HISTORICAL NEWS
Historical Societies
AMERICAN
JEWISH ARCHIVES, Cincinnati
Jacob R. Marcus, Director
An archival expedition to the West
Indies was made by the American
Jewish Archives in July 1952. The
research group was composed of Rabbi
and Mrs. Theodore S. Levy of Huntington,
West Virginia, Dr. Ferdinand
M. Isserman of St. Louis, and Dr. Jacob
R. Marcus, director of the archives.
There were a number of Jewish
settlements in the West Indies in the
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries,
and the expedition secured a con-
siderable quantity of valuable records,
photostatic copies, and photographs.
The cost of the expedition was borne by
the Rosenwald Foundation of
Jenkintown, Pennsylvania.
ANTHONY WAYNE PARKWAY BOARD, Columbus
J. Richard Lawwill, Director
Research for markers for five unmarked
Indian War fort sites has been
completed by the parkway board, which is
now seeking sponsors for the
markers. These sites are Hobson's
Choice, Cincinnati; Fort St. Marys, St.
Marys; Fort Adams, Mercer County; Fort
Loramie, Shelby County; and
Fort Deposit, Lucas County. It is hoped
that the markers for these sites
and also one at the site of Fort Brown,
which was built during the War
of 1812, may be dedicated as part of
Ohio's sesquicentennial celebration.
The text for a marker to honor
physicians who served in the Indian Wars
has been prepared by the parkway board.
The marker is to be erected by
the Ohio Medical Association and will be
dedicated on July 4, 1953.
The board is cooperating with other
agencies in doing research for the
development of other historic sites,
including Fort Meigs, Fort Recovery,
Fort Miamis, and Independence Park.
The resignation of T. J. Kauer as
director of the department of highways
brought a new member to the Anthony
Wayne Parkway Board. He is
C. L. Moyer, who became director of
public works in place of S. O.
Linzell. Mr. Linzell, as the new
director of highways, remains an ex-officio
member of the board.
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78
Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly
ASHTABULA COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY,
Ashtabula
Walter Beckwith, President
Two tours to historic sites were
sponsored by the society during the past
season. The first, on June 28, toured
the southeastern part of the county,
passing through Kingsvillage,
Kellogsville, West Andover, and Andover.
The caravan also visited Pymatuning Park
and the Snodgrass Museum at
Jamestown, Pennsylania. The second tour,
held on October 11, covered
the southwestern part of the county,
including in the itinerary Austinburg,
Orwell, Rock Creek, and Harpersfield.
Both tours were led by Walter
Jack of the Erie Times staff.
The society held an exhibit in the log
cabin on the fairgrounds at Jefferson
during the Ashtabula County Fair last
August. The exhibit consisted of over
seventy-five enlarged portraits and
photographs of old homes, covered
bridges, and other historic sites in
Ashtabula County. The photographs
were taken and hand tinted by Mr. and
Mrs. Walter Jack. Also on display
was a group of antiques shown by Mrs. J.
A. Talcott of Jefferson. Visitors
at the exhibit were given mimeographed
leaflets relating to the county's
history and to the work of the historical
society.
CHAGRIN FALLS HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Chagrin
Falls
Margaret Henry, President
The society is building up a collection
of old family records and records
of local events. The restoration of a
bandstand erected in 1877 is a current
project.
Mrs. George Rice was named secretary of
the society on September 4,
1952.
COSHOCTON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY,
Coshocton
Harry A. Caton, President
Completion of the restoration of the old
stone fort near Orange was
reported at a meeting of the society
October 21 by Henry Hackenbracht,
chairman of the restoration committee.
Dedication ceremonies are scheduled
for May 14, 1953, as a part of the
state's sesquicentennial celebration.
Directional markers and markers at the
site are still to be erected.
CRESTLINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Crestline
Ernest G. Hesser, President
The society's program of events for the
current year was mailed to the
membership early in November. The first
general meeting was held on
Historical News 79
November 18. John F. Carlisle of
Columbus, Ohio, was the guest speaker
on that occasion. His paper, "A
Talk on McGuffey," was accompanied by
readings by public school pupils in
appropriate period costumes.
Dr. Ernest G. Hesser, president of the
society, gave an illustrated talk on
"Colonel William Crawford--Friend
of George Washington," before the
Methodist Brotherhood at Galion, Ohio,
on October 6, and also for the
Bucyrus Wise Club at Bucyrus on November
10.
FRANKLIN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY,
Columbus
Frank A. Livingston, President
The fourth annual meeting of the society
was held in the Ohio Union,
on the Ohio State University campus,
Thursday, October 23, 1952. The
elections resulted in the reelection of
the following officers: Frank A.
Livingston, president; Myron T. Seifert,
vice president; D. F. Prugh,
secretary; and Wayne J. Graf, treasurer.
William K. Westwater was elected
to fill a full-term vacancy on the board
of trustees. The society's certificate
of merit award in the young people's
division was presented to Alice Roland
for her scrapbook, "Columbus
Mayors--1816-1952," and in the adult
division was granted to Rowlee Steiner
for his manuscript, "Story of
Columbus Railroads."
Material for a church history of
Franklin County is being compiled
by the society's division of research
under Gilbert F. Dodds and Myron T.
Seifert. The third anniversary Bulletin
of the society, 50 Events in the History
of Franklin County, came off the press in late October. A special sesqui-
centennial publication, it is being sold
for $1.00 at bookstores and will be
available at the 1953 Ohio State Fair.
GEAUGA COUNTY HISTORICAL AND MEMORIAL
SOCIETY, Burton
B. J. Shanower, President
Officers elected at the September
meeting of the society for one-year
terms are B. J. Shanower, president;
Paul E. Denton, vice-president; Hilda
Hosmer, secretary; and Ann Gaither,
treasurer.
The annual open house and apple butter
festival was held at the museum
in Burton on October 11-12. About 125
gallons of apple butter were made
and sold along with other products from
the field, orchard, and kitchen.
The proceeds of the sale are to be used
to further projects at the historical
center. An outstanding feature of the
event was the dedication of the newly
erected and equipped blacksmith shop on
Sunday, October 12, at 1:00 P.M.
80 Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly
John Hall Stewart, professor of history,
Western Reserve University, gave
the dedicatory address.
GNADENHUTTEN HISTORICAL SOCIETY,
Gnadenhutten
James F. Gross, President
After a lapse of several years, the
society was reorganized at a meeting
held on September 12. All the previous
officers were reelected for terms
of one year: president, Rev. James F.
Gross; vice-presidents, Rev. John P.
Benson, D. V. Kennedy, and Samuel Begland;
secretary, Kathryn Heck;
assistant secretaries, Ross M. Virtue
and Mrs. Vaidna Unger; and treasurer,
Rev. Allen Zimmerman. A projects
committee, Walter Begland, chairman,
and a membership committee, Kathryn
Heck, chairman, were appointed.
Moving pictures were shown of the 1932
and 1947 pageants at Gnaden-
hutten celebrating respectively the
150th anniversary of the massacre of the
Christian Indians and the 175th
anniversary of the founding of the village.
HANCOCK COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Findlay
W. Albert Hogle, President
The second historical tour sponsored by
the historical society was an
event of October 19. There were
twenty-three automobiles in the caravan,
which was under the leadership of W.
Albert Hogle, president of the
society, who gave the historical
background of the places visited in the
tour. These included the site of Fort
Findlay, the site of the first industrial
plant and a number of historic homes in
Findlay, the Byal gristmill, Indian
Green (the site of an Indian village and
trading center six miles west of
Findlay), the site of the old Ottawa
mills, Cannonsburg, and other sites
of historical interest.
HAYES MEMORIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM, Fremont
Watt P. Marchman, Director
New members of the Rutherford B. Hayes
and Lucy Webb Hayes
Foundation elected at the annual meeting
of the foundation on October 4
at Fremont are Arthur B. Hayes and Scott
B. Hayes of Cleveland. Watt P.
Marchman, director of the Hayes Memorial
Library and Museum, was
reelected secretary of the foundation.
He was also elected a member of the
executive council of the Ohio Library
Association at the association's annual
conference in Toledo, October 16-18.
A leave of absence has been granted to
Ruth Thoma, librarian and as-
Historical News 81
sistant secretary, on account of illness
in the family. Betty Smith resigned
from the staff on October 1.
Improvements on the Hayes Memorial
building are being continued.
The number of visitors to the museum and
library during the current year
is greater than in any previous year,
and a large number of projects by
researchers and students from all over
the country based on the library's
resources are being carried out. Hundreds
of manuscript items were added
to the library during the year, the most
important single collection being
the letterbook of over five hundred
letters of General H. W. Benham and
about seventy-five photographs of
military installations constructed during
the Civil War.
HISTORICAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF
OHIO, Cincinnati
Virginius C. Hall, Director
The annual meeting of the society was
held on December 1. The program
following the business session consisted
of three short papers read by
members of the society. After the
program, tea was served in the Laws
Building of the University of
Cincinnati.
The Louisville cruise for members of the
society and guests aboard the
Delta Queen left the Greene Line wharf, Cincinnati, on Saturday
morning,
November 1, and returned late Sunday
night, the passengers remaining on
board for breakfast Monday. Points of
historical interest along the route
were explained by a folder and by the
public-address system.
LAKE COUNTY CHAPTER, WESTERN RESERVE
HISTORICAL SOCIETY,
Painesville
Hazel Wood, Curator, Garfield Home
Frederic M. Wood, executive secretary of
the Lake County Chapter, died
on September 26, 1952. A successor has
not yet been elected.
On October 8, 1952, the fifth grade of
the Painesville city and township
schools went through the Garfield Home,
Mentor, Ohio. There were 467
children with their teachers and guides.
LOGAN COUNTY ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND
HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Bellefontaine
O. K. Reams, President
During the past summer four new roadside
markers were erected. They
were placed at the following sites: (1)
Melanchte Town and Hull's Trace
at West Liberty, (2) the first school
(used also as a church) in Rush
82 Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly
Creek Township, (3) the council house in
Stokes Township, and (4)
Pigeon Town in Union Township.
LORAIN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Elyria
Mrs. James B. Thomas, President
At a recent meeting members of the
society were guests of the Kipton
Parent Teachers' Association in Camden
Township. Places of interest in the
vicinity were visited, and the history
of the township was read and also
presented in tableau form.
SHAKER HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Shaker
Heights
Caroline B. Piercy, Secretary
The society was recently made the
beneficiary of the Estelle Weeks
Collection of Shaker material pertaining
chiefly to Shaker dance and
Shaker music. There are between 3,000
and 3,500 items in the collection.
Also included are a number of artifacts
and pieces of furniture. Miss
Weeks was connected for many years with
the Library of Congress.
The erection of a Shaker mounting block
is a recent project of the
society.
Caroline B. Piercy recently had her
Shaker cookbook, "Not by Bread
Alone," accepted for publication by
the Crown Publishing Company, New
York, and Mrs. Horton Hampton had a book
on the Van Sweringen
brothers of Cleveland accepted by the
World Publishing Company, Cleveland.
SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF PIONEER RIVERMEN,
Marietta
Frederick Way, Jr., President
The annual meeting of the Sons and
Daughters of Pioneer Rivermen
was held at Marietta on September 13,
1952. At the business session plans
were made to establish the Campus
Martius Lindenburn Memorial Library
to house an extensive collection of
inland river literature, and a gift of
$500 from Mrs. Lucille Lindenburn was
accepted to defray expenses.
S. Durward Hoag, manager of Hotel
Lafayette, Marietta, announced
plans to build in his hotel lobby a
full-scale river boat pilothouse with
workable parts, and the Sons and
Daughters voted to provide the necessary
equipment. A plaque on this unique
exhibit will call attention to the
River Museum maintained in the Campus
Martius Museum.
The secretary reported a paid-up
membership of 406 persons. This is
the largest organization of its kind on
the Mississippi river system. All
officers of the organization were
reelected as follows: Captain Frederick
Historical News 83
Way, Jr., president; C. W. Stoll and
Robert G. Thomas, vice presidents;
William McNally, secretary; Ruth Maddy,
treasurer; J. W. Rutter, chairman,
museum committee; J. Mack Gamble,
chairman, executive committee.
During the day an Ohio River navigation
beacon erected under the
auspices of the organization was
dedicated. The beacon, which was named
the "Tom Greene Memorial Navigation
Light," became an official United
States Coast Guard aid to river
navigation. Edith S. Reiter, curator of
Campus Martius Museum, was hostess at an
afternoon reception for about
one hundred Sons and Daughters.
STARK COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Canton
Donald K. Merwin, President
The third volume of the Stark County
Story, entitled Industry Comes of
Age, came off the press October 13, 1952. As in the case of
the other two
volumes, Edward T. Heald is the author,
and Stoneman Press, Columbus,
are the printers. Prepublication orders
for 450 of the 1070 copies in the
first edition were received. The
822-page volume sells at $11.00.
SUMMIT COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Akron
Carl H. Pockrandt, President
The speaker for the September meeting of
the society was Edward S.
Thomas, curator of natural history of
the Ohio State Archaeological and
Historical Society. Dr. Thomas spoke on
"Outdoor Ohio in Natural Color"
and illustrated the lecture with natural
color pictures of Ohio flora and
fauna.
The September issue of the Bulletin carried
an article on horse-drawn
vehicles in street transportation in
Akron in the 1870's and 1880's.
Karl H. Grismer's Akron and Summit
County, which was sponsored
by the society, was published last
October. This volume of 834 pages
contains in addition to the historical
section, a reference section, a biographical
section, and an index. It sells for
$10.00 a copy.
UNION COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY,
Marysville
W. H. Snodgrass, President
The annual meeting of the society was
held on September 24, 1952. Mrs.
Walter S. Coe was the speaker. She spoke
on recent archaeological finds
in Delaware and Union counties.
Officers elected for the calendar year
1953 are as follows: W. H. Snod-
84 Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly
grass, president; Clarence A. Hoopes,
vice president; Rachel Robinson,
secretary; and Minnie Otte, treasurer.
The outgoing president, Guy Robinson,
became a member of the board of trustees
for a seven-year term.
WARREN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY,
Lebanon
Mrs. Edward F. Herrick, President
The society recently purchased a
carriage made in Warren County in
1827. The project of microfilming the Western
Star is being continued.
WESTERN RESERVE HISTORICAL SOCIETY,
Cleveland
Russell H. Anderson, Director
In September and October one-day
historical tours sponsored by the
women's advisory council of the society
were made, the first to Zoar and
Schoenbrunn, and the second to Hudson,
Tallmadge, and Akron.
A series of lecture meetings and teas is
being planned by the women's
council for the third Wednesday of each
month during the winter. At the
November meeting Frank Siedel, author of
The Ohio Story, spoke on
"Hilarious Ohio," recounting
many of the humorous sidelights on Ohic
history encountered in his search for
material.
The "Lincoln-Douglas" debate
held in October under the auspices of
the women's council was preceded by a
torchlight procession in which
"Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln" and
"Mr. and Mrs. Douglas" in period costumes
from the museum's collection rode in old
carriages also from the society's
collection. Campaign songs of the 1860's
and square dancing completed
the program.
A tea for the friends of the late Miss
Belle King, many of whom came
from Toledo, was a feature of the
opening of the Belle King exhibit on
Belter furniture and art objects. Other
recent exhibits included "Sampler?
and Samples," a collection of
embroidery, cutwork, picture painting with
the needle, and other needlework. The
Julian C. Bolton samplers fron
the society's own collection were among
those shown. During the politica
campaign a special showing of campaign
material was arranged. Item
shown included ballots, badges,
cartoons, ribbons, and campaign torches
A demonstration model voting machine was
also on display.
Maud C. Pay, Helen P. Williams, and
Clarence J. Winder have re
cently been added to the staff of the
museum.
A collection of American Indian
materials gathered by the late Franklink
H. Kendall of Painesville has recently
been received. It includes arrowhead,
stone axes, tomahawks, grinding stones,
pestles, pipes, and pottery.
Historical News 85
About Historians
F. A. Norwood has resigned from the
department of history at Baldwin-
Wallace College to accept a position as
professor of church history at
Garrett Biblical Institute at Evanston,
Illinois. He has been replaced by
Marvin Becker, who was previously on the
faculty at Arkansas University.
In May the department of history at
Baldwin-Wallace was host to the
majors in history and political science
from Hiram College, Mount Union
College, and John Carroll University.
Each school presented a paper.
The group was addressed at an evening
session by Lowell Ragatz, chairman
of the history department at Ohio State
University, on the subject of
opportunities in history other than
teaching.
Robert Boehm has recently been appointed
to the staff of the department
of history at Defiance College. Mr.
Boehm is completing his doctoral
dissertation at Ohio State University.
Philip P. Poirier, M.A. Harvard
University, is a new instructor in history
at Ohio State University. Three members
of the history department at Ohio
State have been advanced recently: Paul
A. Varg has been promoted to
the rank of associate professor, and Harry
L. Coles and Harvey Goldberg
have both been named assistant
professor.
Harold Hancock, acting head of the
department of history and govern-
ment at Otterbein College, passed his
orals for the Ph.D. at Ohio State
University. He received his bachelor's
degree from Connecticut Wesleyan
and his master's from Harvard.
A new member of the department is David
Burks, whose appointment
was effective in September 1952. He is a
graduate of Earlham College and
received his M.A. at the University of
Chicago. He has passed his generals
at Chicago and will receive his Ph.D.
during the current academic year.
For the past three years he taught at
Muskingum College.
Randolph C. Downes, professor of history
at the University of Toledo,
now offers a two-hour credit telecourse,
"History of Ohio," through WSPD-
TV, Toledo. A syllabus has been prepared
for students taking the course
for credit and is available to others at
a nominal cost. Examinations will
be conducted on the university campus.
Lloyd Lapp, assistant professor of
history, is teaching the course on
86 Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly
"American Civilization" to
foreign students who are now engaged in th
cooperative program of work in Toledo
industry and study at the Uni
versity of Toledo. This program, an
activity of the Mutual Security Ad
ministration, is sponsored by the United
States Department of State and
local labor organizations.
Karol Marcinkowski, chairman of the
department of history at Wilber
force University, has since his
appointment in June 1950 thoroughly re
organized the department. Dr.
Marcinkowski has introduced several new
courses and organized the first seminar
in history at Wilberforce. Thi
department is now taking steps to
prepare students for the master's degree
in history.
Several changes have been made in the
staff of the department of history
and political science at Heidelberg
College. Curtis C. MacDonald is or
leave of absence for the first semester
of the current year, and Kenneth
Davison has been appointed for the same
period. Thomas Moir has beer
appointed to the department for the
year. The head of the department
Carl G. Klopfenstein, has been promoted
to the rank of associate professor
E. C. Murdock is now head of the
department of social sciences at Rid
Grande College. Dr. Murdock has his A.B.
from Wooster College, and his
A.M. and Ph.D. from Columbia University.
An American Name Society has been
organized for the purpose of
promoting the study of place names,
personal names, and scientific and
commercial nomenclature. Commencing in
April 1953, the new society
plans to publish a quarterly. A meeting
in December 1952 was scheduled
in connection with the meeting of the
Modern Language Association.
Elsdon C. Smith of Evanston, Illinois,
is president of the organization,
and Erwin G. Gudde of the University of
California Press, Berkeley,
California, is secretary-treasurer. All
who are interested in the study of
names are invited to become members.
HISTORICAL NEWS
Historical Societies
AMERICAN
JEWISH ARCHIVES, Cincinnati
Jacob R. Marcus, Director
An archival expedition to the West
Indies was made by the American
Jewish Archives in July 1952. The
research group was composed of Rabbi
and Mrs. Theodore S. Levy of Huntington,
West Virginia, Dr. Ferdinand
M. Isserman of St. Louis, and Dr. Jacob
R. Marcus, director of the archives.
There were a number of Jewish
settlements in the West Indies in the
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries,
and the expedition secured a con-
siderable quantity of valuable records,
photostatic copies, and photographs.
The cost of the expedition was borne by
the Rosenwald Foundation of
Jenkintown, Pennsylvania.
ANTHONY WAYNE PARKWAY BOARD, Columbus
J. Richard Lawwill, Director
Research for markers for five unmarked
Indian War fort sites has been
completed by the parkway board, which is
now seeking sponsors for the
markers. These sites are Hobson's
Choice, Cincinnati; Fort St. Marys, St.
Marys; Fort Adams, Mercer County; Fort
Loramie, Shelby County; and
Fort Deposit, Lucas County. It is hoped
that the markers for these sites
and also one at the site of Fort Brown,
which was built during the War
of 1812, may be dedicated as part of
Ohio's sesquicentennial celebration.
The text for a marker to honor
physicians who served in the Indian Wars
has been prepared by the parkway board.
The marker is to be erected by
the Ohio Medical Association and will be
dedicated on July 4, 1953.
The board is cooperating with other
agencies in doing research for the
development of other historic sites,
including Fort Meigs, Fort Recovery,
Fort Miamis, and Independence Park.
The resignation of T. J. Kauer as
director of the department of highways
brought a new member to the Anthony
Wayne Parkway Board. He is
C. L. Moyer, who became director of
public works in place of S. O.
Linzell. Mr. Linzell, as the new
director of highways, remains an ex-officio
member of the board.
77