REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR FOR 1956

The year 1956, as all members are aware, marked the 125thanniversary of the Society. In 1831 it was more difficult than itis now to keep a historical society afloat. How difficult, may beseen in the very early minutes of this one. Few were the partici-pants, and the level of interest even among those few fluctuatederratically. Yet in every generation one or two devoted and deter-mined officers managed to keep it not merely afloat but sometimessailing.

In contrast, at present it is no great trick to start a local histori-cal society and museum, for in almost every part of the UnitedStates there is a growing appetite for popular history on the stateand local level. In response, historical societies are growing thatnever grew before.

Naturally, our own society has become the beneficiary — ifonly indirectly — of this desire of people to see historical objects,to visit historical sites, and to learn something of the Americanpast. For that desire creates a climate in which a society such asours, having extraordinary library resources, is encouraged toperform its purposes more fully: to gather and safeguard accuratehistorical material, to make it readily available to researchers, andto familiarize the reading and looking public with the history ofthis region.

But an account of the Society's activities for the past year willgive a clearer view of what is meant, and at the same time willindicate the variety of our exertions.

SOCIETY ACTIVITIES FOR MEMBERS

Spring ExhibitionIn recognition of the 125th year of the Society, members

gathered at the Taft Museum for the Spring Exhibition and re-ception the evening of April 26th. On this occasion the wall andcase displays were drawn entirely from the Society's collections,and the brilliant result in historical wealth surprised even some ofthe trustees and staff. An excellent punch added charm to theevening.

Annual MeetingAt the Annual Meeting and reception (December 3,1956), held

for the last three years at the Cincinnati Art Museum, Mr. Lucien

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Wulsin conducted the brief business meeting, and the board oftrustees were re-elected on the recommendation of the nominatingcommittee: Messrs. William A. Mitchell, Chairman, Robert A.Cline and William J. Reardon. Mr. Wulsin then introduced thespeaker, Mr. Bernhard Knollenberg, historian and former librarianof Yale University, who was greeted by an enthusiastic audienceof two hundred and seventy members and guests. Mr. Knollen-berg's talk was entitled "Causes and Growth of ColonialDiscontent, 1759-65." Mrs. Lucien Wulsin was in charge ofhospitality and the reception following the program.

The BulletinMr. Lee Shepard's purpose as editor of the Bulletin is to offer

members of the Society and others a historical quarterly devotedto the old Northwest Territory, the State of Ohio and the areaaround Cincinnati. What we are trying to produce is a quarterlythat can answer a jury of historians and at the same time attractthe intelligent reading public. For fourteen years the editor,associate editors, and contributors have striven to bring aboutthat result. In 1956 the Bulletin came to a total of 332 pages.Possibly the most attractive yet produced is the 125th birthdaynumber for April, 1956. Certainly it is an accurate source ofinformation on the Society and its library holdings.

The News LetterAs an informal means of telling the members about events in

the Society and to thank donors the News Letter is publishedtwice or more a year. Number 15 came out in March, 1956 andnumber 16 in October. The title is somewhat stereotyped and wehope to find something better than "News Letter" to designate it.

The CruiseMembers who were not on board the Delta Queen for the Ox-Bow

Bends Cruise, June 15-18, have either heard about it from friendsor read about it in the October News Letter. Congenial companyand a chance to see the Ohio at the top of its beauty made the tripa memorable event. It really is beautiful Ohio.

THE SOCIETY PARTICIPATESLuncheon, etc.

In late May the American Association of Museums met inCincinnati for business and a round of parties, headquarters being

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the Cincinnati Art Museum. Our Society joined the Ohio His-torical Society (Columbus) in entertaining the delegates at abuffet luncheon party at the Museum on May 27. This was madepossible by the generosity of two of our trustees. Fine weatheradded to the gaiety and attracted many guests to the courtyard.When the Taft Museum gave a tea for the delegates the followingafternoon our Spring Exhibition was still on display and evidentlywas enjoyed by many visitors.

Memorial

The Old North West Territory's great history has not yet beenmemorialized in the grand manner. Of the six states formed fromthe Territory, not one has an adequate park or museum specificallydevoted to that purpose. Cincinnati is the natural place for such adevelopment. With this as an object the Society is cooperatingclosely with two committees: The Mayor's Northwest Territory—Anthony Wayne Memorial Commission and the Fort Washingtonand Memorial Museum Committee. Trustees and members ofthe Society are active on both committees and it is hoped thatpublic enthusiasm for historical sites and museums will enable theCity to become the new capital of the Old Northwest Territory.

Delegates

When the Chicago Historical Society celebrated its centennialbirthday on April 24 with a program, luncheon and gala dinner,officers of our Society were invited. Mr. and Mrs. Lee Shepardrepresented this Society for the occasion, taking with them thefelicitations of the trustees to Mr. Hermon Dunlap Smith, Presi-dent of the Chicago Historical Society.

Television

Mr. Herbert F. Koch, a trustee of the Society since 1943, hasrecently completed a new series of broadcasts on WKRC-TVentitled "Sagas of Cincinnati." As implied in the title, Mr. Kochrecounted with dramatic effect many historical episodes in the lifeof Cincinnati, illustrating with pictures and museum objectsdrawn from the Society's collections. This program is an exampleof what educational television can do to stimulate further interestin regional history.

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THE LIBRARY

Members of the Society, of course, have occasion to visit thelibrary from time to time or to call on the staff for information butthey comprise only a fraction of those who do so. Perhaps a fewexamples will give some notion of the variety of requests and uses:(1) A growing demand on the collections, especially the newspaperfiles and pictures, is coming from writers preparing corporation andinstitutional histories or anniversary books of many kinds. (2) Atthe request of the Mayor the library staff is preparing a gallery ofportraits including the mayors of Cincinnati from 1815 to thepresent — four or five have not yet been found. The pictures willbe placed around the walls of the mayor's office as a permanentrecord and display. (3) Rare books, pictures and small modelsare frequently wanted for window displays and for televisionprograms. (4) Libraries such as the Cincinnati Public and theUniversity of Cincinnati and others draw on our collection forexhibition and supplementary material: valentines, Christmascards, pictures, theatrical handbills, political posters, banners andrelated items. We combined with the Public Library in threeexhibits during the year. Valentines, political cartoons, and adisplay of manuscripts (mostly on historical buildings) were shownin the Public Library's handsome new exhibition gallery. (5) Oc-casionally, commerical artists call on the library in the preparationof designs and illustrations. Often we are able to satisfy suchrequests with old book illustrations, woodcuts, lithographs andother media. (6) Requests for specific information come over thetelephone, and the staff is frequently able to supply the answerfrom reference catalogues or elsewhere, making a trip to the libraryunnecessary for the inquirer. (7) Information of many kinds canbe derived from the pamphlet collection, which consists of about25,000 unbound items. Since these contain much material that isusually discarded after its temporary use (ephemera), the collec-tion is very valuable. In this section are included theatre andmusic programs, subjects of perennial interest. During 1955 and1956 Miss Lillian C. Wuest, assistant librarian, catalogued orre-catalogued 9000 pamphlets, of which 823 are programs. Thesemay now be found under the title of the production, the actor oractress, the theatre and the date. (8) Both the Library of theUniversity of Cincinnati and the Public Library of Cincinnati

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and Hamilton County now have on cards reproduced from micro-film seventeen thousand main cards from the Society's catalogue.When combined with their own catalogues these cards will enableresearchers to locate, with minimum pain, titles in our collection.They can then come to the Society library confident of gettingwhat they want. Co-operation of this kind among libraries en-courages research and scholarship.

Possibly the most substantial value of the library in theacademic world comes, however, from its manuscripts and news-papers. Students, professional writers, historians and scholarscome here to work on a wide range of subjects related to the historyof this region. Sometimes they work in the library for weeks ormonths, sometimes for only short periods. In either case membersof the staff take satisfaction in making their stay congenial andin providing every possible assistance. Acknowledgment of aidin authors' books is one of the pleasant compensations for thestaff; another is the solid gratification that comes when we canmake it possible for people of similar interest to meet here in thelibrary and talk together about their world of study and research.

ACQUISITIONS

ManuscriptsThe most satisfactory way to give assistance to a research his-

torian, however, is by providing him with primary source materialin his field; hence our constant effort to add to the manuscriptcollections of the library. Several collections of special virtuewere given to the Society in 1956. Brief descriptions of four ofthese may be of value.

Agnes Anderson CollectionOn August 24, 1781, disaster fell on Colonel Archibald Lochry

(variously spelled) and his volunteers at a spot on the Ohio nearAurora, Indiana. With about 100 men the Colonel had come downthe Ohio, attempting to join forces with George Rogers Clark foran attack on Detroit. But Clark was traveling fast and no junc-tion was formed. On that August day Lochry's party went ashoreto graze their horses on the right bank at a site since calledLaughrey (Lochry) Creek.

Immediately on landing they were met by a murderous firefrom a band of Indians in ambush, led by Chief Brant and George

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Girty. One third of Lochry's men were killed. Sixty-four sur-rendered, some of whom, including the Colonel, were later mur-dered. One of the survivors of this disaster was Captain IsaacAnderson, whose diary comes to the Society as a gift of his de-scendant, Miss Agnes Anderson. Captain Anderson subsequentlyescaped from his captivity and later settled in Hamilton and ButlerCounties, Ohio. The diary has been three times printed but withvariations from the original manuscript, whose whereabout formany years was unknown to researchers. Published versions arelong since out of print and a new edition is desirable. Unpublishedparts of the diary and other family papers are included in MissAnderson's gift.

The Gwynne Family PapersPresent-day Cincinnatians are familiar with the Gwynne

family name principally because of the Gwynne Building at thenortheast corner of 6th and Main Streets. Until recently theProcter and Gamble Co. maintained their general offices in thatbuilding. But the name was more intimately known here duringthe time when Major David Gwynne, his son Abraham Evan,and their families lived in Cincinnati — from the 1820's until1855.

The family papers presented to the Society by Mr. William E.Shepherd, a descendant now living in Washington, consists ofabout 900 items. They are indexed and arranged in four boxes:(1) correspondence, (2) business and legal documents in manu-script, (3) printed business and legal documents, printed legalforms, (4) miscellany.

Hundreds of names occur: Nicholas Longworth, ThomasCarneal, various Piatts and Burnets, various Pughs, BellamyStorer, Reuben R. Springer, Rufus King, etc.

Politics, social life, steamboats, traveling, and legal actionsare frequent subjects.

Ellen H. Newton CollectionEllen H. Newton, daughter of John Marshall Newton and

Lavinia Murdoch Newton, died at the age of 87 years on Febru-ary 11, 1956, at 5667 Belmont Avenue, College Hill, her residencefor seventy years. Miss Newton was an ardent student andreader, devoting herself to a wide range of learning includingEnglish translations of the Bible and illuminated manuscripts.

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At the time of Miss Newton's death the Society was givenaccess to the large accumulation of books, papers, and relics ather College Hill residence. Through the courtesy of Miss FlorenceMurdoch and Mr. Wallace S. Espy, cousins of Miss Newton, wehave thus acquired a desirable collection of pictures, books, pam-phlets, newspapers and manuscripts. One series of diaries kept byMiss Newton in the years about the turn of the century are espe-cially valuable for their glimpses of social life and customs in Cin-cinnati sixty years ago.

Robert 0. Strong Collection"July 25th (1816) 3 o'clock P.M. About 40 ladies met at the

house of Jacob Burnet Esq. in order to form themselves into asociety. The Revd. J. Crane opened the meeting by imploringa blessing on the efforts and labours of the assembly about to openthis institution."

So begins the official organization of the Female AuxiliaryBible Society of Cincinnati, in the minute book I am holding. It isa leather bound folio volume containing the transactions from 1816to 1827. Among the first officers were Mrs. Charlotte ChambersRisk (widow of Israel Ludlow), Mrs. Rebecca Allison (widow ofDr. Richard Allison), Mrs. John Smith, Mrs. Joshua L. Wilson,Mrs. Samuel Davies, Mrs. A. Kenny, Mrs. Submit R. Strong.Over 125 names are found in the first list of lady subscribers tothe Bible Society.

Five months later the Dorcas Society was formed at "theHouse of Mrs. Piatt on Broadway," its purpose being to aid "thepoor of this city." The manuscript constitution and minutes ofthe Dorcas Society are contained in another folio volume now inour collection.

Since these two records ante-date the first Cincinnati Directory(1819), they evidently provide another pool of names for re-searchers. Going through these old volumes and discovering therescores of familiar faces is an absorbing occupation.

Coming to the Society as a gift of Mrs. Robert 0. Strong andthe late Mr. Strong, they comprise only part of the collection, butthese are the items most intimately related to Cincinnati. Inaddition, there are the naval journals (1823-1826) of AugustusStrong, textbooks on navigation, mathematics, and related sub-jects. These latter relics provide a vivid picture of the life and

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education of a young midshipman during the days of wind andsail.

PICTURES

WatercolorsSeven watercolors of Cincinnati subjects have come to the

Society by the generosity of Mrs. Russell Wilson, who com-missioned students at the Cincinnati Art Academy to make thesestudies. As the collection of contemporary scenes continues togrow in this way many interesting comparisons can be made be-tween the city of the past and the present. It may be addedthat many features of the city just now are changing at a highrate. "The present" in many areas of Cincinnati is very ephemeraland therefore should be promptly recorded as art and history.

Photographs, etc.As a gift of Mr. William J. Schorr at the request of

Mr. Lawrence C. Bucher we have come into possession of a collec-tion of Cincinnati street scenes, buildings, parks, and events(mostly of the 1890's). These are photographs and postal cardsamounting to 740 items. They make a significant addition to thepictorial records of the library.

THE STAFF

The staff of the library now comprises four full-time and threepart-time members, occupied with a wide range of duties, seden-tary and ambulating.

In October the director ambulated up to Lima, Ohio, to attendthe Ohio Institute on State and Local History; in November hewent to Columbus for the American Indian Ethno-historicalConference.

Mrs. Hook, the librarian, on April 28 attended the AnnualMeeting and dinner of the Ohio Historical Society in Columbusand in June went to Pittsburgh for a meeting of the SpecialLibraries Association. In October she attended a session of theSociety of American Archivists in Washington.

Mr. Robert Herron, University of Cincinnati '54, now homefrom military duty in Hawaii, has joined the staff as assistant tothe editor of the Bulletin and curator of manuscripts.

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CONCLUSIONAt the end of its 125th year the Society is in satisfactory health,

which does not mean that the trustees and staff are complacent.We have a formidable list of desires: variegated, expensive, andnot immediately attainable.

But the present state of interest in regional history throughoutthe nation, and the quality of the membership of this Society giveample reason to believe that many of those desires and ambitionscan be gratified in the near future.