Morgan County Democrat. (McConnelsville, Ohio) 1886-1943, 1925-03-19


size. / attended school there under
three different teachers. The first
was Mrs. Firman, the mother-in-law
of VIM. p. Johnson, who prepared
and published a map of Morgan
county on which every farm was
shown with the owners name. Mrs.
Firman was the grandmother of
Joseph and Edward Johnson, after
ward well known citizens of McCon-
nelsville, l believe. My second teach
er there was Miss Mary Jane Adaif,
a sister of James A. Adair. for many
years editor and proprietor of the
Morgan Herald. The third teacher
was Mrs Mary Woodruff, sister of
Mrs. E. Eberlein and the mother of
Mrs. Hiram Jones. The first two of
these terms were taught before the
basement was divided, and while it
was furnished with slab seats, and
the desk for pupils who were taught
writing was sloping board along
the west wall. During my first term
!. was not yet six years old, and my
seat was on a long slab bench ex-
! tending through the middle of the
room. 1t was so high that I had to
climb to my place by putting my
arms and one knee on the bench and
then pulling myself up. | knew my
place by large knot Talbert Law
renee, the step-son of Judge E. e
Evans, sat on one side of the knot
and | on the other.
Capt. Love Trains Volunteers
1t was during this term, in the
spring and early summer of 1916
that Capt John Love trained volun-
teers for the Mexican war, on the
common. and we children used to
watch them during recess, with
great interest.
/ Capt. Travis says ga flight ot
wooden steps led up to the assembly
room" The upper room was enter
ed by two doors and there was 6
flight of stone steps to each of them
The women occupied row of pews
along each side wall and the mer
occupied the two middle rows The
services were different in severa
respects from those of the present
There was no choir or instrument O.
music. The preacher read the whole
of the hymn to be sung, and ther
"lined" it; that is, he read two lines
which were then sung by the congre
CATION; then he read two more, anC
these were sung, and so on. The
reason for this method was tha
second hymn of the service was {
voluntary started by any one wh(
chose to do it, usually by Uncle
Lemon Fouts. This hymn was al
most always one that was familiar Il
many in the congregation. The ser
mons were generally from fifty min
utes to an hour long and often al
hour and a quarter.
The conference held in the sprins
of 1860 was not district, but an an
nual conference. Bishop Edward r
Ames presided, and on Sunda,
preached a sermon of remarkable
power. l said afterwards to my un
Gle John Rutledge "That was
great sermon" YES said he
great in it's simplicity"
| witnessed the burning of tn
Baptist church in 1853. The congre
cation then rented the Congrega
tional church, which they occupied
till the present Baptist church wa
erected 1t may be that for tim,
they used building near the site o
the present armOry, but I can not re
call the fact and | do not know wha
building in that part of town wa
suitable for such purpose. TIL,
old market house would have beel
large enough, but it was open on al
sides and there was no provision il
it for heating The men who SOLE
meat there made a fire in winter OIL
the brick tjoor near the middle O
the building.
The Congregational church, ac
cording to what | was told in m,
boyhood, w9s organized by a groul
Of people who withdrew from tn
Presbyterian church, under the lead
ership of Edwin Corner and his half
brother John B. Stone This wa
the first church in McConnelsvill
to introduce musical instrument
A meicdeon was installed, which wa
played by Miss Alice Corner. Thi
church was attended by Mr.. Henr,
Dawes OF Malta, grandfather of Vic
President Dawes. Mr.. Dawes / uset
to think, was the finest looking maj
ever saw, except the first Thoma
Ewing. Mr.. Ewing came to McCon
nelsville about 1850 and deliveret
ali address on the Fourth of July
His imposing form and his magnifi
cent head made a profound impres
sion on me.
The Methodist Protestant churcl
first occupied the frame building o.
the northeast corner of Bell stree
and the alley between Seventh an,
Eighth streets. But the congrega
tion disbanded and in the spring o
1850 the building was converted int
dwelling. My fathers family wa
the first to occupy it. Later tn
congregation was reorganiZed an
purchased the Congregations
church.
The Presbyterian church is tn
only one that still occupies the sam
building in which it began, and dur
ing the greater part of it's early his
tory it had but two pastors, Rev