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OH-FOOTSTEPS-D Digest                    Volume 99 : Issue 141

Today's Topics:
  #1 History of Knox County Pt 4          [leaann1@bellsouth.net]
  #2 History of Knox County Pt 5          [leaann1@bellsouth.net]
  #3 CHARLES PETITIT MCILVAINE            [LeaAnn Rich <leaann1@bellsouth.net]
  #4 COLUMBUS DELANO                      [LeaAnn Rich <leaann1@bellsouth.net]
  #5 George Washington Morgan             [LeaAnn Rich <leaann1@bellsouth.net]

------------------------------

X-Message: #1
Date: Tue, 09 Mar 1999 01:15:36 -0800
From: leaann1@bellsouth.net
Subject: History of Knox County Pt 4


Historical Collections of Ohio
Henry Howe LL.D.
Knox County

Gambier in 1846
Five miles east of Mount Vernon,  on a beautiful, healthy, and elevated
ridge,  encompassed on three sides by the Vernon River,  is the village
of Gambier,  so named from Lord Gambier,  and widely known as the seat
of Kenyon College.  This town,  exclusive of the college,  contains
about 200 inhabitants.  It was laid out under the auspices of the
venerable Bishop Chase,  in July 1826,  in the center of a 4,000-acre
tract,  belonging to Kenyon College.  This institution was then
founded,  with funds obtained by Bishop Chase in England,  and named
after Lord Kenyon,  one of its principle benefactors.  It was first
chartered as a theological seminary.  It is richly endowed,  having
8,000 acres of land,  and its property is valued at $100,000.  The
college proper has about fifty students;  the theological seminary about
twenty,  the senior grammar school about twenty,  and Milnor Hall,  an
institute for boys, about twenty-five.  In the various libraries are
near 10,000 volumes.

The main college building is romantically situated.  You enter a gate
into a large area;  in the foreground is a large,  grassy,  cleared plat
of several acres,  on the right of which stands Rosse Chapel,  an
elegant Grecian structure;  on the left and below,  is the beautiful
Vernon valley,  bounded by forest clad hills,  over which the eye passes
in the perspective for miles and miles,  until the blue of distant hills
and sky meet,  and blend in one.  Through the center of the grassy plat
passes a footpath,  which at a distance of 200 yards,  continues its
straight line in a narrow opening through a forest,  and terminates at
the college,  about one-third of a mile distant,  the spire of which
rises darkly above the green foilage,  like that of an ancient abbey, 
while the main building is mostly concealed.  The whole scene,  the
graceful,  cheerful architecture of the chapel,  on the right,  the
valley on the left,  the pleasant,  grassy green in front,  the forest
beyond,  with the sombre,  half concealed building in the distance, 
give an ever-enduring impression.  Standing at the gate,  with the back
to the college,  the scene changes;  a broad avenue terminates at the
distance of half a mile,  at the head of which,  in a commanding
position,  faces Bexley hall,  a building appropriated to the
theological seminary.  It is a large,  elegant,  and highly ornamented
Gothic structure,  of a light color,  with battlements and turrets, 
standing boldly relieved against the blue sky,  except its lower
portion,  where it is concealed by the shrubbery of a spacious yard in
front.  To the left,  and near the hall,  an imposing residence,  late
occupied by Bishop McIlvaine,  faces the avenue.  Away off to the
right,  among the trees,  is Milnor Hall,  and scattered about in
various directions,  near and far,  private dwellings,  offices and
various structures,  some plain and others adorned,  some in full view
and others partly hidden by the undulations of the ground,  trees and
shrubbery.  --Old Edition

The Career of Kenyon
Since the foregoing was published,  important changes have taken place
at Gambier.  Now it has railroad facilities by the C.A.&C. Railroad; 
new and beautiful buildings have been erected,  and now connected with
it are Kenyon Military Academy and "Harcourt Place Seminary for Young
Ladies and Girls."  Kenyon has many warm friends among her distinguished
alumnni.  Ex-President Hayes wrote that,  with the exception of the four
years spent in the Union Army,  no other period in his life,  in
cherished recollections,  could be compared with it.  Edwin M. Stanton, 
the great War Secretary,  was accustomed to say; "If I am anything,  I
owe it to Gambier College."

When Bishop McIlvaine succeeded Bishop Chase in the presidency of Kenyon
College,  the affairs of the institution were in a critical condition, 
owing to the accumulation of debt,  and his timely aid and able
government,  in which he was assisted by Dr. William Sparrow,  the first
vice-president,  were invaluable.
Bishop McIlvaine's duties were divided between the college and his
diocese;  but Dr. Sparrow gave to Kenyon his full and undivided
strength.  Under these two strong men the institution flourished and its
educational influence was widespread.
"The expenses of living in Gambier in early days were very small.  The
annual charges were: for instruction, $30;  for board at the college
table, $40;  room rent in a room with a stove, $4;  room rent in a room
with a fireplace, $6.  For theological students and sons of clergymen
the total charge was $50.
The college formed a large landed estate,  and kept a hotel and shops, 
mills and stores.  One looks curiously today at its inventory of goods,
pots, pans, pails, tubs, saucers, spoons, white dimity bed curtains,
mixed all up with oxen, cows and vinegar.
An early college publication advertises,  "Cash will be given at the
seminary store for hats and old shoes suitable for making coffee."  It
also chronicles an "Awful Catastrophe,  died,  very suddenly on
Wednesday last,  seventeen interesting hogs,  of sore throats,  endeared
to the students by their unassuming manners,  gentlemanly deportment, 
and a life devoted to the public service.  The funeral of each of them
will be attended every day until the end,  in the dining hall."
Those were the days when the boys were required "to sweep their own
rooms,  make their own beds and fires,  bring their own water,  black
their own boots,  if they ever were blacked,  and take an occasional
turn at grubbing in the fields or working on the roads."  The discipline
was somewhat strict and the toil perhaps severe,  but the few pleasures
that were allowed were thoroughly enjoyed.  We read of a sophomore who
was commanded to the room of a professor,  and severely beaten with a
rod.  For the first time in his life a Mississippi freshman received
bodily chastisement,  and even Dr. Sparrow,  the vice president,  took
care to see that it was well laid on.
In 1840 Bishop McIlvaine was succeeded in the presidency of Kenyon by
major D.B. Douglass, LL.D.,  but remained at the head of the theological
seminary.  Succeeding Major Douglass in the presidency came Rev. Dr.
H.A. Bronson,  later came Lorin Andrews LL.D.,  the first Ohio volunteer
to the Union Army (see vol 1,  page 253)  His successors were Charles
Short LL.D., (1863-67),  James Kent Stone A.M. (1867-68),  Eli T. Tappan
LL.D. (1868-75),  William B. Bodine D.D.,  the present incumbent.
Gambier is greatly indebted to Bishop G.T. Bedell,  ex-president of the
theological seminary,  who,  by his ardent and faithful endeavors, 
secured contributions amounting in all to nearly $200,000.
For her present measure of prosperity,  if not,  indeed for her very
existence,  the one man to whom, after Bishop Chase, Kenyon College is
most indebted is the rev. M.T.C. Wing, D.D. For a third of a century, 
in addition to the duties of his professorship,  he carried on his
strong shoulders the financial burdens of the college.  He struggled
through deep waters,  but he bravely triumphed.  Bishop McIlvaine
testified "to his eminent faithfulness,  wisdom,  self-devotion, 
patience and constancy in most trying circumstances."
In all her requisites for admission,  and in the course of study, Kenyon
does not materially differ from the leading colleges of the Easters
States.  She aims to give a thorough, liberal education,  and believes
in the value of hard mental discipline.  She also believes in right
religious influences,  and labors to afford them,  pursuing steadily
"the true, the beautiful and the good."
Among the most eminent of the sons of Kenyon are ex-President R.B.
Hayes,  Edwin M. Stanton,  David Davis,  Henry Winter Davis, Stanley
Matthews, David Turpie,  M.M. Granger, Frank H. Hurd, R.E. Trowbridge
and Wm. G. LeDuc.
The "Church of the Holy Spirit,"  the college chapel at Kenyon,  is said
to be "the most beautiful church in this country."  The funds for its
erection were given by members of the Church of the Ascension,  New
York,  as a tribute of appreciation for their former rector,  Bishop
Bedell.
Mr. Geo. A. Benedict,  editor of the Cleveland Herald,  has written of
it: "The crowning glory of the Church of the Holy Spirit is its
teachings in every window,  in all its carvings,  in its illuminated
wall texts,  in its ceilings and in its everything.  That Church is a
biblical study.  It is cheerful;  there is nothing the least gloomy
about it,  and the most irreverent intuitively would take off his hat
when he entered it,  for it is the beauty of holiness."
--
------------------------------

X-Message: #2
Date: Tue, 09 Mar 1999 01:35:18 -0800
From: leaann1@bellsouth.net
Subject: History of Knox County Pt 5


Historical Collections of Ohio
Henry Howe LL.D.
Knox County

Fredericktown,  laid out in 1807 by John Kerr,  is seven miles northwest
of Mount Vernon,  on the B.&O. Railroad.  Newspaper:  Free Press,
independent,  W.E. Edwards M.D., editor.  Churches: one Presbyterian,
one Methodist, one Baptist.  Bank: Daniel Struble.  Industries are
creamery,  bell-foundry, planing-mill,  and sealing wax factory of
Cumming & Hosack,  and carriage factory of Stephens & Hagerty. 
Population in 1880, 850.  School census 1888, 266;  C.W. Durbin, school
superintendent.  Capital invested in industrial establishments $56,200;
value of annual product, $67,600.--Ohio Labor Statistics 1888
Vernon River,  on which it is situated,  furnishes considerable water
power.  On the middle branch of that stream,  near the village,  are
some ancient fortifications and mounds.

Centreburg is fourteen miles southwest of Mount Vernon,  at the crossing
of the C.A.&C. and T.&O.C. Railroads.  Newspaper: Gazette, independent, 
E.N. Gunsaulus, editor.  Churches: one Methodist Episcopal,  one
Cumberland Presbyterian,  one Christian,  one Free-Will baptist.  bank:
Centreburg (Daniel paul).  It is an important point for the shipment of
grain,  and here are the extensive tile-works of T.E. Landrum & Co. 
Population 1880, 400.  School census 1888, 185.  Capital invested in
industrial establishments, $69,100;  value of annual product,
$70,800.--Ohio Labor Statistics 1887

Martinsburg is eleven miles southeast of Mount Vernon.  Churches; one
Presbyterian,  one baptist,  one Methodist,  one Disciples.  School
census 1888, 124.

Gambier is five miles east of Mount Vernon,  on the C.A.&C. Railroad. 
Population 1880, 576

Danville is fifteen miles northeast of Mount Vernon,  on the C.A.&C.
Railroad.  Newspaper: Knox County Independent, independent,  W.M.
Kinsley editor and publisher.  Bank: Danville (Wolf & Sons),  Albert J.
Wolfe cashier.  School census 1888, 210
--

------------------------------

X-Message: #3
Date: Tue, 09 Mar 1999 02:00:23 -0800
From: LeaAnn Rich <leaann1@bellsouth.net>
Subject: CHARLES PETITIT MCILVAINE


Historical Collections of Ohio
Henry Howe LL.D.
Knox County

Charles Petitit McIlvaine,  son of Joseph McIlvaine,  US Senator from
New jersey,  was born in Burlington, N.J.,  January 18,  1799; 
graduated at Princeton in 1816;  was made priest in the Episcopal
Church,  march 20,  1821.  He was five years rector of Christ Church, 
Georgetown, D.C.  In 1825 was appointed chaplain and professor of ethics
at West Point.  Settled over St. Ann's Church,  Brooklyn,  in 1827; 
four years later was chosen Professor in the University of the City of
new york.  Was elected Bishop of Ohio and consecrated in New York, 
October 31, 1832.  Before settling in Ohio Bishop McIlvaine raised among
his friends in Eastern Cities nearly $30,000 for Kenyon College and the
theological seminary at Gambier,  of which institutions he became
president.
He received the degrees of D.D. from Princeton and Brown in 1832, 
D.C.L. from Oxford in 1853,  and LL.D. from Cambridge in 1858.  During
the war he was a member of the Sanitary Commission and on a visit to
England at this period he was of great service to the united States
government in creating favorable sentiment for the Union.  As Bishop of
Ohio and President of Kenyon College he was a great power in the
development of religion,  morals and education.
"Born in the same year in which George washington died,  he bore a close
resemblance to the Father of his Country,  both in appearance and
character.  He looked a king among men;  he was great, also,  as a
thinker and orator."
The first by-law under his administration at Kenyon is characteristic:
"It shall duty of every student of the college and grammar school on
meeting or passing the President or Vice-president,  any Professor,  or
other officer of the institution,  to salute him by touching the hat, 
or uncovering the head,  and it is equally required of each officer to
return the salutation."
Bishop MvIlvaine died in Florence,  Italy, march 13, 1873,  while abroad
for his health.  He was the author of many valuable religious works. 
His "Lectures on the Evidences of Christianity" (New York, 1832) has had
very extensive circulation.

------------------------------

X-Message: #4
Date: Tue, 09 Mar 1999 02:13:44 -0800
From: LeaAnn Rich <leaann1@bellsouth.net>
Subject: COLUMBUS DELANO


Historical Collections of ohio
Henry Howe LL.D.
Knox County

The Hon. Columbus Delano was born in Shoreham, Vt., June 5, 1809; 
removed to Mount Vernon in 1817;  was admitted to the bar in 1831.  He
was eminently successful as an advocate and criminal lawyer.  In 1847 he
lacked but two votes for nomination for Governor;  was a delegate to the
convention that nominated Lincoln and Hamlin in 1860;  also chairman of
the Ohio delegation in the Baltimore convention that nominated Lincoln
and Johnson in 1864.  He was appointed State-Commissary General of Ohio
in 1861,  and filled the office with great acceptance.  He was a member
of the Ohio House of Representatives in 1863,  and a member of Congress
in 1844, 1864, and 1866.  In March, 1869, he was appointed by President
Grant Commissioner of Internal Revenue,  and very greatly improved the
organization of that bureau.  In 1870 he succeeded Jacob D. Cox as
Secretary of the Interior,  and resigned in 1875.  The honorary degree
of LL.D. was conferred on him by Kenyon College,  and he was one of the
trustees of that institution,  in connection with which he endowed a
grammar school called Delano Hall.
He has been prominently identified with the agricultural and wool
interests of Ohio;  is President of the national Wool Growers
Association,  and is an able and indefatigable advocate for the
protection of domestic wool from foreign competition.

------------------------------

X-Message: #5
Date: Tue, 09 Mar 1999 02:33:50 -0800
From: LeaAnn Rich <leaann1@bellsouth.net>
Subject: George Washington Morgan


Historical Collections of Ohio
Henry Howe LL.D.
Knox County

George Washington Morgan was born in Washington county, Pa., September
20,  1820.  In 1836 he left college to enlist in the regular Texan
Army,  from which he retired with the rank of Captain,  and in 1841
entered the United states Military Academy.  In 1843 he removed to Mount
Vernon,  and began the practice of law there in 1845.
He was Colonel in the mexican war and brevetted Brigadeer-General for
gallantry at Contreras and Churubusco.   While in Mexico,  several of
his command were murdered by guerillas,  and in one case two young
soldiers were killed,  and their hearts and other parts of their person
hung upon bushes by the roadside.  Colonel Morgan thereupon caused to be
seized and held as hostages a number of wealthy Mexican citizens,  and
gave notice that for every American soldier killed,  otherwise than in
fair fight,  he would hang one of these Mexicans.  No more murders
occurred.
In 18556 Morgan was appointed United States Consul to marseilles,  and
in 1858 Minister to Portugal;  returning to the United States in 1861 to
enter the army as Brigadeer-General of volunteers,  under gen. Don
Carlos Buell.
In March, 1862,  he was assigned command of the Seventh Division of the
Army of Ohio.  He was afterwards assigned to the Thirteenth Army Corps, 
and commanded at the capture of Fort Hindman, Ark.  He resigned from the
army in 1863,  owing to failing health.
In 1865 he was the defeated Democratic candidate for Governor of Ohio; 
was elected to Congress in 1866,  but supplanted in 1868 by Columbus
Delano,  who contested his seat.  He was the Democratic candidate for
Speaker when Blaine was first elected to that office.  He was again
elected to Congress in 1869,  serving till 1873;  was a
delegate-at-large to the national Democratic Convention at St. Louis in
1876.

--------------------------------

End of OH-FOOTSTEPS-D Digest V99 Issue #141
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