Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1874-03-26
The Temperance Crusade-Ancestry of
the PRAYING Women.

The Rev. John Hussey contributes an
interesting article to the Lnde pendent
on the extraordinary movement against
intemperance, now In progress In por-
tons of Ohio and Indiana, in which he
shows that the pious women who are
conducting this singular campaign are
descended from praying stock" We
make the following extract
Southern Ohio was perhaps the last
place where one would have supposed
that such a movement could begin.
The people of the section where this
work took form belong less than any
other people of our country north of the
Ohio river, except those of some parts
of Southern Indiana, to the New En-
gland type. Between the Siota and
Miami river lies the Virginia Military
Reservation" granted by the General
Government to the State of Virginia,
in place of claims which the latter State
relinquished to the Northwestern Terri
tory. This large territory was settled
originally by Virginians who had Revo-
lutlonary claims. The land was owned
In very large tracts, and has been more
or less subdivided The old Virginia
families having always been very infiu-
entail, especially in the counties of
Highland, Fayette, and Ross. Early
In this century many came to Southern
Ohio from other Southern States. The
Friends or Quakers came from Virginia
and Western North Carolina in such
numbers as to exhaust some of their set
Elements in these States, and purchased
of the old Virginians in Ohio smaller
bodies of land, forming line of settle
ments from Lawrence county through
Jackson, Ross, Highland, Clinton, to
Warren. The great body of the Ouak-
ers are now in the three latter counties.
These plain Christians have been an
important element in the prayer move
ment, but were not much concerned in
its first origin, as few of them are found
either in Hillsborough or Washington,
the two places where success was first
achieved Somehow there is a law of
nature which " old families are prone
to violate. Family pride is not apt to
be an active element in the busy indus
tries of life. Too much leisure invites
dissipation, and many of the scions of
our excellent old families have gone un-
der before the destroying evil of intern
perance. Hardly prominent family in
Hillsborough but has felt the keen
shafts of this adversary. In some, all
the members have died Incorporate, or
are in danger of doing so. If it were
not improper, could connect with the
names of most of the women who are
prominent in carrying on the movement
in two of the largest places in which
this work has been highly uccessful,
some one dear as life cut down in youth
or MANIFOLD ; with some of whose names
the country at large is not unfamiliar !;
of all Observation-Disclosures, lawyers,
and not emitting shining example Of
the clerical profession-somei in public
life, others renowned in war. The re-
ligious element is an important one,
and has given soul to the whole move
ment. The churches of all the princi-
pal denominations are many of them
large, and have for two generations
welded powerful influence. The three
principal religious bodies are Presbyte-
rians. Methodists and Quakers.