SUMMARY OF THE MANUSCRIPT RECOLLECTIONS
OF MILO G. WILLIAMS (1804-1880)
By FLORENCE MURDOCH
Interesting glimpses of early Cincinnati
are to be found in
the manuscript recollections by Milo G.
Williams, written in
1877-79. They show not only some
historical background to his
activities in educational, scientific
and religious circles, of the city
of more than a century ago, but also
note the changes which oc-
curred during his lifetime, and are
illuminated by his sage com-
ments. The manuscript deserves
publication in its entirety--a
rough summary only is attempted here. A
microfilm of the first
portion of these
"recollections" has been made by the Historical
and Philosophical Society of Ohio, in
Cincinnati.
Milo Williams, fourth child of Jacob and
Eunice (Grum-
mond) Williams, was born in a frame
house on the northeast
corner of Main and Sixth streets,
Cincinnati (where the Gwynne
building now stands), on April 10, 1804,
when the town contained
only 960 inhabitants.
The early memories of the boy included
the neighboring
home and handsome gardens of General
John S. Gano, then
clerk of the court, which occupied the
north half of the block
bordered by Main, Sixth, Sycamore and
Fifth streets. There were
few houses then in that outlying part of
town, which was mostly
pasture lots, and a few cultivated
fields; no streets were graded
or paved; wagons fast in the mud were
pried out by rails taken
from the roadside fences; canoes or
skiffs were used to carry foot
passengers across the Ohio River; horses
and wagons were rowed
over in flat-boats; cattle had to swim.
The arrival of barges with
southern and eastern produce is noted as
being of great impor-
tance to store keepers and residents.
Young Williams recalled
watching the building of the first
"Upper Market" on Fifth
Street (now Government Square), which
was erected later than
(113)
114
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
the "Lower Market" on Pearl
Street, and which was for the
benefit of the "hill people."
So many volunteered to help put on
the roof over the brick columns, that it
was finished in a few
hours.
Those were the days of homespun and
linsey-woolsey cloth-
ing--"the music of the spinning
wheel took the place of piano or
guitar, and the young woman's
accomplishments were measured
by the number of skeins she could spin
in a day, instead of her
ability to sing French or Italian."
The boyish recollections of young Milo
included also the old
court house (of which his Grandfather
Grummond was contrac-
tor), within the block bounded by Fourth
and Main, Fifth and
Walnut; the jail with its dark dungeon
and whipping post, and the
court yard where he watched the friendly
Indians hold their war
dances. He remembered well the old
"Two-horned Church"
(Presbyterian) at Fourth and Main which
he attended in his
youth, and the little company of
youngsters under his command,
drilling earnestly with wooden guns,
during the War of 1812, and
their pride at being received by General
Harrison; the triumphal
arch under which the
"regulars" passed; the post riders who car-
ried important military dispatches; the
games which he played with
the Indian lads during their encampments
west of town near the
great mound (at what is now Sixth and
Mound streets), and many
other interesting incidents.
Milo Williams also mentions in
entertaining manner the va-
rious schools in the town, and describes
the masters and methods
under which he received his early
education, before the days of
public schools.
From 1814 to 1820 the family resided on
a farm on the Ham-
ilton Road, adjoining Col. John Riddle's
home, in a district later
known as Camp Washington, and here the
youth was initiated
into the cultivation of plant life,
which was to be of such lasting
interest to him. It was probably at this
time that the family became
acquainted with "Johnny
Appleseed," quaint and lovable pioneer
nurseryman, and disseminator as well, of
the then new religious
doctrines of Emanuel Swedenborg. In his
later years (1876), Mr.
MILO G. WILLIAMS 115
Williams, as chairman of a historical
committee of this church,
included his recollections of
"Johnny" (who often stayed over
night at his father's home) in a series
of biographies of a number
of missionaries and ministers, but
unfortunately the manuscript
appears to be lost.
While in the country, the children
studied in the village school
house, often under incompetent masters,
or walked three miles
each way to a town school. Whenever the
opportunity arose,
young Milo bent all his energy and
natural intelligence towards
mastering each subject, studying early
and late, a habit which
he pursued all his life. But he also
mentions the neighborhood
amusements of cornhuskings, quiltings,
and the arrival of team-
sters with their great covered wagons
and bellteams who put up at
Walker's Tavern nearby.
In his sixteenth year, the family
returned to the town, but
Milo remained to teach the village
school, at $10.00 per month,
in a log cabin of which he gives a vivid
description. Here, he
says, he not only taught, but began to
learn the powers of the
human mind, and to develop his
philosophy of education, which
was to be the dominant interest in his
future career, the growth
of which is evident throughout these
interesting memoirs.
In 1822,
young Milo rejoined his family in town and
decided
to open a school of his own, beginning
in a small room on Main
Street, below Fourth, with only one
pupil besides his own two
small sisters. But he soon had to move
to larger quarters, first
in a large frame house on the east side
of Walnut below Fourth,
and by 1828, he was established in the
upper two stories of a
large three-story brick building on
Third Street, between Main and
Sycamore. The note book of Judge A. G.
W. Carter gives lively
reminiscences of these schools, and a
newspaper clipping of 1876
quotes him as follows: "Mr.
Williams, in spite of his super-
abundant ferruling, which, by the way,
was the system of the
times, was a very good teacher and a
very good man.... He still
survives at a venerable age, and is now
living in Urbana, Ohio,
respected by all who know him, and
enjoying a distinguished
reputation as a learned man and a
gentleman."
116 OHIO
ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
But Mr. Williams himself rapidly
progressed beyond the old
stern method of teaching, for he
"soon learned the value of a good
joke between the teacher and his
pupil," and later concludes that
"all [school] government should be
moral, springing from love
and guided by wisdom," any corporal
punishment to be admin-
istered with the utmost discretion.
The young teacher now began to study
intensively himself,
and in 1827 he was instrumental in forming
the "Cincinnati
Philosophical Society" which
included study of the natural
sciences; he was its first and only
secretary. Many prominent men
were listed as members, with Dr. John
Locke and Dr. Daniel
Drake among the lecturers. This society
was dissolved in 1833,
its books and papers being transferred
to the Ohio Mechanic's
Institute, which had a new department
along the same lines.
The winter of 1824-25, Mr.
Williams became associated
with Frederick Eckstein, "an artist
and scholar," in an evening
school, in which they tried out
Pestalozzi's new system, which
was somewhat modified after a short
visit he made to Robert
Owens' short-lived community at New
Harmony, Ind., where he
saw it in action and recognized certain
disadvantages.
At this time also, young Williams was
induced by his
brother Elmor, law partner of James W.
Gazlay, to study that
profession, and joined the Franklin
Society, which was com-
posed of lawyers, and students. He did
not find this as much
to his liking as teaching, so never took
the final bar examination,
but later, in 1832, he introduced the
first known study of con-
stitutional law in the high school
grades of his school under
Samuel Y. At-Lee. The examiners of his
class, who gave high
praise, were Judge I. G. Burnet, Judge
T. Walker, B. Bliss,
Timothy Flint and others. These
constitutional law courses were
also organized in the schools Mr.
Williams headed later in Day-
ton and Springfield, and were always
taught by members of the
legal profession. Mr. Williams observed
that "Republican gov-
ernment can be maintained only where the
people are intelligent
and understand their rights and duties
as citizens . . . it is a
stain upon our colleges and higher
schools that so little attention
is given to the study of our organic
laws."
MILO G. WILLIAMS 117
The same eventful year of 1822, in which
Mr. Williams
opened his first school, saw also his
first acquaintance with the
doctrines of the New-Church
(Swedenborgian) through hearing
Rev. Adam Hurdus preach in the house of
worship on Long-
worth Street (now Opera Place). His
interest was so aroused
by the new teachings, although at that
time there was considerable
opposition by the other clergy of the
town, that he earnestly set
about the study of them, giving up his
former connection with
the Presbyterian Church, and the
Episcopal Sunday-School where
he was a teacher. Mr. Hurdus was a
native of Manchester,
England, and arrived in Cincinnati in
1807, where he is known
as the first local organ builder. He
also conducted the first New-
Church services, for the benefit of his
family, in his home on
Front Street, and it is recorded that
Indians, attracted by the
unusual music, frequently attended these
services. By 1811, Mr.
Hurdus' hearers had so increased that a
church society was
formed, and he was ordained its
minister. It was incorporated
in 1818, with such well-known names on
the early rolls as Mars-
ton Allen, Sarah F. Appleton, William H.
Beard, Frederick
Eckstein, W. G. W. Gano, A. W. Gilbert,
Giles Richards, Ogden
Ross, Luman Watson and others mentioned
later in these memoirs.
Milo Williams joined this church about
1824, and soon gath-
ered together a group of men who wished
a greater knowledge
of these new doctrines, for, as he
observed, "The solitary student
is too apt to become kinky!" This
group was limited to 12, and
for sixteen years carried out a program
of profound study and
presentation, Mr. Williams serving as
secretary for the remain-
ing eight years of his residence in
Cincinnati. The books ac-
cumulated by this study group were added
to some already pos-
sessed by the church, and formed the
nucleus of the present
library of over 5000 New-Church books,
bound magazines, pam-
phlets, records, etc., which is now
housed in the Parish House
at Oak and Winslow streets, Walnut
Hills.
Never content with knowledge without
action, Mr. Williams
organized a Sunday-School in 1832, and
in his recollections, gives
interesting details of his methods of
Scripture teaching, especially
Scripture Geography and Natural History.
The first teachers in
118
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
this Sunday-School were Charles F.
Kellogg, Samuel Y. At-Lee,
William H. Williams and Mrs. Ebenezer
Hinman. Mr. Wil-
liams' methods were recommended as a
model to all New-Church
Sunday-Schools, by a committee appointed
by the Western New-
Church Convention hell that year in
Cincinnati (1832), con-
sisting of John Murdoch of Springfield,
Josiah M. Espy of Co-
lumbus, Otho M. Herron and the Rev.
David Powell.
This interest in the New-Church grew to
be the most vital
factor in Milo Williams' life, its high
ideals permeating all his
philosophy of religion, of education and
of standards of conduct.
He was elected secretary of the local
church meetings in
1825, and was first secretary of the
Western New-Church Con-
vention in 1832, of which
Daniel Mayo of Kentucky, was presi-
dent. He was also chairman of the
Committee on Constitution,
and of the Committee on Education, at
this time first proposing the
"establishment of a literary
institution in connection with agri-
culture and the mechanic arts, and based
on the principles of the
New Church,"--a concept he was
later to carry out in part. He
was also working editor for a time, of a
monthly church period-
ical called The Precursor, and
from 1838 to 1845 was president
of the Western Convention, succeeding
Hon. John Young of
Greensburg, Pa. The name was changed in
1848 to the present
Ohio Association of the New-Church,
which is one of the con-
stituent bodies of General Convention of
the New Jerusalem.
Mr. Williams' comments on the annual
meetings fill many pages
of his memoirs, and his constant effort
to carry his share and
more, of the constructive work of the
organization everywhere
appears. He served on numerous local and
state committees as
well as on the Board of Managers of the
Theological School
(Cambridge, Mass.), for 13 years and the
Board of Publication
(New York) for many years. His later
activities centered in
the culmination of his life work,
New-Church education in Ur-
bana, Ohio.
Mr. Williams records his joining with
Mr. David Pruden of
Dayton, in 1833, in establishing a
Manual Training School there
in buildings owned by Mr. Pruden, as it
seemed to "open a
wider field of usefulness and a pleasant
change from city life in
MILO G. WILLIAMS 119
Cincinnati." The plan, which seems singularly modern, re-
quired all students to spend part of the
time in manual labor, and
although the student body increased, so
did the necessity for in-
cluding more branches of work, which
outgrew both the buildings
and their available capital, in a few
years.
While in Dayton, Mr. Williams studied
the indigenous plants,
and worked out an original method of
teaching botany "using
eyes instead of books" on what
would now be called field trips.
Here he also introduced the study of
anatomy and physiology,
and was instrumental in forming a county
society of teachers, of
which he was the presiding officer. He
formed also, a small
New-Church Society, of which he was the
leader, and at that
time he was licensed to preach, although
he never felt himself
qualified for a future in the ministry.
At this time too (1833),
Mr. Williams began making the weather
observations for the
Meterological Department in Washington,
which he systematically
continued for the remaining 47 years of
his life, in Springfield,
Cincinnati, Dayton and Urbana.
Immediately after the closing of the
Manual Training In-
stitute in Dayton, in 1835, a call from
the Springfield High School
was accepted and he moved to that
"pleasant village" to organize
the school as its teaching head, and
ex-officio president of the
Board of Trustees. Here again he spent
his leisure hours in
botanical study, adding specimens to his
large herbarium, and
lecturing before the Lyceum on various
sciences. Five years
later when the high school was bought by
the Methodist Church,
Mr. Williams was asked to remain as
principal, but deciding he
would not feel free in a sectarian
school differing from his own
faith, he returned to Cincinnati where
an opening awaited him
as head of a New-Church school just
being established. Among
the patrons and members of the
association sponsoring it, were
many familiar names of that day,
including Southworth Holmes,
Nathan Sampson, J. L. Wayne, Charles
Andress, Tunis Brewer,
David Loring, Charles Sontag, Oliver
Lovell, Benjamin Tappan,
Fenton Lawson, J. Resor, B. F. Hunt,
George Graham, F. W.
Dury and W. Manser.
Mr. Williams was sent to Boston to
investigate a New-
120 OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND
HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Church school there, and on his return
opened the Cincinnati
school in January, 1840, at first in the basement of the church
on Longworth Street, then in "a
beautiful and commodious edi-
fice, with apartments large, airy and
well lighted," which was
erected by Samuel Smith (one of the
famous "sixty-foot Smiths")
on an adjoining lot. The handsome
furnishings included a fine
pipe organ. This building was afterwards
used as a high school
by the city.
As stated in Rev. M. M. Carll's address
at the opening cere-
monies, "The end in view is to
educate children that they may
be prepared to fulfill the purpose and
legitimate uses of existence
here on earth, and thus be qualified to
perform higher and nobler
uses hereafter in heaven. . . . Science
will become the handmaid
of religion. . . . happy are they who
are permitted to discharge
their debt to posterity, by providing
for the rational, intellectual
and spiritual of the immortal
mind." These high aims were
looked at so earnestly that the
practical consideration of financial
backing was secondary, and this caused
the end of the experiment
in three years. Mr. Williams then
assumed the responsibility
himself, but was later tempted to close
his private enterprise by
the offer of a professorship at $1150
per annum, in the Cincin-
nati College.
He records a pleasant year with
President T. J. Biggs, and
Professors O. M. Mitchel, John A. Warder
and Jos. Herron,
but as the whole income of the college
was from tuition, which
was divided pro-rata amongst the members
of the faculty after
incidental expenses were paid, it came
about that Professor Wil-
liams received only one-third the agreed
amount, "nearly enough
to starve on."
At this critical juncture an offer was
received from the trus-
tees of the Dayton Academy for the free
use of a school building
and grounds if Mr. Williams would open a
high school for boys
there. This offer was accepted, and in
1844 one finds Mr. Wil-
liams en route to Dayton again, this
time accompanied by his
wife (Mary Loring of Cincinnati), a son
by a former marriage,
and an infant daughter, Mary Louise.
Reaching there by means
of a canal-boat journey of twenty-four
hours, he was soon located
MILO G. WILLIAMS 121
in a pleasant house with a garden which
both he and his wife
enjoyed, and found his work as head of
the Dayton Academy
both pleasant and remunerative, and the
social life agreeable.
Here too, their second daughter,
Adelaide H. was born. A num-
ber of addresses were given in Dayton to
various groups on
scientific and religious subjects, and
he also took up his former
interests there, of the New-Church
circle, and botanizing expedi-
tions with John S. Van Cleve. Another
really important under-
taking was the organization of the
Dayton Public Library Asso-
ciation, of which he was president
during the six years he re-
mained in the town. This pleasant period
was terminated by his
acceptance of an imperative call of
duty, to aid in establishing
a New-Church co-educational college in
Urbana.
Although one might think that Mr.
Williams' many private
endeavors would have occupied most of
his attention, he also found
time to promote the growth of general
education, feeling that
public and private schools should share
a mutual improvement
program. To this end, as early as 1829,
he joined with other
teachers in forming an organization
named "The Western Literary
Institute and Board of Education,"
and here we find him acting
as corresponding secretary. A number of
pages of the manu-
script are devoted to the meetings of
this group, and to the first
regional convention of teachers from
Ohio and neighboring states,
in which Mr. Williams again was a prime
mover, again the cor-
responding secretary, and on the
Committee on Constitution.
This latter body was called "The
Western Literary Institute and
College of Professional Teachers,"
holding annual three-day con-
ventions for fifteen years (until 1847),
with learned addresses
and earnest study of methods. Said Mr.
Williams: "It is con-
ceded that this Institute has had a
decidedly beneficial effect upon
all grades of schools in the West, from
the primary to the uni-
versity; methods of instruction and
government have been im-
proved; the tone and quality of teachers
have attained a higher
standard; and legislators have been led
to the enacting and im-
provement of school laws." And he
further commented: "With
two exceptions, I believe I was present
at all meetings, made a
number of reports, was often placed on
important committees,
122
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
for several years was chairman of the
committee on Bills and
Overtures; for a time was editor of the
'Transactions' [seven
volumes were published]; for about ten
years conducted the
correspondence, and for four or five
years was the president of
the Directory for Ohio [these
'Directories' included five teach-
ers elected from each participating
state]; and without claiming
any credit for my work, I cannot but
feel thankful that, under a
good Providence, I was able to be of use
in the improvement of
our schools and in the elevation of the
standards of education
in our country. . . . On a review of my
course, I have no other
feeling than that of entire
satisfaction; no regrets on account of
the many days of hard work, long and
tiresome journeys to at-
tend meetings, and sleepless nights in
devising the ways for se-
curing success." Prominent men in
this group are mentioned,
including Elijah Slack, Nathaniel
Holley, Rev. Wm. McGuffey,
(Virginia University), Rev. Calvin
Stowe, Rev. Lyman Beecher,
Dr. Daniel Drake, Alexander Kinmont, B.
O. Peers (Transyl-
vania University, Ky.), J. D. Pierce
(Michigan), O. G. Forshay
(Louisiana) and short biographies are
given of Albert F. Picket,
and John L. Talbot, whom Mr. Williams
especially admired.
During his residence in Cincinnati from
1839 to 1844, Mr.
Williams enjoyed joining with
"gentlemen of similar fancies" in
such groups as the Society of Natural
History, where his love
of botany and geology was gratified by
trips to garden, forest and
quarry, "helping to procure
collections of the plants, land and
river shells, and the fossils of the
region," and in the "Society for
the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge"
which originated in 1840,
after the plan of a famous English
society. It was divided into
sections on the different sciences and
branches of learning and
"was composed of some of the most
distinguished citizens of the
various professions, and furnished
popular lectures to the public
for a season or two." Once again
one finds Mr. Williams acting
as secretary and president of the
section on education.
Another group of especial interest to
him at this time was
the Cincinnati Astronomical Society,
founded early in 1843, to
which he devotes several pages in his
"recollections." Once more
Mr. Williams was called upon to be the
secretary, associated in
MILO G. WILLIAMS 123
this enterprise with Judge Jacob Burnet
as president, Mr. W. T.
Goodman as treasurer and Prof. O. M.
Mitchel as astronomer and
general supervisor of the construction
of the observatory, raising
the funds, etc. It was Mr. Williams'
"duty to write out the his-
tory of the society, its organization
and its officers, its resources,
plans, etc., to be deposited in the
corner-stone." What an in-
teresting occasion he describes when it
was laid by the venerable
John Quincy Adams, on the ninth day of
November, 1845, atop
of Mt. Adams! Mr. Williams resigned when
he moved to Day-
ton the following year, to take charge
of the Academy, as
previously mentioned.
Six years later came his final move,
when, in August, 1850,
the family went to Urbana by carriage, a
forty mile journey,
which was followed by his wife's severe
illness. But as soon as
possible, Mr. Williams organized a
preliminary school, with Miss
Charlotte Hoadly of Cincinnati as
assistant, for the two years
required to erect the first Urbana
University building, in a fine
oak grove given by Mr. J. H. James. This
project was sponsored
by leading members of the New-Church in
the State, and several
families who had been in contact with
Mr. Williams in the church
groups in Dayton and Springfield, moved
to Urbana to give their
children the benefit of this new
instruction. Mr. Williams had
demonstrated the practicability of
"combining literary and scien-
tific instruction with the philosophy
and doctrine of the New Dis-
pensation, in the cause of
Education," while in charge of the
New-Church School in Cincinnati. Lack of
endowment caused
that to close, but this was not to be
anticipated in the new ven-
ture. Mr. Williams observed: "The
best schools of the period
aimed at nothing but the cultivation of
the intellectual faculties.
. . .this accorded fully with the
prevailing system of religion,--
faith alone. From the early history of
the New-Church, this
theory has been opposed by the members.
The New-Church
teaches that the voluntary powers must
be elevated at the same
time that the intellect is enlightened.
. . . Education is worse than
useless, unless it elevates and purifies
the affections and leads to a
pure life . . . .it is now lawful to
enquire into causes, to penetrate
124 OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL
QUARTERLY
to the spiritual . . . . in order to
reason justly we must recognize
God as the infinite cause . . . of all
existence."
Mr. Williams, deeply impressed with the
importance of his
act in laying the corner stone of the
Urbana University on June
19, 1851, "the first New-Church
college in the world," neverthe-
less declined the honor of the
presidency, and was then made
dean of the faculty and chairman of the
Board. In September,
1853, the preliminary school was
transferred to the completed
Bailey Hall, opening with 98 scholars,
and the first degrees were
conferred by Mr. Williams in 1857, an
event which he trusted
"will be regarded by future
generations as one of the grandest in
the history of the Church."
Reading the many pages which follow,
detailing the difficul-
ties no doubt faced by all small
denominational colleges, the first
struggles against inadequate financing,
the changes in faculty and
officers, in which more and more duties
devolved upon the con-
scientious shoulders of Mr. Williams, it
is not surprising to find
that after ten years his health was
affected. He resigned from
his teaching position as Professor of
Science and as acting head
of the University and spent the summer
of 1860 on a small fruit
farm he purchased in Kentucky (where
Fort Thomas now stands),
occupying a log cabin with his wife, his
youngest daughter Ade-
laide, and her small cousin, Florence
Carlisle of Cincinnati.
But the rumblings of the Rebellion had
commenced, and
Mr. Williams at once joined a "Home
Guard" of those loyal to
the Union. He drilled regularly, and
taught the little girls to
shoot with a pistol, in case any
stragglers came around, for whom,
child-like, they kept a sharp look-out
from a small "watch-tower"
they built overlooking the river. Two
years later, although 58
years of age, Mr. Williams enlisted in
the "Squirrel Hunters"
from Urbana and vicinity who answered
the call of Governor Tod
to go to Cincinnati as defense against
the threat of Kirby Smith
and his rebels. Some stirring pages of
this episode mention the
ringing of the town church bells, the
runners sent out at night to
every part of the county, and the groups
from different sections
joining forces for the trip to
Cincinnati, where at first his com-
pany was quartered on a steamboat.
Although the enemy retreated
MILO G. WILLIAMS 125
without a battle, Mr. Williams recalls
the general excitement in
the city, each ward of which was
required to raise a regiment; the
pontoon bridge over the river; the
earthworks on the Kentucky
hills; the thrilling "long
roll" of the drum when an alarm was
given, and other incidents. "I pray
that there may never again
be any necessity of taking up arms in
defense of home and our
constitution, but if needed, I will do
all I can to suppress so
unholy a rebellion."
The classes at the college were
suspended during the war, as
a number of the students from the South
and Canada were
ordered home, but on its reopening, Mr.
Williams continued many
of his activities there, although his
teaching days seem to have been
over. In May of 1878 he suffered a
stroke of paralysis and upon
partial recovery, resumed his weather
records and memoirs, now
mostly in the form of a diary. He
alludes to resignations from
various boards and committees, and lists
his connection with
Urbana University (in addition to his
ten years of science instruc-
tion) as follows: "Last of charter
members, last of original board
of trustees (1849-1878), president of
the board 1858, acting presi-
dent of the University to 1869,
treasurer, 1858-71, secretary 1859-
78, member of executive committee, and
chairman 1855-78."
Surely a record to be looked upon with
amazement and gratitude!
Thereafter he writes mostly of the books
he was reading,--
some light novels "to clear the
mind--solid works are afterwards
more enjoyed." He finished reading
the voluminous works of
Swedenborg for the fourth time,
observing "my spiritual needs
are fully satisfied with the doctrines
of the New-Church. . . . They
take away all fear of the approaching
world. . . . My prayer is
that I may always be thankful enough to
the Lord for them. Praise
be to His name!"
Many of his notes deal with points of
doctrine, contrasting
the new with the old, and noting current
trends.
The first three volumes of Mr. Williams'
manuscripts which
are here summarized, cover only his
educational, scientific and
religious interests. After his childhood
days, little that is personal
is permitted to creep in, a few hints
only of the family circle of
which he was the devoted and beloved
head; scant mention of the
126
OHIO ARCHEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
home which he built in Urbana in the
1850's, under the great oak
trees not far from the college, with its
garden in which he loved
to work; a few references only to his
wife of 38 years, and to his
two daughters, who carried on the
tradition of love of country and
church and home, and of nature and
nature's God, each in her
own special way. Cultured and capable
gentlewomen, who sur-
vived him many years, all three living
past the great age of ninety,
they are memorable figures to those who
knew Mrs. Williams, and
"Miss Louie" and "Miss
Addie" in the setting of their beloved
and hospitable home.
In another book, however, Mr. Williams
has set down many
facts and dates of both his own and his
wife's family connections,
with newspaper clippings relating to
them, and devised a "family
circle" chart of his wife's
relatives, which has since been carried
on to the sixth generation.
Milo G. Williams "departed this
life" as the old saying is, on
April 20, 1880, and is buried in Spring
Grove Cemetery, Cin-
cinnati.
The Williams home was left by will to
the Urbana University
(now a junior college), and is now the
residence of the president--
a use which no doubt would be most
gratifying to the original
owner. Other bequests to the college
included, besides the "recol-
lections," several other volumes of
manuscripts, devoted mostly to
religious subjects; some records of the
Pomological Society, with
drawings of cross-sections of varieties
of apples; a book of ex-
amples of the ornamental penmanship he
taught in his early
schools; his personal library, including
some valuable books and
files of letters from his former
colleagues in educational and
religious work; his collection of
minerals; and his remarkable
herbarium, containing specimens
discovered for the first time in
Ohio, a number of which are now extinct.
The memorial window to Milo Williams in
the New-Church
in Urbana, built after plans by his
colleague and successor as head
of the college, Rev. Frank Sewall, was
especially designed with
floral forms, including a cluster of his
favorite Trillium grandi-
florum, and a Bible epitaph of singular
fitness,
"The steps of a good man are
ordered by the Lord."