A FAMILIAR TALK ABOUT MONARCHISTS
AND JACOBINS.
AN ADDRESS BY WILLIAM HENRY SMITH.
WHEN I received an invitation to address
the Historical
Society here to-night, the suggestion
was made by a mem-
ber of your committee that I take the
life and public
services of John Brough for my theme.
Born within the
limits of your city, the son of one of
the pioneer fathers,
it were fitting that he should be
remembered on an occa-
sion of such historical interest. It was
gratifying to be
remembered in connection with one whom I
knew and
loved so well. But the greatness of his
abilities, the
eminent services he rendered the State
in early manhood,
and the self-sacrificing and patriotic
devotion to the
National cause during the final struggle
which resulted in
the restoration of the Union, required
more careful atten-
tion than a very busy man could devote
to the subject on
such brief notice. Furthermore, my
library, papers, and
private memoranda of conversations
during those eventful
years were a thousand miles away, and
inaccessible.
Instead of addressing you on that larger
and, to me
personally, more interesting subject, I
am to talk to you
in a desultory way of the men and
parties that controlled
Ohio as a territory and for some years as a State, with
special reference to the life and
public career of Jeremiah
Morrow.
The members of the little colony planted
here one hun-
dred years ago were ardent Federalists.
Their strong per-
sonality was impressed upon every
measure establishing
social order, and the settlements made
by the Ohio Com-
pany, as well as those on the Scioto and
Miami rivers,
and the Lake, grew up and flourished
under this influence,
The French on the Wabash, the Illinois
and Mississippi,
when they received the Ordinance of 1787
from Governor
187
188
Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly.
St. Clair, gave assurance of loyal
support. The selection
of the President of the Congress that
passed the Ordi-
nance- the last Continental Congress - for
Governor, was
a wise one. The enterprise was
essentially an experiment.
A wilderness controlled and peopled by
savages was to be
subdued, and out of it five
Commonwealths, the equal of
the thirteen colonies, created. The task
was an arduous
one, and certainly hazardous, requiring
courage, endur-
ance, patience, and a high order of
intelligence. Con-
gress had provided the most perfect
charter yet devised
for republican government-the first
charter distinctly
proclaiming the brotherhood of man -a
charter declaring
in plain terms that religion, morality
and knowledge are
necessary to good government and the
happiness of man-
kind. New England, New Jersey,
Pennsylvania and Vir-
ginia provided the men and women, among
the very best
members of their respective communities,
to establish
government under it. Their chief
magistrate was a man
of ripe experience, as well as of
thorough education. A
soldier under Wolfe, a trusted agent of
the proprietors of
Pennsylvania, a magistrate over an
extensive district, a
Major General during the Revolutionary
war, honored by
the friendship of Washington, a friend
and associate of
La Fayette, President of the Continental
Congress, and,
because of his brilliant conversational
powers, a favorite
in the drawing room; handsome in form
and dignified in
bearing, he was a leader calculated to
win the hearts of
all. St. Clair, during the years of war,
sacrificed a fortune
for his country; in taking upon himself
the labor and
risk of administering a government over
a vast territory
stretching from the Ohio to the
Mississippi, he sacrificed
the comforts of home, the social
advantages of the East,
and brilliant political prospects which
would have justified
him in refusing the office.
It is worth our while to review some of
his opinions of
government, to enable us to judge
correctly of his fitness
for this important administrative
office. We find these
A Familiar Talk About Monarchists and
Jacobins. 189
expressed in pamphlets and
communications to the press,
written after the Peace and in the
reports and recommend-
ations of the majority of the Council of
Censors, of which
he was a member.
One of Dr. Franklin's political hobbies
was, that the
supreme legislative power of the State
should be vested
in a single body. This principle was
incorporated in the
Constitution of the Province of
Pennsylvania, which was
formed and adopted in 1776, under the
influence of that
great man. It led to much mischief and
oppression, and
yet to the great surprise of the
students of history, the de-
bates in the convention that framed the
Federal Constitu-
tion in 1787, show that he was not
convinced, at that
period, that it was not the best form of
government.1
In the colonial days the principles of
Republican gov-
ernment, by which harmony is preserved
between the
legislative, executive and judicial
departments, and all
made immediately responsible to the
people, were not
everywhere accepted and not in
Pennsylvania in 1776.
The leaders in the constitutional
convention of that year
devised an ingenious and unique plan for
bringing the
government of Pennsylvania under popular
review. It
was a provision for the election in
1783, and thereafter
every seven years by the freemen of the
cities and coun-
ties, of a body of review and
recommendation to be called
the Council of Censors. This council was
to inquire
whether the constitution had been
preserved inviolate in
every part; whether the legislative and
executive branches
of the goverment had performed their
duties as guardians
of the people, or assumed to themselves
greater powers
than they were entitled to; and whether
the public taxes
had been justly laid and
collected. This was a device
1This statement is based upon rather
vague passages in the Madison paper
and Elliot's Debates. If correct, it
would show that Dr. Franklin had
changed his opinion on this subject a second time, as in a foot
note in one of
his pamphlets issued from the press in 1783,
General St. Clair speaks of the
"inconsistency of that great man
"-Dr. Franklin at that time being classed
with the opponents of a single
legislative body.
190
Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly.
worthy of a speculative philosopher, but
impracticable,
as the Council had no power to enforce
its findings.
The Pennsylvania constitution provided
that a new
constitutional convention could not be
called unless rec-
ommended by a two-thirds vote of the
Council of Censors.
This could not be secured, because six
of the members
were office holders under the old
system, who were sure
to lose by any change, and they voted
steadily with the
minority against a new convention, and
against all recom-
mendations for reform of the civil service. St. Clair,
indignant at the corruption, addressed
the public in a
pamphlet, in which he laid bare the fact
that these six
men had been found unfaithful to their
trust, and by their
unwarranted presence in the Council
prevented reform
and prosecutions for violations of law.
This failure of
the scheme to protect the people is a
striking illustration
of the impracticable in politics, and
invites to humorous
reflections at the expense of the
philosopher, who was
undoubtedly the author of it.
St. Clair, as the leader of the
majority, made an exhaus-
tive report on the Constitution of 1776,
pointing out its
defects, and subsequently submitted a
plan of government
embodying his views of what the
fundamental law of a
State should be. It is not my purpose to
traverse his re-
ports to-night; suffice it to remark
that his plan was similar
as to a division of the powers of
government to that em-
bodied in the Federal constitution and
in most of the State
constitutions; and that this and his
arguments in its sup-
port were made public four years before
the Federal Con-
vention of 1787. Many of the
arguments advanced in the
discussions in the Constitutional
Convention of 1787, and
in the Federalist, which have been
applauded by writers
and statesmen, were made use of in 1783
by St. Clair.
His comment on a many-headed executive,
as exempli-
fied in the Pennsylvania Executive
Council, which choose
one of their number President, deserves
to be repeated.
He said:
A Familiar Talk About Monarchists
and Jacobins. 191
"An Executive Council is a monster.
It may do great
harm, and never can do any good; it will
ever want that
energy and promptness that are essential
to an executive
body, for it is not executive, but
deliberative. It destroys
all responsibility, and is a very useless expense. If the
President has abilities, the Council are
but the solemn
witnesses of his acts; if he is
ambitious at the same time,
they will be found to be his useful
instruments; if he is
cruel or revengeful, at once his ready
tools and a defense
behind which he at any time can shelter
himself; if rapa-
cious, they will share with him in the
plunder, of their
country. I wish for the honor of human
nature, no such
combination could ever be found; but we
know they have
existed together in other countries;
they may exist together
in this."
Justices of the peace, he thought,
should be elected by
the freemen, but as the lives and
property of the citizens
depended in a great degree upon the
judges of the higher
courts, he held that they should be
appointed for life, or
during good behavior, in order that they
might be made
independent of political influences.
He held that the Legislature should
consist of an upper
and a lower house-or a Senate and an
Assembly-and
that the action of the majority should
be final, except in
the case of the exercise of the veto
power by the Governor,
when a two-thirds vote should be
required to pass a bill
over the executive negative. It was his
opinion that no
reasons against a law ought to appear
upon the minutes.
"If," said he, "the bill
passes by a majority of one only, it
is as binding as if it had passed with
unanimous consent.
A dissent, with reasons, on the minutes
can answer no end
but to foment party disputes and weaken
the force of the
law and impede its execution. But the
happiness of a
State is so intimately combined with a
vigorous execution
of, and prompt obedience to, the laws
that, where these are
wanting, anarchy must ensue. If the laws
are found im-
perfect or oppressive, they should be
amended or repealed.
192 Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly.
The privilege of entering the yeas and nays is all that any
member should desire, and is as much as is consistent
with order and good government."
All very trite to-day, but over a hundred years ago in
Pennsylvania a desperate contest followed this public
utterance of St. Clair's-Smilie, Findlay and others who
took on the character of a fierce democracy, declared that
such a restriction would prove to be the instrument of a
corrupt aristocracy leading to tyranny, and filling the lands
with their cries.
St. Clair also held advanced views on other questions
which to-day very much disturb the peace of politicians
wearing Democratic and Republican labels. He objected
to the clause in the Constitution of '76 which provided for
rotation in office, as he declared it to be against the public
good, for the following reasons:
1. Because the hope to reappointment to office is
amongst the strongest incentives to the due execution
of the trust it confers.
2. Because the State is thereby necessarily deprived of
the services of useful men for a time, and compelled to
make experiment of others who may not prove equally
wise and virtuous.
3. Because the check intended by such principle of rota-
tion can be of no good effect to repress inordinate ambition,
unless it were extended so as to preclude a man from hold-
ing any office whatever.
4. Because the privilege of the people in elections is so
far infringed as that they are thereby deprived of the right
of choosing those persons whom they would prefer.
St. Clair objected to giving to immigrants all of the
privileges of citizens after only a brief residence, as it was
calculated to prevent the establishment of a goverment by
habits and prejudices, "which often bind mankind more
powerfully than laws." Coming from monarchial and
aristocratic governments, they brought with them ideas at
sr with republican principles, and being the victims of
A Familiar Talk About Monarchists
and Jacobins. 193
oppression they would be too often moved
to view all forms
of law as unjustly restraining and
threatening personal
liberty. A period should be allowed for
educating the new-
comers before entrusting them with all
the responsibilities
of American citizenship. A moderate
share of property
he deemed essential to make an elector
independent. "I
do not count independence and wealth
always together,"
said he, "but I pronounce poverty
and dependence to be
inseparable."
These views enable us to estimate the
ability and char-
acter of the leader chosen to establish
Government in the
Territory Northwest of the River Ohio,
under the first
purely Republican-the first purely
American-charter
formed on the Western continent. For thirteen years he
never faltered; for thirteen years he
had the support of
the little colony headed by Rufus
Putnam, whose landing
on this spot you celebrate to-morrow-and
in the end the
work was crowned with success.
Although so distant from the centre of
political strife,
Washington's former companions in arms
here located,
sympathized with the National
administration and gave it
loyal support.
Soon political affairs in the territory
took on the charac-
ter of those east of the mountains, and
the dominating
power was Federal; the opposing
Anti-Federal. The act
defining the boundaries of a county, the
selection of a site
for a county seat, the appointment of
justices, attorneys,
and sheriffs, arrayed men against each
other on the lines
of national politics, notwithstanding
the real motive often
originated in personal gain or loss. The
whisky rebels of
Western Pennsylvania received no
sympathy from the
loyal people of the territory, whose
officers joined in
search for the fugitives from justice.
As population in-
creased, and the victims of baffled
ambition multiplied,
the Anti-Federalists took on a bolder
front, and in some
places defied the territorial
administration. They received
encouragement from the Kentucky
Republicans, who were
Vol. 11-13
194 Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly.
building up a commonwealth under
conditions less favor-
able, in important respects, than those
enjoyed by the
people north of the Ohio. "News, we
have none," wrote
St. Clair to his son Daniel in 1798;
" but the madness of
Kentucky, and of that you will hear
enough from the
public papers without my troubling
either you or myself
with it. Everything in the political hemisphere is as
right on our side of the river as I
could wish it. Although
we are so near neighbors, the people on
this side of the
river are the very antipodes of
Kentuckians."
It will be seen that four years wrought
a change that
must have surprised the Federalists of
the territory.
They did not hold their supremacy, as
they confidently
expected. The contests led to
irregularities in.the admis-
sion of Ohio into the Union, to which I
will now invite
your attention.
The Ordinance of 1787 was a compact
made between
the government of the thirteen colonies
and the inhab-
itants of the Territory, and could not
be changed without
the consent of both parties. It was so
perfect an instru-
ment that there was no warrant for
tampering with it.
Effort was made repeatedly to change it,
at the instance
of inhabitants of Southern origin, for
the purpose of intro-
ducing slavery, and it came near meeting
with success in
Ohio, Indiana and Illinois as well as in
Congress. That
disaster was averted through the labors
of a few wise men
who looked beyond their day and
generation. We shall
see that there was tampering for
political purposes, and
because of this Ohio was admitted at an
earlier day than
would otherwise have been possible. Mr.
Jefferson's first
election was secured on a very narrow
margin-it was by
the grace and personal interposition of
his old enemy,
Alexander Hamilton. It was desirable
that a new Repub-
lican State should be formed before the
next election, in
1804. The parties were so evenly divided in the Terri-
tory that the political complexion of
the electoral vote of
the State would depend on whether it
was admitted
A Familiar Talk About Monarchists and
Jacobins. 195
through the instrumentalities of the
Republican or the
Federalist party. The Virginia colony in
Ross county
were ambitious to give the State to
Jefferson and win the
right to share in the national councils.
They were young
and ambitious and skillful in the
manipulation of politics.
At first they proposed to make Ohio a
Republican State,
with St. Clair as Governor, but Symmes
and Findlay and
John Smith (the Smith of Burr's
conspiracy) protested so
vigorously, the scheme was abandoned.
St. Clair had
offended Symmes by insisting that he
should set apart the
university section in his purchase, as
he had contracted to
do. He had removed Findlay from an
office he had dis-
graced, and later he had reported Thomas
Worthington
for violation of the land laws and the
rights of settlers.
St. Clair was stiff and uncompromising,
and these poli-
ticians determined to break his neck, as
they could not
bend it. They assailed his character,
and preferred
charges against him, only one of which
proved serious,
and that was due to a misunderstanding
of the instruc-
tions of the State Department. Mr.
Jefferson refused
to act on these, and the scheme was
likely to fail, when
the Federalists themselves, by
imprudence in counter-
mining, made a breach through which the
enemy
marched to victory. St. Clair, General Putnam, Dr.
Cutler and Judge Burnet, who were the
real founders
of Ohio, were anxious that when admitted
as a State
Ohio should be Federalist. They got up a
scheme so
to alter the boundaries of the eastern
division of the
Territory as to make the Scioto the
western boundary
line. This would have reduced the
population of the
Eastern division, and kept it in
territorial condition for
some years longer. A bill, drafted by Judge Burnet,
was passed by the Territorial
Legislature. This gave the
Republicans a fulcrum at Washington, and
they used it
with such effect as to knock the
Federalists out in the
second round.
The Ordinance of 1787 provided for the
State lines, and
196 Ohio
Archaeological and Historical Quarterly.
for the admission of the territorial
divisions into the Union
as States. The language is mandatory:
" Whenever any of the said States
shall have 60,000
free inhabitants therein, such State
shall be admitted by
its delegates into the Congress of the
United States on an
equal footing with the original States,
in all respects what-
ever; and shall be at liberty to form a
permanent consti-
tution and State government."
An enabling act was not called for. All
necessary
authority was already provided, and
hence the act of Con-
gress of April 30, 1802, was a direct interference in the
internal affairs of the territory. If
General Putnam and
Dr. Cutler had stood stoutly up to this,
and had not set
the example of departing from the work
of the Conti-
nental Congress, the result would have
been different.
They were masters of the situation, as
they had all of the
machinery in Federalist hands. But they
made a fatal
mistake in attempting to compete with
the Virginians in
political intrigue; a mistake often made
since in succeed-
ing generations.
The leaders of the Virginia (or
Republican) party were
Nathaniel Massie, Thomas Worthington,
Dr. Edward
Tiffin, Jeremiah Morrow, and Return J.
Meigs, Jr., young
men of high character, who were actuated
by an honor-
able ambition to give to the new State a
more liberal form
of government than they believed the
Federalists would
or could give. They denounced the latter
as monarchists
with as glib a tongue as the followers
of St. Thomas east
of the mountains, and in return were
denounced as
Jacobins, sympathizers with the reign of
blood and anarchy
in France. The partizanship of the
beginning of the nine-
teenth century was a blind, unreasoning
partizanship, that
turned brother against brother, and
filled the land with
hate and unhappiness. That is a striking
picture Dr.
Cutler gives us of Martha Washington
pouring tea and
coffee for visiting Federalists, while
entertaining them
with sarcastic remarks on the new order
of things. We
A Familiar Talk About Monarchists
and Jacobins. 197
are assured that " she spoke of
the election of Mr. Jeffer-
son, whom she considered as one of the
most detestable
of mankind, as the greatest misfortune
our country had
ever experienced."
Dr. Cutler himself thought at first,
from the tone of
Jefferson's inaugural, that he would
disappoint the Jacob-
ins, and give the country a
conservative administration;
but when the bill for remodeling the
Judiciary passed Con-
gress he was certain that the Cabinet
had decreed the
destruction of the Constitution.
On the other hand if we were to read
the original draft
of a letter on file in the State
department from James
Monroe to Thomas Jefferson, written one
month after the
inauguration of the latter, we would
find the party of
Washington denounced as enemies of a
Republican gov-
ernment, and the new President advised
to turn out the
rascals who had been commissioned by
that great man, and
fill their places with trustworthy Democrats.
Having sent Governor Arthur St. Clair,
the leader of the
Federalists, back to his Pennsylvania
hermitage, I crave
your attention for a few moments longer
while I introduce
to your notice another Pennsylvanian,
one of the ablest of
the leaders of the Democracy, whose
honorable career is a
part of the history of Ohio.
LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF JEREMIAH
MORROW.
While looking over some old manuscripts
the other day,
I chanced upon the following sentence in a letter to
John
Sargeant, from a correspondent in 1827,
who was canvas-
ing the names of persons mentioned for
the office of Vice
President:
"Governor Morrow," he said,
"is an estimable, but
assuredly not a strong man." This
is the judgment of a
contemporary who was favorable to the
pretensions of
another. We shall see whether it is
correct.
Jeremiah Morrow was a member of the
Legislature of
the Northwest Territory; a member of
the Constitutional
198
Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly.
Convention of November, 1802; of the
first General As-
sembly of Ohio; he was the first, and
for ten years the sole
representative of the State in the lower
house of Congres;
six years a member of the United States
Senate; was
elected Governor of the State for two
terms, and at the
earnest solicitation of his neighbors
served them again in
his old age in Congress and in the
Legislature. This is
not the record of an ordinary man.
Governor Morrow was of Scotch-Irish
descent, his fam-
ily being a branch of the Scotch family
of Murray. His
ancestors are traced through the north
of Ireland to Scot-
land. Some of his ancestors bore a
conspicuous part in
the siege of Londonderry in 1689, and
from this place his
grandfather, Jeremiah Murray, emigrated
to America in
1730.
He had but one son, John, who first
adopted the
present orthography of the name, and who
was a well-to-do
farmer of Adams county, Pennsylvania.
This John Mor-
row, or Murray, had three sons, the
eldest of whom,
named after the grandfather, is the
subject of my sketch.
He was born near Gettysburg, October
6th, 1771. Jere-
miah had the experience of all farmers'
boys, plenty of
work to do and limited terms at such
schools as the coun-
try afforded. Like other ambitious young
men he acquired
enough of mathematics to become an
efficient surveyor,
and thus equipped, with a taste for
reading, he entered on
practical life and soon made up for the
lack of the extrin-
sic aids of a college education. He went
to the Ohio
valley in about the year 1796, and was
employed as a
school teacher and surveyor at Columbia.
While thus
engaged he purchased a considerable
tract of land on the
Little Miami, about thirty miles from
its mouth, in what
is now Warren county. He returned to
Pennsylvania for
a wife, and on the 19th of
February, 1799, he married
Mary Parkhill of Fayette county, who
accompanied him
to the west to share the privations of a
pioneer life. He
had erected a log cabin, and was soon
busy felling trees
and preparing the land for cultivation.
A Familiar Talk About Monarchists and
Jacobins. 199
Mr. Morrow won the confidence of his
neighbors, and in
1801 they sent him to represent them in
the Territorial
Legislature-the first legislative body
that met in the old
State House at Chillicothe.
Mr. Morrow had been in correspondence
with Colonel
Worthington, and although the
Federalists were very
strong in Hamilton county, which he
represented, he was
recognized as belonging to the
Republican party, which
had been organized in the new country by
the Virginians.
When Jacob Burnet, of the Council, had
succeeded in get-
ting his bill providing for a division
of the territory
enacted into a law, the minority
protested so vigorously
that Congress refused to approve of the
measure, and the
Federalists never afterwards recovered.
Within one year
a convention had convened, and Mr.
Morrow participated
in the work of framing the Constitution
for the new State.
He was Chairman of the committee that
prepared and
reported the fourth article of the Constitution
prescribing
the qualifications of electors.
After the admission of the State into
the Union, Mr.
Morrow, as member of the first State
Senate, bore a dis-
tinguished part in the work of adapting
the territorial
laws to the new order of things introduced
by the adoption
of a State government. At the special
election, held on
the twenty-first of June, 1803, he was
elected a represen-
tative in Congress, and held that office
for ten consecutive
years. When, under a new apportionment,
the State was
allowed a larger representation, Mr.
Morrow was trans-
ferred to the Senate.
When Mr. Morrow entered the House he was
assigned
to the Committee on Public Lands, the
very first standing
committee charged with the care of this
important interest
appointed in the House. He subsequently
served in both
Houses as Chairman of the Committee on
Public Lands.
He was by nature and experience well
fitted for this
work, which required a practical mind
and a sound judg-
ment. He knew thoroughly the wants of
the settlers, and
200
Ohio Archaeological and
Historical Quarterly.
possessed the firmness, independence and
moral courage
to resist the lobby-scheming of land
speculators. His
opinion on any subject relating to the
public domain uni-
formly commanded the respect of
Congress, so that it
came to pass that almost all of the laws
providing for the
survey and disposal of the public lands
during the period
he was in Congress, were drafted by him.
Let us pause to hear the estimate put
upon this part of
Mr. Morrow's public services by the most
competent
authority of his day: " During the
long period in the
House of Representatives and in the
Senate," said Henry
Clay, "that Ohio's upright and
unambitious citizen, the
first representative of the State, and
afterwards Senator
and Governor, presided over the
Committee on Public
Lands we heard of no chimerical schemes.
All went on
smoothly, quietly and safely. No man in
the sphere within
which he acted ever commanded or
deserved the implicit
confidence of Congress more than
Jeremiah Morrow.
There existed a perfect persuasion of
his entire impartial-
ity and justice between the old States
and the new. A few
artless but sensible words pronounced in
his plain Scotch-
Irish dialect were always sufficient to
insure the passage
of any bill or resolution which he
reported."
In 1806, Mr. Morrow, in the House, in
connection with
Mr. Worthington, of Ohio, and General
Samuel Smith, of
Maryland, of the Senate, introduced
measures which led
to the improvement known as the
Cumberland road. It is
scarcely possible at this day, when
every part of the conti-
nent is accessible by railroad or
steamboat, and almost
every neighborhood has its paved or
macadamized road for
wagons and pleasure carriages, to
conceive of the great
commercial importance this macadamized
highway, con-
necting the navigable waters of the
Atlantic with a tribu-
tary of the Mississippi, was to the
people of Ohio and
Kentucky. The policy of internal
improvements was one
that Washington had much at heart, and
as a part of a
general system, especially a road
connecting the Potomac
A Familiar Talk About Monarchists
and Jacobins. 201
with the Ohio. It remained for
particularists to deny
to the national government under the
Constitution any
power to aid in the work of internal
improvements. Mr.
Morrow and Colonel Worthington,
although active mem-
bers of Mr. Jefferson's Republican
party, continued zealous
in seeking governmental aid in the
extension of commerce.
At the opening of the Fourteenth
Congress-a congress
celebrated not less for the important
measures it orig-
inated than for the distinguished men
enrolled as mem-
bers-Mr. Morrow was placed at the head
of a committee
in the Senate to whom was referred so
much of the Presi-
dent's message as related to roads and
canals, and on the
6th of February, 1816, he presented an
able and lucid
report on the whole subject, the first,
I believe, ever pre-
sented in either house recommending a
general system of
internal improvements.
When Mr. Morrow's term in the Senate
expired in 1819,
he declined a re-election, and returned
to his farm. But
public sentiment was against his
retiring, and he was ap-
pointed a Canal Commissioner in 1820, and again in
1822.
As, however, he was elected Governor in
this latter year,
he declined to act as commissioner.
During the four
years he filled the gubernatorial
chair, he was industri-
ously furthering the interests of the
State, encouraging
the construction of roads and promoting
the great enter-
prise of connecting Lake Erie with the
Ohio river by
means of canals, an enterprise that had
a remarkable
influence over the future character of
the population of
the State and of advancing the grade of
the State in the
Union. It was the Fourth of July, 1825,
that the work
was begun, De Witt Clinton assisting
Governor Morrow
at the ceremonies. Clinton was induced
to visit Ohio by
a few over-zealous friends who promised
a presidential
boom, but we are assured by the
correspondence of the
day that the influence of "Harry
of the West" was so
manifest wherever he went as to disturb
the mind of the
New York guest. He said many ugly
things about Mr.
202
Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly.
Clay afterwards, and while he did not
reach the presiden-
tial chair, he did defeat Mr. Clay in
New York, and
thereby broke the hearts of thousands.
During this same year Governor Morrow
welcomed
La Fayette to the State - the
occasion being made much
of by all who could possibly reach
Cincinnati, where the
reception took place. In his account of
his tour, La
Fayette speaks pleasantly of the
Governor and of the
people of Ohio.
At the close of his second gubernatorial
term, Governor
Morrow again tried to retire to public
life, but his neigh-
bors sent him to the State Senate. In
1828 he headed
the electoral ticket for John Quincy
Adams, and in
1832 the Clay and Sargeant electoral
ticket. He was also
the first President of the Little Miami
Railroad Company.
In 1840, when Governor Morrow was in his
seventieth
year, he was again sent to Congress,
under the following
interesting circumstances. That was the
log cabin year,
when the people of the State went wild
over the brilliant
speeches of America's greatest orator,
Corwin, and the
songs of John Griener. Mr. Corwin
resigned his seat in
Congress to accept the Whig nomination
for Governor,
and a mass convention was held at
Wilmington to nomi-
nate a successor. It is said that ten thousand people
were present on that occasion, and I
believe it to be true.
It would have been hard to find a
section in Ohio so poor
in people, or in spirit, at any time in
1840 or
1844 where
ten thousand people could not be got
together on two
weeks' notice to hear a political
discussion. At this Wil-
mington meeting, where Corwin gave an
account of his
stewardship, and drew philosophical
lessons for the ben-
efit of his auditors in his inimitable
style, each county
appointed fifty delegates to select a
successor, and Gov-
ernor Morrow was their unanimous choice
to fill the
unexpired term and the succeeding term.
It was ratified
by the mass convention with great
enthusiasm. When
Governor Morrow went to Washington to
take his seat he
A Familiar Talk About Monarchists
and Jacobins. 203
found in the House but one member who
had served with
him in the Eighth Congress when he first
entered on a
Congressional career in 1803-and this
member, then
a Representative, a Senator in 1803, and
subsequently
President, was perhaps the most eminent
American citi-
zen of the day-John Quincy Adams, the
Old Man
Eloquent, who was then contending for
the right of peti-
tion and the freedom of speech. But the
change in
manners was not less than in men. "
My old associates,"
said Governor Morrow in a tone of
sadness to a friend,
"are nearly all gone. I am acting
with another genera-
tion. The courtesies which members
formerly extended
to each other are, in a great measure,
laid aside, and I feel
that I am in the way of younger
men."
This service closed the public career of
Jeremiah Morrow
-a career that extended over a period of
forty years. Dur-
ing this whole time Mr. Morrow never
sought an office, nor
did he ever refuse one. His opinion,
always modestly
expressed, was that a citizen of a
republic should be ready
to discharge any duty to which he was
called by the voices
of his fellow-citizens.
I think it well here to repeat
the words of General
Durbin Ward on the retirement of Mr.
Morrow. He
said:
" I well remember when the
venerable old man declined
serving longer in Congress. With that gravity of
intonation for which he was remarkable,
he announced to
his fellow-citizens that he wished to be
excused from serv-
ing them longer; that he had lived
through his age and
generation and served it as best he
could; that new men
and new interests had grown up around
him, and that it
was now proper for him to leave those
interests to the
keeping of the present generation, who
better understood,
and who more warmly sympathized in the
wants of the
present age. He made the same response
when solicited
to take a seat in the second
constitutional convention. He
said he had assisted in forming one
constitution; it was
204
Ohio Archaeological and Historical
Quarterly.
now worn out, and he was worn out with
it. The new
one ought to be formed by those who
would live under
it."
These were words of wisdom uttered by
one who had
had bestowed upon him the highest honors
without him-
self apparently being conscious of
possessing any merit
beyond that belonging to the humblest
citizen in the com-
munity. In the discharge of a public
duty he put forth all
his powers, but place never exalted him;
he was superior
to it. Justice John McLean, a neighbor
who knew him
intimately in public and private life,
said of him: "No
man was firmer in matters of principle,
and on these, as
in matters of detail, he always
maintained himself with
great ability. His mind was sound and
discriminating.
No man in Congress who served with him
had a sounder
judgment. His opinions on great
questions were of more
value, and were more appreciated in high
quarters, than
the opinions of many others whose claims
of statesman-
ship and oratory were much higher than
his. Mr. Jeffer-
son had much reliance in him, and Mr.
Gallatin gave him,
in every respect, the highest evidence
of his confidence.
There never sat in Congress a man more
devoted to
the public interests, and of a fairer or
more elevated
morality."
During the last years of his life
Governor Morrow re-
sided in a plain frame house at the foot
of a steep hill and
close to the bank of the Little Miami,
one of several plain
dwellings he had erected near his mills,
which were
turned by that stream. His wife preceded
him to the
grave by some years; his children were
married and set-
tled. In his old age he preserved the
same simplicity of
life and unpretending manners which had
characterized
his earlier life. He occupied a single
but spacious room
plainly furnished, which was the sitting
room, parlor and
library. His library was large and well
selected, and here,
occupied with his books and newspapers,
in the full use
of his mental faculties, he lived in the
enjoyment of a
A Familiar Talk About Monarchists and
Jacobins. 205
happy and comparatively healthful old
age. He died on
the 22d day of March, 1852, in the 81st
year of his age.
This, all too briefly related, is the
story of a useful life.
There is not a trace of genius; nothing
of evil to attribute
to eccentricity. It is clear that Mr.
Morrow was not " a
child of destiny," but a plain man
who feared God and
loved his fellow-men. And here, friends
of Ohio, I wish
to proclaim in this age of unbelief, of
the false and mere-
tricious, the ancient and divine
doctrine of CHARACTER as
being the highest type of manhood. Wit
may edify,
genius may captivate, but it is truth
that blesses and en-
dures and becomes immortal. It is not
what a man seems
to be, but what he is that should
determine his worth.
It is in the light of this doctrine,
that I wish you to
form an opinion of Jeremiah Morrow. A
few additional
words descriptive of his person and of
traits of character
will bring the man more plainly before
you.
He was of medium stature, rather thin,
very straight,
strong and active, and capable of
enduring much fatigue.
His eyes and hair were dark, but in the
last years of his
life the latter was nearly perfectly
white. In dress he was
exceedingly careless, even while in
public life. At home
his usual attire was as plain and homely
as that worn
by his neighbor farmers, or his
work-hands. At no
period of his life did he consider
manual labor beneath
him, and few men with a sickle could
reap more grain
in a day than he. These homely ways
occasionally led
ambitious and officious politicians to
the conclusion that
he would be as potters' clay in their
hands. His pastor,
the Rev. Dr. Mac Dill, of the Associate
Reformed, or
United Presbyterian Church, of which Mr.
Morrow was a
life-long and consistent member, relates
that "when his
first gubernatorial term was nearly
expired, some gentle-
men about Columbus, who seemed to regard
themselves
as a board specially appointed to superintend
the distri-
bution of offices in the State of Ohio,
had a meeting, and
appointed a committee to wait on him and
advise him as
206 Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly.
to his duty. The committee called, and
speedily made
known their business. It was to prevail
on him (for the
public good, of course) not to stand as
a candidate for a
second term, but to give way in favor of
another. They
promised that if he would do this they
would use their
influence to return him to the United
States Senate,
where, they assured him, he would be
more useful to the
State. Having patiently heard them through,
he calmly
replied: 'I consider office as belonging
to the people. A
few of us have no right to make bargains
on the subject,
and I have no bargain to make. I have
concluded to
serve another term if the people see fit
to elect me, though
without caring much about it.'"
A friend relates this anecdote of the
Governor: "On
one occasion, an officer from one of the
Eastern States
came to Columbus as the agent in an
important criminal
case. The Governor was on his farm, and
as the case
admitted of no delay the agent went
post-haste to find him.
Arriving at the old mansion he asked for
Governor Morrow.
A lady directed him to the barn. Feeling
that he was be-
ing humbugged the man went under
protest, as directed.
He found two men busy with a load of
hay, one pitching
to the mow, the other mowing away. He
looked in vain
for Governor Morrow, and a little out of
humor, asked of
the man on the wagon of his whereabouts.
The individ-
ual addressed pitched his last fork full
to the mow, and
taking off his hat, wiping the
perspiration from his brow,
said: 'I am Governor Morrow, what can I
do for you,
sir?' The agent, now sure of the humbug,
became indig-
nant, said he wished to see Governor
Morrow on business,
and none of his servants. The farmer
descended from the
wagon, directed 'John' to drive the oxen
out to the
meadow; assured the man that he was the
Governor; led
the way to the house, and being one of
the best talkers of
the day, he soon convinced the indignant
agent that the
Governor of Ohio was the right man in
the right place, and
that he understood the dignity of the
gubernatorial chair
A Familiar Talk About Monarchists and
Jacobins. 207
as well as the mysteries of the hay-mow.
Years afterwards
I met this man in Boston, and he said
that the strangest
adventure in his career was his meeting
with Governor
Morrow in the barn."
One more illustration and I am done:
When Charles
Anderson was Governor, and I Secretary
of State, we repre-
sented the State government at Urbana on
the occasion of
the removal of the remains of Simon
Kenton to the new
cemetery of that place, where a handsome
monument had
been erected to the famous pioneer. And
here I interrupt
my narrative to remark parenthetically,
and not as perti-
nent to my subject, that while the
dignified officers of the
State and hundreds of worthy citizens
followed the remains
of the pioneers to their final resting
place in solemn
silence, the descendants of Kenton were
enjoying them-
selves at a feast-a grim commentary, you
will say, on
family pride. But so far as the public
were concerned, the
ceremony had its sentimental, its
patriotic side.
The occasion was calculated to inspire
reminiscences
and anecdotes of early Ohio days, and
Governor Anderson
proved to be in his happiest mood, the
full meaning of
which will be appreciated by those here
present to-night
who were ever so fortunate as to listen
to the conversation
of that brilliant man. He had a great
deal to say about
Governor Morrow, who, as Trustee of
Miami University,
often visited that institution and
invariably, from choice,
roomed with young Anderson. He therefore came to
know him well, and within a few months,
at my request,
has put in writing his opinion of Mr.
Morrow. He says:
" If I were compelled to choose and
name the one ablest
and best of all the Governors whom I knew
it would be
this Jeremiah Morrow) of Warren
county. * * * * *
* *
I believe I have known but one man who had so
little of the spirit 'to show off'--of
false pretense; of
selfish vanity or ambition--as he had.
And as for his
merely intellectual powers and culture,
without being, as
far as I know, very profound or
original, and surely being
208 Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly.
neither brilliant nor eloquent, he had
so many exact, yet
various and extensive, knowledges, with
such accuracy
and aptness of memory and citation, that
I am compelled
to adjudge him a high place as well in
scholarship as
statesmanship."
The anecdote I am about to relate will
give you the esti-
mate of an intelligent foreigner of this
Ohio pioneer. Gov-
ernor Anderson said in the conversation,
to which I have
referred, that after he had graduated at
Oxford he went
abroad to spend a year in Europe. Some
time in the
month of October of the year 1845 he
chanced to meet at
Prague, in Bohemia, an English party of
three gentlemen
-a couple of barristers traveling for
pleasure, and a Scotch
commercial traveler. They together
visited all the noted
places throughout that country, and by
these associations
became welded into a sufficient
homogeneity to be called
"Our Party." At an early hour
on a fine autumn day
they turned their faces homeward, and
followed the Mol-
daw toward, but not as far as the river
Elbe, until they
reached the little steamboat on which
they were to em-
bark, some distance above the junction
of these classic
streams. While they were lounging around
the dock
awaiting the arrival of the
"captain," as we Americans
always dub such officers, a sudden
shower came up and
drove the passengers into the close
quarters of the cabin.
Among these passengers so packed
together was a curi-
ously and elegantly dressed personage,
in clean, bright
scarlet coat, buff vest and shirt, fair
top boots, a very
jaunty little cap, with an elegant whip
in his hand. Being
fresh shaven, except his oiled side
whiskers, clean as new
cloth and fine linen could make him, he
was, with his
fresh pink complexion, his handsome
regular features and
comely stoutish figure, to a novice like
young Anderson,
one of the most curious and elegant
figures he had ever
seen off the stage. It was a pity he had
not remained as a
figure " to be seen, not
heard," as parents in the good old
days were wont to say to the boys. But
alas! he spoke.
A Familiar Talk About Monarchists and
Jacobins. 209
And such grammar, such metallic tones,
interlarded with
slang and vulgar profanity, as never
before offended mor-
tal ears in the presence of ladies. It
is needless to say
that all this outrage was in English.
Indeed, declared
Governor Anderson, no other language on
earth, dead or
living, ever had the capability of such
slang and profanity
as was then heard. Undoubtedly this
" Professor" of the
profane branch of the Queen's English
did not dream that
any of those present, except his own
associates and the
Anderson party, known by their dress,
understood a word
of his chaffing. But he was soon to be
undeceived in a
surprising manner; for after two or
three repetitions, there
arose from his seat between two ladies,
of very plain but
most genteel apparel and most quiet,
refined appearance
and demeanor, another figure as
striking as his own, but
in a very different fashion. He was a
very giant in size
and proportions. Very much above six
feet in height, he
was broad, straight, compact,
sinewy--one of the noblest
and most majestic human beings Anderson
had ever be-
held. And he spoke also, to the
amazement of the little
party, in the best tones and clearest
sense in our own dear
tongue. "Steward," he called
calmly. No response.
"Steward," with a slight crescendo. Still no response.
"STEWARD," he shouted, so as
to be heard throughout the
boat. Whereupon the steward showed his
face. "Where
is the master of this vessel?" The
steward replied that
he had not yet arrived from Prague.
Then our modern
Ajax announced in effect tha he would
usurp that office
for the present occasion. And thereupon
pointing his
finger to the ascending steps, he
coolly ordered the burly
Britisher in scarlet and buff tights to
move up and out.
The free-born Briton refused
peremptorily. He said he
had paid for his ticket, that he had
equal rights, that it was
raining and he would not go for any
man. To all which
the new master said " Go,"
his stalwart finger still point-
ing the way. After a slight but
impressive pause he added
"I know you, sir. You are a low
servant of my friend
Vol. II-14
210 Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly.
the Earl of Chesterfield - the head
groom of his racing
stud, and you have forgotten that you
are not in the pres-
ence of his horses and your other
fellow-brutes. Now
move, sirrah! or I will move you."
And thereupon out
moved the bold Briton into the rain.
In a short time the shower passed, and
the little family-
party of Anglo-Saxons went on deck for
the freshened air
and the sunlight. Of course, a squad of
four of that race
of bipeds could never be collected in
which there would
not, after such a scene, arise a split,
a taking of sides; a
discussion of the rights of the
parties; much vague refer-
ence to Magna Charta, to the Bill of
Rights, etc. And so
in this case there was a division. The
Scotchman, keen in
debate and jealous of the English,
began the schism by
rejoicing over the discomfiture of the
groom. The two
English barristers were inclined, for
argument's sake, to
stand upon the free speech of Magna
Charta, and as
Anderson, who sympathized with the
young ladies and
admired the masterful stranger, sided
with the Scotchman,
their discussion became animated. As
the words of strife
closed, the Scotchman disappeared below
to gather fresh
items. In a little while, as it turned
out, he informed our
hero of the debates that they had
settled down into
unanimity on his side, but that his
American friend, with
whom he had traveled the Danube, had
been very warm
in his advocacy of his procedure and
admiration of his
bearing. The big stranger then said he
would like to be
made acquainted with an American; that
this was his
country almost; that he had never seen
an American so
far east in Europe, and that having
spent many happy
days in the United States, he would be
really glad to
chat with this American friend of
Campbell's. And
thereupon up came the twain, like
Douglas and his
page, and so young Anderson had the
honor of a pre-
sentation to the Grand Duke of Saxe
Weimar--a soldier
of Waterloo, a relative of the royal
family of England,
and, among other distinctions, the
author of two of the
A Familiar Talk About Monarchists and
Jacobins. 211
most highly esteemed, as well as
expensive, volumes of
Americana.
During the trip down the beautiful river
to Dresden the
Grand Duke paid marked attention to the
young Amer-
ican, and in conversation showed the
most accurate
familiarity with our history and
institutions, and acquaint-
ance with prominent citizens in every
section of the
country. For instance, in relating his
experience in
Ohio, he spoke of Governor Morrow, Judge
Burnet, Gen-
eral Lyttle, General Findlay, Peyton
Symmes, Robert
Buchanan, A. W. Gazlay, Nicholas
Longworth, and
others, rightly estimating the ability
and characteristics
of each. " Next to your great
statesman, Henry Clay,"
said he, "I took the greatest
liking to the Governor of
your State-Governor Morrow-whose
acquaintance I
made in the most thoroughly American
manner." And
thereupon he related how, taking a
carriage at Cincinnati,
he traveled to Columbus to pay his
respects to the Gov-
ernor, but, on the advice of a
Cincinnati friend, he called
en route at the farm of Governor Morrow. When he
reached the farm he saw a small party of
men in a
new field, rolling logs. This scene of a deadening, or
clearing, is familiar to those of us
fortunate enough
to have been brought up in Ohio, but to
a European
raised in courts, it must have been an
amazing sight.
After twenty years, he gave a quick and
picturesque,
almost poetic description of this
remarkable scene on
the Little Miami; but I must hasten to
the end. Ac-
costing one of the workmen, a homely
little man in a red
flannel shirt, and with a smutch of
charcoal across his
cheek, he asked, as he did on the Elbe
boat, "Where is
your master, sir?"
"Master!" exclaimed the other, "I
own no master-no master but Him
above." The Duke
then said, rather testily, " It is
the Governor of the State,
Governor Morrow, I am inquiring
for." "Well, I am Jere-
miah Morrow," replied the son of
toil, with unaffected and
unconscious simplicity. The Grand Duke
stood amazed.
212 Ohio
Archaeological and Historical Quarterly.
This little man, in a red flannel shirt
and home-made tow
linen trousers, leaning on a dogwood
hand-spike, with a
coal smutched face and the jeweled
sweat drops of real
labor now on his brow, and a marked
Scotch-Irish brogue
when he spoke! He the Governor of Ohio?
Was it pos-
sible? He could scarcely credit his
senses. The history
of Sparta and Rome, were as household
words to him.
Cincinnatus the model of rural, if not
rustic, statesmen and
heroes, had so filled the world with
his fame, that he had
indirectly given his name to the
neighboring town on the
bank of the Ohio. But here was a real,
living farmer, rus-
tic laborer, and a statesman too; not a
figure-head of a
Plutarch, nor the dream of a poet
fancy, but a present
reality, a man with simple, natural
manners and downright
honesty of character, who was quite the
equal of any clas-
sic Cincinnatus or Cato of them all. He
had seen, as he
had expected in this new and wild
country, many institu-
tions in the process of development,
all along the line, from
germ to grain; but a real head of a
commonwealth, in such
a show of man-or any likeness to it-was
a spectacle he
had not seen nor expected to see.
After he had somewhat recovered from
his surprise, he
accepted a graceful invitation to go to
the house, where he
of the red flannel shirt excused
himself, and soon reap-
peared fittingly apparelled for the
governor of a republic.
The Grand Duke was his guest in Warren
county, and also
at Columbus, for some days, and it was
during this time
that a plain head of a plain people
made such a profound
impression.
It has come to be the fashion with
biographical writers
to dwell upon the unfavorable
conditions attending the
growth and education of successful men,
who in early
youth had to labor and save, or share
with kin the hard-
earned dollars. If a boy voluntarily or
of necessity went
barefooted, or, if in manhood, he took
a contract to split
rails, it is accepted as evidence that
his relations were not
only poor but ignorant and unfamiliar
with the decencies
A Familiar Talk About Monarchists
and Jacobins. 213
of life, not to say deficient in those
delicate sensibilities
inseparable from noble characters. To
heighten the con-
trast, humble friends and associates
are made to appear
coarse and repulsive-unjustly, we may
be sure. Great
souls are not born of evil. Strong
characters surmount
difficulties before which weaker ones
succumb and the
effort is a valuable aid to
intellectual growth. But there
are external influences that help to
mold the man. In the
case of Jeremiah Morrow there was an
element in his edu-
cation which must not be overlooked,
for which he was
indebted to Christian parents. He was by
them instructed
by precept and example in the great
principles which guide
and control a moral and religious life.
Similar conditions
influenced the education of the leading
pioneers, who
wrought a mighty work in the Ohio
Valley, and of their
successors who have departed, lamented
by the whole
American people - Hammond, and
Harrison, and Mc-
Lean, and Corwin, and Brough, and
Ewing, and Wade,
and Chase, and Garfield. These like
those came of
poor but of the best American families,
dating back to
the time when there was no marked
distinction except
that of human worth; and they died as
they lived,
comparatively poor. The history of the
lives of these
devoted and patriotic men, of the work
wrought by
the pioneers, and of the manly and
unpretentious
career of Jeremiah Morrow, to which I
have called your
attention to-night, is a precious
heritage to the people
of Ohio.
And here, Mr. President, I ought to
close my remarks,
as I have already detained you too long.
But we are in
the midst of great social dangers, and I
am constrained to
dwell a little longer on the central
thought of my theme.
New conditions confront each generation,
and changes
have to be made to meet them. But there
are principles
that an immutable, and a people's
history is glorious or
infamous as these are made conspicuous
or are trampled
upon in private and official life. We
have been accused
214 Ohio Archaeological and
Historical Quarterly.
by foreigners of making a fetich of the
Constitution. If
we were to live up to the spirit of the
Constitution, we
would be strong enough to confront any
danger from with-
out or within. But the real American
fetich is the pride
of money, which is rapidly destroying
the republican sim-
plicity and honesty in which our
strength as a people here-
tofore lay. Rufus King, in a private
letter in 1803, pre-
dicted that if we had another war,
there would be afforded
another opportunity of gaining riches,
the consequences
whereof might be an aristocracy of the
most odious char-
acter. But the picture he drew falls
far short of the real-
ity. It is not likely that Mr. King, or
other Americans in
that day, dreamed that men would count
their hundred
millions, largely acquired by wrecking
corporations and
other questionable methods; or through
the power of
combination destroy individual
enterprise -the keystone
of the American business arch; or that,
through the
selfish greed of a few, and
indifference to the just claims
and welfare of the many, we should be
brought, at the
close of the first century of the
Constitution, face to face
with anarchy and revenge. And yet is
not this the condi-
tion of affairs in our country to-day ?
Let us not despair of the Republic,
but, acquiring the
faith that strengthened the immortal
Lincoln in days as
dark, believe that Providence will find
a way for rendering
useful for good the enormous wealth in
the possession of
the few, and of transforming into
conservative American
citizens the refugees of Europe without
the horrors of
crime and bloody revolution. Much
depends upon Ohio,
whose central location gives her great
power. Heretofore
her leaders have been actuated by a
noble ambition; her
citizens have responded to every call
of patriotism. Pri-
vate and public virtue still abound. As
the example of a
simple, dignified, and useful life,
after the enjoyment of
the highest honors, was to be found in the early days
of
the Republic at Mount Vernon,
Monticello and Montpelier,
so is it to be found to-day at Fremont.
The value of this
A Fumiliur Talk About Monurchists and Jacobins. 215
influence cannot be overestimated. Let
the citizens of
Ohio not forget the living lesson which
is worthy the glo-
rious past; or those to whose hands
hereafter shall be con-
fided the power of the State and of the
Nation, the words
of the poet:
Goodness and greatness are not means,
but ends."
A FAMILIAR TALK ABOUT MONARCHISTS
AND JACOBINS.
AN ADDRESS BY WILLIAM HENRY SMITH.
WHEN I received an invitation to address
the Historical
Society here to-night, the suggestion
was made by a mem-
ber of your committee that I take the
life and public
services of John Brough for my theme.
Born within the
limits of your city, the son of one of
the pioneer fathers,
it were fitting that he should be
remembered on an occa-
sion of such historical interest. It was
gratifying to be
remembered in connection with one whom I
knew and
loved so well. But the greatness of his
abilities, the
eminent services he rendered the State
in early manhood,
and the self-sacrificing and patriotic
devotion to the
National cause during the final struggle
which resulted in
the restoration of the Union, required
more careful atten-
tion than a very busy man could devote
to the subject on
such brief notice. Furthermore, my
library, papers, and
private memoranda of conversations
during those eventful
years were a thousand miles away, and
inaccessible.
Instead of addressing you on that larger
and, to me
personally, more interesting subject, I
am to talk to you
in a desultory way of the men and
parties that controlled
Ohio as a territory and for some years as a State, with
special reference to the life and
public career of Jeremiah
Morrow.
The members of the little colony planted
here one hun-
dred years ago were ardent Federalists.
Their strong per-
sonality was impressed upon every
measure establishing
social order, and the settlements made
by the Ohio Com-
pany, as well as those on the Scioto and
Miami rivers,
and the Lake, grew up and flourished
under this influence,
The French on the Wabash, the Illinois
and Mississippi,
when they received the Ordinance of 1787
from Governor
187