Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1880-10-22
THE PIONEERS.
Address Delivered at the Pioneer
Pic-nic and Reunion at Portage,
SePtem bor s2d, 1880,
ny Hon. Asher Geek
FELLOW CITIZENS AND Pioneers OF
WooD COUNTY:

WooD COUNTY:
You have assembled on this auspicious
occasion, to recount your tolls and form n
society, whose records will contain an nc.
count of the deeds Of the past generation
where those who come after YOU may learn
the difficulties encountered and the priva.
tions endured by those who cleared away
the forests and brought the pralries under
cultivation for their use.
Aud now that we are here in the enjoy.
ment of peace and surrounded by abund-
ance, under the protection Of a free and
benign government, where but recently
savages held carnival, il may not be in
appropriate to inquire whence we came
and how we arrived here.
We are a branch OF that great Indo- En-
ropean, or as our cousins beyond the Rhine
persist in calling IL, Indo Germanic race,
the great grandparent of the Caucasian
family of nations, in which have been in.
cluded the East Asian or Indian, the West
Asian or Persian, the Greek, the Latin, the
Russian, the Goth and the Saxon, from
which have come the present inhabitants
OF Europe and America, For the origin
OF this same we must look back along the
legendary history Of mankind, whose se.
crels though hidden for ages, are fast be-
ing brought to light by the restless re.
searches of our day.
This research for the origin OF the race,
is pursued chiefly by means of the analogy
OF the language spoken by each succeeding
branch of this great family, aud by the
root words traceable through them all.
Thus the linguIst, by means Of the small
savings rescued from the shipwreck of Ian
guages, traces the history OF mankind as
the geologist, by foot prints in the rock
reads the history of creation. This research
is, however, no trivial task, and superb.
cial writers Of history,to escape the perplex
ing labor, pass il by with some disparag
ing remark, rs il the pursuit was unwor.
thy OF their great abilities. Lirmartine,
in his history of Russia, says: "An al
most impenetrable mystery Obscures the
origin OF the European nations, ms the
clouds obscure the source of rivers as they
descend from the mountain glaciers to wa
ter the valleys below. Whatever may be
the system or the efforts Of the learned, to
ascend 10 the birth place of these nations
all agree that they came from the plateaux
Of Tartary or Central Asia. But the hv.
pothetical recitations of these historians
OF the mysterious origin of our race, who
only explain one enigma by another enig.
ma, trouble the spirit, and prefer to say
| do not know" But in this he only gives
evidence OF his want of application, as
men of greater research have nnfolded the
mystery, which seemed to him impenetra.
be. These researches OF the learned have
traced the origin of race, step by step, back
TO the stePpes of Asir, and fixed beyond
reasonable doubt the birth place Of our
remote ancestors, On the Hinduo Koosh or
KuenluI Mountains, in whose snow capped
peaks are the fountains from which flow
the Oxus and the Indus, and in the vale
Of Cashmere, "That delightful valley oi
| the SUM-" thus giving us two CLASSES of an.
| cesters, the hardy mountaineer and the
dwellers in the valley. The descendants Of
the first OF these will he found among the
Alps in Switzerland, where they cluster on
the mountain side, aud cultivate the land
up to the perpetual snow line, shaded by
the mists which arise from the eternaliy y
melting. Int never disappearing snow-and
on the Sierras in Spain and the Hghan,
| of Scotland, where their natures grow IL
harmony with the rugged scenes by which
they are surrounded, and where they Learn
from maternal lips, TO admire the trad
tionHl glOries OF The race from which they
sprang. The descendants OF the utheI
class, who in imitation of their ancestors
preferred the softer and more voluptuoui
lille Of the plain, early fixed themselves il
the valleys of the EIpo, the Danube, tn,
Rhine, the Po, and the beautiful Guadal
quiver.
The peculiar characteristic of the move
ment OF this race is, that, 1t and its de
srendents have always moved westward
The first emigrations OF the race were L
Greece and Italy, through Asia Minor 1
the south OF the Caspian and the Blac
Sea The later movements were to til
north ot those seas, TO central and north
ern Europe. The detection, from a direc
west line, was caused by the imprartic
biity OF passing over these seas, with thei
tlockS and their herds in the then crnd
state OF the art of navigation. Continuir
their westward march, they-in a short tim
over ran Europe, and by The force Of arm
made themselves masters of the soil. b.
they never lost their desire to move Yves
and scarcely had they reached the easter
shore OF the Atlantic, before they longe
for the means Of passing il, in search f.
new homes and other fields of conques
and in 6n historical point OF view il W.
not long before their desires were gratifiet
As early as the year 1920, we fnd the d,
scendants of this race IN possession of /
entire shore of North America, from Ma
sachusetts t. Florida.
Aud time and distance seem to hay
Il made no change in this law Of their EN-
: = grafton, for We, their descendants, comtinl
in our emigration, to move west rs near
on the parallels of latitude, as circur
stances and the topography of the countl
will permit. This law is so universal th
it is not difficult to ascertain the cnuntI
or section, from which n given State
country has been settled. II we knew i
latitude, il is only necessary to look to ii
east to see whence its early settlers cam,
thus we know Kentucky was settled chief
from Virginia, and Southern and Centr
Ohio from Pennsylvania, Virginia and NJ
! ryland, and our early Legislation was b
c"pies OF statutes OF those States: so in Il
early settlement OF Iowa, it seemed mo
like an Ohio colony than an independeI
State, while Michigan, Wisconsin and MI
nesOia, would he a second New EuglaI
but for the foreign emigration which
l reach there, has also followed this law
e movement TO the West. The settlemel
+. VI OdllIhInla, Nne only seeming ueVlatlt
! from this law, is in fact no exception
il; people from all parts of the worl
fiOcked thither, attrnc ed by the thirst Il
: gold, without, however, amy intention
/ making that their home. The hegira thit
= er can in no proper sense be called emigr
=, tion. They did not go with their wiv
= and their little ones, with their hpcks ~
: their heIds; they struck out on venlu
and left their household goods behind theI
to whom they expected to return.
Following the above law, we would e
pect to find Wood county settled by en-
grants from Pennsylvania and New Jerse
r but the early emigraniA from New En-
: land, meeting with the Niagara river Al
4 Lake Erie, before the former was bridg
and while the latter was but imperfect
navigated, they followed the trend OF 4
l. lake, and passed 10 the south of it, whi
4 brought them TO the Maumee valley, /
!. beauties and apparent commercial impo
u ance OF which induced many to renal,
% This detection Of the early emigraI
% along the northern shore OF Lake Erie. ga
'. Wood county large per cent of the non