ARCHER BUTLER HULBERT
BY CHARLES B. GALBREATH1
The numerous acquaintances and friends
of Archer
Butler Hulbert have heard with regret
the news of his
death. This is especially true in Ohio
where he lived
many years, where he finished his
college education at
Marietta, where he commenced his
literary career at
Columbus, and where he taught for a
time in his alma
mater. Though born in another State,
his interest in
Ohio and her uncomparable history was
sympathetic and
abiding.
We have before us a copy of the
Colorado Springs
Evening Telegraph of December 25, 1933, which has an
extended obituary sketch from which we
quote:
"Death last night closed the
notable career of Dr. Archer
Butler Hulbert, 60, following only a
week's illness with influenza
at his home, 14 East Fontanero Street. Educator, writer
and
lecturer, Dr. Hulbert had carved a niche
in the hall of fame as an
authority on American history, the
latter years of his career hav-
ing been devoted to his writings on the
history of the American
west. He was professor of history and
head of the history de-
partment at Colorado College and
director of the Stewart Com-
mission on Western History, an important
branch of the college.
Stricken ill only a week ago, few people
realized the serious-
ness of Dr. Hulbert's condition. The
middle of last week he
appeared greatly improved but Saturday took a turn for
the worse
and yesterday afternoon failed rapidly,
death coming at 10:15
o'clock last night. The shock of his
death cast a shadow over the
Christmas holiday for hundreds of
friends and today messages of
sympathy came from all parts of the
country to members of his
1 This sketch was left unfinished by Mr.
Galbreath at the time of his
death.
Vol. XLIII--30 (465)
466 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications family. The loss of Dr. Hulbert is keenly felt by the board of trustees and members of the faculty of Colorado College. His many achievements in the literary field have added much to the prestige of Colorado College. His loss is a particularly heavy blow for Philip B. Stewart, friend, counselor and founder of the |
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Stewart Commission on Western History of which Dr. Hulbert was the director and guiding genius. "Overwork is believed to have been the principal contributing factor in the death of Dr. Hulbert. Only recently he had returned from New York City, where for a month he labored day and night with his publishers, Doubleday, Doran & Company, on the revision of his high school textbook, The United States History. This work had received wide acclaim among historians as one of |
Archer Butler Hulbert 467
the finest of its kind and it was
rapidly being adopted by depart-
ments of public instruction in many
States. A revision to bring
it up to the present day was deemed
advisable and Dr. Hulbert
plunged into the work with his customary
enthusiasm.
"For the last several years Dr.
Hulbert had spent several
months each winter in California where
he was lecturer on
western history at Pomona College,
Claremont. There he con-
ducted much research work in Huntington
Library in connection
wth the Stewart Commission on Western
History. On his return
from California last spring he was not
in the best of health but
improved rapidly and during the summer
was considered in good
physical condition. This recuperative
power was ascribed largely
to his love of the outdoors and his
penchant for one of his greatest
hobbies, golf.
"Complications followed his illness
with influenza and he was
unable to throw off the toxic poisons as
had been expected.
"Dr. Hulbert was a native of
Vermont and came of a notable
New England family. His father was Rev.
Calvin Butler Hul-
bert, a noted divine of his day. Two
brothers are prominent in
the east. Henry Woodward Hulbert of
Framingham Center,
Massachusetts, is a minister and writer,
and Homer B. Hulbert of
Springfield, Massachusetts, an author of
note.
"Possessed of a broad education and
extensively traveled in
this country, Europe and the Orient, Dr.
Hulbert had attained the
height of his powers and his literary ability.
His unqualified suc-
cess is attested by the hundreds of
unsolicited reviews and criti-
cisms of his more recent works from the
members of the literary
craft and from the warm messages of
congratulation received on
the many works turned out by him.
"Colorado may be justly proud of
this adopted son, honored
by many colleges and universities and
possessor of the coveted
F. R. G. S. symbolical of election to
the great organization the
Royal Geographical Society of Great
Britain. Born in Benning-
ton, Vermont, January 26, 1873, he was
fitted for college at St.
Johnsbury Academy, where he was a
classmate of the late Presi-
dent Calvin Coolidge, and graduated from
Marietta College,
Marietta, Ohio, in 1895. His Alma
Mater conferred upon him
the honorary M. A. in 1904 and other
honorary degrees since re-
ceived include L. H. D. Middlebury
(Vermont) College, 1929.
Following his college career he
continued his studies at Western
Reserve, Chicago, Wisconsin, Columbia
and Harvard Universi-
ties and later in both London and Paris.
"He began his academic teaching at
the summer session of the
University of Chicago in 1904 and in addition to his
literary work
has served continuously on the faculties
of Marietta College, Clark
468 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
University and Colorado College during
the intervening years.
His other appointments include teaching
at summer sessions in
Columbia and Chicago universities and
lectures at scores of other
institutions of learning, including a
Goldwin Smith lecture at
Cornell University.
"Dr. Hulbert's investigations have
taken him both to Europe
and the Orient and few if any have
studied more carefully so
many parts of the United States with
reference to relationships
of geography and history. He came to
Colorado College in 1920
as professor of history and later was
named head of the depart-
ment of history. In 1925 he assumed the
chairmanship of the
Stewart commission on western history
which post he has since
held.
"The commission was founded by a
fellow Vermonter, Philip
Battell Stewart, (son of Governor
Stewart of Vermont and close
personal friend of the late President
Theodore Roosevelt) and
Mrs. Frances C. Stewart of Colorado
Springs with whom Charles
B. Vorhis of Pasadena, California, is
now associated. The pub-
lications of the commission are taking
an important place in Amer-
ican historical literature.
"In the intervening span scores of
volumes on American his-
tory and allied subjects have been written
by Dr. Hulbert in addi-
tion to innumerable lectures. His trails
blueprints are used in
scores of public libraries and
institutions of learning in this and
foreign countries.
"Among some of his notable lecture
assignments Dr. Hulbert
has served the government on more than
one occasion. From
1905 to 1914 he was lecturer on the
economics of good roads
for the office of public roads, United
States department of agri-
culture, and during the war, 1917-1918, he was
lecturer for the
war work council of the Y. M. C. A. In
addition he was a Uni-
versity of Chicago lecturer from 1904 to 1923. He has also
been
connected with the University Extension
Society of Pittsburgh,
Chautauqua institution, archivist
Harvard commission on western
history and a member of the board of
editors of the Mississippi
Valley Historical Review.
"Dr. Hulbert was a member of the
American Historical As-
sociation; Ohio Archaeological and
Historical Society (life); Ohio
Valley Historical Society (president);
Interstate Good Roads
Association (vice president); Delta
Upsilon; Rufus Putnam
Memorial Association; Ohio Historical
and Philosophical Society;
American Antiquarian Society; Phi Beta
Kappa and Fellow of
the Royal Geographical Society. He was also a member of
the
El Paso Club and the Broadmoor Golf
Club. He was a member
of the First Congregational
Church."
Archer Butler Hulbert 469
Archer Butler Hulbert grew in
historical literary
power and fame with the passing of the
years. To him
could literally be applied the somewhat
trite phrase "in-
defatigable worker." In 1925, the
State Library of
Vermont published, on the completion of
the twenty-fifth
year of his academic teaching, a
bibliography of 102
items of his writings. These are
presented under three
captions: "Independent
Works," "Edited Works," and
"Contributions to Periodicals
(selected)."
A goodly number of his
"Independent Works" were
published in Ohio. The same is true of his "Edited
Works" and his "Contributions
to Periodicals." In fact
his literary career began in Ohio. His
first two books
were published by the F. J. Heer
Printing Co. who had
previously printed them as
contributions in the Ohio
Archaeological and Historical
Quarterly.
The first of these two small volumes
appeared first in
Volume VIII of the Quarterly, pp.
263-295 under the
title, "The Indian Thoroughfares
of Ohio, with illustra-
tions and maps, 1900." The year
following appeared
Mr. Hulbert's second volume. It
appeared first in Vol-
ume IX of the Quarterly as
"The Old National Road; a
Chapter of American Expansion."
The writer of this
sketch well remembers when Mr. Hulbert
was writing
these two books. He was then writing
for the Ohio
State Journal, devoting much of his time to the trails
and early highways of the State.
In the Ohio Archaeological and
Historical Quarterly,
Volume IX, pp. 205-213, 1900, appeared
"The Debt of
the West to Washington." While
this did not appear in
separate form, it indicated an early
interest that re-
mained with the author through
life. Many of the
470 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications subjects of his later writings had reference to trails, waterways, roads, the methods and facilities of trans- portation, expansion and the father of his country and his relationship to both. Of his works published since 1929 especially notable is his Forty Niners, which was awarded the Atlantic Monthly $5,000 prize in 1931. |
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