The Civil War.
(page 346) Warren county has just reason to be proud of its record in the War of the Rebellion. In the words of Mr. Morrow, a local historian, "No county in Ohio exhibited more alacrity and patriotism in bearing her share of the burden of the momentous struggle than Warren. Until fire opened upon Fort Sumter, the mass of the people did not apprehend civil war. * * * While a minority of the people of the county were willing to see a civil strife begun as a means for the destruction of slavery, the great majority hoped for a happy and peaceful issue from the national complications."
Warren county's great apostle of human liberty, Thomas Corwin, was his district's representative in congress at the opening of the terrible conflict, and took a step that, apparently, was irreconcilable with his previous' position in regard to human freedom. That was when, as chairman of a grand select committee of the house in which each state of the Union was represented by a member, he presented a report which stated that the constitutional rights of the slave states should be recognized, and also that "all attempts on the part of the legislatures of any of the states to obstruct or hinder the recovery and surrender of fugitives from labor are all in derogation of the constitution of the United States, inconsistent with the comity and good neighborhood which should prevail among the several states, and dangerous to the peace of the Union." To the country at large the report was, at first, pleasing and satisfactory, until it permeated the general consciousness that it was virtually a surrender of the principles on which the general government was founded, and particularly in Warren county was thus regarded by many. But, looking back through the vista of half a century, one is loath to regard Thomas Corwin as a "backslider." There is nothing in his character or life to justify so vilifying a decision. It was the smaller of two evils. The fire of secession was already smouldering; to extinguish it without bloodshed was the desire of the leaders of the nation, and doubtless they hoped that wise legislation would bring about the abolition of slavery in due time, for the anti-slavery sentiment was yearly growing throughout the country, and the effacement of the evil by constitutional methods was far (page 347) better, in their opinion, than involving the nation in a fratricidal war. But the hour of conciliation was forever past.
The call of President Lincoln for 75,000 volunteers brought the patriotic element of Warren county quickly in evidence. Flags met the eye at every turn, the inharmonious blending of drum and fife fell sharply on the warm spring air, and recruiting stations were soon open for the signatures of those responding to their country's call. The first public war meeting was held in Washington hall, on the evening of April 16, 1861. Men gathered with stern, earnest faces, and there was enthusiastic commendation of President Lincoln's message. A committee, consisting of Messrs. John C. Dunlevy, George R. Sage, J. D. Wallace, James M. Smith, Simon Suydam, and Durbin Ward, formulated the following resolutions. which were received with great approval : "Resolved, That we the citizens of Warren county, most heartily indorse the action of the government in its energetic measures to execute the laws, and to preserve the institutions of the country.
"Resolved, That we recognize no party in the present crisis, but the party of the Union."
A telegram sent to Gov. Dennison, pledged Warren county's contingent of men. The little town of Lebanon was in a constant thrill of excitement. The tread of marching feet became a familiar sound. Three companies of Warren county's splendid volunteers were enlisted under the respective captainship of Messrs. J. D. Wallace of Morrow, Rigdon Williams of Lebanon, and John Kell of Franklin. It was always an event of interest when the soldiers left for various points of mobilization ; every store and shop would close, and crowds of interested friends and relatives closely followed them to the railroad station at South Lebanon. The first man from Warren county to make the supreme sacrifice for the Union cause was Jabez Turner of Harveysburg, who fell at Scarey Creek, West Virginia, July 17, 1861; he was a member of Capt. Williams' company.
To Gen. Durbin Ward is ascribed the honor of being the first man in Warren county to sign the list of volunteer enrollment. He was engaged in trying a case in court when the president's proclamation reached Lebanon. After thinking a moment, as though realizing the grave seriousness of what he was about to do, he drew up a paper to this effect : "We, the undersigned, hereby tender our services to the president of the United States to protect our national f lag." Signing it, he continued his case. Milton B. Graham soon affixed his name under that of Gen. Ward, but enrollment was not rapid until after the patriotic meeting in Washington hall. Gen. Ward could have entered the service wearing a captain's uniform. He declined, followed the flag first as a private, but came out of the conflict with the rank of a brigadier-general.
All party lines were lost sight of in the great determination to keep the Republic from disruption. The second call of President Lincoln for troops came early in May. A service of three years' enlistment was asked. This was a more serious proposition or outlook. But the patriotism of Warren county showed no diminution. Within a year and a half, out of a total militia enrollment of 5,352 (page 348) men, Warren county had 2,140 men in active service, only 52 of the number having been drafted.
Two men, sons of a Warren county pioneer, whose childhood was spent in Warren county, won distinction in the Union service. In 1809, in the village of Franklin, Warren county, was born Robert Cumming Schenck, who resigned from the army with the insignia of a major-general upon his shoulders, to give equally valuable service in the congressional house of representatives. When eighteen years of age he was graduated from Miami university, but remained at Oxford in the capacity. of tutor for three years. Choosing the law as a profession, he completed his legal studies with the Hon. Thomas Corwin at Lebanon, but, desiring a larger field for work than could be found in any of the towns in Warren county, located at Dayton, where his ability and thorough preparation for his profession brought him the respect and confidence of a large clientele. He was sent by his friends for a term to the state legislature, and later was honored by the Whigs of his district with a seat in congress, where he faithfully served his party from 1843 to 1851. Still greater preferment awaited him in a mission to Brazil as minister plenipotentiary, proving as a diplomat equally as distinguished as he had been as a legislator. The breaking out of the Civil war found him loyal and desirous of attesting his patriotism by service in the field, and he received from President Lincoln a commission as brigadier-general, followed by promotion to major-general in 1862, but because of his unswerving loyalty and genuine comprehension of the tremendous national problems before the people, was persuaded to leave the army and enter congress, where he most admirably and ably served his district for three successive terms. In 1871, his wonderful diplomatic gifts were remembered by President Grant, and he was sent to represent his government at the court of St. James, where for five years he brilliantly and with honor advanced the influence and greatness of the United States. Upon his return to America he decided to locate in Washington, D. C., where his congressional life had brought him a large circle of friends. He died in that city in the year 1890, aged eighty-one years.
In a brief sketch of a distinguished man, it is impossible to touch many times upon acts and traits of character that were the main stepping stones to a brilliant career. Miss Mary F. Hassett, in her very valuable and most interesting Historical Souvenir of Franklin, says : "Grosvenor well expressed the proper appreciation of Gen. Schenck when he said, `If Schenck had been as urbane and debonair as James G. Blaine he might have been as great as Webster and Clay combined. Schenck had the greatest intellect Ohio had ever produced, not excepting Thurman or Garfield.' A monument can not do justice to the man `who never failed to serve his government, his constituents, and the Union which he loved so well, faithfully, conscientiously, untiringly, and with all the force of his deep, strong, energetic nature."' A splendid summing up.
James Findlay Schenck. Renown, almost as illustrious as that connected with his younger brother, Gen. Robert C. Schenck, is attached to the name and life of Admiral James Findlay Schenck. The glory and honor, that to a young lad always surrounds a (page 349) military career, appealed most strongly to young James, and at the age of eighteen he made the long trip from Franklin to Washington on horseback and applied personally to President Adams for a cadetship in the United States Military academy, which he was lucky enough to obtain, but resigned the appointment in two years for active service as a midshipman. In ten years' time he reached the rank of lieutenant and in another decade was on the Congress as chief military aide of Commodore Robert F. Stockton. He won distinction during the Mexican war, and stepped into American history as the first man to unfurl the Stars and Stripes in California; later, he entered the service of the Pacific Mail Steamship company, which brought a commission as commander. His heart beat true to the Union, and when tidings of the firing upon Fort Sumter reached him in a Chinese port, without waiting for orders, he "set sail" for home, well aware that in so doing probably a military trial awaited him, but he could not be missing when his country needed him. Court martial met him, but was followed by almost immediate acquittal and the prompt acceptance of his loyal service by the United States government ; in the West Gulf blockade in 1862 he was assigned to the frigate St. Lawrence. Gallant "fighting Bob" Evans began the record of his heroic service during the Civil war on the Powhatan, Schenck's flagship.
In 1864 Commander Schenck was raised to the rank of commodore, and in 1868 promotion to the office of rear-admiral followed, but, in accordance with military law, he retired from active duty the following year. His death took place in Dayton, Ohio, in the winter of 1882.
O. C. Maxwell. Another son of Warren county, who won honors for distinguished service in the War of the Rebellion, was O. C. Maxwell, whose youth was passed on his father's farm, southeast of Franklin. Educated at Antioch college, in Yellow Springs, Ohio, his business life was started in Franklin, trying several different lines until he entered into partnership with M. V. Barkalow, a prominent shoe dealer in that pretty little town. He had only passed his majority by several years when the tocsin of war called him to preserve the honor of his country's flag. At the close of the three month's service, first asked for by President Lincoln, he at once re-enlisted for the war, and, as captain of Company B of the Second Ohio regiment, his efficiency and gallantry brought rapid promotion, and when on account of wounds he was discharged in the spring of 1864, it was with the rank of lieutenant-colonel. As appreciation of his meritorious service his friends elected him, by a large majority, to the office of auditor of Warren county, but the war was not ended and he had recovered from his wounds, so, in March, 1865, he re-enlisted as lieutenant-colonel of the 194th regiment, Ohio volunteer infantry, having only the day before his enlistment been brevetted brigadier-general for gallant and heroic service, carrying scars of wounds in the battles of Perryville and Stone River. At the close of the war he received the appointment of assessor of the third district of Ohio, a place he most acceptably filled for eighteen months. This gallant soldier fell before the great enemy of all mankind, at his home in Dayton in the winter of 1872, (page 350) leaving a wife (Rebecca C. Pauly, whom he married the year before the opening of the war) and three children.
Warren County Farms. If the early pioneers of Warren county are permitted to look down from their astral abodes upon the cleared woodland and cultivated fields of the present-day farmer, and their thoughts go back to the strenuous labor that filled, even crowded, every day, of their former life in the new country of the Miami valleys, they must say among themselves, "What an easy time the farmers of the twentieth century are having!"
For farm work in the pioneer days of the Miami valleys was plain, absolute drudgery, the only reward being a living for their families, unless a clear conscience and ambitious hopes for their children be thrown in to weight the scales. For, notwithstanding the wondrous fertility of the soil, no roads, no markets within practicable distances, made the raising of crops beyond the needs of the household a wealth-potentiality that was not to be considered. Then the pioneer farmer was -not leagues ahead of his far-off ancestor, the cave man, in the agricultural implements with which he prepared the soil for seed-sowing and used also for harvesting. The rude and clumsy plow was often of his own manufacture, perchance aided a little by the settlement blacksmith, and consisted of a wooden mold-board and clumsy iron share, which required a man with wrists of steel to guide it through the unbroken soil, and the pulling strength demanded twice the strength needed today for the same amount of work. The harrow was equally primitive, like the plow, rude and unskillful in construction, consisting of bars of wood in which were inserted wooden teeth; the farmer who, perchance, had not tools with which to make a harrow of this description, leveled his ploughed ground by dragging over it a tough bush weighted with a heavy piece of timber. The harvest time saw the grain cut with sickles until about the year 1825, when they were displaced by the cradle; agricultural tools that are about as curious and strange to the farmer lad of the twentieth century as the use of a tallow-dip would be to the maiden who dresses for a social function under the brilliancy of electric lights.
It is not too much to say that Warren county is not excelled nor surpassed in intensive farming by any county in the middle west, nor indeed by any county in the country at large. There is, comparatively, no waste land within its boundaries. Draining, irrigation, enriching, have been three splendid agencies in helping to keep the natural fertility of the land up to standard requirements. Farming no longer means just a rotation of ploughing, sowing and reaping, simply because those things are necessary if one would have bread. True, the same mechanical processes are gone through with at the proper seasons, and, while it is work, yet how differently it is accomplished. The farmer of the twentieth century rides as he plows, harrows, reaps and rakes ; and if his fields are large enough and the crops heavy, gasoline, steam and even electricity are called in to run the machines that make farm work almost play in comparison with the toil his great-grandfather experienced in producing harvests, scanty in yield when relatively estimated with the abundant yields produced from, perchance, the same fields which (page 351) the scientific knowledge of his descendant has made to produce so plenteously. For the farmer boy of today studies the wants of the soil as a physician does the needs of a patient; the training received by him at the thorough agricultural departments connected with nearly every educational institution in the United States renders him a scientific cultivator of his land.
It is almost safe to say, that there could not be found a farmer in Warren county who is not equipped with the most modern implements for carrying on all necessary farm work, and indeed the modernity extends into his home and the care given his stock. Many of the most progressive farmers possess their own systems of water works, and bath and laundry add to the pleasure and convenience of the household. Gas and electric lighting, until a few years ago, were considered special luxuries of the city home, but today, in many country residences in Warren county, the touching of a button floods house, barn and other outbuildings with summer sunlight, and in many large dairies cows are drained of the lacteal fluid by electric contrivances. Progressiveness along all lines, is the motto of a major part of country residents in this fast-advancing age of the world, an age that demands less expenditure of time and strength in the day's labor, smoothes over the rough places, and brings comfort and leisure into the home circle.
Tractors. The last state census shows that Ohio farmers have nearly 4,500 tractors to assist them in the raising of farm products.
For the increase of this great help in food production, much credit is due Gov. Cox, who united his personal persuasion to that of the Ohio university and state board of agriculture in convincing the farmers of Ohio that, by the addition of tractors to their farm equipment, the per cent of crop increase would so fill the granaries that it would be a mighty help in winning the war. The argument of the three forces brought to bear upon the farmers resulted in an an increase of 82.3 per cent in the number of tractors placed in use.
It would be impossible to find a county in Ohio where the tractor is not in use, but the farmers of the northwest section of Ohio lead the. state in the number of tractors in use. But Warren county is above the average county in Ohio, in the employment of this valuable agency in agricultural pursuits.
Horses. No farmer pays more attention to the breeding of stock than the one who calls Warren county his home. Before the automobile became so generally used by farmers, Warren county was noted for the splendid horses that were driven along the turnpikes or grazed in the lush meadows that bordered the roads. At an early day in the history of the Miami valleys the blood of the thoroughbred was plainly seen in the high-spirited, graceful, light stepper that so quickly marked off the miles with rapid feet. Many horses that have won ribbons on famous race-courses have come from Warren county farms.
Cattle. Immigrants into Ohio territory from Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Virginia, brought with them along the lonely way the long-horned cattle which were the first whose bells tinkled in the great woods that bordered the Miami streams. The Shakers at (page 352) Union Village were, perhaps, the first residents in southern Ohio who gave the first and most attention to the improvement of this line of stock. Their ample pastures and well-filled purses permitted of more liberal expenditure in this direction. To the wearers of the broad-brimmed hats, Warren county owes the first introduction of the short-horn cattle, which have almost completely routed out the long-horn breed of bovines. In the year 1854, Robert G. Corwin joined the Shakers in the importation of fine herds of thoroughbred shorthorn cattle from Scotland, the progeny of which eventually were found on many farms throughout the Miami valleys. But the introduction of the Jersey breed in late years has placed them in the front row of favoritism on account of the richness of their milk, the Holstein ranking next.
Swine. No animal has played a more important part in the domestic life of southern Ohio than the fat, dirty, greasy, grunty porker. Both as food and as profit, for years its reign was undisputed. When a farmer said that his meat was put up for the winter, it meant a row of beechnut smoked, luscious hams suspended from the smokehouse ceiling, long chains of sausage festooning the walls below, big jars of tender loins and spare ribs, and immense crocks of sweet, snow-white lard stored in the cellar ; and if he, somewhat unexpectedly to his neighbors, added more territory to the home farm, it was generally quite well understood that his speculations in pork had proved lucky.
Perhaps, outside of its value as food in pioneer days, the little or no care that it required rendered it popular for domestic use. The swine ran at large in the big woods, subsisting almost entirely on mast, and with their long, thin bodies, large bones, were well named "razor-backs."
The first importation of a better breed of swine into Warren county was made by Thomas B. Van Horne, while in command of Fort Erie. Purchasing two Russian pigs, he carried them in a basket to Pittsburg, brought them by flatboat to Cincinnati, andplaced them on his farm on the eastern outskirts of Lebanon; just about the same time the Byfeld breed was introduced into the county, and these two breeds became the ancestors of a better class of porkers. The Big China breed of swine became known to the Miami valleys in the year 1816, through John Wallace, a member of the Shaker society at Union Village. Its progeny were speedily in demand by the farmers of Warren county, and, being crossed with the breeds already in the country, the result was a breed of swine so far in advance in desirable qualifications that this section of Ohio was given credit for its breeding, and it was known all over the country as the Shaker or Warren county hog.
The Berkshire breed came into Warren county about 1836, through the interest of Mr. Munson Beach. Three years later the Irish Grazier breed of swine found an abiding place in southern Ohio, through the appreciation of its qualities by Mr. William Neff, and the crossing and intermingling of the three breeds, Berkshires, Irish Graziers, and Big China, founded the favorite family of Poland China hogs, which are more in demand by farmers and fancy breeders of stock all over the world than any other breed. (page 353)
Sheep. Warren county farmers have never been large breeders of sheep. They were raised to some extent by early settlers on account of their wool being in demand for the weaving of cloth for winter clothing. The introduction of Merino sheep into the Miami valleys is due to the Shakers, who had great pride in having their splendid farm stocked with the best herds and flocks. This was in the year 1812, and shortly afterwards, Congressman Jeremiah Morrow introduced them into Deerfield township.
Morris Poultry Farm. In the four hundred square miles that constitute Warren county territory, it is a difficult thing to single out one farm for especial notice in a brief sketch, when there is such an abundance of riches in this direction. Many country estates deserve notice on account of the historical associations connected with them ; others for their splendid equipment, both in home conveniences and agricultural implements. But the farm of Mr. J. S. Morris, one of the great poultry farms in the state of Ohio, should be mentioned because of the wonderful success that has attended its management.
For fully twenty years Mr. Morris and his son, Mr. Malcomb B. Morris, conducted a bookstore and news-stand in the village of Lebanon, but farm life appealed to them in many ways. Realizing the profit made in poultry raising, they directed all their energies in that direction, with the pleasing result that it has proved an unqualified success. The Morris poultry farm is one of the show places of Warren county, and nothing is more pleasing to the proprietors than to show their hundreds of beautiful chickens to those interested in their work. The particular pride of the Morris poultry farm is the splendid White Orpingtons, who have won many prizes, not only at various state fairs, but at the two greatest poultry exhibits in the United States, the Madison Square Garden at New York City and the Coliseum in Chicago. Mr. Morris has valuable assistance in his attractive work in the person of Mr. H. Rawnsley, of Canada, who is a veteran in the experience of chicken raising.
The French Dairy Farm. Beautiful for location, resting in the heart of one of the richest valleys in Warren county, is Valley View farm, the home of the famous French dairies, that for excellence and purity of product are celebrated throughout the Middle west.
The story of the establishment of the splendid milk stations of this company, is a tale of men seeing the gate of opportunity opening widely, and hastening to enter in.
The father of the present proprietor of Valley View farm was a dairyman residing near the city of Cincinnati, his sons, engaged in the same business, with the quick perception of younger manhood, realized that the size of the city demanded more modern methods of supply, and that a regular system of distribution must be established, so they consolidated their interests, distributing not only their own products, but also that of other dairymen. Butter and cream were in constant demand by their city patrons, and it was seen that there must be a larger source of supply, and it was decided to obtain that source from a greater radius of territory. Knowing the richness of the Miami valley, that its grass (page 354) would furnish a never failing supply for an illimitable number of cows, the farmers around Lebanon were asked to assist in furnishing the milk supply, by guaranteeing cows enough to supply a creamery, or milk station, that the French brothers intended to establish at Lebanon, or in its vicinity. The farmers took time to consider the proposition ; apparently it seemed a risk to change the rich yields of grain and tobacco which those fields represented, into a lot of filled milk cans, but finally consented to convert the fertile grain land into grassy meadows. The experiment was a success, and in several years nearly all of the country south and west of Lebanon, except in the vicinity of Franklin, were beautiful pasture fields, dotted with herds of sleek, contented, sleepy-eyed jerseys that are lining the pockets of their owners with bills as green as the grass of the pasture. The profit was good and always certain, and the farmers could rejoice also that the hard work connected with the raising of grain was eliminated. In a short time the French brothers were besieged with requests from farmers in adjoining counties, to establish creameries or milk stations in their region of the country. This in time was done, and the French brothers' creameries, or milk stations, are now in operation at Blanchester, Blueball, Brookville, Clarksville, College Corner, Cozadville, Fairfeld, Farmersville, Germantown, Harveysburg, Lebanon, Loveland, Lynchburg, Martinsville, Morrow, Oregonia, Springboro, Waynesville and Wilmington, nineteen in number, all this side of the Ohio river, the majority of them located in the Miami valleys, and fully as many, if not more, in Kentucky and Indiana, situated in localities near to Cincinnati.
The creamery at Lebanon was established in the year 1898, and four years later Valley View farm, comprising about 151 acres was purchased by the French brothers, and preparation immediately started to make it the model dairy farm of the Miami valleys, if not of the United States. Although owning several other large farms not very. remote from Valley View, the latter is the favorite farm of the present proprietor, for the recent death of Mr. Albert French, left his brother, Mr. Arthur French, sole proprietor and manager of this immense dairy business. Mr. Arthur French has a beautiful residence in Floraville, the aristocratic suburb of Lebanon, and it takes but a few minutes for his automobile to convey him to Valley View, where nearly all of his time is spent in overseeing the plant.
Naturally, the chief point of interest at Valley View farm is the immense barn, built with three wings, all centering at one point. As the visitor looks from the wide passageways into the interior of the great structure, the cleanliness, brightness and cheery air of the place is at once observed. The walls are of cement and wood pulp plaster, the floors of cement and iron, no joists or rafters in evidence, for they are dust gatherers and the whole place is immaculately clean. Before each line of cows, runs a great cement trough the whole length of the room, from which they eat their .generous rations of alfalfa and ensilage; when the meal is over, and they begin to enjoy their after-dinner cigar, in the shape of a contemplative "cud," pure water pours through the trough, washing the (page 355) remnants of the feed down into great hoppers in the cement basement ; these receptacles mechanically dump the refuse into cars which run smoothly along tracks to the exterior of the building, from whence the waste is carried to the corn fields and carefully spread over the ground for the purpose of enriching the soil, thus keeping it up to the desired degree of fertility. The trough from which the cows have been fed are kept full of running water until the next feeding hour.
The feed rooms of the dairy are at the east end of the barn, and near them stand two large silos, each capable of containing 190 tons of ensilage. That these great receptacles for storing green fodder for winter use are regarded by Mr. French as an important feature of the dairy business is plainly evident, as eight other silos are distributed on the other dairy farms ; the room where the milk is weighed and sampled is at the west end of the barn, for a daily record is kept of the milk of each individual animal. The wonderful cleanliness of the dairy is proof positive of the purity of the milk sold to thousands of customers, who refuse to have any other than that which comes from the French dairies. The cleanliness begins immediately after the purchase of the cow. Before an animal is permitted a place in the herd, it is closely clipped and scrubbed until it fairly glows, a process frequently repeated.
It is then taken for close examination to a quarantine building, that stands quite a distance from the barn, and held under careful surveillance, until full satisfaction is felt that it is sound in every particular.
Daily every cow in the herd passes through the operation of cleansing and carding, and fresh, clean beddings of shavings are spread both night and morning for the comfort of the gentle creatures, who lazily roll their placid eyes towards the visitor, as if desiring to ask, "Don't you envy us?"
The cleanliness exercised towards the products of the French dairies is most scientific in method. The milk furnished from Valley View farm to the general trade is known as "inspected milk," viz : milk which comes under the frequent scrutiny of a milk commission working under the rules of the Cincinnati Academy of Medicine. This inspection is most rigid. Science has discovered that milk, freshly drawn from the cow, is a magnet for millions of bacteria which produce rapid fermentation in the lacteal fluid, which it is claimed by medical authorities are harmful to the human body, producing serious attacks of fever. It is also claimed by wise investigators, that one million bacteria can find board and lodging in a cubic centimeter, and as a centimeter is only the hundredth part of a meter, equal to 0.3937 of an inch, one could most easily swallow several good-sized colonies of bacteria in drinking a tumbler of milk that has been exposed to the atmosphere. The inflexible system of watchful care exercised in the care of milk at Valley View farm, the insistent scrupulousness demanded of every employee in everything affecting both animals and products, as well as environment, has resulted in the French dairies placing on the market, inspected milk that contains but sixty thousand bacteria to the cubic centimeter, nearly pure milk.
(page 356) Certified milk, which is purchased chiefly by hospitals and for the use of small children, rightly commands a higher price than is given for inspected milk. For even greater care is observed in its preparation for customers, and it is almost absolutely free from all bacteria. The rules laid down for the milkers are as unyielding in required observance as the laws of the ancient Medes and Persians are said to have been. When the milking hour arrives, each man dons a clean suit and cap of white muslin, and carefully washes the flanks and udder of the cow with a damp sterilized cloth ; then, after a thorough cleansing of his hands, which must be entirely dry before beginning the milking process, the employe draws the milk through absorbent cotton, which acts as a strainer. The milk is hurried into a separate room and strained into cans, which are at once carried by an overhead tramway to the bottling station, where it is again strained into a small tank, from which an even supply flows to a cooler, where the temperature of the milk is rapidly lowered. It is then speedily bottled, packed in ice and is ready for shipment, the entire process occupying but a very few minutes. The method of bottling inspected milk is not quite so elaborate, but every process employed is one of immaculate cleanliness. Each bottle, whether used for certified or inspected milk, has a bath in a solution of salsoda, then is repeatedly rinsed, and stands in boiling water until perfectly sterilized. At one time milking machines were used, but close examination of the product directly after milking showed that the method was unsanitary.
The long rows of splendid cows that stand facing each other are of Holstein and Jersey stock, "great handsome black and white Holsteins, their skins as soft as that of a baby and as clean as a falling snowflake;" small, dainty-limbed jerseys, timid as deer, gentle as kittens, all unconscious of the part they are taking in the physical well-being of the world at large. A number of the Holsteins have fine butter records. These butter records are scientifically established by an impartial commission sent out by an agricultural college who, for seven days, test the milk for butter fat and take the average. From the sixty cows that comprise the herd at Valley View farm, the average daily milk product is about one thousand pounds ; from the other two dairy farms, whose united herds number two hundred and twenty cows, the daily average product sent to customers reaches twenty-eight hundred pounds. The milk of the Holsteins is preferred for certified milk; the jerseys for the inspected product.
Steam power runs the machinery at the farm, being preferable to electric power, because it is also-used for sterilizing. But all the buildings are lighted by electricity, the current coming through a private wire from the power house at Lebanon. The cool, delicious water furnished the dairy is pumped by an eighty-foot windmill from an artesian well to a storage cistern on a hillside, from whence pipes convey it to the residence and big barn where, between feeding times, it flows constantly through the long stone troughs, and one wonders if it brings to the patient kind memories of cool, sparkling, singing streams gliding through verdant fields, in which in calf hood days they stood when the July sun was hot, (page 357) for the Valley View herd say "goodbye" forever to pastures green when they become the property of the dairy, as they are never turned out to graze, but in pleasant weather take daily exercise in large lots or pens, and when the days are forbidding under great sheds, thus avoiding all risk of lung affection to which cows are most inclined. Disinfectants are liberally used around the premises to destroy any and all visiting microbes.
The fields of Valley View farm furnish the ensilage and alfalfa for the herd, but the greater part of the grain feed is purchased. So splendidly is the work systematized, that ordinarily it only required about twenty-five men to attend to all three farms. The Valley View place is operated by Mr. Arthur French independently, with Mr. Harold Mangan as his able resident manager. Mr. French also has under his direct control twenty-four cream stations and four milk plants. The quantity of milk and cream that is daily brought to all the country stations under the French management, including those in Kentucky and Indiana, would require many figures to express it, for the milk of eleven thousand cows is carried within their doors every twenty-four hours. The milk plant at Morrow in Warren county is perfectly equipped for the manufacture of condensed milk and milk powder, which are commodities always in demand by the general public.
It might be said that the shortening of grain harvests in the Miami valleys by the turning of fields previously devoted to the cultivation of wheat, barley, etc., into pasture lands is a financial loss to the district, but this is at once disproved by the satisfaction of the farmers who daily send a truck load of large tin cans to the neighboring milk plant or creamery ; the green grass would be speedily ploughed under if bank deposits had been lessened by the change. If it may be so expressed, the wonderful French dairy system has had an uplifting influence upon the wide area of country in which their milk stations stand. For, while the financial results are extremely gratifying, both to the owners and the contributors, the knowledge that through their united efforts people are furnished with a pure article of food, in this day of wide adulteration, and that the pure quality of the dairy product brings strength to the invalid, and saves the lives of thousands of little children, is an influence for good, that is above any financial estimation. Mr. Arthur French is still a man scarcely touching the line of middle life, and his wonderful executive ability, his conscientious management of a business so vitally connected with the physical well-being of his thousands of customers, places him among the sterling citizenship of Warren county.
Warren County Fairs. In the year of 1849, Warren county organized its first agricultural society, but previous to that date had held several exhibitions of its agricultural and mechanical products, which in reality were the first fairs of the county. The first of these exhibitions took place on November 15, 1839, in Osborn's woods, east of Lebanon, and the attendance, though small, was the foundation of a mutual interest in better products, and eventually led to the organization, in the year 1849, of the Warren County Agricultural society. In the following year, another exhibition of (page 358) farm products was again held on the Osborn grounds, but this time it was advertised under the formal name of "the first annual fair."
In comparison with the gate and membership receipts now taken during the annual holding of the fair, receipts that run into the thousands of dollars, it is interesting to read that the total sum received from the attendance at the first Warren county fair, held on the twenty-sixth and twenty-seventh days of September, in the year 1850, amounted to $354.50. Twenty-five dollars of this amount was a gift from the Shaker society at Union Village; $214 constituted membership fees, while the balance of $115.50 was received from the county treasurer under state enactment providing for the encouragement of agriculture. In the early history of county fairs it was customary for addresses to be delivered by prominent men, but the practice was dropped in the year 1856.
With the exception of two years during the Civil war, Warren county has not missed its annual agricultural fair. Part of the present fair grounds has been in possession of the Agricultural society since the year 1852.
The Warren county fair annually draws large crowds, not only from its own territory but from all over the southern part of Ohio. A leading feature of the exhibition has been the fine horses, which for pedigree, and all points considered in estimating a fine horse, Warren county has never been surpassed by any county in the state.
The Warren County agricultural society has been a strong factor in advancing farm interests along all lines. This is seen in the adoption of up-to-date machinery and the care of the land and improvement of stock.
Farmers' Institute. One of the most progressive and thriving and useful organizations in Warren county is the Farmers' institute, whose monthly meetings are valuable, not only for their social atmosphere, but also because of the important subjects brought up for discussion by the members. Everything pertaining to home life or farm improvement is presented to be viewed in all lights. The officers of the institute at present are H. R. Harris, president; Harold Benham, vice-president; Mary Shultz, secretary; Sidney Slye, treasurer; John M. Lane, Alice Harvey and Stella Stokes, executive committee.
County Officers
Probate Judge. The office of probate judge was a provision of the state constitution of 1851; with the new office came the abolishment of the three associate judges in each county. The first incumbent of the position in Warren county was John C. Dunlevy. The first timid, heart-palpitating swain to apply to the court for a ticket that admitted him to the enchanted land of matrimony, was James Armstrong, who was given the lawful authority to take with him as life companion on the trip, Miss Ebby Liggett, who, the record adds, had "the consent of her parents." The license bears
date of July 4th, 1803.
On September 20, 1803, Robert Ross executed a paper signifying his relinquishment to all earthly possessions, which must shortly (page 359) have gone into effect, as the will was probated on the twenty-first day of the following December. For years the business of the office was light, and only one small octavo volume was required for the recording of wills from 1803 to 1825. The probate judges following Mr. Dunlevy to the celebration of Warren county's centennial year were, respectively, James M. Smith, James C. Sabin, James Scott, Wm. M. Wilson, Thomas R. Thatcher, John W. Keys, Joseph W. O'Neall, W. L. Dechant, F. M. Cunningham, Lot Wright, and Robert J. Shawhan.
Recorder. The first conveyances of land in the Miami valleys, which, of course, included Warren county, were recorded in Cincinnati, but in the year 1851, all deeds pertaining to Warren county were copied in the recorder's books at Lebanon. The first deed transcribed reveals that the grantors were John C. Symmes and wife, who relinquished to Moses Kitchel of Morris county, in the state of New Jersey, all right or claim to 640 acres of land in Deerfield township ; the equivalent was $426 in vouchers of debts due from the government of the United States. The records of Warren county recorded after the county was formally organized show that the first conveyance of land called for 600 acres on the east side of the Little Miami river, in what is now Hamilton township, and was executed by Thomas Paxton and Martha Paxton to Daniel Artel on the eighteenth day of January, 1799; the price paid was "120 pounds lawful money of this territory."
The first county recorder of Warren county was Michael H. Johnson. Following him, through the first eventful century of Warren county's history in that responsible office, were Enos Williams, Asahel Brown, Wm. Lytle, Gabriel Sellers, Isaiah M. Corbly, William Sherwood, John R. Bone, F. S. Welton, Philip F. Sullivan, A. B. Gooch, Thomas H. Blake, H. H. Dunham, Chas. H. Eulass, Chas. W. Munger and Philip Spence.
Auditor. The office of county auditor was created by the Ohio state legislature in the year 1820, and the first man to fill the position in Warren county was Michael H. Johnson, who had been the first county recorder. Succeeding him in the office, until the centennial year of 1903, were D. F. Reeder, George J. Smith, Allen Wright, John C. Skinner, Jacob Koogle, Matthias Corwin, George W. Smith, O. C. Maxwell, James W. Ross, Wm. S. Dynes, C. W. Randall, A. H. Graham, Ellsworth Benham, J. N. Walker, Chas. E. King, S. A. Stilwell, and C. S. Mounts.
Treasurer. With the organization of Warren county was opened the office of county treasurer. The first citizen of the county, intrusted with the responsibilities of the office, was Silas Hurin, followed for one hundred years by the succeeding" incumbents, respectively, Enos Williams, Matthias Ross, Francis Lucas, Samuel Nixon. John Randall, Robert Wilson, Jacob Morris, Joel G. Rockhill, Huston Hopkins, Wm. Adams, Wm. G. Hopkins, Richard Lackey, Lot Wright, Ephraim Sellers, James S. Totten, M. A. Jameson, L. S. Dunham, C. F. Coleman, Robert G. Huford, John A. Thompson, and C. P. Wheaton.
Surveyors. A number of the pioneers of the Miami valleys were familiar with the science of surveying, but it became a regular (page 360) county office in Warren county with the organization of the county. It is always a responsible office and requires thorough mathematical accuracy. The purses of many attorneys would be much slimmer if earlier surveyors had made fewer errors with the transit and chain. The first surveyor of Warren county was Allen Wright, who was retained in the office for twenty years, later serving as county auditor for the same length of time. Succeeding Mr. Wright for a century of time were Israel Woodruff, Thomas Clayton, Emmor Bailey, Enoch Hammell, P. O. Montfort, L. S. Hatton, Isaac Peacock, A. F. Hinsch, Eli Kirke, Joel Evans, Frank A. Bone and Walter Hinkle.
Commissioners. The list of responsible men who for ten decades served Warren county as county commissioners in that department of the public welfare of the county, began with Matthias Corwin, Robert Benham, and William James, who were elected in 1804. They were succeeded by Aaron Harlan, Francis Dill, Samuel McCray, Nathan Kelly, David Fox, John C. Death, Daniel F. Reeder, Ichabod B. Halsey, Enos Williams, Benjamin Sayre, Jabish Phillips, Samuel Caldwell, Wyllys Pierson, Ichabod Corwin, Henry King, Burwell Goode, Wm. Hopkins, Noah Haines, James Cowen, George Harlan, John Bigger, Benjamin Blackman, Otho Evans, John Hopkins, Jacob Pence, Wm. H. Hamilton, James Sweney, David Evans, Isaac Leming, John W. Snook, Henry Sherwood, Jacob Egbert, David Deardof, Joseph S. Reece, Hugh J. Death, Ephraim L. Mehan, L. G. Anderson, John M. Dyer, Joel Evans, John Bone, Nathan Keever, W. P. Mounts, Perry Lukens, E. K. Snook, W. J. Collett, A. W. See, Nehemiah McKinsey, James M. Keever, Martin V. Baldwin, Wm. M. Robinson, W. H. Antrim, Huse Bone, Lloyd Stockman, J. M. Snook, W. W. Crane, O. J. Edwards, W. S. Stokes, and Al Brant. The following efficient corps of county officials are at present looking after the interests of Warren county along different lines of service : Alton F. Brown, probate judge; Charles S. Mounts, auditor; Fred B. Sherwood, treasurer ; Josiah Holbrook, recorder ; Roy Miller, surveyor ; Dr. H. E. Dilatush, coroner; E. B. Rogers, Frank B. Stokes, and Wm.- B. Corwin, county commissioners.
County Buildings.
In the great state of Ohio, probably in all of the middle west, there can not be found an institution where the poor and unfortunate of a county are more kindly, more comfortably cared for than in the new, modern infirmary of Warren county, which is so beautifully located a short distance from the county seat.
Prior to the thirties, the county poor and destitute were "let out by contract" to-the persons who offered to care for them, the trustees accepting the "bids" that were lowest in price to the county, and only their guardian angels knew the humiliation, the heartache and physical suffering of the unfortunate beings thus cared for. Death was preferable. But as early as the year 1829, Warren county opened its eyes to the necessity of providing a better system of provision for the care of the poor within its gates, and a tract of land near Lebanon's south line was purchased and a two-story brick building, fifty by thirty feet, erected by the Ludlum brothers, (page 361) contractors. In the spring of the year 1831 the house was ready for occupancy, and eleven inmates admitted and placed under the care of Robert Porter, superintendent. The first board of directors who had the responsibility of looking after the new "poor house" and the welfare of its inmates, were James Cowan, James Kibbey and John Osborn. By the end of the year Warren county had twenty-two destitute souls on its public charity list. Five years later, the increase of dependents demanded larger accommodations, and an addition was made to the building, and in the year 1845 a small separate building was erected near the main building for the care of the insane,. who, up to that time, had been herded in the same building with the other destitute people.
But in the bitter cold of the last day of the year 1866, a fire completely destroyed the building, fortunately without loss of life; but everything fell as fuel to the fames. Furniture, equipment of all kinds, were literally turned into ashes; the only record that escaped the conflagration was the register of inmates, dating from the year 1831, the time of the first occupancy of the building. In one way the fire was a providential dispensation to the poor of the county, for, "phoenix-like," a magnificent building arose from the ashes of destruction, large, modern in every respect, well lighted, heated and ventilated, beautified with an inner court where the spray of a leaping fountain fell constantly over blooming plants and ferns, at a total cost of $51,459, and before the close of the following year the county infirmary was again ready to welcome its unfortunate wards. In the year 1900, the heating of the institution was changed by the introduction of the steam process, and to guard against all probability of fire the boilers located in the court were placed in a building somewhat remote from the main residence. An unpleasant, though seemingly necessary, department of the infirmary had been the care of the insane and those afflicted with epilepsy, but in the year 1900 the former were removed to the state hospital at Dayton, Ohio, and the latter to state institutions where they would receive the medical care and treatment demanded by their peculiar physical condition; thus rendering the place in very truth a home. pleasant and attractive to those who, by the strange shuffling of fortune's cards, had been thrown on the kindness and generosity of strangers.
The introduction of electric lighting, and the installation of the water works system from plants at Lebanon, seemed to guard against all possibility of the fames ever again repeating their cruel work, but in the year 1915, this magnificent building was destroyed in the same way that the first infirmary had been level to the ground. But it is hard to "down" Warren county in anything that tends to progressiveness along public lines of utility and welfare. One cannot help but believe that the gentle, loving spirit of the Friends, who form so large a per cent of the residentiary of the county, pervades the atmosphere of the region, and brings into play the order of the Golden Rule, which so strongly marks the generosity for which Warren county is noted. For, with the clearing away of the charred ruins of the once splendid edifice, a building still more modern and convenient was erected on the same site, which (page 362) was ready for occupancy in the year 1917, and is said to be the most expensive public structure within the boundaries of Warren county:
The location of the Warren county infirmary is a singularly fortunate one. Standing as it does on Sunflower avenue, only a few rods from Lebanon's corporation line, it has the benefit of both town and country advantages. Around it lies an area of 108 acres of fertile, well-tilled land, beautiful with the varied tints of meadow, grain, and orchard, all in excellent cultivation. Vegetables from large gardens keep the dining tables well supplied, fruits of every kind that can be grown in this part of the country are raised in perfection, often winning first premiums at county fairs, at which specimens are exhibited. One of the finest herds of Durham cattle in the state supplies the institution with an unlimited supply of cream, milk, and butter, and the quantities of meat and lard that find their way to the culinary department of the institution come from the fine breed of swine for which the farm is noted. The infirmary of Warren county is a model in all things that go to the physical comfort of those residing within its walls ; but better still is to be imitated in the Christ-like care of those who look after the well-being of its inmates.
The Otterbein Home. It was a wonderful day for the proof of the Christian principle of Faith, when the magnificent farm of the Shaker settlement at Union Village passed into the possession of the United Brethren church.
As early as the year 1900, Dr. Joseph M. Phillippi, editor of The Telescope, was impressed with the belief that the farm could be purchased for a home to be under the care of the United Brethren church ; the impression crystallized into faith, and all his prayers and efforts were turned toward the materialization of his confidence. There was, apparently, no capital or fund in prospect with which to purchase this large body of land, which the Shakers valued at $400,000. But Dr. Phillippi did not believe that the ravens that fed Elijah were entirely extinct, and he knew that the object for which the home was to be built was God's work, and the purchase money would come when needed. And abundantly has his faith been, as St. Paul would say, "evidenced." A mighty obstacle was encountered when it was learned that capitalists from Cincinnati were anxious to sign papers for the purchase of the farm at the price asked by the Shaker brethren, but when the owners were told that it was the intention of the city gentlemen to make a race-track and gambling resort of the farm so dear to them, the "deal was declared off," and they refused to sign the deed. The sincerity of the position taken by the Shaker brethren was amply proved by the fact that when they learned that the purpose of Dr. Phillippi and his friends was to make the farm a church home, they reduced the price of the land by $75,000, and on October 15, 1912, Dr. Phillippi and the friends selected by the church to fill the position of incorporators were handed a deed signifying the ownership of the United Brethren church to 4,005 acres of beautiful land on which stood more than half a hundred buildings, payments for same to be met as follows : Fifty thousand dollars to be met by March 1, 1913; $100,000 to be paid (page 363) March 1, 1918, and the balance five years from the same date, and this large amount was assumed "without a dollar in hand or pledged." And it must not be forgotten that the financial guarantee of $325,000 incurred for the land did not include an additional amount of $7,000 payment for chattels and the interest. It would be wonderful to relate, if one did not remember that the transaction was founded on the truth that faith, not belief, "is the evidence of things not seen," for every dollar of indebtedness but the last payment, which does not fall due until 1923, has been paid and, what is more, the value of the investment increased by the remodeling of buildings and increase of the very fine live stock.
This magnificent extent of land lies between the Little Miami and Great Miami rivers, most of which is fertile upland with the exception of about 700 acres of wondrously rich bottom land, all constituting one immense estate, which is cut diagonally by Shaker creek, which in pioneer days was known as Turtle creek. This stream is a never failing supply of water for the splendid cattle for which the Shakers were noted and to which the new proprietors have yearly added.
The buildings on the farm were well calculated for the purposes to which they were to be adapted, being mostly of brick that was burned on the farm, and the fact that the principal larger buildings were centrally grouped added greatly to the convenience of the organizers. The few Shakers remaining on the farm occupied one of the administration buildings, the others being taken respectively for the Otterbein Old People's home and Otterbein Children's home. The Shaker meeting house was at once utilized as a schoolhouse, a room in the building used as the home for the children being taken for religious services. The postoffice building was enlarged and remodeled and used as a home for children whose parents are missionaries in foreign lands. In another group of buildings, a large house, erected in 1823, but enlarged in 1917 and modernized with a perfect water system, electric lights, hot water heating, everything to render it comfortable and convenient, is appropriated as a home for the crippled and helpless. Not an "institution" with staring blank walls carrying t e at-o here of "necessity compels," but a home of sunny, cheery rooms, with pretty rugs and attractive furnishings, into whose windows comes not only the sweet, fresh country air, but also the gladness of bird-notes whose tiny nests are safely sheltered in the waving branches of neighboring trees. The large library room in the building is handsomely furnished with leather upholstered furnishings formerly in the Elks' lodge of Dayton, presented by Mr. J. I. Geiger.
A home, caring for both old and young, with the generous Christian provision that places the Otterbein home at the head of all church institutions of this kind in the United States, is unparalleled in the history of the Christian work of the world. The hearts of the aged are- kept young by watching the little ones at their play on the beautiful greensward, and the children are taught respect and reverence for the men and women whose sun of life is slowly sinking in the west. It is the intention of the home board, as soon as finances permit, to build a number of small, cozy cottages where (page 364) husbands and wives who are going down life's hill together may have indeed a "home to themselves," for the last days of their earthly life.
The Otterbein home for children is indeed a model home for the little ones fortunate enough to find shelter and safety within its doors. They are children of parents connected with the United Brethren denomination, and of whose care and protection either death or unfortunate circumstances has deprived them. A special building is devoted to the care of children whose parents are missionaries in foreign fields. There is no home in all Christendom where the care given children is so near the oversight and loving attention found in a real home, as that which- watches over the little ones and growing youth in the Otterbein home. No mother, no father, could watch with greater solicitude over their own little band of children than do Mr. and Mrs. King and their assistants over the happy-faced flock that go in and out of Otterbein home. The babies are well supplied with toys to delight their childish hearts, and when old enough are immediately started to school, which they are, required to attend until they are ready for the high school, which those ready for the course attend daily in Lebanon, only a few miles distant, making the journey back and forth in an auto conveyance. Three teachers are required for instruction of the Otterbein children, besides the teachers in music and drawing. Realizing the spiritual profit that, either consciously or unconsciously, comes from daily contact with Nature, if it may be so expressed, the children are given tasks on the farm commensurate with the strength, and the benefits of so doing are almost immediately apparent. As one interested in the influence of the work of the home, and who carefully watches over its activities, has expressed it, "The associations of country life make for strength of character. The strongest men, as a rule, come from the country. It is inspiring to see our Otterbein boys learning the care of animal life and the secret of the growth of grain, and our girls learning the art of housework and the care of the home."
The annual report of Otterbein home for the year 1918 shows a splendid progression along all lines of activity. The treasury is being constantly added to by wonderful gifts of available money and valuable mortuary notes. The Christmas season brings literally "loads" of loving material and financial remembrance to the dwellers in this wonderful shelter of bountiful providence; for it cannot be classed with the ordinary "charitable institutions," and there are many organizations that would be blessed every way if they could be remodeled on the spirit and conduct of the Otterbein home. There is no need for the hangings of "mottoes" on the wall, for the spirit of the Golden Rule permeates the home in every nook and corner. It is the intention of the home management in the near future to erect four new buildings; they will be of handsome gray brick, and will comprise two additional buildings for old people, accommodating fifty-eight persons each, an administration building, which will also be the residence of the superintendent and his wife, and with which will be connected a common dining room for the children, and lastly a new home for the boys. The annual report (page 365) for 1918 shows that thirty-one aged persons and ninety-three children were cared for in the home during that year.
The present superintendent and matron of the home are Mr. and Mrs. J. R. King, who, previous to their present responsible positions (which they have held since the organization of the home), served an apprenticeship in loyal, loving Christian service as missionaries in the African foreign field. Warren county has just reason for self-gratulation that this magnificent work for humanity lies within the borders of her territory.
Warren County's Orphan Asylum and Children's Home. One mile west of the village of Lebanon, overlooking on the south and west the magnificent Turtle creek valley, and catching on the east glimpses of the taller buildings of Lebanon, stands an institution devoted to the care and nurture of children destitute of parental and home oversight. It is a large house, modern in equipment, a splendid monument of kindness to the memory of two persons, to whose tender sympathy the loneliness and poverty of helpless little ones constantly appealed.
On June 6, 1863, Miss Mary Ann Klingling, an unmarried German woman, residing with her bachelor brothers in Lebanon, signed a will bequeathing $40,000 in money and property for the nucleus of a sum to be expended in the erection of a home "where poor white children who have lost one or both parents may receive a sound moral and Christian education and, if necessary, be supported during their minority." The only condition attached to the bequest was the duplication of the amount, and as to the time in which the building was to be erected. Any person was free to duplicate the legacy, but if no one did so within three years the money was to be offered for acceptance to the village of Lebanon, for the purpose of carrying out the wish of the testatrix: If refused by the village, the county should be asked to carry out the provisions of the will, with a restraining clause to the effect that the original sum given be kept as a trust fund for the support and maintenance of the home. The final clause asserted the wish that if Warren county did not assume the building of the institution within the space of six years, the entire fund was to be turned over to the German General Protestant Orphan asylum of Cincinnati; and Miss Klingling expressed as her desire that, if built, the home should be entirely free from all denominational restraint, and that the money be spent for the comfort of its inmates and not on exterior decorations.
The will of the generous donor was probated in August, 1867, and the commissioners of Warren county accepted the bequest with the provisions thereto attached with one exception, the clause providing for the maintenance of white children only. An appeal to the state legislature was productive of the passing of an act authorizing the acceptance of the Klingling legacy by the commissioners, and also providing for the erection of an orphan asylum in connection with the children's home, which would care for both white and colored needy children.
In the year 1880, the fund was increased by a legacy of $7,000 left by Isaac Jones of Salem township, also an eccentric personage, (page 366) but with a heart big enough to go out to the destitute little ones, whose sad faces and questioning, longing eyes so often sadden our everyday living.
Kindness and comfort are the keynotes of the administration of the asylum and children's home. The home has its own school, and the children capable of attending more advanced grades attend the public schools in Lebanon.
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