OHIO STATEWIDE FILES OH-FOOTSTEPS Mailing List Issue 56 ************************************************************************ USGENWEB ARCHIVES(tm) NOTICE Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgenwebarchives.org ************************************************************************** OH-FOOTSTEPS-D Digest Volume 05 : Issue 56 Today's Topics: #1 Fw: Tid Bits - Part 40 ["Ohio Archives EV1" To: OH-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com Message-ID: <0c8901c54ed1$884e6e60$0300a8c0@margaret> Subject: Fw: Tid Bits - Part 40 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit ----- Original Message ----- From: "Darlene & Kathi kelley" To: Sent: Friday, April 29, 2005 3:50 PM Subject: Tid Bits - Part 40 Contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Darlene E. Kelley April 30, 2005 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Historical Collections of Ohio And Then They Went West Know Your Ohio by Darlene E. Kelley Tid Bits -- part 40 notes by S. Kelly ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Iron Production in Ohio Iron Production during the early days occurred on " plantations." These were relatively isolated communities established on land owned by an iron company. Usually. all of the items necessary to produce iron is limestone, timber, coal, an iron ore and they were readily available. Once the workers exhausted their supply of these materials, the furnace would close and move to new ground with an ample supply of resources. Most of these furnaces produced pig iron, which then be constructed into machinery, building supplies, and kitchen items. A few workers established iron forges, which produced a higher quality of iron than furnaces. Initially, most iron furnaces in Ohio were located in the northeastern section of the state. One of the first iron manufacturing establishments in Ohio was the Hopewell Furnace. Established in 1804, Hopewell Furnace was located near Youngstown. At the same time that the Hopewell Furnace operated, Daniel Eaton built an iron furnace at Poland, Ohio, where he was able to produce nearly two tons of iron each day. James Heaton developed one of the first iron forges in the state, near modern day Niles. While iron production originated in the northeastern corner of Ohio, during the first half of the nineteenth century, southern Ohioans dominated the industry. The most productive area was centered near Hanging Rock, along the Ohio River. By 1860, southern Ohioans had established sixty nine iron furnaces, producing more than 100,000 tons of iron annually, across Gallia, Hocking, Jackson, Lawrence, Scioto, and Vinton Counties. The manufacturers sent much of the iron up and down the Ohio River to Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, allowing southern Ohioans to prosper. It was in these two cities where most of the iron produced in southern Ohio was fashioned into finished products such as household utensils and tools. The iron producers relied on charcol to fuel their furnaces. As the availability of charcoal and iron ore declined following the American Civil War, the economic prosperity of southern Ohio also quickly deteriorated, The northwestern part of Ohio emerged as the primary region for iron production in the state during the second half of the century. During 1840, the northeastern iron producers replaced charcoal furnaces with coal ones. This produced iron of a cleaner and finer quality. It is for certain that iron production and coal mining allowed Ohio to emerge as one of the most prosperous states by the late nineteenth century. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The Cleveland Advertiser and the Plain Dealer. The Cleveland Advertiser, from its first issue January 6, 1831, spelled Cleveland without the superfluous " a," antedating the older Herald in that innovation by more than a year. It was established as a Whig weekly by Henry Bolles and Madison Kelley, who ran it until 1833, when money problems became a issue. It was turned over to W. Woodward, who converted it into a Democratic organ. On January 8, 1835 the Advertiser was bought by Horace Canfield and Timothy P. Spencer, who moved it above the post office on Superior Ave, where Irad Kelley was its Post Master. In 1836 they followed the Herald's lead by publishing a daily edition, although the weekly kept its identity as the Cleveland Weekly Advertiser. Canfield meanwhile dropped out of partnership, but Spencer was joined by A.H. Curtis, who became active editor of both the weekly and the daily. After the demise of the daily in 1838, Spencer appeared as sole proprietor of the weekly Advertiser until 1841, when it was published by Calvin Hall. Still a Democratic paper, its last issue was that of December 17, 1841. It was then purchased by two brothers, Admiral Nelson and Joseph Wm. Gray, who used its facilities to inauguate a new Democratic weekly, called the Plain Dealer on January 7, 1842. The Plain Dealer became an evening daily on April 7, 1845, its name was probably inspired by a former Jacksonian paper published in New York. Among its early staff members was Charles Farrar Browne, who created the character " Artemus Ward." In the years leading up to the Civil War, the Plain Dealer was the local Democratic organ in a Republican city and region. From the firing on Ft. Sumter until his death on May 26, 1862, Gray held the Plain Dealer to the Democratic policies outlined by its political mentor, Stephen A. Douglas. The newspaper was then taken over by the administrator of his estate, John S. Stephenson, who turned it into a virulent Copperhead organ that condemned Lincoln and supported the Ohio gubernatorial campaign of the arch-Copperhead Clement L Vallandigham in 1863. Because of the unpopularity of these stands, Stephenson was removed as Gray's administrator, and the Plain Dealer suspended publication for several weeks beginning March 8, 1865. It was resumed on April 25, 1865, under the editorship of Wm. W. Armstrong. Joseph William Gray was born in Bridgeport, Vt to Urel and Betsey ( Case ) Gray, emigrating with his brother Admiral Nelson Gray, [ my personal friend and mentor- S. Kelly ( This is where the Kelly's changed name spelling to Kelley ) ], to Cleveland in 1836. After teaching in local schools, Gray read law under Henry B. Payne and Hiram V. Willson and was admitted to the bar, in partnership with his brother. They both at this time purchased the Cleveland Advertiser, a faltering Democratic weekly, in December 1841, resurrecting it on January 7, 1842 as the Cleveland Plain Dealer with A.N. Gray as business manager. It became shortly a daily newspaper in 1845, when he left the Plain Dealer solely in his brother's charge. Gray was personally involved in Democratic politics. Appointed Cleveland Postmaster by President Franklin Pierce in 1853, he was dismissed by President Jas. Buchanan in 1858 for editorially supporting Illinois senator Stephen A. Douglas. Gray lost the 1858 Congressional election in the normally Republican district to Edward Wade. He went to both the Charleston and Baltimore conventions in 1860 as a delegate pledged to Douglas, maintaining his support of Douglas even through defeat, endorsing the senator's pledge of Union loyalty after the South's secession in 1861. For 20 years, Gray kept his Democratic paper alive in the heart of a Whig, later Republican stronghold. He married Catherine Foster in 1845 and had a daughter, Josephine, and 2 sons, Eugene and Lewis. He died after a short illness at home and was buried in the Erie Street Cemetery. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The Cleveland Academy The Cleveland Academy was created in 1821, when the trustees of the Village of Cleveland raised $200 for the construction of a new and larger school. The new 2-story brick schoolhouse, completed in 1822 was located on the north side of St. Clair Ave. On June 26, 1822, the academy was opened under the direction of Rev.Wm. McLean as headmaster. Other instructors included John Cogswell, who followed McLean, and Harvey Rice, who served as instructor and principal until 1826. Curriculum at the academy consisted of reading, spelling, writing, geography, Greek, Latin, and mathematics. Students ranging in age from 8 to 21, were charged a tuition of $4.00 by the trustees for each term of 12 weeks. The academy was operated as a private primary school until 1830, when competition from other private institutions in Cleveland prompted its sale by the trustees. Following the incorporation of Clveland in May 1836, the Board of Managers repurchased the academy property and rented space in the building to small classes and businesses. On May 5, 1847, Charles Bradburn, school manager for Cleveland, recommended to the city council that the academy, now in disrepair, be torn down and be used for new schools. It was demolished in the winter of 1849, and in its place the city built a new $6,000 school and the W.St Clair Street School. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Central High School Central High School was the first Public high school in Clevealand. It was established on July 13, 1846. It was the first such school west of the Alleghennies to provide free secondary education at public expense. Its founding was controversial because of the prevailing belief that education beyond the elementary level was a private responsibility, opponents of Central High alleging that operation of the school out of public funds was illegal under Ohio statutes. These issues were resolved by the state legislation in 1848, that made provisions for Central High School's funding. The major proponents of Central High were Geo. Hoadley, Charles Bradburn, and Geo. Willey, and its first principal was Andrew Freese. Early Central students included such eminent people as John Severence, John D. Rockefeller, Marcus A. Hanna, Samuel Mather, and Langston Hughes. The early curriculum of Central High included courses in English, mathamatics, natural science, bookkeeping, rhetoric, and philosophy. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The Cleveland Lyceum The Cleveland Lyceum was an early cultural organization for young men and a forum for the exchange of literature and ideas. The lyceum was incorporated by Sherlock J. Andrews, John W. Allen, Irad Kelley, John Barr, Leonard Case, Edward Baldwin, Richard Hussey, James Conger, and Thomas Kelley. It was founded in March, 1833 as part of a national movement originating in Connecticut in 1826, encouraging adult self-improvement through lectures, debates, museums, libraries, and educational associations. The Cleveland Lyceum offered a reading room, for members only, and public debates and lectures. In 1836 members debated the questions " Would it be a good policy for our Government to admit Texas into the Union?" and " Ought the Right of Suffrage be extended to Females?" In 1838 the lyceum addressed the necessity of corporal punishment in the training of children. A lecture series, using outside and local talent, was an annual event. By 1837 the lyceum had a membership of 110. In 1838 an attempt was made to unite the Cleveland Library Co., the Cleveland Reading Room Assn., and the Young Men's Literary Assn. The attempt failed, but despite economic hard times for other library undertakings, the lyceum lingered until about 1843, when it closed. Its library was divided among members, many who joined other, simular organizations. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Tid Bits to be continued in part 41. ______________________________ ------------------------------ X-Message: #2 Date: Mon, 2 May 2005 00:44:43 -0400 From: "Ohio Archives EV1" To: OH-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com Message-ID: <0c8f01c54ed1$a9339ab0$0300a8c0@margaret> Subject: Fw: Tid Bits -- Part 41A. Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit ----- Original Message ----- From: "Darlene & Kathi kelley" To: Sent: Sunday, May 01, 2005 12:49 AM Subject: Tid Bits -- Part 41A. Contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Darlene E. Kelley May 2, 2005. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Historical Collections of Ohio And Then They Went West Know your Ohio by Darlene E. Kelley Tid Bits -- part 41 A notes by S. Kelly ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Ohio Quakers In the charming village of Mount Pleasant in Jefferson County, Ohio, stands a monument to one of America's small but historical denominations; the Society of Friends, or the Quakers. People of other denominations settled in Mount Pleasant also, but the early history of its settlemnt was strongly influenced by the Quakers who were among its first settlers. Their monument is the large brick meeting house which was erected in 1814, which today is owned by the State of Ohio. The early origins of Quakers in America , probably came from England as early as 1650, who origination came from George Fox. They were subjected to persecution by a government and a society where deviation from accustomed religious practices brought persecution to dissenters. The Quaker form of worship. especially with its emphasis on silence, was alien to the accepted religious ceremonies of seventeenth cenrtury England, as the Quakers did not believe in any special sacrements since to them all life was sacremental. Business meetings and worship meetings were often conducted jointly in monthly, quarterly, and yearly meetings. They often met whenever and wherever they could in places which provided for periods of group silence. These beliefs and practices were heresy to the Church of England. The feeling among the ruling class of England was very strong against the Friends for if the Friends preached that there was no necessity for trained, appointed leaders in religion, might not this same principle be applied to govenmemt? The rulers soon branded the Quakers as revoluntionaries and disciples of division because of their beliefs and unusual forms of worship. Imprisonment for some, persecution for others, and publically punished for others and finally harried out of the land. One must assume the Quaker pattern of living in Ohio and generally in Mt. Pleasant lived in a manner of most Quakers of the period, for after their arrival there developed a broad uniformity of life-style. Transactions of business or responding to political issues, they did so in much the same peculiar manner as all Friends or Quakers, all over. Friends married Friends, for to do otherwise could result in disownment. Friends spoke and dressed alike. In America this uniformity of the Quakers especially became pronounced after the War of Independence. Largely because of their experience during the war they drew apart from society in order to maintain themselves and ther beliefs. They wore the distinctive plain dress. The men attired in black, broad-brimmed, and undented beaver hats and collarless coats. The women dressed in long full skirts, shawls, all gray in color, and bonnets which framed their faces. Children looked like miniature adults. Their plain speech was particularly distinguished by the use of " thou " and " thee." Simplicity marked their style of their living, from home to meeting house. Quaker meeting houses were unadorned and worship was uniform in its dependence on silence. Many friends were hostile to art, music, fiction, and drama. They did not observe the festival of Christmas, believing that every day of the year should be the same to Christians. They attended meetings twice a week- on First- Day and again on Fifth-day. The leisure they had from from shop or farm was generally devoted to the affairs of the meeting. Frequently to the outside world they appeared pious, stiff, and set apart. To the outside world the Quaker society seemed rather dull, drab, and glum, but this was not the case. Simple pleasures of walking ad conversing with each other, physical exercises such as their own games, and other rural amusements, made them feel gay without levity. Mirth was mixed with modesty. The pleasures of the day were enjoyed with the greatest liveliness and innocent freedom. Their homes were neatly arranged, perhaps with plainess, or sometimes with richly carved and upholstered furniture. At the time it was generally felt that woman were to be in the home, seen but not heard, a unique characteristic of the Friends was the prominent place given to the woman in the early Quaker organization. Later Quakers, with their belief in the " inner light " saw that women as well as men could be moved by the spirit and thus they recognized women as being equal with men. Typical of the Quakers was their technique of decision-making, the " method of consensus." No majority view on an issue dominated, no minority view was overridden. The final decision was expected to be the result of truth as found by the group. The frontier living of the Quakers in early Ohio, did not differ greatly from that of others who were wrestling survival from a wilderness. The whole region was heavily forested which meant clearing every acres before it could be cultivated. Everyone was expected to be fairly self-sufficient, which meant being one's own shoemaker, blacksmith, weaver, miller, and doctor. However, even the arduous tasks were turned into social activities by the community-house and barm raisings, corn huskings, quilting parties, and apple cuttings often provided the recreational and social outlets. Other opportunities for fun were offered by sledding, taffy pulls, games, and debating and literary societies. There was no dancing or card playing. Wedding dinners and infares were special events, with guests present from far or near. Yet, even while sharing such common conditions in the early settlement, the Friends were a " peculiar people" in at least one respect. They desired the advantages of a primary education for their children. Ohio Quakers were pioneers in co-education and their boarding schools were forerunners of the public education systems. Not only were they concerned with educating their own children but, in keeping with their concern for oppressed people, the Friends established schools for freed Negroes and Indians to provide them with a technical education stressing agricultural skills and trades. Consequently Friends' subscription schools early sprang into being. Some meetings were able to hire a teacher and conduct the school along with the times, and others got no further than provide a house. The term " subscription school " often meant that it was up to the teacher to go around in a neighborhood to solicit patronage. Generally these schools limit their offering to the traditional reading, writing, and arithmetic. Later geography and grammer was added to the curriculum. Since the Quaker schools were the only schools in rural America, they also included non-quaker children as well. However, around the time of the American Revolution, the Quakers began to emphasize what was called a religiously guarded education. As the Friends turned inward and disassociated themselves from the world, their schools began to refuse to accept children of the " world's people." Quaker education, then, contributed greatly to the growing belief that Quakers were a people set apart. The Mt. Pleasant Quakers were indeed a great asset to the Ohio peoples' growth. Living quietly among themselves in peace, tranquility, and contributing to America's growth, among other faiths and keeping of their lands in growth with our early nation. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Quakers and the Indians One of the amazing aspects of the Quaker life in colonal America was their good relations with the Indians. While groups of colonists were sporadically engaged in wars with the Indians, the Quakers managed to live pecefully with these original Americans. Quakers attributed this unusual rapport with the Indians to their acceptance of the Indians as their equals. While they were not the only ones to accord this treatment to the Indians, the Quakers seemed to appear to have been more consistent than others in insisting that the Indian be treated as anyone-else-- that his land be purchased rather than be confiscated, that he had trials by juries composed of his peers, that he not be captured and used as a slave. As the Quakers moved into Ohio Country late in the eighteeth century, they demonstrated this concern for the Indians in various ways -- through visits to them with the message of Christ and through the establishment of service centers at Sandusky, Upper Sandusky, and Wapakoneta. ( Indians had withdrawn their settlements from the Mt Pleasant area prior to the arrival of white settlers.) Of particular interest and importance was the activity at Wapakoneta. The Indians there were a remnant of the Shawnee tribe which had largely moved west of the Mississippi River. The recently formed Ohio Yearly Meeting at Mt. Pleasant appointed a committee in 1818 to oversee the building of a saw and grist mill on Indian land and then assisted the Indians with the management and instruction in the use of the mill. In 1821, Indiana and Baltimore yearly meetings decided to cooperate in an Ohio Yearly Meeting plan to provide a school for the Shawnee children, a proposal that seemed to have stemmed partly from the Shawnees' request for establishment of a mission at Wapakoneta. A committee of men and women Friends on Indian Concerns purchased land about five miles south of Wapakoneta, adjacent to the reservation. Two cabins were built for a school and a residence occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Baldwin, superintendents. Operating funds were supplied by the Ohio Yearly Meeting. In succeeding years, usually between nine and eighteen children were enrolled at any given time. The boys assissted on the farm and the girls in the house during their off hours. In 1828 the monetary support was interrupted because of the Hicksite Separation that year, which caused the school to close temporarily. However except for other brief interruptions, the school operated satisfactorily until 1832, when the Shawnees decided to exchange their Ohio reservation for lands west of the Mississippi River. It was closed after the last Indians departed in 1833, and the Friends disposed of the property at Wapakoneta, bringing to an end of this Quaker activity. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Quakers as Peacemakers The American Revolutionary War proved to be an extremely difficult period for the Quakers for, on the one hand, many of them rejoiced in the possibility of freedom from England but, on the other hand, they abhorred the violence which was bringing it about. Some Quakers who joined the Revolutionary War formed their own society and were called Free Quakers. The attitude of the Ohio Yearly Meeting toward war was clearly expressed in its original Book of Discipline of 1818 which reads as follows: 'it is the earnest concern of the Yearly Meeting, that Friends may adhere faithfully to our ancient testomony against wars and fighting. ' That furnishing waggon, or other means for conveying of military stores, is a military service.... and that tax leived for the purchasing of drums, colours, or for other warlike uses cannot be paid consistently with our christian testimony. ' It is further the sense and judgement of the Yearly Meeting, that it is inconsistant with our religious testimony and principle, for any Friend to pay a fine or tax, levied on account of their refusal to muster or to serve in the militia although such fine or imposition may be applied toward defraying the expenses of civil government. The greatest, and possibly most difficult, time of violence for Friends came during the American Civil War. Many Friends had difficulty deciding whether to stand by their peace convictions or to approve a war which they thought one belligerent was definately on the side of justice. This problem was especially acute for Friends who had lived in the south. Many southern Friends left their homes to move westward during the Civil War. Those who remained in the south as conscientious objectors were called abolitionists and traitors and were subjected to extreme harrassment. However, Friends in the Confederacy were not the only ones to suffer. Northrn Friends faced an equally difficult situation, even though some Northern Quakers did volunteer for service. In all, about two hundred to three hundred Quakers did enlist in the Union forces. Most of these came from Indiana were Colonel John Palmer, a Hicksite Friend, who led a regiment which had many Quaker officers and men. The spirit of patriotism swept through Mount Pleasant when President Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers in 1861. Approximately 160 young men from Mount Pleasant Township, none of them Quakers, joined the Union Army. Several of them were enrolled in the First Virginia Regiment which was commanded by a Colonel Thoburn, who was the son-in-law of Mount Pleasant resident Dr. Benjamin Mitchell, a Presbyterian minister, Duncan Milner, a Presbyterian from Mount Pleasant, fought in the Civil War and nearly died as a result of wounds received in the battle of Chickamauga. He was asked by Mrs. Sarah E. Jenkins, a noted Quaker minister, how he, being a christian young man, could attempt to take the life of fellow men. Milner responded that it was not an easy question during war. " I suppose under the same conditions I would again become a soldier, but I hate war." In the same year Ohio Yearly Meeting sent the following letter to President Lincoln; " The Ohio Yearly Meeting of ' Friends convened at Mount Pleasant, Jefferson County, Ohio, 9th month 1862 respectively represents,-- That owing to the present unhappy condition of our country and the enrollment of ' name in order to draft therefrom some thousands to be placed in the Army-- Many of our members who are now sharing in common with other good citizens the trials of the times are subject to greater trial of having conscience sake to decline this particular to obey authorities of a government under which we enjoy many privileges and blessings and to which we hope ever to be found loyal. We would briefly call attention of the President to the fact with which he is no doubt acquainted that our Society has from its rise ( a period of more than two hundred years ) borne a testimony against all wars and fighting's believing them to be at varience with the pure and peaceable dispensation of' the Gospel of Christ- and have constantly under all governments felt constrained to bear arms or pay an equivalent in lieu thereof. Also to the legislation of various States of this Union in which our members are exempt from military services-- And therefore respectively submit whether there cannot be something done by the authorities of the general government for the relief of all members of our society not already exempted [sic] by state enactments- In conclusion we would express our deep sympathy with the President in the various dfficulties which press upon him in this day of 'sore calamity. " In December 1863 Ohio Yearly Meeting rejected a proposal by Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, a resident of Steubenville in Jefferson County whose grandmother had been a minister among Friends in Ohio. He suggested that Quakers purchase exemption from military service by payment of $300 into a special fund for Negro refuges, but the Quakers declined., " inasmuch as it would be the payment of a sum of money in lieu of military service which we cannot conscientiously comply with." Friends established committees to give advice and render aid to individuals drafted or persecuted for their beliefs concerning war. Eventually, Secretary Stanton issued orders for the release of many Friends who had been drafted into service. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ To be continued in Tid Bits part 41B. -------------------------------- End of OH-FOOTSTEPS-D Digest V05 Issue #56 ******************************************