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1900biographical Histof

Miami

Co

Ohio Biography 2122 Page

1of2

M R S .

EUSE I B . MEEKS

W A ^ W W A W A ^ V A V . V A ^ W ^ V ^ W y V V W AW . V i V A V A V ;V A V / A ^ V VA r t ^ V A VA W ^ W A V A W W A V A W A A W . W ^ ^ ^

In

every community

areto be found

women who

afterdischarging the

domestic duties

pertaining

towife and mother,find time toworkwith either pen or hand for the good

of

the communityin

whichthey live. Whendeep sorrow needsa comforting word andtearsareto bewiped away by

softandgentle hand the poortobe relieved andthe hungry

fed;

when the forsaken need a friend

andthe outcast a prayer; wheregood is tobe doneandthe community madebetterin thename

andbythegrace ofour

loving

God they areat work. Such a lifewasledbyMrs. Eusebia B.

Meeks whodiedin Troy

Ohio

June 17,1889. Shewasthedaughter ofRev. JohnBlodgett, a

Baptist minister and hiswife Roxanna Davenport Blodgett and wasbomJune7,1821, in

Champion,Jefferson county. NewYork.

Herfatherwas ofHuguenot ancestry, andthe story of theescapeofhisancestors from the bloody

massacreof St.Bartholomew s daywas handeddown from generationto generationwith reverent

andthrilling interest. Thespirit ofbravery and if need be, ofmartyrdom for conscience sake

descended to the posterity of herHuguenot ancestor andwas possessed in a marked degree by

the subject

of

this sketch.

Mrs. Meeks earlylifewas spent largely in the compatuonship of her fatherandher early

education was

conducted

by him. Shewasa delicate childandwhen an infant became lamefrom

an accident, the result of the carelessness ofa nursegirlwho had chargeof her.For that reason

she could not be sent to school,but she receiveda goodhomeeducationand acquired the habits

of

deep

earnest thought not

only

inher studies butothersubjects of general interest. Asshegrew

to

womanhood herphysical trouble grewbetter, andshewas ableto walk but neverentirely

recovered from her lameness. When about eighteenyears

of

age she enteredand attendedfor two

years

a seminary at

Harveysburg conducted

bythe

Friends or

as

they were

called

inthat

day

Quakers. In her twentietii year she unitedwith theBaptist churchand for manyyearswas a

faithful, devotedmemberof that church,but in later years sheunitedwith the Presbyterian

church,

of

Troy.

Onthe 11thdayofFebmary, 1847 shewasmarried toMr.William Harris, whodiedfouryears

later. Their married life was one of rare affection and trust. One daughterwas bo m to them,now

Mrs. AnnaD. Stillwell,whose one aim in life has been to follow the example

of

her mother, and

she is one of the good, useful women

of

Troy.

After her husband s deathMrs.Meeks made her homewith her parents,who had removed to

Casstown Miami county Ohio untilthe 11thdayof September 1853 whenshewasunitedin

marriage toDr.I.

S.

Meeks. They

removed to Troy inNovember

1859

and remained thereuntil

s he w a s c a ll e d fro m labor to reward.

WhenMrs.Meeks was a girl of thirteenyears, her fatheraccepteda pastorateat Lebanon,Ohio,

and there she was associated in church and society with the Corwins and had access to the library

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1900^Biographical

HistofMiami Co

Ohio

Biography 2122 Page2 of 2

Hon. Thomas Convin. She early became an uncompromising foe

slavery and intemperance.

She was gifted as a writer and had the ability to clothe her thoughts in pure vigorous English but

she never searched for graces of rhetoric to renderattractive the arguments of her convictions.

Herwritings never sparkled with wit yetwere

sometimes

in her earnestness

touched

withthe

spirit bitter cutting sarcasm.

She was one of the active Crusaders of Troy and devoted the later years of life to the cause

temperance

andshedieda veteran in active warfare against the accursed traffic. Hervoice and

pen

have

long

been

silent

in the

solitude

ofthegrave buthermemory remains

with

her friends

and sis-ters the Woman s Christian Temperance Union serving as an inspiration to them to

battle on for a higherand noblerstandard of manhood and womanhood E. S. W.

Return to the Biogrcq^hv Index

Copyrigbt 1999by Computerized HeritageAssociatioiL

All Rights Reserved.

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W.

H.

Allen writes me

that

Web

Meeks

has carried his last pouch of

mail from

Corwin

to the postoffice.

Web died last Saturday and thus has

passed a landmark of Waynesville

with whom we have been farmiliar

fo r 40 years and mor e.

Last December I wasdown home,

Ialways call Waynesville home in

a very affectionate sense and as I

waited fo r

th e

train westward

as I

was departing that Monday morning j

chatted with Web about his work,1

I

then

remarked to him

that

it would

;not seem

the

Waynesville that I know,

if I could not see him carrying the

pmaii

to andf ro. For Web was just

familiar as the. old station, .Kil-

bon s store, or the covered bridge.

Among

my earlist recollections

^ate

Elwood Meeks and his son, Web,:

-carrying th e mail. Until

th e

father

d ied Web was

his ass is tant and then

;the official mantle fell on

th e

son.

Web bowed down under the weight

ipf the mail sacks t rudged through

sunshine or storm, through heat or

laid, day inand day out. I am told

|hat

Web never missed

fire.

He

^as

at the station on timefor every

|nail train. Even when

the

flood

ffiovered the road, old Web managed

amderdifficultconditions to

ge t

across

|f it were possible to

do

so.

And

^_hen

he could

not he was bitterij'

fflisappointed.Frequently hearrang^-

o get the

mail

by way of L^a-

ffion

when the waters were deep and

phe current

swift.

E

Web.

too,

for many years carried

Cincinnati papers. 1 shall

re -

Raember himparticularly ashewend-,

Ed his

way

about town Sunday |

mornings after the -papers

were]

P^ught over

from the

morning:

^aijj. serving his

customers

and;

when

we think of Web and his long

Period of

service,

the relationship he

Sas borne to the community and its

people, we realize how many lives he

^ s

touched, how many were wont

call

him

Web , I t would be a

glorious

roll

call.

I d

be delighted

g all could be

recalled

and pass once

more

in review. And

there

could

e f nu nd n o o ne but would feel mov-

piln_drnp.a.flQwer and a frftgrflpf.

me too, on Web's

grave and say

a

gprd of

praise

in

his

behalf.

:|

gDaniel

Webster

Meeks He borej

gmighty name. Daniel Webster in

s day

and

generation served

his'

untrv

with distinction, with bril--

ability andwith

conspicpus

suc-l

Paniel

weoster

Meeks, his

name

sake,

a withoutjhe advantages i

oTbirth, educa tfon; mentality or op- ^

pertunitv of

th e

illustrious

states

man whose

name

he bore, was

non?

the leas faithful, loyal and true to

the public service.

.Web's

l ife is

an

example

of genuine

fidelity. Never

shall we se e t hi s spl endid

atti tude

of

character

more abundantly

or

nicely demonstrated. His ways

were

circumscribed,

his

range

of ac--

tivity was nod large. He had, his

physical limitations.

We

frequently

had

some

quiet

fun.

at

Web s

expense.

We

referred to^.

him at t imes flippantly. We regard--

ed him as an odd genius, as a town

character, peculiar and picturesque.

Yet, with

it

all, I am

glad to

re-'

cord a

personal

appreciation

of

th e

work, and loyal public service of

this

man. In

the

earnestness and fidelity

and in the conscientious and scrupu

lous care with which he went about

riis business,,he was a model, and a

worthy one.. He excelled many of

usin this trait. And when I say

this of Web Meeks, I am only voic

ing the sentiment of those who have

known him and whohavebeen linked

in any way to Waynesville

It

will not seem quite the same to re-;

turn to Waynesvi le and not find;

Web

with the mail

sacks. His

trips

are ended He deserved more in a

material way. I wish it had been

possible for the post office depart

ment to have compensated him more

pneroualy. He leaves not

money

but a record of loyal service, lone

and faithful. That is worth far

mce than material possessions, .

OM Web Meeks. We

areglad he

Y - We are glad he is associated

with Wavnesville. Wewill remem

ber him with keen pleasure. We

.lay a wreath on his grave, just a

humble

tribute of

good

will

and

good

wishes

from the hundreds who rec

ognize

his

long

and faithful public

s e rv ic e

C. M. Cartwrignt