Ohio History Journal

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Mrs .Tuttle is a writer of great merit, being a lady of unusual cul-

ture and scholarship. Her husband was the late Prof. Herbert Tuttle, the

distinguished historical writer and lecturer at Cornell University. With

her husband Mrs. Tuttle spent some years abroad and became proficient

as a linguist and an artist. She not only writes in a delightful manner,

but wields the artist's brush, both in portraiture and landscape, with

equal talent and charm. That she is deeply interested in Ohio history is

most natural, for she is the granddaughter of Governor Allen Trimble

and the great-granddaughter of Captain James Trimble who participated

in the battle of Point Pleasant (1774) and was a captain in the Revolution-

ary War. Mrs. Tuttle is a resident of Hillsboro, Ohio, which was the

home of her illustrious grandfather.

 

 

 

 

FARRAR'S GROUNDHOG SPEECH.

We have been asked for information concerning Captain Farrar's

famous groundhog oration. In reply we reprint the following from the

pen of a writer in Cambridge, Ohio, who contributed the readable account

to a recent daily publication:

Each groundhog day, whether the sun shines or not, brings back to

the citizens of Cambridge, Ohio the old story of how "Groundhog" Farrar

got his nickname.

Captain William H. Farrar, at one time a leading lawyer in Eastern

Ohio, banker, philanthropist and several times Mayor of Cambridge, was

sent to the Legislature back in the seventies by the Republicans of Guern-

sey County. He was expected to make his mark as a law maker, as he

had ability and was an eloquent speaker. The following incident, what-

ever else he said or did while a member of the lower House, gave him

newspaper notoriety from one end of the land to the other:

One of the biennial sessions of the Buckeye Legislature, somewhere

around 1884-87, was noted for what it did not do. There seemed to be no

leader of either party, and, in fact, there seemed to be no laws needed,

few changes in the existing laws and the members, both of the Senate

and House of Representatives, were equal to the occasion and loafed most

of the time.

One day, while the members of the House were sitting around wait-

ing for some one to 'do something' or move the usual adjournment, Cap-

tain Farrar arose and said:

"Mr. Speaker, I have a resolution which I wish to offer and I ask as

a personal favor from my colleagues that I be allowed to make some re-

marks before submitting the measure."

The voice from old Guernsey was like a bolt from a clear sky.

Weeks had passed without a set speech on any subject and the eager-

ness of the members to 'hear something' and to finally get to vote on a

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332         Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.

 

measure was expressed by many of them, and the Speaker himself waived

any objection.

Captain Farrar began by setting forth the duty of the members of the

body. He told of how each man was violating the trust put in him by his

own people. He declared that the state of Grant, Sherman, Sheridan,

Chase, Ewing, Hayes, Tom Corwin and a hundred other brilliant men was

being made ridiculous by the House of Representatives, and the people

who sent them to the Statehouse were disgusted. He then gave a history

of the state in its territorial days; the settlement at Marietta; the admis-

sion of Ohio to the Union in 1803; the part the Buckeye State had taken in

national politics and what she had done in the War of the Rebellion. By

this time he had spoken almost four hours, and as he sat down he asked

leave to continue the following day.

Members approached him after his long speech and asked him what

his object was. He only informed them that he would not discuss his

speech.

The following day found every member in his seat. The newspapers

had printed long accounts of the splendid flow of oratory, and this drew

a crowd to the galleries. No one knew what the Guernsey member had

up his sleeve, but they felt that something was going to happen. The

Captain arose promptly, and, picking up his historical talk of the day be-

fore, issued forth such a flow of oratory as had seldom been heard in the

Capitol. His eloquence caused profound silence, and there were no in-

terruptions from 'the other side.'

The second day's session was brought to an end and the members

were as much at sea as on the previous day. There was eloquence, but

no argument. What was Farrar driving at? Were the Supreme Court

members to be impeached?    Was there treason somewhere?   No one

knew. There was no question brought up which could call forth a denial

from  his opponents. There was a great mystery, and no one could

fathom it.

That night party leaders were summoned from Cincinnati, from

Cleveland, Dayton and Toledo. A delegation from Cambridge was hur-

ried to Columbus to find out what was going to happen. Their repre-

sentative had talked for two days and had not finished!

The third day found a great crowd in the Assembly Hall. The Sen-

ate met and immediately adjourned. The members crowded into the

House. The galleries were packed almost to suffocation, and Captain Far-

rar arose.

Several long, uninteresting decisions by the Supreme Court were

read; long lists of prices of coal, wool, wheat, etc., were read. War stories

were told and sketches were given of illustrious Americans. Weakened by

the awful strain and so hoarse he could scarcely speak, he stopped for a

moment, then, taking his bill from his inside coat pocket, concluded as

follows:

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Editorialana.                       333

 

"And now, Mr. Speaker, having covered the points I think necessary,

I submit, for an immediate vote of the House, a bill which urges that

Groundhog Day be set back from February 2d to January 2d, so that we

may have an earlier spring."

 

 

 

 

 

THE HEROES OF FORT MEIGS.

We cheerfully publish the circular sent out by the "Wives and Daugh-

ters of the Boys in Blue," to the soldiers of the United States, and all

others interested, in behalf of the laudable purpose of purchasing and

preserving the remains of old Fort Meigs and the graves of the hundreds

of heroes who fell in its memorable seige. The circular is self-explanatory

and is as follows:

SOLDIERS OF THE UNITED STATES-The Wives and Daughters of the

Boys in Blue, a band of patriotic women of the Maumee Valley, are weld-

ing with loving hands a chain, with which to encircle round about, and

encompass as with a bulwark of safety, the neglected and unmarked graves

of 825 United States soldiers, who laid down their lives for the country

which has forgotten them. Every link in this chain of honor will be a sol-

dier's tribute.

Soldiers, if the history of the valor of the heroes of Fort Meigs, and

the recital of their wrongs, appeals to you, and you desire to assist in re-

claiming the historic battlefield, and in preserving the graves of the sol-

diers from the desecration which threatens them, send your name and ad-

dress, your regiment and company, together with 10 cents, to the Society

of the Wives and Daughters of the Boys in Blue, Perrysburg, Ohio, and

become a member of the Fort Meigs Protective League.

This membership fee, although small, will prove to be the nucleus of

a fund which will grow to mammoth proportions, and eventually result in

the purchase of the fort, and the erection of a monument to its heroes.

FORT MEIGS: - High above the river, it stands in solemn loneliness,

although the picturesque city of Maumee lies but a stone's throw beyond,

the beautiful village of Perrysburg a mile to the east, and prosperous To-

ledo scarce ten miles away. As far as the eye can see, in every direc-

tion, over hill, over dale, and along the winding river's course, reaches out

scenery of unparalleled magnificence, and from its breezy heights can be

discerned the battlefields of Fallen Timbers, Fort Miami, and Fort In-

dustry.

Adown the slope, and binding the brow of the hill, long lines of pit-

iful indentations mark the resting places of the patient sleepers, patient in

awaiting justice-the justice of honored recognition, and undisturbed re-

pose. The fort, through pitying nature, is a gem of beauty in rarest

setting; through inhuman ingratitude, cupidity, and neglect, it is a spot

over which to mourn.

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