566 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
dealers of the kind in question with
something of the nature of a cer-
tificate from year to year? Yours respectfully,
DAVID BOYLE,
Superintendent Provincial Museum.
PAGE HALL, COLUMBUS, O., March 25, 1904.
MY DEAR PROF. MOOREHEAD:- I feel that
the dealers and so-called
commercially inclined collectors are a
great menace to our scientific
museums in very many ways. Many dealers
collect specimens giving
little or no attention to authentic data
and offer same for sale. When
called upon to give the necessary data,
they are able to furnish a complete
history of each specimen? For instance,
I know a collector who has
in his cabinet a number of specimens
labeled "Found in Montgomery
County, Ohio"; these he procured
from a dealer. The specimens are
clearly not Ohio specimens and are
typical Georgia finds.
Further, the country has been flooded
with spurious artifacts "with
complete records," furnished by
dealers throughout the country. The
commercially inclined collector destroys
the mounds and village sites
merely for the relics they find,
blotting out forever what might be of
great importance to the archaeologist
who will sooner or later make an
examination of this work. Of the two,
the commercially inclined collector
is the one to be avoided. He is very
often unscrupulous in procuring speci-
mens and many fall into his hands
through false pretenses. Many so-called
collectors travel through the country,
preying upon farmers and small
collectors by telling them that they are
collecting for some museum, or
collecting specimens to photograph, or
make drawings for some book on
archaeology, and when completed the
specimens will be returned, with
a fine copy of the book gratis. The book
is never published, consequently
the specimens are never returned.
We are prevailed upon many times during
the year to purchase
specimens from parties who have
"just opened a mound," or "found on
grandfather's farm," and I am happy
to say that they have never made
a sale here. I feel that it is the duty
of every museum curator never to
purchase specimens of any kind from
dealers or commercially inclined
collectors. Very truly yours,
W. C. MILLS,
Curator Ohio State Archaeological and
Historical Society.
SHAKERS AND THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
In the January number of the current
volume was made mention
of valuable MSS. and articles of
industry secured from the SHAKERS
through the agency of Dr. J. P. MacLean.
During the months of June,
July and August of this year, Dr.
MacLean made a tour of all the
Eastern Shaker communities, and wherever
he went, the Historical So-
ciety's interests were not neglected.
The result was a donation of
nineteen cases of books and relics now
within the Library and Museum.
amounting in value to many hundred
dollars. For these valuable ac-
quisitions the Society is indebted to
Elder Timothy Rayson, Alonzo G.
Hollister, Eldress Anna White, Eldress
Sarah Burger, Eldress Julia
Scott, Eldress Clarissa Jacobs, Eldress
Sarah Collins, Sisters Catherine
Allen, Sadie and Emma J. Neale and
Eunice Cantrell of Mt. Lebanon,
N. Y.; Eldress Sophia Helfrich, Eldress
Catherine Piper and Sister
Martha Johnson, of the Hancock Society;
Elder Joseph Holden and
Eldress Mary Ellston of the Shirley
Society; Eldress Margaret O. Eggles-
Editorialana. 567
ton of the Harvard Society; Eldress
Miriam Offord and Sister Angelina
Brown, of the Enfield, Conn., Society;
Sister Rosetta Cummings of the
Enfield, N. H., Society; Elder Henry C.
Blinn and Eldress Mary A.
Wilson, of the Canterbury Society;
Eldress Fannie Casey, of the Alfred
Society, and Sisters Aurelia G. Mace and
Sarah Fletcher of the Sabbath-
day Lake Society.
Besides the Shaker books received, there
were several hundred
others, of a miscellaneous variety, all
of which are valuable, besides over
thirty bound volumes of newspapers and
journals, mostly published in
New York. These latter came from Elder
Timothy Rayson and Eldress
Anna White.
Among the Shaker relics were the hat,
knife, thimble, basket and
part of dress of Mother Ann Lee; china
mug and dress of Mother Lucy
Wright; hats once worn by Elders F. W.
Evans, Daniel Boler and
Richard Bushnell; wine cup of Eldress
Olive Spencer (first eldress of
Mt. Lebanon); saddle-bags of Elder
Eleazer Rand (over 100 years old);
one full suit of Brother's clothes;
shoes of Eldress Antoinette Doolittle;
under jacket of F. W. Evans; large
spinning wheel, bed warming pan;
reel, canes, razors, looking glasses;
wash bowl of Elder James Whittaker;
tailor's compas; suit of boy's dolls
clothes, made by Eldress Sarah Bur-
ger; one very large doll dressed in
Shaker Sister's suit of the present, by
Sister Sadie Neale; another in Sister's
old style, dressed by Eldress
Clarissa Jacobs; trunk of Eldress Eliza
Babbitt; fancy box made by Elder
Richard Bushnell; fourteen samples of
Shaker cloth, etc., etc. One of
the canes had belonged to Elder Benjamin
Dunlavy of Pleasant Hill, Ky.;
thence to Elder Harvey L. Eads of South
Union, Ky., and finally to
John Bradford of Enfield, N. H. The
latter died at an advanced age,
while Dr. MacLean was addressing the
Society on Early Shakerism in
the West. Dr. MacLean made eleven
different addresses at Mt. Lebanon,
one each at Enfield, Conn., Enfield, N.
H., Harvard and Sabbathday Lake.
He was made a member of North Family,
Enfield, Conn., and also of
the Church Family of Harvard. He had
previously been made a mem-
ber of the North Family at Union Village
and of the North Family at
Mt. Lebanon. The Shakers report that
privileges were accorded to Dr.
MacLean that never were bestowed upon
any other non-member. They
were drawn to him by the fairness of his
writings concerning them, claim-
ing that he is more just and discerning
than any other author. Dr. Mac-
Lean in due time, will give a full
account of his life among the Shaker
communities, which will be published. He
is now at work preparing a
bibliography of Shakerism.
The Historical Society now rejoices in
having the largest Shaker
collection of books and relics of any
public institution in the world. A
further very large donation is promised
from James H. Fennessey,
manager of Union Village, Eldress
Clymena Miner and Sister Susannah
C. Liddell. The North Family of Mt.
Lebanon has become a life member
of the Historical Society.