Morgan's Raid Through Ohio In The Civil War

Many Ohioans/Americans just believe that most of the fighting of the American Civil War happened in the southern states. Many Ohioans don’t realize that Confederate cavalry under the leadership of Brigader General John H. Morgan actually came up through Kentucky into Indiana then through Ohio raiding many towns, supply depots and trying everything they could to get Union troops back into the North before he was captured. This event became known as Morgan’s Raid that began 8 July 1863 and lasted until Morgan’s capture on 26 July. He began his raid with 2,460 men that he picked himself.¹ He had begun his raiding into Kentucky fighting Union troops along the way through towns toward Louisville, then on to Indiana crossing on the Ohio River into Ohio just north of Cincinnati on 13 July.

Cincinnati at the time was a major hub for supplies and troops, any disruption would cause massive delays to troop and supply movements to the South. He decided to attack the towns to the North Cincinnati that included Harrison, New Baltimore, Colerain, and Sharonville destroying anything he came across food, railroad tracks and taking livestock and horses. He even tried to capture the major Union training center of Camp Dennison but had to retreat due to overwhelming Union forces. He would go on to raid throughout the southernmost part of Ohio and only be stopped at the Battle of Buffington Island where Morgan tried to the Ohio River into West Virginia. 750 of his men were captured there and he would fall back into Ohio with only 400 men left.²

He would keep moving north to try and find a way across the Ohio River but failed and was eventually captured at the Battle of Salineville. Morgan’s Raid was seen as a success to the Confederates but overall had little impact on the Civil War as a whole. According to Ohio History Central, the raid diverted over 100,000 Union troops from their normal duties for three weeks, which fulfilled the primary mission that the Confederate high command had given to Morgan. The raid did provide some hope to Confederate civilians that their military could still succeed following the Union victories at Gettysburg and Vicksburg in early July 1863. It also caused fear among Indiana and Ohio residents and cost thousands of these people personal property that the raiders had seized. The claims made by Ohio citizens amounted to $678,915, with the government authorizing compensation in the amount of $576,225. In addition, the Confederate military lost a large number of veteran cavalrymen. The raid caused no significant harm to the transportation and communication infrastructure of the Union.³

Works Cited:

1. "Morgan's Raid," (Morgan's Raid - Ohio History Central,) accessed March 29, 2019, http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Morgan's_Raid.

2. “Morgan’s Raid, Ohio History Central.

3. “Morgan’s Raid, Ohio History Central.

Bibliography:

"Morgan's Raid." Morgan's Raid - Ohio History Central. Accessed March 29, 2019. http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Morgan's_Raid.

How Civilians Saved Dayton and Its Future

The life blood of Dayton, Ohio is without a doubt Wright-Patterson Air Force Base we is hiring of over 30,000 employees supporting the local area with jobs and economy. The joining of two fields, Wright and Patterson Fields, almost never happened if it weren’t for the action of Daytonians who saw the potential of keeping the Army Air Corp’s Engineering Division. According to the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) History Office, “The Engineering Division gave Dayton a stable, expanding economic base and was a great source of pride for the city that considered itself the birthplace of aviation. Local industries also directly benefited from McCook’s technological developments and the skilled workforce the field attracted.”¹ The Engineering Division that include research, development and aircrew training of aircraft was started and located at McCook Field on 4 December 1917 in what is now downtown Dayton, Ohio. By the time of the mid-1920s, McCook Field was seen as to small for modern aircraft and a new airfield needed to be found.

There were talks of moving test flying and research to a new home in Virginia at Langley Field, which is now Langley Air Force Base. Luckily for Dayton, Colonel Thurman H. Bane, the then-commander of the Air Service Engineering School, told local business leaders what the United State Army was planning, they stepped into action. According to AFLCMC History Office, the effort to save the jobs was led by the Patterson family (founders of the National Cash Register Company), the city’s prominent citizens formed the Dayton Air Service Committee. The Committee reached an agreement with the War Department to build a permanent engineering facility in Dayton provided the land was donated to the federal government. A 48-hour fundraising campaign collected $425,000 to buy the land and fund a monument to the Wright Brothers.² The committee would go on to sell over 4,500 acres to the government for $2 dollars and construction began 16 April 1926 and many of those same buildings that were built then, Buildings 11, 16, 17, 18, 19, 31, 32, and 56 still exist and are in use to this day.

Works Cited:

1. “Wright Patterson Air Force Base: the First Century,” (Air Force Life Cycle Management Center History Office, 2015,) accessed March 28, 2019, https://www.wpafb.af.mil/Portals/60/documents/Index/History-of-WPAFB.pdf, page 6.

2. “Wright Patterson Air Force Base: the First Century,” (Air Force Life Cycle Management Center History Office, 2015,) accessed March 28, 2019, https://www.wpafb.af.mil/Portals/60/documents/Index/History-of-WPAFB.pdf, page 6.

Bibliography:

“Wright Patterson Air Force Base: the First Century.” Air Force Life Cycle Management Center History Office. 2015. Accessed March 28, 2019. https://www.wpafb.af.mil/Portals/60/documents/Index/History-of-WPAFB.pdf.

Jonathon Dayton: The Guy Who Was Named After City He Never Stepped Foot In

Although we live in the city of Dayton, do you know that the guy who the city was named after never actually stepped foot in the city during his lifetime? Jonathon Dayton was born in Elizabethtown, New Jersey in 1760 to a prominent merchant family. He would attend the College of New Jersey (Princeton University) and graduated right before the American Revolution in 1775 with a law degree.¹ He would go on to serve in the Continental Army as ensign in the 3^rd New Jersey Regiment under his father Colonel Elias Dayton. He would fight in the Battles of Brandywine Creek, Germantown, spend the winter of 1777-1778 at Valley Forge, Monmouth Court House, and finally Yorktown. After the war, he went back home to the family business and start a political life.

            During this time, he would serve in local government before being appointed as a New Jersey delegate during the Constitutional Convention that saw the writing, review and adopting the United States Constitution. He would be the youngest signer of the Constitution although he played a minor role in the decision making at the convention. After the convention, he would continue to serve with the New Jersey Senate before be elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1789 as the House Speaker.² For most of his political career, he sided with the Federalist Party, party members included Alexander Hamilton and John Adams, wanting a strong national government as opposed to a weaker one. During this time as well, he would buy 250,000 acres of land in what is now the Miami Valley region of the state of Ohio. According to Harvey W. Crew in his book History of Dayton, Ohio 1899, he would buy the land off of John Symmes, who also sold land to General James Wilkinson and Israel Ludlow that became known as the Dayton Purchase. Israel would go out to name the city of Dayton after his friend, Jonathon Dayton.³ During these land purchases, Jonathon would loan money out to Aaron Burr, who later would be accused of treason, not knowing that he would be arrest as a possible co-conspirator. Although Jonathan was later found to be innocent, it ruined his political career and he retired later passing away in 1826 never leaving New Jersey to see the city that bear his name.  

Works Cited:

1. Robert Wright, "Jonathon Dayton," (United States Army Center for Military History, August 11, 2000), accessed March 27, 2019, https://history.army.mil/books/RevWar/ss/dayton.htm.

2. Robert Wright, "Jonathon Dayton," (United States Army Center for Military History, August 11, 2000), accessed March 27, 2019, https://history.army.mil/books/RevWar/ss/dayton.htm.

3. Harvey Crew, History of Dayton, Ohio 1889, (Dayton, Ohio: United Brethen Publishing, 1889), accessed March 27, 2019, http://www.daytonhistorybooks.com/page/page/3422771.htm.

Bibliography:

Crew, Harvey. History of Dayton, Ohio 1889. Dayton, Ohio: United Brethen Publishing, 1889. Accessed March 27, 2019. http://www.daytonhistorybooks.com/page/page/3422771.htm.

Wright, Robert. "Jonathon Dayton." United States Army Center for Military History. August 11, 2000. Accessed March 27, 2019. https://history.army.mil/books/RevWar/ss/dayton.htm.

Lawmakers Do Not Create Rules, People Do

            Have you ever wondered why certain laws exist? There are laws for things you cannot even imagine people doing, yet there is a law against it, so someone must have done it. I came across one such case, and law, while working through the probate records at the Greene County Archives. A 22-year-old man named Francis Dudley appeared in front of Greene County Judge S. C. Wright in 1930 after he had been arrested for “Killing Fish by Use of Dynamite” (Fig. 1). It appears that on July 18, 1929, Dudley and four of his friends were charged with stealing dynamite from the Miami Fertilizer Company, and using it to kill fish in the Little Miami River east of a railroad bridge near Trebein Road and at an iron bridge on Fairground Road.

Fig. 1: Probate envelope and arrest warrant for Francis Dudley, courtesy of the Greene County Archives.

            Sure enough, section 1415 § 26 (Poisons and Explosives Prohibited) of the Ohio General Code, now Chapter 1501:31-13 (Sport Fishing) of the Ohio Revised Code, stated that no person should kill fish in any of Ohio’s rivers by quicklime, electricity, or explosions (Fig. 2). So, Ernest L. Harner, game warden for Greene County at the time, filed an affidavit with the court, and Dudley was taken into custody. Dudley pleaded guilty and Judge Wright fined him $100 and court costs on May 29, 1930.

Fig. 2: Section 1415 § 26 of the Ohio General Code from 1920.

Despite the affidavit from Greene County’s game warden, Dudley pleading guilty, and the violation of Ohio’s general code, Judge Wright received a curious letter concerning Dudley. A letter dated August 8, 1930 asked that Dudley be discharged from jail and the remainder of his fine suspended. The letter was from Perry L. Green, the Director of Agriculture (Fig. 3). While I could not find any more information about this letter, it would appear the Ohio Department of Agriculture thought Dudley had learned his lesson enough to be freed from jail without paying the remainder of his fine.

Fig. 3: Letter from Director of Agriculture, Perry L. Greene, courtesy of the Greene County Archives.

Thanks to Dudley blowing up fish, we can see how, and why, some of the laws that exist, especially those we may not understand, came to be created.

Sources:

“Five Accused of Dynamiting River and Destroying Fish.” Xenia Evening Gazette.Published July 27, 1929. Accessed March 23, 2019.

“Francis Dudley, Killing Fish by Use of Dynamite.” Probate Court Criminal, Box 680, Case 2030. Greene County Records Center and Archives. 

Page, William Herbert. “Section 1415 § 26: Poisons and Explosives Prohibited.” The General Code of Ohio. Cincinnati: W.H. Anderson, 1920.

“Pleads Guilty to Game Offense Law.” Xenia Evening Gazette.Published May 29, 1930. Accessed March 23, 2019.

Benjamin Hanby: A Man of Progress and of Song

     Benjamin Hanby, a renowned composer, graduated in Otterbein College’s second class of students.[1]  He is known for writing the popular Christmas song, “Up On The Housetop.”[2]  Walking into Hanby’s childhood home is like stepping back in time.  The two upstairs bedrooms, one of which is now used as a museum room, held Hanby and his seven siblings.[3]  They used a bedwarmer full of hot coals to stay warm during the colder months. Furthermore, Hanby’s grandmother, Ruth, lived with them.[4] Therefore, there were three generations of Hanbys crammed under one roof.  

     The Hanby family was the epitome of today’s Otterbein University values.  Bishop Hanby, Ben Hanby’s father, was part of the Underground Railroad, and his experiences watching his father aid runaway slaves led to him composing “Darling Nelly Grey,” which tells of a love story between two slaves.[5]  Benjamin Hanby was not the only impressive one.  The Hanbys were an ambitious family.  Amanda Hanby, one of Ben’s sisters, became a missionary.[6]  Bishop Hanby helped found Otterbein College and headed up the Religious Telescope publication.[7]             

     Eventually Ben married Katherine Winter, a young lady he began courting through the encouragement of his music teacher.[8]  While Ben receives most of the attention, in The Widow, Brainerd, their son, writes of his mother that “She was determined her children should be well educated…”[9]  She also graduated from Otterbein, so although she was not a composer, she was ambitious and intelligent.[10]  He also includes his mother’s description of Ben, of “his beautiful dark eyes” and of how he was “a fine storyteller” and “a kind helpful husband,” making it clear just how much they loved each other.[11]  It is interesting hearing Brainerd’s perspective of his parents, as this tells us something about their character, a very human element we do not receive just from facts or a tour of the home.  The story of Benjamin Hanby and his family is a testament not only to their story but to Otterbein University’s story and to Westerville, Ohio’s story.               

---

[1]Dacia Custer Shoemaker, Choose You This Day: The Legacy of the Hanbys, Ed. Harold B. Hancock and Millard J. Miller (Westerville, OH: Westerville Historical Society, 1983), 41.

[2]“The Benjamin Russell Hanby Collection,” Digital Commons @ Otterbein, Bepress, n.d., https://digitalcommons.otterbein.edu/hanby/.  

[3]Shoemaker, Choose You This Day, 29. 

[4]Ibid, 24.  

[5]“The Hanby Collection,” Digital Commons, n.d.

[6]Shoemaker, Choose You This Day, 36. 

[7]Ibid, 18, 22.   

[8]Shoemaker,Choose You This Day, 66. 

[9]Brainerd Oaks Hanby, The Widow, A Leader in Women’s Education, Wife of the Song Writer, Author of Darling Nelly Gray, Experiences of Her Remarkable Life of Ninety-Seven Years(1933), Book Collection, Book 1, 2, https://digitalcommons.otterbein.edu/archives_hanby/1/?utm_source=digitalcommons.otterbein.edu%2Farchives_hanby%2F1&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPages.

[10]Shoemaker, Choose You This Day, 67.   

[11]Brainerd Hanby, The Widow(1933), 2.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zIfpWakl4M

(link to song)

https://www.famlii.com/up-on-the-housetop-hanby-printable-song-lyrics-150th-anniversary/benjamin-hanby-historic-marker-for-up-on-the-housetop/

Determining Relationships in the Dark Ages: Genealogy Before the Internet

            Before the internet, tracing genealogy was difficult past a certain point. With the passing of older generations came the realization of knowledge lost – what was the name of that fourth great-grandfather your grandmother mentioned once? No one knows now that Nana is gone. Not only was it difficult to determine relatives from the past, but it was also hard to keep track of who married who, and what children were born to whom once everyone had moved away and lost contact. Knowing descendants is just as important as knowing ancestors, especially when it comes to determining an inheritance.

            An estate record from 1931 was having just that problem – they needed to do some genealogy to determine and confirm descendants for Matilda McCollum who had died after her husband. On October 2, 1931, the Greene County Probate Court received a letter from The Supreme Court of Kansas in Topeka regarding the heirs of Matilda McCollum (Fig. 1). The letter states that the persons listed are all first cousins or second cousins of “Tillie” McCollum and therefore should be considered heirs.

Fig. 1: Letter from The Kansas Supreme Court in Topeka, courtesy of the Greene County Archives.

            Creating a crude family tree, the Greene County Probate Court was able to determine that the Henry family was, indeed, heirs of Matilda McCollum, and so too were some Carson’s (Fig. 2).

Fig. 2: Crude family tree for Matilda McCollum, courtesy of the Greene County Archives.

             After heirship was determined, the court was finally able to distribute Matilda McCollum’s estate. As was customary, an ad was placed in the Xenia Daily Gazette listing the heirs, their addresses, and other details of the estate in 1933, once heirship was proven (Fig. 3). 

Fig. 3: Advertisement from the Xenia Gazette, courtesy of the Greene County Archives.

            Individuals were not the only ones who had to go out of their way to do a little ancestry before the internet made finding ancestors and long-lost cousins faster and easier. Courts, too, had to go the extra mile to prove relationships in estate cases, bastardy cases, and even some criminal cases.

Sources:

Greene County Archives Probate Record for Matilda McCollum.

William Wallace Carr: A Nurse of a Different Kind

The Wright State University Special Collections and Archives has in its collections the papers of Alice Griffith Carr (Fig. 1), a Red Cross nurse who served during World War I, and also worked to improve and encourage better health in places like Greece, Poland, Lithuania, Turkey and Syria. While processing estate records at the Greene County Archives, I came across the estate of her father, William Wallace Carr, a Yellow Springs resident, who died on May 7, 1930. 

Fig. 1: Alice Griffith Carr, courtesy of neareastmuseum.com

             William Wallace Carr was born in Fayette County, Ohio, on June 5, 1843 to William and Sophronia Carr. A resident of Yellow Springs since 1857, Carr was also a nurse of sorts. A tree nurse. Carr established Carr’s Nurseries in Yellow Springs in 1870. A receipt from his estate on the company’s letterhead states that the nurseries’ office and tree packing grounds were a “ten minutes walk from the depot one hundred yards from traction line terminus of South High Street” (Fig. 2). It also states that they are “evergreen specialists.”

Fig. 2: Receipt written on Carr's Nurseries letterhead, courtesy of the Greene County Archives.

            To support the nursery, Carr owned several lots in the Village of Yellow Springs: lots #305-307, #523-549, #588-608, #645-685, 11.12 acres of land outside of the village proper, and 168 acres of land in Miami Township. All of this real estate was valued at $30,000 at the time of Carr’s death in 1930 (Fig. 3). That value today, with inflation calculated, would be a little over $454,000.

Fig 3: Valuation of William Wallace Carr's real estate, courtesy of the Greene County Archives.

                        William Wallace Carr was not just a tree nursery manager, however. Michael A. Broadstone’s History of Greene County Ohiolists Carr as having filled several official Yellow Springs offices including: mayor, justice of the peace, council member, and school director. While Carr’s Nurseries no longer exists, the Carr family home still stands in Yellow Springs on Xenia Avenue, and there are many wonderful artefacts both at Wright State and at the Yellow Springs Historical Society that further examine the illustrious and industrious Carr family.

Sources:

"Nurse Alice Carr, Near East Relief and Near East Foundation." Near East Relief Historical Society. August 24, 2016. Accessed March 16, 2019. https://neareastmuseum.com/2016/08/24/unstoppable-alice-carr/.

Broadstone, M. A. History of Greene County Ohio: Its People, Industry and Institutions. Indianapolis, IN: B.F. Bowen & Co., 1918.

Heise, Robin. "William Wallace Carr." Yellow Springs Heritage. October 21, 2014. Accessed March 16, 2019. http://ysheritage.org/william-wallace-carr/.

“William Wallace Carr.” Probate Court Estate Records, Box 685, Case 2034. Greene County Records Center and Archives. 

Frank Cowan: The Saga of a Murderous Lunatic

          On 23 February 1901, the Cincinnati Enquirerpublished an article titled, “Turned a Crazy Man Free in the Streets.” The article (Fig. 1) read that Deputy Sheriff J. F. Mannering of Bell County, Kentucky, had been tasked with transporting Frank Cowan to the Eastern Kentucky Insane Asylum. Once Sheriff Mannering arrived, the article stated, he was told that the asylum was full and he would have to take Cowan to Frankfort for permission from a judge there to have Cowan committed to the Anchorage Asylum. According to the article, Mannering proclaimed he had completed his task as charged by the court and if the Eastern Kentucky Insane Asylum would not accept Cowan, he would be set free. The superintendent of the asylum insisted that the facility was full, so true to his word, Sheriff Mannering (also spelled Manning) set Cowan free. 

Fig 1: Article from the Cincinnati Enquirer, Saturday, 23 February 1901.

Who was Frank Cowan, and why had he been committed to an insane asylum? According to the 1900 federal census, Cowan was born in Kentucky in April of 1855. Cowan seemed to live a relatively simple life until 1881 when he first appeared in a Kentucky newspaper, the Interior Journal, on a bastardy charge (Fig. 2). He was able to post a bond of $450 dollars and was released, but the judge later found him guilty of the charge and ordered Cowan to pay around $150 in damages, court costs, and attorney’s fees.

Fig 2: Interior Journal article on Frank Cowan's bastardy charge,
26 August 1881.

The next article concerning Cowan is from the Courier-Journalof Louisville, Kentucky, 27 June 1899, stating that Cowan had previously been an inmate at the Lakeland Insane Asylum, but had escaped. The judge declared him sane, and the asylum officials discharged him. After his 1899 appearance in the newspaper, he appeared again in the opening 1901 Cincinnati Enquirer article. He continued on his path of self-destruction, making the news again in 1903. This time he was wanted for murder. In an article from the Paducah Sun, dated 20 January 1903, it was alleged that Frank Cowan shot and killed a man named Warren Woodward. The article stated that Cowan and Woodward were neighbors and hard argued several times within the week. Cowan confronted Woodward over Woodward’s children causing trouble, then shot him in the face with a shotgun. 

Cowan then went on the run leaving behind his wife, Carrie, and their children. On 16 February 1903, the Paducah Sunreported that Cowan’s wife and children had been left destitute because of his disappearance and were seeking aid from the City of Paducah. It is unclear what happened to Cowan as he never again appeared in the newspaper, however, the 1910 census (Fig. 3) lists Carrie Cowan as being a widow.

Fig 3: 1910 federal census listing Carrie Cowan as widowed "Wd".

Sources:

1900 US Federal Census. FamilySearch.org. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-DYHS-22Z?i=8&cc=1325221.

1910 US Federal Census. FamilySearch.org. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7- 9RJZ-9HF5?i=9&cc=1727033.

“A Cowardly Murder.” The Paducah Sun (Paducah, Kentucky), Jan. 20, 1903.

 “County Court – Bastardy Suit.” Interior Journal(Stanford, Kentucky), Sept. 9, 1881.

“Frank Cowen – A Sable Son-of-a-Gun.” Interior Journal(Stanford, Kentucky), Aug. 26, 1881.

“Now a Happy Family.” The Paducah Sun (Paducah, Kentucky), Feb. 16, 1903.

“Turned a Crazy Man Free in the Streets.” Cincinnati Enquirer(Cincinnati, Ohio), Feb. 23, 1901.

The Ties That Bind Us: The Doss Family Criminals of Clinton County

          There are many times where doing historical research can lead one down a twisting, seemingly never-ending rabbit hole. The Doss family of Clinton County is exactly one of those research rabbit-holes. My first encounter with the Doss family was through a probate record for a little girl named Betty Miller. It was a dependent and neglected child case where little Betty’s mother, Clara Belle (aka Clarabelle or Clara Bell) Doss was charged with neglecting her daughter thus causing her to become dependent on the state for help. At the end of one of the court documents (Fig. 1) was a statement that read, “The Doss family has quite a criminal career. The State published a brochure on the record of this family. The mother was sentenced to Delaware 1920, paroled Sept. 1921, and returned in October 1922. He grandmother has been at Marysville at least twice. Other children in the family and the father have quite a record. They were all sentenced from Wilmington, Clinton Co.”

Fig 1: Probate court document concerning Doss family criminal behavior. Courtesy of the Greene County Archives.

            I began researching the family through newspapers and census data. Clara Belle Doss’ father was a man named George Washington Doss. George Doss married Clara Belle’s mother, Ollie (Olive) Frances Pierce in Union County on December 5, 1918. Interestingly, all of Ollie and George’s children were born before they were married. George Doss’ criminal behavior was documented in Clinton County’s newspaper, the Clinton County Democrat, on several occasions. Members of the Doss family were arrested for everything from petit larceny to arson, and from bastardy to attacking someone with a hatchet. Although their list of offenses would be too long for this blog, here are some examples:

·     27 January 1903: Henry Doss (George Doss’ uncle) appeared before the Mayor of Xenia on an assault and battery charge

·     14 April 1903: Henry Doss (same) sent to the “works” for abusing his wife

·     07 December 1903: Henry Doss (same) arrested for chasing his wife with a knife

·     07 October 1909: George Doss committed to jail for slashing someone with a hatchet

·     28 October 1909: George Doss shot the man he previously attacked with a hatchet

·     14 November 1912: Charles Doss (George Doss’ brother) sent to Mansfield for burglary and larceny

·     01 May 1913: Harvey Doss (George Doss’ brother) arrested for stealing cattle right after being paroled

·     31 August 1916: Ollie Doss (George Doss’ wife) arrested for forgery

·     06 September 1917: Ollie Doss and her sister in law, Goldie Doss (George Doss’ sister), arrested for larceny

Although George and Ollie had only been married since December 1917, George filed for divorce from Ollie on 12 July 1919 while Ollie is still in jail. The 1920 census for Clinton County reveals that Ollie and George’s children were all in the Clinton County Children’s Home as both parents had been incarcerated for various crimes (Fig. 2).

Fig 2: 1920 census listing Ollie Doss as an inmate in the Union County Women's Reformatory

I reached out to the Clinton County Archives’ Records Manager Bobbi Hoffman, but she was unable to locate the brochure published by the state on the Doss criminal history. She did, however, inform me that Charles Doss, George’s brother, hung himself at the age of 64. Charles Doss’ son and daughter, Charles Jr. and Mary, had been arrested for theft by the age of 10. George’s father, Jesse James Doss, had to have his estate turned over to a friend when he died because none of his children were fit to handle his estate. Research rabbit-hole, indeed!

Clara Belle and George Washington Doss courtesy of ancestry.com.

Sources:

“Appearance.” Xenia Daily Gazette (Xenia, OH), Jan. 27, 1903.

“Arraigned.” Clinton County Democrat (Wilmington, OH), Sept. 6, 1917.

“Arrested.” Clinton County Democrat (Wilmington, OH), Aug. 31, 1916.

 “Burglary at Shanks Barber Shop.” Clinton County Democrat (Wilmington, OH), Nov. 14, 1912.

“Clara Belle and George Washington Doss.” Photograph. Ancestry.com, Mar. 9, 2019.

 “Cutting and Shooting Affray.” Clinton County Democrat (Wilmington, OH), Oct. 7, 1909.

Greene County Archives probate records, State of Ohio vs. Clarabelle Doss.

Hoffman, Bobbi. 'Doss Family'. Email, Mar. 6, 2019.

“Judge Mills was in Midland on Tuesday.” Clinton County Democrat (Wilmington, OH), May 1, 1913.

US Federal Census 1920, Clinton County and Union County. Heritagequest.com.

“Wife Claims Her Husband Chased Her with a Knife.” Xenia Daily Gazette (Xenia, OH), Dec. 7, 1903.

A Constable, A Murder, and A Feud

Fig1: Jacob Montgomery "Gum" Howard, courtesy of Margie Brickey.

Above is the only known photograph of Elliott County, Kentucky, Constable Jacob Montgomery “Gum” Howard (Fig.1). Gum was born in a part of Morgan County, which later became Elliott County, Kentucky, around 1848. He was born into a large but poor family of farmers and, as a young man, decided that the farm life was not the life he wanted to live. Instead, he joined a band of marauders led by a man named Neal McClanahan. Howard family oral history indicates that while he was with McClanahan, Howard raided the home of Union sympathizers and stole their horse. Howard was then arrested in 1866 on the charges of horse stealing and grand larceny in Morgan County, Kentucky, and served one year in prison.

After his carousing with the McClanahan gang and his subsequent arrest, Gum Howard met Anna Adkins and the two were married on January 28, 1869 (Fig 2). Gum Howard was 21 years old and Anna Adkins was only 15 years old. 

Fig 2: Marriage record for Montgomery Howard and Anna Adkins.

Although Howard had settled down and was beginning to create a family, the desire for adventure hit him once more. This time, however, he would become one of the first constables for the newly created Elliott County, Kentucky, in 1869. 

            As constable, Gum Howard was responsible for keeping the peace within the county. As such, when he heard of a wanted outlaw hanging around, he decided to go after him. On November 28, 1885, Gum Howard found the outlaw, John E. “Kan” Tipton hiding out at a local home. Howard reportedly said he wanted to bring Tipton in for his crimes to which Tipton replied with a bullet from a revolver. Howard was struck in the abdomen and was carried off to a nearby house while Tipton fled the scene. Gum Howard died that night, but his death triggered a deadly feud between the Howard clan and friends of the Tipton clan – the Tolliver’s (Figs. 3 & 4).

Fig 3: Article from the Altoona Evening Mirror.

Fig4: Article from the Twice-A-Week Messenger.

           The feud made an appearance in an 1892 edition of The Illustrated American, Volume XII under the heading, “A Kentucky Feud Revived.” The small article labeled the feud as the Tolliver-Howard-Martin feud, indicating a much larger, intricate feud than what the newspapers described (Fig 5). The article, though, wrongly mentions that Rowan County is in western Kentucky, when it is, in fact, in eastern Kentucky.

Fig 5: Article from "The Illustrated American Vol. XII" August 1892, pg. 471.

Unfortunately, both Cal and Wiley Tolliver died from their wounds, but, unlike as reported in The Illustrated American, Sam Howard, son of Montgomery Howard, lived until the ripe old age of 82. The other seven children of Jacob Montgomery “Gum” Howard, aside from Polly Anna who died at age 16 due to a freak accident, lived on into old age as well, setting aside their feuding ways with the passing of time. 

Sources:

“A Kentucky Feud Revived.” The Illustrated AmericanVol. XII. Aug. 1892.

“Another Tolliver Dead.” Altoona Evening Mirror.Altoona, PA.  Oct. 27, 1892.

“Jacob Montgomery ‘Gum’ Howard.” Photograph. Received from Margie Brickey 2017.

“Montgomery Howard Marriage.” Kentucky County Marriages 1797-1954. Familysearch.org.https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9S7-93GS?i=190&cc=1804888. Accessed Mar. 10, 2019.

“Riot and Bloodshed.” The Twice-A-Week Messenger.” Owensboro, KY. Oct. 27, 1892.

The Fresh Air Branch of the Visiting Nurses Assocation

When we think of nurses and nursing, there is a direct correlation with the medical profession, which is based on preventing and treating disease. Nurses and doctors follow standards as far as treatment regimens and cleanliness procedures. Everything is conducted in a scientific way with specific doses of medicines and careful monitoring of heart rates. However, in Dayton, the Visiting Nurses Association began a project tailored to transforming the lives of city children and their families.

In 1907, the Flower and Fruit Mission (which later became the Visiting Nurses Association) was incorporated to provide nurses to the Dayton area to treat illnesses, teach cleanliness standards, and to provide fruit and flowers to the hospitals and poor in the city. In addition, the organization made it a priority to “send poor women and children needing change of air to the country.” This last goal became a separate branch of the organization known as the Fresh Air Branch. That same year, Waymire Farm on Beardshear Road was rented for this purpose. In 1908, the Rice Farm on the Cincinnati Pike was rented. By 1909 the organization found it necessary to find a permanent location. Mrs. Harries Gorman bought a forty acre piece of property and gave the Flower and Fruit Mission a perpetual lease to the farm. From then on, this farm was known as Bellbrook Farm. A dormitory was built there to house twenty-five children. With the help of the resident farmer, cows, chickens, pigs, and vegetables were grown to feed the children who came to stay. The goal of the Fresh Air Branch was to provide a refuge for sick children and overworked tired mothers. The belief was that the clean country air and nourishing fresh food would help heal the children and provide a place of rest for their mothers. In the summer, groups of twenty to twenty-five children were sent to the country for two week stays at Bellbrook Farm. The farm continued to operate after 1913 when the Fruit and Flower Mission became the Visiting Nurses Association. By 1918, more dormitories had been added to accommodate larger numbers of children each summer. However, in 1925 the organization stopped managing Bellbrook Farm.

Unlike the typical nursing activities we think of today, the Visiting Nurses Association started out as a way to treat illness in the community but continued to provide other services to aid poor families. Bellbrook Farm provided an opportunity to show city children a different freer way of life as compared to their cramped city quarters. Their parents were provided a reprieve to rest and recuperate while their children were well looked after. The farm shows how nursing has changed as it was professionalized and how the services provided were more focused on supporting the local community than simply offering medical treatments. 

Works Cited
[Articles of Incorporation, 1907, Box 1, File 4], FSC-31 Visiting Nurses Association, Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio.

[“Children Leave City for Outing at Fresh Air Farm,” Newspaper Clipping, 1911, Box 5, File 1], FSC-31 Visiting Nurses Association, Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio.

[The Flower and Fruit Mission and Visiting Nurses Association Booklet, 1911, Box 1, File 11], FSC-31 Visiting Nurses Association, Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio.

[Historical Highlights, Box 1, File 3], FSC-31 Visiting Nurses Association, Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio.

[“Joy for Children at Fresh Air Farm,” Newspaper Clipping, 1910, Box 5, File 1], FSC-31 Visiting Nurses Association, Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio.