Murder and Meloncholy on the Ohio. . .

Ohio River, 1832

When I sorted the list of Ohio videos and grouped them into loose categories the first two in this post belonged together – they are a fit. They are both murder songs, both folk songs, both sad and melancholy. Both of them are set on the "Banks of the Ohio.”  Now for their differences. . .

It is doubtful that they would have the same audience. The first is an old folk ballad that has been done by every performer imaginable. It probably appeals to an older more traditional crowd. After seeing a myriad of videos of this song I've decided that Charlie Pride did it best for me.

The second song  will probably appeal to a younger audience with eclectic tastes. It hasn't been recorded by a zillion performers.  It is modern and edgy and echoes the older song, bringing the murder folk ballad up to date, without being a copy. It may be that when ‘Banks’ was first sung it was thought of as shocking, weird, and quirky.

What is it about the Ohio River? Ah, if the river could talk. . .

Banks of the Ohio  by Charlie Pride, 1968



Cursing the Ohio by Matt King, 2009



This last video is one I almost didn't include as the two above make a nice set.  Yet, this one fits in with its melancholy. Like the other two it is very Ohio. It is young and wistful and homesick. The song is dedicated to those who have lost their jobs and had to move away from their beloved state to pursue their dreams. This reminds me so much of the songs my beloved wrote and sang so sweetly with his guitar, and it has a graphic element he would've liked. . .it leaves an ache. . .

Ohio, by Jeff Davidson and Friends, 2013



Credits:  
Banks of the Ohio, Tsukikage726, YouTube, Apr 2011, by Charlie Pride (1968)
River picture: Wikipedia, Aquatint by Karl Bodmer from the book "Maximilian, Prince of Wied’s Travels in the Interior of North America, during the years 1832–1834" by Prince Maximilian of Wied (Publisher: Ackermann & Co., 1839).
Cursing the Ohio, Independent Music Awards, YouTube, Dec 2009, by Matt King. 
Ohio - Original Song, Jeff Davidson, YouTube, May 2013, by Jeff Davidson and Friends.

Knox County - There a "Turkey in the Straw"! For Grandpa Disney

William Fidler

I’ve added Knox County to the list, not because our ancestors pioneered there, but because Grandpa Disney’s ancestors were farming there. I planned this blog post as a nice birthday present for him, but I’ve missed it by one day. Yes, he is my step-father. He has been in my life since I was four – a very long time – long enough to add nurturing influence on the flip side of nature. There are similarities in our families.  Some of his family was Quaker like ours. Some of them lived in Maryland, Ohio, and Iowa like ours. He may be more closely related, in a genetic sense, to Walt Disney, but going back to England and before that to the Normans he shares direct line ancestors on our massive family tree – and in great numbers, which in a twisted way makes us related to old Walt, as well (without the Disney money, of course). J

Jane Anne Murphy

I’m past the halfway point in the county journey. Inevitably they are all Ohio counties and therefore have a similar history. Some of them have similar geography. You can count on snow in the winter in all of them. There is farming almost everywhere. As similar as the counties are they all have a unique character and something special and of value to offer.  

What about famous people? Well, Johnny Appleseed (YouTube video) lived in Knox before moving on to plant trees in Indiana. Here’s one you might know. Luke Perry graduated from high school in Knox County. The county is mostly rural with a few very nice middle-American villages and towns. The history was pretty familiar – a few ancient mounds – Indians on the warpath – when looking for early settlers the faint of heart need not apply. There was the same kind of growth – the mill, the bank, the school, the church. I was beginning to despair in finding anything unique to write about. And then. .

Knox County captured my heart.
[Note: the website I originally had in this place disappeared.] Here is one from the Knox County Chamber of Commerce. http://www.knoxchamber.com/
And then. . . I found this website: http://www.visitknoxohio.org/   The site is chock full of information but the best things are the series of videos you’ll find in the center of the page. 

Now, about the videos: A rails to trails project is on-going in Ohio to take the old railroad bed trail from the Ohio River near Cincinnati diagonally across the state to Lake Erie. Knox County has been proactive in completing their several sections of the trail and you may want to check out a video or two on the trails. Don’t miss the video on the Tree Frog Canopy Tours – the zip-lining looks like great fun. Another is the one on Knox County’s most famous son. You may never have heard of him but you certainly should know his songs!  Don’t miss the video “The Life and Times of Dan Emmett.” We had a great grandfather who played the violin and fiddled at barn dances and he no doubt played some of Emmett’s songs. The next video on the list made me smile – it is dorky and cute and a lot of fun – a flash mob at the street fair at Mt. Vernon to “We Built This City on Rock and Roll.”  There is also a video on the Mohican Pow Wow.

Knox is another of Ohio’s counties I’d love to visit. The list is getting long – I’d better start planning a road trip!      

Johnny Appleseed
Wikipedia

Happy Birthday, Dad! [Note: Dad Disney passed May 10, 2016. I hope he's out there planting seedlings with Johnny Appleseed. He would love that!]

Hamilton County, energy center of the Universe! . . .er, really?

Cincinnati

Hopping from one metropolitan area to the next seems a bit weird to me because I think of Ohio as an agricultural state. Of course, when our families were there they were farming, even in the counties which now contain large cities. We’ve moved from Columbus, the capital of Ohio, to the rip-roarin’ river town of Cincinnati in Hamilton County.

Rip-roarin’, that is how I thinking of it as of today, August 19. Yesterday the only picture it evoked (having never been there) is baseball. It seems, due to the Ohio River and the other rivers that empty into it, that Cincinnati was always destined to be something really special. Not necessarily good, often naughty, sometimes

Courthouse Riot, 1884

famous and just as often notorious. Colorful would describe its sketchy past; and sad her race riots and poverty. Still all of that is mixed with greatness – and comes along with the larger-than-life energy of place. In this place temperance crusaders battled with cultures that favored a good drink as part of their lifestyle. In this place abolitionists fought with slave-holding sympathizers and worked hard to run the Underground Railroad. From the beginning Cincinnatians drew into opposing camps and battled each other, or the Native Americans they had displaced, or the soldiers from Fort Washington who were there to keep the peace.

I read that even today the majority of voters in Hamilton Country are Independents. Now, that just

Harriett Beacher Stowe House
Cincinnati, Ohio

fits, doesn’t it? They have many famous sons and daughters. It is amazing, considering the size of Ohio that so many of the governors have come from Hamilton County. Harriett Beach Stowe lived there, and two presidents called it home, William Henry Harrison and William Howard Taft. It is a place where culture and education have always been hallmarks. I feel energized just reading about Cincinnati!

From almost the beginning the area had river pirates, bootleggers, hostile Indians, rowdy soldiers, large groups of Irish and German immigrants, and slaves coming from the south with a desperate need to be free – what a mix! Plus there were the movers and shakers, the politicians and the builders, the meatpackers, and the iron workers. The energy on that spot – Hamilton County must be electric.

I hear that they are working hard now to bring the downtown back to life and with the energy it has (probably boiling up from the center of the earth) I can see that the city is rising up like a phoenix to greatness  – and all her citizens proud of their great city. All part of Hamilton County.

Photos: Stowe House, Courthouse Riot, & Cincinnati from Kentucky www.wikipedia.com

Clipart: Phoenix www.microsoft.com/clipart/
MaryLu Tyndall's webpage 'The Cross and Cutlass': http://www.marylutyndall.com/2012/09/pirates-on-ohio-river.html

Belmont County

Belmont County Courthouse in St. Clairsville

A good part of the day I was sitting in San Diego County but immersed in Belmont County, Ohio. In this mostly rural county that is located in Ohio’s section of Appalachia I could picture a lovely fall-ish day with golden leaves and strolling through the pumpkin festival with a friend, going out to

Dickinson’s and returning with great photos of Texas Longhorn cattle, visiting a country church and Crabapple Cemetery. We might catch a boat ride on the Ohio River and stop in Wheeling, West Virginia for dinner. The next day I wouldn’t want to miss the opportunity to see Dysart Woods – an unglaciated primeval oak forest.

I’d stop at the Underground Railroad Museum and purchase a lovely glass vase at the Imperial Glass Museum as a memento of the trip. I’d stop at the impressive county courthouse in St Clairsville and then go to Flushing and Stillwater Creek near Sewellsville to see if I could find the locations that 

William Dean Howells

were once family owned.  I have a feeling it would be a very nice weekend.  I found no mention of 'the birthplace' of William Dean Howells, Belmont County's most famous son. Certainly there must be a nod to the Dean of American Letters, the shaper of modern American literature, and editor of the Atlantic Monthly. He died in 1920 and possibly there aren't enough who remember his large presence in the literary world; but I hope somewhere, maybe a library, there is a nod to this great man and a complete collection of his work.

My 4^th great grandparents John and Mary Scarborough Moore were Marylanders who married at St. John’s Parish in Harford County Maryland, where they settled and raised a family of thirteen children. When John died at the age of 49 in 1825, Mary and most of the children turned toward new lives in the wilderness of Ohio. The children ended up in various counties but Mary and her sons, Joseph and Amos, and her daughters, Charity and Emily settled with their families in Belmont County. At first Mary located at Stillwater Creek near Sewellsville. I can see her walking along Zane's Trace and deciding she'd traveled far enough. Later on she made her home with Joseph, who lived east of Flushing. The Moore’s were Presbyterians and they lived near the Crabapple Presbyterian Church.  Mary was buried in Crabapple Cemetery.

My third great grandparents were George Carscadden (often shortened to Scadden or Skadden, or spelled Karscadden) and Margaret Ann Moore.  They settled in Harrison County and raised 6 children in addition to the three girls from Margaret’s earlier marriage to John Moffat.  It was George and Margaret’s daughter, Susanna, who married John Clarence Robb. My mother’s maiden name was Robb and these are her people.

Photos:  www.arc.gov  Appalachia Counties; Wikipedia