HISTORICAL NEWS
Historical Societies
ALLEN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Lima
Mrs. Harry B. Longsworth, Secretary
The society recently acquired the record
book of the Lima
Recruiting Club for 1864. It contains
bounty records for 1864
for Ottawa Township, which then included
the town of Lima.
James A. MacDonell, president of the
society, has donated a
Webster wire recorder. It will be used
for recording talks and
lectures and in interviewing older
people who find it difficult to
write their reminiscences. Recently John
R. Bennett was inter-
viewed on his Civil War experiences, the
interview being preserved
on the wire recorder.
CAMPUS MARTIUS MUSEUM, Marietta
Edith S. Reiter, Curator
Approximately 11,000 visitors were
clocked at the museum
during July. They included persons from
41 states, Canada, Brazil,
and the Canal Zone.
CLARK COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Springfield
Orton G. Rust, President
A program has been developed to
encourage school classes
to visit the society's museum. The
membership campaign has pro-
ceeded satisfactorily, and many members
have increased their
pledges. The society recently acquired a
portrait of the late Judge
James Johnson, member of the Ohio
Supreme Court, from the artist,
Mrs. Alice Sewell Johnson of Urbana.
Copies of the volume entitled Yesteryear
in Clark County, the
first of a series on local history being
published by the historical
society, are still available.
Individuals, libraries, and historical
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432
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL
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groups wishing this volume of
reminiscences of the period 1810-60
may acquire them from Mr. Rust.
DA.YTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY AND THE
MONTGOMERY COUNTY
ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL SOCIETY,
Dayton
Roy G. Fitzgerald, President
Officers of these organizations are the
same. They are Roy G.
Fitzgerald, president; Eugene S.
Kennedy, vice president; Howard
P. Williamson, vice president; A. A.
Keiser, secretary-treasurer;
and Mrs. Luther A. Devers, assistant
secretary-treasurer.
FIRELANDS HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Norwalk
James E. Dixon, Curator
New officers of the society are Homer M.
Beattie, president;
Sidney Frohman, vice president; Esther
G. Powers, secretary;
James L. Wood, treasurer; James E.
Dixon, curator; and Harriet
G. Lawton, assistant curator.
The society has a book on local history
ready for publication
but has decided to hold it in the hope
that publication costs will
come down.
HAYES MEMORAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM, Fremont
Watt P. Marchman, Director of
Research
A special exhibit in connection with
President Hayes' 126th
birthday celebration on October 4 has
been planned. The summer
months featured an exhibit of original
autograph letters written by
numerous literary figures and authors,
including Emerson, Oliver
Wendell Holmes, Whittier, Mark Twain,
Walt Whitman, Richard
H. Dana, Theodore Roosevelt, Francis
Parkman, and George Ban-
croft.
Accessions to the collections include 13
original autograph
letters by R. B. Hayes, 7 original
autograph letters to Hayes, and
8 miscellaneous autograph letters. In
addition, photostatic copies
of 16 letters by President Hayes; of the
returns for March 12,
1862, of the 1st Brigade, 3d Division,
23d Ohio Volunteers, com-
manded by Hayes; and of other items were
received, together with
HISTORICAL NEWS 433
a number of photographs connected with
the life of Hayes or the
history of Fremont and northern Ohio.
Mrs. Frances Hayes, daughter of the
president, has added to
her many gifts a collection of writings
concerning Mr. and Mrs.
Hayes. Miss Ora Millious of Fremont has
presented daguerreo-
types, badges, and Civil War documents.
Frank Lee Miesle of
Fremont has placed in the library a copy
of his master's thesis,
entitled "A History of Opera House
at Fremont, Ohio, from 1890
to 1900," completed at Bowling
Green University in the spring
of 1948.
The director has published two articles
recently: "The Ingra-
ham Everglades Exploring Expedition,
1892," in Tequesta (1947),
journal of the Historical Association of
Southern Florida; and
"The Hayes Memorial Library,"
in State and Local History News
(May 1948), periodical of the American
Association for State and
Local History.
HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF NORTHWESTERN OHIO,
Toledo
Randolph C. Downes, Executive
Director
At the thirtieth annual meeting of the
society, held at the
Toledo Public Library June 3, the
following officers were elected:
Richard D. Logan, president; George D.
Welles, vice president;
Carl B. Spitzer, secretary-treasurer;
Mrs. Max Shepherst, librarian;
and Lehr Fess, Lyman Spitzer, Mr. Logan,
and Mr. Welles, trus-
tees. Dr. Randolph C. Downes of the
University of Toledo was
reappointed executive director.
Professors G. Harrison Orians
and Jesse R. Long, also of the
university, have been added to the
editorial board of the Northwest Ohio
Quarterly.
The society received notice that the
Lucas County board of
commissioners had appropriated to the
society $4,900 for the pro-
motion of local historical research
during the year. Reports at
the meeting showed that the membership
had doubled during the
past year and that the society's
financial condition was excellent.
The society issued a volume in local
history, entitled The Con-
quest (Lucas County Historical Series,
Vol. I), during the year.
A second volume, called Canal Days, is
scheduled to appear in
December. These books are being written
by Dr. Downes.
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OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
The society sponsored its first annual
history-writing contest
for city and county schools in the
spring. Thirty-six winners-12
for each of the senior, junior, and
sophomore grades-were awarded
prizes for biographies of local figures.
The summer issue of the Northwest
Ohio Quarterly carried the
following articles: "Francis
Ellingwood Abbot; Free Religionist,"
by Gardner Williams, and "David
Ross Locke; The Post-War
Years," by Jack Clifford Ransome.
MEDINA COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Medina
Florence Phillips, President
The society recently published a History
of Medina County, a
collaborative work. Printed by the Gray
Company of Fostoria, it
went on sale July 24 at a price of
$3.00.
SENECA COUNTY HISTORICAL AND
ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM, Tiffin
A. C. Shuman, Curator
The museum has recently acquired over
sixty pieces from the
Philippine Islands, captured during the
Spanish-American War.
They were donated by Major General L. D.
Gasser, Washing-
ton, D. C.
A beautiful set of 100 pieces of pink
and copper lustre ware
has been put on display by Mrs. Arthur
L. Peters, Fostoria, Ohio.
SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF PIONEER RIVERMEN,
Marietta
Frederick Way, Jr., President
The annual meeting of the organization
was held in the River-
view Room of the Lafayette Hotel,
Marietta, September 18. After
the afternoon session a reception was
held at Campus Martius
Museum, followed by a banquet at the
hotel.
The Esso Standard Oil Company has
presented the organization
with an oil portrait of Peter Sprague,
builder of the world's largest
stern-wheel river towboat, the Sprague.
This vessel was dismantled
during 1948.
President Way has published a volume
listing all present ves-
sels in operation on the Mississippi
River system. It is entitled
HISTORICAL NEWS
435
Inland River Record-1948, contains 224 pages, and is cloth bound.
It may be obtained by writing Captain
Way, 121 River Avenue,
Sewickley, Pennsylvania.
STARK COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Canton.
Edward T. Heald, Secretary-Treasurer
During the early summer members of the
society completed
copying and tabulating 2,874 cemetery
markers and monuments in
nine cemeteries and began work on a
tenth cemetery.
In June a volume entitled Bezaleel
Wells, Founder of Canton
and Steubenville, Ohio, written by Edward T. Heald, was published
by the society. It is a significant
contribution to the history of
Ohio in the territorial period and in
the first years of statehood.
SUMMIT COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Akron
Carl H. Pockrandt, President
Officers of the society are Carl H.
Pockrandt, president; Oliver
H. Wolcott, vice president; Dr. E. J.
Cauffield, vice president;
Robert E. Mohler, secretary; Amelia H.
Schultz, treasurer; William
G. Meyers, curator; and Arthur H.
Blower, historian.
Historic buildings now owned and
operated as museums by
the society are the Perkins Mansion at
the northwest corner of
Copley and Diagonal roads, the John
Brown Home at the south-
west corner of Copley and Diagonal
roads, and the Old Stone
School at the corner of South Broadway
and Buchtel Avenue.
WARREN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Lebanon
Mary Lincoln, Secretary
Work has begun on the gathering of
materials for the publica-
tion of the history of Warren County in
World War II. College
students were employed during the summer
to copy records and
do some of the research.
A committee composed of teachers is
preparing a history of
Warren County for use in the fifth and
sixth grades of the local
schools.
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OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
WESTERN RESERVE HISTORICAL SOCIETY,
Cleveland
Russell H. Anderson, Director
The society has made some important
accessions to its col-
lections, among them documents signed by
Peter the Great and
Catherine the Great; the Bohning
manuscripts relating to New-
burgh, Ohio; the Chapman manuscripts;
the Coffinberry manu-
scripts; two diaries of the Gold Rush;
the J. H. Wade manuscripts;
and a collection of documents relating
to the Virginia Military Dis-
trict.
The Bohning collection includes the
Newburgh Hamlet Rec-
ords, 4 vols., 1815-1903; the Poor Book,
1895-99; school records
and journal, 1838-99; poll books; 39
maps; and miscellaneous
manuscripts, contracts, and petitions.
Among the Chapman manu-
scripts are records of the Wayne,
Medina, and Cuyahoga Turnpike
Company, 1824-54; the record book of the
New Harbour Company,
Ohio City, 1835-41; and letters from
John Sherman, William Mc-
Kinley, and John Hay.
In the Coffinberry collection are 72
letters from Henry Cof-
finberry, a member of the naval force on
the Mississippi River
1861-65, and 27 replies. Other papers
include 72 Gordius Hall
letters, plats, and documents; 31 James
Hampson pieces, includ-
ing 3 items on the National Road west of
Zanesville; Col. George
Morgan letters and an extract of his
journal; General George W.
Morgan's military papers, orders, and
letters; and miscellaneous
letters of John C. Calhoun, Henry Clay,
Th. L. Hamer (re the
"Coon" convention at Columbus,
1840), Samuel Houston, Thomas
W. Knox, John Sherman, Edwin M. Stanton,
Clement S. Vallan-
digham, and Lew Wallace.
The Wade papers contain some 500
documents and letters con-
cerning the formation of the Western
Union Telegraph Company.
The Virginia Military District papers
include 6 volumes of original
entries, 5 packages of several thousand
original surveys and copies
of surveys, and 42 land warrants.
On July 30 the society received by
formal transfer the Harper
Homestead of Shandy Hall, one mile east
of Unionville in Ashta-
bula County. It is a gift of Laurence H.
and Robert C. Norton
and their sister, Mrs. Fred White. The
house was built in 1815
HISTORICAL NEWS 437
by Col. Robert Harper and occupied
continuously by the family
until 1935. It is furnished with
furniture and other objects used
by the family.
OHIO POETRY DAY ASSOCIATION, Columbus
Tessa Sweazy Webb, Honorary President
Ohio Poetry Day will be observed at a
meeting in the Southern
Hotel, Columbus, on Friday evening,
October 51. Prof. William
H. Tauesch of Wooster College will be
the speaker of the occasion,
and Carr Liggett, Cleveland, the master
of ceremonies. The 1948
Anthology of Ohio Verse, prepared by the state department of
education, which contains 288 poems
written by school pupils in
the state, will be on display. The
meeting is open to the public.
Members of the committee of the
association which planned
the observance include O. B. Kirk,
president, Scott High School,
Toledo; Howard E. Hamlin and R. M.
Eyman, state department of
education; Dr. J. L. King, Denison
University; Miss Marie Dren-
nan, Ohio Wesleyan University; Evan
Lodge, supervisor of English,
Cleveland public schools; Miss Gale
Wickwire, Shaker Heights
High School; Mrs. Helen Crile Bauer,
Starling Junior High School,
Columbus; Dr. Tom Burns Haber and Dr.
Virginia Sanderson,
Ohio State University; and Tessa Sweazy
Webb, Columbus.
About Historians
Frederick Herbert Jackson has been
appointed instructor in
the history department at Marietta
College. He replaces Howard
Braverman, who has resigned to return to
graduate study at Duke
University.
Dr. Clara G. Roe, associate professor of
history at Akron
University, is making an extensive tour
of Europe, including Great
Britain, France, Germany, Denmark, and
the Netherlands.
Two graduate assistants in the
department of history at Ohio
State University have resigned to accept
teaching positions else-
where. They are Donald G. Sahli, who
will go to Milligan Col-
438 OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL
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lege, Tennessee, and Robert S. Cope, who
will go to Thiel College,
Greenville, Pennsylvania. Mr. Cope was
Ohio History Fellow of
the Ohio State Archaeological and
Historical Society for 1947-48.
Dr. Lawrence F. Hill has been named
acting chairman of
the department for the coming year.
Dr. Dorsey T. Walker, a graduate of the
University of Michi-
gan, has been appointed chairman of the
department of history of
the College of Education and Industrial
Arts at Wilberforce.
Members of the department of history and
political science at
Defiance College are Dr. Erwin J. Urch,
professor of history, and
C. W. Knollman, professor of political
science. Dr. Urch is author
of the volume entitled Scaling the Centuries
(Boston, 1939 and
1942) and of numerous articles in the Classical
Journal, the Clas-
sical Weekly, the Journal of the Illinois State Historical
Society,
the United States Law Review, and
other periodicals.
Professor Harold Hancock has returned to
Otterbein College
after a year in England.
Phi Alpha Theta, national honorary
history fraternity, has in-
stalled a chapter at Otterbein.
Dr. Carl Gustavson of Ohio University
has been promoted to
the rank of associate professor in the
departmnet of history.
Frederick D. Kershner, Jr., spent the
summer in research in the
libraries of Indianapolis.
Dr. Thomas P. Martin, formerly assistant
chief of the manu-
scripts division of the Library of
Congress, has been appointed
visiting professor of history at Ohio
University.
Dr. Harvey Wish of Western Reserve
University was visiting
professor for the summer term at the
University of Southern Cali-
fornia. Dr. Richard O. Cummings of the
University of California
at Los Angeles taught at Reserve during
the summer.
The new president of Ashland College is
Dr. Glenn L. Clayton,
who received his Ph.D. in history from
Ohio State University.
HISTORICAL NEWS 439
Dr. Raymond W. Bixler, professor of
history, will be on leave
of absence during the coming year for
special study with Samuel
F. Bemis at Yale University.