OHIO STATEWIDE FILES OH-FOOTSTEPS Mailing List Issue 161 *********************************************************************** USGENWEB NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. http://www.usgwarchives.net/ *********************************************************************** OH-FOOTSTEPS-D Digest Volume 01 : Issue 161 Today's Topics: #1 Miller-Gray ["Trudy Hanhilammi" To: OH-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com Message-ID: <001401c13974$70582920$190382d8@oemcomputer> Subject: Miller-Gray Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Jennie Miller, b.2-14-1844,Indiana, died W. Jefferson,OH, united in marriage to James Wesely Gray in Sept.,1866.James & bro John and Jennie's father Rihl Miller in Army together. James & Jennies family grew up in Madison Co. Would like any info on the families. Trudy at meow@lightstream.net ______________________________ ------=_NextPart_000_04D1_01C152C1.8BA819E0 Content-Type: message/rfc822; name="Fw_ Know Your Ohio -- Ohio's Canals-- Part 1.eml" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="Fw_ Know Your Ohio -- Ohio's Canals-- Part 1.eml" X-Message: #2 Date: Mon, 10 Sep 2001 02:37:29 -0400 From: "MaggieOhio" To: OH-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com Message-ID: <078c01c139c3$3e3ee600$0300a8c0@local.net> Subject: Fw: Know Your Ohio -- Ohio's Canals-- Part 1 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit ----- Original Message ----- From: "Darlene & Kathi kelley" Contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Darlene E. Kelley *********************************************** Historical Collections of Ohio Know Your Ohio by Darlene E. Kelley August 22, 2001 ********************************************* Ohio Canals -- Part 1 Its beginnings, its influence, its heart. Although short lived, the canal era in Ohio brought prosperity to Ohio and a new appreciation of what man could accomplish. Over 996 miles of canals, 460 locks and dozens of Aqua ducts and bridges were built by hand during the twenty years of the Canals construction. During the 1800's, Ohio built canals that connected Lake Erie and the Ohio River. This system created new markets for Ohio's goods, reduced the cost of shipping goods from the East, increased the number of people moving into the State, and encouraged the building of new towns. It brought a new prosperity to Ohio, bringing with it a creation of work for these numerous new towns. In the early 1820's, construction of the Erie Canal in New York was almost finished. In 1822, the Ohio legislature created a commission to plan a canal system. This would connect Ohio, by way of Lake Erie, with the Erie Canal in New York State and with the Eastern Markets. It also would connect Ohio with New Orleans by way of the Ohio River and the Mississippi River. Before the canals were built the only way to ship quantities of goods from New York City to New Orleans was by ocean. With the new canals, boats could carry people and goods by inland water. Alfred Kelley was Ohio's Canal Commissioner from 1823 to 1835. He was responsible for Ohio's early success with canals. He supervised the construction of its Northern division as acting canal commissioner and actually worked in the field with his workers. The canal was a minimum of 40' wde at the water line, 26' at the bottom, and 4' deep, dug by laborers using picks, shovels, and wheelbarrows, with oxen to drag heavy trees and stones. When construction began in 1825, wages were $ 5 per month, plus temporary housing, board, and daily rations of whiskey. ********************************************** From the Rochester ( N.Y. ) Telegraph. CANAL BOAT SONG Author unknown, Full free o'er the water our bonny boat glides, Nor wait we for fair winds, nor stay we for tides; Through fair fields and meadows---Thro' country and town. All gaily and gladly, our course we hold on. From the lake to the river -- from river to lake, Full freighted or light, we still leave a wake; From the west bearing all that a rich country yields, To the labor which makes the morn glad in the fields. Retuning again from the river's bright breast, Bear the products of climes far off, to the west-- And add to the backwoodsman's comfort and ease, All that commerce can give by its spoils of the seas. Our " Ditch " is the pride and the strength of the state, Its wealth gives it power, and its glory gives weight-- While the greenwoods shall echo our bugles shrill swell, All come from New York, and its Erie Canal. Then free o'er the waters our bonny boat glide, Nor wait thou for fair wind, nor stay thou for tide, Thro' fair fields and meadows--thro' country and town, All gaily and gladly our course we hold down. ******************************************** Early History-- The Ohio Canal system was an essential part of Ohio history. It was of great significance in the econimic growth of what had been until this time a relatively undeveloped, under populated region of the United States. Ohio played a significant role in the expansion of America and the dispersement of people from the east to the west, the north to the south of this magnificant country. Ohio's canal building years from 1825 to 1848 were of great importance to the growth of the States economy pior to the Civil War. Approximately 800 to 1,000 miles of canal were built by state and private enterprise. George Washington was one of the first to see the potential in an interior transportation system; and as early as 1787. Thomas Jefferson had suggested a canal system between Lake Erie and the Ohio river, between the Cuyahoga River on Lake Erie and the Big Beaver Creek on the Ohio River to connect the Mississippi with the St Lawrence and the Atlantic. His notion of Ohio geography and topography was not very accurate but his idea was sound and eventially canals would be built over the general route he proposed. However, Congress was not favorable to the suggestion until 1823. Ethan Allen Brown, proposed in 1818 a canal system between Lake Erie and the Ohio to facilitate trade in Ohio's agricultural surpluses.Surveys made in the early 1820's by Engineer James Geddes led to a report to the General Assembly on January 4, 1823. It was not an easy task to survey the state as it was mostly undeveloped or unexplored wilderness. The proposed routes were: 1. The Mahoning and Grand Rivers. 2. The Cuyahoga and Tuscarawas Rivers. 3. The Black and Killbuck Rivers. 4. The Maumee and Great Miami Rivers. 5. The Scioto and Sandusky Rivers. In 1822 a canal act was passed by the Ohio General Assembly, against strong opposition. In order to get the act passed, friends of the canals and the public schools traded votes The act authorized the employment of an engineer to survey possible routes and to estimate the cost. A seven man Canal Commission was appointed. Evential approval was given on their recommendation that canal navigation was the safest, easiest, and cheapest mode of transportation. They estimated the cost of the project to be $2.5 million and that Ohio would get $600,000 per year in Canal toll revenue. Final estimates for the two canal systems ( the Ohio and Erie and the Miami & Erie ) would be $ 6 million. Final costs for the system were closer to the $ 16 million for the construction an $25 million in interest on the loans. It would almost bankrupt the State. It was decided that the State would fund the project for the benefit of the people rather than by private interests. The railroad system was still in its infancy and considered untried. New Yorks Erie Canal had proved the reliability of a canal system. The bill authorizing the constuction of the Ohio and Erie and the Miami Canals was passed on February 4, 1825, and also created the Canal Fund Commision to finance the project through the selling of bonds. By January 8, 1825 the Canal Commissioners were ready to suggest that the best route would be the Scioto Licking, Tuscarawas and Cuyahoga Rivers, a total of 322 miles of an estimated cost of $ 2,301,709. a second route was also proposed, the Maimi and Maumee Rivers, a total of 290 miles at an approximate cost of $2,929,957. Commissioners recommended the first for immediate completion from Cincinnati 50 miles north to Dayton. Both economic, political and geographic reasons determined the route. An early proposal was to run the canal diagonally across the state from North East to South West, however, it was topographically impractical and therefore abandoned. Canals could not possibly be built to serve every section of the state. The branch canals that developed in the wake and enthusiasm for the main line canals helped bring economic development and access to these other areas. Not everyone was happy with the location of the main canals and eventually in 1830 the Assembly finally approved the completion and extension of the Miami Canal from Dayton to the Auglaise River at Defiance, 127 miles at an approximate cost of $2,055,421. The Ohio & Erie canal was officially begun and dedicated in a ceremony at the Licking Summet on July 4,1825. Just four months later the first boat made its way from Lake Erie to New York via the Erie Canal and the Hudson River. Ohio was to be the last stage in the chain between the Eastern Seaboard and the West. *********************************************** to be continued in part 2-- ______________________________ ------=_NextPart_000_04D1_01C152C1.8BA819E0 Content-Type: message/rfc822; name="Fw_ Know Your Ohio -- Ohio's Canals-- Part 2..eml" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="Fw_ Know Your Ohio -- Ohio's Canals-- Part 2..eml" X-Message: #3 Date: Mon, 10 Sep 2001 02:40:21 -0400 From: "MaggieOhio" To: OH-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com Message-ID: <07aa01c139c5$7018d260$0300a8c0@local.net> Subject: Fw: Know Your Ohio -- Ohio's Canals-- Part 2. Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit ----- Original Message ----- From: "Darlene & Kathi kelley" Contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Darlene E. Kelley August 23, 2001 ********************************************** Historical Collections of Ohio Know Your Ohio by Darlene E. Kelley Ohio's Canals -- Part 2. *********************************************** Ohio's Canals -- Part 2. Construction -- When it came time to build the canals the Commission forsook the idea of Public Enterprise building the system in favor of Private Enterprise. It was felt that the Private sector would get the work done more efficiently. The canal was therefore divided into half mile sections with private contractors bidding on th job. The comparative cost of construction per mile of the canal in Ohio was: The Ohio & Erie $10,000 per mile and The Miami & Erie $12,000 per mile compared with the Erie Canal at $19,225 per mile and the Chesapeake & Delaware at $161,000 per mile. On the whole, the Ohio canals were built efficiently and constructed well. On July 4, 1825, Governor De Witt Clinton of New York and Governor Jeremiah Morrow of Ohio turned the first spadefuls of earth on the Licking Summit, 3 miles south of Newark to begin work on the Ohio and Erie Canal. There was an estimated 5-10 thousand people present on that day. On July 21, they similarly started the work on the Miami Canal at Middletown. By November 20 nearly 2,000 men were working with picks, shovels, and wheelbarrows while oxen dragged huge stones for locks through the mud. At the height of construction there were more than 4,000 wrkers on the project. Work was done by private contractors who bid on sections of the project. There were six stages to the work; 1. Grubbing and clearing the right-of-way and stripping 20 ft on each side of the canal bed. 2. Removal of wood, rubbish and lose dirt to provide solid banks where the sides of the canal would be above the level of the ground. 3. Removal of water, earth and rocks where the canal would be below the surrounding land and construction on embankments. 4. Construction of locks and culverts. 5. Reinforcement of culverts and locks with gravel mixed with cla loam. 6. Protection by stone of canal banks that were likely to wash away. Minimum dimensions for the canal were; 40 feet wide at the surface, 26 feet at the bottom and four feet deep. These dimensions were generally exceeded. Large portions of the canal were 60 to 150 feet above the waterline with the towpath at least 10 feet wide. The standard lock of stone and timber construction was 90 feet long and 15 feet wide with walls 5 feet thick at the top and 4 feet at the bottom. There was usually a 6 to 12 feet rise per lock, called " Locking Through " and was taken care off by two crews. The boat crew and the lock crew. A summit level was characterised by steps of locks at one or both ends because there was usually a steep drop from the summit to the next level. Of Ohio's 88 counties, 33 contained portions of canals or canal quarries. Most locks were built from sandstone and then lined with wood. Wood below the water level was extremely durable, it would not rot away like exposed wood because it was saturated and swollen, making a strong watertight bond. In North West Ohio some locks were constructed entirely from wood. These were often later rebuilt with cement. Many inexperienced contractors underestimated their construction costs and had to abandon the project forcing the jobs to be re-bid. Wages for the laborers during the early years were 30 cents per day, sunrise to sunset, plus board and lodging. Upon the completion of the Erie Canal in New York many experienced workers came to Ohio. Many were Irish workers. In 1832, the commission reported that 343 miles of the original 400 miles were complete with the balance of construction on track for completion the following year. This was accomplished except for the lock system at Cincinnati. By 1845 the extension of the Miami Canal to Lake Erie was finished giving Ohio two complete canal systems connecting the Lake with the River. By 1850, there was almost 1,000 miles of canal through Ohio. Numbering of locks was very random and different reports on the same canal might show different numbering for the same lock. Both the Ohio & Erie and the Sandy Beaver canals adopted a system where there would be a lock number 1 on either end of the summit level. As each canal descended the lock numbers ascended. Changes on the numbering system were also made which confused matters e.g. on the Maimi & Erie canel the numbering system was changed to ascend as the canal ascended, thus changing Lock # 40 at Independence Dam to # 13 amd # 44 at Providence Metropark to # 9. *********************************************** Overcoming the problems-- Work on the Ohio Canal never quite ground to a halt mainly due to the personal finances of two of the Canal Board of Commisioners. Micajah T. Williams of Cincinnati and Alfred Kelley of Cleveland, who both often dug into their own pockets to cover traveling expenses as they traveled around Ohio overseeing. Both worked for the State almost without pay throughout their tenure as Commissoners. There were relatively few problems to overcome in the contruction of the canal system because there were no mountain ranges to " Lock " over and most of the route was fairly level. One of the greatest problems, however, was the supply of water to the summit points. This meant the building of dams across rivers to create reservoirs at levels higher than the canals because water supplies were often deficient during the peak Summer months. Five major reservoirs were constructed on the two canals. Major problems occurred through flooding of the rivers that supplied the canals. This was overcome usually by building guard locks to regulate and control water levels in the canal. At rivers they either built aqueducts, water filled wooden troughs with a towpath, or dammed the rivers until they were at a level with the canal to permit towing across it. Summit Lake had a floating towpath across it. At the end of the canal season, usually between November and April, many of the northern, larger, canals were drained so that the locks, lining, and canal beds could be repaired. Towpaths and embankments which were eroded in winter would be repaired in the spring. Northern canals that were not drained froze over in the Winter. In the south the canals were used year around except for a few weeks in winters coldest weather. There were problems with some of the emigrant workers, in which there were almost a constant turnover. Contractors were held responsible for their part of the construction. Irish emigrants loved their whiskey, but soon the contractors withheld their supply, using the whiskey only for medicinal purposes. Experienced workers demanded more pay. Constant fights were between the men who felt some were lazy workers. Lazy workers were layed off and had to be replaced. Contractors were held responsible, and were to solve their own worker problems, either by the replacement of the Contractor by re-bid. The 1825 Act gave the commisioners eminent domain over the land required for construction of the canals, locks, and reservoirs. Many people willingly sold or donated their land and towns who vied for the canal to go through them because of the enhancement to property values. ********************************************* to be continued in part 3. ______________________________ ------=_NextPart_000_04D1_01C152C1.8BA819E0 Content-Type: message/rfc822; name="Fw_ Know Your Ohio -- Ohio's Canals Part 4..eml" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="Fw_ Know Your Ohio -- Ohio's Canals Part 4..eml" X-Message: #4 Date: Mon, 10 Sep 2001 02:46:55 -0400 From: "MaggieOhio" To: OH-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com Message-ID: <07ac01c139c5$70e23ce0$0300a8c0@local.net> Subject: Fw: Know Your Ohio -- Ohio's Canals Part 4. Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit ----- Original Message ----- From: "Darlene & Kathi kelley" Contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Darlene E. Kelley August 22, 2001 *********************************************** Historical Collections of Ohio Know your Ohio Ohio's Canals -- Part 4. *********************************************** Ohio's Canals -- Part 4. How it was done-- The speed of a canal boat was nothing to brag about, yet working on the packets, was grueling. The position of canal driver, the person who supervised the pulling horses or mules-- was the least desirable job on the narrow water routes. A driver's toughest task was the recovery of an animal that had fallen into the canal, something which occurred with regularity. Because the loss of a mule or a team was so expensive, escape holes were provided every so often that prevented the animals from drowning. The hole included a ramp that let the driver lead the animal back to the bank and to work, or be relieved, depending on how tired the animal might be. Driver's walked behind the mules for six hours, rested six hours, walked six more hours, rested, and so on. Fresh drivers were awakened an hour before their walk began so they could harness, water, and feed the fresh team stabled aboard the boat. Changing teams took about 15 minutes in the spring and summer, which were the canal seasons. Canal employees hurried home in November before the four foot deep ditches froze over for the winter. Those who were stranded found a rooming house for themselves and a stable for the animals, and they awaited the spring thaw. One of the most overlooked facets of canal life, was the quality of water. Since it flowed very slowly or not at all, canal water became thick with disease bearing organisms. As mentioned before, as a boy President James A. Garfield worked on summer on a canal boat. He was promoted from driver to bowman before he developed malaria and was sent home. The canals also were places where everyone threw their trash. Boats often hit objects in the water that resulted in costly repairs and lost time. Although the State owned the canals and belonged to the Commission, recuperation of money from outlay had to be considered. Tolls were instated as well as fees charged for products shipped. Boat owners were allowed to lease from the State, as long as they too, helped to repair damages done to the canals. Leases were long and complicated, giving explicit details of areas allowed to be used. Boat maintanience was the Captains responsibility as well as to the wages of his workers. Boats often hit objects in the water that resulted in costly repairs and lost time. Having just deposited freight or passengers made a boat ride higher in the water, with less room to pass safely under a bridge. Cabins were sometimes torn off boats, or bridges ruined. So the State had to have iron clad leases. Though the price of a ride was a couple of cents a mile, the Captain did not sometimes recoup his money. The State sometimes had trouble in collecting their money as well. Bartering was the way of life, and wages were sometimes paid with clothes, boots, and food. Whiskey was always a problem. Boat owners who had families, oft time had their families living on the boats. The family, most of the time, being the workers as well. Children were expected to help with the work as soon as they were old enough. Reports of earnings showed rather low incomes as compared with the general run of other industries. The Captains were paid per ton for freight, receiving about $75.00 or $80.00 for a trip. If a Captain had paid helpers, his helpers were paid out of this fee. So the majority of captains having four or more children, did not hire crews. Without the assistance of their children, most captains could have not have made both ends meet. The boat captain was responsible not only for the wages of hired hands, but had to meet the expense of certain equipment and repairs. The " fall board " or gangplank over which the mules were led from the boat to shore had to be replaced frequently, and the price was about $16.00 . Troughs for the mules ranging in cost from $2.50 to $4.50. Every man was expected to furnish oil for his bow lamp, the expense varying with the number of hours that the boat was operated after dark. This expenditure averaged about $10.00 per season. If the the boat was furnished by a company, a certain amount of necessities were usually provided, such as mules, feed, harness, and lines. If the captains owned their own mules, then the company furnished feed and made the captain a cash allowance for every trip on which his mules were used. During this time a captain usually received less than $ 1,250 from boat work. Other income had to be supplimented by winter employment or incidental work during the off season. Of the boating households which consisted of four persons, the captain and his assistants ( " deck hand , " --the captains wife and children would be doing the driving, steering, housework, or what ever was needed. ) Living aboard was a lonely life. Schooling was either taught by the capatins wife or was taught during the winter months during off season. Living Conditions-- The average size of the cabins on the boats was 10 by 12 feet. All cabins had two bunks, one set into the inner wall of the main cabin and the other located in the so-called stateroom, which was partitioned off from the main cabin by a diagonal wall. These bunks were 36 inches wide, sufficient space for one person but ordinarily occupied by two. In addition to the cabin bunks, the feed box extending across the deck at the center of the boat was ordinarily used for sleeping purposes. This box was 4 feet wide and 4 feet high, and with blankets spread over the hay and other feed it provided a fairly comfortable bed, usually used in some cases by the deck hands and occasionally by the children. Often in hot weather the floor of the deck was used as a bed, although some mothers were afraid to let children sleep away from the cabin. In spite of the narrowness of the berths, the cabins were ordinarily regarded by the families as providing sleeping space for four persons. To these may be added two places in the feed box, making the accommondation of six places . The floors of the cabins were usually left bare, but cases have shown to have coverings, which was impracticable, as the floors usually leaked and were always damp. The stove occupied a place in the main cabin near the steps of the deck. Coal or wood was ordinarily burned in these stoves and in many instances the heat from them being almost unendurable. In most cases food was prepared in the summer season on the banks of the canals for this reason. Practically every boat had a heavy canvas awning for protection from the weather, sun or rain and was most welcomed by the passengers on deck. Water for drnking and for cooking purposes was secured from springs along the canal and stored in barrels or kegs; for washing, fresh canal water was used. Toilet facilities were entirely lacking. Cabin windows were not screened and in someplaces, especially at terminals. they were troubled by flies. Most complained of mosquitoes. Food supplies could be secured by any town along the canal, but most captains with families agreed it was better to stock up when they could at stores at town, as the stores along the banks charged higher rates. Most milk was gotten at the locks or farm houses along the way. This was not for daily use as there was no way to keep milk fresh. Ice could be gotten sometimes at the locks to cool drinking water. During the off time seasons, most had homes on land. The dwellings were chiefly small detached wooden houses, some being built of logs. None of them had modern conveniences and nearly all were located in or near towns along the canal within one mile of schools. Education for the children came within these off months. Medical supplies were routine. Usually the kind off supplies that were used in the early days as pioneers. Very little services for doctors were needed for the canal venturers, because they did not consider ordinary illness as an excuse for sending for a physician. " They just stay sick until they get well. " Money was always the excuse. " Doctors at that time were few along the way. Midwifes or friends along the way, became the helping hand. Some knowledgeable and had the skill for knowing what to do. Most managed well. Accidents did happen to the boat children. Some falling into the canal and being kicked by the mules, cut with axes while getting firewood, burned by fire, and being dragged by a mule. But mostly were able to be treated along the way. Childrens accidents were considered inevitable. Recreation was meager. Singing and teaching how to play the banjo and the mandolin was a good form of recreation. Swimming in the canals at lower levels or at the terminal was enjoyed by most. Telling stories were enjoyed mostly and it became a way of education. Games played by the children were often joined by the adults. Pebble tossing became an art. Hide and seek with articles hidden though out the boat and hunted, was always fun. Imagination was always used and if there was a will for recreation it took just the mind to reason something to do. *********************************************** to be continued in part 5- -------------------------------- End of OH-FOOTSTEPS-D Digest V01 Issue #161 *******************************************