GERALD S. GREENBERG
Literary Bequests in Early Ohio Wills
Introduction
It is not surprising that besides the
family Bible, few books or libraries are
mentioned in early Ohio wills, for life
on the frontier demanded that one devote
full attention to life's essentials. For
most, this meant the acquisition of a piece
of land and the construction of a home.
It is such proprietary bequests, there-
fore, that dominate early Ohio wills.
One does discover, however, that the
early doctors and lawyers of Ohio fre-
quently made provision for the
safekeeping of their medical and legal libraries,
transferring the intellectual tools of
their trade to individuals or institutions fit
to preserve such an accumulated wealth
of knowledge. One can also find the
family of a similarly prominent, early
Ohioan who was the subject of a biogra-
pher's pen, seeking to will his
published life story to posterity.
Less frequently, but perhaps more
interestingly, early Ohioans whose indi-
vidual livelihoods did not involve the
establishment of professional libraries
also occasionally mentioned private book
collections in their wills, apparently
valuing such volumes among their most
prized possessions. On the rarest of
occasions, one finds an individual or
two who, when contemplating his immi-
nent demise, seeks to establish a
library as a gift to his fellow man.
It is the purpose of this paper to
examine those wills which contain literary
bequests and determine, if possible, the
place which literature occupied in the
life of the bequeather. The possible
influence or impact of such bequests upon
the community will also be noted.
Early Attorney/Politicians
Edward T. Denig, Red River Settlement of
the North, British Possessions requests that
his son Alexander (Ean och she or Boy of
Aone) be sent to English school at age 12,
while his daughter Sarah (Mock pe e dai
or Firey Cloud) should continue to attend
school until age 15. The children are
not to be taken to the U.S. to be educated nor taken
from their mother-better a private
teacher, perhaps Rev. Bellecour. The wife is unac-
quainted with federal money so it should
be paid to the Hudson Bay Company for use-
Gerald S. Greenberg is Reference
Librarian at The Ohio State University's Undergraduate
Library.
Literary Bequests
21
From will dated 12 Sept. 1856. Witnessed
by Joseph Dorbescue, clerk, Hudson Bay
Company.1
While the excerpt above makes no mention
of either books or libraries, it
bears witness to the value some pioneers
placed on education, even on the
remote frontier, and it was this
sentiment which would bring early book traders
and publishers to the west, providing
literature to the region's pioneer doctors,
lawyers and clergymen, as well as the
general public.
The fact that one's will is on file at
an Ohio county courthouse does not
mean that its author is a state
resident. Indeed, Edward T. Denig, whose con-
cern for the welfare of his native
American wife and their children is evident in
the passage from his will above, died
near Winnipeg, Canada, and identified his
original home as "Ft. Union of
(the) Upper Missouri." Similarly, one discovers
the 1828 will of Thomas Monteagle Bayly
(1775-1834), former congressional
representative from the state of
Virginia, on file in Franklin County, Ohio. In
this instance, however, the reason
becomes readily apparent when one reads
that Bayly owned ten thousand acres of
land in Ohio which he willed to his son
Thomas Henry. Of greater relevance for
our purposes, the elder Bayly indicates
that his son " . . is also to have
my law books . . .2 Thomas M. Bayly of
Accomac County, Virginia, graduated
Princeton College in 1794. After study-
ing law, he was admitted to the bar two
years later, and practiced in his home
county. Politically prominent, Bayly was
a member of the Virginia house of
delegates (1798-1801, 1819, 1820,
1828-1831) and the Virginia senate (1801-
1809) as well as a delegate to the state
constitutional convention in 1829 and
1830. From 1813-1815 he served in the
House of Representatives of the
Thirteenth Congress. An early
biographical directory of government figures
toasted Bayly's political success with
the comment, "It was said of him that he
never lost an election."3
Thomas Henry Bayly (1810-1856) followed
in his father's footsteps.
Inheriting the entire family estate,
Mount Custis, along with his father's law
books (his brother William, receiving no
part of the estate, was directed instead
to be sent to trade school in
Massachusetts), he graduated from the University
of Virginia at Charlottesville in 1829,
studied law, was admitted to the bar in
1830, and practiced also in Accomac
County. His political career was even
more distinguished than his father's, as
he served in the Virginia house of dele-
gates from 1836 to 1842, and was elected
judge of the superior court of law and
chancery before moving on to the House
of Representatives where he served
1. Blanche Tipton Rings, Franklin
County, Ohio Wills, unpublished manuscript, copied 1955, 29.
2. Rings, Wills, 8.
3. Charles Lanman, Biographical
Annals of the Civil Government of the United States During
its First Century (Washington, D.C., 1876), 25.
22 OHIO HISTORY
for twelve years, from 1844 until his
death in 1856. He chaired the House
Committees on Ways and Means and Foreign
Affairs at different times during
his congressional tenure.4
The will of Mrs. Eleanor W. Campbell,
signed on 6 March 1862, bequeaths
to nephews Mitchell C. and William B.
Lilley (and their families), and to the
American Colonization Society and the
Boards of Foreign and Domestic
Missions of the Presbyterian Church, one
hundred copies each of The Life of
John W. Campbell,5 her deceased husband and late Judge of the District
Court
of the United States from 1829 to 1833.
John W. Campbell (1782-1833) grew
up near Miller's Iron Works in Augusta
County, an area of Virginia quite dif-
ferent from that inhabited by Thomas
Monteagle Bayly. Yet, he was destined
for a life intimately connected to
libraries and learning. Physically unsuited for
farm labor and desirous of an education
from an early age, Campbell prevailed
upon his parents, who were of limited
means, to send him to a series of Latin
school teachers-first in Bourbon County,
Kentucky, then in Highland County,
Ohio, as his family relocated.6 Because
his father could not afford the price of
books or tuition, John Campbell worked
before and after school clearing
ground to pay expenses. In time,
Campbell became well-versed in Latin,
learned some Greek, and taught the
classics as well.
Seeking greater challenges, Campbell
moved to Morgantown, Virginia (in
modem West Virginia), in order to study
law with his uncle Thomas Wilson,
who was an attorney there. After
admission to the bar in 1808, Campbell served
as prosecuting attorney of Adams and
Highland counties. In 1811, he married
Eleanor Doak of Augusta County,
Virginia, who was to conscientiously com-
pile and publish his papers posthumously
more than two decades later. After an
unsuccessful run for the state
legislature in 1812, he won election in 1813 and
again in 1815.7 Campbell
captured a seat in the House of Representatives in 1816
which he occupied for the next ten
years. He proved to be a moderate supporter
of Andrew Jackson, studiously avoiding
the vituperative partisanship which char-
acterized many congressional sessions of
those years.
While not among the most vociferous of
congressmen, John W. Campbell
had occasion during his tenure of office
to participate in more than one debate
concerning access to written
information. In these instances, Rep. Campbell
consistently championed the cause of
informational freedom.
4. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress 1777-1989 (Washington, D.C., 1989),
592.
5. Rings, Wills, 19.
6. See John Wilson Campbell, Biographical
Sketches: With Other Literary Remains of the Late
John Campbell (Columbus, Ohio, 1838), 1-13. The collection of
articles was compiled by
Campbell's widow.
7. Dictionary of American Biography,
vol. II (New York, 1964),
459-60.
Literary Bequests 23 |
|
Championing Informational Access
On 21 January 1823, the Speaker of the House of Representatives placed before the body a letter from the official House printers, Gales & Seaton, requesting an inquiry into charges which had been brought against them alleg- ing censorship of public documents.8 An anonymous letter to the Washington Republican newspaper contended that the printers had suppressed portions of documents which cast aspersions upon the integrity of Secretary of the Treasury William Crawford. Crawford had been called upon to account for all the transactions he had made with banks holding deposits from the sale of pub- lic lands. After Henry Dwight of Massachusetts introduced a resolution calling for the formation of a committee to investigate the charges, and Peter Little of Maryland argued against the necessity of such action (based as it was upon an anonymous letter in a newspaper), John Campbell addressed the House.
8. Annals of Congress, 17th Cong., 2nd Sess., 652. |
24 OHIO HISTORY
Attempting to impress upon Rep. Little
the seriousness of the matter, Campbell
stated that he had taken the trouble to
inspect the document in question. It was a
letter from one W. R. Dickinson, cashier
of the bank of Steubenville (in
Campbell's home state, though not his
district). While there was no way of
knowing whether the information was
suppressed inadvertently or by design,
"It was due to all who could be suspected
of this suppression, that it should be
inquired into."9 In
addition, Campbell characterized as "shameful" any attempt
to defraud the House of Representatives
in such a manner. (After further discus-
sion, an investigatory committee was
formed with Henry Dwight as a member.)
On 3 February 1823, Campbell introduced
a joint resolution calling for dis-
tribution of the Digest of the
Returns of the Manufactures and Manufacturing
Establishments of the United States which had been commissioned by the
Secretary of State.10 The matter was not taken up until February 7
when
Campbell proposed to amend the original
resolution by providing that the
digest be added to the Library of
Congress. At this point Robert Wright of
Maryland took the opportunity to attack
the digest itself as inaccurate and mis-
leading, an opinion seconded by both
Francis Baylies of Massachusetts and
John Cocke of Tennessee, who felt that
the manufacturing strength of their
respective districts was not reflected
in the digest. Campbell, supported by
Timothy Fuller of Massachusetts,
maintained that any inaccuracies were
attributable to the refusal of some
manufacturers to respond to the survey.
Furthermore, Campbell contended, in a
statement supporting the sentiments of
John Taylor of New York, that, "If
there is any information in it (the digest), let
us send it out."12 Wright
and Cocke, however, were joined by Walter Patterson
of New York and Thomas Mitchell of South
Carolina in further decrying the
shortcomings of the digest.
Consequently, the resolution urging its distribution
(1,500 copies had already been printed)
was tabled.13
After leaving Congress in 1827, Campbell
moved from his home in West
Union, Adams County, to a farm in
neighboring Brown County in southwest-
ern Ohio. During his period of residence
in Brown County, Campbell became
involved in the issue of public
education. In an article he wrote entitled
"Common Schools,"14 Campbell
countered several arguments made by those
who found reason to oppose the public
schools. To those older citizens with no
school-age children who balked at
supporting schools for others, Campbell
stated that, "The whole Republic is
deeply interested in the education of every
son and daughter . . ." Some
citizens maintained that children were needed at
9. Annals, 655.
10. Annals, 794.
11. Annals, 888.
12. Annals, 889.
13. Annals, 889.
14. Campbell, Biographical Sketches, 188-91.
Literary Bequests 25
home to help with the chores. Campbell
urged that all children should "be
taught to read at the earliest day
possible, when their services at home are of lit-
tle account .. ," adding that
"To restrain a child from going to school until he
is ten or twelve, is an act of cruelty
scarcely pardonable," because he will feel
distinctly out-of-place among younger,
but educationally more advanced
students.
Indeed, a friend, writing about Campbell
after his death, emphasized his
commitment to the common schools as well
as his plan for a public lyceum
(ultimately unrealized).15 Campbell,
whose published life story would be men-
tioned among his widow's most valued
possessions in her will, was a man
whose life was built around books and
learning, and he did all he could to
improve other's access to the same. It
is ironic that, after being named District
Judge of the United States for the state
of Ohio in 1829, Campbell was to move
to Columbus in order to have ready
access "to the State and other libraries, in
the prosecution of his literary
studies"16--a move which was to result in his
death (following soon after that of his
adopted daughter) during the great
cholera epidemic of 1833. (Joseph N.
Campbell, John's brother, and a county
judge, also died of cholera that
summer.)17
Library Builders
A mere twelve days before Eleanor Doak
Campbell signed her will, one
James Simpson of Hamilton County
completed his. Simpson, an inmate at the
Ohio Penitentiary, willed half his
worldly wealth to the Children's Aid Society
in order to help the children of the
destitute by providing them with suitable
homes where they could be raised
according to Christian and moral doctrine.
The other half was to be used to
"benefit in some small degree . . my fellow
men confined with me in prison" by
purchasing books for a circulating library,
providing the legislature matched his
donation.18 Should the legislature refuse
to do so, the money should be given to
the Orphan's Home or the Protestant
Society for support of orphan children
in Columbus. Simpson firmly believed
that the proverbial ounce of prevention
was worth a pound of cure: ". . the ways
of the transgressor is <sic> hard
and .. the effort to save children from the
haunts of wickedness are far more
efficacious than any effort can possibly be to
reform those already steeped in its
iniquity."19
In actuality, there was a prison library
in the Ohio Penitentiary as early as
1851, under the supervision of the
prison chaplain.20 Its condition, however,
15. Campbell, Biographical Sketches, 272-73.
16. Campbell, Biographical Sketches,
8.
17. Campbell, Biographical Sketches, 275-79.
18. Rings, Wills 104.
19. Rings, Wills, 104.
20. The following account of the prison
library is based on George Cole, "A History of the
26 OHIO
HISTORY
was abysmal. In 1852, the library
circulated eight hundred nearly-worn-out vol-
umes-all of a religious or didactic
nature. The state legislature appropriated
three hundred dollars in 1855, helping
to boost the library holdings to 6,600
books. The books themselves,
unfortunately, remained pedantic. For the next
eight years the prison library
languished. Eighty-five percent of the library's
books deteriorated to the point where
they were unfit for circulation. James
Simpson's bequest of 1862 accurately
reflected the serious need to revitalize
and upgrade the library. One year after
Simpson's death the Ohio General
Assembly appropriated seven hundred
dollars for new books. Simpson's will
may not have prompted the legislative
action, but it certainly highlighted a gen-
uine problem. Sadly, the cycle was to
repeat itself in future years. A sudden
infusion of funds would improve the
collection one year, only to see the situa-
tion deteriorate due to neglect in the
following years. Some gradual improve-
ments did occur as popular magazines and
newspapers were added to the
collection by the 1880s, and a librarian
was placed in charge of the library
when the position of chaplain was
abolished in 1885.21
Early Ohio physicians, as well as
attorneys, were more likely than the aver-
age citizen to possess and bequeath a
collection of books. On June 4, 1872, one
William Yantis, of New Albany in
Franklin County, bequeathed to his daugh-
ter, Elizabeth Wilder, his personal
property which consisted "in part of one
cupboard, one chest, two boxes of
saddles and harness makers <sic> tools and
one small trunk full of books, and also
such surgical instruments that is <sic> in
the chest above mentioned."22 Similarly,
John S. Metzger's will of 30
November 1880 bequeaths his library to
his wife Eliza.23
Born in Hanover, Pennsylvania, John S.
Metzger became one of Columbiana
County's leading physicians.24 Paul
Metzger, John's paternal grandfather, emi-
grated to America from Germany. Jacob,
John's father, was one of Hanover's
prominent merchants. John studied
medicine under Professor James Miller of
Baltimore, Maryland, graduating from
Baltimore Medical College in 1827. He
practiced medicine in Huntingdon and
Hanover before moving to Columbiana
County in 1851. Before giving up his
practice due to ill health several years
before his death, Metzger "ranked
second to none" in his field. He was also rec-
ognized as one of the founding fathers
of Columbiana County's early develop-
ment.25
Ohio Penitentiary From 1850 to
1900." (M.A. thesis, Ohio State University, 1941), 66-69.
21. Cole, "Ohio Penitentiary,"
69.
22. Ohio Daughters of the American
Revolution, "Ohio Wills." Unpublished collection of eight
wills, 1977, 2.
23. Carol Willsey Bell, Columbiana
County, Ohio Record of Wills, vol.6 (Youngstown, Ohio,
1984), 20. Metzger's name appears as
"Metzgar" in copy of will, but as "Metzger" in county
history.
24. The following account is from
William B. McCord, ed., History of Columbiana County,
Ohio and Representative Citizens (Chicago, 1905), 687-88.
25. McCord, Columbiana County, 688.
Literary Bequests
27
The estate of Aaron M. Church of
Coshocton County was disposed of not by
will but by public auction held on 3
July 1815. A well-educated lawyer from
New England and early settler of
Coshocton County, Aaron Church might con-
ceivably have risen to political office
or the judiciary as did Thomas Bayly and
John Campbell; however "dissipation
and neglect of business reduced him to a
needy condition."26 He died
in the spring of 1816 of "cold plague," vacating
the office of prosecuting attorney.
Coshocton went without a resident lawyer
for five years until William G. Carhart
opened a practice in 1821.
The bill of sale filed with the
Coshocton County clerk's office by Samuel Lee,
administrator of Aaron Church's estate,
reveals that the most valuable items
proved to be two manuscript volumes
bought by one Wright Warner for six dol-
lars.27 Next in value were
two pair of silk stockings, a violin and a flannel coat.
Perhaps future researchers might
discover the nature of the two manuscript vol-
umes, or, even more interestingly, how a
promising, well-educated, frontier
lawyer could meet such a quick and
untimely end.
In a will dated 14 January 1856, Charles
E. Perigo, late of "Vistula
Addition," Toledo, bequeathed to
his brother, Lorin Perigo of Cincinnati, his
"double barrel fowling piece with
case, flask pouch . . . also such books as he
may select from my library."28
If for no other reason, Charles Perigo's will is
noteworthy because its author was
neither an attorney nor a physician (nor, for
that matter, a prisoner), but rather, a
nurseryman. Charles Perigo operated a
nursery along with partners A.W.
Maddocks and Fred Prentice on the east side
of the Maumee River.29 The
business, originally begun as Maddocks + Son in
1845 (the first exclusive nursery
business on the Maumee), was built on land
owned by Prentice. They raised and sold
apple and pear trees as well as orna-
mentals, vegetables and other plants.
In an interesting aside, apparently
Perigo's will was penned well in advance
of his demise, for one discovers a
Charles E. Perigo of Toledo presiding as sec-
retary at the Friends of Temperance in
Fulton and Lucas Counties convention
held at Swanton on 15 September 1863.30 (There is no indication whether the
Perigo library consisted primarily of
horticultural and/or temperance volumes,
or other literature.)
The will of William Augustus White,
signed 2 January 1864, found its way
to Lucas County by virtue of land owned
by its author in Toledo. A manufac-
26. N.N. Hill, Jr. History of
Coshocton County, Ohio: 1740-1881, Its Past and Present
(Newark, Ohio, 1881), 309.
27. Helen Meredith, "Coshocton
County, Ohio Marriages 1811-1837 and Wills 1811-1852."
Unpublished, undated collection, 33.
28. Harry S. Blaine, et al., Abstracts
of Lucas County, Ohio Wills 1836-1874 (Toledo, 1954), 52.
29. Clark Waggoner, ed., History of
the City of Toledo and Lucas County (New York, 1888),
709.
30. Waggoner, Toledo and Lucas
County, 799.
28 OHIO HISTORY
turer of hatters' furs, White also owned
land in the New York City boroughs of
Manhattan and Brooklyn (where he
resided), Chicago, St. Louis, Philadelphia,
Mobile and Danbury, Connecticut (his
native city). White's loyalty to his
hometown brings him to the attention of
this study, for it is expressed in the
form of a ten thousand dollar bequest
earmarked for the establishment of a
library to serve the citizens of
Danbury.31
White's posthumous gift was the first in
a series of philanthropic acts by the
White family over a period of fourteen
years which resulted in the establish-
ment, construction, and furbishing of
the Danbury Library. After receipt of
William Augustus White's ten thousand
dollar bequest five years after his
death (as specified in his will), the
Connecticut legislature formally incorporat-
ed the Danbury Library in 1869.32 The
next year, Alexander Moss White,
brother of the deceased, gave to the
library the White family home on Main
Street as well as a plot of land upon
which to erect a new library building. At
the same time, Alexander and a third
brother, George Granville White, each
donated five thousand dollars toward
construction of the new library building.
Alexander also pledged five hundred
dollars toward repair and furnishing of the
family home for library purposes. An
additional five hundred dollars was
donated by Alexander in 1871 for the
purchase of books.
Between 1876 and 1878 the White brothers
contributed nearly forty thou-
sand dollars more in order to establish
the Danbury Library in its new home.
Completed in 1879 from plans provided by
Lamb & Wheeler of Newark, New
Jersey, the library was opened to subscribers
who paid $1.50 each for its use. In
1893, Alexander White and his children
enabled the library to become free to
the public by donating an additional
forty-four thousand dollars for a third
building. The number of library patrons
increased from 320 to 2300 within the
year.
Alexander White's son, given the same
name as his uncle, William
Augustus, would ensure that his family's
relationship to the world of libraries
and literature would not be only
philanthropic in nature. Born in 1843, the
younger William Augustus, after a
Harvard education, joined the family busi-
ness, eventually becoming a trustee of
the Washington Water Power Company
in 1897. It is, however, as an
internationally-known bibliophile that William
Augustus, the younger, built upon the
civic accomplishments initiated by his
namesake.33 While the
generosity of the uncle would ultimately render accessi-
ble to the local community the world of
literature, the nephew became a schol-
arly, private collector of rare
Elizabethan literary manuscripts. Among his
holdings were the First Quartos of
Shakespeare's Love's Labour Lost (1598),
31. Blaine, Wills, 75.
32. "The Danbury Library,"
unpublished, undated factsheet furnished by the library.
33. National Cyclopaedia
of American Biography, vol. 34, 421.
Literary Bequests
29
Troilus and Cressida (1609), Othello (1622), and the Sonnets (1609).
His col-
lection also included works by Marlowe,
Jonson, Milton and Blake. In Europe
as well as America White's opinions
concerning rare volumes were considered
authoritative.
In the fall of 1915, as the 300th
anniversary of William Shakespeare's death
approached, W.A. White suggested to
Henrietta C. Bartlett, cataloger of his pri-
vate collection, that an exhibition of
books by and about the great dramatist
might be arranged to commemorate the
occasion.34 White's own collection, as
well as the New York Public Library's,
formed the heart of the exhibition
which was held from 2 April until 15
July 1916 and drew over 66,000 visitors.
Because the British Museum's Shakespeare
collection (the world's best) and
most other British collections are
publicly owned, and therefore could not be
loaned, the New York exhibition was
believed to be "the finest collection of
books relating to Shakespeare which was
ever brought together in one place."35
In 1926, one year before White's death,
Pynson Printers of New York pub-
lished the Catalogue of Early English
Books, Chiefly of the Elizabethan Period,
collected by William Augustus White and
cataloged by Henrietta C. Bartlett.
Both Harvard and Princeton universities
received parts of this collection fol-
lowing White's death in 1927. Harvard,
White's alma mater (class of 1863),
received eighty-eight volumes valued
then at $420,000.00, the most precious of
which were a 1599 second edition of Romeo
and Juliet (twelve copies known
to exist); the 1598 edition of Love's
Labour Lost (eleven copies known); and a
1600 edition of Much Ado About
Nothing (sixteen copies known). Princeton
received a fine first folio of
Shakespeare known as the Ives copy.
Doctor Abraham Simon Wolf Rosenbach
selected the volumes for Harvard,
choosing those which were most needed to
further enhance the university's
already substantial research
capabilities. Rosenbach characterized White's
holdings as the last great Shakespeare
collection in private hands.36 The addi-
tion of White's volumes allowed Harvard
to claim ownership of more than half
of Shakespeare's earlier (pre-1640)
plays, and over three quarters of those
issued between 1640 and 1703. In
addition, the university now owned enough
plays by John Dryden, Nahum Tate and
other playwrights who based their
works on Shakespeare to support advanced
scholarship in that area of drama.
Rosenbach also noted that a set of
drawings by William Blake illustrating
Edward Young's Night Thoughts was
to be presented by the White estate to the
34. Henrietta C. Bartlett, Mr.
William Shakespeare: Original and Early Editions of His Quartos
and Folios His Source Books and Those
Containing Contemporary Notices (New
Haven, 1922),
xiii.
35. Bartlett, Mr. William
Shakespeare, xxiii.
36. "Guns Guard Books on Way to
Harvard," New York Times, June 22, 1928, 1.
30 OHIO HISTORY
British Museum. He considered this to be
the greatest literary/artistic gift ever
made by an American to a British
institution.
Princeton University President John
Grier Hibben, whose institution award-
ed White an honorary Litt.D. degree in
1926, noted that generosity such as
White's was rare among collectors.
Hibben lauded the manner in which White
opened his collection "with a liberal
hand to the use of scholars, young and
old." White's contributions to
learning, stated Hibben, "had helped to spread
about that culture of the mind and taste
without which our vast accumulation of
wealth and power will be but vanity and
vexation of spirit."37
Generosity is a term appropriately
applied to both William Augustus White
the elder, whose bequest made the world
of literature available to thousands of
residents in his native city of Danbury,
Connecticut, as well as his nephew and
namesake, William Augustus White the
younger, whose rare collected volumes
were rendered accessible to future
generations of scholarly researchers. The
White's benevolence serve the interests
of both the general reading public and
the literary specialist, as both gifts
keep on giving. The Danville Library contin-
ues to serve new members of the
community, while literary scholars proceed to
research and write, adding to our
existing knowledge of Elizabethan drama.
Library Vaults
On 3 October 1845, over seventeen years
before his death on 7 January
1863, Elisha Whittlesey of Canfield
Township, Mahoning County, willed his
public documents and newspapers to
Western Reserve College in Hudson,
Ohio. Whittlesey, who served in the
House of Representatives for fifteen years,
was afraid his papers might be scattered
and misplaced if deposited in a private
library. He also sought to benefit
posterity "under a full conviction that the
want of intelligence among the rising
generations, of the political history of the
country and the theory of this
government endangers the union of the states."38
Elisha Whittlesey, prominent pioneer
statesman of northern Ohio, was born
in Washington, Connecticut, 9 October
1783. He was educated in the law in
Danbury, and practiced as an attorney in
Fairfield County. Moving to Ohio in
1806, Whittlesey became prosecuting
attorney of Mahoning County. He served
under General William Henry Harrison
during the War of 1812, rising to the
rank of major. Entering politics, he
served in the Ohio house of representatives
in 1820 and 1821; in Congress as
representative from Ohio from 1823 to 1838
where he chaired the Committee on
Claims; as Sixth Auditor of the Treasury
from 1841 until 1843; and as Controller
of the Treasury under Presidents
Zachary Taylor, Millard Fillmore and
Abraham Lincoln.
37. "William A. White of Brooklyn
Dead," New York Times, May 7, 1927. 17.
38. Blaine, Wills, 76.
Literary Bequests 31 |
|
Ironically, Whittlesey has been largely ignored by historical researchers, although he was meticulous about documenting his own public activities in addition to preserving the historical records of others. Unfortunately, the request Whittlesey made in his 1845 will regarding the disposition of his papers was not honored. Rather than deposit his documents in the Western Reserve archives, Whittlesey's heirs constructed a vault on the family estate in order to house the collection.39 One might say that Whittlesey's family attempted to comply at least partially with the spirit of the deceased's request, for the volu- minous collection of papers was kept together in a safe, secure fire-proof struc- ture. At least one of Elisha Whittlesey's fears, however, was realized as a result of his family's decision-his papers benefitted no one for many years, princi- pally because researchers were unaware of their existence. In this sense, it could be said that Whittlesey's papers were truly misplaced. The collection was essentially locked up and forgotten. William Whittlesey, Elisha's son and executor of the estate, died in 1890, apparently without providing for future care of his father's documents. The Whittlesey property was sold, and the new owners allowed souvenir hunters to take parts of the collection. It was not until
39. The story of Whittlesey's personal papers is found in Kenneth Edward Davidson, "Forgotten Ohioan: Elisha Whittlesey, 1783-1863," (Ph.D. dissertation, Western Reserve University, 1953), 203-07. |
32 OHIO HISTORY
late in 1899 that the Whittlesey vault
was brought to the attention of historians.
On December 5 C.H. Gallup of the
Firelands Historical Society and Dr.
Jackson Truesdale, a Mahoning County
contemporary of Elisha Whittlesey
with an historic interest in the papers,
examined the collection. They found it
mildewed and dusty but ordered. Gallup
selected almost three hundred papers
for addition to the Firelands Historical
Society collection. In 1908 Wallace H.
Cathcart and A.M. Dyer of the Western
Reserve Historical Society learned of
the existence of the Whittlesey papers.
After protracted investigation, they
located the collection in a Cleveland
warehouse. George Whittlesey, Elisha's
grandson, had taken possession of the
papers, protecting them against possible
destruction (reportedly suggested by
other relatives); George's death trans-
ferred control of the collection to his
widow who, glad to be rid of the papers as
well as the associated insurance and
storage fees, turned it over to Cathcart.
The Western Reserve Historical Society
began examining the collection in
1922. It consists of fifteen cartons,
each containing an average of 3,500
manuscripts. Account books, maps,
newspaper clippings, treasury records, war
documents and letters can be found in
the collection. Additional scattered
Whittlesey manuscripts are held in other
Ohio locales as well as New York and
Washington D.C. The Ohio Historical
Society collection in Columbus contains
eight Whittlesey letters of a political
nature spanning the years 1815-1860.
Elisha Whittlesey was a meticulous
chronicler of his times, conscientiously
devoted to exactness in record keeping.
He regularly purchased books at shops
and auctions to add to his library, and
history was a passion of his.40 As a trea-
sury official Whittlesey was diligent in
exposing government wastefulness
which cost the taxpayers money. In a
published letter he derided senators
whose continuous, unnecessary
adjournments scandalously shortened their
workday. Such behavior, to Whittlesey,
was a travesty, comparable to outright
bribery.41 The public would
undoubtedly benefit if there were more Whittleseys
watching over the government coffers.
Similarly, future researchers of nine-
teenth century American government will be
thankful for Whittlesey's thorough
documentation of his era, much of which,
in the end, was preserved, though the
preservation process was a bit more
circuitous than Whittlesey would have
wished.
One prominent early Ohioan specifically
requested the type of protection for
his library that was later afforded
Elisha Whittlesey's. While Whittlesey want-
ed his papers deposited directly in the
Western Reserve College Library, John
A. Fulton, pioneer surveyor and early
mayor of Chillicothe, preferred the
approach adopted by Whittlesey's family.
In a will dated 15 November 1840,
Fulton asked his executors "to
remove a small frame house standing on lot
40. Davidson, "Forgotten
Ohioan," 192-93.
41. New York Times, Dec.
10, 1856, 1.
Literary Bequests
33
#162 . .and fit it for reception of my
books which are to be kept for family
use.42 Anticipating the
possible movement of his family to Fayette County,
Fulton further specified that, should
the move occur, a building should be erect-
ed at the new location to house his
collection.
A native of Lancaster County,
Pennsylvania, Fulton moved to Chillicothe
with his wife Lavinia in 1802. He worked
as a surveyor in the Virginia Military
District, covering several Ohio
counties. Some of his work was to have historic
significance: his surveying formed the
basis of the lines drawn in the Greenville
Treaty with the Indians, as well as the
boundary between the states of Ohio and
Indiana.43 In addition to
serving as mayor of Chillicothe (1828-'29, '31-'32),
Fulton was active in education as
chairman of the Scioto Township school
directors.44 Unfortunately,
there is no indication whether Fulton's executors
honored the request regarding his
library.
While most of the persons discussed
above were citizens of local or national
prominence, literary bequests were not
limited solely to those whose status
enabled them to acquire their own
libraries. In fact, we have seen that two of
the previous ten bequests examined were
attempts to establish for others that
which they themselves did not possess-a
library. If we accept in the present
study those bequests which mention
family record books and bibles as well as
educational and literary-related items,
our sample broadens appreciably to
include Lt. William S. Bush of the U.S.
Frigate Constitution, Chesapeake Bay.
In a will dated 12 July 1812, Lt. Bush
bequeathed to his friend and mess mate,
Lt. John Conte, his portable writing
desk.45 We might also mention John Sharp
of Madison Township. Sharp's will of I
May 1863 speaks of his daughter
Huldah who died in childbirth, but whose
child, Mary Adaline, lived to be
recorded in his family book.46
Religious works, commonly mentioned in
early Ohio wills, attest to the faith
of the midwestern pioneer. John Starr of
Montgomery Township, in a will
signed 30 October 1834, bequeathed to
each of his eleven children one bible
and one Presbyterian Church confession
of faith.47 Similarly, Edward Murry of
Columbiana County, on 7 July 1880,
willed his bible and one hundred dollars
to one Frank Sheehan.48 Early
Ross County citizens John Winder and Clarina
Backus also mentioned spiritual
literature in their wills. Winder left his daugh-
ter, Sarah Kerns, the family bible in
his will dated 22 February 1819,49 while
42. Abstract of Wills, Ross County,
Ohio, unpublished manuscript, undated manuscript, 611
(hereafter cited as AWRCO).
43. Ross County Ohio Families (Chillicothe,
1976), 85.
44. The Scioto Gazette, Feb. 7,
1828, 1, carried Fulton's call for a meeting of directors of all
common schools to be held at the
Chillicothe Court House.
45. Rings, Wills, 17.
46. Rings, Wills, 101.
47. Rings, Wills, 112.
48. Bell, Columbiana County, 1.
49. AWRCO, 125.
34 OHIO HISTORY
Backus provided for a donation to be
made to the American Bible Society in
her will dated 24 June 1831.50
A few other literary bequests may be
found while scanning will collections,
but they are scattered and not very
different in kind from those already dis-
cussed. All the bequests encountered
raised natural questions: What sort of per-
son made this bequest? Why was the
bequest made? What effect did the
bequest have? In attempting to answer
these and related questions, the
researcher is taken in many different
directions. As the original investigation
expands, a biographical and social
history unfolds which inevitably raises new
questions for further research. In the
end, the literary bequest proves an inter-
esting entry point for examination of an
era's cultural history.
50. AWRCO, 307.
GERALD S. GREENBERG
Literary Bequests in Early Ohio Wills
Introduction
It is not surprising that besides the
family Bible, few books or libraries are
mentioned in early Ohio wills, for life
on the frontier demanded that one devote
full attention to life's essentials. For
most, this meant the acquisition of a piece
of land and the construction of a home.
It is such proprietary bequests, there-
fore, that dominate early Ohio wills.
One does discover, however, that the
early doctors and lawyers of Ohio fre-
quently made provision for the
safekeeping of their medical and legal libraries,
transferring the intellectual tools of
their trade to individuals or institutions fit
to preserve such an accumulated wealth
of knowledge. One can also find the
family of a similarly prominent, early
Ohioan who was the subject of a biogra-
pher's pen, seeking to will his
published life story to posterity.
Less frequently, but perhaps more
interestingly, early Ohioans whose indi-
vidual livelihoods did not involve the
establishment of professional libraries
also occasionally mentioned private book
collections in their wills, apparently
valuing such volumes among their most
prized possessions. On the rarest of
occasions, one finds an individual or
two who, when contemplating his immi-
nent demise, seeks to establish a
library as a gift to his fellow man.
It is the purpose of this paper to
examine those wills which contain literary
bequests and determine, if possible, the
place which literature occupied in the
life of the bequeather. The possible
influence or impact of such bequests upon
the community will also be noted.
Early Attorney/Politicians
Edward T. Denig, Red River Settlement of
the North, British Possessions requests that
his son Alexander (Ean och she or Boy of
Aone) be sent to English school at age 12,
while his daughter Sarah (Mock pe e dai
or Firey Cloud) should continue to attend
school until age 15. The children are
not to be taken to the U.S. to be educated nor taken
from their mother-better a private
teacher, perhaps Rev. Bellecour. The wife is unac-
quainted with federal money so it should
be paid to the Hudson Bay Company for use-
Gerald S. Greenberg is Reference
Librarian at The Ohio State University's Undergraduate
Library.