WRIGHT (2)

/PAR1 iokimr
I/"^/Tlo- 6) ) I"^3 '
FEIENDS INTELLIGENCEB
portrayals of Meetings.
lid-West
•0 Meetings visited with
m October 24th, staying
ession at which WQfred
ices in Spain.
» to organize itself into
those active are Manford
Jaseom, John and Evelyn
Kello^, Mr. and Mrs.
nes Wentworth, Merritt
William Stanton, and
I drawn from all sections
jnerican Friends Service
to discover names of
1 generally, who are not
t)up, but who might find
e is also directed to the
people in the vicinity of
aeir knowledge of those
.'ht that group activities
)pe, Executive Secretary,
ids. His address is Room
d, Chicago, Illinois.
'ege Notes
^idates from Swarthmore
iege Committee: Greorge
ait Gordon, all '38, and
Fom his home state.
te at the inauguration of
at at Kenyon, Ohio, last
•ce of the small collie in
ition in this country and
Qts as individnals if demo-
rice equipped for solvii^
>tand on the neutrality is-
among the faculty, 24 of
all recommending that the
Id affairs to restrain ag-
most vigorous action that
among the students who
homore debate over Presi-
and who are planning a
• consider the two major
ad collective security,
le auspices of the CoU^e
Jnion. E. li. H.
-Ist, at St, "^neeht's Hos-
26 Cocks Daniels, a son,
?nce Danids is a member
HALL-CANBT—On Tenth month 9th, in the old home
stead on Greenwood Farm, Hulmeville, Pa., Peace Canby,
daughter of Joseph Paxson and Maria Olden Abbott Canby,
and Robert Winchester Hall, son of Israel and the late Clara
Tucker Hall, of Jacksonville, Vermont.
KENNEDY-CORBIN—On Tenth month 23rd, at Provi
dence Friends Meeting House, Media, Pa., under the care of
the Meeting, Ruth Janet Corbin, daughter of Ernest and
Nellie S. Corbin, of Beverly Hills, Upper Darby, Pa., and
Thomas Kennedy, son of Thomas J. and Helen W. Kennedy,
of Altoona, Pa. They are living at 601Morton Avenue, Rid
ley Park, Pa.
DEATHS
MOORE—On Tenth month 25th, at his home in Woods-
town, N. J., C. French Moore, after a brief illness. He was
a member of Woodstown Monthly Meeting where he took an
active interest in all its affairs. For many years he was a
member of the Ministry and Counsel and a Trustee of the
Meeting and president of the Board of Managers of Friends
Boarding Home.
He is survived by two sons, Edwin and Charles Moore,
and a daughter, Alice Moore Myers; one brother and one
sister and a host of friends who will greatly miss him.
UNDERHXLL—On Tenth month 17th, at Jericho, Loi^
Island, Emma Albertson Underbill, in her 85th year. She
was the daughter of the late Richard and Phebe W. Albert-
son and widow of the late Samuel J. Underbill. She was an
interested member of Jericho Monthly Meeting and had re
sided at Jericho for sixty-five years. She is survived by her
son, Daniel Underbill, and her grandsons,. Henry Willets
Underbill and Samuel J. Underbill.
WRIGHT—On Tenth month 19th, at her home in Spring-
boro, Ohio, Mary Wright, aged 82 years. She was the
daughtCT of the late Josiah and Emily Wright. She died
in the old homestead where she was born, and interinent was
made in Friends burying ground at Springboro. She was a
member of Miflmi Monthly Meeting of Friends.
HANNAH J. PIERCE
On Tenth month 27th, this beloved friend and counsellor,
who would have reached the age of four-score years and
ten next First month, was called from our midst.
As the result of a stroke, which occurred nine and one-
half years ago, leaving her unable to speak and the entire
right side paralyzed, she has been confined to her room,
but always retained an interest in life.
Naturally there is a sense of loss, but to those of us.
of the Chappaqua Meeting who knew and loved her, there
should be comfort in the thought that as the days pass if
we will each take a part of that part of her which we ad
mired, into our lives and endeavor to cultivate her cheer
fulness, faitiifulness and love for humanity, and strive to
take an interest in," and do the things she would have done,
Aunt Hannah will still live on.
The last time that she attended meeting was on Fourth
month 8th, 1928, when she gave the following- message
from Henry Van Dyke's book "The Friendly Year":
*'And is not the best of all our hopes—the hope of im
mortality—always before us? How can we be dull or heavy
. ;
s
>*.1 W
in'k
I'hS-
m
3)/e. /)iioa) uj(^i<?HT
miEND'S-INTELLIQENOmAND JOVRNAL. •
; entered support and adherence
' 'ofthose.whose.religio'^ thought it represents.
, Weare ^ proposal to havethe
**Tolnme'"end and begin evenly with the calendar
year, Is very satisfactory to our subscribers generally.
So fhrwe have heard from none who disapprove it,
'yhilemany have written toexpress theirapproval.
•: Our friend Jesse H. Griffen, of Underbill, New
- ^prk, has sent us a very elaborate essay on " the
;|^f08€nfc Needsof the TemperanceReform, and Its Re
lation to our Republican Government." Its length is
-inuch more considerable than we are ordinarily will
ing to print, but his explanation of his exercise in its
preparation, and his strong desire to have it laid be-
'" *2 fo''® C"*" readers in some way, haveinduced us to un-
a dertake to make a place for it, in four parts, the first
-• (Ijjj ViJpne being given in the present issue. As he states
^ ideas and presents hisarguments very clearly, we
f ^ ^trust that we shall be considered as having given a
® ' • proper hearing to the view of the Temperance ques-
" represented by his essay. So many subjects
press upon us, while the demand for variety in the
C paper isso general and so reasonable, that we are
g- ^ obliged to exercise discrimination in assigning space
\ GILL.—Twelfth month 20th, at the residence of her
n^ephew, John Borton> Woodstown, N. J., SarahAnnGill,of
Philadelphia. .
LIPPINCOTT.—At Marlton, N. J., Twelfth month 22d,
1885, William C. Lippincott, in his 72dyear.
MORRIS.—At Germantown, Pa., Twelfth month 23d,
1885, Joshua H. Morris, iu.his 64thyear; eldest son of the
late Anthony P. and Anno Morris.
RICHARDS.—In Philadelphia, Twelfth month 23d,
Lizzie, wife of Samnel-R. Richards.
ROBERTS.—Twelfth month 23d, 1885, Elihu Roberta,
aged 72, brother-in-lww of the late David Pettit.
WORRELL.—In Philadelphia, suddenly. Twelfthmonth
27th, 1885, LewisL. Worrell, in his 77th year.
WEIGHT.—Twelfth month 15th, at his residence, 73
Remsen street, Brooklyn, Aaron Wright, M. D., aged 75
years. *
He was.tbe sonof Jonathanand Mary Wright, and was
bom at Monallen, Adams county, Pennsylvania, Ninth
month 30tb, 1810. The family moved when he was four
years of age to Springboro,Warren couuty, Ohio. He was
a graduate of the medical/iepartment of Yale Collegein
1836, and practicedhis profession a fewyears at Richmond,
Indiana, and at Springfield, Ohio. He went to New York
city in 1839, and marriedMary, daughter of Amos Willets
in1840. After practicing seventeen years in New York, he
returned to Springboro, Ohio, in 1857. He changed his res
idence to Brooklyn in 1880, wherehepassed the remaining
years of his life.
lb fof each. SCRIPTURE LESSON.
FiRfiT MO. 3d. No. 1.
JOSIAH AND THE BOOK OF THE LAW.
READ2dKInga, 22d chapter, verses1to13. GoldenText: "Hedid
that which was right in the sight of the Lord."—
2d Kings, 22d chapter, Ist verse.
WE take again the thread of Jewish history. Ma-
iiasseh.who succeeded Hezekiah, turned away from
the reforms instituted by his father and gave himself
up to the vices and idolatries that had brought so
much evil upon the nation. He is charged with the
death of the noble and inspired prophet Isaiah, who
after he had lived beyond a hundred years was mar
tyred by being sawed in two. Thomas Ellwood Bays,
that " not improbably the author of the Hebrews
might refer to this when hewrites: 'Tbey weresawn
asunder.'"
The iniquities of Manasseh were very great, and his
overthrow came suddenly, as did that of his son Amon
who succeeded him,—rhling about two years. After
his death, which was by violence his son Josiah,
a child of eight years, was proclaimed king. At this
early ^e the power and authority of the kingdom
must rest upon the counselors and guardians of the
young king, and well for him as it was for the nation,
these were wise and god-fearing. The name of Jo-
siah's mother is handed down in connection with his
own as showing she was worthy of being remem
bered—her name Jedidah meaning " one beloved."
Huldah, the prophetess, lived at this time, and was
often consulted in the affairs of the nation. Jeremiah
and Zephaniah were the prophets, and Hilkiah, a de
vout man, was the high priest.
Under such good influences Josiah grew to man
hood a zealous defender of the worship of Jehovah,
MARRIAGES.
EASTBUEN—PUGH.—At the residence of the bride's
fether, in Doylestown, Pa.,Twelfth month23d, 1885, Hngh
R Eastbum, of Solebury, andSophia, daughter of John B.
. Pugh.*
. . GAAB—MATTHEWS.—Twelfth month 24th, 1885, at
the residence of the bride's parents,by Friends' ceremony,
Swnnel.W., son of Abram and Agnes Gaar, and Mary E.,
;^ughter of Edward B. and Rachel M. Matthews, all of
Richmond, Indiaha.
!'• —FOUNTAIN.—With the approbation of
r Third Haven Monthly Meeting, on Twelfth month 24th,
1885, Edmnnd E. Hatton, youngest sonof Robert and Su-
unna E. Hatton, and Alvertia Fountain, daughter of the
late John &and Mary Fountain, ofTalbot county, Md.
8PEAKMAN—WALTER.—At the residence of the
bride s parents^ in Media, on Twelfth month 24th, accord-
.pg tothe order of theSociety of Friends, underthe care
of .Chester Monthly Meeting, Thomas H. Speakman and
Anna M. Walter.
' DEATHS.
BARNES.—Twelfth month 18th, inPhiladelphia, atthe
son-in-law, Allen Hibbcrd, D. F. Barnes.
la hia 58th year.
tfe fn Newtown township, Bucks county.
Twelfth month 21st, 1885, Samuel Buckman, in the
"t year of his age; a member ofMakefield Monthly Meet-
•n»« smce Its first establishment ml818.
on the morning of Twelfth
bio memb ' Comly, inhis 48th year; a valua-
- ^ Meeting, Pa.
L^ia Newport, R. I.',
Lydia Ann Gould, inher78th year. ** ' '
. -v-V. -J- 1.V--
} ' \
%V' •
,V,
- «
GENERATION I
JOEL WRIGHT (1750-1829) MARRIED ELIZABETH FARQUHAR(1748-1805) BOTH BURIED
SPRINGBORO FRIENDS CEMETERY
GENERATION II
ANN WRIGHT MARRIED JOSEPH ELGAR, JR.
ALLEN WRIGHT MARRIED PHEBE HESTON
ELIZABETH WRIGHT MARRIED SAMUEL POULTNEY
RACHEL WRIGHT MARRIED JOSEPH HIBBERD
JONATHAN WRIGHT MARRIED MARY BATEMAN
ISRAEL WRIGHT MARRIED LEAH FERREE
GENERATION II
ISRAEL WRIGHT (1785-1816) MARRIED LEAHFERREE; D/0 ISAAC
ISRAEL BURIED FRIENDS CEMETERY, WAYNESVILLE
GENERATION III
ISAAC F. WRIGHT MARRIED ANN CHARTERS; LEFT NO FAMILY
OSCAR J. WRIGHT (1809-1882) MARRIED 1835 SUSAN SATTERTHWAITE (1812-1850)
GENERATION IV
ELIZAJANE WRIGHTMARRIEDJOHNJ. MAYERS(CHILDREN; SUSAN; LIDA; HORACE;
MARIANNA; MARGARET
MARYLEAH WRIGHTMARRIEDJOSEPH WILSONEDWARDS(CHILDREN; ALICE; OSCAR;
SARAH T.; MARGARET W.)
GENERATION V
OSCAR EDWARDS MARRIED OLIVE SIDES
GENERATION VI
JOHN EDWARDS MARRIED DONNA HAWKE
WARREN EDWARDS, DIED OF FLU DURING WWI
HERBERT EDWARDS MARRIED FRANCES WATKJNS
ISRAEL WRIGHT MARRIED LYDIAMcGURLEY (CHILDREN; LEAHF.; HORACE M.; ANGELINA
W.; SUSAN L.)
MARGARETA, WRIGHTMARRIEDJOHNH. STEDDOM(CHILDREN; RUTH; SUSAN)
SUSANE. WRIGHTMARRIEDJOSEPHHAINES(CHILDREN;RAMONA)
JOHNS. WRIGHTMARRIEDAGNES WILLIAMSON( CHILDREN; SUSANH."SUSIE" MARRIED
WILLIAM S. SCANLON - "FALLIS PAYNE WAS AGNES WILLIAMSON'S GRANDSON")
Vol. 56, pg 287, Ohio History Page 1 of 2
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JOEL WRIGHT, CITY PLANNER
by ALFRED J. WRIGHT
Associate Professor ofGeography, Ohio Stale University
The original plan for Columbus, "laid off by order ofthe Gen
eral Assembly for the seat of Government for the State of Ohio,"
was prepared by Joel Wright of Warren County. This was in
1812, fifteen years after the founding of Franklinton whose sesqui-
ccntennial Columbus is celebrating in 1947. Events of this year
cause us to turn attention to this Warren County citizen who was
called out of retirement to plan the new state capital.
THE PIONEER
Joel Wright's career as a surveyor coincides with the pioneer
period of Ohio history. He made surveys in the Ohio Country the
year following the enactment ofthe famed Ordinance of 1787. As
a Marylander, he heard about the conflict in claims upon the
Northwest Territory by certain eastern states; Maryland had no
such claim upon this land.
English forces were still in control of Detroit when Wright
first camped with his chainmen in the unbroken forest of what is
now Ohio. Thomas Hutchins, first Geographer of the United
States, had established his "Geographer's Line" with its western
meridian as the base for all future surveys. Competent surveyors
were needed to bring order and form out of the wilderness. With
theodolite, compass, chain, ax, and notebook these pioneer survey
ors for the first time used the rectangular system of survey in lay
ing out the foundations of the newState. Wright was one ofthese
pioneers.
On his surveying trips to the Ohio Country, Wright visited
the first territorial capital at Marietta, the second state capital at
Zanesville, and from the third state capital at Chillicothe (which
had been also the first) received authority to lay out the fourth and
final seat of state government at Columbus. By that time he had
287
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288 OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
made surveys in the larger valleys in southern Ohio, had purchased
land in the Little Miami Valley, and had lived in the State of his
adoptionfor sevenyears. It was no stranger to Ohio that the As
sembly commissioned to plat the new capital in 1812.
FOREBEARS
John Wright and Elizabeth, his wife, were members of a
group of the Society of Friends (Quakers) who migrated to
northern Ireland from England, doubtless to escape the persecu
tion often visited upon members of that faith at the time. They
sailed from Castleshane for Philadelphia sometime between 1737
and 1740. The year 1746 found this family living in Menallen,
not far irom Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. There their youngest
child, Joel, was bom in 1750.
Aron Wright Chapmanhas written concerning the youthof
Joel Wright.' Hestates thatJohn Wright and his children are
frequently mentionedin the recordsofthe Warrington Monthly
Meetingto whichMenallenwas attached. WhereJoel obtainedhis
formal education is not known, but it is evident that he was well
educated for his time. He was proficient in mathematics and be
came an excellent surveyor. He also taught school upon occasion,
bothas a young man in Pennsylvaniaand after his retirementin
Warren County.
After the manner of Friends, Joel Wright secured certificates
from his local Meeting whenever he made an extended stay in
otherpartsof the country. In 1767 he secured one for the Fair
fax Meeting, Pipe Creek, Maryland, and later one for Philadel
phia. In 1771 he returned to PipeCreekwhere he wasmarried
the next year to Elizabeth Farquhar of that place. During the fol
lowing25 years they lived at Pipe Creek, with Joel often awayon
longtrips following his profession. Of the three boys and three
girls bomto this family, the descendants ofone son, Jonathan, are
nowliving. Despitehis frequentabsences, Joel was activein the
affairsof the Meeting; from1794to 1798he was clerk or business
head. ElizabethWright died in 1805, andthe next year Joe!
Wright bought a large tract of landinOhiowhere hemade his
home the remaining 24 years of his life.
1 In his Aron and Mary Wri^t (New York, 1942).
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JOEL WRIGHT
TRIPS TO OHIO
289
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His first contact with Ohio was probably in 1788, when he
made his first trip intothe Muskingum Valley. The Ordinanceof
1787 had been enacted to provide government for the Northwest
Territory, andeasternand southernpeople were beginningto move
into the fertile lands north of the Ohio River. Just how many
tripshemadehereis not known, but his papers showthat he made
surveys in the Muskingum, Scioto, Little Miami, and Great Miami
valleys. In 1798 he was appointed by the Baltimore Yearly Meet
ingto leada small partyto northernOhio to arrangesome dis
putedmatter withthe WyandotIndians. Chapman, in writing
of this, says that Wright kept a diaryon this trip. The party
reached the Ohio River twenty days out of Baltimore.
Six days laterthey encampednear a Moravian Missionwhere
the services of an Indian guide, Joseph White-eyes, were secured
to lead them to Upper Sandusky for the conference with the
Indians.
On the return journey Wright became, ill, and the route was
changedso as to permit usinga boat down the Sciotoand up the
Ohio River. When, in 1806, he requested a certificate to the Miami
Monthly Meetingat Waynesville, WarrenCounty, it was not as a
strangercometo take up land in an unknowncountry. His previ
ous visits to Ohio had convinced him that the land between the
Miami rivers was the most favorable. In the summer of 1806 he
andAbijah O'Neal bought a tract ofabout 1,000acres in the Little
MiamiValleynear Waynesville, paying$1,500for the land.
For seven years he was active in surveyingand sellingparcels
of his tract. During this period he became Warren County sur
veyor, andthere remaintoday manyof his farmsurveys written
in the fine hand observabie on the plat of Columbus reproduced
here. In 1814 Wright's son Jonathan brought his wife and
younger childrenfromMarylandto make their home in the Miami
Valley. His older childrenhad alreadymarriedand established
homes oftheir own in the East; hence two branches of Jonathan's
family developedbecauseof geographical reasons.
Jonathanbought several hundredacres of landa fewmiles
west of his father's tract, about midway between the Great and
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290 OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Little Miami rivers at a point where many immigrant wagons were
crossing the fertile valley. Like his father, Jonathan was a
competent surveyor and platted the village of Springboro near one
comer of his tract. This was for many years an active Quaker
community. At the age of 64, Wright bought landnear his son,
married an older sister of Jonathan's wife, and for the next fifteen
years lived in serai-retirement, occasionallysurveyingfor his
neighbors and the county.
CITY PLANNING
Familylettersof the early 1800'sreveal that Wright was away
from home on different occasions in order to help survey and plat
Louisville, Dayton,and Columbus. Chapmanspeaksof a remark
Wright made to the effect that Dayton'sMain Street must be wide
enough fora coach-and-four to turnaroundeasily. Thewriterhas
not pressed this investigation farenoughto locate the original
platting he did for Louisville or Dayton, but hehasencountered
some recordof Wright'ssurveyof 2,000acres of landnear the
Falls ofthe Ohio in June 1818.
There is no lack of record conceming another ofthe commis
sionswhich Wright acceptedafter his removal to the Miami Val
ley. Byjoint resolution February 20, 1812, of bothhousesof the
General Assembly sitting in Chillicothe he was authorizedto plat
thestate capital.^ Under him was anengineer named Joseph Vance
of Franklin County who ran the lines, but the legislative enactment
shows that Wright's wasthe masterhand; he decided the width
of the streets and alleys andthe boundaries of the original munic
ipality. Heselected thesquare for thepublic buildings andthe
lot for the penitentiary. The Assemblygave himauthorityto cut
anddispose of such timberas wasnecessary; for thistask, he
secured the services of Jarvis Pike to clear the State House square
and enclose it in a stake-and-rider fence. Pike raised com and
wheat on the lot for several years in return for his work.
The accompanying reproduction of a copyof Wright'sorig
inal platof Columbus shows thathislocation of theState House
2"Resolved by theGeneral Assembly of thestate ofOhiothat Joel Wright of
Warren county beand heishereby appointed director agreeably totheprovisions oftbe
act entitled 'an act fixingand establishingthe permanent and temporary seats of govern-
ment'" LawsofOhio. X loz
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square remains, but a second penitentiary has been built several
squares north of the original site. The broad strip of land without
lots east of the State House square was reserved for sale by the
proprietors3 who had undertaken to furnish the land and buildings
to the State. Most of the original street names remain. On the
low-lying land bordering the Scioto River just belowthe con
fluence of the Whetstone (Olentangy), there were no reserva
tions made at the time of the original platting.
As required by law, Wright filed a report with the General
Assembly late in 1812, describing the progress ofhis work. In
closing he called attention to the fact that no provision had been
made for his compensation, and suggested that such provision be
made as the General Assembly deemed fair. In 1813 it was pro
vided that Joel Wright, director of the town of Columbus, be
paid $503 for expenditures and services rendered.'* In view ofthe
progress made, he suggested that another be selected to super
intend the work he had thus far advanced, and that he be allowed
to retire. William Ludlow was appointed the second director of
the town of Columbus in February 1815;5 Wright returned to his
family in Springboro.
SPRINGBORO
The Springboro community is testimony in many ways to the
character of Wright and his neighbors. Every deed to land sold
by Wrightor his son containeda clause forbidding the sale or
manufacture of alcoholic beverages for a period oftwenty years.
This was a real sacrifice to be asked of farmers in the West. It
was beforethe days of railroadsand commercial meat-packing;
farmers turned to stills as an outlet for surplus com. The Wrights,
father and son, were reportedly the fu-st to hire harvest hands
without a rationof liquor; despitethis their higher wage attracted
ail ofthe help needed.
It was predominantly a Quaker community, and many of
the inhabitants must have shared these principles. Althou^ it
had a populationof no more than 350, the community supported
3 Alexander McLaughlin, John Kerr, Lyne Starling, and James Johnston.
4 Lavs of Ohio, XI, 165.
Sl^Sf^Ohio. XtII.335.
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The Scholarly Journal of the Ohio Historical Society
Volume 56
JOEL WRIGHT 293
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a public library and a debating society or "mock.legislature," and
even raised $70,000 with which to establish Miami Valley College.
Situated on an important east-west highway along which went
countless covered wagons headed for new lands of the Mississippi
Valley, there was reason for some rowdyand occasionally lawless
elements in pioneer towns. Springboro seems to have been an ex
ception. In 1829 the Miami and Erie Canal came through Frank
lin four miles west of the village; in the late 1830's the railroad
came through Waynesville, eight miles to the east Springboro
laybetweenthese vital routes. Inevitably the village lost vigor,
andthe gentilityof its earlier years did not endure until the
twentieth century. But Wright did not live to see its comparative
decline.
Throughouthis longlife he remainedan active memberof
the Society of Friends. Until he died in 1829, he wore the dress
of the Revolutionary period, long surtout with flap pockets, long
waistcoat and knee breeches, and low shoes trimmed with silver
buckles. The final Quaker touch was a broad-brimmed beaver hat.
No portrait remainsof this pioneer surveyor. Throughout his
lifetime he would have none made, feeling, as did many others
amongthe Quakers, that it was "unseemly."
In 1825Wright was prevailedupon by his son to make a
copyof the Columbus plat he hadprepared as director of Colum
bus. He made the 160-mile round trip to Columbus on horseback
through what was mostly unbroken forest He was then 75 years
of age. This copyhe gave to his son Jonathan, and in 1870it
was given to his great-grandson Jesse Wright Earlyin the
present centuryit was borrowed bythe OhioStateArchaeological
and Historical Society for a special exhibition in Columbus.
Laterthis copy was loaned to the OhioState Library for exhibiL
officials of the State being unable to find their original plat. A
fire inthe State House in 1852 may have desU-oyed it along with
other state records.
The copy was once offered by Jesse Wright to a younger
great-grandson of Joel, Dr. Jonathan Wright of Pleasantville,
NewYork; he did not accept iLsayingthat in his opinion it be
longed inOhio. In 1923 the Director of theNewYoric Public
PRl'VIOUSPAGl':
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294 OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Libraiy borrowed this copy for the purpose of photographing it
for inclusion in the Library's Map Room; the copy was then re
turned to Jesse Wright in Springboro. Charles E. Wright, Di
rector of the CarnegieLibrary, Duquesne, Pennsylvania, probably
received this copy at the death of his father in 1928. It is thought
that the copy was lost when Charles Wright's residence was com
pletelydestroyedby fire in the early 1940's. The only known
copy ofJoel Wright's plat of Columbus is, therefore, the photo-
gr^hic copy in theNew YorkPublic Library. Fortunately the
surveying instruments Joel Wright used during the years he sur
veyed in Ohio have come into the possession of the Ohio State
Archaeological and Historical Society, the gift of his descendants.
l!EF;y]OL]SJ'ACiL.
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SOURCE: W. H. BEERS; HISTORYOF WARRENCOUNTY, OHIO, PAGE 887
FRANCISA. WILLIAMSON, M.D., DECEASED, LATE OF WAYNESVILLEWAS BORNNOVEM
BER14,1812 AT MANNEY'S NECK, N.C. NEARTHELINEOF VIRGINIA; WASASONOF
FRANCIS &ELIZABETH(WARREL) WILLIAMSON, NATIVES OFVIRGINIA, HISANCESTORS
BEING OF SCOTCH DESCENT. MR. WILLIAMSON WAS POSSESSED OF A LARGE ESTATE
WHICH WAS LOCATED PARTLY IN VIRGINIA AND PARTLY IN NORTH CAROLINA BEING AT
ONE TIME A LARGE SLAVE OWNER AND WAS A VERY PROMINENT MAN OF THAT STATE -
A MAN OF GOOD EDUCATION AND HIGH INTELLECTUAL ATTAINMENTS, A DEVOTED
CHRISTIAN GENTLEMAN AND A MINISTER IN THE CHRISTIAN DENOMINATION FOR TWEN
TY YEARS;A LIBERAL THINKERANDPROGRESSIONIST, FARAHEADOF MOSTOF HIS
CONTEMPORARIES OF THAT DAY AND CONVINCED OF THE EVIL OF SLAVERY, HE LIBER
ATED HIS SLAVES. HE WAS THE FATHER OF SIX CHILDREN, THREE NOW SURVIVE - ELI
JAH, JAMESANDMARY, NOWMRS. BRYANT RESIDING INVIRGINIA. OURSUBJECT AT
QUITE ANEARLY AGEWAS SENTTOSCHOOL ANDACQUIRED AGOOD EDUCATION UN
DER THE INSTRUCTION OF THE TEACHERS OF MURFREESBORO N.C. HE EARLY ACQUIRED
A TASTE FOR LITERATURE AND ABOUT 1832 TAUGHT A CLASSICAL SCHOOL IN HANOVER,
VIRGINIA, AFTER WHICHHE READMEDICINE WITHDR. TREZVANTOF JERUSALEM, VA.
THENCE ATTENDED TWO COURSES OF LECTURES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYL
VANIA AT PHILADELPHIA AND THENCE TWO COURSES AT CINCINNATI AND RECEIVED
HIS DEGREE OF M.D. IN 1845. IN 1837-r838 HE TRAVELED OVER THE WESTERN STATES
LECTURING ON ONE OF HIS FAVORITE THEMES, PHRENOLOGY. HE VISITED JAILS, ASY
LUMSANDPENITENTIARIES, TRAVELINGOVERTWENTYSTATES OF THE UNIONAND
OCCASIONALLY DELIVERING LECTURES BEFORE LITERARY INSTITUTIONS. IN DECEM
BER 1839 WAS CELEBRATED HIS UNION WITH MISS MIRIAM PIERCE WHO WAS BORN IN
WILMINGTON, OHIO IN1822. SHE WAS THE DAUGHTEROFRICHARD AND MARY (FALLIS)
PIERCE, HEANATIVE OFWILMINGTON, DELAWARE ANDSHEOFVIRGINIA. THEGREAT-
GREATGRANDMOTHER, MIRIAMPIERCEWASA PHYSICIAN ANDNURSEINTHEREVOLU
TIONARY WARFOR WHICH SERVICES SHE RECEIVED $700 PER YEAR. THE ANCESTORS OF
THE FALLIS FAMILY WERE OF ENGLISHDESCENT AND BECAME EARLY SETTLERS OF
VIRGINIA AND WERE THE MOST PROMINENT FAMILIES OF THE STATE. JOHN FALLIS, THE
FATHER OF MARY BECAME VERY WEALTHY OWNING LARGE TRACTS OF LAND IN PENN
SYLVANIA AND LATER IN LIFE HE OWNED 3000 ACRES OF LAND IN CLINTON COUNTY,
omo. DR. WILLIAMSON AND WIFE BY THEIRUNION HAD SIX CHILDREN; FOURNOW
SURVIVE. MARY, NOWCADWALLADER; AGNES E., FRANKF. ANDCHARLESG. THE
DOCTOR WAS A SUCCESSFUL PRACTITIONEROF MEDICINE AND SURGERY FOR FORTY
YEARS. IN 1862 HE ENTERED INTO THE EXCITING ARENA OF THE WARAS A SURGEON
AND SHORTLY WAS BY DR. ROSENCRANS PROMOTED TO A SURGEON ON HIS OWN STAFF.
HE WAS PASSIONATELY DEVOTED TO HIS PROFESSION AND TO THE VERY LAST A CLOSE
STUDENT EVER KEEPING PACE WITHTHE ONWARD MARCHOF SCIENCE AND THE UNRE-
STRAINABLE PROGRESS OF EVENTS. AFTER THE WAR, HE SETTLED DOWN TO THE PRAC
TICE OF HIS PROFESSION AT HIS CHOSEN HOME LEADING A SCHOLASTIC AND DOMESTIC
LIFE SUITED TO HIS NATURE FOND OF HOME, FAMILY, FRIENDS AND BOOKS AND IN
THEIR ENJOYMENT HE PASSED THE EARLY EVENING OF HIS LIFE WHICH ENDED IN THE
NIGHT OF OLD AGE AND INFIRMITY DARKENED DOWN UPON HIM. HE DIED OF PARALY
SISJULY 15, 1878. HIS WIDOW, MRS. WILLIAMSON ISVERY PLEASANTLY SITUATED HAV
ING A BEAUTIFUL HOME AND RESIDENCE WITH THE SOCIETY OF A LOVING DAUGHTER
AND SON. SHE WAS A FAITHFUL AND DEVOTED WIFE AND UPON WHOM THE DOCTOR
RELIEDTO A GREAT EXTENT FORHIS IMPULSES OF STRENGTHINHIS LATERYEARS. SHE
WAS ALSOA PHYSICIANOF THIRTYYEARS PRACTICE OR MORE AND HAS ANOTED REPU
TATIONOVERA LARGEEXTENT OF COUNTRYFORHERMAGNETICPOWERSAND SKILLIN
THETREATMENT OF DISEASE, HERFIELDOF PRACTICE REACHING TOTHELARGE CITIES
OFDAYTON, CINCINNATI, RICHMOND, CHICAGO ANDOTHERS.