Ohio History Journal

EDITORIALANA.

VOL. XX. No. 4.

OCTOBER, 1911.

GENERAL BRINKERHOFF. Elsewhere in this Quarterly we give notice of the death of General Brinkerhoff with an extended account of his busy and useful life and many of its prominent achievements. But no written record of the life of such a man can adequately present what he really was to the world in which he lived. The inestimable outflow of a beautiful and true character, ever loyal to the highest ideals of life, cannot be recorded, cannot be duly valued, cannot in the fullest extent be appreciated. Back of all he did, broad and lasting as it may have been, is the man. Therein lay his power, his sway, over fellowmen. Sweet and gentle in dispo- sition, ever courteous and urbane in manner, tenacious of his own convictions, when once formed, but tolerant of the views and beliefs of others, his life was a benign atmosphere, soothing and strengthening to all with whom he came in contact. He loved men, he loved children, he loved nature in all her varied forms, and buoyed by a hopeful and optimistic temperament, he rose above the petty annoyances of everyday experience and above the greater trials and disappointments in effort and ambition. He was ever a thoughtful and sincere student. All realms of knowledge attracted his receptive and capacious mind. He studied men and knew human nature. He read books and absorbed their contents. The problem of life was ever fresh and deeply interesting to him. The greater query of the future was his constant meditation. He was unhampered by the dogmas of narrow sectarians, but he was steadfast in the belief of a divine and supreme intelligence and the adjustment in a better and unseen world of all that seemed wrong or awry in this.  He had a deep sense of responsibility. Every duty that came to him was earnestly and painstakingly discharged. He sympathized with the distressed and the unfortunate. It was ever his chosen task to help others by word or deed.. Selfishness found no lodging in his makeup. Such men live the highest life in this world of flesh and blood and accomplish things for themselves and others, and the memory of such men is a lasting impetus to those who survive them. Through a period of nearly twenty years the present writer knew, admired and respected Roeliff Brinkerhoff. Many a delightful hour have we spent in his presence, an auditor to his rare and interesting reminiscences, a recipient of his helpful cheer and a beneficiary of the (466)

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stimulation of his firm assurance that all is well here below and all will

be better in the world beyond. His life was above reproach, his career

an inspiration. None knew him but to love him, none named him but to

praise.

No organization with which he was connected seemed to give

him greater pleasure than the Archaeological and Historical Society.

Its field of investigation, its province of collecting and preserving the

records of the past and its work of storing the same for future gen-

erations of students, particularly appealed to his intellectual activities

and his fondness for knowledge of what has been, what is and what may

be. In the pantheon of those who have been most potent in the origin

and growth of this Society-the memory of no one will be more per-

manent or more revered than that of Roeliff Brinkerhoff.

 

 

SITE OF FORT GOWER.

An interesting and informing volume could be written on Little

Journeys to Historic Sites in Ohio, and it is one of the dreams of the

Editor of the Quarterly to some day put forth such a volume. Mean-

while, as time permits such "little journeys" are being made. It was

on a brilliant day last August (1911) that the Editor "tripped" to what

in some respects is one of the most historic sites in Ohio. Many articles

have been penned and published on the pioneer forts of Ohio. No

state in the Northwest Territory can boast of as many stockades in

the early days as can the Buckeye commonwealth. Romantic, dramatic

and patriotic are the records of many of them. The French fort of

1745 at the mouth of the Sandusky, the scene of Nicholas' conspiracy;

the stockade defense at Loramie's on the Pickawillany, the scene of

the prelude of the contest between the French and the British for the

Northwest Territory; the first fort built by the Americans, in the

American Revolution, the famous Fort Laurens near the present site

of Bolivar; Fort Stephenson (Fremont) on the Sandusky, the scene of

the siege of Croghan's little band attacked by Proctor and his British

veterans aided by Tecumseh and his horde of western savages, in the

War of 1812; there are few stories in warfare equal to it for display of

bravery and patriotism. But the fort least known to general history

-for it is not mentioned by any of the leading historians-and yet

most significant in western annals, for an event connected therewith,

is Fort Gower at the mouth of the Hocking, or Hockhocking, as it was

once called from the Indian name "Hockin-hockin."

It was the year 1774 in the month of June that the English Parlia-

ment passed the detested Quebec Act-an affirmation of the previous

so-called Quebec Act of 1763. This act of 1774, provided a government

for the Province of Quebec, embracing the territorial domain west

and north of the Ohio River-known later as the Northwest Territory.

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