HISTORICAL NEWS
Historical Societies
AMERICAN JEWISH ARCHIVES, Cincinnati
Jacob R. Marcus, Director
Two important manuscript collections,
the Jacob H. Schiff Papers and
the Felix M. Warburg Papers, have been
acquired recently by the archives.
In addition to numerous other documents
and manuscript collections, the
minute and record books of thirty-one
Jewish congregations were added
during 1951 to bring the total to over
five hundred volumes, the largest
collection of this type extant. Both
photostat and microfilm service are
available to all students of American
Jewry.
The Jewish Publication Society of
Philadelphia has recently published
Early American Jewry, Volume I, by Dr. Jacob R. Marcus.
ASHTABULA COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY,
Ashtabula
Walter Beckwith, President
The annual dinner of the society was
held Wednesday, January 30, at
Hotel Ashtabula. John Talcott of
Jefferson, Ohio, gave an address on
"Historical Points of Ashtabula
County."
Officers for the current year are Walter
Beckwith, president; Ethel
MacDowell, vice president; and Henrietta
McKinsey, secretary-treasurer.
The vice president, Miss MacDowell,
maintains an Ohio and local
history room in the Ashtabula Public
Library, of which she is the librarian.
The secretary, Miss McKinsey, is
compiling the genealogies of her parents'
families, who were early settlers in
Ashtabula County.
BROWN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Ripley
Lawrence Downing, President
Officers elected at a recent meeting of
the society are as follows: Lawrence
Downing, president; Mrs. Hugh Gooding,
first vice president; Miss Florence
Baird, second vice president; Mrs.
Leslie Baird, recording secretary; Mrs.
Harold Paeltz, corresponding secretary;
and J. N. Stivers, treasurer. The
directors are H. H. Eveslage, E. L.
Campbell, T. W. Drake, Isabelle
McCorry, and Lance Mann.
196
Historical News 197
BUTLER COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY,
Hamilton
Paul Benninghofen, President
The society is furnishing its museum and
acquiring additional pictures,
books, and papers pertaining to the
history of Butler County.
The board of trustees recently bestowed
upon Mrs. Karl (Alta Harvey)
Heiser an honorary membership. New
trustees are Russell Roll, Charles
Brennan, and Mrs. Esther R. Benzing.
Present officers are: president, Paul
Benninghofen; vice president, Edward
McDaniel; treasurer, Fred Hammerle; and
secretary, Otto Kersteiner.
COSHOCTON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY,
Coshocton
Harry A. Canton, President
Plans to restore the Old Stone Fort on
the farm of Manches Atkinson
near Orange are under consideration by
the society. The proposal was made
at a meeting on January 2 to make the
restoration of the fort the major
project of the society during 1952.
Henry Hackenbracht discussed the
various theories as to the origin of the
fort and the possibilities of its
restoration.
Harry A. Canton is president of the
society; Russell Geese, secretary;
and Anna McCabe, treasurer.
CRESTLINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Crestline
Ernest G. Hesser, President
Robert C. Wheeler, administrative
assistant of the Ohio Sesquicentennial
Commission, was the guest speaker at the
meeting of the society on January
15. He spoke on "Historic Ohio and
Plans for the Ohio Sesquicentennial."
On February 19, J. B. McCarter,
treasurer of the society, spoke on "Historic
Spots That I Have Visited." The
guest speaker for the March meeting
was Paul H. Hughes, Shawnee High School,
Lima, Ohio, whose subject
was "The Removal of the Shawnee
Indians from Ohio."
The society is active in the planning
and organizing of Crawford County
for the Ohio Sesquicentennial observance
in 1953.
Mrs. Dick Cook of Shelby, Ohio, has
presented the Crestline Museum
a memorial gift of sixty items in memory
of her husband, the late Dick
Cook. One item of especial interest is a
Revolutionary War drum which
was used at the Battle of Bunker Hill.
Ernest G. Hesser spoke before the
Galion, Ohio, Chapter, Daughters
of the American Revolution on "The
Life and Times of Colonel William
Crawford."
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Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly
DELAWARE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY,
Delaware
Thomas D. Graham, President
A paper, "The Story of Adam
Poe," was presented by Thomas D. Graham
at the January meeting of the society.
Poe was a pioneer Methodist preacher
who was instrumental in the founding of
Ohio Wesleyan University. At
a meeting on February 25, Mrs. Carl
Johnson read a paper on Mary
Monnett, an early Ohio Wesleyan
University student and the donor of
funds for Monnett Hall.
The outstanding project of the society
for 1952 is identifying, locating,
and taking a census of the burials in
some seventy-five cemeteries in
Delaware County.
Officers for the current year are:
president, Thomas D. Graham; vice
president, Robert B. Powers; recording
secretary, Mrs. W. F. Hahnert;
corresponding secretary, Dr. M. S.
Cherrington; treasurer, Bernard Hatten;
trustees, Mrs. W. S. Cole, Howard
Cowgill, Wyford Jones, and George
Pugh.
FEDERATION OF OHIO HISTORICAL SOCIETIES,
Columbus
Charles A. Jones, Temporary Chairman
Permanent members of the association are
to be elected at a meeting
in connection with the meeting of county
historical societies at the annual
meeting of the Ohio State Archaeological
and Historical Society on April 4.
The time of the meeting will be
announced in the program of the state
society.
It is urged that anyone having
suggestions for the agenda of the meeting
send them to the temporary secretary,
Daniel F. Prugh, Columbus Public
Library, Columbus, Ohio.
FRANKLIN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY,
Columbus
Frank A. Livingston, President
The society's first seminar of the
season was held at the Ohio State Museum,
January 11, when David E. Morgan of
Columbus presented a talk on "The
Origin of the Columbus Welsh." At
the regular monthly meeting of the
society on January 25, a talk on
"Early Earthworks and Artifacts of
Franklin County" was given by
Gilbert Dodds.
Major projects for the society which
have been considered at recent
meetings of the board of trustees are a
permanent home for the society,
participation in the Ohio
Sesquicentennial, and a membership campaign.
It was decided to publish two instead of
four bulletins during the summer
months, beginning in 1952.
Historical News 199
GATES MILLS HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Gates
Mills
Tinkham Veale II, President
Articles dealing with the history of
Gates Mills and vicinity are published
weekly in the Chagrin Falls Exponent.
The articles are written by Alfred
Mewett, secretary of the society.
HANCOCK COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY,
Findlay
W. Albert Hogle, President
Plans with regard to the newly organized
Hancock County Historical
Society are developing steadily and the
indications point to an active and
alert organization which will fill a
long-felt need in the community. Initial
steps were taken last fall when the
society was incorporated as a nonprofit
association. Officers have now been
elected as follows: president, W. Albert
Hogle; vice president, Dr. Tennyson
Guyer; secretary, William D.
Humphrey; treasurer, Judge Chester
Pendelton.
A constitution and suitable bylaws have
been adopted. The objective
of the society is defined as follows:
"The purpose or purposes of said
society shall be to increase and diffuse
knowledge and the appreciation
of said county's history, art, and
science, to encourage research into its
past history, to provide suitable
markers for its historic locations and to
collect and preserve all suitable material
having to do with the early
development of the community."
Under the terms of the constitution, pro-
vision is made for charter, life,
active, and honorary members. The con-
stitution provides for the election of a
board of twelve trustees to manage
the business and property of the
society. The officers constitute an executive
committee. An annual meeting of all
members will be held on the third
Wednesday of each September. Members of
the board of trustees will be
elected at this meeting.
Committees are now being appointed by
President Hogle to handle
various phases of the society's program.
These deal with membership,
publicity and promotion, and the like.
The society expects to collect all
pertinent data with regard to the
historical background of the county for
preservation. A start already has
been made in this direction under the
leadership of President Hogle, who
has been in Washington looking up
matters dealing with the passage of
General Hull's army through the county
in 1812. He has obtained much
valuable material in this connection.
Opportunity will be afforded all
citizens to become members of the
society. The membership rolls will be
opened a little later on as plans develop.
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Ohio State Archaeological and
Historical Quarterly
HAYES MEMORIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM, Fremont
Watt P. Marchman, Director of
Research
The director of research spoke before
the Joshua Giddings Chapter of
the Daughters of 1812 in Fremont on
Saturday, January 12, 1952, on the
subject, "Some Rewards of
Research." He also addressed the Bellevue
Business and Professional Women's Club
at a dinner on February 14, on
"Education and American History-An
Incident from the Past."
HISTORICAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF
OHIO, Cincinnati
Virginius C. Hall, Director
The present officers of the society are
Chalmers Hadley, president; John
J. Rowe, Lucien Wulsin, and Lee Shepard,
vice presidents; Joseph C. Dins-
more, recording secretary; Cornelius J.
Hauck, corresponding secretary;
Lawrence C. Bucher, treasurer; and
Virginius C. Hall, director. Curators
are Mrs. William T. Buckner, William T.
Earls, Herbert F. Koch, Mrs.
John H. Skavlem, and Mrs. Russell
Wilson; curators emeritus, Harry F.
Woods, Beverley W. Bond, Jr., Robert L.
Black, and Joseph S. Graydon.
"Doctors and Drugs in Historic
Cincinnati" is the title of the spring
exhibit of the society to be opened for
members the evening of April 18
at the Taft Museum. This will be the
first of the celebrations to be given
in honor of Dr. Daniel Drake, who died
one hundred years ago. The exhibit
will continue through May 30. Dr. David
A. Tucker, Jr., will be the speaker
at the opening of the exhibit. He
represents the Academy of Medicine of
Cincinnati and the College of Medicine
of the University of Cincinnati.
HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF NORTHWESTERN OHIO,
Toledo
Randolph C. Downes, Executive
Director
Judge Lehr Fess was reelected president
of the society at its thirty-fourth
annual meeting on January 18. Other
officers reelected were Paul Block,
Jr., vice president; Carl B. Spitzer,
secretary-treasurer; Harvey S. Ford,
assistant secretary-treasurer; Mrs. Max
Shepherst, librarian; and Dr. Randolph
C. Downes, executive director. Trustees
elected were Edmund T. Collins,
Mark N. Mennel, H. W. Nelles, Mr.
Spitzer, and Rev. John J. Vogel, all
of Toledo, and Ralph W. Peters,
Defiance.
Dr. Downes was the author of the
narrative for a moving picture, "The
Historic Maumee Valley," which was
presented at a meeting of the Asso-
ciation of Historical and Ancestral
Societies on January 17.
Historical News 201
KNOX COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Mt. Vernon
Carl L. VanVoorhis, President
The society is considering plans for a
commemorative plate for Daniel
Decatur Emmett and for special displays
in connection with the Ohio
Sesquicentennial celebration.
LISBON HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Lisbon
George L. Lafferty, President
A committee composed of G. C. Rauch, L.
S. Firestone, and Seward
Harris is planning the sesquicentennial
of the village of Lisbon, which
coincides with that of the state of
Ohio.
LORAIN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Elyria
Mrs. James B. Thomas, President
James B. Thomas spoke at the January
meeting of the society on "Early
Lorain County Newspapers," and in
February Jay Weller gave a talk on
"Abe Lincoln and His
Contemporaries." The March meeting on the 17th
was a celebration of the 135th
anniversary of the founding of Elyria.
MEIGS COUNTY PIONEER SOCIETY, Pomeroy
A. V. Howell, President
At the annual meeting in August 1951, A.
V. Howell was elected
president to succeed J. H. Grate. Mr.
Howell is doing research work on
the settlement and development of Meigs
County.
OTTAWA COUNTY HISTORICAL MUSEUM, Port Clinton
May Hesselbart, Curator
The twentieth annual report of the
curator, presented to the city council
of Port Clinton on February 12, showed a
total of 1,224 visitors at the
museum during the past year. Seventeen
states including Ohio were repre-
sented. Special groups visiting by appointment
included the Cub Scouts
from Lakeside and Danbury Township and
the fourth grade pupils from
the Port Clinton school. The total
number of contributions of all types
for the year was 141.
The curator also reported an increased
number of requests for historical
data relating to Ottawa County.
PORTAGE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY,
Ravenna
M. Herbert Heighton, President
At the January 25 meeting of the society
the following officers were
202
Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly
selected for the year 1952: M. Herbert
Heighton, president; Mrs. J. R.
Turner, executive secretary; Mrs. Iva B.
Seymour, recording secretary;
Margaret Getz, treasurer; J. B. Holm,
historian; and Cyrus T. Plough,
curator. Judge Albert L. Caris and Dr.
A. Sellew Roberts were reelected
trustees for three year terms; Mr. Frank
Barber was elected trustee to
replace Hugo Bietz.
Dudley Weaver, chairman of research, is
making maps of the old canal
system in Ohio, and Miss Orral Frank is
working on old cemetery records
and historical homes.
The society is starting some repair work
on the property given as a
museum by Mr. and Mrs. John Lowrie of
Ravenna. It is located on the
corner of Main and Clinton streets,
Ravenna.
Under the chairmanship of Miss Merrible
Myers the membership list
has grown to 785; the goal is 1,000
members before our first anniversary.
SHAKER HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Cleveland
Mrs. Harry D. Piercy, Secretary
The members of the society were
entertained at the Shaker Public Library
on February 24. Mrs. Hazel S. Phillips,
curator of the Glendower State
Memorial, Lebanon, spoke on the
"Shakers of Ohio."
The society recently published a
fourteen-page mimeographed booklet,
God's Gentlemen, by Taylor Hampton. It recounts the work of O. P. and
M. J. Van Sweringen in developing Shaker
Heights.
Mrs. Harry D. Piercy has recently given
nine reviews of her book, The
Valley of God's Pleasure, published last year.
SHELBY COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Sidney
George O. Harshbarger, Secretary
A committee consisting of Mrs. Maude
Carey, L. U. Hill, and A. F.
Moon has been appointed to write a
series of articles on the early history
of Shelby County for publication in the
local newspapers.
STARK COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Canton
Donald K. Merwin, President
The annual dinner meeting of the society
was held January 24 at the
American Legion Hall, with an attendance
of 150. The speaker was Prof.
H. L. Ridenour, professor of English at
Baldwin-Wallace College, who
spoke on "Traditional Songs and
Ballads of Ohio," accompanying the
lecture by singing the songs and ballads
described. Prof. Ridenour is
president of the Ohio Folklore Society.
Historical News 203
The board of trustees and the Stark
County commissioners have approved
the publication in 1952 of the third
volume of The Stark County Story,
which will cover the period 1901 to
1917, between the death of President
McKinley and the beginning of World War
I. This was a period of
phenomenal industrial growth in Stark
County, and the title of this volume
will probably be "Industry Comes of
Age." E. T. Heald will edit this
as he has the two previous volumes. The
book will consist of approxi-
mately eighty broadcasts over WHBC, with
bibliography, index, and
editorial notes.
At the meeting of the directors of the
society on February 15 all officers
of the society were reelected. They are:
Donald K. Merwin, president;
Mrs. Melvin VanWinkle, vice president;
E. T. Heald, secretary-treasurer;
and Mrs. Helen Pratt, assistant
secretary-treasurer.
STOW HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Stow
Arthur G. Moore, President
At the last election the following
officers were named for the current
year: Arthur G. Moore, president; Frank
Bienz, vice president; and Mrs.
Walter E. Sanders, secretary-treasurer.
SUMMIT COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Akron
Carl H. Pockrandt, President
"A Kodachrome Tour of Europe,"
a program of beautiful color pictures
was presented by Walter Keith at the
annual meeting of the society, Thursday
evening, January 17. Charles A. Pfahl
showed color pictures made on a
recent trip through the West at the
February meeting.
The society announces that it now has
150 life members. A list of their
names is being published in current
issues of the Bulletin.
UPPER OHIO VALLEY HISTORICAL SOCIETY,
Wheeling, W. Va.
Virginia Ebeling, President
W. M. Westwood, 2217 Vance Avenue,
Wheeling, was appointed
secretary-treasurer on January 16, 1952,
to fill the unexpired term of
John A. Moore, who died December 25,
1951.
WARREN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY,
Lebanon
Mrs. Edward Herrick, President
The annual meeting of the society was
held the last week of December
1951. Mrs. Edward F. Herrick was elected
president to succeed Harry C.
204
Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly
Schwartz, who has held the office for
the past two years. Other officers
elected include William Mason Phillips,
vice president; Lena lorns,
treasurer; and Mary Lincoln, secretary.
The society is carrying out a program of
microfilming The Western Star
and other early Warren County
newspapers, dating from 1807.
WESTERN RESERVE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Cleveland
Russell H. Anderson, Director
The subjects of some recent exhibits
were: sandwich glass, lustre ware, the
centennial of Moby Dick, souvenir
china, and photography. The latter
exhibit included cameras from the
Eastman collection, viewing devices, early
advertisements, examples of color
prints, and a selection of black and
white prints featuring Ohio from local
camera clubs. Three programs of
selected color slides with technical
comment and a talk by a leading news
photographer were given.
At the annual meeting, January 25, 1952,
the following officers were
reelected for the coming year:
president, Laurence H. Norton; vice presi-
dent, Herman L. Vail; secretary, Russell
H. Anderson; treasurer, Henry S.
Sherman; and assistant treasurer, James
F. Cotesworth.
The society has received a portable
microfilm camera, the gift of G.
Garretson Wade. Tentative plans include
microfilming some of the manu-
scripts in the library and certain
collections outside. Also added was a
legal size "Contoura"
photocopying unit.
Among recent accessions were four boxes
of additional materials from
the family of Myron T. Herrick.
About Historians
Robert W. Tyman, assistant professor of
history at Bowling Green
State University, is the author of a
125,000 word manuscript, The History
of Marshall Field & Co., 1865-1906,
which will be published by the
American Historical Association. His
work was awarded the only honorable
mention given in the sixth annual
competition for the Albert J. Beveridge
Memorial Fellowship of the association.
Herbert W. Dowd has resigned his
position in the department of
history at Case Institute of Technology
to accept employment in the
department of state. His courses at Case
are being taught during the second
semester by Robert Shackleton and
Themistocles Rodis.
Historical News 205
Stanton Ling Davis, associate professor
of history at Case, is the technical
director of a study tour to western
Europe offered during July and August
this year by the department of political
science of Syracuse University.
Marguerite J. Fisher, associate
professor of political science at the univer-
sity, is the academic director of the
study tour. Two courses are being
offered, Recent Political Theory and
Contemporary Problems of Political
Thought. Both are three-hour courses,
making it possible for qualified
students to earn six credit hours toward
a degree at Syracuse or for transfer
to another university. The study tour
has been approved for in-service
credit for teachers and is open also to
auditors not wishing academic
credit. The arrangements for the tour
are being made by Study Abroad,
Inc., New York City.
O. J. Fredriksen has resigned from the
department of history at Miami
University. Dr. Fredriksen is now with
the American Forces of Occupation
in Germany, where he is chief of the
division of historical intelligence.
He has been replaced at Miami by Andre
de Saint Rat.
Henry H. Simms of the department of
history at Ohio State University
will teach during the summer session at
the University of Southern California.
Harold J. Grimm has been elected a
fellow of the Royal History Society
of Great Britain.
Harold Fortney has been added to the
staff of the history department at
Otterbein College, and Harrold Hancock
has been granted a part time
leave to study at Ohio State University.
Howard D. Kramer, assistant professor of
history at Western Reserve
University, has been notified by the
state department of his selection for a
Fulbright teaching grant in India for
1952-53.
The American History Book Club has just
announced that it has selected
as its Book of the Month for June 1952 Society
and Thought in Modern
America (Longmans, Green, 1952) by Harvey Wish. Volume One (Society
and Thought in Early America) was the Book of the Month selection of
the History Book Club for October 1950.