Cornell university Library LD4246 1898.W76 i of Trustee L.B. Wing, a^^^^^^^^^ of . TRU^HE L. K WING j' ■■, " ■ '■ . TO WNStJENlJ Hifty C0LUMPU8, O. - CKAMPUN PBtNT)Nfe.'CO. PROGRAMME. Inspection of Townshend HaU, J:00 to 2:30 P. M. (standard). Exercises in University Chapel at 2:30 (standard). President Canfield presiding. Music Invocation Dr. W. H. Scott, Professor of Philosophy. Address CoL J. H. Brigham, Assistant Secretary, / U. S. Department of Agriculture, Dedicatory Address Dr. I. P. Roberts, Director of the College of Agriculture, Music Cornell University. Address "A Tribute to Squanto" Dr. H. W. Wiley, Chief of the Division of Chemistry, U. S. Department of Agriculture. Address Hon. S. H. Ellis, Master of State Grange. In Memoriam Norton S. Townshend, M. D. Bom, Clay Coaton, England, J 8 15; died, Columbus, J 895. The Man Hon. L. B. Wing. Trustee of the University. The Educator Dr. Edward Orton, Professor of Geology. Music Evening exercises at 6:00 P. M., University Armory and Gymnasium.. Hon. John T. Mack, President of Board of Trustees, presiding. Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31 92401 3395896 ADDRESS OF TRUSTEE L. B. WING At the Dedication of TOWNSHEND HALL OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY COLUMBUS, OHIO January 12, J 898 C0LUMBU6, u. CMAMPUN PRtNTING CO. M W M/76 €'f^^-^f Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen: — In the assignment of the duties of this occasion, it comes to me to give a short sketch of the events and inci- dents in the life of the man whom we honor to-day. Many of these events are now matters of history, familiar to the older people of the state. But the younger genera' tion are but dimly impressed, or have altogether forgot- ten them, in the unceasing march of the "things of this present." NOKTON S. TOWTSrSHBND was born on Christmas day, 1815, at Northamptonshire, England. He was the only son of a substantial farmer, who was himself the possessor of a fair education and of a good library. In 1830 the father came to America with his family and settled upon a farm at Avon, in Lorain County, Ohio. In England, busy with farm work, the son had found little time to attend school; but he was the constant companion of an intelligent and judi- cious father and a most exemplary mother, who encour- aged him in his love of books and especially in his early liking for the natural sciences. When nineteen years of age young Townshend taught a district school in this state. Of this experience I have heard him say that the work was not less instructive to himself than to his pupils. In 1837 he commenced the study of medicine with Dr. E. S. Howard, who was a physician at Avon, but who was afterward a Professor in Starling Medical College in this city. At the age of twenty-three he attended a course of lectures at the Medical College in Cincinnati. At this time Mr. Townshend was a fine specimen of physical man- hood, being five feet, ten inches in height, robust in appearance, weighing about two hundred pounds; with blue eyes and a fair complexion. He had never enjoyed the advantages of a connection with a foot-ball team, nor had he tested his powers of endurance on a running track in a modern gymnasium; but with his extra cloth- ing tied in a bundle and slung upon a stick, he had trudged on foot across the state, from Lorain to Hamilton County, to attend these lectures of medicine. Though of great strength of will and robust in phy- sique, he was gentle and humane — a friend always of the weak and unfortunate — it seems perfectly natural that he should sympathize with the bondsmen of the South, some of whom he had seen in Northern Ohio on their northward travels by the underground railroad — the only railroad then in operatiou in this state. While in Cincinnati he was an observer of an event which en- gaged his liveliest sympathy and intensified his dislike of the institution of slavery. A Southerner visiting Cin- cinnati brought with him a slave girl named Matilda, who ran away when her master was about to return south. She was captured, placed on trial for rendition to bond- age, and stood before the court without a defender. Presently a young man, about the age of Townshend, pressed his way through the crowd and offered his grat- uitous services as the poor slave's attorney. The defense which this young volunteer gave to his client was elo- quent and masterly. Townshend inquired the name of the speaker. The answer was, Salmon P. Chase. The life long friendship of Mr. Chase and Dr. Townshend dated from that day. Mr. Townshend spent the next year and a half in Elyria, with his preceptor. Dr. Howard; graduating in 1840 from the University of the State of New York. Im- mediately upon receiving his degree of M. D. he sailed for England, for the purpose of attending lectures in European medical schools and hospitals. He also re- ceived a commission from the Anti-Slavery Society of the State of Ohio to appear as its delegate at the World's Anti-Slavery Convention, held in London in June, 1840. This appointment afforded him the opportunity of see- ing, hearing and becoming acquainted with some of the ablest and most philanthropic men of all nations. As soon as the session of this convention was closed he re- paired to Paris, where he remained until 1841, occupied with public and private courses of instruction given in that great medical metropolis, and incidentally gave much time to the study of the French language. After leaving France he attended lectures in the University of Edinburgh. He visited Dublin, spent a few more weeks in London, and then returned home to Avon. In the fall of 1841, he commenced the practice of medicine in that locality. In 1844 he married Harriet, daughter of James B. Wood, formerly of Massachusetts, and re- moved to Elyria, in the same county, where he entered upon a large surgical and medical practice, which con- tinued for the next ten years ensuing. His wife died dur- ing this period. In the fall of 1848 he was elected by the Abolitionists of his County to the State Legislature, though opposed by the candidates of both the Whig and the Democratic parties. He was instructed by his constituents to act as their representative "with any party, or against any party, as in his judgment the cause of freedom should require." This instruction referred especially to the elec- tion of a United States Senator, that being the most important duty with which the new General Assembly was charged. In the House, the Democrats and Whigs each lacked one of having half the number. Outside the factions thus antagonized were two Free Soil Members, Dr. Townshend and Col. John F. Morse of Lake County. These two had gained their seats over the opposition of both the Whigs and the Democrats and were therefore independent of both. Without the votes of these two members, as the parties were divided, no organization could be effected. William Allen was the Democratic candidate and Thomas Ewing that of the Whigs. Joshua R. Giddings was the choice of Morse and S. P. Chase that of Townshend; but both Morse and Townshend were much more ardent in their desire for the election of a reliable anti-slavery man than in their preference for any par- ticular person; and above everything else they hungered and thirsted for the repeal of the unjust and brutal "Black Laws" of Ohio. Thus holding the balance of power, after a dead lock from December 4 to December 23, this power was so used as to secure an organization of the House, the repeal of the Black Laws, and the elec- tion of Mr. Chase to the United States Senate. Stanley Matthews, a young man who had been an editor of a newspaper in Cincinnati, was then, on motion of Dr. Townshend, elected Clerk of the House. A very full and interesting account of this legislative crisis, and the part taken in it by Dr. Townshend, has been written by Col. Alfred E. Lee of this city, in a magazine article of April, 1895. In 1850 he was elected a member of the Constitu- tional Convention which framed the present constitution of Ohio. This election was again a personal triumph over both the Whig and Democratic candidates. In the same year he was elected a member of the thirty-second Con- gress — where he was brave and outspoken when it was no child's play to manifest such characteristics. On one occasion a member of the House from North Carolina, in the course of debate, made a sneering allu- sion to Townshend's English birth. His reply gave his fellow members a taste of his qualities as a ready debater. These were some of his words: "A man does not choose his birth place, so I do not consider it a subject of either glory or shame. Could I have chosen it, I would not have selected any other spot, — on one hand was the field of Naseby where that stern apostle of liberty, Oliver Cromwell, overthrew the power of the royal tyrant, King Charles I. On the other hand was the river Avon, whose waters flowed by the birth-place of Shakespeare. Could any spot be more sug- gestive of all that is heroic and glorious in action, or of all that is true and beautiful in expression? How much I owe to these associations I cannot tell, but this I know, that Cromwell and Milton, and Pym, and Vane,, and Hampton, are among the saints in my calendar, and I trust that I cherish something of their hatred of oppres- sion, "I think men may understand and appreciate the prin- ciples of civil liberty though not born on this continent. "The Pilgrim fathers were not behind in this partic- ular, though foreigners, like myself. "The portrait that hangs before me reminds me of another foreigner (La Fayette) who understood the advan- tages of free government and to whom this country owes her gratitude. "Persons born within the limits of a monarchy are not necessarily Monarchists. The fathers of the Revo- lution, Washington, Jefferson, the Adams' and Patrick Henry were born under the same Monarchical Govern- ment as myself. It is true that men born under a free government and who have known no other, have not always the best appreciation of the value of freedom. How will you explain the fact that the sons and grand- sons of those who fought and died in the War of the Revolution to secure the liberty we enjoy, are now, in the Southern states, laboring with an equal zeal for an oppo- site purpose, to extend and perpetuate the curse of slav- ery? The true friend of freedom would scorn alike to be a slave or to own one. Some men are Republicans from choice, and some are so only by accident. After seeing the evils of other forms of government I prefer that under which I live. "I have to say further to that gentleman, that my constituents consider themselves entirely competent to select their own representative; they will not ask his advice. For myself I will add that representing a hun- dred thousand freemen, I shall take the liberty to speak as I please and when I think proper, without asking spe- cial permission of any man, and least of all of one who comes here the representative of whips and manacles and slaves." The speech, of which the above is an extract, was delivered June 23, 1852, and the remainder of it was an able argument against the policy of carrying slavery into the western territories. There were rampant slaveholders then in Congress, and the domineering spirit, which a few years later cul- minated in the brutal assault upon Senator Sumner, was already felt in the National Congress. Townshend, a new member of the House, and Ben Wade in the Senate, were repeatedly made the subjects of it. Townshend had made several strong anti-slavery speeches on the floor of the House, and one morning he received a call from a friend of Congressman Stanley, of North Carolina, with a chal- lenge to fight a duel. "What does Stanley want?" asked the athletic and vigorous Ohioan. "Does he want to kill me or does he want me to kill him?" This abrupt question, and the manner in which it was put, surprised the friend of Stanley. — "I think, Mr. Townshend, he does not want either, but you have made several offensive speeches in the House, and Mr. Stanley feels that it is due to himself, and to his constituents, that you retract your offensive remarks or accept the alternative." "We do not fight duels in Ohio," said the Doctor delib- erately. "Public sentiment there looks upon it as mur- der. I will not fight Mr. Stanley in this way; but you can tell him, if he still insists, that we will go out and fight it in my way. "When I went to Ohio, all sorts of game was plenty, and I am accounted a dead shot with a rifle. I spent over a year in Paris studying my profession, and while there, took pains to become expert in the use of the small sword. I expect if Mr. Stanley insists upon fighting he will find me ready and fairly well prepared to defend myself in my own way." The Southerner stated that he did not think that Mr. Stanley wished to fight, except with the weapons com- monly used by gentlemen, but that he would report to his principal. The Doctor was never challenged again. I have quoted from his speech and the accounts of that day to illustrate and exemplify the brave and fear- less character of the man. In 1853 he was elected to the Ohio State Senate. While here he presented a memorial to establish a state institution for the training of feeble minded children. The measure carried, and Dr. Townshend was appointed one of three Trustees to carry the plan into effect — a position he held by subsequent appointments for twenty- one years. During all that time he gave unremitting attention to every detail affecting the welfare of the institution. The present great asylum in this city, the best of its kind in the world, stands to-day as much a monument to Dr. Townshend's love of humanity, his wise foresight and indomitable will, as does this building, which bears his name, to his efforts in behalf of industrial •education. Dr. Townshend was a member of the State Board of Agriculture for many years, and more than once its Pres- ident. In 1854 he married Margaret A. Bailey, the daughter of a clergyman of Clarksburg, Va., and a pop- ular teacher in "Putnam Seminary," in Zanesville. In 1863 he was appointed a medical inspector in the army with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, and served to the end of the war. He was one of the first Board of Trus- tees of this University — the Board which selected this site, erected the first building and prescribed the first course of study. He afterward was elected Professor of Agriculture, Botany and Veterinary Medicine — and retained his connection with it until his death, July 13, 1895, at the age of eighty years. I remember that on the day when he was laid to rest, the sad news was flashed over the wires to the city of Denver. The Ninth Annual Convention of the Asso- ciation of American Agricultural Colleges and Experi- ment Stations was there in session with its representa- tives from more than twenty states; our own University being represented by Professor Hunt, Professor Lazenby, Professor Robinson and myself; and when somebody in the great audience announced the death of Dr. Towns- hend, the sympathetic thrill which came to us was by no means confined to his Ohio associates. Professor Burrill, of Illinois, presented next day a tribute to his memory and character, eloquent and truthful, which was entered upon the minutes of the Association. I know I have talked too long; yet I have made but 10 a most imperfect reference, in chronological order, to the events of this busy and useful life. One of his colleagues, whom we all delight to hear and to honor, will hereafter speak of his work in behalf of Agriculture. I can think of no more fitting words with which to close, than those which I found on a scrap of paper lying loose in one of Dr. Townshend's books and in his own hand writing. Whether his own or not, they tell the story of his death — or, better, of his entry upon a larger life. "We see ripeness everywhere, not only in fruits and seeds, but in the woods, the thicket and among wild plants. Even the leaves finish up their season's work and prepare to fall. During its young and vigorous life the leaf holds fast to the stem. In its axil, or where the leaf or leaf-stalk joins the stem, is a bud. This is to con- tinue the growth after winter. The office of the leaf, or one of its offices, is to nourish and protect the bud; it may be a leaf or a fruit bud. When it has perfected this bud, it prepares to fall. The line of separation appears, a skin is formed so as not to leave an open wound, and in due time the ripened leaf falls to the ground. "So passes, in a well ordered life, the head of the household. The vital forces, the activities of middle life, attach this leaf very strongly to the branch; as the ripen- ing, mellowing influences of passing years begin to be felt, in his axil or home, appears that which is to be a continuance of his life in another generation; its care and guardianship become the chief office of his existence. When the paternal leaf has done what it could toward perfecting this bud, it prepares to fall. The line of sep- aration appears. The processes of Nature are so ordered that no harsh or open wound is made, when in due time this ripened leaf, having fulfilled its earthly mission, falls, gently, to the ground." 12 TOWNSHEND HALL. * I TOWNSHEND HALL has l^en erected by the BoaJ'd of Trustees of the Ohio State Univetsity at a^epst of a little over $100,000. This Agricaltaral building is named after that illustrious pioneer in ''education for agriculture," the late Dr. N.'S.,Tow|idieiid, who for tvsreiity-five years yiras professor of agri- culture of the Ohio State University, and tvho^ in 1854, associated himself with James Dascomb, John S.' Newberry and James H.'Fairchild, in establishing the " Ohio Agricultural College " at Oberlin. Townshend HaU is a memorial tp. his public services and his "nrork in advancing the cause of agrictil[ture education. Towinshend Hall-is 260 ifeet long, varies in y/'idth frlim 64 to 78 feet. It con- tains twtf stories and a basement which is fourteen feet high, making the build^g practically three stories higlu The ^alls above the basement line are of gtay pressed brick. , The basement walls and the front entrance are of Bedford^ bidiana^ Oolitic limestone and the trimmings are of terra cotta of the saxai color eus the brick. The roof is of dark re4 tile. The architectural proportions hkve been worked outwitjx great correctness, ^ maktiig a building df phasing simplicity. The arcliitects, backed by the Boaraof Trustees, have ini^sted upon 'thprei'g^' wOfk^an^ipi* The reistilt has been that the building, both in design and construction, is not only a: credit but an example to tlie'^tate. f "