8/10/2019 VENABLE (1)

1/17

a r r r | u M u p i a o T a e o i i i i aTlielosson thebaildingova-|bmin the bed.teklandedand ed by Mrs.Wraith is about4,500;fB,be eoreyoo b

^ . I^*''barajinsured for . ^8,000in the Moeie,of | TkoauodaaonaaliyI California; serv- New Ifork. Mr. Henry s loss will Iintf-half.d tha ah

5

i

u

I

3

O

IHi

er, September14, ling for the benefit of the church ofg receiving shipIthat village, was attended byagen-18; commandingjteel and good sized audience. Mr.

East Indiasquad IYenabi.e read a ballad of bis ownjnsybe'^rerJune80,i86l,tfae|compositionentitled. 'The Squire neednovcrnpon by a fort at and the Schoolmistress, two scenes loog asbein ChinaI the firejfrom Romeoaqd JoMet,The Yaga-ifae fort silenced, bonds, Barbara Frietchie, The Fare- At a

Captain, 1861; well Sermon, Darius Green and his urebin

8/10/2019 VENABLE (1)

2/17

8/10/2019 VENABLE (1)

3/17

W I L L I A M H E N R Y V E N A B L E

h t tP / / cg i . ebav. com/ws/cBav lSAPI . d l l ?ViewI t em ca t egor v=io i6Q i t cm=a76s8 l6s i l r d= l ssPageNaine=WD V W

William Heniy Venable was bo m in a log house on the Little Miami River, not far from Waynesville,Warren County, Ohio, April 29th, 1836. The Venable family in England derives their ancestry fromRichard de Venables, one of the knights who followed William the Conqueror, and whose name isinscribed on th e monument on the field of Hastings. From him was descended Peter Venables, Baronof Kinderton, 1630. Of the same lineage were the three brothers, William, James, and AbrahamVenables, who migrated to America about the year 1680, and landed at Delaware Bay. It is a traditionin the familythat these three brothers agreed to drop the final s from their name on their arrival in theNew World. William Venable, who was married in England, settled with his family at the little town ofBristol near the Delaware ^ver. He became a Quaker and was a Quaker preacher. He was theancestor of Robert Morris, the signer of the Declaration of Independence; also, of the Briggses, ofMassachusetts, the Lippincotts, Warringtons, Budds, and Thorntons, of Delaware, Pennsylvania, andNew Jersey. Among his direct descendants was William Venable the father of the subject of thissketch, bom in Burlington County, New Jersey, in 1789.In early manhood, WilliamVenable removedto Ohio, where he engaged in surveying, and afterwards in farming. He married Hannah Baird.William Henry Venable was the third child and second son of a family of five. In 1843 the familyremoved to a farm near Ridgeville, Clearcreek Township, Warren County. At the age of seventeen theboy determined to teach school in order to earn mon^ to continue his education. He was examined atLebanon, Ohio, by Charles Kimball and Josiah Hurly, who granted him a certificate of qualification toteach. In November, i854, Venable began his experience as a schoolmaster, for sixty cents a day, in a

miserable, little old schoolhouse at Sugar Grove, three miles west of Waynesville.The following Springhe taught at the Salem school, in the Dutch settlement between Ridgeville and Springboro. TheSummer of 1855 he a ttended a Teachers' Ins ti tute he ld in th e buildings of the Miami University, atOxford, Ohio. When the normal school (now the National Normal University) was opened at the oldacademy in Lebanon, Novemberlyth, 1855, Mr. Venable, with his sister Newel was among the first toattend it. For about three years he studied at the Old Normal, teaching part of each Winter, first atthe Liberty school, near Lebanon, and afterwards at Carlisle Station. For the next three yearsVenable taught in the Lebanon Normal School. Desiring a wider range of educational experience, Mr.Venable, in i860, resigned his position in Lebanon, and went to Vemon, Indiana, where he tookcharge of Jennings Academy. While in Indiana, Mr. Venable was one of the editors of the IndianaSchool Journal. His year of residencein the HoosierState is memorable, also,for his marriagewithMiss M. A.Vater, of Indianapolis. In 1862 Mr. John Hancock, the superintendent of the Cincinnatischools, offered Mr. Venable a situation. About the same time Mr. J. B. Chickering wrote also,

soliciting him to take the position of professor of natural science in Chickering Academy. Mr.Chickering's offer was accepted, and in September, 1862 Mr. Venable then in his twenty-sixth year,newly married, and anxious to establish himself in a permanent location, came to the Queen City, andentered upon the duties of his fresh field of labor. Mr. Venable entered Chickering Institute inSeptember, 1862 and his connection with that famous school continued until 1886, a period oftwenty-four years. Mr. Venable's educational and literary career was begun early,and by self-help heachieved a good reputation as a teacher, writer, and speaker. In 1881 Mr. Venable was elected amember of th e American Association for th e Advancement of Science. In June, 1886, th e OhioUniversitybestowed upon him the degree of Doctor of Laws. On coming to Cincinnati he became acontributor to the Gazette,and was correspondent for the New YorkRound Table. Beforethis he hadwritten for the Journal of Progress, the Star in the West and other papers. In 1861 he wrote a prizeessay on The Use of the Dictionary in the School-room. In 1862appeared a series of chapters calledFacts and Experiments in Chemistry. In 1863 he wrote, anonymously, fifty chapters of ChroniclesofThe Great Rebellion, a subscription book, which had an immense sale. A School History of theUnited States was published in 1870, which The Nation pronounced the best of its class. In 1871June on the Miami, an d Other Poems, was published by R. W. Carroll Co,of Cincinnati. Also at

this time appeared The School Stage, the Amateur Actor, and Dramatic Scenes. In 1876 Mr.Venable wrote a Primary History of the United States, which is still unpublished. In 1880 hiscelebrated poem, The Teacher's Dream, was issued as an illustrated book by Putnam's Sons. InDecember 1884, appeared a second volumeof poems,entitled Melodies of the Heart, publishedbyRobert Clarke Co. The poem by which he first became generally known, The Teacher's Dream,has been praised by Longfellow Holmes, Garfield, and other noted men, and is popular with teacherseverywhere. Heis recognized as one ofthe most graceful and effective of platform speakers, and hisservices i n t h is direction a re in c o n s ta n t d e m a n d.

MASY L COOK P U B U C MBB-ARl'831. O LD S TA G E E D .

W M ' N E f m L L E , O m O 4 5 0 6 85 1 3 / 8 9 7 4 8 2 6

8/10/2019 VENABLE (1)

4/17

I L B E R Tn C h i e f Cincinnat i , Ohio, September 4, 1912

E R N E S T C LY D E WA KA s s o ci a te E d i t o r

* >A . .T-;.,

Vs

. f t - ft

J ^ ^ u ,y ^ p

v Vi i i i a m H . v e n a o i e

)mantic the r oc ky a nd fe rn -sc en te d regions,Miami, the gr ot s where thy rambles begin,r cedars and hemlocks, in evergreen legions,Vvith silence and twilight seclusion shut in.

lere darkling recesses in miniature mountainsRecall to my fancy th e haunts of the gnome;lere fabled Un di na mig h t r is e f ro m the fountains.Or sport in the waterfall s glistening foam.

laughing in ripples and dancing the sedges,N ow f re t t ins th e minnows in edd y and whirl ,

Glide, whispering now under syNow singing by h am le t a nd c

Now shimmering onward througNow glassing the image of fo:

The farm boy, as careless he foilO'er lowlands which quicken a

R ea ds o ft i n some t o k e n o f s t o r

T h e w a r s an d t h e l o v e s o f un l t ] C b i c f Cincinnati , Ohio, September 4 1912

E R N E ST C L Y D Er W A K Ei rf .A s s oc i at e E d i to r

S c e n e o n t h e L i t t l e M i a m i River

Taken by Mr. I cler SrhwrcrCourtesy of Christlicbc Apologele.

T o t h e L i t t l e M i a m i R i v e rWi l l i a m H . Ven ab le

Romantic th e rocky an d fern-scented regionsMiami, th e g ro ts w he re th y rambles begin,

By cedars an d hemlocks, in evergreen legions,

Vvith silence and twilight seclusion shut in.There darkling recesses in miniature mountains

Recall to my fancy t he h au nt s of th e gnome;There fabled Undina might rise from th e fountains.

Or sport in th e waterfa l l s gl istening foam.

Now laughing in r ipples an d dancing th e sedges,Now fre tting the minnows in eddy an d whirl

No w kissing th e pebbles tha t sprinkle th y edgesAnd laving the pearl an d the mother-of-pearl.

Glide whispering now under sycamore shadowNo w singing by h amle t a nd cot tage and mill

No w shimmering o n wa rd t h ro u gh f lowery meadow,

Now glassing th e image of foresty hill.The farm boy as careless he fol lows t he h ar ro w

O er lowlands which quicken and ripen the maizeRe a ds o f t in icmc t oke n of stone,ax o r arrow,

T he wars and th e loves of u n ch ron i cl ed d ays .

There steals on th e a ir w it h murmuring numbersT h e moan of lament fo r a race and it s lore,

A sigh for yon chieftain forgotten who slumbersBeneath the lone mound on th y emerald shore.

From T h e Saga of th e O a k .

8/10/2019 VENABLE (1)

8/17

X

v 0^657

a t Walnut Hills High School, Cincinnati,

1900-34. He no w lives in Santa Monica,Calif. He edited a collection of poetry byOhioans in 1909 and his father s poems in1925. H e wro te T h e H a m l e t Prob le m a n dIts So lu t ion , C inc inna ti , 1912. WW 29

V EN AB LE , W IL LI AM HENRY (April 29,1836-July 6, 1920), historian of literaryculture in the Ohio Valley and a contributor to that culture as t ea ch er, p oet , n ov elist, essayist, and public speaker, was bo min a log cabin near Waynesville, WarrenCounty. A family background of Quaker

ismhe wa s a descendant of Quakerpreacher Wil liam Venable, wh o settled neart he De la ware River abou t 1680, and th eso n of pioneering Quaker parentsstronglyinfluenced his character development an dhelped to shape his thinking. In 1843 th efamily moved to a fa rm ab ou t seven milesnor th o f L eb an on , w here Ven ab le grew upi n a n e nv i ronme n t tha t c ombine d th e ha rdships of near-pioneer life with the generalenlightenment of a c ul ti va te d h ou se ho ld .While he attended d is tr ic t scho o l, his fathere nc ou ra ge d h im to read Plutarch, Shake

speare, Don Quixote, an d Lewis and Clar k sJournal. Many years later, in A BuckeyeB oy ho od ( 19 11 ) he gave a vivid accounto f hi s intellectual and mora l development ,especially of th e influence of Nature at at ime whe n v as t s tr et ch es o f th e M idw estw e r e st i l l u n c l a i m e d f r o m t h e wilderness .Ven ab le e ar ly decided to become, like hisfather, a teacher. When only seventeen hew as t ea ch in g at Sugar Grove. Later, at th eS o u t h wes t e rn State N o r m a l S cho ol in Le banon, he wo n distinction fo r versatile scholarship in language, literature, history, an dscience. After six years as student an dte acher, he spent the year 1860 as principalof Jennings Academy in Vernon, Ind. Itwas the only year he ever spent outsideOhio. After his marriage in 1861 to MaryAnn Vater of Indianapolis, he moved withhis young wife to Cincinnati, then th e Metropolis of t he M id we st . Here he wasto dev ote a lm ost a quarter-century to th eposts o f teacher, principal, a nd e ve nt ua ll yproprietor of a widely known college preparatory school, the C hi ck er in g I ns ti tu te .Disposing of his s ch oo l i nt er es t in 1886,Venable b us ie d h im se lf during the followin g three years in v ar io us l it er ar y v en tu re sand in public speaking in Ohio and neigh

Venable, W. H.

lish poetry. In 1900 he retired from teach

ing to devote the rest of his life to writingin a variety of fields. His death, followinga long illness, occurred in his eighty-fifthyear. He is buried in Spring Grove Cemetery at Cincinnati. As a child Venable lovedto compose verses an d in his teens fr eq ue nt ly c on tr ib ut ed to local newspapers.During his years at Chickering Institute,an d espec ia lly in t he period that followed,he found many opportunities fo r expressionby pen and tongue. He was happy in th e Queen City of th e West and grateful fo rits cultural resources, which he celebrated

in a C iv ic O de . W h e t h e r in verse o rprose, Venab le displayed intense interest inthe hi st or y of his c ommuni ty, state, and nat ion a n d in th e beau t ies o f Na tu re . A n dh e had an a lm o st Wo rd sw o rt hi an conviction of the importance of natural beauty inthe development of human character. HisSchool History of the United States (1872)was for many years a standard textbook inth e schools o f O h io and othe r states. A vo lume of essays entitled Let Him First Be aMan (1893) sets forth his ideal of teaching as the arousing of an intense desire forexcellence, moral an d intellectual. His popular romance A Dream of Empire; Or , th eHouse of Biennerhassett, (1901) was a bestseller of its day. Benjamin Parker called it T he on e g re at n ov el of th e Burr-Blenner-h as se tt e pi so de and one of th e strongest,most successfully const ructed and captiva ting of modern historical romances. Tom os t a du lt readers o f hi s t ime, Ven ab le wasperhaps best known as a poet. His verses,ed i ted a nd issued a f t e r his de a th in a c omplete edition (1925) by his son and literaryexecutor, E me rs on Ven ab le (q.v.), reveal

the scope of his interest s as well as hispoetic gifts. James Whit comb Riley calledhim T h e sweetes t w a rb le r o f th e w ho le enduring flock. Widely known in their timewere his Sage of th e Oak, th e pa sto ral J une on the M i am i , t he F l or id i an So nnets, inspired by a h oli da y sp en t in th eSouthern state, an d th e elegiac sonnets inmemory of his close friend an d fellow poetCoates Kinney (q.v.). Probably nothing heev er wro te, ho weve r, wo n greater popularitythan his ingenious My Catbird. Venable smost n o t ab l e a c hi ev e m en t as a m an o f le t

ters was his Beginnings of Literary Culturein the Ohio Valley (1891). This work ofmore than 50 0 pages is a v al ua bl e r ec or d

8/10/2019 VENABLE (1)

9/17

Venable, W. M.

does indeed include data from various lectures and journal is tic pieces. Ye t it is an irreplaceable survey of the cultural beginningsof our early Western society in the periodbrought to a close by the Civil War. Duringhis long, active career in Cincinnati, Venablewrote a great many essays and newspaperarticles and delivered numerous public addresses on the art of leaching, on librariesand other literary institutions of the state, andon famous personages of Ohio. In recognition of his contributions to letters, he receivedseveral honorary degreesMaster of Artsfrom Asbury University in 1864, Doctorof Laws from Ohio University in 1886, andDoctor of Letters from the University ofCincinnati in 1917. His lifework revealedin happy coordination the gifts of theimaginative writer and the spirit of thedevoted public servant. Among the authorsof Ohio he should be listed as Educator,Historian, Poet, Essayist, Novelist inthat order. In his work th e ultimate objective of the teacher was never fa r in thebackground. To him education was t hesupreme science of life, and conduct its application. William Henry Venable was, until his last illness, a man intensely devotedto his calling as teacher a nd writer and toencouraging the arts of self-expression inothers. His frail physique never deterredhim from arduous tasks. During his lateryears his reputation had spread far fromhis suburban home in Cincinnati s Tus-culum Heights, where he sought to keep asclosely in touch with Nature as he hadbeen in the boyhood cabin at Waynesville.His influence as a writer-educator in theOhi o Valley has been considerable. He tookas an injunction upon himself a passage ofhis own: Words are deeds. He who speakswell, or writes well, does service as practical as the sowing of grain, the steering ofa ship, or the curing of a wound.

Joseph SagmasterThe Teacher 's D ream, Ne w York, 1881.Melodies of the Heart . . . , Cincinnati,

1 88 5 .

Footprints of the Pioneers in the Ohio Valley , Cincinnati, 1888.

Beginnings of Literary Culture in the OhioValley . . . , Cincinnati, 1891.

John Hancock, Ph.D. A Memoir . . . , Cincinnati , 1892.

Let Him First Be a Man, and Other Essays

6 5 8

Saga of the Oak, and Other Poems, NewYork, 1904,

Cincinnati, a Civic Ode . . . , [Cincinnati?1907?].

Floridian Sonnets, Boston, 1909.A Buckeye Boyhood, Cincinnati, 1911.June on the Miami; An Idyll, Cincinnati,

1912 .A Centennial Hisloiy of Christ Church

. . . , Cincinnati, 1918.The Poems of William Henry Venable,

(Emerson Venable, ed.), New York, 1925,

VENABLE, WILLIAM MAYO (Feb. 14,1871-June 2, 1955), engineer, was born inCincinnati, Hamilton County, the son ofWilliam H. Venable (q.v.). He graduatedfrom the University of Cincinnati in 1892,served in the Spanish-American War, andworked in Cuba for a time after th e war.He afterward was employed by various engineering firms and for four years lived inPittsburgh, where he was recognized as apatent expert. Besides the title below, hepublished numerous scientific an d technicalpapers an d books.

The Second Regiment of United States Volunteer Engineers; A History, Cincinnati,[1899].

VER BECK, WILLIAM FRANCIS (June 1,1858-July 1^, 1933), was born in BelmontCounty. He, attended Belmont Countyschools, but spent the greater part of hislater life in ^Mansfield. Under the nameFrank Ver Beiik, he wrote ami illustratedbooks about comic animals fd r children.The Dumpies ankthe Arkansas Bear, with

Albert B PaineV New^ork, 1898.Acrobatic Animal^Fl^ York 1899The Three Bears, Haw York, 1899.Beasts and Birds, Nw York, 1900.A Handbook of Volf^or Bears, New York,

1900 .Book of Reorj,/ihiladeVhia, 1906.The Little LostlBear, Lomon, 1915.Short Little Tales from \ruintown, Phila

delphia, 19yVer Beck s pears in Mother Gooseland,

London, 1Timothy TiAtle s Great Day, London, 1916.The Donkey Child, New York, 1918.The Elephant Child, New York, 1920.The Little Bear Who Ran Away from Bruin-

8/10/2019 VENABLE (1)

10/17

age TwoC

A cartoon by H. F. Farny ofery young- William Henry Ven-

t rying to sell a poem end, Sp ri n g t o M u r at H a ls te ad

be seen a t o u r mus eum. Th i sure, showing him w it h t he long

and frock coat of tha t per- ,hung in th e office of Mr. Perry i

c t o r u n t i l h is r e t i r emen t w h e n ^w as presented to Allen Collier

oi l

azel Spencer Phillips

who gave it to Bryant Venable onC h r i s t m a s 1917 .

An oil painting of Professor Venable as an elderly man may alsobe seen. Both ar e gifts of Mr. an dMrs. Bryant Venable.

William Henry Venable startedwriting while quite young. Hisfirst appearance in print was apoem called Liberty in T heMiami Visitor of Waynesville, andh ad been wri t ten while he wa splowing a field on hi s f a th e rs f a rmnear Ridgeville.

Th e poet wa s th e son of William Venable, who had e mi gr at edfrom Ne w Jersey w it h hi s fathersfamily, and who had been given a

T W S T R N

Institute. He served as Profof En gli sh Literature at HHigh School an d a t Waln u tHe died July 6, 1920.

Venable ha d continued h isings of prose and p oe tr y a nd Western Star, of October 5, 18records that ha was readingproofs of a forthcoming volu June on th e Miami an dPoems . He wrote hi s fo bi tu ar y a nd a p oe m c al le dliam Bai rd of RidgeviPe bothwhich appeared in print ina n d are a t o ur mus eum.

Hi s first school book, publiin 1872, was a school historyth e United States w hi ch b ea s tandard text . I t was fol

by Beginnings of L ite rary Cture in th e Ohio Valley,prints of the Pioneers , A Bey e Boyhood an d A DreaEmpire . Other volumes publiswere Melodies of the Hear t ,Last F ligh t , S ag a of th eand his best known poemTeacher s Dre a m.

A copy of T he Poems ofliam Henry Venable has been psented by Mr. and Mrs. ByVenable, an d Melodies ofHeart and Songs of Freedomby Mary Gallaher ForgyC ha rl es T. Smart .

Venable wrote many papersdelivered many addresses ohistory of Wari en County andcame widely known as an authoron the literary history ofMiami Val ley,

He was awarded an HonorDegree of D oc to r o f Lettersthe University of Cincinnat i, Mte r of Arts from D e Pa u w U ni vsity, an d Doctor o f LawsOhio University.

As teacher, po et , and histVenable ma y be recorded aoutstanding literary genius o

county.

certificate a t th e f irst examinationfo r teachers ever held in WarrenCounty. He was an OrthodoxQuaker by birthright and wasamong th e e ar ly abolitionists. Hem ar rie d H an na h Baird, built alog cabin near Waynesville, anddivided his time between teachingan d farming. Five children wereb o rn to th e m.

In 1843 they bought a farm nearRidgeville. V\ illiam Henry wroteof his fa ther tha t he w as a qu ie tman, a lover of nature, ha d apoetic eye, an d enjoyed lo ng walks .This description f it s t he son equally well.

William H enry w as born April29 , 1 83 6. H is f a th e r took him toa mass meeting in Lebanon duringth e Tippecanoe an d Tyler tooc a mp a i g n an d General Ha rr i so np at te d t he small lad on th e headan d gave hi m a medal with a por-t i a it o f Harr i so n on on e side an d alo g cabin on th e other.

Yo un g Wil li am attended schoolf i r s t in a lo g cabin an d la te r inth e l i t t l e re d br ick schoo lhousen ea r R id ge vi ll e w hi ch was bu i lta b o u t 1846 .

H e o b t a i n e d a t e a c h e r s ce r t i f icate when he wa s seventeen yearsold and taught a t Sugar Groven ea r Waynesvi l le .

When Alfred Holbrook openedh is No rma l School a t L eb an on in1855 Venab le enrolled an d a l te i -nating his teach ing and schoolingyears he w a s g r ad u at ed in 1860.

Me m ar ri ed M ar y A nn Vat er , ofIndia napolis , who was also a gr ad ua te of Ho lbrook s school. Theymov ed to Cin cinn at i and his manyy ea rs o f service to th e educat ionalinstitutions there began with hisemp loymen t by th e Chickering

8/10/2019 VENABLE (1)

11/17

y his versatile scholarship and later established thereputation s the foremost authority in ll that pertains to the literary annals of the Ohio Valley.

M(.)st of his life he lived in Mt. Tuseuluin, one

of Cincinnati s most beautiful suburlis. In a commodious country residence here his seven childrenwere reared in an atmosphere of love and poetry.

For a quarter of a century he was connectedwith the Chickering Institute in Cincinnati and laterat Hughes and Walnut Hills High Schools.

As a public speaker he rendered notable serviceto the state, delivering historicaland commemorativeaddresses. He was al;o identilied with many Teachers Institutes and Associations as well as a memberof many educational and literary societies. He wasa deeply interested life member of the Ohio StateArchaeological and Historical Society.

On him the University of Cincinnati conferredits highest awardHonorary Degree of Doctor ofLetters; from DePauw University, Degree of Master of Arts; ai^d from Ohio University, Degree i)fD oc to r o f Laws.

Few books have exerted a wider influence t ha nhis history of the United States which for years wasa standard text book in the schools throughout thecountry. His historic novel, A Dream of Empire,enjoyed the distinction of having been a best sellerof its day. Of his poems, The Teacher s Dreamis probably the best known though his June On theMiami and the Old School House and others areably written. Besides the volumes heretofore mentioned are Beginnings of Literary Culture in theOhio Valley, Footprints of the Pioneers, Let

Him First Be a Man,A

Buckeye Boyhood, TomTad, Saga of the Oak, The Last Flight, Ta csfrom Ohit) History, and Melodies of the Heartan d n um e ro u s s ho r t stories.

A copy of each of the above named vu umes hasbeen secured for our Warren County Museum.

To tho:e of us who have had the grand privilegeof knowing this one of Warren County s most illustrious sons one could not but compare his physicalfrailty to the grandeur of his works.

8/10/2019 VENABLE (1)

12/17

W I L L I M H E N R Y V E N L E

By Perle M. KiTeyIn this County of Warren near the village of

Ridgeville (in the opinion of the writer), Ohio sablest historian, novelist and poet was born on April29, 1836. Here in this home of culture he grew tomanhood being the thi rd of the five chi ldren of William and Hannah Baird Venable and of Quakerparen tage

Though he got along well he disliked to attendschool. A great lover of the beautiful in nature, hepreferred by far to ramble through glade and glenwith a boy from a neighboring farm and years laterreferred to these incidents in many of his writings.

Stimulated by his home environment of booksand culture, thi s ambitious youth fast iutgrcw thelimits of the Ridgeville district schixil with puncheonfloor and at the age of seventeen was granted ateacher s certificate and soon employed for sixtycents per day at a neighboring school Years laterhe was the first teacher upon whom a State certificate wa s conferred

W h e n the S outh Western Normal School wa s ipcncd in Lebanon on November 17, 1855, he wasamong the first to enroll and soon vvon distinction

enty-four

8/10/2019 VENABLE (1)

13/17

a ,* fcj

3 V.

v3^3 HIBTOBYOFCINCINNATIANDHAMILTONCOUNTY. 509V-/^/l *^c(^ i **,oLiann.meis resDODsiblyconnected with manyof the leading enter- ,^thoP^^r,VrOnee^c V presidentoftheStandardOilCompanyofKen-., . ^ b e OhioCoal MiningCompany,and the CommercialClubof Cincinnati;( / ./* ^ \bolder anddirectorin the Cleveland,Cincinnati,Chicago St. LouisBail-50V Tnnm^Zy andtheCincinnati,NewOrleans TezasPacificBailroadCompany;/ roacl National Bank and theEquitable InsuranceCompany, and a

. a director Music and of the Children s Home. Eor many ^ . a director of^he Children s Home. Eor many

?/ }t^il f ilireptor of the Y M C A., in the development of which institutionhecA OiK years he was director of the Y. m o a . ^ Oin-o, 3., be Mr MeDo.rid h r^praHcalVo- oI the citizensof Oin- ./ r wbomits peopledelight to honoras a stanch supporterof localinterests andfutureof theQueen City. AlthonghaBepublieanmpoht.oB,.

Hn arLnt adherent of the principlesof that party, he has neverhe d pnblc ,;officepreferringtodevotehisentireattentiontobusiness,inaustrialandchantable

in lSeBhemarried Laura, daughterofThomasPalmer,andthey are T.Rnrn the wife of Edmund K. Stallo, a prominentmember ofthe Cmof jyr Mrs McDonald are members of the Presbyterian Church, m ;

an^dert^i^eroftheboardoftrustees.Mrs.M^^aldis esi-V;of the Cincinnati PresbyterianHospital and of the Womens MedicalCollep,

fndana^e supporteroftheHome for AgedMenandWomenandvariousothercbarrties Dalvay,theirhomeatClifton,isoneofthefinestprivateresidencesmOhio

W,?t tam Hekry Venable. This eminenteducator and writer was bom ma log

bousonafa^ nLrWaynesvilleWarrenCo.Ohio.April29.1836.Hisfather,WilliamTenable,wasa man of delicatetastesand markedpowersof knowledge,the sametraits which, inthemorestronglygiftedson, havecombinedto form one ofthe finest facuUies for intellectualculture that this country can show.were^ly rppamnrinVe^ mind, andrapidlydevelopedamongthe charmsofa rurallife,Ld theassociationsofafinethoughhumblehome. Bythe timebewasseventeenhe had so far advancedin general book-knowledgeas to applyfor acertificate toteacb school,whichwas readilygranted by the eEammersof -Warrencounty,one of theboard,JosiahHurty,praisingVenable Ve^We is awords which he wrote upon the margin of the certificate. Mr. Venable is abetter scholarthanmanyolder persons;I wishthatoilteacherswereaswellteught

\n November,1854 hebeganteachingechoolat SugarGrove,nearWaynesville,at a salaryof sixtycentsa day. On his twentiethbirthday he wasawardeda lifemembershipin the SonthwesternStateNbrmal SchoolAyociationand next yearmadeup bismindtocarry tbeburdensofa pedagoguethroughaposLonin theLebanonNormalSchool,wherebet^ght untilsometimem1859,pursuing special studies meanwhile withDr. W. D. Henkle. ^ .uiaster s ardor confined to books alone; for during one of thosething of life by taking a pedestrian excursionthrough several studying the miseriesof slavery. In I860 he resigned his positionatthe placeof principal of the Jennings-Academyat Vernon,Ind., wherea year. It maybe questioned whether the rising youngscholar was drawn acrossthe State line solely by the attraction of a professionalposition,sojournin Indianathat he was marriedto Miss.MaryA.Vater,of ^ladywhosegracesof mindand characterweremeverywaydesired to allum thechoice of snoba nature as his. .Somemouths after his marriage,7^^ ^ i1802,being already well knownin tbe West as a scholar andhimself in Cincinnati, taking the position of professor ofing Institute,in whichcelebratedacademyhe remainedthi-ough fmost activeand fruitfulyearsof his life, during-five of whichthe Institute. Upon retiringfrom Chickenng sin Januaryj1886,Prof. Tenable

8/10/2019 VENABLE (1)

14/17

8/10/2019 VENABLE (1)

15/17

SfAW.f.

-I

H IS TO RY O F C IN CIN NATI AND HAMILTON COUNTY.

. . occupied himself in lecturing throughout the country, in writing for various maga-zinea and periodicals, and in preparing a number of books forpublication. Some of

. his best and most valued works appeared during this term of authorship. In April,;1889,.he was called to becomes professor of Literature in the Cincinnati High:Sc h o o l , which distinguished position he still holds.

^ ^ -Dr. Venable s merits an d labors have won him many t i tl es an d honors. Besides' the degrees of Master of Arts and Doctor of Laws, conferred upon him by De I'auwand OhioUniversities, he has heldor holds membershipsin several ofthe most notedlearned societies of the country. One of these is the dignity of honorary member of

..the Historical and Philosophical Society of Ohio, a distinction which ouly five persons besides himself have enjoyed, among them ex-Presidents Harrison and Hayes,and Francis Parkman. In 1891 he was offered the presidency of the Association ofWestern Writers,, in which Gen. Lew Wallace and James Whitcouib Kiley held high

' places, buthe found it inconvenient to accept. At. the RepublicanState convention in 1886 he was supported by the best element of Ohio, as candidate for the office of

Sta te Sch o o l Commiss ioner.A merelist of the works which have.built up Prof. Venable's fame would fill the

remaining space of this article. Several of these were written at the leq^uest of the- foremost business men of Cincinnati, and have beenof special service to his city andState. His Beginnings of Literary Cnlture in the Ohio Valley will always pos-

. sess as much value and interest to western readers as Johnson's Lives of the Poetsto students of English literature. As an educational writer and lecturer, he

^ is esteemed not onlythroughout every westernState, but among the haughtiestcities' and colleges in New England and New York. But it is not strange that he is so

widely felt as au educational force; his theories are never out of proportiou to hispractice. No man knows better than Venable how to utilize the.ideal while idealizing the-practical. His History of the United States has a wide circulation; hislarest essay, Let Him first be a Man, is one of the most highly commendedbooksfrom the American press. , As a poet his reputation extends beyond his owncountry. English readers know his name, and some of his poems have been translated and reprinted in Germany and Austria. Knortz s German Historyof American Literature, printed in Berlin in 1891, gives several pages tohis writings.

... of his extensive reputation as a poet, hb owes to bis beautiful earlypi oduction,Teacher's Dream. His June on the Miami, and Melodies of the Heart, re-- veal some of the most ideal visions of the poetic temperament. Longfellow, Holmes

. and Stedman, Presidents Grant, GarBeld and Hayes, and other authors and statesmen of renown, have testified their appreciation of Venable s poetry as freely as the

i i untechnical critics of the general public.- resides iu an elegaut and commodious house on Mt. Tusculum,

built andfurnished with the profits of his literary labors. He has a charrurngily of four sons and three daughters. Thoughgenerally losing himself in entrancedcompanionship with his books and pictures when at home he is always ready, withcheerful and inspiriting courtesy to receive the friends and callers who seek his coun-sel, his aid, or the delight of his conversation. Cincinnati has no citizen in whomshe feels more honored than William H. Venable.[From the pen of John J e w e t t ' ' ,

John B. Jewett is the eldest son of Col. E. F. Jewett, well-known to the peopleof Hamilton county, from his pastservice in the offices ofcounty engineer and countysurveyor. The subject of this sketch was born at Newtown June 2-4. ISOo Fromhis mother, who possessed considerable talent, and acquired some note us a writer,he inherited a strong love for literature. He received his educational training in thepublic schools of Newtown and at Chickering Institute, Cincinnati. While at the

8/10/2019 VENABLE (1)

16/17

8/10/2019 VENABLE (1)

17/17

d-

A SAD TEIAGEDY

to H is De a th

at Hannon Park, MondayOne of the saddest tragedies in

the history of Lebanon was enactedat Harmon Park, Monday during

prior to the aquatic o u t up

g s t a r t

water. As he ncared the suitheface, however, his head struck Har-

Iold Williams, a close friend, directlyin the hack, both boys going unoer. Sd\oo\ Hisu.ry of theIHarold quickly pulled himsell j j^j.^tes, puhlisludi in IS72,,igcther and reached for more than a generation was the;;Henry, it is thought, eithci surteitvl l j^octbook ol f UVui aiul i

ncussion of the brain or broke ms ^ other stiites. |Nor only as poet arui historian, j

b t ;;seilucator, e.ssayist and nowl- is t Dr. Venable c on tr ih uic d to th eiliterature and traditior.s the OhiojValley. His A Dream of Kmpire;|or, The House of Bleniurha.s.sett,

C O

neck and failed to come tosurface. At first the.bathers thouphrhe was playing a joke on them, hutafter a lapse of several minutes,ithev began making a search.

As .quickly as the.My was

t h e

W IL LI AM H E NRY VENABLE

Noted Poet, Novenst Historian an d

E d uc a to r S u cc u m bs to I l l n e s s

William H^nry Venahie, widelyknown historian, poet, novelist andeducator, died alter a long illness

en f 1 I .1 Tuestiny iroining at his home, i(t49the mammoth Fourth of July t- le^- | \ iii^-yard phuv, Mt. rusculuin. Hebration, when Henry ' lY^as 8.^ vears oKl. He had carriedvcar old son of ProL R-P. ilhams, literary work until it wasl)irector of Harmon Hall, met aa i ,-ruprcd bv his illrRif;.untimely death while divmg into | enabl e was borri April 2 sthe huge dam at the Park. j j, i(,g house hullt i>y ir.s latlur

Young Williams who was atn ^ farm near \Vayne>.viHe, N\ar-ucrt swimmer, with others, had been County, Ohio. In his youth,having a fine frolic in the waui ^ historical invc-tiga-,

tn th e anuat ic contests , r in - t u rn s wu 1 I. hyxcr es.ahhshed.li.>,,ally he carnc out upon the bank tt1 as an auihoiny in .oi l'get a running start lor due ' ' i-thar pertains to the litcra.A ann.ds;

ol th e Ohio Valley.Out lit his ear ly n.Miiriln s /u-v

a serit:.t'gar)l' t'';nublished in 1892, was mt only one

storing Uie 'i ll c or ms sun. aIc;while Doctors Kdward ard 11. H.Blair were sumiupiuii ami t iu\ .

liid all tlicv coul.i to ^ave tl uOO ,vounu man s lile, bu t to ;.i

' Word of th e sa d trace.i\ u n. iiaehed the citizens ol itiMi.o -^Kul tncre was a husht .1 silti.er't...er'where. '.All who kiuw I IvM'-ir-. ali/tcd t lut one ot the litust,'cleanest, manliness Christian bov sN.f the ctnumunity had p.uo.i.j A'tfungWilliam.Nmaiivari inark.ti