"Over the Hill to the Poor House"

The Marietta Times, Thursday, January 20, 1881

A  Day Among the Inmates.

Dilapidated condition of the Buildings, &c.

"Rattle his bones, over the stones,

Only a pauper, whom nobody owns."

Last Thursday morning, on invitation of Director John Strecker, Jr., the writer, in company with J. W. Fitch, Esq., of the Register, passed the day among the paupers at our county Infirmary. The journey to and from the institution was made in Mr. Strecker's sleigh, to which was harnessed his fast nag, which skimmed over the crisp snow and landed us at the institution in short order. 

It would be difficult to describe one's feelings as he enters the wooden archway which spans the main entrance. Only those who have experienced that pleasant grave-yard feeling on entering institutions of this kind can appreciate it. We found everything pertaining to the management of the Infirmary in apple-pie order. Mr. and Mrs. Willis, the Superintendent and Matron, having had years of experience in conducting institutions like this, everything necessarily moved with clock-like precision.

After thawing out before the large fire in the sitting room, which was very comfortable after our ride, and would have been much more enjoyable had we known just when the loose plastering overhead was going to fall, we started on a tour of inspection headed by Mr. Strecker, with the following result.

The Main Building,

which is used as living rooms by the superintendent and employees, was built some fifty years ago. It is a frame structure two stories high and far advanced in rottenness and decay. The roof is leaky, while the ceilings in every room are literally falling to the floor, and a vault-like smell prevailed throughout that strongly reminded one of subterranean abodes. The floors are rotten and rickety and the greatest care was necessary as we picked our way through the rooms to avoid an accident. 

In the parlor, the fire-place had secured a divorce from the balance of the building and was slowly but surely leaving it; a fire in the grate we were told was impossible on account of the smoke which crawled through from the thousand and one cracks and crevices. How a family raised and nurtured in the midst of home comforts could stay for any length of time in this old death trap was a mystery which I could not understand.

A visit to the cellar disclosed the fact that the building was kept perpendicular by a series of props placed so close together as to render navigation extremely dangerous in the dark. Light shone through here and there from innumerable cracks and gaps made by the settling of the building. During the cold weather a few days back, everything in the cellar and house was frozen through, even a bucket of water before the fire in the Superintendent's sleeping room being frozen to the depth of several inches. 

The sash in the building are rendered useless by age, and even putty refuses to associate with the decayed old frame, hence the greatest of care must be exercised in placing the glass in position or left out altogether. How in the name of humanity the officers of the institution are expected to survive in this mildewed, rotten old hulk is more than our philosophy could explain. 

In a little 8x10 room adjoining the main building we found three old ladies whose combined ages reached 260 years, all helpless, huddled together in this illy-ventilated pen with scarcely room to move about. In the next room, without fire of any kind, was two beds, but only one was occupied by an old lady; still farther along in the same building we find a larger room occupied by five old men whose combined ages are 407 years, among them John Springer, who is now in his 111th year. These folks were comfortably fixed, having a stove in the room and plenty of space for exercise, but the lack of ventilation was evident and the same old peppery smell noticeable elsewhere was found here. Leaving the main building we enter a

Low, Squatty Brick Building,

which contains six little rooms or cells, all of which are heated by a stove in the hall. The inmates of this building are quite a study. An old negro, 82 years old, crazy as a loon, sits by a stove and preaches while another, a born idiot, with unmeaning eyes, stares at the floor.

Here in one room is an old Lutheran minister, scrupulously clean and neat, unable to speak a word of English - a pauper - we thought as we looked at the dejected and care-worn countenance of the old man that there must be a screw loose in the religious society that would allow a man to spend the best years of his life in their service and when old and helpless turn him over to the tender mercies of a county infirmary among idiots and half-wits. Another building adjoining this contained several old men and women, most of them in their dotage. Everything was clean and tidy, but all complained of the cold; their bed rooms were heated by a stove in the hall. 

From this building we follow a plank walk and come to what is called the new jail building which is two-story high, and the only decent building on the grounds. The lower story is occupied by idiots, one particular sad case being a little girl who is confined by a leather strap around her waist. Upstairs we found ten old men, most of them in bed; all of them complained of the cold. The same sickening smell was noticeable here as elsewhere. From this building we cross the yard, pass the kitchens, and reach the 

Old Jail Building,

a 2-1/2 story brick, which is fast crumbling away. The corners have dropped out, and the yawning gaps are filled with rags to keep out the biting cold. This building is the most wretched and squalid of any we have yet examined. The inmates pay no attention as we enter; they are mostly idiots, and long imprisonment in this loathsome place, crawling with vermin, has in a manner blunted what little sensibility they had left.

Of the 78 inmates now provided for, nearly two-thirds are too old and feeble to help themselves or leave their rooms.

We thought as we looked upon the misery huddled together in this putrid atmosphere, can it be possible that in a civilized community where plenty is found in almost every household, and want is comparatively unknown, that this is what we call charity? Can it be possible that you, the tax-payers of Washington County, that while you enjoy the peace and comfort of your cozy firesides, you are aware that out in the Infirmary are scores of helpless men, women, and children suffering and dying for want of proper accommodations, living in buildings in which no tender-hearted tax-payer would quarter his dumb animals? Shame on the economy that tramples the life out of our worthy poor. Shame on the economy that places human beings on a level with brutes.

Think of it my friend while you sit in ease and comfort in the midst of your family. The day may not be far distant when adversity and sickness may overtake you and yours, and as a last refuge you may have to enter the Washington County Poor House - poor in more than name. Think of these things and then enter your vigorous protest against such monstrous inhumanity now and forever more. Give the pauper at least a decent shelter in which to eke out the few remaining days of his life.

Pen fails to describe the utter helplessness of  these poor people. But for the vigilant care of Mr. and Mrs. Willis during the late cold snap, the news would have gone out to the world "that quite a number of paupers had perished from the cold in the Washington County Poor House" and yet at one time in their lives these people were just as much respected as any of today.

We learned that it required about 200 cords of wood and 3600 bushels of coal to keep the institution comfortable. The barns, pig-pens, cattle sheds and outhouses generally are in splendid condition, the dumb brutes receiving far better shelter than the poor humans. The buildings as they stand today are a disgrace to every tax-payer in the county, and efforts should be made at once to secure new ones.

The Directors and Officers

do all in their power to make the inmates comfortable, but comfort in such houses is nearly impossible. We watched the poor creatures eat their dinner, after which, sick at heart, and sorry that we had made the trip, we returned home, thankful that Providence had given us health and strength, and that we were not an inmate of the Washington County Poor House.

  

Mrs. Sophia Wolford Is Taken To Athens

The Marietta Daily Times, October 3, 1904

Mrs. Sophia Wolford, who since last Thursday evening has been violently insane having at that time attempted to roast her child by putting it in an oven, was given a hearing on a lunacy charge late Saturday afternoon.

After carefully examining the case, the Probate Judge pronounced the woman insane. Her case is a peculiar one. At times she raves, while at other periods she seems to be of sound mind.

Sheriff Morrow took her to the Athens State Hospital today.

Lizzie Beal

The Marietta Times, October 26, 1882

A dispatch from Columbus to the Cincinnati Enquirer of Tuesday contains the following: "Six months ago a young woman named Lizzie Beal came here from Athens, her people now residing in Marietta. She has been engaged about town as a domestic, and formed the acquaintance of Lucas, a cigar-maker. He left a month ago, and it has developed in the last week or so that the girl was in an interesting condition and told certain parties she was going to have an operation performed. There are statements showing that she made a partial contract with a certain physician. It is reported tonight that the girl is very low and not expected to live, though the family allows no one to enter the room, and give out information sparingly. From the best information to be had there seems no doubt but the girl has been subject to a criminal operation, and that she will die from the effects.

A Tape-Worm

 The Marietta Register, February 22, 1872

On Friday evening last, we were shown one of those horrible things, a tape-worm, which had been expelled from the stomach of a lady in Harmar, under the treatment of Dr. S. O. Loughridge. The main portion of the "reptile" was twenty-five feet in length, flat, from a quarter to half an inch wide, and jointed every quarter of an inch or so. Besides the main stem, there were broken fragments of the worm, perhaps enough to make five feet more. The lady has suffered some time from the presence of the worm, is weak now, but up and about and will get entirely well.

Dr. C. H. Smith Arrested Third Time for Same Offense, Let Go

The Marietta Daily Times, January 6, 1908

The question as to whether or not Dr. Charles H. Smith of this city is a fugitive from Justice from the State of West Virginia was before Judge Jones of the Court of Common Pleas, in chambers, Saturday afternoon, and was continued until this afternoon.

Dr. Smith was indicted in Pleasants County, W. Va., in September last, for performing a criminal operation upon one Gertie Brown, from the effects of which she died. The Grand Jury indicted Smith and J. J. Powell for murder.

Several attempts had been made to get Smith over the river but they had failed and this time a requisition for him as a fugitive from justice had been made by the Governor of West Virginia upon the Governor of Ohio and had been honored by the latter.

Smith was arrested on the requisition and, as is required by our statutes, was taken before Judge Jones by the Sheriff for a hearing.

Prosecuting Attorney Follett appeared for the State and W. S. Hancock for the defense. The Prosecuting Attorney, and Sheriff of Pleasants County and Attorney Craig, of St. Marys, were at the hearing.

The question at issue was whether or not Smith was a fugitive from justice from the State of West Virginia, as it was not claimed the operation was performed in that state. Under their laws the crime was committed where the death occurred, they claiming that Smith was constructively present and that he is therefore a fugitive from justice.

At 4 o'clock Saturday the hearing was continued until this afternoon.

* * *

At 1 o'clock this afternoon the hearing was resumed. 

In his testimony Smith had stated that he was in Parkersburg in October last, which was since the finding of the indictment, and that raised the question as to whether or not going into a state and coming out again made him a fugitive from justice in that state.

Prosecutor Follett submitted what authorities they had found which he admitted were few.

Judge Jones discharged Smith holding that he must have been actually and bodily, and not constructively, in the state when the crime was committed and must have since fled into another state in order to be a fugitive from justice, within the meaning of our statute.

He quoted a number of decisions favoring that view of the case.

This hearing has nothing whatever to do with Smith's guilt or innocence of the crime as it was soley on jurisdiction as to whether or not he could be extradited on the charge under our laws.

The Pleasants County authorities claim they have the dying statement of the girl and other evidence to convict if they can get the accused into their custody.

What their next move to get him will be they did not disclose. 

Old Marietta Papers - Number 17

The Marietta Register, January 15, 1864

"Old Marietta Papers" was a series of columns compiled and published in 1863 and 1864 by Rodney M. Stimson, editor of "The Marietta Register." 

The Epidemics

It is now over three-quarters of a century since the first settlement at Marietta, and the town has been visited with only three epidemics - in the years 1807, 1822 and 1823 - the last just turned forty years ago. "Except in these three years," in the very truthful words of the late Dr. Hildreth, "it has been uniformly healthy, indeed remarkably so." At these times intermittent and remittent fevers were extensively epidemic. It may be remarked that it was quite sickly in Warren in the fall of 1821, when it was healthy in Marietta.

Dr. Hildreth - who died last summer at almost four-score, having lived among us fifty-seven years well spent, and who from his length of life, strict integrity, close observation and patient industry, putting the results of his labors on record for the future was, perhaps, the most useful citizen Marietta ever has had - has left us some history of these epidemics, from which to give this article completeness, we draw a few items.

The Epidemic of 1807

The spring of 1807 was uncommonly wet - according to Dr. Hildreth in the Medical Repository, New York, 1808 - and through the summer every fair day was preceded and followed by two or three wet ones; much corn and grass were destroyed by excessive moisture. Through the low grounds there was stagnant water in every direction, full of corrupting vegetable and some animal matter, exhaling putridity and disease, engendered by the summer sun, and put in motion by every breeze. By the middle of July intermittent and remittent fevers were common, and in August scarcely a family on the bottoms were free from the disorder in some form or other - extending up and down the Ohio River for several hundred miles. The fever was more malignant and fatal at Gallipolis than at Marietta. Cold weather put a stop to the disease, late in the fall. Of the number of deaths here we have no account, but it was not large in proportion to the number affected.

The Epidemics of 1822 and 1823

The sickness of 1822 - says Dr. Hildreth in the Philadelphia Journal of Medical and Physical Sciences, 1824 - was almost wholly confined to the neighborhood of the streams. The season, unlike that of 1807, was characterized by a severe drought, while 1823 was the opposite of 1822 and was very wet. As to the origin of the epidemics, some had it that the fever was brought up from the South on boats, others that southerly winds imported it, but the Doctor states: "The opinion of those who would take the trouble of thinking at all on the subject was that the fever of 1822 had its origin from the sand-bars and beaches of the Ohio river, laid bare by the great drought of that year; and that of 1823, from the standing water and low wet places in the bottoms, gradually becoming dry, and exhaling their poisonous vapors."

The summer of 1822 was hot, with little or not thunder or heavy wind to purify the atmosphere; hot winds came almost constantly from the south; and the Ohio was lower that ever before since the first settlement. The water was in long pools, nearly stagnant, and covered with a mucous scum, while the shores were lined with grass covered with green vegetable matter, which being exposed to the sun emitted miasma to poison the atmosphere. In the latter part of June fevers began to appear on the "Plain"; in July most of the cases were in Harmar; and by the 1st of August the fever appeared at the "Point." 

There were the most cases in September. At one time, within a square mile, 400 were sick out of a population of 1,200 from "the mildest intermittent, and intermediate grads, up to the genuine yellow fever." The Doctor says he had about 600 cases under his care from the first of July to the last of November. The majority of the cases were comparatively mild, and the proportion of deaths was about one in sixteen. The heavy frosts of November stopped the epidemic.

There were several well authenticated cases of dogs being attacked with regular paroxysms of chill, or shake, followed with fever and thirst.

The spring of 1823 was pleasant, with every prospect of a salubrious summer. But how sad the disappointment! The sickness broke out anew in June and pervaded nearly all parts of the West. It was not, as in 1822, confined to the vicinity of the water courses, but infested the uplands. The country was deluged with rain in June and July, with very little thunder and lightning, and no heavy winds. Every spot that could hold water was filled with it. Fields of corn and wheat were ruined and grass rotted. The low land exhaled noxious vapors, so that people in passing were obliged to put their hands to their noses and hasten through some disgusting spots. In plowing in rich bottoms, instead of the pleasant odor that usually arises from freshly plowed land, a sickly smell would be sent forth.

The rains ceased the last of August, but the systems of the people had become charged with miasma. In September and October dysenteries were prevalent; the fevers the same as in 1822. The disease was more malignant and fatal in the country than in town, especially in rich bottoms, where weeds grew in many places to the enormous height of fifteen or eighteen feet. In spite of the drawback on corn in the earlier part of summer the crop was heavy from its luxuriant growth, and almost without cultivation, otherwise a famine would have followed, for there were not well persons enough to take care of the sick, much less to cultivate their farms.

Those who escaped attack in 1822 were attacked with the fever in 1823, while those who had severe attacks in the first generally escaped in the next year.

Notes from the "Friend" on the Epidemic of 1822

The first mention in the "Friend" that there was any unusual sickness in Marietta or vicinity was on Sept. 13th, although the "Epidemic of 1822" had then prevailed over two months. It speaks of the Ohio and Muskingum as being at that time mere brooks in comparison to their usual size," and says: "Fevers, agues, cholera morbus, dysentery, &c. have prevailed to a melancholy degree, along with the margin of the streams and in low grounds, and many deaths have occurred." It attributes the cause to dying vegetation in places formerly plentifully supplied with water on the shores of the streams and low grounds.

Sept. 15, a public meeting was held, the town divided into districts, and committees appointed to visit the sick and supply them with attendants or whatever might be required, and make a daily report.

Sept. 18, at a meeting of the Committees - Dudley Woodbridge, Jr., being the Chairman, and William A. Whittlesey, Secretary, about 300 were reported sick in town. The same proportion to population at this day, would give about 1,100!

Resolutions were adopted that "the distressed situation of our fellow citizens and friends, calls for the utmost exertions and deepest humiliation," that "we will exhort and encourage each other in visiting the sick," &c.; that "looking beyond the sword of pestilence to Him who wields it," and so on, "we humble ourselves before Almighty God and recommend to our fellow citizens to observe a day of public fasting, humiliation and prayer, imploring the pardon of our sins, individually and as a people, the arrest of the pestilence which ravages our town, and grace to receive and do all things, as those who have hope in the Lord," and that Henry Dana Ward and William R. Putnam be a committee to wait upon Rev. S. P. Robbins (Congregational) and Rev. Cornelius Springer (Methodist), and request them to agree upon a day of fasting and, if agreeable, to unite their congregations in its solemn service.

Mr. Robbins and Mr. Springer gave public notice that Saturday, Sept. 21st, would be observed as a day of fasting, in accordance with the resolution of the meeting, service to commence at 11 o'clock A.M. at the Congregational Church.

Sept. 27, the Friend stated, "that, with the exception of fifteen or twenty who are quite low, the citizens are on the recovery and but very few new cases have occurred within the last two or three days." yet 28 deaths occurred in the township within the next 21 days.

Oct. 4, the editor complained of "indisposition" on his part and issued only a half sheet, which he continued to do for five weeks.

Oct. 18, the number of deaths in Marietta township [including the city of Marietta], which then had a population of a little over 2,000, was published as follows:

January - 2
February - 1
March - 4
April - 6
May - 1
June - 7
July - 10
August -  21
September - 34

October to 17th - 21

The "Friend" labored all the time to make the best of it, and in December made this statement: "The number who were sick or ill in the village during this season was probably about 400; about 40 died of fever."

Notes from the "Friend" on the Epidemic of 1823

July 17 - Thursday - observed in Marietta as a day of special fasting and prayer, "that God would be pleased in his infinite mercy to preserve us as a people from epidemic diseases," &c., with services at the Congregational Church.

July 31, the Friend speaks of "some cases of intermitting fever within the town plat, but none attended with the malignancy of last year."

The Friend was issued on a half sheet for three weeks in August, apologizing that all hands of the office were sick, except one boy; and after Aug. 28, no paper was issued until Oct. 9, every person connected with the concern being sick with the prevailing fever.

Oct. 16, the Friend argues that the sickness had been no worse in Marietta or the Ohio Valley than elsewhere, and instances Zanesville, Lancaster, Chillicothe, Circleville and Columbus as having been "very sickly."

Oct. 30, the list of those buried in the "Mound Cemetery" between July 5th and Oct. 29th - three months and twenty-four days - was published. The number were as follows:

July - 31
August 46
September - 45
October - 19

Total - 141

Of these there died within the corporation, 72; in Marietta township, outside the corporation, 55; brought from other townships, 14.

At Harmar, the deaths during the epidemic of 1823 numbered ten or eleven.

The "Friend" remarked: "The late sickness has made great, we had almost said irreparable, breaches in society, not only as it respects the numbers, but the characters also, of those taken away. In many instances children are left without father or mother."

Thursday, May 20, 1824, in view of the "afflicting dispensations of Divine Providence" in the two years preceding, and the "fearful apprehension that the people may in like manner be visited again," was observed by the religious societies of Marietta as a day of fasting and prayer - services at the Congregational Church - upon the recommendation of Rev. Daniel Limerick, M. E. Church, Elder James "McAboy, Baptist, and Dea. William r. Putnam, Congregational. But the season turned out to be one of good health, and no like epidemic has since visited Marietta.

It remains to give as far as is now in our power, a list of the deaths in the years 1822 and 1823 - not only during the epidemic months, but in the whole of each year - the epidemics beginning in June and ending in November.

Deaths in 1822:

Feb. 21, John McIntosh, aged 70.

March 23, Lewis, son of William Skinner.

Apr. 2, Susan, infant dau. of Capt. L. Edgerton.

Apr. 4, Josiah Buck.

Apr. 19, Bridget, wife of John Brough, Esq., four weeks and one day after marriage.

Apr. 20, Mrs. Algeo.

June 27, Charles F., son of Ephraim Ranger.

June 30, Frances, wife of Col. George Turner.

July 10, Humphrey Hook, in Wood Co., Va., 56.

Aug. 1, Mary, wife of Elder John Gates, 52.

Aug. 1, Abram Seevers, in Fearing, 74.

Aug. 21, Hon. Paul Fearing, in Harmar, 60.

Aug. 21, Cynthia, his wife, within 6 hours, 45.

Aug. 26, John Cornell.

Aug. 27, The wife of Capt. Nathan Bowen.

Aug. 30, Mrs. Catharine McClintick, 47.

Sept. 9, Joanna Lincoln, 20.

Sept. 9, Janna R. Bowers.

Sept. 9, Mrs. Merriam, in Adams.

Sept. 10, Reuben Merriam, in Adams.

Sept. 16, Mrs. Persis Howe.

Sept. 19, Charlotte, wife of A. W. Putnam, 49.

Sept. 21, A. W. Putnam, 55, in Belpre.

Sept. 16, Mrs. Solinger, in Union.

Sept. 19, Christiana Ulmer.

Sept. 20, John Miller.

Sept. 20, Ann Eliza, dau. of Levi Cole.

Sept. 21, Justus Morse.

Sept. 21, Silas Barter.

Sept. 24, Jacob Schachtelin.

Sept. 25, Elder John Gates, 55.

Sept. 25, Mrs. Mills.

Sept. 25, John Drown, on the Island, 19.

Sept. 26, Capt. Obadiah Lincoln, 53.

Sept. 26, John Clark, 61.

Sept. 26, Sarah, his wife, 50.

Sept. 27, Mrs. Deborah Erwin, 81.

Sept. 27, Hugh Dixon, 40.

Sept. 27, Tiffany Adams, in Warren.

Sept. 28, Angelina Lincoln, 17.

Sept. 28, Harriet, dau. of Wyllys Hall.

Sept. 28, Caroline, dau. of James Bliss, 7.

Sept. 28, Mary Ann, dau. of Jasher Taylor.

Sept. 28, Lucy, a woman of color.

Sept. 30, Clarissa, wife of Capt. Timothy Buell.

Oct. 1, Jefferson Lincoln, 12.

Oct. 1, Wealthy A., dau. of Richard Alcock, 6.

Oct. 1, Infant son of John Kelly.

Oct. 1, Mary, dau. of S. D. W. Drown, on Island.

Oct. 1, Solomon Jarvis, 56, in Wood Co., Va.

Oct. 2, Titus Buck, 48.

Oct. 2, James Knight, 31.

Oct. 2, Manasseh, son of Ephraim Cutler, 12, Warren.

Oct. 4, Col. Jacob Ulmer.

Oct. 5, Mark Anderson.

Oct. 5, Mrs. Polly White, 73, in Fearing.

Oct. 6, Henry Winum, 46.

Oct. 7, Mrs. Mees.

Oct. 8, Philip Cunningham, 23.

Oct. 8, William Judson, 37.

Oct. 9, Mrs. Lyon.

Oct. 9, Eliza Anderson, 13.

Oct. 10, Abraham Sharp, 38.

Oct. 10, Mrs. Schachtelin.

Oct. 10, Mrs. Lucretia Hampstead, 52.

Oct. 12, Jonas Livermore, 56.

Oct. 14, Charles Lincoln, 4.

Oct. 16, John Brough, Esq., 75.

Oct. 18, Dudley Dodge.

Oct. 21, Henry Murphy, 9.

Nov. 4, Lydia, wife of William White, 29, Fearing.

Nov. 27, John Dye, Sen., 88.

Dec. 14, Mary, wife of Benjamin P. Putnam.

For the following who died in this year [1822], we have no month or day:

Amos Morris, of Adams.

Benjamin Nott, of Adams.

Obadiah Morris, of Adams.

Richard Talbot, of Grandview.

Jotham Wright, of Newport.

John Stewart, of Warren.

Benedict E. Rathbone, of Belpre.

Elisha Woodward, of Marietta.

Richard Waterman, of Marietta.

Joseph Babcock, of Marietta.

Jonathan Guitteau, of Marietta.

Deaths in 1823:

Jan. 30, Casper Smith, 46.

Feb. 22, Mrs. Sally Cain, 48, in Fearing.

Apr. 7, Samuel Brooks, 70, in Union.

Apr. 25, Mrs. Abigail Dye, 69, in Lawrence.

May 6, Capt. Phineas Dunsmoor, 50, in Wesley.

May 12, Joel Oaks, in Belpre.

June 10, Robert McCabe, 43.

July 12, Capt. Benjamin Blake, 40, in Fearing.

Sept. 8, Jonathan Dunham, 70, in Warren.

Sept. 15, William Ford, Jr., in Watertown.

Oct. 3, Rufus Humphreys, 25, in Newport.

Oct. 31, John Chamber, in Lawrence.

Nov. 1, Hon. John Sharp, in Lawrence.

Nov. 6, Davidson Murray.

Nov. 12, Adoniram J. Guitteau, 30, in Fearing.

Dec. 30, Elizabeth, wife of Capt. Nathaniel Clark, 28.

The following is the list of burials in "Mound Cemetery" during July, August, September and October, 1823, the figures denoting the day:

July

5 - George Howe.

8 - Jacob Drake.

11 - Son of Briggs.

13 - Mrs. Dempsey.

14 - Joseph Bartlett.

14 - T. J. H. Sanford.

14 - Mrs. Hill.

18 - Mary A. Cunningham.

18 - William Taylor.

19 - Mrs. Bacon.

21 - John Locker.

22 - Dau. of George Corner.

22 - Mrs. Livermore.

23 - Caleb Thornily.

23 - Mathew Miner.

23 - Son of Samuel Stone.

23 - Child of Mr. Bacon.

24 - Harriet Hartshorn.

24 - Harriet Hearn.

24 - Mrs. Miner.

25 - Mrs. Miller.

25 - Mrs. Thorniley.

26 - Pamelia Rood.

26 - Son of A. Daniels.

28 - Rachel Howe.

28 - Mrs. Hoff.

28 - Levi Benjamin.

29 - Leonard Foster.

29 - William Fulton.

29 - Anna Roger.

30 - Jonathan Carnes.

August

1 - Mr. Borwn.

2 - Mr. Follett.

3 - Son of Jacob Brown.

5 - Eliza Stanley.

5 - Dau. of Broadhurst.

5 - James Lincoln.

6 - Child of W. Holyoke.

6 - Mrs. Merrill.

6 - Mrs. Rood.

6 - D. Woodbridge, Sen.

6 - Child of D. Protsman.

8 - Child of Pratt.

9 - Pearce Morse.

9 - William McAllister.

11 - Child of A. Daniels.

12 - Child of D. Murray.

13 - Joseph Harris.

13 - Harriet Goodwin.

14 - Sally Druse.

14 - Child of C. Thorniley.

14 - Mrs. Ezekiel Deming.

15 - Mrs. Dr. Jett.

16 - Mrs. Duncan.

16 - Mrs. Pratt.

17 - Mrs. Morse.

17 - Child of T. Buell.

17 - Child of R. McCabe.

18 - Child of Mr. Wheeler.

18 - Mrs. Goodwin.

18 - Mrs. Keating.

19 - Child of Cherry.

19 - Mr. Goodwin.

20 - John Phelps.

23 - Child of J. Brown.

23 - Child of J. Clark.

24 - Child of William Talbot.

26 - Mrs. Guitteau.

27 - Ruth Johnson.

28 - Mrs. Browning.

28 - Mary Stone.

29 - Eliza Palmer.

29 - Son of Jedidiah Chase.

30 - Mrs. Stephen Hildreth.

30 - Emily Hoff.

30 - Andrew Webster.

30 - Child of G. Gilbert.

September

1 - Judson Guitteau.

1 - Mrs. Spencer.

1 - Mr. Food.

2 - Son of Jedidiah Chase.

2 - Mrs. Pearce Morse.

3 - Rev. S. P. Robbins.

3 - Mrs. Garnet.

5 - Dr. N. McIntosh.

6 - Dr. Jabez True.

6 - Mary Stone, Sr.

11 - N. Needham.

11 - Child of Mercer.

12 - John Gibson.

12 - Mr. Shoemaker.

12 - A. Shay.

12 - Mrs. Tucker.

13 - Child of Mr. Brown.

14 - Luther Edgerton, Sr.

15 - Ephraim Foster.

16 - Child of Mrs. Harley.

17 - Child of J. Graham.

18 - Child of Jedidiah Chase.

19 - Elizabeth T. Willard.

19 - Child of Crandall.

20 - Ephraim Hill.

20 - Child of J. Graham.

20 - Child of J. J. Preston.

22 - Child of Crandall.

22 - Robert G. Duncan.

22 - Woman from Fearing.

22 - Child of S. Lee.

22 - Child of R. Mills.

24 - Rev. Joseph Willard.

24 - Caleb Barstow.

24 - Allen McNeil.

24 - Child of William Alcock.

25 - Mrs. Deem.

26 - Child of Mr. Locker.

27 - James Gilbert.

28 - Henry Gibson.

28 - Child of Mr. Rich.

28 - Child of Jedidiah Chase.

29 - Julia A. Geren.

30 - Child of D. Gilbert.

30 - Mrs. McCabe.

October

1 - Mrs. Evans.

1 - Child of C. D. Bonney.

3 - Hopkins Greene.

3 - Joshua Shipman.

3 - Mrs. William M. Case.

6 - Child of William Alcock.

12 - Lorenzo Protsman.

14 - Child of E. Ryan.

15 - Child of T. Buell.

17 - Child of Wyllys Hall.

18 - Mrs. Crandall.

20 - Child of Jedidiah Chase.

21 - Mrs. Bodwell.

21 - Mrs. Ryan.

22 - Child of Mr. Bacon.

28 - Mrs. McCune.

28 - Mrs. Nathaniel Dodge.

29 - Edward Guitteau.

Of the above, 72 belonged to the corporation of Marietta; 55 to the township outside the corporation; 14 to other townships. Children, 51, five those of Jedidiah Chase. Among the more prominent men were Dudley Woodbridge Sen., Rev. Samuel P. Robbins, Dr. Jabez True, Dr. Nathan McIntosh, Luther Edgerton, Sen.

The following died about this time, but we have no day or month:

Ezra Crane, of Marietta.

Lucretia Saltonstall, of Marietta.

Amzi Stanley, of Marietta.

Elizur Carver, of Marietta.

Lydia McKawen, of Marietta.

Anna Shepard, of Marietta.

Margaret Morse, of Marietta.

Amos Fairchild, of Decatur.

Sarah Wiseman, of Harmar.

Orgilous Doan, of Salem.

Joseph Cook, Jr., of Belpre.

Samuel H. Dunbar, of Union.

Jonathan Thomas, of Warren.

David Blauset, of Fearing.

Joel Tuttle, Sen., of Fearing.

Mary Greene, of Newport.

Jacob Churchill, of Newport.

William Ford, Sen., of Watertown.

Thomas Wilson, of Watertown.

Robert Andrews, of Watertown.

Rev. William Boles, of Waterford.

Alexander McCoy, of Waterford.

Samuel Cushing, of Waterford.

Joshua Sprague, Esq., of Adams.

Theophilus Ransom, of Adams.

Nathaniel Patterson, of Adams.

Nancy Green, of Adams. 

Old Marietta Papers - Number 13

 The Marietta Register, December 18, 1863

"Old Marietta Papers" was a series of columns compiled and published in 1863 and 1864 by Rodney M. Stimson, editor of "The Marietta Register."

It is worthy of remark that in the Marietta papers we have closely examined within the past few weeks, from 1813 to 1822, advertisements of fugitive slaves from Virginia, and occasionally from Kentucky, are not uncommon; and advertisements of a wife who, as the advertiser says, "has left my bed and board," &c., occur with very much more frequency than do such advertisements at this day.

A grand Circus Hunt was advertised to take place Feb. 8 "on the headwaters of the big and little west branches of the Little Hocking" to kill Wolves and Panthers. Managers, Walter Curtis, Miller Clark, O. R. Loring, William Pitt Putnam and John Stone of Belpre; William Johnson of Decatur; Amos Dunham of Warren; and T. B. Pond of Barlow. It proved a failure from "want of system and imperfect knowledge of the ground." It was again advertised for April 5th, when the command of the several corners was under William Pitt Putnam, John Stone, Walter Curtis and Benjamin P. Putnam - six miles square surveyed, "the most noted wolf harbor within 60 or 70 miles," and bears and panthers common. What success this time was not published. 

In the Spring Election, 1821, George Dunlevy, D. H. Buell, and John Merrill were elected Town Council; R. Prentis, Clerk; John Mills, Treasurer; B. P. Putnam and S. P. Hildreth, Assessors; Jacob Ulmer, Enoch Hoff and Robert McCabe, Constables.

July 4, 1821, James M. Booth, Esq., read the Declaration at Congregational Church, and Whipple Spooner, Esq., delivered the oration. Dinner at Sampson Cole's. There was another celebration in Harmar, Henry Dana Ward delivering the oration.

At this date Billy Todd had here what he called the "Washington Brewery."

July 24, Nahum Ward advertised that he would leave for Europe in November following, to be gone about a year.

Oct. 14, Casper Smith, "at the sign of the Golden Anchor," advertises that he will keep boarders "in the best manner at $1.50 a week."

Oct. 26, the store of Joseph Holden was robbed of a considerable quantity of goods and about $80 in money.

Election in 1821 - Sardine Stone of Union was elected Senator from this district; Capt. Timothy Buell (re-elected), and W. M. Dawes of Morgan, Representatives; Royal Prentiss, Auditor - the first time and Auditor was elected by the people. Daniel Goodno was re-elected Commissioner without opposition, also Samuel Beach and Amzi Stanley were elected Commissioners in place of Dr. J. B. Regnier, deceased and Titan Kimble, who had removed to Lawrence county. There was a tie vote between S. Beach and Col. Joseph Barker, and they drew lots, when Beach gained it. The opponent of Amzi Stanley was W. Thomas.

For Senator the vote of the county stood Sardine Stone, 487; Ephraim Cutler, 469. The opponents of Timothy Buell and W. M. Dawes for Representatives were James Whitney of Harmar and Alexander McConnell of Morgan county.

Marriages in 1821:

Jan. 1, Otis Wheeler and Dianthe Morse; Samuel A. Westcott and Sarah L. Edgerton.

Feb. 15, William Henry Shipman and Mary Ann Edgerton.

March 6, in Union, Luther D. Barker and Maria Devol.

March 16, James McAllister and Susan Owens.

April 5, Nathan Cole of Warren and Lavinia Bryan of Marietta.

April 9, George Beerley and Sally Mixer.

April 11, in Portsmouth, Dr. G. S. B. Hempstead and Elizabeth Peebles.

Apr. 15, Caius Martius Wood and Sophia Hall of Union; Lucius Cross and Thirza Stanley.

May 17, Henry Chandler and Mrs. Sally Humiston, both of Wooster (Watertown).

May 27, Bertrand Miraben of Marietta and Emily Dunbar of Union.

July 3, Erastus Guthrie of Belpre and Achsah Palmer of Marietta.

Aug. 14, in Waterford, Benjamin P. Putnam of Marietta and Mary Dana.

Sept. 2, in Belpre, Jarvis Burroughs and Susan Stone; in Marietta, David B. Anderson and Eunice Hall.

Oct. 11, Henry Shepard and Huldah Shepard.

Oct. 31, James D. Farnsworth and Eliza Knapp.

Oct. 14, Jesse Loring of Belpre and Deborah Gray of Waterford.

Nov. 6, Jesse Lawton of Barlow and Maria Haskell of Marietta.

Nov. 5, Thomas Porter and Rhoda Sutton.

Dec. 7, John Breckenridge and Agnes Fleming, both of Warren.

Dec. 27, Alfred Regnier and Mary Ann Rowland, both of Aurelius.

Deaths in 1821:

Jan. 20, Jonathan Cram, aged 42.

Apr. 16, John L. Saltonstall.

Apr. 23, Mrs. Catharine, wife of William Plumer, 62.

May 2, in Columbus, Col. Abner Lord, aged 61, a former business man of Marietta, who built the house in which Dr. John Cotton died, just south of the Post Office.

May 30, William H. Buell, in his 29th year.

July 25, Miss Maria, daughter of William Skinner, 25.

August 2, the wife of Joseph Dennis; 5th Elijah Cooper; 6th, John Hilman, 23.

Aug. 16, in Aurelius, Dr. John B. Regnier, a native of Paris and one of the most prominent citizens of the county, aged 54; he removed from Marietta to Aurelius in 1819; his obituary says: "Dr. Regnier spoke evil of no man and showed kindness to all."

Aug. 23, in Vienna, Va., Charles Spencer Wilson (a brother of Noah L. Wilson), 17.

Aug. 31, in Belpre, Dr. William Beebe; in Marietta, Mrs. Sloter.

Sept. 8, in Adams, Mrs. Mindwell, wife of Theophilus Ransom, 60; in Marietta, Amos, son of Joseph Worstell, 16; 17th, Dea. Enoch Shepard; 27th, William Pratt.

Sept. 21, in Union, James R., son of John Dyar, 19.

In Marietta, Oct. 10, Lavina, wife of Robert Williamson, 44.

20th, Jane, wife of John Brought, Esq.

Epidemic in Warren. In Sept. and Oct., 1821, there was an epidemic in Warren. One of the obituaries speaks of "the present raging epidemic." We find in the Friend notice of the following deaths: Sept. 7, Mrs. Mary Cole, 54; 15th, the wife of Oren Newton; 16th, John Wood, 80. The mortality in the Adams family was great. Sept. 11th, James Adams died, aged 48, and on Nov. 27th, Mary Adams, his wife, and within that time, Sabin, a son, aged 20, and another of their children; and three sons of Tiffany Adams died, Oct. 6th, John, aged 25; Oct. 10, another son, aged 14; and Nov. 15, Elisha, aged 22 - making seven of the Adams family within 2-1/2 months. Just a year before James Adams buried a daughter, aged 12; and a year after, Sept. 27, 1822, Tiffany Adams died.

Goes Mad in County Jail

The Marietta Daily Times, September 30, 1908

Reported that Nellie Kelley's Mind Has Become Unbalanced.

Woman Is Awaiting Hearing On Charge of Grave Character.

Is Nellie Kelley, in the county jail awaiting the sitting of the grand jury on a charge of harboring in a house of ill-fame a girl of tender years, insane, or is she feigning madness in an effort to escape a term in the Ohio penitentiary?

That is a question the courts will probably be called on to answer.

The woman has been in the prison for the past five or six weeks. She was arrested when a fifteen-years-old girl, Lena Freeman of Parkersburg, it is alleged, was found in her house on Ohio Street. When arraigned the evidence was found sufficient to warrant her being held for further investigation. Being unable to give bond in the sum of $1,000, she was sent to jail.

At first there was nothing unusual in her appearance or actions. Now, it is alleged, she gives evidence of being of unsound mind. At times she seems to have little recollection of where she is or why she is being held there. She talks incoherently and disconnectedly, and sometimes raves like a person who is violently insane.

The matter has been brought to the attention of her attorneys and the probability is that an effort will be made to secure her release on the ground that she has become insane through the confinement to which she has been subjected.

If the woman is found guilty of the crime with which she is charged, and the evidence is said to be very strong against her, she will get a term in the penitentiary. She is aware of that fact and this gives rise to the question of whether she is really insane or whether she has adopted this as a means of securing her release and possibly escaping the penalty for her alleged wrong doing.

The girl who was taken from the Kelley house was found guilty of incorrigibility and sentenced to the girls' industrial school at Delaware. She was taken there a few days ago and has begun her time at that institution. 

The condition of the Kelley woman has been noted only recently and her lawyers became aware of the change in her condition today. It is believed that they will take some action in the case within a day or two.

So far as there is any evidence the woman is really out of her mind, there having been no intimation that she is feigning insanity.

Richards Drug Store Is Sold to John O. Rose

The Marietta Daily Times, September 29, 1943

John O. Rose of Strecker Hill, pharmacist at Richards Drug Store, has purchased the merchandise stock and fixtures of the store at 104 Front Street from Miss Anna Richards, administrator of the estate of the late Edward T. Richards, who died last February.

The store building, which has housed the drug store since before the turn of the century, is a part of the estate of the late Albert J. Richards, father of Miss Anna Richards and founder of one of Marietta's oldest business institutions which has remained in the Richards family since it was established by "Al" Richards in 1876.

The Richards Drug Store was first housed on Greene Street near Second. A disastrous fire there resulted in the store being moved to a new building at 104 Front Street in the late 1890s, built by the late A. J. Richards. The late Ed T. Richards, who was in the drug business in Chicago for many years, returned to Marietta in 1916 and became associated with his brother under the firm name Richards Bros. Following the death of A. J. Richards, Ed T. Richards became proprietor of the store.

John O. Rose, son of Mr. and Mrs. O. B. Rose of Seventh Street, has been pharmacist at the store during the past four years. He graduated from Marietta High School and from Cincinnati College of Pharmacy. He was employed with the Abbott Laboratories in Chicago before returning to Marietta as pharmacist at the Richards store. John Chorpenning will remain as a clerk and George Corner as book-keeper.

 

Sad Christmas

 Marietta Tri-Weekly Register, December 24, 1891

Marietta will have a sad Christmas. The prevailing epidemic is affecting someone in almost every family. This sickness appears to be seeking the weak places in the weak subjects in attacks and several deaths have occurred, while many others are dangerously sick. As we write, the notes of the funeral dirge of Col. Phillips fall upon the ear; the remains of Dr. Addy and George Irish are in affectionate waiting for the last rites. Dr. Seth Hart, the veteran physician, is hover on the border line, while anxious watch is held over the bedside of many who are frail and very sick. What we say of Marietta is also true of many places in the county. Many who for a day or two were quite sick are up and at their duties again, but not strong and vigorous.

William Lucius Buell

American Friend & Marietta Gazette, November 20, 1830

Died on Wednesday, November 10, William Lucius, son of Daniel H. Buell, Esq., in the 13th year of his age. While the circumstances resulting in the death of this youth were of a nature peculiarly afflicting to his relatives, a deep sympathy was generally felt and manifested by the friends and acquaintances of the family of which he was a member. On the 11th of September last a Liberty pole erected near the Court house fell upon the deceased, by which his skull was very extensively fractured. By the assiduous attentions, however, of skillful surgeons, he was, until a few days previous to his death considered convalescent. The injury hitherto hidden in its full extent, at length manifested itself by inflammation and dropsy of the brain, producing inveterate spasmodic affections and stupor, ending in dissolution.

 

Medical Notice

Marietta Intelligencer, September 2, 1856

Dr. Seth Hart of Harmar has opened an office in Marietta on Front Street, between Baldwin's Jewelry and Tomlinson's & Co.'s Dry Goods Store, at which place he may be consulted on subjects belonging to the practice of Medicine, from the hours of eight in the morning until eight in the evening, when not necessarily absent.

Dr. Samuel Hart is associated with his father in the practice, and has special charge of the office in Harmar.

Arrangements will be made at the Muskingum Ferry, so that persons may pass at all hours of the night in case of emergency.

 

The Blake Family of Salem Township, Washington County, Ohio

The Marietta Times, February 20, 1879

A few items in the history of the Blake family of which Moses Blake, lately deceased, was a member, may be interesting to the readers of the Times.

His father, Benjamin Blake, was a native of the State of Maine, came to this State soon after the first settlements were made and married Lucy, daughter of Francis Stanley, who owned the farm in Fearing township on which Philo Doane now lives, and for whom Stanleyville was named.  Mr. Blake purchased a tract of land on the east side of Duck Creek, a quarter of a mile above what is known as the Cedar Narrows, where he engaged in farming and distilling whisky, a business not so unpopular in those day as now. He lived there some ten or twelve years and died, I think, of chills and fever, July 12th, 1823, during what is termed by the old settler, the sickly season.  He was the father of six children, two of which died in infancy, the four remaining lived past the prime of life; Lucy Hallett, the only survivor, now at the age of sixty-five.

Mrs. Blake was a woman of very modest and retiring disposition, but of untiring energy and devoted to the best interests of her children; a member of the Presbyterian church for many years before her death, and of irreproachable christian character. By her industry and persevering efforts, she succeeded in giving all her children what was considered in those days, a very good education, and lived to see them all well settled in life. A few years before her death she left her old home and went to live with her daughter, Lucy, in Salem, where she died at the advanced age of eighty-one.

Benjamin, the oldest son, was rather a puny, sickly boy, dependent upon his mother's assistance, with what he earned by teaching school during the winter seasons to keep him in school during the rest of the year; thus by united efforts he acquired a good education. He was born Feb. 4th, 1817, and in the autumn of 1840, at the age of twenty-three, determined to go South and engage in teaching.  Politics at that time were running very high, so he remained at home until after the election, casting his first vote for President for W. H. Harrison.  He located in middle Tennessee, not far from Nashville, where he remained until a short time before the rebellion, when he moved to Dyer county and engaged in mercantile business. He never married, lived with a family by the name of Douglass. He took no part in the war, feeling that he could not lift his hand against the home of his childhood and the best interests of his country, nor against the land of his adoption, where he had amassed his wealth, he remained quietly at home, where he died of cholera soon after peace was declared.  He never made a profession of religion, and yet no one doubted his piety; he was strictly moral in all his habits, a faithful attendant upon Divine services, a devoted Sabbath school teacher, charitable, ever ready to help the suffering, were some of the leading traits in his character.

Mary Blake, his younger sister, was a graduate of Marietta Seminary, then under the supervision of Prof. L. Tenney, I think. She was a woman of more than ordinary intelligence and high moral worth; professed religion in early life and united with, I think, though am not sure, the Baptist church. She soon followed her brother to Tennessee, where she was engaged in teaching for several years not far from Gallatin; afterwards became the fourth wife of a wealthy planter by the name of Seay, also the mother of five children. She was noted for her christian purity, possessing a loving and gentle disposition as well as beauty of form and features, to which many living witnesses can yet testify. She died before the breaking out of the war, mourned by all who knew her, and not the least by the plantation slaves who had learned to love her even to idolatry.

Moses turned his attention more to farming and trading than to intellectual pursuits. He married Martha Chapman and settled in early life on the old home place; afterward bought a farm in Salem township, where he died. He was one of the most noted stock-dealers of the county, and figured conspicuously at the fairs with a herd of Devon cattle, by which he received as many premiums probably as any other man who attended them. He owned a large farm and was well fixed in the world, but like all others, when death comes, must go, and leave all. He left a family of five children, orphans, their mother having died some years ago. All are single except Miss Anna Blake, the oldest, who was married to W. R. Goddard, our County Treasurer, a few months ago.

Aunt Becky.

 

Dr. Evans, No Cure No Pay

Western Spectator, September 12, 1812

Doctor Evans respectfully informs the Inhabitants of Marietta and its vicinity, he has recommenced the practice of Physick and Surgery in Ohio Street next door to Mr. Woodbridge's Store, where he hopes by the strictest and most humane attention to merit the patronage of those who are pleased to send for him; his prices shall be regulated by the other Physicians of Marietta, and he is willing to receive two thirds of his pay in farming stock and produce.

Dr. E. is enabled from upwards of twenty years extensive Practice (in various Climates, large Hospitals, the English Navy, the Army, &c.) effectually to cure all diseases arising from impurity of the blood, viz. Cancers, the most inveterate Ulcers, Evil, Scurvy, Eruptions of the skin &c. - also Bilious Diseases & obstructions, Fevers, Rheutmatism, Fistulas, Piles, Worms, Bowel complaints, and the diseases of Women and Children.

Dr. E. has been in the habit of performing the various operations in Surgery for many years, and is well provided with the best and most approved Instruments for that purpose.

N.B. Has for sale an excellent assortment of Drugs, Medicines, Patent medicines, Furniture &c. which he will dispose of wholesale, or retail, upon the lowest terms (for cash, farming stock or produce).

Doctor Evans wishes to take a Medical Pupil.

Those afflicted with Cancers should apply early, as they are often rendered incurable by bad treatment or delay.

The Old Court House

The Marietta Register, May 18, 1899

From the year 1817 to the year 1845 I lived within a stone's-throw of the old Court House, a good reproduction of which was contained in the Register, some days ago. Perhaps the segment of an hour cannot be more profitably spent than in taxing all available resources for information with regard to the history of the old building.

The first Court House in Washington County was built in 1799 on a lot given to the county for that purpose by Dudley Woodbridge, Sr. Under the superintendence of Dudley Woodbridge and Griffin Greene, contracts were made with Joshua Wells to frame and raise the building; with Joshua Shipman to weatherboard and shingle it; with James Lawton to do the mason work; with Gilbert Devol, Jr., to furnish the iron-grating, spikes, belts, etc., in all 3,000 weight, for which he was to receive 16 cents per pound. The building was 45 feet in length, 39 feet in breadth and two stories high. The front room in the upper story was the court room. It was forty by thirty feet in dimensions, lighted by seven windows and heated by two fireplaces. The entrance to this room was from a stairway opening by a door on Putnam Street.

Here Paul Fearing, R. J. Meigs and Jacob Burnet, the first three attorneys northwest of the Ohio River, often appeared in court. Charles Hammond, Philemon Beecher and David Putnam were prominent barristers. Here also as pleaders at the bar were often heard Thomas Ewing, Lewis Cass, William Woodbridge and Judge Hitchcock. Following soon after these as attorneys of prominence were Samuel F. Vinton, Arius Nye and Charles B. Goddard. 

This court room was used not only for the holding of courts, but was the place for the general assembling of the people on public occasions. Here were town and county meetings held; here preaching services were held on the Sabbath day by those denominations which had no other regular place of worship. Bishop Chase, Philander Chase and James McAboy were among the eminent divines who conducted services in this room. In this same upstairs room all the voters of Marietta Township, for many years, cast their ballots. A synopsis of the record of one of these elections reads as follows:

"Poll book of the election, held in the township of Marietta on the 11th day of October, 1825. Anaxamander Warner, Ephraim Emerson and Amos Dunham, judges; A. V. D. Joline and Silas Slocomb, clerks." Among the voters names we find Ichabod Nye, John Cotton, Joseph Wood, Lewis Anderson, Samuel Geren, S. P. Hildreth, Billy Todd, William Alcock, David Putnam, William Knox, W. R. Putnam, Luther Edgerton, Samson Cole, Joseph E. Hall, Dudley Woodbridge, D. B. Anderson, David Barber, Henry Fearing, Augustus Stone, John Mills, Alexander Hill, Daniel H. Buell, J. M. Booth, Nahum Ward and Weston Thomas. The whole number of votes cast was 179. At a recent election the vote of Marietta Township was 3,292.

The two lower rooms on the west side of the building were variously occupied, sometimes by the family of a jailer appointed by the sheriff, sometimes by the sheriff and his family, and sometimes by the deputy sheriff and his family.

The jail proper, which was divided into two apartments, was in the east part of the lower story and was very strongly built. The walls were three feet thick and made of double tiers of yellow poplar logs, 18 inches square and neatly hewed and dove-tailed at the corners of the building. The logs were so laid as to break joints like masonry, and were held together by heavy iron bolts. 

No imprisoned malefactor ever broke from this jail. I have in mind three individuals who, at different periods of the use of this jail, were confined within it. The first, Amase Grant, who was convicted by the Court of Common Pleas of an attempt to poison old Ma'am Harvey, of the Harvey House, and whose sentence made him the first inmate of the Ohio Penitentiary. 

The second, Mary Howland, who was confined for safe keeping, having shown mental derangement by the action of breaking the glass in all the windows on the north side of the Congregational church. This occurred during the preaching service and when asked why she did it, the woman replied that her father was a glazier and she wished to give him something to do.

The third was W. S. who was confined for debt under the then existing odious law of the state of Ohio.

The roof of the Court House building was surmounted by a cupola in which was hung the same bell which is in the present Court House. For years this bell was used to tell all the people church-time on Sundays. It rang on weekdays at 9 o'clock A.M., 12 M. and school time, dinner-time and bed-time. Whenever there was a death, it tolled the age of the deceased. At the burial, from the time the funeral cortege left the dwelling until their return, it was tolled by the jailor, seated in the belfry, whence he could catch views that directed his work. This was discontinued in 1822 and 1823, as it was supposed the many sick would be disturbed and exception was only made at the death of Gov. Meigs, Judge Fearing, and Rev. S. P. Robbins.

The truth of history compels me to rob this old building of two claims often made for it. The first that it was the birthplace of John Brough, a war-time governor of Ohio, during the time that his father was jailor here; the second that the old bell which hung in the cupola was the gift of Marie Antoinette. Both these beliefs are probably incorrect - certainly so in regard to the bell. Whilst the old Court House was being built, the necessity of a bell to hang in its belfry became apparent, and as the Superintendent had a knowledge of the iron works at Norwich, Connecticut, he sent there for a bell which was cast and forwarded. In proof of this, read the inscription which today can be seen on the bell as it hands in the Court House: "Bazzillia Davison, Norwich, Ct., 1802."

There are three prevailing opinions as to the birthplace of John Brough. One, that he was born at "Cleona," a few miles up the Ohio, where his father once resided; another, that he was born in the Brough house on lower Fourth Street, on the site of the Catholic church; and the third, already mentioned, that he was born in the old Court House building. Some years ago, desiring to satisfy myself on this subject, I wrote to his son, John Brough, Jr., who resides in Indiana, for information with regard to the matter. He replied that while it was the statement of all historians that his father was born in Washington County, he distinctly remembered his aunt Mary's having told him that his father was born while his mother was on a visit at Springfield, Ohio.

The early occupants of this building have long since passed away. Those of later date, some of whom are yet living, undoubtedly join in the wish that the county commissioners be guided by good judgment and an honest desire to locate the Court House and Jail, soon to be erected, in the best possible place.

George Morgan Woodbridge