OHIO STATE
ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL
SOCIETY.
REVIEWS, NOTES AND COMMENTS
BY THE EDITOR
HISTORICAL COMMISSION OF OHIO
The following communication from
Professor Carl
Wittke, Secretary of the Historical
Commission of
Ohio, to members of the Historical
Guild and others
interested is self explanatory:
THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY, April 12,
1923.
DEAR SIR:--
In response to the call to the
Historical Guild of the state
for a conference in Columbus to discuss
plans to promote a bet-
ter co-ordination of the historical work
being done in the state,
and to direct attention to some hitherto
neglected fields, repre-
sentatives of seven Ohio colleges and
universities and the Ohio
Archaeological and Historical Society,
met for a breakfast con-
ference on Saturday, March 31. It was
the wish of the group
that a full report of the proceedings be
sent to all who had re-
ceived the call to attend this meeting.
PROCEEDINGS OF MARCH 31, 1923
Professor H. C. Hockett of Ohio State
University was asked
to serve as temporary chairman of the
group. In setting forth
the various steps which led to this
conference, Mr. Hockett stated
that the State University, in somewhat
tardy recognition, of its
obligation to the historical activities
of the state, had completed
arrangements to release one member of
the Department of Amer-
ican History, Mr. Carl Wittke, from much
of his teaching load,
so that he might develop the field of
Ohio History and devote
his energies to research and the
development of greater
facilities for research in this field.
It was the consensus of
opinion of the signers of the call for
this conference that plans
should be made to promote the
publishing, editing and collec-
tion of historical materials, and
perhaps also undertake a sys-
teratic historical survey of the state.
This work could probably
be best accomplished by an historical
commission, representing
(426)
Reviews, Notes and Comments 427
the colleges of the state and the
various historical societies in
Ohio, the university to. furnish the salaried,
permanent secretary
to serve the purposes of the commission.
The work of such a
commission might, for example, include
preparation of check-
lists of newspaper files in the state, the publication
of biographical
guides, the calendaring of important
Ohio materials found out-
side the state, the preparation of
transcripts and photostatic cop-
ies, the proper care of the state's
archives, etc. It was made
clear in the discussion that the plan
involved no attempt to inter-
fere with work of collecting and
publishing already carried on by
various historical agencies in the state
nor to secure the transfer
of any collections to other places, nor
to compete with older col-
lecting agencies. But it would be hoped
that by means of this
state-wide historical commission, and
with the hearty cooperation
of all the existing historical agencies
in the state, a better coor-
dination in the work of collecting and
publishing might be brought
about, and certain other tasks might be
undertaken which are not
now within the province of any existing
organization.
After some further remarks in support of
the temporary
chairman's presentation of the case,
Professor A. H. Hirsch of
Ohio Wesleyan moved,--
That, the temporary chairman appoint a committee of three,
this committee to nominate an advisory
committee, whose duty
it should be to formulate plans for
publishing, editing and sur-
veying the historical materials of the
state, with the cooperation
of the other historical agencies in the
state. The motion carried
unanimously, and the chairman appointed
the following com-
mittee: Professors Hubbard (Ohio
Wesleyan), Ghodes (Capital
University), and Cole (Ohio State
University).
After long deliberation, Professor Cole,
at the request of
the committee, presented the following
report:
1. That an historical commission of
Ohio, to consist of a
minimum of nine members be created.
2. That
the membership of the commission may be in-
creased to twelve, by the commission, if
that should at any time
seem advisable or necessary.
3. That the following nine members
should constitute this
historical commission, to act as an
advisory body, and with the
secretary, to formulate plans for the
promotion of the work pro-
jected:
C. B. Galbreath--Ohio Archaeological and
Historical Society.
W. H. Cathcart--Western Reserve
Historical Society.
Miss L. B. Hamlin--Historical and
Philosophical Society
of Ohio.
W. H. Siebert--Ohio State University.
428 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications
E. J. Benton--Western Reserve
University.
Clarence E. Carter--Miami University.
B. W. Bond, Jr.--University of
Cincinnati.
Arthur H. Hirsch--Ohio Wesleyan
University.
Thomas N. Hoover--Ohio University.
The report was taken up seratim, and
after thorough dis-
cussion, was unanimously adopted by the
group.
Prof. E. J. Benton of Western Reserve
University then
moved that Prof. W. H. Siebert be
designated as temporary
chairman of the commission, the commission
to determine its
permanent organization later. This
motion was seconded by
Prof. Ghodes of Capital University, and
was unanimously car-
ried.
Prof. Siebert then moved that the
Commission be directed
to consider at an early meeting the
advisability of appealing to the
Governor of Ohio, to formally constitute
this body as the His-
torical Commission of Ohio. The motion
was seconded by Prof.
Benton, and after some discussion, was
unanimously approved.
Prof. Siebert then moved that Dr. Carl
Wittke, or his suc-
cessor designated by the American
History Department of
Ohio State University for work in the
field of Ohio History, be
made secretary ex-officio of the
Historical Commission. This mo-
tion was seconded by Prof. Hoover of
Ohio University, and was
unanimously carried.
Prof. Cole then moved that the
commission be directed to
formulate plans for keeping in touch
with those either actively
engaged or interested in this historical
work of the state; thus
implying a continued relationship
between the Historical Guild
of the state and the Commission, and the
latter to convene the
members of the Historical Guild of Ohio
on occasion, and at least
once in each year, to make report
concerning its plans and the
work accomplished. The motion was
unanimously carried.
Adjournment followed.
* * * *
The secretary would welcome suggestions
and a frank dis-
cussion of these proceedings, whether
you were able to attend
the conference on March 31 or not.
Very truly yours,
CARL WITTKE,
Secretary.
The members of the Historical
Commission of Ohio
will meet in Columbus at the Chittenden
Hotel, June 2,
1923, at one o'clock P. M.
Reviews, Notes and Comments 429 REV. NATHANIEL BARRETT COULSON LOVE Rev. Nathaniel Barrett Coulson Love was born in Rushville, Ohio, October 29, 1830. He died at his home in Perrysburg, Ohio, December 29, 1922. He had there- fore passed his ninety-second birthday. He was one of the pioneer ministers of Ohio. His father, William Love, was Scotch-Irish; his mother, Susannah Force, was of English and Scotch-Irish descent. Rev. Love was educated in the common schools, and privately taught by his father; he began his ministry in the Northern Ohio Annual Conference of the M. E. Church in 1853; in 1856 he was transferred to the Central Ohio Conference. He held pastorates in a number of cities in northern Ohio. He was for many years a lecturer in various Chautauqua assemblies in |
|
Ohio and other states. He was a Lakeside pio- neer, having been in at- tendance at the meetings there since the founding of the camp grounds al- most fifty years ago. He was connected with the assemblies there from 1879 to 1883 in the ca- pacity of normal class teacher of adults, teacher of boys and girls and blackboard artist. He was an authority on Lakeside history as well as that of the Methodist |
Church in northwestern Ohio. He was author of a |
430
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
work on "Object Teaching,"
many articles in papers
and contributions to magazines on
church and secular
history.
On February 18, 1900, he was appointed
by Gov-
ernor Nash on the Board of Trustees of
the Ohio State
Archaeological and Historical Society.
After serving
for a term of three years he was
reappointed and
served to the end of a second term in
1906. He made a
number of contributions to the
QUARTERLY of the
Society.
Rev. Love was married March 31, 1853.
North-
western Ohio was then a wilderness with
homes few
and far between. He began his ministry
and married
life as a circuit rider, traveling for
a time 200 miles
every four weeks on horse-back over mud
roads and
in all kinds of weather.
Rev. Love was an Odd Fellow and a
Mason, at the
time of his death probably the oldest
member of Ohio
in the former fraternity. He had been a
Mason for
almost half a century.
He is survived by his wife, now in her
eighty-ninth
year; two sons, Edwin G. Love of
Toledo, and S. J. Love
of Findlay; and two daughters, Mrs. F.
C. Eberly of
Perrysburg, and Mrs. Hessel Postma who
resides at
Zeist, Holland.
Rev. Love was a life member of the Ohio
State
Archaeological and Historical Society
and a very short
time before his death was still reading
with interest
the contributions to the QUARTERLY. He is
affection-
ately remembered by many of his fellow
members of the
Society who recall his interest in
history, his genial
character and his broadminded sympathy
for his
fellow man in all walks of life.
Reviews, Notes and Comments 431
SENATOR ROBERT L. OWEN AT THE LOGAN ELM
Mr. E. L. Spetnagel, a life member of
our Society,
writes an interesting letter to Mr.
Tiffin J. Gilmore
thanking him for a circular containing
a cut of the
Logan Elm and the text of the speech of
Chief Logan
that made the tree famous. He speaks of a family
reunion last June and the enjoyment of
two brothers
and other members of his family in
making a visit to
this grand, old tree. Continuing Mr.
Spetnagel writes:
Some day I will drop into your office
and tell you the story
of another Indian who made a speech
under this same Logan
Elm. This Indian was none other than
Senator Robert L. Owen
of Oklahoma, who visited the spot with
Judge Claypool and Mr.
F. A. Stacey in 1920 on the occasion of a political meeting in
the presidential campaign of that year.
The Senator spent the
night with Mr. Claypool and asked to be
shown some of the
mounds and spots made historic by the
Indians. Upon their re-
turn, Claypool brought the Senator to
our bank and asked me to
entertain him until an automobile could
be gotten to take him
to Greenfield. I enjoyed a most
delightful hour with the Senator
and he told me of having made a speech
himself under the tree
that morning, and asked me if I cared to
hear it. I assured
him that I would, and he then stood up
and repeated in the
Choctaw language his speech. He said,
"Of course you do not
understand what I said, so I will
interpret the speech for you."
As near as I can recall his words they
were as follows:
"Chief Logan, of the Mingo tribes,
I bring you greetings
from a member of the Choctaw tribe of
Indians. You, in your
day, were a good Indian. I, in my day,
am striving to be a good
Indian. I greet you, Chief Logan."
You cannot imagine the impressive effect
of these words
upon me, delivered as they were in the
private room here at the
bank to Mr. Stacey and myself as his
audience.
After finishing his brief address he
took from his pocket an
envelope which contained several leaves
from the Logan Elm,
and, showing them to me, stated that he
intended sending or
taking them back to his mother and
telling her the pathetic story
of Logan.
Senator Owen of Oklahoma is not the only
member
of the highest legislative body in the
world with Indian
432 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
blood in his veins. Senator Curtis of Kansas also
points with pride to his Indian
ancestry.
HISTORIC MEDALLIONS
The Greenville Advocate of
February 22 contains
an extended article by Mr. George A.
Katzenberger an-
nouncing the moving of the Second
National Bank of
Greenville to its new building on the
24th of that month.
The new home of the bank has
appropriate medallions,
prints of which were distributed on
post cards. These
are described in the article as
follows:
Facing the bank from the Fourth Street
side the observer
will note two large bronze oval
medallions of Generals St. Clair
and Greene. The former was the first
American officer passing
through the present site of Greenville
with an army, and the
latter was the particular friend of
General Wayne, who had
served with General Greene in the
southern campaign in the
Revolutionary war, and in honor of whom
Wayne caused the
first fort erected here to be known as
Fort Greenville. The two
medallions to be seen from the Broadway
side are those of
Little Turtle, the celebrated Miami
chieftain, who defeated
General St. Clair's army at what was
afterwards known as
Fort Recovery, and who participated in
the Treaty of Green-
ville, the other medallion being that of
"Mad Anthony Wayne"
whose history is known to every citizen
of Greenville. These
medallions, forty inches high, were
designed in plaster, by
sculptor Bruce Haswell, of Cincinnati,
from engravings in the
collection of George A. Katzenberger,
and were executed in
bronze by Gorham and Company of New York
City, and are in
recognition of the historical importance
of Greenville.
GENERAL J. WARREN KEIFER YOUNG AT
EIGHTY-
SEVEN
Frequently within the past year General
J. Warren
Keifer has been hailed as the
"grand old man of Ohio."
On Jnuary 30, 1923; he reached the
eighty-seventh an-
niversary of his birth. On this
occasion he received
Reviews, Notes and Comments 433
many felicitations and
congratulations. He has en-
tered upon his eighty-eighth year in
good health and a
lively interest in public affairs. Ohio
is proud of his
illustrious career. He is an active
life member of the
Ohio State Archaeological and
Historical Society as the
recent proceedings of its annual
meetings attest. He is
a member of the Board of Trustees. In
this interest he
has signally honored the Society.
For the first time in ten years the
Ohio State
Archaeological and Historical Society
was given ade-
quate and proportionate recognition as
an educational
institution of the state by the General
Assembly of Ohio
which has this month recessed at the
conclusion of
its regular session. The appropriations
include $238,-
000 for the completion of the Memorial
Wing of the
Museum and Library Building and much
needed in-
creases for the puplications and
administrative work of
the Society. A full account of the
friendly attitude of
the General Assembly, with recognition
of those
especially active in behalf of the
Society, will appear
in the July issue of the QUARTERLY.
Chiefly through the active interest of
Colonel
Edward Orton, Jr. and Mr. Walter D.
McKinney and
the generosity of George T. Spahr and
Theodore E.
Glenn, of the firm of Spahr and Glenn,
the Society has
come into the possession of the library
of the Old
Northwest Genealogical Society, which
will be classified
and arranged as a distinct and
important unit of the
library of the Society. A fuller
account of this im-
portant collection will appear in a
later issue of the
QUARTERLY.
Vol. XXXII -- 28.
OHIO STATE
ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL
SOCIETY.
REVIEWS, NOTES AND COMMENTS
BY THE EDITOR
HISTORICAL COMMISSION OF OHIO
The following communication from
Professor Carl
Wittke, Secretary of the Historical
Commission of
Ohio, to members of the Historical
Guild and others
interested is self explanatory:
THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY, April 12,
1923.
DEAR SIR:--
In response to the call to the
Historical Guild of the state
for a conference in Columbus to discuss
plans to promote a bet-
ter co-ordination of the historical work
being done in the state,
and to direct attention to some hitherto
neglected fields, repre-
sentatives of seven Ohio colleges and
universities and the Ohio
Archaeological and Historical Society,
met for a breakfast con-
ference on Saturday, March 31. It was
the wish of the group
that a full report of the proceedings be
sent to all who had re-
ceived the call to attend this meeting.
PROCEEDINGS OF MARCH 31, 1923
Professor H. C. Hockett of Ohio State
University was asked
to serve as temporary chairman of the
group. In setting forth
the various steps which led to this
conference, Mr. Hockett stated
that the State University, in somewhat
tardy recognition, of its
obligation to the historical activities
of the state, had completed
arrangements to release one member of
the Department of Amer-
ican History, Mr. Carl Wittke, from much
of his teaching load,
so that he might develop the field of
Ohio History and devote
his energies to research and the
development of greater
facilities for research in this field.
It was the consensus of
opinion of the signers of the call for
this conference that plans
should be made to promote the
publishing, editing and collec-
tion of historical materials, and
perhaps also undertake a sys-
teratic historical survey of the state.
This work could probably
be best accomplished by an historical
commission, representing
(426)