Reverend Lorenzo Lorraine Langstroth

On October 6, 1895 eighty-four year old Reverend Lorenzo Lorraine Langstroth, widely known as the Father of American Beekeeping, died in the pulpit of the Wayne Avenue Presbyterian Church in Dayton. He was retired from the ministry but was assisting with a communion service. He had just started to speak about the love of God when he was stricken with a stroke.

Langstroth was born on Dec. 25, 1810 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As a child he enjoyed studying insects. Once he was punished because of holes in his pants’ knees from kneeling and observing ants.

He attended Yale University and graduated with high honors in 1831. From 1834 to1835 Langstroth was a tutor at Yale and studied the ministry.

Next Langstroth was a pastor at several Massachusetts Congregational churches.

He married Anne Tucker and they had three children: James, Anna, and Harriet.

Langstroth became the principal of a young ladies’ school in Philadelphia in 1848. During this time he suffered with depression and took up beekeeping as a hobby to distract himself.

He used his knowledge about “bee space”, crawl space needed by a bee to go from one area to another, to develop a top opened hive. It made the frames of a hive easily removable without upsetting the bees.

Langstroth was given a patent for the movable frame beehive in 1852. He gained no royalties over the years though because his patent was widely violated.

His discoveries led to modern beekeeping and helped it become more cost effective.

Langstroth wrote “The Hive and the Honey-Bee” in 1853. It is the definitive text on beekeeping, there having been more than 40 editions printed. The memorial epitaph at his grave says, “in memory of …his…literary ability shown in the first scientific and popular book on the subject of beekeeping in the United States.”

In 1858 he and his family moved to Oxford, Ohio to a ten acre farm which Langstroth devoted to beekeeping.

He planted Linden trees, apple trees, buckwheat and clover for the bees to use.

Langstroth imported Italian bees in 1863, then researched, bred, raised and sold them.

His wife, Anne Langstroth, died in 1873.

Their former house is called Langstroth Cottage, and has been declared a National Historic Landmark. It is now Miami University’s Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching and is located on Patterson Avenue on Miami’s Western campus.

Langstroth moved to Dayton in 1887 and lived with his daughter Mrs. Anna Cowan at 120 South Ford Street. His death occurred eight years later.

He is buried at Woodland Cemetery in Dayton.

Hallie Quinn Brown

Hallie Quinn Brown was a noted educator, lecturer, and elocutionist. She also was an author and social and political activist.


Besides the five year lecture tour mentioned in my earlier post Brown made two other trips to Europe. Frederick Douglass sent a letter with Brown to introduce her to his “British friends”. She was a very successful fundraiser. In addition to other support she obtained a one time gift of $15,000 from Julia Emery, a British philanthropist. This money was used to build Emery Hall at Wilberforce University. The building still stands today and is scheduled for restoration and renovation.

Brown was an organizer and crusader for several civil rights movements. She was active in the Women’s Christian Temperance Union. When she saw a need for a national organization to support black women in America she helped establish the Colored Woman’s League of Washington, D.C. in 1894. This later became the National Association of Colored Women for which she served as president from 1920 to 1924. During her presidency the organization worked to preserve the Frederick Douglas Home in Washington, D.C. and set up a scholarship fund for women. She was also president of the Ohio Federation of Colored Women.

Her interest in clubs for women carried over to Europe. She was a member of the British Women’s Temperance Association, was given membership to the Royal Geographical Society of Scotland, and was elected a member of the International Council of Women. She helped establish, in 1895, the first British Chautauqua in North Wales.

In addition to being active in clubs Brown was very involved at Wilberforce University. She was a professor of elocution there and on the board of trustees. A member of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Brown taught Sunday School classes on the Wilberforce campus.

Brown was a passionate Republican and envisioned elocution as a way to participate in politics. She spoke at the 1920 Republican convention in support of Warren Harding for the United States presidency. Harding ran a “front porch campaign’ from his Victorian house in Marion, Ohio. People came from all over to hear him. Brown was the first woman to speak from his famous front porch. In 1932 she actively campaigned for Herbert Hoover’s presidential campaign.

Brown authored eight books among them were: Bits and Odds: A choice Selection of Recitations, First Lessons in Public Speaking, Tales My Father Told, and Other Stories, and Homespun Heroines and Other Women of Distinction.

She lived to be almost 100 years old but died on September 16, 1949 and is buried in the family plot in Massie’s Creek Cemetery.

The Hallie Q. Brown Memorial Library at Central State University was named in her honor.

LaVerne C. Kenon Sci, Historic Site Manager of the Paul Lawrence Dunbar House State Memorial, frequently does a re-enactment of Hallie Q. Brown. “I decided to interpret her because she was an ordinary person who achieved extraordinary heights during her lifetime of 99 years, six months, and six days,” said Sci. “She became an advocate for the disenfranchised in our society.”



WHAT: Paul Lawrence Dunbar House State Memorial

WHERE: 219 North P.L. Dunbar St., Dayton, OH

WHEN: weekly Wed.-Sun.

TIME: Wed.-Sat. 9am-5pm, Sun. noon-5pm

COST: adults $6, Seniors $5, students $3, children 5 and under free

Crocketts

Davy Crockett, the famous frontiersman, never lived in Warren County, but it's believed his relatives did. Andrew Crockett moved to Warren County in 1810. When Davy Crockett became famous with a young generation of baby-boomers through the Walt Disney movies, the Middletown Journal interviewed Clearcreek Township resident and Andrew's great-grandson, Chester Crockett (1889-1969) who assured readers his family was related to the famous frontiersman. However, descendants still living in the Springboro area have not found the source information confirming this relationship. Still, Chester lived closer in time to the legend of Davy Crockett. Chester's grandfather would have been Davy's first cousin. Certainly, Chester's parents and grandparents would have known of the relationship, and such a fact would make a strong impression on a young boy. No matter what their heritage or famous relatives, the local Crocketts played a large role in Warren County’s settlement. Before Andrew came to Warren County he had lived an eventful life. He was a bound boy, obligated to work for a period of time to pay for training or for a debt. In 1810, at about age 44, Andrew moved to Warren County. Andrew’s first wife had died in New Jersey. In November of 1812 he married Sarah Mullen of Warren County. Andrew and Sarah had three children. Sarah died in 1817. Two years later he married Margaret Freeman. They had one child, Susannah Sarah Ann. A few years of successful farming allowed Andrew to purchase some military lands in Clark County, perhaps as an investment. He ran into controversy over land titles and had to pay a second claimant for the land. When a third claimant came forward, he gave up the land. “The balance of his life was lived in limited circumstances” according to The History of Warren County, Ohio by Beers. In 1849, Andrew died. Marmaduke Crockett was the middle son of Andrew and Sarah’s children. He was a talented industrious young man. At the age of sixteen Marmaduke built a sturdy wagon. It was used to carry a heavy load of produce to Cincinnati and to bring back a load of merchandise. He worked as a farmer and freight hauler until he was 25 years old. As a freight hauler he may have noticed the opportunity for milling. For eight years Marmaduke worked in the milling trade in Springboro, Waynesville, and Mount Holly. He then returned to farming and was able to purchase a good farm on Lytle-Five Points Rd. Marmaduke married Jane S. Mullin in 1837. They had eleven children. Two died in infancy...., some married locally and some moved on. The eldest, Mary, married David Hare who was Postmaster of Springboro for a time. With Marmaduke's help, Mordecai set about raising cotton in Texas. The youngest, Elmer, practiced law in Cincinnati. Marmaduke was a leader in the community, a very caring man, and respected for his character and integrity. When he died in 1867 at the age of fifty-two, the book Memoirs of the Miami Valley reported his was “the largest attended funeral in the history of Springboro”.

Fairborn


This is the tale of two cities, Fairfield and Osborn, which merged their communities and their names.
Fairfield was the older of the two cities. The first log house was built in the area in 1799. Seventeen years later, in 1816, William Cozad, his brother Samuel Cozad, and Joseph Tatman laid out the village on the stage coach road between Dayton and Springfield. The highway is present day Ohio 4. Some say the community was named after a town in England while others claim it was named after an Indian Chief looked at the settlement and said: “Yonder lies a Fair Field”.
The town grew until the railroad went one mile west of the village. Growth diminished for many years. The village began to expand again soon after the Wright brothers began their experiments with aircraft, five miles west of Fairfield. In 1916 the United States War Department bought 25,000 acres west of Fairfield for an Air Base. It was first called Patterson Field and later Fairfield Air Depot.
The other city, Osborn, sprang up near the railroad which had by passed Fairfield. This town was laid out in 1850 by John Cox and Samuel Stafford and named for the superintendent of the railroad. It was recorded on May 20, 1851 and incorporated in 1867.
The community grew and seemed to have a bright future until the Dayton flood of 1913. Although Osborn was not flooded, its future was affected by this natural event.
To prevent future floods, Huffman Dam on the Mad River was built. Its construction meant that, when it was necessary to prevent flooding, water would be backed up onto the site of Osborn.
As a result, the whole town of Osborn had to be moved to higher ground. The village annexed two hundred and sixty-five acres east of Fairfield and the Osborn Removal Company was formed. The moving began on June 1, 1922. Two hundred forty-three houses and businesses were relocated. The buildings were placed upon timbers and pulled by a caterpillar tractor to their new site. “They moved the houses bag and baggage,” said Johnny Miller in a 1936 Dayton Daily News article. “…and the house was on its way with many instances the family remaining at home and riding all the way into the new town.” It took two years to move everything. A movie called “Movin’ Day for Osborn, Ohio” was made about the event.
The two communities, Fairfield and Osborn, remained close neighbors for twenty-eight years. They were referred to as the twin cities and each had its own governments and services.
On November 2, 1948 voters in both cities approved a merger of the two cities and to combine the names into Fairborn. The vote in Osborn was 1,227 for and 333 against while in Fairfield it was 607 for and 577 against. The merger was effective on January 1, 1950.
A large sign at the Fairborn Theater was the first business to display the new city name.

whiteman

Benjamin Whiteman was a man of influence and he used that power for the good of Greene County. Born in Philadelphia on March 12, 1769 Whiteman, at about 13 years of age, moved to Kentucky with his parents. As a young man he served in three frontier war expeditions. These journeys caused him to be interested in settling in the Miami Valley. In 1799 Whiteman moved with his wife, Catherine, and her parents, Owen and Latitia Davis, to the mouth of Beaver creek. His father-in-law opened a mill. Broadstone in his 1918 book, History of Greene County, Ohio, says, "Members of the "Dutch Settlement," in Montgomery county, thirty miles away, would bring their corn to the Davis mill, and after they had ground their meal, they would camp out there that night and depart for home early the next morning." Whiteman built a house near the mill and sold it to his father-in-law. It was later used as a temporary meeting place for Greene county courts. When Greene County was organized in 1803, Whiteman was appointed one of three associate judges. He was also hired to change a block house near the courts so it could be used as a jail. Among his first cases as a judge was one which involved Owen Davis, his father-in-law. Davis had a fist fight with a man from Warren County he believed had stolen some hogs. After winning the struggle, Davis went into the court room and said to Whiteman, "Well, Ben, I've whipped that hog thief; what's the damage?" After paying an eight dollar fine he shook his fist and said, "Yes, Ben, if you'd steal a hog, I'd whip you, too." The Whiteman and Davis families sold their property in Beavercreek Township in 1805 and moved to the vicinity of Clifton. Whiteman built a large stone house called "The Stone Pile". He also had a woolen mill at Clifton Gorge. Whiteman was a General in the War of 1812 and led a brigade of soldiers. It has been reported that cloth for their uniforms was supplied by Whiteman's mill. Several pioneers were invited to name the city chosen to be the seat of government of Greene County. Whiteman and the Davis' were among those asked. A stranger, later identified as Rev. Robert Armstrong, suggested Xenia, a Greek word meaning hospitality. After several votes Xenia was chosen. When the boundary between Greene and Clark Counties was laid out, Whiteman's "Stone Pile" fell on the Clark side of the line. Whiteman pressed the Legislature to change the line so that he could be a resident of Greene County. And so in 1819 they did. Whiteman died in July of 1852 at the age of 84 and was buried in Clifton Cemetery.

Croll mansion

and by Bob Croll Around 1872 Levi Croll, a wealthy Franklin, Ohio business man began to build a Victorian mansion on 129 acres he had purchased from the Barkalow farm. The house is located at 843 Dayton-Oxford Road in Franklin in Warren County. Croll made his fortune as a miller during the Civil War. Born in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania on September 24, 1830 he was seven years old when his family moved to Clark County, Ohio. He later relocated to Warren County, Ohio and resided there until his death in 1885. Croll married Hannah Vanderver in March 1852. They had three children. He later married Eleanor Chamberlain. They had six children. One of their great grandsons is Bob Croll who now lives in Moreno Valley, California. Although Bob and I have never personally met, we have communicated via e-mail for several years. We have a shared interest in history and genealogy. The following information was written by Bob. "The mansion was one of the first in the Ohio Territory to have indoor plumbing, air conditioning, and a walk in cooler. Levi let the foundation "settle" for two years before he allowed construction to continue. The building is now 138 years old, and shows no signs of faulty construction. It should be noted it was one of the few structures to survive the 1913 flood without damage. INDOOR PLUMBING: All rain water was caught from the roofs and stored in a large lead lined cistern, located in the attic, until needed. (In 1918 the lead was donated to the war effort to make bullets) Each bedroom had a marble topped vanity, which was filled by gravity, and no pump or electricity was required. There was also a full sized tin bathtub in the downstairs bathroom with cold and hot running water. (cold in the winter & hot in the summer). Flush toilets came later. AIR CONDITIONING: The brick walls were hollow, and cool air entered in basement level louvers, pushing the rising hot air out of vents located under the eaves. All doors had transoms to let air circulate when the doors were closed, and all windows were equipped with full length indoor shutters, which were closed to keep hot air out during the summer days, and opened in the evenings to let cool air in. Additionally there was a 3 story open circular stairwell that naturally let hot air rise to the attic, inside the house. WALK IN COOLER: The kitchen pantry was built over a large basement room, filled with river ice during the winter, and covered with sawdust for insulation. The pantry was air tight, except for the air vents that allowed the cold air to enter the pantry from the ice storage room below. HEATING: Each room was independently heated by a French import fireplace, with common ash dumps in the basement. My Grandfather, George Croll used to paint the roof during the World Series. Sometimes he forgot the paint, but he NEVER forgot his radio."

Jean Jacques Louis Wuichet

In the mid to late 1800's, Jean Jacques Louis Wuichet, often referred to as James L. Wuichet, wielded mallets and chisels to create the stone used in beautiful buildings all over the world. Wuichet was born in Switzerland and there learned the trade of stone dressing. How he came to make Dayton, Ohio his home was related in a newspaper article written by Howard Burba. The article titled, When "Dayton Marble" Brought in Millions, appeared in the February 7, 1937 issue of the Dayton Daily News. According to Burba, Wuichet traveled through Germany, Turkey, and Russia practicing his trade. He remained in Russia the longest and dressed stone "for some of the finest buildings in the Russian capital". In 1833 Wuichet immigrated to New York City. About 1835 he relocated to the Cincinnati area and worked on stone for the canal locks. He found the stone to be similar to what he had worked with in Switzerland and asked about the origin of the limestone. This led to his introduction to Mr. Gilmore of Dayton. Gilmore hired Wuichet, in 1836, to work at his Gilmore & Scott quarry near Beavertown. The superior work produced by Wuichet attracted attention and he was encouraged to start his own business. After Wuichet started his business, he hired other stone cutters trained in the old world. Burba writes, "His 'yard' was opened in a little oaken forest east of the canal and his first 'chiseling' was done under a big tree in the center of Green St. near the corner of Jefferson, then a rather wild looking place ... So well pleased was Mr. Wuichet with the location that he built himself a large and comfortable house on the scene of his first stone-cutting exploits in Dayton. .." In a death notice in the Dayton Daily Journal the Wuichet residence is described as "at the corner of Green and Logan Streets opposite Jefferson street bridge". Literature from Woodland Cemetery in Dayton says that Wuichet did all the stone cutting on the St. Peter In Chains Cathedral in Cincinnati built in 1848 and the old Dayton Courthouse built in 1850. It states he also cut the stone for the Waldo street entrance way to the cemetery and their receiving vault. The receiving vault was built to store bodies until graves were prepared. It was mostly used during the winter when frozen ground made digging difficult. "The vault was designed, "In the Theme of Thebes and Karnak" and is an exact replica of the Tomb of Karnak. It is one of the few examples of period Egyptian Revival architecture in Ohio". Wuichet married Sabina Dutoit, the daughter of Eugene Dutoit. They had seven sons and two daughters. Their sons became involved in various Dayton businesses: lumber, fertilizer, and asphalt and roofing. Wuichet died on September 13, 1872 at age 70 and was buried at Woodland Cemetery in Dayton.