OHIO STATEWIDE FILES - HISTORY: Chapter 41 (Abbott, John S. C., 1875)
***************************************************************************
OHGENWEB NOTICE:  All distribution rights to this electronic data are
reserved by the submitter.  Reproduction or re-presentation of copyrighted
material will require the permission of the copyright owner.  The submitter 
has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently 
for free access.
***************************************************************************
File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by
Kay L. Mason
keziah63@yahoo.com	
February 1, 2000
***************************************************************************

			Chapter XLI.
		Lives of the Governors - Continued

   			Hon. Mordecai Bartley

   Mordecai Bartley came from an old English family, engaged in agricultural
pursuits. The grandfather of Mordecai came to this country as early as the
year 1724, and landed at Jamestown, Virginia. In those early colonial days
life with every family was spent in toil and privation. The father of Mordecai
married an English woman, and commenced his family life on a farm which he
had purchased in Fayette County, Pennsylvania.
   Mordecai was born the 16th of December, 1783. His early years, until he
attained maturity, were spent in hard work on his father's farm. During this
time he attended school sufficiently to obtain a good English education. In
1804 he married Miss Wells, and five years afterwards moved to Jefferson
County, Ohio. Here, upon the banks of the beautiful river, and near the mouth
of Cross Creek, he purchased a farm.
   Three years after this his peaceful labors were interruped by the breaking
out of the war with Great Britain. Vigorously he raised a good company of
volunteers, of which he was captain, and he rendered good service under 
General Harrison. At the close of the war he removed to the almost unbroken
wilderness of Richland County, in the interior of the state. There was then
a small settlement at Mansfield. But west of that there was a region the
white man's foot had seldom traversed, and which civilization had never
penetrated.
   Here, with his ax, he opened a clearing in the forest and reared his home.
Upon this farm he worked diligently and successfully for twenty uneventful
years. In 1834 he removed to Mansfield, the county seat, and with the savings
of his long years of labor entered into mercantile business.
   He must have early developed a character which won the confidence of the
community, for while on the farm, in 1817, he was elected a member of the
State Senate. At the same time he was appointed by the Legislature to an
important position calle Register of the Land Office. This gave him charge 
of the Virginia Military District School Lands.
   In 1823, when forty years of age, he was elected a member of Congress, and
continued to fill that office for eight years. At the end of his fourth term
he declined a re-election. Though while in Congress he rarely entered into
the debates, he was very faithful in the performance of his duties. He was
the first to propose the converting of the land grants of Ohio into a permanent
fund for the support of common schools. He secured an appropriation for the
improvement of the harbors of Cleveland, Sandusky City, Huron and Vermillion.
He was a warm friend of Henry Clay, and supported the administratin of John 
Quincy Adams.
   In 1844, Mr. Bartley, having retired from Congress, and being engaged in
mercantil and agricultural pursuits, was nominated for Governor. He was
elected by a small majority over David Tod, the Democratic candidate. Both
parties testify to the ability of his administration and to his unselfish
devotion to the public interests. A serious difficulty arose at this time 
between the States of Ohio and Virginia.
   A band of armed men from Virginia crossed the river, seized and bound
three citizens of Ohio, and carried them back into Virginia, accusing them of
having aided in the escape of a slave. The grand jury of Washington County, 
Ohio, indicted the perpetrators of this violation of law, and Governor Bartley
made a requisition on the Governor of Virginia for their persons. He refused
to surrender them. This led to a long and very able correspondence. The 
question was finally carried to the Court of Appeals in Virginia.
   In 1846 the war with Mexico broke out. Many were strongly opposed to the
war, regarding it as a measure of the pro-slavrey party to wrest land from 
Mexico to be cut up into slave states. The party which elected Mr. Bartley
almost universally entertained this view. When the President of the United
States issued his call for troops, Mr. Bartley's friends were not in favor of
Ohio filling her quota. But the governor took the ground that Ohio was 
constitutinally bound to respect the requisitions of the National Government.
He adopted prompt measures to raise the necessary volunteers. They were 
organized under his personal supervision, and delivered to the United States
authorities.
   The executive messages of the governor prove to him to have been a man of
real ability. He thoroughly comprehended the somewhat complex principles of
our noble institutions, recognizing the sovereignty of the National Government
in all those questions surrendered to its jurisdiction, while with equal
clearness he recognized those local rights which each state had reserved to
itself. He declined a second nomination, though strongly urged to permit it.
   Governor Bartley was an earnest Christian. He adorned his profession by 
his life, and did what he could by example and active influence to lead
neighbors and friends to embrace that religion of Jesus, whose fundamental
principles are, "God is our common father, man is our brother." His comprehensive
mind could not be shackled by narrow sectarianism. In his early years he
united with the Baptist Church. As at Mansfield there was no church of his
own denomination, he united with the Methodist Episcopal Church, and engaged
actively in the promotion of its interests.
   He passed the evening of his days at Mansfield, beloved by his children, 
who were justly proud of their eminent Christian father, and revered by the 
whole community.
   After his term of office as governor expired, he abstained entirely from
public life, and divided his attention between the practice of the legal
profession and agricultural pursuits, near the City of Mansfield.
   For the six years previous to his death he was severly afflicted with 
paralytic strokes, from the effects of which his sight and hearing became
injured, and from he died at his home in Mansfield, on the 10th of October, 
1870.
   Governor Mordecai Bartley has three children still living - Ex-Governor
Thomas W. Bartley, practicing law in Washington, D.C.; Mrs. Arnold, wife of
G. B. Arnold, a merchant in Mansfield, Ohio, and Mrs. Susan B. Steele, the
wife of Colonel Steele, of New Orleans, Louisiana. Three of his children have
deceased, two of them leaving families to mourn their departure. They were
Mrs. Bishop E. Thompson, of the M.E. Church; Dr. David Bartley, and John
P. Bartley. The latter died while a cadet at the West Point Military Academy.


			Hon. William Bebb.

   William Bebb was Governor of Ohio from 1846 to 1848. His father, Edward
Bebb, emigrated to this country from Wales, in the year 1795. Crossing the
mountains on foot, with a companion, to explore the Far West, he visited
Cincinnati; and thence the fertile valley of the Miami. He was delighted with
the climate, and forseeing the future wealth of the valley, though it was
then but a wilderness, purchased an extensive tract of land, and on foot
retraced his steps on the long journey back to Pennsylvania. Here he met a 
lady, Miss Roberts, to whom he had been engaged in Wales, and, marrying her, 
with his bride returned to his wilderness home in Ohio.
   Mr. Bebb was a superior man, of sound judgment, joyous and ever hopeful
disposition, and one who made himself agreeable to all who approached him.
Mrs. Bebb was a lady of refinement and culture. It must have been a strange
home, amidst the solitudes of the forests, to which Mrs. Bebb was introduced.
Their neighbors were scattered, in log huts, at distances of several miles.
Many naked savages were continually entering her door. Under these circumstances
her son William was born, in the year 1804.
   There were no schools there. But both father and mother took the deepest
interest in the instruction of their children. They saw and deplored the fact
that many children were growing up around them mere white savages. William
learned to read at home. His father took a weekly paper, published at
Cincinnati, called the "Western Spy." It was distributed by a private post-rider.
At that time all the world was watching, with eager interest, the achievements
of Napoleon I. William Bebb read with the greatest avidity the brief narrative
of his campaigns which was contained in the small provincial sheet. At length,
as the country advanced, a very eccentric man came along who established a
school. Under him William studied diligently English, Latin and Mathematics, 
working in the meantime, and especially in the vacations, on his father's
farm.
   When twenty years of age he opened a school at North Bend, and resided in
the home, very moderate in its appointments, of General Harrison. In this
employment he remained a year, and in 1824 married Miss Shuck, a very
estimable lady, who was the daughter of a wealthy German. Soon after marriage
he commenced the study of law, continuing his school and boarding many of
his pupils. This double labor rendered it necessary for him to rise very
early. He was eminently successful as a teacher, and his school attracted
pupils from the most distinguished families of Cincinnati.
   Mr. Bebb was a strong Whig, in favor of Henry Clay. Most of his neighbors
were equally strong Democrats, supporters of General Jackson. Still he was
very popular with his neighbors. He was invited to deliver an address before
the Butler County Agricultural Society. He wrote it with great care, and
delivered it from memory. It added greatly to his reputation. In 1831 he rode
on horseback to Columbus, where the Supreme Court was in session, and was
admitted to the bar of the state. He removed to Hamilton, on the Miami, 
about twenty-five miles north from Cincinnati, and opened a law office. Here
he continued, in quiet successful practice, fourteen years.
   During all this time he took an active interest in political affairs. During
what was called the "Hard Cider Campaign," he stumped the state in favor of
General Harrison. In 1846 he was elected Governor. The conflict between the
Democrats and Whigs was intense and angry. William Bebb was born in Ohio.
Never before had an native-born citizen been a candidate for the Governor's
chair. This added to his popularity, and he received the campaign name of 
the "Buckeye Boy."
   When he was inaugurated the Mexican war was in progress. Though strongly
opposed to it, as originating in a desire to perpetuate slavery, yet he felt
bound to give his energetic support to all the measures ordered by the General
Government. Party feeling ran so high that there was not a little danger of
civil war. The moderation of the governor aided in averting the terrible
calamity. Governor Bebb, a humane man, was much interested in prison reform.
He did much to ameliorate the condition of the prisoners. They were provided
with books, and their gloomy cells were so lighted, until nine at night, 
that they could read.
   There was great activity in constructing railroads and turnpikes. The 
currency was sound. Free schools were established; all the arts of industry
were amply rewarded, and the whole state was in a condition of high prosperity.
In the year 1847 Governor Bebb purchased five thousand acres of land in Rock
River County, Illinois. The location was delightful, and the soil rich. Five
hundred acres of the pristine forest constituted a magnificent natural park.
Other portions consisted of a beautiful prairie, flower-enameled, waiting for
the plow. A stream of crystal water ran through the lands fed by perpetual
springs.
   In July, 1850, Governor Bebb removed to his attractive and valuable purchase.
He took with him five horses and quite a number of cattle of the choicest
breeds. They would find the best of pasturage on the rich prairies. He 
continued to take an active interest in politics as an earnest Whig.
   In 1855 he visited Great Britain and the Continent of Europe. Finding many
in Waled inclined to emigrate to America, he took an active interest in the
enterprise. A company was formed, and a tract of one hundred thousand acres
of land was purchased in East Tennessee.
   Just before the arrival of this party, Charles Sumner was struck down in
the Senate, by the bludgeon of Brooks. Secession and civil war were threatened.
The whole country was in intense agitation. There was no safety for any one, 
in a southern state, who was not an advocate of slavery. The few of the 
colonists who had arrived were in great consternation. Governor Bebb deemed 
it his duty to go to them, lend them his countenance and aid, and share their
peril. Civil war broke out. Governor Bebb and his family fled. Parson 
Brownlow warned him that he could not return but at the peril of his life.
The discouraged emigrants were scattered, and they settled in different parts
of the Union.
   Horrid war, with its devastation, swept the region. Governor Bebb lost his
house, furniture, library, and everything which the rebels could take or 
destroy. Thus plundered and outraged by his own countrymen, he returned to
his home in Illinois, where he remained until the inauguration of President
Lincoln. He then received the appointment of Examiner in the Pension Department.
In 1866 he resigned this position, and returned to the peaceful pursuits of
agriculture. The scale upon which he carried on farming may be inferred from
the fact that in 1868 he broke up with the plow, for crops, one thousand
acres of fertile prairie, and enclosed another thousand to pasture his
numerous herd.
   In the Fall of 1868 he took a warm interest in the success of the Republican
ticket, and entered the campaign for Grant and Colfax. One cold, cloudy night
in October, after addressing a meeting in Pecatonica, he rode home, nine 
miles, in an open wagon. This exposure immediately following the exhaustion
of the speech, brought on a severe attack of pneumonia, and for several days
his life was despaired of; but an iron constitution that had never known a
strain enough to bend it, together with careful attendance, carried him through,
and thence to the depot, where he took the cars and returned to Washington, 
where he spent the Winter of 1868-9. Most of his time was occupied listening
to the debates in the Senate upon the important measures for civil rights
and personal liberty of that winter.
   In March, 1869, he returned with his wife and daughter to Illinois. From
the effect of this attack of pneumonia he never entirely recovered. It was
the beginning of the descent, and from that time he very slowly, but none 
the less surely and steadily failed from a general breaking down of the 
vital forces rather than from any functional disease.
   Feeling that he was no longer able to superintend his farming land, he
purchased a residence in Rockford, where he could quietly spend the remaining
few years of his life. Shortly after his return to Rockford, Dr. Kerr, a man
of marked ability and advanced liberal views of Christianity, withdrew from
the Baptist Church, of which he was the pastor, and organized the Church
of the Christian Union. In this movement he took an active part, became a 
member of the church and of its executive board. A warm personal friendship
grew up between him and Dr. Kerr, which only terminated with his life. His
mind remained clear and active up to the last moments of his life, and he was
able to perform mental labor far surpassing his physical strength. He read
much, and kept well posted on all the leading events of the day. In 1872,
although no longer able to enter the canvass, he was an ardent supporter of
General Grant's reelection. He was much interested in the last gubernatorial
contest in Ohio, although occurring but a few weeks before his death.
   He died on the 23d of October, 1873, as calmly as a child falling to sleep.


			Hon. Seabury Ford

   About the year 1805, John Ford, an energetic man of Scotch descent, set
out on foot from Cheshire, Connecticut, to explore the lands of the Western
Reserve in Northern Ohio. It must have been a weary journey, of many hardships.
But he was poor, had a growing family, and the lands of the reserve could be
obtained for a small sum. He purchased a thousand acres of fertile soil, but
of unbroken wilderness, within the limits of the present town of Burton, in 
Geauga County. He put up a rude cabin, as a shelter from the weather, and set
to work vigorously with his ax in felling the forest and grubbing up the
bushes to prepare a field for corn. In the Winter he went back to his family
in Cheshire. The next Spring he again repaired on foot to his new purchase, 
planted his corn-field, built a comfortable log cabin, and returned to
Connecticut for his family.
   In the Autumn of 1807, John Ford, with his wife and four children, commenced
their dreadful journey, through almost pathless wilds, for a distance of six
hundred miles. Their equipage consisted of a huge, strong lumber wagon, 
without springs, drawn by four oxen. The roads were often frightfully rough
and miry, and not unfrequently, for a long day's journey, not a single human
residence was to be seen. Forty-two days of sunshine and of storm were occupied
in this painful emigration.
   The youngest child of this family was Seabury Ford, then a lad but five
years of age. And yet that child, of such humble parentage, was destined to
be the Governor of Ohio, when that state should have attained the position of
one of the most populous, wealthy, and intelligent states in the American
Union. There were no schools in that rude region. For ten years the boy was
mainly employed in aiding his father in hewing out a farm from the tangled
forest.
   Fortunately for Seabury, his mother was a devoted Christian, and a woman of
much capacity and intelligence. Amidst all the cares of her toilsome life
she found time to teach her child to read and write, to inspire him with a 
love of learning, and above all, to instill into his mind those principles of
integrity and piety which ennobled and embellished his future days. Very
early the boy developed unusual intellectual capacities, and eagerly read all
the books he could borrow in the scattered cabins around. Both father and 
mother were alike interested in the moral culture and the intellectual
improvement of their children.
   When Seabury attained the age of fifteen, for two winters he was sent to 
a common school, working on the farm with his father during the Summer. When
eighteen years of age, he became so anxious to obtain a collegiate education
that his father, then in comparative prosperity, decided to gratify him. By
this time the progress of the country had been so rapid that there was an 
academy in Burton, taught by an accomplished scholar, Rev. David L. Coe. The
studies of two years fitted him for college.
   In the Autumn of 1821, Seabury Ford, with a young companion by the name 
of Dexter Witter, who subsequently became an eminent preacher of the gospel,
started to enter Yale College, in New Haven, Connecticut. They took a light
wagon, drawn by one horse, and with their few articles of clothing in carpetbags, 
commenced their arduous journey. The distance can now, in the cars, be even
more luxuriously accomplished in about thirty-six hours. Then the route
occupied more than three weeks of toilsome, painful, exhaustive journeying.
Arriving at New Haven, they sold their horse and wagon, and entered upon
their college duties.
   Seabury Ford graduated in 1825, with a high reputation for honorable
conduct and for assiduity as a student. Returning to his home in Ohio, he
very energetically entered upon the study of law, and was admitted to practice
in the year 1827. His character and attainments promptly secured for him
extended and lucrative employment.
   He took a lively interest in the organization of the militia of his district,
in which he attained the rank of major general, and devoted considerable time
to agricultural pursuits, of which he was very fond, but took no active part
in politics until the year 1835, when he was elected by an immense majority
to represent Geauga County in the State Legislature. He was chosen for six
successive sessions, and in his last term was elevated to the dignity of
Speaker of the House. His speeches upon finance indicated unusual ability in
that difficult branch of political economy, and widely extended his fame as
a statesman.
   In 1841, Mr. Ford, with ever increasing reputation, represented the counties
of Cuyahoga and Geauga in the State Senate. He was an ardent admirer of
Henry Clay, and so intensely consecrated his energies to the election of his
favorite candidate to the Presidency, as seriously to injure his own health.
In 1848, after one of the most hotly contested elections Ohio has ever
witnessed, between Whig and Democrat, Seabury Ford was chosen Governor by 
the small majority of eight hundred and seventy-one votes. The whole number 
of votes then cast was two hundred ninety-five thousand five hundred and 
eleven, indicating a population of nearly a million and a half.
   His inaugural address commanded the respect of all parties and the admiration
of his friends. In that day threats of dissolving the Union, unless slavery
should be made national, were like snow-flakes filling the air. Boldly and
eloquently Governor Ford denounced these menaces. When he retired from the
gubernatorial chair, it was the unanimous verdict of Ohio that his administration
had been conducted with great ability. He retire to his pleasant homestead
in Burton, with his constitution much shattered by the arduous labors of
office. After a lingering sickness, he died on the 8th of March, 1855, at the
age of fifty-three. 
   For more than twenty years Governor Ford had been an honored and useful
member of the Congregational Church in Burton. He died respected and beloved
by the whole community. "As a neighbor, he was obliging and affable; as a
friend, generous, sympathetic, and faithful; as a husband and father, kind
and indulgent, while the genial warmth of his social temperament fitted him
to be the life and ornament of the social circle."


			Hon. Reuben Wood.

   Reuben Wood, the twenty-second Governor of Ohio, was born in Middletown, 
Richland County, Vermont, in the year 1792. His father was a clergyman and
chaplain in the Revolutionary army. The whole family was distinguished for 
its devotion to the patriotic cause. Young Reuben's intelligent father was
able to confer upon his son unusual advantages for the cultivation of the
mind. He obtained a good English and classical education in Upper Canada, and
entered upon the study of the law. Hon. Marshall S. Bidwell, an eminent lawyer,
who recently died in New York, was one of his classmates.
   In 1812 Reuben was drafted by the Canadian authorities to serve in the 
war against the United States. Determined not to fight against his native
flag, one dark and stormy night, with a companion, Bill Johnson, he took a 
birch canoe and set out to cross the ocean-like Lake Ontario, to the American
shore. It was an exploit of which any knight of ancient chivalry might well
be proud.
   A gale of wind swept the lake. The rain fell in torrents. Pitch darkness
enveloped them. They were in immenent danger of being swallowed up by the
waves, when they succeeded in reaching a small island. Here the storm imprisoned
them for three days. They suffered severely for food and from exposure. As 
deserters from the British army, if captured, their lives would be in danger.
At last, in a deplorable condition, they reached Sackett's Harbor, on the
New York shore of the lake. As they entered the harbor in their frail canoe, 
they were arrested as spies by the patrol boats of a small American fleet there.
   For four days they were held as captives on board of one of the ships. An
uncle of Mr. Wood, residing in the neighborhood, hearing of his arrest, gave
such assurance of the patriotism of the two young men as to secure their 
release. Reuben Wood returned to his native town and raised a company, of
which he was chosen captain. As they were marching rapidly to repel a threatened
invation on the northern frontier, the battle of Lake Champlain took place, 
in which the British were defeated. The volunteers, consequently, returned to
Woodville and were disbanded.
   Mr. Wood then entered the law office of Gen. Jonas Clark, a distinguished
attorney of that day. In 1818, two years after his marriage, he emigrated to
Cleveland, Ohio, then farther from the New England States than Oregon is now.
AS he stepped ashore, at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River, he found a small
hamlet of straggling, scattered huts. The clearing, opened upon the river
banks scarcely encroached upon the boundless forest. But a few years before
the savages alone wandered through these woods, and their birch canoes glided
over these still, silent waters.
   It was necessary for Mr. Wood to apply to the Supreme Court, then in session
at Ravenna, for authority to practice in the Ohio courts. His finances were 
such that he took this journey on foot. His wife and infant daughter soon
joined him at Cleveland, taking the steamer "Walk-in-the-Water," from Buffalo.
This was the first steamer on Lake Erie. A relative writes of him:
   "When he thus finally made up his residence in Ohio, his worldly possessions
were his wife, his daughter, and a silver quarter of a dollar."
   His ability, industry and virtues, soon brought him into notice, and gave
him constantly increasing practice. In 1825 he was elected to the Senate of
Ohio, and filled that office for three consecutive terms of two years each.
He was soon appointed presiding judge of the Court of Common Pleas of his 
district, and was subsequently promoted influence in shaping the judiciary of
the state.
   His unsullied integrity, commanding person, dignified demeanor, and kindness
of heart, won for him both affection and esteem. One familiar with his
character and career, writes of him:
   "In the various official positions he filled the breadth of suspicion was 
never lisped against him. In his long career of public life he maintained a
character above reproach. Even the heat and injustice of party conflict never
left its mark upon his character. His warm, personal, private friendships 
were never chilled by the bitterest political excitements. As a candidate
for the suffrages of his fellow citizens, he was very popular with his party.
His tall, erect form and commanding mien on for him the title of the "Old
Cuyahoga Chief."
   Thus, when in October, 1850, he was nominated for Governor by the Democratic
party, though the dominent party had been Whig for a number of years, he was
elected by a majority of eleven thousand. Although the canvass was a very
spiritual one, not a line of abuse or any blemish on his private character 
was even hinted at by any paper in the state. Indeed such was his personal
popularity that many Whigs, personal friends, were found electioneering or
voting for him. He took his seat as Governor in 1851.
   The passage by Congress of the odious Fugitive Slave Law had filled the
country with bitterness and dissension. Governor Wood, in his inaugural, 
expressed his abhorrene of slavery, while at the same time he counselled
obedience to the law.
   "I must not," he wrote, "by any means be understood as attempting to defend
the propriety and expediency of the law. It is unacceptable to a very large
majority of the people of the North. It has crowded Northern feelings to its
utmost tension. Public disapprobation will continue to hamper its execution
and agitate its repeal.
   "But with all these objections to the propriety of the law, violence is
not to be thought of for a moment. There is a constitutional and legal remedy
which will not overthrow that stately edifice of freedom erected by our 
ancestors on the ruins of colonial oppression, and which has hitherto been
protected by the majesty and supremacy of law. The remedy is amendment or 
repeal."
   During his administration Ohio was in a state of great prosperity, and it
was generally admitted that the gubernatorial chair had never been more
worthily filled. A new constitution went into effect in March, 1851, thus
vacating the office of governor. Reuben Wood was re-nominated by the Democratic
party, and re-elected by a majority of twenty-six thousand votes. This second
term commenced in January, 1852.
   At the assembling of the great Democratic Convention at Baltimore, in 1852,
to nominate a candidate for the presidency, the division in the party was such
that forty or fifty unavailing ballots were taken. The Virginia delegation 
then offered to the Ohio delegation to give the entire vote of Virginia to
Governor Wood if Ohio would bring him forward. The hostility of one man 
prevented this arrangement. The same offer was then made to the New Hampshire
delegation. It was accepted, and Franklin Pierce became the President of the 
United States.
   It is not improbably that the yielding of one man, causing the election of
Governor Wood, would have saved our country from all the horrors of our
awful civl war. Upon incidents apparently so trifling are the destinies of 
nations suspended. Governor Wood devoted himself so engrossingly to public
affairs that he neglected his private interests.
   Pecuniary considerations probably influenced him to accept the proffered
office of the Consulate at Valparaiso, South America. This was one of the
richest offices in the gift of the government. In 1853, resigning the chair
of the Chief Executive, he embarked, with his family, for that far-distant 
land. He addressed an affectionate letter of farewell to the people of Ohio,
and thousands regretted his departure. Not finding the office as remunerative
as he expected, he resigned, and in a year returned to his native land.
   For a short time he resumed the practice of law, and then devoted the 
remainder of his years to the cultivation of his splendid farm, called Evergreen
Place, about eight miles out of the city. It was a beautiful home, which he
had spent many years in adorning, and which was rendered doubly attractive
by his generous hospitality.
   He continued to watch with lively interest the progress of public affairs,
and foresaw the inevitable conflict between freedom and slavery. A strong
Union man, he supported with all his powers the efforts of the Government to 
suppress the rebellion. In October, 1864, though he had already passed his
three-score years and ten, he attended a large Union meeting in Cleveland.
Returning home that night he suffered great pain, but retained entire 
consciousness. At three o'clock Saturday afternoon, October 1, 1864, he died,
surrounded by his weeping family. His remains now lie in Woodland Cemetery, 
Cleveland, surrounded by a shaft bearing the simple inscription:
			"Reuben Wood."
   For the above incidents the writer is indebted to a sketch admirably written
by Mr. Noble H. Merwin, a grandson of Governor Wood. These pages would be
enriched did our space allw us to insert the whole article.


			Hon. William Medill

   The following sketch of Governor Medill has been furnished by a gentleman
who was intimately acquainted with his character and career:
   Governor Medill was born in New Castle County, State of Delaware, in the
year 1801; graduate of Delaware County in 1825; studied law under Judge 
Black of New Castle, Delaware; removed to Lancaster, Ohio, in 1830; entered
law office of Hon. Philemon Beecher, and was regularly admitted to practice
in the supreme court and the several courts of this state in 1832. In 1835, 
he was elected to represent this (Fairfield) county in the Ohio Legislature,
and served in that capacity for several years, and was twice elected Speaker
of the House of Representatives, which he filled with distinguished ability.
In 1838 he was elected as a representative in Congress from this district, 
then comprising Fairfield, Perry, Morgan and Hocking Counties; and was 
re-elected in 1840, and was an active and influential member of that body. 
In 1845 he was appointed by President Polk, Second Assistant Postmaster 
General, the duties of which he performed with marked ability. He was afterwards
(the same year) appointed to the office of Commissioner of Indian Affairs, 
in which his administration was characterized by various long-needed reforms
in that department and a spirit of justice to the Indians whose guardianship
he held. At the close of Mr. Polk's administration he returned to his home
on Ohio, and resumed the practice of law.
   In 1849 he was elected a member of the convention to form a new constitution
for the State of Ohio, and was elected by that distinguished body, comprising
many of the most able and distinguished men as president, was but a just 
recognition of his abilities as a statesman and his great tact as a presiding
officer. In 1851 he was elected lieutenant governor, and in 1853 was elected
as the first governor under that new constitution he was so largely instrumental
in forming and establishing. In 1857 he was appointed by President Buchanan
first comptroller of the United States Treasury, which he held until the 
advent of Mr. Lincoln's administration. Upon his retirement from that office
he returned to his home to end his days among the people whom he loved and
had served, and who had ever honored and trusted him with undoubting confidence.
   Governor Medill was a man of undoubted talent and of great administrative
ability. His private and public life was remarkably pure and unsullied from
the least stain of private or official corruption. His character will be
fully portrayed by pronouncing him to be what he eminently was, a true patriot;
a citizen of spotless reputation; a trusty and confiding friend; an able, 
faithful and incorruptible public servant, and a courteous Christian gentleman.
   Governor Medill died at his residence in Lancaster, Ohio, September 2, 1865.