Description: This photograph depicts Uncle "Billy" Marshall, a conductor for the Underground Railroad, standing outside of the Rankin House in Ripley, Ohio. The house was run by John Rankin, a Presbyterian minister. Up to the American Civil War, Rankin dedicated his life to abolishing slavery. After spending several years as a minister and abolitionist in Kentucky, Rankin moved to Ripley to continue his anti-slavery work. He most likely moved into this home in 1825, where he continued to serve as a conductor on the Underground Railroad. The Rankin House stood on a 300-foot-high hill, known as "Liberty Hill," which overlooked the Ohio River. Rankin would signal fugitive slaves in Kentucky with a lantern or candle, letting them know when it was safe to cross the Ohio River. To access Rankin's home on top of Liberty Hill, those seeking their freedom had to climb 100 wooden steps. Rankin would provide the former slaves with sanctuary, keeping them hidden until it was safe for them to travel further north. John Rankin is believed to have provided shelter and food to as many as 2,000 fugitive slaves during his career with the Underground Railroad; according to several accounts, none of those whom Rankin helped were ever returned to slavery. Harriet Beecher Stowe immortalized Rankin's efforts to help African Americans in her book, "Uncle Tom's Cabin." Rankin's home was the first stop in Ohio for Eliza, one of the book's main characters, as she sought freedom in the North. Today, the Rankin house is home to a museum operated by the Ohio History Connection. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SC652_004
Subjects: Underground Railroad; Rankin House; Historic houses; Brown County (Ohio)
Places: Ripley (Ohio); Brown County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph depicts Linsay Jackson, an Underground Railroad operator, sitting outside of the Rankin House in Ripley, Ohio. The house was run by John Rankin, a Presbyterian minister. Up to the American Civil War, Rankin dedicated his life to abolishing slavery. After spending several years as a minister and abolitionist in Kentucky, Rankin moved to Ripley to continue his anti-slavery work. He most likely moved into this home in 1825, where he continued to serve as a conductor on the Underground Railroad. The Rankin House stood on a 300-foot-high hill, known as "Liberty Hill," which overlooked the Ohio River. Rankin would signal fugitive slaves in Kentucky with a lantern or candle, letting them know when it was safe to cross the Ohio River. To access Rankin's home on top of Liberty Hill, those seeking their freedom had to climb 100 wooden steps. Rankin would provide the former slaves with sanctuary, keeping them hidden until it was safe for them to travel further north. John Rankin is believed to have provided shelter and food to as many as 2,000 fugitive slaves during his career with the Underground Railroad; according to several accounts, none of those whom Rankin helped were ever returned to slavery. Harriet Beecher Stowe immortalized Rankin's efforts to help African Americans in her book, "Uncle Tom's Cabin." Rankin's home was the first stop in Ohio for Eliza, one of the book's main characters, as she sought freedom in the North. Today, the Rankin house is home to a museum operated by the Ohio History Connection. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SC652_005
Subjects: Underground Railroad; Rankin House; Historic houses; Brown County (Ohio); Antislavery movements--Ohio--History--19th century
Places: Ripley (Ohio); Brown County (Ohio)
 

Description: Photograph showing a side view of a large house in Zoar village.Led by Joseph Bimeler in 1817, a group of Lutheran separatists left the area of Germany known as Wurttemberg and eventually established the small community of Zoar in Tuscarawas County, Ohio. They would become known as the Society of Separatists of Zoar in 1819. After Bimeler's death in 1853, the unity of the village declined, and by 1898 the Zoarites disbanded the society. The remaining residents divided the property, and the community continued to prosper in Zoar. Today, the Ohio Historical Society operates a portion of the town as a historic site. A number of the Zoarite buildings are restored and are open to the public. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AV9_B03F05_001
Subjects: Zoar (Tuscarawas County, Ohio); Historic buildings; Houses; Photography--Ohio
Places: Zoar (Ohio); Tuscarawas County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph depicts the Sherman House, birthplace of the brothers General William Tecumseh Sherman and statesman John Sherman. The home is a Registered National Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. William Tecumseh Sherman (1820-1891) was born in Lancaster, Ohio. Orphaned at age nine, he was raised by Thomas Ewing, a U. S. senator who also served as secretary of the treasury and secretary of the interior. He graduated sixth in his class from the United States Military Academy at West Point and served in positions in the South, where he gained great knowledge of the Southern people and the geography of the region. Sherman served in the Mexican War, but left the army in 1853. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Sherman accepted a position as a colonel in the regular army. He became well known for his tactics of property damage and psychological warfare against the southern people, best illustrated by his march through Georgia. His goal was to convince the southern people to stop the war, and prevent more battle field deaths. Sherman is credited with the saying "War is hell." John Sherman (1823-1900) grew up in Lancaster, Ohio, one of eleven children of Ohio Supreme Court Justice Charles Sherman. In 1840, Sherman moved to Mansfield to live with his oldest brother, Charles Jr. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, as secretary of the treasury, and secretary of state. He authored numerous pieces of legislation, though he is best remembered for the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. Sherman was considered for the Republican presidential ticket three times, but never gained his party's nomination. Critics claimed that he was a cool and distant man and that these personality traits cost him the presidency. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: Om3244_4401982_001
Subjects: Presidents and Politics; Military Ohio; Architecture; Civil War; Houses; National Register of Historic Places; Sherman, John, 1823-1900; Sherman, William T. (William Tecumseh), 1820-1891
Places: Lancaster (Ohio); Fairfield (Ohio)
 

Description: Promont House, shown in this 2.75" x 2.75" (6.99 x 6.99 cm) slide, belonged to John M. Pattison, the 43rd governor of Ohio. The home was built in 1865 by William Megrue; Pattison purchased it in 1879. Promont House is built in the Italianate style. In 1983, owner James Kirgan bequeathed the house to the Greater Milford Area Historical Society, which restored it to the period 1879-1906 when Pattison owned the home. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Pattison (1846-1906) was born in Clermont County, Ohio. After serving in the Civil War, he attended Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio. He was president of Union Central Life Insurance Company before being elected governor in 1906. The stress of the campaign took a toll on Pattison's health, however, and he died June 18, 1906, six months after his inauguration. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: Om3012_3634198_001
Subjects: Ohio Government; Architecture; Governors; Houses; Towers; National Register of Historic Places
Places: Milford (Ohio); Clermont County (Ohio)
 

Description: This home in Point Pleasant, Ohio was the birthplace of Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885), Civil War general and the eighteenth president of the United States. Now a museum, the house is part of the Ohio Historical Society's state-wide network of historic sites. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The slide measures 2.75" x 2.75" (6.99 x 6.99 cm). Born Hiram Ulysses Grant in Point Pleasant Ohio, in 1839 Grant entered the United States Military Academy at West Point, where a roster mistakenly listed his name as Ulysses Simpson. He was known as Ulysses S. Grant for the rest of his life. Grant served in the Mexican War, but was never happy with military life and resigned his commission in 1854. After unsuccessful attempts at farming and real estate, Grant moved to Galena, Illinois, where he worked in his father's leather shop. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he organized a company in Galena and later accepted command of the 21st Illinois Regiment. In August 1861, Lincoln made Grant brigadier general of volunteers. Grant came to national attention by capturing the Confederate Forts Henry and Donelson, the first major Union victories of the war. In spite of a devastating defeat at Shiloh, Grant won major victories at Vicksburg and Chattanooga. In 1864, Grant was made lieutenant general commanding all the armies of the U.S. In this position, Grant devised a concerted plan of action for all the Union armies. Although Grant lost to Confederate General Robert E. Lee in battle, other Northern armies were successful and weakened the Confederacy. He presided over General Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox on April 9, 1865. Grant served as president from 1869-1877. Southern reconstruction was one of the major issues of Grant's presidency. He occasionally encouraged the process with the force of federal troops. Although Grant is considered to have been honest himself, he was surrounded by dishonest men, causing his administration to be marred with scandal. He was re-elected in 1872 and ran for a third time in 1880 but was unsuccessful. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: Om3011_3634188_001
Subjects: Presidents and Politics; Architecture; Grant, Ulysses S. (Ulysses Simpson), 1822-1885; Houses; Presidents; National Register of Historic Places
Places: Point Pleasant (Ohio); Clermont County (Ohio)
 

Description: Daniel McCook Sr. (1798-1863), known for his family's service in the Civil War, built this house on the southwest corner of Carrollton's public square in 1837. This 2.75" x 2.75" (6.99 x 6.99 cm) slide was taken in the 1960s. The house is now a museum, part of the Ohio Historical Society's state-wide network of historic sites. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A native of Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, McCook followed his father to Columbiana County around 1826. Several years later, he moved to Carrollton, where he worked as a lawyer and served as the first clerk of the court of common pleas for the recently-established Carroll County. His wife Martha Latimer McCook (1802-1879) was also a native of Pennsylvania. The couple had nine sons and one daughter. During the Civil War, Daniel McCook, his sons, and five of his nephews joined the Union cause, earning them the nickname the "Fighting McCooks." View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: Om3007_3634160_001
Subjects: Military Ohio; Architecture; Houses; Civil War; National Register of Historic Places; McCook Family
Places: Carrollton (Ohio); Carroll County (Ohio)
 

Description: This home belonged to Thomas and Charity Rotch of Kendal (now Massillon), Ohio. Rotch, an early settler of the area, was a Quaker and a staunch abolitionist. The home features a secret staircase, which leads from the basement kitchen area to the second floor. It may have been used to hide fugitive slaves on the Underground Railroad. The home, which Rotch called Spring Hill, is on the National Register of Historic Places. The photograph measures 8.5" by 11" (22 by 28 cm). Thomas Rotch (1767-1823) also served as a correspondent for the Committee on Indian Concerns. His wife, Charity Rotch, established the Charity School of Kendal, one of Ohio's first vocational schools, with her estate. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: Om3195_3806028_001
Subjects: Civil Liberties; Religion in Ohio; Architecture; Houses; Underground Railroad; National Register of Historic Places
Places: Massillon (Ohio); Stark County (Ohio)
 

Description: This home belonged to Civil War General Philip Henry Sheridan, who built it for his parents in 1859. Located on South Columbus Street in Somerset, Ohio, the house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Sheridan (1831-1888) was born to Irish immigrants John and Mary Sheridan, who settled in Somerset, Ohio. As a young man, he graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point. When the Civil War broke out, Sheridan was a captain in the army; by the end of the war, he had been promoted to major general. Just before his death he became the fourth man to receive the rank of full general, following George Washington, Ulysses S. Grant, and William T. Sherman. Over the course of his career he held numerous important positions, including Commander of the Army of the Shenandoah, military governor of Texas and Louisiana, and commander in chief of the U.S. Army. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: Om3043_3655526_001
Subjects: Military Ohio; Architecture; Houses; Civil War; National Register of Historic Places; Sheridan, Philip Henry, 1831-1888
Places: Somerset (Ohio); Perry County (Ohio)
 

Description: Dated ca. 1930-1943, this photograph shows an interior view of the home of Benjamin Pitman, an English author and proponent of Pitman shorthand, developed by his brother Isaac Pitman. Benn, along with his wife and children, arrived in the United States in 1853 and first settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and later Canton, Ohio, and then Cincinnati. After his brother made changes to his system, Pittman refused to endorse it, and the original shorthand system was adopted in the United States. Pittman served in the Union Army during the Civil War and became the official stenographer for the trials of Abraham Lincoln's assassin and other cases. He became active in the arts in the 1870s and introdiced the Pitman School of Woodcarving. The Benn Pitman house is located at 1852 Columbia Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio. The home was built between 1800 and 1804 and the exterior incorporates many styles including Italian Chateau, Romanesque, and Rococo. Among his many accomplishments, Pitman taught woodcarving at the Art Academy of Cincinnati. He himself made much of the woodwork inside the home, including doors, panels, and wainscoting. Much of the more delicate work depicting flowers and leaves was done by Pitman's wife and her twin sister, who taught at the local art school. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1969. This photograph is one of the many visual materials collected for use in the Ohio Guide. In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Works Progress Administration by executive order to create jobs for the large numbers of unemployed laborers, as well as artists, musicians, actors, and writers. The Federal Arts Program, a sector of the Works Progress Administration, included the Federal Writers’ Project, one of the primary goals of which was to complete the America Guide series, a series of guidebooks for each state which included state history, art, architecture, music, literature, and points of interest to the major cities and tours throughout the state. Work on the Ohio Guide began in 1935 with the publication of several pamphlets and brochures. The Reorganization Act of 1939 consolidated the Works Progress Administration and other agencies into the Federal Works Administration, and the Federal Writers’ Project became the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio. The final product was published in 1940 and went through several editions. The Ohio Guide Collection consists of 4,769 photographs collected for use in Ohio Guide and other publications of the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio from 1935-1939. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_b03f03_033_001
Subjects: Houses; Architectural interiors; Cincinnati (Ohio)--Buildings, structures, etc.--Pictorial works; National Register of Historic Places
Places: Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio)
 

Description: Dated ca. 1930-1943, this photograph shows a fireplace and doors in the home of Benjamin Pitman. The molding and woodwork feature elaborate carvings. Benjamin Pitman, an English author and proponent of Pitman shorthand, developed by his brother Isaac Pitman. Benn, along with his wife and children, arrived in the United States in 1853 and settled first in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and later Canton, Ohio, and then Cincinnati. After his brother made changes to his system, Pittman refused to endorse it, and the original shorthand system was adopted in the United States. Pittman served in the Union Army during the Civil War and became the official stenographer for the trials of Abraham Lincoln's assassin and others. He became active in the arts in the 1870s and introduced the Pitman School of Woodcarving. The Benn Pitman house is located at 1852 Columbia Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio. The home was built between 1800 and 1804 and the exterior incorporates many styles, including Italian Chateau, Romanesque and Rococo. Among his many accomplishments, Pitman taught woodcarving at the Art Academy of Cincinnati. He himself made much of the woodwork inside the home, including doors, panels and wainscoting. Much of the more delicate work depicting flowers and leaves was done by Pitman's wife and her twin sister, who taught at the local art school. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1969. This photograph is one of the many visual materials collected for use in the Ohio Guide. In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Works Progress Administration by executive order to create jobs for the large numbers of unemployed laborers, as well as artists, musicians, actors, and writers. The Federal Arts Program, a sector of the Works Progress Administration, included the Federal Writers’ Project, one of the primary goals of which was to complete the America Guide series, a series of guidebooks for each state which included state history, art, architecture, music, literature, and points of interest to the major cities and tours throughout the state. Work on the Ohio Guide began in 1935 with the publication of several pamphlets and brochures. The Reorganization Act of 1939 consolidated the Works Progress Administration and other agencies into the Federal Works Administration, and the Federal Writers’ Project became the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio. The final product was published in 1940 and went through several editions. The Ohio Guide Collection consists of 4,769 photographs collected for use in Ohio Guide and other publications of the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio from 1935-1939. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_b03f03_028_001
Subjects: Houses; Architectural interiors; Cincinnati (Ohio)--Buildings, structures, etc.--Pictorial works; National Register of Historic Places
Places: Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio)
 

Description: Dated ca. 1930-1943, this photograph shows a door in the Benjamin Pitman home. The door and its frame feature intricate carvings, including birds and geometric motifs. Benjamin Pitman, an English author and proponent of Pitman shorthand, developed by his brother Isaac Pitman. Benn, along with his wife and children, arrived in the United States in 1853 and settled first in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and later Canton, Ohio, and then Cincinnati. After his brother made changes to his system, Pittman refused to endorse it, and the original shorthand system was adopted in the United States. Pittman served in the Union Army during the Civil War and became the official stenographer for the trials of Abraham Lincoln's assassin and others. He became active in the arts in the 1870s and introduced the Pitman School of Woodcarving. The Benn Pitman house is located at 1852 Columbia Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio. The home was built between 1800 and 1804 and the exterior incorporates many styles, including Italian Chateau, Romanesque and Rococo. Among his many accomplishments, Pitman taught woodcarving at the Art Academy of Cincinnati. He himself made much of the woodwork inside the home, including doors, panels and wainscoting. Much of the more delicate work depicting flowers and leaves was done by Pitman's wife and her twin sister, who taught at the local art school. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1969. This photograph is one of the many visual materials collected for use in the Ohio Guide. In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Works Progress Administration by executive order to create jobs for the large numbers of unemployed laborers, as well as artists, musicians, actors, and writers. The Federal Arts Program, a sector of the Works Progress Administration, included the Federal Writers’ Project, one of the primary goals of which was to complete the America Guide series, a series of guidebooks for each state which included state history, art, architecture, music, literature, and points of interest to the major cities and tours throughout the state. Work on the Ohio Guide began in 1935 with the publication of several pamphlets and brochures. The Reorganization Act of 1939 consolidated the Works Progress Administration and other agencies into the Federal Works Administration, and the Federal Writers’ Project became the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio. The final product was published in 1940 and went through several editions. The Ohio Guide Collection consists of 4,769 photographs collected for use in Ohio Guide and other publications of the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio from 1935-1939. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_b03f03_019_001
Subjects: Houses; Architectural interiors; Cincinnati (Ohio)--Buildings, structures, etc.--Pictorial works; National Register of Historic Places
Places: Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio)