HISTORICAL NEWS
Historical Societies
BRECKSVILLE EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION
Mrs. Bertha C. Fosnocht, President
The Association is cooperating with the
Brecksville Board of
Library Trustees in making a canvass of
community sentiment
regarding housing facilities for the
town library, a historical mu-
seum, and other community activities. An
invitation was extended
to about 24 organizations to send
representatives to a meeting
called for that purpose, Friday evening,
September 19.
DAYTON HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION
Roy G. Fitzgerald, President
The Old Log Cabin, or Newcom Tavern,
Dayton's first per-
manent structure, which serves as a
museum for the Association,
was recently broken into and robbed of
some of its pioneer ex-
hibits. The Cabin is located on a site
in Van Cleve Park, a few
hundred feet from its original location.
The Association is con-
tinuing its efforts to preserve the Old
Greek Temple Courthouse.
FAIRPORT HARBOR HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Pearl E. Killinen, Executive
Secretary
As a feature of the annual Mardi Gras
celebration held in
Fairport Harbor July 2-5, the Society
sponsored nationality ex-
hibits which were displayed in the
windows of local business
establishments. The exhibits included
Finnish wood carvings,
ceramics, silverware, crystalware,
authentic reproductions of "Ka-
leva" jewelry, copperware, homespun
linens, wall rugs, and books;
Hungarian porcelains and homespun and
embroidered linens; and
Slovakian glassware and linens, and a
Slovakian bridal dress.
During the summer the Society's museum
was visited by
guests from fifteen states, in addition
to Ohio, and four foreign
countries. The average attendance during
the three hours the
museum was open each day is
conservatively estimated at fifty.
442
HISTORICAL NEWS 443
Several new exhibits have been promised
the Society by this
summer's visitors.
GEAUGA COUNTY HISTORICAL AND MEMORIAL
SOCIETY
B. J. Shanoder, President
The Society is engaged at present in
collecting historical data
for a county history which it plans to
publish, and in making plans
for the sesquicentennial celebration in
1948 of the settlement of
Geauga County.
THE HAYES MEMORIAL
Watt Marchman, Director of Research
In observance of the 134th
anniversary of the successful de-
fense of Fort Stephenson by Major George
Croghan against
British and Indian forces on August 2,
1813, the Hayes Memorial
Library and Museum prepared a special
exhibit in commemoration
of the event. The local FM radio station,
WFRO, broadcast a
thirty-minute dramatization of the
historic event.
Recent accessions to the manuscript
collection in the Hayes
Memorial Library include five original
letters written by Ruther-
ford B. Hayes: three, dated July 10,
1876, December 11, 1888,
and July 16, 1889, to George William
Curtis; one, dated March
9, 1881, addressed to the Rev. William
C. French, c/o The Stand-
ard Cross, Cleveland; and one, dated
April 3, 1871, addressed to
Jacob A. Ambler, Member of Congress,
Washington, D. C. The
Library has also acquired a gift of
photostatic copies of fifteen
original Hayes letters in the J. D. Cox
and James Monroe Papers
in the Oberlin College Library, and two
each from originals in
the William L. Clements Library and the
collection of Dr. O. O.
Fisher, Detroit.
A photograph of Rutherford B. Hayes made
in 1876 by
Elliott & Armstead, Columbus, Ohio,
photographers, has been
added to the Hayes photograph and
picture collections.
HISTORICAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF
OHIO
Virginius C. Hall, Director-Librarian
Mr. Yeatman Anderson III, who is
majoring in United
States history in the graduate school of
the University of Cin-
444 OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL
QUARTERLY
cinnati, has a temporary place on the
staff of the Historical and
Philosophical Society. Mr. Anderson is
engaged in recataloging
the Society's extensive map and
photograph collections.
The Society's gala opening and exhibit
of historical materials
pertaining to southwestern Ohio and the
Ohio River (from the
beginning to 1865) attracted
record-breaking attendance at the
Taft Museum. Relics, manuscripts,
printed matter, maps, pic-
tures, and other objects drawn from the
collections of members
of the Society made a display of
remarkable interest and signifi-
cance for the public as well as for
students of regional history.
The most recent number of the Bulletin
is devoted to the
river. It includes a number of plates
not previously printed, and
two major articles: "Flatboating on
the Great Thoroughfare," by
Josephine E. Phillips, and "Our
Historic River," by Lee Shepard.
The March issue of the Bulletin featured
an extensive article
by Marie Dickore, on "The Waldsmith
Paper Mill--A Watermark
Furnishes a Clue to the History of the
First Paper Mill in the
Little Miami Valley." This is a significant contribution to the
history of a major industry in
southwestern Ohio.
LICKING COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Clarence R. Jones, President
At a meeting held on August 6 the newly
reorganized Licking
County Historical Society elected the
following officers: Clarence
R. Jones, President; Harry D. Baker,
Robins Hunter, Jr., Corinne
Metz, Harold Smucker, Mrs. Frank Webb,
F. A. Woolson, Vice
Presidents; Mrs. Benjamin Forman,
Secretary; Bessie Larkin,
Treasurer.
LOGAN COUNTY ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND
HISTORICAL SOCIETY
O. K. Reames, President
One display case of Indian objects has
been placed on exhi-
bition by the Society in the north
reading room of the Dr. Sloan
Library, Zanesfield. Material is
available for several additional
cases which are to be bought when
obtainable and placed in the
library until a museum is established.
Six historical sites in Logan County are
to be marked this
HISTORICAL NEWS 445
year from funds made available by the
county commissioners;
Solomon Town, the Lewistown Council
House, Darby Meeting
House, McKees Town, Manary Blockhouse,
and Gunn's Tavern.
A project is under way to gather data
pertaining to Logan
County history, and to publish this year
a pamphlet of about fifty
pages containing the data assembled. It
is hoped that such work
continued over a period of several years
will form the basis of an
authentic history of Logan County. The
Society has published
three numbers of volume I of its
mimeographed monthly Bulletin.
MARLBOROUGH HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Wilbur Main, President
The Society has been active in
circulating a petition to have
the Joseph Cole house preserved as a
museum. A membership
drive is now being carried on.
The discovery of a human skeleton last
spring on the farm
of Mr. and Mrs. W. S. Cole by Mrs. Cole,
the Secretary of the
Society, led to further excavations
conducted by the department
of archaeology of the Ohio State
Archaeological and Historical
Society during the past summer. The
excavation revealed a vil-
lage site containing some pottery
fragments, other artifacts, and
parts of another skeleton.
MONTGOMERY COUNTY HISTORICAL AND
ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY
Virgil Wysong, President
The Society is planning to sponsor a
radio program to be
broadcast during the winter. Details
have not yet been arranged.
Plans for the publication of the Arrowhead,
a monthly pe-
riodical to be distributed to
approximately 12,000 city and county
high school students, are pending the
approval of an appropriation
by the Montgomery County commissioners.
THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF NORTHWESTERN
OHIO
Randolph C. Downes, Executive Director
At the annual meeting of the Society the
following trustees
were elected for the term expiring in
1949: Horace E. Allen,
Will F. Broer, Randolph C. Downes,
Walter A. Eversman, and
Julian H. Tyler. John H. Taylor was
elected to fill the unexpired
446 OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL
QUARTERLY
term of the late Fred Bissell and Mark
Mennell to fill the un-
expired term of the late Silas E. Hurin.
The Board of County Commissioners
granted an appropria-
tion of $4,900 to the Society to be
expended for a director, editor,
and secretarial assistant and to promote
the enlarged historical
service of the Society.
The Society selected Dr. Downes,
professor of history at the
University of Toledo, as its Executive
Director and Editor of the
Northwest Ohio Quarterly.
The Quarterly for July contains a
valuable article on Sher-
wood Anderson's early years in
Winesburg, Ohio. The article,
by William A. Sutton of the department
of English, University
of Tennessee, is entitled "Sherwood
Anderson: The Clyde Years
1884-1896."
OHIO HISTORY DAY ASSOCIATION
David Crouse, President
The present officers of the Association
are David Crouse,
President; Mrs. Howard Jones, President
Emeritus; John F.
Carlisle, Vice President; Mrs. Helen
Black Anderson, Recording
Secretary; Mrs. Anna Chandler,
Corresponding Secretary; and
M. S. Noggle, Treasurer.
The first Sunday in October has been set
aside for the ob-
servance of Ohio History Day at Logan
Elm Park. Mr. Crouse
is chairman of the committee on plans
for the occasion. He is to
be assisted by Eugene Rigney, President
of the Ross County
Historical Society, and Roy Sampson,
Superintendent of Equip-
ment of the Division of State Memorials
of the Ohio State
Archaeological and Historical Society.
OHIO INDIAN RELIC COLLECTORS SOCIETY
Raymond C. Vietzen, Secretary
The Society met September 21 at
Campus Martius Museum,
Marietta. Erwin C. Zepp, Director of the
Ohio State Archaeo-
logical and Historical Society, spoke at
the meeting. The title
of his address was "The State
Historical Society Meets with the
Ohio Indian Relics Collectors."
HISTORICAL NEWS 447
The Society announced with deep regret
the death of one of
its most active members, Arthur R.
Altick of Springfield. Mr.
Altick had served as Secretary of the
Clark County Historical
Society, and had engaged in many
archaeological excavations in
central Ohio. At the time of his death
he was preparing books
on the subjects of Indian relic
collecting and Indian pottery in
Ohio.
PIONEER ASSOCIATION OF WASHINGTON COUNTY
Fred B. Goddard, President
The present officers of the Society are
Fred B. Goddard,
President; Thomas W. Porter, First Vice
President; Harry C.
Barnes, Second Vice President; Cora
Chapman Reckard, Secre-
tary; and Ada L. Dye, Assistant
Secretary and Treasurer. The
Society meets monthly from October to
April.
SENECA COUNTY ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND
HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION
A. C. Shuman, Curator
The Association is preparing a schedule
of group visits to its
museum throughout the season. Members of
the staff will act as
guides in conducting the groups through
the museum.
STARK COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
E. T. Heald, Secretary-Treasurer
The Stark County Historical Society has
donated $250 toward
the cost of writing and publishing a
history of the public school
system of Massillon, Ohio, in
commemoration of its centennial in
1948.
The project is sponsored by the Massillon Board of
Education. The history is being written
by Miss Mary Jane
Richeimer, a teacher in the Washington
High School of Massillon.
Plans are to print 2,000 copies to be
sold at $1.00 each to adults
and $.50 each to students. The
publication will cover more than
100 pages and will be illustrated. It
should be ready for distri-
bution by November 7, 1947.
WARREN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Perle M. Riley, President
The Society sponsored an essay contest
for Girl Scouts in
which prizes were awarded for the best
essay on Warren County.
448 OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND
HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Younger girls were given awards for the
best scrap-book. The
Society participated in the Historic
Pilgrimage in Warren County
on June 7-8, and in the Waynesville
Sesquicentennial, September
12-14. Contributions were made also to the recent
exhibition on
Shaker Life and Craftsmanship at the
Ohio State Museum.
The Warren County News Letter is
issued quarterly in
mimeographed form. A series of articles
on the early history
of Waynesville by Seth Furnas, a trustee
of the Society, has
appeared in the Miami Gazette.
WOMAN'S CENTENNIAL ASSOCIATION OF
WASHINGTON COUNTY
Mrs. T. J. Summers, President
The Association holds meetings the first
Monday in each
month from October through April. Two of
the meetings in
recent months have been devoted to
historical subjects.
About Historians
The leading article in the June issue of
the Canadian His-
torical Review, "The Old French-Canadian Horse: Its History
in Canada and the United States,"
is by Robert Leslie Jones of
Marietta College. It throws new light on
the development of the
famous Morgan horses of New England.
Dr. E. G. Schweibert, formerly at
Northwestern University,
has accepted a position as professor of
European history at Wit-
tenberg College. Dr. Schweibert is now
President of the Amer-
ican Society of Church History.
David Jennings, who received his
master's degree from Syra-
cuse University, has been added to the
staff of the department of
history of Ohio Wesleyan University as
an instructor. Mr.
Jennings is writing a life of Horatio
Seymour which he hopes
to offer as a doctor's thesis. Dr. H. C.
Hubbart, head of the
department at Wesleyan continues his
researches on the Middle
West and on the history of the American
liberal arts college. Dr.
C. E. Van Sickle's first volume of his Ancient
History has just
been published by Houghton Mifflin and
Co., and Dr. Hastings
HISTORICAL NEWS 449
Eells has published his Writing a
Term Paper at the Antioch
Press.
At the University of Akron Mr. Lee N.
Newcomer resigned
as instructor in American history. Dr.
Clara G. Roe has been
appointed associate professor in the
same field. Miss Roe, who
has her doctor's degree from the
University of Michigan, taught
in the summer session at Akron. She was
formerly at Flint
Junior College, Flint, Michigan.
W. Eugene Shiels, S. J., chairman of the
department of his-
tory at Xavier University, Cincinnati,
announces the addition of
two new members to his staff: James M.
Moore, from the Uni-
versity of California, and Maurice J.
Link, S. J., from Loyola
University. Herman J. Muller, S. J., is
leaving the department
for further study and research.
New instructors for the coming year in
the department of
history at the Ohio State University are
Ambrose Saricks, Jr.,
from the University of Wisconsin; Harold
M. Helfman, from the
University of Michigan; and Theodore
Fisch, from the University
of Illinois.
An article by Professor Earl S. Pomeroy,
"The Problems of
American Overseas Bases; Some
Reflections on Naval History,"
appeared in the June 1947 issue of the
U. S. Naval Institute
Proceedings.
Dr. Freeland K. Abbott of the Fletcher
School of Diplomacy
has been appointed to the department of
history at Miami Uni-
versity to succeed Dr. Harry N. Howard
who resigned to continue
in his position in the State Department.
Dr. James H. St. John
has been appointed assistant dean of the
School of Arts and
Sciences.
Dr. William E. Smith and Mrs. Ophia D.
Smith are now
editing the James Papers for
publication.
450 OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL
QUARTERLY
A history of the British Post Office by
Dr. Howard Robinson
of Oberlin College is now in press. It
is being published by the
Princeton University Press, and is to
appear by the end of this
year or early in 1948. An article by Dr.
Robinson entitled "The
Influence of British Postal Reforms on
the American Post Office"
was published in the Philatelist (London)
in May in connection
with the centenary of the first issue of
stamps by the United
States Post Office. It was a reprint
from the American Philatelic
Congress Proceedings.
HISTORICAL NEWS
Historical Societies
BRECKSVILLE EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION
Mrs. Bertha C. Fosnocht, President
The Association is cooperating with the
Brecksville Board of
Library Trustees in making a canvass of
community sentiment
regarding housing facilities for the
town library, a historical mu-
seum, and other community activities. An
invitation was extended
to about 24 organizations to send
representatives to a meeting
called for that purpose, Friday evening,
September 19.
DAYTON HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION
Roy G. Fitzgerald, President
The Old Log Cabin, or Newcom Tavern,
Dayton's first per-
manent structure, which serves as a
museum for the Association,
was recently broken into and robbed of
some of its pioneer ex-
hibits. The Cabin is located on a site
in Van Cleve Park, a few
hundred feet from its original location.
The Association is con-
tinuing its efforts to preserve the Old
Greek Temple Courthouse.
FAIRPORT HARBOR HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Pearl E. Killinen, Executive
Secretary
As a feature of the annual Mardi Gras
celebration held in
Fairport Harbor July 2-5, the Society
sponsored nationality ex-
hibits which were displayed in the
windows of local business
establishments. The exhibits included
Finnish wood carvings,
ceramics, silverware, crystalware,
authentic reproductions of "Ka-
leva" jewelry, copperware, homespun
linens, wall rugs, and books;
Hungarian porcelains and homespun and
embroidered linens; and
Slovakian glassware and linens, and a
Slovakian bridal dress.
During the summer the Society's museum
was visited by
guests from fifteen states, in addition
to Ohio, and four foreign
countries. The average attendance during
the three hours the
museum was open each day is
conservatively estimated at fifty.
442