Ohio History Journal

HISTORICAL NEWS

Historical Societies

 

 

ALLEN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Lima

James A. MacDonell, President

The society has recently received two additions to its file of

historical and genealogical materials: the bill book of Hollister,

Bliss, and Lytle, a general store at Delphos, from September 1850

to August 1854 and a five-volume compilation of Ohio gravestone

inscriptions made by Charles Wagner of Columbus. Mr. Wagner's

work contains thirty thousand inscriptions from grave markers in

Fairfield, Franklin, Madison, Perry, Union, Licking, Pickaway,

Hocking, and Vinton counties.

The December issue of the society's Reporter devotes several

pages to the history of business activities in Delphos during the

1840's and 1850's, the period during which the firm of Hollister,

Bliss, and Lytle was operative. The publication is edited by Mrs.

Harry B. Longsworth.

 

ALLIANCE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Alliance

Mrs. Fred Donaldson, President

Present officers of the society are Mrs. Fred Donaldson, presi-

dent; Walter M. Ellet, vice president; Mabel Hartzell, secretary-

treasurer; and Oliver Kuhns, Mrs. Melvin Van Winkle, Mrs. John

Jarman, Mrs. James Vaughn, and Queenie Barnaby, members of

the board of trustees.

The society is affiliated with the Stark County Historical Society

and received an appropriation from that society of $250 which will

be used in placing bronze markers on ten historic buildings and

sites.

The society is preserving historical materials and proposes to

secure a building in which to house its collections.

219

• 1
 

220    OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

 

CLARK COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Springfield

Orton G. Rust, President

The society has published the second volume of the series of

reminiscences of Clark County pioneers entitled Yesteryear in Clark

County. Other volumes are contemplated.

 

CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY, Cleveland

Kenneth B. Disher resigned as director of the museum on

November 16, 1948. Since that time the institution has been under

the direction of an operating committee consisting of three members

of the staff and two members of the board of trustees. A recent

publication of the museum is The Native Forests of Cuyahoga

County, Ohio by Arthur B. Williams. This was published as

Volume IX of the Scientific Publications of the Cleveland Museum

of Natural History.

 

CRESTLINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Crestline

Ernest G. Hesser, President

Ernest J. Wessen, rare-book dealer of Mansfield, was the

speaker at the meeting of the society on February 28. His subject

was "You Meet Such Interesting People." The address was followed

by a "preview" of the Crestline museum in the town hall.

 

FAYETTE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Washington C. H.

Harold Craig, President

At the first meeting of the board of trustees of the Fayette

County Historical Society on February 16 five standing committees

were approved: program committee, Howard Allen, chairman;

records and research, Mrs. Max G. Dix, chairman; press relations,

B. E. Kelley, chairman; finance, John P. Case, chairman; member-

ship committee, George Robinson, chairman. A committee com-

posed of Howard Allen, B. E. Kelley, and Harold Craig was named

to arrange for temporary quarters to house the collections of the

society until a permanent building is secured. This committee has

since applied to the county commissioners for the use of the rooms

• 2
 

HISTORICAL NEWS                    221

 

in the courthouse which will be vacated by the county health de-

partment.

The charter membership of the society reached 220.

 

FRANKLIN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Columbus

Charles A. Jones, President

The speaker at the January meeting of the society was Dr.

Harlan Hatcher, vice president of Ohio State University. He drew

a vivid and interesting picture of the life of the early settlers of

Franklin County. Dr. Ralph Fanning, of the department of fine

arts of Ohio State University, addressed the group on the evening

of February 25 on the theme "Sketches of Early Ohio Architecture."

The lecture was illustrated by the speaker's water-color paintings of

historic homes.

Issues of the Bulletin of the society for January and February

1949 carry a number of interesting articles on the early history of

Franklin County. The publication is edited by Gilbert F. Dodds.

 

GRANVILLE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Granville

Arthur Jones, President

The society is the beneficiary of the will of the late Clara

Sinnett White. From the funds made available the society has

recently purchased a one-story stone structure on Broadway just east

of St. Luke's Episcopal Church. This building is one of the oldest

in the village, having been erected in 1812 for the purpose of hous-

ing a bank. The plan is to restore the structure and to add space

to the rear for housing the extensive collections of the society.

 

GROVE CITY COMMUNITY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Grove City

Mrs. Elmer C. Milligan, Secretary-Treasurer

The society has recently acquired a detailed history of the town

of Orient written for the society by Isaac Hill of Orient. Mrs. E. C.

Milligan is compiling a history of the St. John's Lutheran Church

of Grove City which is celebrating its centennial this year. Other

individuals are cooperating in the compilation of the history of the

community.

• 3
 

222    OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

 

THE HAYES MEMORIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM, Fremont

Watt P. Marchman, Director of Research

The manuscripts division of the library has received numerous

additions during the last quarter. Manuscripts added to the Hayes

papers include seven original Hayes letters and about forty photostat

or microfilm copies of Hayes letters, sixteen original letters of Emma

Foote to her relatives, an original deed notarized by Hayes, and a

copy of an elector's certificate in the election of 1876. Thirteen

original autographed letters and microfilm copies of the Fremont

News-Messenger, January-October 1948, and The Great Campaign,

July 18-October 31, 1876, were also acquired.

Miss Frances Kittle, receptionist at the Hayes Memorial Library

and Museum resigned last December. Mrs. Bernice Shell of Clyde

was selected to replace Miss Kittle.

A staff Christmas party was held on the afternoon of December

23 at the museum, at which wives and husbands of staff members

were guests of honor. The museum was decorated with a Christmas

tree and Yuletide decorations.

 

HISTORICAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF OHIO, Cincinnati

Virginius C. Hall, Director-Librarian

The spring meeting and exhibition of the society is scheduled

for the first week in May, with a gala opening of the exhibition

for members of the society at the Taft Museum. The subject is

"Makers of Cincinnati, 1810-1845."

The society is planning a cooperative exhibit with the Ohio State

Archaeological and Historical Society in connection with the open-

ing of the Harriet Beecher Stowe House, Cincinnati, during the early

summer. The Stowe House is now in the process of restoration under

the direction of the state society.

The bulletin of the society, the Newsletter, is published at inter-

vals during the year and is devoted primarily to the names of

donors, with a listing of their gifts, and important acquisitions added

by purchase. The quality of the acquisitions of the past twelve

months is probably the finest in the history of the society.

• 4
 

HISTORICAL NEWS                   223

 

Annual paying members (membership, ten dollars a year) now

number over five hundred. Interest in regional history is growing

here as elsewhere in the state and nation.

 

 

HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MOUNT PLEASANT, OHIO

J. C. Wilson, President

The society has recently issued a leaflet describing the Friends

Yearly Meeting House at Mount Pleasant. It is illustrated by exterior

and interior views of the building. The preservation of the meeting

house is one of the principal objectives of the society.

The present officers of the society are J. C. Wilson, president;

Paul Walter, William Schuster, and Mrs. William Krinke, vice

presidents; Adeline Bainbridge, secretary; and Ruth Lupton, treas-

urer. The directors are S. C. McConahey, Charles Wilson, Lewis

Thompson, H. O. Geise, Elma Amstutz, Elizabeth Lupton, Mildred

Jones, William Schuster, and J. C. Wilson.

 

HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF NORTHWESTERN OHIO, Toledo

Randolph C. Downes, Executive Director

The program of the winter meeting of the society held at the

Toledo Museum of Art was devoted to canals. It included a pre-

sentation of Canal Days, Volume II of the Lucas County Historical

Series, recently published by the society; an address on "Canal

Ways" by Frank N. Wilcox of the Cleveland Art School; and one

on "Canal Places in the Maumee Valley" by L. W. Sullivan. In

connection with the meeting there was an exhibition of canal paint-

ings by Mr. Wilcox and of canal photographs by Mr. Sullivan.

Students of Scott and DeVilbiss high schools also displayed illustra-

tive material on canals.

 

 

HUGUENOT SOCIETY OF OHIO

John C. Pearson, President

Officers elected at the meeting of the society on September 18,

1948, are as follows: John C. Pearson, president; Howard Collette,

secretary; and Eva Alice Scott, registrar.

The society publishes a quarterly bulletin and a yearbook.

• 5
 

224    OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

 

 

LOGAN COUNTY ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL SOCIETY,

Zanesfield

Herman C. Marmon, President

The society is continuing its plan of marking historic sites in

the county. Markers are to be erected on the Greene Ville Treaty

route, at Curry Blockhouse, at an Underground Railroad station,

and at the site of the first Methodist church in Zane township. Three

additional markers will be erected during the year at places to be

determined later.

Publication of a sixty-page pamphlet during the year is also

contemplated.

 

LORAIN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Elyria

Mrs. James B. Thomas, President

Interest in the society has grown during the year and sixty-four

new members have been added. Among the speakers on the programs

of the monthly meeting have been Raymond Vietzen, Prof. Clarence

Ward, and Robert E. Wilson. A research committee including

Prof. Robert S. Fletcher, Oberlin, and Miss Harriet Root, Lorain,

will begin the collection of data for a Lorain County history to be

published by the society.

 

MAHONING VALLEY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Youngstown

Donald J. Lynn, President

At the annual meeting of the members of the society held at

the museum of the society in the public library of Youngstown on

January 19 a board of trustees was elected. The board immediately

elected the following officers from their number: Donald J. Lynn,

president; Mrs. Henry A. Butler, first vice president; Joseph G.

Butler, III, second vice president; Mrs. Franklin B. Powers, third

vice president; Mrs. Ernest A. Goodman, recording secretary; Ada

M. Rogers, corresponding secretary; James L. Wick, Jr., treasurer;

and Joseph G. Butler, III, assistant treasurer. Other members of the

board are Howard C. Aley, Randall H. Anderson, James T. Arrel,

Hugh W. Bonnell, Elizabeth Brown, Charles N. Crandall, C. Victor

Deibel, Marion Fowler, Mrs. Ernest A. Goodman, Helen Hall,

• 6
 

HISTORICAL NEWS                225

 

Ellen L. Hine, Mrs. S. K. Hine, Frank B. Medbury, Mrs. I. Harry

Meyer, Mrs. Howard C. Miller, Mary L. W. Morse, James B. Thomp-

son, and Mrs. James L. Wick, Jr. Mrs. Ernest A. Goodman, Eva A.

Scott, and Joseph C. Butler, III, were appointed members of the

accession committee.

 

SCIOTO COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Portsmouth

Samuel P. Adams, President

The first general meeting of the year was held on February 15.

It was open to all who had contributed funds toward the purchase

and restoration of the Kinney home as well as to the members. Con-

tractors' estimates for repairs on the building were reviewed at the

meeting.

The society now numbers 508 active members. In addition some

one hundred business firms contributed to the funds of the organi-

zation. On December 31 there was a cash balance in the treasury

of $2,803.86.

 

SENECA COUNTY HISTORICAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM, Tiffin

A. C. Shuman, Curator

The museum recently acquired a number of very interesting

specimens to add to its excellent natural history and historical

collections.

The curator of the museum, Dr. Albert C. Shuman, was re-

cently presented a jeweled emblem and scroll designating him as the

"Honor Citizen of the Month," on "The Best is Yet to Come"

program sponsored by the Tiffin Rotary Club. Dr. Shuman, the

third person to receive the honor, was cited for his many years of

service in the Christian ministry and on the board of trustees of

Heidelberg College, for his help on many worthwhile community

projects, and for his interest in natural history which led to the

establishment of the museum of which he is now curator.

 

SHAKER HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Shaker Heights

Mrs. Harry D. Piercy, Secretary

The society has heard two addresses on the Shakers: Dr. Russell

H. Anderson, director of the Western Reserve Historical Society,

• 7
 

226    OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

 

spoke on "Shakers Then and Now" and Jessie Haynes, curator of

the Shaker museum at Harvard, Massachusetts, addressed the society

on January 25 on Shakerism. The society is planning to exhibit

Shaker material at the May show of the Collectors Society.

Two publications are being prepared by members of the organ-

ization: a pamphlet on Shaker life by John Schott, and a book on

the Cleveland Shakers, 1822-89, entitled "The Valley of God's

Pleasure," by the secretary, Mrs. Piercy.

 

SHELBY COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Sidney

John Whitney, President

Research on the Harmar Trail through Shelby County is being

conducted by the society. Other activities of the organization include

research on the history of Shelby County schools and Shelby County

agriculture, marking of the site of the first home in the county,

and plans to have the Lockington locks area set aside as a state

park.

 

SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF PIONEER RIVERMEN, Marietta

Frederick Way, Jr., President

The Columbus Sunday Dispatch Magazine for January 30, 1949,

featured an illustrated article by Captain Way, "Lore of the Lorena,"

and carried a natural color photograph and sketch of the author.

The Lorena was a sternwheel steamboat which ran on a weekly

schedule between Zanesville and Pittsburgh between 1895 and 1913.

It burned February 2, 1916.

 

STARK COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Canton

Paul B. Belden, President

The annual dinner meeting of the society held on January 27

was attended by 216 members and guests. Paul B. Belden, H. T. O.

Blue, and E. T. Heald were reelected respectively president, vice

president, and secretary-treasurer of the society and to membership

on the board of trustees. Six other members of the board were also

renamed. The guest speaker of the evening was Grace Goulder (Mrs.

Robert J. Izant), writer for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, who spoke

• 8
 

HISTORICAL NEWS                   227

 

on "Rambles in Stark County." She discussed the contributions

of Frederick C. Post, Bezaleel Wells, Thomas Rotch, and William

McKinley.

The third annual report of the society has been issued as a

twenty-four page booklet containing a financial statement, a schedule

of "Stark County Story" broadcasts over WHBC, a list of acquisi-

tions, a summary of progress on various projects, and a membership

list in addition to the president's report. The report indicated an

increase in individual memberships from 358 to 432 (454 as of

February 1) and in institutional memberships from 32 to 50. In

1948 the earnings of the society accounted for 41.3 percent of the

income as compared with 24.0 for the previous year.

 

SUMMIT COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Akron

Carl H. Pockrandt, President

The annual meeting of the society was held on January 20,

when four trustees were elected, Daniel E. Falkner and Irvin R.

Renner being the new members. The president, Carl H. Pockrandt,

submitted his annual report at the meeting. The highlights of this

report were summarized in the February Bulletin of the society. The

society has retained its membership of over two thousand, making it

the largest independent historical society in the state. It has sixty-

three affiliated organizations. The John Brown Museum and the

Perkins Home were visited by over two thousand persons during the

past year, and the historical collections, which now total over

fifteen thousand articles, were augmented during the period by gifts

of over four hundred individuals. An endowment and building fund

has been started to provide a much needed auditorium and exhibit

hall.

The February meeting featured a motion picture film produced

by the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, "A Letter from

America," which had Akron for its locale.

 

WARREN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Lebanon

Gardner Townsley, President

Officers of the society for the current year are Gardner

Townsley, president; Harry C. Schwartz, vice president; Mary

• 9
 

228    OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

 

Lincoln, secretary; Helen Lamb, treasurer; Leah Jones, historian;

and Hazel S. Phillips, curator. Seth Furnas, John Holden, Charters

Maple, Lena M. Irons, and Perle M. Riley are trustees.

A new school text for Warren County schools is being readied

for publication. This is a presentation of local history for use in

the fourth, fifth, and sixth grades. The work has been prepared by

a committee of which Gertrude Brown is the chairman.

The magazine Antiques for January 1949 carried an article on

"Glendower, the Warren County Museum," written by Hazel S.

Phillips and illustrated with photographs by Harold E. Rueppel.

 

WELLSVILLE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Wellsville

Edgar S. Davidson, President

The Wellsville Historical Society although not a year old has

attained a membership of nearly one hundred, including a number

of life members, many of whom are former residents. A two-page

mimeograph letter signed by the president has recently been sent

to prospective members in a concentrated drive for additional mem-

bers. The society's publication, Wellsville Echoes, initiated in Jan-

uary 1949, is a four-page, mimeographed bulletin dealing with the

history of the community and its residents.

During the life of the society its members have heard addresses

on "The Blockhouse at Yellow Creek" by Dr. Robert Schilling,

"Wellsville" by T. T. Jones, "The Beaver and Sandy Canal" by Max

Gard, and "His Truth Goes Marching On" by W. H. Mathews. The

society meets monthly.

The officers are E. S. Davidson, president; C. W. Arnold, vice

president; Paul Young, secretary-treasurer; and Clarence Nickels,

curator.

 

WEST VIRGINIA ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY, Moundsville, West Virginia

Joseph H. Essington, President

A society for the purpose of encouraging the study and dissem-

ination of information concerning the archaeology of West Virginia,

the first of the kind in the state, has recently been incorporated and

organized. The officers elected are: Joseph H. Essington, Mounds-

• 10
 

HISTORICAL NEWS                    229

 

ville, president; O. L. Mairs, Charleston, vice president; Delf

Norona, Moundsville, secretary-treasurer; and E. W. Fetzer, Weirton,

and William Athey, New Martinsville, directors. Ralph Solecki, of

the Smithsonian Institution, has been named technical adviser.

A publication to further the objectives of the society, tentatively

called the West Virginia Archaeologist, is being planned. It is to be

edited by Delf Norona.

 

WOMAN'S CENTENNIAL ASSOCIATION OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, Marietta

Mrs. Nelle Greene, President

Present officers of the association are Mrs. Nelle Greene, presi-

dent; Mrs. Frank Schafer, vice president; Mrs. E. A. Flemming,

recording secretary; Mrs. Clara McVoy, corresponding secretary;

Mrs. Florence Harris, treasurer; and Freda Schimmel, auditor.

About Historians

Dr. John Schwarz has retired as chairman of the department

of history at Bowling Green State University. He has been succeeded

by Dr. Grover C. Platt.

Robert G. Twyman has been appointed assistant professor of

American history.

Dr. R. S. McCordock served as visiting professor of history at

Rutgers University during the summer session of 1948.

 

An article by Dr. Wilfred E. Binkley of Ohio Northern Univer-

sity entitled "The Party of Business" appeared in the January 1949

issue of Fortune.

 

Dr. Thomas P. Martin, visiting lecturer at Ohio University last

semester, is serving as visiting professor of history during the second

semester at West Virginia University.

 

Dr. Frank L. Esterquest, chairman of the department of history

at Western College, will read a paper at the Mississippi Valley

Historical Association meeting in April on "Promoting History

Teaching Through Visual Aids."

• 11
 

230    OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

 

Dr. Benjamin H. Pershing, chairman of the department of

history at Wittenberg College, reports that over five percent of the

students at Wittenberg are enrolled in a course in Ohio history.

 

Dr. C. Henry Smith, professor emeritus of history at Bluffton

College, died during the latter part of 1948. Dr. Smith was an

authority on Mennonite history and the author of several volumes

in that field.

• 12