THE ANNUAL MEETING The annual meeting of the Society was held the evening of December 6 in the auditorium of the Cincinnati Art Museum.

Transcription

1 THE ANNUAL MEETING The annual meeting of the Society was held the evening of December 6 in the auditorium of the Cincinnati Art Museum. Attractive announcements mailed to the membership brought together some 160 members and guests. Mr. Lucien Wulsin, President, presided. He called on Mr. Virginius C. Hall, Director, who gave his annual report covering activities of the Society, which is printed in full below. Mr. Henry Lyman Greer, Chairman of the Nominating Committee, read the proposed ticket of officers to be elected for the new year, which upon vote resulted in the election of the following: OFFICERS President, Lucien Wulsin Vice-President, John J. Rowe Vice-President, Lee Shepard Vice-President, Joseph C. Dinsmore Recording Secretary, Mrs. John H. Skavlem Corresponding Secretary, Cornelius J. Hauck Treasurer, Lawrence C. Bucher Director, Virginius C. Hall Curators: Mrs. William T. Buckner William T. Earls Herbert F. Koch Mrs. Russell Wilson Robert M. Galbraith Dr. James H. Rodabaugh, Head, Division of History and Science, the Ohio Historical Society, gave the address of the evening on the subject, "From Mounds to Mansions: Ohio Architecture in History/' which was illustrated with slides in color. His address is printed as the first article in this Bulletin. At the close of the meeting Mrs. Henry Perry, Chairman of Hospitality, and her assistants, welcomed the members and guests at an informal reception, where light refreshments were served. Thus another annual meeting has passed into the records, and the innovation of holding it at the Museum contributed its part to accenting an interesting and entertaining occasion for those in attendance. Mr. Hall's report follows:

2 62 The Bulletin ANNUAL REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR Members of the Historical and Philosophical Society of Ohio and guests: In historical societies, where collecting and preserving records of the past is a daily occupation, it is easy to become charmed by history, and thus to conduct the affairs of the society in close conformity with past procedure and routine. Obviously, the proper way to meet that temptation is by a change of routine and the adoption of something new. Thus, we have broken precedent by sending you a new kind of invitation to meet here at the Cincincinnati Art Museum for the first time, to hear a program that is somewhat different from our usual ones. Previously, on October 16, we provided a new diversion for members and guests: a bus excursion to sites of historical interest. It is hoped, of course, that these innovations win your approval. They were adopted for that purpose. But variations of this kind are only incidental to the general program of the Society as it is planned by the President and Board of Directors and put into execution by the staff. In addition to meeting once a month, except July and August, members of the Board are constantly available for decisions and advice. The quality of their supervision can be seen in the active program of the Society and in its solid financial condition. At this time, while referring to the Board of Directors, I should like to make special mention of the late Robert L. Black, who died January 24, Mr. Black was for twenty years a member of the Society, serving as Second Vice-President and later as Curator Emeritus until his death. His experience as a lawyer and writer and his constant friendship were of inestimable value to his associates. He is greatly missed. Among members of the Board, any serious talk of the Society's future usually includes discussion of plans for a suitable building. In the winter of a small building fund was established and, in the meantime, has grown by compounding. During the present year Mr. Cornelius J. Hauck presented a report to the Board with the recommendation that renewed effort be made to increase substantially that fund, in anticipation of the time when adequate housing may be possible. Mr. Hauck initiated the new effort

3 The Annual Meeting of the Society 63 with a gift of a thousand dollars. It is hoped that the fund maybe further augmented by donations and bequests. A major concern of the Board and staff is the publication of the Bulletin, now entering its thirteenth year under the editorship of Mr. Lee Shepard. Two members have been added to the board of editors, Dr. Reginald C. McGrane, head of the Department of History at the University of Cincinnati, and Dr. Dwight L. Smith, of the Department of History at Miami University. Volume twelve for the year 1954 consists of 336 pages. Publication of the cumulative index, Volumes 1 to 8, is scheduled for As a means of keeping members informed about our affairs and to acknowledge publicly gifts and other favors to the Society the News Letter is sent out sporadically, but effectively, we hope. June and November were the publication dates this year, the November issue being number 13. Among recent favors, by the way, I should like to acknowledge two: one from Mr. Noel Martin, who designed the invitation bringing you here, and the other from Mr. Benjamin F. Klein, who printed these invitations. Their generosity is highly appreciated. Then too, another act of friendship enables us to meet here at the Cincinnati Art Museum. For the Society, I take this occasion to thank Mr. Adams and the Board of Directors of the Museum. "To the Ladies of Cincinnati ," the spring exhibition of the Society, opened for.members at the Taft Museum the evening of April 24. Miss Katherine Hanna and Mrs. Alice P. Hook arranged the exhibit; members of the Society, the Cincinnati Art Museum, and the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County collaborated. In connection with the exhibition, the Board of Directors of the Society, with the Taft Museum, entertained at tea for the Picture, Museum, and Map divisions of the Special Libraries Association, holding its national convention in Cincinnati from May 16 to 20. The historical excursion mentioned previously in this report included visits to Mound City, Chillicothe, and Adena. About 70 members and guests of the Society participated. Similar trips are being considered as a feature of our program for members. Requests for speakers to talk on regional history or related subjects continue to come in from various clubs and societies. The librarian and I accept such requests as a welcome chance to

4 64 The Bulletin tell the public something of the intimate history of this region and to acquaint the audiences with the work of the Society. Radio and television are, of course, effective means of informing the public about our regional history. On October 14 Mrs. Iphigene Bettman and I carried on a television conversation on WCET (educational television). A few famous characters in Ohio and Cincinnati history were discussed. Marking of historic sites in celebration of the sesquicentennial of Ohio statehood in 1953 carried over into this year. In Hamilton County, Mr. J. Richard Lawwill, Director of the Anthony Wayne Parkway Board, cooperated with us in finding sponsors and in helping to set up eight markers. Numerous persons and organizations have contributed to the following installations: Fort Washington Powder Magazine, by the Western and Southern Life Insurance Company at Third and Broadway; Dr. Richard Allison's residence, by the Academy of Medicine of Cincinnati at Third and Lawrence Sts.; Fort Finney (site of the Shawnee Treaty), by the Cincinnati Gas and Electric Company at Brower Road, Columbia Park; Mercer's Station, by the Mariemont Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution at the State Fish Farm, Newtown; Hobson's Choice (Wayne's Camp), by the Indian Hill Daughters of the American Revolution at Front and Harriet Sts.; Columbia Settlement and Cemetery, by Albert P. Strietmann and the Society at Wilmer Road (Turkey Bottom); White's Station, by the National Distillers Products Corporation at Anthony Wayne Road, Carthage; McFarland's Station, by the Pleasant Ridge Garden Club, Kennedy Heights Garden Club, and Losantiville Garden Club at Pleasant Ridge Public Library. A marker is also ready to be placed in the new Cincinnati Public Library building to celebrate William Maxwell, publisher of the Centinel of the Northwestern Territory ( ), sponsored by the Cincinnati Club of Printing House Craftsmen, the Graphic Arts Association of Cincinnati, and the Miami Valley Lithographers. In bringing to a conclusion their business, the Sesquicentennial Committee of Hamilton County made a distribution of funds contributed but not used. This Society was designated by three industrial companies, and thus received a comfortable check to be used at our discretion. Gifts of this kind enable us to add to

5 The Annual Meeting of the Society 65 the value of the library as opportunities to buy present themselves. It is a practice that we want to encourage. The duty of keeping in touch with other historians and historical societies ought not to be called a duty. It is a pleasure composed of relations with people all over the State and elsewhere, cordial and congenial people similarly interested in history. Mr. Shepard and I (in line of duty and pleasure) attended the annual meeting of the Ohio Historical Society in Columbus, a special meeting of the Filson Club (Louisville) at the University of Kentucky, and the first annual meeting of the Ohio Institute of Local and State History in Newark. Meetings of the kind just mentioned demonstrate the desire of people all over the country to know more about their local and regional history. This is not the place to diagnose that sentiment, to ask the reason why. But the effect on our own Society can be recorded in a membership list that now shows a total of 932. In taking up acquisitions for the year, let me say that the business of collecting for the Society is an engaging sport, comparable to fly fishing. May I show you a few specimens? Two or three of them are genuine trophies. Manuscripts are the most exciting dish that can be put before a researcher, and we therefore attempt to acquire important manuscript collections of our region whenever possible. The market is competitive and high. But we have made a few purchases that are particularly satisfactory and gratifying: Hiram Powers ( ) carried on a prodigious correspondence. We have just acquired that section of his papers pertaining specifically to Cincinnati. It is comprised of 722 pieces; 531 letters from Cincinnatians to Hiram Powers, and 191 of his replies. The section is entitled "A Collection of Letters from Old Residents of Cincinnati to Hiram Powers." The letters of Nicholas Longworth and his family to Powers ( ) number 118, and of Powers' to Longworth ( ) there are 45. The second largest number are the letters of Miner K. Kellogg to Powers. Of these, dating from 1836 to 1851, there are 77, and of Powers' to Kellogg ( ), there are 40. Names of other writers include Salmon P. Chase, Dr. Daniel Drake, Jacob Hoffner, William K. Nixon, Thomas Buchanan Read, Reuben R. Springer, Alphonso Taft, and many other familiar names. News and gossip in the world of

6 66 The Bulletin art, social life, and politics characterize a good deal of the collection, and we are elated over this important acquisition. In 1873 the Society published the journal of Colonel John May, who came to the Ohio country on a trading venture in the spring of We have now bought the manuscript records of the Colonel. The collection includes: a copy of the 1788 journal varying somewhat from the bowdlerized printed version of 1873; the original account book of his operations at "Muskingum, Western Territory," May 9, 1788 to July, 1788; three small note books kept on a similar expedition to Ohio in 1789 describing his experiences there and his return trip to Boston; a family commonplace book with the title, "Colo. May's Orderly Book." Manuscripts of that early period on the Ohio River are genuine rarities, and we have added these to our collections with considerable satisfaction. The southwest corner of Fourteenth and Elm Street, Cincinnati, where the north wing of Music Hall now stands, was once the site of the Exposition Building. There, from 1870 through 1883, elaborate industrial fairs were given annually, with a hiatus from 1876 to We have bought a collection of 375 broadsides, advertisements, leaflets, pamphlets, programs, music, and other relics of those expositions. Early directories of Cincinnati are among the most useful books in the library. They date from 1819 and contain not only the names (sometimes the occupations and place of origin) of Cincinnati residents, but also a good deal of statistical information and advertising. A fine collection of these early directories recently became available, and we were able to buy them by means of a cash donation from Mr. James G. Parry. It is wise to duplicate important books that are in frequent use. A collection of papers from the family of Lewis Drake, early settler at Columbia, dates from 1799 to Among them are a Columbia tax list for the year 1808, a brief diary kept by Drake when serving as a waggoner in the War of 1812, and an account book of mercantile operations from 1799 to Among the maps bought this year are a manuscript of the Symmes purchase, dating from about 1795; the first map of Ohio, drawn by S. Lewis and engraved by A. Lawson (Arrowsmith and Lewis), Philadelphia, 1805; another, of the northern parts of the United States of America, by Abraham Bradley, corrected by the

7 The Annual Meeting of the Society 67 author (J. Moss), (Boston, 1797), in which the Old Northwest area is divided into five "States," closely corresponding to present Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin. As everyone knows, the William Henry Harrison campaign of 1840 was wild and jubilant. For display purposes, we have acquired a handsome relic of that campaign a banner in superb condition, 7 x 10 feet, illustrated on both sides. The hero of Tippecanoe is shown with his hand on the plow drawn by two white horses, on the other side the American eagle flying high with a "Tip. Ty. Tom and Nat" streamer. It is a heroic memento of a campaign that set the pattern for many to follow, campaigns conducted with noise and slogans. The broadside is another recruit to our James Albert Green-William Henry Harrison Collection. To choose two or three books from the 180 or more acquired this year is difficult. However, on the basis of fundamental worth and usefulness, these two probably deserve the prize: the George Mercer Papers, relating to the Ohio Company of Virginia (1954); and the Pennsylvania Magazine of History Index to Volumes A handsome broadside of the Ohio Fair held in September, 1857 measures six feet by three and is embellished with a parade of farm animals and farm machinery inside the elaborate border. Another broadside, approximately four feet by two, announces the election of officers of the Young Men's Democratic Club of Hamilton County on April 16, Among the candidates are Frank M. Gorman, Charles T. Greve, Robert B. Bowler, D. S. Oliver, Guy Mallon, and A. C. Gilligan. A collection of manuscript letters and miscellaneous documents pertaining to the family of Thomas Edwin Smith ( ) of Waynesville, Ohio. The most valuable part of this collection is the 219 letters written by Thomas Edwin Smith to various members of his family. Most of these were written during the period of the War Between the States and at a time when Smith was serving as an officer of Company H, 79th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. But there are also letters dating before 1859 and continuing into the immediate post war period. Smith marched through Georgia with Sherman; and here we have an intimate account of his experiences on that march. The collection comes to the Society as a gift from Miss Marie McKay Smith of Denver, Colorado, granddaughter of Thomas Edwin Smith.

8 68 The Quarterly Bulletin It is evident, of course, that this report is neither statistical nor complete. Primarily, its purpose is to mention and evaluate some of this year's activities, and thus to familiarize members with the general program of the Society. In conclusion, let me say that in terms of acquisitions, money, membership, and in the quality of the publications, the present state of the Society is undoubtedly the best in its long history. But these achievements actually are rather moderate, measured against what is possible. Further substantial improvements in the operations and value of the Society can be made. Here are two specific means of doing so: (1) by special gifts of money to buy rare books and valuable manuscript collections as they come on the market; (2) by contributions (large and small) to the revivified and growing building fund. Thus, at a time when public interest in local and regional history is expanding luxuriantly, we may discharge two obligations: one, to historical scholarship, by continuing to enrich this magnificent library; the other, to take steps toward the eventual construction of a proper building, where public curiosity about our local history could be adequately gratified. It is fair to say that in these two directions, as well as others, the Society has moved forward during the present year. With your assistance, in the years to come, that movement can become a fine spectacle, a royal progress.