My hometown of Jeromesville is a small but mighty village. I speak with pride when I say it only stands to reason that it was chosen in the Ohio Heritage Tree Project, setting off a celebration this past weekend.
Coordinated by America 250-Ohio, the state granted a native Ohio white oak to each of its 88 counties, one per county, chosen after a rather complex application process. The community Boy Scouts led the parade to the dedication ceremony this past weekend, ending at the newly-planted tree in the village cemetery where we gathered.
I was honored to have been asked to be the keynote speaker. I am sharing a condensed version with my Farm and Dairy readers:
As we gather for this ceremonial observation, we are urged to consider our past, present and future. The historian in me wishes to look as far back as this community can reach. I will tell you today about three Jeromesville heroes that I am willing to bet you know nothing about.
The world was an uncertain place in the 1860s for Americans as Yanks and rebels alike stood their moral ground. There is no better way to grasp the very personal impact of these times than by reading letters written home from young men far from their Ashland County home, likely for the very first time, fighting for their dear USA.
The oldest of the brothers, John Boyd, signed on as a volunteer to serve 3 years and 3 months, along with 34 fellow Mohican Township, Ashland County, Ohio, boys in the early months of 1862.
While John, the oldest of seven brothers, urges his brothers to remain home to help with the farm work, soon Stephen also joins the war effort. “I saw Stephen and he was well before we left Louisville. I wish he was with us, but so it is,” John writes Oct. 5, 1862. John’s company left Oct. 1 “and have been on the march ever since.”
Stephen writes of being part of “the ever-to-be-remembered march after Bragg” arriving at Crab Orchard Oct 16, distance of march 1,130 miles. Soldiers marched in often ill-fitting, worn-out boots, and wrote home requesting ways to get basic needs from home.
Stephen tells of “a little Dutchman” home on health furlough with “the rheumatism” in Jeromesville, “someplace, but I don’t know where” for 30 days. He asks his brother Scott to buy him buckskin gloves and send them back with that man.
The labor of war, including building roads in hip-high mud, is described in a letter home from a Boyd cousin, Joseph Goudy.
A friend, Benton Shane, is described as “well and part of a driving team. I never thought I would have to make a horse of myself until today!” Goudy writes. Farm boys knew about road building, as all were required to help with it in their home township at this time.
Stephen writes with great personality shining through, enjoying service to his country. From a hospital bed in Louisville, where he is being treated for dysentery, “the road was just black with soldiers marching south from morning til night.”
One month later, he writes of feeling better than he ever has, and we learn James has left home, drafted into military service. Stephen worries how the farm can survive with the three oldest, hearty brothers gone. They tell of money being sent home to hire help.
Brothers ask for blankets, coats and comfort. “Everything is very dear here,” writes John from Nashville. Stephen asks for postage stamps and urges everyone to write “with all the news!”
As we gathered to dedicate the mighty oak, the only thing of which our country is certain is our history and the present day. This tree will grow to shade family we have not yet met, and one day they will touch upon history we have been a part of, or perhaps history we have learned from.
It is the reason I wanted to share the story of the Boyd brothers, young men who once lived here and were laid to rest here.
Next week: A closer look at these local heroes
