Geauga County, Ohio - Chapter 4: Military Record, Etc, 1880

Chapter 4: Military Record, Etc

The greatest political excitement ever yet known was developed the ensuing season in the presidential canvass; four candidates being in the field, to wit : Lincoln, Douglass, Breckenridge, and Bell. The result is still fresh in the memory of every one. And now we come to, perhaps, the most soul-stirring epoch in the township history. In the presidential contest Abraham Lincoln (as we know) was the successful candidate, and his inauguration was the signal for what proved to be, a most terrible conflict for the preservation of this great family of States, intact. After mature preparation on the part of the disaffected, a distinguished South Carolinian,* on the 12th of April, 1861, pulled the first lanyard, and Sumpter received a deadly missile. Four days later, "Father Abraham" issued a proclamation calling for seventy-five thousand men, to retrieve this insult to the "stars and stripes."

The muster roll shows that Troy furnished the full share of this number. Seven men responded, as follows : U. S. Hoxter, Ellis Kingsbury, Edwin Woods, Daniel Corliss, Harvey Ford, Chauncey Scott and Simeon Carlton. These men were looked upon as heroes (as indeed they were), but the people little dreamed of what was yet to come. July 21st came, and with it the bloody battle of Bull Run, in which the Union forces were terribly punished. Mr. Lincoln promptly called for 300,000 volunteers, and the volunteers as promptly responded.

In Various Commands

* Barrows was commissioned first lieutenant when the battery was organized. He resigned in August, 1862, and re-enlisted in the same command, as a " recruit," January 5, 1864.

Several of the "boys" who represented Troy in the "Great American Conflict" seem to be entitled to more mention than the simple record of their names as soldiers in the war of the Rebellion.

Shepherd Scott was detailed from his company, and assigned to duty as orderly, for General W. B. Hazen. At the battle of Chickamauga, his behavior, as a soldier, elicited praise from the commanding generals, including General Thomas, and his speedy promotion was morally certain. On the second day of the fight, he was captured, and taken to Andersonville. The result of that capture we had from the lips of H. F. Marsh, late of Bainbridge, this county, who was a fellow prisoner. He says Shepherd died, a victim of starvation and scurvy; that the word "skeleton" would exactly describe his physical condition, and that the scurvy was so malignant as to have removed every tooth before he died. General Hazen, in his speech at Burton, July 4, 1879, paid "Shep." a feeling tribute.

Edward P. Latham (known as Payson) was "No. 1" on a six-pounder, which was captured at the battle of Mill Spring, January 19, 1862. On the eighteenth of June, following, General G. W. Morgan, in command of the Fourteenth division, Army of the Ohio, succeeded in dislodging Colonel Raines from his stronghold, at Cumberland Gap, without loss of life, which so elated him, that he ordered salutes to be fired by the three batteries in his command, and the Ninth Ohio battery was to perform this duty on the following day (June nineteenth), at six p. m. Latham's piece had been fired once, and wrhile loading the second time, a premature discharge occurred, which blew him about twenty feet from the muzzle of his gun. On picking him up, one eye was found to be sightless, and the bones of both his hands, and lower portion of the forearm, were found to be crushed to fragments, and both were amputated. Although the nervous shock was necessarily very severe, his habits of life, and robust constitution, soon placed him beyond danger, and his recovery was so rapid that just one month from the date of the occurrence, he was at home, and to-day he bids as fair to see a good old age, as any man in Troy.

Edward W. Green (known as Wilson) was, like Latham, when he enlisted, the very embodiment of health, and both were members of the same command, but their military experience was dissimilar. Green was married October 10, 1861, and was mustered into the United States service, with the battery, the day following. Soon after reaching Cumberland Ford, in February, 1862, he was taken sick, and consigned to the rude hospital, which was improvised from a deserted house near the camp, but failing rapidly, he was sent to a regular hospital, at Lexington, Kentucky, from whence - there being no hope of his recovery - -he was discharged. Returning home, he recovered somewhat, and engaged in such occupations as he thought he could endure. After a time, his disease (hepatic abscess) returned with two-fold severity, and at lenth he was confined entirely to the house. His disease distorted his shape out of all semblance of his former self, compelling him to endure the most acute and ceaseless pain, which he bore with heroic courage, until the fifteenth anniversary of his marriage, when death ended his suffering.

Delos Shaw and Eleazer Stockwell were fated to an experience, unlike either of the above. Captured in the fail of 1864, they endured all the horrors of that Andersonville den until the eighteenth of April, 1865, when they were exchanged, and, with others, sent to Vicksburg for transportation northward. That they keenly enjoyed the anticipation of seeing home and friends again, their last letters to Troy plainly indicated. The steamboat "Sultana" was set apart to take a cargo of these exchanged prisoners homeward. Twenty-two hundred men were placed on board this boat, and Delos and Eleazer were among the number. The fate of that boat and its human freight is well known to every one. When -eight miles above Memphis, Tennessee, a boiler exploded, when fifteen hundred men were hurried into eternity, and "our boys" were among the victims.

Sobieski Doolittle once escaped death almost, or quite, as miraculously as did Latham. At the battle of Chickamauga a minnie ball was shot through his neck, between the windpipe and vertebra, which lodged under the skin. The surgeon who removed it, consoled Doolittle with the declaration, that if the ball had varied its own diameter, in either direction, death must have ensued. He keeps that ball as a souvenir.

But why discriminate? Most assuredly it was not the personal election of Shepherd Scott that he should be immolated on the altar of heated passion, nor of Latham, that he should be so shockingly dismembered; nor of Green, that his life should waste away by inches; nor of Shaw and Stockwell, that their anticipated return to the home of their childhood should have been so tragically frustrated ; nor of Doolittle, that but fifty-four one-hundredths of an inch should have stood between him and his "muster out"; no more was it the election of Hazen Corliss, that a rebel bullet should crash through his brain, and wipe out his existence, on the field of battle; nor of Ellis Kingsbury, nor of Morris Latham, that their bones should be scattered by rebel missiles, causing their deaths in far-off hospitals; nor was it the election of Charley Scott, or Clark or Henry Green, or Hoard, or Geo. Harrington, or Benton, or Daniel Corliss, or Windnagle, or Wells, or Milton Starin, or Fisher, or Kimpton, or Andrew Pool, or Seth James, or Nash, or Marshall Davis, or Newell Hosmer, that their days should end, victims of disease, in military hospitals, on a cotton-bale, or in an ambulance; but such was the fate of war, and, soldier-like, they all submitted to the dread decree. Nor was it the election of Thomas A. Scott, or of Marcus Latham, and others, that their persons should be lacerated and disfigured with rebel lead, but such was their experience. Verily, war is an unfeeling arbitrator.

Here are the names of ninety-nine men, of Troy, who left home and all its comforts, shouldered the musket, seized the sponge-staff, buckled on the saber, wielded the mule whip, or did the duties peculiar to the gun-boat service, voluntarily, with but very few exceptions; and what for? Nothing less than to perpetuate that time honored doctrine of "Old Hickory." "The Union; it must and shall be preserved." These ninety-nine did not ail report, when this "cruel war was over."

Of them all, at least twenty-five never came back, or if they did, they came in their coffins. One suffered the slow tortures of starvation at Andersonville, two were hurried into eternity by the explosion of the transport " Sultana," after having suffered untold hardships in prison pens, were released, and - in imagination - almost back to Troy again. Others died of wounds, away from friends, and still others of lingering sickness. Two were killed almost instantly, while at their post in battle. That Troy may not soon forget the terrible ordeal through which she passed; two reminders are yet spared - in the shattered remnants of what were, at the outset of the rebellion, among her most robust citizens. The one, E. P. Lotham, despoiled of his hands; the other, E. W. Green, a breathing skeleton. To go into details of Troy's military experience during the war, would be to write a volume.

The soldier element - or a portion of it - of the township insist that the "boys" who were killed, or who died while in the service of the United States, deserve special mention in this connection, and to this end it is suggested that who, like myself, on that day enlisted into the United States army). I say if, on that day I had predicted that, on this twenty-ninth day of Msy, 1875, I should $tand here as the champion of twenty-nine of our sons, brothers, husbands and fathers, who would fall before the close of the awful conflict, then but just begun - and some of them under circumstances of fiendish cruelty that would cause a Modoc or a Mormon to look well to his laurels - you would doubtless have looked upon me as a hair-brained lunatic, unworthy of notice. Or, perhaps, fearing the disease might assume a more tangible form, and, perhaps, work mischief, you might have quietly asked Colonel Hazen for a detail to escort me to the guard-house, or, perhaps, for still safer keeping, to safer quarters at Newburgh. But the twenty-ninth of May, 1875, has come, arid, in the providence of the Great Ruler of the universe, I am here to make mention - honorable mention - of twenty-nine of our choice sons, who fell victims to the insatiable 'god of war.' **********

"And now, if you will bear with me, I will try and call to mind some of those of our own good township of Troy, who laid down their lives while fighting in the great war of the Rebellion," and will endeavor to omit no one, whether he represented this township, or not.

"The first on the roll of this silent company was Charlie Scott. He enlisted under the second call for volunteers, was assigned to the quarter-master department, and was sent to Baltimore. The next news from Charlie was by way of a letter from Dr. Orlando Crane to his (Charlie's) father, saying that he died on the first of September, 1861. Many then thought this might be the only death in the service from Troy. How we were doomed to disappointment the sequel will show.

"B. F. Clark, known by the boys as 4 Frank,' was the next sacrifice. The terrible ordeal through which he passed, before, at, and after the battle of Mill Spring, proved too much for his not over robust constitution, and wThen his command left Somerset, Kentucky, Frank did not go, but reluctantly took up his abode at the hospital. The next we heard from him he was very sick; the next, he was dead.

" Eulogizing our soldier boys properly is far beyond my capacity for doing, with any degree of justice. Suffice it to say that, among our many kind-hearted boys, Frank was one of the kindest.

"By a strange fatuity, three near relatives- - of whom comrade Clark was one - were taken in succession, and ajl three were members of the same command.

"The next to go was Henry Green, nephew of the other two. Henry was a favorite at headquarters, which is equivalent to saying he was a good soldier. Soon after reaching Cumberland Ford, the measles broke out in camp, and Green was among the victims of the disease. Becoming convalescent, he was detailed to go with his mule team to Flat lack after a load of provisions. While on the way, he was caught in a shower, when the disease returned with redoubled severity, and after two days of intense suffering he was numbered among the dead. Dying at the house of a citizen, he was buried in the family grounds. Henry died March 15, 1862. Let me copy from my diary the following: 'Sunday, April 6th, Durfee and I made a head-board for Henry Green's grave, and I took it to Flat Lick and set it up.' If any are curious to know more about that head-stone, let me say that it was made of a section of the head of a bacon cask, and 'H. Green, Ninth Ohio battery,' was the inscription.

"Chester Hoajrd, the remaining one of this doomed trio, while repairing the boots of a comrade at Somerset, became suddenly ill. Laying aside his work, as he supposed, 'for a short time, he betook himself to his blanket. Becoming rapidly worse, an ambulance was called, and Chester was helped therein, .apologizing to the owners of the boots for the failure, saying, as he started for the hospital : ' Boys, keep a stiff upper lip. I'll be after you in a few days, and then I'll finish them boots.' He did not leave that fated hospital, till he left it in his coffin, bound for the land of his nativity.

" The next is George Harrington. Taking a fancy to the duties of a sharpshooter, he went to Illinois, and enlisted in the Sixty-sixth regiment Illinois volunteers, whose peculiar duties were those pertaining to sharp-shooters. Typhoid fever soon marked him as a victim, and on the thirteenth day of May, 1862, he ceased to do duty as a soldier.

" Martin Pool joined his fortunes with the Third Michigan infantry, in the earlier stages of the conflict. On the first day of June, 1862, the battle of Fair Oaks was fought, while, near by, in a hospital, among others, Martin was lying helpless. The hospital was captured, and there is every reason to believe that the inmates were bayonetted in their cots, comrade Poole with the rest

" Orlando Benton belonged to company B, Forty-first Ohio volunteer infantry. While at Camp Wickliffe, Kentucky, the measles broke out among the troops, and Orlando was one of the first to succumb. The command was ordered away, and he, with others, was sent to a hospital in Indiana, where he died.

" Daniel, oldest son of E. G. Corliss, was one of thfe first to enlist from Troy, which he did April 25, 1861, in the Seventh regiment, under the three month's call. Serving this term, he at once re-enlisted, this time in company B, Fortyfirst regiment. About the first of September, 1862, he was attacked, while on a march, with typhoid pneumonia, and died in an ambulance. The following letter, from the orderly-sergeant, to his father, shows the esteem in which he was held

" Edwin Scott is next. Returning from Illinois, he took his chances with the One Hundred and Twenty-fifty Ohio volunteer infantry. Disease clutched him also, and he died in a hospital at Harrodsburg, Kentucky, November 22, 1862.

"The next, is Ellis Kingsbury. He enlisted in the Fourth United States artillery, wa§ captured at Port Republic, was exchanged, and at the battle of Fredericksburg, December 15, 1862, he received a wound, which soon proved fatal.

" Chauncey Lane thought Troy was quite too staid for him, and he migrated to Iowa, where he celebrated his fortieth birth day, by enlisting in the Thirtysecond regiment of that State. He was soon commissioned as lieutenant, and put in command of Fort Jeff. Thompson, Missouri Pleuro pneumonia seized him in its fangs, and just six weeks after bidding his friends here good-bye, he having been home on a flying visit, his remains were returned under military escort, and buried with military honor. He, too, died, December 15, 1862.

"The 23d of February witnessed the opening of the mortuary record for 1863, in the death of Edward, adopted son of Solomon, and Olive Wells. His remains were brought home, and to-day himself and foster-mother sleep side by side.

"Five days later, February 28th, Milton Starinpaid the debt While his command was in transit from Danville, Kentucky, to Nashville, Tennessee, he sickened, and was left at Louisville, where he died as above stated.

" Harvey Rice is next. A Kentucky hospital became his last abiding place, and, although his remains were not brought home, a memorial service was held here. -

"Oma Fisher belonged to the One Hundred and Fifth, and like many others, was, doubtless, a victim of home-sickness. He died in a hospital at Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and, as in the case of comrade Rice, memorial services were held here.

"Avery Patterson, once of Troy, enlisted in the Ninetieth regiment from Pickaway county. He was soon given a lieutenant's commission. On the first day of the battle of Chickamauga, he was severely wounded, and was captured A few days later, he was paroled, but after twenty days of extreme suffering he paid the penalty of his patriotism with his life. His remains were brought back to Troy, and buried in the Burroughs cemetery, with the honors due to his military rank.

"Morris Latham also bore a part on that same bloody field, and on the second day, received what was supposed to be, a slight wound in one hip. He wrote to his father, saying his "scratch would probably procure for him a furlough." His wound soon became serious, and forty days after receiving the fatal lead, he was given a furlough, not to be revoked by human authority.

"Harlan Warner chose Florida, as the State of his adoption, and enlisted in a "Pioneer Brigade," organized in that State. His health gave way, and he was given a hospital furlough, when he came back to the Grove, his former abiding place. The following inscription on his tomb-stone tells the rest: "Harlan P. Warner, Company I, Second battalion pioneer brigade. Died March 18, 1864, aged twenty-six."

"John Kimpton was born in England, January 13, 1847. Coming to this country with his parents while yet a lad, he naturally drank in the spirit of loyalty to his foster country, and as soon as old enough, he embarked in the gunboat service, and was assigned to the "Ouachita." An expedition up Red river, was planned and executed, and a quantity of cotton captured. The 9th of April, 1864, was occupied by the crew of the "Ouachita" in loading the boat with this cotton. At night John, - among others - remained ashore, he taking a cotton bale for a hammock, and remarking as he did so, that "he was burning up." During the night he died, and was buried the following day, in a rude grave hollowed out of the sand, on the river's bank.

"For the draft, which occurred January 5, 1864, eight men were required from Troy, and eight men volunteered, of whom Andrew Pool was pne. In July following, he was given the position of artificer in the battery to which he belonged, and was soon detailed to construct a building for the benefit of headquarters. The extreme heat, and unusual labor, soon brought him to his bunk, from which he was transferred to the battery hospital, a victim of typhoid fever. It was his fortune to be attended by one of the best surgeons in the army, and he was soon pronounced out of danger. Let me refer again to ray diary. 'Aug. 9th, wrote a letter to Mrs. Pool for Andrew. 10th, Pool is very sick; 1 2th, Pool a little easier. 13th, went into the country and bought a chicken for Pool.' While I was gone, he sent to the sutler and procured a can of peaches, some of which he ate, and, when I returned, found him suffering severely, the cause of which he explained to me. I hastened to summon Dr. Barber, who at once declared his case hopeless. More from my diary: 'Aug. 14th, wrote another letter for Pool to his wife. 15th, took care of Pool all day; he is very sick. 1 6th, Welsh took care of Pool through the night; I relieved him at 2 a. m., and stayed by Andrew till 2:30 p. m., when he died. Arrangements made to send the body home. Wrote to my wife acquainting her with the fact, as follows: 'If no telegram is sent, it will devolve on me to break the news that Andrew and the battery have just parted company. Particulars to-morrow.' ' I had barely time to write this before the train left. The body was embalmed the following day, and sent ba^k to Troy.

"Seth James offered himself as a substitute, and was engaged by a citizen of Hiram. He was assigned to the Fifth Ohio volunteer infantry. His military career was short. His record runs as follows: 'Seth James, admitted to hos-

" Hazen, brother of Daniel Corliss, is the next victim. The battery to which he belonged was engaged in the affair at Spring Hill, Tennessee, during which he was shot through the head, killing him instantly. Letter^ to his friends indicate that he was a good soldier.

"Monroe Nash shouldered his gun, and marched with the One Hundred and Seventy-seventh. Too much marching brought him to a Louisville hospital. His parents went to his aid and bestowed upon him all possible care, and, at his death, brought his remains home with them.

"Marshall Davis, with more zeal than discretion, re-enlisted as a veteran. He soon found himself in a Jeffersonville hospital, where he died, in April, 1865."

"Newell Hosmer brings up the rear. He was in the One Hundred and Seventy-seventh, and was with it on its eastern campaign. Arriving at New York, he was taken sick, and was assigned to a hospital on David's island, from which he wrote a letter. to his wife, saying he 'would be at home in a few days.' This was soon followed by a letter from the hospital surgeon, saying that he died April 30, 1865.

"Fellow citizens of Troy! these are our dead, and this our great sacrifice on the altar of human liberty ; and as we close the roll-book, let us not forget that

In this connection it might be said that the war aroused a military spirit at home. In the State legislature of 1862-3, a law was passed reviving State military service, requiring every able-bodied man of requisite age to do a certain amount of military duty, or pay a certain sum of money in lieu thereof. In obedience to this enactment, a company was formed in Troy, and July 4th an election of officers was held, which resulted in bestowing the command upon the writer - who had been discharged, and was then at home - while the lieutenants' commissions were bestowed upon I. W. Pope and S. P. Merrifield, respectively.*

A call for another three hundred thousand men was made late in the year, when so great a number of the company enlisted as to practically dismember it. At the next session of the legislature this law was repealed.

Here comes in an item of history of which Troy may well be proud, and which cannot be more fittingly portrayed than by copying, almost entire, a communication received from Mrs. S. C. W. Latham, secretary of the Soldiers' aid society, an organization whose existence will not soon pass from memory. She writes :

"Mention has been made in this historical sketch of Troy of those who went from among us, to share the privations and dangers of a soldier's life, in the great Rebellion. In connection with this it may be proper to allude to the work accomplished by the women at home during this eventful period, and to show that they were neither idle nor indifferent spectators of the momentous history that our country was writing in tears and blood. Some work was done for the three months' men, and some things contributed to them. As early as June, 1 86 1, we organized a Soldiers' aid society. We had fifty names subscribed to our constitution. The officers were : Presidents, Mrs. M. L. Welch, Mrs. B.

B. Heath; vice-presidents, Mrs. Mary Tinkham; treasurer, Mrs. M. James; business agent, Mrs. S. A. Merrifield. An auxiliary society was organized west of the river. Mrs. Jedediah Reed, president; Mrs. Sylvia Hinckley, vice-president. In a short time we commenced making 'havetocks.' This article of clothing not proving beneficial, and consuming much time and means, its manufacture was soon abandoned. Then hospital shirts, drawers, socks, quilts, towels, lint bandages, etc., etc., were made ; and canned and dried fruit, with other eatables, were contributed, prepared, and sent, from time to time, to the Cleveland Aid society. But in order to supply the Cleveland society, means must be obtained, and for this purpose various expedients were resorted to. In January, 1862, we started a 'mite society.' Our first meeting was held at S. P. Merrifield's, on the pioneer farm of the late John Dayton. About one hundred persons were in attendance. This was, perhaps, the largest 'mite' during the war. At one time the 'grab bag' was a feature of the society; at another, a 'sugar party,' and, although no great amount was obtained at any one meeting, they were continued until we realized over fifty dollars from them. From the proceeds of an 'exhibition, held two evenings in the Methodist Episcopal church, we realized over fifty-eight dollars, and a 'military picnic,' held in Mr. Seth Burton's meadow, furnished nearly forty dollars. A lecture brought in a little, and individual contributions helped some. At one time a committee was appointed in different parts of the township, to receive whatever might be donated to the society, and thus the supplies came, to enable us to go on, until July, 1865, when we sent our last package to Cleveland, having continued our work over four years. At the 'Sanitary fair' held in Cleveland, in 1864, we were represented, and assisted with our contributions. A flag was purchased for the Fortyfirst, and we contributed ten dollars of its cost, and also furnished that regiment with a few necessaries, but most of our donations were sent to the Cleveland society. The amount contributed to the soldiers in the various ways, by our township, was estimated at over a thousand dollars. Some of the wealthier townships may have done much more, but it may be that not many began earlier, or worked longer than did Troy. Mrs. Rouse, president of the Cleveland society, writing to us in January, 1862, after acknowledging the receipt of goods sent from here, says: 'I have been for some time anxious to hear of the prosperity of your society, which we remember with gratitude, was among the first to come forward to our aid, in carrying on the work. The records of the Cleveland society show that the first box received at the Cleveland Aid rooms came from the Soldiers' Aid society of Troy.'* Signed, Mrs. S. C. W. Latham. Comment is needless. The above speaks for itself."

To return to matters pertaining to the church militant: After Mr. Whitmore left, Mr. Fraser returned to his former duties, remaining, this time, two years.

When Mr. Hopkins held the pastorate, he wartily advocated the putting of a bell into the church. In 1862, the question was revived, a subscription was started, Mrs. Pike leading off with thirty dollars, the price of a steer. A sufficient amount was raised, and the bell was obtained. It was first toiled at the death of W. W. Beals, January 4, 1863. Proving too small to be heard at distant parts of the township, the Methodist society employed a competent person to examine the structure of their belfry, with a view to putting in a heavier bell. The report was favorable, a subscription was circulated, and the required amount realized. Although larger, the new bell did not much exceed the other in volume of sound. But its days were destined to be few. While being tolled, on the thirty-first of December, 1863, the thermometer standing at eighteen degrees below zero, it cracked, when its career was ended.

In 1863, Mr. Fraser again left, snd Rev. Roswell Hawks supplied the pulpit for a short time, when Marshall Terry was permanently engaged, and who remained until his death, in October, 1867.

In 1865, D. L. Pope showed his faith in the co-operative plan, by building a factory, fifty by one hundred feet, to serve as a curing house, and other buildings for manufacturing purposes, aggregating one hundred feet in length in addition.

Experience has shown the wisdom of his policy. Cheese factories are now considered a necessary evil; there being no less than four in Troy.* Western Reserve factory cheese has now a controlling influence wherever that commodity is an article of merchandise.

An incident, somewhat similar to the bull-frog tragedy of 1814, occured here in the spring of 1865. After the assassination of President Lincoln, the reward offered for the apprehension of the murderer, prompted a keen scrutiny of every stranger, not knowing but he might be the assassin, in disguse. About the time of the above tragedy, L. P. Barrows, then a sergeant in the Ninth Ohio battery, stationed at Bridgeport, Alabama, had obtained a furlough, and was at home. Some imaginative person, on the look out for the noted criminal, saw a stranger cross the farm then owned by Thomas R. Mumford, and enter the woods. Of course, this could be none other than the flying fugitive, and the alarm was at once sounded, and promptly responded to. The woods were quickly surrounded by the excited populace, and the lines concentrated, until a thick clump of undergrowth was all that was left of the strategic field, and which, of course, at that very moment, served as cover for the doomed John Wilkes Boothe.

Now came the momentous question:, who should beat the bush ? Sergeant Barrows was the only soldier present, and upon him was imposed the dread duty. Nothing reluctant, he at once drew sabre, and prepared to charge, backed by the comforting assurance, that his antagonist was doubtlees armed to the teeth, and would probably draw first blood. Barrows charged ; beat the covert thoroughly, and found

Since the old town house became untenable, the trustees had been compelled to rent a room in which to transact township business. Sometimes it would be a church; sometimes a school-house, but generally the bar-room of the hotel. Several efforts had, from time to time, been made to build a town-house, but were each time defeated. At the spring election, in 1871, a majority voted: "town hall, yes." The trustees at once contracted with Wm. G. Welch to build a hall, twenty-six by thirty-eight feet in size, and fourteen feet in height, for the sum of sixteen hundred dollars, to be completed in time for the October election.

It might be stated here, as a matter of history, that the township politics, a year or two before, had been the " Pound " question, which ended in establishing one m April, 1870. It now serves as an excellent yard for the hotel stables.

In 1871, there being no stated preacher at the Congregational church, Rev. Orvil Blake, a Free-will Baptist elder, residing in Mantua, was engaged to supply the desk, which he did the three succeeding years.

Soon after the close of the civil war, the different military organizations began to hold reunions, at which all the members who could possible do so, were sure to be present. The Ninth Ohio battery, which had a large representation from Troy, had held two, the first at Chagrin Falls in 1871, the second at Hudson, in 1872. The battery was mustered into the United States service on the eleventh day of October, 1861, and the eleventh day of October was selected as the day for annual reunion, or as nearly to that day as practicable. The third reunion was to be held in Troy, and as it was not practicable to hold it on the eleventh, the fifteenth of October was selected. On this occasion the good citizens of the entire township took the matter in hand, and made it a perfect ovation. It was estimated that twelve or fourteen hundred persons were present, and as the day was fine, the affair was a success throughout.

Prof. O. C. Hill, ol Hiram college, formerly a member of the Forty-second Ohio regiment, delivered a masterly address from the steps of the Methodist Episcopal church, and to which all who could, attentively listened. A travelling artist was present, who took a group picture of all the members who attended.

In the winter of 1873-4 Mason H. Abbey, an Evangelist employed by the Free-will Baptist association, came to Troy and conducted a revival meeting. The religious element of the community was, for once, united as if but one. The effort continued about two months, and, although the roads, most of the time, were nearly impassable, the old chufch was well filled with earnest listeners, at nearly every appointment.

About sixty persons were either converted, or confessed to a departure from former allegience to the church militant, and renewed their pledges of fidelity to the cause of religion. The result was, that the old society, which had become nearly extinct, was again placed on a permanentbasis, the Methodist society received a goodly number of members on probation, and yet nineteen were left (including two or three withdrawals), who organized into a Free-will Baptist association.

This church was organized on Saturday, the 24th of January, 1874. It elected Elder O. Blake as its pastor, who has since then remained in that relation* Rev. E. D. Taylor, who succeeded Mr. Blake at the Congregational church, and who was an earnest co-worker during the revival, yet retains the relation of p*5-

While recording church matters it will be in order to state, that in the winter of 1872-3, two clergymen of the Free-will Baptist denomination - Elder Moulton, assisted by Elder Wilder - held a series of meetings at Maple Grove, which resulted in establishing a church there, of which Elder O. Blake is now (1875), the pastor.

The following is a roster of all the Methodist preachers who have held stated meetings, or appointments, in Troy, both before and after the church proper was organized: In 1835 Conference sent Revs. T. Carr and J. C. Aiken, as itinerant preachers, to labor with the little society, which then held meetings on the west side of the river. These two filled appointments till the June Conference of 1836, when their successors were S. C. Baker and J. C. Aiken, who were again sent. In 1836-7 they were followed by S. Hubbard and W. F. Wilson, and they, in 1837-8, by John Crum, preacher in charge, assisted by L. M. Reves, who were the first preachers after the church was organized. They were followed by the above named Carr, and W. S. Worrallo in 1838-9, they by S. Hubbard and W. S. Worrallo in 1839-40, they by R. A. Aylworth and J. W. Davis in 1840-41, they by J. O. Rich and T. Stowe in 1841-2, they by Ahab Keller and A. Norton in 1842-3, they by Keller and G. W. Maltby in 1843-4, they by J. L. Holmes and P. Sullivan in 1844-5, they by Sullivan and L. Rogers in 1845-6, they by A. Reves and A. Walker in 1846-7, they by Reves and J. J. Steadman, (who supplied a vacancy in 1847-8), they by Steadman and William Samson in 1848-9, they by H. D. Cole and Hiram Kellogg in 1849-50, they by T. B. Tait and J. W. Hill in 1850-1, they by L. Clark and Ira Eddy in 1851-2, they by S. W. Ingraham and Benjamin Excell in 1852-3, they re-appointed in 1853-4, they by Excell and R. Gray in 1854-5, they by Gray and R. H. Hurlburt in 1855-6, they by R. M. Bear and Ingraham in 1856-7, they by themselves in 1 857-8, they by J. F. Brown and A. Norton in 1858-9, and they by Cyril Wilson in 1859-60.

At this date the policy of the "Parkman circuit" was changed by the Conference, and it was divided into two "Charges," one of which was called "Troy Charge." Each charge was supplied with one preacher, and C. Wilson was the first. He was succeeded by M. Williams in 1 860-1, he by H. D. Cole in 1861-2, he by H. Kellogg in 1862-3-4, he by H. M. Chamberlain in 1864-5-6, he by Hiram Kellogg in 1866-7, by J. B. Hammond in 1867-8-9, he by Josiah Flower in 1869-70-1, he by James K. Shaffer in 1871-2-3-4, and he by the present incumbent, Benjamin C. Warner, who is now (1876), occupying the pulpit on his second Conference year.

This, in brief, is an outline sketch, of some of the main features of Troy's history, and what a summing up do we find, when comparing "then and now"

Then we saw a widowed man of three score years, accompanied by a faithful daughter, taking up his abode for life \ where was not another human being on an area of twenty-five square miles. Now every acre of that domain is the property of actual settlers, not one of which can be bought for a song.

Then closely followed Jacob Burroughs, a man who once remarked that he was not made for beauty , but for use. Without commenting on the first part of that assertion, it is safe to say that he was one of the most quietly useful men, of which Troy could boast. Now his elder son is following in the footsteps of his honored sire.

Then the lion-hearted pioneer planted his crop among the stumps and logs in the most toilsome way immaginable non* those stumps and logs have long since vanished, and the skillful plowman, with well trained team attached to his Mohawk valley clipper plow, can turn the soil of his whole farm, meeting with scarcely an obstruction. Then the woman folks were clad in coarse garments of their own manufacture from wool or flax. Now they are not.

Then the only way in which the "settler" could protect himself at night from the assaults of legions of mosquitoes was by esconsing himself, as far as possible, into an empty barrel; the feet to be guarded by either a "smudge," or by retaining the boots. Now, at trifling trouble and expense, these persevering serenaders can be kept at respectful distance, allowing the sleeper an undisturbed rest.

Then a man worked all day, from sunrise to sunset, in the hay-field, mowing with a heavy, bungling scythe, made by a neighboring blacksmith, and received fifty cents for his labor. Now the team is hitched to a Buckeye or Champion or Climax, a meadow of five acres is encircled, and the hired man set to mowing out the corners of the fence. When the bell rings for dinner, the machine has laid the five acres in shape for the rake. The hired man has, with a nice light "rig," managed to complete the corners. After dinner, the old mare and horse-rake soon gather the five acres of hay into winrows, which the team draws to the barn. The old mare does duty at the fork, and before five o'clock everything is snug. The hired man is about dead, and wants two dollars K>r the day's comparative pastime.

Then Tom Hood's "Song of the Shirt " might have been sung with the "spirit and with the understanding also." Now the favorite sewing machine is to be seen in almost every domicile.

Then the "school ma'am" taught six days for a week, at a salary of fifty or perhaps seventy-five cents per week, taking in payment chickens, or store pay; seldom money. Now five days constitute a week, and three times the price which the pioneer girl received per week is demanded for one day, and that too in Uncle Sam's promises to pay.

Then the means of conveyance was what was known as "shanks' mare"; later, the oxen and cart or sled ; later, on horseback, each horse carrying at least two. Now folks don't travel in that way.

Then the little grain raised, was gathered with the sickle, threshed with the flail, cleaned with the hand-fan, or thrown up and the separation accomplished by the winds of heaven. Now' the stately "reaper" takes down its ten acres per day, the steam separator in a trice comparatively, transforms the bulky mow into a stock of straw and a bin of golden grain, all at one effort.

Then a neighbor or two might have been seen with a sap-yoke on their shoulders, at either end a pail of milk, it being taken to the house of another. The whole was put together, filling perhaps a small tub, from which a small cheese was made. The press, in many instances, was a long pole, with one end thrust into the cat-hole, the other weighted as occasion demanded. Now can be seen, in the season, a score or less of wagons, laden with well filled cans of milk, - cans in some instances containing a barrel or more, - and all converging at the favorite cheese factory', w'here the process of cheese-making is reduced to a system, a ton of cheese, in some instances, being a day's product.

Then the itinerant peddler, with a scanty stock of necessaries, might be seen perambulating the sparcely settled country', vending his wrares as best he might; now, at any center, may be seen substantial stores, wherein anything needed, from a jew'sharp to a bridal outfit, can be obtained.

Then Luther Hemmenway, in cow-hide boot sand homespun clothes, wended his lonely way through the wilderness w'oods, to the bark-covered cabin of Simon

Burroughs, where he met his affianced, arrayed in calf-skins and calico, when the two stood before a backwoods parson, and a " welding heat" was taken, the result to last till death interposed a separation. Now (in too many instances), John Henry enters into an alliance matrimonial with Clementina Artimesia; a wedding outfit is obtained - how, we do not pretend to say - and the nuptials are celebrated with extravagant pomp, but before the orange wreath has faded, disaffection crops out : a divorce lawyer is retained, and the one are again two. Their marriage vows were like pie-crust - made to be broken.

Then a contract to pay a debt at a future day, was faithfully fulfilled ; now, how to defraud the confiding creditor has become, with far too many, a careful study.

Then the resolute, warm-hearted itinerant preacher, semi-occasionally, plodded his weary way to our little settlement, and, in rude hovels, broke to his backwoods listeners the " bread of life " ; now, our two resident clergymen, have but a few steps from their homes to their pulpits, while their means of conveyance to other appointments are far from uncomfortable.

Then, the pioneer lived in his rude cabin of logs, covered with bark, or, at best, with "shakes," and without either cellar or chamber ; a rude fire-place served the double purpose of warming the inmates, and as a means of cooking the simple meal ; the bed, a pallet of leaves or straw, with bear skins for a covering ; the chairs, blocks of wood, set on end; the table, a split puncheon, or, perhaps, a board, resting on pins driven in the side of the domicile; the windows, of something besides glass ; the parlor, the shade of the nearest tree. Now, the strong, substantial dwelling of brick, or wood, takes the place of the rude cabin, warmed by the coal-burner, and the cooking done on a P. P. Stewart, or a Mansard; the bed, a spring mattress, with elaborate patch-work for covering; the chairs, such as would tempt an indolent person to remain seated all day; windows, of the best rock-glass, and plenty of them; the "extension" supercedes the old rough table; and the parlor is a paragon of beauty and taste.

Pope & Son transformed a portion of their cheese curing rooms, into a commodious place for retailing goods, and are doing a thriving business.

Hiram Kellogg & Son have come in possession of the store at the center, where they also enjoy a lucrative trade. In connection with the store, the son transacts the post-office business.

At Maple Grove, Davis Warner has established himself in trade, and although not so extensively as the others, his grocery store has become a necessity. A post-office, called Grove, was established here in January, 1869, over which Mr. Warner enjoys the title of postmaster.

Fisher. To this mill there has since been attached machinery for grinding feed, and also a cider-mill. The other mill, on the "Mile brook," north of the center, owned by H. W. Hosmer, has machinery for the manufacture of fence caps. There is also a shingle mill in the northeast part of the town, owned and operated by H. T. Burroughs.

S. J. Esty, H. E. Wales, and J. G. Durfee, are our wheelrights, and R. I. Hoard follows the vocation of St. Crispin. Frank Steele is engaged in the sale of Browning & Steele's carriages, and meets with good success. D. C. Tilden owns a tanning establishment at Rock Creek, and furnishes a market for all the hides and skins of an extended region round about.

Physicians and lawyers steer clear of Troy, as a place of residence. We are dependent on surrounding townships for relief from all the pains that flesh is

In county matters, Troy has borne, as yet, a limited part. We have furnished but two commissioners, in the persons of Dr. Jacob Thrasher and Horace Lamson, and but one prosecuting attorney, in the person of Orrin S. Farr.

We have furnished but one recorder, in the person of C. H. Lamb. Willard W. Beals for a time carried the surveyor's compass and chain, and J. G. Durfee for a time filled the office of coroner.

The resident clergymen are Rev. E. D. Taylor, of the Congregational church, and Rev. B. C. Warner, of the Methodist Episcopal* church, while Elder Blake, of Mantua, preaches to his charge whenever circumstances permit.

While surrounding townships, nearly all, furnished men who became more or less conspicuous during the war of the Rebellion, one of which (Hiram) boasts of two major generals, t Troy sent out her ninety-and-nine, with no prospect of promotion for any of them, save one. He received a lieutenant's commission, in artillery, which he soon resigned, and afterwards enlisted as a private in the same command. Duty rather than emolument was Troy's soldiers' guiding star.

Years agone, when "general trainings" were in vogue, Troy furnished the chief musicians - Daniel Doty, with his shrill fife, and Lewis Scott, with his tenor drum. Doty and his music have long since passed away. Scott, although he has reached his three score years and ten, can yet execute the reveille and long roll in a manner that causes the ear of every soldier who heareth it, to tingle.

The mortuary record discloses the fact that six hundred and ten persons, old and young, have died since Troy was settled. The first, Reed Burroughs, a child of five years, died July 2, 1813, and the last, Albert Herrick, died January 12, 1876. Of these deaths, Major Harvey Pratt, Troy's first singer, who came here in 1812, died at the age of forty. Thirty-five died between the ages of fifty and sixty; fifty-seven between sixty and seventy; fifty-three l between seventy and eighty; thirty-two between eighty and ninety.

Only four passed four-score and ten. "Gram" Weston - as we called her - died at ninety-one; Abram Barnes died at ninety-three; "Granny" French lived to see ninety-six years, was in excellent health all her days, and "went out" like a candle burned down to the socket.

John Beals lived to "see of the travail of his soul and was satisfied." He could almost peer into the next century, being ninety-seven years and six months old when he died. Of those who died below forty, many were in their infancy.

On several occasions two funerals occurred the same day. The first instance: Bradley Bromley and Theodore Dowdy were buried in August, 1817; the last.

-George H. Fairbanks, youngest son of James Fairbanks, mentioned in the preceding page>. ,s also a minister of the gospel, of the Methodist Episcopal denomination, but, being also an enterprising farmer, does not confine himself to pastoral duties as an exclusive calling. His farm and place of residence is on section twenty-four, south from Pope's comers. In 1873, he relinquished farming, and removed to the Huntsburg charge, in the capacity of a "supply." In 1874, he returned to his farm, but, having joined the conference, he was detailed on the Burton and Middiefield charge, and filled the appointments of that charge during 1874 - 5, when he withdrew from conference. Since that time he has devoted the major part of his time to agriculture, but exercising his clerical offices whenever called on to do so, which is often. Should Mr. Fairbanks see fit to devote himseli entirely to the duties of a clergyman, it would be easy for him to occupy a prominent place as a preacher.

With this statement, let this imperfect sketch come to a close. Surely, this is a great nation. And, how came it 50? By a slow growth, like the coral reef. The coral insect, taken singly, is an insignificant affair, but the combined effort of untold millions, has peopled the ocean with innumerable islands. This was not the work of a day, or a year, but of centuries.

Just so is this "Great Republic." Its formation is not the result of a day's effort. It did not, like "Jonah's Gourd," come in a night. The forests were felled, not by the blast of a terrible hurricane, but by the unremitting blows of the woodman's axe, year after year, and in this labor, Troy can proudly say, she has done her full share. Although but a small spot on the earth's surface, yet we are possessed of just enough local pride to think that the world would be sadly incomplete without her. In the language of another,