HISTORICAL NEWS
Historical Societies
ALLEN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Lima
James A. MacDonell, President
The society has recently acquired a
Kodagraph film reader, a
gift from the president, James A.
MacDonell. Several old Lima
newspapers have been microfilmed up to
1912. Current papers
have been filmed since January 1, 1947.
During recent months the society has
been engaged in a cam-
paign to collect unpaid pledges for the
proposed $175,000 museum.
A large percentage of the necessary
funds are on hand. The bricks
for the building were purchased and a
heating plant constructed
several years ago on the site donated by
the William J. Wemmer
estate and the late J. W. Van Dyke at
the corner of Market and Met-
calf streets.
ASSOCIATED DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY
HISTORICAL
SOCIETIES, Dayton
Roy G. Fitzgerald, President
Recent acquisitions of the society
include an autograph list
of subscribers to stock in the Fireman's
Insurance Company in
1856, a gift of Andrew S. Iddings, and a
group of family relics and
heirlooms presented by Katherine E.
Greer, great-great-granddaugh-
ter of Col. George Newcom, early Dayton
settler.
The society now has over one thousand
members.
BRECKSVILLE EARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATION, Brecksville
Mrs. Eddy Burke Fosnocht, President
Erwin C. Zepp, director of the Ohio
State Archaeological and
Historical Society, and William
Stinchcomb, director of the Cleve-
land Metropolitan Park Board, were guest
speakers at the twenty-
fourth annual meeting of the association
in June.
Present officers are Mrs. Eddy Burke
Fosnocht, president;
463
464
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Ernest M. Green and Mrs. Alice Lewis,
vice presidents; Mrs. Fos-
nocht, treasurer; and Mrs. W. S. Lister,
secretary. One new trus-
tee, Raymond Perry, was elected to
replace the Rev. J. Chandler
Adams.
CRESTLINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Crestline
Ernest G. Hesser, President
The second annual pilgrimage sponsored
by the society oc-
curred on June 19. The points visited
were the Firelands Museum
at Norwalk and the Thomas Edison
birthplace at Milan.
FAIRPORT HARBOR HISTORICAL SOCIETY,
Fairport Harbor
Austin Headland, President
The marine museum of the society has
recently acquired the
complete telegraph system of the S. G.
Hartwell, the gift of A. B.
Kern.
FIRELANDS HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Norwalk
Homer M. Beattie, President
The president of the society has been
working with Wallace B.
White of Milan in the preparation of a
map of the Firelands from
the original surveys of Maxfield Ludlow
and Almon Ruggles from
notes of the surveys in possession of the
society. In his address to
the annual meeting in June, the
president gave some of the results
of the study, especially concerning the
correct location of two or
possibly three forts named "Fort
Sandusky." The site of the French
fort of that name was located on the
north shore of Sandusky Bay,
and the British fort of the same name
has been definitely estab-
lished at Venice. Mr. White is writing
for publication a history
of the Firelands based upon primary
sources.
FRANKLIN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY,
Columbus
Charles A. Jones, President
The society has secured the services of
a full-time curator and
executive secretary, Daniel F. Prugh,
formerly a special writer on
the Dayton Daily News. Mr. Prugh
has temporary offices in the
Carnegie Library.
HISTORICAL NOTES 465
GATES MILLS HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Gates
Mills
Tinkham Veale, II, Acting
President
The Southwick House, one of the oldest
buildings in Gates
Mills, was recently opened as the home
of the Gates Mills Historical
Society. The house was purchased two
years ago by the society
and moved to its present site at the
corner of Epping and Old
Mill roads.
The building has been remodeled and will
serve as a museum
for the society, a permanent home for
the Gates Mills Public
Library, and a meeting place for small
groups.
The dedication ceremonies were opened by
Tinkham Veale,
acting president of the society,
followed by an invocation by the
Rev. John Pattie. A talk on the
development of the museum was
given by Vincent K. Smith. Courtney
Burton, mayor of Gates
Mills, presented the society an oil
portrait of Halsey Gates,
founder of the village, and a plaque in
honor of the late A. C.
Ernest was also presented to the museum.
Funds for the mainte-
nance of the museum are provided as a
memorial to Charles
Newpher, former president of the
society.
The officers and directors of the
organization are Tinkham
Veale, II, acting president; Carter
Kissel, Crispin Oglebay, F. R.
Walker, Alfred Mewett, Curtis Williams,
and Henry Neuman.
Carter Kissel and Mrs. John Marston were
co-chairmen for the
dedication program.
GEAUGA COUNTY HISTORICAL AND MEMORIAL
SOCIETY, Burton
B. J. Shanower, President
In a recent letter to the members of the
society the secretary
reported an unprecedented growth of
interest in the last year in
the work of the society. Within that
period thirty-two schools from
Geauga and neighboring counties had
visited the museum in con-
nection with their history and reading
classwork. More than three
thousand persons are reported to have
visited the museum in the
past year.
The officers are B. J. Shanower,
president; Ralph Ford, secre-
tary; and Frank Samuel, treasurer.
466
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL
QUARTERLY
HAYES MEMORIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM,
Fremont
Watt P. Marchman, Director of
Research
During Fremont's centennial celebration
of the town's change
of name from Lower Sandusky to Fremont,
the Hayes Memorial
Library and Museum participated in the
celebration by placing on
exhibition many old photographs, maps,
documents, newspapers,
letters, books, and relics illustrating
the early history of the com-
munity and county. The exhibit remained
on display for several
weeks following the celebration and was
well attended.
The director of research served as a
member of the scenario
committee for the historical pageant,
"Fremont Cavalcade," pro-
duced by the John B. Rogers Co. of
Fostoria, with a local cast
of over six hundred participants. The
pageant was held August 1
through August 5 as a feature of the
Centennial Jubilee.
The Hayes Memorial Library and Museum,
Spiegel Grove,
and the Harrison Military Trail of 1812
were featured by Grace
Goulder in her "Ohio Scenes and
Citizens," in the Cleveland Plain
Dealer, August 14, 1949. This is the last of her two articles
on
Fremont.
Some of the more important manuscript
collections recently
added to the library's division of
manuscripts include a holograph
letter of Col. George Croghan, dated
February 22, 1814, to Capt.
Stephen McFarland, Cincinnati, ordering
material for a new uni-
form; several holograph letters of
Rutherford B. Hayes; and one
or more letters written by Mary Clemmer
Ames, William W.
Belknap, James G. Blaine, Edward W. Bok,
A. E. Burnside,
Schuyler Colfax, James M. Comly, Salmon
P. Chase, George Wil-
liam Curtis, James B. McPherson, and
John Sherman. Microfilm,
photostat, and transcription copies of
hundreds of letters from
public depositories and private sources
have been added.
Microfilm copies have been made of the Fremont
News-
Messenger, November 1, 1948-April 30, 1949.
HISTORICAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF
OHIO, Cincinnati
Virginius C. Hall, Director
The "Makers of Cincinnati"
exhibition presented at the Taft
Museum by the society was attended by
more than six thousand
persons.
HISTORICAL NOTES 467
Alfred A. Knopf, publishers, have
announced the publication
in October of a new edition of Frances
Trollope's Domestic Manners
of the Americans, edited by Donald Smalley. Dr. Smalley, in the
preparation of his extensive
introduction and notes, drew upon the
resources of the society's collections.
HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF NORTHWESTERN OHIO,
Toledo
Randolph C. Downes, Executive
Director
Officers of the society elected at the
thirty-first annual meeting
in June are Richard D. Logan, president;
John H. Taylor, vice
president; Carl B. Spitzer,
secretary-treasurer; Mrs. Max Shep-
herst, librarian; and Randolph C.
Downes, executive director.
Edmund P. Collins, Mark Mennel, Dr. H.
W. H. Nelles, the Rev.
John J. Vogel, and Carl B. Spitzer were
elected trustees for the
term expiring in 1951.
The officers reported 180 individual
members and 70 institu-
tional members, the acquisition of 56
new volumes by the library,
and an appropriation from the county
commissioners of $4,900
for the promotion of historical research
by the society.
KNOX COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Mt. Vernon
Carl L. Van Voorhis, President
At a reorganization meeting in June,
Carl L. Van Voorhis
was elected president, Elizabeth R.
Cochran, vice president, and
Pauline Riley, secretary-treasurer.
LISBON HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Lisbon
George Lafferty, President
The society was reorganized at a meeting
on August 5 when
George Lafferty was elected president,
Miss Bertha Johnson, secre-
tary, and L. S. Firestone, treasurer.
Trustees are Mr. Lafferty,
Mrs. R. W. Firestone, Helen Ramsey,
Seward Harris, C. F. Wright,
and W. A. Frew.
The society is completing arrangements
for the purchase of the
old stone house on East Washington
Street. Erected in 1805 by
Christian Smith and used as a tavern,
the building is one of the
oldest stone houses in the state. It
will be restored and maintained
by the society as a museum.
468
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
LOGAN COUNTY ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND
HISTORICAL SOCIETY,
Bellefontaine
Herman C. Marmon, President
A caravan of members of the society
placed markers at five
historic sites on July 17. The sites
marked are the point where
the Greene Ville Treaty line enters and
the point where it leaves
Logan County, the Cherokee town site,
and Nancy Steward section,
and the Curry Blockhouse near Old Town.
The marker committee
is composed of O. K. Reames, Raymond
LeVan, and Paul Watkins.
LORAIN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Elyria
Mrs. James B. Thomas, President
The June meeting of the society was
devoted to a history of
Columbia, with a display of antiques and
mementos of the early
families of that vicinity, and a trek to
the historic sites in the
township. Places of interest noted
included the site of Hoadley's
Mill, Copopa, and the Akin homestead.
Mrs. Malcolm McClellan
was in charge of the arrangements and
led the tour. About sixty
persons attended.
OHIO HISTORY DAY ASSOCIATION, Circleville
Lloyd Jones, President
Dr. Lloyd Jones, son of Dr. and Mrs.
Howard Jones, founders
of the association, was elected
president at the June meeting of
the group.
The annual history day celebration at
the Logan Elm will be
held as usual on the first Sunday in
October.
SHAKER HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Cleveland
Mrs. Harry D. Piercy, Secretary
Members of the society are engaged in
producing Shaker dolls
and in collecting Shaker furniture,
tools, utensils, and other
material. Dr. and Mrs. H. D. Piercy have
prepared a series of
small model settings of the North Union
Shaker community.
Two publications on Shaker history have
recently been pub-
lished: Our Shaker Heritage, a
pamphlet by the Rev. John Schott,
and Sylvia the Shaker Maid, the
true story of a North Union girl,
a booklet by Caroline Piercy.
HISTORICAL NOTES 469
SHELBY COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Sidney
E. J. Griffis, President
New officers of the society are E. J.
Griffis, president, and George
Harshbarger, secretary.
In addition to other projects, the
organization is working for
the preservation of an old covered
bridge spanning the Great Miami
River six miles south of Sidney.
STARK COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Canton
Paul B. Belden, President
Work has been resumed in copying
inscriptions on old tomb-
stones in cemeteries in Stark County.
Last summer 6,400 names
were copied in 27 cemeteries and thus
far this summer more than
4,500 names have been transcribed.
Volume I of the Stark County Story, printed
by the Stoneman
Press, Columbus, has been published by
the society. It contains the
first seventy-six scripts given by E. T.
Heald over WHBC on the
Good Neighbor Hour, Sundays, from May
1947 through November
1948, describing the cities, towns, and
villages of Stark County. It
has 672 pages and 220 maps and
illustrations.
SUMMIT COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Akron
Carl H. Pockrandt, President
The last issue of the society's bulletin
contained an article
on "The Hunters," members of
secret lodges of "Patriots" in the
United States who aided the Canadian
Rebellion of 1837-38. Akron
and Summit County played an important
part in this episode.
TRUMBULL COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY,
Warren
James J. Tyler, President
Officers of the society elected at a
meeting of the trustees on
July 26 are James J. Tyler, president;
Elizabeth J. Hauser, vice
president; Lloyd A. Mines, secretary;
Mrs. Frank W. Chapman,
treasurer. The trustees are Norman W.
Adams, Hon. George H.
Birrell, Mrs. Frank W. Chapman, Royal B.
Dobbins, Elizabeth J.
Hauser, Raymond E. Hughes, Harold H.
Hunter, William B. Kil-
470
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL
QUARTERLY
patrick, Elizabeth C. Lumbard, Lloyd A.
Mines, Mrs. B. D. Lisby,
Hon. Harold C. Smith, Phebe T. Sutliff,
Carl F. Thomas, James J.
Tyler, and Mrs. Roscoe S. Winnagle.
The society is custodian of the
Edwards-Webb House, the
home of John Stark Edwards built in
1807. Edwards, a grandson
of the famous Jonathan Edwards, was the
first resident lawyer in
the Western Reserve. The house later
came into possession of
Thomas D. Webb, who established the
first newspaper in the
Reserve, the Trump of Fame.
Miss Elizabeth J. Hauser, vice
president, has recently published
a series of ten stories on early Warren
in the Warren Tribune
Chronicle. Norman W. Adams, a trustee, gave a radio talk recently
on WRRR on the early history of the
Western Reserve.
UNION COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Marysville
Mrs. Matthew Kennedy, Temporary
Chairman
Several planning meetings for a
permanent organization have
been held, and at a meeting on July 17
it was decided to incor-
porate the society and to hold a
membership drive. Plans were
made for a booth at the Union County
Fair in Marysville in charge
of Elizabeth Bonham, temporary publicity
chairman, to acquaint
citizens of the county with the work of
the new society.
WELLSVILLE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Wellsville
Edgar Davidson, President
The society has recently acquired a
number of programs of
early events in Wellsville, gifts of
Mrs. Eddie Hurst Moser, of
Uniontown, Pennsylvania, and a picture
of Dr. William Cloud,
the physician of General John Hunt
Morgan. The picture, together
with a sword presented by General Morgan
to the proprietor of
the Whitacre House, has been loaned to
the state historical society
for display in connection with the
"Once Upon a Time in Ohio"
broadcast on October 4, titled
"General Morgan at Wellsville."
The sword is the property of Mrs.
Frances Whitacre Morton of
Wellsville.
The July meeting of the society took the
form of a historical
pilgrimage tracing the flight of General
Morgan from Bergholz to
West Point where he surrendered.
HISTORICAL NOTES 471
WESTERN RESERVE HISTORICAL SOCIETY,
Cleveland
Russell H. Anderson, Director
Among the manuscript additions are two
Jackson letters of
interest. One is from Andrew Jackson,
and the other, of greater
importance, is from his wife Rachel.
Both were written to Mrs.
Katherine Duane Morgan, daughter of
William Duane of Phila-
delphia. A file of the Collinwood
Citizen has been added to the
newspaper collection. The D. Z. Norton
collection of Napoleana
has been enriched by three documents:
one a broadside signed by
Bonaparte as first consul; another the
signature of Lucien Bona-
parte; and the third a letter from a
sister, Elise.
A collection of some seventy books on
the history of the
Moravians has been received.
The library is instituting a series of
manuscript seminars
planned to acquaint those interested
with the research collections
of the society. At each meeting, to be
held monthly beginning in
October, a unit of the manuscript
collection will be selected for
study. Some account will be given of the
provenance of the unit,
the circumstances of its collection, and
an analysis of its scope
and bulk, with examples. As far as
feasible opportunity will be
given to examine the manuscripts.
Among recent special exhibits have been
"Miss Liberty";
dolls and nursery rhymes; "I
remember that . . ."; "What is home
without a baby"; and lustre ware
and rare jugs. The museum has
furnished to Halle Brothers an extensive
exhibit of costumes and
accessories for display on the occasion
of the extension of their
store. The library supplied the Western
Reserve University Law
School with an exhibit of manuscripts
illustrating legal procedures.
The museum has received a marble bust of
a prominent Cleve-
lander, Sherlock J. Andrews (1801-80).
The case lighting the
Napoleon and Washington rooms has been
greatly improved and
several rooms have been redecorated. The
society has received
from the estate of Mrs. S. Prentiss
Baldwin a number of items,
including books, furniture, paintings,
lustre ware, and historical
Staffordshire paper weights.
Russell H. Anderson, director of the
society, gave a radio talk
over WTAM recently on examples of art in
the society's library.
472
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
WOMEN'S CENTENNIAL ASSOCIATION OF
WASHINGTON COUNTY,
Marietta
Etta C. Collins, President
The present officers of the association
are Etta D. Collins, presi-
dent, Mrs. Frank K. Schafer, vice
president, Lucy Cole Flemming,
recording secretary, and Mrs. Wirt N.
Kellar, treasurer.
The association maintains a display
section in the Campus
Martius Museum.
About Historians
John F. Cady, formerly head of the
department of history
and dean of the college of liberal arts
at Franklin College, and
recently chief of the Research and
Intelligence Branch for South
Asia of the Department of State, has
been appointed associate pro-
fessor of history at Ohio University.
The departments of history and
government have announced
the third annual awards competition for
excellence in Ohio history,
Ohio government, and citizenship for
high school students of the
state. Last year 2,350 students took the
preliminary examination
and 88 won the two-day trip to the
campus as guests of the uni-
versity. The preliminary, objective
examinations this year will be
held on October 14. The student
receiving the highest grade in
each county, plus the ten students
scoring next highest in the state
at large, will be eligible for the
two-day trip to the university where
the final essay examination will be held
on November 11. Ten
cash prizes ranging from $10 to $100
will again be offered. The
purpose of the awards is to stimulate a
greater interest of young
people in Ohio's history and cultural
heritage. The State Depart-
ment of Education of Ohio and the Ohio
State Archaeological and
Historical Society are cooperating in
this project.
Carl G. Gustavson was visiting lecturer
in the summer school
at Emory University.
Frederick D. Kershner, Jr., presented a
paper at the annual
meeting of the Mississippi Valley
Historical Association at Madi-
son, Wisconsin, entitled,
"Indianapolis, From Country Town to
Industrial City: the Urban Pattern in
Indianapolis."
Albert T. Volwiler's article,
"Clio, the Voice of the People,"
HISTORICAL NOTES 473
was published in the Indiana Magazine
of History, XLV (March
1949), 1-13. A 25,000-word article on
the history of the United
States has been written by him for
Collier's new encyclopedia.
-----
A. L. Davis of the department of English
of Western Reserve
University is engaged in research in
cooperation with Raven I.
McDavid of the University of Illinois on
a linguistic atlas of the
United States and Canada to be published
under the auspices of the
American Council of Learned Societies.
The work in Ohio is
sponsored by the graduate school of
Western University and the
Ohio State Archaeological and Historical
Society.
Recent publications of Carl Wittke, dean
of the graduate
school, are "Immigration Policy
Prior to World War I," in the
Annals of the American Academy of
Political and Social Sciences,
March 1949; "Mr. Justice
Clarke--A Supreme Court Judge in
Retirement," in the Mississippi
Valley Historical Review, June
1949; and "Mr. Justice Clarke in
Retirement," in the Western Re-
serve Law Review, June 1949.
Howard Robinson, head of the history
department and acting
dean of the college of arts and sciences
at Oberlin College, will
be on leave of absence for the coming
academic year. He will
spend the year in Great Britain.
Robert S. Fletcher will return to the
department after a year's
leave of absence.
Charles Cremeans, formerly of Williams
College, has been
appointed associate professor of
history, and William Orr will
replace Harvey Goldberg as instructor.
Three additions have been made to the
staff of the history
department of Case Institute of
Technology: Thomas E. Baker,
assistant professor; and Herbert W. Dowd
and Stanley P. Wasson,
instructors.
William F. Zornow has published this
year the following
articles: "Indiana and the Election
of 1864," Indiana Magazine of
History, March 1949; "The Judicial Modifications of the
Maryland
Black Code in the District of
Columbia," Maryland Historical Mag-
474
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
azine, March 1949; "Bellamy Nationalism in Ohio," Ohio
State
Archaeological and Historical
Quarterly, April 1949; "Lincoln's
Influence in the Election of 1864,"
Lincoln Herald, June 1949;
and "Treason as a Campaign Issue in
the Re-election of Lincoln,"
Abraham Lincoln Quarterly, June 1949.
Two new professors have been appointed
in the department
of history at Xavier University, Robert
W. Reichert in the field of
modern European history, and William M.
Canning in United
States history.
Lowell Ragatz, a member of the faculty
of George Washington
University since 1924, has been
appointed chairman of the depart-
ment of history at Ohio State
University. Dr. Ragatz holds his
Ph.D. degree from the University of
Wisconsin. He is a recog-
nized authority in the field of
Caribbean history and British
colonial policy, having received the
Justin Winsor prize of the
American Historical Association for his
work on The Fall of the
Planter Class in the British
Caribbean, published in 1928. Dr.
Ragatz assumes his new post on October
1.
Robert H. Bremner, instructor in the
department of history,
has contributed a series of four
articles to the American Journal
of Economics and Sociology on the civic reform in Ohio. The first,
"The Civic Revival in Ohio,"
appeared in October 1948; "The Civic
Revival in Ohio--Samuel M. Jones--The
Man Without a Party,"
in January 1949; "The Civic Revival
in Ohio-Reformed Business
Man: Tom L. Johnson," in April; and
"The Civic Revival in Ohio
-Honest Man's Story: Frederic C.
Howe," in the July issue.
Charles Morley, assistant professor of
history, has been granted
a year's leave of absence to lecture in
Russian history at the Uni-
versity of Wisconsin.
Harlan H. Hatcher, vice president of the
university, is the
author of The Western Reserve: The
Story of New Connecticut in
Ohio, published recently by Bobbs-Merrill Company.
Harold J. Grimm, professor of history,
has been elected presi-
dent of the American Society for
Reformation Research. He re-
HISTORICAL NOTES 475
cently published an article on
"Lorenzo Valla's Christianity," in
Church History, XVIII (1949), 75-88.
Louis Filler, teacher of courses in
American civilization and
American literature at Antioch College
and also book review editor
of the Antioch Review, published
an article in the Spring 1949 issue
of the Review, "Tenets of
Scientific Skepticism," and contributed one
on "Edward Bellamy and the
Spiritual Unrest" to the American
Journal of Economics and Sociology. A new edition of his Cru-
saders for American Liberalism (1939)
is scheduled for winter
publication by the Antioch Press. Dr.
Filler read a paper, "East
and West: Liberalism in Late Nineteenth
Century America," at the
April meeting of the Mississippi Valley
Historical Association.
Hilmar G. Grimm, chairman of the
department of history at
Capital University, announces the
appointment of Edward F. Blount
to the department.
Wilfred E. Binkley, chairman of the
department of history
and political science at Ohio Northern
University, gave two grad-
uate courses this (his third successive)
summer at Teachers College,
Columbia University. He will be visiting
professor of political
science at Oxford University, England,
for the academic year,
1949-50. An article by Dr. Binkley,
"The Relation of President
and Congress," appeared in the
winter issue of Parliamentary
Affairs, an English quarterly. He has also published recently
with
Malcolm C. Moos of Johns Hopkins
University A Grammar of
American Politics.
William Canning has resigned as
instructor in history at the
University of Dayton. Bro. Richard A.
Liebler has been appointed
to fill the vacancy and will divide his
teaching duties between the
departments of history and political
science. Wilfred J. Steiner has
been appointed acting head of the
department.
Randolph C. Downes has been promoted to
full professor of
history at the University of Toledo.
Duane D. Smith was visiting professor at
West Virginia Uni-
versity during the past summer.