Judge Albert MUNSON

Albert Munson as a younger man from the 1881
History of Medina County and Ohio

Judge Albert Munson was a man of many talents and abilities. But his early years were punctuated with very humble circumstances.

Albert was born to Lyman and Nancy (Porter) Munson on 8 Aug, 1829 at River Styx. He was one of 9 children. His parents came to Ohio in 1816 from Massachusetts and were farmers. 

Albert's first attended a log schoolhouse, later studying at the Sharon Academy. The Academy was a product of the Universalists (religion) in the area who were looking for a non-sectarian educational option.

In 1844 while Albert was still a teen, a political speaker did not show up for his speech. Albert volunteered to speak extemporaneously on the duties of citizenship and finished to cheers and applause. He was fascinated by politics from that time forward.

He organized the River Styx Lyceum where debate was prized. He later said that prepared him for his love of lifelong learning.

Around 1850, Albert contracted dysentary. He would complain of  Rheumatism the rest of his life.
Other benchmarks from Albert's long life:

• Worked 5 years at general store of Allen Howes in Sharon. Then to Colborn & Munson in River Styx. 
• While working at the store, he married Harriet Easton in 1854. Children followed: Cora E. and Lyman E. 
• He then farmed his father's homestead. 
• He worked hard for Republican party throughout Medina County when that party was just getting started in 1856, delivering hundreds of speeches.
• He was physically incapacitated to serve in the Civil War so he recruited other soldiers. For that service he won an appointment as Colonel of the Militia by Ohio Governor Todd in 1862. 
• In 1869 he was elected to Ohio House of Representatives. He was re-elected in 187, serving a total of 4 years. He worked on codifying Ohio State laws, which were later copied by other states. 
• He was a temperance man. 
• After studying on his own for years, he was admitted to the bar in 1873, although he never practiced as a lawyer.
• He worked to bring the Railroad to Medina in 1871-72 and continued to support bringing railroads to Medina for the rest of his life. 
• In 1875 he was elected Director of Ohio Farmer’s Insurance (now Westfield Insurance). 
• In 1878 he was elected Judge of the Probate Court of Medina County and  “never had decision reversed by the higher courts” 
• He moved to Medina to be closer to his work. He was a judge for 2, 3-year terms (6 years). He used the honorific title "Judge" the rest of his life. 
• While he was judge he heard many cases of insanity. From 1880-1881 newspapers:

• 9 cases appeared in the paper 
• 5 women and 4 men 
• 3 of the women were judged insane and all of the men were. 
• They were sent to the Asylum at Newburgh, OH.
• After that he bought Samuel Bradley’s hardware business and ran that business for 25 years as A. Munson & Son 

Ad for Sam Bradley's Hardware store
Medina Gazette July 9 1880

Ad for Munson's Hardware store.
They kept their ads simple & focused
on the products. Sometimes, they
referred to the store as "Dad & I"
Medina Gazette, 28 Dec 1899

Advertising heating stove and fine
English China at the same time.
Quite likely, the Munson's furnished
their home with products from
the store. Medina Sentinel
4 Sep 1903, p.4

A sample of the Munson's personal china
on display at the Medina County
Historical Society.

• He was a member of these fraternal organizations, as well as the Literary Society: 
• Morning Star Lodge (Masons)  
• Independent Order of Odd Fellows (I.O.O.F.) 
• Royal Arcanum, Council No. 372. 
• He claimed he was personally responsible for William McKinley being elected as President. In gratitude McKinley came to Medina for a speech. After his election, McKinley offered Munson any position he wanted in gratitude for all of Munson's help.  Munson, who was around 70 years old, said being postmaster was good enough. The post office was two doors down from his hardware store. He was postmaster for 6 years. 

Judge Albert Munson
History of the Western Reserve by Harriet Taylor Upton

• From  1907-1908, he wrote column for Gazette “Reminiscences of a Busy Life” (play on "Recollections of a Busy Life" by Horace Greeley) that described many facets of his long life. 
• Albert died 27 June 1911 In Medina (Gazette 7-28-1911, p.4)

His spiritual beliefs:

Probably one of the most interesting aspects about Munson was his religious beliefs. He was a Spiritualist. 

"Spirit" Picture of Albert Munson
in the collection of
Medina County Historical Society.

Spiritualism is the belief that the spirits of the dead can communicate with the living, often through the use of seances and mediums. It grew out of the early 1800's in New York. By 1860, it had spread world wide. It was very popular in the 1870's, particularly in the River Styx area where Albert grew up.

In 1879 he attended a (possibly his first?) séance in Sharon. It was thought at the time it had to do with the insanity cases he was hearing as a judge.

Why would the spiritualist church be appealing to Munson at this time?

• Growth as a movement. Started in US in 1840. Reached its height in popularity from 1880-1920 
• The Universalist Church might have made him more likely to investigate other ways of worshiping. 
• He had already lost his parents and siblings:
• Father Lyman in 1863
• Mother Nancy in 1850
• Sister Emeline in 1876 
• Brother Lyman in 1843 
• Sister Nancy in 1852 
• In 1881, he lost his good friend, James Garfield 
• William McKinley in 1901
• One of the mediums he used was possibly a cousin on his mother's side.

Munson believed he had a psychic link to McKinley and was convinced that the President would not live out his second term. Visiting McKinley in Canton, Munson urged the president to surround himself with guards, but McKinley replied, "Who would kill me?" Munson left, believing it would be the last time he saw his friend. And it was. McKinley was assassinated on 6 September 1901 .

Munson held a seance in his home, trying to each his friend. During the seance, McKinley remembered all the help Albert had been to his political career, especially the 1885 campaign. Munson invited McKinley's grieving widow to one of the seances, but her doctor soon put a stop to further seances as he felt it was detrimental to her health.

In his obituary it was stated that Munson believed "Death was only an incident in the journey to other scenes." One by one, death took each of the Munsons leaving none from that branch of the family. Each was cremated, a practice that had been revived in the 1870's.

Books from the Munson library:

Held at the Medina
 County Historical
Society

Held at the Medina
County Historical
 Society

Letter from McKinley:

Letter written by Wm. McKinley in 1885, before his presidency.
Collection of the Medina County Historical Society.

 Transcript of a seance conducted by  Annie L. Chamberlain, channeling the spirit Electa:

Munson's mother's spirit confirming that Miss Porter is indeed a relative:

Transcription of a seance from 1903.
In the Medina County Historical Society Collection.

The Munson House
Now a private residence, the Munson family lived here until Cora Munson's death in 1956.
Originally it was at 231 East Washington Street. The Community Design Committee moved
the house was to its present location on Prospect in 1985.
Numerous seances were held here.

SOURCES: 

• Butalia, Tarnunjit, Religion in Ohio: Profiles of Faith Communities  on Google Books: https://bit.ly/33gSDJC
• Find A Grave
• King, Joann, Medina County: Coming of Age 1810-1900 
• Kraynek, Sharon, Recollections of Medina Characters 
• Medina County Gazette
• 28 Dec 1899 
• 9 July 1880
• 1 May 1997, page C5
• 27 May 1881, page 7.
• 29 June 1879, page 11.
• 11 July 1879, page 3.
• 21 Dec., 1984
• Medina County Historical Society Collections.
• Medina County Sentinel
• 4 Sep. 1903, page 4.
• 4 Aug 1911, page 1 
• Perrin, William Henry, History of Medina County and Ohio (1881)
• Upton, Harriett Taylor, History of the Western Reserve
• WikiMedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Judge_Albert_Munson_House.jpg
• Wikipedia:
• Spiritualist Church https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiritualist_church

P.S. Thank you to Tom Hilberg for correcting my mistake. The Community Design Committee NOT the historical society moved the MUNSON House to its present location.