The Founder of the Society of Mary, Father Leo Meyer, came from Alsace to Cincinnati to serve as a missionary in 1949. He found the area in the midst of a cholera epidemic and volunteered to help. The next year he was sent by the Bishop to Dayton to serve at Emmanuel Church, where he met John Stuart.
Stuart owned 125 acres of farmland in the Southeastern section of Dayton. Stuart had come from Scotland and wanted to return, and Father Meyer wanted to establish a colony of Marianists. The two negotiated and made a deal. Stuart would give the land to Father Meyer and allow him to pay back when he could, and Father Meyer would give him his St Joseph Medal as collateral. It took twenty years to pay the debt and get back the medal.
Mary Stuart, infant daughter of John, was buried in St Henry Catholic Cemetery, on Main Street near Ashley and Frank Streets. When St Henry was sold and the bodies exhumed, Father Meyer moved Mary and her monument to the UD Campus in order to fulfill his promise to John Stuart that he would always care for the child’s grave. When the Marianist cemetery was established in the present location, Mary’s grave was moved along with the rest. Stewart Street is named for the Stuart family, but the name was misspelled.
K12 Gallery and Tejas
One avenue of community engagement is introducing the healing power of arts to low-income students, youth on probation, adults with disabilities, and survivors of domestic violence. K12 Gallery & TEJAS continues to organize public art projects to further reach the community.
For information on art classes at K12 & TEJAS, please visit their website at: https://k12tejasgallery.org
Murder in Victorian Dayton: The Tragic Story of Bessie Little
Have You Seen this Bench?
Upcoming Sara Kaushal Author Events
- Murder & Mayhem in Dayton and the Miami Valley Book Talk
August 29, 10 AM, Charles Lathrem Senior Center in Kettering - Dayton Ghosts & Legends Book Talk
September 24, 6 pm, Jamestown Library - Spooky Presentation
October 3, 330, Brookville Library - Huber Haunts Truck or Treat
October 6, 1-4, Thomas Cloud Park - Urban Legends Presentation
October 10, 11 AM, Vandalia Senior Center - Fairborn Halloween Festival
October 11-13 - Dayton Ghosts & Legends Book Talk
October 15, 7 pm Centerville Washington Township RecPlex - Urban Legends Presentation
October 19, noon, Dayton Metro Library Downtown - Dayton Ghosts & Legends Book Talk
October 23, 2 pm, St Leonard’s Community - Urban Legends Presentation
October 28, 6 pm Northmont Library
Lieutenant Colonel Charity Adams Earley
Charity Edna Adams was born in Kitrell, North Carolina in 1918. Her father was a minister, and her mother was a former teacher. When she was a young girl, her family moved to South Carolina, which she later considered home.
Charity was intellectually gifted and started school in second grade. By the end of elementary school, she was tested and scored ready to start high school. Her parents decided not to advance her any more grades since she was already a few grades ahead of her age group in school. Charity graduated school two years early as valedictorian. At Wilberforce College, Charity majored in Latin, Math, and Physics. She held a part-time job and was involved in many student activities before she graduated in 1938.
During WWII, Charity was the first African American female officer in the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC, later called WAC). She led the 3rd Training Regiment, made up of two white and one black platoon. At Fort Des Moines, she was promoted to Major, which made her the highest-ranking female officer at the fort and one of the highest-ranking WAC officers in the country. She then deployed to Europe and led the first Black WAC unit to serve overseas. For her work in Europe, Charity was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, the highest possible rank for WAC.
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More Upcoming Events
This summer is shaping up to be a summer of fun with so many events happening!
- What: Passport to MetroParks
Date: May 24 (tonight!!)
Time: 6-9 PM
Where: 237 E Monument Ave, Dayton
Description: A preview of events taking place at each MetroPark this summer. There will be live music, food trucks, and park rangers. Representatives from upcoming festivals will be there to detail their upcoming festivals. - What: Cheese Fest
Date: May 25
Time: 3-10 pm
Where: Austin Landing, 10400 Innovation Drive, Miamisburg - What: Kettering Block Party
Date: May 29
Time: 6-8 PM
Where: Fraze Pavilion, 695 Lincoln Park Blvd, Kettering - What: Halfway to Hauntfest
Date: May 31
Time: 9 pm to 2 am
Where: NextDoor Bar, 454 E Fifth Street, Dayton; Oregon District
Description: To celebrate the halfway mark to Halloween and reveal the theme for this year’s Oregon District Halloween festival. 21 and over - What: Dayton Pride
Dates: May 31-June 1
Times: 6pm-10 pm May 31
11am-4pm June 1
Where: Greater Dayton LGBT Center, 136 North Main Street, Dayton - What: Troy Strawberry Festival
Dates: June 1-2
Times: 10 am to 9 pm June 1
10 am to 6 pm June 2
Where: Downtown Troy - What: St. Christopher Festival
Date: June 7-9
Where: St. Christopher Catholic Church, 425 East National Road, Vandalia - What: St Helen Spring Festival
Date: June 7-9
Where: St. Helen Private Elementary, 5086 Burkhardt Road - What: Jewish Cultural Festival
Date: June 9
Time: 11 am to 7 pm
Where: Temple Israel, 130 Riverside, Dayton - What: Versailles Poultry Days
Date: June 14-16
Where: 459 South Center St, Versailles - What: Celtic Fest Ohio
Date: June 15
Time: 11am-10pm
Where: Renaissance Park, 10542 E Ohio 73, Waynesville - What: Pride Art Show
Date: June 21
Time: 5 PM
Where: Secret Chamber of Oddities and Artwork 17 West Main Street, Fairborn
Sara’s Ghost Tours
When: May 11th at 2 and 4pm
To register for this event, visit this link
Officer McCain to Detective McCain
Casey McCain obtained her Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission certification in November 2015 from Clark State. She started her career as a dispatcher at the Champaign County Communications Center from 2013 to 2016. She then went on to serve the city of Urbana in 2016, where she remained until 2022. She moved to Beavercreek Police in February 2022, as one of ten female officers sworn in to their roster of fifty, the highest number of women in Beavercreek Police history.
Other Daytons (Part 2)
- Dayton, Nevada – the second-oldest settlement in Nevada and home to the oldest hotel in Nevada, and once a hotspot for gold miners. Named for a local surveyor, John Day in 1861.
- Dayton, Newark, New Jersey – a neighborhood in Newark, named after Jonathan Dayton.</
- Dayton, New Jersey – an unincorporated community in South Brunswick. Originally known as Cross Roads but was renamed to Dayton in 1866, but it is unclear if it is named for William L. Dayton or Jonathan Dayton.
- Dayton, New York – founded around 1810 when settlers arrived and mistakenly thought they were in Chautauqua County (but they were in Cattaraugus County). Formed from the town Perrysburg.
- Dayton, Oregon – founded in 1850 by Joel Palmer and Andrew Smith, a native of Dayton, Ohio.
- Dayton, Pennsylvania – a small borough in Armstrong County. Population as of the 2020 census was 549 people.
- Dayton, Tennessee – Settled around 1820 and was named Smith’s Crossroads. Renamed to Dayton in 1877, after Dayton, Ohio. Was also the site of the 1925 Scopes Trial that decided if evolution should be taught in public schools.
Dayton Unknown 