Guide to the Gilbert-Richards Papers Finding Aid

Biography of Giles Richards and Alfred Gilbert

Giles Richards (1792-1876) Giles Richards was one of ten children born to Giles and Sarah Richards, but only six lived to maturity - Sarah, Giles, Amos Adams, Charles, George Thomas and Mary Elizabeth. His father manufactured cotton and wool cards in Cambridge, Massachusetts and was a friend and associate of many prominent Boston citizens. During the War of 1812, Giles and his brother, Amos Adams Richards, worked in Rhode Island, manufacturing buttons and saddlery ornaments for the army. By 1816, they had settled in Cincinnati, where they worked as agents for the New York Card Manufacturing Company until 1822. Most of the business was in connection with the river trade, working with Ohio firms, eastern manufacturers, and New Orleans and Louisville traders. Richards' work introduced him to many prominent citizens of Cincinnati, including Nicholas Longworth. He married Eleanor Hankinson Lloyd (born March 2, 1799) on November 1, 1820. Their first child, Elizabeth Adams Richards, was born August 2, 1821. Three other children followed: Ellen, Henry, and George. From 1822 to 1835, Richards operated the Colerain Flouring Mill, the Colerain Cotton Mill, the Fulling and Carding Mill, the Giles Richards Store Concern, a Dye House, a Tavern House, and a Saw Mill in Colerain, a small village near the northwest corner of Colerain Township on the bank of the Great Miami River, about sixteen miles northwest of Cincinnati. He retired from active business in 1835. In May 1828, Richards bought about 150 acres on the Great Miami River, which was known as the "Stone Mill" farm. He built a home there, which he named "Elland," in honor of his wife and daughter. Richards was a trustee of both the Farmers' and the Ohio Female College at College Hill in Hamilton County. He also was a member of the syndicate which laid out the village of Dunlap. He promoted the railroad, was a real estate syndicator, belonged to a number of scientific and artistic societies in Cincinnati, was an active member of the New Jerusalem Church, was a trustee of several charitable organizations in Cincinnati, and was a successful winemaker and grower of grapes. He also served as treasurer and president of the Venice Bridge Company, which involved him in the construction and operation of the Colerain, Oxford & Brookville Turnpike. After the Civil War, Richards ceased his active community involvement. He died in 1876.

Alfred West Gilbert (1816-1900) Alfred West Gilbert was born in Philadelphia on February 9, 1816. He was the grandson of Robert and Mary Gilbert, who came to America circa 1799 and settled in Philadelphia, and the second son of Joseph and Sarah Crocker Gilbert. Joseph and Sarah Gilbert had five sons (Thomas, Alfred, Henry, Joseph, and Charles) and one daughter, Lucy Gilbert McGonegil, who survived to adulthood. Another daughter, Sarah, died at about two years of age. The last years of Joseph's life were spent on his fruit farm, Westland, in Sycamore Township, near Reading, Ohio, until his death circa 1851. The Gilberts were members of the Society of Friends, or Quakers. Joseph established the first umbrella manufactory in Philadelphia. In 1826, the Gilberts moved to Cincinnati, where after a time Joseph found employment with Nicholas Longworth in his grounds on Pike Street. For a time, the Gilberts lived in Robert Owen's community in New Harmony, Indiana, but returned to Cincinnati. As a young man in the late 1830s, Alfred Gilbert worked as a surveyor and was active in local political and religious matters. In 1840, he met Elizabeth Richards, the daughter of Giles Richards, the president of the Colerain Oxford & Brookville Turnpike. They were married on May 17, 1848. In 1841, Gilbert traveled West to Iowa. When he returned, he began working in the office of S.P. Chase of the law firm of Chase & Ball and attending the law school of Cincinnati College. After being admitted to the bar in 1844-1845, he opened an office and practiced law. During this time, he made and published a sectional map of Hamilton County, showing every farm with the names of the owners and number of acres, all roads and streams, schoolhouses, and towns in the county. It was the first map of its kind ever published in Hamilton County. Chase suggested that Gilbert create a map that showed the title to each tract of land from the original owner, John Cleves Symmes, who bought all the lands included in Hamilton County from the government. While making the map, Gilbert slipped into his old career as a surveyor and civil engineer. In 1846, he surveyed and superintended the construction of the Bank Lick Turnpike in Kentucky from Covington towards the county seat, Independence. In 1847, he surveyed and superintended the building of the Dover and Minerva Turnpike in Mason County, Kentucky, and other roads in that area. On February 21, 1849, Gilbert was elected as city surveyor by the Cincinnati City Council. Later that year, he became the city's civil engineer. In this role, he prepared plans for all public work of the city. During his term as city engineer, many large projects were initiated, including the establishment of a new system of water works and a general sewer system for the city. In July 1861, Gilbert was one of a group to raise the 39th Ohio Volunteer Regiment. Entering St. Louis, the regiment was the first Ohio regiment to ever enter Missouri. Gilbert served as an officer of the 39th Ohio Volunteer Infantry until he was seriously injured in the second battle of Corinth (October 4, 1862). After serving the city of Cincinnati for more than 20 years, Gilbert gave up public life in 1873, retiring to the old Richards homestead, which he had bought. The couple retired to Elland; Elizabeth Richards Gilbert passed away in Kansas City, Missouri on October 31, 1884. Gilbert continued to supervise the farm at Elland until his death in Cincinnati on October 24, 1900. Gilbert Avenue in Cincinnati was named for him. Alfred West and Elizabeth Richards Gilbert had four children: · Warren Gilbert (1849-1866) · Mary Adan Gilbert (1850-1920), who married Edwin J. Carpenter (1850-1926) in 1874 · Adolph West Gilbert (1852-1939), who married Sarah M. Nelson (1859-1922) in 1880. They had one child, Edwin Carpenter Gilbert, who was born in 1881. · Eleanor Holmes Gilbert (1855-1951), who married Clemmons T. Allcutt (1855-1921) in 1879. They had five children: Isabella Elizabeth "Daisy" (1880-1969); Mary Adan Temple (1882-1976); Eleanor May (born 1886); Rowena (born 1888); and Clementine Colledge (1895-1958).

Scope and Content

Letters, diaries, account books, corporation records, early surveys of Cincinnati, and ephemera can be found in the collection. Correspondence Letters in the collection contain information about the river trade in the early 19th century, the early textile manufacturing, southern Ohio, home and community life from 1830 to 1862, social and economic conditions in New Orleans and the new countries of Illinois and Iowa in the 1830s and 1840s, Cincinnati social life during the 1840s, and life at the Ohio Female College in the 1850s. Correspondence between members of the Richards and Gilbert families first documents Clem and Nellie Gilbert Allcutt's move to Australia in 1896 and Clem's business interests, such as investing money in a Kansas town and remodeling and improving a packing house. The collection includes correspondence to Elizabeth Richards Gilbert from several of her friends, including Elizabeth Mary Conclin, Caroline Cathcart Day, Martha Holmes and Mary Hinman. A significant portion of the collection documents the relationship between Alfred W. Gilbert and his son, Adolph. Financial difficulties permeate their correspondence, from Adolph's trying to keep his expenses down while in school to his efforts to work in Texas and later in Kansas. The letters provide information about Adolph's troubled experiences in the banking and utilities industries, and Alfred's continued efforts to offer advice and financial support. In an October 21, 1892 letter, Adolph writes his father, "...after the useful life you have led & all the good you have done for us all, particularly me & you are alone, the longer I live the more I appreciate how well you brought us all up & educated & provided for us. We always had a pleasant home, all the comforts & many of the luxuries of life, a horse & carriage, plenty of company & friends, with whom we exchanged visits, a good education for all of us children, & how little we appreciated it apparently, & you earned the money for it all by hard every day work." While serving as an officer in the 39th Ohio Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War, Alfred Gilbert faithfully wrote to his wife, providing details of his regiment's activities in Missouri, his hopes for a Christmas furlough, and his plans to have his wife and her sister, Ellen, visit him at the regiment's headquarters at Syracuse, Missouri. A letter dated December 23, 1861 provides an illustrative sketch of the regiment's Syracuse, Missouri headquarters as Gilbert's Christmas present to his family. Later, on March 6, 1863, Gilbert writes a letter to his children from Washington, D.C., where he provides a description of the city on letterhead bearing the image of the United States Capitol. Several letters of Gilbert's from this period also provide suggestions and advice to his wife about Elland farming matters and reflections about their life together. Details about Gilbert's Civil War service can also be found in a number of invoices and documents submitted to Gilbert that detail the regiment's supply needs. Gilbert's resignation as colonel of the 39th Regiment, his application for the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, and his efforts to obtain a pension for his Civil War service are also housed here. The collection includes several letters of recommendation and congratulations for Gilbert as he advanced in his engineering career. Gilbert's accomplishments in developing a sewer system for the city of Cincinnati are documented in the collection. Reports about sewer systems in St. Louis, Brooklyn, Chicago and Philadelphia provide historical context about this urban planning effort. Other letters outline details of inspecting roads, bridges, tunnels, drains, culverts, street pavement and grades, ordinances changing street locations, tax assessments to provide condition reports; the placement of 50 street lamps in Cincinnati; a meteorological register of the heaviest rain experienced in Cincinnati as of 1852; and topographical surveys. Several documents provide information on the construction of the Findlay Market House in Cincinnati in 1853 and 1854. Banking-related correspondence documents Gilbert's involvement in the First National Bank of Minneapolis, Kansas. Letters describe interest coupons, mortgages and stock certificates for a variety of matters. Others probe advice about the bank's going into voluntary liquidation if consolidation fails and how to proceed with notices of meetings of the bank's board of directors. Still more provide reports on an examination of the bank. Gilbert's business-related correspondence outlines requests for information about proper wages for farmhands; selling cattle, corn, hogs and other farm-related items; church contributions; purchasing land on Bank Lick Creek; property sales; and views on the practicability of establishing a railway down the valley of the Great Miami River from Hamilton, Ohio to Aurora, Indiana. Other correspondence outlines Gilbert's farming activities at Elland. For example, advertisements and orders for Dungan's White Prolific Seed Corn date from 1893. In the section of the collection devoted to the correspondence of Elizabeth Richards Gilbert, two letters from J.R. Adan to Elizabeth Richards provide thoughts about her upcoming marriage to Alfred Gilbert. In a letter dated December 16, 1847, she inquires whether Gilbert is a member of the New Church; if he is "gentle, kind-hearted, easily pleased, & industrious," he will have no fears about her happiness or his professional success. The letter continues with a lengthy account of her views about a husband's duties. On February 11, 1848, Adan continues her thoughts about Elizabeth's marriage and how busy she must be in getting a house in order for a new start in life. She also reminds her of the importance of having the wisdom to appreciate and practice rules for "making the best of everything and expecting little from others." Another section of the collection provides details about the Gilbert family's involvement in the estate of Alice Royston during the 1820s and 1830s. Letters inquire about Joseph Gilbert's relation to Mrs. Royston, the possible poisoning of her food and the treatment of insane persons, the identity of her legal guardians, particulars of her marriage, her health and financial well-being, and other estate matters. Correspondence pertaining to Giles Richards documents related activities at Elland, such as selling land, corn, onions and hogs; purchasing sheep (together with a sample of their wool); replacing fences on the property; and how to handle trespassers. Several letters offer advice to Richards on growing grapes and making wine, including some written by Nicholas Longworth, a respected Cincinnati businessman and grape-grower. Other correspondence of Giles Richards includes a petition from a nun on behalf of the Orphan Asylum of Cincinnati to pass free of toll on the Cincinnati, Oxford and Brookville Turnpike, together with details of giving Alfred Gilbert power of attorney for the care of Richards' property. Letters pertaining to the Great Western Sanitary Fair, held December 21, 1863 through January 4, 1864 by the Cincinnati Branch of the U.S. Sanitary Commission to raise money to help sick and wounded soldiers during the Civil War, can also be found in the collection. Still more correspondence outlines Richards' involvement in the Cincinnati Western Railway. These letters provide information on an examination of the valley of Bank Lick Creek to determine the practicability of constructing a railroad along it, reports of railroads in Indiana, and the official election returns for a vote on the railroad in 1850, copies of estimates of the cost of surveyed lines. Still more describe the commencement and progress of work on the railroad. A November 12, 1850 letter from Alfred Gilbert provides details of corresponding with Indiana citizens to survey a route for a proposed railway to Connersville, Indiana; a provision in the charter authorizing the extension of the road to Connersville; the relocation of the line to Rushville to save a mile in distance; and planting osage orange hedges along the railroad track. Other letters document a resolution of City Council requesting members of the [Ohio] General Assembly to pass a bill incorporating the Cincinnati Western Railroad Company; opposition in Columbus against the railroad charter; and connection with the Hamilton & Dayton [Railroad] Company. Richards' involvement with both the Ohio Female College and Farmers' College are also documented through letters and manuscript items in the collection. Correspondence provides details of college financial and business matters, together with notices of meetings of their boards of trustees. Other documents in the collection describe a report to the Cincinnati Horticultural Society about establishing state agricultural colleges; an act to establish professorships in the Farmers' College; and a report on instruction at the Farmers' College. The collection includes several of the original letters that Henry Richards wrote to his family from Tennessee and Georgia while serving in the 93rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War. The letters eventually were published in Letters of Captain Henry Richards of the Ninety-Third Ohio Infantry (1883); a copy of the publication can also be found in the collection. When Ophia D. Smith pursues writing about the Gilbert and Richards families, Adolph Gilbert corresponds with her, providing information on family histories, his father's work on the Cincinnati sewer system, his father's Civil War service, and his parents' relationship. Manuscripts Petitions of citizens of Hamilton, Ohio for an act to incorporate the Western Railroad can be found in the manuscript portion of the collection devoted to the Cincinnati Western Railway. This section of the papers also includes a notice for Giles Richards to appear at Common Pleas Court regarding the survey and location of the railroad from Cincinnati to College Corner. A draft of the charter to incorporate the Cincinnati Western Railroad Company, together with amendments to it, can also be found here. Other manuscript items in the collection document the settlement of the estate of Giles and Eleanor Richards. A plat map of Elmont, a copy of Richards' last will and testament, and power of attorney documents provide further information about this matter. Colerain Cotton Mill activities are outlined by an account of yarn spun, information on funds to fix damages to its machinery and buildings, purchasing a napping machine, figures for carding and fulling, and the estimated cost of machinery sufficient to turn off 100 yards of satinnett per day. Documents pertaining to Gilbert's work in the Cincinnati Civil Engineers Office include the certificate of his election as City Surveyor and as City Civil Engineer; reports of examinations of culverts and rights of way through individuals' estates; charges for stonework on the Congress Street bridge; specifications for McAdamizing a portion of the Cincinnati and Warsaw Turnpike Road; water works calculations; patterns for brick for culverts; and specifications for a lake tunnel. Information on a bill to provide for sewerage and drainage in cities of the first class having a population exceeding 100,000 can also be found here. Other manuscript documents include Joseph Gilbert's diary of his travels in England in 1823; an appraisal of Joseph Gilbert's farm; agreements between Alfred and Joseph Gilbert regarding their father's will; an inventory of books and instruments in the City Civil Engineer's Office; a list of grapes consigned by Giles Richards; Gilbert's appointment as Lieutenant Colonel of the 39th Ohio Volunteer Infantry; various Civil War reminiscences of Alfred Gilbert; and Gilbert's draft of his obituary. Gilbert's November 1847 prospectus for publishing a map of Hamilton County, Ohio can be found in the collection. The map was designed to exhibit townships, ranges and sections, the shape and relative size of every farm, together with towns, post offices, roads, canals, streams, school houses and other features throughout the county. The owner's name was to be marked within the boundaries of each farm, together with the number of acres in the tract; the number of acres was provided for each subdivisions. Ground observations, surveys, and county records provided information for the map. According to the prospectus, the map was designed to be ready for delivery by March 1848, and the copper plate engraving was offered to subscribers at $5.00 per copy. Diaries The collection includes Gilbert's diary, which includes descriptions of the towns and rural sections of Missouri, the attitude of people toward Ohio troops, and suspicion between the citizens of Missouri during the first years of the war. It includes details of the daily routine of private soldiers and officers, their reaction to the "Jim Lane policy" in Missouri, and the removal of General Fremont. In 1888, Alfred Gilbert wrote "A Sketch," an autobiographical sketch up to the Civil War that describes the development of Cincinnati, Gilbert's trading expeditions to Georgia and New Orleans in the 1830s, a trip to Iowa Territory in 1841, and his life as a boy in Robert Owen's community at New Harmony, Indiana. The collection includes an account of a lecture on the genius and writings of Shakespeare, delivered by Mr. Hudson in June 1844 in Cincinnati. A diary of events at Elland Farm from June 8, 1868 to January 8, 1871 also includes a prospectus and subscription list for Gilbert's map of Hamilton County. Contained the diary is a newspaper clipping advertising the sale of the farm, listing the number of rooms in the house and the contents of the farm. It also includes a Union Republican ticket listing Robert C. Schenck for Congress and the candidates for other Ohio state offices, as well as a national Union Republican ticket listing the Grant-Colfax presidential candidates, Senatorial electors, and district electors. During this period, Gilbert runs for City Engineer, is involved with plans for building an abutment to the Bank Lick bridge in Butler County, and is chosen as engineer of the Sewerage Commission of the City of Cincinnati. The diary includes information about farming conditions and how crops fared, Gilbert's often difficult dealings with those whom he hired to help him with the farm, finding the right horse for farm work, his experiences in selling his corn crop to local distilleries and in harvesting grapes to make wine. He also records his differences with his father-in-law over paying off his mortgage on the Elmont property which Richards held, as well as Gilbert's determination to get out of debt. As Gilbert wrote on January 1, 1869, Richards "reproved me & wife with ingratitude & bad treatment. I...replied to him in much haste & believe I did so too in an unbecoming spirit & said things which sh[ould] not have been said. He told me amongst other things that if I sold the farm & did not allow him an hundred dollars for the wine press I would have trouble. I was astonished at this as I always thought the press was part of the realty & was conveyed with the farm & this was the first intimation I had that he soon intended charging for the press. I told him that ... could only be settled without dispute by a lawyer. Why this matter has not been brought up before, or why some reservation has not been made I can't imagine. He seems possessed with a evil spirit about the place since he has left it." Later, on February 22, 1869, Gilbert writes, "It is a sad thing to see how this old man clings to property & manages. He ... accuses his daughter & myself of many things which it is unpleasant to write. He seems very suspicious of all, & determined to rule or ruin. It is sad to contemplate one who has heretofore appeared so amiable & just in all his intercourse, so utterly under the control of vicious spirits & influence. What under his own life & others near him is miserable - I would not like to write all I think or feel in regard to him - a species of insanity appears to possess him when speaking upon mother's writings to our business & the affairs of our household...." Gilbert's diary from October 30, 1888 to December 19, 1889 continues to chronicle his farming activities at Elland, such as planting peach trees, hauling corn, selling his cows and potatoes, and reshingling the house. He also writes of casting his ballot for Benjamin Harrison and Levi Morton in the 1888 Presidential election. "This victory of the ballot is more far reaching than any election since Lincoln was chosen, and the 6th day of November 1888 will mark an era in the history of American politics of almost unprecedented moment," Gilbert writes. He also notes the day the President set for the opening of the land offices for sale of land in Oklahoma. "Thousands of people have gone there to locate," Gilbert writes on April 22, 1889. "Well, I am glad I am not one of them." Gilbert also records activities during his visits to Kansas City, including a celebration of George Washington's birthday in which children recited selections about Washington's life and character. "Also they were requested to bring an offering of a penny or more as a contribution to a fund to be raised throughout the state by the schoolchildren for repairing the Homestead Mansion at Mt. Vernon which has been bought and is controlled by a number of ladies," Gilbert writes. His last entry in this diary, written December 19, 1889, finds his getting ready to leave Elland once more. "I am loth to go too, as usual, but fate seems to keep me on the move. I often think of a little incident which occurred before my marriage when wife & I were looking over a book of questions each numbered & some for gentlemen & some for ladies & we were to choose as to what our character & fortune should be, my fortune came "Ye build & ye build but you enter not in," & I have thought with that remnant of superstition we how all have. How time a prophecy it has seemed, & neither some Fate did not pick that out for me. So many hopes wrecked & so many castles built into which I have failed to gain entrance, but then this couplet has come to be as well and I have tried to apply myself vigorously to obey its injunctions. [Instead of sitting down idly to mourn over dead hopes, apply yourself vigorously to the nearest duty.] Ah, well, "Vade." Gilbert's diary spanning January 1, 1890 through July 16, 1891 includes financial information for a bank in which he and his son, Adolph, were involved. He also describes details of pie socials, banquets of the Atlantean Club, and a Methodist conference he attended in Kansas. Information about leasing the Foster Hill property and farming endeavors at Elland is also included in the diary. He also records the deaths of several old acquaintances and the 28th anniversary of the Battle of Corinth. Gilbert also reflects on his 42nd wedding anniversary and notes in several entries about his status as a widower. On August 24, 1890, he writes, "I feel sad & lonely tonight. I don't know hardly what to do. I must make some change from the monotonous life I have been living the past five years. It seems as if I had no real interest in life. I don't seem to be identified with anybody as any particular interest, in fact. I ought to have a wife & the responsibilities, cares, & pleasures that flow from such a union of man & woman. A lone man has no ties - no real hold on the community, or, in short only half a man - the woman forms a very important part of his life & I feel it more & more." On November 9, 1890, Gilbert writes of receiving a troubling letter from his son, Adolph, in which he says that he is hopelessly in debt and that his father will probably lose all or the greater part of his earnings and savings. "I have just read the letter once but it is enough to show that he is ruined & in all probability I am too," Gilbert writes. "I have trusted everything to his honor & integrity." The diary Gilbert kept from November 17, 1890 to October 4, 1891 records his son Adolph's financial difficulties and his efforts to help his son recover. Writing on November 19, 1890, Gilbert says, "It is a sore trial, money that I have been many, many years earning & now in my old age to lose & jeopardize my income but Fathers all over the world are doing every day just that thing, tho I fondly believed I would be an exception. How little we know what is in store for us....I hardly know how to turn." Later entries reveal that Gilbert has substantially reduced his own income and investigating the possibility of the family declaring bankruptcy. As he writes on Christmas Day 1890, in the past 50 years, he has had many sad experiences, but none as sad as this. "Then, as now, I was looking forward & wondering where, & what, I should be. Now, I am only looking for a quiet place to age and die, & my thoughts are fixed on returning to my Elland home, there to pass the rest of my days & will be only too glad if I can retain enough of this world's goods to pass it quietly & in peace." Marking his 75th birthday, Gilbert reveals that the previous year, his income was over $3000 per annum, but this year expects that the amount will be $500. "Adolph's wonderful course excites continually my astonishment," he writes. How he could allow himself to become so hopelessly in debt I can't conceive. From the best calculation I can make now I should lose by his indiscretions something over $26,000, something I could never have dreamed of. I had seen so many, or I termed them, foolish fathers brought to financial ruin through going security & paying the debts of their sons that I could never have believed, I too, would become a victim." Later, the diary finds Gilbert back at Elland, continuing to farm his land and sell his harvests in Hamilton. Several other entries in this diary document the deaths of many of Gilbert's old Cincinnati acquaintances, including Rufus King, M.W. Stone, J.P. Williams and Townsend Williams. Gilbert's diary recording the period from October 5, 1891 through October 31, 1892 continues to document farming at Elland, local social engagements, the wedding of George Richards and Fannie Boyd, as well as various deaths of Gilbert's acquaintances, including Benjamin W. Chidlaw. This period also sees the departure of Gilbert's daughter, Nellie, and her family for Queensland, Australia. Writing on February 9, 1891, Gilbert observes on the occasion of his 76th birthday, "I feel as well as a person of my age can feel I presume, not an ache nor a pain in my system & a fair appetite and if I did not have this bank business and my son's affairs on my mind I believe I could be as happy as a man can well be in this world, with of course my wants & desires not supplied but that is what we must expect in any walk or condition of life, but this bank uncertainty and the great pecuniary loss I have by the very questionable conduct of my only son, is a constant source of uneasiness and regret & causes a great weight to be continually on my mind." In this diary, Gilbert also records the nomination of Benjamin Harrison for the presidency of the United States and his choosing Whitelaw Reid for his running mate. Gilbert approves of Harrison as "he has showed such decided ability - true statesmanship" (June 2, 1892), although he believes that "Harrison has been too conscientious a man to be re-elected....The good citizens of the country don't amount to much in a political campaign & I think from all I can see Harrison's defeat is assured and the great results of the wise legislation of the Republican party will be almost lost to the country" (June 23, 1892). During the period from November 1, 1892 to January 31, 1894, Gilbert voted in his 14th presidential election, noting the defeat of President Benjamin Harrison for re-election. He also observed the death of former President Rutherford B. Hayes, with whom he was acquainted when Gilbert was civil engineer and Hayes the city solicitor of Cincinnati, noting that Hayes "was one of the most thorough Republicans yet in all his various contests with his political opponents he never I believe made a political enemy." Gilbert also wrote of attending the dedication of the new City Hall in Cincinnati on May 13, 1893. The building was designed by architect Samuel Hannaford and cost $360,000 to construction, exclusive of the lot, Richards noted. "A great concourse of citizens thronged the streets to witness the parade & at night the building was densely packed with an admiring & good natured crowd of both sexes," he wrote. By July 1893, Gilbert observed bank failures and other financial difficulties across the country, such as the closing of ore mines and Eastern manufactories. To Gilbert, this was "the result of putting the so-called democratic party into the possession of the government of the country." "A widespread feeling of alarm & consternation is apparent in every kind of business & an unsettled state of feeling among all classes of enterprises," Gilbert wrote on July 19, 1893. "Just what had been foretold by hundreds of republican papers & speakers would occur in that event." Socially, Gilbert attends the reunion of the 39th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, giving the welcoming address in his capacity as president of the association. He also attends the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago for a few days. "Saw beautiful things & architecture galore," he wrote on October 23, 1893. "It is certainly a wonderful triumph of genius, industry, brains, pluck & indomitable courage." Gilbert receives letters from his daughter, Nellie, and her family in Australia which describe a flood in Brisbane and an accident in which his son-in-law was involved. In January 1894, he writes to inquire whether they intended to make their permanent home in Australia and what they thought of him coming there. In Gilbert's diary covering the period from February 1, 1894 through October 7, 1894, he writes of the selection of Republican delegates to a convention nominating a member to fill a vacancy in Congress. After the election, Gilbert observes on March 3, 1894, "Well, the agony is over & the Republican banner - the old flag - floats high this morning & the Eagle is triumphant again. Nearly every contested precinct in the state has spoken in Republican tones & Ohio stands redeemed!!" In his 1894 book, If Christ Came to Chicago, British journalist William T. Stead called the public's attention to the corrupt practices of many of Chicago's political and economic leaders. After reading the book, Gilbert reflected on May 11, 1894, "It is a terrible arraignment of that wonderful city and her people. It is almost sickening to read and yet it is all so true. Verily Christianity seems to have small hold on our people. The publication of these details will certainly have an effect to strengthen the feeling now so prevalent of antipathy of the working classes toward the rich and successful in life....These statements may eventually have a beneficial effect upon our people and the politicians of the country and upon the religiously inclined, bringing them to a realizing sense of the necessity of a more brotherly feeling to the poor and unsuccessful in life." Gilbert comments on the overthrow of Tammany Hall in his diary covering the period from October 8, 1894 to October 14, 1895. Writing on November 10, 1894, Gilbert thinks that it "is a wonderful exhibition of what can be done when the better class of people take the matter in their hands, without regard to this old party proclivities, and desire to reform corruption in politics." In this diary, Gilbert also provides details of the construction and dedication of the new bridge in his neighborhood. He records contributing one dollar for a $2000 project to plant trees on either side of Gilbert Avenue in Cincinnati. Furthermore, he writes a letter on July 13, 1895 to the directors of the Colerain, Oxford & Brookville Turnpike, suggesting that they designate someone to take charge of and care for the Elland Cemetery in accordance with the communication of Giles Richards; they acted on it and passed a resolution covering the case. He also writes of the birth of a new grandchild, belonging to his daughter, Nellie, in Australia. Still farming and living at Elland, Gilbert observed on April 5, 1895, "After a visit to the city everything out here seems so take & it takes some time to get into the quiet ways of this dull neighborhood. It seems to me I must make a change, somehow!" Writing on September 16, 1895, he expresses his frustration at his daughter Ada not visiting him at Elland. "I guess she don't care to leave her nice surroundings up there & not much to interest her here," he says. "She realizes my loneliness, children don't think much of their parents really - they don't begin to interest them like their husbands. And it's quite natural she'd be so. Poor parents they are always thinking of their children." Gilbert's diary spanning from October 18, 1895 to April 1, 1897 provides some interesting glimpses of life during this period. For example, on February 9, 1896, on lighting his new "New Juno" lamp, Gilbert writes, "it gives abundant light & I presume I will never more be contented with my old lamps for reading." The Edwardian-style lamp was manufactured by the Edward Miller & Company of Connecticut. He also documents "lively discussions" on Free Silver, an important political issue during the 1896 presidential election that pitted the established financial centers of the Northeast against more rural areas of the country. Gilbert also writes of the nomination of William McKinley for president. As he observes on June 19, 1896, "I hope to vote for him & see him elected, but a wonderful craze has come over well meaning & intelligent citizens who are advocating the free coinage of silver at the ratio of 16 to 1, when silver is at such a price as 57 c[en]ts!" On November 2, 1896, Gilbert marched with fellow veterans of the 39th Ohio Volunteer Infantry in a parade honoring McKinley in Cincinnati. "An immense concourse of people lined the sidewalk & horses 5 times as many as men in the procession," Gilbert writes. "It was considered a fair estimate at 3000 so that there must have been 15,000 people big & little....The day was perfect and all seemed enthusiastic." Observing that the Free Silver issue was a momentous one that promised to change the issues and institutions of the country, Gilbert writes happily of victory "for sound money and sound sense" two days later. "The election returns are just glorious, & the old flag will float over a people who know how to govern themselves. The victory is overwhelming." Entries documenting work performed on Elland farm and various neighborhood improvements continue in this diary. On July 17, 1896, Gilbert writes of threshing wheat with a new machine called the "Columbine Victory." Using the patented self-feeder and measurer manufactured in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Gilbert was able to harvest "587 bushels of excellent wheat, the best, 'tis said in the neighborhood." On June 6, 1896, Gilbert meets with Fairfield Township Trustees, requesting that they furnish drain tile for the improvements being made to a road near his property. Later diary entries record the progress of the project. As usual, the diary includes several obituaries of Cincinnati citizens, including Alexander McGuffey, brother of William Holmes McGuffey (June 6, 1896). He also writes of his daughter, Nellie, visiting from Australia with her children. In his diary from April 1, 1897 through February 28, 1899, Gilbert continues to record details of life at Elland, from farming endeavors, home maintenance improvements, and social engagements with friends and neighbors. For example, Gilbert writes of attending a "missionary tea" and a temperance convention, participating in the annual Decoration Day festivities, and purchasing a new "Jim Dandy" buggy. Gilbert also records details of current events, including the burning of a charity bazaar in Paris, France in May 1897, in which over 100 ladies died, and the election of Asa Bushnell as governor of Ohio, which he sees as "a sad thing for the republican party of Ohio."In March 1897, Gilbert begins writing of an imminent war with Spain, observing in the following months about news on the matter, including America's victory in Cuba and the ratification of a treaty with Spain in February 1899. A diary Gilbert kept between July 30, 1860 and June 6, 1868 records details of his engineering work in Cincinnati, including supervising a project to build sewers on Vine and Sycamore Streets and inspecting work done on culverts in the city. He also describes the progress of outfitting the interior of the Cincinnati City Hall, including purchasing flags and chandeliers. Other projects include repaving sidewalks on 5th Street, grading Mount Auburn Street, building sewers in the 5th District, and the difficulties encountered in getting workmen to use a better grade of brick and make cement mortar correctly. Gilbert also mentions working with contractors on the construction of the Colerain bridge abutment near his home. Family news mentioned in this diary includes the wedding of George Richards to Josephine Johnson and travels to Urbana, Ohio to see daughter Nellie in school. On September 23, 1867, Richards reflects on the one-year anniversary of the death of his son, Warrie. After George Richards presses his grapes on Gilbert's press, Gilbert writes on October 22, 1897, "George seems to have a streak of insanity in his organization. I told him as pleasantly as I could that I wished him to clean up the press & vats & put them up after he had done with them & he got in a furious rage declaring if I required him to do that he would be eternally damned if he would ever enter my house again. Fearing he was really suffering under some sort of insanity I avoided any reply to such language as much as I well could hoping after a time he might in the folly of his course. It is certainly only right & proper that those using the press & vats should keep them clear." The diary also records work done on the family farm, including selling produce in Hamilton and making cider and wine. After an altercation between two of Gilbert's hired hands, Heurich and Augustus, on November 21, 1897, Heurich poisons himself by taking arsenic and passes away later that day. Account Books Account books in the collection provide financial information about family expenses and costs incurred in the running of Elland Farm. Household ledgers offer lists of wedding presents received by Ada, Nellie and Adolph Gilbert, corn delivered by Elland Farm tenants, purchasing of surveying instruments, and the cost of putting on a new roof at Elland. Other books collect receipts for the Great Miami Turnpike Company and tolls taken on the Colerain, Oxford, and Brookville Turnpike. Printed Material Printed material in the collection includes catalogues of the Ohio Female College in College Hill, Ohio (1852-1854, 1861); a catalogue for the American Female College in Glendale, Ohio (1855); a commencement program for Glendale Female College (1857); and catalogues for Farmers' College (1854; 1877-1878). A copy of Dignity of Labor: An Address, Delivered Before the Philomathian Society of Farmers' College, Hamilton County, Ohio, March 24, 1847 (Cincinnati: William H. Moore & Co., 1847), by Charles B. Boynton, together with A Plea for the Farmers' College of Hamilton County, Ohio, and for Reformation in Collegiate Instruction; Being a Report to That Institution, Made July 17, 1850 (Cincinnati: Ben Franklin Printing House, 1850), a report made by Giles Richards, can also be found in the collection. Circulars provide details about contributions of articles for sale at the Great Western Sanitary Fair for the benefit of the Cincinnati Branch of the U.S. Sanitary Commission and its Committee on War Memorials, Relics, and Curiosities. Others offer information about New Church activities, from Christmas exercises to conventions. A notice of sale of Gilbert's Ohio Avenue property can also be found in this portion of the collection.

Statement of Arrangement

Restrictions on Use

Reproduction of materials in the collection is subject to the restrictions of copyright law. To use any materials not yet in the public domain, the researcher must obtain permission from the copyright holder.

Restrictions on Access

This collection is open under the rules and regulations of the Walter Havighurst Special Collections, Miami University Libraries.

Smith, Ophia D. The Life and Times of Giles Richards (1820-1860). Columbus, Ohio: The Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society, 1936. (Spec F486 .O526 v.6) Smith, William E. and Smith, Ophia D., eds. Colonel A.W. Gilbert: Citizen-Soldier of Cincinnati. Cincinnati, Ohio: Historical and Philosophical Society of Ohio, 1934. (Southwest Ohio Regional Depository F499.C653 G55 1934)

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Preferred Citation

Gilbert-Richards Papers, Walter Havighurst Special Collections, Miami University Libraries

Acquisition Information

This collection of manuscripts was discovered in the attic of Elland, the Richards farmhouse on the Great Miami River near Venice, Ohio. The house had been built in 1832 by Giles Richards and had been occupied by succeeding generations of the Richards family for almost one hundred years. Miami University Libraries acquired the papers from the Moore family, a subsequent owner of Elland.