The Bluffton news. [volume] (Bluffton, Ohio) 1875-current, 1949-04-28
True Tales About Ohio
Concluded from page u

Concluded from page u
the East and the bridle-path from the
Ohio River.
WILLIAMSBURG was on but one road
way-the path from the Ohio,
through Bethel to the North. Bethel
too, had been founded by Denham
as a town to be a haven for escaped
and freed slaves. 1t had created
much favorable talk in it's own sec
ton of the territory Denham alb
horred slavery and so did his
Virginia born wife. She disliked the
institution so greatly that she re-
fused her Inheritance of five slaves
when her parents will was read
That, unused Denham, thoughtfully
scratching his nose, was a fine gest-
ure and very worthy of praise but it
represented lots of money-an able
bodied negro in slavery days was
worth around 81 900. However, even
in the time of the Underground
Railroad, Bethel never became a
haven for slaves.
In Civil War time, when a new
school was opened there it was with
CONSERVATION the school board found
that six negroes of school age were
in the town. 1t got around the
dilemma by ruling that any person
of less than white blood was in
eligible. to attend the school and left
it to the teachers to notify "the
parents or guardians"
Williamsburg First County Seat
Williamsburg became the first
Clermont county seat. Thomas Nor
ris offered the county both his empty
cabins for $40 a year for the two
one to serve as courthouse and the
other as a Jail. Besides that he
agreed to furnish the courthouse
with wooden benches and tables and
to put bars on the Jail windows and
"strong lock" on the door. The
lease, he said, would be for five years
and the county officials took him at
his word and moved in.
Before the five years were over
Morris moved to Bethel and began
to study law. Not, however, before
he himself had become an inmate of
his own jail, incarcerated as a debtor.
1t took an act of the Territorial As
sembty to get him out of it.
1t merely is a matter of conjecture
whether Morris, practicing law in
Bethel for more than 40 years, ever
glanced sidewise at the empty public
square and speculated about how the
courthouse would have looked there
1t never hello. the courthouse and to-
day is the Site Of several Of the
towns most beautiful homes.
Morris became prominent in Bethel
and the county, then in the state and
finally in the nation. He was the
first racorder in the village of
Bethel; was postmaster there for 20
years and again served for four
years after replacing d successor.
Became L. $. Senator
He was a member Of the general
assembly and became United States
senator. Morris sold the old Bethel
homestead and moved to Cincinnati
in 1886 but moved back to Cler-
mont County farm few years later
where he died. Jesse Grant, father
of General U. s. Grant bought and
lived in the old Morris mansion when
he operated tannery in Bethel, of
which he was the first mayor. Mel
| lie Grant, daughter Of General Grant,
was born there when the family
were visiting Jesse Grant in Bethel.
When Thomas j. Morris was
lawyer in Bethel he befriended many
young men, several of whom became
prominent. Two of these were
Thomas L. Eamer and Samuel
Medary.
Poor, frlendleSs and with 70 cents
wrapped in the corner of his hand
kerchief, Hamer arrived at Bethel in
1918. Morris took him in, helped him
in the study of law and later Hamer
became an eminent Ohio lawyer and
jurist.
Medary, also arriving with but two
l
bits in his pocket, found home with
Morris and lived at his home. In
1923, after teaching school for a
few years, he started newspaper in
Bethel-its first, "Tte Ohio Sum-"
Medary knew nothing about print
ing but edited the paper, delivered it
to readers in person and taught
school at the same time to get money
fo v,os. avrarscs Tt UaS a nrOcedure