Reviews, Notes and Comments 217
In 1844 he went to Palestine, Illinois,
to spend his
remaining days with his daughter, Mrs.
Rachel L.
Kitchel. Here he was highly honored by the citizens
of the village. On July 4, 1845, he delivered his last
public address. "Appearing in his
continental uniform,
bowed with the infirmities of age, his
emotions almost
overcame him as he contrasted the
feeble beginnings of
the Republic with the splendid
destinies assured in the
future." In an obituary notice it is recorded that his
last words were, "My life has been
spared; I have tried
to be useful; God calls and I obey the
summons." Gov-
ernor Looker married Pamela Clark.
Their children
were B. F., James Harvey, Pamela and
Rachel L.
Rachel L. Looker married Joseph Kitchel
who was the
first receiver of the land office at
Palestine, Illinois.
Governor Looker had a large number of
grand-
children and many of his descendants
are still living.
A grandson, Thomas H. Looker, entered
the navy as
midshipman November 6, 1846. He served
through
the Mexican War and through the Civil
War. He was
promoted to the position of pay
director in the navy
March 3, 1871, and in 1890 was living
in Washington,
D. C.
CENTENARY OF THE BIRTH OF ULYSSES S.
GRANT.
We are under special obligations to
Honorable Hugh
L. Nichols, former Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court
of Ohio and at present Chairman of the
U. S. Grant
Memorial Centenary Association, for a
general program
of the exercises attending the one
hundredth anniver-
sary of the birth of Ohio's most
illustrious son. The
celebration will extend from the 27th
to the 29th of
218 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications
April, 1922. The detailed announcement
received from
Judge Nichols follows:
"The centenary of the birth of
General Ulysses S. Grant
will be commemorated in the county of
his birth (Clermont)
and in the county where he spent his
childhood and youth
(Brown) in a very striking manner.
"The services on the day of his
birth, April 27, 1922, will be
had at the place of birth, Point
Pleasant, Clermont County, Ohio.
Point Pleasant is now, as it was at the
time of the birth of this
distinguished Ohioan, but a small hamlet
lying upon the banks of
the Ohio River, about twenty-five miles
east of Cincinnati. The
hills bordering the river come at this
point almost precipitately
down to the river bank and the name
given to the spot, as it
would suggest, grew out of the beauty of
its situation.
"The parents of General Grant,
Jesse R. and Hannah Simp-
son Grant, were married at Bethel, Ohio,
in the Spring of 1821,
and immediately took up housekeeping in
the little home at Point
Pleasant, where Jesse R. had some
connection with the tannery
business. The family remained, however,
at Point Pleasant but
a short time after the birth of their
first-born, moving, when he
was but eighteen months of age, to
Georgetown, Brown County,
Brown County being then a newly made
county and Georgetown
having just been laid out as a town.
"Here the boy Grant remained with
his parents until he was
nominated as a cadet to West Point by
General Thomas L.
Hamer in 1839. Before Grant returned
from West Point the
family had again moved, this time going
to Bethel, Clermont
County, the former home of the General's
mother.
"The orator of the day at Point
Pleasant will be President
Warren G. Harding, who will there
deliver the commemorative
address. The chairman of the day will be
Governor Harry L.
Davis, and the addresses by these two
officials will be the extent
of the speaking on that occasion.
"It is planned for the
distinguished guests to leave Cin-
cinnati on the morning of April 27 on
the steamer Island Queen
going up the Ohio River to Point
Pleasant, it being estimated
that two hours will be required for this
journey.
"Many of the descendants of General
Grant will be on this
boat, including Major U. S. Grant III.
"On the following day, April 28,
commemorative services
will be held at Bethel. On this
occasion, U. S. Senator Frank
B. Willis will deliver the commemorative
address and some
especial services in memory of U. S.
Senator Thomas Morris,
Reviews, Notes and Comments 219
who lies buried at Bethel, will be held
in connection with the
Grant Memorial Services.
"On the following day, April 29,
the services will be held at
Georgetown, Brown County, Ohio, where
Senator Atlee Pom-
erene will be the principal speaker.
"A detachment of the United States
Army will be present
on all three occasions, accompanied by
the Camp Knox, Ken-
tucky, military band.
"A great many distinguished men
and women will be present
on all three occasions, including the
wife of the President; the
widow of Lieutenant-General Henry C.
Corbin and the widow of
Major-General Frederick D. Grant will
also be among the num-
ber of ladies who will grace the
occasion.
"Souvenir coins commemorating the
event have been
authorized by the Congress of the
United States-10,000 gold
dollars and 250,000 silver halves.
These coins, on the obverse
side will bear the bust of General
Grant, garbed in the military
attire of the Civil War period, and on
the opposite side a minia-
ture representation of the little cabin
in which he was born."
MARION COUNTY CENTENNIAL
Marion, Ohio, will celebrate its one
hundredth anni-
versary the first week in July. The
officers of the com-
mittee arranging for the celebration
are, J. W. Jacoby,
attorney, and John Brigel of Marion.
Marion was founded by Eber Baker and
Alexander
Holmes early in 1822. Its location was
on the Har-
rison Military Road of the War of 1812.
Baker and
Holmes, both of Newark, Ohio, had
entered the lands
a few years before. It was platted soon after a com-
mittee was appointed by the legislature
to locate the
seat of justice for Marion County. A spirited contest
arose over the location of the county
seat, Marion
finally winning by a divided vote of
the committee.
It is the intention of the committee to
make this
celebration one of the big events of
Central Ohio for
the coming summer. The program will
begin on Sun-