THE McGUFFEY SOCIETY AT THE LOGAN
ELM
The McGuffey Society of Columbus was
organized
to perpetuate the memory of Dr. William
H. McGuffey.
He was one of Ohio's greatest
educators, but his place
in history and in the affections of
thousands is fixed by
his famous series of Readers familiar
to the present
and last two generations. The officers of this Society
conceived the original and unique idea
of a gathering
of its members and guests beneath the
shadowing
boughs of the historic Logan Elm, near
Circleville in
Pickaway County, and there with other
exercises,
formally read the Indian Chief Logan's
speech, one of
the striking features of McGuffey's
Fourth Reader, of
the edition of 1853. This eloquent and
tragic expres-
sion of savage oratory was made
imperishable in Amer-
ican history by Thomas Jefferson's Notes
on Virginia,
and its subsequent repetition in the
McGuffey's school
books.
So on June 24th, there assembled three hun-
dred people to commemorate one of the
most dramatic
incidents of American history. From
Columbus,
Circleville, Chillicothe, and the
surrounding country
came the visitors to hear the program
of the occasion.
It was a faultless day, reminding one
of Lowell's lines:
"And what is so rare as a day in
June,
Then, if ever, come perfect days;
When Heaven tries the earth if it be in
tune,
And over it softly her warm ear
lays."
The old Elm is still in the full vigor
of robust age,
for it was ancient one hundred and
forty-eight years
(355)
356 Ohio
Arch. and Hist. Society Publications ago when Logan by proxy made his celebrated speech to Lord Dunmore.
It was one of great dignity and eloquence, and embodied his dramatic protest and
bit- terness against the whites for their treatment of
his people. The
tree is located in a park now owned by the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical
Society, |
|
who received it as a gift from the Pickaway Historical Society to forever keep fresh the memory of Logan. Beneath its shade the following program was suc- cessfully developed: 1. "The
Scioto Valley," an address by Hon. Daniel J. Ryan, of the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical
Society. 2. "Logan and the Logan Elm," an address by
the Hon. James E. Campbell, President of the Ohio State
Archaeological and Historical Society. |
The McGuffey Society at the Logan
Elm 357
3. "Speech of Logan," reading
by John R. Horst, of the
McGuffey Society, from McGuffey's Fourth
Reader, Edition
of 1853.
4. Singing of Songs from the McGuffey
Readers by mem-
bers of the Society.
5. Short talks by residents of vicinity.
6. Picnic dinner, followed by toasts and
responses from
the McGuffey readers.
Mr. John F. Carlisle, the president of
the McGuffey
Society, in an appropriate address
explained the pur-
pose of the organization, and the object
of the day's
celebration, after which he introduced
Judge E. E.
Corn of Ironton, a member of the
Society, to preside
over the program as given.
The exercises were com-
menced with an historical address by
Hon. Daniel J.
Ryan of Columbus, on
THE SCIOTO VALLEY
"Mr. Chairman, Members of the
McGuffey Society, Ladies and
Gentlemen:
"I want to congratulate the
McGuffey Society on its pur-
pose today, and to express my admiration
of its vision in pre-
serving for this and coming generations
the memory of the
labors and influence of the most eminent
of Ohio's educators-
William H. McGuffey. If I were an
orderly and obedient orator
I should here proceed to commence my
address on 'The Scioto
Valley,' but I am loath to leave the
subject of McGuffey and
his work. Do you know why? The men and
women here of
the older generation know why; it is
because the very name
recalls the tenderest and most charming
recollections of our
lives. To us who are living in the
afternoon, and who see the
lengthening shadows of the departing
day, how full of meaning
are the words 'McGuffey's Readers!' They
first came into my
life over fifty years ago, and the impression they made
lasts to
this day. You know they were first
published in 1836, and for
seventy-five years were in general use
in the schools of the
West and South. They were more than a
mere part of the
school curriculum. They were an American
institution. Their
contents were not simply reading
exercises, but they were a
potential incentive to love of country,
integrity, industry, tem-
358 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
perance and politeness. Millions of men
and women of this
and former generations can ascribe to
them lasting lessons in
morals and patriotism. I know I received
from their pages my
first appetite for literary study, for
they contained the best, the
most attractive and the most permanent
examples of the prose
and poetry of American and English
literature.
"As my mind recurs to them today
they bring up a flood
of youthful memories. Every lesson
contained a moral or gave
valuable knowledge. The First Reader
told of Peter Pindar
the story teller; of the dogs and monks
of St. Bernard; of the
chimney sweep who stole a watch, but
returned it and was re-
warded with an education by its owner.
In the Second Reader
was the story of the boys who tied the
grass to trip the milk-
maid but upset the messenger who was
running for a doctor
for their father; there was the story of
Washington and his
hatchet, as well as that of the seeds
planted by his father so as
to make his name, by which his father
proved to him the exist-
ence of God. When we reached the Third
Reader we read
the 'Conflagration of the Amphitheater
at Rome' by Croly; 'How
Big Was Alexander, Pa?' Woodworth's 'Old
Oaken Bucket,'
Scott's 'Bonaparte Crossing the Alps,'
and stories about Indians
and bears. Gradually leading the student
to a higher class of
literature, the Fourth Reader gave us
William Wirt's 'Descrip-
tion of the Blind Preacher'; Phillip's
'Character of Napoleon';
Bacon's 'Essay on Studies'; Nott's
'Sermon on the Death of
Alexander Hamilton'; Irving's
'Alhambra'; Rogers' 'Genevra';
Montgomery's 'Make Way for Liberty', and
Addison's 'West-
minster Abbey.' I give these subjects to
illustrate the general
character of the readers which advanced
in style and excellence
as each grade was reached. Thus through
these lessons the
pupils got the masterpieces of English
literature and uncon-
sciously were impressed with moral
ideals, beautiful language
and an incentive to pursue good living.
I firmly believe that,
next to the Bible, no compilation of
literature of its time has
had such a beneficent influence on the
American youth.
"It was a happy combination of
ideas that prompted the
blending of historic events in this
celebration. The great
educator's work is reviewed today;
through him every Amer-
ican boy and girl for a full half
century became familiar with
Logan and his speech. What is more
practically sentimental
than to meet on this spot to freshen our recollections
of both?
We are in a region where history was
made, where from look-
ing through the misty past we can see
the shadowy but heroic
characters of a time long ago. Let me
review and tell you what
I mean.
|
(359) |
360 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications
"There is not in all Ohio an area
more fraught with his-
toric interest than the Scioto Valley.
For centuries it has been
the living place of divers races of men. Our knowledge
of its
history goes back to the age of fables,
to the dim past of the
Mound Builders, of whose existence we
have a blended notion
of fact and fancy. We only know from
their remains that they
lived. Our cognate knowledge of them is
as unreliable as that
of the inhabitants of Mars. But we do
know that this Scioto
Valley was populated by them, and was
the seat of their cities,
camping places, fortifications and
altars.. Attracted to this val-
ley by its magnificent soil, beautiful
scenery, natural resources
both of the animal and vegetable
kingdoms, they filled it in great
numbers until driven away or scattered
by the more modern
American Indian. There is every reason
for the conclusion that
they were of the same race as their
successors. Beyond this all
else is conjecture or alluring
speculation. They have left be-
hind them, however, a series of remains
that are at once gigantic
in their construction and mysterious in
their purpose.
"The Scioto Valley is a treasure
house of the work of this
unknown people. Commencing at
Portsmouth, at the mouth of
the Scioto and on each side of the river
north to Columbus,
their works abound in great number,
greater, indeed, than in
any other part of Ohio.
"It is not within my province today
to enter into a discus-
sion of the details of the
archaeological remains of the Scioto
Valley, but I cannot refrain from
referring to these works, be-
cause they are a most fascinating
feature of this territory.
Whether we examine the mounds at
Portsmouth, or at Baum
Village on Paint Creek, or the Gartner
Mound, six miles
north of Chillicothe, or any of the
other more recent in-
vestigations, we are deeply impressed
with the idea that they are
evidences of a former barbaric life,
which adds interest to this
valley. Herein is to be found Serpent
Mound, the huge earthen
bas-relief representing a serpent
resting his curving folds upon
the summit of a bluff that rises one
hundred feet above Brush
Creek in Adams County. The late E. O.
Randall, who made a
special study of this subject of wonder,
and doubtless of wor-
ship, thus describes it:
"'The Serpent, beginning with its
tip end starts in a triple coil of the
tail on the most marked elevation of the
ridge and extends along down
the lowering crest in beautiful folds,
curving gracefully to left and right
and swerving deftly over a depression in
the center of his path and wind-
ing in easy and natural convolutions
down in the narrowing ledge with
head and neck stretched out serpent-like
and pointed to the west; the head
is apparently turned upon its right side
with the great mouth wide open,
the extremities of the jaws, the upper
or northern one being the longer,
The McGuffey Society at the Logan
Elm 361
united by a concave bank immediately in
front of which is a large oval or
egg-shaped hollow eighty-six feet long and thirty feet
wide at its greatest
inside transverse, formed by the
artificial embankment from two to three
feet high, and about twenty feet wide at
its base. The head of the serpent
across the point of union of the jaws is
thirty feet wide, the jaws and con-
necting crescent are five feet high. The
entire length of the serpent, fol-
lowing the convolutions, is thirteen
hundred and thirty-five feet. Its width
at the largest portion of the body is
twenty feet. At the tail the width is
no more than three feet. Here the height
is from three to four feet,
which increases towards the center of
the body to a height of five or six
feet. Such is the size of the enormous
earthen reptile as it has lain, bask-
ing in the suns or shivering in the
snows of many centuries.'
"If this were the only remains of
the Mound Builders in
the world, today it would make the
Scioto Valley famous. Here
truly is a great mystery of that race.
We know from ethnolog-
ical researches that man in his early
days worshiped the trees,
the sun and the stars; we know, that as
he advanced he wor-
shiped animal forms of nature, and we
have gathered from
the remains of Egypt and other
civilizations that the serpent
was to him always an object of mystery
as well as fear. It has
been incorporated into Genesis, and
finds a place in the folk
lore of all nations. It is evident that
the Mound Builders had
some such religious belief, which they
exhibited corporeally in
the great relic in Adams County.
"In the absence of any real
knowledge concerning the lives
and existence of the Mound Builders,
they do not come within
the scope of the study and
investigations common to historians,
but I am referring to this subject
because of its connection with
the Scioto Valley. Nor can I let the
subject pass without referring
to the work in this valley of the Ohio
Archaeological and Histori-
cal Society, of which ex-Governor
Campbell is president. For
years the society through its curator,
Mr. W. C. Mills, has been
persistent in bringing to light the
hidden secrets of the mounds,
the hilltop forts, the lowland
enclosures, and the village sites of
the Scioto Valley. The work of his able
assistant, Mr. H. C.
Shetrone, has been evidenced by his
scholarly writings on this
subject, the last of which 'The Culture
Problem in Ohio Arch-
aeology,' published in the American
Anthropologist for April-
June, 1920, reflects credit upon his
spirit of research, careful
analysis and sound conclusion. The
historical section, embrac-
ing the library, editorship of the
Society's publications and the
secretarial duties, are in charge of Mr.
C. B. Galbreath, former
State Librarian. He is a fitting
successor to E. O. Randall,
bringing to his labors the
accomplishments of a scholar and a
historian. If you would see the work of
this Society, and the
result of the industrious and
intelligent labors of its representa-
362 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications
tives, you will find them in its
building on the University Campus
at Columbus in the form of a well
organized museum and library
which, by reason of their
comprehensiveness and scientific ar-
rangement should be the pride of our
state.
"The reason the Mound Builders have
been thought a
mysterious race is owing to the fact
that we have no access to
known facts concerning their existence,
and this is due to the
reason that they occupied this territory
before the advent of the
white man, and that therefore there were
no witnesses to record
the facts and history of their
existence. Therefore, the history
of the Scioto Valley commences with our
knowledge of the In-
dian occupation.
"From time immemorial- that is, so
far as the white man's
knowledge goes - the Scioto Valley was
the favored ground of
the Shawnee Indians. They were famed for
their bravery and
numbers, and occupied for perhaps
centuries the land along the
Scioto river in their populous towns.
Thus located between the
Miami tribes settled on the rivers of
that name, and the Dela-
wares on the rivers of Eastern Ohio,
they held sway over a
little empire of their own. At first
their Long House, or capitol,
was situated on the west bank of the
Scioto river at its con-
fluence with the Ohio, but they were
driven by floods to locate
this council house directly opposite, in
Kentucky. The Shawnees
were of Algonquin stock; the Iroquois
called them Satanas; the
French called them Chaouanons; they were
known to the Eng-
lish as Shawanos and Shawnees. They were
ferocious, and in
the sixteen hundreds they were scattered
all over the country.
When John Smith landed on the banks of
the James, he was
met by the Shawnees; when LaSalle came
into this country in
1669 they were on the upper Ohio. About
1680 the Five Nations
drove them to the Scioto Valley, and in
this elysium of natural
bliss they wrested from bounteous nature
all that the forest and
chase could yield. The very beauty and
richness of the land
made them guard it with such jealous
spirit that when Nathaniel
Massie entered it, it was a great and
expansive territory of
danger and death to the white man. They
were a restless crowd,
averse to the pursuits of agriculture
and given entirely to war
and the chase. They were courageous,
powerful and faithless.
They had a great idea of their own
importance, and in their
egotism they gave themselves a
prominence not only over other
tribes but also over the whites. Listen
to what a Shawnee chief
said at a treaty convention held at Ft.
Wayne in 1803:
"'The Master of Life,' said he,
'who was himself an Indian, made
the Shawnees before any other of the human race; and
they sprang from
his brain; he gave them all the
knowledge he himself possessed, and placed
The McGuffey Society at the Logan
Elm 363
them upon the great island, and all the
other red people are descended
from the Shawnees. After he made the
Shawnees he made the French
and English out of his breast, the Dutch
out of his feet, and the Amer-
icans out of his hands. All these
inferior races of men he made white
and placed them beyond the stinking
lake.'
"The historian must concede that
the estimate which the
Shawnees placed upon themselves was, in
a large measure,
justified by the bold part they played
in the Scioto Valley. Corn-
stalk, the chief leader of the Dunmore
War, was a Shawnee.
He fought heroically at Point Pleasant
and made a masterly
retreat to the Pickaway Plains to
conclude a Treaty of Peace
near where we are now assembled. Logan,
the hero of today,
was a Shawnee, and chief of the
subordinate tribe of Mingoes.
Blue Jacket was another Shawnee warrior
of dignity and
bravery, and was present at the Treaty
of Greenville in 1795.
"When Tecumseh and his brother, the
Prophet, both
Shawnees, commenced their hostile
operations against the United
States, Black Hoof resisted all their
conspiracies until finally
he was swept into the mighty conflict.
The High Horn, gen-
erally known as Captain Logan, not the
Mingo chief, was also
a Shawnee chief, who was always friendly
with the whites, and
in the War of 1812 rendered substantial
assistance to the Amer-
icans. The name of the Shawnees will be
forever perpetuated
by the two greatest characters of that
tribe, Tecumseh and the
Prophet. The latter led the Indians of
the Northwest with great
ferocity against the Americans, only to
be defeated by General
William Henry Harrison at Tippecanoe.
His brother, Tecumseh,
likewise led his people against the
Americans in the War of
1812 at the Battle of
the Thames, where he met his death.
"This was the formidable inhabitant
of the Scioto Valley
when the white man first penetrated its
beautiful territory. The
men who first came to the Scioto Valley
were a wandering set,
representing nothing but themselves, and
few in number. They
were traders, they came to deal with the
Indians, and were only
tolerated because they had something to
arouse or allay either
the Indian appetite or curiosity. These traders, the
lawless set,
came partly from Virginia, but mainly from
Pennsylvania. In a
letter dated May 21, 1753, Governor Dinwiddie, of
Virginia,
wrote to Governor Hamilton of
Pennsylvania: 'They appear to
me to be in general a set of abandoned wretches.'
Hamilton's
idea of the traders was the same, for he
replied to this letter
by saying: 'I concur with you in opinion that they are
a very
licentious people.' Some of these traders located at
the mouth
of the Scioto at what was known as Lower
Shawneetown.
Others were at Old Chillicothe, not the present town,
but where
364
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
subsequently Westfall was located, in
what used to be known
as Darby Plains. It is proper to say, however, that
there were
among this class some men of high
character, who did much to
promote peace between the white men and
the Indians, as well
as to give us a great amount of
information concerning their
conditions of life. Among these may be
mentioned Christopher
Gist, William Trent and George Crogan.
"Thus in the middle of the seventeenth
century we find the
Scioto Valley in control of the Shawnee
Indians, and a few
traders here and there located among
them. Then came the
struggle between English and French as
to sovereignty over the
great western country; to determine
which should rule--the
Gaul or Saxon. These traders, worthless
as they were, were
the innocent cause of the settlement of
this question. They were
all English, and their presence soon
came to the knowledge of
the French at Quebec. France claimed the
territory in which
the English traders were planting the
seeds of discontent among
the Indians, and who were, in an
innocent way, representing
English sovereignty. At this time the
Marquis de La Galis-
soniere ruled over Canada. He thought
something must be done
to assert France's sovereignty, to drive
back the intruders and
to protect French rights in the valley
of Ohio. Therefore in
the summer of 1749 the Governor sent
Celeron de Bienville to
take possession of the territory of the
Ohio in the name of his
king. He did this in a distinctly
dramatic and Latin way.
Traveling from Canada to the head of the
Ohio, he proceeded
down the Ohio river and stopped at the
mouth of each of the
rivers emptying into it; at all of these
places, with the exception
of the Scioto, he distributed gifts
among the Indians, buried
a leaden plate asserting the sovereignty
of Louis XV, King of
France, and then proceeded to the next
river mouth. He did
this at the mouth of Wheeling Creek and
also at the Muskingum,
and at the mouth of the Great Kanawha.
On the 22nd of
August he approached the mouth of the
Scioto, which they called
St. Yotock or Sinyoto. Here they found a
large Shawnee town
and met with resistance. When they came
near the mouth of
the Scioto, the Indians swarmed to the
shore. 'They fired,' says
Celeron; 'there were a thousand shots;
for the English gave
them powder for nothing.' He was
reluctantly received by the
Indians, who, he learned, had secretly
planned to destroy him
and his followers. He notified them that
he knew of the plot
and was ready to give battle. His stern
attitude overawed them,
and they resorted to diplomacy and
apologetic words which
scarcely concealed their hostile
designs. There was, therefore,
one spot in his long meanderings that
manifested a disposition
The McGuffey Society at the Logan
Elm 365
to refuse acknowledgment of the French
king, and that was the
entrance to the Scioto Valley.
"The action of the French attracted
the attention of the
English, and in September, 1750,
Christopher Gist was sent out
into this territory 'to search out and
discover lands.' Gist has
left behind a journal, very thorough and
intelligent. He arrived
at the mouth of the Scioto river on
Tuesday, January 29, 1751,
and here is what he says concerning this
place: 'The land
about the mouth of the Sciodoe creek is
rich, but broken; fine
bottoms up the river and creek. The
Shanonah Town is situated
upon both sides of tht river Ohio just
below the mouth of the
Sciodoe creek, and contains about three
hundred men. There
are about 40 houses on the south side of
the river and about
100 on the north side, with a kind of
state house of about ninety
feet long, with sides covered with bark,
in which they hold their
councils.' Gist was very successful in
dealing with the Indians.
He remained here until the 12th of
February, thoroughly ob-
served their lives, and gives in his
journal interesting details
concerning their customs and habits. He
says that notwithstand-
ing the Celeron expedition had ordered
all traders to depart,
they were still there and English
control was asserted with that
success which subsequent history
records.
"For nearly half a century after
this the Scioto valley re-
mained the happy hunting grounds of the
Shawnees. The visits
of the white man were infrequent, and it
was not until the
creation of the American Republic that
it really became open to
settlement. For many years it was a part
of the great domain
reserved by Virginia for the use and settlement
of her loyal
sons that served in the War for
Independence. Chillicothe, the
town that we know today, was the point
that attracted emigra-
tion from Virginia. The influx of
settlers commenced as soon
as the town was laid out, and even
before the winter of 1796
it had a tavern and stores and shops and
mechanics. The in-
fluence of civilized life soon began to
prevail, and within a few
years it was a substantial town in full operation with
a popula-
tion of one thousand. In the spring of
1798 there came to
Chillicothe from Berkeley County,
Virginia, one whose life and
actions influenced the history of Ohio
in a greater degree than
that of any other man. This was Edward
Tiffin. He brought
with him a flattering letter fom
George Washington, dated
January 4, 1798, and addressed to
Governor St. Clair. From
his entrance into the valley there dates
a new and potent in-
fluence in the history of Ohio. It would
take too long to recite
it here. The conversion of a wilderness
into a garden; the in-
vasion of the Virginians; the overthrow
of the great Arthur St.
366 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
Clair; the struggle for statehood; the
victory of the people over
the political aristocracy; the framing
of a constitution for a
people without their consent; were all
events that form a back-
ground of a picture that has no parallel
in American history,
and all these scenes were enacted in the
Scioto Valley. The only
weapons were tongues and pens, but they
were directed by men
who for brains and bravery were worthy
of every honor and
respect that the people of Ohio can
bestow upon them.
"A study of the history of the
Scioto Valley from a political
standpoint forces one to the conclusion
that the men who settled
it, and who were active in its affairs
for half a century after,
exercised more influence upon Ohio than
any other class of
immigrants in her history. I am fully
aware of the intelligent
influence of the settlers of the Western
Reserve, and desire to
give full credit to the patriotic
pioneers of Marietta, but all
these men were passive settlers. They
seemed to give their whole
attention to developing themselves and
their own localities. But
the Virginians who came into the Scioto
Valley in 1798 and the
years following, brought with them the
principles of Jeffer-
sonian democracy which they were not
content to conserve for
their own practice and advantage, but
they insisted upon giving
these principles to the people at large.
Marietta was naturally
conservative, and opposed to statehood.
The Western Reserve
did the same thing. Indeed, they went so
far as to claim, even
after Ohio was erected into a territory
that their loyalty was not
to Ohio but to Connecticut, and many of
their leaders insisted
that they should have a representative
in the Connecticut Gen-
eral Court, and not in the Territorial
General Assembly. That
Ohio took her place in the sisterhood of
the states is due to the
influence and the power of the
Virginians of the Scioto Valley;
that the common school system of Ohio
was established is due
to the fertile brain and untiring
efforts of Caleb Atwater, of
Circleville, who struggled for years to
secure from the General
Assembly of Ohio the legislation
necessary to establish our pres-
ent school system.
"I close as I began, with the
statement that there is not in
all Ohio a territory more fraught with
historic interest than this
valley. If we want to study its romance
and mystery, we have
but to turn to the era of the Mound
Builders; if we would know
its thrilling past we can find it in the
history of the Shawnees;
or where can a lesson be found that
appeals more to one's sense
of the great tragedies of history than
the conflict between
France and Great Britain for this
territory; and the climax of
human endeavor is reached when we think of the struggle
and
The McGuffey Society at the Logan
Elm 367
accomplishments of the Americans who
came here, and out of
a wilderness carved a
commonwealth!"
Following this came the illuminative
and interesting
address by former Governor James E.
Campbell, Presi-
dent of the Ohio State Archaeological
and Historical
Society, entitled:
LOGAN AND THE LOGAN ELM
"Ladies and Gentlemen:
"Logan, whose Indian name was
Tah-gah-jute, was the
chief of the small tribe of Indians
known as the Mingos.* In
his early life, before he succumbed to
the excessive use of the
fire-water of the palefaces, he was
unusually handsome and
attractive. He stood well over six feet;
had a dignified bearing,
a benign countenance and a fine
disposition; and was especially
noted for his friendly relations with
white people. In April,
1774, a party of white men, headed by
Michael Cresap, started
out with the avowed intention of
attacking Logan and his family.
On the way, however, Cresap, who felt
that Logan was not
guilty of the offense for which they
were about to punish him,
persuaded his command to return to their
homes. A few days
* Robert Thackleton in his Book of
Philadelphia says in regard to
"Stenton," the old colonial
house just below Wayne Junction and its owner
James Logan:
"Stenton, a mansion put up about 1728 by James Logan, a scholar,
a
philosopher, a man of affairs, the
secretary of William Penn, and after-
wards personal representative of Penn
himself and the Penn family, and
Chief Justice of the Colony. A very
important man indeed was Logan,
and liked and trusted by all who knew
him. He was a friend of Franklin."
Here follows a description of the house.
He continues:
"A great chief came eastward from
the Ohio country, Wingohocking,
and he visited here the powerful Logan,
Secretary of the Colony and
known to be a friend of the Indians; and
Logan and he, in Indian fashion,
exchanged names, that of Logan being
given to the stripling son of Wingo-
hocking, and the name of Wingohocking
being given to a little stream
near Stenton, with the idea that, as
Logan expressed it, 'Long after we
have passed away it shall still flow and
bear thy name.' The name is still
known in Germantown as that of the
little stream and that of a railroad
station; and as to the stripling,
henceforth known as Logan, he rose to
great fame in the region of the Ohio, as
both statesman and warrior, and
a speech which he delivered at a council
has been rated by no less an
authority than Thomas Jefferson, as
among the great speeches of the
world."
[This note was received from Mrs. 0. D.
Dryer. - ED.]
368 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications
later another band of whites, led by a
man named Greathouse,
cruelly massacred some Indians, men,
women and children, near
the mouth of Yellow Creek at a point on
the south bank of the
Ohio River opposite Logan's home. Only
one person, a baby,
was spared in this treacherous attack.
One of the murdered
women was the sister of Logan. He
resented this outrage and
started out to obtain revenge. His whole
nature was changed;
he became vicious and blood-thirsty and
wreaked indiscriminate
vengeance upon the whites. It is said
that he caused the death
of thirty whites. A letter from Arthur
St. Clair (afterwards
the first Governor of the Northwest
Territory) written on June
22 states that Logan had returned with
one prisoner and thirteen
scalps. In July he saved the life of a
white man named Robin-
son and, a few days after, brought
Robinson a piece of paper.
He made a black fluid of water and
gunpowder and commanded
Robinson to write a note upon the paper
which read as follows:
"'Captain Cresap,
'What did you kill my people on Yellow
Creek for? The white
people killed my kin at Conestoga, a
great while ago, and I thought nothing
of that. But you killed my kin again on
Yellow Creek, and took my cousin
prisoner. Then I thought I must kill
too; and I have been three times to
war since; but the Indians are not
angry, only myself.
'Captain John Logan.
'July 21st, 1774.'"
"Every member of the family of a
white man, named John
Roberts, was cruelly assassinated soon
after. A war club was
deposited in the house of this family,
and the foregoing note
was attached to it. It was the first
deliberate complaint made
by Logan against Michael Cresap. Michael
Cresap had nothing
whatever to do with the massacre in
which Logan's sister was
killed, but Logan believed him to be
guilty and disseminated
that belief far and wide. So thoroughly
was it inculcated among
the Indians that, when an Indian woman wished
to quiet her
child, she threatentd it with Cresap.
"Six months after the Yellow Creek
massacre Logan gave
utterance to his famous speech which
will be referred to later in
this address. During these six months
much had occurred
which it is necessary to know in order
to understand the situa-
tion, and which will here be briefly
recited. The Indian tribes
in Ohio and the western part of
Pennsylvania and Virginia, at
the instigation of Cornstalk, an able,
aggressive and valiant chief
of the Shawnees, had formed a great
confederation for the pur-
pose of exterminating or driving out the white
settlers. At that
time the Earl of Dunmore, a very
arbitrary, stubborn and high-
handed ruler, had long been the royal
Governor of the Colony
The McGuffey Society at the Logan Elm 369 of Virginia. He was zealously loyal to the mother country from which the thirteen colonies were threatening to revolt, but was also anxious to protect his own colony against the Indians. In April, 1774, aroused by the action of Cornstalk, he began prepara- tions for an invasion of the Indian country. A few months later two armies were started westward - one under command of Dunmore himself and the other under command of General Andrew Lewis, but subordinate to Dunmore. Lewis was not |
|
only hostile to the Indians bu his men, who were brave and hardy pioneers, were enthusiastic in the cause. Dunmore was suspected of not wishing to fight the Indians as much as he was to overawe them and make a treaty with them, thereby keep- ing them in a frame of mind to be friendly with the mother country in case of a war with the colonies. In October the army of Dunmore was on the north side of the river and the army of Lewis was on the south side. Dunmore ordered Lewis to Vol. XXXJ-24. |
370 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications
join him. Lewis, however, was on the
track of Cornstalk and
intended to fight him. He was a true
American, a noted and
experienced soldier and ready to fight
either the Indians or the
British, or both, whenever it became necessary. He
evaded the
order from Dunmore and fought Cornstalk
at Point Pleasant.
Virginia. He won a great victory in the
bloodiest, fiercest and
most important battle in the annals of
Indian warfare. Randall
and Ryan in their History of Ohio, say that
"'The battle of Point Pleasant was
the most extensive, the most bit-
terly contested, and fought with the
most potent results of any Indian
battle in American history. At the time
it occurred it aroused world-wide
interest. Not only English papers in the
mother country but French and
German newspapers published extensive
articles descriptive of the battle.'
"Colonel John Stuart, in his Historical
Memoirs says: 'This
battle was, in fact, the beginning of
the Revolutionary war.'
Theodore Roosevelt, in the Winning of
the West, says of this
war that
"'It was of the greatest advantage
to the American cause; for it kept
the northwestern Indians off our hands
for the first two years of the
Revolutionary struggle.'
"Randall and Ryan also say most
cogently:
"'The fate of the Northwest
Territory was at stake in that battle
though no British soldier participated
therein. Surely America has no
more historic soil than the ground of
the Kanawha and Ohio point red-
dened that October day by the blood of
savage warriors and frontier
woodsmen.'
"Immediately after the battle Lewis
marched his army up
into the Scioto region against the
desire of Dunmore who was
then engaged in an attempt to negotiate
a treaty with the In-
dians. Logan was not present at the
battle of Point Pleasant
but Michael Cresap was. Although Cresap
was not a Virginian
but a citizen of Maryland, he was
appointed a captain by Dun-
more who solicited him to serve with the
Virginia troops be-
cause of his high reputation as a
soldier. Soon after this battle
Cresap returned to his home, but the
next spring he raised and
commanded the first company which was
sent from the South
to join General Washington at Cambridge.
He stood high in
the councils of Washington and was
promoted to Colonel. He
died in the service, and his remains lie
in Trinity churchyard
at New York amid those of many other
revolutionary patriots.
Dunmore, soon after the battle, moved
his army to Camp
Charlotte, a few miles from where we are
now assembled. He
had already notified Lewis through two
messengers; one was
the celebrated fighter, Simon Kenton,
and the other was the
The McGuffey Society at the Logan
Elm 371
notorious Simon Girty who afterwards
deserted to the Indians
and became the most detestable renegade
known to the settle-
ments of this state. Dunmore succeeded
in persuading Corn-
stalk and all of his associated chiefs,
except Logan, to meet him
and enter into a treaty of peace. The
treaty was taken back,
in Dunmore's saddlebags, to
Williamsburg, then the capital of
Virginia; but the Revolutionary war was
impending and Dun-
more was engaged in a controversy with
the Virginia patriots
which ended in his expulsion from the
country. In this turmoil
the treaty was mislaid.
"Dunmore had been very anxious to
include Logan in the
signatories to the treaty and sent
General Gibson to try to per-
suade him to appear at the council.
Gibson was the reputed
father of the baby saved at the massacre
of Yellow Creek, and
it was thought that he might be able to
influence him. Logan
refused to attend the meeting and, in an
explosion of grief and
anger, burst into tears and uttered the
following piece of im-
passioned eloquence which has become so
famous:
"'I appeal to any white man to say
if he ever entered Logan's cabin
hungry and he gave him not meat; if he
ever came cold and naked and he
clothed him not. During the course of
the last long and bloody war,
Logan remained idle in his cabin, an
advocate for peace. Such was my
love for the whites that my countrymen
pointed as they passed and said,
"Logan is the friend of the white
man." I had even thought to have lived
with you but for injuries of one man.
Colonel Cresap, last spring, in cold
blood and unprovoked, murdered all
relations of Logan, not even sparing
my women and children. There runs not a
drop of my blood in the veins
any living creature. This called on me
for revenge. I have sought it. I
have killed many. I have fully glutted
my vengeance. For my country I
rejoice at the beams of peace; but do
not harbor a thought that mine is
the joy of fear. Logan never felt fear.
He will not turn on his heel to
save his life. Who is there to mourn for
Logan? Not one.'
"Logan spoke excellent English, and
spoke it readily; and
Gibson declared that he committed
Logan's exact language to
paper immediately thereafter; that he
delivered it to Lord Dun-
more and that the copy published in
Jefferson's Notes on Vir-
ginia was true and accurate. Archibald Loudon, in his Narra-
tives of Indians and Their Wars, says:
"'It was known to the camp where it
was delivered; was given out
by Lord Dunmore and his officers; ran
through the public papers of the
states; was rehearsed as an exercise at
school; published in the papers
and periodical works of Europe, and all
this a dozen years before it was
copied in the Notes on Virginia.
"These facts, however, did not
deter Luther Martin, a son-
in-law of Michael Cresap, from charging
that Jefferson forged
the speech in order to besmirch Cresap.
This accusation was
372 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications
made because Martin was a Federalist and
Jefferson a Demo-
crat - such was the unparalleled malignity of partisan
warfare
in that day. Luther Martin was the
greatest lawyer of his time
and the only extenuation for his conduct
is that he was not only
devoted to law but also to the
spirits--the kind that, at the
present time, are under a cloud owing to
the provisions of the
Volstead Law.
"Logan's speech contains many
misstatements. Cresap did
not murder any of Logan's family. Nobody
murdered his chil-
dren because he never had any. It was
not true that none of
his blood ran in any living creature,
for he met his death many
years after at the hands of his nephew.
To the marvelous
eloquence of this utterance too much
praise cannot be given.
Logan was an untutored savage, and yet
this specimen of his
oratory has immortalized him. It has
been the subject of the
highest commendation. Jefferson said:
"'I may challenge the whole
orations of Demosthenes and Cicero,
and of any more eminent orator if Europe
has furnished any more eminent,
to produce a single passage superior to
this speech of Logan, a Mingo
chief.'
"Roosevelt pronounced this speech
to be one
"'Which will always retain its
place as perhaps the finest outburst of
savage eloquence of which we have any
authentic record.'
"Randall and Ryan's History quotes
the following from the
pen of Alfred Lee:
"'Taken in connection with the
circumstances which are said to have
inspired it, this is one of the most
pathetic deliverances in all literature.
In brevity, simplicity and directness of
appeal, as well as in the immortality
of its thought, it bears a striking
resemblence to Abraham Lincoln's dedica-
tory address at Gettysburg.'
"The names of twenty white men who
participated in Dun-
more's treaty appear upon the tablet
here. Much credit is due
to Mr. Frank Tallmadge for his research
in ascertaining so
many names at the time the tablet was
erected. Since then
Thwaits and Kellogg have published The
Documentary History
of Dunmore's War and their labor has resulted in securing the
names of forty-one more who were
present. The following is
an alphabetical list of entire
sixty-one: Barret, Col. L.; Bonney,
Lewis; Bowman, Joseph; Brinton, Henry;
Brinton, James;
Brown, Colman; Caldwell, John; Caldwell,
William; Clark, Gen.
George R.; Cox, Lieut. Gabriel; Cox,
George; Crawford, Col.
William; Cresap, Daniel, Jr.; Cresap,
Capt. Michael; Cresap,
Lieut. J.; Cresap, Lieut. Michael, Jr.;
Drennon, Jacob; Gibson,
The McGuffey Society at the Logan
Elm 373
Gen. John; Girty, Simon; Haggerty,
Patrick; Hardin, John, Jr.;
Harrison, Lieut. John; Harrod, Capt.
William; Heath, Lieut.
William; Hedges, Silas; Henshaw, Capt.
William; Helm,
Leonard; Helphinstone, Capt. Peter; Hoagland, Henry;
Hoff-
man, John; Johnson, Capt.; Kenton,
Simon; Linn, William;
McNeill, Daniel; Mitchell, Captain;
Moody, John; Morgan,
Daniel; Morris, William; Murphy, Capt.;
Neaville, John; Nea-
ville, Joseph; Ogle, William; Parchment,
Peter; Parsons, Capt.
James; Ravenscroft, Thomas; Rogers,
David; Scott, Capt.
David; Stephenson, Capt. Hugh; Sullivan,
James; Tomlinson,
Benjamin; Trabeu, Lieut. James;
Vallandigham, George; Wells,
Samuel; Wetzel, John; Wetzel, Martin; Williams,
Isaac; Wil-
liamson, Capt. David; Wilson, Col.
Benjamin; Wilson, Capt.
John; Wood, Governor James; Zane,
Ebenezer.
"This tree has been known for one
hundred and fifty years
as 'The Logan Elm' and so it will be
known until its decay. Let
us hope that unavoidable consummation
may be long delayed.
It may be of interest to read here the
following appropriate
tribute which was written by an unknown
visitor upon the fly
leaf of the register kept in the little
shelter house yonder, on
June 9, 1921.
"'The Logan Elm looked better,
foliage greener and apparently in
better shape than it has been for years.
Withstood the storm of June 3,
1921, when its limbs whipped the ground
and when it seemed that every
minute it would go over, but nature did
its work so well that I am more
confident than ever that it will, with
continued care, remain in all its
splendor to greet future generations.
" 'And may it stand as a monument
to those who through tireless
efforts and persistence have brought it
from a wilderness to surroundings
of beauty where we, the masses may come
to worship the Dean of the
forest.'
"A fitting conclusion for these
remarks are the following
lines from Joyce Kilmer:
"'I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree;
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth's sweet flowing
breast;
A tree that looks at God all day
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;
374 Ohio
Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.
Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.'"
After the formal reading of Logan's
Speech by
John R. Horst from McGuffey's Fourth
Reader (edi-
tion of 1853), informal addresses were
made by J. W.
Johnson of Circleville, editor of the Democrat
and
Watchman, Professor C. C. Miller of Lancaster and
Mrs. Orson D. Dryer of Shepard, Ohio.
Mrs. Dryer's
contribution to the day's celebration
was extremely
valuable from an historical standpoint,
and as the sole
representative present of the Colonial
troops which ac-
companied Lord Dunmore's army, the
story of her dis-
tinguished ancestor was full of
historical information.
Mrs. Dryer has been, and is, among the
women of
Columbus foremost in religious, civic,
and patriotic
work of that city. She has been active in the affairs
of the League of Women Voters, Young
Women's
Christian Association, and is at
present Vice-Regent
of the Columbus Chapter of the D. A.
R., and President
of the Columbus Presbyterial
Society. Her address
follows:
"Mr. Chairman, Ladies and
Gentlemen: I am the great-
granddaughter of Colonel Benjamin
Wilson, whose name is
graven on yonder bronze tablet, and who
was aide-de-camp
to Lord Dunmore in his march to this
place against Cornstalk,
the Shawnee. Colonel Wilson was a
witness to all that this day
commemorates.
"In order that you may understand
my relationship to him,
I will state that I am the daughter of
Henrietta Wilson and Wil-
liam C. Maholm; Henrietta Wilson was the
daughter of Daniel
Davisson Wilson, who was the son of
Colonel Benjamin Wil-
son. Daniel Davisson Wilson, my
grandfather, came to Ohio
when my mother was an infant, carrying
her in front of him on
The McGuffey Society at the Logan
Elm 375
horseback. He located on land belonging
to his father near
Newark, Ohio. Now a word as to Colonel
Wilson's own an-
ccestors, and I will tell you of the
part he played in the pioneer
life of this county.
"The Wilson family is traced
through Ireland to Scotland,
and the early records show that the name was prominent
in the
troublous times in Scotland, nearly two
centuries ago. One of
the ancestors of Colonel Benjamin
Wilson, named David, took
part in the Scotch Rebellion of 1715,
and when it was put down,
he, with many other unfortunates, had to
leave his native land,
and fled to the province of Ulster in
Ireland. He had a son
William, born in Ireland in 1722, who came to
America in 1736,
and after his arrival married Elizabeth
Blackburn. Of that
marriage eleven children were born,
Benjamin being the oldest,
who was born in Shenandoah County,
Virginia, November 30,
1747, living in Virginia all his life.
He is buried in Harrison
County, West Virginia, where he lived,
and died at the age of
eighty years, on the 2nd of January,
1827. Benjamin Wilson
had the blessing of gentle and Christian
parentage, and more
than a fair share of education for those
early days. He evinced
strong traits of character, a
progressive spirit and love of free-
dom, which left a lasting impression on
the history of Virginia.
"He was a soldier of the Virginia
militia, and as a captain
he attracted the attention of Lord
Dunmore, who attached him
to his staff as aide-de-camp. He was
present at the signing
of the treaty, and by reason of his
confidential relationship to
his commander, necessarily participated
in all the important
events of that occasion, including the
reception of Logan's
speech by Lord Dunmore. While here
Colonel Wilson took a
branch from this elm, out of which he
made a cane, which has
been in possession of our family ever
since. After the treaty
was signed, and peace was declared, the
two armies, Lord Dun-
more's and Colonel Lewis's, left for home.
Lord Dunmore's
troops under Colonel Wilson took the
southern route, and on the
journey home a remarkable thing
occurred. It will be remem-
bered that at this time the colonies,
though not independent,
were tending towards revolution. The
Continental Congress was
in session at Philadelphia at the time
Colonel Wilson and his
little army of Americans arrived at Fort
Gower on the Ohio
River at the mouth of the Hockhocking.
This was the 5th of
November, 1774. The soldiers heard of
what was going on in
the East. While they were under the
command of Lord Dun-
more, a royal Governor, they were not
afraid to let the country
know that neither a royal governor nor
any one else could swerve
them from their duty as patriots and
lovers of liberty. So they
376
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications
held a meeting and passed resolutions
declaring that while they
were loyal to the king, 'the love of
liberty and attachment to the
real interests and just rights of
America outweigh every other
consideration; we resolve that we will
exert every power within
us for the defense of American liberty,
not in any precipitate,
riotous or tumultuous manner, but when
regularly called forth
by the unanimous voice of our
countrymen.' This resolution
favoring American sovereignty was passed
by Virginia militia-
men on Ohio soil nearly eighteen months
before the Declaration
of Independence.
"In passing through the Tygart
Valley, Colonel Wilson was
so attracted by the great beauty and
resources of the section,
that he purchased of several settlers
their 'tomahawk rights,'
there making a home between Beverly and
Elkins on Wilson
Creek, and there built a fort and a
large mill. The strong dam
of walnut logs is still standing, and
the homestead has never
been out of the family, the well being
still in use.
"Early in the Revolutionary War,
Colonel Wilson was ap-
pointed to a captaincy in the Virginia
forces, doing duty on
the frontier. On him officially rested
the protection of all the
settlers, this being the marauding
territory of the Indians, act-
ing under the English and French. The
title of Colonel was
conferred upon him in 1781.
"At the age of twenty-three he
married Ann Rudell, aged
sixteen, and was living on the Tygart
Valley farm in the late
fall of 1777, when he received word that
Indians had broken
into a settlement near the Wilson
plantation and murdered a
family by the name of Connelly. He with
thirty men hurried in
pursuit. Colonel Wilson owned a farm
west of the river as
well as a farm east of the river on
Wilson's Creek, where his
fort stood, four miles north of Beverly.
At the time of the In-
dian raid his family were living in a
cabin west of the river,
about two miles distant, temporarily,
while the men were busy
gathering their corn crop. When he went
up the river in pur-
suit of the Indians he left his wife and
three children at the
cabin, with a slave named Rose, a Guinea
negress, whom he
had bought. She was born in Africa and
brought over in a slave
ship. The three children were Mary aged six, William B.
aged
four and Stephen aged two.
"Late in the afternoon while Mrs.
Wilson and Rose were
milking the cows, a young horse came
dashing up from the range
with wild excitement. Mrs. Wilson cried
to to Rose, 'There are
Indians near! The horse has seen them.
That is the way he
acts when he sees Indians. Catch him
quick, we must fly to the
fort or we will be massacred!' While
Rose was catching the
The McGuffey Society at the Logan
Elm 377
horse Mrs. Wilson with wonderful
coolness and presence of
mind, took one of her strong petticoats, tied both
ends, put the
two older children in it, with their heads out, and
threw the petti-
coat across the horse's back like a
saddlebag. Then with the
baby in her arms she mounted the horse
bareback and told Rose
to run for her life and cross the river
on the foot log. She gave
the rein to the horse which was snorting
and prancing as though
it could see or smell the Indians. The
horse was apparently as
eager to escape as she was, and went at
full speed toward the
fort. The river was past fording on
account of rain and melt-
ing snow, but it was a matter of life
and death, and she with
her precious burden did not halt, but
plunged in and swam the
horse for the other side. When in
mid-stream she discovered
the child on the up stream side, Mary,
had struggled from the
sack and was bobbing up and down against
the horse's side,
held there by the strong current. Mrs.
Wilson caught her by
the clothes and brought her safe to
shore. Then re-adjusting
the children in the bag, she rode with
them to the fort. By this
time the alarm had been given, and
several families had arrived.
The Indians plundered the settlement
west of the river, and it
is probable that Mrs. Wilson and her
children would have been
murdered in a few minutes had she not
made her escape when
she did.
"A few minutes after Mrs. Wilson
reached the fort, Rose
put in an appearance carrying a churn of
cream on her head
and remarking, 'I did not mean that the
Redskins should have
this cream.'
"Ten years later when she was not
yet sixteen years old,
Mary Wilson, who so narrowly escaped
both from the Indians
and drowning, became the wife of Colonel
John Haymond, of
Harrison County, a noted Indian fighter
as well as a prominent
business man, who served both in the
Assembly and Senate of
Virginia. The marriage of John Haymond
and Mary Wilson
was a notable event in the early social
affairs of Randolph
County. The groom came from Clarksburg,
accompanied by a
cavalcade of young people of both sexes.
The first night out
from Clarksburg, there being no houses
along the way, the com-
pany camped under a cliff of rocks a
short distance east of where
Phillippi now stands.
"The first playground in America
was deeded by Colonel
Wilson to the town of Beverly, Virginia
(now West Virginia),
and the deed still stands on record in
the court house. At one
time the town tried to get possession of
this playground to build
the court house upon it, but found that
if it was used for any
other purpose than a playground the
property would revert to
378 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications
the heirs of Colonel Wilson. A very
interesting story is told by
the old settlers of how he procured this
lot in the heart of
Beverly. A blacksmith shop stood upon
this playground, and
when Colonel Wilson was passing one day
he stopped to watch
some men pitching horseshoes. They urged
him to join them, and
when he refused, the owner of the lot
and blacksmith shop, who
was considered the champion horseshoe pitcher, said, if
Colonel
Wilson could beat him at the game he
would give him the lot.
Thereupon Colonel Wilson played and won.
Being a surveyor,
he immediately 'stepped off' the lot, went to the court
house and
deeded it to the town of Beverly,
forever to be used for a play-
ground. The 'John Hart' Chapter D. A. R.
will in time
beautify it.
"Upon the Declaration of
Independence, Colonel Benjamin
Wilson became the military commander of
the district west of
the Allegheny Mountains, and through him all the
military and
civil business was transacted.
"At the first court held in
Harrison County, by authority
of the Governor, in 1784, Benjamin
Wilson was appointed county
clerk, which office he held for thirty
years, and upon retiring he
was succeeded by his son John, who held
the office for four-
teen years more. After his removal to
his home in Harrison
County, he gave his attention not only
to his office and the clear-
ing and developing of his large landed
estate, but also engaged
in business transactions of various
kinds. He established a
grist and a saw mill, that the people
might grind the corn in-
stead of parching and crushing it
between stones as formerly,
and sawed timber in place of hewing it
with an axe. Then, in
order to use the raw material so
abundant, he added to his other
mills a machine for carding wool, so
that soon in the pioneer
homes spinning and weaving could be
done. The long distance
from the seaboard rendered it very
difficult to get cloth for wear-
ing apparel, etc. There was sore need
for a factory to make
these goods. He sent to Scotland, the
land of his kindred, and
secured Mr. Wiley, a practical factory
weaver, and through him
purchased looms and other machinery for
making cloth, which
was done at his mill on Simpson Creek,
to which place the people
brought their wool where it was
converted into cloth, colored,
stretched and ready to use.
"Realizing the need of higher
education, Colonel Wilson
and his associates applied to the
General Assembly for a charter
for the Randolph Academy, at Clarksburg,
which was granted
in 1787. Eight years later the Academy
doors were opened
under the auspices of Reverend George
Towers, a Presbyterian
minister and graduate of Oxford,
England, who was brought
The McGuffey Society at the Logan
Elm 379
here by these gentlemen for this
purpose. The opening address
was made by Colonel Wilson, which can be
found in Colonel
Henry Haymond's History of Harrison
County. He was re-
sponsible for Withers' Border
Warfare, which was written upon
his solicitation. He went to Alexandria,
Virginia, Mr. Withers'
home, and induced the author to
undertake this important literary
work, which he did; it was written at
Colonel Wilson's in Har-
rison County, where Mr. Withers spent
two years.
"Colonel Wilson was not paid for
his services in the federal
army, nor for having equipped his own
regiment, but for serv-
ices rendered he received a grant of
four thousand acres of land
in Licking County, Ohio.
"Attached to his log house he built
a vaulted courtroom,
in which was held the first session of
court in Harrison County,
he having been appointed justice of the
peace by the Governor
of Virginia. At that time the justices
of the peace were almost
the only political power. He represented
Harrison, Monon-
gahela, and Randolph Counties in the
Legislature for several
sessions, and he and his brother John
were delegates in the con-
vention of Virginia which ratified the
Constitution of the United
States.
"Colonel William Stansbury, an
eminent lawyer and
jurist of Ohio, said, in speaking of
Colonel Wilson, 'He was the
purest type of the old school Virginia
gentlemen, handsome in
appearance, of cultivated speech and
manner, and much like
Washington in bearing.' Nor was he
unmindful of the claims
of religion. He maintained to the close
of his life an irreproach-
able Christian character. He had been
married twice, his second
wife being Phoebe Davisson. He had by
the two marriages
twenty-eight children, of whom
twenty-four were living at the
time of his death, and for all of whom
he was enabled to make
a moderate provision. His posterity at
the time of his death
besides his twenty-four children was
seventy-three grandchil-
dren, thirty-two great-grandchildren and
one great-great-grand-
child."
The day's exercises, which were in
charge of a com-
mittee consisting of John R. Horst,
Miss Bertha Peel-
ing and C. B. Shook, closed with the
singing of
America.
THE McGUFFEY SOCIETY AT THE LOGAN
ELM
The McGuffey Society of Columbus was
organized
to perpetuate the memory of Dr. William
H. McGuffey.
He was one of Ohio's greatest
educators, but his place
in history and in the affections of
thousands is fixed by
his famous series of Readers familiar
to the present
and last two generations. The officers of this Society
conceived the original and unique idea
of a gathering
of its members and guests beneath the
shadowing
boughs of the historic Logan Elm, near
Circleville in
Pickaway County, and there with other
exercises,
formally read the Indian Chief Logan's
speech, one of
the striking features of McGuffey's
Fourth Reader, of
the edition of 1853. This eloquent and
tragic expres-
sion of savage oratory was made
imperishable in Amer-
ican history by Thomas Jefferson's Notes
on Virginia,
and its subsequent repetition in the
McGuffey's school
books.
So on June 24th, there assembled three hun-
dred people to commemorate one of the
most dramatic
incidents of American history. From
Columbus,
Circleville, Chillicothe, and the
surrounding country
came the visitors to hear the program
of the occasion.
It was a faultless day, reminding one
of Lowell's lines:
"And what is so rare as a day in
June,
Then, if ever, come perfect days;
When Heaven tries the earth if it be in
tune,
And over it softly her warm ear
lays."
The old Elm is still in the full vigor
of robust age,
for it was ancient one hundred and
forty-eight years
(355)