THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND FUTURE PROGRAM
OF THE OHIO HISTORICAL RECORDS
SURVEY PROJECT
By JAMES
H. RODABAUGH
Beginnings
The Ohio Historical Records Survey
Project began operations
in February, 1936. It was organized and
operated by the super-
visors of the Writers' Project until
November, 1936, when it be-
came an independent part of Federal
Project No. 1. In Septem-
ber, 1939, Congress abolished the
Federal projects, after which
the Ohio survey was established as a
State project, sponsored by
the Ohio State Archaeological and
Historical Society.
Purpose
The purpose of the survey is twofold: To
give work relief
and to contribute to the welfare of the
State. It gives employ-
ment to "white-collar" workers
who were caught in the stringency
of an unprecedented economic depression.
The underlying prin-
ciple of this work relief program is to
furnish useful employment
which contributes to the public welfare.
The second purpose is
met by the compilation of inventories to
source materials and
bibliographical guides to published
materials pertaining to Ohio
and her history and the surveying of
historic sites, buildings, and
other objects in the State of Ohio.
Organization and Operation
In order to carry on its work the survey
is operating, or has
operated, in each of the 88 counties. It
is organized along the
general lines of a modern research and
publishing institution, em-
ploying fieldworkers, editors, writers,
and proofreaders, but lack-
ing salesmen and adequate advertising
facilities. The workers
are people certified for public relief.
In most cases, although they
lack the qualifications for historical
research, they become much
* Mr. John O. Marsh, formerly State
director of the survey, collaborated in the
preparation of portions of
this paper. I wish to acknowledge a debt to Miss Lillian
Kessler, who succeeded Mr. Marsh as
State director, for information as to the present
status of the project.
(277)
278
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL
QUARTERLY
interested in their work and make an
honest attempt to do a
good job. Some tend to become skilled
through training and ex-
perience on the project. Administrative
and technical supervisory
positions are non-relief, due to the
necessity of filling them with
qualified personnel. The procedure in
general has been to make
the fieldwork as mechanical as possible
through the use of care-
fully constructed forms. In the District
and State offices a small
group of trained technicians brings
these materials together into
final and published form. The technical
supervision of the survey
has been furnished chiefly by officials
of the Ohio State Archaeo-
logical and Historical Society and Ph.
D. graduates or advanced
students of history and government from
Ohio State and Western
Reserve universities. At the top of the
organization ladder, of
course, is the Work Projects
Administration in Ohio which directs
the Historical Records Survey through
its Research and Records
Division.
The Survey is departmentalized according
to the various types
of materials with which it is working.
These are the present de-
partments:
1. County and Municipal Archives Survey.
2. State
and Federal Archives Survey.
3. Church Archives Survey.
4. Manuscript Program.
5. Bibliography of Ohio History and
Literature and Ameri-
can Imprints Inventory.
6. Survey of Historic Sites and
Place-names.
Each of these departments is a vast
project and merits our
consideration.
County and Municipal Archives Survey
The initial task of the Records Project
was the preparation
of inventories of the county and
municipal archives of Ohio. This
project entails a complete survey and
examination of the records
contained in the court-houses and other
public depositories of
Ohio's 88 counties, 110 cities,
and 759 villages. The published
archival guides are arranged in such a
way as to make the records
readily available to public officials,
lawyers, abstracters, business
men, and other citizens who require data
from the public records.
OHIO HISTORY CONFERENCE, 1941 279
The published inventories do more than
give merely a catalogue
of the records of a particular county or
city. They present in a
general, but not too technical, way the
historical background of
the county or municipality, and describe
in detail the origin and
development of county and municipal
administration. Further-
more, the inventories, in a section
devoted to housing, care, and
accessibility of records, call attention
to fire hazards and other
dangers threatening the public documents
which, in many instances,
are located in overheated attics or damp
basements or are virtually
hidden from use in cardboard or flimsy
wooden boxes, barrels, or
bundles.
The published guides assist in making
available the raw
materials which will enable the
historian, political scientist, and
sociologist to analyze American
localities according to the exacting
methods of modern research. Since our
country has apparently
reached the age of retrospection,
research in local government con-
stitutes a legitimate and important
field of scientific investigation.
The results of this phase of the records
program are at
the same time gratifying and
disappointing: Gratifying, because
73 of the inventories have been
completed and disappointing be-
cause of the bottleneck in publishing
which has permitted only
14 to come out in final form. In 15
counties the fieldwork is in-
complete: Two of these are delayed by
the construction of new
court-houses, six are being rechecked,
and seven were found to be
unreliable and are being retaken. These
seven all lie in the same
district where faulty supervision was to
blame. Unfortunately
such frauds may occur in W. P. A. almost
as easily as in other
governmental agencies or banks and
private businesses. To give
you some idea of the vastness of the
work which has been done,
it is estimated that the workers have
surveyed at least 125 linear
miles of county records alone, in
addition to preparing thousands
of notes from which the essays in the
inventories have been writ-
ten. An average of about 650 different
records have been sur-
veyed in each county.
Of the 869 municipal inventories, about 350
have been taken
and are in the State Office, 167 have
been edited, and 52 have
280
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
been published. The largest of these,
the Cleveland inventory,
will comprise six quarto volumes
averaging over 500 pages each.
One volume will contain extensive
scientific essays on the origin
and development of the municipal
government and five volumes
will contain the inventories. No other
account of municipal ad-
ministration in the county is so
complete and so practical from the
critical student's point of view. One
volume of this set is already
published and the other five are
virtually ready for publication.
The inventories of other municipalities
are, likewise, well along
and rapidly being completed.
Some critics of the county and municipal
guides find fault
with the extensive descriptions of the
records. Dr. Richard B.
Morris, in a review in the American
Historical Review, October,
1939, suggested the survey in general
ought to follow the example
of North Carolina in using title line
entries. However, there is
considerable difference of opinion on
this point, and the survey
in Ohio and a number of its advisors
have subscribed to the bene-
fits of descriptive entries, although at
the sacrifice of more speedy
production and a saving on publication
costs. The descriptive
entries prove to be much more
satisfactory, especially for the stu-
dent who is not a specialist in local
government.
It might be pointed out that the
detailed legal essays on the
origin and development of local
government in Ohio are the most
extensive studies on the subject.
Surprisingly enough, there is
no satisfactory modern text on local
government in this State.
The essays published in the county
inventories have supplied this
deficiency in some educational
institutions.
The value of the essays on accessibility
and care of the records
can scarcely be doubted. In some cases
the work of the survey
has awakened an interest in the records
to such an extent that
steps have been taken for adequate care
of them. In most in-
stances, however, the commissioners have
little or no realization
of the value and importance of
historical records and have paid
no heed to the suggestions of the
survey. These political officers,
of course, are moved by public pressure.
It is apparently up to
students of the social sciences, members
of historical societies, and
others interested to impress upon the
public mind the necessity
OHIO HISTORY CONFERENCE, 1941 281
for the preservation of our historical
records and so force legal
action for this purpose.
Survey of State and Federal Archives
The survey is also concerned with the
preparation of in-
ventories of the State archives and of
the records of Federal
agencies located within Ohio. In
preparing a critical and analyti-
cal history of government and politics
in Ohio, the Northwest, and
the Nation, the archives of State
offices and of agencies of the
Federal Government are requisite. No
attempt, heretofore, has
been made to catalogue these records.
The published inventories
will be invaluable to educational
institutions in courses in public
law and in public administration.
The records of all of the 120 State
departments, bureaus, and
agencies have been listed and seventeen
draft inventories are com-
pleted. Only one inventory, that of the
records of the Secretary
of State, has been published. A glance
at its pages will reveal,
in addition to the record guide, a brief
but detailed history of
the office of Secretary of State, an
extensive account of the history
of the state-house, and a revealing
essay on the housing, care,
and accessibility of the records. Only
since 1935, and through
the assistance of W.P.A. labor, have the
85,000 square feet of
floor space of the state-house basement,
once the stable for horses
of State officials, been reclaimed and
made available for "the safe
keeping and systematic filing of
precious documents and records."
Among the records of this office are
such valuable documents as
the original copies of the constitutions
of 1802 and 1851 and
subsequent amendments, manuscript House
and Senate journals,
the original acts of the General
Assembly, corporation records,
and election records.
The Federal Archives Survey, a foster
child of the Historical
Records Survey, fails in many respects
to meet the standards of
the project. The thirty-four
governmental agencies and bureaus,
comprising a total of 70,053 linear feet
of records, were inven-
toried under the administration of the
Federal Archives Survey.
The inventories of six offices have been
published. The remainder
are being edited rapidly and all should
be ready for publication
282
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
within the year. The survey has been
concerned, however, only
with editing and publishing these
inventories. The responsibility
for surveying and rechecking must be
taken by the previous ad-
ministration. The order to publish
without rechecking, in my
opinion, is most unfortunate.
Church Records Survey
The survey is devoting its energies
largely to those records
which have previously been more or less
inaccessible. Perhaps one
of the most worthy of its undertakings
is the compilation of a
guide to the archives of the
approximately 9,500 churches in Ohio.
The project is making a survey of the
records in each of the
churches of every denomination, as well
as of independent
churches in the State, listing all
records, their locations, and the
names and addresses of custodians and
describing the condition of
the records in their depositories. It is
planned to publish these in-
ventories by denomination, each
inventory containing historical
sketches treating of religion in Ohio,
the denomination, and the
church. Church history, although written
in great profusion in
the past, has not yet received the
careful analytical study which its
importance merits. The reason for this
is apparent. Heretofore
there has been no systematic attempt to
bring together and make
available to students of history the raw
material from which they
may forge a critical narrative of one of
the greatest--if not the
greatest--civilizing forces in American
society. The church rec-
ords form a vast reservoir of historical
data which is necessary
for the historians and social scientists
to write social history ade-
quately. The civilizing hand of the
church preceded the trek of
the pioneers into the Old Northwest.
Long before the first perma-
nent settlements were made, circuit
preachers and missionaries,
representing various denominations, were
carrying religious teach-
ings to the natives, thus announcing the
advent of the white man's
civilization. Diaries and records of
local ministers, sometimes
found in the minute books, supply
information which is of utmost
importance to historians in
reconstructing a narrative of the begin-
ning of American culture in the
wilderness.
The church, sometimes called the balance
wheel of society,
OHIO HISTORY CONFERENCE, 1941 283
follows the lives of its members from
the cradle to the grave, re-
cording births, marriages, and deaths.
Indeed, prior to 1857 in
Ohio, the church was the only
institution which took the responsi-
bility of recording births. The church,
through its records, per-
petuates the history of the family and
of the individual. Some
who think of history consider only the
illustrious--those individ-
uals who have distinguished themselves
in government, war, art,
literature, science, or one of the
learned professions. On the other
hand, history demonstrates that the real
experience of the nation
or one of its subdivisions lies with the
so-called common man.
The records of a phase of his activities
lie in the basements or
attics of our churches. From such
records now being listed it will
be possible for future historians to
write a more adequate narra-
tive treating of the cultural life of
the community. This history
is, of course, a history of ourselves,
of our church, of our social
problems, and of our institutions.
The church has fulfilled many
functions---educational, eco-
nomic, and political. He who would
understand the real sources
of American inspiration, the defense of
democracy, the crusades
for reform, the movements for social
justice cannot neglect the
records deposited in the vaults of
American churches.
It is important, too, that history
written from the records of
the American churches will reflect
clearly the American policy of
religious freedom and the unrestricted
growth of ecclesiastical
organizations in accordance with the
American ideal of Democracy.
From such records the American historian
can present, in his own
way, unhampered by censorship or
dictatorial policy, the part that
the church has played and will continue
to play in the development
of higher life in America.
The records of approximately 6000 of the
churches in Ohio
have been inventoried. Abstracts or entries
have been prepared
for over 2000 churches
in 40 denominations, and this work is pro-
ceeding rapidly. The survey of one of
the earliest denominations
to come into Ohio, the United
Presbyterian Church, has been com-
pleted and awaits only editing and
arrangement before it is ready
for publication.
There are some who suggest the
elimination of the prefatory
284
OHIO ARCHEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
essays in the publication of these
inventories. The project set-up
presents a wonderful opportunity to
coordinate information from
all over Ohio for an extensive history
of each denomination within
the State. There are few, if any,
adequate histories of the serv-
ices of any denomination in Ohio. The
task of writing such a
work would be colossal for any one
historian to undertake, because
of the variety and inaccessibility of
the sources.
Manuscript Program
Although unpublished governmental and
church records are
properly classified as manuscripts, the
Records Project has con-
ducted a survey of additional manuscript
materials, such as letters,
journals, diaries, business records,
account books, minutes, and
proceedings. This phase of project
operations has as its purpose
to locate and to describe and to prepare
calendars and abstracts,
or edited abstracts, of selected
collections. A guide to the manu-
script depositories in Ohio has been
prepared and now awaits final
editing before publication. The
excellent collection of the papers
of Joshua R. Giddings in the Library of
the Ohio State Archae-
ological and Historical Society has been
abstracted. Of the 1260
pieces over 900 have been edited in
complete and scholarly form.
The survey is now preparing the first
volume of these for publica-
tion. A calendar of the Arthur St. Clair
Papers in the Ohio
State Library, prepared by Miss Bertha
K. Krauss, curator of
rare books and manuscripts, has been
typed by the workers of
the survey. The project plans to check
and edit this valuable
work and publish it.
A calendar of Executive Documents
deposited in the Ohio
State Museum is being produced. Over
34,000 items for the years
1803-78 have been calendared on small
file cards. The State Office
of the survey informs me that it is
preparing, in final form, the
calendar entries for the years 1803-60. This volume
will contain
around 16,000 entries, giving author, to
whom written, dates, and
nature of document. One volume devoted
to business records has
been completed for some time and should
soon be published. This
is the "Calendar of the G. B.
Savage Company and the D. Con-
nelly Boiler Company Collection" in
Western Reserve University
OHIO HISTORY CONFERENCE, 1941 285
Library. Work along the lines of
preparing calendars to manu-
script collections in Ohio could
continue for a long time in the
future. Think only of the value of such
work in the Western
Reserve Historical Society, the Ohio
State Archaeological and
Historical Society Library, and the
Historical and Philosophical
Society at Cincinnati.
Bibliography of Ohio History and
Literature and American
Imprints Inventory
No less significant for the layman, as
well as the researcher,
is the compilation of comprehensive
bibliographical guides to the
published sources treating of Ohio
history. The Records Project
is compiling a bibliography of Ohio
history and literature, which
will be a classified and annotated
catalogue of books, monographs,
broadsides, pamphlets, and articles in
periodicals which treat of
the history of Ohio. For the purpose of
the survey, the word
"history" is interpreted in
its broadest sense, to include every
phase of man's activity and thought. The
bibliography is being
classified according to the chief fields
of human endeavor. Op-
erating in the library centers of the
State, the survey has examined
several million volumes and returned
37,368 entries, including du-
plicates which serve for checking
purposes. A bibliography of Ohio
in the Territorial period, containing
1,780 items, is now prepared
and awaits classification and final
editing before it can be published.
Another step-child of the Records
Project is the Ohio Im-
prints Inventory, which is designed to
furnish a list of all imprints
in the State up to and including the
year 1876. One volume of
this survey, through the year 1830, is
completed and awaits spon-
sorship funds to publish it. This
checklist comprises a total of
1,548 items. This survey, which has
taken the workers into most
of the public libraries of Ohio and some
private libraries, has
necessitated the examination of five to
six million catalogue cards
and around 500,000 books. The
advertisements of publishers and
bookdealers in the newspapers were
searched for obscure items.
The imprints inventory will, when
finished, constitute the basic
guide to early printing and publishing
in Ohio. The bibliography
of Ohio history and literature, together
with the imprints inven-
286 OHIO
ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
tory, will furnish Ohioans a complete,
detailed and reliable manual
of historical literature.
Historic Sites and Place-names
Finally, the project is conducting a
survey of historical sites
and determining the origin of selected
place-names. One of the
principal objectives of the American
educational system is, of
course, the perpetuation of the American
phase of our diverse
cultural heritage. Historical
information is derived, in the main,
from documentary and manuscript sources.
On the other hand,
a certain amount of historical evidence
must be wrested from in-
animate objects, the remains of former
human activities. In each
community of the State there are
historical sites which, although at
first glance appear to be of local
interest only, become of great
significance in making up the grand
total of the State's history.
There is a growing feeling that it is
the duty of the members of
each community of the State to transmit
historical information to
posterity more accurately than it was
bequeathed to them. The
results of the Historic Sites Survey
will provide an indispensable
guide to be used by the Nation, State,
county, city, and town, and
by historical societies and other
organizations in marking those
sites which perpetuate the memory of
historical events. The re-
sults of the survey should be of
incalculable value to the public
schools. It will enable local officials
to prepare itineraries of his-
torical field trips. The files and
publications of this section of the
project will furnish the basic materials
from which future genera-
tions will derive a portion of their
knowledge of Ohio history.
So far, 170,000 forms describing historic sites have been prepared
in Cuyahoga County where this phase of
the project has operated.
An excellent and interesting volume on
hotels and taverns in Cleve-
land from 1796 on is now ready for
publication.
The study of the origins of place-names
is a relatively new
field of historical research, becoming
"increasingly significant and
fruitful." The origins of names, be
they of persons, of geographi-
cal locations, or of other objects, have
always held a romantic
interest. Under the influence of the
social scientist, the etymolo-
gist, and the philologist, the study of
place-names is being trans-
OHIO HISTORY CONFERENCE, 1941 287
formed from a "mere antiquarian
curiosity to a genuine science."
The values of the place-names study are
found to be manifold.
In the first place, it contributes to
the satisfaction of the general
popular and romantic interest in
traditions, myths, stories, and his-
tory of the background of the community,
and serves to preserve
many facts and traditions. In the second
place, the place-names
survey makes several real historical
contributions: Archaeological
and anthropological facts are often
revealed in the study of place-
names of ancient origin; valuable
biographical data on early set-
tlers is uncovered; new historical data
is disclosed in the many
localities which have little or no
written history. Especially sig-
nificant are the contributions which
such a study makes to the his-
tory of society, or social science. The
results of the survey will
include the revelation of the life of
the community, its historical
development and transformations. The
data recorded is a reflec-
tion of the culture, customs, ideals,
sentiments and sympathies,
politics, religion, industry,
imagination, and sense of humor of the
people. One of the important
contributions is that made to the
study of immigrant groups in America,
for place-names, in many
instances, reflect the effects of
immigration in geographical areas,
revealing what national groups have come
in, what groups pre-
dominate or have predominated, and
whether the influence has
been real or sentimental. The study of
place-names has its geo-
graphical, as well as historical
significance, for old and discon-
tinued names of descriptive nature often
furnish information as
to earlier geographical or topographical
conditions. Finally, the
place-names survey contributes to the
study of linguistics by show-
ing the development of folk etymologies
and revealing American-
isms, localisms, and dialect words.
Valuable also is the informa-
tion as to changes in names, in form,
spelling, and pronunciation,
and the causes for those changes. The
Historic Sites and Place-
Names Survey presents a large project
for future development.
Cost
The total cost of all this effort
amounts to around $1,400,000.
It would be useless to attempt to
evaluate the production in terms
of dollars and cents. However, in
considering this figure, we must
288
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
keep in mind first, that it was spent in
an effort to give work to
employables on relief, and second, that
the first several years of
the relief program were experimental
years. The country had not
before been faced with the problem of
creating a huge public
works project for the relief of
unemployment. Of course, mis-
takes were made and, as a result, money
was wasted. Those mis-
takes are not entirely chargeable to
W.P.A. officials, but in many
cases to professional historians and
other scholars who were called
upon to serve as advisors and in some
instances as the supervisors
of projects. However, over a period of
years, experimental pro-
cedure has evolved into a definite and
well-planned program.
The future bears promise of more
productive effort. To drop
what has been done without completion
would amount to throwing
so much money away. Real economy now
lies in the satisfactory
conclusion of the project.
To estimate the cost of production in
terms of actual pub-
lished works is inaccurate. Although but
20 volumes
have so far
appeared, the work on many other volumes
has so far progressed
as to give promise of many publications
appearing within the
coming year. Furthermore, even if
publication were to cease,
the manuscript inventories, calendars,
and bibliographies, etc.,
located in an accessible depository,
such as the Library of the Ohio
State Archaeological and Historical
Society, would prove of in-
calculable value to the researcher.
Problems in Production
Certain problems of great import still
confront the survey
and its official sponsors. First,
certain advisors and critics suggest
that the survey should devote itself to
the conclusion of one task
before beginning another. However, in
order to keep trained
workers in the field they must have
work. Editors in the District
and State offices must continually
return materials to the field
for checking and additional information.
In order to retain them
for this service they must be given new
tasks. Furthermore, since
the trained non-certified supervisory
personnel can comprise no
more than five per cent. of the
certified labor, in order to retain
a permanent trained staff the certified
personnel must be kept up
OHIO HISTORY CONFERENCE, 1941 289
to a satisfactory level. This explains
the expansion of the Records
Survey program.
Other difficulties lie, of course, in
the kind of labor which
must be used, untrained and
inexperienced, and much time must
be spent in training these workers. In
connection with this prob-
lem is one that is a result of an act of
Congress passed somewhat
over a year ago which calls for a
month's lay-off of each worker
who has been on W.P.A. for 18
consecutive months. Well-
trained workers are suddenly dismissed
from the survey, and be-
cause quotas must be kept up in order to
retain non-certified per-
sonnel, they must be replaced by
untrained workers. Further-
more, there is a certain amount of
inefficiency on the part of the
workers due to physiological and
psychological causes. Many
W.P.A. workers suffer from malnutrition
and other illnesses due
to their low wages. Many others suffer
from mental disorders,
depression and other complexes, caused,
in part, by the fact that
they must rely on relief for their
living, and further, by the false
and inhuman attitude of many of the
public toward W.P.A. and
its workers.
There is a lack of adequate technical
supervision in the proj-
ect as a whole. While the State Office
and certain of the district
offices have been well directed at
times, the lack of security and
the low salaries have meant that most of
the well-trained techni-
cians have lost no time in accepting
more satisfactory positions.
While there are certain other problems
presented by the admin-
istrative procedure of W.P.A., it must
be said that the authorities
of the W.P.A. in Ohio have given great
assistance and encourage-
ment to the advancement of the
Historical Records Survey.
Perhaps the chief bottleneck in
production at present is the
necessity for finding sponsors'
contributions for publication. An
act of Congress requires the state or
local communities to supply
twenty-five per cent. of the total spent
by W.P.A. The Records
Survey is permitted to run on much less
than that, due to the fact
that certain other projects balance the
total. However, Records
Survey publications must be undertaken
at the expense of the
sponsor. The attempt is being made to
encourage the county com-
missioners to publish the county
inventories, municipal officials
290
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
to publish the city and village guides,
State officials to publish the
inventories of their departments,
religious denominations to pub-
lish the church inventories, library
donations to publish the bibliog-
raphies, and private publishers to
undertake other phases of this
part of the work. In general, the large
urban centers have been
easily approachable and have made
contributions. County com-
missioners in many rural areas have
failed to understand the pur-
pose of the Records publications. In
most cases this may be
blamed on the lack of knowledge of the
value of legal records, and
in some cases blamed on political
antagonism to the program of
the New Deal. Historians and other
scholars may render their
professions and their localities a
benefit by effectually working to
educate county and town officials to the
need for guides to their
records, and by assisting in other ways
to find those local funds
which are necessary to the continuation
of this project. To date
twenty counties have promised funds for
publication purposes.
In addition the city of Cleveland is
guaranteeing funds for that
inventory, as are ten other
municipalities. Only one religious
body, the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland,
has offered funds for the
guide to its records.
If I were to be permitted a further
suggestion as to the admin-
istration of the Records Project by W.P.A.,
it would be to recom-
mend a consolidation of all projects
dealing with public records
and using such records for writing or
statistical purposes under
one administration, thus achieving a
unity of effort and avoiding
much needless duplication of work and
gaining the means through
a large certified personnel of
establishing an adequate and efficient
technical staff.
The Future and the Defense Program
As to the future of the Historical
Records Survey one can-
not predict. The Defense Program is
taking up some of the slack
in unemployment, and so removes many of
the trained workers
from the rolls. However, the backlog of
employables on relief
has been so great that the relief
problem is still apparently too
large to allow liquidation of the
present program. The question
next arises, of course: Should such
projects as the Records Sur-
vey be permitted to continue or should
they be abolished in favor
OHIO HISTORY CONFERENCE, 1941 291
of defense projects? From the practical
relief point of view, the
"white-collar" projects must
be continued to provide work for that
class. In the second place, the work of
the Records Survey con-
tributes to the most important phase of
any defense movement,
that of maintaining faith in the system
of government and bol-
stering morale.
The materials made available through the
work of the Ohio
Historical Records Survey Project are
those from which our
people will derive their knowledge of
democratic America. Evi-
dence seems to indicate that the future
progress in the study of
history lies along the lines of the
development of new syntheses
which will include a minute examination
of local records. Author-
ities on local government are of the
opinion that the permanency
of our democratic institutions is
dependent upon the encourage-
ment of an interest in local history and
government. The study
of national history to the exclusion of
local history, according to
some scholars, may be detrimental to the
maintenance of demo-
cratic principles of government which
originated in small, or local
units. The late Professor Frederick
Jackson Turner saw in the
development of sectional
self-consciousness the promise that
"American life will be enriched and
safe-guarded by the develop-
ment of the greater variety of
interests, purposes and ideals which
seem to be arising. A measure of local
concentration seems neces-
sary to produce healthy, intellectual
and moral life." Popular,
but superficial, interest in a community
may be transformed into
a real worthwhile interest by the
production of scientific his-
tory. Also the availability of sources
of knowledge of the com-
munity often leads to an increased
interest in it. An acquaintance
with the history of a community leads to
the development of a
healthy localism or provincialism,
which, in turn, acts to produce
a wholesome national democracy. The Ohio
Historical Records
Survey Project, in making available
scientific history concerning
local regions is serving the purpose of
increasing local interest,
thereby contributing to those forces
which work to keep American
democracy on the march.
292
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
The contributions of the Committee on
Archives and Medical
History, entitled "Ohio Medical
History of the Period, 1835-
1858,"
will appear in the QUARTERLY for
Oct.-Dec., 1941. A
glance at its program on page 208 shows
a wide range of inter-
esting topics.
The first speaker on the Saturday
morning session, sponsored
by the Columbus Genealogical Society and
the Ohio State Archae-
ological and Historical Society, was Mr.
Seward G. Folsom of
Lima, Ohio, who gave an interesting
address on "Searching for a
Great Grandfather." He described in
detail the activities of the
genealogist, drawing upon his own
experiences to demonstrate the
joys to be found in such a search.
Another much appreciated feature of the
Ohio History Con-
ference was the closing session on
Saturday afternoon, a research
group meeting, the program of which is
given on page 209.
The papers presented were stimulating
and evoked lively
discussion.