Ashland City (part 39 of 57)

''The first I knew anything had occurred, I was on the stern of the boat, and was trying to get my breath and didn't know what had happened, but when I realized what had happened I came to and the boat was all afire, and then I didn't know what to do at that time. I started forward to see if I could find any more of the comrades. Going forward I met Lash Holton, and Lash was like I was, a little excited. I caught hold, went down, and Lash was injured in the face, and then he and I went together and started forward when we met Jacob Irons and Jacob Byerly and that left four of us together, and I suggested that we get the gang plank and push that off and all get on and stay together and help each other. That was agreeable to all, and we started forward for the front end of the boat to climb off, and when we got just above the wheel house the deck gave away and we all went down into the fire. The other three burned and I striking the stair steps pulled myself out. I was considerably burned, my face and hair, and then I concluded I didn't know what to do, but I finally found a deck bucket, I got water and poured that on myself. The reason I didn't go and jump over-board at that time, was because there were twenty or thirty in a bunch holding fast together going down.

'<When I went from there, I crawled up the steps and went up on top. I kept my deck bucket, and after I got up there the smoke stack had taken fire just as I got up. Then a sergeant of the First Ohio called for help, to help throw these men over who were caught under the stack. I assisted him. I threw over ten or twelve, but one survived, that was all, and one had both limbs broken and he got out, and then I went from there on the wheel house and remained there until it burned off, and I went with it and didn't succeed getting on the wheel house because there were so many around it. I struck out

''Qome distance from the boat about a quarter of a mile I came across a man with two shutters - he was dead, I procured the shutters from him. I finally got on them myself and swam to an island and remained there until nine o'clock next day, in the water, and was finally rescued by a boat in about thirty feet of water. I had floated and swam six miles."'

''Out on the river's rolling tide, Out from the steamer's burning side, Out where the circle was growing wide Men battling with the waves; And drowning, they each other clasped, And wreathing in death's closing grasp They struggled bravely, but at last Sank to watery graves.''

The One Hundred And Twentieth Regiment

At the organization of the One Hundred and Twentieth, Lieutenant Willard Slocum, of Ashland, acted as adjutant, and was promoted to major February 18, 1863, and lieutenant colonel September, 8, 1863, and brevetted after the close of the war. Captain John McKinley was promoted to major September 8, 1863, and transferred to the One Hundred and Fourteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, when he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and mustered out.

The One Hundred and Twentieth reported to General Wright at Cincinnati, on the 25th of October, 1862, for duty, and crossed to Covington, Kentucky. In November it was ordered to Memphis, Tennessee, where it entered the brigade of General George W. Morgan, and moved to the mouth of the Yazoo river, and thence to Johnson's landing to attack the fortifications defending Vicksburgh. The attack commenced on the 26th, the One Hundred and Twentieth participating. It was actively engaged during the siege, and suffered severely in consequence of malaria and exposure. The regiment was ordered to Arkansas Post in January, 1863. When Fort Hindman had been surrounded, the One Hundred and Twentieth made a direct charge upon the works - the enemy displayed a white flag and surrendered - the One Hundred and Twentieth having the honor of first entering the fort, as Sergeant Robert Wallace scaled the parapet and planted the colors, for which he was promoted to first lieutenant. The regiment returned to Young's Point, where it suffered severely from malarious fever for nearly two months, more than half the privates being on the sick list. In consequence of delays several of the officers resigned. Early in the spring of 1863 the regiment was ordered to different points along the Mississippi, and finally to Fort Gibson, which was captured, the One Hundred and Twentieth losing one-eighth of its men in the battle. Jackson and Raymond were next captured, and the regiment remained at the latter place until May, 1863. The One Hundred and Twentieth returned to the rear of Vicksburgh and participated in the siege. In July it was ordered on another expedition to Jackson, and, during its investment, Colonel Spigel was severely wounded, and the regiment considerably cut up by the artillery of the enemy. It returned to the Black River bridge in July, and went into camp at Vicksburgh. In September the regiment passed down the Mississippi and returned to Plaquemine, one hundred and ten miles above New Orleans, where it remained until March, 1864, when it joined the expedition under General N. P. Banks to invade Arkansas. At Red River Bend, near Snaggy Point, the ''City Belle,'' on which the regiment was crossing the river, was suddenly attacked by about five thousand Confederates concealed behind the levee, who poured a murderous fire in the boat. It was soon disabled by the artillery of the enemy and floated to the opposite side of the river, where it displayed a white flag and surrendered. Colonel Spigel fell, and Captains Elias Fraunfelter, Rummel, and Miller, and two hundred privates fell into the hands of the Confederates, and were marched off to Camp Ford, near Tyler, Texas, where they remained in a miserable prison for about one year. Those who escaped formed a battallion of three companies under Lieutenant Colonel Slocum, and, after a march of twenty-three hours, arrived safely at Alexandria and joined the forces of General Banks. In May, General Banks began his retreat. The regiment returned to Morganza, Louisiana, and remained until September, and moved up White river to St. Charles, Arkansas, and thence to Duvall's bluff. In November the One Hundred and Twentieth and One Hundred and Fourteenth Ohio were consolidated, Lieutenant Colonel Kelley, of the One Hundred and Fourteenth, becoming colonel, and Major McKinley, of the One Hundred and Twentieth, leutenant colonel of the new regiment. Lieutenant Colonel Slocum was honorably discharged, his position being rendered supernumerary by the consolidation of the regiments. This ended the career of the One Hundred and Twentieth regiment. It was organized in 1862 with nine hundred and forty-nine men, and, in 1864, received one hundred and fifty recruits, making ten hundred and ninety-nine men. At its discharge it contained only four hundred and forty men, showing a loss of six hundred and fifty-nine men during the service. The toil and suffering of this regiment were borne throughout with unshrinking fortitude. Like the Hightysecond, the One Hundred and Twentieth returned, scarred and worn veterans, to

One Hundred And Ninety-Sixth Regiment

This regiment was organized at Camp Chase for one year, and was mustered into service March 25, 1865, Colonel R. P. Kennedy was in command. One of the companies contained thirty men from Ashland county. The company was Company A, and the following were the commissioned officers :

The regiment was ordered to West Virginia, where it was attached to the Ohio brigade at Winchester. It was subsequently called to Baltimore, and assigned to duty in the fortifications around the city. It was mustered out September 25, 1865. The officers and men of the One Hundred and Ninetysixth regiment were largely veterans, having served in other organizations 4n

First Regiment Ohio Light Artillery

This regiment was composed of twelve batteries, and was mustered into service for three years, September 3, 1861. It was commanded by Colonel James Barnett. The command was organized and equipped at Camp Dennison and sent to the field. Battery D was raised principally in Ashland county, Its officers were:

Captain, Andrew Conkle; senior first lieutenant, Paul H. Rohrbocher, resigned January 1, 1862; junior first heutenant, Lemuel P. Porter, promoted to first senior lieutenant, January 1, 1862; senior second leutenant, William H. Pease, promoted junior first lieutenant, January 1, 1862; junior second lieutenant, Henry C. L. Lloyd, promoted senior second lieutenant, January, 1862.

About one-half of the men in battery D were enlisted in Ashland county; hence the whole roll has been copied that the strength of the battery may be exhibited. Corporal John B. Deshong was promoted to second lieutenant of battery D, and was transferred and promoted to first heutenant in battery H; and Sergeant William Zimmerman was promoted to first lieutenant and transferred to battery G, of colored troops. Sergeant Joseph B. Charles was promoted captain, and took command of battery H, colored troops.

Battery D left Camp Dennison in November, and reported to Brigadier General William Nelson, in Kentucky, and marched with his command up the Big Sandy to Piketon. It returned to Louisville, and thence to Mumfordsville. In February, 1862, the battery reported at Nashville and moved to Pittsburgh Landing, thence to Corinth, Mississippi, and to Athens, Alabama. In September it returned to Mumfordsville, where it was captured by the Confederate forces, paroled and sent to Camp Chase, and exchanged in January, 1863. The battery was reorganized at Columbus, Ohio, and joined the Third brigade at Lexington, Kentucky, in March. In June, 1863, it went on a raid to East Tennessee, under Colonel Saunders, and burned many bridges, a large amount of ordnance and commissary stores. In July it marched with General Burnside to Cumberland Gap, which was captured. In August and September the battery went on a raid into Kentucky and Tennessee, with Colonel Woolford's cavalry. It next marched to Knoxville and participated in the siege. The battery reenlisted and was sent on a thirty days' veteran furlough to Ohio. The ranks being recruited in January, 1864, it marched to Atlanta, Georgia, and joined the forces of General Sherman, and was in all the engagements of that campaign. It was also in the battles of Franklin and Nashville, and went to Wilmington, North Carolina, and was finally mustered out at Cleveland, Ohio, July 15, 1865.

In July and September, 1862, during the apprehended siege of the city of Cincinnati by John Morgan, the noted Confederate raider, an appeal was made to the farmers and laboring men within the proper distance of the city to aid in its defense. <A large number of men from the rural districts hastened to the rescue. On the 2d of September Governor Todd issued a proclamation authoriz- ing General Lew Wallace to complete the organization, and stating that none but armed men would be received, and also providing for their transportation by rail at the expense of the state. The Queen City was speedily put in a position of defense by General Wallace. General Morgan failed to commence the seige, and the ''Squirrel Hunters'' were dismissed. Ashland county sent one hundred and four men. By a resolution of the legislature, in the winter of 1863, discharges, in due form, were furnished the ''Squirrel Hunters'' of 1862.

This regiment was mustered into the United States service at Camp Chase, Ohio, May 12, 1864, under Colonel Hiram Miller, and on the 13th proceeded to Washington city, D. C., under orders from General Heintzelman, commanding the department of the Ohio. The regiment remained at Fort Reno, when it was ordered to the front, and proceeded on transports to White House, Virginia, and thence to Bermuda Hundred. It then reported to General Butler at Point of Rocks, and on the 12th and 14th of June was in reconnoissance of the Petersburgh & Richmond railroad. On the 15th two hundred and fifty men were engaged in a heavy skirmish. On the 16th the regiment proceeded to Wilson's Landing. It assisted in building Fort Pocahontas. On the 29th the regiment was relieved from further duty and returned to Columbus, Ohio, and was mustered out September 10, 1864. Company I was from Ashland county.

The company was mustered into the one hundred days' service, but served a few days over time. Samuel Friedline was transferred. George B. Eagle died at Wilson's Wharf, Virginia, June 8, 1864. Nicholas G. Glenn died in hospital at Fortress Monroe, Virginia.

Colonel Lorin Andrews

Ashland has the high distinction of having given the first citizen of Ohio to volunteer as a soldier for the Union army. This was Lorin Andrews, who was born here in a log cabin, April 1, 1819, being the fourth child born in Ashland. His father, Alanson Andrews, later opened a farm southwest of the village. At the age of seventeen he delivered with great credit a Fourth of July oration at Carter's Grove just east of the town. From 1840 to 1843 he was a student at Gambier, but from want of pecuniary means was obliged to leave, and then took charge of the Ashland Academy. He pursued his studies without a teacher, and with signal success. He lectured before institutes throughout the state, and had scarcely an equal in influence as an educator. So greatly was he valued for power of intellect and general capacity, that, in 1854, he was chosen to the presidency of Gambier, and he brought up the institution from an attendance of thirty to over two hundred pupils. Princeton conferred upon him the degree of LL.D. He had peculiarly winning qualities that made him a born leader. It was in February, 1861, that, believing war inevitable, he offered his services to Governor Dennison. In April he raised a company in Knox county for the Fourth regiment, and was elected colonel. It was ordered to West Virginia, where, owing to exposure, he was taken sick of typhoid fever, and died September 18, 1861, and was buried at Gambier in a spot of his own selection. He was but forty-two years of age - in his prime - and of great moral influence. He was about five feet eight inches in height, and weighed about one hundred and thirty pounds; hair sandy, and inclined to curl. His eye was a clear gray, his face manly, full of benevolence, his carriage erect, with a sprightly gait.

By Professor J. C. Sample

The history of education in Ohio is a story of exceeding interest. It reaches back into the eighteenth century, finding its origin in the great ordinance of 1787, than which, no single act of any national organization has been more prolific of great and far reaching result. It is impossible to even trace the story in an article limited as is this, but some notion of educational advance is necessary, before either state or county academic history can be understood. Ohio's endowment by right of grant in this ordinance, was approximately twelve hundred square miles of her territory, consecrated to educational uses alone. The gift to the people, was to all, and for all time. Its intention was to make intelligence the common characteristic of her people. The conservation of this princely gift and its proper adaptation to the purpose intended was a new feature in government.

The problem proposed for solution was: How far instruction, furnished at public expense should or could, in justice to all, be imparted to the individual. There were then, as today, two leading opinions. The first clearly asserts: ""The maxim of state right to impart instruction is the minimum of individual need.'' This view of state rights gave birth to the famous three R's, Readin, Ritin and Rithmetic theory as the limit of public right. All else must be attained by individual effort. It also obtained for almost or altogether fifty years, and more nearly than is now at all supposed, wrecked the cause of public or general education.

It was the hearty belief of such men as the Logans, Kentons, Poes, ete., who, pushing on in the front of the great wave of immigration that entered Ohio at the beginning of the ninetenth century, moulded and largely controlled the public sentiment about them. They were men who cared little for the conveniences of society, greatly less for its luxuries and refinements, even despised them. They were the pickets of the outposts of civilization. Many of them did not know how to read - did not even care to learn, but they were ''men of good common sense;'' honest; resolute; fearless; sterling frontier qualities. They settled the western and southwestern border of the state, but their influence was felt everywhere.

log schoolhouse to immortality - an institution which, if you study it closely the country over, rises in most questionable guise, but over which has been expended so much very twardy and very cheap sentiment and eloquence. The schoolhouse itself; its furniture; apparatus and library there were, absolutely, none; the "'Master'' himself; stern; bettle browed; his mental, moral, physical qualities, especially the physical; the bare, mud walls; the rickety backless benches; the old Cobb and Webster's spellers; the English reader; Columbian Orator; the Bible; even the old almanac; Pike's arithmetic, and Western calculator; the master's chair, behind which, on pins set into the walls by augers, lay the grewsome collection of gads, one of which was always worn to a frazzle; the huge open fireplace ; the long, almost lightless windows, all this forms a picture

The picture is utterly defective however, to realize it, you must have seen it in action. The writer has felt of it, has seen girls of sixteen and seventeen years old whipped - because ''they needed it.'' Yet this system, with its sad: defects and indescribable narrowness, was resolutely upheld as the best by these honest, but stern and severe men. There is one palliation for all this, which in justice to these men, we should not forget. The people were poor; often without the most pressing demands of human existence - shelter, food and raiment. Money could not be obtained from the grant; the people practically had none.

Men who held the second opinion, and from whom the educational reform, we are now enjoying, came, just as positively declared, ''The minimum of state duty is the maximum of individual demand.'' It is only on a basis of assured wealth that the superstructure of an efficient and successful educational system can be built. To a fair degree this class possessed that wealth. Emigrant colonies, coming from the older northeastern states, bringing with them money sufficient to satisfy passing demands, settled along the eastern and northeastern border of the state. These colonies, as Anglo-Saxon emigrants always do, brought with them their wives, their children, their religion, their Bible. They first built their cabins and churches; then they built their schoolhouses. We owe to these men the settlement along the Maumee, the Muskingum and the Kokossing - the colleges, the academies they set up there; at Marietta, at Columbus, Granville, Gambier, etc.

There were established the first efficient schools, and these schools were moulded upon the colleges of the sections from whence they came. Their preachers became also their children's teachers - men trained and equipped in the best schools on the continent. History teaches us that all social reformation that shall effect society throughout, must begin with men who are found at the foundation.

Christ's disciples were publicans and fishermen. He, Himself, was the reputed son of a carpenter. Paul was a tent maker. Peter, the hermit, was a French Gascon peasant. Martin Luther was a German miner's son. Ulrich Zwingle was the child of Swiss shepherds. Knox and John Calvin were also Yet these men, peasants all, led victoriously in the greatest radical general law. We began to lay the foundation of our educational pyramid at the apex. The school system of today is an outgrowth of the past, moulded upon the academies and colleges founded by the Puritan emigrants just from the sacred shades of Yale and Harvard.

The difficulties that today so persistently face our city superintendents may, perhaps, find solution in the careful study of the educational difficulties and differences of that older day. With this very interesting and important problem we have, here, nothing to do. Before the state was admitted into the Union, schools were opened at Athens, perhaps the first in Ohio, based upon the charter issued by the territorial government between 1790 and 1800. When, in 1802, state government came into existence, this charter was repealed, and a charter issued by the new government, in 1804, fixing a state university at Athens. From this institution, the first college degree of A. B., granted in the northwest, was issued in 1815, to John Hunter and Thomas Ewing. Burton Academy at Burton in Cuyahoga county, so near as the writer can ascertain, was the first of, sinee then, nearly or altogether three hundred academies and seminaries that have flourished in our state and passed away. Of all these there are not likely more than eight or ten in healthy condition today. | We do not wish to more than note the faet of their existence; their history would fill volumes; but we do wish to emphasize the influence which these educational institutions of the second class exerted. through all classes of society, and over all social and civil interests.

Unlike the colleges. academie influence is chiefly local, reaching every elass of society within the range of its patronage. With the colleges, they were, for more than fifty years, the only hope of anything worthy the name of intellectual culture. In many places in the state, from 1830 to 1840, graded schools were started. There was one high school opened in 1840, but until 1850, except in Cincinnati, graded schools, such as are now found in every village, were unknown. The graded course had no prominence until in the '60s. This very imperfect sketch of Ohio's school condition at the beginning of, and up to the middle of the nineteenth century. shows the influence the academy exerted of state educational interest; further. that without the academy, Ohio's educational status could not be at all what it is today. The story of these academies told, as it should be. would be one of the most interesting and instructive chapters in our history. The character and personnel of the men engaged in the work; their equipment for that work: their environment; the influence they exerted wpon it; the results attained through the rude and meager resourees at their command - all this wonld form one of the most pleasing and attractive views in our fast fading but pieturesyue past. Said one of the old leading southern Presbyterian divines to the writer a couple of years ago: ''IJad it not been for the small country academy of the south. the Confederacy could not have withstood the north a single year. They. really. fwanished the army with such leaders as the Jacksons and the Johnstons. Hood, Bragg. ete. They officered the line and field. They supplied the people with their doctors. attorneys, their teachers. often their preachers. and were always a power for good. The character of the old south was framed and built in her old academies. | How was it in this regard with you northern people?'' To answer the Doctor's query look back for a moment over the history of our glorious Buckeye state - its school and civil history. Dr. Waldon says ''The character of the old south was framed and built in our old academies. They furnished our field and line.''

Ohio has supplied, within fifty years, six presidents to the United States. It is the highest, the most powerful, the most honorable position in the world. Of these at least three owe the ''framing and building'' of their character directly to the academies of Ohio - all were cast in their mould. The greatest military leader of modern times; more than the peer of Gustavus Adolphus ; Turrene; Marlborough, Blutcher; Wellington; Von Moltke - Grant stands out upon the page of history, and will so stand for all time, a veritable thunderbolt of war; his two great lieutenants, Sherman and Sheridan, on the ''red blast of battle's lightning whirlwind,'' riding out to immortality - Ohio's academy boys. These three men in turn have won the highest military title known under our government. Their professional training was obtained in the military academy at West Point - their preparatory training in the eastern schools of Ohio. Of the nineteen major generals of the army of Ohio, thirteen were born and brought up under the same influences. Of the fifty-three brigadiers she supplied, fortyfive were born and brought up under Ohio influence. Read over their names; Grant; Sherman, the Ney; Sheridan, the Murat of American story; Custer; Garfield; Buell; Hayes; Harrison; Stanley; the McCooks; Wetzel; the poet soldier, Wallace; the Ewing brothers; what words shall we find strong enough with which to wreathe the name of Lincoln's leonine war secretary, Edwin M. Stanton ; to crown the head of his great treasure-finder, Jay Cook? We need not continue this Roll Call of Glory; to us they are household words, familiar and almost as dear as the sacred terms ''father'' and ''mother.'' It is a Roll great enough and grand enough to grace the ''throne-room'' of the proudest emperor. A roll of Glory for an Empire. Ohio wraps these names as a laurel chaplet immortal, round her queenly brows - her academy boys of sixty years ago. Her roll of statesmen; John Sherman; William 'Dennison; William Allen; William McKinley; John Brough; David Todd; Benjamin Wade; Joshua R. Giddings; Thurman; Woods; Mathews; Taft. Who at the Bar or in the Forum has ever surpassed the incomparable Thomas Ewing? When shall we hear again, equalled, the brilliant wit and entrancing eloquence of the immortal Thomas Corwin, a greater than whom, as wit or orator, the continent has not produced? Who in absorbing intensity, on the stump, on the platform, or in the pulpit, the glorious preacher soldier W. H. Gibson? Who shall more eloquently trace the course of the starry galaxy than our professor General, O. M. Mitchell? Who better translate the hieroglyphics traced by the finger of God in the shifting sands, or the mysterious history carved in the bosom of the rocks than our own Norton and Newberry. It is a son of Ohio who has harnessed the lightning. In Divinity; in sculpture; in painting; in literature, who are they to whom the children of Ohio, during all the first half of the nineteenth century, are not peer? Yet these results incalculable in their force and sweep, are chiefly the fruits of a system that apparently has almost passed away - the academy and college of share. Within her limits she has liberally supported six of these institutions and during the greater part of their existence usually three were successfully supported at the same time. ''Ashland Academy,'' founded in 1836, under the control of the late Lorin Andrews, gained a fame wide as it was deserved. When he resigned to assume the presidency of Kenyon College at Gambier, Ohio, the Academy was changed into the '' Ashland High School'' and until the present has been so maintained. The next academy established was the Savannah Academy, at Savannah, in a village in the northern part of the county. It was founded in 1858. After varying fortunes in the spring of 1865, Captain Elias Frauenfelter just returned from the army, was elected professor of mathematics and at once assumed his duties there. Under the influence of his inspiring enthusiasm the school almost immediately assumed a commanding and important character. In 1875, he resigned to take the chair of mathematics in Buchtel College, Akron, Ohio. This place, in a few years, he resigned to become superintendent of the Akron City schools, which place he filled with marked ability until his decease.

'Vermillion Institute'' located at Hayesville, was first organized as a Baptist institution, but not proving satisfactory, it passed into the control of Wooster Presbytery. Dr. Diefendorf, then pastor of a church at Nashville, Ohio, was elected president of the school, and it soon became not only one of the most flourishing and successful denominational private schools in Ohio, but one of the largest and best Presbyterial schools in the country. Its term attendance sometimes reaching beyond six hundred students.. Dr. Diefendorf resigned in a few years, but the school not succeeding, he was reelected. He again resigned in 1868 to assume the presidency of Otto University at Nebraska City, Nebraska, and Professor John A. Simpson was by the Presbytery appointed his successor, but the institute not proving satisfactory under his care, he resigned at the close of his second or third year, and his successors failing, in 1873, Dr. Diefendorf was recalled, but died before he succeeded in restoring it to its former reputation. Dr. Diefendorf may doubtless be regarded as one of the greatest educational forces of his day throughout this part of the state, though his rivals were such superb institutions as Oberlin, Kenyon and Dennison. His pupils were not limited to Ohio alone.

The old catalogue of ''Vermillion'' will show a strong clientage drawn from twelve or fifteen different states. Its influence is still widely felt, though thirty years have passed away since death called the Doctor from his work. It is likely there is not a county in Ohio, in which his ''Boys'' will not be found leading in their professions; this influence reaches throughout the United States and extends into foreign lands. It would indeed be a pleasant task to record names of such men as Sheldon Jackson, the great modern apostle of the Indian; Hon. J. K. Cowan, late president of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad; Rev. D. K. Nesbit, D. D., late pastor of the First Congregational church, Peoria, Illinois; Rev. M. N. Cornelius, D. D., late of the old South Presbyterian church, Washington, D. C.; Rev. John H. Hartman, D. D., late pastor of Euclid Avenue Baptist church, Cleveland, Ohio.; Judge Thomas Beer of Bucyrus, Ohio - all men of much more that state wide reputation, and all of whom owe their uplift, their victorious enthusiasm, to his wise, sympathetic, inspiring care. Men, such as these, may be numbered by the score, running into the hundreds, who look back to the old Hayesville Academy - to Dr. Saunders Diefendorf, with inexpressible gratitude.

Before it be too late, another, more capable, than he who pens these defective broken lines, should record the honorable story of his great work.

Each of these three academy principals won more than state fame, by their ability, their attainments and their devotion to their high calling. Two of them, Professors Andrews and Frauenfelter, won positions somewhat commensurate with their worth. Dr. Diefendorf died at his post.

Haskell Academy located at Loudonville, was built and generously devoted to the cause of education by the late N. Haskell, esquire, a public spirited banker of that enterprising little city. It had a very successful career while under the care of the late Dr. A. J. Scott, M. D., but after he resigned to follow in his chosen profession, the academy was closed,

We omit from this outline of Ashland county schools, special reference to the German Baptist College, located at Ashland. It is a most important member of this local group of institutions, showing healthy and vigorous growth, and giving flattering promise of future and continued usefulness. Its origin; the course it has pursued within church lines; its educational influence has imparted to it a character of more than local or state interest. Within its own church organization, the college is, we believe, esteemed one of the chief educational forces at its command, and therefore passes the limit of our article. To its very able representative on the Advisory Board of this work, the Rev. A. lL. Garber, we cheerfully and confidentially commend the full report of its history.

Green Town Academy, located at Perrysville, was one of the last of these school enterprises in Ashland county. We offer here the merest outlines of its history. Indeed to write the history of each one of the hundreds of Ohio academies is simply impossible. Their real history lies buried in the dust of quiet village graveyards - hidden away in hearts long since at rest. Parental love for ''Little Jim, who was never contented except with his books."' "*Molly,'' ''Bill,"' ''Jenny'' - gray haired grandsires and grandmothers now - the ceaseless longing, tugging at parental heart strings for broader and more generous opportunity for these than their present narrow limits and more narrow surroundings could possibly afford - these were the resistlessly eloquent orators that officiated when the corner stones of these old academy buildings were laid.

We think it was this holy consecration of love that lifted these schools, so cramped and limited in means to such beneficient and far reaching influence, and to which the history of our great state, and of our incomparably broader national history, bears testimony. For several years before the enterprise in Perrysville was undertaken the need of a school of high character, which, at the same time should impart to the social life of the village healthful intellectual and moral impulse, was seriously felt. In September of 1865 a public meeting was called by T. W. Coulter, Esquire. By a previous careful canvass of the community, he had interested such sufficient number of citizens in the movement, as to warrant the opening of a select school for the coming winter; but before the appointed meeting Mr. Coulter died. He had, however, so aroused public spirit to the importance of the subject, that, at the meeting it was resolved to carry on the enterprise, and Miss Rosella Rice, Drs. J. W. Griffith and J. F. Johnston were appointed a committee to employ a teacher and secure a speaker to address a meeting set for the following October. Eugene Pardee of Wooster was present and addressed the October meeting. Mr. James F. McCreedy of Hayesville, visiting with his sister, Mrs. J. F. Johnston, recommended J. C. Sample, at that time a student of Hayesville, for teacher. The opening of the school was set for the 14th of November, to be continued for a term of four months, and Mr. Sample was employed. The school opened at the appointed time with eleven students in attendance, but, during the term, forty-five names were enrolled. School was continued during the spring term. At a meeting of the citizens, shortly after the close of the spring term, a board of directors, constituted of Messrs. J. F. Johnston, J. W. Griffith, Judge John Taylor, A. N. Quick and S. B. Coulter, were elected and instructed to continue the school. The board organized by appointing Judge Taylor president and 8. B. Coulter secretary and treasurer and Mr. Sample was employed for a period of two years at a salary of one thousand dollars per year. Through the two following years, 1867-68, the school grew rapidly in importance, enrolling at their close between seventy and eighty students per term.

At the close of the two years Mr. Sample resigned and G. W. Mays A. B., of Mahoning town, Pennsylvania, was chosen to succeed him. At the close of the year, Mr. Mays resigned, and Professor Sample was recalled to the principalship, and remained in charge until 1893, when he resigned in favor of Rev. E. Schultz of Hagerstown, Maryland. Rev. Schultz took charge, but at the end of the year he abandoned the school, and it was finally closed. The life of the school, thus passes over a period of thirty years. The greater portion of this time the yearly enrollment was from one hundred and fifty to two hundred students, assuring a term attendance of from twenty to thirty for the winter term and often from seventy to one hundred for spring and fall. The school opened November 14, 1865, in the old Presbyterian church building, a house erected in 1836, but abandoned by the church to the school, in the spring of 1866. When Professor Sample resumed control in the fall of 1869, plans were prepared by the board looking to the erection of a building commensurate with the aims and character of the school. Elias Groff and A. N. Quick, the committee appointed to select a site, chose a block of five lots on the western limit of the village. Professor Sample purchased this location, and on it was erected the building at an approximate cost of four thousand dollars. When Professor Sample resigned, the building was occupied by the Lutheran congregation of the village as their place of worship. After a service held in it on a November Sabbath in 1895. the building took fire and was totally consumed. The academy had completed its work.

During its existence between eight and nine hundred young men and women had come under its influence. The purpose of Professor Sample had been to establish and conduct a first class school of the second rank. He succeeded. Students from Perrysville Academy entered a number of the strongest colleges of Ohio in the advanced years and maintained their places with honor.

They also entered such eastern institutions as Lafayette at Easton, Pennsylvania, Harvard in Connecticut, Cornell in New York, with students from the best academies of the east, such as Philips Exeter Academy and Fort Edwards, and fairly divided the honors with their classmates. The college catalogue of Lafayette directly states: ''Greentown Academy, located at Perrysville, Ashland county, Ohio, does work equal to the very best academies in the country."' From among its own students were chosen the assistant teachers, ''foreigners"' being but twice employed.

W. H. Pritchard was teacher and assistant principal for years; C. C. Wolf and his brother N. M. Wolf were teachers in mathematics; A. A. Douglass, R. B. Rice, S. P. Baughman, 8S. F. Griffith, Miss Jennie E. Ayres, were valuable and efficient assistants along with others whose names we do not recall, all of whom in business or in the professions on which they entered have made honorable mark. Of its assistant teachers, one died a full college professor. Two were academy principals; two have since served, each eight years as judges of court. One, after graduating at Harvard, died while serving his second term as county superintendent of schools for Brown county, Kansas. One, a graduate in the school of mining and engineering, Lafayette, Pennsylvania, has been for many years employed on government surveys in the west. Its students are honored members of all the professions. Among them, it numbers one college president; two foreign missionaries; seven ministers of the Gospel; from twenty-five to thirty attorneys; at least as many physicans; fourteen village and school principals; six judges of court; between four and five hundred of its young men and women have been or are school teachers, and how many have passed through college we cannot tell. Young men, from its class rooms, have, in this and neighboring counties, filled all the county offices from coroner and school examiner to the state legislature.

This purports to be a mere outline of the organization, the progress, the results of a single academy. At least eight thousand young men and women have come under the moulding influence of these five Ashland county institutions. Who shall measure this greater force. What an army must have passed out into society during the seventy-five years of the healthy existence of the three hundred Ohio academies to influence with their youthful enthusiasm and ambition the advancing tide of civilization! Again, who shall measure the effect.

Ashland county has from the first participated in the benefits arising from the liberal grants of land made for purposes of education within the limits of Ohio, and from the many acts passed by the general assembly to facilitate and direct the development of a uniform system of schools throughout the state. A more exhaustive history of these matters than is given in the preceding pages would not be profitable to the general reader; yet, as the foundation of all education in the state, no history of the schools of Ashland county should in the absence of authority to tax, schools were supported by the voluntary contributions of the people. Rude schooihouses followed the erection of dwellings quite as rude, and no visions of the grander structures of the coming days wrought in the pupils' mind discontent with the mud-chinked cabin and its rough slab bench, - that glorious seat of learning!

Often the schoolhouse was delayed by the pressing needs of those who had yet to clear the way for Ohio's advancing civilization. The boy and his sire wrought side by side until a clearing was made, when the hght of the schoolmaster's face shone into it with a clear yet fitful ray, not quite so brilliant as those of the sun.

The teachers of Ashland county probably occupied a medial position, as to worth and intellect, between the Yankee teachers of the Western Reserve and those of southwestern Ohio. While the former were often men of culture, it is said of the latter that they '' were selected more on account of their unfitness to perform manual labor than by reason of their intellectual worth,'' and were often ''cripples, wornout old men, and women physically unable or constitutionally too lazy to scotch hemp or spm flax.'' It was a common custom throughout the state to employ male teachers for a winter term and females for a summer term.

It was not to be expected that moral suasion would be a dominant instrumentality in securing discipline in the earlier times, when the near forests supplied sprouts which seemed divinely appointed to meet the ends sought in any well-ordered school. '' Hickory oil was known to be a good lubricator for the mental friction of a schoolboy, and its use in liberal quantities by the master or mistress was rarely the subject of complaint or criticism on the part of parents."'

The teacher, as in other parts of the country, sometimes ''boarded round,"' an ingenious way of converting tuition into sustenance without the intervention of any other circulatory medium than the schoolmaster himself, or schoolmistress, as the case might be.

To the average schoolmaster of this portion of Ohio, in the days when cultivated intellects were as rare as cultivated fields, no words apply more fittingly, perhaps, than those of Goldsmith:

The village all declared how much he knew: "Twas certain he could write and cipher too; Lands he could measure, terms and tides presage, And e'en the story ran that he could gauge.

For, e'en though vanquished, he could argue still; While words of learned length and thundering sound Amazed the gazing rustics ranged around;

In these primitive schools Dilworth's, Webster's, and the United States spelling books were used; for reading books, the Bible, Testament, and the English reader. Some were so stupid as to think that any book they possessed would do for a school reader. Dahboll's, Jess', and Tike's were the arithmetics used, all of which were superseded, about the year 1827, by the Western Calculator. It and Kirkham's grammar were the standards in these branches for many years. In writing metallic pens were unknown; it was an important item for a teacher to make a good quill pen. This will soon be one of the lost arts. The writing exercises were first a straight mark between ruled lines, next a single curve, then a double curve, and the letters taken singly, beginning with ''o'' and following with the simpler ones. Large hand was first taught, and then small hand. The teachers made pens and set copy. For the latter quaint precepts were used: ''A Man of Words, and not of Deeds, is like a Garden full of Weeds.'' ''Command you may your Mind from Play.'' ''Desire Wisdom from Experience,'' ete. _ Windows were made in the old schoolhouses by having the space between the logs cut wider and a narrow sash inserted. This was made to extend to nearly the whole length of one side. Before glass had become plenty, oiled paper was used in place of it. On it the roguish boys marked in letters and hieroglyphics some of the vulgar ideas that were uppermost in their minds.

As time advanced the log schoolhouse gave way to a frame or brick structure, with an improved style of benches and desks. Progress was also made in the theory and practice of teaching. A session in a rural school becomes an important session. Before the free-school system was established, schools were made up by subscription. The teacher first went around with an article of agreement, promising to teach a quarter provided enough pupils could be obtained. Each subscriber agreed to send and pay for the tuition of the number affixed to his name. The usual rate was one dollar and a half per quarter for each pupil.

Many persons in this county have used teaching as a step to something that they considered higher. After a few terms of teaching they betook themselves to a business that appeared more permanent and lucrative.

About the year 1870 an interest in higher education developed among the adherents of the Tunker or German Baptist faith in Ashland and vicinity. There were prosperous farmers who desired to exert some influence in the educational sphere and it crystalized in the erection of Ashland College in 1878, clear of debt. Among the interested parties were H. K. Myers, Austin Moherman, I. D. Parker, George Irvin, Elder Saddler, Cyrus Hoover and Josiah Keim. The doors were opened to students in September, 1879, with S. Z. Sharp as president. The first terms were favored with fair success. A boarding hall was urged upon the trustees, and upon certain promises made by the president, one was erected at a cost of over nineteen thousand dollars, and no means were in hand to pay it. This became a burden and the development of divisions in the church let the institution in the hands of the promoters.

In 1882 the fraternity separated into three branches, and the one known as the Progressives embraced the interests of the trustees who built the college as private parties with the purpose of educating the young of the church. The institution hung in the balance for six years, and was sold by the court in 1888. Members of the Progressive Tunkard or Brethren church bought the buildings, and former trustees of the Conservative Tunkard church purchased a part of the land. The debt on the college was cleared in 1908.

The building is located on a beautiful site in south Ashland, high and dry on Bank street. The college building is one hundred by one hundred feet, three stories and cellar, and was erected at a cost of about fifty thousand dollars. It will accommodate five hundred students. The dormitory is forty by one hundred and ten and will house one hundred and twenty roomers, and is well equipped for convenience and comfort. A commodious gymniasium was built in recent years.

In 1888 it was incorporated as Ashland University. New life entered into the work of the institution as the old debt passed, and recent years were filled with success, cheer and promising prospects.

The courses maintained are the regular classical, scientific, philosiphical, preparatory, normal, divinity, music, fine art, and commercial.

The. college year is divided into three sessions. Students are admitted without regard to ereeds and the highest moral and religious influences are exerted. The accessory societies, associations, ete., of well ordered colleges, are maintained. The work done testifies in the highest praise for thoroughness, practicability and usefulness. Dr. J. Allen Miller, Professor Levi L. Garber and Professor John R. Beal have been the staying strength of the faculty for ten to fifteen years. Other names, well woven in the history of the college are, H. K. Myers, David Bailey, A. L. Garber, Josiah Keim, John Keim, I. D. Bowman, H. R. Holsinger, Eli Yoder and J. L. Gillin.

Written By Aaron L. Garber, Editor Ashland Sun

The introduction and development of the religious and spiritual interests of the people of Ashland, partook of the common practice of pioneer life and primitive christianity. The places of congregating were private residences, barns, and in later years schoolhouses, until it became practical to build churches, and public buildings became available. The courthouse of Ashland, a relic of pioneer methods, yet standing in Ashland, is sacred to the religious memory of many as a meeting place in the development of churches. The pioneer religious teachers were of the Presbyterian, Baptist and Tunker (Brethren) faiths; the last being confined to the country until recent years, and no record of their early activity has been made.

The Presbyterian Church

The first organization of Christians in the locality of Ashland was Presbyterian. Several Scotch-Irish families who located as early as 1814-1816, among whom were Robert Nelson, Abraham Doty, David McKinney, David Pollock and Abel Montgomery. Near the end of 1816, these people were visited by Rev. Joshua Beer, and soon after by Rev. William Matthews, who were candidates for settlement in the locality. In 1817 a society was formed under the name of ''Montgomery,'' the Lord's Supper observed by an assembly of twenty-two persons holding certifiicates of membership and twelve who were received on examination. The organization was completed by the choice of two elders, Robert Nelson and Abraham Doty. A log-cabin church was erected in 1819, one mile west of Ashland, then called Uniontown. In 1820, the name of the assembly was changed to ''Hopeweli.'' The next record of the church May 22, 1822, has Rev. Robert Lee in charge and later Rev. Matthews succeeded, in 1826, for a period of eight prosperous years.

On July 1, 1833, twenty-one members were dismissed to form a church at Clear Creek, seven miles north, and on August 5th, nineteen to establish a church at Orange, five miles northeast; on April 21, 1834, thirty-nine to begin a congregation at Olivesburg, six miles west. Rev. James Robinson succeeded as pastor until 1838. During these years the membership developed in Ashland, and in 1836, a house of worship was erected in the village.

A spirit of opposition began to arise about this time between the country and village membership. The introduction of a choir in the service and abandonment of the practice of lining hymns for singing were made issues, and steps for the organization of a new church were taken, and in 1841 the Hopewell organization was declared dissolved by an authorized committee, and on the 29th day of July, 1841, the membership accepting the purposes of the committee, were organized under the name of The First Presbyterian Society of Ashland, Ohio. The opposition carried a complaint to the Presbytery, and the name of Hopewell was restored to them, and they continued as a separate church for

The first church of Ashland was organized with a membership of fortythree and the elders appointed were Joseph Wasson, Thomas Smith and Samuel Fulton. Rev. James Polland, and Revs. Robert and Samuel Fulton ministered to the church. On June 21, 1844, Rev. James Robinson was installed pastor, receiving five hundred dollars per annum. He continued the relation forty years, his compensation being raised from time to time. He resigned and closed his pastorate January 27, 1884.

A call was extended to Rev. D. B. Duncan and he began his pastoral relation April 8, 1884, and closed it October 26, 1892, nineteen years; he continued to fill the pulpit most of the time for several months afterward.

The Hopewell Presbyterian building erected in 1836, was sold to the Catholic church of Ashland, soon after the death of Rev. Samuel Moody in 1856.

The original building of the First Presbyterian church cost two thousand two hundred dollars. It was enlarged twice, in 1851 and 1858. The present building on the corner of Third and Church streets was completed in 1883, and cost about twenty-two thousand dollars.

In 1887-89, the church passed through much trouble. Some time before a spirit of rivalry arose among leaders of the republican party. The membership of the church became divided in feeling and sentiment; a rival republican paper was established, the Gazette and the church seemed to have been made one of the places of trouble, until those opposed to the course of the pastor, withdrew to the number of sixty, in 1889 and more followed later. These entered into the organization of a Congregational church.

The First Presbyterian Society of Ashland was incorporated by special act of the legislature February 26, 1842, but no organization was effected under the charter. August 1,1882, the matter of incorporation was taken up by J. O. Jennings, R. D. Freer, E. W. Wallack, S. W. Beer, E. S. Briggs and Alax. McDowell as trustees and an organization completed under the articles of incorporation as The First Presbyterian church of Ashland. This sketch was compiled from the church records written by Pastors Robinson and Duncan, orginal papers in possession of J. W. Patterson and county histories.

The Methodist Episcopal Church

This class was organized, in 1823, according to Hills' County History and was composed of seventeen members, eight males and nine females. James Swaney was the first class leader. The organization was effected by Reys. James Hazard and James Haney, at the residence of John Smith, in Ashland then called Uniontown. Services were held at his residence, in his barn during the summer, in a log building used as a schoolhouse.

About the year 1828 the trustees of the class purchased a lot of William Anderson, now a part of the courthouse square, and erected thereon a stone building and occupied it until 1846, when Ashland became the county seat of Ashland county, and the church house was sold and occupied as a courthouse about seven years.

On March 31, 1847, the trustees, William Hough, William Mellington, John Mason, Aron Binckard, John Proudfit, Robert McMurry, Holiday Ames and J. D. Stubbs as trustees, purchased one fourth of an acre, corner of Church and Fourth streets, and in 1848 began services in a new house of worship and used it ten years before it was completed; it was remodeled twice during an occupancy of forty years. The lot was bought for one hundred dollars and sold for one thousand three hundred and fifty dollars, the house being destroyed by fire.

In 1886, steps were taken to build a new house, and a lot was purchased west of the courthouse, a very desirable location.. The new house was dedicated Sunday, June 10, 1888. The new building cost about twenty-four thousand dollars and on the day of dedication eight thousand dollars was subscribed to cover the indebtedness remaining.

This work was done during the labors of pastor G. W. Pepper, a patriotic son of Ireland, who gave the front window, bearing his own and also the names of Parnell, Emmet and Gladstone, defenders of the rights of Ireland. Through the generous gift of Mrs. Mary Free, Ashland was favored with a town clock in the steeple of this church.

The M. E. Church has been an important factor in the religious interests of Ashland, and its record indicates a healthy and uniform development. I. H. Good, long an official member is largely responsible for the facts of this sketch.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church

The history of this church began in 1820, by a minister known as Father Stough, who preached to the Lutheran families scattered in the locality of Ashland for about ten years. He was followed by F. J. Ruth, who was active in pioneer ministry in the locality and filled his calling with much good work and large success for about eight years. During his ministry David Schuh organized an assembly of German Lutherans north of Ashland, which later became a part of the Ashland congregation.

In 1839, Rev. W. J. Sloan came to Ashland and established a regular Synod Lutheran church. He was a brilliant speaker, a determined temperance advocate, and an energetic revivalist. The Methodist church was opened for a revival service, with the fruit of forty-four conversions, who were equally divided between the two. With these twenty-two members and the ten or twelve constituting his following, he organized late in 1839. In the record of members appears the familiar names of McClellan, Maxwell, Grosscup, Imhoff, Frazee, Young, Ruth, etc. The first deacons were W. Imhoff and Weber, and the elders were, A. McClellan and Father Young. The first house of worship involves a bit of moral romance. The burning temperance principles of Rev. Sloan rested upon the brewery on the southwest corner of Orange and Second streets with covetous desire. The pastor, supported by his congregation, boldly made a proposition of purchase; it was accepted, and the result is agreeably expressed by the pastor in 1909, Rev. A. H. Smith, as follows: The mault tubs, the barley mill, the fermenting vats, beer kegs, and beer drinkers too, were rolled out. The building was disinfected and thoroughly sanctified by washing and scrubbing; the partitions were torn out, the walls plastered, and all duly arranged for a holy purpose, when the noble band of Christain men and women entered with seats, pulpit, Bible, hymnbook and catechism to preach and worshiped Jesus Christ after the faith of their fathers.

Great revivals were held:in 1847 and the house became too small, and a new one was erected on the north side of Second street, at a cost of three thousand dollars. This building was destroyed by a disastrous fire which swept the street in 1884. Preparation was at once made to erect a new house, and it was located on the corner of Church and Third streets, east of the court-house square, at a cost of seventeen thousand dollars.

In 1908 contracts were let for additions and improvements at a cost of twenty-three thousand dollars, making it the most elaborate church edifice in the city of Ashland. The dedication services of the rebuilt church were held May 23, 1909.

The Baptist Church

A Baptist congregation was organized in Ashland, Rev. John Rigdon was the regular minister. A few years later he embraced the teaching of Alexander

Campbell, and became an active minister in the Church of the Disciples of Christ. The congregation continued to worship in a church house near Ashland until about 1849, when it ceased to exist. Later Baptist families located in the town and near, under the leadership of Rev. I. N. Carman, built a church house on Walnut street. The congregation was not able to maintain regular service, and the building was disposed of some years ago.

The Christian Church

The history of this organization began about 1829 when John Rigdon and Michael Riddle, a resident in the vicinity of Ashland, organized a congregation of twenty or twenty-one members.

Rev. Rigdon was active as a Baptist minister, but passed under censure at a Baptist Association held in Mifflin township. He was present and heard the announcement of his suspension on a charge of heresy in embracing certain teachings of the Disciples and Alexander Campbell. He there announced that he would preach from a stump nearby at an hour announced. The congregation followed him except his brother ministers and a local elder, and nine were baptized as a result of his preaching. His labors continued to be fruitful. In 1836 a new organization was entered into, which embraced some of the membership of the first organization, and they met in the Whiting house, corner of Orange and Third streets in Ashland, where James Porter preached the first sermon. Meetings were held at the homes of Michael Riddle, John Mykrantz, F. Selcers, ete., until a house of worship was erected on Orange and Fourth streets, in 1843.

The church has enjoyed seasons of great success and occasional difficulties that checked its progress. The old house of worship was replaced by a commodious structure of modern design, and dedicated December 30, 1888. The cost .was eight thousand dollars. The membership in recent years ranged between three hundred and three hundred and seventy. The following pastors have served the church:

The Emanuel Church Of The Evangelical Association

During about thirty-six years previous to the organization of this church, ministers of the association preached in and about Ashland to the scattered families of that faith. In the '40s and '50s, Bishop John Seybert, in his missionary tours, frequently stopped at the home of Joseph Heltman, west of Ashland, and preached to the scattered believers, and the pastors of the Richland circuit continued this ministering up to about 1860. About this time the membership was placed under the control of the Wayne circuit and its pastors who preached in the Ashland courthouse and in private homes. A church house was completed in 1874 and dedicated by Bishop Dubbs. The lot and house on Third street cost about six thousand dollars.

The United Brethren Church

The history of this society begins in 1867. Rev. R. Watson was serving a charge in the Western Reserve Conference and organized a class of eighteen members in Ashland. Jacob Stem was the first class leader, and William Binkard, Joseph Moore and Joseph Bechtel were the first trustees. The cirenit minister preached in the Baptist church, courthouse, the Disciple church and wherever opportunity opened the way. A church building became a necessity and in January, 1870, a house of worship was dedicated on east Walnut street. The development of the organization was constant with the exception of some agitation on the subject of secret societies and the withdrawal of nearly one hundred members in 1887. In 1894 a new church edifice was commenced and completed in about three years. The sisters of the society purchased a lot on the southeast corner of Center and Washington streets, and their enterprise inspired the whole congregation to determined effort. The trustees then were, H. T. Imhoff, J. L. Corts, J. P. Michael, S. Stauffer, and C. A. MclIlrain. The new church was dedicated on November 15, 1896. The cost was eight thousand five hundred and ninety-six dollars.

The architecture is modern and_ tasty. Further improvements and additions were made in 1908, and rededicated February 14, 1909. In 1905 a handsome parsonage was built on a lot just east of the church, with modern equipment at a cost of twenty-four hundred dollars without cost of lot. The membership in 1909 was two hundred and seventy. : encouraged by his predecessors, and urged that all such methods be abandoned on the ground that they were not of the Lord. He proposed that pledges be taken to pay a sum equal to one cent per day. This plan was adopted and from that time suppers and socials for moneymaking were a thing of the past, and the society has prospered as never before, and rapidly discharged its financial obligations.

The Brethren Church

This faith is known in many localities as the progressive Tunkers or German Baptists. During the years of 1878-82 there was great agitation among leaders of the German Baptist congregations over rules of dress and the authority of elders. A division into three independent conferences was the result, in 1882. In the summer of 1879, after the completion of Ashland College, a society was organized in Ashland, and worshiped in the chapel of the college. The majority of the membes of this organization decided to cast their lot with the progressive element in the divide. The heavy debt on the college made it an undesirable property for adoption by the main body of the Tunkers, and it was espoused by the progressive people, who continued to use the chapel as a place of worship, with the exception of a short period, to the present.

The rule of the Tunker churches was to elect from its membership men whose lives were exemplary and who were apt to teach as elders, and the ministerial responsibility was frequently divided between two or three. Before the division, the Ashland Brethren church was served by S. Z. Sharp, S. H. Bashar, John Worst, and Edward Mason. After the change, S. H. Bashar, John Worst, Edward Mason, H. R. Holsinger, Ei Yoder. About 1886 W. C. Perry took the work and Isaac Kilhefner succeeded for a brief period. A. L. Garber became minister and continued in the service until 1894. §S. H. Harrison followed. The work was associated with the college by the church conference soon after and J. Allen Miller became pastor and remained in charge to the present, with the exception of two years absence in which Zed H. Copp served, and another year by John L. Gillin. The membership is about one hundred and fifty, and the society is in a prosperous state.

St. Edwards Catholic Church

As early as 1853, Father Brennan, of Wooster visited Ashland and said mass in private homes, and he was followed by Fathers O'Neil, Maloney, and Rev. J. F. Gallagher. In 1863 the Hopewell Presbyterian church dissolved and sold their building to the Catholic church for six hundred dollars. This is the proper date of the organization. In 1865 Rev. J. Khun, of Mansfield, visited the church about once a month. The church was repaired at an expense of about five hundred dollars.

In 1867 Rev. A. Magenhann took charge and during his ministry the old church burnt and a substantial brick, thirty-six by fifty feet, was erected in 1870.. Im 1872, Rev. M. Schmidt, of Loudonville, took charge. He was

The German Lutheran Church

This congregation stands in association with the Evangelical Lutheran Joint Synod of Ohio and other states. It was organized in 1865 and in 1868, a good brick building was erected on the corner of Broad and Main streets. The first minister was Rev. Schmidt. The interests of this organization has taken on new life. The inevitable dissolution was coming upon the society as a result of clinging to the German language in its service, in the midst of a developing English community. In recent years the services were conducted in both languages, and a new era of progress has entered its history.

The first pastor was called in 1867, Rev. Schmidt; 1872, Rev. Muller; 1880, Rev. Graubner; 1881, H. Hunsicker; 1884, G. A. Harter; 1886, J. A. Shulze; 1894, E. Mack; 1895, E. Ahl; 1897, A. Benzine. The pulpit was vacant for several years. In 1904 Rev. L. M. Mohrhoff became pastor, and continues in charge to date. The church was remodeled about 1906 at a cost of twenty-five hundred dollars.

The First German Evangelical Reform Church

On Monday, November 20, 1865, twelve persons assembled at the home of Louis Scherff, in Ashland, to unite themselves into a church society, and adopted the foregoing name. 'Trustees were elected as follows: Louis Scherff, Louis Call, Jacob Kreichbaum; clerk, Charles W. Harmany. A frame church was erected on Sandusky street in the year 1867. The continued use of the German language alienated the young people and the strength of the society diminished, and on January 1, 1909, the property was sold and the proceeds devoted to general mission work, and the organization ceased to exist.

The First Congregational Church

This organization was effected in 1889. On account of difficulty in the First Presbyterian church of Ashland, sixty members withdrew; and after due consideration, they decided to form themselves into a Congregational church.

A delegation was sent to Mansfield to confer with Dr. Hubbell, pastor of the Congregational church. On May 14, the committee made its report, and a motion carried to form a Congregational church. At a meeting, June 4, officers were elected as follows: J. O. Jennings, Martin Mason, J. C. Sloan, U. S. Shelly, G. W. Urie, and G. H. Topping, deacons; R. C. Kinnaman, R. M. Campbell, E. S. Briggs, G. W. Ryall, E. A. Potter and E. P. Smith, trustees. A. G. Damp was chosen clerk and J. O. Jennings, treasurer.

Services were held in the opera house for some time, the first regular services of the organized church occurred June 7, conducted by Dr. Hubbell. Rey. J. M. Merrell was called as pastor.

Presbyterian Church- Aghland-O Lutheran Church, Ashland Evangelical Church, Ashland

Steps were taken to erect a church home. In November, 1890, the new building, a heavy. and elegant brick structure of Gallatian architecture, was occupied, and large suecess has attended the wrok. In 1895 Rev. S. B. Hershey became pastor; 1897, W. G. Schoppe; 1901, C. W. Wilson ; 1905, Roy E. Bowers; 1908, William Smith.

The Church Of Jesus

A small society organized a few years. past which recognizes no denominational lines in the Christian faith; and no rules of discipline outside of the Bible. A. L. Garber is one of the active workers.

The Salvation Army

The Army opened its work in Ashland in 1885, and for years the second story hall, corner of Orange and Second streets, opposite the postoffice, was used for a meeting place, and was begun by Captain and Mrs. Garner. Its forces held up for some years, then weakened, and services were abandoned for a period.

In 1902 or 1903, Captain Holygrefe took up the work, full of determination and superior power, and succeeded in recruiting a large following. In 1904 a convenient frame building was erected on East Main street for a meeting hall and officers' quarters. Soon after the dedication of the hall, the captain fell, dying amidst his successful work and ''in the harness.'' His remains were lovingly laid to rest in the Ashland cemetery, a lasting inspiration to his comrades to press the battle on. The workers die but the work goes on. The living rooms are nicely furnished; and in 1909, Captain Baddy is in charge; the Army is prospering.

No Protestant Episcopal church parish was ever founded in Ashland county, but services of the church have frequently been held there, usually at the home of Dr. and Mrs. Clark. Notwithstanding their isolation, they have ever remained steadfast and loyal to the faith once delivered to the saints.

The Press And The Legal And Medical Professions

Long before its career as a separate and distinct part of the commonwealth began, Ashland county recognized the vital importance of having newspapers to dissemmate its news, mould public opinion and to promote its growth and prosperity. Many able men have been connected with its journalistic enterprises, men of influence and power, who have given to their papers prestige that

The first newspaper established in the county was the Mohican Advocate and Hanover Journal, started at Loudonville in October, 1834. The first paper published in Ashland - ''The Herald'' - appeared a few months later, in December of the same year. It was édited by J. C. Gilkinson and had a brief existence of eight months. Its successor was the Ohio Globe, published by Joshua Ruth, a veteran printer who for many years was employed on the Ashland Times. The Globe continued to revolve only one year.

The Western Phoenix, which preceded the Ashland Times was the first Whig paper in Ashland county. It was established in the presidential campaign of 1836 and was edited by Samuel McClue. It continued to soar about one year.

The Ashland Standard was the first paper established after the organization of the county in 1846. It represented the bank currency ring of the democratic party and in the same year another democratic paper, The Ashland Democrat, was established, to represent the hard money wing of the party. The rivalry between the two papers closed with their consolidation in 1848, under the name of The Ohio Union, with H. S. Knapp as editor. In 1855 this paper was sold to Collins W. Bushnell, whe changed its name to Ashland Union. In 1857 Mr. Knapp repurchased the paper and continued its publication until 1860, when it was sold to John Jacobs. The Union then passed through the successive ownerships of B. F. Nelson and John M. Landis, then to Landis Brothers. In 1868 the paper was purchased by Dr. George Hill, who became state representative. He changed its.name to the States and Union. In 1887 the paper was sold to B. F. Nelson and W. H. Gates, the latter of whom is now its owner. Its name was then changed to ''The Ashland Press.'"' William T. Allerson and William G. Heltman then succeeded to its ownership. Then W. T. Allerson became its sole owner, and under his able management it became a power. Later W. H. Gates entered into partnership and in turn became sole owner of the Press, and is its owner today, having long and faithfully served his county as a newspaper man and public official. Its editorial management is in charge of Hon. A. P. Black, state representative, and its city editor is Edgar Koehl. It is strongly and ably edited and is recognized as one of the best weekly papers in the state.

The Ashlander which followed the Phoenix as a whig paper was established in 1850 by William B. McCarty. At the close of the presidential campaign of 1852 it was purchased by L. Jeff Sprengle, who changed its name to that carried today, ''The Ashland Times,'' which is the oldest of any paper in the county under one name. The Times has seen Ashland county grow from a village of twelve hundred people to a prosperous and enterprising city of seven thousand, and has had a part in that history. It was founded by L. Jeff Sprengle, a sturdy whig patriot. Its first editor was William Osborn an honored citizen afterwards elevated to judicial position. Under his management the paper began a term in the councils of the whig party. Mr. Osborn retired in 1855 to devote himself to the practice of the law. Josiah Locke had editorial charge of the paper a short time and then Mr. Sprengle took upon himself the editorial duties of the paper as well as its management. At the birth of the republican party the Times espoused its principles and in the dark days of the rebellion struck sturdy blows for the cause of union and liberty. During his adminis- tration Mr. Sprengle was assisted by Mrs. Sprengle, J. L. Sanborn, J. J. Ashenhurst and Henry Robinson. In.1876 the paper was purchased by Joseph E. Stubbs, now president of Nevada State University. He was succeeded by his brother, William G. Stubbs, who ably managed the paper. In 1883 the paper passed into the possession of W. H. Reynolds and George Hildebrand. This partnership continued up to October 29, 1887. When in a justice court at Nankin, where he had gone to protect a poor man from fraud and oppression, W. H. Reynolds was cut down by an assassin's bullet. The tragic death of this fearless and outspoken soldier threw the management upon its present editor, George Hildebrand, who had entered the office as an apprentice in 1877, and has filled every position in it, being absent only from his post when he served as state senator from 1889 to 1893.

In 1887 the Ashland Gazette was started by Thomas M. Beer, who owned it up to his death. It was managed and edited by his sons, Frank R. Beer and Harry C. Beer, who later started a daily. This paper continued up to August, 1893, when it was consolidated with the Ashland Times, under the ownership of the Ashland Printing Company. George Hildebrand continued in the editorial and business management, and this position he holds today in addition to his duties as postmaster. The publication of the daily has continued and it occupies a leading place in the newspaper field of the state. Charles L. Bowman is city editor and the foreman of its work room is A. A. Kerr, who has been continuously with the paper for thirty-four years.

In the southern part of the county there are two strong and ably managed papers, the Loudonville Democrat, owned and edited by John P. Bowman and the Loudonville Advocate, owned and edited by H. E. Zimmerman.

William A. Duff

William A. Duff, newspaper man and short story writer, resides in Ashland, in the old fashioned brick residence at the corner of Center and Walnut streets, built by Jonas Freer more than sixty years ago, and in which Mr. Duff was born. He is the son of Captain John W. Duff, who at the outbreak of the Civil war was one of the few loyal people in Pleasant Hill, Missouri. Captain Duff served four years as captain of Company M, Sixth Kansas Volunteer Cavalry. While he was away at the war, Confederate troops destroyed his carriage factory which was full of finished work. Mr. Duff's maternal grandfather, Lafayette Markley, was a soldier in the Mexican war. Mr. Duff's mother died when he was three years old and he was reared by Mr. and Mrs. Jonas Freer, noble people whose memory will be cherished. Mrs. Freer gave a ninety-three acre farm for the Ashland County Children's Home, a soldiers' monument, a town clock and various other, gifts.

Mr. Duff, on account of ill health, did not finish his college course at Ohio Wesleyan University, but went into newspaper work, and was editor of the Ashland Daily News, the first daily paper published in the town. Afterward for over eight years he was on the Mansfield Daily News reportorial staff and for three and one-half years was city editor of the Mansfield Daily Shield. For

He has devoted considerable time to historical research in the preparation of special articles and dialect stories. | He was united in marriage June 12, 1894, with Carrie C. Cowan, daugkter of Dr. Frank Cowan and granddaughter of former United States Congressman Jacob P. Cowan. The children are Helen Elizabeth, born June 3, 1903, and John William, born September 26, 1905.

The Legal Profession

Before the erection of Ashland county, there were but few regularly admitted attorneys in Ashland. Elias Slocum, Sterling G. Bushnell, Silas Robbins, Jr., Erastus N. Gates and J. W. Smith, of Ashland, and Nicholas M. Donaldson. of Loudonville, attended to the legal business of the county, which was principally before the justices of the peace, but occasionally they conducted trials in the court of common pleas at Mansfield. |

Since Ashland became the seat of justice for this county, the resident attorneys have been: Erastus N. Gates, James W. Smith, John S. Fulton, Bolivar W. Kellogg, John H. McCombs, William A. Hunter, Jonathan Moffitt, James Sloan, John W. Rankin, John Clark, Harvey H. Johnson, Ohio F. Jones, Willard Slocum, S. W. Shaw, J. Vincent, A. M. Fulton, Albert L. Curtis, Alexander Porter, Thomas J. Kenney, William Osborn, John W. Fry, Almer R. Campbell, A. V. Watts, S. D. Gault, J. S. Wertman, F. C. Semple, T. J. Smilie, Geo. W. Geddes, Nicholas M. Donaldson, of Loudonville; Wm. Henry, of Savannah; and subsequently, Thomas J. Bull, of Loudonville; Amos Norris, of Orange; George W. Carey, of Rowsburgh; John J. Gurley, of Hayesville; William Cowan, of Green; Francis Kenyon, of Savannah, and John Scott, Jr., of Hayésville, became practicing attorneys.

About the year 1849, William B. Allison, T. J. Kenny, George W. Hill, George H. Parker, William B. McCart, and Robert Beer were admitted, and, shortly after, the list was enlarged by the names of John J. Jacobs, Robert M. Campbell, C. S. Van Arnam, J. D. Stubbs, and William T. Johnston; and has since been increased by the addition of the names of George B. Smith, H. S. Knapp, H. 8. Lee, J. P. Devor, John D. Jones, D. S. Sampsell, J. Hahn, John McCray, Henry McCray, Byron Stilwell, William O. Porter, Peter S. Grosscup, and Charles Dorland.

The Medical Profession Miscellaneous

There is much of interest concerning events which have left their impress upon the annals of the county that has been presented in the meetings of the Historical Society, the Pioneer Society and on other occasions of similar nature. From these we have culled various items.

Meeting Of Ashland Historical Society

The seventh annual meeting of the Ashland County Pioneer Society was held at the courthouse in Ashland, August 18, 1881, President Hugh Burns, presiding. Colonel B. Burns, of Mansfield, made the address of the occasion, from which the following notes were taken: He gave a succinct account of the poverty and trials of the early settlers, their habits and customs, their toils and amusements, and concluded by summing up their great achievements. He said sixty-one years ago last June, a hatless, shoeless, little boy passed up the streets of Ashland (then Uniontown) with his father and family and went on to the place since known as the Kelly farm. We were then an unbroken family of seven, but now all the links are broken save your president, the oldest, and myself, the youngest of the family. We came on to the Kelly place in 1820 and moved on to the Hazlett farm in 1821. After several removals finally settled on the place known as the Burns farm, which my father occupied until he died.

Among the earliest history of events, pioneers were spoken of and the very first was Cain, who pioneered into the land 'of Nod, and found a wife. Noah was the pioneer ship builder. Abraham was a pioneer, going out not knowing whither he went. Jacob was also a pioneer. He came to a well, met his cousin Rachel, kissed her, and lifted up his voice and wept. John the Baptist, preceding the Messiah, was a pioneer in the wilderness. Christopher Columbus conceived the idea that there was a western continent and he became a pioneer.

Washington was a pioneer. Benjamin Franklin was also a pioneer in drawing lightning from the clouds. Thomas Paine was a pioneer. Robert Fulton, the man who first applied the power of steam as a propelling power to vessels was a pioneer. Morse was a pioneer 'in utilizing electricity and giving to it the capacity of speech. The speaker here gave an anecdote, to wit, when Morse visited Washington to obtain an appropriation to assist in putting up the wire for his telegraph he consulted John Spencer, then one of the members of Tyler's cabinet, who inquired how much it would cost the government to send a ''package'' by telegraph to New York? Like the Irishman who kissed the telegraph pole because he wanted to send a kiss to his wife.

The speaker said that the village of Ashland was laid out in 1815, and then called Uniontown, but was changed to Ashland at the request of Francis Graham, who was obliged to have another name for the postoffice. He then gave a tribute to the memory of Father Graham who has recently died.

Prominent Persows And Families

Of the many prominent men who have lived in Ashland county the late Senator William B. Allison should be first mentioned. He was born in Perry township Ashland county, in 1829. After receiving a common school and other preparatory training, he entered Western Reserve College, and after graduation commenced the study of law. In 1857 he removed to the state of Iowa and took up his residence in Dubuque. After a-short residence there, he was elected to congress and. after serving a term or two in the house of repesentatives, he was elected to the United States senate in 1873, where he served for over thirty years and until his death. His public record is unblemished, and bears unequivocal evidence of conscientious devotion to his work as a United States senator.

Another distinguished former citizen of Ashland county is Judge P. S. Grosscup of Chicago. He is a native of Milton township, Ashland county, and graduated from Wittenberg College in 1872, and from the law department of the Boston University in 1873. Upon his return to Ashland, he entered the practice of law as a partner of Judge William Osborn. Later he removed to Chicago and is now a United States judge.

A prominent family in Ashland county was that of Thomas Beer, who located there in 1859. He was at one time pastor of the Presbyterian church at Jeromeville. He was the father of thirteen children, two of whom died in childhood. One of his sons was the late Senator Beer of Ashland county, another is Judge Thomas Beer, of Bucyrus. His children, upon arriving at the age of maturity, entered upon the business of life with energy, and attracted the good opinion of the public because of their ability and integrity.

Prior to 1845, farmers grew but little clover on account of the difficulty they experienced in getting the seed hulled, as no machinery for that purpose had prior been invented. But, as with other things, an invention came at last, and the inventor's name, in this case, was Martin Henry Mansfield, a native of the city of New York. At the time of his invention of the clover huller, he was a resident of Juniata county, Pennsylvania. He later came to Ohio, where his huller seemed to be more appreciated. Still later he became a resident of Ashland and erected shops in which he manufactured his hullers. The success of his machine caused clover to be generally raised by farmers. It was Mr. Mansfield's pride, not only to be a successful inventor but to aid the farmer in producing a valuable crop, as ''He that causes one blade of grass to grow, where it had not previously .grown,'' he is surely a benefactor of his race. After having accomplished much, Mr. Mansfield died April 4, 1880. Mrs. S. G. Weist, a daughter of Mr. Mansfield's, and a gifted lady, is now engaged in writing a history of the town of Ashland, in which undertaking she has the best wishes of the author of this volume.

Among others prominent in the business interests of Ashland in former years are: Sheets, Markley, Croft, Montgomery, Kuykendall, Doty, Urie, Smith, Clark, Nelson, Graham, Davis, Jones, Burns, Riddle, Miller, McNulty, Gates, Shaffer, Gamble; Smith, Hull, Croft, Antibus, Knapp, Winbigler, Sprengle, Brubaker, Skillings, Slocum, Swineford, Maize, Andrews, Clarke, Cowan, Freer, Kenny, Crall, Jennings, and others not now recalled.

The Copus-Zeimer Monuments

At a meeting of the Ashland County Historical Society held Saturday September 10, 1881, a movement was inaugurated to erect monuments to Martin Ruffner, James Copus and the Zeimers, killed by the Indians, September 15, 1812. <A committee was appointed to solicit funds for that purpose and succeeded in getting a sum sufficient to purchase two monuments, one of which was placed at the graves of Martin Ruffner and the Zeimers, the other at the burial place of James Copus and the soldiers who were killed defending his home. At the suggestion of the late Rosella Rice a cenotaph was inscribed on the latter monument to Johnny Appleseed.

These monuments were unveiled with appropriate ceremony on Friday, September 15, 1882, in the presence of over six thousand people. The day of the unveiling was pleasant and everything passed as pleasantly as the committee could have desired. All present seemed satisfied with the ceremonies and appreciated the purpose of the meeting - that of doing honor to those who had suffered death at the hands of the cruel savages. The exercises were held on the Copus hill and were opened with music by the Mt. Zion band, prior to the unveiling. After the announcement of the program by Dr. S. Riddle, the foliowing resolution was offered by A. J. Baughman, of Mansfield, and unanimously adopted :

Resolved, That a vote of thanks be tendered on the part of the citizens of Ashland and Richland counties, to Dr. Riddle, who first offered the resolution to erect these monuments; alse to Daniel Kauffman, Benjamin Croninger, Solomon Vail and Major G. W. Urie who have taken such an active part in carrying out

The following address was delivered by the Hon. Henry C. Hedges, of Mansfield at the unveilng of the Ruffner-Zeimer monument, September 15, 1882.

Address By Henry C. Hedges

The exercises held this forenoon at the Copus farm as well as the program for this afternoon, remind us that an essential quality of the remarks by any one person must needs be brevity - even at the expense of sentiment.

Martin Ruffner over whose dust and in whose memory we here and now unveil this monument at the distance of seventy years from the date of his tragic death in his heroic, but hopeless defense of the Zeimer family, was no common man, no ordinary personage. It is said to contemplate what possibilities of good to and for all the settlers of the valleys of the Mohican in the early days of perplexity, distress and danger were forever lost by his death.

We have no authentic account of his ancestors, but he was of a German-saxon blood and this strain of blood coursing his veins gave assurance of tireless energy, calm courage and unquestioned fortitude.

His was a nature free from the uneasy or painful emotion produced by an apprehension of danger, on the contrary he was fearless and bold. This much we know of him. He emigrated from Shenandoah county, Virginia, in 1807, to Fairfield county, Ohio, and thence in 1812 to this immediate locality, then a part of the unorganized county of Richland. A man of wonderful physical strength, endurance and activity, of large kind heart and generous soul, in every fact such an one as we would look for if we were seeking for a pioneer, one who goes before to remove obstructions and prepare the way for others.

There was nothing of rudeness or roughness in Martin Ruffner. There was in him the strength and courage of a man, but there was also in him the gentleness and heart of a woman. I make mention in this public way of these dominant traits in his character, as I have learned them from the fathers of some of you - the generations now gone - because there is with me an apprehension, a conviction, that by reason of some poetic license or liberty taken by writers of our own day, touching the lives and achievements of our first settlers, free rein has been given the imagination, and invention has been resorted to, so that unless we are exceedingly cautious and careful, we may wholly misapprehend the true worth, the genuine character of Martin Ruffner. .

He never degenerated in his conversation, or musings into recklessness of statement, or impiety of thought. True, he was unlearned and artless, and did not understand the cause and effect, and never could have framed in words such beautiful description of the brilliantly colored arch spanning the regions of the heavens, opposite to the sun, as Ralph Waldo Emerson, when he apostrophised the rainbow ''as the beautiful daughter of the morning, springing from the invisible.'' But the eyes of Martin Ruffner's soul, as he looked up and into the sky, as he gazed through the bright sunlight and through the pearl drops, on the bow of promise, saw all the same beauty, and grandeur, and glory, so beautifully and exactly described by the philosopher of Concord.

I shall have no care of my friends to recite to you the incidents in the early history of this locality, which led to, and became a part of the tragic events, which were enacted in September, 1812, in and about the cabin home erected on the spot where we are now assembled. I shall not undertake to picture to you the untamed savage and his remorseless cruelties nor shall I more than state the fact, that then as now, not all of cruelty nor all of barbarity was perpetrated by the Indian. There were some white men then.

The story in detail, as well as in the main is familiar to you all. What 1 do want to do in the presence of this unnumbered multitude of the sons and daughters of men is to emphasize that seventy years ago in the sparse settlements, in the homes of the pioneers, all the offices of love and humanity were promptly, lovingly performed and that our fathers before us failed and we who today live on the active theatre of life, have long delayed to do justice, to worthily mark the ground where rests, and for years has reposed, the mortal part of an heroic man. Tardily have we done our duty, yet better late than never. Not so Martin Ruffner, you will recall readily in your memories the immediate antecedents of his death, and from them we may learn with what alacrity he ran, though danger and death were about him, to the help and succor of his neighbor.

There was not the slightest hesitation. It was enough for Martin Ruffner that there was a possibility, a probability, of harm overtaking and empoweting weakness and innocence - the weakness of old age and the helplessness of youth, the innocence of venerable gray hairs, and the security of maidenly modesty and beauty. Then the fact was made known to him that the red man of the forest had drawn tight the strings of his bow, and refilled his quiver with death-dealing arrows, he took no thought of his personal safety, but his eye traveled over hill and valley and rested upon the cabin home of the venerable Zeimer. To think with him was to act. His presence might save the father from torture and death, and the daughter from a fate far worse. He reached it, and life and safety seemed secured with his coming. The foe came also, but Ruffner's presence was proof against direct open attack. Like the Greeks of old, bearing gifts, they gain admittance, they accept the proffered hospitality, they are about to eat the bread and salt of the white man prepared by his daughter, when at a signal, instead they commence the bloody butchery! For once Ruffner was deceived and taken unawares. His trusty rifle was near, but time was too precious to bring it to the shoulder, the tomahawk was casting its shadow as it flashed above the gray grown Zeimer. Ruffner discharged his rifle at the foremost Indian, who fell, a bleeding corpse, at his feet; and instantly clubbing his rifle he dealt out several blows on the savages, and another Indian lay prostrate upon the floor; but in the act of raising his rifle for another assault, it struck a joist above his head, the blow was arrested. The Indians, taking advantage of this mishap, fired upon him, and the gallant Ruffner fell to rise no

Brave, courageous soul, today we hail you! Many, many moons have waxed and waned since you and death here held the dark encounter. Seventy times have the several seasons made their circling rounds since your strong arm was raised to protect, and itself struck down; but the memory of your unselfish life has not and shall not perish from the earth. Today we cut it on the enduring granite, engrave it on the imperishable bronze - aye, more, it is indelibly written on the tablets of the hearts of a vast multitude of men and women whose homes and hearthstones are on the hillsides and in the valleys of the Mohican.

Friends, when the granite has crumbled into dust, when the bronze has perished by the elements, kind words, good and great deeds shall still survive. So Martin Ruffner - Pioneer, Hero, Man.