John Merrill

Sept. 3, McKinley: Leon Arms Himself

Tuesday, September 3, 1901

Leon Czolgosz, who had arrived in Buffalo the previous Saturday, had already made the decision. He would later tell authorities that he hadn’t, if he hadn’t already decided to shoot the President of the United States, he wouldn’t have purchased the gun he would use to do just that.

Leon had a whiskey sitting at his usual spot in the John Nowak’s saloon and boarding house. The establishment was known as a Raineslaw hotel, one that could legally serve liquor on Sundays which was what had partly attracted Leon to the place, that and the fact it was in a Polish neighborhood. He liked hearing Polish being spoken. It reminded him of his mother in their kitchen.

Leon nursed his drink and read the paper. He read about how the city would be decorated for the president’s arrive tomorrow afternoon. John G. Milburn, president of the exposition along with the mayor and a few other dignitaries would meet the president not at Union Station, but just past the station at Porter Avenue in Dunkirk. The paper said the streets will be handsomely decorated.

Leon set the paper down finished his drink and walked towards the front door. The bar tender said “See you later Fred?” Leon muttered something under his breath that the bar tender couldn’t hear. When he registered for his room, he gave the name Fred Nieman. It was just one of the lies that Leon had grown accustomed to telling.

After leaving the bar, Leon walked the five miles up to the new Walbridge’s Hardware Store on Main St. Here he purchased a new 32 caliber Iver Johnson revolver. Oddly, this same make would later be used to attempted to kill Franklin Roosevelt, and by Sirhan Sirhan to kill Robert F. Kennedy. But in Leon’s mind, he only wanted to shoot one person: President William McKinley tomorrow afternoon when he gets off the train.

iver-johnson-pistol — This is the 32 cal. Iver Johnson Leon purchased for $4.50 at Walbridge’s Hardware Store. Pistol is on display at the Buffalo History Museum.

September 2: A White Man Named Tecumseh

By John Merrill

Nine years after William’s birth, his 41 year old father Charles, died suddenly leaving behind a wife and eleven children with no income. There future was put directly in the hands of willing friends and family. William was adopted by a family friend, Thomas Ewing. Ewing provided the young William the necessities of life, but also the necessary financial support and guidance so sixteen year old William was admitted to West Point.

At his birth, William’s father could not have known the far reaching effects of the name he gave to his son: William Tecumseh Sherman. Tecumseh was a name that had evoked fear like an approaching plague across northern Ohio

not that many years before William’s birth. But his namesake also was an effective warrior-leader among the Shawnee. He too would become a warrior leader unlike any other ever to march across the United States of America.

On this day in 1864, William Tecumseh Sherman was living proof he had the same character as his namesake. William did not do well at West Point. He worked at several failed businesses, but finally got at an appointment to be superintendent of the Louisiana State Seminary of Learning and Military Academy in 1859.

Abraham Lincoln won the Presidential election in 1860. By the time he was sworn in to office on March 4, 1861, seven states had succeeded from the Union and elected their own president. Just a month after Lincoln’s inauguration, the war had started. On May 14, 1861, William Tecumseh Sherman was commissioned as a colonel in the U.S. Army.

Sherman would be involved in most of the major campaigns west of the Alleghenies. When Ulysses Grant was promoted to commander of all Union forces in 1864. Shortly after that Grant gave Sherman command of the Division of the Mississippi. Sherman’s mission: take complete control of the south and drive Confederate forces to the sea.

William Tecumseh Sherman, 1864 Atlanta George — William Tecumseh Sherman, 1864 Atlanta Georga

On this day in 1864, Sherman accepted the surrender of Confederate forces defending Atlanta. It would be a major accomplishment for Union forces. Atlanta was the railroad hub of the Confederacy and from where much of the war materiel went through. With its capture the South could no longer easily move men and materials where needed. It also marked the beginning of a new phase of the war.

Sherman was given the go ahead for his plan of bringing “total war” to the South. A few days ago, Atlanta citizens got a taste of what Sherman had in mind.

On September 1, 1861, a captured ammunition train was ordered destroyed. The resulting explosion caused a fire that quickly got out of hand and destroyed a large swath of Atlanta. That event was played out in a scene in the movie “Gone With the Wind.”

Sherman remained in the Atlanta area until after the election in which President Lincoln was re-elected thanks to Sherman’s success. After this pivotal point, Sherman was given permission to release the dogs of hell on his march from Atlanta to Savannah. He arrived on the coast just before Christmas leaving behind a path of destruction. There would be calls for him to replace Grant as commander of all the armies, but Sherman would have none of that and he openly

AUG. 31, McKinley: Leon Czolgosz Arrives in Buffalo

By John Merrill

The year was 1901 and Leon Czologosz had just arrived by steamer at the Buffalo dock. It was August 31 and on the weeks leading up to this day Leon had had an epiphany. On the steamer, he had worked out some of the details, but he mostly spent his time reading the Anarchist pamphlets he picked up during his brief stay in Chicago. While in Chicago, Leon also read about the president’s plans to visit the Exposition in Buffalo next month.

Leon was a little slippery with facts, perhaps because he couldn’t remember facts or perhaps just because he was a natural liar. At one time he was born in Michigan, another time in Cleveland. His father, a Polish immigrant, lived in Warrensville where he had recently acquired a 55 acre farm.

The last few years had been especially difficult for Leon. The last two decades had been difficult. The new farm gave Leon the space not to be crowded by the capitalists he constantly ran into in the city. He found himself immersed in his inner musings and sat quietly on the farm while his father tried to get the land to give up its reward. His father didn’t mind that Leon did not help. He knew Leon was an intelligent man and needed his time to think, he had always been that way.

It was Saturday when Leon disembarked. He already knew where he was going, he had been here just a few weeks back and was quite familiar with Buffalo and where the Exposition was located. Leon would later say that he hadn’t made up his mind when arrived in Buffalo, but again, Leon was a natural liar. He knew he was going to shoot the President of the United States in less than a week.

August 29: Boss Kettering is Born

By John Merrill

As you probably know, this is the 10 year anniversary of when Hurricane Katrina first made landfall near New Orleans. It was a Cat 4 storm and caused more than 1300 deaths and almost $200 billion in damage. One hundred and forty years before that story, another event occurred in a little town in northeast Ohio. It was the birth of a little boy that would make a huge impact on the American people and the world. That would be in the years to come. On this day, Martha Kettering was happy he was a healthy boy. His father, Jacob was glad his wife had survived the ordeal of childbirth.

Anyone that has a driver’s license has probably used a key to start their car. For those that don’t know what happens when they turn that key, in its most basic concept, allows a jolt of electricity to run from the battery to a motor that actually turns or cranks the engine. Sparks are then ignited in the piston chambers that cause a mixture of air and vaporized gasoline to explode. Once all of the cylinders start revolving, the starter motor quickly disengages from the engine and it continues on its own.

Sure, everyone knows that you say. But if you ever see any of those old movies where the guy has to stand in front of the car and turn a crank to get the engine started can appreciate what it was like before the self-starter was invented.

Thirty -nine years after this day in 1856, Charles F. Kettering, got his patent for the electric car starter. Kettering’s electric starter had been first installed on the 1912 Cadillac. By the early 1920s Kettering’s self-starting motor would be installed on just about every car made. That refinement in automobile ownership made the automobile more attractive, especially to women. It was the beginning of the automobile culture that continues to this day.

Kettering and his company, DELCO (Dayton ELectronics COrporation), went on to create a number of improvements to the automobile including shock absorbers, the automatic transmission, quick-drying automotive paint, and safety glass.

Although he was most famous for his contributions to the auto industry, Charles Kettering is also known for developing several medical innovations such as an incubator for premature infants, venereal disease treatments and a number of magnetic diagnostic devices. During his time at DELCO and later at General Motors (GM), Mr. Kettering accumulated a great fortune. In 1945 he and Alfred Sloan, another GM vice president, used their wealth to establish the Sloan-Kettering Institute for cancer research.

In 1856 on this day Charles Kettering was born in Loudonville, Ohio and over the next 82 years of his life he would be awarded 140 patents for things that we take for granted today. Charles is 159 years old– be sure to wish him a happy birthday and say thanks!

August 28: Lucy Webb is Born

By John Merrill

Lucy Webb would become a woman of many firsts throughout her life. She would become the first wife of a president to be called the “First Lady.” She would be the first wife of a president to have graduated from college. She would be responsible for bringing the first telephone to the White House, the first typewriter to the White House and her and her husband would initiate the children’s “Easter Egg Roll” in the front yard of the White House.

While being First Lady, Lucy Webb Hayes, wife of Rutherford B. Hayes, the 19th U.S. President, endured the endless social schedule involved with that title, but what she loved to do was entertain her wide circle of friends in the White House. That circle of friends included several women that would someday have those same responsibilities. Ida McKinley, wife of congressman William McKinley was a frequent guest even substituting for Lucy at some White House functions when Lucy had other commitments. Lucy invited to one of her private socials, Rutherford’s former law partner’s sixteen year old daughter, Helen Herron who found the get together the “climax of human bliss” and vowed that she would someday return to the house as First Lady (she did as Howard Taft’s wife 30 some years later).

Lucy’s strong religious beliefs had always guided her life and just because she was a temporary resident of the White House, it was no reason to amend those beliefs. She and when he was in town, Rutherford, regularly attended services at the Foundry Methodist Church less than a mile from the White House. Not only did she attend regular Sunday morning services, but also actively involved herself in church activities walking to and from the church. Lucy grew up in a Methodist household and graduated from a Methodist college, and she had long embraced the churches stance on Temperance. Feeling no compulsion to change her belief system when her husband narrowly won a hard fought election, Lucy banned all alcohol from the White House. Years after Rutherford left office, his wife would sometimes be referred to as Lemonade Lucy– but never to her face.

Certain previous First Ladies had been sharply criticized for reasons that today would seem unfathomable: her hair is too frizzy, her wardrobe is outrageously scandalous, exposed neckline, bare arms, powdered face. Lucy seemed to have a personality or air about her that did not immediately draw poison from the press’ pens. Quite the opposite.

Lucy was the modest woman from Ohio who wore no jewelry, and more often than not wore only black, that matched her black hair that was always parted in the middle and pulled back in a tight bun. Only on special occasions would she adorn her hair with a hair beret as an accent. She was finely accustomed to the elevated requirements of a politicians wife. Her husband had been elected governor twice, and he had served in the US House of Representative. Those requirements were mere nothings compared to what she endured being close to the blood of battle and smell of death as she attended soldiers fighting under her husbands leadership during the War of the Rebellion.

Lucy seemed not to use her position in life as the First Lady to adopt causes even when she believed in those causes. Her position was the result of a marriage and nothing other than support her husband had she done to garner power that could be wielded across the country. That support of her husband could not be so easily dismissed as powerless. Lucy had great influence with her husband if she chose to use it. It had always been that way between them, even after they first met.

Lucy had first met Rutherford Birchard Hayes, who was born in Delaware Ohio, while she attended classes there along with her older brothers. She was just 14 years old the first time she met Rutherford who was 23. By that time Rutherford had already attended a private school in Connecticut that would later become a part of the Wesleyan University. In 1842 he received his degree from Kenyon College and then went to Harvard College to become a lawyer and graduated in 1845. It was probably after his graduation when he returned briefly to Delaware to see his family that he encountered the young Lucy. While in Delaware, Lucy’s mother became friends with Hayes’ mother and the two women most certainly discussed ways of getting their two children together.

Although Rutherford would begin practicing law in Lower Sandusky (now known as Fremont) it was a small town with really not enough legal work to suit his drive. In 1847 he had some health issues and decided to take a trip to Texas where he spent some time before returning to Ohio and in 1848 he relocated to Cincinnati to open a new law practice there. Here he became involved with the Abolitionist movement and became reacquainted with the much older Lucy, now 18 and a college graduate of Wesleyan Woman’s College in Cincinnati.

Rutherford began mentioning her in his diary: “Her low sweet voice is very winning … a heart as true as steel…. Intellect she has too…. By George! I am in love with her!”

In less than two years of her graduating from college, Lucy and Rutherford B. Hayes were married and together they would fight many political battles and wars, but they would never lose sight of their profound love for each other. They would spend their remaining days at their home in Fremont. On June 25, 1889 while Rutherford was attending a meeting in Columbus, Lucy had a stroke and died in the early morning hours. Three and half years later, Rutherford died of a heart attack at his home in Fremont.

Both Lucy and Rutherford are buried on their estate called Spiegel Grove in Fremont Ohio.

On this day in in 1831, Lucy Webb was born the third child of Dr. James and Maria Cook Webb in a two story framed house at 90 West Sixth Street in Chillicothe, Ohio.

August 27: Charles Gates Dawes is Born

By John Merrill

If you had a good history teacher at any time during your formative years, you know about the famous ride of Paul Revere. What would be the sign of a really good teacher is that you also know about William Dawes. He too spread the message among the colonials living between Boston and Concord, that the British were coming. William Dawes actually started his long ride before Revere ordered the signal lights be placed in the bell tower of Christ Church.

Early in the evening of April 18, 1775, it wasn’t clear yet to the colonials whether or not the British would be marching to Concord by first crossing the Charles River by ferry, or by taking the longer route up river where they could ford the river. Instead of waiting to know which route the British would take, it was felt that it would be better to make sure the warning got out as quickly as possible. That’s why Dawes left before Paul Revere had the lanterns hoisted in Boston.

The reason the British were planning their surprise incursion to Concord was two fold. On the way to Concord, they were hoped to capture colonial insurgents Sam Adams and John Hancock who were thought to be in Lexington. The British also suspected a large cache of arms were in Concord.

Before the exact route was determined, Dawes took off by horseback took the longer route the British would take and once Paul Revere learned the exact route, he took the shorter route, being ferried in a small rowboat across the mouth of the Charles River. And then together with Dr. Samuel Prescott, the two rode to Lexington and then planned on then going to Concord.

Revere and Prescott arrived in Lexington just before midnight and Dawes arrived less than an hour later. Having warned Adams and Hancock in Lexington, Revere, Dawes and Prescott rode on to Concord warning colonials along the way. The 3 men took turns stopping to relay the message farmers. While Dawes was stopped at one house to give his warning, Revere and Prescott rode ahead and ran into a British patrol. They were stopped, but Prescott escaped and went on. As Dawes caught up with the men he spotted the patrol and rode around them and on to Concord as did Prescott. Revere’s horse was confiscated by the British and he walked back to Lexington to join Adams and Hancock as they prepared to depart.

The following day, April 19, about 70 British troops marched into Lexington. Thanks to the warning of Paul Revere and Charles Dawes, 38 colonial militia from around the area had been warned and were ready, armed with muskets and squirrel guns on Lexington Commons. Eight colonial militia were killed during this confrontation before the militia could disperse when the firing started. After this brief encounter a smaller group of British regulars went on to Concord. Those that remained in Lexington began rounding up the militia and looking for Adams and Hancock.

When the British arrived in Concord, they were faced with an entirely different confrontation than they arrived in Lexington. Instead of a few militia facing them, they saw 500 militia. Gun fire erupted briefly at the North Bridge resulting in a number of casualties. The British regulars, greatly outnumbered, began a withdrawal. As the British troops retraced their steps back to Lexington, the Massachusetts militia dogged them with periodic engagements and caused many casualties among the British.

On this day in Marietta Ohio, in 1865, Charles Gates Dawes was born to Rufus and Mary Beman Gates Dawes becoming the great-great-grandson of William Dawes. As an adult, Charles Dawes would later win the Nobel Peace Prize for working on reparations of Germany after World War I. Charles would later become an ambassador to Great Britain, after he first served as Vice President of the United States under Calvin Coolidge. Charles Dawes also had a younger brother names Beaman Dawes, the man who liked to collect trees from around the country and plant them on his property just south of Newark, Ohio. His little farm in Licking County would later become the world famous Dawes Arboretum.

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