In 1849, Judge Elisha W. Howland wrote this poem that was read before the Sandusky County Court by Rutherford B. Hayes, then a young attorney, to protest the changing of the name of the town of "Lower Sandusky" to Fremont, in honor of John C. Fremont. Ultimately the name of the Lower Sandusky was changed to Fremont.
Sandusky is the name of a river, a bay, a county, a city, and is included in the name of the community of Upper Sandusky. Because of the many uses of Sandusky as place names, I am quite thankful that Fremont is now known as Fremont, and not Lower Sandusky! This poem appeared on pages 117 and 118 of the book Poems on Ohio, collected and annotated by C.L. Martzloff (Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society, 1911.) Today the former home of Rutherford B. Hayes is open for tours. The Hayes Presidential Library and Museums is to a wonderful library filled with books about genealogy and local history, as well as a museum and historic home.
1 comment:
Great poem, Dorene! Naming towns was a big deal for our ancestors. When South Abington split off from Abington (where I live) there was some debate over which prominent citizen citizen to name it after, so it was known as Little Comfort until they settled on the eventual name of Whitman.
Thanks for taking part in the Challenge!
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