OHIO STATEWIDE FILES - Know your Ohio: Tidbits of Ohio -- Part 65B ************************************************************************ USGENWEB ARCHIVES(tm) NOTICE Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm All documents placed in the USGenWeb Archives remain the property of the contributors, who retain publication rights in accordance with US Copyright Laws and Regulations. In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, these documents may be used by anyone for their personal research. They may be used by non-commercial entities so long as all notices and submitter information is included. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit. Any other use, including copying files to other sites, requires permission from the contributors PRIOR to uploading to the other sites. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. http://www.usgenwebarchives.org ************************************************************************** File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Darlene E. Kelley http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00026.html#0006374 August 9, 2005 ************************************************************************** +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Historical Collections of Ohio And Then They Went West Know your Ohio Tid Bits- Part 65B by Darlene E. Kelley Notes by S. Kelly [ ] ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Tid Bits - Part 65 B. [ The Desert Isle ] by Margaret Blennerhassett Like mournful echo from the silent tomb That pines away upon the midnight air, Whilst the pale moon breaks out with fitful gloom, Fond memory turns, with sad but welcome care To scenes of desolation and despair, Once bright with all that beauty could bestow. That peace could shed, or youthful fancy know. To the fair isle reverts the pleasing dream, Again thou risest in thy green attire, Fresh as at first thy blooming graces seem, Thy groves, thy fields their wonted sweets respite, Again thou'rt all my heart could c'er desire Oh' why dear isle art thou not still my own? Thy charms could then for all my griefs atone. The stranger that decends Ohio's stream, Charm'd with the beauteous prospects that arise, Marks the soft isles that 'neath the glist'ning beam Dance in the wave and mingle with the skies, Sees also One that now in ruin lies, Which erst, like fairy Queen tow'red o'er the rest, In every native charm by culture dress'd. There rose the seat where once, in pride of life My eye could mark the queen of rivers flow, In summer's calmness or in winter's strife, Swol'n with the rains or baffling with the snow, Never again my heart such joy know: Havoc and Ruin and rampant War have past Over that isle with their destroying blast. The black'ning fire has swept throughout her halls The winds fly, whistling thro' them, and the wave No more in spring-flood o'er the sand-beach crawls, But furious drowns in one o'erwelming grave The hallow'd haunts it water'd as a slave: Drive on destructive flood and ne'er again On that devoted Isle let man remain. Too many blissful moments there I've known, Too many hopes have there met their decay, Too many feelings now forever gone To wish that thou would'st e'er again display The joyful colouring of thy prime arrray Buried with thee let them remain a blot, With thee their sweets, their bitterness forgot. And oh! That I could wholly wipe away The memory of the ills that work'd thy fall The memory of that all-eventful day When I return'd and found my own fair hall Held by the infuriate populace in thrall, My own fireside blockaded by a band That once found food and shelter at my hand! My children ( Ah a mother's pangs forbear, Nor strike again that arrow thro' my soul ) Clasping the ruffians in suppliant prayer To free their mother from unjust controul, With the false crimes and inputations foul, The wretches --vilest refuse of the earth Mock-jurisdiction held around my hearth! Sweet Isle! Methinks I see thy bosom torn, Again behold the ruthless rabble throng That wrought destruction taste must ever morn Alas I see thee now --shall see thee long Yet ne'er shall bitter feeling urge the wrong That to a mob would give the censure due To those who arm'd the plunder-greedy crew. Tyrants of Liberty ( nane so ador'd By crowds to lawless demagogues a prey, Who, cheated by the ever-echoing word, Feel not their liberies are filch'd away, Themselves the tools of base Ambition's sway,) "Twas yours to loose " the dogs of war," and cry "On-On the Traitors! Strike for Liberty." Thy shores are warm'd with bounteous suns in vain, Columbia! Of spite and envy spring, To blast the beauty of mild nature's reign: The European stranger who would fling O'er tangled woods refinements' polishing, May find ( expended every plan of taste) His works by ruffians render'd doubly waste. Self-dubb'd philosopher -- the mob's delight! Thy looming Science like thy mammoth's bones >From quiet earth shall ne'er be dragg'd to light. Then pray ( if thou canst pray ) in humble tones. That trying Death who no distinction owns >From Freedom's sore may sweep thy crowded name. And save Columbia such blot of shame! For thee no patriot lyre shall e'er be strung, Foul stain of Liberty the rabble's choice! Not e'en thy bombast from the chair that rung Shall live in future generations' voice, Thy baleful slang no more make fools rejoice For who would sound the blessings of thy reign, Confed'rate vile of Atheists and Tom Paine! Great shad of laurel'd Washington arise! Methinks I see thy halo'd frowning brow, indignant see thee turn thy piercing eyes, Thy voice exclaims -- " Where are the heros now " Who bled for Freedom, that the rabble low "Dare thus uncurb'd, on Freedom's sacred shore, " Their vengence on defenceless woman pour." Thine was the soul that knew no base intent By cringing arts to win the mob's applause; Thy purpose on thy country's welfare bent, In arms thou'rt foremost to maintain her cause, And having freed establish'd her with laws, How must thou weep illustrious shade--to see Thy plans perverted by Democracy! Freedom no more -- wild Anarchy restrains, With jarring interests the leveling throng, Busy Ambition every effort stains The fangs of tyranny to plant among The very mob by whom his curse is rung. Spare-spare me from that phantom of equality That equals men in knavery ad brutality! +++++++++++++++++++ [ ] Life of Harmen Blennerhassett The tragic tale of Harmen Blennerhassett is one of a man who appeared never to avoid the periods of seemingly self-induced ill fortune. He was, at the same time, well respected aristocrat and a mna of cosmopolitan society. However, his inability to overcome an adolescent naivety ultimately sealed his fate and marred the Blennerhassett name frever. His extravagant mansion stands firmly amid the Ohio River as a reminder of his unforgettable existence. He was born October 8, 1764 to Conway Blennerhassett, a wealthy Irish land owner, and his wife Elizabeth Lacy. At the time of his birth, the family was not residing at " Castle Conway." as Blennerhassett estate was known, but rather at the English villiage. Hambledon, in County Hampshire. The Blennerhassetts were away from Ireland to avoid the violent raids on prominent Irish landlords by a group of peasant outlaws known as the " Whiteboys." Although the third son of his father, Harman inherited " Castle Conwy," when his older brothers preceded their father in death. Already a practicing attorney, the future of this 27 year old seemed as bright as the morning sun. In only a few years, however, Harman ceased to practice law and began the task of squandering his unearned fortunes. To share his riches, he went against the laws of te churches of both England and Ireland and wed his neice, Margaret Agnew. This religiously unlawful union, along with Harman's revolutionary political views, made it no longer worthwhile for him to remain in Ireland and prompted their journey to America. As a young man in Ireland, Harman Blennerhassett showed signs of resentment toward the established government of the land, and subsequently aligned with unscrupulous charaters who held simular views. Whether or not he formed political opinions on his own, or simply fell prey to the rhetoric of more intelligent people, remains to be seen, although eve his loving wife accused him of being extremely naive at times. It seems that he must have been a somewhat capable politician, for he was quickly promoted to Secretary of a revoluntionary faction known as the Society of United Irishmen. To escape persecution for his unusual choice of bride and companions, Blennerhassett sold his father's estate far below face value and used this money to establish himself in the New World. he and his young wife took up residence in new York and Pittsburgh, before deciding upon a splendid strip of property nestled in the midst of the Ohio River. It was here Harman Blennerhassett constructe a mansion that was the most beautiful and extravagent of its time. For a few years, he was content to toll as an amateur chemist and musician, while also hunting to pass the time. The couple blossomed as the premier social attraction of the Ohio Valley as they used the island paradise to draw guests by the thousands. Due to the extravagant nature of the Blennerhassetts, accounts of their riches were greatly exaggerated, They had little income other than the interest earned by their capital, which did not come close to meeting their overwhelming, and unnecessary expenses. It is probable that tales of the supposed Blennerhassett fortune reached the ears of Aaron Burr, who was recovering from political devastation and was in the need of an investor of the influence of Harman Blennerhassett to carry out plans of either annexing Texas or forming a new govenment out of the western states. And this Blennerhassett's revolutionary idealism reared its ugly head once again. And so from this river hideaway on Blennerhassett Island, he and Aaron Burr allegedly hatched a plan to separate the western states from the Union and set up a new government. News of the plot spread quickly throughout Ohio Valley and many neighbors became immediately suspicious of Burr's continued presence on the Island. On November 27, 1806, President Thomas Jefferson issued a proclamation calling for the arrest of Burr and his followers. This only increased the excitement in the Ohio Valley, as it roused the Virginia Militia to form to make the arrest. Harman fled his island paradise only hours before the malitia laid seige to it. He then met up with Burr and his associates in Kentucky, but Burr's dream of a separate western nation was not to be. Interest quickly declined when consorts began to realize the consequences of this act of treason. Burr and Blennerhassett were arrested and imprisioned in Virginia State Penitentiary. Burr stood trial for high treason, but was acquitted when a five month trial failed to produce any concrete physical evidence as proof of his plots. Harmon's release came soon after, and both men were granted freedom, although their reputations, as well as their fortunes had been destroyed by the ordeal. Aaron Burr sought refuge abroad, in Europe. and Harman Blennerhassett purchased a small cotton plantation and moved his family to the Mississippi territory. Their stay on the plantation was short lived, however, when declining cotton prices and crop failures forced this once proud family to return to Ireland and survive only by the grace and pity of an older sister of Blennerhassett. Harman died a devastated man on February 2, 1831 from a series of apoplectic strokes. Margaret Blennerhassett survived her husband by eleven years, only to give way to poverty and disease in the summer of 1842. The Blennerhassetts, once the inhabitants of an impeccable island pardise and the toast of the Ohio Valley, had witnessed the destruction of their nearly Utropian existence, and had resorted to living off the incomes of various family members, including their two eldest sons. In all they had conceived five children, although they adopted another. Two sons and a daughter were born the island, but only sons survived infancy. Once settled onto their Mississippi plantation, Margaret bore two more children, a son and daughter. Once, again, however the daughter died in infancy. Of all the sons, only the youngest bore children, none of which reached adulthood, and when he died in 1862, the Blennerhassett name died with him. The extreme highs and lows of Harman Blennerhassett's life seem tragic at first glance, but when examining this it becomes more pleasant to focus on the wonderful, although brief period, in which the Blennerhassett family fourished on their isolated island home. Few ever had it so good, and so it seems almost fair that they fell from grace ad tasted the poverty and hardships endured by so many of that era, For this fall, the blame must rest firmly on the shoulders of Harman Blennerhassett, for it was he alone who allowed himself to become entranced by the revolutionary propagana more than once in is 66 years. Recent history has been kind to the Blennerhassetts, however pitiful their existence may have been, for they are now remembered primarily for their architectural masterpiece, which has been restored to its original splendor and is now a profitable tourist attraction. ] ++++++++++++++ ( This writer has recently been informed that Madame Blennerhassett in this ninteeth century, has been reburied on her island property and finally has returned to her beloved Isle, she so desired. ) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Tid Bits continued in part 66.