Licking County, Ohio - Chapter 27: Pioneer Society, 1881

CALL FOR A MEETING AT THE CouRT HousE - ORGANIZATION OF THE SOCIETY - CONSTITUTION - FIRST ELECTION OF OFFICERS - MEETINGS - PIONEER PAPERS - MEMBERSHIP, ETC.

'And while in life's late afternoon, Where cool and long the shadows grow, I walk to meet the night that soon Shall shape and shadow overflow." - Whittier.

which have already been partially or wholly obliterated; and they also deem it equally important to collect and preserve all the leading facts and incidents connected with the early settlement of the difterent sections of Licking county; by neighborhoods and townships. This work, if done at all, must be done largely by the present generation. If not done, soon important facts in our history wiil be lost and we will have only 'the unreliable vagueness of uncertain tradition instead of authenticated truthful history.

"We, therefore, with a view to the accomplishment of these purposes, calljupon all our fellow-citizens, of concurrent opinions, to meet with us at the court house on Wednesday evening, May Ist, at eight o'clock, then and there to consider and discuss the important matter herein presented.

'* Pursuant to the foregoing call a meeting of. the pioneers was held at the court house, May 1, 1867. Hon. William Stanberry presided, and Isaac Smucker was appointed secretary. On motion, Dr. J. N. Wilson, Colonel William Spencer, and T. J. Anderson, were appointed a committee to prepare a constitution and by-laws fora pioneer, historical and antiquarian society, which the meeting had decided to organize. Said committee, after deliberation, presented a constitution which was adopted by the meeting, and the following officers were elected pursuant to its provisions:

"The foregoing, as-far as they are living, have remained in office during the entire thirteen years of the existence of the society. Rev. P. N. O'Bannon was elected in place of Hon. William Stanberry, deceased, but he also died lately; Captain M. M. Munson has been serving as vice-president since the decease of Dr. Wilson, and Hon. C. B. Griffin has been corresponding secretary since the death of Colonel Spencer.

'"This meeting was followed by another held in the O'Bannon grove, on the Fourth of July, when papers were read by Revs. C. Springer, and P. N. O'Bannon, and by the secretary.

"The next meetings were held August 27, and October 14, 1867. A number of historical papers were read at each of those meetings, which were held in Newark, and many names added to the list of members.

"Our next meeting was held in Grenville, on New Year's day, 1868, where also a number of papers were read, the principal one being by Captain Munson, giving a history of Granville town and township. The meetings that succeeded this during 1868, were held April 7th, May 2oth, July 4th, and October r5th. Historical papers were read at all of them.

"The meetings of 1869 were held on the seventh of April (when the history of our Welsh settlements was read), on the nineteenth of May, and on the fourth of July.

"There were but two meetings held in 1870 - the first, May 18th, and the last, July 4th, which was the great pioneer camp meeting at Pataskala, where were present about three thousand persons. Pioneer papers were read at both the foregoing meetings.

were read at both meetings. The local history of the county having been so nearly completed by this time, it was found to be unnecessary to hold more than one meeting a year, which has been annually held on the fourth of July, since 1871, at all of which historical papers have been read. Down to the present time there have been written and published one hundred and fifteen pioneer papers and local histotical sketches; also ten pamphlets, which combined, embrace all the incidents, facts and events connected with the local history, both early and late, that were deemed worth recording. They cover the entire historic period of the Licking valley, from 1751, when Christopher Gist and his associate, Montour, passed through it, as explorers, to the present day, not omitting descriptions of the elaborate works of the Mound Builders, and the Indian villages that existed here previous and subsequent to the settlement on the Bowling Green, of the Hughes 'and Ratliff colony, in 1798.

"Of the foregoing papers, one hundred and fifteen in number, Judge Scott, Judge Brumback, Rev. W. Bower, Mrs. Stadden, Rev. Mrs. Springer, Rev. S. P. Hildreth, D. D. Woods, Jacob .Winter, William Knowles, Jacob F. Conine, Goyernor Greiner, Dr. J. H. Coulter, Captain E. Z, Clark, Colonel John Noble, Rev. Israel Thrap, Captain M. M. Munson, J. G. Brooke, Major Pratt, John Whiteand M. L. Wilson, each prepared one; Captain Joseph M. Scott and Revel Everett, each wrote two; Rev. H. M. Hervey, Dr. J. N. Wilson and B. C. Woodward, each prepared three; Rev. T. W. Howe, General Rufus Putnam and A. B. Clark, each furnished four; William Wing and C. B. Griffin, each wrote five; Rev. C. Springer, our lately deceased chaplain, prepared and read seven, and the remainder were written by the secretary, Hon. Isaac Smucker. Of the pamphlets, Rev. H. M. Hervey furnished No. one; Jacob Winter wrote No. four; Samuel Park prepared Nos. five and six; Captain Joseph M. Scott is the author of No. eight; and Hon. Isaac Smucker is responsible for Nos. two, three, seven, nine and ten.

'*The Licking County Pioneer, Historical and Antiquarian society has two hundred and eleven names on its list of members proper, of which eighty-one have deceased, leaving a membership of one hundred and thirty. The Antiquarian members have numbered forty-seven, of whom nine have died, leaving thirty-eight as the present number. 'The number of corresponding members on the list is one hundred and seventy-one, of whom twelve are dead, leaving the number, at present, one hundred and fifty-nine. The list of honorary members consists of ninety persons, of whom only seventy-eight are living.

'The. library of the society consists of more than five hundred bound volumes and pamphlets, many of them valuable. It also possesses a large variety of relics and curiosities and numerous ancient manuscripts and coins; and the collection of Indian and Mound Builders' ornaments and implements is by no means inconsiderable. Mention might also be made of the numerous specimens of Continental and Confederate paper money and other issues of paper, intended to circulate as money, owned by the society. The society has been, and continues to be from month to month, reasonably successful in accomplishing the object and purposes for which it was organized thirteen years ago.

"Tt is a matter worthy of congratulation that the commissioners have regarded the society as so much of a county organization as to dedicate to its use an admirable room on the lower floor of the court house. For that act of thoughtful consideration and kindness they have entitled themselves to the grateful regard of all the members of the society. It is certainly no small accommodation to be furnished with a room having ample facilities for the display and safe-keeping of the library and collections, and of dimensions adequate to the demands of all business meetings it mayfbe found necessary to hold. The considerate kindness of the commissioners puts the society in a position to appeal to the public with confidence for generous additons, from time to time, to the library and numismatic departments, as well as to the cabinet of fossils, relics, curiosities, geological specimens, petrifactions, and ancient manuscripts."

Mr. P. N. O'Bannon, for many years president of the ,society, died September 13, 1880, aged nearly seventy-four years. Mr. Isaac Smucker has been the secretary of the society since its organization. To his indefatigable labors is the accuracy of the society's reports due. In fact, no man in Ohio has done so much for the history of his own county and its preservation.