Ohio Archives and Libraries Awarded Preservation and Digitization Grants

The Ohio Historical Records Advisory Board (OHRAB) announces it has awarded grants to eight institutions to support archival projects. The funded projects include organizing and preserving historical records and cataloging and digitizing records for improved access. The grants are funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), an arm of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).

• Delaware County Historical Society: Delaware County Historical Records Cataloging and Preservation Project ($720.00)
• German Township (Fulton County): Historic German Township Records Processing and Preservation Project ($2,000.00)
• Historical Society of Mount Pleasant: Arrangement and Preservation of Genealogical Records ($954.00)
• Hudson Library and Historical Society: Preserving and Improving Access to Hudson, Ohio Historic Photographs ($1,838.00)
• Shaker Historical Society: Elizabeth Nord Research Library & Archives Map and Stereoview Collections Preservation and Reorganization ($888.00)
• University of Akron: Digitization of the Daniel Guggenheim Airship Institute Technical Reports ($1,980.00)
• Welsh American Heritage Museum: Access and Preservation of Historical Records at the Welsh-American Heritage Museum ($1,967.00)
• Wyandot County Historical Society: Wyandot County Historical Society Photographic Collection Storage Project ($653.00)

The Ohio Historical Records Advisory Board is the central body for historical records planning in the state. Board members are appointed by the governor and represent Ohio’s public and private archives, records offices, and research institutions.  Administrative responsibility for the board rests with the Ohio Historical Society Museum and Library Services Division. The board also acts as the state-level review body for grants submitted to the NHPRC, in accordance with that commission’s guidelines.

Collections Cataloged and Available

The Manuscripts and Visual Resources Team at the Ohio Historical Society is pleased to announce that a variety of collections are now cataloged and available to researchers. These original manuscript and photographic collections are housed at the Ohio History Center. They are available for use in the Research Room during open hours.

To find out more about the collections on the list, please go to the Manuscripts, Audiovisual and State Archives database in our Online Collections Catalog. You can search for collections by the call number or keywords in the title.

Senator Bob Taft standing next to Republican party worker Martha Wheatcraft and other supporters at a presidential campaign rally, 1950.

AP 1981 George W. Hildt Ambrotype
AV 260 Marguerite Reilley Collection
MSS 632 AV Robert D. Greer Papers Audiovisual Series
MSS 833 Martha Wheatcraft Papers
MSS 833 AV Martha Wheatcraft Papers Photograph Series
MSS 943 St. John’s Church Records
MSS 943 AV St. John’s Church Records Photograph Series
MSS 1514 Buckeye Steel Castings Records
MSS 1515 Jane Wood Jones Diaries
OVS 7431 Retirement Card
OVS 7435 Grant Boyhood Home Photograph
OVS 7436 Crosley Automobile Advertisement
SC 1445 Shelby, Ohio
VFM 5920 Teaching Certificate
VFM 5921 Hulda Wilhemina Schoenke Confirmation Certificate
VOL 1567 Fanny M. Smith Diary

Cemeteries and the Family Historian

There is still time to register for Cemeteries and the Family Historian

.

Cemeteries are thought of as very peaceful places. It is easy to go in, snap a couple of pictures, and leave. Like any other record, tombstones require evaluation; further, they can give clues when taken in context with the neighboring grave markers around them. Come find out how to collect biographical details that go beyond birth and death dates carved into stone.

Date: May 11, 2013

Time: 10 AM – 12 PM

Location: Ohio History Center

Register online here or call 614-297-2510.

Ohio History Central Gets a New Look!

Check out the new Ohio History Central, the online encyclopedia of Ohio history!

Ohio History Central includes information about Ohio’s natural history, prehistory, and history. We (as in our hard working web manager) recently migrated the encyclopedia to our new web site platform. Articles are researched and written by Historical Society staff. We are really excited because moving the site will make it much easier for our educators and curators to update content and add new articles.

You can search by keyword or browse by topic using the alphabetical index. For fun there is a feature called ‘Random Page.’ Click on the ‘Navigation’ bar, then ‘Random Page’ and see what comes up. My first ‘Random Page’ was about the Zoarites, a group of German separatists who settled in Tuscarawas County and founded a communal society. The second page that I got was about the coal mining industry in Ohio. Next I retrieved a page about the Ohio Turnpike Commission. You will find a great diversity of article topics and that many are illustrated with images from the Society’s image collections.

Print depicting the village of Zoar founded in 1817 by German separatists.

The encyclopedia is evolving and dynamic. As we work to make improvements, we welcome your suggestions, questions, and other feedback. Write to us at ohc@ohiohistory.org.

OHS in the News

Adena Human Effigy Pipe on its way to becoming Ohio’s state artifact. Read more about it!

Adena Human Effigy Pipe

Columbus School for Girls’ Persistence Pays Off for Adena Pipe

American Indian Pipe Likely to become Ohio’s Official Artifact

New Historical Marker

Lincoln Funeral Train Marker to be Dedicated May 18 in Urbana

More Access to Historic Newspapers

Creating a National Newspaper Collection Online

War of 1812 Remembered

Siege mentality: Ohio’s Fort Meigs Marks Battle’s Bicentennial

Historic Photography Collections being Found, Identified

Help Needed with Historical Picture Puzzle

Found at Auction: The Unseen Photographs of a Legend that Never Was

Combing Columbus

Mary Jo Bole, participant in the 2013 I Found It in the Archives contest, is publishing the book, Combing Columbus, that incorporates material found in the course of her research in the OHS Archives/Library. She was commissioned by Finding Time: Public Art 2012 to make an artists book for the Columbus bicentennial. She describes the book, which consists of 52 paintings, as “… a look at Columbus without rose colored glasses and a look to the underbelly of this place I now call home.” Joe Blundo featured her book in his column in the April 7th Sunday Dispatch, Book Offers Squirrelly Trivia of City

She notes that manuscript and visual resources in the OHS archives were very valuable in helping her illustrate some concepts. For example, to flesh out four pages related to the now demolished Ohio Penitentiary Ms. Bole found early books about prison labor and photographs by Jack Rosenfeld in the Ohio Penitentiary Salvage Photograph Collection, call number AV 35, to be helpful. (Click here to see the inventory for this collection.)

Artwork from Combing Columbus inspired by images from the Ohio Penitentiary Salvage Photograph Collection.

Another subject fleshed out by material in the OHS archives was the Columbus business community. Ms. Bole used the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce Records, call number MSS 177, in her research and describes them as “…the WONDERFUL, WACKY Chamber of Commerce manuscript boxes, , through the 60′s, just incredible… I couldn’t wait to paint what I saw!” (Click here to see the inventory for this collection.)

Artwork from Combing Columbus inspired by the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce Records.

If you want to hear more about Combing Columbus, Mary Jo Bole will be giving a talk about her book:

Date: Wednesday, April 17th

Place: Wexner Center for the Arts

Time: 4 PM

We Have a Winner for Ohio Memory Madness

Thank you to everyone who voted in the inaugural season of Ohio Memory Madness!

This year’s tournament has now concluded, and our winner—in a come-from-behind, last minute surge of voting—was Tecumseh, who edged out the win over John Glenn at 53.2% to 46.8%!

Many pairings over the course of the previous five rounds were hotly contested, with one victory decided by less than 1%. There were some upsets (Florence over Warren G. Harding in round one!) as well as several more predictable outcomes. To no one’s surprise, Woody Hayes beat Bo Schembechler by about 60 percentage points. Many aspects of Ohio’s history were well-represented all the way through the tournament, with a final four that included President and General U.S. Grant, Native American Leader Tecumseh, Author Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Astronaut and Senator John Glenn. Visit http://www.ohiohistoryhost.org/madness/results.php to see the results of each round in more detail.

Our winner, Tecumseh, is a major figure in Ohio history and U.S. history on a broader scale. Born near Chillicothe in 1768, Tecumseh was a member of the Shawnee tribe who played a key role in the Pan-Indian Movement just prior to Ohio’s founding. He worked to unite the Native American tribes of the First Nations against the encroachment of American settlers on their ancestral lands, and joined forces with the British during the War of 1812 to defend their territory from U.S. settlement. Killed in battle with American forces in 1813, Tecumseh is still remembered as a powerful military and political leader for his people, and a symbol of resistance in Native American history.

Staff have been thrilled with the level of response from Ohio Memory Madness participants, so a big thank you to all who participated these past few weeks! Thanks also to all of you who celebrate and promote Ohio’s amazing history all year round. We look forward to seeing you for Ohio Memory Madness 2014!