Champaign County, Ohio - The whole text, 1881 (part 7 of 32)

These settlements generally contained a few pious persons, who were ever ready to welcome the man of God, and if need be, keep a " prophet's chamber" for their use. The result was that as soon as the little colony felt itself strong enough to build a house of worship, however rude, it was put into execution without waiting for help or pecuniary aid from a distant society. The " church erection fund," common to the churches of to-day, was an after-thought. The fact is, the frontier life not only developed individuality and brought into active life the best and worst qualities of the people, but it made them independent, self-reliant and progressive, and in a little while we find chapels at Mount Tabor, Pisgah, Saint George, Nettle Creek, Concord and other places. These early structures were small, though probably sufficient for the immediate wants of the vicinity. Camp-meetings, at an early day, supplied a recognized .want and were generally attended, and, if rumors are to be trusted, the " sons of Belial " were present in full numbers. The structures were of the most temporary and rude character, but, in the absence of rain, met the necessary requirements, and to both saint and sinner gave a week of enjoyable rest, worship and pleasure. As the camp-meeting was a feature in the life of the early settlers, the subject may be referred to again. The log structures of the primitive days, as they decayed or became insufficient, were replaced by brick houses, somewhat more pretentious than the " hewed log," and indicative of the increasing growth in wealth and numbers, but these, again, have been replaced, in many cases, by more commodious and luxurious buildings. Saint George's Chapel, on the eastern edge of Urbana Township, near the Mechanicsburg pike, on the farm of Mr. David Sowles, for many years ceased to be used, but was a source of interest and curiosity to strangers. It served its day, and with the generation that worshiped in its narrow walls, gradually decayed, and within a few years past was torn down. For more than a generation the burdock spread its broad leaf over the door-step and in the path, and the goldenrod nodded over the lonely graves, and to-day the few rails which still protect the latter alone remind the old settler and the passer-by of what it once was. The little church at Mount Pisgah, perched on one of the highest hills in Union Township, near the pikes leading to Buck Creek Church, further down on the same ridge of hills, is still standing and occupied at stated periods for religious services. It, too, begins to show decay, and perhaps within a generation will be made to make way for a more imposing house. To-day it stands a connecting link with the past, and, like other old structures erected by the pioneers, which have been preserved, will be worthy the examination of the antiquary.

The Presbyterian society and church erected their first house of worship on the lot on which the court house now stands. The members who took an active part in this work were Messrs. Ward, McBeth, Bell, Magrew, Fyffe, Vance, McCord and others.

This house was destroyed by a tornado that crossed the county in 1830, inflicting great damage and considerable loss of life. The house was rebuilt on the site where the First Presbyterian Church now stands, on the lot directly west of the court house. This building was very much after the style of the old Methodist building on the corner of Locust and Church streets, both as to dimensions and interior arrangements. The high pulpit and stiff-backed benches and gallery were thought to be essential features in every house of worship of any magnitude. The men who took an active part in erecting the second house were William Ward, John Ward, McCord, Helmick, Hunt, McBeth, Luse, Fyffe, Vance, Magrew, Smith, Bell, McDonald, the members of other churches, and of the church at Buck Creek.

This society was rigidly Calvinistic, believed in the "Decrees," and sang Watts' psalms and hymns. The singing was not very artistic. Spasmodic efforts were made to organize and continue a choir, which, after short periods of usefulness, vacated the seat set apart for their use, and occasionally the preacher requested some one of the congregation to " raise the tune." The service of song must have been a heavy burden, both to pastor and people, and the wonder is that the Scriptural injunction " to make melody in their hearts to the Lord" during the interval had not been adopted, both as more edifying and Scriptural than the practice in vogue. In one or two matters, however, the two congregations, representing the religious sentiments of the people, were in accord. One was an uncompromising hostility to musical instruments in a house of worship. In the eyes of these godly men and women, "a fiddle" in religious assemblies would have been considered the "abomination of desolation," and he who in a catholic spirit suggested the viol or other musical instrument as eminently serviceable and necessary, was worse than " a heathen and a publican." Nor was there charity for sister churches. They assumed to stand on the same common platform, but the Methodists inserted "a plank" touching "free agency" and "falling from grace," while the Presbyterian improved his with one relating to "predestination" and the "final perseverance of the saints." Religion was a serious business, and he who had "come out from the world," and, like Runyan's pilgrim, had set out from the " City of Destruction to go to the Celestial City," had no business to tamper with conscience. "Thus saith the Lord" ended all controversy, and, as a rule, they were strict constructionists, as they understood the Scriptures. There could not, therefore, be much harmony between the several denominations, and doctrinal sermons were not unpopular. A favorite topic in the pulpit was the sin of dress. The curls and flounces and head-dress of fashionable display were so many snares of the devil to lead to perdition, and matters for the discipline of the church. Nor had they any weakness for flowers on the sacred desk. It was an effeminacy not to be tolerated. The Gospel was " yea and nay," and "whatsoever was more than these came of evil." The character of the one seemed built on the dogma, "salvation's free," that of the other, "repent and live." It colored their lives. The rule of faith and practice was, "Why should we keep up distinct organizations unless we adhere to our distinctive tenets?" Yet let us not judge the men of the earlier part of the century by the standards of the latter part. In many respects they were no common men. We may criticise their ways, but Phariseeism itself will recognize their virtues, and they helped to make Ohio what it is to-day.

The society composing the first and second church erections, was not strong enough (or possibly from prudential motives as a missionary organization) to maintain itself without alliance with another society. This was effected with the Presbyterians residing in the lower part of Union Township. A house for worship was erected on the hill where the present house stands, which was afterward destroyed by fire. The first Pastor, both of the Urbana and Buck Creek churches, was Rev. James Hughes, who preached alternate Sundays at each place. He was a man universally beloved, and remembered by many still living for his many virtues. He was not considered a great preacher, but he was a rare good man and well qualified to build up an infant church. A more detailed sketch of this branch of the church and its early founders may be found in the notes of Union Township. The successor of Mr. Hughes was the Rev. Mr. Britch. He was an Englishman, and, it was said, a protege of Lady Huntington, under whose auspices he had been educated and sent to the Western wilds. He was a large, heavy man, with a broad, English pronunciation, nearly allied to the Scotch. He, too, continued his ministrations alternately at the Urbana and Buck Creek Churches. Many anecdotes are told of his eccentric ways and speeches. One of them was that, on a certain occasion, he announced to his congregation that he would preach in that house " on the next Sabbath, the Lord willing, and on the Sunday after the next anyhow." His residence was in Urbana, and his library kept in a store box. On one occasion a young miss whom he had reproved for her indulgence in light reading, proposed to do better if he would loan her one of the large folios she had seen on his table. The book was a large one, and held together by massive brass clasps. It proved to be a volume of Barrow's or some other sermons of that day which he loved and guarded with jealous care. The young miss cared nothing for Barrow or Tillotson, but had had her curiosity excited by the heavy clasps and the closing of the fly leaf to the back by many wafers - a mode of pasting papers together at that day. She was a true daughter of Eve, and had her curiosity gratified by lifting the leaf from its wafer fastenings, the only writing found on the page being, " You are a good man, but a most incorrigible beggar." The fly leaf was replaced, but the young lady never got beyond that page in the book. It has been said that his congregation verified in their acquaintance with him the truth of the criticism expressed on the fly leaf. His last sermon in the house was delivered on the day the building was destroyed, and he removed to Illinois, on one of whose wide prairies, one winter day, he was found frozen to death, sitting on the ground with his back against a tree and his saddle-bags by his side. The house was rebuilt, and the successor to Mr. Britch was Rev. David Merrill. In 1840, the two churches were able to stand alone, and the Buck Creek branch secured the services of Rev. Hugh Price. Mr. Merrill was a man of learning and rare abilities, a most genial and social companion, fell of wisdom and wit. In 1837-38, when the controversy arose between the two wings of the Presbyterian Church, called Old and New School, he was suspected of favoring the new heresy, and by stress of circumstances compelled to resign his charge. He afterward was Pastor of a Congregational Church in Vermont, and died from the effect of a sunstroke in the hay-field. His sermons were short and demanded close attention, and were read tolerably fast and without gesture. The use of intoxicating liquors agitated the good people of the country then as now, and, in one of his sermons, afterward of wide circulation, and known as the " ox sermon," he first propounded the principle that the maker and seller of ardent spirits should be held responsible for the evils of intemperance, and used as his text the law enunciated by Moses, that, where the ox pushed with the horn and the owner knew the fact, he was liable for the injury the ox might do.

During the latter part of the ministerial labors of Mr. Merrill, the two organizations at Buck Creek and Urbana were thought to be strong enough to stand alone. The Urbana branch was supplied for a time by Mr. Elcock, then by Mr. Adams. The congregation was hard to please, or these men were inefficient as preachers, and they remained no long time, and were succeeded, in 1846, by Rev. Mr. C. Magill. The Buck Creek Church gave a call to Rev. Hugh Price, which was accepted, and he was duly installed.

Mr. Price remained at Buck Creek many years, popular and successful. He was not a "rare and ripe scholar," but he had good sense, the zeal of an evangelist, and, in his pulpit efforts, was full of enthusiasm and gesticulation. He was a most companionable man, and probably owed much of his popularity to this characteristic. The Buck Creek Church was different from its Urbana neighbor in the department of singing. This was led by Elder Samuel Humes and Deacon John Earsom, who stood up before the congregation and performed the duties of choristers. They sang as though they enjoyed it, and the whole congregation joined in the singing with a good will and earnestness, and verified the Scriptural injunction to ''sing aloud and make a joyful noise."

Again a change came over both churches. New houses of worship were erected in Urbana and at Buck Creek, and with the new houses, a new order of things was introduced. Frequent changes occurred in the pastorate of the Urbana Church, which, in 1869, was filled by Dr. J. A. P. McGaw, who resigned the place, June, 1880, for a church in Rock Island, 111., Rev. W. F.

Claybaugh being settled at Buck Creek, Dr. John F. Marley at First Methodist Episcopal Church, and James Murray at Grace Church, Urbana; E. C. Stone,

Thompson, of the United Presbyterian denomination ; and President Frank Sewell, of the New Church. They were representative men, fully up to the times in general scholarship, harmonizing in social intercourse and religious enterprises, and taking an active interest in the duties of the public-spirited citizens. The unification of several branches of the Presbyterian Church, twentytwo years ago and the surrender of the differences of New School and Old School, eleven years since, tended not only to make unity in these and other branches of the same general denomination, but to infuse a spirit of harmony in and with all other churches. The material changes which have taken place are a want of the profound respect for the office of clergyman, which was a marked feature forty or fifty years ago. The clergyman then was largely in advance of his congregation, as a general rule, and was not only a religious teacher, but was consulted on matters of daily secular concern. The office was reverenced, if not the man. The general diffusion of knowledge has brought the Pastor and his hearers more on the same intellectual level. The preacher of to-day is proverbially an inefficient business man. The line which once separated the Pastor from the people, and was overstepped only by few, has been broken down, and the minister is regarded as a preacher and a man, rather than " a teacher sent from God." In the pulpit, dogmatic theology has made way for the spirit and teachings of the Sermon on the Mount, and, ordinarily, a stranger would be unable to say what are the distinctive tenets of the congregation where he might chance to worship. Political sermons make no part of the intellectual bill of fare. The infraction of this rule or custom would hardly be tolerated by church-going people. In the question of music, the most radical changes have been made. The interlining of the hymn has been abandoned, and in its stead the hymn-book, with musical notes, substituted and placed in every pew. The churches, for the most part, pretend to hold to congregational singing, but rely mainly on a trained choir, sustained by some musical accompaniment. In the houses of worship above mentioned, which we have selected as types of the churches generally, are found large and expensive pipe-organs, while the reed-organ is made an essential part of the furniture of almost all others, both in town and country.

The former hymn-books have been superseded by a more enlarged and select collection. Galleries are obsolete, and the choir occupies a platform in the rear of the minister, or on the side of the rostrum, which latter, with an upholstered desk or table, is raised a foot or two above the floor. Much of the old congregational music is changed. The "voluntaries" and "fugues" of long time ago have given place to "solos," and selections from the masters of song, rendered, probably, with technical skill. However much the change may gratify the current musical culture, to the gray-beards who have long occupied the " amen corner," it holds the same place that the violin and cornet did in the estimation of their fathers - and, for all religious purposes, might as well have been written in Choctaw.

We have entered into details respecting the two pioneer churches of Urbana - the Methodist Episcopal and Presbyterian - as the parent hives from which went out in large measure, the societies which sprung up over the county as time went by, and which in their methods have followed the same development. A just exhibit demands a short review of other denominations that have established

The Baptist Church. - For nearly half a century after the first settlement of the State, pearly all the churches of the Baptist faith and order, were instituted in the rural districts. Whether the country was supposed to present a more advantageous field than the city, or whether the latter was pre-occupied by the Methodists, who were the early religious pioneers, does not appear. The first organization in Ohio was in 1790, at Columbia, five miles from Cincinnati ; the second at Pleasant Run, near Lancaster, in Fairfield County, in 1801,- and the third in Champaign County, on King's Creek, three and one-half miles northeast of Urbana, in the year 1805. At the time of its organization, it numbered eight members only, but some additions were made within the next five or six years, under the pastorate and alternate care of Elders Thomas and Gutridge. Among these were Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Patrick, who afterward helped to organize the society in LTrbana.

During these few years other rural churches were instituted at Nettle Creek, Honey Creek, Lost Creek, Tharp's Run, Buck Creek and Darby Creek, and these separate and independent organizations united themselves in a body under the name of the "Mad River Baptist Association." In a few years Baptist Churches were organized throughout the State, and numbered in their membership some of the ablest and most influential men of the country. The subject of a more efficient instrumentality for the propagation of the tenets of the church in places where societies had not been established, and especially in the towns, took hold on the minds of the leading men of the denomination, which led to the formation of an advisory missionary body, styled " The Ohio Baptist State Convention." Among the other towns which were selected as "waste places," and entitled to the fostering care of the church as a whole, Urbana was thought to present a good field for missionary labor. To this field Elder Enos French was sent, under the auspices of the convention in 1843. Worship and other religious meetings were held by permission of the County Commissioners in the court house. The result of these efforts, was that upon petition to the Legislature, a charter was issued authorizing Samuel Y. Baldwin and two others named in the charter, and their successors, to constitute themselves into a corporate body, and, as Trustees of said church, hold property, sue and be sued, etc. This body was called the " Urbana Baptist Society," and drew support in some measure from neighboring Baptist Churches. Among its active workers were Douglas Luce, William Patrick, James Dunlap, Judge Baldwin, Jacob Pence, William Richards, John Logan, John Newell, Powell.

The Methodist Episcopal Church. - We have elsewhere given a sketch of the Methodist Episcopal Church. This was recognized as the "Pioneer Church " of the new settlements. The itinerant was to be met everywhere, and4 wherever he could find a lodgment was erected a place of worship. The pioneer itinerant was not distinguished for his learning ; commentaries and books being scarce. Indeed he had little room for books in his lonely rides. The church did not demand a high order of scholarship, but he possessed higher qualities for his calling, good sense, earnestness, endurance and fearlessness. While he did not boast " book learning," in fact too often despised it, he was on an equality in point of intelligence with any of his hearers, and in advance of most of them. He made the Bible his study, practice made him a ready talker, and social intercourse with all classes suggested new thoughts. It was his business to hunt up the "lost sheep," and when one was found he was at once installed a " class leader," and the nucleus of a church then and there placed. A log by the wayside, the cabin in the wilderness, the dedicated house, each or all, as opportunity offered, were used to deliver his message. Under such a system of work, success was inevitable, and at an early day we find evidences in every locality of an organized society, a settled purpose to stay. The early log structures have passed away with the hands that built them. Here and there over the county we find the small brick building, which marks the first step in the onward movement. These, for the most part, have fulfilled their purpose and begun to show signs of disuse and decay. A later period has erected in the rural districts the frame house with white weatherboarding and green blinds. The towns, as the societies have increased in numbers and wealth, have vacated the frame buildings for more pretentious edifices of brick. Urbana being among the earliest settled portions of the county, we might infer that here the initial movement would be made. But the itinerant system did not necessarily select the towns. The preacher studied the geography of the circuit to which he was sent as well as his Bible, and his equipment was a fine horse, a capacious pair of saddle-bags and an abiding faith in his mission.

Trustworthy information in reference to the first Methodist Episcopal Church organization in the county, is difficult to be had. The early system of work and the religious zeal of its preachers were well adapted to make the Methodist Episcopal Church missionary in its work. Preaching was probably had before an organization was effected, of which the circuit called u Mad River " was the first, about the year 1803-04. In 1800, the circuit was known as the "Scioto and Miami." In 1803, it was subdivided, and part called "Miami," and in 1805, "Miami and Mad River." As the emigration increased, Urbana was made a preaching-point, and the first regular place of meeting was in a small log house on Lot 207, on Locust street, between Church and Ward, now owned by Mrs. Sciota Hendley. The old house was sold to William Downs, who became contractor for the erection of a brick building on the corner of Locust and Court streets, which has been elsewhere described. In 1833, Urbana appears for the first time in the general minutes, and attached to the Lebanon District ; W. H. Raper, Presiding Elder over the district, and R. Brandriff and O. Johnson, first preachers on the Urbana Circuit. In 1834, the circuit reported a membership of 1,314 members. In 1835-36, Urbana District, W. H. Raper, Presiding Elder, and Urbana Circuit, G. W. Walker and M. Marley, Joshua Boucher and A. Morrow, preachers. In 1837, Urbana was made a station, of which Joshua Boucher was Pastor. Membership reported, 283 ; in the circuit, 1,196.

The denominations named - Methodist, Presbyterian and Baptist - were the pioneer churches of the county. Small societies of other churches were feebly maintained in various parts of the county at a comparatively early day, among which may be named the Universalist and Christian or Disciples Churches. The former has grown to be a society of considerable magnitude and wealth, erecting several houses for worship in different parts of the county, of which the largest and most expensive was built at Westville in 1878. This church, with others in the county, is under the ministerial supervision of Rev. Mr. Carlton, of Woodstock.

The Christian, New-Light, or Campbellite, or more recently the Disciples, Church (for by each of these names was this particular branch of the church known in this county), at one time had considerable strength. The difference in name probably arose from some shadow of difference in the views of special churches on minor matters, the name Campbellites having been given from a recognition of the services of Alexander Campbell, of West Virginia, who is accepted as the founder of the tenets held by the church, in the earlier part of the present century. Some years since, this society was stronger in the county than at present. Many who held to the doctrines of this branch of the church are to be found in the eastern part of the county, and religious meetings are held at different points occasionally during the year, but the church, as a body, in this locality, is not adding to their numbers.

By permission of the County Commissioner, the court hall was opened to the meetings of all religious denominations. The court house in the public square was common property for meetings of all kinds. The erection of the building on the corner of North Main and Court streets, induced considerable restriction in this respect ; but for religious teachers, until the formation of societies with their own place of worship and the erection of the city hall, the doors were opened, and scarcely a Sunday passed in which the advocates and expounders of the doctrines of other branches of the Christian Church did not receive a free hearing. Some of these had followers enough to form societies, which still maintain themselves in Urbana and are prospering. The result is that while the three first named, the pioneer churches of the county, keep the advance in numbers and wealth, here the various shades of opinion, doctrine and church government are represented, and with church settings amply sufficient for the entire population in the city. The various churches which have at different times erected houses of worship in Urbana will be noted more particularly in the notes on Urbana City.

Sunday Schools

A passing notice of Sunday schools may not be out of place. The first school was opened about the year 1820, in the brick church on the corner of Locust and Court streets, and shortly after, one in the Presbyterian House. The pupils were mainly under sixteen years of age, and in 1830 numbered fifty to seventy-five pupils each, with ten teachers for each school. The schools labored with two serious difficulties ; one, the want of classification, the other, the want of teachers. The latter was a serious drawback, as changes were not only frequent but supplies were in constant demand. The Bible, outside of what was called the Bible Class, was not studied. Each teacher selected certain books to be read, the reading of which would give the more interest or benefit, and the pupils were expected to commit to memory and recite passages of Scripture without reference to their connection or bearing. Every ten verses entitled the pupil to a white ticket ; attendance counted one white ticket ; ten white tickets were the equivalent and exchanged for one blue, and teh blue for one red ticket. The red ticket was supposed to have a pecuniary value, but few secured enough to make this an object, and the few usually earned were held as high rewards of merit. The system was not well calculated to teach doctrinal theology, but the reading of verses, alternately, in the classes, through whole chapters, and the recitation of portions of the Scriptures committed to memory gave a knowledge of the Bible hardly to be had in any other way. The singing was not very attractive, usually, or rather always, a church hymn, sung without spirit and mainly by the teachers. The libraries were small and pretty well thumbed, and, while they contained some trashy books, contained a less percentage of "Dime Novels" than are found in the Sunday-school collections of to-day. The schools continued an hour in session, and met in the morning and afternoon. The Sunday schools of fifty years ago, with all their imperfections, supplied a great want. Experience only was necessary to make them more useful. Mason and Bradbury rendered effective service in composing and arranging simple music, which soon worked its way into all the schools. The harmonium and reed organ gave an added attraction. Instead of depending on chance collections in the churches, or subscriptions by those who took an interest in the schools, they have become self-sustaining by a system of voluntary weekly contributions of small sums pf money. But perhaps more than all else the introduction and use of a system of lessons, prepared by competent men, ranging through years of study, and which in turn has called into active exercise the learning and talents of many persons fitted for the preparation of books and periodicals for the use of Sunday schools, has contributed to make them efficient and attractive. Out of these have also grown missionary and other bands, having the accomplishment of special objects in view, and a county organization composed of delegates from all the schools, who meet semi-annually to consider the questions appertaining tp the prosperity and usefulness of the work. The same spirit, system and progress have characterized the Sunday schools throughout the county, with this exception, that, outside the towns and villages, the schools are closed during the winter months.

The founders of the Republic had a clear perception of the importance of education as a means to insure the prosperity and permanency of the nation. The building-up of an empire based on the manhood of the citizen, and each holding a ballot, was not in accordance with the accepted opinions of the world, and when the declaration went forth that it was a government by the people and for the people, the wisest statesmen of Europe predicted a failure in less than three generations. A hundred years have passed, every decade of which brought with it a dangerous ordeal, culminating in a civil war such as the world had not seen for three hundred years. Through them all, the nation not only passed safely, but came out of the trial stronger than before. Yet the lesson each has taught, is the necessity of education to the great body of the country. The Franco-Prussian war was won, not by the needle gun, but by the mental training of the German soldier. In a struggle for national life, the odds are all on the side of an educated people, and the history of the world shows that no nation can remain free, however wise and virtuous her rulers may be, when its people are degraded. The Republic has nothing to fear from its educated class. What that education shall be, or to what extent it shall be pursued, are questions for the future to determine.

The convention that assembled at Chillicothe November 1, 1802, in accordance with the act of Congress, April 30, of the same year, besides framing the constitution, had another duty to perform. The act of Congress providing for the admission of the new State into the Union, offered certain propositions to the people. These were, first, that Section 16 in each township, or, in lieu thereof, other contiguous and equivalent lands, should be granted for the use of schools ; that thirty-eight sections of land, where salt-springs had 'been found, should be granted to the State, never, however, to be sold or leased for a longer term than ten years ; and, third, that one-twentieth of the proceeds from the sale of the public lands in the State should be applied for the construction of roads from the Atlantic to and through the same. These propositions were offered on the condition that the public lands sold by the United States after the 30th day of June, 1802, should be exempt from State taxation for five years after sale.

The ordinance of 1785 had already provided for the appropriation of Section 16 to the support of schools in every township sold by the United States ; this, therefore, could not, in 1802, be properly made the subject of a new bargain between the United States and the State ; and, by many, it was thought that the salt reservations and one-twentieth of the proceeds of the sale of public lands, were inadequate equivalent for the proposed surrender of a right to tax for five years. The convention, however, accepted the propositions of Congress, on their being so far modified and enlarged as to vest in the State, for the use of schools, Section 16 in each township sold by the United States, and three other tracts of land, equal in quantity respectively to one-thirty-sixth of the Virginia reservation, of the military tract and of the Connecticut Reserve ; and to give 3 per cent of the proceeds of the public lands sold within the State to the construction of roads in Ohio, under direction of the Legislature. Congress agreed to the proposed modifications.

We here have the basis of the common-school fund of the State, never probably conjectured or intended to be sufficient for the purposes of education, but adequate to encourage broader and more liberal views. In the early development of Ohio, a great variety of influences were felt in the way of general education. The settlements were, and for years continued to be, sparse. The people, as the pioneers of all new counties are, were poor, and lacked the means of remunerating teachers. Their poverty compelled all who were able to labor, and the work of the females was as important and toilsome as that of the men. Added to these, both teachers and books were scarce. This condition of things continued perhaps for more than a quarter of a century .

Taking these facts into consideration, it is surprising that they had any schools whatever. The interest awakened in the Eastern States in literature and science immediately after the Revolution, followed the pioneers to their Western homes ; but, to make their efforts productive of useful results, time became absolutely necessary. Just as soon as the settlements were prepared for the experiment, schools were opened ; but at every step it was the acquisition of knowledge under difficulties. Everything connected with them was as simple and primitive as were their dwellings, food and clothing. Houses were built in the various neighborhoods as occasion made necessary, not by subscription in money, but by labor. On a given day, the neighbors assembled at some place previously agreed upon, and the work was soon done. Timber was abundant ; they were skilled in the use of the ax, and, having cut logs of the required length, out of them, the walls were raised. The roof was made of clapboards, kept in place by heavy poles reaching the length of the house. The door was of clapboards, and creaked on wooden hinges ; the latch of wood, and raised by a string. The floor was "puncheon," or trees split in the middle, tolerably true, with the edge and face dressed with the ax. The crevices between the logs forming the walls were filled with " chinks," or split sticks of wood, and daubed with mud. The fire-place was equally rude, but of ample dimensions, built on the outside of the house, usually of stone to the throat of the flue, and the remainder of the chimney of split sticks of wood, daubed with puddled clay within and without. Light was admitted through the door and by means of an opening made by cutting out one of the logs, reaching almost the entire width of the building. This opening was high enough from the floor to prevent the boys from looking out, and in winter was covered with paper saturated with grease to keep out the cold as well as to admit the light.

In the rural districts, school "kept" only in winter. The furniture corresponded with the simplicity of the house. At a proper distance below the window, auger holes were bored in a slanting direction in one of the logs, and in these strong wooden pins were driven, and on these a hewed slab or puncheon was placed, which was to serve as a writing-desk for the whole school. For seats, they used the puncheon, or, more commonly, the body of a smooth, straight tree, cut ten to twelve feet in length, and raised to a height of twelve to fifteen inches by means of pins securely inserted. It has been said that not infrequently the logs were of unequal length, and the bench predisposed to " wabble." The "master" was generally an Irishman, quite as able to make a full hand in the field or with a flail on the thrashing-floor as he was to flourish a shillalah or hickory in the schoolroom. Dr. Johnson's notion that most boys required learning to be thrashed into them was practically carried out in the pioneer schoolhouse. The pupils sat with their faces toward the wall, around the room, while the teacher occupied the middle space to superintend each pupil separately. In some rooms, a separate bench was furnished for those too young to write. Classes, when reciting, sat on a bench made for this purpose.

The books were as primitive as the surroundings. The New Testament was a common reading-book; " The English Reader" was occasionally found, and sometimes the " Columbian Orator." No one book was common in all families. The reading class recited paragraphs alternately, and the book in use was made common property, passing from hand to hand during recitation. It was not unusual for the teacher to assist a pupil in one of his "sums," discipline a refractory scholar, and hear the reading class while the reading was going on. Deibold, Smiley and Pike's arithmetics were commonly used, with the examples for practice almost exclusively in pounds, shillings and pence, and a marked absence of clear rules or definitions for the solving of the different divisions. Webster's "American Speller " was the ordinary spelling-book, which afterward made way for Webster's " Elementary Speller." This latter book maintained its popularity for half a century. The spelling-class closed the labors of the day. All who could spell entered the " big class," and the rivalry was sharp as to who should rank first as good spellers. The class was numbered in the order in which they stood in line, and retained the number until a " miss" sent some one above them. Spelling-matches were frequent, and contributed largely to make good spellers. Grammar was not often taught, partly for the reason that books were hard to get, and partly because the teachers, as a rule, were not proficient in this branch of learning. When the science was taught, the text-book was the earlier and larger edition of Murray, which, by the close of the first quarter of the century, was largely superseded by " Kirkham," which, though of little real merit, stimulated a taste for grammar. The boys and girls went to the same school, but sat on opposite benches. It occasionally happened that a teacher would be employed who had learned that an elephant may be led by a hair, or more probably was blessed with a gentle nature, and won the hearts and life-long affection of his pupils by his pleasant and loving ways ; but these were the exception. The standard of excellence was too often measured by the ability and swift readiness to knock down and thrash on any provocation. Disobedience and ignorance were equally causes for the use of the " hickory." " Like master, like boy." The characteristics of the one tended to develop a corresponding spirit in the other, and the cruelty of the one, with the absence too frequently of all just discrimination in the use of the rod, excited animosities which death only obliterated. There were few boys of that day who did not cherish the purpose to " whale " the " master " on sight at a future day.

The schools were made by subscription, the charge being from $1 to $8 per term of three months, during winter, to begin at 8 o'clock in the morning, with an hour to an hour and a half recess at noon, and close at 5 o'clock. One-half of Saturday or alternate Saturdays made part of the term. Writing was taught to all the larger pupils, and the only pen used was the goose or turkey quill, made into a pen by the skillful hand of the teacher. Mending the pens was an essential part of the work. Copy-books were made of sheets of foolscap paper stitched together, and copies were "set" by the teacher during recess, which were commonly taken from the maxims of poor Richard or other " wise saws " which have been in use from time immemorial. Sometimes the teacher was partly paid in produce or other commodities, which were the equivalent to him for money. The latter was scarce, and to make change it was usual to halve and quarter pieces of silver coin with an ax or heavy chisel.

The games played were different from those of the present day. The little fellows played with the ball a game called "Anthony Over," on the calling of which the ball was thrown over the house, and, if caught upon the opposite side, entitled the catcher to the right to steal around the house and throw it at any one of the adverse party. But the principal game with the larger boys, was a ball game, called the " Bull Pen." The run of the play was to divide equally, tossing for first choice of partners and for corners. The ground was then laid off into corners or bases, there being as many corners as there were players on one side. Within these corners was the bull pen. The ball was thrown rapidly from corner to corner, until one saw his opportunity to throw and strike one in the pen. If the thrower missed, he was counted out or sometimes entered the pen. If he struck his man, then all the players on the corners ran away, and the one struck in the pen endeavored to save himself by striking one of the fugitives. If he failed, he was counted out, but, if successful in his throw, both were counted in, and the game proceeded until all the "corners" were out, when places were exchanged. The game was a rough one, and to be played only by those who were ready to take as well as give a hard hit. In the next generation, this game was surrendered to the smaller boys, and finally went into disuse. With the larger boys, it was superseded by what was called " Town Ball," substantially the "Base Ball " of the present day reduced to a science. The next generation added two other games, one of which involved trials of speed and endurance. This was called " Prisoner's Base," and was played by forming two base lines and dividing players equally. Each side had a space marked near by for a prison. Members of either party tempted the other side for trial of speed, and, if touched or " tagged," entered the adversary's prison, until exchanged or rescued by one of his own party. The game proceeded until all of one side were prisoners, or the bell tapped " school." The other play was rough and dangerous, but had quite a fascination for many. The name was " Whip the Snake," and was played by forming a line and clasping hands. The head of the line then started in a run, pulling after him the others, and when the line was well under way, it was whipped around in a short circle, throwing those at the end off at a tangent.

The introduction of schools in one settlement was an incentive to their speedy adoption in all. The first schoolhouse, so far as we have been able to learn, was erected on the little rise of ground in the lot on the left-hand side of the pike, not far from the road leading to the cemetery. The description we have given above, applies to all the earliest schoolhouses erected.

The building of saw-mills and the opening up of wagon roads brought about a better order of things, and plank, weather-boarding and glass took the place of clapboards, puncheon floors and log benches.

What does or does not constitute a secret society is a question about which honest men may conscientiously differ. It is not our purpose to enter on a defense of them. " By their fruits shall ye know them," applies with equal pertinency to-day as it did 1800 years ago to the men and societies of that age. Three or four propositions will be readily admitted - that enrolled with the membership of the so-called secret societies are many of the best men of the county ; that just as foolish things are said and done at the meetings as elsewhere ; that an organization having a secret political purpose cannot maintain a permanent existence, and that the time has passed by when an organization in this country, simply through its "secrecy," can effect either good or evil.

If "blessings" follow the instituting of "secret'' societies, Champaign County should consider itself blessed. Among these may be enumerated the Masonic orders, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Daughters of Rebecca, the Improved Order of Redmen, the Knights of Pythias, the Knights of Honor, the Royal Arcanum, United American Mechanics, Sons of Temperance, the Sons of Hibernia, the Sodality and the Patrons of Husbandry. Of these, more special mention may be made. The first named on the list having had an existence for centuries, and maintained itself through times of bitter controversy, the presumption is that it will continue. The Order of Odd Fellows, having survived the ordeal of sixty years, and having, with its social and beneficiary objects, organized a mutual life assurance association, it also will probably abide the inevitable changes of the future for many years. The other societies, based on the same general plan of working, but having for their purpose some specific object not otherwise attained, will probably continue so long as the necessity demands, or advantages to be derived from their maintenance can be the more easily secured than elsewhere. They will be more specially noticed in the notes on Urbana City and Township.

The order of the Masonic Fraternity and that of the Patrons of Husbandry had their first organizations in Urbana, and both became co-extensive with the county. It will be left for the notes of the various townships to include statements which concern these in their respective localities. For the two societies which organized in Urbana, and consequently became the initial members of their respective organizations in the county, we make room here.

Harmony Lodge , No. 8 , A ., F. $ A. M. - This lodge, as its number indicates, is one of the oldest Masonic organizations in the State. On January 4, 1808, there were six lodges in Ohio, and a convention of Masons was held in Chillicothe on that day, when it was resolved to organize a Grand Lodge for the State, which was accomplished on January 2, 1809. At the second communication of the Grand Lodge held in Chillicothe, January 1, 1810, Harmony Lodge was represented by George F. Tenery, its first Worshipful Master, but

In the first organization of the lodge, meetings were held alternately at Urbana, Springfield and Dayton. The first Masonic Lodge opened in Urbana convened at the court house, September 20, 1809; E. W. Pierce, Samuel Gibbs and David Gwynne, were added to the membership. During the winter, Bennet Tabor, B. W. Langly, Tnomas Gwynne and Alex McBeth. Same year, Hiram M. Curry, was appointed W. M. on a warrant empowering the lodge to hold meetings in Urbana and Springfield alternately. April 11, 1811, Joseph Vance, John Gunn, George Fithian, James Bishop and James M. Reed, new members. In 1814, the inconvenience of meeting in Springfield prompted a surrender of charter, and the present charter was issued January, 1815. At the first meeting thereafter, John Hamilton, John Mendenhall, Joseph S. Carter were received January 14, 1815 ; Samuel McCord, W. M. On November 15, the lodge passed the following resolutions : " That all the members be a committee to examine into the conduct of each other, and to report to the lodge any unmasonic conduct that may come to their knowledge." Under which Brother Gunn was charged with intemperance and cited to appear. The first return of Harmony to the Grand Lodge, December 27, 1815, for six months, reported four Past Masters, twenty-eight Master Masons, four Fellow Crafts and four Entered Apprentices - in all forty members. Joseph Vance represented the lodge in the Grand Lodge. April, 1818, the County Commissioners granted privilege to use rooms in new court house for lodge purposes, on condition that the lodge finish them in the same style as the rest of the building. William Malone was buried with Masonic honors August 18, 1818. and funeral sermon preached by Rev. Samuel Hitt, in the Methodist meeting-house. October 6, . 1819, the lodge allowed Brother Meredith 50 cents for refreshments furnished the brethren. The record is silent as to the kind of refreshments. In 1820, John Hill was W. M. ; the P. M.'s, Joseph Vance, John Hill, Samuel McCord, George Fithian, Abram Colwell, James Cooley and Adam Mosgrove ; whole number of members, forty-five. June 25, 1821, the festival day of St. John was celebrated for the first time by Harmony. Rev. Samuel Hitt, who was not a Mason, on several occasions addressed the body assembled in the Methodist Church. After the exercises the members repaired to the tavern to partake of a dinner. June 25, 1821, cost the lodge $2 for music and refreshments. David Davis, 1824, was expelled for leaving his wife dependent on the charity of the lodge. That year the lodge numbered sixty. From 1828 to 1838, Harmony suspended its meetings. The abduction of Morgan created a storm of opposition, and it was deemed the wiser course to suspend for a time. Among all the Masons who were members at that tiijae, four only are now living - John H. James, Evan Banes, Jesse C. Phillips and John Hurd. March, 1838, the lodge re-organized and held its regular meetings ; E. S. Morgan, W. M. From the year 1840 to 1850, general prosperity and harmony prevailed. A return of Harmony to the Grand Lodge, for the year ending October 1, 1862, showed a total membership of ninety-two, and at the last return, October 1, 1876, was 129.

At this present date, September, 1880, this lodge shows a harmony and prosperity greater perhaps than it has felt at any period of its existence.

The Patrons of Husbandry. - In 1866, several gentlemen and ladies connected with the agricultural department at Washington, agreed to form a society to be composed exclusively of those whose " leading pursuit is agriculture." The society adopted signs, words, ritual and degrees, after the approved manner of secret orders, but published a declaration of principles setting forth the objects and purposes of the organization. These may be succinctly stated to be - " to secure a more social intercourse - to encourage a more thorough education, and a more general diffusion of knowledge - to promote the thrift of the farmer, by a broader knowledge, by higher farming, and by all legitimate means that individuals or communities may of right do - and to build up a nobler and better manhood and womanhood in the agricultural class." The scope of the society includes a lodge, a lyceum, a debating society, a farmer's club, an exchange. The general name of the organization is " Patrons of Husbandry," that of the local society " A Grange." The divisions of the association are: 1st. A National Grange, composed of the presiding officers of State granges, and having a general jurisdiction. 2d. State granges composed of delegates chosen by subordinate granges by counties, and having jurisdiction over sub-granges in the State. 8d. Local or subordinate granges, restricted to one society in a township. Women are received in membership, and entitled to the same rights and privileges as the men. In six years the organization spread over thirty-five States and Territories, enrolling a membership of one and a half millions. In 1878, the Ohio State Grange was organized, and within two years numbered over 60,- 000 members. In the fall of that year several township or subordinate granges were chartered in Champaign County, which within eighteen months in the aggregate, numbered over 900 members. Every township in the county had its subordinate grange. The reasonable presumption is that an order having for its basis of organization the general methods which underlie other well-established secret societies, but differing in this, as being the only one identified with the daily lives and labors of its members, and thoroughly adapted to promote the social and educational interests of the rural population, would become and continue to be an efficient factor in agriculture, and in promoting the interests of the farmer. The character of the persons composing the grange in Champaign County may be determined from the fact that a society exclusive in its nature, taking a thousand adults from the body of the rural population, would necessarily take a considerable portion of many of its best and most intelligent citizens.

We have given more space to this society than perhaps the question intrinsically demands. But from present indications the grange in Champaign County has ceased to be an organization for good or evil. With capacities for great and continued usefulness, sufficient in its appointments to meet the wants and prospective condition of the agricultural class, we may be well surprised that the association has not made a continued progress. That mistakes and blunders in its management have been made, was natural, but a little experience should and would cure these, and that a real and permanent progress has been lost sight of, in the pursuit of trifling gains, is more than probable, but these were hardly sufficient to break down a society thoroughly organized and having for its object a beneficent work. We must look to other causes for an explanation, and in this we are impelled to one of three conclusions. 1st. That the farmer, of himself and by himself, is sufficient " to hoe his own row," independent of the aid to be attained by the power of co-operative effort. 2d. That the grange in the scope of its purposes and organization, is in advance of the age ; or, 3d. To formulate an opinion which pervades the community outside the rural districts - "productive industry wants manual labor, and not brains nor mental culture." The order is still maintained in the county in a number of sub-granges, but at present does not show in Champaign the growth and vitality claimed for the

Central Ohio Scientific Association. - October 24, 1874, Messrs. T. N. Glover and L. C. Herrick, of Woodstock ; R. H. Boal, I. F. Meyer, T. F. Moses, W. F. Leahy and P. R. Bennett, of Urbana, met at the office of Dr. R. H. Boal, in Urbana, to organize a society, having for its object the cultivation of physical and historical science ; the study of the surrounding country and its inhabitants ; the development of a scientific taste in the community, and a mutual acquaintance among scientific workers. The meeting adopted a constitution, and effected a permanent organization in the choice of T. N. Glover, President; P. R. Bennett, Jr., Vice President; T.F. Moses, Corresponding Secretary; T. F. Meyer, Treasurer. Although not specified in the constitution, the association also contemplated, and has kept steadily in view, the founding of a public museum for the collection of specimens and curiosities as may be loaned or donated by individuals, whether members or not. Mr. W. A. Brand, Postmaster in Urbana, made space in the general delivery room of the post office for the reception of part of the collections of the association, and of such as might from time to time be brought in. The society justly claims that no more suitable location could have been selected for such a museum than Urbana. The field abounds in objects of interest and importance, and has scarcely been i touched. President Glover, in his inaugural address, says, " Within a radius of a hundred miles lies a magnificent geological field, with its paleontological treasures. The drifts and more recent deposits have been little studied. In natural history, zoology and botany, the region is a rich one ; in ancient remains, the richest in America. Dr. Foster, in his Prehistoric Nations, says Ohio, alone, contains ten thousand tumuli or mounds, and of these not five hundred have been opened." Many of the smaller earthworks have been destroyed, and the process of destruction is continually going on, under the demands of agriculture and through an ignorance or indifference to the character and variety of the relics found in the soil. From these must be gathered all that can be known concerning the civilization and customs of the race of which every other vestige has been lost. Under the process of destruction going on, the lapse of a few years may make it exceedingly difficult, if not impossible, to settle, definitely, theories and beliefs which are now only matters of conjecture.

The association has held its regular monthly meetings, and, aside from the salutary scientific influence otherwise exerted, has been the means of exciting an interest generally in all matters pertaining to the pre-historic race, and spreading an intelligent appreciation in the community of the value of the relief found in the soil, and of the importance of collecting and preserving them. At the meetings discussions have been had and papers read on a variety of popular scientific topics. The field-work has been almost entirely confined to the examination of mounds, earth-works and aboriginal remains.

In January, 1878, the association took formal possession of a room in the Weaver Block, corner of Scioto street and Monument square, specially fitted up for its use, under the superintendence of Mr. George A. Weaver. While the present rooms are sufficient for the immediate wants of the society as a place of deposit for certain collections, and for the holding of meetings, the probabilities are that at no distant date the demand for more space will arouse sufficient public interest in the association and its work to carry out a plan for the erection of a public museum. The progress made was deemed sufficient to make the association an incorporated body, and articles of incorporation were duly executed and filed Mav 10, 1878, and six trustees elected to serve for periods of one, two and three years; namely, for three years, George A. Weaver and R. H. Boal ; for two years, John H. Young and Thomas F. Moses ; for one year, Charles G. Smith and Hamilton Ring.

At the stated meeting in October of the Central Ohio Scientific Association, the following-named officers were elected for the ensuing year: Prof. P. B. Cabell, President;, Prof. Thomas French, Vice President ; Dr. F. S. Lockwood, Secretary; Prof. T. F. Moses, Corresponding Secretary; J. S. Parker, Treasurer; George A. Weaver, Curator and Librarian; George A. Weaver and Dr. R. H. Boal, Trustees. Stated meeting the third Tuesday in each month.

Champaign County Medical Society. - We have been kindly favored by Dr. James M. Mosgrove with the following paper relative to the medical profession of the county :

" Being anxious to have as full and correct history of the medical profession of Champaign County embodied in your forthcoming work as possible, I have, since our late interview, devoted such time as I could conveniently give it ; but, I regret to say, my efforts in this direction have resulted in only partial or indifferent success, as the opportunity for obtaining such information has long since passed away, by the death of the older physicians and their cotemporaries.

"From the date of the organization of the town of Urbana up to 1812, 1818 and 1814, I have obtained the names of the following physicians, all of whom, it is said, practiced medicine in Urbana, for a brief time at least. In presenting their names; I cannot give the exact dates of entrance or exit, nor reconcile their claims to priority, but give them simply in the order in which I received them. And, in accordance with the best information thus obtained, from our few remaining 4 old settlers,' I believe that to Dr. James Davidson should be accorded the honor of first locating and practicing medicine in this town ; and, if correct, therefore the pioneer of our profession.

" Soon after Dr. Davidson's arrival, the names of Drs. Case, Collins, Mendenhall, Conkright and Bonner appear, as residents of Urbana. Dr. Collins resided here as late as 1814, for about that time he married a Miss Scott, a sister of Mrs. Byrdwhistle. Dr. Conkright married Miss Culver, sister of Miss Abi Culver, who afterward became the wife of Joshua Baldwin. The Doctor lived where Mrs. Dr. Basset's house now stands, but a frame then, owned by Judge A. R. Colwell. Drs. Davidson and Bonner were both, I believe, brothers-in-law of the late Judge Reynolds. Dr. Bonner at one time lived in the block, afterward so long owned by the late John C. Pearson, and now known as the 4 Weaver House Block.' u In 1814, Dr. Joseph S. Carter, a native of Kentucky, arrived in Urbana and located here for the practice of his profession. Dr. Carter had received a liberal education and was a graduate of the Medical Department of the Transylvania University, which, in connection with a high order of natural ability, soon enabled him to take first rank among the ablest physicians and surgeons of Central Ohio. He remained a citizen of Urbana and continued in practice up to within a few months preceding his death, which occurred in 1852, being in the sixty-second year of his age. Dr. Obed Horr was, for a few years, associated with Dr. Carter in practice, at the end of which time he removed to Mechanicsburg, and entered upon a successful career of merchandising.

" Dr. Adam Mosgrove arrived in Urbana in the spring of 1818, and; possessed of an iron constitution and undaunted resolution, soon entered upon the large practice which he maintained up to within a few years of his death, which occurred in March, 1875. He died at the ripe old age of eighty-four, being at that time one of the oldest physicians in the Western States, and had been engaged in the arduous duties of his profession for a period of over sixty years. Drs. Carter and Mosgrove were associated together as partners in the practice of medicine and surgery for many years, and, in a large portion of Central Ohio, the names of Carter and Mosgrove were as familiar as household words.

" The practice of medicine has changed much since the earlier days of Carter and Mosgrove. Then money was scarce and hard to come at. Those old doctors would ride on horseback, night or day, over the muddy or frozen roads of summer or winter, and through the almost trackless forests, five, ten and fifteen miles, for the privilege of making a charge of from $2 to $3 or $4, which, after standing for years, would be settled by trade in part, and, finally, by note, which would again, in its turn, stand for years or until a new 4 dicker ' could be made.

" From an intimate acquaintance with the business of Carter & Mosgrove, confirmed by a recent examination of their books, I am safe in saying that their entire receipts did not amount to over 50 cents on the dollar of their business, and of this amount, about 10 per cent only would be cash. Indeed, it seems to have been a constant struggle with them to realize sufficient money to pay for their medicines and to meet that inexorable monster, the taxgatherer.

" For many years, probably up to 1830 or 1835, Carter & Mosgrove were almost the only physicians in Urbana, and of an area almost, if not quite, co-extensive with the county limits. I have, however, obtained the names of a few physicians who must have been here in practice about or shortly previous to this time. Among them may be mentioned Drs. Hughs, Martin, McCann, Curry, Latta and possibly Evan Banes. Dr. Samuel Latta, at least, read medicine at a very early day with Dr. A. Mosgrove, but afterward removed to Cincinnati, where he located and became quite eminent in his profession. After this period, the accessions were more rapid and numerous, among whom may be named Drs William M. Murdock, Wilson Everett, Evan Banes, E. P. Fyffe, William Happersett and M. Woods. Between the years of 1840 and 1850, Urbana sent quite a large delegation of its young men to medical colleges, chiefly the Ohio Medical College, of Cincinnati, all of whom graduated at the termination of their college courses with distinguished honors. About the first of this class to graduate were Elijah Collins and Ichabod C. Taylor, followed, a year or two later, by E. P. Fyffe, Thomas Cowgill and Joseph C. Brown. Dr. Fyffe, however, had been in practice a number of years before this, but, owing to feeble health and pecuniary embarrassments, was not able to complete his college course until the spring of 1845. The following spring (1846), D. M. Vance and James M. Mosgrove graduated, and, two years later, Jo S. Carter, Jr. About the time last mentioned, or perhaps a few years later, Douglas Luce, Jr., H. C. Pearce, I. W. Goddard and William H. Pearson graduated at Starling Medical College, Columbus, Ohio.

"All of the above named, after receiving their degrees, except Drs. Luce and Pearson, settled in Urbana and vicinity, and immediately entered upon the duties of their profession, and have continued in active practice up to the present time. I will close this hastily written and imperfect sketch, by giving the names of physicians who composed the first or earliest regularly organized

" It has been suggested, in order to make this sketch more satisfactory to all parties, that it should be continued to present date, and, as I am particularly desirous of mentioning and recording the name of every regular physician of Urbana and of the county, I have concluded that I can do so in no more acceptable manner than by appending a list of the members of our County Medical Society, which, it is believed, includes the name of every regular physician of the county.

" The following list of physicians of Urbana and Champaign County were members of Champaign County Branch of Ohio State Medical Society, June 27, 1880 :

We gather from a report of the antiquities of the Mad River Valley, made by Prof. Thomas F. Moses, of the Urbana University, to the Central Ohio Scientific Association, a condensed statement of an examination made by himself and others of two mounds lying in Champaign County, known respectively as the Roberts Mound and the Baldwin Mound. The location of the earthworks of the Mad River Valley, thus far examined, bears a close relation to the topographical features of the country. They occur usually on the high lands overlooking the river valley, the exception being nearly always in the upper part of its course, where a mound is occasionally found located on low ground, at the junction of the main stream with one of its smaller tributaries. The mounds vary greatly in size. The smaller ones are usually low, and flat on the summit. These are from three to five feet high, and from thirty to fifty feet in diameter. Another class of mounds is more conical in shape, varying from eight to fifteen feet in altitude, and having a diameter at the base of from seventy to eighty feet. The internal structure of all the mounds of this region that have been opened, is nearly homogeneous in character, being generally of a clayey loam like the surface soil. In regard to the relation of the mounds to each other, sufficient data have not yet been obtained upon which to base a definite statement, but as, in the case of those situated on high ground, one or more may be distinctly seen from the summit of another, it suggests the idea that they may have been used as signal stations.

The Roberts Mound. - These mounds (Roberts and Baldwin) are so called from the name of the owners, on whose lands they are found. The former was opened in the summer of 1877, and, like the Baldwin, is located on a high hill composed of drift, gravel and sand, the material having been chiefly derived from the limestone strata of this State. Standing upon its summit a wide and beautiful prospect meets the eye in whatever direction one may turn. On the east the horizon is bounded by a range of hills. These hills are, in reality, the termination of a broad plateau, and indicate the contour lines of the eroded valley, formed during some former geological period, into which valley now flow the streams which furnish the natural drainage of the country. Similar plateaus stretch away to the north and south. One of these elevated plains is styled "Pretty Prairie," but, while the name is applied only to the southern part of the northern plateau, geologically it extends to the eastern side of Urbana, the city itself being placed upon a lower terrace, and is the whole tract included between the valley of Mad River and its eastern tributary, Buck Creek. But perhaps the most remarkable feature of the landscape is the broad valley itself which sweeps down between the places above described from the northeast, near Mechanicsburg, and, taking a course due west, as it flows by the base of the hill upon which the mound stands, trends away to the southwest, broadening as it goes, and is lost to view in the distant horizon. One cannot fail to be impressed with the idea that this valley once held a noble river. The only remnant of this river, if such there were, is the little stream called Buck Creek, so called from the manner in which its smaller branches here unite with the main trunk like the antlers of a stag. Standing upon the Roberts Mound, tokens of welcome or signals of approaching danger could be seen from the mound now on the Baldwin farm, crowning the summit of the opposite bank. These sites, selected as they were with unusual care as burial places for their dead, betray a love of nature and an appreciation of its beautiful features, worthy to be classed among man's nobler faculties. Permission of the owner of the property having been given to make such use of the mound as was thought fit, it was at first proposed to expose the whole floor at once by means of plow and scraper ; but, the number of trees, some of which were of considerable size, scattered over the surface, and their interlacing roots, soon made it apparent that this would be out of the question. Work was accordingly begun by carrying an adit from the northwest side and sinking a central shaft four feet by eight, the longer diameter of the shaft running north and south. In the side adit nothing was disclosed till the floor of the mound was reached, when, perhaps, about a foot above the natural surface of the soil, the trench passed through a layer of white ashes. This layer was found to extend from nearly the outer margin of the base of the mound across its whole floor, arching up over the center, so as to present a convex surface above. The thickness varied from half an inch to one and a half inches. Near the center the layer was almost of stony hardness, causing it to come off in large flakes. When the clay was cleared off, the layer disclosed a mottled surface of a reddish-brown color. The hardness was apparently due to the lime, of which the ashes seemed to be largely composed, and the reddish-brown surface might have been produced by a covering of bark placed over the ash layer. Below this layer of a varying depth, but on an average of eight or nine inches, a second layer was reached similar in character. The space between was filled with clay, like that composing the mound. At the point of junction between the side adit and central shaft, was found a heap of loose ashes mingled with small fragments of calcined human bones. In the heap were found also several rudely fashioned flint arrow, heads and a pierced ornament of stone. At a later day one or two other heaps of calcined bones were found, all at about the same distance from the center of the mound. It is a question whether the whole of the ash layers were not originally composed of burnt bones. In carrying down the central shaft, some fragments of human bones much decayed were unearthed near the surface, marking the site of an intrusive burial. At the depth of three and a half to four feet, near the center of the mound, a human skeleton was reached, lying on the back, the head toward the north, and was found firmly imbedded in the compact clay. With the exception of only a few bones of the ankle and wrist and several phalanges, the entire skeleton was secured, and was found to weigh exactly nine pounds. The breast-bone had been perforated by some sharp instrument, probably a flint spear or arrow head, as the aperture, larger on the outer than upon the inner surface of the bone, shows it to have been made by a tapering instrument. The external opening measures one and a half inches, while the inner one is but three-fourths of an inch. Under the right thigh was found a fragment of quartz rock as large as the palm of the hand, one side of which was flat and polished. It was then proceeded to deepen the excavation, which resulted in the finding of a skull of a second skeleton. This skeleton was in very imperfect condition, and but small part removed. It was underneath the upper layer of ashes, the head but a short distance from the heap of calcined bones before described, and from the position of the scattered fragments had been placed upon the back with the head toward the west. At a short distance from this the bones of a third skeleton were found. The bones of the forearm and hands were entirely wanting, and but little of the spine was present. This might have been the result of decay, but the bones that remain are remarkably heavy and nearly vitrified. They were covered with a thick incrustation, and presented the appearance of having been in the fire. The lower jaw is much awry, and the skull has a very low and retreating forehead, and altogether presents the appearance of a very low type of humanity.

Some two feet from the surface, at the south end of the excavation, a mass of charcoal was met with, the fragments of which were of large size. With the charcoal was found a piece of thigh bone, charred and petrified, and part of a bone of the forearm. Near by was a stratum of clay, burnt nearly red. It is inferred that these charred fragments of bone and charcoal, as well as those found on the surface, were scraped up from the site of the cremation, and that they were thrown on the mound with the surrounding earth during the process of construction. Two modes of burial - inhumation and cremation - appear here to have been simultaneously practiced, unless the latter had been imperfectly performed in regard to the imperfect skeleton on the floor of the mound. The practice of cremation, sufficiently common in ancient times, is still observed to some extent by the native races of North America.

The Baldwin Mound. - This mound is located on the top of a hill lying between the North and East Forks of Buck Creek at their junction, about eight miles southeast of Urbana, and upon the farm of the late Judge Samuel Baldwin. It is nearly conical in shape, about seventy-eight feet in diameter at the base, and fifteen feet in height. Upon it oak trees of considerable size are now standing. The brick used in the construction of a house, some fifty years ago, and now standing on the farm, were made from clay taken from the south side of the mound. In the process of removing the clay, it is said a quantity of bones was unearthed, but afterward re-interred. Work was begun by carrying an adit from the side toward the center, and, after the center was reached, sinking a shaft toward the base. Some two feet from the surface, the bones of several skeletons were found. These are frequently found in the surface, of mounds, and are generally accounted to be those of some Indian tribe, and of comparatively recent date. The original place of sepulture was reached at the depth of twelve feet. Here an under structure had been made, constructed, as nearly as could be ascertained, in the following manner : First, a layer of bark was laid down, then the bodies placed upon this ; the head of one being directly toward the east, of the next toward the west, and so on. Logs were placed at the sides and between the bodies, dividing the grave into as many compartments as there were persons to be buried. The whole was then covered with a thick layer of bark, upon the surface of which was found a thin layer of charcoal. Bark, branches and bodies had of course reached the last stages of decay, only the ashes of the former remaining to show how they had been disposed ; and long, hollow cavities, filled with dirt, alone indicated the position of the logs. The whole mass had been pressed down and flattened by the weight of the overlying earth and most of the bones showed evidence of the great pressure, being crushed in and broken. The first skeleton reached was found with the head lying toward the east, and supposed to be that of a female ; a small copper ring was found at the head. Further excavation disclosed a second skeleton, with the head toward the west. The bones of this skeleton were very large and strong, and those of the lower limbs in a remarkable state of preservation ; near the hand, and lying across the body, were the flint heads of three spears or arrows. Their position seemed to show that they had been held in the hand by wooden shafts, now moldered away. The upper part of the body had been crushed and distorted to a great extent by the pressure above. It had apparently been placed on the left side, and the arrows grasped in the right hand. Removing the earth carefully from this, a third skeleton was seen, its head pointing to the east. This was lying upon its back, and measured from its toes to the top of the head nearly six feet. The teeth were thirty-two in number and perfectly sound. Around the neck was a string of beads, made of mother of pearl, probably taken from the shells of the river Mussel. This skeleton seemed to be that of a young woman of from 18 to 20 years.

The skeleton next disclosed was that of a young man of about sixteen years. The head was placed in the reverse position to that of the preceding one. The skull is remarkably well shaped. Over the heart were found several plates of mica cut in the form of a crescent. Plates of mica are frequently found in mounds, and the mica is believed to have been brought from Carolina. This, with the copper from Lake Superior and shells from Mexico, is an evidence of the commercial habits of the people. The next space was occupied by the skeletons of two small children, placed feet to feet. Near the head of one of these was a heap of small sea shells belonging to a species now found in the Gulf of

Mexico. These were pierced at the ends. The succeeding skeleton was that of an adult person, and near it was found a small implement of banded slate, belonging to the class called " boat-shaped " implements in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution. An eighth skeleton was found belonging to this group, near which also lay a small quantity of shell beads like those last described. Following these, near the margin of the mound, were three others, thrown down apparently without regard to position, as they were disposed at various angles, with the limbs crossing each other, and no protection of logs had been placed around them, nor were any ornaments found with them. Of all the skeletons found in the mound, the eight first described were buried with especial care, and each of them had some mark of distinction or token of affection. The arrangement of the bodies was also somewhat remarkable, they being placed with great uniformity with the heads alternately toward the east and west, though the conjecture is that this arrangement was made simply with a view to economize space.

The excavation above described occupied the northwest quarter of the mound. A few days later, work was resumed in the northeast quarter by carefully uncovering the whole until the floor was reached. The space was found covered with ten skeletons, which had been promiscuously thrown down, the bodies being bent at all angles, and the limbs of one often lying across those of another. A layer of charcoal was found over the upper surface, and another had been placed below. No implements or ornaments were found with these bodies. In one corner of the area, near the center of the mound, was a small heap of ashes containing a few burnt bones and calcined mineral shells. At the outer angle was a vase of baked clay crushed to fragments, the rim only retaining its original form. This vase was placed with the mouth downward. The interior surface was coated with black carbonaceous matter. In the south part of the mound, from which the clay had been taken for making brick, a pit was dug, and bones were reached quite near the present surface. Here were parts of three skeletons, conjectured to be the same as those mentioned when the clay was removed, and said to have been again buried. On the west side a test pit was sunk, but nothing found.

It is quite probable that much more remains to be discovered in the remaining portion of the mound, and it is the design of the association to continue the exploration at a future day. The soil of the mound is composed of a clear yellow clay, quite free from stone or gravel, and cutting under the spade with a smooth, bright surface. The hill upon which it rests is a loose mixture of limestone pebbles, having a thin surface covering dark loam. For a considerable distance around the base of the mound, the earth is somewhat similar in character to that of the mound, but it is not so free from stone. Such pebbles as were found in the mound were of quartz and sandstone, only a single specimen of limestone being found, and that a water-worn one. The material was probably brought from a distance. The clay was nearly homogeneous throughout, and very compact. At the base, a complete arch had been formed by the decay of the log structure, the superincumbent soil having first become sufficiently firm to retain its position. In regard to the bones in general, it may be said that the same peculiarities that are mentioned by other writers, such as the foreshortening of the skulls and their want of symmetry, the flattening of the tibia and perforation of the humerus, are all exhibited in a marked degree. Many of the bones had become bent by the weight of earth resting upon them, and much of the distortion exhibited in the skulls is believed to be due to this cause, rather than to compression during life. Frequently hones lying over each other were found soldered together. To account for this, it is only necessary to consider the peculiar conditions to which they have been subjected. For centuries they have lain beneath an immense mass of earth, and this constant and long-continued pressure, accompanied by a kind of molecular disintegration and re-arrangement of the particles of bony matter, is amply sufficient to produce these changes of form.

A number of mounds, of a less important character, have been opened from time to time. One, a small, flat mound, at the junction of the Mackachack with Mad River, on Mr. Clem's farm, and another of similar character, on' the farm of Mr. Michael, near Buck Greek. One on the ridge northeast of the Baldwin Mound, on the farm of Mr. Wilson ; the latter, about three feet in height and thirty in diameter. Also, one opened by Mr. James Dallas, on the farm of the late Judge Dallas, four miles below Urbana. From a survey made by Dr. R. H. Boal, this mound was found to be fifty feet in diameter and foul feet in height, and situated 105 feet from the edge of the plateau. A few rods below, on the slope of the hill, is a small circular ridge, some fifteen feet in diameter, the earth forming the ridge thrown out in such a way as to leave a small conical elevation in the center. The mound is placed on the summit of the bend overlooking the Mad River Yalley, and, as the valley here changes its direction, making a sweep toward the southeast, and is some three or four miles in width, the situation is a very commanding one. The beauty and extent of the view are remarkable. The relics taken from this mound by Mr. Dallas were numerous and particularly interesting.

The places of sepulture over which no structures have been erected are numerous throughout this whole section. Hardly a railroad or turnpike cutting is made, or gravel bed opened, that does not disclose a mass of skeletons. The hill-tops are literally sown with the dead. In the case of these gravelbank burials, every surface indication of the cemetery below has usually been effaced by time. The bodies occur singly, in graves grouped together, or crowded promiscuously in long trenches. They have been found in almost every posture, prostrate, sitting, and even standing. Sometimes parts of the same skeleton are widely separated from each other, and so mingled with the materials of the drift that they would almost seem to have been deposited by some surface action before the alluvium was laid down upon it. This condition was particu larly observable in a deposit on the farm of S. M. Hodges, on the east side of Buck Creek Yalley. In this latter many interesting relics were found. Future explorations will undoubtedly reveal multitudes of similar mounds, rich in strange and curious deposits, and valuable in aiding to decipher the unwritten history of past ages.

The first paper published in the county was in 1812, by Corwin & Black burn, under the title of Farmer s Watch Tower. Moses B. Corwin was a young lawyer who had come to the county a year or two before, and probably performed the duties of- editor, while his associate, Blackburn, was a practical printer and performed the duties of type-setter and foreman. It was afterward published by Corwin & Poff, in a log-cabin on the lot where the residence of William H. Colwell now stands, corner of Church and Walnut streets. This paper was followed by the Spirit of Liberty , under the management of Alien

M. Poff, which was succeeded by the Mad River Courant , edited and published by Martin L. Lewis. The management was soon after changed into the firm of Banes & Lewis. In 1824, Daniel S. Bell started the Farmer s Friend , but the title was soon changed to the Ohioan and Mad River Journal . Next followed the Country Collustrator , by Robert Barr and Wilson Everett, but the paper soon changed hands to Dr. Everett and Evan Banes. The two papers then published were consolidated into the Mad River Courant and County Collustrator , edited and published by Banes & Lewis. A few years afterward, Hays & Raymond started the Urbana Record , which soon after fell into the hands of James H. Bacon, who continued its publication to the fall of 1831, when it was suspended, and no regular paper was published until the spring of 1838. During the interim, John A. Corwin, then a student at law, and Decatur Talbott, a practical printer, both of whom were reared in the village, started a small paper called the Rattler. The Rattler was a two-leaved, quarto size ; created some little sensation in the community, and soon died. Next followed The Western Citizen and Urbana Gazette , which was started in April, 1838, by Joshua Saxton. Some years after, the title was changed to Urbana Citizen and Gazette. In 1850, John D. Burnett purchased an interest in the establishment, which continued two years. In 1865, William A. Brand took a halfinterest in it, which continued until February 1, 1879, when, on account of ill health, he retired, selling his interest to C. T. Jamieson, of Batavia, Ohio, and in December following Mr. Saxton, after forty-two years' service as editor of the paper he had founded, sold his interest to Mr. Jamieson, who still continues the paper as editor and proprietor.

In February, 1867, the Mackachack Press was started at West Liberty by Donn Piatt. It was moved to Columbus, when, after a lapse of a few months, it was transferred to Urbana, where it died before a year had ended.

In 1844, Judge John Taylor started the first Democratic paper in Champaign County, with the title of the Western Dominion. This paper changed hands several times within a few years. Judge Taylor was succeeded by a Mr. Reed, and he by Mr. D. M. Fleming, now of the Piqua Journal. It was then consolidated with the Democratic Expositor , of Springfield, Ohio, and edited by W. F. Mosgrove, of Urbana, and E. G. Dial, of Springfield. In 1850, it fell into the hands of Charles Flood, of Columbus, who changed the name to the Ohio State Democrat. After a brief existence, it passed into the hands of 0. B. Happersett and W. A. Sampson, who changed the name to Urbana Free Press. Next, Col. John H. James became owner of the establishment, and the paper was edited by John W. Houx, under the name of the Urbana Union. Soon after this, the Urbana Union Printing Company was formed, and the paper was edited by A. R. Candy. In February, 1872, E. T. Harkrader took the office and changed the name to the Democratic Plaindealer. In 1873, he was succeeded by Flannegan & Runkle, which soon changed to the firm of Ben P. Runkle & Co., under the head of the Urbana Union. Mr. Flannegan was next owner, who kept it a few years under the name of the Urbana Union Democrat. Messrs. Hayw'ard & Gulick succeeded Mr. Flannegan, and in a little time it passed into the hands of I. K. Newcomer, the present owner and publisher, who has changed the title to that of Champaign Democrat.

Some years ago, W. H. Gulick started a small daily paper, called the Daily News , which is still published, we believe, at intervals. Next followed the Daily Democrat , still published by Mr. Newcomer under the title of Urbana Daily Union.

Several years ago, Messrs. F. W. and M. Gowey started a small paper at North Lewisburg, called the Boomerang , but it was short-lived, and has never been resuscitated. There are two papers published at Mechanicsburg - the Central Ohio News , by Messrs. Church & Baxter, and the Mechanicsburg Herald , by 0. C. Wheeler. Some years ago, a paper called the New Bra was started at St. Paris. It has changed hands several times, and is now published by Charles R. Musson, who succeeded H. H. Hall.

It is not intended in these sketches to explain the causes, nor to give any connected statement of the wars in which the citizens of Champaign County have taken part. These enter into the history of the country, and are the war of 1812, the Mexican war and the Southern rebellion. In 1812, Urbana was a frontier town on the border of an almost unbroken wilderness - without highways to any extent, and infested with hostile Indians. Its location naturally made it a base for army operations. Return Jonathan Meigs was Governor of the State, and immediately after the declaration of war in June, designated the place as the rendezvous for troops. Here Gen. Hull brought three regiments, under the respective commands of Cols. Duncan McArthur, Lewis Cass and James Findlay, for the purpose of being organized with other forces. These troops encamped on the grounds east of town, occupying the lots between East Water street and East Court street, now known as the Berry, Nelson, Wiley and Kauffman property, and extending north to East Court street. They remained several weeks for the arrival of Col. Miller's regiment of U. S. troops, which had made a brilliant record at the battle of Tippecanoe the previous November. The citizens of the town united with the troops to give Col. Miller and his gallant regiment a worthy reception. Southwest of the lot now occupied by Mr. Frank Chance, was a considerable declivity, which at one time, was called Shryach's Hill, and, afterward, the Baldwin Hill. At the foot of this hill an arch, bearing the inscription, "Tippecanoe Glory," spanned the road. The regiment of Col. Miller was met at the public square by Gen. Hull and his staff officers, accompanied by a body guard, and was escorted to the camp in triumph, between files of citizens and soldiers, the ladies strewing flowers in the way. The reception and triumphal march are considered the finest military pageant ever displayed in Urbana. The regiment then crossed over to the higher ground, now partly occupied by the residences of Mr. George Weaver and Mr. P. B. Ross, and encamped.