REVIEWS, NOTES AND COMMENTS
BY THE
EDITOR
LIFE OF A NOTABLE SCHOLAR AND
UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT
William Watts Folwell: The
Autobiography and Letters
of a Pioneer of Culture. Edited
by Dr. Solon J.
Buck. The University of Minnesota
Press, Minne-
apolis, Minnesota, 1933.
An autobiography of more than usual
interest and
value has recently come to our library.
It is entitled
William Watts Folwell: The
Autobiography and Let-
ters of a Pioneer of Culture. It is edited by the well-
known historian, Dr. Solon J. Buck,
formerly secretary
of the Wisconsin Historical Society and
later with the
University of Pittsburgh.
In his Preface Dr. Buck says in part:
Those who knew Dr. Folwell found in
him something that
was timeless, something that kept him
forever looking forward
with the zest of youth. To a friend who
said, "Dr. Folwell, you
must sometime have resolved never to
grow old," the character-
istic reply was, "I never thought
of it." Those who see his spirit
and influence in living men and
institutions are grateful that he
did take the backward glance that has
given us this autobiography.
It is fitting that this volume appears
on the one hundredth anni-
versary of his birth. Its publication is
a tribute by the Univer-
sity of Minnesota to its first
president. The name of William
Watts Folwell heads the honor roll on a
tablet dedicated this day
to the "Makers of the Name."
Coming to Minnesota scarcely more than a
decade after it
became a state, William Watts Folwell
devoted himself to plan-
ning not only a university but a state
educational system. As a
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240 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
teacher he awakened enthusiasm by the
independence of his
thinking and the freshness of his
methods of presentation. He
was active in the founding of the
Minneapolis Society of Fine
Arts, the establishment of a State
Geological Survey, the develop-
ment of a park system for Minneapolis,
and the promotion of
public health in the State. He was truly
a pioneer of culture.
Dr. Folwell recognized that scholarship
is the only foundation
on which to build the future, and he was
eager to promote re-
search in every field. With his
retirement from teaching in 1907,
he was free to devote himself to
research, and during the remain-
ing years of his long life the history
of his adopted state was his
major interest. Unlike most men who turn
to history after their
active careers in other fields are over,
Dr. Folwell wrote, not
amiable reminiscenses but critical,
objective history, based on
extensive research in the original
sources. He examined the
last shred of available evidence and set
forth his conclusions
fearlessly but judiciously. His
four-volume History of Minne-
sota will stand for all time as a monument to his
scholarship.
In 1920
Dr. Folwell dictated his autobiography to
the end
of the Civil War, and shortly before his
death, which occurred
on September 18, 1929, he completed it.
In the meantime he had
begun turning over his voluminous papers
to the Minnesota His-
torical Society, and after his death
large additions were trans-
ferred by his family. From this material
and other sources the
editor has supplemented the
autobiography with letters and other
pertinent documents. The autobiography
and the letters reveal
not only the character and personality
of the author but also the
processes by which they were formed.
Moreover, they depict
social and cultural conditions and
developments in western New
York, various European countries, Ohio,
and Minnesota at dif-
ferent periods, and aspects of life in
the Union army during the
Civil War. Of unusual interest is the
new light thrown on the
early history of the University of
Minnesota.
This comprehensive statement presents a
character
of influence in the service of his
country and the develop-
ment of culture in its different
sections, especially in the
west. Full of interest are the chapters
on "Prepara-
tion for College," "Life at
Hobart," "Student and
Teacher," and "A Student in
Germany." These indi-
cate a liberal education for the times
and careful man-
agement on the part of the student to
earn his way
Reviews, Notes and Comments 241
through such a varied course. The
chapter entitled
"The Engineer Officer"
details the service of the sub-
ject in the Civil War from which he
emerged as Colonel
at the age of thirty-two near the close
of that war.
Following his military service he came
to Ohio where
he lived in the town of Venice, Erie
County. This
chapter will be especially attractive
to Ohioans. It
covers only ten pages and may appear in
a future
QUARTERLY. In this chapter he tells us of Castalia and
the Blue Hole, Sandusky Bay, the
Sandusky Register, of
which he was offered the editorship, of
Kenyon College
where he served as a member of the
faculty before go-
ing to Minnesota where he became
President of the
University. The reader of local history
and the student
of the intellectual and moral
advancement of the country
included within the years of Dr.
Folwell's long and use-
ful life will find this volume
abundantly worth reading.
American Colonists in English
Records. First Series.
A Guide to direct references in
authentic records,
Passenger Lists not in
"Hotten," etc., etc., etc.
By George Sherwood, 210 Strand, W. C.
2, Lon-
don, England. Price $5.00.
The Prefatory Note explains the purpose
and scope
of the work:
Direct references in English records to
colonists in New
England and America are extraordinarily
hard to come by. Hun-
dreds of pounds are spent annually in
searching for them. The
following are presented as the result of
constant daily search
covering the last forty years, and they
will be useful, it is hoped,
in this form for reference. A healthy
sale of the book will
enable the compiler to give his whole
time to the search for these
"missing links." A good
thing, surely, for here we strike the
note of Anglo-American kinship and the
consolidation of all that
is best in the English speaking world.
Vol. XLII--16
242
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
It is expected that further volumes of
this work will follow,
as material continues to accumulate.
Searches will be made for
particular names in the unpublished
material, and in a collection of
"clues" in English records to
persons "beyond sea," but not
definitely named as in America, at a
charge of five dollars per
search.
The First Series is a neatly printed
and substantially
bound book of ninety-nine pages. The
information it
contains is taken direct from authentic
sources and is
not otherwise available in printed
form.
ROOSEVELT TAKES HOLD
A book of very timely interest that
should have a
generous reception bears the title Roosevelt
Takes Hold.
This is "A Chronological Summary
of the 1929-1933
Panic--Depression--with Explanatory
Notes." It is
written by Orton G. Rust, member of the
Ohio State
George Washington Bicentennial
Commission; His-
torian of the Ohio Revolutionary
Memorial Sesquicen-
tennial, and author of Sleep and
Mad River Country.
Mr. Rust is a very active and
entertaining news-
writer who did memorable work in
connection with the
George Rogers Clark Sesquicentennial
celebration at
Springfield in October, 1930. The
Battle of Piqua, in
which George Rogers Clark completely
vanquished the
Indians in 1780, was celebrated October
9-10, 1930.
Through the efficient publicity given
this event by Mr.
Rust, it was one of the most successful
celebrations ever
held in Ohio and attracted attention
beyond the borders
of the State.
In his latest literary effort, Mr. Rust
has faithfully
presented the news of big events in the
United States in
Reviews, Notes and Comments 243
their logical sequence through a period
of unusual civic
and political activity. The
administration of President
Roosevelt has been prolific in
achievements of major
importance that will certainly affect
the immediate
future and whose influence will be felt
long after his
administration has passed into history.
These achieve-
ments have been so numerous and have
followed each
other in such rapid succession that
every thoughtful
citizen will wish to have at hand a
concise, comprehen-
sive, non-partisan presentation. Such a
statement of
the history that the United States is
today making is
included in Mr. Rust's book. It covers,
with appendix,
116 pages, is in pamphlet form and
sells for seventy-
five cents. Assuredly, as stated in the
author's sum-
mary, "the teacher or instructor
will find the pamphlet
handy and valuable in furnishing
himself or his class
a dated, concise summary of what took
place, together
with statistics sufficient for normal classroom
needs,"
while the busy man will find here
concise information
without encountering long dissertations
or following
new or vague theories.
DR. JOSEPH H. TODD
Dr. Joseph H. Todd, who has lived
ninety-six years
in the community of Wooster, has presented
to the De-
partment of Geology of Wooster College
a rare specimen
known as the Paint Creek Meteorite.
This specimen is said to be an
unusually fine one
and weighs twelve pounds. It is
composed of nickel
and iron; is black in color; half a
foot in diameter, and
has a smooth surface. It fell in the
vicinity of Paint
244
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
Creek, on the property of William
Johnson, located
about three miles from Hopewell Church,
in the year
1868. Two millers, Adam Hoffstadt and
John Mooch,
at a flour-mill located about one-half
mile down the
creek from the scene, and Mr. Johnson,
saw the meteor-
ite fall. These men verified the story
of Mr. Johnson
and witnessed the extraction of the
meteorite.
Mr. Johnson, who lived on a terrace a
short distance
from the stream, heard the noise of the
approaching
body and ran to his porch. Upon looking
up he saw a
flaming body, white in luminosity, with
a trail of fire
behind it. As he watched it, it
exploded almost directly
over him, breaking into a thousand
fragments. The
largest portion fell almost straight
down, striking a
fence about a quarter of a mile
down-stream, toward the
mill. It seared and scorched the fence
for some dis-
tance and then buried itself in the
ground. Mr. John-
son dug the meteorite from a depth of
about four feet.
Dr. Todd, who presented this meteorite
to Wooster
College, has been for many years a good
friend of the
Ohio State Archaeological and
Historical Society. A
few years ago a large and very valuable
collection of
Indian implements and weapons,
numbering about
35,000 specimens, was acquired by the
Society. Dr.
Todd through his entire life has been
interested in
geology and archaeology and his service
to the State and
its educational institutions is most
commendable.
REVIEWS, NOTES AND COMMENTS
BY THE
EDITOR
LIFE OF A NOTABLE SCHOLAR AND
UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT
William Watts Folwell: The
Autobiography and Letters
of a Pioneer of Culture. Edited
by Dr. Solon J.
Buck. The University of Minnesota
Press, Minne-
apolis, Minnesota, 1933.
An autobiography of more than usual
interest and
value has recently come to our library.
It is entitled
William Watts Folwell: The
Autobiography and Let-
ters of a Pioneer of Culture. It is edited by the well-
known historian, Dr. Solon J. Buck,
formerly secretary
of the Wisconsin Historical Society and
later with the
University of Pittsburgh.
In his Preface Dr. Buck says in part:
Those who knew Dr. Folwell found in
him something that
was timeless, something that kept him
forever looking forward
with the zest of youth. To a friend who
said, "Dr. Folwell, you
must sometime have resolved never to
grow old," the character-
istic reply was, "I never thought
of it." Those who see his spirit
and influence in living men and
institutions are grateful that he
did take the backward glance that has
given us this autobiography.
It is fitting that this volume appears
on the one hundredth anni-
versary of his birth. Its publication is
a tribute by the Univer-
sity of Minnesota to its first
president. The name of William
Watts Folwell heads the honor roll on a
tablet dedicated this day
to the "Makers of the Name."
Coming to Minnesota scarcely more than a
decade after it
became a state, William Watts Folwell
devoted himself to plan-
ning not only a university but a state
educational system. As a
(239)