New Year's Calls

Marietta Register, January 1, 1880

Caller's Code Carefully Revised by the Latest Authority

1
Gentlemen may commence calling as early as nine o'clock but the ladies of Marietta and Harmar have signified that twelve o'clock is as early as they will be fully prepared to receive. If any choose to call at an earlier hour, say before breakfast, the lady of the house is expected to say, "O cheese it!" and slam the door in their faces.

2
Ladies should be in the parlor by 10 o'clock according to old-fashioned usage, but 12 o'clock is time enough, especially if they have been in a stew earlier in the day.

3
Nine o'clock in the evening is the latest hour for calls. Every well-ordered gentleman ought to have enough of it before then.

4
Call first on the clergy or their families and probably it will be some time before the parson will preach again from the text "whosoever will, may come."

5
Refreshments consist of coffee and good substantial food, partaken of at the usual hours, which, with us, is whenever we can get it. Wines and liquors are prohibited, but it is considered genteel to go down cellar and suck cider from the bung-hole of a barrel with the hostess.

6
Ladies expect calls from friends, and if gentlemen introduce strangers the latter must produce certificates of character from where they have called before.

7
First calls, especially neglected ones, should be made New Year's Day. If friendly relations have been disturbed this is the time to resume them. If the above rule is carried out in Marietta this year, won't some of our citizens have lots of callers though?

8
If prevented by ill health or any other cause from making the call, send a card or go as soon afterwards as possible, otherwise they might think you were waiting to get your boots tapped or something of that sort.

9
Cards may be written or engraved with the date or New Year's compliments on them. An autograph card is considered the most complimentary according to some authorities. Perhaps it is, but we will swear that the one who made that assertion never saw our autograph. The Register Office has used it for a map of the Ohio River for nearly two years.

10
Always leave your card when you call, otherwise confusion might result, and the hostess, not knowing who had called, find it useless to count her spoons.
 

Barry Home Model for Decorators

The Marietta Daily Times, December 15, 1929

A model home selected by The Times to furnish an example of what can be accomplished in outdoor Christmas decorating and lighting has been decorated with the cooperation of the Monongahela West Penn Public Service Company. It is the residence of Mr. and Mrs. Edwin K. Barry, 322 Fourth Street. It was selected because of its beauty of line and its adaptability to this kind of display and because of its central and convenient location. It presents a beautiful sight and it should be seen by everybody, both persons who intend to enter their homes in the outdoor decorating contest and those who do not.

It is understood, of course, that the Barry home is only a model and, beautiful as it is, it will not be in the contest. It will serve as an inspiration to persons who intend to decorate and light their homes on the outside.

In decorating the Barry residence the Monongahela company had the assistance of an engineer of the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company at Pittsburgh. He also helped the company decorate and light its own properties in Marietta, and they now present a gorgeous addition to the out-of-door illumination of the city. They are well worth seeing as examples of decorating and brilliant lighting.

 

Miles of Spruce Fronds Making City Attractive for Holidays

The Marietta Daily Times, December 5, 1929

Christmas greenery by the mile has arrived in Marietta to kindle the holiday spirit and the streets of the business district are being gaily festooned and decorated with it. It arrived on Thursday and a committee of Chamber of Commerce members at once began putting it in place.

From the mountain forests of the state of Washington this supply of spruce fronds, woven into an endless chain, came and nearly three miles of it arrived in the initial shipment. It has been adopted in place of the pine trees that have been used in past years. Those in charge believe that it is more beautiful as a decoration and it does not represent this destruction that accompanies the cutting down of hundreds of young pines to line the streets.

The spruce chains are being suspended from the ornamental lighting standards along Greene, Front, Second, Putnam and part of Third Street, and at each pedestal point there is a loop of greenery with a large poinsettia as the center.

Walter Wood's committee is in charge of decorating the streets and they expected to finish before the day ended. Helping in this work are Harry E. Schramm, Alonzo Barnes, B. F. Reiter, Clarence Gruber and H. W. Rose.

Merchants and property owners along the way are being asked to extend their lighting fixtures to "hook up" with the festooning, and the whole is expected to make the streets attractive and gay for the yuletide season.

Putnam Street lined with small pine trees as Christmas decorations prior to 1929.

Concrete at Boat Landing Being Poured

The Marietta Daily Times, December 22, 1938

Pouring of concrete in the lower platform of the boat landing project being done in Muskingum Park by the Federal Northwest Territory Commission is expected to be completed on Friday and have a chance to set while WPA workers employed on the job are off for the Christmas holiday.

With this lower part of the landing project finished, the worry over a possible rise in water level will be abated, E. M. Hawes, commission director, says, and construction of the upper part will proceed unhindered.

Construction of the esplanade at the corner of Virginia Street and Gilman Avenue is reported to be progressing satisfactorily. The wings are now being worked on. A 10-inch curb has been placed in front of the structure, which is to provide the setting for the bronze tablet recently sent here as a gift from the government of France. The large section of sandstone on which the tablet will be mounted has been cut at the Holmes Quarry in Dunham Township. The stone stands nearly seven feet high and has a sloping plane surface on which the tablet will be mounted.

Friday marks the end of the current pay period of the 40 WPA workers employed on these two projects of the commission. They will resume work on Wednesday, December 28.

 

Marietta Commons

American Friend, September 27, 1816

Fellow Citizens of Marietta.

The following statement may be some information to those of you who were not at the first settlement of this place. The Ohio Company held up as an inducement to settlers, a large and extensive commons to consist of 4000 acres, to remain for the use of the citizens of this town forever; and their agent was ordered to lay off the same at, and near the confluence of the Muskingum with the Ohio, as appears of record. After this, a meeting of the said company was held in this place and the superintendent was directed to lay out 3000 acres of the said commons into three-acre lots; it was so done, and they are now held by themselves or heirs.

Some have asserted that Marietta never had any commons; if so, from what common was it that the 1000 three-acre lots were laid off? And, if there had been no common, would the proprietors of the Ohio Company have resolved to lay out the three-acre lots in the manner above mentioned? Could the Ohio Company have given to the citizens of Marietta any better title to the said lands, than by their resolutions, and laying off the same agreeably thereto? Can they afterward divest us of our rights and convey the property to others? I say no - with no more propriety than I could give to two different persons, warrantee deeds of the same piece of land, and of course the title which the Ohio Company has given to the three-acre lots and to the fractions of the 4,000 acres, is good for nothing. Judges of law say that if the 4,000 acres were laid out as commons, they are commons still.

Will the citizens of Marietta quietly suffer themselves to be divested of their rights? It is presumed not, and therefore hoped that they will attend the town meeting to be held on the 5th of October at 8 o'clock A.M.

A Friend to just rights and privileges.

 

Post Office Removal

American Friend, August 18, 1815

Removal. Post-Office, Marietta, Ohio.
August 18th, 1815.

The Post-Office is removed to the house fronting the Market-House, formerly occupied by Col. Abner Lord.

Arrival and Departure of the Mails.

The Eastern mail arrives at this office on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays by 11 o'clock A.M. and departs for Chillicothe by 1 P.M. the same days.

The Chillicothe mail arrives at this office on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays by 11 A.M. and departs for Washington City by 1 P.M. the same days.

The Zanesville mail leaves this office every Tuesday at 1 P.M. and arrives at Zanesville the next day by 6 o'clock P.M. Leaves Zanesville every Thursday by 6 o'clock A.M. and arrives at this office the next day by noon.

The Wood Court House mail departs from and arrives at this office every Monday.

Those who wish to send letter by the mail from this office ought to deposit them in the office by 9 o'clock A.M.

Samuel Hoit,
Post-Master & Agent

 

Cabinet Ware

The Ohio Gazette & Virginia Herald, February 6, 1809

The subscriber has on hand a quantity of the first rate Cabinet Ware, which he offers for sale on the lowest terms for Cash, or different kinds of Country Produce. He is also completely provided with a stock of the first rate Mahogany and other suitable materials for carrying on the Cabinet business effectually.

N.B. A Boy who can come well recommended is wanted to learn the above business; also a Journeyman who can handle with neatness and dispatch is wanted.

Alexander Hill.

Jan. 24th, 1809.

 

Francis Thierry

American Friend & Marietta Gazette, August 25, 1832

Obituary

Died at his residence in Ohio township [Gallia County] of Typhus Fever, on Thursday 2d inst., Mr. Francis Thierry, aged 67 years.  He was a native of France and emigrated to this country in 1790, was one of the first settlers of Marietta, Washington County, Ohio, and long a respectable citizen of that place; he has left a wife and large family of children to mourn the loss of a kind husband and affectionate father.

Gallia Phoenix

 

Halloween Reports

The [Marietta College] Olio, November 6, 1886

As exaggerated reports of Halloween are abroad and have evidently received credence by the president, a few words on the subject may not be amiss. 

In the first place there was no drunkenness.  This fact we wish to emphasize and the man who started the report of drunkenness lied. If the president has any evidence of drunkenness the great body of students wish him to discipline the offenders. Otherwise, unproven charges only tend to alienate the best students from the faculty.

Secondly, there was not a desire to destroy property. The bench, worth perhaps a dollar or two, was destroyed before the main body of students reached the campus. A few years ago the students saved the college fence from destruction and would do so now, if necessary.

Lastly, the police were more rowdyish than the students. An officer of the law who cannot refrain from profanity is no better than a criminal rowdy.  The police on Halloween were profane and abusive and smelled of whisky.

Ohio Company Suit

The Marietta Intelligencer, August 22, 1850

Notice is hereby given to Temple Cutler of Massachusetts, and the unknown heirs of Rufus Putnam, Manasseh Cutler, Griffin Greene, and Robert Oliver, that on the 21st day of August A.D. 1850, William S. Ward and Charles R. Rhodes filed a bill in Chancery, which is now pending against them in the Court of Common Pleas of Washington County in chancery, the object and prayer of which is to compel the said defendants to release to said Ward & Rhodes, all their title and interest in the several lots and parcels of land in the Ohio Company's purchase, which have not been heretofore partitioned or divided amongst the proprietors thereof.

Welch & Rhodes,

Solicitors for Complainants

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.

 

Campus Martius Room

The Marietta Register, April 7, 1883

One of the rooms of Campus Martius is still standing as it stood originally, though enclosed as a room in a house. The house also stands on an adjoining lot 18 feet square, for which Dr. H. B. Shipman has a deed. He will need a lawyer to get possession however.

Warrant for a General Town Meeting

The Marietta Gazette, July 19, 1834

To Griffin Greene, Esq., Marshal of the Town of Marietta - Greeting:

You are hereby commanded to notify the qualified electors of said Town, in the manner authorized by law, that a general Town Meeting will be held at the old Court House on Saturday, the 19th inst. at 2 P.M.

1st. To choose a Chairman and Clerk; then to take into consideration the resolution of the Council of the 12th ult. which is as follows, viz:

Resolved, That the Mayor be authorized to call a general Town Meeting, to answer and act on the following articles:

     1st. Whether the Town will advise and agree to the purchase of ground for the enlargement of the Mound Burying Ground.

     2d. Whether the Town will agree that the Streets between the Mound square and the square easterly thereof be enclosed and occupied as a part of the Burying Ground.

     3d. To act on any other business which may be submitted in relation to said Burying Ground.

     4th. To act on such propositions as may be submitted relative to amendments of the Charter of the Town.

And due return make of this warrant, with the service thereon.

given under my hand and seal of the Corporation, at the Mayor's Office, this first day of July, A.D. one thousand eight hundred and thirty four.

Nahum Ward, Mayor.

A true copy.

     Attest Griffin Greene, Marshal.

Marietta Woman Recalls Sufferings in '84 Flood

Marietta Daily Times, February 19, 1937

The 1913 and 1937 floods may have come higher in Marietta than did the memorable one of 1884 and damage may have been greater, but for actual suffering, the inundation of 53 years ago holds first place in disaster annals in the opinion of many old time residents who have experienced all of them as well as the lesser floods in the intervening years.

Lack of modern facilities in 1884 made the suffering more severe said Mrs. William H. Lord of 423 Fifth Street, who discussed the floods this week.  Mrs. Lord lives high and dry now in her Fifth Street home. The same was true in 1913. In 1884, however, her home was on Gilman Street on the west side of the Muskingum in the town of Harmar.

The Lord home stood on Gilman Street at the present B. & O. railroad crossing and the flood waters climbed until they were at least a foot deep in the second floor. The family was among the more fortunate ones in that part of Harmar on that occasion in that they saved most of their furnishings and personal effects.

Become Refugees

As the waters climbed the walls of their home and they realized they must abandon the place, they were taken out in a boat and were rowed to dry ground near the Douglas Putnam home - now the home of Edward MacTaggart.

"We were going to the hills - any place to find a haven," said Mrs. Lord. "In those days the only house on Harmar Hill was the old Strecker home, now owned and occupied by Miss Del Strecker. We thought we might be able to find shelter in a barn. As we stepped out of our boat at the Putnam place, Mrs. Putnam inquired where we were going. We told her our plight. Instantly, she insisted that she would take us in.

"We found a haven in the Putnam place along with approximately two hundred others whom the Putnams had taken in. The great house was packed with people and the refugees slept in most every conceivable position. Food was a problem, and, when we arrived, Mrs. Putnam said: "We have room for you and food enough for breakfast tomorrow morning, then we must find some source of supply."

Food is Found

"During the night, food supplies were found. I presume the men located stores that still had things to eat. At any rate, food was provided and gradually, the situation relaxed. We remained with the Putnams until the waters subsided, then we returned and began that awful task of cleaning out the mud and restoring our homes. Truly, those were trying days."

As Mrs. Lord remarked, the scarcity of homes on the high ground on the west side of the river made the situation in 1884 a difficult one. Only a few homes in Harmar were above the flood, and they were packed as was the Putnam place.

During the 1913 flood the situation, so far as buildings were concerned, was much the same as it was during last month's flood. Comfortable homes on Harmar Hill were opened by their hospitable owners and there always was "room for one more." As a result the West Side fared equally as well as did the main or eastern part of the city. The Red Cross, local relief agents and other organizations, among them the American Legion and the police and firemen, all did valiant work and helped to keep actual suffering at a minimum. 

Supplies Provided

As was done on the east side of the Muskingum, a well-stocked commissary was established. Supplies including bedding, clothing and food and fuel were provided. Capable leadership was developed. Once more, the MacTaggart home was one of the working centers and again it housed its quota of refugees. The school building and the chapel on Harmar Hill were used as added centers.

Lack of adequate shelter, scarcity of food and an almost total absence of such luxuries as city water, gas, electricity and telephones, all combined to make the 1884 disaster a more severe one than any that has followed. Property loss in the 1913 flood and again in the 1937 may have been heavier. Undoubtedly, however, they were in the words of Mrs. Lord, "trying days." 

 

Armory Is Damaged By Flood

The Marietta Daily Times, February 2, 1937:

Marietta's national guard armory, located on Front Street, suffered heavy damage in the flood and will have to be extensively repaired. A rather complete examination of the structure made Tuesday showed this.

The west wall, fronting upon the Muskingum, has broken, a large crack having opened. In fact the wall apparently has sagged and has drawn away from the cross partition.

The main floor, used for drill purposes and for public assemblages, has blown up and is a complete loss, it is said.

The adjutant general's department has instructed Lieutenant Donald Whiting to have estimates made for completely repairing the building, same to be forwarded to Columbus for final approval. Then an effort will be made to have the rebuilding operation done as a WPA project.

Other state armories in the flood zone also are said to have suffered heavily and the same course is to be followed in rehabilitating them, the adjutant general said.

The damage suffered at the Marietta armory, while not yet positively known, is expected to amount to several thousand dollars.

Captain Norman O. Whiting, in command of the Marietta company, is on special flood duty at Pomeroy and Middleport and in his absence, Lieutenant Don Whiting is in charge of the local property of the state. 

The Marietta Daily Times, February 4, 1937:

$16,000 Is Needed to Fix Armory

Engineers who have examined the Front Street armory have estimated approximately $16,000 will be required to restore the building to safe condition. 

This figure was announced on Thursday by Captain Norman O. Whiting. He is compiling the figures and will take them to Columbus later in the week at the request of the adjutant general's department. They will be placed with the state architect and as soon as possible he will come to Marietta to study the situation and gather data for plans for the repair work, it is said.

The entire west or rear wall has been thrown out of line and has broken in such a way that it will have to be taken down and re-built. The entire main floor will have to be made new. It is expected that while this is being performed, needed changes in the basement section will be authorized. Changes also will be made in the Front Street entrance, where the steps have crumbled and weakened.

 

"Liberia, and Other Poems"

Marietta Intelligencer, February 2, 1853

This is the title of a volume of from three to four hundred pages, which the authoress, Miss Ann Jones, of Marietta, desires to publish at an early day, if sufficient encouragement is proffered to pay the expense of publication.

"Liberia" is a narrative of the foundation of that Republic and of the toils and struggles of its founders, with a glance at its present condition. Some of the other poems are of a descriptive and of a narrative character, and there are a few on religious subjects.

To such of our readers as are acquainted with the authoress, we need do no more than announce her purpose of publishing to secure from them a cordial response to the call that may ere long be made upon them for subscriptions. The work will be got up in a neat and handsome style, and the subscription price will probably be $1 per volume.

An Old Block House Demolished

The Marietta Intelligencer, February 14, 1850

The property of Mr. John J. Preston, near the mouth of the Muskingum, has been bought by the Marietta Woolen Factory Company for building purposes, and Mr. P. is now removing his old dwelling.  The southerly wing of the building was an old "Block House," built in 1789. It was the first built on "the Point" - all those erected in 1788 having been built on the "stockade."

Men are now living here who used to sleep in this old "block house" during the Indian war. A large part of "the Point" was then covered with a dense forest.

The timbers of the old block are most of them as sound as when first put together. Most of them are poplar, but now and then we notice a stick of ash, oak and beech. Is not this the last of the "block houses" that has stood entire in Marietta for more than 60 years?

 

Employment for Boys

Marietta Intelligencer, March 30, 1848

The occurrences of the last week in this town must excite in the minds of all who love morality and good order a desire that something may be done to rescue our youth from the paths of vice in which so many of them are now walking.

On Saturday, John Cable, a boy not yet fourteen years of age, was sentenced to twelve years imprisonment in the Penitentiary for the crime of Arson; and Charles Kerr, aged seventeen years, to three years imprisonment for Horse Stealing. Young Kerr lived in Newport in this County and was convicted of stealing, some weeks since, the Horses of J. Dowling of Fearing.

Young Cable was convicted of burning the barn of J. C. McCoy of Harmar. Two other indictments were found against Cable - one for attempting to burn the house of Mr. McCoy, and one for attempting to poison Mrs. McCoy. Another, we hear, might have been found against him for Perjury, in swearing the crime for which he was convicted upon an innocent boy in an examination before a Justice, soon after the burning.

He has since his imprisonment twice attempted to burn the Jail. When upon his trial, it was found that he had a stone in his pocket, which he declared he would throw at Mrs. McCoy and which was wrested from him with great difficulty. When the Jury rendered their verdict he caught up a Law Book and threw at the Jurors, hitting one of them in the face. He was tried upon only one indictment. So desperate and malicious a criminal as this boy has probably never been seen in our Court House. 

Kerr, on the other hand, manifested a penitent spirit. He has no doubt been led into the commission of crime thro' the influence of his uncle, against whom an indictment was found, but who has not yet been arrested.  

At the very time when these boys were receiving their sentence, two other boys, one fifteen and the other sixteen years of age, were under examination before the Mayor on a charge of having committed nine burglaries during the previous night. They confessed the crime and are now in Jail waiting their trial. If the complaints against them are all pressed, the shortest term for which they can be sent to the Penitentiary is twenty seven years each. The following is a brief history of their transactions on Friday night.

They broke open Roberts and Beach's Tailor Shop and took a roll of cloth, two pairs of pants and two vests, one of which was on the younger boy when he was arrested. They then went to J. M. Booth's Cabinet Shop, opened a tool chest and took a bit &c., with which they opened A. Regnier's Grocery, from which they took some change, herring, crackers, candy, &c. &c. They went into Soule's Hat Shop, but took nothing by a single piece of silver coin. From T. P. Harsberger's Tailor Shop, they took two coats, a trunk, and sundry articles of small value. From the Library Hall Building they took two silver watches and two gold coins. From Theis' Shoe Shop they took a pair of boots. The Masonic Hall was also broken open, but we do not learn what they took. From the Sons of Temperance Hall they took some of the emblems from the officers' regalia and the marbles used in balloting.

These boys, with four or five others of about the same age or younger, have for several weeks past been engaged in stealing eggs, chickens and provisions in every part of the town, and the night before their arrest one of their associates stole a skiff and went to Parkersburg with eighty dozen eggs - a part of the plunder which the gang had been gathering for the two or three weeks previous. The two lads arrested do not, however, implicate any others in the burglaries, but declare that they had no associates in that business. They told where the stolen property was concealed, and it was found - as was also a great deal that had never been missed. Among other things, they had about 30 keys of all sizes and descriptions.

This is a sad tale of juvenile iniquity and one which we should be slow to give publicity to, if any good could result from withholding a disclosure of it. But we feel that the increase of crime by our youth is a proper though mournful subject of comment, and we are not altogether without hope that by directing attention to the facts, our citizens may be led to seek a remedy. We had better look the frightful evidences of the increasing evil sternly in the face, than quietly to fold our hands in peace and conclude that "Marietta is a very moral town," and "our children," as each many says for himself, "are in no danger," or "there are only a dozen such boys in town and the sooner they are on the gallows the better!"

It is very true that this is a town more free from open vice than almost any other in the State. But it will not long be so unless parents and guardians find more regular, constant and useful employment for their children and wards than scores - we might almost say hundreds - of them now have. If idleness is much longer tolerated in so many of our lads, no man's children will be safe, and instead of a half dozen boys imprisoned for high offences, as there now are, our Jail will soon be incapable of holding a tithe of them.

Our citizens, we are sure, do not know how many boys in this town are unemployed - out of school - absolutely doing nothing but preparing for a life of shame and a death of misery. And the number, we believe, is rapidly increasing. They are now so numerous that those who have employment, or who are sent to school, can hardly pass a square without meeting them. No man can tell how many, or who, will yield to the importunities of these vicious idlers and, beginning perhaps with marbles, will go on to cards, and end with burglary. 

Let any man stand for one day about our Court House and see the boys who collect there to play marbles. Most of them are neatly dressed - many have books under their arms and stop for only a few moments as they are passing to or from school, "just to have a little fun." But there is hardly an hour in the day when only such boys are there. The John Cables are there, too, and doing a work of mischief which the teachers and parents of the school-going boys know not of. They are hearing profanity and witnessing trickery; seeing others cheat and learning to cheat themselves.

There are in this town probably a hundred boys between eight and eighteen years of age who are out of employment. The most of them have occasionally some work to do, or are sent now and then to school. But many of them go only when they please. There ought to be authority somewhere to make them go every day when a school is taught, and to keep them at some useful employment when there is no school. If their own parents are indifferent to their welfare, those who do regard the moral training of children as of some moment, should interest themselves in behalf of these candidates for destruction. They should, at least, exercise a more watchful vigilance over their own children, and not rely upon the instructions of the family to protect them from the corrupt influence of vicious associates.

Marietta Intelligencer, April 13, 1848:

Mr. Gates:

Mr. Shoop, the father of one of the boys who recently committed so many burglaries in town, for which two of them are now in jail, having reported to many persons that I sold said boys liquor on the night of their last depredations, I beg to state to the public that the report is utterly false. I never sold them any liquor. I do not keep it on my wharf boat and do not intend to. Since the boats came into my possession, I have neither sold or given liquor to those boys, to any other boys, or to any man, men, women or children. I have not even had it on the boat. I hope this emphatic denial of the prejudicial reports now circulated on the authority of a boy guilty of so many and so heinous crimes as this young Shoop, will put them to rest.

V. Payne.

The undersigned are in the employ of Mr. Payne on the Wharf Boat and know that no spirituous liquor is sold, given away, or kept on his boat.

William H. Douglass.

John Q. A. Cunningham.

Thomas Taylor.

 

 

Paving in Marietta

The Marietta Gazette, July 12, 1834:

Proposals for Paving the Streets of Marietta.

Sealed proposals will be received by the Trustees of the First Ward until Saturday, the 19th inst. at 2 o'clock P.M. for paving, with good hard sound flag stone, across the following streets, viz:

From the corner of John Mills' lot across Post street on Ohio street.

On the north side of Greene street, from J. Jennings' shop, across Second street: from the corner of S. Daniels' lot, across Third street; and from D. Gilbert's lot across Fourth street.

The flagging to be well bedded in sand, three feet wide and six inches thick, where it is to be crossed by teams; and not less than three inches thick in other parts; to be laid level with the side walk, or descending to the centre of the street,as the case may be, according to  the direction of the Trustees - leaving a free passage for the water in the gutters under the walk, covering them with stone of good length.

The Proposals will state at what price per rod the work will be done by the 10th day of August, another third to be done by the 1st day of September, at which time an order on the Treasurer for one half of the amount contracted for will be given; and the whole work must be completed by the 15th of September, to the satisfaction of the Trustees.

If the work is not done, a forfeiture of 25 per cent will be deducted from the whole sum contracted for, and the work given to some other person, unless some unforeseen cause should prevent its completion.

S. Daniels, N. Bishop, J. Lewis, Trustees.

  

                                        *     *     *     *

Resolved By the Mayor, Recorder, and Trustees of the Town of Marietta, That a paved foot walk, four feet wide, of hard burnt brick, or smooth flag stone, be made the present season, from the corner of the Court House lot on Second and Putnam streets, and on the eastwardly side of Second street to and across Scammel street, to the corner of lot No. 569, thence across Second street to the corner of lot 570, thence on the northerly side of Scammel street to Front street; and from the corner of lot No. 665 across Putnam strreet to the corner of square No. 52.

Resolved, That a gravel walk be made on the westwardly side of Second street, from Scammel street to the foot of Liberty Hill, and from Second street, on the northerly side of Scammel street, to Fourth street, except across the drains, which are to be made of stone.

Resolved, That the crossings of the streets, culverts on the drains, and the gravel from the drains north of the Methodist Meeting House on Second street, and from Second street to Fourth street, on the northerly side of Scammel street, be done at the expense of the third ward; and that the residue be done at the expense of the lots, or the owners of the same on said lines, so as aforesaid; all under the direction of the Trustees of the Third Ward.

Nahum Ward, Mayor.

J. P. Wightman, Recorder.

Passed June 30th, 1834.

 

Letter from Mrs. Gage

Marietta Intelligencer, April 6, 1853

The Ohio Cultivator for April 1 contains a letter from Mrs. Gage, from which we make the subjoined extracts:

I last week visited the home of my childhood in Washington county, the oldest county in the State. Perhaps I am partial, but I fancy there are farmers there as "well to do" in the world as you will often find - not millionaires, but men and women who have learned the grand secret of being comfortable about as thoroughly as any other people I know of. I visited the townships of Marietta, Newport, Belpre and Union (the latter place of my nativity). They are wide awake on the great themes of the day, such as Devons, Ayrshires, Durhams, Merinos, Saxonys and Cotswold - Shanghaes, Polands and Durkings.

The women do not seem to be much in favor of women's rights theoretically, but they are getting monstrously out of their "spheres," for they talk about all these great progressions and improvements as knowingly as the men, and some even dare to take railroad stock, bank stock, and have their say about plank roads, with the rest of them - wonder what it will all come to.  *  *   

As I rode from farm to farm in the old familiar places of my childhood, I could not help thinking that they needed some contrivance to prevent the necessity of getting out of their carriages so often to open gates. A few years ago the roads all lay along the river banks. Now, as economy in distances seems to require, they are in many of the old neighborhoods thrown through the farms, which makes long lanes and diverse gates necessary. On one occasion I remember our lady driver alighted and opened fifteen. This, in a muddy or dusty time, would be no enviable job, and we would advise your lady readers in the country to examine "Enoch Woolman's Patent Gate," which can be opened and shut while in the carriage. You will recollect we looked at it together while at Cleveland last fall. There was a drawing of it in the Cultivator not long since (vol. 8, page 277).  * *

While visiting the family of G. W. Barker, one of the little boys brought in a basket of the largest hen's eggs I ever saw. I enquired by what breed they were produced. Mrs. Barker replied that none of the brag breeds had done the wonder - that she had been in the practice of selecting the largest and finest eggs for setting for a number of years, and in this way had much improved her stock of fowls - a large assortment being a mixture of the old varieties. Those who cannot afford pay the high prices for eggs and fowls of the large kinds, would do well to improve their poultry by this simple but certain method.  * *

 

A Pioneer Memorial

Marietta Register, undated clipping

Editors Register: 

The place, used as a burying ground by the early settlers of Lower Belpre is near the river bank on the farm of Edwin Guthrie [Newbury Cemetery, Little Hocking]. Many persons were buried there who left no descendants here, but the spot has been kept sacred by Mr. Guthrie to this day. Among those whose remains lie there are Mrs. Denham and two children, who were killed and scalped by the Indians only a few rods from the spot where they were buried; and Mr. and Mrs. Spacht, grandparents of the Humphrey family.

Lately, Mr. Shepard Humphrey and his brother of Troy Township, Athens County, and Selden Humphrey of Meigs County, have had a fine monument erected at a cost of one hundred and fifty dollars on this early resting place of the dead, bearing this inscription:

Pioneers 

of 

Ohio.

Anthony Spacht,

and his wife

Catharine.

Hannah

wife of

Joseph Guthrie.

____ Stratton.

____ Bliss.

____ Denham.

One woman and two children killed by the Indians. These and some others, names not remembered, died, and were buried, near this spot, between 1790 and 1810. Erected by some of their descendants as a token of their memory.

Morgan Raiders Gave Good Scare

Sunday Morning Observer, April 15, 1917

Marietta prepared to give them warm reception, but they failed to come this way.

At this time when the country is on the threshold of real activity in another war, it is interesting to look back over the past and glance at the wars that have been and note the side lines and pick up the little things that happened in and about old Marietta from where many of her sons went forth to battle.

One of the always interesting stories of that war is the one of Morgan's Raid. The "Home Cuards" of that time were kept busy to get ready to "head him off," but he never got within gun shot of the "loved ones" at Marietta. The story is often told of the local activities. 

Morgan Raiders crossed the Ohio River below Cincinnati.  The main body did not enter the city. They were next heard from where they crossed the Little Miami R.R. a few miles below Loveland. There they boarded a passenger train. Their route was towards Jackson, passing through Piketon and Berlin to Cheshire, Gallia County.  At Buffington Island, a few succeeded in crossing the river and escaped. The river was being patrolled by ferryboats converted into gunboats by building up the sides with baled hay.  These prevented the main body from crossing the river.  Morgan then started through Vinton County, passed through Nelsonville to the northeast and was captured before reaching the Ohio River.

Col. Benjamin P. Runkle brought a train load of troops from Chillicothe to Moore's Junction and established a camp there.  Part of the troops were cared for at Marietta.  At the camp there were some ten or twelve locomotives with train crews and cars.  Earth works were constructed at the William P. Cutler farm at Constitution.  Trains were constantly taking fresh troops to the trenches and bringing back those who had been working there.  

There must be some mistake regarding the hay placed on the railroad bridge at Marietta for the purpose of burning it. It was placed there, undoubtedly, as a barricade and not with a view to burning the bridge. A can of oil and a lighted match would have accomplished that purpose.  

Col. Runkle's troops probably saved Marietta from a visit from Morgan.

 

Death of Aunt Fanny

Marietta Intelligencer, April 6, 1853

Died of paralysis on the morning of the 18th Instant [March 18], in Adams Township, at the residence of Mr. P. B. Buell, Aunt Fanny, in the 92nd year of her age.

The deceased was a native of Virginia, in which state she lived about sixty years in slavery. She was a woman of unusually strong and vigorous mind, every faculty of which she retained to the day of her death.

Her cheerful and affectionate disposition, and her long residence with the family in which she died, had endeared her to all. She has lived and done good, while three successive generations have passed away. May her future be as happy as her past has been free from blame.

[Note: The 1850 Census of Adams Township, Washington County, Ohio, lists a blind, black female named Fanny Fitzhugh living in the household of Peres and Elizabeth Buell. She was born in Virginia, and her age appears to be 87 or 57.] 

Mary Ransom Stone

American Friend, July 12, 1822

State of Ohio, 

Washington County, ss.

Clerk's Office Supreme Court, Marietta

July 6th, 1822

Whereas Mary Stone, of Marietta, in said county, hath this day filed in this Office, her petition to the Judges of the said Supreme Court, next to be holden within and for said county. Wherein she represents that on the 25th day of February, A.D. 1798, the said petitioner (then Mary Ransom) was lawfully married to Derick Stone, then of Sandgate, county of Bennington and state of Vermont. That she has been abused and neglected by her said husband - who in the month of June, 1818, ordered and obliged her to quit the house wherein they then resided.  And that, ever since that time, the said Derick has wholly neglected and absented himself from said petitioner, nor has he in any way contributed to her support and maintenance. And praying for the causes aforesaid, that the bands of matrimony between said Mary and Derick Stone may be dissolved, &c.

Notice is, therefore, hereby given to the said Derick Stone, that he be and appear before the Judges of our said Supreme Court at the Court house in Marietta, in said county, on the seventeenth day of October next, being the first day of the next term of said Court, within, and for said county, to answer the allegations of said petition, and shew cause if any he have, why the prayer thereof should not be granted.

Attest,

Geo. Dunlevy, Clerk.

Reuben Merriam Atty. for Petitioner.

[Note: "1798 Feb. 25  Derick Stone and Polly Ransom," as published in "Sandgate, Vermont, Marriages (A list of persons married by James Murdock)," Genealogy: A Journal of American Ancestry, ed. by William Montgomery Clemens, Vol. X, No. 5, October 1921, p. 39]

 

Fourth Will Be Observed

Marietta Daily Times, July 3, 1918

The nation's second "War-Fourth" will be celebrated in a fitting manner in Washington County, but instead of the usual "fire works," the day will be quietly spent. Many community celebrations are being planned and at nearly every one some war fund will be the chief object of interest.

The picnic and dance at the Country Club, which will through the generosity of the board of managers be thrown open to the public, is sure to be a popular event. Admission will be free and only a nominal charge made for the dancing which will be held in the evening.

Racing will be the order of the day at the Fair Grounds where some really notable talent is on the card. The racing will start at one o'clock and Dr. Gale of Newport will act as starter.

Beautiful Fern Cliff park will be open all day for picnickers and other features will abound.

Over in Williamstown arrangements have been made for the proper observance of the day. A basket picnic on the High School grounds, with a patriotic speech by Hon. Harry Hiteshew of Parkersburg and an auction for the benefit of the Red Cross, are only a few of the things arranged by the committee in charge.

On the Stowe farm up the Muskingum, the Elks are going to hold a picnic outing which promises to prove of unusual enjoyment to the members of the local organization.

Under the auspices of the Barlow Township War Board a flag raising and auction for the benefit of the Red Cross, with an all day picnic, are a few of the many attractions arranged for the pleasure of the people of that community.

At Eight Mile, patriotic addresses, athletic games and a ball game, with an all day picnic, will enable the people of that neighborhood to pass a pleasant and enjoyable day.

Last but by no means least in importance comes the banquet which the Safe-Cabinet company will tender the members of its selling organization at the Hotel Lafayette Thursday night. No details as to the entertainment of the men are being given out, but as is customary with Safe-Cabinet functions there is sure to be nothing lacking for the amusement of the visitors. Special music and other features will be offered for the pleasure of the sales club.

 

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.

Early Laws

Marietta Intelligencer, September 5, 1839

I have been interested in looking over an old volume of the Territorial Laws, to notice the provision made by our early rulers for the prevention of certain misdemeanors, which, whether more or less prevalent at that period, are certainly too common at the present day. Whatever might be thought of the expediency of such a law in our times, we can only look back upon it with respect for those who were its authors. A more strict regard to its injunctions would be attended with positive good to this generation.     D.

The following is an extract from "A Law respecting Crimes and Punishments, published by his Excellency, Arthur St. Clair, Esquire, Governour, and the Honourable Samuel Holden Parsons, and James Mitchell Varnum, Esquires, Judges of the Territory of the United States northwest of the river Ohio, at the city of Marietta, the sixth day of September, in the thirteenth year of the Independence of the United States, and of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-eight."

Drunkenness

If any person shall be convicted of drunkenness before one or more Justices of the Peace, the person so convicted shall be fined for the first offence in the sum of five dimes, and for every succeeding offence, and upon conviction, in the sum of one dollar; and in either case, upon the offender's neglecting or refusing to pay the fine, he shall be set in the stocks for the space of one hour. Provided, however, that complaint be made to the justice or justices within two days next after the offence shall have been committed.

Improper and Profane Language

Wherever idle, vain and obscene conversation, profane cursing and swearing, and more especially the irreverently mentioning, calling upon, or invoking the sacred and Supreme Being, by any of the divine characters in which he hath graciously condescended to reveal his infinitely beneficent purposes to mankind, are repugnant to every moral sentiment, subversive to every civil obligation, inconsistent with the ornaments of polished life, and abhorrent to the principles of the most benevolent religion. It is expected, therefore, if crimes of this kind should exist, they will not find encouragement, countenance, or approbation in this territory. It is strictly enjoined upon all officers and ministers of justice upon parents, and others, heads of families, and upon others of every description, that they abstain from practices so vile and irrational; and that by example and precept to the utmost of their power, they prevent the necessity of adopting and publishing laws, with penalties upon this head. And it is hereby declared that government will consider as unworthy its confidence all those who may obstinately violate these injunctions.

First Day of the Week

Whereas, mankind in every stage of informed society, have consecrated certain portions of time to the particular cultivation of the social virtues, and the public adoration and worship of the common parent of the universe; and whereas a practice so rational in itself and conformable to the divine precepts is greatly conducive to civilization as well as morality and piety; and whereas for the advancement of such important and interesting purposes, most of the christian world have set apart the first day of the week as a day of rest from common labours and pursuits; it is therefore enjoined that all servile labour, works of necessity and charity only excepted, be wholly abstained from on said day."

 

Basin at the Mouth of Market Square Run

Marietta Intelligencer, September 5, 1839

The authorities of the Town have commenced the excavation for this work in good earnest.  Under their direction about four hundred loads of earth are daily removed.  Twelve hundred loads have been placed at the foot of Post Street for a new landing at that place.  This is done partly at the expense of Messrs. Marshall and Lewis who own property in that vicinity. Mr. Soyez has purchased one thousand loads for a new landing in front of his premises. Large quantities of earth have been placed on the old landings at the foot of Front and Market Streets. After the excavation is completed, we believe it is proposed to place guard locks below the bridge; and above the bridge both dry and wet docks will be erected. The water from the run will be taken across the commons by a culvert, nearly on the line of Butler Street.  A portion of the earth from the culvert will be taken to fill the low ground on the east side of Front Street, and this street will thus be made straight. 

We understand the water for the mills will be taken from the basin about midway between the bridge and the river by a mill race about 30 feet wide. The length of the mill race will be about 350 feet, and will require an excavation of about 6529 cubic yards.

 

A New Marietta Industry

The Marietta Tri-Weekly Register, December 18, 1890

The Liedecker Tool Company paid a fair price for the Franks' property on Second Street and have industriously labored for the last three months in cleaning and painting the extensive buildings and putting in new and expensive machinery for lathe, forge and drill work. three or four forges are already in place, with derricks hung to swing the great red chunks of iron and steel to and from the ponderous steam-hammer, which works so nicely that it can break the crystal of a watch and leave the works unharmed, or flatten, at a single blow, a huge roll of iron or steel.

The boilers are new and the machinery throughout moves noiselessly. A great tank for water is erected and is the work of William Harris of Marietta.

Much of the work in putting in place the intricate machinery was done by Thomas Goldsmith, a former Marietta boy, who is now a good machinist. He works under the immediate supervision of Messrs. W. G. Hayes and I. S. Shryrock, two of the proprietors, who thoroughly understand their business. A. N. Dyer is the blacksmith now at the forge, a veritable John Brown, of Harper's Ferry fame, in skill and determination.

This firm will be enabled to cut the most delicate thread in iron or steel, or rift the heaviest output of the blue-flamed forge. 

About 1837, John O. Cram, A. T. Nye and Mr. Hendrie erected a foundry on this identical spot, and subsequently Franks & Hendrie's great oval sign - "Machine Shop" - hung over the gateway.

It is no child's play to set this great industry in motion for very little of the old machinery left in the building by Captain Franks could be utilized readily and remodeled to suit modern ideas; for at one side of the building lies, rusty and forlorn, one of the engines of the "Miles Greenwood" build of "ye olden time."

The upper rooms will be utilized for sleeping apartments, in part, and for lighter machinery and storage. Natural gas sheds its radiant heat throughout.

Not only are they experts in machinery adapted to every branch of the oil business, but this enterprising firm understand all the intricacies of gas fitting and plumbing as well as heavier work.

An establishment of this kind in the center of a fast developing oil territory, and with the advantages of gas, coke, coal, rail and river transportation, etc., cannot fail to successfully compete with foreign plants.

 

New Buildings and Remodeling

The Marietta Tri-Weekly Register, March 25, 1890

As the spring opens, many new buildings are being constracted for and the fronts and interiors of business houses are being made more modern.

Mr. P. J. Donnelly will erect a handsome residence on Greene Street next to Mr. J. L. Reckard.

The store-room occupied by Otto Brothers has been greatly improved by a plate glass front and display windows.

Mrs. Col. W. B. Mason will erect a handsome $2,000 residence on the corner of Third and Sacra Via streets, this spring, that will be occupied by herself and family. She also has two good residences next below on Third Street.

The room to be occupied by our new furniture and undertaking men, Messrs. Weiser & Reynolds, next door above J. F. Wehrs & Son on Front Street, is being remodeled inside and out. They will occupy the entire building with their business. The front stairs are being taken out and a handsome plate glass front will be put in.

Mr. J. H. Grafton has broken ground at his beautiful Fourth Street property for two handsome ten-room residences. They will be modern in architecture, equipped with all modern appliances, including water pipes, etc. The plan shows a conveniently arranged house, and one that will be attractive in appearance.

Mr. H. W. Stanley will erect a handsome and substantial residence near the corner of Second and Wooster streets.

Messrs. Dye Brothers expect to build next above the City Hall and city residence on Third Street.  Mr. John Bickert contemplates building on the other half of the same lot. Both houses will be a credit to that recently greatly improved street.

Capt. Martin Noll will commence the erection of his new residence on Second Street between Putnam and Scammel, as soon as work on the ice factory has progressed sufficiently to allow. He has modern ideas of a residence and will put up that kind.

The First National Bank block is being remodeled and improved throughout. The third floor was rearranged and has now some nice offices, a part of which are occupied by the Argand Refining Company. The second floor has been entirely changed and arranged to supply the wants of the Macksburg Pipe Line Company, which will move its offices from Macksburg to this city and occupy that floor April 1st. The banking rooms are to be changed and greatly improved. The windows in the entire building have been made full size, and a furnace has been placed in the cellar, which heats all the offices in the building.

Mr. J. D. Lashley's new residence on Second Street, Harmar, is nearing completion and is one of the most attractive in Harmar or Marietta. It will soon be the most attractive in Marietta.