Ohio History Journal

RESEARCH IN STATE HISTORY: ITS

PROBLEMS AND OPPORTUNITIES*

By

DR. ASA EARL MARTIN

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS

The purpose of my paper is to discuss some of the

problems connected with state history. I assume that

my audience is composed of those who have more than

a passing interest in this topic and that they are pri-

marily concerned with the questions which history teach-

ers, historical writers, and the local historical societies

face every day. For that reason I have made no effort

to select dramatic incidents with which to entertain

you or to upset the conventional attitude toward im-

portant historical events and characters.

I shall content myself with an attempt, first, to dis-

cuss some of the causes of the decline, in recent years,

of interest in local history and to suggest some ways

by which this tendency can be counteracted; second, to

point out a few of the possibilities for research work

in state and local history; third, to enumerate some of

the problems with which the research worker in state

history must contend; and fourth, to emphasize the

need for a greater degree of coordination in research

work to prevent duplication and the loss of time, effort,

and money.

* An address delivered at the annual meeting of the Ohio State Arch-

aeological and Historical Society, April 30, 1931.

(565)

566      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

I am sure that every one who has delved in state

history is impressed with the number and the va-

riety of subjects for research that suggest themselves to

him. Moreover, he must notice that too many of our

histories have been written from the Congressional

records and the Executive papers of the national gov-

ernment, paying too little attention to the conditions in

the local communities that have been dominant factors in

determining the conduct and the attitude of govern-

mental officials.

That most of my illustrations are drawn from per-

sonal experiences in the field of Pennsylvania history is

due not to a desire to emphasize my own work or any

accomplishments in this field in Pennsylvania, but to the

fact that I am better acquainted with conditions there

than elsewhere.  My knowledge of research work in

Ohio is so limited that I shall make no attempt to square

my observations and suggestions with conditions in your

State. My remarks apply to state history in general

and not to what has or has not been done in Ohio. No

doubt Pennsylvania, despite her extreme age, has much

more to learn from Ohio, in the field of general historical

activity, than Ohio can glean from Pennsylvania.

RESEARCH IN STATE HISTORY: ITS

PROBLEMS AND OPPORTUNITIES

From the beginning the relationships between the

various states of our Union have been closely inter-

woven; and, whether we wish to recognize it or not,

the history of any one state cannot be rightly portrayed

as a separate and independent entity. This is peculiarly

true with reference to Ohio and the states that lie con-

tiguous to her borders. During the early years of her

existence, her settlement and her progress were de-

termined largely by the successive waves of home seekers

from the older communities to the East. Especially

noteworthy were the contributions from my own State

of Pennsylvania. As a matter of fact, Ohio's first terri-

torial delegate to Congress and her first judge were

Pennsylvanians by birth, as were three of her governors

before 1860. At no time during the first half-century

of her existence as a state was her Legislature without

a considerable number of Pennsylvanians in its ranks,

the percentage usually running from 20 to 37. Of the

62 Ohio Representatives in Congress before 1840, eight-

een came from Pennsylvania as contrasted with eight

from Virginia and eight from Connecticut. Further-

more, at the middle of the century 200,000 of her in-

habitants were emigrants from Pennsylvania. In like

manner New England, New York, and Virginia, made

their respective contributions to the progress of Ohio,

which in her turn in due time sent thousands upon thou-

sands of her native sons into Michigan, Indiana, Illinois,

(567)

Research in State History      569

Indians, and to establish permanent settlements, they

merely transplanted to their new homes the govern-

mental, economic, social, and cultural institutions to

which they were accustomed in their former abodes.

In spite of the fact that the frontier line as conceived

by the Census Bureau has long since disappeared, the

population of the country has remained extremely

mobile.  Indeed, approximately one-fifth of the in-

habitants of the nation today live in states other than

those in which they were born. Over fifty per cent of

the population of ten western states were born else-

where. Although the movement has continued to be

primarily from east to west, there has been in recent

years a general shifting of population in all directions.

The experience of my own family is not dissimilar to

that of hundreds of thousands of other families, and it

illustrates the present tendency in population changes.

Of my immediate family only one remains today in Mis-

souri, our native State, and his residence is far removed

from the community in which our parents spent their

lives. Of the other members of the family one sister

has a home in Kansas, another lives in Chicago, a brother

has established himself in Cleveland, and I am located in

Pennsylvania.

Of far greater significance than the shifting of the

native population from one community to another has

been the incoming of millions of immigrants, who today

constitute approximately one-seventh of the whole popu-

lation, an equal number of whom are children of foreign-

born parents. In two sections of the country, New

England and the Middle Atlantic states, the foreign-born

and those of mixed parentage actually comprise a ma-

570     Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

jority of the population; and similar conditions prevail

in practically all the industrial centers in other parts of

the country. Thus the old racial stock which con-

stituted the bulk of the population before the 'eighties

of the last century has come to be outnumbered in many

sections of the country and its influence greatly mini-

mized everywhere by the immigration from eastern and

southern Europe, whose traditions and interests are

essentially different from those of the early racial

groups.

From the point of view of my paper the significance

of these changes lies in the fact that the inhabitants

of an increasing number of communities have little or

no contact through family or other relations with the

people who settled the region and established the eco-

nomic, political, and cultural institutions under which

they live today. To them the local history, rich in tradi-

tions and achievements, is of only passing interest; and

therefore much of it is being irrevocably lost.

Closely associated with these changes in population

and the consequent lack of interest on the part of the

inhabitants of individual communities in the historical

heritage with which each is bountifully endowed, are

many other tendencies which contribute toward the same

end. Chief among these has been the economic revolu-

tion and the industrialization of the country.  For one

thing, the comparatively small manufacturing and busi-

ness establishment, owned and operated by a single indi-

vidual who lived in the immediate vicinity and identified

his interests with those of the community, has been

replaced by the modern corporation with its hundreds

of thousands of stock-holders or owners and its numer-

Research in State History        571

ous subsidiary plants located in different sections of the

country. Both in obtaining raw materials for these

large companies and in marketing the finished products

the field of operation has become national and, in many

instances, international. Thus the whole atmosphere

of business has been altered, and the historic significance

of localities in the minds of those who dominate their

economic life has been minimized almost to the vanish-

ing point. No less striking has been the transformation

of the economic and social life of rural communities and

the small non-industrial towns. Improved means of

transportation and communication have obliterated dis-

tance and brought the hitherto isolated sections into

intimate contact with the larger centers of population.

At the same time, the automobile, the development of

mail-order business, the spread of chain stores, and the

replacement of the small independent business by the

more efficient industrial corporation have tended to wipe

out the great middle class, which since the founding of

the first colonies along the Atlantic seaboard has been

the outstanding characteristic of American life.

These transformations in the economic life of the

country have made necessary radical alterations in the

scope and the functions of the various governmental

units. No longer able to cope satisfactorily with the

problems of the new industrial order the local and the

state governments have all suffered a gradual decline

in their powers, while the Federal government at Wash-

ington has experienced a corresponding enlargement of

its sphere of activities.

If it is true, as I have indicated, that there are cer-

tain tendencies in our economic and political system

572      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

working toward a loss of interest on the part of the

majority of our people in state and local history, then

it is high time for those of us who pretend to be his-

torically-minded to exert ourselves in a determined at-

tempt to counteract the movement. Aside from the

academic interest of the historian in the question, there

is ample justification for a renewed effort to preserve

properly our history and to arouse the public to a full

appreciation of its importance. Daniel Webster once

remarked, "The man who feels no sentiment of venera-

tion for the memory of his forefathers, who has no natu-

ral regard for his ancestors, or his kindred, is himself

unworthy of kindred regard or remembrance." Indeed,

what history teaches us before all else is our own ante-

cedents. The more they know of the history of a

locality, the more the people will love it and stand up

for it, not for what it is, but for what their predecessors

have done and suffered to make it what it is. Thus,

whatever tends to unravel the true motives of men and

their deeds clothes the past with living interest, for a

faithful record of the past will mirror forth its manners,

customs, and principles and serve to increase veneration

for the men and women who moulded the institutions

under which we live. Aside from the debt which we owe

our heroic forefathers, however, a knowledge of local

history will inevitably instil into us all a greater degree

of loyalty to our respective communities and a more

genuine devotion to their best interests than can be other-

wise obtained.

Beyond a doubt this can be most successfully accom-

plished through the public school system. Indeed, we

must look to the present and future generations for the

Research in State History        573

preservation of the rich historical heritage of this and

other states. Hence, its significance must be impressed

on the minds of the youth of the land. The task is not

really as difficult as one might expect, for to the average

child history begins in his immediate environment.

Therefore, logically and properly his instruction in his-

tory should commence with those incidents of immediate

concern to him about which he has some knowledge. As

his perspective broadens, the historical data given to him

can gradually include the county, the state, the nation,

and ultimately the world. As a matter of fact, regard-

less of the centralizing tendencies of the present age, it

is with the local interests that most of us are primarily

concerned. The bulk of the laws under which we live

and labor are made by the municipality, the county, and

the state. The church and the school, those dominant

influences in shaping the character of the people in every

community, are local in origin, and the economic well-

being of any section of the country is inextricably in-

volved in its roads and other means of communication,

in the markets for surplus produce, and in the facilities

for purchasing the necessities of life.

Therefore, since it is true that the history of each

individual community is interwoven with that of the

state and the nation, the history of the country as

taught in the elementary and high schools should take

cognizance of that fact. Even a superficial examination

of the high school and grade school text-books most

commonly used in the United States indicates the scant

attention given to local questions. As a matter of fact,

the publishing houses often determine by their texts the

courses of study in our public schools instead of allow-

574      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

ing the courses of study to determine the nature of the

books to be printed. Since these companies are inter-

ested primarily in obtaining books that will have a uni-

form sale in every state in the Union, they cannot fea-

ture histories of the states and the local communities

without a substantial reduction of their profits.

Moreover, the problem of bringing about a more

equitable adjustment of the relationship between state

and national history in our high-school courses is com-

plicated by the already overcrowded curriculum. In-

deed, there is no room for additional courses. Conse-

quently, in those states where the teaching of state

history is a legal requirement, United States history is

frequently relegated to the small list of elective subjects

with the result that large numbers of students are

graduated woefully deficient in their knowledge of

American history. There is, nevertheless, a strong

feeling, and one that is well founded, that both state

and national history in some form or other should be

required in all our high schools. Regardless of the close

interrelation of the subjects, the accomplishment of this

end requires surmounting the difficulties not only of

introducing an additional required course but also of

dividing state and national history into separate sub-

jects. Where this latter alternative is resorted to, there

is bound to be considerable duplication and over-em-

phasis, and too often both subjects are presented in a

fragmentary and incomplete manner. Furthermore,

only a small percentage of the high schools of the coun-

try have creditable text-books in state history or have

available library facilities to enable the teacher and the

pupil to do satisfactory work in the subject.

Research in State History       575

Although I do not feel competent to recommend a

definite method by which a proper correlation of state

and national history can be attained in the teaching of

the subject in our high schools, I wish to describe briefly

one attempted solution of the problem which has met

with a commendable degree of success. In the first

place a source book is written, designed as a supplemen-

tary text, to be used in connection with any standard

high school history of the United States for the definite

purpose of coordinating the history of that particular

state with that of the country as a whole. This supple-

mentary work, usually a single volume, consists of care-

fully selected sources showing the relation of the state

to all the important national events, social, economic,

and political. The sources are so chosen that they not

only illustrate the part the state has played in all out-

standing national events but also emphasize the deeds

and the opinions of men of prominence in the state.

Preceding each selection is an introductory paragraph

explaining the significance of the material quoted. Such

a book can be purchased by each member of the class

and used in connection with his general text in the

preparation of each lesson, or a sufficient number of

copies may be placed in the school library for reference

there. As a concrete example of how a state's relation-

ship to any important incident in national history can

be brought out in an interesting manner, by assignments

in the source book, take for instance the study of the

conquest of the Northwest by George Rogers Clark. In

any standard history of the United States, this expedi-

tion is treated merely as a phase of the whole revolu-

tionary movement. By reference to such papers as

576      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

Clark's commission from the Governor of Virginia, and

letters from Clark himself describing the actual condi-

tions which he was forced to meet on the campaign,

together with similar documents from Governor Hamil-

ton at Detroit, the pupil can be brought to see the direct

association of the very region in which he lives with

the revolutionary program.

Source books of this character can be compiled easily

for any state in the Union. Although I do not claim

that the use of such a book in connection with the high

school course will prove a final solution of the problem, I

believe that it offers distinct advantages over the sys-

tems now in use in most of the states. Not only will it

result in better coordination of state and national his-

tory, but it will stimulate interest in the study of history

on the part of the pupil, provoke class discussion, and

furnish many topics for problem study.

The correlation of state with national history in

connection with the usual high school course presents

fewer problems than that of local history. Not only is

there an abundance of excellent material on state his-

tory from which to select, but in a state with a popula-

tion as large as that of Ohio such a book ought to be of

sufficient interest to justify a publisher in printing it on

a royalty basis. With the history of the individual local

communities, however, the situation is far different.

There the materials are somewhat limited or not easily

available, and the sale would not be large. Furthermore,

the histories of separate counties and cities ought to be

written for specific use in the upper grades of the ele-

mentary schools and should include among other things

rather brief but accurate accounts of such subjects as

Research in State History        577

local geography, the pre-white or Indian population, the

early white settlements, the establishment and growth

of the leading industries of the community, and, in

short, the economic, social, political, cultural, and edu-

cational life of the region. This material may then be

presented to the student as a part of the course either

in a definite period of time allotted for that purpose or

as supplementary to the usual work in the general Amer-

ican history course.

The task of preparing such a pamphlet is so difficult

that it should be undertaken only by trained historians.

Since the sale of pamphlets of this character would be

limited, the undertaking could and should be financed

by the local school boards. It would not involve a great

sum of money, and the development of an interest in

and a loyalty to the good of the community during the

most impressionable age of the young citizens' lives

would amply justify the small financial outlay which

the project would require.

In the preparation of booklets of this sort, the Ameri-

can historians in the colleges and universities of the

state acting in cooperation with the historical societies

can be of inestimable service. For instance, a graduate

student with the proper background and interest at the

Ohio State University might be assigned, as a subject

of his dissertation for one of the advanced degrees,

a history of the city of Columbus. While his study

should be based on research and should be properly an-

notated with footnotes and bibliographies to meet the

standard requirements for the degree, the study could

be easily condensed and simplified to make it available

for use in elementary schools. This the school board of

Vol. XL--37.

578      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

Columbus could publish and distribute to the students in

the schools of the city. By the cooperation of your State

Historical Society and the colleges and universities

where graduate work is done, studies like this could be

made, in time, for all the counties and larger cities of

the State. Again, your historical societies can be of

great assistance in inducing the various school boards

to assume the responsibility of meeting the expense of

publishing these studies.

In passing I want to mention two books on special

phases of Pennsylvania history that are used rather

widely as reference works in the schools of that State.

One, Pennsylvania History Told By Contemporaries,

prepared by Professor H. H. Shenk and myself, is

intended for use as a supplementary text in the general

American history course in the high school; and the

other, Pennsylvania Place Names, written by my col-

league, Professor A. H. Espenshade, gives the origin

of about 2,000 names of places in the State. Another

of my colleagues, Dr. W. F. Dunaway, is writing a

single volume History of Pennsylvania for use as a

text-book in the colleges and fourteen normal schools

of the State. Professor Dunaway is writing also a

social and economic history of the Commonwealth. I

am glad to be able to say that all the normal schools in

the State and many of the colleges and universities offer

regular courses in Pennsylvania history. In my own

institution more than 200 students elect the subject each

year, and an equal number are enrolled in extension

courses.

Aside from the advantages which will accrue

from a general awakening of interest in the real sig-

Research in State History        579

nificance of state history as it is related to the lives

of the people and to the history of the nation as a

whole, the study of state history offers an exceedingly

attractive opportunity for genuine and worth while re-

search. Indeed, in most of our states comparatively

little work of merit has been done. To be sure, numer-

ous county and state histories have been written, but in

too many instances the work has been undertaken by

individuals who were not trained historians or who

were primarily interested in perpetuating the memory

of a more or less distinguished relative. Though con-

siderable work of merit has been accomplished, speaking

in general terms only the surface has been scratched.

The life of the people as portrayed in their social, eco-

nomic, and cultural institutions remains for the most

part unrecorded. Among the many specific topics for

research which might be suggested to you as worthy of

consideration, only a few can be indicated in the brief

time at my disposal today. Especially inviting are those

dealing with the manifold changes in population charac-

teristic of Ohio. By this I mean the settlement of the

different racial groups within the State and the ways

by which and the extent to which their habits, customs,

and social and economic institutions reacted upon the life

of the people in general. Even today in passing through

your State one can observe in the types of houses the

sections that were settled originally by the Virginians,

the Pennsylvania Germans, the Scotch-Irish, and the

New Englanders. Equally interesting would be a series

of studies of the various aspects of the more recent

immigration from southern and eastern Europe with

580      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

particular reference to contributions which each racial

group has made to the life of the people.

Ohio from its early establishment has contained such

a variety of denominations and sects that it presents a

very fruitful field to the student of religious history.

Although many denominational histories have been writ-

ten, a published collection of ecclesiastical records simi-

lar to the one edited by Corwin and printed in six

sumptuous volumes by the State of New York is much

needed for other states. Such a series of records would

throw a flood of light on the economic and social as well

as the religious history of the State. In the field of

economics and finance very little has been done in most

of our states. The subjects of state lands and their dis-

posal, of internal improvements, of public corporations,

of banking, of public or state finance, of the develop-

ment of particular occupations, and of the growth of

manufactures and of separate industries such as coal,

iron, petroleum, shipping, and agriculture remain for

the most part to be explored by the historian. Among

the topics in political or constitutional history that are

worthy of study may be mentioned: the proceedings and

debates of constitutional conventions, as well as the at-

tempts, both successful and unsuccessful, to amend the

constitution; the history of the legislature, the courts,

and the executive; the tariff; the rise and development

of political parties, including the third party movements

and the rivalry of party leaders; and an intensive study

of presidential campaigns.  Only a few biographies

have been written of the men who have been instru-

mental in shaping the political and economic institutions

of your state.

Research in State History        581

There is a marked inadequacy in our recorded knowl-

edge of the cultural progress of the country, the history

of art and literature, scientific advancement, the theater,

music, architecture, education, and the growth of in-

terest in recreation and sports. These topics which I

have listed, although incomplete and chiefly illustrative,

are evidences of the facts that history is no longer con-

ceived of as merely a narrative of legislative acts, poli-

tics, and wars, and that the materials for writing it

should by no means be confined to these restricted fields.

With a more enlightened point of view, its scope has

been extended to embrace the record of the whole life

of the people.

In spite of the large number of historical societies

that exist in my own State and of the numerous indi-

viduals who are engaged in research in one phase or

another of state history, there has been comparatively

little cooperation. Consequently, there has been a large

amount of duplication in time and effort. For instance,

no single college or university where graduate work is

done unless by mere chance knows what research proj-

ects are under way by graduate students and faculty

members in the other institutions. I am glad to report,

however, that during the past year, Dr. Roy F. Nichols

of the University of Pennsylvania, who is Chairman of

one of the Committees of the State Federation of His-

torical Societies, has undertaken the task of compiling

for the Federation a complete list of all research proj-

ects that are in progress in the various colleges of the

state and in the historical societies as well. This list

when completed will be mailed to the History Depart-

ment in each of the colleges and universities and to the

582      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

secretaries of the various historical societies. Doubtless

this will reduce duplication of effort to a minimum and

will be an important step in the direction of a greater

degree of cooperation in research work in general in

the history of the state. It may be of interest to note

that the Pennsylvania Federation of Historical Societies

since its establishment in 1905 has published annually

a list of all the addresses and papers read before the

individual societies. These now number between four

and five hundred annually. This compilation not only

is suggestive of research possibilities but serves as a

powerful stimulant to the weak local societies affiliated

with the Federation.

For many years the inauguration of an annual infor-

mal conference of the American history teachers within

the State, who are interested directly or indirectly in

Pennsylvania history, has been discussed, but regardless

of the acknowledged advantages of the opportunity

which such a meeting would afford for the interchange

of ideas no one has taken the responsibility of issuing

the call for such a meeting. It ought to be possible for

those institutions where any considerable amount of

research is being done to divide the field in the interest

of greater efficiency and cooperation, basing such a

division on subject matter, the availability of source ma-

terials, or the geographical location of the institution.

The opportunities for research in the field, as a whole,

are so great that no one need worry about a dearth of

satisfactory subjects.

Among the numerous handicaps under which the

research worker in state history is forced to labor, prob-

ably the most troublesome is his inability to locate with-

Research in State History         583

out great expense the materials needed for his study.

Not only are sources gathered in college, university, and

public libraries located in various sections of the state,

but numerous and valuable collections are to be found

also in the libraries of historical societies and in private

hands, often outside the boundaries of the state. The

problem is further complicated by the fact that the li-

brarians in charge of these collections are too often

almost wholly ignorant of their contents. A few years

ago this situation was brought home to me forcefully

when I attempted to list and classify topically all the

collections of sources dealing with Pennsylvania history

located in the State. Indeed, so incomplete were the

answers to my questions that the project had to be aban-

doned. This experience, however, thoroughly convinced

me that such a task could be accomplished satisfactorily

only by a trained historian who could visit each collec-

tion personally and take the time necessary to make a

thorough investigation of its contents. Nevertheless, I

regard the preparation of a detailed, topical bibliography

of all the materials that will throw any light on the his-

tory of the state as the one outstanding need of the

research worker. Indeed, so important is the task and

so great the expense of its preparation that the Legis-

lature might well be asked to bear the financial burden

of it. By reference to such a list of materials the in-

vestigator of any topic could determine easily and

quickly not only the location but the character of each

collection and thus avoid much outlay of time, effort,

and money running from one library to another. As a

matter of fact, many of the subjects most worthy of

584      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

investigation are left untouched because the materials

are either difficult of access or are unknown.

Intimately associated with the question of research

in state history is that of the preservation of those

things which will throw any light on the progress and

the development of every phase of the life of the people.

Although a great deal has been accomplished during the

past two or three decades in particular in collecting,

classifying, and assembling in fire-proof buildings his-

torical documents, many have been destroyed; and un-

less the interest of the public can be aroused to the value

of these materials much of what remains will suffer a

similar fate. In a limited way the recent craze for an-

tique furniture as exemplified in the fabulous prices

paid for single items has contributed something toward

the growth of an interest in everything that is old. Fur-

thermore, of special significance have been the establish-

ment of historical societies; the reenactment of histori-

cal events through pageants; the building up of great

research libraries, many of which are heavily endowed

by private gifts; and the research publications of schol-

ars. The competition for old diaries, letters, and other

manuscripts and printed material of a historical nature

has become so great that a commercial value of no mean

size has come to be attached to them. Signatures of

men of prominence are in demand. In fact, that of

Button Gwinnett, a signer of the Declaration of Inde-

pendence, has brought more than $24,000. Lincoln's

letter to General Hooker informing him of his appoint-

ment to the commandership of the Army of the Potomac

sold for $8,000. Hundreds of other illustrations might

be given to show to what extent the quest for old and

Research in State History        585

unusual documents has gone. This, however, does not

necessarily mean that the interest in history itself has

been appreciably increased, for the collector of old docu-

ments, like the collector of antique furniture, is too

often concerned only with the profits to be obtained in

the business transaction. On the contrary, this traffic

in historical materials has resulted in such a wide dis-

persion of them that they are often of little use to the

scholar.

Despite these tendencies, however, much good has

been accomplished by the enthusiasm of the professional

collectors. Not only has a considerable portion of the

public been educated to the value of historical materials

but a wide-spread interest has been aroused in local

history with the result that literally thousands of his-

torical societies have sprung into existence, one of the

objectives of which has been the preservation of such

evidences as they may obtain of the history of their

respective communities. In many cases valuable papers

have been reclaimed as a result of interest thus aroused.

A notable illustration of this was the purchase, a few

years ago, from a private collector in New York, of

Penn's Charter, for the sum of approximately $25,000,

the money for which was obtained chiefly from small

gifts made by the school children of the State in a state-

wide campaign for that purpose. This interesting docu-

ment now reposes in a glass case in the State Library

at Harrisburg, where annually it is viewed by thousands

of the citizens of the Commonwealth.

An interesting example of how historical collections

may be destroyed and at the same time of how they may

be preserved through the education of the public as to

586     Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

their significance is contained in the following incident:

A few years ago a prominent citizen from the vicinity

of Montrose, Pennsylvania, died. When in the course

of time his belongings were gone over by his relatives,

such as were of no interest to them personally were

destroyed or disposed of at public sale. The old news-

papers and other papers which the deceased had ac-

cumulated through a long period of years were thought

to be of no value and accordingly were given to a junk-

dealer. This man, although of lowly circumstances and

of limited means and education, discovered in his odd

assortment of articles a large bundle of papers carefully

bound together and upon further examination noted that

some of them bore dates as early as 1755. Although

this meant but little to him, he made it a point to call the

papers to the attention of the principal of the High

School, who chanced to be an instructor of history and

civics. Although not divining their significance at the

time, the latter expressed an interest in them. There-

upon the junk-dealer asked him to take them and make

whatever use of them he desired. The principal pre-

sented them later to the Historical Society of the county.

The collection was found to contain many original docu-

ments relating to the famous Susquehanna Company,

chartered by the Colony of Connecticut for the settle-

ment of northern Pennsylvania, which was claimed by

Connecticut under its own charter from the King. These

letters, deeds, and official documents threw much light

on the settlement of the people of Connecticut under

the auspices of the Susquehanna Company in northern

Pennsylvania and the consequent struggle with the Pro-

prietary Government of the Penns for the sovereignty

Research in State History        587

of that vast region. Later it developed that the de-

ceased collector of these papers had contemplated writ-

ing a history of the Susquehanna Company but had been

prevented from carrying out his plans by his ill-health

and ultimately his death. The significant feature of this

incident is the fact that it was through the foresight and

judgment of a junk-dealer that these valuable papers

have been preserved. It might be of interest to add

that I examined this collection and being convinced of

the historical value of the papers, planned to edit them,

but the pressure of other duties forced me to surrender

the task to some one else. The Christmas after begin-

ning this work, while visiting some relatives in Kansas

City, I took dinner with a lawyer of Connecticut birth.

In the course of the evening I discovered that he had

in his attic two or three trunks filled with old papers

which he had brought west with him more than forty

years ago, which his New England instinct had prompted

him to preserve. To my joy and amazement I found in

the bottom of one of these trunks a large bundle of

manuscript papers labelled Susquehanna Papers, in

which were more than 100 separate items, minutes of

the company for a number of years, deeds, private let-

ters, etc. These and other documents obtained from the

libraries in Philadelphia, Harrisburg, and New England

have been added to the original collection, and they are

now being prepared for publication in a series of vol-

umes by the Wyoming Valley Historical Society under

the direction of a trained historical scholar.

This experience is not dissimilar to that of historians

in other sections of the country who are seeking to record

the history of their own localities. And it emphasizes

588      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

in a rather striking way the urgent need for instilling

into the average American citizen an interest in the

history of his own community, his state, and the nation

at large. If this can be attained, fewer historical docu-

ments will find their way to the bonfire.

In solving the problems which I have mentioned in

this paper the local historical societies can be of great

assistance. They can revive and perpetuate a genuine

interest in the history of the individual communities and

can be instrumental in obtaining valuable historical col-

lections and making them available for the use of the

public and the research worker; and through contact

with the local public schools they may aid in stimulating

in the rising generation an abiding interest in the history

of the communities in which they live and a consequent

solicitation for their progress and well-being.

In conclusion, I wish to commend the people of Ohio

for the excellent work which they have done looking

toward making the entire population of the State

historically-minded. I was especially impressed with the

Sesqui-Centennial celebration of the Battle of Piqua at

Springfield last fall, particularly with the historical essay

contest which was held in every high school in your

State. The task of creating an interest in the history

of a State with a past rich in deeds of valor and notable

achievements in all lines of human endeavor may seem

to be an easy one; but such is not the case. For that

reason it should not be considered too lightly. As I

have indicated, with the shifting of population charac-

teristic of American life throughout its history; with the

coming into the country of large contingents of foreign-

ers who had no part in its early settlement and develop-