Ohio History Journal
THE REPORT OF THE
FORTY-SIXTH AN-
NUAL MEETING OF THE
OHIO STATE
ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND
HIS-
TORICAL SOCIETY
MORNING SESSION
The annual meeting
of the Ohio State Archaeologi-
cal and Historical
Society convened at 10 o'clock a.m.,
Tuesday, April 26,
1932, in the auditorium of the
Museum and Library
building of the Society. There
were present:
Dr. W. O. Thompson Mr. O. K. Reams
Mr. Lowry Sater Miss
Jeannette Shields
Mrs. C. B. Galbreath Mr. J. W. Johnson
Mr. Dudley T. Fisher,
Sr. Dr. Harlow
Lindley
Mrs. George U. Marvin Mr. J. S. Roof
Miss Helen Bareis Mr. J. C.
Goodman
Mr. H. G. Simpson Mr. H. R.
McPherson
Mr. John F. Carlisle Mr. Homer Charles
Mr. Edward C. Mills Mr. Roy Sampson
Mrs. Margaret P. Cope Mr. William G.
Pengelly
Mr. E. S. Thomas Mr. P. P.
Bascom
Mrs. Orson D. Dryer Mr. John H. James
Mr. H. C. Shetrone Miss Josephine
Garner
Mr. C. B. Galbreath Mr. A. C.
Spetnagel
Mr. H. R. Goodwin Mr. H. E. Davis
Mr. Oscar F. Miller Dr. J. M.
Henderson
Mr. Adolphus Williams Mr. B. H. Pershing
Mr. Jerry Denniss Mr. H. M.
Povenmire
Mr. A. D. Hosterman Prof. F. C.
Caldwell
Mr. M. G. Heintz Mr. John Horst
(536)
Report of the
Forty-sixth Annual Meeting 537
Gen. George Florence Mr. E. M. Lee
Mr. Guy Wallace Mr. William
McKinley
Mrs. Howard Jones Mr. Robert P.
Goldman
Mr. John H. Watters Dr. Carl E. Guthe
Mr. F. A. Woolson Mrs. George
Florence
Mrs. Frank H. Ellison Mrs. H. R. McPherson
Prof. H. E. Davis Mr. Lawrence
Gray
Mr. R. E. Woolson Mrs. Roy
Sampson
Mrs. M. W. Shuitt Dr. E. F.
Greenman
Miss Frances Krumm Dr. John Galbraith
Mrs. Homer Charles Mr. Glenn A. Black
In the absence of the
president of the Society and
with vacancies due to
the death of the first and second
Vice-Presidents of
the Society, Secretary Galbreath
called the meeting to
order.
Dr. Edward C. Mills
moved that Mr. Lowry Sater
act as chairman pro tern
of the meeting.
Mr. John F. Carlisle
seconded the motion which was
unanimously carried.
Mr. Sater made brief
introductory remarks on as-
suming the chair and
asked for the first order of busi-
ness. The Secretary
announced then that this would be
the reading of a
telegram from President Johnson to
Director Shetrone.
Mr. Shetrone read the telegram as
follows:
Washington, D. C.
H. C. SHETRONE,
Ohio State University,
Director State Museum,
Columbus, Ohio.
Please preface opening
of annual meeting by reading follow-
ing: The retiring
president of your Society apologizing for his
absence takes this
means of extending his felicitations to the trus-
tees both old and new,
to the members of the Society and to the
538 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
ever faithful staff of loyal workers in
the Museum and Library.
Nothing but an invitation which custom
designates as a com-
mand would have detained your president
in Washington over
this annual meeting date. This afternoon
your trustees will elect
officers for the coming year. For the
next president the under-
signed bespeaks the same co-operation
and loyalty to purpose
which have characterized the attitude of
this organization dur-
ing his administration. He condoles with
his fellow members
over the loss of those stalwarts who for
so many years marched
in the forefront for the cause of human
betterment and urges
that worthy successors be chosen to
carry on. In his opinion it
would serve the Society best to reaffirm
the policy of promoting
its educational program., of broadening
the scope of its member-
ship, of modernizing its museum, of
giving every effort to de-
velopment of its library, of pressing
the state for all possible
support, of maintaining a fine
relationship with its outlying com-
mittees and kindred Ohio organizations,
and of refraining from
any unwise disturbance of its organic
law. Close attention to
the treasurer's report will acquaint the
membership with the dif-
ficult fiscal situation present and
prospective with which the in-
coming administration of the Society
will have to deal. With
keenest appreciation of unfailing
co-operation during past years
and with warmest personal regard to all
of you.
Sincerely,
ARTHUR C. JOHNSON.
The Chairman announced the next order of
business
to be the reading of the minutes of the
last annual meet-
ing. The Secretary then read the
minutes. After some
suggestions by Dr. Thompson and
explanations by the
Secretary the minutes were approved as
read.
A conflict between a provision of the
constitution
fixing the name of the Society as the
"Ohio State Arch-
aeological and Historical Society"
and the name of the
Society in the charter as revised one
year ago to read,
"Ohio State Historical
Society," was then considered.
Report of the Forty-sixth Annual
Meeting 539
After some discussion Dr. Thompson
moved to re-
scind the action at the last annual
meeting changing the
name of the Society to Ohio State
Historical Society.
Mr. Carlisle seconded the motion which
was unani-
mously agreed to.
After further discussion Mr. Edward
Sinclair
Thomas moved to provide that the
articles of incorpora-
tion be amended to conform with the
present accepted
(constitutional) name of the Society.
After an explanation of his motion by
Mr. Thomas,
Chairman Sater stated that motion as
follows:
"It has been moved and seconded
that the Secretary of State
be officially advised that the correct
corporate and only name of
this Society is the Ohio State
Archaeological and Historical
Society."
The motion was unanimously agreed to.
Secretary Galbreath then read his
annual report.
After some suggestions by Dr. Thompson
of modifica-
tion of two paragraphs of the report in
the printed form
in which it should appear, the report
was accepted. The
report was as follows:
SECRETARY'S REPORT
The presentation of an annual report is
among the duties
of the Secretary prescribed in the
constitution of the Society.
The meetings of the Society on March 26
and April 30 have
been adequately reported in the minutes
which have this morn-
ing been read in your hearing. A summary
had previously been
published in the Quarterly and Museum
Echoes of the Society.
The annual meeting of the Board of
Trustees was held in
the afternoon of March 26, 1931. At this
meeting as usual
540 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
officers of the Society and members of
the staff of employees
were chosen.
There were four other meetings of the
Board at which
some matters of considerable importance
were acted upon.
On May 19, a number of items of routine
administration of
the society were considered.
On October 8, a budget of adjusted
salaries made neces-
sary by the cut of 7% required by the
Director of Finance was
approved and attention was drawn to the
fact that the Gover-
nor had vetoed the salaries for Curator
of History and News-
paper Librarian for the year 1932.
On November 14, the Secretary announced
that at the re-
quest of the President of the Society he
had asked an opinion of
the Attorney General as to the authority
of the Society to rent
properties in its custody and to apply
funds thus derived.
On January 29, the current
year, the Board of Trustees re-
ceived a gift of the title to famous
Glacial Groove on Kelleys
Island. This was presented by the
Cleveland Museum of Natural
History through Trustee Harold T. Clark.
At this meeting an
opinion from the Attorney General, which
had been requested at
the previous meeting was received and
placed on file.
The minutes of these meetings of the
Board of Trustees in
the past year have been approved and a
stenographic report of
the same in each case has been filed in
the records of the Society.
A stenographic report of the meetings of
the Society has also
been filed.
The Secretary here gave grateful
recognition of assistance
rendered the Society in the General
Assembly by State Senator
Walter G. Nickels and expressed
appreciation of the saving
service of Governor George White who
restored to the staff of
the Society two important positions
which had been vetoed.
The Secretary continued his report:
In spite of the cuts in appropriations
for publications, the
Museum Echoes and the Quarterly have been continued to date,
Report of the Forty-sixth Annual
Meeting 541
and the latter for April will be issued
before the close of the
present month. An abundance of good
manuscripts has been
acquired free of charge, including some
for the continuance of
the series of Ohio Historical
Collections, two volumes of which
have already been published. Had the
favor been extended to
the Society that has been accorded to
educational institutions, in
a cut of 7% instead of 15%, by strict
economy all the lines of
publications could have been continued
until the close of the
present year. This has not been done,
however, and with the
meager funds for printing, the
Historical Collections, the Echoes
and possibly the Quarterly may
have to suspend publication be-
fore the end of the year. It is with
sincere regret that this an-
nouncement is made, but conditions
compel this frank statement.
Outstanding obligations for books,
magazines and maps, will
consume practically all of the money
available for such purchase.
Gifts and accumulations that have not
yet been accessioned will
furnish employment and assure a limited
growth until the end
of the current year. Under the better
appropriations for the
previous year the library has continued
to grow until the present
time. Since the last annual report there
have been accessioned
1,680 volumes and bound pamphlets. The
number accessioned
the previous year was 882. This shows a
substantial increase
for the current year almost 100%. This
brings the total num-
ber of accessions to the library on
April 2, 1932 to 27,779. A
number of rare manuscripts, papers and
documents have been
transferred to the vaults of the library
and over 800 cards have
been made for these.
Prominent among the additions of
manuscripts within the
year is the rare, unique and valuable
collection presented by Pro-
fessor Emerson Venable, scholar, teacher
and author, the son of
William Henry Venable, educator, poet
and writer of national
reputation. Professor Venable presents
this as a memorial to his
wife, to be known as "The Dolores
Cameron Venable Collec-
tion." It is made up in part of the
manuscript letters, papers
and books collected and written by
William Henry Venable, in-
cluding, of course, his well-known
volume entitled Beginnings of
542 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
Literary Culture in the Ohio Valley,
1891, the standard work on
this subject for almost forty years. A
manuscript revision of
this volume which brought the text down
to almost the time of
the author's death is in the collection
and available for future
publication. There is also a large
number of lantern slides used
by Professor Emerson Venable in his
lectures on Ohio literary
subjects. The collection includes a
large number of letters from
Coates Kinney, the well-known poet,
author of "Rain on the
Roof," and other poems of equal
merit. One of the first fruits
of the correspondence between Venable
and Kinney is the de-
lightful volume by Debora McNeilan,
entitled "An Interpreta-
tion of the Life and Poetry of Coates
Kinney."
It is our intention to make this
collection the foundation of
source material for a study of the
literature and the literary men
and women of Ohio.
The library has been further enriched by
the purchase of
four volumes of mounted manuscript
letters from the famous
collection of Dr. C. E. Rice of
Alliance, Ohio. These are almost
wholly of famous Ohioans and the letters
are of the same high
order of the previous volumes acquired
from. the same source.
Nor may we omit to acknowledge the
acquisition of the
library of the famous Ohio historian,
Henry Howe, whose name
is a household word in almost every home
of the state. For al-
most three generations past and for
generations yet to come, our
state will pay its tribute of gratitude
to Henry Howe. His
library comes to this Society as the
gift of his son, Mr. Frank
Howe of Columbus, Ohio, who aided his
father in the preparation
of the second edition of Howe's
Historical Collections. With
this library comes a large and fine
portrait of Henry Howe which
I am loathe to permit to go from my
office, but which must ulti-
mately find its way to our picture
gallery.
By the way, this gallery is already
taking form in the
painted portraits of the Trimble family
that come as a bequest
from the late Miss Rachel Trimble of
Columbus.
In a previous report your Secretary
expressed the opinion
that the annual accessions of newspapers
to the library would
Report of the Forty-sixth Annual
Meeting 543
diminish in number; that the canvass for
these in the various
counties would soon cover the entire
state. The number of
volumes added in the past year, however,
almost reached the
accessions of any previous year in
number, while in quality it
surpassed last year's record, which was
numerically the largest
in the history of the library. The
volumes accessioned in the
year that ends the first day of the
present month number 2,059.
Some of these that were of unusual
interest will be detailed in
the printed report which will reach all
of the members. Mr.
Simpson in charge of the newspaper
department, is to be com-
mended for the continuance of this
excellent record. The rapid
growth of his department makes the need
of additional shelving
not only obvious but pressing.
A little more than a year ago, at the
suggestion of Judge
Carrington T. Marshall, Chief Justice of
the Supreme Court of
Ohio, an effort was inaugurated to have
transferred to the library
the dockets of the justices of the peace
in the different localities
of the state. Within the past year 715
of these dockets have
been received and filed in the newspaper
department. 380 of
these were from Cuyahoga County and 335
from other counties
of the state.
Something must be said of the use of the
library. Every
mail brings requests for information,
some of which could not
be found elsewhere. This is especially
true of the newspaper
department and the manuscript
department. Dr. Carter, from
the Department of State, Washington, D.
C., was in the library
a few days ago to consult the Winthrop
Sargent papers and the
original Journal of the Northwest
Territory which came into the
possession of the library a little more
than one year ago. He is
now having copied many of these papers
and the Record of the
Northwest Territory complete to be
published in the series of
territorial manuscript records to be
issued by United States
government.
The genealogical department is growing
and its reference
sources are in frequent use.
The Secretary of the Society was
appointed on the George
544 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
Washington Bicentennial Commission. He
has delivered a num-
ber of addresses, or practically the
same address a number of
times in different parts of the state.
His theme was "George
Washington and Ohio," with special
emphasis on the journey of
Washington and his party on the Ohio
River in 1770, years be-
fore the Revolution and the Declaration
of Independence. He
broadcast the essentials of this address
over WLW from Cin-
cinnati January 20, and it has been
published in the February
issue of Museum Echoes, extra
copies of which have been printed
for use later in the year when the
replica of this historic voyage
on the Ohio is planned as a final event
of Ohio's celebration of
this bicentennial year. With his address
has been published the
excellent map prepared by Dr. Guy-Harold
Smith of the Ohio
State University. His pamphlet
descriptive of the same is in
press and will also be available for the
closing event in Ohio's
series of celebrations. The Bicentennial
of George Washington
is the largest historical event of the
year and fully justifies all of
the assistance and participation that
the Society can give.
Four vacancies on the Board of Trustees
occasioned by ex-
piration of terms have been filled by
Governor White who made
appointments as follows:
For terms expiring in February, 1934:
Lowry F. Sater, of Columbus.
George B. Smith, of Dayton.
For terms expiring in February, 1935:
Freeman T. Eagleson, of Columbus.
R. P. Goldman, of Cincinnati.
There are four vacancies on the Board of
Trustees to be
filled by vote of the Society, three for
the full term of three
years. One of these was occasioned by
the death of General
Edward Orton, Jr. The fourth vacancy is
for one year, occa-
sioned by the death of George F. Bareis.
Tributes to the deceased Trustees will
be presented later.
In conclusion, permit me to say that the
work of the year,
while it has been arduous, has on the
whole been most thoroughly
enjoyed by your Secretary. He has seen
many of his plans for
Report of the Forty-sixth Annual
Meeting 545
the upbuilding of the library on the way
to a successful conclu-
sion. While he has been crippled by the
illness of important
members of his staff, he has found those
who still remain in
health devoted to the work and has been
surprised at the interest
and valuable assistance rendered by the
younger members. From
the vantage ground of the present there
is every reason to be-
lieve that the Society may look forward
to a successful year.
The only shadow that overhangs the
future is inadequate provi-
sion for the issue of publications
planned, but that, I am sure,
will drift away with the coming of the
new year and the meet-
ing of the next General Assembly. To
that end all members of
the staff will put their shoulders to
the wheel with a determina-
tion to make the coming year the most
pleasant and successful
in the history of the Society.
TREASURER'S REPORT
Treasurer Miller then read the
following report for
the past year which was accepted as
read and made a
part of the records of the Society:
REPORT OF TREASURER
For the Year Ending December 31, 1931.
SUMMARY STATEMENT OF TOTAL RECEIPTS AND
DISBURSEMENTS
FOR YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 1931.
Total Funds on Deposit January 1,
1931 ......... $29,669.68
RECEIPTS
State Appropriations Used (1931).. $114,456.17
State Appropriations Used (1930--
Posted in 1931) ............... 29,557.95
Total State Funds Used... $144,014.12
Other Receipts.......... $8,051.30
Less--Refund from State 5,036.26 3,015.04
Total Receipts.. $147,029.16
Total ...............................
$176,698.84
DISBURSEMENTS
State Funds Expended ............. $144,014.12
Less: Refund for 1930 Advances.... 2,500.00
$141,514.12
Other Funds Expended ............ 4,608.34
Less: Transferred to Per-
manent Fund....... $500.00
Advances (1931) Re-
funded by State 2,536.26 3,036.26
Net Expenditures from other
Funds......... 1,572.08
Total Disbursements ...................
$143,086.20
Cash Balance (Total) at December 31,
1931 ...... $33,612.64
(546)
Report
of the Forty-sixth Annual Meeting 547
STATEMENT
OF RECEIPTS AND DISBURSEMENTS OF SOCIETY'S
FUNDS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 1931.
CURRENT
FUND
Cash
Balance Current Fund-Jan. 1, 1931 ........
$4,669.68
RECEIPTS
Interest
on Investments ............ $1,425.37
Books Sold ....................... 364.50
Subscriptions
Received ............ 50.00
Dues--Active
Members ............ 621.00
Life
Memberships .................. 30.00
Refunds
of Cash Advanced in 1931
(State
Treasurer) ............. 2,536.26
Refund
of Cash Advanced in 1930
(State
Treasurer) ............. 2,500.00
Junior
Memberships ............... 35.00
Fallen
Timbers-Subscriptions ...... 119.17
Sustaining
Memberships ........... 100.00
Total
Receipts ............
$8,051.30
Total ............................ $12,720.98
Receipts
from State Treasurer on Sundry Appro-
priations ................................ 144,014.12
Total
............................ $156,735.10
DISBURSEMENTS
FROM SOCIETY'S FUNDS
Library
Expenses................. $364.85
Museum
Expenses ................. 83.33
Fallen
Timber Expenses ............ 393.9
Cash
Advanced (to be reimbursed
from
State Treasury)......... 2,536.26
Transferred
to Permanent Fund.... 500.00
Total
Disbursements...... 4,608.34
Balance
in Current Fund December 31, 1931....., $8,112.64
548 Ohio
Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
PERMANENT FUND
Cash Balance January 1, 1931 ...... $25,000.00
Transferred from Current Funds
(Above)
.................... 500.00
Balance December 31, 1931 ..... ---------- $25,500.00
Total Cash Balance December 31, 1931... $33,612.64
STATEMENT OF EXPENDITURES OF STATE APPROPRIATIONS
DURING YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 1931.
Personal
Service Maintenance
Museum and Library ............. $58,832.35 $19,835.40
Big Bottom ....................... 104.40 104.69
Buffington Island .................. 48.50 213.82
Campbell Park
.................... 16.00 4.68
Campus Martius .................. 1,957.75 820.81
Custer Memorial
.................. 155.10 155.20
Battlefield of Fallen Timbers ....... 850.43 59.10
Felix Renick ..................... 74.11
Fort Amanda ..................... 276.47 461.68
Fort Ancient
...................... 3,420.39 2,284.27
Fort Jefferson..................... 101.75 532.35
Fort Laurens
..................... 1,448.66 414.64
Fort St. Clair .................... 1,709.90 1,070.41
Logan Elm ....................... 184.51 389.70
Miamisburg Mound .............. 348.50 348.02
Mound City .................... .. 1,632.40 1,316.03
Schoenbrunn ..................... 3,450.90 2,414.76
Seip Mound ...................... 282.52 509.36
Serpent Mound ................... 1,818.85 2,865.84
Spiegel Grove
.................... 5,649.95 6,966.36
Williamson Mound ................ 27.30 37.86
U. S. Grant ...................... 1,288.40 352.67
Wm. Henry Harrison ............ 652.00 53.29
George Rogers Clark.............. 336.00 77.36
Totals ..................... $84,593.03 $41,362.41
Report
of the Forty-sixth Annual Meeting
549
STATEMENT
OF EXPENDITURES OF STATE APPROPRIATIONS
DURING
YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 1931 -- Continued.
Additions
and
Betterments Total
Museum
and Library .............. $78,667.75
Big
Bottom ....................... $424.61 633.70
Buffington
Island .................. 3,000.00 3,262.32
Campbell
Park ................... 20.68
Campus
Martius ................. 2,778.56
Custer
Memorial .................. 11,003.65 11,313.95
Battlefield
of Fallen Timbers........ 234.00 1,143.53
Felix Renick .....................74.11
Fort
Amanda..................... 738.5
Fort
Ancient .....................
1,954.30 7,658.96
Fort
Jefferson ....................634.10
Fort
Laurens .....................1,863.30
Fort
St. Clair .....................2,780.31
Logan Elm
.......................574.21
Miamisburg
Mound ................696.52
Mound
City ..................... 2,948.43
Schoenbrunn
..................... 1,420.99 7,286.65
Seip
Mound ......................791.88
Serpent
Mound ...................
21.13 4,705.82
Spiegel
Grove. .................... 12,616.31
Williamson
Mound ................65.16
U. S.
Grant .......................1,641.07
Wm.
Henry Harrison ..............705.29
George
Rogers Clark.............. 413.36
Totals
........................
$18,058.68 $144,014.12
Total
Receipts from State Treasurer ............. 4,608.34
Balance
on Hand in Current Fund Dec. 31, 1931.. 8,112.64
Total
............................
.... $156,735.10
550 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
REPORT OF THE AUDITOR
COLUMBUS, OHIO,
April 20, 1932.
Mr. C. B. Galbreath, Secretary,
The Ohio State Archaeological &
Historical Society,
Columbus, Ohio.
Dear Sir:--
We herewith report on the audit made by
us of the books of
account of the Ohio Archaeological and
Historical Society for the
year ended December 31, 1931. Below is
presented a brief resume
of the Society's financial transactions
for the year, the details of
which are to be found in the statements
comprising this report.
The Society collected in the course of
the year a total of
$8,051.30, as compared with $8,957.52,
in 1930. Of this total,
however, $2,500.00, was a refund from
the state for disburse-
ments made in 1930, and $2,536.26 was
refunded by the state for
advances made during 1931.
The amount, therefore, which was
received from private sources was $3,015.04. This
compares with
$4,980.50, the amount received in 1930,
exclusive of state refunds.
Out of state appropriations, the Society
applied a total of
$144,014.12, as against $162,281.95 in
1930.
From its private funds, the Society
expended $1,572.08 on its
various projects, advanced $2,536.26 for
expenses later refunded
by the state, and transferred $500 to
the permanent fund invest-
ment.
The Current Fund balance stood at
$8,112.64 at the close of
the year as compared with $4,669.68 at
the beginning of the year,
the increase amounting to $3,442.96. As
mentioned above, the
permanent fund was increased by $500.00
to a total of $25,500.00.
The total funds controlled by the
Society at the close of the year
were therefore $33,612.64 against
$29,669.68 at the close of the
year 1930.
The customary Balance Sheet at the end
of the report has
been omitted because of the difficulty
of ascertaining the asset
Report of the Forty-sixth Annual
Meeting 551
increments from the account
classifications used under the state
budget system.
It is suggested, as a matter of
historical interest to the So-
ciety, that the cost of exhibits or
properties of especial importance
be transferred to a permanent ledger
from time to time as the
director may indicate. Such a record
would be simple to operate
and would not aim to be a complete
record of the capital expendi-
tures, but only those of major
importance. It would eventually
furnish very strong evidence of the
economic value of the So-
ciety's activities, since there is
almost sure to be an enhancement
in the market value of many exhibits.
The books needed, would
be a transfer journal and ledger.
The Society's accounting records were
found to be in very
good order and systematically arranged.
The bookkeeping staff
is to be especially commended for their
efforts in maintaining their
records in agreement with those of the
State Auditor.
With thanks for the cooperation extended
and best wishes for
the coming year, this report is
Respectfully submitted,
(S) W. D. WALL,
Certified Public Accountant.
For a more detailed account of expenditures,
see succeeding
pages of the Certified Accountant's
Report in typewritten records
of the Society.
Mr. R. P. Goldman, the newly appointed
trustee of
the Society from Cincinnati, was
presented at this point
in the proceedings.
DIRECTOR'S REPORT
Director Shetrone then read the
following report
which was received and placed on file
with the Secretary:
REPORT OF DIRECTOR
The following report is intended to
cover the activities of the
Museum and its several departments for
the period of approxi-
mately one year since the 1931 Annual
Meeting. Since the mem-
bers are more or less familiar with what
has transpired, through
the columns of Museum Echoes, the
report is not detailed--rather,
it is in the nature of a summary.
Dealing first with the accomplishments
of the Museum as an
institution, it may be said that despite
a sadly abbreviated appro-
priation, these have been favorably
comparable to those of last
year. Through a drastic reorganization
and modification of activ-
ities effected by close cooperation of
the Librarian and the Di-
rector, basic activities are being
maintained and, in addition, an
additional 15 per cent reserve in
expenditures, demanded by the
State Department of Finance, is being
met. In conforming to the
requirements of the general financial
curtailment the above-men-
tioned officials were of mutual
agreement that from a psycholog-
ical point of view and for the good of
the Society the Museum
and Library staffs should be kept as
nearly intact as possible with
a minimum decrease in pay. By
sacrificing wholly or in part such
important items as funds for
explorations, purchase of books,
publications, wages, travel, museum
collections, etc., etc., and by
leaving unfilled two staff positions
temporarily vacant, it has been
possible to retain the staff with a
reduction in pay of 5% for the
year and with no reduction for those
receiving $1,200 or less
per
annum. At best this arrangement makes
possible nothing more
than "keeping house" for the
remainder of 1932, and it is entirely
possible that serious shortages may
result before the close of the
year.
(552)
Report of the Forty-sixth Annual
Meeting 553
Aside from the numerous routine
activities of the Museum
which, incidentally, have come to
constitute an extremely com-
plex service to the State of Ohio, the
most outstanding accom-
plishment has been the providing, after
several years of study and
preparation, of circulating loan
collections in Archaeology
(Mound Builders), Mineralogy, and
Natural History for the
public schools of the state. These are
being furnished to every
county in Ohio, circulation being
effected through county super-
intendents and in cooperation with the
Ohio Department of Ed-
ucation. Dr. O. B. Skinner, State
Director of Education, and his
staff have conferred enthusiastic
assistance in this undertaking
and are aiding in preparation of an even
greater service for the
approaching school year, a feature of
which will be a "school
week," during which the Museum will
keep open house for the
public schools of the state. The loan
collection service, although
in its infancy, demonstrates that no
other activity is so well
adapted to providing a statewide service
nor to securing for the
Society more credit and prestige.
Still considering institutional
activities, as distinguished from
departmental, brief reference may be
made to the activities of the
Museum's honorary staff. Mrs. Margaret
Cope, Honorary Cura-
tor of Special Exhibits, continues to
give freely of her time and
energies in preparing these exhibits,
which have become a dynamic
and valued asset of the institution;
Prof. F. C. Caldwell, of the
Department of Electrical Engineering, O.
S. U., has built up an
admirable display illustrating the
evolution and development of
electrical equipment; Dr. J. M.
Henderson, Honorary Curator
of Numismatics, has brought the
numismatics display to a point
where it is attracting especial
interest; Mr. Walter E. Heightshoe,
Honorary Curator of Firearms, continues
an invaluable voluntary
assistant' to the Museum; and Mr. Dudley
T. Fisher, Sr., has
contributed freely in the direction of
models of canal boats and
locks and other pioneer crafts.
Out of consideration for an
oft-expressed desire of our late
beloved vice president, Mr. Bareis, a
Hall of Transportation, for
the present to include agricultural
implements and machinery, has
554 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
been established in the large basement
rotunda room. This prom-
ises to be of exceptional interest and I
trust that all of you may
inspect it.
The Museum's service to the Columbus
public schools, under
the supervision of Prof. J. C. Hambleton
and Miss Olive Cleven-
ger, in charge of instruction, is
growing in importance. For the
year ended April 1, 1932, a total of 10,054 pupils from
the third
to the seventh grades, have attended the
Museum classes.
The arrangement effected by the Director
whereby Ohio is
now included with Michigan and Indiana
in the Michigan-In-
diana-Ohio Museums' Associaton, recently
announced in Museum
Echoes, will be of decided assistance to the Society in
broadening
its service and in securing wider
recognition and prestige. This
tri-state association has affiliated
itself with the national organ-
ization, the American Association of
Museums; Dr. Harlow Lind-
ley was chosen as vice president for
Ohio.
Seeking for means of rendering a
definite service to the state
as a whole, it is quite evident that
Ohio State University, at our
very door, offers outstanding
opportunity. With students from
every county and district of Ohio, our
great state university offers
a vehicle equalled only by our State
Department of Education for
conveying the Society's offerings to the
public. Needless to say
the University has responded most freely
to our advances and is
entering most freely into our plans. To
cite a single instance:
the Department of Fine Arts is making
free use of our prehis-
toric displays from the standpoint of
primitive art and design. A
class of advanced students at the
present time is preparing a series
of moving picture films, using living
costumed models to illustrate
the use of various implements, ornaments
and utensils from our
prehistoric mounds. From these a series
of painted panels for
decorating the halls of archaeology are
being prepared.
It would be impossible in this
summarized report to give
credit to all those who have made
donations of collections and
specimens to the Museum. These have been
reported from time
to time in Echoes, and will be
credited in full in the Quarterly.
Among outstanding accessions which may
be mentioned is the
Report of the Forty-sixth Annual
Meeting 555
striking and exhaustive collection of
Alaskan Eskimo objects fur-
nished by Prof. Clark M. Garber,
superintendent of schools at
Akiak, Alaska, and the reconstructions
from mound skulls of
heads and busts of Ohio aborigines by
Prof. Frank N. Wilcox,
sculptor of the Cleveland School of Art.
Before passing to departmental
activities, it seems fitting to
refer to a development fostered by Mr.
Iowa D. Smith, an ardent,
though unsalaried honorary member of our
staff. Through his
love of horticulture and his affiliation
with the Columbus Horti-
cultural Society, Mr. Smith has
developed a plan for landscaping
the Museum and Library grounds which,
while entirely without
cost to the Society, represents an
outlay of several thousands of
dollars. Plans for this pretentious
scheme, in which the finest of
evergreen shrubs and plants are to be
used, have been drawn and
contributed by individual landscape
artists, and by members of the
University departments; planting
material is being generously do-
nated by the Ohio Nurserymen's
Association and the Columbus
Horticultural Society; and stone has
been contributed and deliv-
ered by the Marble Cliff Quarries
Company. The project' has
begun and will be completed without
delay. The result will make
the Museum and Library building one of
the finest examples of
the landscapers' art in Ohio.
Dealing now with the Museum departments:
The Depart-
ment of Archaeology, Dr. E. F. Greenman,
curator, and Robert
Goslin, assistant. Since last report,
the Coons mound, in Athens
County, has been explored, and Dr.
Greenman's report is ready
for publication. Incidental thereto, he
has included an exhaustive
and scholarly study of the great Adena
culture, to which the
Coons mound belongs. We have known far
too little about the
Adena peoples, wherefor the present
study is most timely, both
from the local and national points of
view. The members of this
department have spent much time in
rearranging the archaeological
displays and in preparing the
circulating loan collections.
Dr. Harlow Lindley, Curator of the
Department of History,
has had a busy year. His outstanding
accomplishment is the prep-
aration of the permanent exhibit telling
the "Story of Ohio,"
556 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
which is familiar to all of you. In
addition he has aided in organ-
izing four local county historical
societies; has made numerous
addresses and radio talks; has assisted
in organizing the Ohio
College History Teachers' Association;
has cooperated with histor-
ical agencies in the several states in
compiling information con-
cerning source materials in American
history, and, as associate
editor, has been mainly responsible for
the editing of Museum
Echoes. He has been particularly successful in securing mate-
rial for the Story of Ohio from
individuals and organizations, to
all of whom credit is hereby tendered.
The Natural History Department, Edward
S. Thomas, Cura-
tor, and Charles F. Walker, assistant,
has had a busy and profit-
able year. In addition to numerous
valuable accessions and new
species of fauna for Ohio, the members
of the staff have collected
some 5,000 Ohio insects for the
circulating school collections, per-
haps the department's most important
undertaking. An equal
number of insects were added to the
study collections. It is in-
teresting to know that the average time
needed for collecting and
mounting a single insect has been
definitely computed to be more
than 10 minutes, a fact that will make
for appreciation of the de-
partment's accomplishment in this
direction. During the year
the staff completely rearranged the
display cases in Natural His-
tory with the idea of making the
material more readily usable to
schools and classes. Additional displays
were installed in accord-
ance with the most modern museums ideas.
Curator Thomas, in addition to numerous
lectures and radio
talks, has prepared copy for a booklet
to accompany the Loan
collections of insects, while Mr. Walker
has contributed several
technical papers to scientific
publications, along the lines of his
specialization, the Amphibia.
The department works in close
cooperation with the Ohio
Department of Conservation, the Ohio
State University, and other
institutions. Much credit is due to a
number of individuals for
assistance and contributions, notably
Arthur Stupka and Robert
B. Gordon of Ohio State University;
Milton B. Trautman, Depart-
ment of Conservation; Ralph Drury,
Cincinnati; and Roger
Report of the Forty-sixth Annual
Meeting 557
Conant, Director of the Toledo
Zoological Society. Mrs. Mary D.
Neiswender, despite the fact that funds
have been available for
only part-time payment of her services,
has continued to give
freely of her time and has been
invaluable to the department, par-
ticularly in preparing the loan
collections for the public schools.
All of you have admired the fine
collection of minerals and
gems displayed temporarily in the art
alcove of the new wing of
the building. This display has been
built up by Mr. H. R. Good-
win, Registrar and Staff Artist, as an
adjunct to his regular duties.
The nucleus of the collection, as
previously announced, was
financed through the generosity of our
member, Mr. Ralph H.
Beaton. Mr. Goodwin recently began a
rather pretentious project,
namely, the painting of a series of art
panels for the halls of arch-
aeology, designed to illustrate the
method of use of the various
prehistoric implements and utensils. The
first four of these have
been placed in the south archceological
hall. You will wish to see
them.
The efficiency of the maintenance force,
under Mr. Eaton, con-
tinues most effective. The condition of
the building at all times
testifies to this; not only does the
maintenance staff keep the
building in first class condition but
practically all repairs, painting
and decorating, which ordinarily entail
considerable expense, are
taken care of by the regular employes of
this department.
The numerous parks in the Society's
custody, supervised by
Mr. H. R. McPherson, Business Agent,
have been well adminis-
tered and greatly improved despite the
very nominal funds avail-
able. Mr. McPherson has built up an
admirable staff of park
superintendents selected for their
fitness and trained to cooperate
with one another.
The parks in the keeping of the Society
now number 24, an
increase of three during the past year.
The newly acquired parks
are Inscription Rock, Kelley's Island,
to which is to be added the
noted Glacial Groove tract, both deeded
to the Society by the
Cleveland Museum of Natural History
through our trustee, Mr.
Harold T. Clark; W. H. Harrison Memorial
State Park, Hamil-
ton County; and the U. S. Grant Memorial
State Park, Clermont
558 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
County. Several additional parks shortly
will be placed in our
custody. In connection with two or three
of the park properties
there has been some lack of agreement as
to methods of adminis-
tration. The Director, accompanied by
Trustee J. C. Goodman,
Chairman of the Committee on State
Parks, recently visited these
properties, conferred with local
committees, and provided means
for correcting the situations.
It may seem superfluous to consume the
brief time at the dis-
posal of this Annual Meeting in
reviewing past accomplishments;
however, the justification lies in the
fact that members of the
staff, who toil patiently month after
month are entitled to this
annual consideration, although most of
you already are acquainted
with their accomplishments. If time
permitted I should like to
discuss generalities of Society concern;
but this will have to await
another time. Those of us solicitous of
the Society's welfare
and its future must not lose sight of
the fact that the world is
undergoing a social revolution, and that
ours, along with all other
institutions, must be awake to the new
interpretation of affairs.
Without going into details I may
summarize our need at this time
as lying in the direction of alertness
in rendering a maximum
service to our public and, when the time
arises, of finding a way
to affect a more satisfactory legal
status for the Society in the
state government. This latter should be
based, I believe, on the
idea of appropriations made in payment
of a definite service to
the public, along the lines of existing
legislation with respect to
cities and counties, but not as yet
extending to the commonwealth.
Under authority of the Board of
Trustees, your director has under
way a study of the situation from a
nation-wide point of view,
and in cooperation with the American
Association of Museums
and museum authorities. The results of
this survey, with possible
recommendations, will be submitted to
you at a later date.
LIST OF ACCESSIONS
Collection of Civil War Envelopes; lent
by Miss Martha Sproat,
Chillicothe, O.
Siderite, iron carbonate; gift, W. J.
Nonnenmacher, Columbus, O.
Report of the Forty-sixth Annual
Meeting 559
Material from Tuttle Hill, Iroquois
Village Site, Independence, O.
Material from South Park, Iroquois
Village Site, Independence, O.
Material from Esch Mounds, Huron, O.
Material from Taylor Village Site,
Iroquois, near Huron, O.
Material from Coon Mound, The Plains,
Athens, O.
Old Document, 1799; gift, Dudley Keever,
M. D., Centerville, O.
Model of Mayan Temple; gift, Dept. of
Architecture, O. S. U.
Piece of First Atlantic Cable; gift, Dr.
Frank Warner, Co-
lumbus, 0.
Antique Clock; gift, Mr. George
Schneider, Columbus, O.
Two Antique Watches; lent by Schneider
Bros., Columbus, O.
Skull; from gravel bank near Trenton,
O., Mr. M'Della Moon.
Ohio State Flag (first); gift, Mrs.
William S. McKinnon.
Roster of 188th Reg't., O. V. I., Co. E,
and Flag of 150th Reg't.,
O. V. I., gift of Henry Payne McIntosh,
Columbus, O.
Brick from Appomattox, Virginia; gift,
Mr. Charles S. Wolfers-
berger, Columbus, O.
The Griswold Collection; lent by Miss
Ruth Griswold and Mrs.
McCollough.
Leaf from Washington Elm, Cambridge,
Mass., gift, Dr. W. H.
Harper, Columbus, O.
Minerals; gift, Mr. J. E. Busch,
Phoenix, Arizona.
Model of First Reaper, invented by Cyrus
H. McCormick, 1831;
presented by the International Harvester
Company.
Hoopskirt lent by Mr. Robert C. Wheaton,
Columbus, O.
Ladies' Dress of 1865; gift, Miss
Josephine Klippart, Co-
lumbus, 0.
Model of Covered Wooden Bridge; gift,
Mr. Frank S. Miller,
Columbus, O.
Music written for poem on Ohio; music by
Blanche Kerr Brock,
poem by Mrs. Lida Keck-Wiggins.
Steinway Piano; gift, Mrs. Ida M. D.
Riddell, Columbus, 0.
Graphite for Educational Purposes; The
Joseph Dixon Crucible
Co., Jersey City, N. J.
Copper Plate of Confederate Note; gift,
Mr. George R. Waitley,
Worthington, O.
560 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
Indian Doll and Beadwork; gift, Miss
Clara Mark, Westerville, O.
Model of Coal Mining Machine; lent by
the Jeffrey Mfg. Co.,
Columbus, O.
Machine Gun Belt Box; gift, Mr. Charles
Witzler, Perrys-
burg, O.
Pistol and Flask; gift, Mr. William J.
East, Toledo, O.
Fossils; gift, Mr. J. Rodney Gragg,
Bainbridge, O.
Clothes Wringer and Archaeological
Specimens; gift, Miss Hat-
tie E. Morris, Toledo, O.
Wooden Mortar and Iron Pestle; lent by
Mr. Clyde W. S. Hinch-
ley, Brechsville, O.
Alaskan Specimens; lent by Prof. Clark
M. Garber, Akiak,
Alaska.
Model of New Bedford Whaling Bark; lent
by Mr. Dudley
Fisher, Sr, Columbus, O.
Rifle and Accessories; lent by Mr.
Harold A. Barnhart, Chilli-
cothe, O.
Clock; lent by Mrs. Marie B. Schoening,
Los Angeles, Calif.
Stoneware Jug; gift, Mr. Earl Knittle,
Ashland, O.
Bicycle, "British Challenge";
lent by Mr. Robert G. Knight,
Delaware, O.
Blue China Plate, "Jonathan Alden
Cabin," purchase.
Picture; gift, Mr. William Traxel,
Cincinnati, O.
Mineral Specimens; exchange with
Paterson Museum, Pater-
son, N. J.
Left Hand Sickel; gift, Dr. H. O.
Whittaker, Dublin, O.
Medical History of Indiana, old
document, etc.; gift, Mr. W. H.
Kemper, Bremen, O.
Antique Forks; gift, Mr. Elmer G.
Wilson, Columbus, O.
Elk Antlers and Doll; lent by Mrs. N. W.
Lord, Columbus, O.
Sword and Picture; gift, Mr. F. H. Howe,
Grandview, O.
Flag of U. S. Shipping Board; lent by
Miss Carrie M. Allen,
Plain City, O.
Medal Awarded to Ohio Horticultural
Society; gift, Prof. Pad-
dock, 0. S. U.
Mineral Specimens; gift, Mr. Philip
Schneider, Columbus, O.
Report of the Forty-sixth Annual
Meeting 561
Old State Bank Notes; gift, Mr. H. D.
Davenport, Columbus, O.
Guatamalan Specimens; gift, Mr. C. D.
Thompson, Columbus, O.
Proclamation by Gov. Tod, Plot of
Alexandria, O. (photo);
gift, Mr. H. A. Lorberg, Portsmouth, O.
Collection of Photographs, Air and
Ground Views of State In-
stitutions and Parks; deposited in
museum by Supt. of
Budget, Merlin Brenneman, Columbus, O.
Amethyst Geode; gift, Col. Frank Long,
Columbus, O.
Old Blue China Bowl and Other Material;
gift, heirs of Joseph
and Annette Ichler, Kenton, O.
Antique Spectacles and Coins; gift, Mrs.
Adell Middlesworth,
Columbus.
Mineral Specimens; gift, Mr. Albert C.
Spetnagel, Chillicothe, O.
Samples of Sandstone; gift, The Taylor
Stone Company, Mc-
Dermott, O.
Field Service Post Card; lent by Mr.
Meehan, Columbus, O.
Flag of 101st Reg't., O. V. I.; gift,
Mrs. C. M. Funk, Fos-
toria, O.
Minerals; exchange of specimens with Mr.
B. Lane, Galena,
Kansas.
Archaeological Specimens; gift, Mr. Earl
Creek, McGonigle, O.
Earthenware Object; lent by Mr. C. L.
Wentling, Carey, O.
Minerals; exchange of specimens with Mr.
T. J. Lewis, Phila-
delphia, Pa.
Shingle Splitter; gift, Mr. O. R.
Kearns, Bainbridge, O.
Statuette, "Madonna of the
Trail"; lent by Columbus Chapter,
D. A. R.
Stone Axe; gift, Mr. Walter Estis,
Columbus, O.
Cane of Col. Benjamin Wilson, Virginia,
Revolutionary Army;
lent by Mr. Daniel Weiny, Columbus, O.
China Teapot; gift, The Hall China
Company, East Liverpool, O.
Old Document; gift, Mrs. O. D. Dryer,
Columbus, O.
Specimen of Limestone; gift, Mr. Charles
Rockhold, Co-
lumbus, 0.
Medals; gift, Mr. W. J. Schultz,
Cincinnati, O.
562 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
Stalactites and Photographs of Ohio
Caverns; gift, Mr. I. E.
Smith, West Liberty, O.
Samples of Early Ohio Brick; gift, Mr.
Homer Charles,
Eaton, O.
Pine Knots; gift, Miss Clara Mark,
Westerville, O.
Early Ohio Pottery; purchase.
Saddler's Horse; gift, Messrs. J. H.
& F. A. Sells, Columbus, O.
Specimens of Fluorite; gift, Mr. R. R.
Priddy, Swanders, O.
Manuscript Book; lent by Miss Marian
McPherson, Columbus, O.
Two Patchwork Quilts; lent by Miss Elsie
B. Purcell, Co-
lumbus, O.
Medal: gift, Mr. L. Ridgeway, New York,
N. Y.
Board Rule; gift, Mr. C. F. Reasoner,
Columbus, O.
Glassware; gift, The Libbey Glass Mfg.
Co., Toledo, O.
Alaskan Collection; lent by Prof. J. B.
Titchener, O. S. U.
China Plate; gift, The C. C. Thompson
Pottery Co., East Liver-
pool, O.
Two Small Stone Axes; gift, W. A.
Wagner, Columbus, O.
Badge of Gen. J. W. R. Cline; gift, Miss
Margaret Pearl Cline,
Washington, D. C.
Sample Watches; lent by The Gruen Watch
Co., Cincinnati, O.
China and Glassware; gift, Mr. Roland
Elderkin, Columbus, O.
Rifle and Accessories; lent by Mr.
Harold Barnhart, Chilli-
cothe, O.
Civil War Drum; bequeathed to the
Society by the late Major
J. R. Miller, Tacoma, Wash.
Oil Paintings; portraits of Gov. Trimble
and members of the
Trimble family; bequeathed to the
Society by the late Miss
Rachel Trimble, Columbus, O.
Flint Spear Point; exchange with Mr. P.
F. Mooney, Mt. Sterl-
ing, O.
Flags of 14th Reg't., O. N. G.; gift, Col.
George D. Freeman,
Jr., St. Augustine, Fla.
Two Coffee Mills; gift, Mr. W. F.
Nihart, Columbus, O.
Wool Carders and Other Specimens; gift,
estate of Eliza Money-
peny, Columbus, O.
Report of the Forty-sixth Annual
Meeting 563
Portrait of James Kilbourne; bequeathed
to the Society by the
late William D. Richards, Boston, Mass.
Two Carbines Taken from Morgan's
Raiders; gift, Mrs. A. E.
Fox, Columbus, O.
Collection of China; lent by Mr. and
Mrs. Harry R. McPherson,
Columbus, O.
Specimen of Conglomerate; gift, Prof. J.
F. Craig, O. S. U.
Two China Plates; gift, Sarah Copus
Chapter, D. A. R., Ash-
land, O.
Archaeological and Mineral specimens;
gift, Mr. H. V. Schiefer,
Cleveland, O.
Ohio State Fair Poster, 1851; lent
by Mr. G. L. Ballentine, Co-
lumbus, O.
China Platter; lent by Mrs. E. M. Lee,
Fort Ancient, O.
Model of Canal Boat and Lock; gift, Mr.
Dudley Fisher, Sr.,
Columbus, O.
Minerals; exchange with Mr. John Obert,
W. Paterson, N. J.
Specimen of Labradorite; gift, Miss
Clara Mark, Westerville, O.
China; gift, Leigh Potters, Alliance, O.
Kentucky Rifle and Accessories; lent by
Mr. M. S. Webb, Co-
lumbus, O.
REPORT OF COMMITTEES ON HISTORICAL
ACTIVITIES
Dr. Harlow Lindley read the following
report of the
Committee on Historical Activities in
Ohio, which was
filed with the other reports for
publication in the
Quarterly:
REPORT ON HISTORICAL ACTIVITIES IN OHIO
BY HARLOW LINDLEY, Chairman Committee on
Cooperation.
From information at hand it appears that
there are about
forty local, county and regional
historical societies now in exist-
ence in the State of Ohio. Some of them
seem to be nothing
more than organizations on paper. We
have data at hand which
would indicate that at least twenty-five
of the number have a
working organization and are carrying on
some sort of active
historical program.
In order to give the members of the
State Society and the
members of these various groups some
idea of the activities
which are being carried on by these
local organizations, the fol-
lowing report is presented which has
been secured in reply to an
inquiry submitted to all the societies
in the state. This report
does not attempt to give a complete
survey of all the activities
of all historical organizations, but it
is intended to give informa-
tion concerning new organizations, and
special activities during
the past year.
During the year at least four new
historical societies have
been organized: Piqua Historical
Society, The Paulding County
Historical Society, Licking County
Historical Society and the
Belmont County Historical Society.
* * *
The Zoar Historical Society sponsored
the publication of a
brief history of Zoar, prepared by
Howard Sarbaugh, Secretary
of the Society.
(564)
Report of the Forty-sixth Annual
Meeting 565
The Quarterly Bulletin of the History Society of North-
western Ohio, at Toledo, continues to
publish new historical
material which has never been published
before.
The Ashland County Historical Society
has continued with
marked success its programs so arranged
as to arouse the interest
of the people of the various parts of
the county.
The Allen County Historical Society
cooperated with other
agencies in celebrating the centennial
of the establishment of
Lima last September. A marker was
dedicated at the site of the
old Shawnee Indian Council House, south
of Lima.
The Tuscarawas County Historical Society
recently placed
a steel flag pole at the grave of David
Zeisberger in the old
Goshen Cemetery, and the Teachers
Institute of the county fur-
nished a beautiful flag, so from now on
the American Flag
will wave over this great teacher's last
resting place.
The Pioneer Historical Society of
Muskingum County, of
which Mr. E. M. Ayers is President,
reports that they have two
hundred members, paying $1.00 a year
membership fee. The
society meets monthly with a program and
is considered one of
the outstanding civic societies in the
county. The headquarters
of the society is in the Monumental
Building and they have a
large collection of museum material.
They consider their best
asset a complete file of their local
papers since 1833.
The Adams County Historical Society is
working on a plan
to gather accurate information in regard
to the industries of
Adams County. They have had papers
prepared on the tanneries
of the early days and historical
sketches of all the old mills and
factories. They are also making a survey
of all the towns and
town sites that have been laid out in
the county and are gather-
ing historical facts in regard to the
development of education in
the county. They are also erecting
markers along the Zane
Trace.
The Hiram Historical Society,
cooperating with the Hiram
College participated in a Garfield
Centennial Celebration, Novem-
ber 19, 1931. The society
published a booklet entitled "Garfield
of Hiram," in connection with the
event. This booklet is No.
4 of the Hiram Historical Society
Publications and is edited by
566 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
Prof. Harold E. Davis, of Hiram College
and Secretary of the
Hiram Historical Society.
Under the auspices of the Greene County
Historical Society
there was dedicated a Brown-Logan-Kenton
monument near State
Road No. 72 between Cedarville and
Jamestown.
The Clark County Historical Society,
through the Secretary,
Mr. A. L. Slager, reports two recent
interesting additions to their
museum collection: A complete full sized
replica of Cyrus Hall
McCormick's first reaping machine in
working order, and a
replica of the lattice type bridge on
the National Road spanning
Mad River west of Springfield, which was
erected in 1837. The
replica is 7½ feet long, made to scale
from the timbers of the
old bridge. The Chamber of Commerce,
High School History
Club and other local organizations are
making regular use of the
society's collections and a number of
the public schools of the
county are availing themselves of its
benefits.
The Licking County Historical Society,
organized in No-
vember, 1931, provides for the
continuation of the work of the
Pioneer Antiquarian Society organized in
1867 by Isaac Smucher
and others. The society proposes to
preserve the mounds of
the county and is fostering a movement
to have the group of
mound enclosures incorporated into a
State Park under the State
Society. The society also proposes to
foster the study of local
history. The society has committees on
Program, History,
Archaeology, Pageants, Exploration and
Pioneers. The chair-
man of the History Committee, Mr. C. P.
Smith, is the co-
author of a new book on Ohio history
entitled "My State--Ohio."
The book is commended to all who are
interested in Ohio his-
tory. Mr. F. A. Woolson is president of
this new historical
society.
One of the newest societies is the
Belmont County Historical
Society organized recently at St.
Clairsville with Mr. Frank H.
Frazier as President. The new society
has a splendid field for
historical activity and the character of
its officers and membership
indicate some excellent work in the
future. They have already
taken steps looking to the organization
of a library and museum.
Report of the Forty-sixth Annual
Meeting 567
During the past year two colleges have
observed Cen-
tennial occasions--Hiram and Denison
University--and Oberlin
College and Wooster College are now
preparing for historical
celebrations this year.
It is quite noticeable the way
communities over the state are
waking up to the opportunities offered
by Centennial occasions
and to the value of the Pageantry as a
means of portraying his-
tory and building community spirit.
The State Historical Society and the
Gnadenhutten His-
torical Society, cooperating, are
working on plans for a memor-
able Sesqui-Centennial Commemoration of
the massacre of the
Christian Indians at Gnadenhutten in
1782. This event will take
place according to present plans on
September 2, 3 and 4, 1932,
in connection with which a Pageant
written and directed by Mr.
O. K. Reames will be presented. Mr.
Reames has already estab-
lished his reputation in Ohio as a
Pageant Master in connection
with pageants at Zanesfield and the
George Rogers Clark Sesqui-
Centennial Celebration Pageant at
Springfield in 1930.
Another new historical activity worthy
of notice, although
not organized primarily to encourage
Ohio history, is the Ohio
College History Teachers Association,
organized at Cleveland,
April 8. At this organization meeting,
the Curator of History
of this Society, was asked to speak on
the related interests of
such an association and the State
Historical Society. No such
organization in the state can help but
be of assistance in our
educational program.
The Committee on Cooperation,
representing the local his-
torical societies of the state, the
educational institution, and this
society, which is appointed by the
President of the Society, is
still actively interested in the best
program possible for further-
ing the interests of Ohio history.
Because of decreased appro-
priations, the committee has not been
able to accomplish as
much as it had hoped to do during the
year, but stands ready
to support as far as possible any worth
while movement.
Chairman Sater announced that the
reading of me-
morials would be the next order of
business. Dr.
568
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
Thompson presented a memorial
resolution in honor of
the late General J. Warren Keifer. This
memorial was
placed on file as a part of the records
of the Society.
The reading of memorial resolutions in
honor of Mr.
George F. Bareis, General Edward Orton,
Jr., and Dr.
G. W. Knight, was temporarily passed.
ELECTION OF TRUSTEES
The election of Trustees was announced
as the next
order of business.
Miss Helen Bareis, Dr. W. O. Thompson,
Mr. Webb
C. Hayes, II, and Mr. Harold Clark of
Cleveland were
nominated to fill the vacancies;--Miss
Helen Bareis to
fill the vacancy occasioned by the
death of her father.
On motion of Mr. Carlisle, nominations
were closed and
the Secretary was authorized to cast
the unanimous vote
of the Society for those nominated. The
motion was
duly seconded and agreed to. The
Secretary cast the
ballot of the Society accordingly, and
Miss Bareis was
elected for one year and the remainder
of the nominees
for three years each.
READING OF MEMORIALS
The Secretary then read memorials to
George F.
Bareis, General Edward Orton, Jr., and
Dr. G. W.
Knight which were made a part of the
records of the
Society. Copies of each were directed
by the Chairman
to be forwarded to the families of the
deceased. The
Memorials are found on succeeding
pages. After the
reading of Memorials the Society
recessed until 2 p. m.
Report of the Forty-sixth Annual
Meeting 569
GEORGE F. BAREIS
WHEREAS, Since our last annual meeting
it has pleased
Divine Providence to remove from our
midst our First Vice-
President and life member, George F.
Bareis, and
WHEREAS, He had been identified with this Society since
1888, as a life member since February 19, 1891, and
through a
greater portion of the subsequent years
as First Vice-President,
and had seen this Society grow from a
very humble beginning to
its present creditable proportions, and
WHEREAS,
He was very active in the upbuilding of all the
departments of the work of the Society
and especially the de-
partment of archaeology, therefore
Be it Resolved by the Ohio State
Archaeological and His-
torical Society, That in the death of George F. Bareis, the So-
ciety has sustained a great loss, his
associates a genial, optimistic,
sincere friend, and the state an
unselfish and efficient servant.
Mr. Bareis was born July 23, 1852 near Bremen,
Fairfield
County, Ohio. He was educated in the
district schools and high
schools of Logan and Canal Winchester,
Ohio. He was
through a large portion of his life
engaged in the lumber busi-
ness in his home town, Canal Winchester,
where he followed a
successful business career.
His sympathies were broad and his
attitude toward and his
judgments of his fellow-men were
generously tolerant. He re-
spected the sincere opinions of others,
even when they differed
from his own. He had a wide acquaintance
and a continually
growing list of friends in Ohio and
other states.
He early identified himself with the
Reform Church and was
active in its interest through life. He
was sincerely interested in
the cause of education. Though he did
not have the opportunity
to attend college or university, he was
active in efforts to provide
the means in order that his young
friends might have the oppor-
tunity that was not his. He was
superintendent of the Sunday
School of the Reformed Church of Canal
Winchester for thirty
years. He served as a member of the
Board of Missions of
570 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
that church and also on the Board of
Directors of the Ohio
Council of Religious Education. He was
especially noted for his
long and devoted service and financial
support to Heidelberg
College.
His faithful service to this Society
continued almost to the
hour of his death. He was present at the
last meeting of the
Board of Trustees, at which he presided.
Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be forwarded
to his two surviving daughters as an evidence
of the respect and
sympathy of this Society, which he
served so long and well.
EDWARD ORTON
WHEREAS, On February 10, 1932, stalwart,
vigorous, tal-
ented, courageous, General Edward Orton,
Jr., at the age of 68
years, 2 months and 2 days, was called
from faithful service to
the nation, state, this city and this
Society, and
WHEREAS,
The great loss in his death has been widely felt
and acknowledged in sincere tributes
from the organizations and
institutions that he served efficiently
and to which he gave freely
and generously of his time and means,
and
WHEREAS, He leaves a vacant place in the
official ranks of
this society that will be hard to fill,
therefore
Be it Resolved by the Ohio State
Archaeological and His-
torical Society, That we appreciate his earnest, unflagging and
effective service to this institution.
He not only rendered helpful
service in getting appropriations for
the north wing of the build-
ing in which we are now assembled, but
as Chairman of the
Building Committee was the leader in
planning the construction
of this addition. The Memorial Room was
the object of his
special care. He devoted much time to
the helpful criticism of
the World War panels and composed the
legend inscriptions
accompanying each.
He was also active in securing funds for
the erection of the
South Wing. Had he lived, it would have
been one of his am-
Report of the Forty-sixth Annual
Meeting 571
bitions to have completed this
quadrangular structure, but he was
not vouchsafed fulfillment of this
ardent desire.
In the effort of this Society to
complete the work that he
so successfully commenced here, thoughts
will often revert to his
valiant, aggressive, and prevailing
leadership, and we shall appre-
ciate even more fully the loss that we
sustained in his departure.
His interest in military affairs was a
development of his later
years, but there was always something of
the soldier in his atti-
tude toward life and its problems. He
told me once how eager
he was for overseas service. Like Lord
Byron who died for
Greece at Missolonghi, he sought active
service for the cause of
country on the far flung battle line.
That was denied him, and
he was spared to carry on valiantly in
his native land.
Resolved, That while we mourn his departure we cherish
the memory of his brave, helpful, manly
life as a beneficent
inspiration.
Resolved, That we extend to his wife and surviving relatives
our sincere sympathy and congratulate
them on the influence
left by this noble life "with much
to praise, and naught to be
forgiven."
GEORGE WELLS KNIGHT
WHEREAS, George Wells Knight, since 1885 a professor of
history in the Ohio State University,
and "a citizen of broad in-
tellectual interest in public
affairs" and eminent scholarship in
his chosen field, was called by death in
the early morning of
February 10, 1932, and
WHEREAS, In his long service as teacher he came into con-
tact with a vast number of young men and
women who left the
university to carry with them into life
the impress of his thor-
ough teaching and the inspiration of his
example, and
WHEREAS, He ever found his greatest pleasure in the
achievements of his students and his
keenest interest in history,
general and local, and
WHEREAS, His interest in local history
led him years ago at
572 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
the founding of this Society to become a
member and soon after-
ward to become the first editor of its
QUARTERLY, therefore
Be it resolved by the Ohio State
Archaeological and Historical
Society, That in the loss of Dr. George Wells Knight this
Society
has lost one of its most scholarly
members and the community a
worthy public spirited citizen.
Dr. Knight was of distinguished New
England ancestry. A
number of his forebears were soldiers of
the Revolution. He
was a lineal descendant of William
Bradford, first Governor of
the Plymouth colony. In this ancestry he
took a modest but
patriotic and pardonable pride.
While he kept aloof from politics, he
maintained a keen in-
terest in public affairs. His interest
in the study of constitu-
tional history caused him to consent to
the use of his name as a
candidate for delegate to the Ohio
Constitutional Convention of
1912. With ten candidates in the field
and two to nominate he
led the ticket with a large majority.
The work of that conven-
tion bears many of the marks of his
conscientious, conservative
service.
He was fond of travel and in his later
years visited many
foreign lands.
Dr. Knight's name appears on the
earliest printed lists of
the members of this Society. At the time
of his death he was
the oldest surviving member. The memory
of his character and
achievements we claim as a cherished
heritage.
Resolved, That we send with these resolutions to the sur-
viving members of his family the
assurance of our sincere sym-
pathy in their bereavement.
GENERAL J. WARREN KEIFER
The Ohio State Archaeological and
Historical Society has
learned with profound regret of the
death of one of its distin-
guished members, Brigadier General J.
Warren Keifer, at his
home in Springfield, Ohio, Friday, April
22, 1932, at the age of
96 years. The Society records its
appreciation of his membership,
|
Report of the Forty-sixth Annual Meeting 573 |
|
|
574 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
of the interest he took in its welfare
and progress and of the
service he rendered from time to time in
the plans and projects
before the Society.
General Keifer was in many ways an
unusual man. Born
in 1836 he lived through one of the
thrilling periods of our his-
tory. As a boy whose father was a
pioneer he became familiar
with the experience with the Indians.
This interest reached its
maximum expression at the dedication of
the George Rogers
Clark Memorial near Springfield in 1924, when General
Keifer
was one of the active promoters and a
speaker for the occasion.
In the Civil War he proved himself a
true and courageous
soldier, returning at the close of the
war with military honors to
renew his civic duties amid the scenes
of his boyhood. Later on
he went as a soldier in the War with
Spain risking his health and
life in the climate of Cuba. This
service was rendered in the
same patriotic, high-minded manner as
marked his service in the
Civil War.
General Keifer's interest in politics
took him to Congress
where he became Speaker of the House.
After his retirement
from Congress and many years of the
practice of the law he was
again returned for two terms to the
House where a generation
before he had served. His return brought
him many pleasant ex-
periences in which he was privileged to
rejoice in the renewal of
the confidence and affection of former
years.
As a civilian General Keifer spent his
long life in the com-
munity of his birth. He associated with
himself in the practice
of the law his son and his grandson.
Thus four generations of
the Keifer family have served and
continued to serve as citizens
of merit--in their native city.
In local matters General Keifer was an
active substantialcit-
izen--in the church, in the city
government and in general in the
progressive movement of the city. He was
an ardent and devoted
Republican associated with two
generations of men beginning
with the period of the Civil War. In the
parlance of every day
he was "a gentleman of the Old
School." His intellectual life
found expression in reading the history
of his country and in
Report of the Forty-sixth Annual
Meeting 575
familiarity with the history of the
profession to which he devoted
his life.
We shall not soon see another man of his
type. Most of
them have passed. We shall miss him from
the roll of this
Society. His name, however, will be on
the roll of honor and we
shall hold him in grateful memory as a
citizen of integrity, honor
and distinction.
GENERAL J. WARREN KEIFER
Tribute of Clark County Bar
Association
High praise of the achievements of the
late Gen. J. Warren
Keifer, dean of the Clark County bar, as
lawyer, soldier, states-
man and citizen, was sounded at a
meeting in his memory held by
the Clark County Bar Association in the
common pleas courtroom
in the court house Saturday morning.
Principal tribute was paid in the
memorial prepared by a
memorial committee headed by Attorney
Chase Stewart, consist-
ing of laudatory review of the life of
this distinguished citizen.
Others on the committee included
Attorneys John L. Zimmerman,
Sr., Jacob M. Harner, Clem V. Collins
and Judge Frank W.
Geiger.
Attorney John M. Cole, president of the
Clark County Bar
Association, presided. The service was
attended by about 50
members of the Clark County Bar,
including Judge Albert H.
Kunkle of the Court of Appeals and
Common Pleas Judge Gol-
den C. Davis. The service also was
attended by a number of
persons not members of the bar.
Verbal tribute to Gen. Keifer was paid
in addresses by Judge
Geiger, and Attorneys Stewart, John L.
Zimmerman, Sr., Harry
A. Brenner, George S. Dial and Clinton
S. Olinger.
High spots in the memorial relate to the
admission of Gen.
Keifer to the Clark County Bar, January
12, 1858,
nearly three-
quarters of a century ago, his service
in the state senate, his 14
years in the national house of
representatives, during two years
of which he was speaker and his
accomplishments as soldier,
lawyer, statesman and private citizen.
576 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
The association voted to approve the
memorial and ordered
that a copy be delivered to the Keifer
family, another copy pre-
sented to the common pleas court to be
spread on the records of
the court and other copies distributed
for publication.
"Save four years, 100 years have
passed since Gen. Keifer
was born," Attorney Stewart said.
"It was a remarkable period
during which the state of Ohio has
emerged from a condition of
wilderness to its present state of
development. Gen. Keifer lived
during this period and tried to keep
pace with this development."
"The memorial as set forth,"
Attorney Zimmerman said,
after the memorial had been read,
"contains the facts concerning
the life of Gen. Keifer as the committee
understands them.
Every fact therein set forth is based on
the truth and this me-
morial can go down in the record as
authentic history."
Declaring the memorial was written
"largely by my friend
Stewart," Attorney Zimmerman
related early experiences with
Gen. Keifer whom he pictured as
"the outstanding figure" in
Clark County history.
Gen. Keifer possessed certain
"Bohemian traits found in
every great man and was organizer of an
unrecorded Bohemian
Club in Springfield composed of
Catholics, Protestants and Jews
which for 30 years exerted a powerful
influence in public affairs
in Clark County," Attorney Brenner
said.
"Few of those closely associated
with Gen. Keifer," Judge
Geiger said, "stopped to realize
what a great character dominated
the actions of Gen. Keifer. Early
history has it that Gen. Keifer
was born just a few miles from the
birthplace of Tecumseh,
two outstanding figures in the history
of Ohio."
The memorial adopted by the Bar
Association follows:
"Memorial
"Of Clark County Bar Association
"In honor of
"General J. Warren Keifer
"April 30, 1932
"General J. Warren Keifer, son of
Joseph and Mary (Smith)
Keifer, was born in Bethel township,
Clark County, Ohio, on
Report of the Forty-sixth Annual
Meeting 577
Jan. 30, 1836, the family residence
being in the neighborhood of
the battlefield in the valley of Mad
River, where Gen. George
Rogers Clark fought and defeated the
Shawnees.
"On March 22, 1860, Gen. Keifer was
married to Eliza
Stout, who was born in Springfield,
Ohio, and to them were
born four children, Joseph Warren
Keifer, jr., and William W.
Keifer, both living, and Horace Keifer
and Margaret Eliza Kei-
fer, both deceased. The present Horace
Keifer is a grandson.
"The earliest recorded reference to
Gen. Keifer appears in the
first volume of Henry Howe's Historical
Collections of Ohio. It
was made in 1846 when Mr. Howe was
securing data in Clark
County to be published in connection
with the early history of
Ohio. Desiring to secure information
relative to Tecumseh he
states that 'a bright intelligent boy 10
years old stood by my side
who had been sent by his father, a
farmer nearby, to point out
to me the various objects of historic
interest and among them
the hill called Tecumseh.' This boy was
J. Warren Keifer, the
subject of this memorial. He obtained
his education in the coun-
try schools and attended Antioch College
one year. When 19
years of age he commenced the study of
law with Gen. Charles
Anthony in Springfield; was admitted to
the bar Jan. 12, 1858,
practicing his profession for a short
time only, for almost before
the young lawyer had an opportunity to
prove his ability, the
Civil War was precipitated upon the
country and his ambitions,
like those of hundreds of his fellow
citizens, fell into abeyance
before the great wave of patriotic
enthusiasm that then swept
Ohio. Forensic triumphs were to be
delayed, for upon the in-
auguration of hostilities in 1861, he
volunteered and enlisted in
defense of the Union on April 19, 1861,
being among the first
to proffer his services. They were so
prolonged and of so dis-
tinguished a character that their
records appear in every contem-
porary history of Ohio.
"On April 27, 1861, he was
commissioned major of the Third
Ohio Volunteer Infantry, for a period of
three months, and be-
fore the expiration of that time was
commissioned for three years.
"He participated in the battle of
Rich Mountain, July II;
578 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
1861, and in the same year was on the
field at Cheat Mountain
and Elkwater, W. Va.
"On February 12, 1862, he was
commissioned lieutenant-
colonel of the Third Ohio Infantry
Regiment and was present
at the capture of Bowling Green, Ky.,
Nashville, Tenn., Hunts-
ville and Bridgeport, Ala.
"In April, 1862, he led an
expedition to Georgia, and on
September 30, 1862, he was commissioned
colonel of the 110th
Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and
being assigned to Gen.
Milroy's division in West Virginia, was
placed in command of
a brigade and the Post at Moorefield.
"On June 13, 14 and 15, 1863, were
fought the battles of
Winchester, in which Col. Keifer was
twice wounded.
"On July 9, 1863, Col. Keifer was
assigned to the Third
Army Corps of the Potomac which was
pursuing Gen. Lee's
army.
"In August, 1863, he was dispatched
with his command to
New York to suppress riots and enforce
the draft, after which
he rejoined the army and from that time
to the close of the re-
bellion participated in the many battles
that took place between
the armies of Grant and Lee to the time
of the surrender of the
latter at Appomattox.
"At the battle of the Wilderness,
on May 5, 1864, he was
seriously wounded, but in August of the
same year, in spite of
his disability he resumed command of his
brigade. He was
nominated for promotion to,
Brigadier-General by President
Abraham Lincoln for his conduct in
commanding the Third
Division of the Sixth Army Corps in the
battle of Cedar Creek
where Philip H. Sheridan made his famous
ride.
"For gallant and meritorious
services in the battles of Ope-
quon, Fisher's Hill and Cedar Creek he
was breveted brigadier-
general by President Lincoln on December
29, 1864, and in 1865
he was breveted major-general for
gallant and distinguished serv-
ices, being mustered out of the service
shortly thereafter.
"In 1866 he was tendered a
commission as lieutenant-colonel
of the 26th United States Infantry, but
this honor he declined,
Report of the Forty-sixth Annual
Meeting 579
as the country was at peace, and a
return to civil life and to the
practice of law was preferred rather
than to remain in permanent
military service.
"Many years after, in April, 1898,
when war with Spain
was declared, he was again ready for
service, although 62 years
of age.
"Appointed a major-general by
President McKinley, he
served in command of the Seventh Army
Corps at Miami and
Jacksonville, Florida, and embarked at
Savannah with 16,000
men for Cuba, establishing his
headquarters at Buena Vista, just
outside the city of Havana.
"He was in command of the United
States military forces
which took possession of the city
January 1st, 1899.
"The political life of General
Keifer also covers a long period,
and as a statesman he has won the
commendation and admiration
of his fellow citizens in equal degree
as a soldier.
"From 1868 until 1870, he served
with marked efficiency as
a member of the Ohio state senate. In
1876 he was sent as a
delegate to the Republican national
convention and in the same
year was elected to congress, where he
served continuously from
1877 until 1885.
"In December, 1881, he was chosen
speaker of the house of
representatives, an office which he
filled with his usual distinc-
tion, enjoying the prestige of being at
that time the first and only
Ohio man who was selected for this
office, having occupied it
until March 4th, 1883. It was during his
term as speaker that
was caused to be introduced a new
procedure, which attracted
much attention at the time locally and
abroad, under the name
of 'Cloture,' which is the right of a
speaker to close debate
and cut off purposely obstructive
motions and questions and bring
the house to an immediate vote upon the
main question. This
decision was cited and adopted by
Gladstone in the house of com-
mons.
"Following his service in the
Spanish-American War, Gen-
eral Keifer was again called into public
life, and in 1904 he was
again elected to congress, where he
served three terms, making
580 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications
14 years in all in which he served the
country in the house of
representatives.
"During his retirement from public
life and while in the
active practice of the law he found time
to turn his attention to
literature and wrote his political and
military history 'Slavery
and Four Years of War,' in 1895-6, but
interesting addenda were
made after the Spanish-American War,
prior to the issuance of
the book, in 1900. The work was
recognized as being compre-
hensive and convincing.
"He assisted in the organization of
the Men's Literary Club
on the 3rd day of October, 1893, and
remained an active and
valuable member, when not in public
service of the country, until
recently, when the condition of his
health prevented his attend-
ance.
"As a member of the Grand Army of
the Republic, he did
much for the interests of the soldiers
and has been honored by
them with official position. He was
first commander-in-chief of
the United Spanish War Veterans; was an
honorary life mem-
ber of the International Peace Union and
America's official rep-
resentative at the World Peace
Conference at Brussels, Belgium,
in 1910; a member of the Perry
Centennial Commission, and
served for many years as president of
The Lagonda National
Bank at Springfield, and when it merged
with The Citizens'
National Bank he was made honorary
president of The Lagonda-
Citizens' National Bank.
"In 1870 he served as one of the
trustees of the Soldiers'
and Sailors' Orphans' Home at Xenia, he
having organized its
board of control in 1868.
"In 1908 a reception was given in
his honor by the Clark
County Bar Association at the fiftieth
anniversary of his admis-
sion to the bar, which was attended not
only by his fellow mem-
bers of the bar in Springfield, but by
the judiciary and distin-
guished lawyers from different parts of
Ohio.
"Either the political or the
military career of Gen. Keifer
was sufficiently outstanding to entitle
him to a position of promi-
nence, but added to these distinct
careers was that of the lawyer.
Report of the Forty-sixth Annual
Meeting 581
"Across the threshhold of his
practice fell the shadow of the
Civil War. When that had passed, he
returned to active practice,
and soon gained recognition as one of
the outstanding young men
of the bar. As time went on, his
activities touch every compli-
cated relationship arising in a highly
industrial community, and
he became the trusted advisor of many
important business enter-
prises.
"His outstanding ability was not
confined to office practice,
as he was eminently successful in the
trial of important cases be-
fore courts and juries.
"The Ohio Supreme Court reports
contain many cases in
which Gen. Keifer appeared as counsel.
He was an active prac-
titioner in both state and federal
courts.
"His practice was not confined
exclusively to civil cases. He
often appeared in criminal cases, where
his success was marked.
"The prominent characteristics of
Gen. Keifer as a lawyer
were his unceasing industry in his
client's cause, a persistence in
the pursuit of what he conceived to be
his rights, and a never-
flagging determination to employ every
honorable means to ob-
tain the result he sought. The younger
men of the bar could
approach Gen. Keifer with full assurance
that he would take a
kindly interest in their problems and
extend to them any aid that
his experience and learning could
furnish.
"Closely connected with his
activities as a lawyer were those
incident to his unceasing interest in
civic matters and the welfare
of this community. He was not one to let
important local mat-
ters pass without giving them deserving
recognition. As a public
speaker he was impressive and
convincing. He had a remarkable
fund of information, covering a wide
range of study, which il-
luminated his discussion of any topic.
"The numerous positions he has
filled with honor and in-
tegrity attest the esteem in which he
has been held by the public,
and his long and familiar acquaintance
with public measures and
public men, his wide legislative
experience both in the Ohio senate
and in the congress, his distinguished
military career, his many
and valuable civic services, his
national prominence, and his for-
|
582 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications mer abundant usefulness to the people of the country fully entitle him to the respect that has been shown him by his fellow coun- trymen. "This is not an occasion for sorrow or mourning. A great man has passed after a life of intense activity and splendid service to humanity. "It is rather an occasion for rejoicing that during his re- markable career he has done so much to bring honor, not only to himself, but to the community which loved and will always revere him. "We recognize his splendid genius and rejoice that his life was crowned with so many victories. "He lived far beyond the allotted span of life and there should be no regret at his passing, but only gladness that he wrought so much and so well. "The rewards of the faithful are his. He earned them, and what we may here record will not add to or detract from them. "Chase Stewart, "John L. Zimmerman, "Jacob M. Harner, "Clem V. Collins, "Frank W. Geiger." |
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AFTERNOON SESSION
ADDRESS OF PROFESSOR CARL E. GUTHE
Chairman Sater called the meeting to
order at 2
p. m. After a few well chosen remarks
he introduced
Prof. Carl E. Guthe, University Museums
of the Uni-
versity of Michigan, who delivered an
address which
was heard with the closest attention
entitled, "Outdoor
Guiding in History and
Prehistory." Professor Guthe
spoke as follows:
OUTDOOR GUIDING IN HISTORY AND
PREHISTORY
BY CARL E. GUTHE
The phrase "outdoor guiding"
if considered in the narrow
sense refers to the physical process of
interpreting an exhibit sit-
uated in the open to a group of
visitors. This process must, of
necessity, show infinite variety in
accordance with the detailed
demands of the individual exhibit. Yet
the successful accomplish-
ment of such outdoor guiding depends
upon an adequate appre-
ciation of the reasons for such an
occupation, and its place in the
entire scope of museum policy. Therefore
I intend to confine my
remarks to a discussion of the more
general, and occasionally,
the more theoretical aspects of outdoor
guiding in history and
prehistory. The subject may be stated in
the form of three ques-
tions, namely: (1) What constitutes an
outdoor exhibit? (2)
How shall this exhibit be cared for? and
(3) What is its relation
to the public?
The function of a.museum exhibit,
whether it be in the open
or confined in glass cases in a
building, is to illustrate, by visual
means, certain facts of a given body of
human knowledge, and by
the arrangement of its several parts to
demonstrate the relation-
ship of these facts to others. Just as
nature trails, wild life sanc-
tuaries, and parks of several kinds
supplement and expand the
(583)
|
584 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications indoor exhibits in the several natural sciences, so a variety of out- door exhibits of historical subjects may widen and strengthen the field of indoor historical displays. For the purposes of this paper, the term "history" is used to |
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refer to the temporal aspects of the development of human com- munities. It is the function of history museums to preserve all of the great variety of records which have historical significance. As a rule, such museums in this country confine their activities to the preservation of the human records pertaining to a restricted geographical region, whether that be a city, a county, a state, of |
Report of the Forty-sixth Annual
Meeting 585
the nation. Clearly, the story of the
human occupation of a given
region is not that of a single
civilization, nor of one historic
period, nor of one occupation.
Prehistory and history are only
two parts of a single story; the story
of a man's use of a given
region.
Not all objects associated with the
human story of a com-
munity are necessarily historic
specimens. The fact that a thing
is old does not mean that it must be
preserved. Also, an object
which is unique is not an historic
specimen. Materials constitut-
ing historical exhibits should
illustrate the variety of the com.
monplace activities and objects of a
given group, or period. His-
toric values of specimens are often
dependent upon their location.
Some objects have a definite and
important local significance only,
while others are of interest to the
entire nation. In constructing
an outdoor exhibit, these several points
must be kept in mind.
An outdoor history exhibit should
supplement those within
a museum building; and should be
centered around objects which,
for several reasons, cannot be placed
within a building. Obviously
it is not possible to house Indian
mounds and historic buildings
because of their gross size.
Transplanting of some subjects from
specific localities destroys the
associations under which they exist,
and consequently their only historical
value. Thirdly, there are
historical records which cannot be moved
without destroying their
identity, such as trails, waterways, and
geographical locations.
The principal value of an outdoor
exhibit in history is the
creation of an association between the
geographical environment
and some historic fact or principle.
Such exhibits may then be
grouped as localities; that is, those
associated with historic periods,
those associated with events or
episodes, and those associated with
famous individuals.
The most common feature of the localities
associated with an
historic period is the habitations in
which man lived during that
period. The first human group to thus
occupy a region in any
part of the United States were the
Indians. Throughout the
length and breadth of our country their
forms of habitation varied
greatly. In the east and in the middle
west, the average Indian
586 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
village site contained only houses which
were impermanent and
which have long since disappeared. In
the southern Mississippi
Valley, pyramidal mounds of earth were
used as foundations for
buildings. One of the most famous of
these, Cahokia, at East St.
Louis, has recently been created a state
park by the Illinois State
Legislature. In the eastern Great
Plains, a type of earth lodge
was occupied by Indians, somewhat
similar to the ceremonial
lodge which has been reconstructed on
the grounds of the North
Dakota Historical Society at Bismarck.
In the southwest are the
dwellings of the sedentary peoples,
which include a great variety
of structures, only a few of which have
been made famous in the
Mesa Verde National Park in southwestern
Colorado. Along
our coasts, evidences of the first
occupation of an era are found
in the huge shell heaps built with
kitchen refuse. Throughout the
country caves have been used by man
during all periods.
Because we are better acquainted with
the detailed story of
human development since the coming of
the white man to this
continent, we are inclined to subdivide
the past three hundred
years into several historic periods,
each of which may be re-
garded as satisfactory material for
outdoor exhibits. Their value
depends, to some degree, upon their
relative local and national
importance. The interesting development
which is taking place
at Williamsburg, Virginia, is an example
of what can be done in
restoring an entire community to a
single period in its history.
Similar attempts might be made, not only
to preserve villages typ-
ical of the pioneer period of the middle
west, of the frontier towns
of the far west, and of the early mining
communities, but also
to reconstruct, while opportunity still
exists, a few blocks of a
town of the middle of the 19th century,
or even of the early part
of the 20th century, before the coming
of the automobile and the
resulting changes in our communities.
Such large exhibits, dealing with a
particular historical
period, have their administrative and
economic difficulties.
Usually a desire to memorialize an
historic period results in the
preservation of a single house within an
otherwise modern com-
munity. Throughout the country there are
innumerable log
Report of the Forty-sixth Annual
Meeting 587
cabins and houses of the 18th and 19th
centuries, which serve as
historical exhibits. The chief purpose
of any exhibit is to teach
a lesson and, insofar as possible, to
create an illusion of reality
in the mind of the observer. If this
statement is true, then it is
important that houses representing
specific periods have the ap-
pearance of being lived in, and not of
merely being a store house;
and that those parts of the house open
to visitors to be absolutely
true to the period, without incongruous
objects and arrange-
ments. Many exhibits of this class are
completely ruined through
a misguided attempt to cater to public
interest.
Another great class of exhibits dealing
with historic periods
is that which includes monuments erected
by human beings in
the past. Under this heading come the
great burial mounds
erected by Indian communities in
commemoration of those who
lived before them. Both Wisconsin and
Ohio have been partic-
ularly active in having such monuments
preserved in state parks.
The Indians also created monuments of
similar nature when they
placed inscriptions in the form of
geometrical and natural figures
upon various rocks and cliffs. Within
the past year, considerable
time and patience have been spent in the
state of Pennsylvania
preserving such records found near Safe
Harbor, on the Susque-
hanna. These records, distributed
throughout this continent, con-
stitute a valuable form of outdoor
exhibit. Since the coming of
the white man, similar monuments have
been erected according to
our own customs. Our cemeteries contain,
both in the private
monuments and in those of a more
communal nature, definite his-
toric records. Arlington, because of its
national scope and its
dedication to a particular phase of
modern civilization, holds an
important historical lesson.
The next great group of exhibits is that
dealing with locali-
ties associated with events or episodes
in which either the
European or Indian may have
participated. The creation as
parks of such places as the battlefields
at Gettysburg and Sara-
toga, the preservation of historic trees
such as the Washington
Elm in Cambridge, and the Logan Elm in
Ohio, under which
important events occurred, and the
guarding of such objects as
588 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
the Plymouth Rock exemplify the natural
desire to preserve a
locality associated with some historic
event. In all of these cases,
the lesson is best taught if
considerable care be taken to maintain
the locality in the condition in which
it was when the event
occurred.
Another class of events or episodes
which may be commemo-
rated in an historic exhibit is that
relating to the first appearance
of some culture trait. The only claim to
history which the fields
have over which the Wrights first flew
is that they mark the
location of an epoch-making event.
Similarly, Menlo Park in
New Jersey is famous only because it was
there that the electric
light was invented.
There is another group of geographical
localities which are
sometimes not classed under this
category. Many are inclined to
overlook the definite historic value of
trails and waterways.
These are the arteries through which the
changes in civilization
occurred, and if we are to understand
the interrelations of the
several communities in our country, it
is essential that adequate
provision be made for the interpretation
of these trails. They
were Indian trails first, used later by
frontiersmen and traders.
Then they were traveled in a variety of
conveyances by the
settlers and the military groups. In
these days of the automobile,
the traveler is usually unacquainted
with the historic background
of the artery of communication over
which he drives. A begin-
ning has been made in utilizing this
group of outdoor exhibits
in the setting up of stone markers all
over the country. A great
deal more can be done. With proper
handling, I feel sure that
the general traveling public would be
interested in the story of
such famous routes as the Long Hunters'
Trail, the Warrior's
Trail, the old Sauk Trail, as well as
the better known ones, such
as the Mohawk, Santa Fe, and Oregon
Trails.
The third of the great classes of
outdoor historical exhibits
is that comprising the localities
associated with famous indi-
viduals. The first of these is that
group which are definite
shrines to the memory of great men, and
which may or may not
be located at a place where the
individual actually worked.
These shrines usually take the form of
shafts, statues, or build-
Report of the Forty-sixth Annual
Meeting 589
ings erected to a certain attribute of
the individual. In the
Stillman Valley in Illinois, there is an
empressive heroic statue
of Black Hawk overlooking the region in
which he carried on his
activities. Throughout the country we
find monuments erected
to the pioneers and the pioneer women as
tributes to a particular
characteristic of this class of
individuals. The gigantic portraits
on Stone Mountain are another example of
this type of memorial
to individuals. Without question, the
most spectacular and the
most perfect of these shrines is the
famous Lincoln Memorial
in Washington.
Another group of these localities is the
one containing the
birth-places, death places, and
dwellings of individuals. The
various buildings throughout the country
preserved merely be-
cause they happen to have been the birth
places of subsequently
famous people are legion. All of you
know of dwellings of
well-known men which have been preserved
as monuments
through local or national interest, such
as Mt. Vernon and Monti-
cello.
The fact that the public is interested
in these historic indi-
viduals is well known, but I think
historians are sometimes in-
clined to overlook or perhaps belittle
the potential value of
famous names. A consideration of their
use by public service
organizations in localities associated
with these individuals brings
out forcibly what can be done in this
field. There would not be
so many uses of the name Lincoln in
Springfield, Illinois, nor of
Andrew Jackson in Nashville, Tennessee,
if the public were not
interested in this aspect of history.
In this very brief and hasy review of
the different kinds of
outdoor historical exhibits, it has, of
course, been impossible to
consider all of the interesting problems
involved, or to elaborate
upon some of the more pertinent
examples. My only purpose in
cataloguing this material is to place
before you a conception of
the complexity of the problem and the
need for judicious con-
sideration in choosing only those
subjects which definitely have
historical significance as outdoor
exhibits.
We may now pass to the second question
before us--How
shall these exhibits be cared for? It is
clear that an outdoor
590 Ohio
Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
historical exhibit is not in itself a
museum. No one would think
of classing a wild life sanctuary or a
nature trail as a museum.
Therefore, one must not become confused
between an historical
exhibit and an historical museum merely
because certain of these
exhibits happen to be buildings. The
several exhibits of which
I have spoken should be handled in a way
similar to that in
which habitat groups in natural history
are dealt with in museum
buildings. This means that in order to
preserve and properly
care for the exhibit, there must be some
outside agency interested.
We museum men naturally feel that the
best of such agencies
are organizations well acquainted with
museum principles.
However, such organizations are not as
yet widespread, and in
the meantime these exhibits can be and
are cared for by civic
groups, including women's clubs and
luncheon clubs, or by com-
munity departments, such as state
historical societies and, as in
Phoenix, Arizona, by an archaeological
commission. The im-
portant point is recognition of the fact
that the establishment of
an outdoor exhibit does not constitute
the sole responsibility of
the group involved. There is the expense
of overhead and up-
keep, as well as the details of guiding
to the exhibit, which must
be cared for in perpetuity.
We now come to the last of three
questions--What is the
relation of the exhibit to the public?
In many ways, this ques-
tion is the most important of the three.
Unless a collection or
an exhibit is used, it does not justify
its existence. What may
be most important to the individual
specializing in history may
not be of the slightest interest to the
average public. Therefore
one of the most important problems of
outdoor guiding in history
is to bring the subject matter to the
attention of those to whom
the guiding would be a service.
In outdoor guiding, the problems of
public relations are of
greater variety than within a museum
building. We are not only
concerned with the various age groups
within a community, from
the children of the primary grades to
the old people who have
personal recollections of the objects
exhibited, but also with that
continually increasing group known as
the tourist. The exhibits,
unless of a national character, must be
so arranged as to appeal
Report of the Forty-sixth Annual
Meeting 591
not only to the local interest, but also
to those individuals who
come from afar without a knowledge of
the detailed history of
the community.
We have heard for some time that natural
history exhibits
should not be built for the education of
the specialist in natural
history, nor for the gratification of
the curator, but rather for
the use of those individuals who are not
primarily interested in
the subject matter of the exhibits. The
same holds true in his-
torical matters. There is a tendency to
assume that the average
person has a sufficient knowledge of
history to take an interest in
these materials regardless of their
method of display. As a mat-
ter of fact, I feel that the majority of
visitors to historical ex-
hibits do not have an adequate
appreciation of either the facts or
the principles which an historical
exhibit should illustrate. The
obvious interest which does exist on the
part of individuals is not
of an historical nature, but is rather
the result of three natural
and inevitable tendencies which I call
the appetite for vicarious
experience, hero worship, and family
pride.
It is not sufficient to ignore these
three natural reactions to
historical exhibits, nor merely deplore
them. They will occur in
any event, and the proper attitude
should be that of utilizing
them to teach the desired lessons,
bearing in mind that undue
catering to these reactions may obscure
the true reason for the
existence of the exhibit. A desire to
take advantage of the in-
terest in vicarious experience may cause
the exhibit of a series
of objects associated with an event
which was neither typical of
any given period nor which had any
historical significance. The
recognition of hero worship has
sometimes resulted in the
preservation of utterly useless things
which were at one time
associated with some historical
personality. I have in mind
some cigar ashes which came from a cigar
smoked by General
Grant and a nondescript one-roomed
wooden shack which was
once occupied by a subsequently
important person. Perhaps the
most frequent cause for mistakes in
historical exhibits is the
desire to satisfy family pride. This
results in the unnecessarily
prominent display of the donor's name,
and also in the close
association within a single exhibit of
totally unrelated materials
592 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
because of their acquisition by the
organization from a single
source.
It is possible, on the other hand, to
favor these aspects of
public interest and at the same time
accentuate the historical
value of the exhibits. The chief charm
of outdoor exhibits lies
in their surroundings. The fact that the
visitor is standing on
the very spot on which some historic
personage stood, or where
some important event occurred, is a
vicarious experience, which
is entirely lost if the exhibit is moved
to a locality which appears
to be either more convenient to those in
charge or more conducive
to a larger number of visitors. A policy
of leaving objects in
their natural location prevents
incongruity through mixture of
periods and objects as a result of
attempted centralization of ex-
hibits.
It must also be remembered that outdoor
exhibits are only
exhibits and not museums. They must be
treated as "habitat
groups", and explained in that way
to the visitors. Insofar as
possible, the illusion of stepping into
another historic period must
be preserved, granted, of course, that
there are a number of
classes of exhibits which do not lend
themselves to such treat-
ment. The worst offenders in this matter
of retaining the illu-
sion, the spirit of the "habitat
group", are the attempts to repro-
duce period houses and period rooms.
Framed copies of news-
papers current in the period would not
normally be found upon
the walls; the various pieces of
furniture would not bear cards
giving names of individuals from whom
the family had received
them; nor, as recently witnessed, a card
with the word "original".
The illusion should be that of a home in
which people live. One
good way of maintaining such an
illusion, and one which at the
same time would be a means of support,
would be a tea room,
with waitresses dressed in the costumes
of the period, using linen
and table equipment which are replicas
of those of the period, and
bringing food from a kitchen in which
the cooking was being done
according to the methods and with the
utensils of that period.
The requirement that history exhibits
emphasize the human
element behind them is paramount. It is
true that in many cases,
such as the sites of battlefields, the
locations of old trails, and
Report of the Forty-sixth Annual
Meeting 593
certain localities associated with
famous individuals, it is impos-
sible to reconstruct the actual life of
the period represented.
However, the human element may be
emphasized by secondary
exhibits, and arrangements. Such
adjustments are particularly
necssary in the case of the localities
dealing with the pre-Colum-
bian history of the Indians of the
region.
The first and simplest of these
secondary exhibits is the
tablet or marker which, when once in
place, becomes of value only
upon the initiative of the visitor.
Clearly such a method is in-
adequate, but it is often the only way
in which Indian sites, his-
toric trails, and the locations of
events and episodes can be
marked by a group with limited time and
funds. A more ade-
quate secondary exhibit is what has been
called a "wayside
museum"; that is, a small building
erected, if possible, in a style
of architecture in keeping with the
major exhibit, in which a
variety of small objects are so arranged
in glass cases as to ex-
plain its importance and historical
significance. This is a par-
ticularly satisfactory method of
bringing out the human values
of Indian sites, of treaty spots,
frontier and mining communities,
and the like. The entire significance is
lost if this secondary ex-
hibit is a perfunctory group of
miscellaneous material. As much
or more care must be given to such a
display as to those in
similar glass cases in the parent
museum. By presenting clearly
the physical relationship between the
minor specimens and the
major exhibit, it is possible to
emphasize the historical value of
apparently unimportant objects. However,
the greatest care must
be used not to destroy the sense of
illusion, which is the first con-
sideration of the outdoor exhibit. The
use of a part of an his-
toric block house of colonial times as a
small exhibit room and a
sales room for postals and books dealing
with the historic event
which took place in and near that block
house definitely destroys
some of the historic value of the
construction. One of the most
appropriate of such secondary exhibits
is that at the Aztec Na-
tional Monument in New Mexico, where the
smaller objects
illustrating the daily life of the
inhabitants of a pueblo ruin are
594 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
housed in some of the undisturbed and
partly reconstructed rooms
of the pueblo itself.
A third means of creating public
interest in outdoor exhibits
is through the individual in charge, one
who, unfortunately, some-
times bears the title
"care-taker." His
responsibility should be
not only that of protecting the exhibit
from small boys, thought-
less tourists and vandals, but also that
of making the visitors
appreciate, insofar as possible, the
significance and interest of the
exhibit which has been placed in his
charge. A training which
will teach the caretaker or curator of
the exhibit the real value
of that for which he is responsible,
will result in a cordial atti-
tude of the teacher towards
visitors. The actual guiding of
visitors through the exhibit might be
supplemented by outdoor
lectures on Saturday and Sunday
afternoons. At the Mesa
Verde National Park, campfire talks each
evening are doing
much to interest the public in the story
of the builders of these
famous cliff dwellings.
A fourth means, of no historical
significance whatever, is of
considerable importance in increasing
the use of an outdoor ex-
hibit by the public. This is the
establishment of adequate facilities
for amusement, recreation, and camping.
The only important
consideration is that such playgrounds
and camping grounds be
situated near, but not upon, the area
which constitutes the ex-
hibit. Concessions must be granted for
food, stationary, and the
usual mementos. It should also be
remembered that an Indian
curio shop or antique store would be
just as incongruous on the
outskirts of an historical exhibit as a
furrier's establishment or a
taxidermist's shop situated at the gate
of a wild life sanctuary.
The fifth tool for use in outdoor
guiding is the printed word.
Brief accounts, published as small
leaflets, or in some cases, as
more pretentious pamphlets, have a
tremendous effect upon the
public. Ohio has prepared a guide to
historic spots. The Wis-
consin Historical Society has published
a large number of small
leaflets calling attention to a great
variety of outdoor historical
exhibits.
In conclusion, then, the first
requirement in considering the
Report of the Forty-sixth Annual
Meeting 595
question of outdoor guiding in history
is to determine what con-
stitutes an outdoor historical exhibit.
Not all historical objects
can be exhibits. The particular value of
outdoor materials is
that attention may be called to objects
which cannot be placed
within museum walls. Yet all things
which are old do not have
historical significance, and conversely,
not all historical speci-
mens are old. They must be typical of
some period or have a
definite association with some event,
circumstance, or personage
of importance.
Outdoor exhibits are not museums, and
like all exhibits,
they must be associated with some
organization which is pre-
pared to care for the overhead and
upkeep incidental to pre-
serving such historical material.
If the material is worth exhibiting at
all, it is worth study-
ing carefully in order that it may best
serve to demonstrate, by
visual means, the pertinent historical
facts, and by its presenta-
tion to establish its relationship to
other facts and exhibits. It is
necessary to cater to the visiting
public by considering such mat-
ters as love of vicarious experience,
hero worship, and family
pride, but the true function of an
historical exhibit must not be
forgotten. Public interest and
participation in outdoor exhibits
can be secured by emphasizing the human
values; that is, by pre-
serving the exhibit in its natural
surroundings; by fostering the
illusion of the present use through
careful adherence to the
period of the exhibit in all details; by
supplementing, but not
marring, the major exhibit through the
use of secondary housed
displays of related smaller materials;
by fostering public recrea-
tion parks in the neighborhood, but not
upon the grounds of the
exhibit; and finally, by issuing
carefully prepared leaflets and
pamphlets.
(Applause.)
CHAIRMAN SATER: The Secretary has an
announce-
ment to make at this time,
|
596 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications SECRETARY GALBREATH: Professor Venable, who will make a presentation of the collection of which I read this forenoon, is here ready formally to present it. I in- vite you now, so as to facilitate the return of Mr. Ven- able to Cincinnati, to go to the Library and see and hear this presentation. |
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PRESENTATION OF RARE COLLECTION BY
PROFESSOR EMERSON VENABLE
After adjourning to the Library, as
above noted, the
following proceedings were had:
SECRETARY GALBREATH: Mr. Emerson Venable,
teacher, author, and writer, will
present the Dolores
Cameron Venable Memorial Collection in
honor of his
late wife.
MR. EMERSON VENABLE: Mr. Galbreath and
Mem-
bers of the Ohio State Archaeological
and Historical So-
ciety: I regret that my daughter,
Evelyn Venable, is
unable to be present on this occasion; but
she is present
in spirit, and has asked me to convey
to you her greet-
ings. Mr. Secretary, in behalf of my
daughter and my-
self I now have the pleasure of
presenting, through you,
to the Ohio State Archaeological and
Historical Society,
the Dolores Cameron Venable Memorial
Collection.
In accepting Professor Venable's gift
Secretary
Galbreath said:
Professor Emerson Venable and Friends:
In behalf of the Board of Trustees of
the Ohio State Arch-
aeological and Historical Society, I
accept this notable gift--the
first of this kind in the history of
this institution.
With William H. Venable's standard work,
The Beginnings
of Literary Culture in the Ohio
Valley, published in 1891, come
also a revision of that work by the
author in manuscript form
brought down almost to the time of his
death, over 500 manu-
script letters by prominent Ohio writers
of the past century, and
some rare items from Ohioans prominent
in statesmanship and
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598 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications war. There are also hundreds of lantern slides largely devoted to Ohio literary subjects. The plan was to present this valuable and unique gift when not only Mr. Emerson Venable but his talented, cultured and |
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beautiful daughter, Miss Evelyn, could be present. Miss Evelyn has the culture and refinement of both parents and the beauty of her mother whose portrait you see, and in whose memory this |
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Report of the Forty-sixth Annual Meeting 599 collection is presented. The daughter has commenced a promising career on the stage and is now making a coast to coast tour with the Walter Hampden Company presenting "Cyrano de Ber- gerac," by Rostand. We hope to be honored by her presence at some future meeting. I accept and dedicate this collection as a foundation source for the study of Ohio literature and the careers of Ohio literary men and women. As a first fruit of this source I invite atten- tion to the neat volume entitled An Interpretation of the Life and Poetry of Coates Kinney, by Miss Debora M. MacNeilan, of Columbus. In behalf of the Society I thank the donor, Mr. Emerson Venable and his daughter, for this precious gift and assure him that it will be sacredly preserved. After the ceremonies incident to the dedication, the audience repaired to the auditorium to hear Mr. C. A. Jones deliver his address on Abraham Lincoln. After introduction by Chairman Sater, Mr. Jones delivered his address which was out of the line of the ordinary eulogy on Abraham Lincoln and presented many facts that were new to his audience. |
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ABRAHAM LINCOLN
AN ADDRESS BY CHARLES A. JONES
CHAIRMAN SATER: I feel that we are all
obliged to Professor
Galbreath for making a little shift in
the program here and in
giving us a chance to walk about for a
few minutes and to be
present at the presentation and
dedication of this beautiful gift
that Mr. Venable and his family have
made to the Society.
A few years ago the managers of a very
enterprising maga-
zine in this country sent out a
questionnaire to the high school
students of the civilized countries of
the world and they asked
for the answer to one question, they
were polling high school
students of the civilized world to find
out who, in their opinion,
was the greatest man of modern times.
Now, that is a pretty
big order, my friends. But the high
school students apparently
were able to answer that question. And
who do you think led
the list? Probably a number of you have
seen that list, maybe
some of you have not. But who do you
think led the list of
the greatest man of the modern world? It
wasn't Napoleon, there
wasn't a king or an emperor or a prince
or a potentate or a rich
man in the list, not one. The man who
received the greatest
number of votes as the greatest man of
modern times was a
quiet, mild-mannered little Frenchman
who spent his whole life
in a laboratory, Louis Pasteur, and the
second name on that list
was Abraham Lincoln.
We are very fortunate this afternoon in
having with us as
one of our speakers, one of the most
careful, painstaking of the
younger students of Abraham Lincoln in
the state of Ohio. We
never tire of hearing of Lincoln and you
will not tire of hearing
what this speaker has to say of him.
Mr. Jones, as you know, was Secretary
for Governor and
Senator Willis for seven years. He was
Secretary for Gover-
nor Cooper throughout the entire time
that he was Governor. But
Mr. Jones' reputation doesn't depend
upon his connection with
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Report of the Forty-sixth Annual Meeting 601 |
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602 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
any other man. He has a name and a
reputation and ability of
his own. You will discover that, if you
don't already know it,
before he has proceeded very far with
his paper. It is my great
privilege to introduce to you Mr.
Charles A. Jones, who will
speak to us on Abraham Lincoln. Mr.
Jones. (Applause.)
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: That is a very
much appreciated
introduction, a little bit different
from the one that I got up in
Mansfield some months ago when I went up
there to speak to
the men's group. The chairman of the
meeting was making some
announcements in a perfectly informal
manner. I am certain
that he did not think about what he was
saying. Nevertheless,
it was rather interesting. Right in the
middle of his announce-
ments, he said to the group, "Now,
boys, next week we will have
a real speaker." (Laughter.) And
the boys looked at me and
I looked at them and then we all
laughed.
I have been very much interested in the
work of this Society
ever since the first time that I came to
Ohio and went into a
little room down in the capitol building
and saw a number of
things, one of which especially struck
my attention, coming as I
did from the border state of Maryland. I
saw a flag there with
a placard on it, "Rebel Flag from
the First Maryland Regiment."
I suppose long since it has gone back to
Maryland. It was the
first time in my life that I ever saw in
any public place the
word "Rebel" and I have never
forgotten it. The setting, of
course, as you know, in the state of
Maryland was very different
in regard to that word from what it was
out here in Ohio, and I
have never forgotten the impression that
that particular exhibit
made upon me.
I have had very interesting and pleasant
relations with the
Society and its officers through the
years and have been glad to
make such contributions to it as I
could. I was very much in-
terested in some phases of the paper
which preceded. One of the
officers of this Society and I went up
to one of the nearby counties
not so long ago to speak at a local
historical society meeting. We
drove into the town and up to the court
house and asked if this
was the place where the meeting was to
be, and the gentleman
Report of the Forty-sixth Annual
Meeting 603
who stood in front said to us, "I
have no doubt this is where it
is to be, this is where they have their
junk." (Laughter.)
A little later in the evening, after the
meeting was over, we
were taken in to see the exhibit, which
is really a very interesting
one, and the guide took us over almost
instantly to one of the
cases and pointed out a piece of rope
and told us that a certain
man was hung with that. (Laughter.) So I
have some knowl-
edge of the subject matter that was
discussed.
Nothing is more strange when you come to
study it out,
except life, than the choices of men and
women that history
makes for immortality, and by
immortality in the sense in which
I use it, I mean the fame that will so
endure that a hundred
years from today, the ordinary citizen
in the ordinary country
of the world will know or care that a
man lived and where he
lived and what he did. Those of you who
have examined the
literature of any day much less than a
hundred years ago are
always struck with the importance given
to men and to events
which have wholly passed out of the
knowledge of the men and
women of your own day and generation,
probably never have
come to their attention, and yet at the
time in which those things
happened or in which the men and women
lived they had a no
inconsiderable importance.
Now, viewed from that standpoint,
nothing is more strange
than that I should be here speaking to
you about Abraham Lin-
coln or that you should be interested in
him, or that this day
and generation should, in many places in
the world, consider
Abraham Lincoln equal to or even above
the man who is the
father of his country, George
Washington.
There can be no question about the fact
that in many coun-
tries of the world, Abraham Lincoln is
definitely better known
than any other man that ever lived in
the United States. Half
a world from here is the city of
Chengtu, almost at the Tibetan
border. Walking down a little street of
that city one day, a street
not much wider than this old and
historic desk here, I looked
into the room of a little store and on
the back wall of that store
I saw a Chinese printed picture of
Abraham Lincoln. The man
604 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
that owned the store knew practically
nothing about Mr. Lin-
coln; he knew so little about the United
States of America that
he asked how many days' journey it would
take by sedan chair
to come from his country to this
country. But he did know that
a man by the name of Abraham Lincoln who
was born an ex-
ceedingly poor boy came to be one of the
greatest men in the
world.
Not so very long ago in the city of
Berlin, Germany, the
high school students were asked who was
George Washington.
More than half of them did not know.
There were many in-
teresting answers, among which was the
statement that he was
the chief aide to General Pershing
during the World War. Just
what they might have said about Mr.
Lincoln is not recorded,
but that is an indication of the general
knowledge of the world.
How marked it is that Mr. Lincoln
achieved fame almost by
accident is illustrated, perhaps best,
by the sketch of Mr. Lin-
coln's life that was given by Dr. Aked,
one of the most famous
English preachers of our generation, at
the Lincoln Memorial
Service in Washington, about six years
ago. In beginning his
address, Dr. Aked said that to the
people of Great Britain, "Abra-
ham Lincoln is an absolutely
incomprehensible character." Those
were his exact words, and he added that
his experience in the
United States led him to believe that
Mr. Lincoln is actually as
little understood almost by the people
of his country as he is by
the people of Great Britain. Of course,
we wouldn't agree with
that statement.
And then Dr. Aked followed with this
outline, which I want
to read to you with some little
comments, because it is a state-
ment of the life of Mr. Lincoln as it
might well have been set
down up to the time that he was past
fifty years of age, the age
at which men in public life are usually
well on their way towards
success or permanent failure. Let me
read this:
"He was born amid conditions of
poverty scarcely compre-
hensible to the men and women of
today."
Oftentimes when I am speaking over the
state, I refer to a
log cabin that is down here in the
basement, which is a really
Report of the Forty-sixth Annual
Meeting 605
wonderful exhibit of the life of a
hundred or more years ago.
This cabin is a palace beside any
building in which Abraham
Lincoln lived up to the time he was
nineteen years of age. This
is a first class cabin. A hundred years
ago the cabin in which
Mr. Lincoln was born was considered a
third class cabin, even in
the hills of Kentucky where it stood and
still stands, and if you
will go down there and talk with the
people who have built those
cabins and lived in them, they will tell
you that under any stand-
ards, the cabin in which Mr. Lincoln was
born was a very poor
cabin. Then when his father moved to
Indiana, he lived all
through one of the coldest winters in
historical times in a build-
ing that had only three sides.
"Now," said Dr. Aked, "of
his father, the less said the
better."
My own judgment is, while that was the
judgment of our
fathers, it is not just. Nobody knew
anything about Thomas
Lincoln or cared anything about him up
until the time that Mr.
Lincoln became President, and the
President's father was then a
man well along in years. Dr. Barton
says, after very careful re-
search, that something happened to
Abraham Lincoln's father
about the time he was forty or
forty-five years of age which
transformed him from an ordinary
individual with some degree
of enterprise, not very great, into an
absolutely shiftless indi-
vidual. It was as the individual of that
second period that
Thomas Lincoln came to the notice of men
who cared and his
name was passed down into history.
Thomas Lincoln was an
elder of his church and he was a public
official. He did certain
things of more or less credit in the
Kentucky neighborhood in
which he lived, all of which have been
developed in the research
of the last few years to somewhat change
the picture of Thomas
Lincoln. He wasn't the greatest man that
ever lived by a long
shot, but neither was he, in the earlier
years of his life, at least,
the poor, shiftless individual that he
was when he came into the
picture of history.
Let me return to the outline. Dr. Aked
said that "The best
that can be said of his mother is that
she was an ignorant but
606 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
rather attractive pioneer woman. Mr.
Lincoln had no education
from the viewpoint of the modern
school." The fact is that his
education from our viewpoint was less
than a year. "From early
boyhood he was compelled to do hard
physical labor for every-
thing which he secured, and to use his
own testimony, he had to
work hard, but he never learned to like
it. Life for him was
one succession of failures from the
viewpoint of the thing which
he wanted to achieve. The three women he
especially loved, his
mother, his sister and his sweetheart,
all died in his early life,
their deaths casting over him a gloom
from which he never en-
tirely emerged.
"He became a storekeeper and the
business failed, plunging
him into debt from which he never was
able entirely to emerge
until after he had served in the
Congress of the United States.
He became a surveyor and his surveying
instruments were sold
to pay his debts. He went into the Black
Hawk War a captain
and returned a private. He rode a horse
to the war and had to
walk back. He became postmaster at the
town of New Salem,
and not only the postoffice but the town
in which the postoffice
was located went out of existence. He
became a candidate for
the legislature but was defeated. Then
he was elected and his
name is associated with some of the
worst economic legislation
ever enacted by the General Assembly of
any state in the union."
Let me say that this last is not
particularly to Mr. Lincoln's
discredit. The name of every other man
of any consequence in
his period and place was associated with
the same legislation. It
was a period of bond legislation,
somewhat like the ones through
which we have gone with the same kind of
consequences that we
are now having in the United States and
are likely to continue to
have until we get some of this bond
business cleared away.
"He became a candidate for Congress
and was defeated.
Later he was elected and served two
years. His record was such
as not only to prevent his re-election,
but to prevent the elec-
tion of his friend, Judge Logan, who had
been chosen by his
party to succeed him.
"He became a candidate for Land
Commissioner, but the
Report of the Forty-sixth Annual
Meeting 607
President for whom he had campaigned
wouldn't appoint him.
The President wanted to appoint him as
Governor of Oregon,
and it is to the exceedingly great
credit of Mrs. Lincoln that she
said 'No' and made him obey it. He was a
candidate for United
States Senator in 1852 and was defeated.
He was a candidate
for the nomination for Vice President at
the First Republican
National Convention in 1856, received
perhaps a hundred votes
out of some three hundred and fifty, but
he was defeated.
"In 1858, he was a candidate for
United States Senator for
the second time, took part with Stephen
A. Douglas in the
greatest political debate ever staged on
the American continent
and emerged from the campaign defeated,
deep in debt, and so
far as he could see and so far as Mrs.
Lincoln, who had said
she was about to marry a President of
the United States, could
see, his political career, the thing
that he wanted more than any-
thing else in this world, was
over."
He expected to have nothing further
except the practice of
law in the city of Springfield,
Illinois, with occasional excursions
into public affairs from an incidental
viewpoint, and if he had
passed off of the stage at any time,
ladies and gentlemen, in the
year 1859, there isn't a single person
in this room nor in this
state except some technical students of
history who would know
or care that any such a man as Abraham
Lincoln ever lived.
In September, 1859, Mr. Lincoln came to
Columbus and
spoke on the east side of the State
House to less than a hundred
people. On the following day, the
editors of the two leading
papers in this city, each, of course,
without knowledge of what
the other was about to say, said
editorially that "Abraham Lin-
coln, a former Congressman from
Illinois, spoke yesterday by
the State House," and each editor
took occasion to point out that
he didn't consider that it was an event
of enough consequence to
go across the square to hear Mr.
Lincoln. Now, that was in
September, 1859.
In January, 1860, a noted Washington
correspondent issued
a volume of sketches of the probable
presidential nominees and
the name of Abraham Lincoln does not
appear in that volume of
608 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
five hundred and sixty-two pages, except
with reference to the de-
bate with Mr. Douglas, and if the
National Convention had been
held in January, 1860, Mr. Lincoln would
not have been nomi-
nated, and if it had been held in
February, 1860, Mr. Lincoln
would not have been nominated. He wasn't
in the thinking of
most of the people of the United States.
What I am saying is
that this man who is pre-eminent in
American history, who is the
best loved man in our history and the
best known man in our
history, despite the fact that he had
participated in what is prob-
ably the second most important law case
from the viewpoint of
decisions in the history of the United
States, the famous railway
bridge case, was a local man with
nothing more than a local rep-
utation from a political viewpoint and
that he would not have
been known to you today.
I do not propose to talk to you about
the outstanding events
in Mr. Lincoln's life. You know them
just as well as I do. I
do intend to talk about five very little
things, without any one of
which in all human probability Abraham
Lincoln would not have
been President of the United States.
Sometimes when we think about these
outstanding men we
think about them in terms of monuments.
George Washington
appears to more people in terms of that
great obelisk down in
Washington than he does as an
individual. Most people do not
know that all through his life George
Washington had a very
great affection for another man's wife,
which clouded his happi-
ness through all the years, just as Mr.
Lincoln's loss of Ann Rut-
ledge probably clouded his life. The
human element passes out
somehow as we go down through the years
and a good deal that
we know or think we know about Abraham
Lincoln, who has
been dead only sixty-six years, is myth,
myth in its setting and
myth in its actuality. The fact is that
Mr. Lincoln's way to des-
tiny was influenced by five or six
little things like those which
might have affected and probably often
have affected your own
lives.
The first of those about which I want to
speak today is the
climate of the city of Cleveland, Ohio.
Mr. Lincoln never was in
Report of the Forty-sixth Annual
Meeting 609
Cleveland alive but once and that was in
1861 when he was on his
way to Washington to be inaugurated as
President of the United
States. His body was brought back there
on its way to entomb-
ment at Springfield. How then could the
climate of the city of
Cleveland, Ohio, have a vital effect
upon the life of Abraham
Lincoln? The fact is that probably no
individual thing that hap-
pened to Mr. Lincoln directly or
indirectly was as important as
that factor of climate.
In the year 1832, the littlest man
physically that ever at-
tained great importance in the history
of the United States grad-
uated in New England and started west to
go somewhere to prac-
tice law. He had letters of introduction
to some people in Cleve-
land, Ohio, and he came there and
established a legal connection
that was far beyond his dreams and far
beyond the dreams of
almost every young lawyer. He hadn't
been there very long, how-
ever, when he was taken ill with what we
would today probably
call bilious fever, or something like
that. He was very ill for
three months. At the end of that three
months, the doctors said
to him that he must either leave the
city of Cleveland or take the
chance that he would pretty soon leave
the world entirely.
So he took a canal boat and went down to
Portsmouth, Ohio,
then down to Cincinnati where he
attempted to make a legal con-
nection but couldn't; went on down to
St. Louis and didn't have
enough money to stay there; went into
Illinois to practice law,
because without any knowledge of the law
and without any
money, he could live for a time until he
could get himself estab-
lished.
That is why Stephen A. Douglas came to
go to Illinois. He
didn't want to go to Illinois, he didn't
intend to go to Illinois, he
went there only because of economic
conditions, he had to go to
Illinois.
Now, then, if Stephen A. Douglas had
stayed in the State of
Ohio, he probably would have become a
great man; he might
easily not have become as great a man as
he did become, because
we had in this state some pretty big men
in those days, Thomas
Corwin of Lebanon, and Salmon P. Chase
and a number of other
610 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
men that could be named here today. But,
nevertheless, the evi-
dence would seem to point to the fact
that Stephen A. Doug-
las would have become a big man. He had
a greater knowledge
of the psychology of public address than
almost any man of the
fifties. He had a wonderful voice. He
could imitate the roar of
a cataract or he could lower his tones
to paint the picture of a
breeze. And yet he never read books to
amount to anything.
He was the least read of any man who
became great in the his-
tory of the United States, in a public
capacity, in the years after
education became general, at least. He
must have been a great
man because he succeeded to eminence in
this country immediately
after Webster and Clay and Calhoun had
passed off the scene of
action and he maintained his greatness
by the power of his speech.
But suppose he had become great in Ohio,
would that have
made any difference in the life of
Abraham Lincoln? How
would Abraham Lincoln have come into
contact with Stephen A.
Douglas if Stephen A. Douglas had been a
resident of Ohio?
Lincoln could not have campaigned
against Mr. Douglas for the
United States Senatorship, and if Mr.
Lincoln had not cam-
paigned against Mr. Douglas for the
Senatorship, in all proba-
bility Mr. Douglas would have been
President of the United
States and Mr. Lincoln would have been
an obscure figure in
Illinois.
It is pretty hard for an audience these
days to understand
that when the Lincoln-Douglas debates
started, they were not of
interest at all because Mr. Lincoln was
taking part in them; Mr.
Lincoln was just the tail to the kite.
Mr. Douglas was the kite
and I will give you current evidence of
that. Mrs. Joseph B. For-
aker has written a very entertaining and
interesting book on her
life, I Would Live It Again. Referring
to the things of her
youth in the home of her father, the
distinguished Congressman
Bundy of that day, she relates about the
conversations around
the table concerning the fact that
"a Mr. Lincoln was debating
the great Douglas in Illinois."
After the debates were over some
time and the people had had a chance to
think the thing through,
Report of the Forty-sixth Annual Meeting 611
Mr. Lincoln became the kite and Mr.
Douglas became the tail to
the kite; but that wasn't true when
those debates took place.
If Mr. Douglas had not had an attack of
bilious fever in
Cleveland in 1832 and had
stayed in Ohio, the whole course of the
life of Mr. Lincoln and the whole course
of the national history
might have been changed. That is the
first of the incidental
things to which I want to call attention
today as important in the
life of this great man and as
contributing directly to the develop-
ment of his life.
Now, then, we are going to skip clear
over until the early
part of 1860. What little fame Mr.
Lincoln had in the early part
of 1860 was due to the fact of his
participation in these debates
with Mr. Douglas. The outline I have
given you here that Dr.
Aked gave is in essence true. It would
have been set down, if
anything had been written, in 1860.
There wasn't a single sketch
extant of Mr. Lincoln in the early part
of 1860 anywhere and you
can't find one today that was written up
to that time, yet he was
past fifty years of age when he was
nominated for the presidency
of the United States.
There are more books about Abraham Lincoln
today than
about any other man that ever lived in
the Western World, ex-
cept possibly Napoleon Bonaparte in
France, but they weren't
written before 1860 and most of them
were not written for thirty
years after Mr. Lincoln had passed off
of the stage. Dr. Holland
wrote the life of Mr. Lincoln in 1866
and Ward Lamon, his as-
sociate, wrote one in 1872, and then
along in 1888 or thereabouts,
his law partner, Mr. Herndon, with the
assistance of Mr. Weik,
wrote a three volume edition that
stirred everybody. About the
same time Hay and Nicolay issued their
great ten volume history,
and it was supposed all that was worth
while had been said. You
can put in about a dozen volumes all the
things of permanent
worth that the people cared to know
about Mr. Lincoln, at least
as far as they had appeared in print up
to about 1890 or '95.
It was not until Ida Tarbell spent three
or four years digging
up facts that nobody ever dreamed
existed about Abraham Lin-
coln and the Lincoln family and printed
them along about 1905
612 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
and 1906, that the floodgates on Mr.
Lincoln were let loose; and
now there are about twenty-five hundred
volumes on Mr. Lincoln
and four or five thousand pamphlets.
There is scarcely a month
goes by that some book that is worth
while is not printed about
Mr. Lincoln. About six or eight have
been printed this year
already. It takes forty or fifty dollars
a year to keep up with the
procession if you buy just the
publications that are really worth
while that come out every year. But the
men who lived with Mr.
Lincoln and who immediately followed him
didn't have much of
that kind and didn't care for much of
that kind.
So we pass over to the early part of
1860, which was just a
few weeks after Mr. Lincoln came to
Columbus to deliver this
address which was listened to by less
than a hundred people. He
was not in the eye of the East as a
presidential possibility at all.
Then there came to him an invitation to
come to Brooklyn, New
York, to speak to a Lyceum Club of about
a hundred members.
A man who happened to be one of the
directors of this Lyceum
in Brooklyn had been out in Illinois and
had heard Mr. Lincoln
in these Lincoln-Douglas debates. He
thought it would be an
interesting and valuable thing from a
monetary viewpoint to bring
Mr. Lincoln to Brooklyn as one of the
attractions on that lecture
course, not because of anything he would
say particularly but
because he was a natural physical and
political curiosity. This
man had a strenuous time persuading his
six associates that an
invitation should go to Mr. Lincoln at
all.
I know just how that appealed to them.
When I was on
the Senior Lecture Course Committee up
at Delaware, we wanted
to bring Captain Jack Crawford, a famous
Indian Scout, there,
not because of anything that he would
say, but because we
thought he would be one of the few
remaining curiosities of the
wild and wooly West. The faculty vetoed
the suggestion; they
said we couldn't, he wouldn't contribute
anything cultural to what
we were there for.
Well, now, that was about the same way
with this committee
down at Brooklyn, but the director of
the Lyceum Club finally
got the invitation across and sent it
out to Abraham Lincoln.
Report of the Forty-sixth Annual
Meeting 613
And then this thing occurred. Mr.
Lincoln didn't want to go
to New York to deliver that address; he
was tired; he felt he
was out of public life, but there was
one reason why he wanted
to come east, and you who have sons and
daughters in college
will sympathize with his viewpoint. The
oldest son of Mr. and
Mrs. Lincoln was Robert T. Lincoln. This
son, if it had not
been for the overwhelming greatness of
his father, would today
be an outstanding man in American
history. For many years he
was the leader of the Chicago Bar; he
was a member of the cab-
inet of two presidents; he was talked
about as a candidate for
Vice President and for the Presidential
nomination; he became
president of the Pullman Company, not
because he married any-
body connected with the Pullman Company,
but simply because
of his great executive and legal
ability, and he retained that posi-
tion through many years. He was an
outstanding able man.
In the fall of 1859, however, he went to
Harvard University
and attempted to pass the sixteen
entrance examinations. It is
probable that the graduates of our day
couldn't pass them after
they have gone through college, and
therefore it may be with
some excuse that Robert T. Lincoln, at
the end of those examina-
tions, found himself to have failed in
fifteen out of the sixteen.
His parents sent him over to
Phillips-Exeter Academy to be
stuffed for the second examination. He
could get two chances at
Harvard then. If you didn't pass the
second examination, you
didn't get in; that was all there was to
it.
Now, if it was your son, you would be
interested, wouldn't
you, even in this day? Mr. Lincoln was
interested. He wanted
to go and see what Bob was doing, how
the son was getting along,
and he didn't have the money. He hadn't
had the money to pay
$250
of a campaign assessment the preceding
fall. He was the
leader of the Illinois Bar, and yet he
didn't have the money to go
from Springfield, Illinois, to Boston,
Massachusetts, to see his son
who was about to pass the most critical
examinations in his life.
So he wrote back to this Lyceum and he
said to them, "If you
will give me $350, enough to go to
Boston and spend some time
with Bob, I will come."
614 Ohio
Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
You cannot imagine sitting here in this
day and generation
what a sensation that letter made in
Brooklyn. The Reverend
Henry Ward Beecher, who was then
probably the greatest lyceum
talent in this country, or Ralph Waldo
Emerson, or any men of
that class, would come from Boston or
New York to Cleveland
and deliver their address and pay their
own expenses for $75,
and here was this funny man from
Illinois who wanted $350.
Well, by one of those strange chances of
fate, they decided to
give it to him and Mr. Lincoln went to
work on the address which
he was to give.
Before that address could be given,
though, Ladies and Gen-
tlemen, the plaster fell off of the room
in which that Lyceum was
accustomed to meet. I am talking about
the little things now
that might happen about your life. And
that Lyceum Committee
had to move that address from their hall
to some place else and
for some reason, (and reading about it
from the man who staged
the performance a few years ago, he
frankly says that he does
not now know or did not then know how it
all came about) it
came about that this address of Mr.
Lincoln's was moved into the
most outstanding speaking hall in the
United States or at least in
the East, outside of Congress, namely,
the Cooper Union Hall.
That brought it to the attention of the
most brilliant people in New
York, and if I remember correctly,
William Cullen Bryant was
the presiding chairman over the meeting
that night.
Mr. Bryant says somewhere that the most
embarrassing ten
minutes he ever spent were the ten
minutes at the time in which
he and Mr. Lincoln walked out on that
stage and Mr. Lincoln
began to speak. Mr. Lincoln had bought a
new suit of clothes
and he had put it in his carpet bag, in
Springfield, Illinois, with-
out trying it on; carried it down to New
York and took it out of
that carpet bag not to exceed two hours
and a half before he was
to go on the stage before that great
audience (for those days) of
a thousand or more people.
I spoke on this subject to the Chamber
of Commerce in To-
ledo three years ago and when I had
finished, one of the leading
men of that city said to me, "Mr.
Jones, there is a fine lake cap-
Report of the Forty-sixth Annual
Meeting 615
tain here who heard the Cooper Union
speech." He said, "I think
you would be interested to go down and
talk with him." And, of
course, I was. Seventy years had gone
by. There aren't many
men living who heard the Cooper Union
speech, not very many
comparatively who saw or talked with Mr.
Lincoln. So Mr. Mc-
Cray of the Toledo Blade and I
went down about five o'clock and
we went into a fine residence. In a
minute a door opened; in
walked a man who in my judgment was
dressed in the best suit
of clothes that I ever saw, Captain
Craig, multi-millionaire lake
captain, ninety-six years of age. If I
live to be seventy, I hope
I will have somewhat of the figure that
he had at ninety-six, for
he was an upstanding man.
"Gentlemen," he said, "what can I
do for you ?"
I said, "Captain Craig, I
understand that you heard Mr. Lin-
coln at Cooper Union."
"I did, sir."
"Did you intend to go to hear
him?"'
"I did not, sir."
"How did you come to hear him
?"
"I was on my way to the ferry to go
home to Brooklyn that
night and I passed Cooper Union, which
was quite a place in
those days. I saw a lot of people going
in. I asked someone
what was going on; the answer was, 'That
buffoon, Abe Lincoln
of Illinois, is going to speak.' I
thought I had better go in and
see him, I had heard about Lincoln, so I
went right in; I sat right
up in front."
"Well, what impression did Mr.
Lincoln make on you when
you saw him?" Now, this was a lake
captain. If you know any-
thing about the lakes, you know there
are a lot of strange things
on the lakes that you see.
This was his answer. "He was the
funniest looking human
specimen I ever saw." Then he went
on to tell me. When I said
to you Captain Craig had on the best
suit that I think I ever saw,
I really meant it. But he said to me
that Captain Lincoln had
on that night one of the best suits he
ever saw on a man, so the
impression he made wasn't due to the
cheapness of the suit. But
616 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
Captain Craig said, "You know, Mr.
Lincoln was the funniest
looking thing that ever walked out on a
stage. He hadn't had on
that suit and he didn't have it pressed,
it didn't fit him anywhere,
the sleeves were about three or four
inches too short, the pants
were also much too short." Captain
Craig made a gesture with
his hands that I wish I could show to
you. He showed by the ges-
ture how Mr. Lincoln's suit didn't fit
him anywhere. "And then,
as if to clap the climax to a New York
audience, the bright red
flannel underwear stuck down below his
trousers."
I said to Captain Craig, "What
impression did Mr. Lincoln
make on you when he spoke?"
He said, "After ten or fifteen
minutes, the audience forgot
all about this funny man that was
standing up there and thought
only of what he was saying. When the
speech had come to a
conclusion, more people than I had ever
seen on a similar occa-
sion stood around and discussed what was
said until the lights
were turned off."
That speech was delivered the 27th of
February, 1860. Mr.
Lincoln was nominated for President May
18, 1860. After the
meeting was over, the chairman of that
meeting went with Mr.
Lincoln to a horse car, got in. with
him, rode four or five blocks
until he came to the place where he was
accustomed to stop;
got off, and let Mr. Lincoln proceed to
his hotel alone. Mr. Lin-
coln got up the next morning and went to
Boston without any-
body in New York caring that he went or
being at the station to
bid him goodbye. Can you imagine a thing
like that in this day
or generation; for any man who is likely
to be nominated for
President of the United States by the
convention next June? But
that is what happened to Mr. Lincoln
less than three months be-
fore he was nominated.
The Cooper Union Speech ranks next to
Webster's reply to
Hayne. Some people think it is even
greater, the greatest polit-
ical speech ever delivered on this
continent. It put Mr. Lincoln
into the thinking of the people of the
East; it made him a presi-
dential possibility. It wouldn't have
been delivered if Bob Lin-
coln had passed his entrance
examinations to Harvard University,
Report of the Forty-sixth Annual
Meeting 617
and Robert T. Lincoln said that he was
convinced that if he had
been just a little smarter and had
passed those examinations, his
father never would have been President
of the United States.
Very well, he still wouldn't have been
President of the United
States if it hadn't been for two or
three other little things. When
the Republican Convention met at the
Wigwam in Chicago on
May 16, 1860, William H. Seward was the
outstanding candidate
for the presidential nomination. William
H. Seward was one of
the best qualified men for the
presidency that the United States
ever produced, one of its greatest men.
He ought to have been
nominated under all the rules of the
game, in a Republican Con-
vention. In a Democratic Convention
where one must have a two-
thirds vote, it is a little different.
And he would have been nom-
inated if Horace Greeley hadn't been in
that Convention. I say
he would have been; in all human
probability, he would have been.
Horace Greeley, next to Abraham Lincoln,
was the funniest
man in physical appearance of his day
and generation, and one
of the ablest. He probably was the
ablest and most influential
editor in this country for a continuous
length of time. But Mr.
Greeley was like many others who, having
achieved high rank
in some line of activity, think that in
order to complete a career,
they must hold some political office.
Having held a number of
political offices, I can't quite
understand why that is so, but they
do. Greeley didn't say anything to
anybody about it, he just ex-
pected that his companions, Mr. Seward
and Mr. Tweed, with
whom he ran the Whig politics in New
York, would give it to
him. He didn't say anything to them
about it, he just expected
to be appointed Collector of the
Revenues or Postmaster of New
York, and they not knowing anything
about it, didn't appoint him.
I know just how that goes too. About
three months after
Governor Cooper was in office, a lady
from this city came in and
said to me, "Do you know that Mrs.
So and So is very mad
at the Governor?" I said, "No,
I don't. Why is she mad?"
"Why, he hasn't given her a job, he
hasn't offered her one."
I said, "I can't imagine anybody
that needs a job less than
that lady; she has about everything that
anybody could want and
618 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
she is just about as busy as she can be
in political affairs of a
semi-official nature; what does she want
with a job?"
She answered, "I don't know what
she wants with it or even
why she wants to be tendered the job,
but she is very mad at
Governor Cooper because he hasn't called
her in and offered her
one."
That was the way with Horace Greeley and
he wrote a let-
ter to Senator Seward which Senator
Seward didn't read until
after the Convention of 1860. Mr. Tweed
read it and didn't pay
any attention to it, threw it up on a
desk.
All of this, when considered together,
looks just as if there
was some preconcerted plan. Of course,
there wasn't anything
of the kind.
When the Republican Convention met at
the Wigwam in
Chicago in May, 1860, it allowed
delegates to be seated by proxy
from the states that didn't have a full
delegation. If you will
look up the record, you will find that
is the only convention of
either of the major parties in the whole
hundred years' history
of those conventions in which that was
permitted. Mr. Greeley
had been denied a seat on the New York
delegation because of
Mr. Seward, but the delegation from the
Territory of Oregon,
away out in the Northwest, a territory
in which Mr. Greeley never
set foot as long as he lived, lacked two
members and the con-
vention was asked to permit outstanding
Republicans to be seated
to represent the Territory of Oregon.
Mr. Greeley was seated as
one of the two delegates. That gave him
the prestige and the
power that a seat on the floor of any
convention gives to a man,
a power which he could not possibly have
otherwise, no matter
how great he may be.
Now, Mr. Greeley wasn't for Mr. Lincoln.
He never was for
Mr. Lincoln. I know that he delivered a
great address on Mr.
Lincoln after Mr. Lincoln was dead, but
Mr. Greeley wasn't for
Mr. Lincoln that day. He was the biggest
thorn in Mr. Lincoln's
flesh during his whole presidency. After
Mr. Lincoln was dead
Greeley pronounced him a liar. That was
his judgment of Mr.
Lincoln.
Report of the Forty-sixth Annual
Meeting 619
He wasn't there to nominate Mr. Lincoln,
he wasn't there to
nominate anybody, he was there to defeat
William H. Seward
and he was willing to do it with
anybody. He went around from
delegation to delegation, lining up
their second choice, not for
Abraham Lincoln, but for a man of whom
you probably never
heard, Mr. Bates, who was
Attorney-General of Missouri and
an infinitely greater man in the minds
of most of the people that
May day than Abraham Lincoln. And he
found out along about
2 o'clock in the morning--there is where this 2 o'clock expression
really originated--he found out about 2 o'clock in the morning
that he couldn't line up the delegates
for Mr. Bates, but that
somehow or other it could be done for
this man Lincoln of Illinois
whom he hadn't seen except incidentally.
And so from 2 o'clock in the morning
until just before the
Convention was to meet at 10 o'clock,
Mr. Greeley waddled from
delegation to delegation to undo that
which he had previously
done and to line them up for second
choice votes for this man
Lincoln of Illinois. Thus a few minutes
before 10 o'clock when
he added up the result, he found that he
lacked one and a half
votes of having enough to do that. Then
he went to the man
from Mount Vernon, Ohio, and asked him
if it became apparent
that Mr. Seward was not to be nominated,
as Mr. Greeley the
preceding night at 10 o'clock thought
would be the result, if Mr.
Seward were not to be nominated, would
Ohio give enough votes
on the ballot that marked the break to
nominate Mr. Lincoln. The
Ohio delegation said it would and it
did. It gave four votes; a
gentleman that lisped cast them.
If Mr. Greeley had not been in the
convention, the delegates
who were scattered between a number of
candidates (and Ohio
in accordance with its general rule of
having more than one can-
didate for President had three) would
have had no one to line
them up for one man against the
outstanding candidate. After
two or three votes, Mr. Seward would
have been nominated in
all human probability and the convention
would have adjourned
and gone home.
Now then, just to conclude this chapter
of incidental and
620 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
accidental things, Mr. Greeley got his
chance to do that by one
of the least little things that ever was
important in American
political history. If you will read the
history of Republican Con-
ventions since that day, you will find
that some very incidental
things have determined who was to be the
nominee for President
of the United States--a chapter of
incidental things that is prob-
ably not paralleled in any other country
in the world. The first
of these happened at the close of the
second day of that Repub-
lican Convention in 1860.
If you will get a copy of the official
minutes of the conven-
tion, you will find that late on the
second afternoon, Mr. Good-
rich moved to proceed to ballot for a
candidate for the Presi-
dency. A motion to adjourn was made and
lost. Amid great
disorder there were cries of
"Ballot, Ballot." There was every
indication that the convention was about
to make its choice.
Then the President said: "I am
requested by the Secretary
to inform the gentlemen of the
Convention that the papers neces-
sary for the purpose of keeping the
tally are prepared, but are
not yet at hand, but will be in a few
minutes."
Murat Halstead, Ohio's great journalist,
writing for the Cin-
cinnati Commercial that night, states that a recess for two hours
was asked until the printer could
deliver the tally sheets. This
delay was too much for the Convention.
Whereas a moment be-
fore it had been insisting on a vote, it
now adjourned over night
because a printer fell down on his job.
If that printer had been
on time, if those tally sheets had been
there, in all human prob-
ability, the outstanding candidate would
have been nominated by
that Convention that night and the
delegates would have taken
their trains for home and the nominee
wouldn't have been Abra-
ham. Lincoln of Illinois, it would have
been William H. Seward
in all probability. Because the tally
sheets were not ready, Horace
Greeley had all night to line up the
divergent delegates for one
man and that man turned out to be
Abraham Lincoln.
Let no one go away from here and say
that I say that Abra-
ham Lincoln was nominated for President
because the tally sheets
weren't ready on time. I am not at all a
believer in the theory
Report of the Forty-sixth Annual
Meeting 621
of history that limits the causes for
great events solely to the
incidental things. If there hadn't been
a great background in
Abraham Lincoln, he wouldn't have been
nominated in Chicago
even then. But it is unquestionably true
that in the political
affairs of the United States, great
destinies have been determined
in the final throw of the dice by just
such little things as the
failure of that printer to deliver the
tally sheets on time, and with
the background as it was and all the
other things entering into
it, the great character and the great
training of Abraham Lincoln,
he still wouldn't have been President of
the United States and
he still wouldn't have had his chance
for immortality in all human
probability if it hadn't been possible
in that Convention for dele-
gates to be seated by proxy, or if
Horace Greeley had been ap-
pointed to the job he wanted some seven
or eight years before
and had been on the delegation for Mr.
Seward, or if the tally
sheets had been delivered on time.
Just in connection with our own local
history, let me call
your attention to the fact that Stephen
A. Douglas' law partner
in Cleveland was a man by the name of
Andrews, who became
one of the greatest lawyers that
Cleveland ever knew, who when
Abraham Lincoln came to Cleveland on his
way to be inaugu-
rated as President of the United States
was chairman on the
committee which officially welcomed him
to the city of Cleveland;
the same man who twenty-nine years
before had given Stephen
A. Douglas his opportunity in the city
of Cleveland, Ohio.
We honor Mr. Lincoln today in a way that
we honor no other
man in the United States. Down in
Kentucky, they have taken
the little third rate cabin in which he
was born and have encased
it in a marble structure which makes it
one of the beautiful
shrines in this country. The state of
Indiana proposes to spend
a million and a quarter of dollars to
preserve the farm on which
during that cold winter Mr. Lincoln
lived in a cabin with an open
side and that part of the farm on which
on a cold, bitter, winter
day, Mr. Lincoln and his father buried
his mother. Out in Illinois
almost every spot that is associated
with Mr. Lincoln's life is
sacredly preserved.
622 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
Down in the city of Washington, where he
was President
and where life came to its end, we have
preserved the humble
little house in which he died. There is
a great collection of Lin-
coln relics brought together by a man
from Ohio, one of the
greatest collections in this country.
And then, dominating them
all, down on the Potomac, a grateful
people have erected the cost-
liest monument ever erected to the
memory of a man by any
people any place in the whole history of
the world, comparable
only to the Taj Mahal in India, which
was erected to the memory
of a woman. One of our great highways is
the Lincoln Highway.
The greatest collection of
"lives" is about Abraham Lincoln; in
every story book, in every treatise on
the history of the United
States, the name of Abraham Lincoln has
its places of eminence
and honor. And yet it might well not
have been so if it had not
been for a chapter of incidental things,
just the kind of things
that might happen in your life and mine.
I thank you very much. (Applause.)
Chairman Sater: I am sure, my friends,
we are all greatly
indebted to Mr. Jones for bringing to us
a great deal of informa-
tion about Abraham Lincoln which perhaps
very few of us have
heretofore heard. We are under many
obligations to Mr. Jones
for this tribute and I suspect, sir,
that when we get old and feeble
and our minds go back to the doings of
the Ohio State Archaeo-
logical and Historical Society and we
try to connect something
with it, a good many of us will say,
"Well, it was along back there
about that time Charlie Jones talked to
us about Abraham Lin-
coln." (Applause.)
Mr. Randolph Walton spoke briefly on the
influence
of the McGuffey Readers, a fine
collection of all copy-
righted editions of which is found in
the Library of the
Society, the presentation of the
McGuffey Society of
Columbus, Ohio.
At 8:00 p. m. a large audience assembled
in the chapel
of University Hall and heard Mr. Julius
F. Stone in his
address on "Some Aspects of the
Maya Civilization in
Central America."