The Bluffton news. [volume] (Bluffton, Ohio) 1875-current, 1947-11-27

the first tavern had been put up but
as yet there was no store.
Cincinnati's First Murder
Goudy had little to inspire graft
tude. In 1890 John Mays had killed
a friend during a drunken brawl 1t
was Cincinnati's first murder and
Goudy, retained to defend Mays, got
and lost his first case. 1t also was
Cincinnati's first public hanging. In
cidentally, Goudy did not get paid
for his defense nor the hangman his
fee. for II years.
Also Goudy's log office, among the
brush on Seventh Street, now the
heart of the city, caught from brush
fire and burned that year. 1t was Gin
cinnatis first fire. Goudy never had
occupied the office because "it was
too far out of town" and no-one
would go to it but it was real loss
he had no insurance.
In the bakers cabin there was real
thankfulness-their child, William
Hoddy, had been born that year. He
was the first born in Cincinnati.
And in another single cabin, Daniel
and Elsy Alice Ross Shoemaker and
Darius C. and Sallie McHenry Oreutt
celebrated their Thanksgiving-Christ-
mas Day together. Both couples, first
in the settlement, had married in
1890.
In Marietta, little larger, though
nearly a year older than Cincinnati,
the observance was about the same,
though less detailed accounts are
available. Marietta then had log
church and Cincinnati as yet had
none. And, Marietta still being the
capital of the Northwest Territory,
had the big long tent used for state
capitol.
Cincinnatians Hard Drinkers
A hand-picked lot, many of Mar
ietta's citizens observed the day in
long services at the church. Gin
cinnati's residents were not so of
the elite-most of them had just
drifted in and penniless at that.
Historians relate that they were
mostly a hard drinking, rowdyisb
lot, idle, lazy and shiftless.
At the first term of court John
Cleves Symmes, founder of the city
was fined for illegally selling whis.
key and his son-in-law, later Presi.
dent William Henry Harrison, was
sentenced to one day Imprisonment
for street fighting. There was yet NJ
jail so he served it in the barroom OF
Avery's tavern "among convivial as.
associates"
A few years later, July 81, 1894
acting Governor of the Northwest
Territory Winthrop Sargent divorced
Thanksgiving from Christmas anc
fixed Thanksgiving Day as Tuesday
August IA that year. Because of the
devastating Indian wars just finished
the day was to be day of fasting
pretty hard on the Thanksgiving
Dinner table. On that day too, any
one engaged in menial labour was
forbidden to work" -@-
L. fu Lincoln Sets Date ~
Thus the day was kicked about un
til Abraham Lincoln in 1854 set th'
day as the fourth Thursday in No
vember. Lincoln had been influenced
in doing so by editorials by Mrs
Sarah Josephus Hale, editor o
"Godey's Ladies Book" which hat
been advocating a definite arrange
ment since September, 1863.
Incidentally, the only viands on TIL
groaning Thanksgiving dinner tabl
of pioneer times were the stewe'
pumpkin, sauce from cranberries il
the woods, and elderberry wine
homemade.
The wild turkey, which would b.
so appetizing today, was drug ol
the market and venison and bea
steaks were everyday fare. Will
turkeys sold in the first settlemen
stores at two for 80 cents and venisoI
was two cents a pound. Settlers wer
surfeited with johnny-cake an