By Rosanna Hoberg
The village settled down to private business again after the Civil War. Batavia’s greatest claim to fame during this post-war period was a visit from one of the most famous of all persons to emerge from the war, President Ulysses S. Grant.
The following narration describes a visit made to our village by President Grant and his family, and it was written by the late Mrs. Minnie Griffith:
“When Ulysses Simpson Grant was President of the United States, he, with his wife and family visited Grant’s relatives in Batavia, the Simpson Griffith family, also Mrs. Mary Griffith Ashburn, a cousin of the Grants.
“To the late Mrs. Belle Griffith Kennedy, I am indebted for the following description of the President’s’ visit.
“Batavia was planning to have a great celebration in his honor. He was coming down from Georgetown. The band and everyone who could get away drove over to the Ohio Pike to meet the President. Buggies, carriages, jolt wagons were all filled with people from all over the country. They waited and waited, but the President’s family did not appear. I was at home standing at an upstairs window looking out, when I saw a carriage had driven up in front of our house, also a buggy stopped. In the carriage sat the President, and his wife was sitting by his side. On the back seat sat Nellie and one of the boys. In the buggy Fred and the other son were riding. The President was doing his own driving. He was wearing just a soft hat and a dark business suit. I cannot remember how Mrs. Grant was dressed. Instead of coming down the Ohio Pike, they came by way of Williamsburg. My mother met them at the door. The greetings were cordial and familiar. ‘How are you, Cousin Amelia? So glad to see you. Where is Simpson?’ These were the President’s words.
“My father had gone over with the crowd to meet them. A messenger was sent on horseback to notify the people of the President’s arrival. After dinner, which was served in the Simpson Griffith home (location of the Kahle Building, 289 E. Main St.), the President and his wife held a public reception in the parlor. A young girl by the name of Hannah Belle Moore, who was rather stout and breezy, came in to pay her respects. She rushed up to the President and said, ‘Well, I am terribly excited, I never expected to have the opportunity of shaking hands with the great General, the distinguished President of the United States, here in Batavia.’
“A cannon was fired in front of the Griffith home, and it broke out every pane of glass in the transom over the top of the front door where the President, Fred, and Will Griffith were standing. Some of the shattered glass fell on the President’s head and neck. He rubbed his neck with his handkerchief, but it was only slightly stained with blood. The President laughed, saying he was wounded.
“In the afternoon, the President addressed a crowd from a grandstand erected on Main Street. One of the oldest residents of the town, Mr. John Jamieson, approached the President and asked if he were in favor of women voting. Grant replied, ‘To a certain extent, but if I had to depend upon women to elect me, I would rather be defeated.’
“In the evening, when just the relatives were having a real visit, President Grant noticed hanging on the wall of the living room, a picture of himself mounted on his horse, Egypt, He stepped across the room to look at it more closely. ‘That’s a splendid picture of Egypt,’ he said, ‘but I never wore a feather in my hat in my life.’
“Ulysses Grant’s next visit to Batavia was shortly before he left on a trip with his family around the world. He, with Colonel Ammon, drove up from Covington one morning, Ulysses first had his horse taken care of at the Livery Stable, then carrying a small travelling bag, he walked into the law office of Simpson Griffith and son. He said, ‘Hello, Simpson, I have come to say goodbye, I am not willing to start on my world tour without seeing you again.’ He took dinner in the Simpson Griffith home, and once again we had the pleasure of visiting with him. Just before leaving, he said to me, ‘Belle, where does that cheery fat girl now live who came in to shake hands with me when I was here before?’ I replied, ‘In Washington.’ Ulysses said, ‘I was sure that I saw her not long ago on the street in Washington. She waved her hand as I was riding by.’ I wrote her at once about it, and she answered, ‘Yes, I waved and waved.’ What a wonderful memory for faces he must have had, for during those two years or more, perhaps he had gazed into thousands of faces.’
Hannah Belle Moore taught school in Batavia for several years. There are many of her former pupils now in Batavia.
Ulysses Simpson Grant, the great General and President of the United States, without doubt was the most outstanding and distinguished visitor that has ever been entertained in Batavia.
The years from the Civil War on were the ones of the greatest changes for the village. Progress was being felt in many directions; new businesses were established, such as the Sterling and Moore Carriage Works and Undertaking Establishment of Batavia, which had been started on a small scale in 1860. With the return of the veterans, the business expanded until in 1880, two large shops were occupied, in addition to a ware room 24 by 45 feet and two stories high. The firm made a specialty of light work and gave employment to eight men. In connection with the undertaking business, an elegant hearse was maintained. New buildings were also erected, such as the Jail, the Armory, and the Town Hall. Jamieson’s Hall, at the site of the Sohio Station (Main at Third, now Clermont County Courthouse), was a popular gathering place.
A footnote: The flagpole at the Batavia Mayor’s Office and Police Station was originally at the Sohio Station at Third and Main. When the station closed, Mayor Richard Jamieson, whose family had built Jamieson Hall, asked for the flagpole and erected it at the municipal building. The two-story brick house at 340 E. Main St., now the home of Living Spaces Custom Design, is the former Jamieson family home.
Batavia is celebrating its bicentennial this year, and The Clermont Sun is publishing a series of historic vignettes. The late Rosanna Hoberg, author, was a columnist and reporter for The Clermont Sun. This column was written in 1964.