WILLIAM CORLESS MILLS
IN MEMORIAM
The founder of an institution of merit
with an as-
sured future is peculiarly fortunate.
Through the
early years of its growth he may
struggle onward with
meager means to overcome indifference
and more
serious obstacles, but when success at
last crowns a
life devoted to a worthy purpose, when
the founder lives
to see his work recognized and on every
side accorded
the meed of praise, the satisfaction of
such a triumph is
more gratifying than a temporal political
or financial
achievement. Such was the good fortune
of Dr. Wil-
liam Corless Mills. The institution
that he established
on a secure foundation is his enduring
monument.
Like many of the conspicuously
successful men of
the generation that is passing, Dr.
Mills began life on a
farm. He was born near the village of
Pyrmont, Mont-
gomery County, Ohio, January 2, 1860.
He was of
English-German ancestry.
His great-grandfather, Joshua Mills,
Sr., was born
at Mt. Holly, Monmouth County, New
Jersey, Febru-
ary 17, 1776. He married Lucy
Corless, who was born
March 10, 1775. Of this union
nine children were born:
Ann, March 4, 1798; Jane, August 27,
1800; John, April
7, 1802; Rebecca, July 12, 1804;
William, January 26,
1806; Rachel, September 15, 1807;
Sarah, May 27,
1809; Grace, September 20, 1812; May,
November 3,
(205)
206
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
1814. Rachel died at Mt. Holly in
November, 1817. In
1818, the family, except two daughters,
moved to War-
ren County, Ohio, where they lived one
year. They
then moved to Perry Township,
Montgomery County,
Ohio, where the family permanently
settled. The two
daughters who remained in New Jersey
were Ann and
Jane. The former married Isaiah Johnson
and the lat-
ter William Garwood. Immediately after
their mar-
riage they came to Ohio. Joshua Mills,
Sr., had a fair
education and when he was a young man
taught school
for a time.
John Mills, grandfather of the subject
of this sketch,
did not at first feel at home in the
Ohio wilderness and
begged permission to return to New
Jersey. This was
granted and he walked all of the way
back, going as
far as Baltimore with a farmer who was
taking a drove
of cattle. He soon missed his parents,
however, and
returned to his Ohio home, walking all
the way. Here
he married Mary A. Singer, April 24,
1827. They
moved to Lewisburg, Preble County,
Ohio, where four
children were born to them: Elizabeth,
Joshua, Joseph
and John Singer. In 1835, the family
moved to the
parental home in Montgomery County, and
here four
more children were born: Lucy, Henry,
Rebecca Jane
and William Corless. John Mills was a
carpenter and
a farmer.
Joshua Mills, Jr., son of John and Mary
A. (Singer)
Mills, was born at Lewisburg, Preble
County, Ohio,
February 6, 1831. He went with the
family to Pyrmont,
Montgomery County, Ohio, four years
later. He
worked at the blacksmith trade at
different periods in
southwestern Ohio and at Ogden,
Indiana. On January
208
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
4, 1857, he married Mary Ann Mundhenk
and shortly
afterward moved to Greencastle
Township, Marshall
County, Iowa. Here he and his wife
remained until
late in the year of 1858. Their first
child, Elizabeth,
was born here March 22, 1858, and died
October 15 of
the same year. Joshua Mills, Jr., and
his wife returned
to the old home at Pyrmont, Ohio, a few
days before
Christmas, 1858. Here the subject of
this sketch was
born, as were his two sisters, Clara
(Mills) Loy,
February 28, 1863, and Mary Ann (Mills)
Baker, Oc-
tober 26, 1869.
Joshua Mills, Jr., died July 1, 1921.
His wife, Mary
Ann (Mundhenk) Mills died October 27,
1923. She
was the daughter of Augustus Mundhenk
who came
with his parents to America from
Germany when he
was three years old. His father, Daniel
Mundhenk, first
settled in Philadelphia and later came
to Montgomery
County, Ohio, and founded Pyrmont
village, giving it the
name of his home town in Germany.
Dr. Mills worked on his father's farm,
attended the
district schools and taught in them for
a few years. He
studied law a short time in Dayton. In
1881, he en-
tered Ohio State University where he
continued until his
junior year when he left, studied
medicine for a few
months and then took a course in the
Cincinnati School
of Pharmacy from which he was
graduated. In 1885,
he was married and established a drug
store in Pyrmont.
In the spring of the year following, he
moved to Co-
lumbus and continued in the drug
business. In 1887,
he moved to Greensburg, Kansas, where
he owned and
operated a drug store for about
eighteen months. In
1888, he returned to Ohio where he
owned and con-
William Corless Mills 209
ducted drug stores and resided at the
following places:
Newcomerstown, 1888-1890; Mt. Vernon,
1890-1893;
Chicago Junction (now Willard),
1893-1897. In 1897,
he returned to Ohio State University,
completed his
course, received the degree of Bachelor
of Science in
1898 and the degree of Master of
Science in 1902.
When Dr. Mills was a boy he became
interested in
Indian arrow-heads found on his
father's farm and in
its vicinity, and in early life evinced
a fondness for arch-
aeology. He made a collection of
prehistoric relics and
early began to study the meager
literature available on
the Moundbuilders of his native state.
While he was
living in Newcomerstown, he made a
discovery of un-
usual importance. At that time he was
secretary of the
local archaeological society. In
describing this rare find
before a meeting of the Western Reserve
Historical So-
ciety, at Cleveland, Ohio, on December
12, 1890, he said:
New Comerstown is a small village of
1,500 inhabitants,
situated on the right bank of the
Tuscarawas River, about 90
miles west of Pittsburgh and 100 miles
south of Cleveland, and
near the confluence of the Tuscarawas
and a small stream known
as Buckhorn Creek, and from 30 to 35
miles south of the glacial
boundary, which extends into the
northern part of the county
in Wayne Township.
In the northern part of the town and
within its corporate
limits is a large gravel terrace,
deposited in a recess near the
mouth of Buckhorn Creek and derived from
the northern drift.
For several years past the Cleveland and
Marietta Railroad Com-
pany have been taking out this gravel in
large quantities, which
they have used in ballasting their
railroad, and so have kept the
gravel exposed to the depth of about 23 feet. The top
of the ter-
race is about 35 feet above the flood
plain of the Tuscarawas and
extends up the Buckhorn about a quarter
of a mile, gradually di-
minishing in height as it recedes from the main line of
deposition.
In this gravel bank, on the 27th day of
October, 1889, while
examining the different strata of
gravel, I found the specimen
Vol. XXXVII-14.
210 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
that you have before you, 15 feet from
the surface of the terrace.
The bank was almost perpendicular at
this time, exposing a front
of about 20 feet. The small part of the bank
was in place in the
side of the terrace, until I struck it
with my walking cane, when
a space of about 6 feet in length by 2 feet in height
tumbled down,
exposing to view the specimen.
At first sight I recognized the peculiar
shape and glossy ap-
pearance of the specimen, such as were
characteristic of palaeo-
lithic specimens described to me by
Prof. Edward Orton, while I
was a student at the Ohio State
University.
I at once compared the specimen with
other flint implements
which I had collected in this valley,
which at present number up-
wards of 3,000 chipped specimens of
flint found on the surface
and in mounds, and I found that I had
none that resembled it. I
communicated these facts to Mr. A. A.
Graham, Secretary of the
Ohio Archaeological and Historical
Society. Mr. Graham sent the
specimen to Prof. Wright, who wrote me
for a detailed account
of the circumstances connected with the
find, which I furnished
him, at the same time inviting him to
visit New Comerstown and
satisfy himself in reference to my
statements. I will leave him
to tell the rest of the story.
It will be noted that this discovery
had been made
almost ten years before he finished his
course at the
State University. His interest in what
became his major
life-work continued and when on June 1,
1898, he was
elected Curator of the Museum of the
Ohio State Arch-
aeological and Historical Society, he
entered upon a work
in which he was not only deeply
interested but with
which he was already thoroughly
familiar.
His compensation at the outset was
assuredly very
modest. A letter1 bearing
the date of 1898 contains the
1 Following is the letter from E. O.
Randall, Secretary of the Society,
under date of June 8, 1898, notifying
Dr. Mills of his election:
Dr. W. C. Mills,
O. S. U.,
City.
My Dear Sir:--
I am directed to inform you that on
Wednesday, June 1, the Executive
Committee of our Society elected you
Curator, from June 1, 1898 to Febru-
William Corless Mills 211 statement that he was to receive $15.00 a month from the Society. He also was to receive $25.00 a month |
|
WILLIAM C. MILLS From a photograph taken in 1898. A likeness at the time he was elected Curator of the Museum ary 1, 1899, at a salary of $15 per month, with the understanding that in ad- dition to looking after the Museum and collections, you would, when directed, do exploring work for the Society, and when out upon such field work, that you would receive the sum of $2 per day and your expenses. Mr. George F. Bareis is Chairman of the Library and Museum Committee, and you will be expected to confer with him in regard to the duties of your office. He will write you or call upon you in a short time. With best wishes for your success, I am Yours respectfully, E. 0. RANDALL. |
212
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
from the Ohio State University and $2 a
day while
engaged in field work. The payment from
the Uni-
versity was compensation for teaching a
class of stu-
dents which he had organized in
archeology.
At the outset, the collection in the
Museum was small.
It was housed on the gallery floor of
Orton Hall on the
University grounds, where it remained
until the winter
of 1902-1903 when it was moved to the
rooms in Page
Hall on the University grounds. A full
account of this
transfer occurs in the report of Dr.
Mills which was
presented at the Annual Meeting of the
Society, June 5,
1903.
On Decoration Day, May 30, 1914, the
new Museum
and Library Building of the Ohio State
Archaeological
and Historical Society, at the east
entrance of the Ohio
State University, was dedicated with
proper ceremonies.
On the afternoon of that day the Annual
Meeting of the
Society was held. Dr. Mills, who was
then Curator and
Librarian, described in his report the
transfer of the
museum and library to the new building.
He had been
much interested in securing
appropriations for this
building and had devoted much time to
the supervision
of the details while it was in process
of erection.
In the meantime, the exhibits of the
Society were
steadily and rapidly growing in number
and impor-
tance. Dr. Mills was very active in
conducting the field
work of the Society and a number of the
mounds ex-
plored under his direction yielded rare
and valuable
relics. It soon became evident that the
building would
not provide room for the accessions to
the Museum and
the Library. When the original building
was erected,
plans were drawn providing for
additions, which, when
William Corless Miills 213 completed, would give the Society's collections a quadrangular building with an interior court. The first additional wing, which was erected as a memorial to the soldiers of the World War, was completed and dedi- |
|
WILLIAM C. MILLS From a photograph taken in 1921 at the time he was elected Director of the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society cated April 6, 1926. The General Assembly of Ohio, which met in 1927, made provision for the erection of an additional wing. This leaves only one more wing to be built to complete the building according to the orig- inal plan. |
214 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications
Dr. Mills was deeply interested in
these additions to
the building and diligent in the
supervision of the details
of their construction.
He served as Curator until October 18,
1921, when
the position of Director of the Museum
was created by
the Board of Trustees of the
Society. Dr. Mills was
promoted to this position, which he
held to the time of
his death. To him is due the credit for
establishing the
Department of Natural History.
At the Annual Meeting of the Society,
September
19, 1923, Dr. Mills was honored by the
adoption of a
resolution expressive of appreciation
of his long and
successful service to the Society. The
resolution was
offered by General Edward Orton, Jr.,
and read as fol-
lows:
WHEREAS, The Director of this Society
has completed a
period of twenty-five years' continued
labor in the employ of this
Society, and through this period has
rendered to the people of the
great commonwealth of Ohio a signal
service in his several capaci-
ties as Curator of Archaeology and
Director of the Museum, and
WHEREAS,
during the period of his incumbency the archae-
ological collection of this Society has
risen from a little known
and unimportant stage until it has now
become the most repre-
sentative collection of material
illustrating the life, habits and his-
tory of the unknown peoples who have
inhabited the Mississippi
Valley in centuries past, and his fame,
which extends beyond the
limits of Ohio and the United States,
has made this collection
known in the museums of the world, and
WHEREAS, Dr. Mills, by his constant and
intensified scholar-
ship and his constantly broadening use
of other parallel sciences
in explaining relics of these ancient
civilizations, has raised this.
museum from a mere collection of
curiosities up to a point where
it has become of deep scientific
significance and outstanding
human interest, therefore
Be it resolved, That the Trustees and the members of The
Ohio State Archaeological and Historical
Society hereby tender
their greetings to Director Mills on this Twenty-fifth
Anniversary
William Corless Mills 215
of the beginning of his service and
render official acknowledg-
ments for his fidelity and the value of
his services in the past,
and bid him Godspeed in his progress on
that never ending quest
for knowledge which endows the human
breast, of which his own
past furnishes so fine an exemplification.
Be it further resolved, That these resolutions shall be suitably
engrossed, signed by the officers and
Trustees of the Society and
presented in permanent form to Director
Mills.
Though Dr. Mills had been in failing
health for some
months before his death he went
courageously about
his work and was in his office often
when it required
effort and caused pain to discharge the
duties that he
could not consent to lay aside. With
waning strength
his spirit seemed to rise and to the
last he did not yield
hope that he would win in the fight
over a serious mal-
ady. He rallied after an operation in
the hospital and
remained quite cheerful. He did not
have the strength,
however, to carry him over the crisis,
and breathed his
last at midnight, January 17, 1928.
The Trustees of the Ohio State
Archaeological and
Historical Society met on the day
following his death
to take action expressive of their
sense of loss and in
tribute to his memory. After the
meeting was called
to order, General Edward Orton, Jr.,
offered the fol-
lowing resolution, which was
unanimously adopted:
WHEREAS, We have heard with deep regret
and sorrow of
the death of Dr. William Corless Mills,
which occurred at mid-
night, January 17, 1928; therefore
Be it resolved by the Board of
Trustees of the Ohio State
Archaeological and Historical
Society, That in the death of Dr.
William Corless Mills, for nearly seven
years the Director of this
Society, we have suffered an irreparable
loss. To the service of
this Society and the science of
archaeology, Dr. Mills has given
literally a life-time of the most
zealous and unflagging labor.
Beginning in May, 1898, as assistant
curator of Archaeology,
216 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
with a small and fragmentary collection
of artifacts, Dr. Mills
has, often with but poor support from
the Society, struggled
along exploring and classifying the more
important archaeological
remains of Ohio, until he now leaves
behind him as the result of
his labor, a great and impressive museum
whose collections in
the special field of the aborigines of
the Ohio Valley are beyond
question the richest in the world. He
leaves not only his collec-
tions as his monument, but also, and
what is perhaps still greater,
the system of exploration which he has
developed and which
has enabled him in frequent instances to
glean from the worked-
over explorations of others, knowledge
and material of even
greater value than the original
searchers themselves obtained.
By his work, our Society has grown in
reputation and appre-
ciation in the scientific circles of
this country, and of the world.
Resolved, That his singleness of purpose, his indomitable
will, his incessant industry and his
scientific insight have made
him famous. His kindness, his spirit of
helpfulness and his
regard for others have endeared him to
this Board of Trustees,
to all the members of the Society, for
whom we speak, and the
Staff of the Museum, of whom he was not
only the leader, but
the friend and co-worker.
Resolved, That our grief at his loss is mitigated in that he
no longer is facing the prolonged
suffering of an incurable mal-
ady, and in that the enduring memory
which he leaves with us
now, is that of a great life worthily
lived.
Be it further resolved, That to his sorrowing family, we
offer our sincerest sympathy in their
affliction.
Dr. Mills was a member of the American
Ornitholog-
ical Union, member and librarian of the
Ohio Academy
of Science, member and president of the
Wheaton
Ornithological Society, member and
treasurer of the
Columbus Horticultural Society, charter
member of the
American Association of Museums, member
of the Co-
lumbus Iris Society and fellow of the
following organi-
zations: American Ethnological
Society, American
Association for the Advancement of
Science, and Amer-
ican Anthropological Society. At the
time of his death
he was a member of the National Research
Council of
William Corless Mills 217
Archaeology, and for twenty-eight years
had been as-
sistant editor of the Ohio
Naturalist, and for twelve
years a lecturer in Sociology in the
College of Com-
merce and Administration of the Ohio
State Univer-
sity. He was a member of Sigma Xi as
well as Phi Beta
Kappa. He was a Mason and a Republican.
His scientific papers and contributions
rank high in
the field of his special
interests. He was author of
Certain Mounds and Village Sites, Vol. 1--4; Archae-
ological Atlas of Ohio; Map and
Guide to Fort Ancient.
His annual "Reports" to the
Ohio State Archaeological
and Historical Society constitute a
valuable record of
the progress of that institution and
his contribution to
its work and growth.
He was in charge of the Society's
exhibit at the Pan-
American Exposition at Buffalo, in
1901; honorary
superintendent of Archaeology at the
Louisiana Pur-
chase Exposition at St. Louis, in 1904;
and superintend-
ent of Archaeology at the Jamestown
Ter-Centennial
Exposition, in 1907. In the summary of
Ohio's partici-
pation at St. Louis, published in the
United States Sen-
ate report of 1906 on the Louisiana
Purchase Exposi-
tion, appears the following statement
in regard to Ohio's
archaeological exhibit:
In the Department of Anthropology * * * Ohio took
the grand prize over all competitors.
The display consisted prin-
cipally of relics taken from the
historical mounds of the state,
which in themselves were very
interesting. Not only was the
general prize awarded for the display, but a special
gold medal
was presented to Professor W. C. Mills,
Librarian and Curator
of the Ohio State Archaeological and
Historical Society, for his
untiring efforts in revealing to the
public of today the mode of
livelihood and the characteristics of the oldest and
most historical
race of this continent.
218 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications
For a period of six years, Dr. Mills
was president of
the Ohio State University Athletic
Association and
later was its treasurer. At the close
of his service as
treasurer he was urged to continue as
graduate man-
ager. This he consented to do for one
year on condi-
tion that he be given complete
management of all ath-
letics--football, basket-ball, baseball
and track work.
This request was granted and at the end
of the year
a deficit of about $3,000 was changed
to the surplus of
$8,500.
On October 7, 1885, Dr. Mills was
married to Olive
Buxton, of Walhonding, Coshocton
County, Ohio. He is
survived by Mrs. Mills and one
daughter, Helen Marie
Mills.
Numerous editorials of appreciation and
resolutions
by organizations to which he belonged
have appeared in
public print. We here reproduce an
editorial which ap-
peared in the Columbus Evening
Dispatch of January
19, 1928:
William C. Mills has a fitting monument
in the archaeological
and historical collections gathered
under his leadership during
the last 30 years, and housed in the
museum and library building
on the grounds of Ohio State University,
at the Fifteenth avenue
entrance. He was in charge of the
exhibit of our Ohio Archae-
ological and Historical Society at the
Buffalo Exposition, in 19O1,
and was superintendent of the department
of archaeology at the
Jamestown Exposition, in 1907.
Mr. Mills has been a voluminous
contributor to the literature
of archaeology, both in the regular
publications of the Ohio So-
ciety and in separate volumes. He was a
fellow of the American
Association for the Advancement of
Science, the American An-
thropological Association, the American
Ethnological Associa-
tion, the American Ornithologists' Union
and various other
learned organizations. Nothing in nature
or in the life of man
was without its interest for him.
William Corless Mills 219 The Archaeological and Historical Society has lost an
inde- fatigable worker in his death and the directors will
find it no easy task to fill the gap which death has made. The
steady growth of the archaeological collections at the
museum building is by no means a complete record of his fruitful
activities, but it is a record to which his host of friends may well
point with justifiable pride. Few could have made such a record,
with the comparatively meager financial resources which Mr.
Mills had at his disposal. The Council of Research, to which he belonged, for- warded to him the following letter on receiving
notice that his illness would not permit him to be present
at their meeting: CHICAGO, March 25, 1927. DEAR DR. MILLS:-- The members of the conference on State Archaeological
sur- veys called by the Division of Anthropology and
Psychology of the National Research Council, wish to tender to you
our hearty greetings; and to convey to you our sincere regret
that you, the outstanding pioneer in the work to which we have all
dedicated ourselves, are unable to be with us today. |
A. O. KIDDER, Chairman, PETER A. BRANNON, FAY COOPERDALE, CHARLOTTE D. GOWER, CHARLES R. KEYES, FRANCES DORRANCE, H. C. SHETRONE, |
WILTON M. KROGMAN, WILLIAM R. TEEL, AMOS W. BUTLER, CHARLES E. BROWN, CARL E. GUTHE, W. B. HINSDALE. |
WILLIAM CORLESS MILLS
IN MEMORIAM
The founder of an institution of merit
with an as-
sured future is peculiarly fortunate.
Through the
early years of its growth he may
struggle onward with
meager means to overcome indifference
and more
serious obstacles, but when success at
last crowns a
life devoted to a worthy purpose, when
the founder lives
to see his work recognized and on every
side accorded
the meed of praise, the satisfaction of
such a triumph is
more gratifying than a temporal political
or financial
achievement. Such was the good fortune
of Dr. Wil-
liam Corless Mills. The institution
that he established
on a secure foundation is his enduring
monument.
Like many of the conspicuously
successful men of
the generation that is passing, Dr.
Mills began life on a
farm. He was born near the village of
Pyrmont, Mont-
gomery County, Ohio, January 2, 1860.
He was of
English-German ancestry.
His great-grandfather, Joshua Mills,
Sr., was born
at Mt. Holly, Monmouth County, New
Jersey, Febru-
ary 17, 1776. He married Lucy
Corless, who was born
March 10, 1775. Of this union
nine children were born:
Ann, March 4, 1798; Jane, August 27,
1800; John, April
7, 1802; Rebecca, July 12, 1804;
William, January 26,
1806; Rachel, September 15, 1807;
Sarah, May 27,
1809; Grace, September 20, 1812; May,
November 3,
(205)