that place, who preserved the skeleton.
The
Ohio
Eagle.—Chillicothe
Library has about 9,000 volumes. I went in to see the “Ohio
Eagle,” the
identical eagle that for nearly half a century had stood perched on the
summit
of the cupola of the Old State House and glinted in the first rays of
the
morning sun as it came up from behind Mount Logan.
It had
been placed there as a relic. It was
made of
four pieces of sheet-brass, rivited,
two feet
and six inches high, two feet broad, and black as a stove-its gilt long since gone.
It never was much of an eagle, but served for the
beginning of
Ohio, and should be duly honored.
The Old Librarian.—About as great a curiosity
as the eagle was the librarian himself,
Mr. Henry WATTERSON, who was within two years as old as that bird. He
thus gave
me his, record, extraordinary for the genus
homo: Was born in Albany, N. Y., March 25, 1804; therefore,
then 82 years
old. Came to Chillicothe in 1841;
is an
omnivorous reader, but reads no fiction except Scott’s
novels; walks six miles
daily; height, 5 feet, 9¾
inches; chest
measurement, 32 inches; weight, one hundred and four pounds; had one
leg broken; one arm broken
once and another broken
three times, and the last time it was broken it was broken in three places; had six attacks of fever—in
one of them
was so far gone that his mother made his
shroud;
recovering, she changed it into a shirt;
it went on duty as a shirt until it was worn out as a shirt. To have eighty-two years of history
thus
personified, and so much broken, too, and once so near dead, withal,
and yet
nimbly mount a step-ladder and bring down from a top shelf some of the
gathered
wisdom of the ages for one’s edification, was a marvel indeed.
The Old
Constitution Table.—In the recorder’s
office stands the table on which was signed the old constitution of
Ohio,
adopted November 29, 1802;
and that table
has been in constant use from that day to this. It stands on its old
legs, save
one. The top is of black walnut and the legs cherry; its height, 2 feet
4
inches; its form, oval 6 feet long
and 3
feet 8 inches wide. On this
table once
stood Hon. Thomas Scott and made a speech to his fellow-citizens,
congratulating them on the adoption of the constitution. He had been
secretary
of the convention. In 1846 he was one of its five surviving members,
two of
whom were Joseph DARLINGTON
and Israel
DONALSON of Adams county; the other two names not recollected by me, if
then
known. It was from the
manuscript of
Judge Scott that I obtained the items respecting the first settlement of
the county.
CHILLICOTHE has changed but little since that
olden time of 1846. The best
residences are scattered. The
houses, with rare exceptions, are the old-style
square houses, sometimes, called
“box-houses.” They
are largely of brick, with large rooms, some two and a few
only one-story high with ample yards and
gardens.No fanciful
architecture, with ostentatioue, sky-climbing
towers, no pepper-box-shaped pinnacles greet the eye. Money was largely put
inside for comfort and convenience
and
having “a good time generally all around,” and the
old-style people got it.
The town was great in character,
having had so many strong first-class men
as its leading
citizens. It was the admiration of strangers in its bale halcyon days and among these was
Daniel Webster.
He went into the country and I believe ascended Mount Logan, and had an eye-feast as he looked over
the valleys
of the Scioto and Paintcreek.
The beauty and
fertility, the immense fields of corn and wheat, the fat luscious
cattle and
the vast domains of single owners, filled him with the sense of
agricultural
magnificence new in his experience. Ever after, when any Scioto valley
people
called upon him, he was strong in his praises, which made them feel
good,
though on one or two occasions this was marred by his blunder, when
alluding to
the beauty of Paint creek, by his calling it Pain creek.
A most useful and valued
acquaintance made in my first
sojourn in the “Ancient Metropolis”
in
1846, was Seneca W. ELY,
probably the
oldest editor and printer now in the harness in Ohio.
He had then been editor and principal
proprietor of the Scioto Gazette—a leading Whig journal,
founded in 1800, and
still in existence-since 1835, and was known and respected throughout
the State
as an influential writer and
politician. Mr. ELY
was born in eastern Pennsylvania, learned the trade of, a printer at
Rochester
among the
Page 510
New York “Yankees,”
perfecting his knowledge of “the art
preservative of all arts” in
Philadelphia. He was an active participator with
the older politicians, Ewing, Bond, Stanbery,
Creighton, Thrall and a host
of others,
in forwarding the principles and fortunes
of the
“grandest old party ever formed,”
as he
used to express it—the party of Clay, Webster and compatriots.
In the 1840’s Mr. ELY
was one of the first subscribers to the
construction fund of a rail-road—the third in the
State—from Marietta to
the Little Miami at Loveland. He was made one of the officers of the
road, but
the enterprise exhausted the
comfortable
little fortune he had acquired, and he accepted the treasurership
of the first street railroad it Cincinnati. During the civil war he was employed
in sanitary services, especially at St Louis. From 1870 to 1874 he
edited the
leading Republican paper of Miami county
and for eighteen months a paper in Circleville, and then
returned to
Cincinnati as one of the editorial staff of the Gazette. When
the Gazette and Commercial
coalesced his
services were accepted on the joint
enterprise and he continues yet an active member of the editorial corps
of that
leading journal. Like Greeley, he has
passed a “busy
life,” am though, like the same renowned editor, he, may not have
“Gathered gear from every
wile,
That’s justified by
honor,”
We believe
it may truly
be said for him—
“Although your way of life
Is fallen into
the
sere, the yellow leaf,
You’ve that which should
accompany old age;
As honor, love, obedience, troops
of friends.”
EPHRAIM GEORGE SQUIER and Dr. EDWIN
HAMILTON DAVIS,
the archaeologist, in 1846 were engaged in making their explorations
and
surveys, and Mr., ELY
introduced me to
them. Mr. DAVIS was a native of Chillicothe, and was then about 35
years of age. He was a reserved
and somewhat diffident gentleman, and of
the
highest character. ‘The latter part of his life
was passed in New York,
pursuing archaeological studies. Mr. SQUIRE
was an entirely different man. He had come from the East to assist in
editing
the Scioto Gazette. He was then
about
26 years of age, blonde, small and boyish in figure, but one of the most audacious, incisive spirits I have known. In
coming to Columbus with Mr. ELY,
just prior to the opening of the
legislature, SQUIRE said to
him that he
was going to get the clerkship of the house.
Surprised,
the other replied, “Why, SQUIRE, you
can’t do that; you ve just come
to the State;
you are not even a citizen.”
“I don’t
care, I shall do it.” And
he did. He had
a talent for management, and notwithstanding
his insignificant presence could make his way everywhere, with no fear
of
power, station, nor
weight of intellect and character.
One day he was riding out with ELY, when they came in sight of some
ancient
earthworks. He thereupon inquired about them. The latter told him, upon
which
he became greatly interested, and said that
would be his field of work—he did not care about
politics. In the course
of conversation SQUIRE asked
if there was
anybody in Chillicothe interested in
archæology. “Yes, there is
Mr. DAVIS, who ten years ago assisted Charles Whittlesey
in his explorations and surveys of the Newark antiquities, and is still
gathering relics.” The
result was, he
united with DAVIS, who
furnished the funds, and they worked together.
The publication
of
their work by the Smithsonian
Institution set
SQUIRE upon a pedestal. John
L. Stephens’ work upon the
“Antiquities of Central
America, issued in 1841, created a great sensation, showing that that
country
was a rich field for archaeological research.
SQUIRE, the publication of their work, applied for and obtained the
position of special chargé
d’affaires to Central America, his object
being to investigate archaeology and
kindred topics. Both he and
Mr. Davis
died in 1887.
In my last visit to Chillicothe I had the pleasure of meeting Col. WILLIAM E. GILMORE, on of the city’s venerables and its postmaster, holding over from Mr. Arthur’s administration. A military man, were he a Boston instead of a Scioto valley production, he doubtless to-day would be enrolled in its “Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company,” a high private, marching in its ranks, touching elbows with Gen. Banks.
He has a higher honor. He delivered the last speech uttered by mortal man.