MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE
BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE OHIO STATE
ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL
SOCIETY, APRIL 4, 1941
The Board of Trustees of the Ohio State
Archaeological and
Historical Society met at noon, Friday,
April 4, 1941, in the
Trustees Room of the Ohio State Museum.
President Johnson
presided over the meeting attended by
the following trustees:
Messrs. Eagleson, Fleischmann, Florence,
Rightmire, Spencer,
Spetnagel, Wittke, and Wolfe. Director
Shetrone, Secretary
Lindley, and Miss Hiestand were also
present.
For the committee previously appointed
to consider the ad-
visability of purchasing Professor
Wilbur H. Siebert's library on
the Underground Railroad, Mr. Rightmire
read a communication
of March 25, 1941, from Mr. Siebert to
Mr. Rightmire in which
the special library was described and a
price of $4500 quoted.
In closing his letter Mr. Siebert wrote:
"In case the Society buys
my collection, which I think ought to be
within a year's time, it is
my intention to present to the Society's
library my comprehensive
collection of materials relating to the
American Loyalists of the
Revolutionary period." Mr.
Rightmire also read his own letter
addressed on April 3, 1941, to Mr.
Johnson, chairman of the
special committee, in which he told of
his examination of the
Siebert collection and said, " . .
.the purchase price which he [Mr.
Siebert] mentions . . .seems reasonable
to me, although I have no
commercial standard by which value in
such case can be deter-
mined. I have no doubt that this
material should be on the shelves
of the Society, and I recommend that a
particular effort be made
to obtain it. This matter was referred
to the Executive Com-
mittee which was given power to act.
The Secretary sketched the rise of
business history groups in
this country and recommended that for
the following reasons it
would be well for our Society to sponsor
the organization of such
a section and approve the setting up of
a committee for that
purpose:
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OHIO HISTORY CONFERENCE, 1941 231
1. To promote the study of business history and to make
a record of surviving businesses of
early date.
2. To
encourage owners to preserve old business documents.
3. To bring qualified historians into
touch with new sources
of raw material.
4. To provide skilled assistance and
advice to owners of
documents.
5. To further these ends by the issuance
of suitable publi-
cations.
Mr. Eagleson seconded Mr. Wittke's
motion that the Board
adopt the Secretary's recommendation.
The motion carried.
The Secretary told of the background
(the Maumee Valley
International Historical Convention held
in September, 1940)
from which arose the present Anthony
Wayne Memorial Associ-
ation and outlined the present set-up of
that association, asking
that the trustees authorize the
appointment of a committee of
three representing the Society to work
with the general executive
committee of the association, the
committees from the state legis-
latures of Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana,
and the individual state
committees in the areas mentioned. Mr.
Wittke moved that such
a committee for the Society be set up;
Mr. Wolfe seconded the
motion, which carried.
The Director asked that a committee be authorized
to call
upon Mr. Herman P. Jeffers to discuss
with him the possible
exploration of the mound on his property
north of Columbus.
The trustees approved this request.
The Secretary reported that the Sundry
Claims Board had
allowed a claim for $164.1O in settlement
for delinquent taxes
due prior to the purchase of the Hanby
Memorial at Westerville,
but had rejected the claim for
reimbursement of $5,360.27 ex-
pended in 1936 and 1937 on W.P.A.
projects at Fort Ancient,
Hanby House, Mound City, Serpent Mound,
and Tarlton Cross.
The trustees approved the motion of Mr.
Fleischmann that
the incumbent officers of the Society be
reelected for the ensuing
year. In connection with this order of
business, the President
introduced the new trustee, Mr. Julius
Fleischmann, to his col-
232
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
leagues, and spoke of the death of a
former trustee, Mr. Charles
E. Ritchie of Tallmadge.
On motion of Mr. Wolfe the trustees
reelected the present
staff. The Secretary spoke of the
temporary shift necessitated
when Laurence H. Bartlett, head of the
Newspaper Division, had
been drafted into the Army, whereby
Andrew J. Ondrak was
placed in charge of that department
during Mr. Bartlett's absence.
In this connection the President
expressed confidence in the ability
of the administrative heads to make
whatever temporary arrange-
ments might be necessary should
additional staff members be
drafted and mentioned the Board's ruling
that positions on the
staff should be kept open for persons
following their return after
such military service.
The Director spoke briefly of the status
of the Society's
budget for the biennium 1941-42,
predicting that the Memorial
Division would be granted a liberal
allowance while the Museum
and Library would probably get just
enough to carry on.
The Secretary read a letter from the
daughter of George
Smith, a former trustee, expressing
appreciation for the Board's
sympathy at the time of her father's
death.
The Secretary asked the trustees to
consider the advisability
of holding the annual meetings of the
Society and the Board on
Saturday morning rather than Friday in
order to accommodate
the members of the Ohio Academy of
History. The trustees
decided to continue such meetings on
Friday.
The Secretary reported the accession by
gift from Mr.
Joseph C. Goodman, a former trustee, of
books, a map, and mu-
seum material, and he was directed to
extend the thanks of the
trustees to Mr. Goodman.
The Secretary recommended that an
honorary life member-
ship be granted to Mr. S. A. Canary of
Bowling Green, Ohio,
because of his recent activities in
behalf of the Society. This
suggestion was approved by the trustees.
Dr. Rightmire invited the trustees
present to be his luncheon
guests at the Faculty Club.
The meeting adjourned.
HARLOW
LINDLEY, Secretary.