Ohio History Journal

HISTORICAL NEWS

Historical Societies

 

BRECKSVILLE EARLY SETTLERS' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION, Brecksville

Mrs. Eddy Burke Fosnocht, President

New officers of the association are Mrs. Eddy Burke Fosnocht,

president and treasurer; Ernest Green, first vice president; Mrs.

Elmer Lewis, second vice president; Mrs. Walter Lister, secretary;

and Harriet Wright, curator. Trustees are Rev. J. Chandler Adams,

Mrs. Albert Birdsall, Benjamin P. Forbes, Ernest Green, Mrs. Elmer

Lewis, Ray Thayer, and Dr. Charles K. Teter.

The association maintains a museum in the historic Squire

Rich house on the Metropolitan Park property and is contemplat-

ing the restoration of the earliest frame schoolhouse in the village.

The association also sponsors an annual essay contest for high

school students. A brochure, The Pioneer, listing the exhibits in the

museum has been published by the association, and until its sus-

pension the local newspaper carried a column with the title "The

Pioneer" for which the president wrote short articles on the museum

exhibits. A historical committee, with Mrs. Albert Birdsall as

chairman, has been appointed recently for the purpose of preserv-

ing town records and gathering historical data.

On Wednesday afternoon, October 13, Hon. Frances P. Bolton

and Mayor Wade McConnell were guests of the officers at a tea at

the museum. On October 16 Dr. Russell H. Anderson, director of

the Western Reserve Historical Society, met with the officers, trus-

tees, and historical committee and spoke on the preservation of

records and the collection of historical data.

 

BROWN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Ripley

H. H. Eveslage, President

The present officers of the society are Harry H. Eveslage, presi-

dent; W. Clyde Richey, vice president; Marjorie W. Finney, secre-

tary; Andrew J. Stivers, treasurer; and Edward H. Paeltz, corre-

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104    OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

sponding secretary. Edward L. Campbell, Hugh Gooding, Dr. W. L.

Crist, Harold C. Paeltz, Arch R. Hicks, Sr., and Nick L. Germann,

in addition to the officers, compose the board of directors.

The society cooperated during the year with the Ohio State

Archaeological and Historical Society in the restoration and dedi-

cation of the John Rankin home at Ripley as a historical museum.

The dedication ceremonies were held on June 13. The biography of

Rankin in the dedication program was written by Mr. Eveslage.

Future meetings of the society will be held quarterly instead

of monthly as formerly. Election of officers will be at the January

meeting, and the annual meeting and banquet will be in April.

The society is considering plans for erecting a monument to mark

the site near Higginsport where the first White Burley tobacco grew.

 

COSHOCTON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Coshocton

J. J. Dolan, President

Officers elected at the organization meeting of the society on

May 10, 1948, are J. J. Dolan, president; Ralph Leech, first vice

president; Ralph Mikesell, second vice president; and Ross K.

Lawrence, secretary-treasurer. The meeting was addressed by Di-

rector Erwin C. Zepp and Mrs. Irma P. Anderson of the Ohio

State Archaeological and Historical Society.

 

CRESTLINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Crestline

Dr. Ernest G. Hesser, President

The society, which was organized in November 1947, has about

150 members. Its present officers are Dr. Ernest G. Hesser, presi-

dent; J. L. Morrow, vice president; J. B. McCarter, treasurer; and

Anna Crowe, secretary. During the past year four general meet-

ings were held, and on June 20 the first historical tour was con-

ducted. The group visited the Crawford monument in Leesville,

the Wyandot Museum and the Wyandot Mission at Upper Sandusky,

and the Crawford monument near Upper Sandusky where Colonel

William Crawford was burned at the stake.

One of the projects of the organization is the developing of a

museum in Crestline. Four small rooms in the town hall have been

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HISTORICAL NEWS                    105

given for this purpose. A benefit concert given by local talent

raised about $400 for the museum fund.

The Crestline Advocate carries a column each week headed

"Do You Know About Crestline?" The articles are written by

the president of the society and are creating interest in the museum

and in the history of the locality.

 

DELAWARE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Delaware

Mrs. Walter S. Cole, Secretary

New officers of the society are George Pugh, president; Dwight

Hoover, first vice president; George Thurston, second vice presi-

dent; Floyd Weaver, third vice president; Mrs. Walter S. Cole,

secretary; and Mrs. Edgar Nicholas, treasurer. Twenty-two trus-

tees, one representing each of the county's eighteen townships and

four city wards in Delaware, were elected. They are Howard Cow-

gill, Roy Scott, Dwight Hoover, L. A. McMillen, Hosea Jones, Mona

Rogers, Leland Paul, Merle Van Sickle, Lucille Canfield, Jack

Brundage, Harriet Frye, Mrs. George Thurston, Homer Lott,

Thomas Price, John Snook, Hugh Bishop, Leland Fisher, Edward

Weiser, Robert Powers, R. B. Miller, Mrs. J. S. Worrell, and John

Swickheimer.

The charter list of the society was closed with a family mem.

bership of seventy-five.

 

FAIRPORT HARBOR HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Fairport

Austin Headland, President

The speaker at the annual dinner sponsored by the society

during the Mardi Gras Festival in July 1948 was Clarence Metcalf,

director of the Cleveland Public Library and executive director of

the Great Lakes Historical Society. His subject was "The History

of the Great Lakes." A talk on the "Early History of Fairport"

was given on the same occasion by Martin Tuttle, Painesville at-

torney.

During the shipping season the society has been addressed by

representatives of the various shipping companies who have pre-

sented items to the museum. Among them was A. B. Kern of the

M. A. Hanna Co.

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FAYETTE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Washington C. H.

Harold Craig, President

Organized in October 1948, the society is acquiring collections

of books, manuscripts, pictures, and other records and articles re-

lating to the history of Fayette County. It plans to secure permanent

housing for these collections. B. E. Kelley is the secretary, and

George Robinson, Jr., is chairman of the membership committee.

 

FRANKLIN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Columbus

Charles A. Jones, President

The permanent organization of the society took place on

September 24, 1948, when the following officers were elected:

Charles A. Jones, president; Harlan H. Hatcher, vice president;

Mrs. Charles E. Aspinall, temporary secretary; and 0. W. Powers,

treasurer. The trustees are Anna B. Florence, George A. Smalls-

reed, Sr., Clarence A. Swoyer, Don E. Weaver, Trent Sickles, Mrs.

Tudor Wilson, and Dr. Jonathan Forman, chairman.

The membership of the new society stood at 661 on November

8, and it is hoped that it will have reached at least one thousand by

January 1, 1949, when the charter membership closes.

Plans are being laid to acquire a suitable building to house

the historical library and museum which are contemplated. The

society published the first issue of its Bulletin in November. It is

an eight-page, printed bulletin giving the details of the society's

organization, its constitution, and a list of charter members.

 

GEAUGA COUNTY HISTORICAL AND MEMORIAL SOCIETY, Burton

B. J. Shanoder, President

Membership in the society as of September 15, 1948, was 615,

with additional memberships being received. The society maintains

as a museum the Hickox home built by Eleazer Hickox, son-in-law

of Thomas Umberfield, founder of Burton. The museum is con-

sidered an outstanding one in this region.

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HISTORICAL NEWS                   107

 

GRANVILLE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Granville

Arthur W. Jones, President

At a meeting of the society on October 29, a committee com-

posed of Dr. William T. Utter, Donald Young, and Joe Rodes was

authorized to attempt to purchase a site for a historical center. A

committee is working on a revision of the constitution and bylaws

of the society. This committee includes Mrs. Clarence D. Coons,

Dr. Clarence S. Gee, E. Clark Morrow, and Dr. Utter.

 

GROVE CITY COMMUNITY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Grove City

Mrs. Elmer C. Milligan, Secretary-Treasurer

The organization of the society was completed in June 1948.

Long range planning includes compiling and publishing a compre-

hensive history of the community about Grove City. More immedi-

ate projects are the plans for the coming centennial of the village

and the publication of a calendar for 1949 which will note the

meeting dates of all civic organizations of the village and will carry

items of historical interest and pictures of places of interest in the

community.

 

GUERNSEY COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Cambridge

Mary A. Stone, President

A special drive for memberships was conducted in June by the

executive committee of the Cambridge sesquicentennial. Funds

derived from the memberships were used for expenses of the sesqui-

centennial celebration, August 31-September 6, sponsored by the

society.

 

THE HAYES MEMORIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM, Fremont

Watt P. Marchman, Director of Research

On October 4, the 126th anniversary of the birth of Rutherford

B. Hayes, the trustees of the Rutherford B. Hayes and Lucy Webb

Hayes Foundation met in annual session at the Hayes Memorial

Library and Museum. Trustees of the foundation are Arthur C.

Johnson, Columbus, president of the board; Lloyd T. Williams,

Toledo; Harold Boeschenstein, Toledo; Dalton Hayes; Dr. Frank

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108    OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

L. Moore; and Webb C. Hayes, II, Fremont, who is secretary-

treasurer of the board.

A very fine oil painting of General John C. Fremont (1813-90),

for whom the town of Fremont, Ohio, was named, has been pre-

sented to the Hayes Memorial Library by Robert W. Waitt, Jr.,

Richmond, Virginia.

Accessions during the past three months to the manuscripts di-

vision of the library include photostatic copies of the Rutherford

B. Hayes materials in the William Henry Smith Collection of the

Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society Library and the

Hayes letters, documents, and notes at Kenyon College where Hayes

was a student from 1838 to 1842.

A photograph of the painting of Rutherford B. Hayes by C. T.

Webber, which hangs in the statehouse in Columbus near the gov-

ernor's office, was presented to the library by A. T. Arnold of

Columbus.

 

HISTORICAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF OHIO, Cincinnati

Virginius C. Hall, Director-Librarian

The annual meeting of the society was held on December 7 at

the Laws Memorial Auditorium, University of Cincinnati. The

business session was followed by a celebration in honor of James

Albert Green, noted regional historian and collector, who has pre-

sented his entire collection of William Henry Harrison material to

the society. It consists of about 1,200 pieces, including volumes,

bound pamphlets, pictures, broadsides, maps, sheet music, and other

mementos. It is said to be the finest private collection of Harrison-

iana in existence.

Extensive vital statistics from Butler County and other genea-

logical materials have been left to the society by the late Jane Knox

Skinner. This valuable contribution to the historical materials on

this region is now available to researchers in the library.

The director was the speaker at the meeting of the Warren

County Historical Society on October 25 at the Golden Lamb,

Lebanon. He spoke on the history and library facilities of the

Cincinnati organization. Alice P. Hook, assistant librarian, will

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HISTORICAL NEWS                    109

speak before the historic sites committee of the Cincinnati chapter,

D.A.R., on January 10.

Volume 6, Number 4 of the society's Bulletin features the

"Western Travels" of John W. Baker, a travel diary of 1838, ably

edited by Dr. Harry R. Stevens of the history department of Duke

University. This journal now appears in print for the first time.

 

HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF NORTHWESTERN OHIO, Toledo

Randolph C. Downes, Executive Director

During September, Dr. Randolph C. Downes announced the

appointment of a board of editors which includes G. Harrison

Orians, Brenton W. Stevenson, Jesse R. Long, Donald E. Sharpe,

Blake-More Godwin, James M. Ashley, Mrs. Kathryn Miller Keller,

Dr. Andrew J. Townsend, and Harvey Ford, all of Toledo.

The next book to be published by the society will be a history

of the University of Toledo, written by Dr. Frank R. Hickerson,

professor of education at the university.

 

HUDSON LIBRARY AND HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Hudson

Lois A. Reed, Librarian and Curator

A special exhibit of utensils used in food preparation in early

times was opened at the Historical House on May 28, 1948. Mrs.

E. S. Bowerfind served as chairman of the committee on arrange-

ments.

LICKING COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Newark

Clarence R. Jones, President

During the past year the old Davidson house, acquired in

January 1948, was moved from the corner of Hudson Avenue and

Church Street to a location in Sixth Street park. The society has

done some work toward restoring the house to its original condition.

When the restoration is completed the home is to be maintained as

a museum.

At the November meeting Mrs. Irma P. Anderson, public re-

lations secretary and curator of textiles of the Ohio State Archaeo-

logical and Historical Society, addressed the society on the "Weav-

ing Industry and Old Coverlets." This was the first of a series on

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110    OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

the early industries of Licking County. A number of interesting

tours have been planned for next summer by the tours committee,

of which Mrs. Frank Webb is chairman.

The present officers of the society are Clarence R. Jones, presi-

dent; Corinne Metz, Harold Smucker, Mrs. Frank Webb, Robbins

Hunter, Frank A. Woolson, Mrs. Harry D. Baker, vice presidents;

Mrs. Benjamin Foreman, secretary; and Roderic Jones, treasurer.

 

 

LOGAN COUNTY ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL SOCIETY,

Bellefontaine

Guy W. Furbay, Secretary

Large roadside markers have been erected during the past year

to mark four historic sites in the county-Gunn's Tavern, McKees

Town, Manary blockhouse, and Darby Creek Friends meetinghouse.

The site of the Indian village, Bokengehelas, has been marked with

a bronze plaque on a boulder, and a similar marker has been placed

at Northwood in commemoration of the founding of Geneva Hall

(College) there in 1848.

 

LORAIN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Elyria

Mrs. James B. Thomas, President

This society was organized in 1889 but has been inactive. New

officers have been elected in the hope of reviving the organization.

The officers elected are Mrs. James B. Thomas, president; Mrs.

Charles Cushing, vice president; Mrs. Milton Wilcox, secretary;

Mrs. Frank Horan, corresponding secretary; and Mrs. Cloyd Gull,

treasurer.

 

MUSKINGUM COUNTY PIONEER AND HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Zanesville

Milman H. Linn, President

Officers of the society at present are Milman H. Linn, president;

Scott Morgan, vice president; Mrs. Harry Ackerman, secretary;

Mrs. Hugh A. Imlay, treasurer; Norris F. Schneider, curator; and

Mrs. F. S. Clement, Mrs. William Fillmore, Scott Morgan, Mrs.

E. R. Brush, Herbert M. Baker, Mrs. Eleanor Bailey Johnson,

Russell Hay, Norris F. Schneider, and C. Alfred Zinn, trustees.

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HISTORICAL NEWS                    111

 

SALEM HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Salem

Roy W. Harris, President

Organized in August 1947, the membership of the society is

growing from a small beginning. Present officers are Roy W. Harris,

president; Matt Melitschka, Jr., vice president; H. B. Critchfield,

secretary; and Marion Cox, corresponding secretary. Monthly

meetings are held throughout the year. During the past summer

the society conducted pilgrimages to points of interest.

The society has recently received a gift of the minute book of

the executive committee of the Western Anti-Slavery Society cover-

ing the first meeting on August 17, 1848, and subsequent meetings

to 1855.

 

SCIOTO COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Portsmouth

Samuel P. Adams, President

New officers of the society elected at a meeting on December 1

are Dr. Samuel P. Adams, president; Mrs. S. D. Ruggles, first vice

president; H. M. Dodson, second vice president; Robert R. Leedom,

third vice president; Mrs. W. H. Schwartz, recording secretary;

Mrs. Frank Webb, corresponding secretary; and Mrs. J. F. Anglin,

membership secretary. Frank C. Balmert was reelected treasurer.

Lucy W. Hall has been appointed historian. A librarian, an at-

torney, several committees and members of the board of directors

are to be named later. The new officers will assume their posts at

the annual meeting in January. Quarterly meetings are to be held

during the year.

Dr. Adams succeeds Russell Stockman, who served last year

as the first president of the organization. During the year the

society was incorporated, and funds were raised for the purchase

of the old Kinney homestead at the corner of Waller Street and

Kinney's Lane. The house will be repaired and opened to the public

as a local museum.

SENECA COUNTY HISTORICAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM, Tiffin

A. C. Shuman, Curator

Four fine oil paintings have been acquired recently by the

museum. Three of these are from the estate of the late Frank

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112    OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

Callahan and were presented to the museum by Mrs. Esther Myers

to whom they had been bequeathed. They include a copy of "The

Horse Fair" by Rosa Bonheur, a painting of Colonel "Jim" Douglas

and his trotting mares by John McAuliff, and a painting of Mr.

Callahan's famous pacer, "Callie G," by Charles Fremont Johnson.

The fourth oil acquired, a painting of "The Golden Gate" of San

Francisco harbor by Eugene M. Davidson, was the gift of Scott

Garett.

This brings the number of oil paintings on display at the

museum to a total of twenty-three, including seven portraits.

 

SHAKER HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF CLEVELAND, OHIO

Mrs. Harry D. Piercy, Secretary

This society was organized in the fall of 1947 as a result of

interest aroused when the Business Men's Association of Shaker

Square and Kinsman Road marked with bronze plaques a stone

gatepost and a millstone used in the Shaker community of North

Union which flourished on the heights above Cleveland from 1822

to 1889. The ceremony occurred on September 21.

The organization of the society was completed on November 18

with the election of William Slade, Jr., president; Cary Album,

vice president; Mrs. Harry D. Piercy, secretary; and John Hecker,

treasurer. The trustees are Mrs. King Daywalt, Benjamin Jenks,

L. D. Newman, John Creech, Mrs. Herman J. Nord, John Schott,

Dr. Webster G. Simon, E. L. Thrower, Morris Van Fossan, Seward

A. Covert, and Philip Small. A membership committee, with L. D.

Newman as chairman, was appointed. Within four months the

society had enrolled over two hundred members including one

Shaker and seven direct descendants of Shakers.

On June 16, 1948, a garden party was held at the Western Re-

serve Historical Society where the fine Shaker collections were in-

spected. The director, Dr. Russell H. Anderson, with Mrs. Ander-

son, Mrs. King Daywalt, and Mr. and Mrs. Slade, received the

guests, and Girl Scouts in Shaker costume served Shaker refresh-

ments. On September 21, a day set apart by the society as "Foun-

ders' Day," about seventy members met at the home of John Walch.

On the lawn of this home stand two of the original gateposts mark-

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HISTORICAL NEWS                    113

ing the entrance to the one-time Shaker farm of the Middle family

of North Union village. The event marked the 126th anniversary of

the Shaker settlement in Cleveland. Benjamin Jenks and John

Hecker, both early settlers on the Heights, recalled former days, and

a bronze plaque which had been placed on one of the gateposts was

unveiled with appropriate ceremonies.

 

SHELBY COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Sidney

John Whitney, President

Present officers of the society, which was organized in 1946,

are John Whitney, president; Willian Joslin, Sr., first vice presi-

dent; Mrs. G. E. Sturm, treasurer; and Paul Sherman, secretary.

Projects under way or contemplated include a proposed state park

at Lockington, the marking of the Thatcher homestead, the preserva-

tion of the covered bridge, the mapping of the Harmar trail, and

the research and preparation of a history of Shelby County schools.

Lawrence Hill is directing the work on the trail map, and Mrs.

Marion Russell, chairman of the educational committee, is in charge

of the school history project.

 

SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF PIONEER RIVERMEN, Marietta

Frederick Way, Jr., President

The annual meeting of the organization was held at Marietta

on September 18, 1948. All incumbent officers were reelected for

another year. They are Frederick Way, Jr., president; C. W. Stoll

and Robert G. Thomas, vice presidents; William McNally, secre-

tary; and Ruth Maddy, treasurer.

Recent additions to the River Museum at Campus Martius in-

clude a set of scrapbooks kept by the Pittsburgh Coal Company,

Pittsburgh, pertaining to all river activities in the coal business

from 1902 to 1916.

The president, Captain Frederick Way, Jr., was the recipient

of the 1948-49 fellowship awarded by the Martha Kinney Cooper

Ohioana Library Association to encourage research and publication

in the field of Ohio history. Captain Way will use the fellowship

fund ($3,000) to assemble and write the story of Ohio River life.

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114    OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

 

STARK COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Canton

E. T. Heald, Secretary-Treasurer

The secretary-treasurer has started research on the microfilmed

Canton Repository, carding local information preparatory to writ-

ing the first volume of the history of Canton, which will include a

history of Stark County for the period 1805-50.

 

SUMMIT COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Akron

Carl H. Pockrandt, President

"Early Tales of the Western Reserve" was the subject of an

address by Donald Lybarger, Cuyahoga County recorder, at the

meeting of the society on November 18. Interesting quotations

from letters and diaries of the pioneer period were presented as a

part of the talk.

The November Bulletin carried a story of "Millerism" or

"Second Adventism" which gained many adherents in Summit

County from 1839 to 1846.

 

WESTERN RESERVE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Cleveland

Russell H. Anderson, Director

The family of Dr. George W. Crile has presented to the society

a large collection of his private papers amounting to about a ton

in bulk. The collection consists of letters, personal memorabilia,

Spanish-American and World War I service diaries, reprints, photo-

graphs, and other materials. It contains ample material for a

number of writing projects, including a biography of Dr. Crile, a

history of the Lakeside Base Hospital Unit, the story of the Cleve-

land Clinic, and the Clinic disaster.

The society's collection of Southern newspapers has been aug-

mented by a bound file of the Fayetteville (N. C.) Observer from

August 4, 1862, to December 31, 1863.

The project of alphabetizing and typing the marriage records

of Knox County has been completed. Copies are available at the

library of the society, the State Library at Columbus, and through

the Mount Vernon chapter, D.A.R.

The latest of the Cleveland dioramas has recently been installed

in the museum. It represents the river and canal basin at Cleveland

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HISTORICAL NEWS                    115

about 1830 and shows types of boats, docks, and warehouses, the

nature of the cargoes carried, the lock construction, and the appear-

ance of the "Public Square Hill" at that time.

The museum has received from Mrs. Frank B. Meade a col-

lection of glass and China slippers which is now on exhibit as a

part of the costume display. It has a wide range of colors, ma-

terials, and periods.

There has been installed recently a series of eight miniature

Indian settings showing the manner of life and customs of repre-

sentative Indian groups, including the Woodland Indians of both

the northern and southern areas, and Plains, Pueblo, Desert, and

Northwest Coast Indians. These settings were planned and made

by Dr. and Mrs. Harry D. Piercy.

Dr. A. I. Ludlow has added to his donation of Korean anti-

quities a chest, a wall hanging, two porcelain vases, and other

objects.

Dr. and Mrs. Clarence H. Heyman have presented a notable

collection of patriotic envelopes or covers (largely unused) of the

Civil War period. They were collected during the war by N. A.

Very of Salem, Massachusetts, and include some 3,500 items, mostly

in color. They range from general patriotic motifs to battle maps

and cartoons. The political campaign of 1860 is represented by

covers for and against Douglas, Bell, and Breckenridge. Both sides

are represented, but those from the Union predominate.

Shandy Hall, near Unionville, will remain closed until May 1.

About Historians

New members of the department of history faculty at Defiance

College include E. Michael Hinds, C. W. Knollman, and Erwin J.

Urch. Dr. Urch is the head of the department.

 

P. K. Whelpton, associate director of the Scripps Foundation

for Research in Population Problems, has published an important

article in the Scientific Monthly for October 1948, pp. 277-288. It

is entitled "A History of Population Growth in the United States."

 

Rocco Paone is on leave from the department of history of

Xavier University for one year's study in Washington, D. C.

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116    OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

Mid-America for July 1948 published an article entitled "Fran-

cisco Pablo Vasquez and the Independence of Mexico," by W.

Eugene Shiels, S. J., chairman of the department. Father Shiels is

at present making a study of Mexican political integration before

1856.

 

Dr. John Long, associate professor of history at Western Col-

lege, read a paper on "Anglo-American Relations in the Fish-

Sumner Controversy, 1869-71" at the meeting of the Southern

Historical Association in Jackson, Mississippi, on November 6.

 

Dr. Louis Filler of Antioch College is editing for publication

in the fall of 1949 a manuscript of reminiscences respecting life

and labor in Missouri during the 1850's and the Civil War period.

 

John H. Cramer, history instructor at Youngstown College,

died suddenly of a heart attack on October 26. Mr. Cramer was a

collector of Lincolniana and an authority on Lincoln. His third

book on Lincoln had come off the press six days before his death.

Mr. Cramer received his bachelor of arts and master of arts degrees

at Western Reserve University and was working on his doctor of

philosophy degree. He was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and of

several historical associations.

 

Dr. Charles H. Wesley, president of the Wilberforce College

of Education and Industrial Arts, read a paper, "Liberia Begins Its

Second Century, 1948," to the thirty-third annual meeting of the

Association for the Study of Negro Life and History.

 

Dr. Clayton S. Ellsworth of the College of Wooster reports

that the faculty members of the department of history last fall

served as advisors to twenty-three independent study students. These

students are excused from twelve hours of class work to engage in

independent study climaxed by a senior essay. Each advisor has a

maximum of eight such students.

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