Ohio History Journal

MARIETTA CENTENNIAL NUMBER.

OHIO

Archaeological and Historical

 

QUARTERLY.

 

 

Vol. II.           JUNE, 1888.               No. 1

 

 

THE CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION AT MARIET-

TA, APRIL SEVENTH, 1888.

PRELIMINARY MOVEMENTS.

THE Washington County Pioneer Association, as early

as their annual meeting held April 7th, 1881, decided to

undertake a Centennial Celebration of the first organized

and permanent settlement of the Territory Northwest of

the River Ohio, to be observed in Marietta, April seventh,

1888. Further attention was given to the subject at the

ninety-fifth anniversary of the settlement, held April sev-

enth, 1883, at which time Hon. George B. Loring delivered

the leading address.

At the first meeting of the Ohio Archaeological and His-

torical Society, held in Columbus, March 13, 1885, it was

resolved, "That this Society will gladly participate in the

proposed celebration to be held in the city of Marietta on

the seventh of April, 1888, to commemorate the application

of the principles of the Ordinance [of 1787] in the first per-

manent occupation of the soil of Ohio by systematic colo-

nization."

An invitation was extended by the Washington County

 

Vol. II-1

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2     Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly.

Pioneer Association, at the annual meeting on April 7th,

1886, to the Ohio Archaeological and Historical Society to

hold their annual meeting at Marietta on April seventh,

1888, instead of at the usual time at Columbus. This invi-

tation was accepted by the Society at its meeting Febru-

ary 24th, 1887.

In making their preparations for the celebration, the

Pioneer Association received a most cordial and efficient

support, not only from its own members but also from the

people of Marietta and vicinity. The money to meet nec-

essary expenses was raised, first-by certificates of mem-

bership of the Association, which were taken at $1 each,

largely through the labors and influence of the ladies.

The amount realized from this source for expenses was

$1,050.54. Second -a guarantee fund amounting to $2,000

was subscribed by a number of gentlemen. The total ex-

penses were $1,960.00, which were paid by first applying

all the funds of the Association arising from memberships,

and then by a draft of 50 per cent. on the guarantee fund,

which provides for the balance of expenses and for the

publication of proceedings and addresses.

Preparations were made for the accommodation and en-

tertainment of the Ohio Archaeological and Historical So-

ciety; and Thursday evening, April fifth, and all of the sixth

were assigned to the business and appropriate exercises of

the Society. The several members were notified and in-

vited to attend, a large number of whom were present to

participate in the proceedings of the interesting occasion.

THE PROGRAMME OF EXERCISES.

The following was the order of exercises for the meet-

ing of the Ohio Archaeological and Historical Society,

which formed a part of the general celebration;

THURSDAY, APRIL 5TH. 1888-7:30 P. M.

AT  THE  CITY HALL

MUSIC

President's Annual Address.......... . F. C. SESSIONS, Esq., of Columbus

MUSIC.

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The Centennial Celebration at Marietta.          3

 

Address ..................................The Building of the State

Judge JOSEPH Cox, of Cincinnati.

MUSIC.

 

FRIDAY, APRIL 6TH-2 P. M.

MUSIC.

Address .   ....................Why is Ohio Called the Buckeye State?

Hon. WILLIAM M. FARRAR, of Cambridge, Ohio.

MUSIC.

Hon. R. B. HAYES, of Ohio

Short Addresses ...............  Hon. GEO. F. HOAR, of Massachusetts

DAVID FISHER, Esq., of Michigan

Prof. F. W. PUTNAM, of Massachusetts

MUSIC.

CITY HALL, 7:30 P. M.

MUSIC.

Address ................A Familiar Talk About Monarchists and Jacobins

Hon. WILLIAM HENRY SMITH, of New York.

MUSIC.

A programme of exercises, suitable to the seventh of

April, the Centennial Day proper, was prepared, and Sena-

tor Geo. F. Hoar, of Massachusetts, and Hon. J. Randolph

Tucker, of Virginia, were invited to make the principal

addresses, and His Excellency, Governor J. B. Foraker to

make the opening address of welcome. The following

programme was carried out:

CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION

OF THE FIRST SETTLEMENT OF THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY UNDER THE

ORDINANCE Of 1787, AT MARIETTA, OHIO, APRIL 7, 1888.

 

ORDER OF EXERCISES APRIL 7, 1888.

At Sunrise, a salute of thirteen guns was fired.

CITY HALL, 9:30 A. M.

The meeting was called to order by DOUGLAS PUTNAM, President of the

Washington County Pioneer Association.

PRAYER, BY DR. A. L. CHAPIN, OF WISCONSIN.

Overture - "American," ......................... ......... Weegand

CINCINNATI GRAND ORCHESTRA.

Address of Welcome ...........................by the Governor of Ohio

HON. J. B. FORAKER.

MUSIC.

Gavotte -" First Heart Throbs," ............................. Eslenberg

CINCINNATI GRAND ORCHESTRA.

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4       Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly.

 

Oration....................Senator GEORGE F. HOAR, of Massachusetts

MUSIC.

Serenade ...................................................... Tittle

Short Addresses.                Hon. R. B. HAYES, Ex-President of the United States.

Short Addresses.              BERNARD PETERS, Esq., of Brooklyn, N. Y.

MUSIC.

Finale.   ......... ......................................Hail Columbia

At 12:30 a salute of one hundred guns was fired, and the bells of the

city were rung in honor of the arrival of the Mayflower, one hundred years

ago to-day, " when the sun was at the meridian."

 

AFTERNOON EXERCISES - AT CITY HALL, 1:30 P. M.

MUSIC.

Overture - "Zampa,"......................................... Harold

CINCINNATI GRAND ORCHESTRA.

Oration ..........................Hon J. RANDOLPH TUCKER, of Virginia

MUSIC.

National Airs................................................... Carton

CINCINNATI GRAND ORCHESTRA.

Letter read, from  ..............Hon. GEORGE B. LORING, of Massachusetts

Address ..........................Hon. SAMUEL F. HUNT, of Cincinnati

Selection - "Nanon,"............................................ Genee

CINCINNATI GRAND ORCHESTRA.

Address .................Rev. EDWARD EVERETT HALE, of Massachusetts

MUSIC.

Finale - " America," .........     .......................... Mailard

At sunset a National salute of thirty-eight guns was fired.

8 P. M.- GENERAL RECEPTION AT THE CITY HALL.

At which all had an opportunity to meet the distinguished guests of the

occasion.

During the reception the Cincinnati Grand Orchestra executed the

following Programme:

March - Our Country ...........................      ...........Krael

Overture - Martha..............................................Flotow

Gaite Waltzes..................................   ......... Waldteufel

Selection- " Black Hussar,". .............. ..................Mellorcker

INTERMISSION.

Overture - Poet and Peasant ......................................Sappe

Gavotte - Separation.......................................... Brandt

Cornet Solo - Polka de Concert .................................Bellsted

MR. HENRY SEVERS,

Selection - Erminie ....................................  Jacobowsky.

The exercises for Sunday, the eighth of April, were com-

mitted to the pastors of the several churches in Marietta

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The Centennial Celebration at Marietta.     5

 

and Harmar, and the following programme was carried out

through the day:

10:30 A. M.--Religious services at the various churches,

as usual, by the pastors or visiting clergymen. Rev. C. E.

Dickinson gave an historical discourse in the Congregational

Church. Mr. Bernard Peters, of Brooklyn, N. Y., delivered

a discourse in the Unitarian Church.

3:00 P. M.-At City Hall, Rev. Dr. Boyd, presiding. Order

of service: 1. Singing. 2. Reading of Scripture. 3. Prayer

by Rev. Dr. I. N. Sturtevant. 4. Singing. 5. Address,

by Rev. Dr. H. M. Storrs, of New Jersey. 6. Singing.

7. Benediction.

7:30 P. M.--Platform  Meeting at City Hall, President

John Eaton presiding. Order of service: 1. Singing. 2.

Prayer by Dr. J. F. Tuttle. 3. Singing. 4. Addresses by

Dr. A. L. Chapin, ex-President of Beloit College, and Dr.

Joseph F. Tuttle, President of Wabash College. 5. Sing-

ing. 6. Addresses, by Rev. Dr. I. N. Sturtevant, of Cleve-

land, Rev. Dr. E. E. Hale, of Boston, and Dr. B. W. Arnett,

of Wilberforce University. 7. Singing. 8. Benediction.

7:30 P. M.-At the Unitarian Church.-Sermon, or ad-

dresses, by Rev. Dr. E. E. Hale, Rev. Dr. Sturtevant, and

Professor Dean, of Hiram College.

 

THE CELEBRATION.

Some apprehensions were indulged as to the state of the

weather that might be expected at so early a time in the

spring season. A kind Providence seemed to have interposed

most auspiciously in that respect, as the following from the

Cincinnati Commercial Gazette testifies:

"All the days of the Celebration were lovely, and the

seventh the loveliest of them. The crimson was just peeping

from the peach trees, and the buckeye buds were swollen and

growing golden, while the faint green of the willow and the

tender pink of the maples gave the eye joy, and the sun was

brilliant as the air was bracing.

"If the pioneers struck such a springtime it is not sur-

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6      Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly.

 

prising they regarded the shores of the Ohio and Muskin-

gum as a place of rarest fascinations and rich with prom-

ises beyond anything in the soil and air of New Eng-

land."

In addition to a cordial hospitality extended by private

families, ample provision was made for meals at the Armory

Building, and a free dinner served on Saturday the seventh

to over six hundred guests. The rooms in Dr. B. F. Hart's

house were prepared for the reception and display of old

relics, and also the lecture room of the Congregational

church, which contained some more modern specimens of

art. Both of these matters were committed exclusively to

the hands of the ladies, and were conducted in a manner to

afford the greatest satisfaction.

The City Hall was handsomely decorated with National and

State emblems, representing the American, German and

French nationalities; the States formed out of the old North-

west Territory, and Massachusetts and Virginia.

Business houses and private residences were covered with

flags. Provision was made for seating, on reserved seats,

eight hundred visitors and elderly persons in attendance.

The hall itself was filled to its utmost capacity, estimated at

2,400. Overflow meetings were held in the Unitarian Church,

while the streets were crowded with people unable to gain

admittance to the exercises. The utmost good order pre-

vailed, and the occasion was one of greatest enjoyment and

most pleasant re-unions to the thousands of citizens and

visitors who were present.

 

OFFICIAL DELEGATES.

The following persons had been chosen as delegates rep-

resenting their several constituencies:

From Massachusetts, by appointment of Governor Ames,

Hon. George B. Loring, Rev. Temple Cutler, Professor Frank

W. Putnam, Rev. E. E. Hale, John J. May, Esq., all of

whom were present except Mr. Loring.

From Indiana, Hon. B. Wilson Smith, of Lafayette.

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The Centennial Celebration at Marietta.     7

 

From Wisconsin, Rev. Dr. A. L. Chapin, Ex-President of

Beloit College, and H. W. Nickerson, Esq.

From Illinois, Dr. N. C. Smith, of Paris.

From Minnesota, W. D. Mitchell, Esq.

From Rhode Island, Jas. M. Varnum, F. T. Sibley, H. T.

Drowne and Chas. Emote received appointments, but were

unable to attend.

The National Congregational Council appointed the follow-

ing delegates: Rev. I. N. Sturtevant, Rev. A. L. Chapin,

D. D., Dr. Josiah Strong, President Jas. B. Angell, of the

University of Michigan, and Lieutenant-Governor Cooke, of

Connecticut.

The American Historical Association appointed as dele-

gates Rev. A.P. Putnam, Dr. H. B. Adams, Clarence W.

Bowen, Esq., Ex-President R. B. Hayes, and Professor Geo.

W. Knight, of Ohio State University, of whom the two last

named gentlemen were present.

The American Antiquarian Society appointed as delegates

Hon. George F. Hoar, Rev. E. E. Hale, Dr. W. F. Poole, and

Dr. H. B. Adams, of whom the two first named were

present.

The New York Historical Society was represented by

Nicholas Fish, Esq., Vice President.

The following named societies appointed delegates who

were unable to attend:

New Hampshire Historical Society: Dr. I. W. Andrews and

John T. Perry.

The Rhode Island Historical Society and the Rhode Island

Society of the Cincinnati: James M. Varnum, F. T. Sibley,

H. T. Drowne and Charles Emote.

New Jersey Historical Society: Dr. I. W. Andrews.

Buffalo Historical Society: Rev. A. T. Chester, Geo. S.

Hazard and S. Guthrie.

The Athens County Pioneer Association took the following

action and were largely in attendance:

"At a special meeting of the Athens County Pioneer

Association, held October 27th, 1887, at its rooms, the fol-

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8  Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly.

 

lowing named members were selected as delegates to represent

this Association, upon invitation, at the Centennial Anni-

versary and celebration of the first settlement of the North-

west Territory, under the Ordinance of 1787, to be held at

Marietta, April 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th, 1888:

"Judge John Welch, Judge R. de Steiguer, Judge A. G.

Brown, Gen. C. H. Grosvenor, Maj. L. M. Jewett, Messrs. D.

B. Stewart, J. H. Glazier, G. M. McDougal, E. H. Moore, 0.

W. Brown, E. L. Walker, Zibe Hoskinson, Jacob Lash, Mrs.

R. de Steiguer, Mrs. E. G. Carpenter, Mrs. D. B. Stewart,

Mrs. A. S. C. Brown, Mrs. G. M. McDougal and Miss Emma

L. Carpenter."

The Historical and Philosophical Society of Cincinnati was

represented by John A. Gano, William Henry Davis and E. C.

Dawes.

Members of the Order of Cincinnatus: Wm. L. Robinson,

Murat Halstead, George Ilson, H. F. Furgeson, J. D. Cald-

well and wife, Edward Block, H. C. Ezekiel, John F. Follett

and W. Love.

Members of the Exposition Committee: James Allison,

President; Hon. Lee H. Brooks, Henry J. Snider, L. H. Mc-

Cammon, A. B. Champion, Levi C. Goodale, J. M. Blair,

George B. Kerper, Gus Honshell, A. M. Grose, J. P. Love,

S. W. Cofflin, R. S. Mannen, Gov. J. B. Foraker, Chris

Kinsinger, Wm. Ronsheim, A. J. Warner and E. B. Hub-

bard.

Marietta College Club of Cincinnati: Dr. E. E. White,

W. H. Blymger, G. H. Barbour, Esq., Judge S. N. Maxwell,

Rev. George N. Maxwell, D. D., Ernest Rehm, W. W. Dyar,

G. C. Wilson, T. H. Kelley, Henry Bosworth and Major E. C.

Dawes.

Most of the above-named gentlemen from Cincinnati were

present.

From the Hamilton County Pioneer Association, John D.

Caldwell attended as delegate.

The Muskingum County Pioneer Association was largely

represented. Numerous pioneers were present from Guern-

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The Centennial Celebration at Marietta.              9

sey and Meigs counties, from the townships in Washington

county and from all parts of Ohio and the great west.

The responsibility an      labor of making all preliminary

arrangements, and of carrying them into successful execu-

tion, devolved upon the following members of a Centennial

Central Committee, who received their authority to act

from the Pioneer Association and from the citizens of

Marietta: Dr. I. W. Andrews,¹ chairman; T. W. Moore, A

J. Warner, R. R. Dawes, O. H. Mitchell, R. M. Stimson.

Beman Gates, W. G. Way, S. L. Grosvenor and W. P.

Cutler.

 

 

 

1 To Dr. Andrews, more than to any other man, was due the incep-

tion, the arrangement and the successful consummation of the Cen-

tennial Celebration at Marietta. He labored hard and faithfully to

make glorious the anniversary of the greatest event in the history of

Ohio and the Northwest-a history with which he was so well ac-

quainted. The one shadow upon the Centennial day was the absence

of Dr. Andrews and the knowledge that he lay upon a bed of illness

many miles from the scene which he desired so much to witness. It

is with a deep and poignant sorrow that we announce his death,

which occurred at Hartford, Connecticut, April 18th, 1888. It seems

especially sad that the pages which tell of the success of the Centen-

nial should at the same time chronicle the death of him whose  st

work in life was devoted to the preparations for that anniversary.

A fitting tribute to his memory and to his services as man, scholar,

educator and writer is in preparation, by one who knew him inti-

mately, and will be presented before the Ohio Archaeological and

Historical Society, of which he was an interested and active member,

and printed in the QUARTERLY. In his death the QUARTERLY loses a

valued editor. While he was not actively engaged upon every num-

ber, his advice and opinions largely directed the beginnings of this

publication, and the first article that appeared in its pages came from

his pen. His colleagues on the Editorial Board cannot refrain at this

time from expressing their sense of personal bereavement, not only as

fellow-workers but as friends, fellow-citizens and fellow-men. The

memory will long dwell with them of the deep scholar, the broad

thinker, the successful teacher.

G. W. K.

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10    Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly.

Major Jewett Palmer was appointed Director, and the

general supervision was committed to him. His efforts re-

ceived full and efficient support from sub-committees ap-

pointed to take charge of various departments, Col. N. L.

Nye having charge of receptions, and Judge F. J. Cutter

of entertainments. Mrs. Alderman had charge of relics

and works of art, and Mrs. Mills of meals and dinner at

the Armory building. The following were the officers of

the Washington County Pioneer Association elected April

7th, 1887, to serve the ensuing year:

Douglas Putnam, President; Wm. Glines, Vice Presi-

dent (deceased); Wm. F. Curtis, Recording Secretary; R.

M. Stimson, Corresponding Secretary; F. A. Wheeler,

Treasurer. I. W. Andrews, B. F. Hart, Henry Fearing,

L. J. P. Putnam, W. P. Cutler, Executive Committee.

THE GENERAL CHARACTER OF THE CELEBRATION.

The following extract from a communication to The

Independent, by Professor George W. Knight, one of the

delegates of the American Historical Association to the

Centennial, shows the character of the celebration.

"The past thirteen years have witnessed in the United

States a series of commemorative celebrations, marking the

one-hundredth anniversary of the various leading events

attendant upon the birth and childhood of t e United

States. In 1875 came the anniversary of Lexington and

Concord, and hardly had the echoes died away when the

great celebration at Philadelphia brought to our thoughts

the violent separation from the mother country. Then

came the Yorktown Centennial, in remembrance of the

final triumph of the infant republics.

"All these celebrations were attended with memories of

strife, privation, suffering, physical and political contests.

To-day has witnessed the appropriate commemoration of

events of a very different nature. Peace, not war, has been

the theme; the founding of new governments, not the over-

turning of old political and governmental orders: the plant-

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The Centennial Celebration at Marietta.     11

ing of a State, not the tearing off of a colony from the

mother-land.  The events which have to-day been cele-

brated in this, the oldest American settlement beyond the

Ohio, mark the beginning of that steady westward march

of the pioneer, which for one hundred years has not for a

single moment been intermitted. Not Ohio alone, not the

Northwest, but the whole United States is interested and

vitally concerned in the events attendant upon the move-

ments of that little band of forty-eight pioneers, who, on

the ₇th of April, 1788, when the sun was at the meridian,'

landed at the mouth of the Muskingum and founded the

settlement of Marietta.

"Probably nowhere else in the Northwest Territory has

the true historic spirit been developed so perfectly as in

Marietta. Nowhere else is there felt-what is so rare in

America-such veneration for the deeds of the fathers, such

conscious and never-forgotten appreciation of their endeav-

ors and their aspirations; nowhere a greater, albeit an un-

obtrusive pride in their achievements.

"This local spirit and the nature of the events that occa-

sion this anniversary, combined to give a distinctive char-

acter to the celebration of to-day. The blare of trumpet,

the roll and rattle of drum, the straggling procession, the

boisterous and empty-headed oratory were notably absent,

and in their place the orderly gatherings of intelligent peo-

ple from all parts of the Union to listen to, and dwell upon

the best thoughts which the significance of the day inspired

in the minds of deep-thinking men. No better index of

the character of the occasion can be found than that among

those present were official delegates from Massachusetts,

Virginia, and other commonwealths, from the American

Historical Association, the Massachusetts, New York, Vir-

ginia, Ohio and other State Historical Societies. The Ohio

Historical Society had fittingly ushered in the great cele-

bration by holding its annual meeting here on the fifth and

sixth of April, when several addresses well befitting the

occasion were presented, that only served to whet the men-

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12    Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly.

tal appetites for the great historic and literary feast of

to-day. * * * * *

" Freedom, religion, education, morality are the keynotes

struck throughout the celebration, and Virginia and Massa-

chusetts have joined hands in congratulating themselves

and the Northwest upon the completion of the first cen-

tury of the career of the first born child of the United

States."

W. P. CUTLER.

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