Ohio History Journal

HISTORICAL NEWS

 

Historical Societies

 

ALLEN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Lima

James A. MacDonell, President

The society has recently acquired a Kodagraph film reader, a

gift from the president, James A. MacDonell. Several old Lima

newspapers have been microfilmed up to 1912. Current papers

have been filmed since January 1, 1947.

During recent months the society has been engaged in a cam-

paign to collect unpaid pledges for the proposed $175,000 museum.

A large percentage of the necessary funds are on hand. The bricks

for the building were purchased and a heating plant constructed

several years ago on the site donated by the William J. Wemmer

estate and the late J. W. Van Dyke at the corner of Market and Met-

calf streets.

 

 

ASSOCIATED DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY HISTORICAL

SOCIETIES, Dayton

Roy G. Fitzgerald, President

Recent acquisitions of the society include an autograph list

of subscribers to stock in the Fireman's Insurance Company in

1856, a gift of Andrew S. Iddings, and a group of family relics and

heirlooms presented by Katherine E. Greer, great-great-granddaugh-

ter of Col. George Newcom, early Dayton settler.

The society now has over one thousand members.

 

BRECKSVILLE EARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATION, Brecksville

Mrs. Eddy Burke Fosnocht, President

Erwin C. Zepp, director of the Ohio State Archaeological and

Historical Society, and William Stinchcomb, director of the Cleve-

land Metropolitan Park Board, were guest speakers at the twenty-

fourth annual meeting of the association in June.

Present officers are Mrs. Eddy Burke Fosnocht, president;

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464   OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

 

Ernest M. Green and Mrs. Alice Lewis, vice presidents; Mrs. Fos-

nocht, treasurer; and Mrs. W. S. Lister, secretary. One new trus-

tee, Raymond Perry, was elected to replace the Rev. J. Chandler

Adams.

 

CRESTLINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Crestline

Ernest G. Hesser, President

The second annual pilgrimage sponsored by the society oc-

curred on June 19. The points visited were the Firelands Museum

at Norwalk and the Thomas Edison birthplace at Milan.

 

FAIRPORT HARBOR HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Fairport Harbor

Austin Headland, President

The marine museum of the society has recently acquired the

complete telegraph system of the S. G. Hartwell, the gift of A. B.

Kern.

 

FIRELANDS HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Norwalk

Homer M. Beattie, President

The president of the society has been working with Wallace B.

White of Milan in the preparation of a map of the Firelands from

the original surveys of Maxfield Ludlow and Almon Ruggles from

notes of the surveys in possession of the society. In his address to

the annual meeting in June, the president gave some of the results

of the study, especially concerning the correct location of two or

possibly three forts named "Fort Sandusky." The site of the French

fort of that name was located on the north shore of Sandusky Bay,

and the British fort of the same name has been definitely estab-

lished at Venice. Mr. White is writing for publication a history

of the Firelands based upon primary sources.

 

FRANKLIN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Columbus

Charles A. Jones, President

The society has secured the services of a full-time curator and

executive secretary, Daniel F. Prugh, formerly a special writer on

the Dayton Daily News. Mr. Prugh has temporary offices in the

Carnegie Library.

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HISTORICAL NOTES                   465

 

GATES MILLS HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Gates Mills

Tinkham Veale, II, Acting President

The Southwick House, one of the oldest buildings in Gates

Mills, was recently opened as the home of the Gates Mills Historical

Society. The house was purchased two years ago by the society

and moved to its present site at the corner of Epping and Old

Mill roads.

The building has been remodeled and will serve as a museum

for the society, a permanent home for the Gates Mills Public

Library, and a meeting place for small groups.

The dedication ceremonies were opened by Tinkham Veale,

acting president of the society, followed by an invocation by the

Rev. John Pattie. A talk on the development of the museum was

given by Vincent K. Smith. Courtney Burton, mayor of Gates

Mills, presented the society an oil portrait of Halsey Gates,

founder of the village, and a plaque in honor of the late A. C.

Ernest was also presented to the museum. Funds for the mainte-

nance of the museum are provided as a memorial to Charles

Newpher, former president of the society.

The officers and directors of the organization are Tinkham

Veale, II, acting president; Carter Kissel, Crispin Oglebay, F. R.

Walker, Alfred Mewett, Curtis Williams, and Henry Neuman.

Carter Kissel and Mrs. John Marston were co-chairmen for the

dedication program.

 

 

GEAUGA COUNTY HISTORICAL AND MEMORIAL SOCIETY, Burton

B. J. Shanower, President

In a recent letter to the members of the society the secretary

reported an unprecedented growth of interest in the last year in

the work of the society. Within that period thirty-two schools from

Geauga and neighboring counties had visited the museum in con-

nection with their history and reading classwork. More than three

thousand persons are reported to have visited the museum in the

past year.

The officers are B. J. Shanower, president; Ralph Ford, secre-

tary; and Frank Samuel, treasurer.

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HAYES MEMORIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM, Fremont

Watt P. Marchman, Director of Research

During Fremont's centennial celebration of the town's change

of name from Lower Sandusky to Fremont, the Hayes Memorial

Library and Museum participated in the celebration by placing on

exhibition many old photographs, maps, documents, newspapers,

letters, books, and relics illustrating the early history of the com-

munity and county. The exhibit remained on display for several

weeks following the celebration and was well attended.

The director of research served as a member of the scenario

committee for the historical pageant, "Fremont Cavalcade," pro-

duced by the John B. Rogers Co. of Fostoria, with a local cast

of over six hundred participants. The pageant was held August 1

through August 5 as a feature of the Centennial Jubilee.

The Hayes Memorial Library and Museum, Spiegel Grove,

and the Harrison Military Trail of 1812 were featured by Grace

Goulder in her "Ohio Scenes and Citizens," in the Cleveland Plain

Dealer, August 14, 1949. This is the last of her two articles on

Fremont.

Some of the more important manuscript collections recently

added to the library's division of manuscripts include a holograph

letter of Col. George Croghan, dated February 22, 1814, to Capt.

Stephen McFarland, Cincinnati, ordering material for a new uni-

form; several holograph letters of Rutherford B. Hayes; and one

or more letters written by Mary Clemmer Ames, William W.

Belknap, James G. Blaine, Edward W. Bok, A. E. Burnside,

Schuyler Colfax, James M. Comly, Salmon P. Chase, George Wil-

liam Curtis, James B. McPherson, and John Sherman. Microfilm,

photostat, and transcription copies of hundreds of letters from

public depositories and private sources have been added.

Microfilm copies have been made of the Fremont News-

Messenger, November 1, 1948-April 30, 1949.

HISTORICAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF OHIO, Cincinnati

Virginius C. Hall, Director

The "Makers of Cincinnati" exhibition presented at the Taft

Museum by the society was attended by more than six thousand

persons.

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HISTORICAL NOTES                   467

 

Alfred A. Knopf, publishers, have announced the publication

in October of a new edition of Frances Trollope's Domestic Manners

of the Americans, edited by Donald Smalley. Dr. Smalley, in the

preparation of his extensive introduction and notes, drew upon the

resources of the society's collections.

 

HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF NORTHWESTERN OHIO, Toledo

Randolph C. Downes, Executive Director

Officers of the society elected at the thirty-first annual meeting

in June are Richard D. Logan, president; John H. Taylor, vice

president; Carl B. Spitzer, secretary-treasurer; Mrs. Max Shep-

herst, librarian; and Randolph C. Downes, executive director.

Edmund P. Collins, Mark Mennel, Dr. H. W. H. Nelles, the Rev.

John J. Vogel, and Carl B. Spitzer were elected trustees for the

term expiring in 1951.

The officers reported 180 individual members and 70 institu-

tional members, the acquisition of 56 new volumes by the library,

and an appropriation from the county commissioners of $4,900

for the promotion of historical research by the society.

 

KNOX COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Mt. Vernon

Carl L. Van Voorhis, President

At a reorganization meeting in June, Carl L. Van Voorhis

was elected president, Elizabeth R. Cochran, vice president, and

Pauline Riley, secretary-treasurer.

 

LISBON HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Lisbon

George Lafferty, President

The society was reorganized at a meeting on August 5 when

George Lafferty was elected president, Miss Bertha Johnson, secre-

tary, and L. S. Firestone, treasurer. Trustees are Mr. Lafferty,

Mrs. R. W. Firestone, Helen Ramsey, Seward Harris, C. F. Wright,

and W. A. Frew.

The society is completing arrangements for the purchase of the

old stone house on East Washington Street. Erected in 1805 by

Christian Smith and used as a tavern, the building is one of the

oldest stone houses in the state. It will be restored and maintained

by the society as a museum.

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468   OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

 

 

LOGAN COUNTY ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL SOCIETY,

Bellefontaine

Herman C. Marmon, President

A caravan of members of the society placed markers at five

historic sites on July 17. The sites marked are the point where

the Greene Ville Treaty line enters and the point where it leaves

Logan County, the Cherokee town site, and Nancy Steward section,

and the Curry Blockhouse near Old Town. The marker committee

is composed of O. K. Reames, Raymond LeVan, and Paul Watkins.

 

LORAIN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Elyria

Mrs. James B. Thomas, President

The June meeting of the society was devoted to a history of

Columbia, with a display of antiques and mementos of the early

families of that vicinity, and a trek to the historic sites in the

township. Places of interest noted included the site of Hoadley's

Mill, Copopa, and the Akin homestead. Mrs. Malcolm McClellan

was in charge of the arrangements and led the tour. About sixty

persons attended.

OHIO HISTORY DAY ASSOCIATION, Circleville

Lloyd Jones, President

Dr. Lloyd Jones, son of Dr. and Mrs. Howard Jones, founders

of the association, was elected president at the June meeting of

the group.

The annual history day celebration at the Logan Elm will be

held as usual on the first Sunday in October.

 

SHAKER HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Cleveland

Mrs. Harry D. Piercy, Secretary

Members of the society are engaged in producing Shaker dolls

and in collecting Shaker furniture, tools, utensils, and other

material. Dr. and Mrs. H. D. Piercy have prepared a series of

small model settings of the North Union Shaker community.

Two publications on Shaker history have recently been pub-

lished: Our Shaker Heritage, a pamphlet by the Rev. John Schott,

and Sylvia the Shaker Maid, the true story of a North Union girl,

a booklet by Caroline Piercy.

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HISTORICAL NOTES                   469

 

SHELBY COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Sidney

E. J. Griffis, President

New officers of the society are E. J. Griffis, president, and George

Harshbarger, secretary.

In addition to other projects, the organization is working for

the preservation of an old covered bridge spanning the Great Miami

River six miles south of Sidney.

 

STARK COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Canton

Paul B. Belden, President

Work has been resumed in copying inscriptions on old tomb-

stones in cemeteries in Stark County. Last summer 6,400 names

were copied in 27 cemeteries and thus far this summer more than

4,500 names have been transcribed.

Volume I of the Stark County Story, printed by the Stoneman

Press, Columbus, has been published by the society. It contains the

first seventy-six scripts given by E. T. Heald over WHBC on the

Good Neighbor Hour, Sundays, from May 1947 through November

1948, describing the cities, towns, and villages of Stark County. It

has 672 pages and 220 maps and illustrations.

 

SUMMIT COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Akron

Carl H. Pockrandt, President

The last issue of the society's bulletin contained an article

on "The Hunters," members of secret lodges of "Patriots" in the

United States who aided the Canadian Rebellion of 1837-38. Akron

and Summit County played an important part in this episode.

 

TRUMBULL COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Warren

James J. Tyler, President

Officers of the society elected at a meeting of the trustees on

July 26 are James J. Tyler, president; Elizabeth J. Hauser, vice

president; Lloyd A. Mines, secretary; Mrs. Frank W. Chapman,

treasurer. The trustees are Norman W. Adams, Hon. George H.

Birrell, Mrs. Frank W. Chapman, Royal B. Dobbins, Elizabeth J.

Hauser, Raymond E. Hughes, Harold H. Hunter, William B. Kil-

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470   OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

 

patrick, Elizabeth C. Lumbard, Lloyd A. Mines, Mrs. B. D. Lisby,

Hon. Harold C. Smith, Phebe T. Sutliff, Carl F. Thomas, James J.

Tyler, and Mrs. Roscoe S. Winnagle.

The society is custodian of the Edwards-Webb House, the

home of John Stark Edwards built in 1807. Edwards, a grandson

of the famous Jonathan Edwards, was the first resident lawyer in

the Western Reserve. The house later came into possession of

Thomas D. Webb, who established the first newspaper in the

Reserve, the Trump of Fame.

Miss Elizabeth J. Hauser, vice president, has recently published

a series of ten stories on early Warren in the Warren Tribune

Chronicle. Norman W. Adams, a trustee, gave a radio talk recently

on WRRR on the early history of the Western Reserve.

 

UNION COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Marysville

Mrs. Matthew Kennedy, Temporary Chairman

Several planning meetings for a permanent organization have

been held, and at a meeting on July 17 it was decided to incor-

porate the society and to hold a membership drive. Plans were

made for a booth at the Union County Fair in Marysville in charge

of Elizabeth Bonham, temporary publicity chairman, to acquaint

citizens of the county with the work of the new society.

WELLSVILLE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Wellsville

Edgar Davidson, President

The society has recently acquired a number of programs of

early events in Wellsville, gifts of Mrs. Eddie Hurst Moser, of

Uniontown, Pennsylvania, and a picture of Dr. William Cloud,

the physician of General John Hunt Morgan. The picture, together

with a sword presented by General Morgan to the proprietor of

the Whitacre House, has been loaned to the state historical society

for display in connection with the "Once Upon a Time in Ohio"

broadcast on October 4, titled "General Morgan at Wellsville."

The sword is the property of Mrs. Frances Whitacre Morton of

Wellsville.

The July meeting of the society took the form of a historical

pilgrimage tracing the flight of General Morgan from Bergholz to

West Point where he surrendered.

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HISTORICAL NOTES                    471

 

WESTERN RESERVE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Cleveland

Russell H. Anderson, Director

Among the manuscript additions are two Jackson letters of

interest. One is from Andrew Jackson, and the other, of greater

importance, is from his wife Rachel. Both were written to Mrs.

Katherine Duane Morgan, daughter of William Duane of Phila-

delphia. A file of the Collinwood Citizen has been added to the

newspaper collection. The D. Z. Norton collection of Napoleana

has been enriched by three documents: one a broadside signed by

Bonaparte as first consul; another the signature of Lucien Bona-

parte; and the third a letter from a sister, Elise.

A collection of some seventy books on the history of the

Moravians has been received.

The library is instituting a series of manuscript seminars

planned to acquaint those interested with the research collections

of the society. At each meeting, to be held monthly beginning in

October, a unit of the manuscript collection will be selected for

study. Some account will be given of the provenance of the unit,

the circumstances of its collection, and an analysis of its scope

and bulk, with examples. As far as feasible opportunity will be

given to examine the manuscripts.

Among recent special exhibits have been "Miss Liberty";

dolls and nursery rhymes; "I remember that . . ."; "What is home

without a baby"; and lustre ware and rare jugs. The museum has

furnished to Halle Brothers an extensive exhibit of costumes and

accessories for display on the occasion of the extension of their

store. The library supplied the Western Reserve University Law

School with an exhibit of manuscripts illustrating legal procedures.

The museum has received a marble bust of a prominent Cleve-

lander, Sherlock J. Andrews (1801-80). The case lighting the

Napoleon and Washington rooms has been greatly improved and

several rooms have been redecorated. The society has received

from the estate of Mrs. S. Prentiss Baldwin a number of items,

including books, furniture, paintings, lustre ware, and historical

Staffordshire paper weights.

Russell H. Anderson, director of the society, gave a radio talk

over WTAM recently on examples of art in the society's library.

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472   OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

 

WOMEN'S CENTENNIAL ASSOCIATION OF WASHINGTON COUNTY,

Marietta

Etta C. Collins, President

The present officers of the association are Etta D. Collins, presi-

dent, Mrs. Frank K. Schafer, vice president, Lucy Cole Flemming,

recording secretary, and Mrs. Wirt N. Kellar, treasurer.

The association maintains a display section in the Campus

Martius Museum.

 

About Historians

John F. Cady, formerly head of the department of history

and dean of the college of liberal arts at Franklin College, and

recently chief of the Research and Intelligence Branch for South

Asia of the Department of State, has been appointed associate pro-

fessor of history at Ohio University.

The departments of history and government have announced

the third annual awards competition for excellence in Ohio history,

Ohio government, and citizenship for high school students of the

state. Last year 2,350 students took the preliminary examination

and 88 won the two-day trip to the campus as guests of the uni-

versity. The preliminary, objective examinations this year will be

held on October 14. The student receiving the highest grade in

each county, plus the ten students scoring next highest in the state

at large, will be eligible for the two-day trip to the university where

the final essay examination will be held on November 11. Ten

cash prizes ranging from $10 to $100 will again be offered. The

purpose of the awards is to stimulate a greater interest of young

people in Ohio's history and cultural heritage. The State Depart-

ment of Education of Ohio and the Ohio State Archaeological and

Historical Society are cooperating in this project.

Carl G. Gustavson was visiting lecturer in the summer school

at Emory University.

Frederick D. Kershner, Jr., presented a paper at the annual

meeting of the Mississippi Valley Historical Association at Madi-

son, Wisconsin, entitled, "Indianapolis, From Country Town to

Industrial City: the Urban Pattern in Indianapolis."

Albert T. Volwiler's article, "Clio, the Voice of the People,"

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HISTORICAL NOTES                   473

 

was published in the Indiana Magazine of History, XLV (March

1949), 1-13. A 25,000-word article on the history of the United

States has been written by him for Collier's new encyclopedia.

-----

A. L. Davis of the department of English of Western Reserve

University is engaged in research in cooperation with Raven I.

McDavid of the University of Illinois on a linguistic atlas of the

United States and Canada to be published under the auspices of the

American Council of Learned Societies. The work in Ohio is

sponsored by the graduate school of Western University and the

Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society.

Recent publications of Carl Wittke, dean of the graduate

school, are "Immigration Policy Prior to World War I," in the

Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences,

March 1949; "Mr. Justice Clarke--A    Supreme Court Judge in

Retirement," in the Mississippi Valley Historical Review, June

1949; and "Mr. Justice Clarke in Retirement," in the Western Re-

serve Law Review, June 1949.

 

Howard Robinson, head of the history department and acting

dean of the college of arts and sciences at Oberlin College, will

be on leave of absence for the coming academic year. He will

spend the year in Great Britain.

Robert S. Fletcher will return to the department after a year's

leave of absence.

Charles Cremeans, formerly of Williams College, has been

appointed associate professor of history, and William Orr will

replace Harvey Goldberg as instructor.

 

Three additions have been made to the staff of the history

department of Case Institute of Technology: Thomas E. Baker,

assistant professor; and Herbert W. Dowd and Stanley P. Wasson,

instructors.

William F. Zornow has published this year the following

articles: "Indiana and the Election of 1864," Indiana Magazine of

History, March 1949; "The Judicial Modifications of the Maryland

Black Code in the District of Columbia," Maryland Historical Mag-

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474   OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

 

azine, March 1949; "Bellamy Nationalism in Ohio," Ohio State

Archaeological and Historical Quarterly, April 1949; "Lincoln's

Influence in the Election of 1864," Lincoln Herald, June 1949;

and "Treason as a Campaign Issue in the Re-election of Lincoln,"

Abraham Lincoln Quarterly, June 1949.

 

Two new professors have been appointed in the department

of history at Xavier University, Robert W. Reichert in the field of

modern European history, and William M. Canning in United

States history.

 

 

Lowell Ragatz, a member of the faculty of George Washington

University since 1924, has been appointed chairman of the depart-

ment of history at Ohio State University. Dr. Ragatz holds his

Ph.D. degree from the University of Wisconsin. He is a recog-

nized authority in the field of Caribbean history and British

colonial policy, having received the Justin Winsor prize of the

American Historical Association for his work on The Fall of the

Planter Class in the British Caribbean, published in 1928. Dr.

Ragatz assumes his new post on October 1.

Robert H. Bremner, instructor in the department of history,

has contributed a series of four articles to the American Journal

of Economics and Sociology on the civic reform in Ohio. The first,

"The Civic Revival in Ohio," appeared in October 1948; "The Civic

Revival in Ohio--Samuel M. Jones--The Man Without a Party,"

in January 1949; "The Civic Revival in Ohio-Reformed Business

Man: Tom L. Johnson," in April; and "The Civic Revival in Ohio

-Honest Man's Story: Frederic C. Howe," in the July issue.

Charles Morley, assistant professor of history, has been granted

a year's leave of absence to lecture in Russian history at the Uni-

versity of Wisconsin.

Harlan H. Hatcher, vice president of the university, is the

author of The Western Reserve: The Story of New Connecticut in

Ohio, published recently by Bobbs-Merrill Company.

Harold J. Grimm, professor of history, has been elected presi-

dent of the American Society for Reformation Research. He re-

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HISTORICAL NOTES                   475

 

cently published an article on "Lorenzo Valla's Christianity," in

Church History, XVIII (1949), 75-88.

 

Louis Filler, teacher of courses in American civilization and

American literature at Antioch College and also book review editor

of the Antioch Review, published an article in the Spring 1949 issue

of the Review, "Tenets of Scientific Skepticism," and contributed one

on "Edward Bellamy and the Spiritual Unrest" to the American

Journal of Economics and Sociology. A new edition of his Cru-

saders for American Liberalism  (1939) is scheduled for winter

publication by the Antioch Press. Dr. Filler read a paper, "East

and West: Liberalism in Late Nineteenth Century America," at the

April meeting of the Mississippi Valley Historical Association.

 

Hilmar G. Grimm, chairman of the department of history at

Capital University, announces the appointment of Edward F. Blount

to the department.

Wilfred E. Binkley, chairman of the department of history

and political science at Ohio Northern University, gave two grad-

uate courses this (his third successive) summer at Teachers College,

Columbia University. He will be visiting professor of political

science at Oxford University, England, for the academic year,

1949-50. An article by Dr. Binkley, "The Relation of President

and Congress," appeared in the winter issue of Parliamentary

Affairs, an English quarterly. He has also published recently with

Malcolm C. Moos of Johns Hopkins University A Grammar of

American Politics.

William Canning has resigned as instructor in history at the

University of Dayton. Bro. Richard A. Liebler has been appointed

to fill the vacancy and will divide his teaching duties between the

departments of history and political science. Wilfred J. Steiner has

been appointed acting head of the department.

 

Randolph C. Downes has been promoted to full professor of

history at the University of Toledo.

Duane D. Smith was visiting professor at West Virginia Uni-

versity during the past summer.

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