Emmor Baily, Jr.

The Baily home on Old Stage Road

Emor Baily, Esq. (1809-1879), a well respected citizen of Waynesville, died at the age of 70. During his life he had been mayor of Waynesville, Justice of the Peace, School Director and President of The Waynesville & Wilmington Turnpike Company. His funeral took place on February 28th at the White Brick Meetinghouse. The brilliant Quaker minister and orator, Dr. James Wilkins Haines, rose to testify to Emmor Baily’s character and his clear, direct and simple Christian faith. Not only Hicksite Friends but also a large gathering of villagers filed past his open casket in the meetinghouse to pay their last respects (see, Miami-Gazette weekly newspaper, February 26th, 1879 and March 5th, 1879). He was buried in Miami Cemetery in Corwin. Emmor Baily and his wife Mary Satterthwaite (1817-1907) and a number of his children are buried at Miami Cemetery, Section F.

1 EMMOR BAILY, JR. b: 27 JUN 1807 d: 24 FEB 1879

+ MARY SATTERTHWAITE b: 29 JUN 1817

2 ELIZABETH BAILY b: 22 AUG 1841

2 ANN BAILY b: 1 MAR 1844

2 SUSAN BAILY b: 19 MAR 1846 d: 15 OCT 1892

2 PHEBE BAILY b: 8 SEP 1849

2 EMMOR S. BAILY b: 16 AUG 1853

2 GEORGE S. BAILY b: 5 JUN 1858

This was a family that believed in equal education for both its male and female children. His youngest son, George S. Baily, who had attended the Ohio Agricultural College in Columbus, was a teacher at Miami Valley College in Springboro. Emmor's daughter, Phoebe, who taught in Union School (public school) in Waynesville, also was a tutor at Miami Valley College.

It was reported in the Miami-Gazette on October 14th, 1874 that Miss Phoebe Baily Sherwood(1849-1916) became a tutor at Miami Valley College. She must have roomed at the school because on May 12th, 1875, the newspaper reported that Phoebe had come home for a visit from Miami Valley College. Her involvement with Miami Valley College is mentioned in her obituary found in the Miami-Gazette:

Phebe Baily, daughter of Emmor and Mary Baily, was born at Waynesville, Ohio, September 8th, 1849, and grew to womanhood in her native town. For several years she taught in Waynesville School, after which she attended Antioch College. She again taught at Friend’s Academy, Falsington, Pa., and also at Miami Valley College, Springboro, Ohio. On March 18th, 1878, she married Dr. Thomas Sherwood and moved with him to Wilton, Iowa. There she became the mother of two sons, Frederick Baily and Laurence Thomas. At Wilton the intellectual attainments of Mrs. Sherwood were again recognized. Her assistance was so urgently requested by the directors of Wilton Academy that, against both her own and her husband’s wishes, she taught for a time in that institution. In 1897 Mrs. Sherwood returned with her husband and sons to Waynesville, her former home, where she resided for the remainder of her life . . .”

Wilmington College ~ Wilmington, Ohio

Wilmington Yearly Meeting in 1909
Wilmington College
(Original photograph ~ Harveysburg Historical Society)

On August 11th, 1870, Orthodox Friend’s purchased Franklin College in Wilmington, the county seat of Clinton County, Ohio, which had been established by the Christian Church in 1868. Unable to raise the needed money to continue they had put it up for sale. The name was changed to Wilmington College. Many Friends, both Orthodox and Hicksite, who could afford it, had sent their children to another early Quaker college established by Indiana Yearly Meeting (Orthodox), Earlham College, in Richmond, Indiana, situated along the National Road, which began as a boarding school in 1847. Now there would be two Orthodox Quaker institutions of higher learning in the immediate area.

On August 17, 1870 the Miami-Gazette newspaper of Waynesville, Ohio published the following article:

FRANKLIN COLLEGE PURCHASED BY THE FRIENDS. On Monday afternoon the Franklin college Building and grounds were offered for sale at public auction by the Sheriff of Clinton County at the door of the Court House. General A. W. Doan, on behalf of the Society of Friends, made the only bid that was offered, two thirds of the appraised value, and it was knocked down to him at $11,333.33. Committees representing the quarterlies of Miami, Fairfield and Center were present and witnessed the sale and purchase. The Friends have certainly secured a great bargain in this purchase, as there are fifteen acres of desirable grounds attached, and the building in its present unfinished state could not have cost less than $25,000. The several committees above referred to are to meet here again on the day of the Sabbath School celebration and determine upon an immediate course of procedure, looking to the completion of the edifice and preparing it for the purpose intended by the purchase. The ample grounds are also sufficient for a Yearly Meetinghouse, and this purchase will be the great preliminary move toward securing that desirable branch of the Friends’ Annual Assemblage at Wilmington.

Hicksite Quakers would also establish a college in Springboro, Ohio in January 1871, Miami Valley Institute, later renamed Miami Valley College. It, however, would not survive beyond 12 years.

Wilmington College is also the official repository for Ohio Valley Yearly Meeting (FGC) and Wilmington Yearly Meeting (FUM) and all their subordinate meetings. The Quaker Archive at Wilmington is located in Watson Library.

The new Boyd Cultural Center and the Quaker Heritage Center at Wilmington College will open in September.

The Oscar F. Boyd Cultural Arts Center

The Meriam R. Hare Quaker Heritage Center

• Friday, September 23, 2005: There will be an Open House for Oscar F. Boyd Cultural Arts Center, including the Meriam Hare Quaker Heritage Center, 8-10 p.m.
• Sunday, September 25, 2005: Opening of the Meriam Hare Quaker Heritage Center and dedication of the Meeting House. Dedication, 1:30 p.m., and reception/tour of the Oscar F. Boyd Cultural Arts Center, 3 p.m.

See,
Wilmington College, http://www.wilmington.edu/wchome.htm

Campus Friends Meeting, Campus Monthly Meeting ~ Wilmington College

Old Fairfield Meetinghouse ~Highland County, Ohio

Above: Old photogrph of Fairfield Friends Meeting

Built in1822-23. Remodeled of the 1890s.
Photograph above taken in 1982.

Old Fairfield Meetinghouse

Highland County, Ohio
(Between New Vienna and Leesburg, Ohio)

Fairfield Monthly Meetinghouse is located near Leesburg, Ohio (Highland Coutny). Fairfield Monthly Meeting was set off from Miami Monthly Meeting in Waynesville by authority of Redstone Quarterly Meeting, Pa.

SUPERIOR MEETINGS:

Redstone Quarterly Meeting until 1809/03/06
Miami Quarterly Meeting 1809/05/13-1814/11/12
Fairfield Quarterly Meeting after 1815/02/04

ESTABLISHED:

Voluntary 1803
Indulged Meeting of Miami Monthly Meeting 1804/05/10
Meeting for Worship, Preparative & Monthly Meeting 1807/09/07
Preparative set off as Leesburg Monthly Meeting 1916/07/29
Fairfield Monthly Meeting continued only at Highland after 1920/07/31 when Oak
Grove laid down (name changed to Highland 1961)

STATUS: Highland Monthly Meeting ~ Active

See, Tom Hill's "Monthly Meetings in North America: A Quaker Index":

http://www.quakermeetings.com/viewRecord_display?anID=TST691L, and,

http://www.quakermeetings.com/viewRecord_display?anID=TST906L

Caesar's Creek Monthly Meeting ~ New Burlington Road

Caesar's Creek Monthly Meetinghouse before
it was moved to Caesar's Creek Pioneer Village:
http://www.caesarscreekvillage.org/. Below: the
meetinghouse raised and ready to be moved.

Below, the Caesar's Creek Meetinghouse now
at Pioneer Village.

Below: The Quaker graveyard at Caesar's Creek

Caesar's Creek Monthly Meeting

An Indulged Meeting for Worship was established by Miami Monthly Meeting for Friends on Caesars Creek on 10th mo. 10th 1805. It was located 7 miles northeast of Waynesville, Ohio. The meeting was also about the same distance from Harveysburg before Caesar's Creek Lake was developed.

The founders and most of the original members of the Caesar’s Creek Monthly Meeting migrated from Cane Creek Monthly Meeting, South Carolina to the Northwest territory to escape the evils of slavery. In effect, the entire Cane Creek Meeting transplanted itself in southwestern Ohio along winding and beautiful Caesar’s Creek near Waynesville, Ohio. The meetinghouse and large graveyard was situated on the west bluff overlooking the valley of Caesar's Creek.

The meetinghouse was moved to Caesar's Creek Pioneer Village when the lake was filled. The cemetery is still in the same location.

For more information about this meeting see:

Tom Hill's "Monthly Meetings in North America: A Quaker Index":

http://www.quakermeetings.com/viewRecord_display?anID=TST365L, and,

Cemetery Listing for Caesar's Creek Cemetery (Warren County Genealogy Society):

http://www.co.warren.oh.us/genealogy/cem/CaesarsCreek.htm

Also, see map: Map of Quaker Meetinghouses

Caesar's Creek Monthly Meeting on its original site and a photograph of the interior before it was remodeled in 1905:

The old interior was of the classic Quaker design:
a dividing screen between men and women & facing benches.

The Underground Railroad in Selma, Ohio

(Taken from History of Clark County, Ohio
(Chicago: W. H. Beers & Co, 1881) ,pp. 767-768)

"As early as 1830, the agitation of the subject of human slavery stirred up the people of Selma. Parts of the Quaker and Methodist Churches of the village were particularly bitter in their opposition to any measure that tended to favor the peculiar institution of the States of the South. This sentiment grew in strength and bitterness as years increased, until both the Methodist Episcopal and the Hicksite Quaker churches suffered disruption on its account. But the extremists never faltered. They were not outlaws; but they recognized no human law which made them tools to capture and carry back to bondage the fugitive human chattel of an inhuman master. For many years they labored and suffered for those in bonds, as bound with them. For many years they bowed in Christian love before God, and prayed for an oppressed people. With an unwavering faith and a tireless energy, they worked in fraternal union for the freedom and enfranchisement of their despised colored brethren, and shared together the odium attached to the name of Abolitionist, and , though many of them died before the dawning of the day of jubilee, they left to their descendants a legacy of daring devotion to a cause which redeemed the land from the curse of slavery, though with the atoning blood of many a battlefield.

For many years preceding the outbreak of the rebellion of 1861, Selma was known as a station of the underground railroad. This fact was nearly as well known in Kentucky and Canada as in Ohio Slaves escaping from their masters in Kentucky were, by a succession of night drives, or by weary nights on foot, brought by parties further south to this point on the route. Here they waited only long enough to change the manner of travel, or to make some necessary preparation for the remainder of the journey to Canada, and again were off in the direction of Mechanicsburg, Springfield or Marysville. The agents and employees of the route were well organized; their trips were made on time, their freight was never lost. The road has gone down for lack of business. The descendants of Thomas Borton, William Thorne, Isaac Newcomb, Daniel Wilson, Joseph A. Dugdale, Richard Wright and Pressly Thomas have no reason to blush at the mention of the daring deeds of their heroic fathers in connection with the history of the underground railroad.

The Friends community spanned, and still spans, many counties in both Ohio and Indiana. The perspective of The Society of Friends (both Hicksite and Orthodox) was not limited to the Waynesville~Warren County area. The network of relationships fostered by attendance at Monthly, Quarterly and Yearly Meetings ran deep and spanned many counties and states and helped to unify Friends. It is also important to recognize that Quaker opinion on any topic has never been monolithic and that both Hicksite and Orthodox Quaker beliefs were often shared in the same families and among friends. Unfortunately, as is common in all religious conflicts, these beliefs sometimes divided families and friends. Besides conventional Quakerism (Orthodox and Hicksite), radical Friends, (i.e. The Congregational Friends) also had a presence in the area around Selma, Ohio at Green Plain Monthly Meeting (see Quaker Meetinghouses in Selma, Madison Township, Clark County, Ohio ~ Green Plain). The Quaker landscape was truly interesting with its wide range of opinions and activities. Miami Monthly Meeting (Hicksite) in Waynesville was a stronghold of moderate Hicksite Quakerism. Center Monthly Meeting in Clinton County and Selma, Harveysburg and Oakland Meetings were noted for their radical abolitionists and other more liberal Friends. The differences between Friends were heartfelt and could cause division. The same can be said concerning different groups of abolitionists of the day. However, in the west among Friends, these issues were not quite as conflict-ridden as the same in the east. The western pioneering spirit seems to have moderated people’s responses and so there is eventually healthy cooperation between Orthodox and Hicksite and even toleration, although with great reservation, for the radicals. Consequently, in the northern parts of Warren and Clinton Counties a wide spectrum of religious and political thought existed.

The Congregational Friends came into existence after the 1828 Hicksite Schism in 1848. Radical Friends who advocated immediate abolition usually chose to become Hicksite Friends after the 1828 schism. Most then also went on later to become Congregational Friends. Hicksites initially were critical of the creedal restraints put on their spiritual freedom by the Orthodox Friends. When Hicksite Friends began to criticize their members who advocated immediate abolition, those radicals “came out from” the Hicksites and founded Congregational Friends (also later known as Friends of Human Progress). They did not tolerate any kind of limitation on the freedom of conscience. There was to be no obstruction to individual expression or to divine inspiration. Congregational Friends were also advocates of Spiritualism, the belief in communication between the living and the dead. Spiritualism became a widely popular phenomenon in the United States with the advent of the Fox Sisters of Rochester, N.Y. and their experience of Spiritual Rapping. Spiritualism had long been of interest to members of reform movements. For example, William Lloyd Garrison was a spiritualist. For more information, see, Radical Spirits: Spiritualism and Women’s Rights in Nineteenth-Century American by Ann Braude (Boston, MA.: Beacon Press [The Press of the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations], 1989), pp. 11-30.

Quaker Meetinghouses in Selma, Madison Township, Clark County, Ohio ~ Green Plain

Green Plain Hicksite Meetinghouse & Cemetery
(above and below)

Green Plain Orthodox Meetinghouse & Cemetery (above)

Green Plain Monthly Meetings of Friends

History of Clark County, Ohio (Chicago: W. H. Beers & Co, 1881) ,pp. 765-766

"The original society by this name was organized in 1822, and worshiped near the residence of Samuel C. Howell, three-fourths of a mile northeast of the village of Selma. Patience Sleleper was one of the first preachers. The records fail to givew any very definite account of the early doings of the meeting, or of its memebership, for the first four years. In 1826, the society, here and elsewhere, on account of a question of doctrine, separated in two bodies (The Hicksite Separation); the one took upon itself the name "Orthodox", the other was afterward known as "Hicksites" ~ that is, followers of the doctrines as proclaimed by Elias Hicks.

Orthodox

This branch of the Green Plain Monthly Meeting of Friends left the Hicksites in possession of the meetinghouse, and of whatever church property owned by the original society a the time of separation (1826), and, for lack of a meetinghouse, the residence of John Wildman was used for that purpose. Friend Wildman's house was one mile east of Selma. This branch at the time of the separation, numbered 236 members. Following is a list of the fathers of the society, who, with their wives and children, were the principal members: Samuel Sleeper, Seth Williams, John Wildman, Cephas Atkinson, Thomas Atkinson, William Vickers, Thomas Embree, Levi Hutton, Jeremiah Warder, Thomas Lewis, Seth Smith, Jackson Allen.

On the 28th day of July 1832, the meeting numbered 220 members. At this date, they determined to build a meetinghouse, and thereupon they purchased for that purpose, of John Bocock and Joshua Engle, one and a half acres of land near the village of Selma, and built theron a frame church, 22X40 feet, one story high, and with the customary partition. They worshiped here till the year 1871, when they built the house they now occupy. It is a brick structure, 40X52 feet, with vestibule front, and is of modern architecture. The cost of this house was $4,300 (see black & white photo above). The present membership is 150. Jacob Baker is the present Pastor.

See, Thomas Hill's Monthly Meetings in North American: A Quaker Index: http://www.quakermeetings.com/viewRecord_display?anID=TST831L (Orthodox)

Green Plain Monthly Meeting (Hicksites)

This branch of the Freinds' Society had its origin with the original Green Plain Monthly Meeting, as elsewhere stated, in 1822. When the separatioh took place in 1826, this branch held the church property, the meetinghouse being near the residence of Samuel Howell three-fourths of a mile northeast of Selma. There is no record showing the strength of this branch when the society separated, but it is probable it was smaller than the branch known as the Orthodox.

They continued worshiping here till the year 1843, when of account of the agitation of the question of slavery, a division took place. A part of the (Hicksite) society held extreme anti-slavery views, and a part were conserative; hence the separation. The extremists (known as Congregationalists) held the church building for several years, and then became extinct, partly by their members joining with one of the other branches of the original society, and partly by their joining other Christian denominations. The building, with the ground on which it stood, was abandoned. The conservative (original Hicksites) portion built a house of worship on the lands of Abel Walker, a mile northeast of the fomer one, completing it in March 1844; their number at this time was 100. The church is of brick, 22X42 feet, and cost a cash outlay of $415.66. The Building Committee was Thomas Merritt, Joshua Harrison, Isaac Warner and Thomas Branson. Hannah P. Wilson and Ann Packer have preached to the society from time to time. The society now numbers nearly one hundred.

See, Thomas Hill's Monthly Meetings in North American: A Quaker Index:

http://www.quakermeetings.com/viewRecord_display?anID=TST830L (Hicksite)

http://www.quakermeetings.com/viewRecord_display?anID=TST829L (Congregational)

Also, see map: Map of Quaker Meetinghouses

Springfield Monthly Meeting ~ Adams Township, Clinton County, Ohio ~ Todd's Fork Road

SPRINGFIELD MONTHLY MEETING TIMELINE:

· 1809 ~ November 16th. Springfield Friends Indulged Meeting opened.
· 1812 ~ First Meetinghouse built on present site. Springfield Preparative Meeting began 10th mo 1st, 1812.
· 1812 ~ Cemetery land given by Isaac Harvey.
· 1813 ~ First burial, Lydia Harvey.
· 1818 ~ Springfield Monthly Meeting was established, 11th mo. 14th, 1818. The first meeting was on 12th mo. 26th, 1818.
· 1819 ~ New meetinghouse built, brick 60 X 30 feet.
· 1821 ~ Indiana Yearly Meeting set off from Ohio Yearly Meeting.
· 1826 ~ Center Quarterly Meeting set off from Miami Quarterly Meeting.
· 1828 ~ The Hicksite Separation
· 1833 ~ Meetinghouse enclosed with planks.
· 1836 ~ More land purchased by David Curl.
· 1837 ~ Indian Mound leveled in cemetery.
· 1851 ~ New meetinghouse built by John Hadley, Jr.
· 1887 ~ Springfield Cemetery Association formed and chartered by the state.
· 1892 ~ Wilmington Yearly Meeting set off from Indiana Yearly Meeting (Orthodox)
· 1892 ~ Present meetinghouse was built.
· 1949 ~ Church remodeled.

Preparative Meetings of Springfield Monthly Meeting: Beech Grove (1873-1897), Clarksville (1846-1937), Odgen, also known as Lytle’s Creek (1817-1897), Olive Branch (1894-1921) and Pleasant Grove (91891-1898).

RECORDS & REFERENCES: SPRINGFIELD MONTLY MEETING:
· Meeting minutes are in the Quaker Archive at Wilmington College: Microfilm, SLC 68539, -49-53, 477204-05, 974069-70, 1020416.
· A Testimony of Miami Monthly Meeting of Friends Concerning Joseph Cloud : Concerning Some Account of His Early Religious Exercises, Left By Him in Manuscript & Includes Testimony of Springfield Monthly Meeting Concerning Caleb Harvey (Richmond, Ind.: T.J. Larsh, printer, 1832).
· Quaker Historical Collections: Springfield Friends Meeting, 1809-1959, Near Wilmington, Clinton County, Ohio. Compiled by Committee: Lucile F. Hadley and others (Wilmington, Ohio: Springfield Monthly Meeting (Society of Friends: Clinton County, Ohio), 1959.

Further information can be found in Hinshaw’s Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy and in Monthly Meetings in North American: An Index by Thomas C. Hill. Cemetery and burials listed in Cemetery Records of Clinton County, Ohio, 1798-1999 (Clinton County Historical & Genealogical Society, 2000).

Thomas C. Hill's work, Monthly Meetings in North American: An Index is now online at: http://www.quakermeetings.com/viewRecord_display?anID=TST1782L.

Click on picture below ~ Springfield Monthly Meeting graveyard

Also, see map: Map of Quaker Meetinghouses

One of the subordinate meetings of Springfield Monthly Meeting was Clarksville Preparative Meeting (1846-1937), see photograph below:

Matilda Underwood and the Underwood Reunion in 1930

List of names on the back of the photograph below.

The Underwood Reunion in 1930

Matilda Downing Underwood

Jonah's Run Baptist Church & Cemetery

The church today.

Original photograph ~ Harveysburg Historical Society

Jonah's Run Baptist Church & Cemetery

The Underwood Farms Rural Historical District ~
National Register of Historic Places
Clinton County, Ohio

Founded by the Collett family in 1838

The parsonage for Jonah's Run Church was located in
Harveysburg, Ohio (two doors south of the Orthodox
Quaker Meetinghouse on Oregonia Road.)

Daniel Collett received a grant of 4,000 acres in the Virginia Military District in compensation for service in the Revolutionary War. He and his family moved to the area in his later years after Ohio had become a state. When they arrived they built a log cabin and began clearing the land. The original cabin is preserved at historic Pioneer Village on Caesars Creek.

The children of Daniel Collett were instrumental in the founding of Jonah's Run Church on February 9th, 1838. The original members were: David Ashby, Daniel Collett, Jonathan Collett, Ann Collett and Hannah Gaddis. The Reverend J. B. Blodgett came from Lebanon to visit the ailing sister of Jonathan Collett, Mercy. During the visit he converted the group and they organized the church, wrote the articles of faith and a covenant.

Originally the church was a single story building 50 feet by 34 feet with two front doors with window between. In the 1870s, the roof was raised and the whole building was enlarged. There were major remodelings of the church in the 1940s and in the 1970s. The classrooms and kitchen date from these later remodelings.

The church is names after Jonah's Run Creek that runs passes it on its way to the Little Miami River. The creek is named after the earliest known white resident in the Warren Co.-Clinton Co. area, Jonah Eaton. For ten years he lived on the north bank of Jonah's Run Creek about half a mile from Caesar Creek in a living tree house; literally in its hollow trunk, which was big enough for a room. The interior was said to have been 10' X 7' and high enough for a man to stand in. At a certain point he added on a porch before the entrance. The site of his unique house is now covered by the waters of Caesars Creek Lake.

Jonah Eaton was captured by Iroquois Indians when he was fifteen while on a hunting trip in Pennsylvania. He was taken to Presque Island in Lake Erie and was adopted into the tribe. He was eventually taken by the Shawnee to central and southern Ohio. He was adopted by the Shawnee Principal Chief, Red Hawk. After the victory of General Bouquet in 1764, he was returned to the whites. Because of a murder of a friend by an Indian, Eaton happily returned to white culture and went on to fight with General Dunsmore's forces at the Battle of Pt. Pleasant in 1774 and was a scout for Colonel John Bowman in his campaign against the Indians at Old Town. He was also a scout for General George Rogers Clark in his attack against Piqua in 1780. He was an interpreter at the Treaty of Fort Stanwick and at the Treaty of Fort Finney. After the signing of the Northwest Ordinance of 1784, he was hired by Colonel Richard Anderson of Louisville, Ky. to survey the Little Miami Valley. Eaton traversed what is now Warren, Greene and Clinton counties for 14 months making crude maps of the area.

Even though he received land as compensation for his surveying, as he grew older and the population increased, he decided to go find his kin back in the east. At the age of 67 years, in 1802, he left and returned to Pennsylvania. None-the-less, an image of this formidable frontiersman carrying his famous long rifle called the "Great Goose-Gun" striding to his tree-truck home is conjured up whenever anyone drives over or past Jonah's Run Creek.

Recommended Reading:
· Jonah's Tree House. Folklore Series, No. 14 (The Warren County Historical Society, Lebanon, Ohio)
· History of Harveysburg & Massie Township. Lucy McCarren (Wilmington: Summers Printing Co., 1993.

Zephaniah Underwood Farm (James Dakin House)

"The East Brick"

The Underwood Farms Rural Historical District ~
National Register of Historic Places
Clinton County, Ohio

The apple barn is seen behind "the East Brick"
in the top photograph.

Amos~Elihu~Daniel Underwood Farm

"The West Brick"
The Underwood Farms Rural Historical District ~
National Register of Historic Places
Clinton County, Ohio

The Underwood Farms Rural Historical District ~ National Register of Historic Places

Three Underwood farms and Jonah's Run Baptist Church and Cemetery have been placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The historic district is located in the vicinity of State Rte 73 and Brimstone Road, Chester Township, in northwestern Clinton County, Ohio. The district is located one mile east of the village of Harveysburg, Ohio and five miles from Waynesville, Ohio both in Warren County, Ohio. The Underwood Farms Rural Historical District is made up of 280 acres of land and sixteen buildings.

The district contains four major properties and edifices (click on below to see photographs):

Amos~Elihu~Daniel Underwood Farm: Built between 1850- 1853 by Lewis Dakin. Barn and outbuildings. Known as the "west brick".

Zephaniah Underwood Farm (James Dakin House): Built around 1846-1850. A two-story five-bay brick Federal style house with a two story ell. Directly behind it is a historic fruit barn that was associated with the Underwood Orchards. Barn and outbuildings. Known as the "east brick".

Tower House Farm ~ "The Zephaniah and Matilda Underwood House": Built between 1884-1886. It is an excellent example of the "Stick Style". Barn and outbuildings (see photograph upper left).

Jonah's Run Baptist Church & Cemetery: Located at 9614 State Rte 73 West. Built in 1838 and remodeled in 1872. The first grave in the cemetery dates from 1839. The church was founded by the Collett family who owned property to the south of State Rte 73. Although the Underwoods were Quakers and remained so, some of the Underwoods attended church at Jonah's Run as well as Quaker meeting and one Underwood married into the Collett family.

The Underwoods were farmers and grew, like other farmers in the area, they raised corn, oats and wheat and had a dairy operation. They also raised chickens, pigs and sheep. However, the Underwoods were famous for their orchards, none of which, unfortunately, have survived. Zephaniah Underwood had 70 acres of his farm in orchard with apples. The apple orchard was the central focus of the family activity on the farm and successful business.

The Underwoods were active members of The Society of Friends (Hicksite). They attended Grove Meeting in Harveysburg, a meeting that was a Preparative Meeting of Miami Monthly Meeting in Waynesville. Both Zephaniah and Matilda Underwood were active supporters of Quaker meeting and issues such as temperance and suffrage. Matilda Downing Underwood was a recognized minister in Grove Meeting of Friends. She was also an author. She wrote: Blue Bell of the Forest: A Story of the Olden Time, in the Middle West (published by the author in 1919) and her Autobiography (unpublished).

Also see, 2005 ANNUAL UNDERWOOD REUNION, SATURDAY JULY 23RD, 2005, and, THE UNDERWOOD FAMILY REUNION

The Centennial of Miami Monthly Meeting in 1903 ~ 100 Years of Ministry

The Red Brick Orthodox Quaker Meetinghouse in 1903
The White Brick Hicksite Quaker Meetinghouse in 1803
Both Orthodox and Hicksite Friends united to celebrate the 100th aniversary of the founding of Miami Monthly Meeting in Waynesville, Ohio (1803-1903). The group photograph was taken in front of the 1811 White Brick Meetinghouse. The photographs have been taken from the 1903 Atlas, Centennial Edition, of Warren County, Ohio.

The presiding officers during the 1903 Centennial of Miami Monthly Meeting were Friends Seth Hocket Ellis (representing the Orthodox) and Charles A. Brown (representing the Hicksite). The celebration of the Friends Centennial is mentioned in the 1903 diary of Blanche A. Riley of Clearcreek Township, Warren County, Ohio (Printed by the Warren County Genealogical Society, 1998), p. 49:

“Fri., Oct. 16th: Fair but quite chilly. Father and I attended the Friends Centennial at the Hicksite or white church in Waynesville this PM. Very large audience almost 800 present. Both the Orthodox and Hicksite joined together and Seth H. Ellis and Chas. A. Brown were the presiding officers. Mother stood yesterday’s trip very well but was to tired for to-day’s trip.

Sat. Oct. 17th, 1903: Father, Mother and myself attended the Centennial all day, heard several good speakers. Prof. E. J. Russell of Earlham College, Richmond, Ind., Dr. J. S. Walton, Pres of George School, Penn., Pres A. J. Brown, Wilmington College, Wil., O. The Message of Quakerism to the World. “God is Love, and he that dwelleth in Love dwelleth in God and God in him.” Reported to have served 400 to dinner yesterday in the red brick or Orthodox and surely more than that to-day. Winter hats and wraps have now been donned as to-day it was quite chilly.”

Also see, Quakers 100 Anniversary Of Miami Monthly Meeting In 1903, an article by Dallas Bogan, http://www.rootsweb.com/~ohwarren/Bogan/bogan167.htm

The book that was published by Miami Monthly Meeting to celebrate the Centennial is online at Ancestry.com: Proceedings, Centennial Anniversary, Miami Monthly Meeting : Waynesville, Ohio, 10th month, 16-17, 1903, http://content.ancestry.com/iexec/Default.aspx?htx=BookList&dbid=27940&ti=0.

Also see Cincinnati Enquirer article, Waynesville preserves Quaker roots: Meeting houses on National Register, http://www.enquirer.com/editions/1998/10/28/loc_friends28.html

Miami Valley Institute ~ A Hicksite Quaker College in Springboro, Ohio

Miami Valley College Company Stock Certificate

Miami Valley Institute, 1870 ~ 1883

The Miami Valley Institute, later called the Miami Valley College, and in its last year Miami Valley College Training School, was located on a 60-acre farm one-half mile east of the intersection of Rte. 73 & Rte. 741 in Springboro, Ohio. It was a brick building with a slate roof. The bricks were made on site. It was four stories high and had four stairways. There were 50 rooms in the building and stovepipes from large wood burning stoves on the first floor were the source of heat. The upper stories and outer rooms could get pretty cold on winter days.

According to Mrs. Ida Wright Keever, wife of Dr. Dudley Keever, both graduates of Miami Valley College, the iron balcony at the front door and French windows below showed the touch of an architect . . . The woodwork was pine and black walnut. The windows were wide and low, the stairways easy, and the halls and rooms light and airy. Furnishings were plain but adequate. Grounds surrounding the school were soon beautiful with shrubs and trees, mostly evergreens and maples, while the fields beyond yielded abundant supplies of garden and farm products (Quoted from Dayton Daily News article, “Railroad’s Location Brought End to Springboro College” by William L. Sanders, approximately 1950. Found at the Warren County Historical Society in Lebanon, Ohio.). The same article mentions that there were bathrooms with wooden bathtubs.

Members of The Religious Society of Friends of the Indiana Yearly Meeting of Friends (Hicksite) founded the Institute in 1870. There had been some rather intense discussion among Friends concerning the location of Miami Valley Institute. Many preferred Waynesville as the site since the village was located directly on a railroad (Waynesville Station at Corwin) and consequently more accessible. Waynesville was also a thriving village full of merchants and markets. More rural Springboro was selected probably because of the financial commitment and support of Springboro’s notable Wright brothers, Aron and Josiah (see the stock certificate above). Another trustee, Jason Evans had a connection with Springboro. Jason Evans’ second wife had been a member of Springboro Monthly Meeting.

According to the Report of The Boarding School given in 1870 during Indiana Yearly Meeting, the building contained two study rooms nearly 40’ square, with recitation rooms attached; three rooms of the same dimensions were used for eating and other domestic purposes; six rooms 16’ X 22’ for family purposes; two central openings 14’ X 40’ with halls attached and one corridor 14’ X 50’ which was used for a reading room and library and 40 lodging rooms that were 14’ X 15’. At its peak Miami Valley Institute (College) usually had a faculty of four to five instructors as well as a superintendent and matron living on campus.

A college charter for Miami Valley College was granted November 2, 1874. From that time on the Institute was known as Miami Valley College. As a “college” the school would be in possession of the charter, which would authorize it to offer at least one advanced degree program. The degree would be conferred after the successful completion of a baccalaureate program (an undergraduate degree known as a Bachelor of Arts Degree, A. B.). Like modern universities and colleges today, the student body consisted of both students enrolled in a baccalaureate program and other students who were taking classes for a wide variety of reasons but were not necessarily pursuing a degree. There were students who wanted an excellent “high school” education in preparation for further education. There were students who wanted a more technical or agricultural education without all the language requirements of a more liberal arts degree. There were students who already had high school education seeking to become teachers, and there were students seeking a classical liberal arts baccalaureate degree.

To learn more about Miami Valley College and Quaker education in general, see, Quaker Education and Miami Valley Institute: A Hicksite Quaker College, 1870-1883 by Karen Campbell, published by the author in 2004. For more information about purchase of this book, contact Karen at campbeka@oplin.org.

Below is a map dating for 1875 showing the location of Miami Valley College outside of Springboro. The little graphic of the building is labeled "Friends Institute Grounds":

Home of Seth Silver Haines in Waynesville, Ohio

Home of Seth Silver Haines

This house still stands in Waynesville although it has
been much altered.
It is also reputed to have been a house on the
Underground Railroad.

Dr. James Wilkins Haines ~ Quaker Physician, Minister, Educator and Spiritualist (1849-1893)

Dr. James Wilkins Haines, M.D. of Waynesville, Ohio was a practicing Quaker, a recognized Quaker minister of Miami Monthly Meeting, a learned man who was an educator, a spiritualist, and in the eyes of some, an erratic genius. Another Quaker physician, Dr. Robert Furnas was in partnership with Dr. Haines.

Dr. Haines was the third president/principal of Miami Valley Institute ~ A Hicksite Quaker College in Springboro, Ohio. He accepted the position of Professor of Physics and Chemistry in August of 1874. He became in 1878 the President/ Principal as well as Professor of Natural Science at Miami Valley College. The Miami-Gazette newspaper on August 5, 1874 reported:

Dr. James W. Haines has accepted the chair of Professor of Physics and Chemistry in Miami Valley Institute~ a position we have no doubt our popular and talented young townsman is admirably qualified to fill with honor to himself and advantage to this growing college.

Unfortunately, Dr. James W. Haines life had a touch of scandal and he had compromised the college in 1879 due to his behavior and was disowned by the Society of Friends. Miami Valley College would only survive two more years. Dr. Haines would apologize for his behavior and would be reinstated as a Friend (see below).

He was dogged most of the year of 1879 by a malpractice suit and other business and domestic problems that lead to his disownment from The Society of Friends. The case of John W. Sears vs. James W. Haines would go to trial on November 4th. The plaintiff in the case won and was to receive $2800.00. Dr. Haines would eventually appeal and the settlement would be revised (Case #5698, John W. Sears vs. James W. Haines, Appearance Docket #10, 5601-6000, pp. 99-105, Final Record Book #30, Court of Common Pleas, Warren County, Ohio, October Term A. D. 1880, pp. 500-506, Box 216).

Dr. Haines was also sued in 1878-1879 by Mary (aka Mollie) Bonner for a Breach of Marriage Contract (Case #5738, James W. Haines vs. Mary Bonner, General Index #2, 1870-1889, Appearance Docket #10, 5601-6000, 1878-1879, p. 138, Box 203, Final Record Book #28, Court of Common Pleas, Warren Co., Ohio, p. 135). The details of this failed relationship are not known but must have excited some public stir in 1879. It was reported in The Western Star on June 26th, 1879:

BONNER-HAINES. This is not a marriage notice, as the heading would indicate. Neither is it the opposite ~~a divorce notice. But it is akin to both. The notorious breach of promise case of Mary Bonner against Dr. J. Haines is settled; not by the marriage of the parties, for be it remembered the gay doctor married a Brooklyn lady a few days ago; nor by a trial in the Court; but by the payment by the Doctor of the sum of $1,000.00 to Miss Bonner as a salve for her lacerated affections. Pretty dear price for a few sickly sighs, a few whispered words of love, and probably a few cold Quaker kisses.

It was also reported in the Xenia Gazette:

The suit of Miss Mamie Bonner of this city against Dr. J. W. Haines of Waynesville, for breach of promise, has been dismissed, Dr. Haines withdrawing his answer, and paying $1,000.00 and costs. Thus he acknowledges the justice and truth of Miss Bonner’s claim, and himself to have been in the wrong, a fact no one in this vicinity ever doubted (printed in The Western Star, July 3rd, 1879).

On June 28th, 1879 Mary Bonner won the judgment and $1,000.00. On the 1880 Census, Dr. Haines is listed with a wife, Eva, who is 22, nine years younger than he. These awkward events in his life negatively impacted his relationship with The Society of Friends. Scandal had touched the monthly meetings’ most prominent and charismatic minister. It could also be possible that he was involved to some degree in his father's entanglements in the Miami Valley Narrow Gauge Railway scandal. Dr. Haines apologized to the Friends of Miami Monthly Meeting for his behavior:

The following acknowledgement has been read and accepted: Dear Friends: Having for some time past, engaged in a multiplicity of business as to be beyond my ability to meet promptly, all my promises ~~ And having, through unwatchfulness, become entangled in matters that have hindered my growth in the ministry, and brought reproach upon the Truth, I feel to condemn the same, and trust that Friends will overlook them, and restore me to the unity and Christian Fellowship of the Society ~~ James W. Haines (Minutes of Miami Monthly Meeting of Women Friends held 23rd of 7th mo. 1879, page 179, located in the Quaker Archive, Wilmington College, Wilmington, Ohio).

The erudite Dr. Haines was also often criticized for his deep belief in spiritualism (see The Waynesville News, July 22, 1893). His devotion to spiritualism could have also created a strain in his relationship with the members of Miami Monthly Meeting (Hicksite).

Dr. Haines, was homeopathic physician and surgeon. His office was in his home in Waynesville. He was the only child of Seth Silver Haines of Waynesville. He died at an early age, in his 45th year, at his parent’s home in Waynesville. He was known as an excellent teacher and school director as well as the inventor of a patent medicine, which he claimed to be able to cure alcoholism. It was known as “Dr. James Haines’ Golden Specific”. His father built a sanitarium in 1861 on the Haines property (Union Place Farm directly south of Waynesville) where boarders could be treated with Golden Specific. He was quite a campaigner for Temperance traveling to give lectures not only in this area but, for example, in New York City. The Miami-Gazette reported on October 22nd, 1879 that The New York Sun of Monday says:

Dr. James Haines said, in a temperance meeting at Haverly’s Theatre, yesterday; "Bad men are in power, bad men are candidates for office, bad government stares us in the face. This is caused by the awful power of drink".

Dr. Haines was a prominent Quaker traveling minister. He was respected as a fine preacher and speaker in much demand. There are many references in the Miami-Gazette to his speaking during Indiana Yearly Meeting of Friends (Hicksite) and also at other churches in the area.

The following are two obituaries found in the Ohioana Room vertical files for Dr. James W. Haines:

Dr. James W. Haines, who died at the home of his father, Hon. Seth Silver Haines in Waynesville, Sunday was a leading spirit in the intellectual life of that town and past twenty-five years. In childhood he was noted as a student who was years in advance of his companions in learning and judgment. His sermons, after he became a minister in the Quaker church, were brilliant to a degree that placed him in the very front rank as a pulpit orator, but they were not always fully in accord with the teachings of the Friends. He seemed to enjoy the study of medicine more than the practice of it, and there have been few medical men in Warren County who had so thoroughly prepared themselves for their professional work as he had. He was the discoverer of the first cure for drunkenness that ever attracted wide attention, and there is not a newspaper of large circulation in the United States, England, Ireland, Scotland or the West Indies today that does not contain the advertisement of the company that now owns the remedy. They have spent as much as $100,000 per year to keep it before the public and have had a large patronage in return. As is usually the case, Dr. Haines never derived much profit from his valuable discovery. Like many men who have opened the way for other men to make fortunes, he had very little business ability himself and allowed others to reap the rich harvest he had sown (This obituary is not labeled or dated. Probably the Western Star).

Dr. James W. Haines, only child of Hon. S. S. Haines and wife, died at the home of his parents on Sunday at 2 P.M. July 16th in his forty-fifth year. From the first grave fears were entertained as to the result and the worst soon came to be dreaded, although everyone was unwilling to admit it. They hoped against hope and the face of the inevitable, clinging to a bare possibility. It was been our pleasure to know Dr. Haines as a neighbor, friends and physician for many years and he was always the same, cheerful, generous hearted, and ready to make any sacrifice for this friends or for the sale of humanity. As a physician and surgeon his skill was readily recognized and appreciated, and his presence in the sickroom cheering and brightening all with whom he came in contact. His gifts of mind made him a general favorite, and in all the relations of life he was equal to its requirements. He manifested a deep interest in public enterprises, especially in our school, frequently visiting each department, and occasionally favored the pupils of the high school with a practical lecture; as a school director he had few equals. He will be sadly missed in every walk of life. His mind was clear to the last moment and during all his sickness he expressed perfect trust in his Savior, and was anxious to depart and be with Him. During the last moments he assured his sorrowing parents that, standing on the brink of eternity, all was bright and peaceful beyond. The way seems especially dark to the saddened hearts of his devoted parents, who see no happiness in the years to come without the presence of their loved one. Mr. and Mrs. Haines have the sympathy of the entire community, who mourn with them. His funeral occurred on Tuesday, the 18th, at 1 P.M., at the home of his parents. (This obituary is not labeled or dated. Probably the Miami-Gazette).

According to the Friends Intelligencer (7th mo. 29, 1893, p. 473) he died First-day afternoon, Seventh month 16, 1893, at the residence of his parents, at Waynesville, Ohio, in the 45th year of his age. His last illness was of short duration, and his physical sufferings were great; his intellect was clear to the hour of his dissolution. He expressed a willingness to depart, and was sustained by the faith, that death was but a translation to a higher and happier state of existence. He was a recognized minister of the Miami Monthly Meeting of Friends at an unusually early age in life. Friends Nixon G. Brown, Frederick Clayton, and Charles F. Chapman spoke to the large assembly of friends at the funeral.

Dr. James W. Haines is buried next to his parents in the Haines plot in Miami Cemetery in Corwin, Ohio, Section F. HIs wife, Eva, is not buried there.

The 1905 Friends Boarding Home ~ Waynesville, Ohio

The 1905 Friends Boarding Home next to the
White Brick Quaker Meetinghouse on Quaker Hill.

The Friends Boarding Home during construction in 1905.

Views of the Friends Boarding Home over time.

Also see, Aaron B. Chandler ~ First Superintendent of The Friends Boarding Home in Waynesville.

The Friends Boarding Home is now the Waynesville Area Heritage & Cultural Center.

Also see,

The Tradition of Friends Boarding Homes

THE 1905 FRIENDS BOARDING HOME TIMELINE 1905~1926

Boarders and Employees of the Friends Boarding Home 1905 ~ 1928

Below: Postcard of The Friends Boarding Home (1950s)
Used as a Christmas Card ~ Sent to Dr. Mary Leah Cook
from Ruth Chandler who was the Matron of the Home.
The White Brick Meetinghouse can be seen on the far left
and the outbuildings (garage & barn) of the Home on the right.
There was also a large arbor in the back yard.

MAILING LIST ~ For Those Interested in Researching their Quaker Ancestors in Southwest Ohio

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