John Newton Morehouse, Jr. (known as Johnny) was born in 1855, the younger son of John Newton Morehouse, Sr., and Mary Margaret (Browning) Morehouse. John and Mary were married December 23, 1851. John Sr. was a shoe cobbler and the family lived in the back of their shoe repair store. By the time of Johnny’s death on August 14, 1860, John Sr. was divorced from Mary and married to Barbara, his second wife.
Johnny was playing with his dog along the Miami & Erie Canal, which ran alongside his house (present day Patterson Blvd.) when he fell in. The circumstances of his drowning were not recorded, but one version theorizes the dog attempted to rescue him and drowned with him. Another theory was that the dog attempted to rescue him but was too late. Whether any of its true is merely a guess at this point.
Johnny was laid to rest in Woodland Cemetery. His marker depicts a small boy and a big dog. The small boy is sleeping peacefully, and the dog has placed a protective paw over the boy. Next to them is a small stone hat, ball, harmonica, and a top. Rumors have circulated that those represent the items in the boy’s pocket when he was fished out of the water. The marker itself was the work of Daniel LaDow, of the marble works company LaDow and Winder. The base of the statue is inscribed “Johnny Morehouse” in front and “SLUMBER SWEET” on one side. It was erected at the grave the following year, 1861.
The August 17, 1860 issue of the Dayton Daily Journal reported Johnny’s death as: “4y 11m 14d, youngest son of John N. & Mary M.”
Another version of Johnny’s story involves the dog remaining at the graveside, refusing to leave. Visitors paying their respects to Johnny would feed the dog scraps of food. Although the stories surrounding Johnny’s death and his dog’s role in it are nice, the truth is much simpler. His grieving parents chose a stone monument reflecting the love Johnny and his dog had for each other. Interviews with friends of the Morehouse family in the 1890s back this up.
Stories of sightings of a young boy and a dog both seen and heard playing in the cemetery after dark add to the mystery surrounding Johnny. In a story from 1997, a small boy and a dog were spotted walking together in Woodland after dark. The older man who spotted them noticed the boy was too young to be wandering around on his own at night, so he sent his grandson to fetch them. When the grandson came back later, he reported he could not find anyone. The grandpa called the police and a search ensued, but again, nothing was found. Stories of a boy and his dog have persisted for years.
Today, visitors continue to adorn Johnny’s grave with toys and dog treats as a sign of respect.
In recent years, rumors have circulated that the dog’s head was cut off by vandals. However, this is not true. Due to old age and a falling tree branch during a particularly bad storm, the head came off and was later repaired by Woodland Cemetery horticulturalist Jim Sandegren.
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