OHIO STATE
ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL
SOCIETY
REVIEWS, NOTES AND COMMENTS
BY THE EDITOR.
PRESTON B. PLUMB.
We have just received a copy of the Life
of Preston
B. Plumb from his son, A. H. Plumb of Emporia,
Kansas. This biography is written by
William E. Con-
nelley, the well-known historian and
Secretary of the
Kansas Historical Society. It is an attractive volume
and written in the characteristic style
of Mr. Connelley
at its best. It has the virtue of an
authentic life his-
tory and the absorbing interest of a
romance. The life
of Plumb covers an important
period. It deserves a
place in every public library of Kansas
and Ohio.
Preston B. Plumb was born at Berkshire,
Delaware
County, Ohio, October 12, 1837. He was the son of
David and Hannah (Bierce) Plumb. The
Plumbs trace
their ancestry to Normandy. They are
descended from
Robertus Plumme. Preston Plumb attended
the schools
of his native village. Like other Ohio
boys of his day
he was brought up on the McGuffey
readers. He was
called "Bony" Plumb and this
is the explanation of how
he came to get the name:
"Near the old country schoolhouse
where he went to school,
in the long winters of Ohio, there was a
considerable pond.
Skating on the ice in this pond was one
of the amusements of
the pupils. One spring when the ice had
melted somewhat and
(342)
Reviews, Notes and Comments 343
was broken into blocks the boys made it
the means of showing
their reckless spirit, crossing the pond
by jumping from one
piece of ice to another. It was finally decided that the pond
could not be again crossed in that way.
Plumb declared that
he could cross it once more. The boys
said he could not do it -
that no one could do it. He ran swiftly
to the pond, and, by
bounding lightly and quickly from block
to block, crossed it.
In the old McGuffey Third Reader, in use
in the schools of that
day, there is a picture of Bonaparte
crossing the Alps to illustrate
a lesson from Scott's Life of
Napoleon. When Plumb sprang
to the bank on the other side of the
pond they exclaimed, 'Bona-
parte has crossed the Alps!' From that
time they called him
'Bony,' and he carried that name even to
Kansas."
In 1843 David Plumb moved to a farm in
Berlin
Township, Delaware County, and in 1846
he went with
his family to Marysville, Union County,
Ohio. He was
a wagon maker and young Preston
assisted him in the
shop.
The boy desired to go to Kenyon College but
his father was not financially able to
send him. Finally
an arrangement was made by which he was
to work in
the print shop of the college and thus
earn his tuition
and board. At that time the college
published the West-
ern Episcopalian, a periodical issued in the interest of
the institution. In this office were also printed the cata-
logs and circular literature of the
college. It is thought
that he spent about three years at
Kenyon. Connelley
draws attention to the large number of
distinguished
men who have been students of that
institution. In the
list are Rutherford B. Hayes, President
of the United
States; Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of
War under
President Lincoln; David Davis,
Associate Justice of
the Supreme Court, United States
Senator from Illinois
and acting Vice-president, 1881-83;
Henry Winter
Davis, Congressman from Maryland and
famous anti-
slavery advocate; David Turpie, United
States Senator
344
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
from Indiana; Salmon P. Chase, Governor
of Ohio,
United States Senator, Secretary of the
Treasury under
Lincoln and Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court of the
United States; William Walker, Chief of
the Wyandot
Indians and provisional governor of
Nebraska Terri-
tory.
From college Plumb returned to
Marysville and
worked as compositor on the Tribune published
there.
His brother, Josephus Plumb, also
worked on this paper.
Later, in 1854, he and J. W. Dumble
went to Xenia,
Ohio, and established the Xenia
News. The first issue
of this paper bears the date of
February 24, 1854.
Though only seventeen years old at this
time he was
regarded as the administrative head of
the new venture.
He boarded with his partner and worked
vigorously
night and day to make the News a
success. Here he
came to know Coates Kinney, the poet
whose reputation
had already been established, William
Dean Howells
who was living with his father's family
only about three
miles distant, and Whitelaw Reid who
was the obliging
clerk in a store room under the office
of the News. The
newspaper venture of Plumb and Dumble
was a success
almost from the start. In 1856 the Dumble interest
went to J. B. Liggett.
Plumb was opposed to slavery from
childhood and
was deeply interested in the struggle
between the Pro-
Slavery and Free State men of Kansas.
The stories of
the burning of Lawrence were a strong
appeal to the
young journalist. An address delivered
at Xenia, June 14,
1856, by Marcus J. Parrott, a Free
State man, describ-
ing conditions in Kansas so stirred
young Plumb that he
decided to go to that Territory and
join those who were
Reviews, Notes and Comments 345
struggling to make it a free state. He
turned a deaf
ear to the protests of friends and
associates and started
at once for Kansas. He proceeded by way
of Cincin-
nati and St. Louis and arrived at
Leavenworth, Kansas,
on the 4th of July. On this journey he
wrote a number
of letters to the News describing
the Border Ruffians
that he met on their way to Kansas and
declaring that
he found conditions in that Territory
even worse than he
had anticipated. He afterward returned to Ohio, dis-
posed of his newspaper interests and
returned to Kansas
with his father and the family. When
Lawrence was
preparing to resist the invaders the
father and son met
old John Brown and his men in that
town. Afterwards
young Plumb was associated with James
Lane and other
prominent Free State men. On a return
east he made
eloquent appeals in behalf of the Free
State cause in
Kansas and was instrumental in turning
many emi-
grants to that Territory. He was
captain of a company
in Lane's liberating army. For a time
he worked on the
Herald of Freedom published at Lawrence. Later he
settled at Emporia and established
there the Kansas
News. He was active in the organization of the Repub-
lican party in the Territory. He returned
to Ohio and
attended a law school in Cleveland in
the winter of
1858-1859 and again in the winter of
1860-1861. Hav-
ing completed his course he returned to
Emporia and
entered upon the practice of the law.
In 1861 he was
elected a member of the Kansas
Legislature. He be-
came Supreme Court reporter in
1862. His friend,
Chief Justice Thomas Ewing, Jr., also
from Ohio, be-
came colonel of the 11th Kansas
Regiment and resigned
from the bench. On September 10,
Preston B. Plumb
346
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
became captain of Company C of that
regiment. He
served with distinction through the
Civil War and at-
tained the rank of lieutenant colonel.
He was again
in the Legislature in 1867-1868 and was
Speaker in the
latter year. In 1876 he was elected United States sen-
ator and twice afterward
re-elected. He died in 1891
before the close of his third term.
His life history, as presented by
Connelley in this
volume, is an inspiration to every
healthy, ambitious
American boy who desires to rise
through his own effort
to honorable distinction in the service
of his country.
COLONEL S. K. DONAVAN.
Colonel Simpson K. Donavan was born at
Shippens-
burg, Pennsylvania, in March, 1831, and
died after a
brief illness in Columbus August 12,
1902. His parents
were from Virginia and sympathized with
the people of
their native state and the institution
of slavery. He
early learned the printing trade, afterwards
taught
school for a time and then entered upon
a journalistic
career in the city of Baltimore. He was there at the
time of the John Brown raid at Harper's
Ferry. In
conversation with the writer a few
years before his
death he said in substance:
"I was the first correspondent on
the ground after the raid at
Harper's Ferry began. I went there in
thorough sympathy with
the attitude of the people of Virginia
and Maryland in their hos-
tility to the raiders. I was startled at
the news of the attack
and puzzled at the mystery which for a
time clouded its purpose.
Soon after the capture of the engine
house I learned from the
lips of John Brown that it was a
movement against the institution
of slavery.
"I was in Harper's Ferry until the
prisoners were moved to
Charlestown and from that place I
reported the news for my
Reviews, Notes and Comments 347
paper until after the execution of John
Brown. I attempted, as
in all my reportorial work, to give an
account of what occurred
from time to time without bias or
comment. Finally I noticed
that my reports were not published in
full and some of them
were materially changed. On my return to
Baltimore one eve-
ning I asked why this was done. The
answer was to the effect
that it was not to the interest of the
paper to publish some of
the material that I sent in. I insisted
that I had simply reported
the facts. I was told that this was
probably true from my point
of view but that my communications bore
evidence of sympathy
with the prisoners at Charlestown. I was
disposed to deny this
somewhat vigorously but upon a little
reflection I concluded that
the publishers of my paper were correct
and said very little in
reply to the charge. I was afterwards
somewhat careful not to
invite a repetition of this experience,
but my sympathy with John
Brown grew until the day of his
execution. When he ascended
the scaffold I was a John Brown
man."
In the Civil War when Carlisle,
Pennsylvania, was
threatened by the Confederates, Colonel
Donovan was
placed in the command of a regiment of
Pennsylvania
troops and thus received his military
title. In 1868 he
came to Delaware, Ohio, which he
afterward considered
his home. For about twenty years he
spent most of his
time in Columbus in newspaper work. For
a time he
was engaged in insurance business but
drifted into
politics and became prominent in the
councils of the
Democratic party. He was an assistant
sergeant-at-arms
in the national House of
Representatives. In 1883 he
became editor of the Columbus
Times. Later he con-
tributed to the Cincinnati Enquirer and
to the end of his
life was a close personal friend of
John R. McLean, the
proprietor of that paper. He was the
author of a book,
Led in Strange Paths. For
the last twenty-five years
of his life he had a large circle of
acquaintances and
friends in Ohio. He is survived by his sister, Miss
Sallie Donovan of Delaware, Ohio.
348
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
INDIANA'S GOLD STAR HONOR ROLL.
Of all the publications that have come
to our notice
devoted to the service of American
soldiers in the World
War, none is more attractive and
appropriate than the
Gold Star Honor Roll recently published by the Indiana
Historical Commission. This book includes photo-
graphs and biographies of more than
three thousand
Indiana soldiers who died in the World
War. Almost
every brief biography is accompanied by
a portrait.
The work is well executed and
attractively and sub-
stantially bound. Extensive correspondence and care-
ful editorial work were necessary in
its production. It
is in every way highly creditable to
the Indiana Com-
mission.
Fortunately the State of Indiana had
made provision
for the Historical Commission before we
entered the
World War. On March 8, 1915, a law was enacted
creating the Indiana Historical
Commission and provid-
ing for the collection and publication
of documentary
and other material on the history of
Indiana. The law
also provided for the printing and
binding of such pub-
lications at the expense of the state.
The Commission
promptly organized and systematically
collected every-
thing relating to the participation of
that state in the
World War.
It is unfortunate that other states
were not similarly
prepared for collecting the materials
of their history
through the war. In Ohio no steps had
been taken in
this direction until February, 1918,
and no appropria-
tions were available for support until
July first of the
following year. Professor A. M. Schlesinger, how-
ever, took great interest in this work
and chiefly through
Reviews, Notes and Comments 349
his voluntary service and the
assistance of the regular
employees of theSociety a mass of
valuable material was
collected. This consists chiefly of local newspapers
from which clippings have been made,
indexed and
bound.
When the General Assembly finally acted it
made only meager appropriations for the
work. At its
last session no provision was made for
the Commission
but the work has been continued by the
Society. It
should collect material for a memorial
volume similar to
the one published by Indiana. Of course
it would now
be next to impossible to get
photographs for each Ohio
soldier who lost his life in the war,
but much valuable
biographical material could still be
collected for such a
publication. Just what provision will ultimately be
made for the surviving soldiers of the
World War is yet
to be determined, but there can be no
question in regard
to the lasting debt of gratitude that
the state owes to
those who made the supreme sacrifice in
answer to the
call of the Republic. Our soldiers who won the gold
star in the hospitals and on the
battlefield should be
honored by a fitting permanent record
in the archives of
the Buckeye State.
UNDER THE ADMINISTRATIVE CODE.
The reorganization of the departments
of the state
government for which provision was made
at the last
session of the General Assembly assigns
the Ohio State
Archaeological and Historical Society
to the Department
of Education. Before this transfer could be made,
however, certain action had to be taken
by the Society
through its Board of Trustees. A
special meeting was
called for this purpose for June 29th.
At this meeting
350
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
President Campbell announced that it
would be in order
to offer a resolution expressing the
desire of the Trus-
tees to comply with the requirement of
the new admin-
istrative code, which makes it possible
for the Society
to operate as a branch of the
educational department of
the state. In compliance with this
suggestion Professor
B. F. Prince offered the following
resolution:
WHEREAS, An act approved by the Governor
and filed in the
office of the Secretary of State April
26, 1921, establishing an
"administrative code for the
state" makes the following provi-
sions in section 154-55 of said act:
"The director of education
shall be a member of the board of
trustees of the Ohio Archaeo-
logical and Historical Society, in
addition to the members consti-
tuting such board under the other laws
and regulations pertaining
to the membership thereof. No moneys
appropriated for the use
or support of the Ohio Archaeological
and Historical Society
shall be withdrawn from the state
treasury for such use until the
board of trustees of said society, as
constituted when this section
takes effect, shall consent to the
provisions hereof and file dupli-
cate certificates of such consent in the
offices of the Secretary of
State and the Auditor of State,"
and
WHEREAS, It is the desire of the Ohio
State Archaeological
and Historical Society through its board
of trustees to carry out
fully the provisions of this section, in
the belief that the work
of the Society, which is distinctly
educational in character, may
be materially aided and advanced by
closer relations with the
department of education and its
different administrative agencies,
as provided in the "administrative
code," therefore,
Be it resolved, That the board of trustees of the Ohio State
Archaeological and Historical Society
consent to the provisions
of said act as expressed in section
154-55 and hereby place on
record the assurance that they will
comply fully and cordially
with said act so far as it applies to
said society.
Be it further resolved, That the secretary of the Society is
hereby directed to furnish to the
Secretary of State and the
Auditor of State each duplicate copies
of this resolution duly
signed by the president and secretary of
the Society.
The resolution was unanimously adopted
and copies
of the same have been duly filed with
the Secretary of
State and the Auditor of State. It will
be seen that this
Reviews, Notes and Comments 351
action makes very little change in the
status of the
Society, while it offers large
opportunities for co-opera-
tion with the various branches of the
Department of
Education. The Superintendent of Public Instruction
now becomes ex-officio a member of our
Board of
Trustees.
ADDITIONAL COMPENSATION FOR SOLDIERS OF
THE WORLD WAR
A constitutional amendment providing
"for issuing
bonds for adjusted compensation for
service in the
World War" was submitted by our
General Assembly
at its recent session to the electors
of Ohio. It will
be voted upon at the coming election in
November.
Briefly stated this amendment provides
for raising
the bond limitation under the
constitution of Ohio and
would authorize the General Assembly to
provide for
the issue of bonds to the amount of
twenty-five million
dollars ($25,000,000). A board of "Commissioners
of the Sinking Fund" is authorized
to sell bonds to
this amount, bearing interest at not to
exceed 51/2% per
annum, and to administer the proceeds
of the sale of
such bonds as additional compensation
to World War
soldiers for the period of their active
service at the
rate of ten dollars ($10) a month, the
aggregate not to
exceed in any one case two hundred and
fifty dollars
($250). The bonds are to mature in twenty equal
semi-annual installments, commencing
not later than
the first day of April, 1923. No officer with rank
above captain is to receive any payment
from this fund.
A number of states have already
provided addi-
tional cash compensation for honorably discharged
352 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications.
veterans of the World War. According to the best
information at hand the list of states making such
pro-
vision is as follows: Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan,
Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey,
New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, Wis-
consin.
South Dakota has authorized a cash bonus which
must be applied to the purchase of a home or for edu-
cational purposes.
The following states, by legislative enactment, have
provided special educational aid for returned
soldiers:
Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, New York, North
Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Wisconsin.
Connecticut and Wisconsin have enacted laws pro-
viding relief funds for soldiers.
In certain states the question of additional compen-
sation has been submitted to a referendum vote with
the following results:
For Against
M aine
................... 105,712
................. 32,820
M ichigan ................ 471,159................. 185,602
M issouri ................. 210,238 ................. 100,131
New Jersey
............... 534,532................. 165,555
New York
............... 1,454,940 ................. 673,292
Oregon ................. 88,219
................. 37,866
Rhode Island
............. 10,535
................. 1,303
South Dakota............. 93,459 ..... ............ 56,366
W ashington .............. 224,350 ................. 88, 128
W isconsin ............... 165,762................. 57,324
These figures have been carefully compiled by the
Editor of the QUARTERLY, after considerable corre-
spondence, from what are considered strictly reliable
sources.
Reviews, Notes and Comments 353
The amount of money provided in the
different
states for additional compensation to
World War
veterans varies from $2,500,000 in
Rhode Island to
$45,000,000 in New York.
TABLET FOR CAMPUS MARTIUS
The Ohio Daughters of the American
Revolution
will have placed upon the old Campus
Martius house
at Marietta a tablet marking this as an
important his-
toric point in our state. It will be
unveiled Wednes-
day, September 28, 1921. Dr. Edwin Earl
Sparks of
State College, Pennsylvania, will make
the formal his-
toric address on this occasion. The State Chairman
of Historic Spots, Mrs. Eugene G.
Kennedy of Day-
ton, Ohio, on behalf of the Daughters
of the American
Revolution, will present this tablet
which will be ac-
cepted by Governor James E. Campbell,
President of
the Ohio State Archaeological and
Historical Society.
The Legislature at its regular session
in 1917
passed an act providing for the
purchase of the Campus
Martius property and appropriated for
that purpose
$16,000. Since that time no money has been provided
for the repair and maintenance of this
property. From
a sum of money given by Miss Minerva T.
Nye for
this purpose, arrangements have
recently been made
for the erection of a retaining wall
for the Campus
Martius lot of ground and it is hoped
that this much
needed improvement will soon be
completed.
The Campus Martius site is a most
important one.
Here the Ordinance of 1787 went
formally into effect
July 15, 1788, with the inauguration of
Arthur St.
Clair, the first governor of the
Northwest Territory.
Vol. XXX -23.
354
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
The citizens of Bucyrus will observe
the centennial
of the founding of their city on
October 4, 1921. An
interesting program has already been
arranged, begin-
ning with a union meeting of all the
churches of
Bucyrus on October 3rd and extending
over the two
days following. In a later issue of the QUARTERLY
we hope to give an account of these
centennial exer-
cises.
The date of the annual meeting of the
Ohio State
Archaeological and Historical Society
has been tenta-
tively fixed for October 12, 1921.
Formal notices will
be sent to the members of the Society
in due time an-
nouncing definitely the date and the
program of exer-
cises.