Ashtabula County, Ohio - Chapter 16: Societies, 1878

Chapter 16: Societies

In relation to the growth of these great aids to the promotion of the interests of agriculture generally, and of this society in particular, we quote from an address prepared by N. E. French, Esq., and by him delivered before the society ( at their annual meeting in 1858. " In his annual message to congress in December, 1796, General Washington, then President of the United States, used the following language : 1 It will not be doubted that, with reference to either individual or national welfare, agriculture is of primary importance. In proportion as nations advance in population, and other circumstances of maturity, this truth becomes more apparent, and renders the cultivation of the soil more and more an object of public patronage. Institutions for promoting it grow up, supported by the public purse, - and to what object can it be dedicated with greater propriety? Among the means which have been employed to this end, none have been attended with greater success than the establishment of boards, composed of proper characters, charged with collecting and diffusing information, and enabled by premiums and small pecuniary aids to encourage and assist a spirit of discovery and improvement. This species of establishment contributes doubly to the increase of improvement, by stimulating to enterprise and experiment, and by drawing to a common centre the results everywhere of individual skill and observation, and spreading them thence over the whole nation. Experience, accordingly, has shown that they are very cheap instruments of immense national benefit.' Prior to the date of this message there had been formed but three agricultural societies in any of the States, and these were State institutions. Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina are the States that first took the lead in the formation of agricultural societies. I have been unable to find the record of the formation of any county society prior to the year 1810. This was the Berkshire County agricultural society, and its first show was held at Pittsfield, in the same year, under an elm-tree, and it is said the entire exhibition consisted of three Merino sheep. That society is still in active existence, and has become the pet and pride of the farmers whose homes are among the rocky hills of that fatherland of many of the earlier settlers of Ashtabula County. As the pioneers of this county to a certain extent were from Berkshire county, it is not improbable that their desire to transplant in their western homes the institutions they had left in their eastern homes led to the formation of the first agricultural society in this county. On the evening of the first day of November, 1822, at the court-house, the first steps were taken to organize an agricultural society for this county. The president of the meeting was Hon. Nehemiah King, and the secretary was Matthew Hubbard. A committee of three was appointed by the meeting to draft a constitution and code of by-laws for the government of the society, consisting of Nehemiah King, Robert Harper, and Jonathan Warner. This committee reported a constitution, but asked for further time on by-laws, whereupon the meeting adjourned till the lGth day of January, 1823. At this meeting the organization was completed, and the following persons elected its first officers: President, Nehemiah King; Vice-Presidents, Eliphalet Austin and Edward Fieficld; Corresponding Secretary, Matthew Hubbard ; Recording Secretary, Jonathan Warner; Auditor, Joab Austin; Treasurer, Timothy R. Hawley. The first cattle-show and fair was held in Austinburg, the first Tuesday of October, 1823. The amount of premiums offered amounted to forty dollars, - ten dollars on the best improved farm in the county of not less than fifty acres, and thirty dollars on all other objects. ... No sheep or horses were exhibited at this fair, although a premium was offered for sheep, but none for horses. The second fair of this society was also held at Austinburg, the third at Ashtabula, the fourth at Jefferson, and the fifth was appointed to be held at Austinburg, on the first Tuesday of October, 1827, but for some reason not set forth in the record the society did not hold a fair this year, and for the intervening period of fifteen years there was no active agricultural society in the county. During the whole time of the life of this society, I do not find among its records a single allusion to what to-day has come to be one of the great industrial interests of our people. I mean the business that has fastened upon our county the nickname ' cheesedom.' I suppose that it was good policy on the part of the society to foster and improve only those branches to which they directed their chief efforts. It must be remembered that at this period the means of transportation were limited. The Erie canal at the date of the formation of this society was not completed, and railroads had hardly been dreamed of as a means of transportation. To produce at home what was needed to eat and wear, and to grow for market only that which could transport itself, was certainly the dictate of reason and good sense, when we reflect that transportation from Albany to Buffalo cost one hundred dollars per ton. Under this condition of affairs, it would have cost not less than seven cents to carry a pound of cheese or butter to market in the city of New York. The first shipment of cheese from this county to Cincinnati was made in the year 1829, and was hauled by oxen and wagon to Beaver, in Pennsylvania, at a cost of one dollar and a half per hundred, and was then put on flat-boats and delivered at its destination at fifty cents per hundred, making the total cost of transportation about forty dollars per ton. This shipment was made by Colonel St. John, then in the mercantile business at Rock creek.

u During the next ten years, such had been the increase in the facilities for getting to market, the dairy business of this county had assumed considerable proportions, and had come to be regarded as one of the growing interests of the county that should be brought to a higher state of perfection. After the lapse of fifteen years from 1827, another attempt was made to organize the Ashtabula agricultural society. Accordingly, a notice was published by the auditor of the county for a meeting to be held on the 7th day of March, 1842, at the courthouse, for the purpose of organizing the society under a law recently passed by the legislature of Ohio, providing for the encouragement of agricultural societies in the several counties of the State. Colonel Lynds Jones was chosen chairman of the meeting, and N. L. Chaffee secretary. A constitution and by-laws were adopted and the following officers elected : R. W. Griswold, president ; G. W. St.John, vice-president ; B. B. Gaylord, recording secretary ; Lynds Jones, corresponding secretary ; and E. G. Luce, treasurer ; Jas. 51. Blass, George Mitchell, and Sylvester Ward, executive committee. The first fair of this society was held at the court-house on the 15th day of October, 1S42. The dairy products were exhibited in the hall, and the domestic goods in the court-room. The cattle, sheep, and hogs were exhibited in a vacant lot just west of Messrs. Woodbury and Ruggles' law-office, and the horses were shown upon the streets of the town. For six years the society continued to hold its annual fairs at the same place, and it was not until the year 1849 that anything had been done towards the ownership of grounds for the society. This society embarked vigorously in the improvement of the dairy products of the county. At its first fair it issued a certificate to Abel Krum, of Cherry Valley, for the best cheese shown, and to James Stone for second best. These two gentlemen at that time were among the heaviest producers of cheese, and are both well entitled to be considered the pioneers of the cheese interest of this county and its improvement. At this early day the dairy products of this section of the Reserve did not have, as a whole, a very enviable reputation in the best markets of the country. 1 Ohio grease' was at this time known to mean the worst form and quality of butter that found its way to market, and the make of our cheese was so imperfect that after it had found its way to market, east or south, it became valueless, and was tumbled into the docks and rivers, and accounts of sales rendered accordingly. It is a fact in the history of that class of business men who first engaged extensively in the cheese trade of this couuty that they became bankrupt, in some cases, perhaps, dishonestly, but, in more, honestly forced to become so by reason of cont inued losses in the dairy products of our county. The agricultural society, for a series of years, gave a very large share of its attention to the improvement of this business. Liberal premiums were offered for the best butter and cheese made in the county at different seasons of the year. Committees were appointed to go over the county and examine the fixtures and conveniences in use for the manufacture of these articles, and advise and instruct the producers as to the best methods of making and curing. Statements were required of the best producers, detailing the whole routine of their processes, and these were published in the papers of the county and entered upon the records of the society. Improvement has continued, until now the products of this county stand as high, in the markets of the world even, as the like products of any section of our country. The society owns commodious grounds, with suitable buildings and as fine a race-track as exists in Northern Ohio."

1843. - R. W. Griswold, president; Gains W. St. John, vice-president; B. B. Gaylord, recording secretary; Ebenezer Wood, corresponding secretary; Almon Hawley, treasurer ; Jonathan Warner, Harvey Nettleton, and Jon. Tuttle, executive committee.

1S44. - R. W. Griswold, president; Ebenezer Wood, vice-president: B. B. Gaylord, recording secretary ; P. R. Spencer, corresponding secretary ; E. G. Luce, treasurer ; Jonathan Warner, G. W. St. John, and John Sill, executive committee.

1845. - Ebenezer Wood, president; John Sherman, vice-president; T. H. C. Kingsbury, recording secretary ; R. W. Griswold, corresponding secretary ; Jonathan Warner, Jr., treasurer; Abel Krum, L. P. Blakeslee, and Lynds Jones, executive committee.

1847. - G. W. St. John, president; Jonathan Warner, vice-president; N. E. French, secretary; and Jonathan Warner, Jr., treasurer; James Stone, Lynds Jones, Rensselaer Strong, John B. Watrous, and F. Udell, board of managers.

1848. - Same as previous year, except Ebenezer Wood, vice-president ; and E. A. Mills, Walter Strong, S. Sargeant, and Andrew Bailey, directors.

1850. - A. Krum, president; G. W. St. John, vice-president; J. Warner, Jr., treasurer; and N. E. French, secretary; F. Gee, H. F. Giddings, H. E. Parsons, Alex. Osborne, and U. N. Smalley, directors.

1857. - Abel Krum, president; J. Warner, Jr., vice-president; N. Hoskin, secretary ; A. N. Wright, treasurer ; and C. G. Calkins, E. Hulett, J. Fobes, Jr., and B. F. Phillips, directors.

treasurer, and one manager resigned, and on August 1 J. D. Ensign was elected treasurer ; C. L. Bushnell, secretary, and R. E. Fillmore, managers.

1871. - H. J. Nettleton, president ; Hiram Hickok, vice-president ; E. J. Betts, secretary; E. C. Wade, treasurer; H. Talcott, Joseph Shepard, Henry Bowman, and John Chapin, directors ; balance holding over.

1872. - Hiram Hickok, president; Harry Talcott, vice-president ; J. J. Dodge, E. G. Hurlburt, L. R. Griffis, and R. M. Norton for two years ; balance holding over ; E. J. Pinney, secretary.

1873. - Hiram Hickok, president ; Henry Talcott, vice-president ; S. A. Northway, T. E. Yates, Ezra Rawdon, E. 0. Peck, and Henry Bowman, for two years; balance holding over, directors ; E. J. Pinney, secretary.

1877. - President and vice-president same as previous year; John Gill, treasurer ; E. J. Pinney, secretary ; Calvin Dodge, B. F. Perry, Henry Bowman, and E. G. Hurlburt, directors.

Of this association, to whom the citizens of the county are largely indebted for the present history, we find that on Friday, the 17th day of July, 1838, pursuant to previous notice, a meeting of the citizens of Ashtabula County convened at the court-room in Jefferson for the purpose of organizing a " County Historical and Philosophical Society." Horace Wilder, Esq., was called to the chair, and Orramel II. Fitch and Platt R. Spencer were appointed secretaries; and here let us add that the records from which this article is compiled were written by the last-named gentleman, the originator of the Spencerian system of penmanship, which has now a world-wide reputation. The following resolutions were severally adopted, viz. :

Whereupon the chair announced the following gentlemen to constitute said committee, to wit : J. R. Giddings, R. P. Ranney, H. R. Gaylord, S. F. Taylor, and S. Wright, who retired, and in due time reported the following :

Preamble

We, the undersigned citizens of Ashtabula County, in order to form a more perfect union of scientific effort, awaken an enlightened spirit of energy, insure greater facilities for individual culture, and the promotion of public virtue and prosperity, provide for the perpetuation of the history of our highly-favored land, promote the general welfare of all classes of citizens, aud secure the blessings of science, virtue, and universal education to ourselves and our posterity, do agree to form ourselves into a society to be governed by the following

Constitution

Article 2. The object of this society shall be the collection and preservation of the facts constituting our early history, of the Indian tribes, and of the county and State generally, their antiquities, settlement, population, politics, etc., their native productions, animal, mineral, and vegetable ; and it shall also be a primary object of the society to use its efforts to improve schools and the means of instruction, and to extend the blessings of education and useful knowledge to all.

Article 3. Any persons resident within the county of Ashtabula may become members of this society by subscribing to this constitution and pledging themselves to attend its regular meetings, and otherwise to use their influence to promote its interests, honor, and prosperity.

Article 4. The officers of this society shall be a president, four vice-presidents, a recording and a corresponding secretary, who shall be chosen at the annual meeting of the society, and shall perform the duties usually required of such officers. The recording secretary shall also perform the duties of treasurer.

It was then Resolved, That the society do now proceed to elect officers to serve until the first Tuesday in January, 1839 ; whereupon the following persons were elected, viz. : Roger W. Griswold, president ; Horace Wilder, II. S. Hitchcock, Levi Gaylord, and Halsey Phillips, vice-presidents ; Platt R. Spencer, recording secretary, and Orramel H. Fitch, corresponding secretary. It was then Resolved, That a committee of five persons be appointed to ascertain and report at the next meeting of this society, as far as practicable, the early history of the several townships of this county, and all the facts and incidents connected therewith which come within the purview of this society ; and also a committee of persons on natural history to report as above ; whereupon the chair announced the following :

This society continued its labors until 1852, and in the mean time prepared several hundred pages of historical matter relating to the early settlements of the county, and also a large collection of relics. By far the greater portion of the local histories now in the archives of the association were collected and written by Joel Blakeslee, formerly a resident of Colebrook township. In August, 1877, the following call was published in the county papers, viz. :

" Citizens of Ashtabula County who are interested in the publication of a full and reliable history of the county are requested to meet in Jefferson, on Tuesday, August 28, for consultation to procure that object. It is expected that there will be parties present with whom a satisfactory arrangement can be made to prepare, compile, and publish the work.

The duty of these local committees was to assist in collecting the facts and to attest their correctness when prepared, thus insuring thoroughness in the compilation of the work. The society's committees have, in nearly every instance, shown a deep interest in the history, and have given to it much of their time and attention, so as to have the facts accurate and full. We trust this body, to whose kind offices the publishers of this volume are so largely indebted, has a bright and useful future before it.

Pursuant to which notice a meeting was held in Jefferson, on the 28th day of August, 1877, and a consultation was had in reference to the proposed publication by Messrs. Williams Brothers of a history of Ashtabula County. Hon. B. F. Wade was called to the chair, and Henry Fassett appointed secretary. Hon. O. H. Fitch made a statement of the objects of the meeting, urging such measures to be taken as shall insure a full and reliable history of our county, if one shall now be published. After further remarks by several gentlemen present, C. Udell, Esq., offered the following resolution, which was adopted :

" Resolved , That we do now reorganize the Historical and Philosophical Society of Ashtabula County, and proceed to elect officers of same."

The following officers were elected : President, 0. H. Fitch ; Secretary, Henry Fassett ; Executive Committee, W. P. Spencer, A. Kellogg, C. S. Simonds, A. W. Stiles, and Amos C. Hubbard; the president and secretary to be ex-officio members. This committee were requested to meet at the office of 0. H. Fitch, on Monday, September 3. Signed, B. F. Wade, chairman, and Henry Fassett, secretary.

On the 3d day of the following September the executive committee mentioned above convened at the office of its president, Hon. 0. H. Fitch, in Ashtabula, when the following resolutions were offered by Hon. A. Kellogg, and on motion adopted :

" Resolved , That the president of our society is requested to obtain from the officers of the Western Reserve Historical Society, and from others, all the papers and records belonging to this society now in their possession, for the purpose of examination and preservation.

11 Resolved, That the president, secretary, A. C. Hubbard, Esq., and Hon. E. Lee are hereby appointed a committee to confer with Messrs. Williams Brothers in reference to the proposed history of this county, and to give them access, for that purpose, under such terms and restrictions as said committee may deem proper, to the papers, records, and documents now belonging to this society, and to take such action in reference to the supervising the papers intended for publication as may be deemed essential in securing a fair and impartial history of our county."

The following gentlemen were appointed local committees for their several townships, and were requested to attend a public meeting of the society, to be held at the court-house in Jefferson, on the 26th instant, at one o'clock p.m. :

This body is of recent organization. On the 1st day of February, 1878, in response to a call previously published, many of the temperance people of the county assembled in Ashtabula and organized the society whose name appears above. The following is the preamble to tbe constitution and by-laws then and there adopted : " Being fully persuaded that all men may be saved by the grace of God and the power of human sympathy, we, the undersigned, with humble dependence upon Almighty God, do form ourselves into a society for the purpose of uniting our efforts and prayers in the cause of temperance." The following is the pledge to which the members subscribe : " With malice toward none, and with charity for all, I, the undersigned, do pledge my word and honor, God helping me, to abstain from all intoxicating liquors as a beverage, and that I will by all honorable means encourage others to abstain." The following are the present officers of the society : Prof. J. Tuckerman, president ; C. W. J aques, corresponding secretary ; D. Loomis, recording secretary ; A. C. Stephens, treasurer.

In January, 1877, there was an arrangement for a meeting of this association the succeeding year, and, accordingly, the first annual meeting took place at Jefferson, February 28 and March 1, 1878. The objects of this association were so well explained by the president, Mr. N. E. French, in his opening address, that we quote from it as follows :

"I should, perhaps, speak of the principal reason that prompted to the organization of the association, and, negatively, I would say that it was not for the purpose of drawing away from larger associations organized in the interest of the dairy farmer any of their strength, or in any way to cripple and render less effective their efforts to improve the quality and increase the quantity of the dairy products of the country ; but, affirmatively, it was claimed that these larger associations did not reach, in the most effective way, the masses of the people who were engaged in the dairy business, but that a similar association, organized and holding its meetings and carrying on its discussions in the immediate neighborhood of the producers, would elicit an interest and lead to results not likely to be reached so speedily and so surely by the larger associations holding their meetings in the larger cities, and somewhat remote from the great centres of production. It was claimed that comparatively few of the practical dairy farmers found their way to the meetings of the larger associations, and for the purpose of awakening thought, stimulating investigation, and inducing to a better system and greater prosperity, was the Northeastern Ohio Dairyman's association organized.

11 In politics, if the politicians desire to carry through any great party measure, they do not go alone to the great cities for influence and strength, but every township and school district is thoroughly organized for the campaign. And on the question of dairy improvement all should feel a lively interest, for it has become already a great interest in this country, and is destined, in all time, to remain such. Milk, butter, and cheese are not luxuries alone; they have become absolute necessaries in the food of every family, and the home consumption of these articles of food is almost beyond computation. In addition to the home trade, this country is now sending abroad to other countries not less, perhaps, than 820,000,000 worth of butter and cheese per annum. To this extent, then, the dairy interest of the country swells the amount of our domestic exports and aids us in making our exchanges with other nations. While this item, when put in comparison with the aggregate amount of our exports, may seem inconsiderable, it is, nevertheless, a large item, and one that cannot be overlooked by the intelligent political economist who has at heart the prosperity of every legitimate industry of the country. It should be remembered, in comparing the dairy interest with other producing interests in the country, that, relatively, there is but a small extent of the great aggregate of territory devoted to this particular industry ; and, from natural causes, this will always continue to be, to a large extent, the future condition of things as affecting this particular business. Hence it may very properly be said that an interest, circumscribed as to the extent of territory in which it may be prosecuted with profit, presents a question that no one can disregard. Every consumer has a moral and a political right to demand that the business shall be so prosecuted in all its various parts that the supply shall at all times keep pace with the demand.

" Some one has said that 1 he is a public benefactor who makes two blades of grass grow where only one grew before.' To do this in the best, surest, and most enduring manner is in a peculiar sense the province of the dairy farmer. This point made an accomplished fact, and demand keeping pace with supply, the result would be to give to the producer twice his present annual income ; and, as the prosperity of the State or nation is measured by the prosperity of the people, it is easy to see that there can be no solid, abiding prosperity that is not the result of intelligent, well-directed labor applied to the development of the resources of mother earth."

The following were the first officers : President, N. L. Guthrie, Conneaut, Ohio ; Secretary and Treasurer, J. S. Sill, Ashtabula, Ohio ; Executive Committee, J. F. Wilson, Ashtabula, Ohio; Professor Yiets, Jefferson, Ohio ; Hattie Linn, Austinburg, Ohio.

All the prominent teachers of the county are active members. These have succeeded in making the association an educational power, and its influence is being felt. Many of the common-school teachers are enrolled in its membership.

The Ashtabula County Musical society was first organized by C. A. Bentley, Lewis Cowles, and H. P. Tuttle, at Austinburg, in the fall of 1856. At the first session only three singers from abroad were present. The second convention was held in Lenox, under the direction of C. A. Bentley. About fifty singers were present.

Musically, the society has become educated from light and trashy music to such solid works as " Thanks be to God," from " Elijah ;" " Oh, for the Wings of a Dove," Mendelssohn ; " The Lord is King," Perkins ; Mozart's " Twelfth Mass," and music of a like character.

was first organized in the fall of 1846. Prominent among those who labored in its formation were Messrs. A. H. Bailey, at that time principal of the school at

The object in view was mutual improvement and advancement in the profession, to promote the cause of popular education, and to increase the efficiency of the common schools of the county.

The first session was held at Jefferson, and was of two weeks' duration. The exercises consisted of general reviews in the branches pursued in common schools, discussions of the methods of instruction and of the methods of management of schools, with evening lectures upon the various phases of the common-school question, delivered by the leading men of the county.

The instructors were Messrs. A. D. Lord and M. F. Cowdry, of Kirtland, and Z. C. Graves, of Kingsville. The first president was Mr. A. A. Smith, of Austinburg.

The institute had a very marked effect upon the teachers and the schools, producing what might appropriately be called an educational revival. It had much to do in making the county " chiefly distinguished as a place for the raising of common-school teachers," as stated by Senator Wade.

Annual sessions of not less than four days each, generally of two weeks each, have been held for most of the time since the first organization, in 1846. Recently the sessions have been held in July, and the length has been increased to four weeks.