This morning I read an article on the life of Henry Howe, the definitive historian of 19th Century Ohio. I have deep roots in Ohio, so this was of personal interest.

Henry Howe, eyewitness to history

It might be fair to call Howe the “Thucydides of Ohio History”. In the 1840s, when many of the “pioneers” were still alive, he visited almost every corner of the state talking to people, gathering information, anecdotes and drawing sketches that were included in his history.

He was the first American to fund a book’s authorship with pre-sales.

Prior to the Ohio history, he had followed the same plan for New York, antebellum Virginia and several other states.

At the very outbreak of the Civil War (April, 1861) he published the unfortunately named “Our Whole Country” after 4 years and 18,000 miles of travel.

I’m a fan of contemporary, primary sources. I think you would be hard pressed to find someone more well traveled and with more eye-witness accounts of 19th century America.

In the 1880s Howe repeated his travels throughout Ohio and published and updated history of Ohio in 3 volumes. I think I still have a family copy in the closet with all the “family things” that have come down to me via the generations.

My Ohio History Connections

My family has had some connections to important events and movements in the state:

• Marietta: My personal history in Ohio goes back to it’s very founding. My Great-Great-Great grandfather Simon Porter was one of the group that founded Marietta, the first town in the northwest territory. You can read about that in David McCullough’s “The Pioneers”

• The Abolition Movement: One my ancestors attended the Lane Seminary in Cincinnati the year of that the anti-slavery debates there led to riots and the cession of most of the student body to Oberlin college the next year. The president of the Lane Seminary was one Lyman Beecher, father of Harriet Beecher-Stow of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” fame. I have a handwritten notebook entitled “Dr. Beecher’s Lectures on Theology”

• The Underground Railroad: My Great-great grandfather ran a stop on the underground railroad in his barn about a days walk north of Marietta. It was likely the 2nd stop northward for those “illegal immigrants” heading for Canada after crossing the Ohio River (no small feat). We have a 1920s newspaper article written by my great grandmother describing how they obstructed slave catchers and gave them the run-around.

• The Civil War: My great grandfather was in an Ohio regiment of Union army and saw action (and dug graves) at Vicksburg and other locations.

The history connection has continued in recent and current generations:

• Dad’s Ohio Travels and the Ohio Historical Society: My father spent 2 or 3 years as a photographer taking pictures of events around the state for the “Wonderful World of Ohio” magazine, likely following in many of Howe’s footsteps 80+ years later. He then spent 25 years working at the Ohio Historical Society microfilming newspapers from the 19th and 20th centuries, preserving local history and genealogy, as well as some of the papers of President Harding.

• My own travels: Over the years I’ve visited many Ohio history sites including Serpent Mound, the Wright Brothers aviation sites in Dayton, the Neil Armstrong (1st moon landing) museum, Geologic sites such a glacial grooves and Flint ridge and the homes of presidents. I witnessed baseball history in person when Cincinnati native Pete Rose (d. 2024) got hit 4,192 to pass Ty Cobb on the all-time hit list.

• Teaching history today: My son currently teaches history at a high school in Ohio. A week or so ago, we visited the new Great Council State Park, associated with the Shawnee chief Tecumseh and Daniel Boone.

Where does this leave us?

I’m glad I have some of the historical context around the state I grew up in and my family. It reminds me that nobody’s perfect and there are always challenges in life. I’ve never had to disobey the law to do what was right (hiding run-away slaves). I’ve never had to go to war. I’ve never had to float down the Ohio river on a flatboat looking for a place to live (and, yes, there are other perspectives on all these stories.) I’m glad Dad spent his career preserving the stories of people all over the state microfilming newspapers. I hope my son is able to pass on the love for history that has come down to me though the generations.

What history connections do you have? How do you benefit from what you know?