Description: This photograph shows a large crowd of people listening to a speech by presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan in Parkersburg, West Virginia, September 1896. Bryan was campaigning for president on the Democratic ticket, and over the course of that campaign delivered 500 speeches across 27 states. He was narrowly defeated for office in the popular vote by William McKinley. Bryan would run for president again in 1900, attacking President William McKinley for involving the United States in the Spanish American War. After losing a third bid for the presidency in 1908, he would go on to serve as secretary of state under Woodrow Wilson. This photograph was taken by traveling photographer Albert J. Ewing, ca. 1896-1912. Like most of Ewing's work, it was likely taken in southeastern Ohio or central West Virginia. Born in 1870 in Washington County, Ohio, near Marietta, Ewing most likely began his photography career in the 1890s. The 1910 US Census and a 1912-1913 directory list him as a photographer. A negative signed "Ewing Brothers" and a picture with his younger brother, Frank, indicate that Frank may have joined the business. After 1916, directories list Albert as a salesman. He died in 1934. The Ewing Collection consists of 5,055 glass plate negatives, each individually housed and numbered. Additionally, the collection includes approximately 450 modern contact prints made from the glass plate negatives. Subjects include infants and young children, elderly people, families, school and religious groups, animals and rural scenes. In 1982, the Ohio Historical Society received the collection, still housed in the original dry plate negative boxes purchased by Albert J. Ewing. A selection of the original glass plate negatives were exhibited for the first time in 2013 at the Ohio Historical Center. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AV71_b06_f371
Subjects: Presidential campaigns; Photography--History; Politicians; Ewing, Albert J. (1870-1934);
Places: Parkersburg (West Virginia)
 

Description: This photograph showing a couple's portrait tacked on the wall was taken by traveling photographer Albert J. Ewing, ca. 1896-1912. Like most of Ewing's work, it was likely taken in southeastern Ohio or central West Virginia. The original photograph is identified by the photographer "Welch" of Parkersburg, West Virginia. Born in 1870 in Washington County, Ohio, near Marietta, Ewing most likely began his photography career in the 1890s. The 1910 US Census and a 1912-1913 directory list him as a photographer. A negative signed "Ewing Brothers" and a picture with his younger brother, Frank, indicate that Frank may have joined the business. After 1916, directories list Albert as a salesman. He died in 1934. The Ewing Collection consists of 5,055 glass plate negatives, each individually housed and numbered. Additionally, the collection includes approximately 450 modern contact prints made from the glass plate negatives. Subjects include infants and young children, elderly people, families, school and religious groups, animals and rural scenes. In 1982, the Ohio Historical Society (now the Ohio History Connection) received the collection, still housed in the original dry plate negative boxes purchased by Ewing. A selection of the original glass plate negatives were exhibited for the first time in 2013 at the Ohio History Center. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AV71_B19_F1370
Subjects: Ewing, Albert J. (1870-1934); Photographers--Ohio; Portrait photography--United States--History
Places: Ohio; West Virginia
 

Description: Harman Blennerhasset's mansion on the Ohio River, ca. 1820-1829. In 1798, Irish native Harman Blennerhassett (1764-1862) settled and built a mansion on an island in the middle of the Ohio River. In 1805 he conspired with Aaron Burr to rebel against the United States. Using Blennerhassett's home as a staging ground, they plotted to form a new country with the western United States. When the government learned about this plan, the Ohio and Virginia militias were sent to stop boat traffic on the Ohio and Muskingum Rivers and seize the Blennerhassett home. Today, the restored mansion on Blennerhassett Island is a tourist attraction which visitors approach from West Virginia's Parkersburg Point Park via a paddlewheel boat. The lithograph was all first published in 1848 in Samuel Prescott Hildreth's book "Pioneer History" (Pioneer History: Being an Account of the First Examinations of the Ohio Valley, and the Early Settlement of the Northwest Territory ; Chiefly from Original Manuscripts). View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL03933
Subjects: Blennerhassett Island (W. Va.); Ohio History--Settlement and Early Statehood; Blennerhassett, Harman, 1765-1831
Places: Marietta (Ohio); Washington County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photographic reproduction of an engraving depicts the Blennerhassett Mansion, home of lawyer, planter, and politician Harman Blennerhassett (1765-1831). The artist who created the original pencil sketch in 1804 was an unknown Frenchman. The mansion achieved notoriety for being the headquarters of the so-called Burr Conspiracy, an attempt by Aaron Burr, former vice president of the United States, to aid the establish of a second empire in the Southwest. As depicted here, the mansion was a two-story structure with a curved, one-story wing extending from both sides. The property is lined with mature trees and fencing. A group of farm animals (cattle) are grazing opposite the walkway that runs parallel to the house. Barely visible in the lower right corner of the illustration is the name of one of New York’s largest engraving firms, Lossing and Barritt. In 1797, Blennerhassett, a wealthy Irish-born aristocrat, moved with his wife to Marietta, Ohio, where they purchased 174 acres of land on an island in the Ohio River. The land formerly belonged to George Washington. The island is located near Belpre, Ohio, and Parkersburg, West Virginia. The Blennerhassetts intended to make the island their home. During their first years on the island, the Blennerhassetts lived in a blockhouse. In 1800, they moved into a mansion, where the couple lived the life of the wealthy. The Blennerhasetts were well known for their hospitality, and many travelers down the Ohio River stopped at the couple’s home. Their most famous guest was Burr. In 1805 and 1806, the Blennerhassetts assisted Burr in his scheme to break away the western part of the United States to form a new country that he would lead. The federal government heard rumors of the uprising and sent a detachment of Virginia militia to seize the Blennerhassetts' island. Harman Blennerhassett was in hiding; his wife was away in Marietta. When she returned, she discovered that the militiamen had ransacked the home, and she fled with her three children. Her husband was arrested a few weeks later, but he quickly gained his release. The Blennerhassetts briefly returned to their mansion, but now destitute, they sought their fortunes in Mississippi. Their former island home, now under new ownership, burned in 1811. During the 1980s the mansion was reconstructed on its original foundations. The island is now a West Virginia state park. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL05828
Subjects: Blennerhassett Island (W. Va.); Blennerhassett, Harman, 1765-1831; Burr, Aaron, 1756-1836; Burr Conspiracy, 1805-1807; Ohio History--Settlement and Early Statehood
Places: Blennerhassett Island (West Virginia)
 

Description: This image of Harman Blennerhassett (1765-1831) is photographic reproduction of an engraving by Alexander Hay Ritchie (1822-1895). The head-and-shoulders portrait depicts Blennerhassett as young man with wavy hair, large eyes, and a rather prominent nose. Just below the bottom of the oval image is the caption “Engd by A.H. Ritchie” and located further down is a reproduction of Blennerhassett’s signature. Ritchie’s engraving closely resembles a digital image that is in the collection of the New York Public Library (ID 113981). A typeset caption on that image reads: “Harman Blennerhassett, from a miniature taken in London in 1796.” If that information is correct, then the miniature was created when Blennerhassett was about 31 years old. Blennerhassett and his wife, Margaret, achieved notoriety for their association with Aaron Burr, former vice president of the United States, and for their involvement in the Burr Conspiracy. The Blennerhassetts’ surviving legacy and a symbol of their legendary hospitality is the mansion they built on Blennerhassett Island, located in the middle of the Ohio River near what is now Parkersburg, West Virginia Blennerhassett, a wealthy Irish aristocrat, and his niece, Margaret Agnew (ca. 1778-1842) created a scandal when they married. The exact date of their wedding is not known, but Margaret was likely in her late teens at the time of the nuptials. Margaret was the daughter of Robert Agnew, lieutenant governor of the Isle of Man. She was an intelligent, well-educated young woman with linguistic and literary talent. The closely related couple flouted legal, religious, and social conventions by marrying. The couple left England for the United States during the late 1790s and eventually moved to Marietta, Ohio. In 1797 they purchased 174 acres of land on an island in the Ohio River. The land formerly belonged to George Washington. During their first years on the island, the Blennerhassetts lived in a blockhouse until a permanent home was ready. In 1800 they moved into their new home, a mansion, where the couple lived the life of the wealthy. The Blennerhasetts were famous for their hospitality, and many travelers down the Ohio River stopped at the couple’s home. Their most famous guest was Burr, whom they met in 1805 when he visited the island. In 1805 and 1806, the Blennerhassetts assisted Burr in his scheme to break away the western part of the United States and form a new country that he would lead. The federal government heard rumors of the uprising and sent a detachment of Virginia militia to seize the Blennerhassetts' island. Harman Blennerhassett was in hiding; his wife was away in Marietta. When she returned, she discovered that the militiamen had ransacked the home, and she fled with her children. Her husband was arrested a few weeks later, but he quickly gained his release. The Blennerhassetts briefly returned to their mansion, but now destitute, they sought their fortunes in Mississippi, where Harman raised cotton to support the family. An embargo during the War of 1812 brought more financial hardship. In 1819 the family moved to Canada, where Harman tried unsuccessfully to establish a law firm. Margaret and their surviving children remained in Canada when Harman moved to Ireland in 1821 to pursue an old legal claim. He settled on the Isle of Guernsey. His family left the United States in 1825 to live with Harman on the Isle of Guernsey, where he died in 1831. Alexander Hay Ritchie (1822-1895) was an artist and engraver who was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and studied under Scottish artist Sir William Allan. Ritchie moved to New York in 1841 and established a studio there. He specialized in mezzotints, engravings, and etchings. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL05839
Subjects: Blennerhassett, Harman, 1765-1831; Blennerhassett, Margaret, ca. 1778-1842; Burr Conspiracy, 1805-1807; Burr, Aaron, 1756-1836; Blennerhassett Island (W. Va.); Ohio River Valley--History; Ritchie, Alexander Hay, 1822-1895; Ohio History--Presidents and Politics
 

Description: Caption reads: "Bridge over Ohio River between Ironton, Ohio and Russell, Ky. Dedicated and thrown open for traffic April 21, 1922. Built complete in 274 days at cost of $700,000." Erected by the Ironton-Russell Bridge Company, the cantilever Ironton-Russell Bridge was the first highway bridge to cross the Ohio River in the area between the cities of Parkersburg, West Virginia and Cincinnati, Ohio. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B01F18_023_001
Subjects: Bridges--Ohio; Ohio River--History; Roads--Ohio; Bridges--Pictorial works; Transportation--Ohio; Roads--Ohio; Ohio--History--Pictorial works; Federal Writers' Project
Places: Ironton (Ohio); Lawrence County (Ohio); Russell (Kentucky)
 

Description: The Ironton–Russell Bridge opened in 1922 as the first highway bridge along the Ohio River between Parkersburg, West Virginia, and Cincinnati, Ohio. Soon, the Ironton-Russell bridge was followed by numerous others at Ashland, Portsmouth, and Huntington. The bridge was retrofitted in the 1970s with strengthening beams and plates. Photo taken by the Works Progress Administration sometime between 1936-1943. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B15F04_003_002_004
Subjects: Bridges--Ohio--Cincinnati; Transportation--Roads; Architecture--Ohio;
Places: Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio)