The Bluffton news. [volume] (Bluffton, Ohio) 1875-current, 1948-09-30
True Tales About Ohio
Concluded from page u

times he was II had read all the
books in the house and neighbor-
hood. When he was Il he began
working on farms in Hooking, Fair
field and Fayette counties "just to
help the family along" and returned
to Pigeon Roost Ridge with what
money he had saved to attend the
winter terms of school.
Then had come his application and
rejection as a home town school
teacher, and the family exodus from
Pigeon Roost Ridge.
RETURNS
Twenty-three years later, on
Thursday, September 12, 1884, Janu-
arius Aloysius MacGahan came back
to New Lexington-in a great casket,
six years after his death in Con-
stantinople. 1t was a memorable oc-
casion in New Lexington and in Peg
con Roost Ridge, three miles out on
the Logan road.
The great casket was brought to
New York on the U. S. steamer,
"Powhatan" at the expense of the
New York Press Club after Mac
Gahan had been disinterred in the
Turkish cemetery and it had already
lain in state in the New York City
Hall and in the State Capitol in
Columbus before reaching the old
home town. Accompanying it were
his Russian widow, married in Rus
sia, and the couples son, born in
Spain in 1874 during the Carhst
War.
More than 5000 persons, among
them so representatives of the press
from all parts of the state were in
New Lexington for the MacGahan
funeral Streets and houses were
decorated with evergreen arches
and intermingIed flags of black and
white. One large streamer bore the
words: "Bulgaria's Liberator" and
another: Rest in thy native land"
IMPRESSIVE FUNERAL
At the religious ceremonies in st.
Roses Church, Bishop Watterson
preached on The Power and Re-
sponsibility of the Newspaper Press"
and a detachment of the New Lex
ington Guards served as a guard Of
honor.
At 1870 the casket was brought
out of the church and, headed by a
platoon of G. A. r. veterans with
reversed swords the procession start
ed for the grave. After the vet
Grams came the Columbus Barracks
Band; various G. A. r. Posts; Mill
tary Organizations; the Military
Band; Members of the Press; Com
mittees and Speakers; the Pail Bear
ers; then the hearse with its guard
of honor and following, members of
the family, citizens and others.
Newspaper men among the pail
bearers were: James NJ. Comfy, To-
ledo Telegram; D. l.. Bowersmith,
The Ohio State Journal; S, J. Flick
niger, Cincinnati Enquirer; Thomas
Wetzler, Lancaster Eagle; Lecky
Harper, Mt. Vernon Banner; Ed l..
Davenport, Logan Republican-Ga-
zette; j. L. Vance, Gallipolis Bulle-
tin; L. c. Smith, Shawnee Banner; !;
T, M. Gaumer, GAINESVILLE Signal;
and c. E. Bonebrake, Springfield
Globe
Other pail bearers were: Senator
John Evans, Gallia County; Senator
John O'Neil, GAINESVILLE; Hon. w. E.
Finck, Somerset; DR.. F. L. Flowers,
Lancaster; James 7. Irvine, Zanes-
vile; James w. Newman, Secretary
of State; and Capt. Charles N. Al
| len, Columbus.
Such was the posthumous home
coming of the kid who had kicked
the thistle because he could not be
trusted to teach the little Pigeon
Roost school on the Logan road
WENT TO EUROPE
From Huntington, Indiana, Mac
Gahan had gone to St. Louis, where
he did some writing and picked up a
little newspaper experience. Then in
December, 1868, he sailed for Eu-
rop to study the Latin, German and
French languages and with the in
tention to return home and begin
the study of law.
His trunk was packed and almost
penniless he was about to start for
home when the Franco -Prussian War
broke out and he was engaged by
The New York Herald to go with
the French army as its war CORES
pondent. The London News gave
him a like contract and as CORES
lpondent for the two papers MacGa-