Ohio History Journal




THE WRITING OF HISTORY IN OHIO, 1935-1945

THE WRITING OF HISTORY IN OHIO, 1935-1945

By FRANCIS P. WEISENBURGER

Ten years ago, in recognition of the 50th anniversary of the

organization of the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical So-

ciety, an endeavor was made by the present writer to summarize

what had been accomplished in Ohio in the field of historical

writing during that half century of the life of the Society (1885-

1935).1 Now, at the end of another decade, it seems fitting to

carry through the past ten years the account of the contributions

to the work of the historical profession by Ohioans residing in

the State.

The publications of the Ohio State Archaeological and His-

torical Society continue to be of primary importance. The Quar-

terly under the editorship of Harlow Lindley has maintained un-

usually high standards in its field. Articles by Henry C. Shet-

rone, Emerson F. Greenman, Richard G. Morgan, H. Holmes

Ellis, and George W. Brainerd have contributed to an under-

standing of the archaeological background of the State's history.

Other contributors have naturally included those of persons with

a special interest and knowledge relating to particular localities.

Among these may be mentioned a study by Helen M. Dudley of

the controversial question, "The Origin of the Name of the Town

of Worthington,"2 one by Francis P. Weisenburger on "Defiance

in History,"3 and that by William J. McNiff of Miami University

on "The Kirtland Phase of Mormonism."4 An informative study

of "The People of Ohio's First County [Washington]"5 is con-

tributed by Wayne Jordan, a graduate of Marietta College. Mrs.

Alta Harvey Heiser is the author of "A Printer's Troubles: Ox-

ford, Ohio, during the Eighteen Thirties."6

Articles in the Quarterly of interest to the student of biog-

raphy include: "General Simon Kenton";7 "Joseph Hough, an

1 Francis P. Weisenburger, "A Half Century of the Writing of History in Ohio,"

The Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly, XLIV (1935), 326-52.

2 Ibid., LII (1943), 248-59.

3 Ibid., L (1941), 65-70.

4 Ibid., L (1941), 261-8.

5 Ibid., XLIX (1940), 326-52.

6 Ibid., XLVII (1938), 40-58.

7 Albert L. Slager in ibid., XLV (1936), 46-67.

 

230



HISTORY WRITING IN OHIO 231

HISTORY WRITING IN OHIO                      231

 

Early Miami Merchant";8 "Major George W. Rue, the Captor of

General John Morgan";9 "Joseph Ray";10 "Samuel Medary, Jour-

nalist and Politician, 1801-1864";11 "William Dean Howells and

the Ashtabula Sentinel";12 "America's First Woman Mayor";13

"Reminiscences of a Surveyor";14 "Summary of the Manuscript

Recollections of Milo G. Williams";15 "Captain Hyatt: Being

Letters Written During the Years 1863-1864 to His Wife";16

and "The Roush Family in the Making of America."17

Persons now or formerly on the staff of the Society who

have presented articles relating to research and bibliographical

matters include: Bertha E. Josephson;18 K. William McKinley;19

Clarence L. Weaver and Helen M. Mills;20 and William D. Over-

man.21 Other articles by those now of the personnel of the So-

ciety include those by Harlow Lindley, "John Lewis Roth,"

"Friends and the Shawnee Indians at Wapakoneta," "Thomas

Beals, First Friends Minister in Ohio" and "A State Motto";22

those by Henry C. Shetrone, "The Grant Cabin," and "Caleb

Atwater";23 and two by James H. Rodabaugh, "Miami Univer-

sity, Calvinism and the Anti-Slavery Movement" and "The Re-

form  Movement in Ohio at the Turn of the Century."24 A his-

tory of "The Historical and Philosophical Society of Ohio"25 was

contributed by Lee Shepard of that Cincinnati society and a his-

tory of "The Western Reserve Historical Society"26 by Elbert

J. Benton, secretary of the latter organization.

Faculty members of the various colleges and universities in

the State have been the authors of many other articles in the

 

8 Rev. P. Pierce Beaver in ibid., XLV (1936), 37-45.

9 William Marion Miller in ibid., L (1941), 130-4.

10 Jerry Dennis in ibid., XLVI (1937), 42-50.

11 Helen P. Dorn in ibid., LIII (1944), 14-38.

12 Edwin H. Cady in ibid., LIII (1944), 39-51.

13 Alfred H. Mitchell in ibid., LIII (1944), 52-3.

14 James T. Weed in ibid., XLV (1936), 151-60.

15 Florence Murdoch in ibid., LIV (1945), 113-26.

16 Edited by Hudson Hyatt in ibid., LIII (1944), 166-183.

17 Rev. Lester Le Roy Roush in ibid., XLV (1936), 197-239.

18 "Critical Investigation versus Careless Presentation," in ibid., XLVII (1938),

243-6, and other articles on "Documentary Data," as e.g. LIV (1945), 56-62, 328-30.

19 Ibid., XLVI (1937), 1-15.

20 Ibid., XLV (1936), 95-150.

21 XLVIII (1939), 329-337.

22 XLIV (1935), 250-7; LIV (1945), 33-9; LIII (1944), 55-60; LIII (1944), 160-5.

23 XLVII (1937), 103-4; LIV (1945), 79-88.

24 XLVIII (1937), 66-73; LIV (1945), 46-55.

25 LIV (1945), 89-95.

26 LIV (1945), 96-103.



232 OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

232  OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

 

Quarterly. Thus, Harold J. Grimm, Charles M. Thomas, Walter

L. Dorn, and Francis P. Weisenburger of Ohio State University;

Harold E. Davis of Hiram College; Harvey A. DeWeerd, then

of Denison University; Paul F. Bloomhardt of Wittenberg Col-

lege; Thomas N. Hoover of Ohio University; K. C. Leebrick,

then president of Kent State University; and Raymond D. Cahall

of Kenyon College, all have presented papers that were originally

given at the annual meetings of the Ohio Academy of History.

Other articles by faculty members include: Carl Wittke of Oberlin

College, "The Ohio-Michigan Boundary Dispute Re-examined,"

and "Good Will on Ancient Battlegrounds";27 Harlan H. Hatcher

of Ohio State University, "The Historical Opportunities Offered

through the Writers' Project";28 Robert S. Fletcher of Oberlin

College, "Oberlin and Co-education" and "Bread and Doctrine at

Oberlin;"29 Fred B. Joyner of Miami University, "William

Cortenus Schenck, Pioneer and Statesman of Ohio";30 Philip

D. Jordan of Miami University and Charles M. Thomas of Ohio

State University, editors, "Reminiscences of an Ohio Volun-

teer";31 Harold E. Davis of Hiram College, "Economic Basis of

Ohio Politics, 1820-1840";32 Benjamin H. Pershing of Witten-

berg College, "A  Surveyor on the Seven Ranges";33 the late

Henry F. Walradt of Ohio State University, "The Debt of Ohio

from 1900 to 1938 Inclusive";34 Frederick C. Waite of Western

Reserve University, "Sources of the Names of the Counties of

the Western Reserve";35 William M. Miller of Miami University,

"An Unrecorded Incident of Morgan's Raid";36 Edward C.

Reilley of John Carroll University, "Politico-Economic Considera-

tions in the Western Reserve's Early Slavery Controversy";37

Robert L. Jones of Marietta College, "A History of Local Agri-

cultural Societies in Ohio to 1865," and "Special Crops in Ohio

 

 

27 Ibid., XLV (1936), 299-319; L (1941), 15-26.

28 XLVII (1938), 246-247.

29 XLVII (1938), 1-19; XLIX (1940), 58-67.

30 XLVII (1938), 363-71.

31 XLVIII (1939), 304-23.

32 XLVII (1938), 288-318.

33 XLVI (1937), 257-70.

34 LI (1942), 219-32.

35 XLVIII (1939), 58-65.

36 LIV (1945), 169-170.

37 LII (1943), 141-57.



HISTORY WRITING IN OHIO 233

HISTORY WRITING IN OHIO                    233

before 1850";38 six articles, by Robert Price of Ohio State

University, including "The Ohio Anti-Slavery Convention of

1836" and "Further Notes on Granville's Anti-Abolition Dis-

turbances of 1836";39 and William H. Hildreth also of Ohio State

University, "Timothy Flint and James Flint."40

Contributions of former faculty members to the Quarterly

include: George W. Rightmire, former president of Ohio State

University, "Ohio in McGuffey's Time";41 Caroline M. Zimmer-

man, formerly    of Wittenberg    College, "Echoes out of the

Past";42 and John H. Cramer, previously of Western Reserve

University, "Lincoln in Ohio."43

Wives of college faculty members have also been active con-

tributors.  Mrs. Josephine E. Phillips, wife of a professor at

Marietta College, is the author of four articles, including "James

Backus: Citizen of Marietta, 1788-1791" and "Ohio's Deep Roots

in Connecticut."44 Mrs. Ophia D. Smith, wife of Professor

William E. Smith of Miami University, is the author of "Edgar

Stillman-Kelley, Ohio Composer" and "Adam Hurdus and the

Swedenborgians in Early Cincinnati."45

Other articles in the Quarterly are the result of research,

which was part of the requirement for the Ph.D. degree at Ohio

State University.   These include: Edgar B. Nixon, "The Zoar

Society: Applicants for Membership";46 Clarence H. Cramer,

"Duncan McArthur: First Phase, 1772-1812" and "Duncan Mc-

Arthur, The Military Phase";47 Alfred B. Sears, "The Political

Philosophy of Arthur St. Clair";48 and W. Sherman Savage, "The

Origin of the Giddings Resolutions."49

Other articles in the Quarterly are by former students in Ohio

colleges and universities and include: Russel B. Nye ( a graduate

 

38 LII (1943), 120-40; LIV (1945), 127-42.

39 XLV (1936), 173-188; XLV (1936), 365-8; Price's other articles are in ibid.,

XLV (1936), 265-72; XLVIII (1939), 20-21; LI (1942), 195-202; LIV (1945), 40-5.

40 LIII (1944), 390.

41 L (1941), 115-129.

42 LIV (1945), 143-48.

43 LIV (1945), 149-68.

44 XLV (1936), 161-72; XLVIII (1939), 74-82. Mrs. Phillips' other articles are in

XLVI (1937), 16-24 and XLVII (1938), 59-68.

45 XLIX (1940), 68-77; LIII (1944), 106-134.

46 XLV (1936), 341-50.

47 XLV (1936), 27-36; XLVI (1937), 128-47.

48 XLIX (1940), 41-57.

49 XLVII (1938), 20-39.



234 OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

234 OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

of Oberlin), "Mark Twain in Oberlin" and "Judge Tourgee and

Reconstruction";50 Elmer E. Noyes (graduate student at Ohio

State), "Columbus: Ohio's Capital";51 Paul R. Grim (graduate

student at Ohio State), "The Rev. John Rankin, Early Abolition-

ist";52 Lee Newcomer (graduate student at Ohio State), "Con-

struction of the Wabash and Erie Canal";53 Edward W. Shunk

(graduate student at Ohio State), "Ohio in Africa";54 W. Edson

Richmond (assistant in English at Ohio State), "Place-Names in

Franklin County, Ohio";55 two by Harry R. Stevens (graduate

student at the University of Cincinnati), "A Study of Notable

Ohioans" and "The Haydn Society of Cincinnati";56 and Ran-

dolph C. Downes (Ph.D. from Ohio State), "Ohio Population

Trends, 1920-1940."57

The Quarterly has also made important contributions to an

understanding of immigrant groups in Ohio. John I. Kolehmainen

(Ph.D. from Western Reserve University) is the author of two

articles, "Finnish Newspapers in Ohio" and "The Founding of the

Finnish Settlements in Ohio."58  Wellington G. Fordyce (M.A.

from Ohio State) is the author of four articles on immigrant

colonies, nationality groups, immigrant institutions, and attempts

to preserve national cultures in Cleveland.59

Wilber Stout, State Geologist, has continued his studies of the

iron industry with an article, "Early Forges in Ohio."60 Some

very neglected phases of Ohio's social history, moreover, are dis-

cussed in many articles dealing with the history of medicine, den-

tistry, and nursing in the State.61 To this series Philip D. Jordan

of Miami University has contributed five articles; Jonathan For-

man of the College of Medicine of Ohio State University, five

 

50 XLVII (1938), 69-73; L (1940), 101-14.

51 LII (1943), 72-94.

52 XLVI (1937) 215-56.

53 XLVI (1937), 199-207.

54 LI (1942), 79-88.

55 LIII (1944), 135-159.

56 XLVII (1938), 159-67; LII (1943), 120-40.

57 LI (1942), 219-32.

58 XLVII (1938), 123-8; XLIX (1940), 150-9. Mr. Kolehmainen also wrote "The

Finnish Pioneers of Minnesota," for Minnesota History (XXV, 1945), 317-28.

59 XLV (1936), 320-40; XLVI (1937), 109-27; XLVII (1938), 87-103; XLIX

(1940), 128-49.

60 XLVI (1937), 25-41.

61 XLVIII (1939), 181-256; XLIX (1940), 315-397; L (1941), 305-387;

LI (1942), 250-340; LII (1943), 307-372; LIII (1944), 303-389.



HISTORY WRITING IN OHIO 235

HISTORY WRITING IN OHIO                 235

 

articles; Robert G. Paterson, Director of the Ohio Public Health

Association, five articles; Edward C. Mills, Editor of the Journal

of the Ohio State Dental Society, four articles; Donald D. Shira,

Assistant Director of the Ohio Public Health Association, three

articles; Howard Dittrick, Curator of the Museum of Historical

and Cultural Medicine (at Cleveland), three articles; David A.

Tucker, Jr., Professor at the University of Cincinnati School of

Medicine, three articles; Adolph E. Waller of the botany depart-

ment of Ohio State University, three articles; Frederick C. Waite,

formerly Professor at the Western Reserve University School of

Medicine, two articles; and single articles by Dr. Leon Goldman,

Dr. Russell L. Haden, Dr. Ralph Taylor, Dr. E. W. Mitchell, Dr.

George M. Curtis, James J. Tyler, John F. Cunningham, Dr.

Chester S. Szubiski, Miss Anne L. Austin, and Dr. Lucy Stone

Hertzog.

Additional articles in the Quarterly include: Hermina Sugar,

"The Role of Women in the Settlement of the Western Re-

serve";62 Alice M. Ruggles, "Unpublished Letters of Dr. Daniel

Drake,"63 and "A Buckeye Boarding-School in 1821";64 George

Nelson Hinds, "Squaw Trail";65 Mary M. Jones, "The Order of

the Purple Heart";66 and Lucille B. Emch, "Ohio in Short Stories,

1824-1839."67

Other periodicals, of course, have also benefitted by the con-

tributions of Ohio historians. Thus, the American Historical

Review has contained "The Clayton-Bulwer Treaty"68 by George

F. Howe of the University of Cincinnati; "The American

Churches and the Mexican War"69 by Clayton S. Ellsworth of

the College of Wooster; and "Why the March to Concord?"70 by

John R. Alden of Bowling Green State University.

The Mississippi Valley Historical Review has published the

following from the pens of Ohioans: Francis P. Weisenburger,

 

62 XLVI (1937), 51-67.

63 XLIX (1940), 191-212.

64 LIII (1944), 251-68.

65 XLIX (1940), 78-83.

66 LII (1943), 65-71.

67 LIII (1944), 209-50.

68 XLII (1936-7), 484-90.

69 XLV (1939-40), 301-26.

70 XLIX (1943-4), 446-54.



236 OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

236 OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

 

"The Middle Western Antecedents of Woodrow Wilson";71

Clarence E. Carter (on leave from Miami University), "The

United States and Documentary Historical Publications" and

"William Henry Harrison and the Mexican Appointment, 1823-

1824";72 Philip D. Jordan of Miami University, "Humor of the

Backwoods, 1820-1840";73 Eugene H. Roseboom     of the Ohio

State University, "Salmon P. Chase and the Know Nothings";74

Clarence P. Gould, then of Kenyon College, "Trade between the

Windward Islands and the Continental Colonies of the French

Empire, 1683-1763";75 Henry M. Dater of Kent State College,

"Albert Gallatin--Land Speculator";76 Carl Wittke of Oberlin,

"The American Theme in Continental European Literature";77

Arthur C. Cole, then of Western Reserve University, "The Puritan

and Fair Terpsichore";78 and Norval N. Luxon of the School of

Journalism at Ohio State, "H. Niles, The Man and the Editor."79

Curtis W. Garrison of the Hayes Memorial edited, "Conversations

with Hayes: A  Biographer's Notes."80  Contributions to the

Review by Paul I. Miller, "Lincoln and the Governorship of

Oregon,"81 and by George W. Auxier, "Middle Western News-

papers and the Spanish-American War, 1895-1898,"82 were

products of research done at the Ohio State University. Philip D.

Jordan (of Miami) and Clayton S. Ellsworth (of the College of

Wooster) also contributed to the Teachers' Section of the Review,

and Francis P. Weisenburger, George F. Howe, and Philip D.

Jordan presented articles on the annual meetings of the

Association.

In the Journal of Modern History the following contributions

by Ohioans appeared: Frederick B. Artz of Oberlin College,

"European Civilization, 1815-1850: Some Unfinished Business";83

 

71 XXIII (1936-7), 375-90.

72 XXV (1938-9), 3-24 and 251-62.

73 XXV (1938-9), 25-38.

74 XXV (1938-9), 335-50.

75 XXV (1938-9), 473-90.

76 XXVI (1939-40), 21-38.

77 XXVIII (1941-2), 3-26.

78 XXIX (1942-3), 3-24.

79 XXVIII (1941-2), 27-40.

80 XXV (1938-9), 369-80.

81 XXIII (1936-7), 391-4.

82 XXVI (1939-40), 523-4.

83 IX (1937), 304-13.



HISTORY WRITING IN OHIO 237

HISTORY WRITING IN OHIO                 237

 

Harry Jewell Sarkiss of Findlay College, "The Armenian Renais-

sance, 1500-1863";84 Harold W. Landin of Ohio State University,

ed., "Some Letters of Thomas Paine and William Short on the

Nootka Sound Crisis";85 Sydney N. Fisher of Ohio State, "Civil

Strife in the Ottoman Empire, 1481-1503";86 Harold E. Davis of

Hiram College, ed., "The Citizenship of Jon Perdicaris";87 C.

William Vogel of the University of Cincinnati, "The Holstein

Enigma: A Reappraisal of Its Origins";88 Anatole G. Mazour,

then of Miami University, "Modern Russian Historiography";89

and J. H. Hexter of the University of Cincinnati, "The Protestant

Pevival and the Catholic Question in England, 1778-1829."90

During this period the Bulletin of the Historical Society of

Northwestern Ohio was greatly improved under the managing

editorship (1942-45) of Curtis W. Garrison, and after January,

1944, appeared under the title, Northwest Ohio Quarterly: A

Journal of History and Civilization. Among the more important

articles by Ohioans appearing in it during this time were: Francis

P. Weisenburger, "General Isaac Sherwood";91 Edward F.

Mohler, "Vignette of a Pioneer, the Reverend Edward Hannin";92

Russell S. McClure, "The Natural Gas Era in Northwestern

Ohio";93 James H. Rodabaugh, "Samuel M. Jones--Evangel of

Equality";94 Silas E. Hurin, "The Old Central High School of

Toledo";95 Kathryn M. Keller, "A Tavern Every Mile";96 Howard

C. Perkins, ed., "Northern Ohio Scene, 1839";97 Harold E. Davis,

"Elisha Whittlesey and Maumee Land Speculation, 1834-1840";98

Maurer Maurer, "Navigation at the Foot of the Maumee Rapids,

1815-1845";99 Francis P. Weisenburger, "Charles Sumner Van

 

 

84 IX (1937), 433-8.

85 XIII (1941), 357-74.

86 XIII (1941), 449-466.

87 XIII (1941), 517-526.

88 XIV (1942), 46-63.

89 IX (1937), 169-202.

90 VIII (1936), 297-319.

91 XIV (1942), 42-54.

92 XIV (1942), 70-82.

93 XIV (1942), 83-105.

94 XV (1943), 17-46.

95 XV (1943), 71-6.

96 XV (1943), 195-208.

97 XXV (1943), 209-223.

98 XV (1943), 139-158.

99 XV (1943), 159-173.



238 OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

238 OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

 

Tassell" and "Northwestern Ohio a Hundred Years Ago";100

Carl B. Spitzer, "Construction and Physical Appearance of Fort

Miami";101 F. M. Setzler, "Samuel Crowell's Account of a Seneca

Dog Sacrifice: An Introduction";102 Curtis W. Garrison, "Presi-

dent Hayes, Opponent of Prohibition";103 Ethel L. Pound, "Where

Our Heroes Are Buried";104 John Keller, "Findlay's Interurban

Golden Spike Ceremony";105 and Helen A. McClintock, "Lucy

Elliot Keeler."106

Philip D. Jordan of Miami University contributed numerous

articles and edited manuscript material dealing with the activities

of William Salter and the Andover Missionary group, local West-

ern history, and the work of the Hutchinson Singers, to the Iowa

Journal of History,l07 the Annals of Iowa,108 the Palimpsest,109

and The Bulletin of the New York Public Library.110

The Indiana Magazine of History published "The Death of

Nancy Hanks Lincoln,"111 by Philip D. Jordan, and "The Urbani-

zation of the Middle West,"112 by Francis P. Weisenburger.

The Journal of Southern History presented the following

articles by Ohioans: Joseph C. Robert (while an instructor at

Ohio State), "Lee the Farmer";113 Curtis W. Garrison, ed.,

"Slater Fund Beginnings: Letters from General Agent Atticus G.

Haygood to Rutherford B. Hayes";114 Randolph C. Downes

(while associated with the Ohio Writers' Project), "Creek-Ameri-

can Relations 1790-1795";115 and Henry H. Simms of Ohio State,

"A Critical Analysis of Abolition Literature, 1830-1840."116

Robert S. Fletcher of Oberlin College is the author of "The

First Coeds" in the American Scholar117 and (with Ernest H.

100 XV (1943), 5-7; XVI (1944), 12-21.

101 XVI (1944), 112-6.

102 XVI (1944), 144-6.

103 XVI (1944), 164-177.

104 XVI (1944), 178-86.

105 XVI (1944), 137-43.

106 XVII (1945), 9-37.

107 XXXIII, 99-122, 123-154.

108 Third Series, XIX, 243-266, 363-383, 448-469, 539-553, 592-613; XX, 26-49.

109 XVI, 211-225; XVII, 49-66; XVIII, 145-159.

110 (New York, 1935.)

111 XL, (June, 1944), 103-110.

112 XLI (March, 1945), 19-30.

113 III (1937), 422-40.

114 V (1939), 223-44.

115 VIII (1942), 350-73.

116 VI (1940), 368-82.

117 VII (1938), 78-93.



HISTORY WRITING IN OHIO 239

HISTORY WRITING IN OHIO                 239

 

Wilkins, president of Oberlin College) "The Beginnings of College

Education for Women and of Co-education on the College Level"

in the Bulletin of Oberlin College.118

Carl Wittke of Oberlin College has contributed to other

journals a number of articles dealing with the foreign-born in

American history. Among such are: "Freiligrath and Heinzen"

and "Karl Heinzen's Literary Ambitions";119 and "American

Germans in    Two   World  Wars,"120 as well as "German

Immigrants and Their Children";121 and "The German Ameri-

cans."122

Harvey A. DeWeerd (of Denison University until he as-

sumed other duties at Princeton and in connection with the

armed services) did much to stimulate an interest in military

history as editor of the Journal of the American Military Institute.

To this periodical John S. Hare of Ohio State University con-

tributed  "Military  Punishments in the War of 1812."123

DeWeerd himself wrote ably on matters of a military nature,

including the volume Great Soldiers of the Two World Wars

(New York, 1941).

Ohioans have also made numerous contributions to the later

volumes of the Dictionary of American Biography, edited by

Dumas Malone and Harris E. Starr. To volumes XV to XX,

published in 1935-6 and the supplementary volume (1944), the

following contributors from Ohio may be noted: Gilbert H.

Barnes, Elbert J. Benton, Beverley W. Bond, Jr., Henry E.

Bourne, Arthur C. Cole, Randolph C. Downes, John I. Falconer,

Vergelius Ferm, Robert Fletcher, Curtis W. Garrison, Charles B.

Galbreath, Walter M. Horton, Philip D. Jordan, Rhea Mansfield

Knittle, Harlow Lindley, Reginald McGrane, Benjamin H.

Pershing, Charles S. Plumb, James H. Rodabaugh, Eugene H.

Roseboom, Henry C. Shetrone, Wilbur H. Siebert, William E.

Smith, Charles M. Thomas, Alonzo H. Tuttle, William T. Utter,

118 New Series, 343f.

119 In Monatshefte fur Deutschen Unterricht, XXXIV, 425-35; XXXVII (Feb.,

1945).

120 Wisconsin Magazine of History, XXVII (1943-4), 6-16.

121 Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 223 (1942),

85-91.

122 Common Ground, I (1941), 8-17.

123 IV (1940), 225-39.



240 OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

240  OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

 

Albert T. Volwiler, Francis P. Weisenburger, and Carl Wittke.

Similarly scholars in Ohio have done their part in pre-

paring articles for the Dictionary of American History, edited

by James Truslow Adams (5 vols., New York, 1940). Ohioans

contributing to this work include: Francis R. Aumann, Gilbert

H. Barnes, Elbert J. Benton, Wilfred E. Binkley, Beverley W.

Bond, Jr., Henry G. Bourne, Arthur C. Cole, Harold E. Davis,

Harvey A. DeWeerd, Randolph C. Downes, Foster Rhea Dulles,

Clayton S. Ellsworth, Lawrence F. Hill, Theodore N. Hoover,

Fred B. Joyner, Harlow Lindley, Arthur E. Morgan, A. Sellew

Roberts, Eugene H. Roseboom, Henry C. Shetrone, Wilbur H.

Siebert, Charles M. Thomas, Harvey Walker, and Albert T.

Volwiler.

Francis P. Weisenburger also helped in the preparing of

historical data for the maps in the Atlas of American History,

James Truslow Adams, editor (New York, 1943).

The Federal Writers' Program in Ohio (1936-1939; then

Ohio Writers' Program, 1940-1943) compiled indexes for Akron,

Cleveland, Cincinnati and Dayton newspapers and produced

almost a score of guides for various parts of the State. Among

the latter may be noted: The Ohio Guide (New York, 1940);

Chillicothe, Ohio's First Capital (Chillicothe, 1941); Cincinnati:

A Guide to the Queen City and Its Neighbors (Cincinnati, 1943);

Lake County History (Mentor, 1941); Westerville in the Ameri-

can Tradition (Columbus, 1940); Bryan and Williams County

(Gallipolis, 1941); Fremont and Sandusky County    (1940);

Gallipolis (Gallipolis, 1940); Urbana and Champaign County

(Urbana, 1942); and Warren and Trumbull County (1938)

Publications of the Historical Records Survey in Ohio include.

A Check List of Ohio Imprints, 1796-1820 (Columbus, 1941);

Historic Sites of Cleveland:  Hotels and Taverns (Columbus,

1942); Inventory of Business Records. The D. Connelly Boiler

Company. The J. B. Savage Company (Cleveland, 1941); Inven-

tory of the County Archives of Ohio (Columbus, 1937-, for 28

counties); Inventory  of the Municipal Archives of Ohio

(Columbus, 1939-, 3 volumes on Cleveland); Inventory of the



HISTORY WRITING IN OHIO 241

HISTORY WRITING IN OHIO                 241

State Archives of Ohio (Columbus, 1940-, 1 volume on Secretary

of State); and Inventory of Federal Archives in the States

(Columbus, 1937-, 8 volumes on Ohio of 17 proposed).

The late Senator Simeon D. Fess edited a publication en-

titled Ohio: A Four-Volume Reference Library (Chicago, 1937),

and two popular one-volume accounts of the State's history

were issued: David E. Crouse, The Ohio Gateway (New York,

1938) and David W. Bowman, Pathway of Progress: A Short

History of Ohio (Cincinnati, 1943). Harlan H. Hatcher wrote

The Buckeye Country: A Pageant of Ohio (New York, 1940).

Two volumes telling the story of the Great Lakes contain

material relating to northern Ohio: Walter Havighurst (of

Miami University, The Long Ships Passing: the Story of the

Great Lakes (New York, 1942), and Hatcher, The Great Lakes

(New York, 1944).

A number of volumes of local history were published. One

of the best is Stories of Guernsey County, Ohio: History of an

Average Ohio County (Cambridge, Ohio, 1943), by William G.

Wolfe, superintendent of the Guernsey County schools, 1914-35.

A member of the noted Longworth family wrote an account

of the city of her girlhood, Clara Longworth DeChambrun,

Cincinnati: Story of the Queen City (New York, 1939), and

Burton P. Porter wrote of the "Old Canal Days" especially around

Canal Fulton (1942). Mrs. Ophia D. Smith has written Old

Oxford Houses (Oxford, Ohio, 1941).

But, incomparably the outstanding work in relation to the

history of Ohio has been the publication of the monumental six-

volume, History of the State of Ohio, edited by Carl Wittke,

(Columbus, 1941-44). The series consists of Volume I, The

Foundations of Ohio, by Beverley W. Bond, Jr., University of

Cincinnati; Volume II, The Frontier State, 1800-1825, by William

T. Utter, Denison University; Volume III, The Passing of the

Frontier, 1825-1850, by Francis P. Weisenburger, Ohio State

University; Volume IV, The Civil War Era, 1850-1873, by

Eugene H. Roseboom, Ohio State University; Volume V, Ohio

Comes of Age: 1873-1900, by Philip D. Jordan, Miami Univer-

sity; and Volume VI, Ohio in the Twentieth Century, planned



242 OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

242 OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

 

and edited by Harlow Lindley, and including contributions by

Harlan H. Hatcher, James E. Pollard, Mrs. J. E. Clark, Mrs.

Raymond Osburn, B. H. Pershing, John M. Weed, J. I. Falconer,

Francis R. Aumann, Frank T. Carlton, Virgil Willit, H. Clyde

Hubbart, Paul B. Sears, J. Otis Garber, William D. Overman,

and Harlow Lindley.

To the Ohio Historical Collections series, published from

time to time by the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical So-

ciety, a number of volumes have been added, including the follow-

ing by these Ohio residents: Volume V. Carl Wittke, German-

Americans in the World War, with Special Emphasis on Ohio's

German-Language Press (Columbus, 1936); Volume VI, Mrs.

Ophia D. Smith, The Life and Times of Giles Richards (1820-

60)   (Columbus, 1936); Volume                VIII, Allen   E. Ragan

(Ph. D. from Ohio State University), Chief Justice Taft

(Columbus, 1938); Volume X, Frank H. Rowe, History of the

Iron and Steel Industry in Scioto County, Ohio (Columbus,

1938); and Volume XI, Harlow Lindley, ed., Captain Cushing

in the War of 1812 (Columbus, 1944).

For the Ohio State University Studies, Graduate School

Series, Contributions in History and Political Science, Francis P.

Weisenburger wrote The Life of John McLean, A Politician on

the United States Supreme Court (Columbus, 1937) and Francis

R. Aumann, Changing American Legal System (Columbus, 1940).

For the Ohio State University, Journalism Series, Jesse J. Cur-

rier wrote The Beginnings of Ohio Journalism: Newspapers of

the Territorial Period (Columbus, 1942).

Among publications from the Mississippi Valley Press at

Oxford, Ohio, under the editorship of Philip D. Jordan of Miami

University and Charles M. Thomas of Ohio State University are

the following: Jordan, William  Salter: Western Torchbearer

(Men of America Series, 1939); Thomas, Thomas Riley Mar-

shall: Hoosier Statesman (Men of America Series, 1939); Wil-

liam J. McNiff of Miami University, Heaven on Earth, A Planned

Mormon Society (Annals of America, 1940); Huntley Dupre

(Ph.D. from  Ohio State), Lazare Carnot: Republican Patriot



HISTORY WRITING IN OHIO 243

HISTORY WRITING IN OHIO                243

 

(Foundation Studies in Culture, 1940); Alta Harvey Heiser,

Quaker Lady: The Story of Charity Lynch (Annals of America,

1941), and Hamilton in the Making (Annals of America, 1941);

and Frank H. Heck of Miami University, The Civil War Veteran

in Minnesota Life and Politics (Annals of America, 1941).

To the important scholarly series covering the field of Euro-

pean history, The Rise of Modern Europe (edited by William L.

Langer), Walter L. Dorn of Ohio State University contributed

the volume Competition for Empire, 1740-1763 (New York, 1940)

and the late Robert C. Binkley of Western Reserve University, the

volume Realism and Nationalism, 1852-1871 (New York, 1935).

Much progress has been made during the past ten years in

the writing of the history of Ohio colleges and universities. Among

the noteworthy volumes are: Lucy Notestein, Wooster of the

Middle West (New Haven, I937); Frederick Clayton Waite,

Western Reserve University: The Hudson Era (Cleveland, 1943) ;

H. Clyde Hubbart, Ohio Wesleyan's First Hundred Years (Dela-

ware, 1943); and the excellent two volumes, Robert S. Fletcher,

A History of Oberlin College from Its Foundations through the

Civil War (Oberlin, 1943). Additional portions of the History

of Ohio State University have also been issued: Volume IV,

part 2, by Wilbur H. Siebert (1938) and Volume V, edited by

William McPherson and Harold K. Schellenger.

Other volumes by professional Ohio scholars include: Fred-

erick Artz of Oberlin College, The Intellectual History of Europe

from Saint Augustine to Marx (New York, 1941), and 1917 and

1941 (New York, 1941); Donald G. Barnes of Western Reserve

University, George III and William Pitt, 1783-1806: A New

Interpretation Based on a Study of Their Unpublished Corre-

spondence (Stanford University, 1939); Wilfred E. Binkley of

Ohio Northern University, American Political Parties (New

York, 1943); Beverley W. Bond, Jr., ed., The Courses of the

Ohio River Taken by Lt. T. Hutchins Anno 1766 (Cincinnati,

1942); Arthur C. Cole (while at Western Reserve University),

A Hundred Years of Mt. Holyoke College: The Evolution of an

Educational Ideal (New Haven, 1940); Randolph C. Downes,



244 OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

244  OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

 

Council Fires on the Upper Ohio: A Narrative of Indian Affairs

in the Upper Ohio Valley until 1795 (Pittsburgh, 1940); Foster

Rhea Dulles (after coming to Ohio State University in 1941),

Behind the Open Door: The Story of American Far Eastern

Relations, and The Road to Teheran: The Story of Russia and

America (Princeton, 1944) and Twentieth Century America

(Boston, 1945); Chester F. Dunham (a Toledo clergyman), The

Attitude of the Northern Clergy toward the South (Toledo,

1942); Hasting Eells of Ohio Wesleyan University, Writing a

Thesis (Fostoria, Ohio, 1939) Harold J. Grimm of Ohio State

University with two collaborators, Western Civilization: The

Decline of Rome to 1660 and Western Civilization: Since 1660

(Chicago, 1942) ; Lawrence F. Hill of Ohio State University, The

Confederate Exodus to Latin America124 (Austin, 1936) and "Our

Present Peril in Historical Perspective" in Hispanic American

Essays in Commemoration of James Alexander Robertson, ed. by

A. Curtis Wilgus (Chapel Hill, 1942) ; Homer C. Hockett of Ohio

State University, Constitutional History of the United States,

1776-1876 (2 vols., New York, 1939), and a revised edition of his

general American history, the new volume being entitled Political

and Social Growth of the American People, 1492-1865 (New

York, 1940), and a one-volume American history (with Arthur M.

Schlesinger), Land of the Free (New York, 1944); Harry N.

Howard of Miami University with R. J. Kerner, The Balkan

Conferences and the Balkan Entente, 1930-1935 (Berkeley, 1936);

George F. Howe of the University of Cincinnati, A General His-

tory of the United States since 1865 (New York, 1939); Henry

C. Hubbart of Ohio Wesleyan University, The Older Middle

West, 1840-1880 (New York, 1936); Bertha E. Josephson of the

Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society, Manual of Style

for Publications of the Beveridge Memorial Fund (New York,

1940), comp., Index to Volumes XVI-XXV (1930-1939) of the

Mississippi Valley Historical Review (Cedar Rapids, 1940), editor

and part author, Local History: How to Gather It, Write It, and

Publish It, with Donald D. Parker et al. (New York, 1944);

 

124 Originally published in The Southwestern Historical Review.



HISTORY WRITING IN OHIO 245

HISTORY WRITING IN OHIO                 245

 

Reginald McGrane of the University of Cincinnati, Foreign Bond-

holders and American State Debts (New York, 1935) and The

Economic Development of the American Nation (New York,

1942); Arthur Mink of the Ohio State Archaeological and Histori-

cal Society, comp., Title List of Ohio Newspapers (Columbus,

1945); David R. Moore of Oberlin College, A History of Latin

America (New York, 1938); Harvey Rice (then of Ohio State

University), Life of Jonathan M. Bennett (Chapel Hill, 1943);

Howard Robinson and others of Oberlin College, Toward Interna-

tional Organization (New York, 1942) ; Henry H. Simms of Ohio

State University, Life of Robert M. T. Hunter: A Study in Sec-

tionalism and Secession (Richmond, Virginia, 1935), and A Dec-

ade of Sectional Controversy, 1851-1861 (Chapel Hill, 1942);

Wilbur H. Siebert of Ohio State University, Vermont's Anti-

Slavery and Underground Railroad Record (Columbus, 1937);

Albert T. Volwiler of Ohio University, ed., The Correspondence

between Benjamin Harrison and James G. Blaine, 1882-1893

(Philadelphia, 1940); Carl Wittke of Oberlin College, We Who

Built America: The Saga of the Immigrant (New York, 1941),

and Against the Current: The Life of Karl Heinzen   1809-80)

(Chicago, 1945), as well as an expanded edition (New York,

1941) of his History of Canada.

Additional volumes by a local historian of Greenville, Ohio,

Frazer E. Wilson, are: an edition of Journal of Daniel Bradley

(Greenville, 1935); Advancing the Ohio Frontier: A Saga of the

Old Northwest (Greenville, 1937); and Arthur St. Clair: Rugged

Ruler of the Old Northwest (Richmond, Virginia, I944).

In the field of architectural history, Frank John Roos, Jr., of

Ohio State University has contributed An Illustrated Handbook of

Art History (New York, 1937) and Writings on Early American

Architecture (Columbus, I943). Ihna Thayer Frary of the Cleve-

land Museum of Art has published Early Homes of Ohio (Rich-

mond, Virginia, 1936); Early American Doorways (Richmond,

1937); They Built the Capitol (Richmond, 1940); and Ohio in

Homespun and Calico (1942).

Fred C. Kelley has written a biography of The Wright



246 OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

246  OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

Brothers (New York, 1943), and Philip D. Jordan and Lillian

Kessler have compiled Songs of Yesterday: A Song Anthology of

American Life (Garden City, 1941).

All in all, the past decade has been a fruitful one in the pub-

lication of historical writings of Ohioans. Naturally, during the

past four or five years, the war effort has taken precedence over

many peacetime activities including much historical research, but

happily Ohio now looks forward to days of peace - not too far

distant -and to a continuance of the State's important position in

the field of historiography.