Elizabeth Aultman Harter’s Lasting Legacy…Part One

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As part of my internship at the Ramsayer Research Library here at the McKinley Presidential Library & Museum, I was tasked with creating an exhibit for the display case in the library. The assignment was, “Share a story that needs to be told.” At first, researching possible ideas was overwhelming because there were simply too many stories to tell. After much thought and consideration about what kind of story should be told, the topic presented itself. The women who shaped Canton, Ohio have been largely forgotten in history and their stories need to be shared. Library volunteer Judy Cloud Pocock gave some guidance for this project. She suggested that Elizabeth Aultman Harter be included in the display case exhibit. Once Elizabeth’s life story started to be uncovered, it was clear that she was the woman who the exhibit should focus on.

Elizabeth Aultman Harter was an incredibly accomplished woman— and not just in her time. Her legacy still impresses to this day. Daughter of Canton, Ohio’s first millionaire entrepreneur Cornelius Aultman, Elizabeth left a lasting mark on Stark County. She and her stepmother Katherine Barron Reybold Aultman founded Aultman Hospital here in Canton, Ohio. Elizabeth served on the board of directors at the Aultman Taylor Company in Mansfield, Ohio. She also presided as one of the first presidents of Canton’s YWCA. Another thing that made Mrs. Harter so outstanding is that she, like her father Cornelius Aultman, was one of Canton’s greatest ‘silent’ benefactors, putting many young men through college who otherwise would not have had the opportunity. While she exceled in her professional career, she was also a strong woman in her personal life. When she was just eighteen, Elizabeth lost her birth mother Eliza Wise Aultman after a long-term illness. In her adult life, Mrs. Harter lost her first daughter Eliza when she was just six months old. Later, Elizabeth lost her only son Cornelius A. Harter when he was four. The passing of her husband George DeWalt Harter made Elizabeth a widow and single mother to four daughters by the age of forty-three. However, despite her successes and the hardships she overcame, her memory has faded from history. To bring her back to life, Ramsayer Research Library intern Alyia Marasco has uncovered her legacy to share her story. “Elizabeth Harter’s Lasting Legacy” will be displayed in the Ramsayer Research Library display case. The Library is open Tuesday through Friday from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm for anyone who would like to view this new exhibit.

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Bicentennial Celebration, Groovy Director…

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American Revolution, Archives, Archives Bring Good Feelings, archivist, bicentennial, Canton, findyourquest, findyourwhy, History, McKinley Presidential Library and Museum, mckinleypresidentiallibrary, Museum, ohio, Ramsayer Research Library, Research, seekthethreads, Stark County, Thenandnow, volunteer, volunteers

Thank you to Gary Brown for his very interesting Monday After article: Remembering 1976 and the Bicentennial in Stark County! The article that appears in today’s Repository features longtime volunteer at the McKinley Presidential Library & Museum, Tom Haas when he was the Director of the Canton American Revolution Bicentennial Commission. He went on to take the position of Education Director at the Stark County History Center before later going on to a longtime career at WHBC Studios. Tom is in his 7th year of being a volunteer researcher in the Ramsayer Research Library. Thank you Tom for your hard work and dedication to our community.

The McKinley National Memorial…

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Then & Now in Canton, Ohio. Then The McKinley National Memorial weeks before it is dedicated. Now The McKinley National Memorial maintained for 113 years.

Meet Briant Bowman…

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Advice, Akron, archivist, Canal Fulton, Canton, Catalog, Cleveland State University, findyourquest, findyourwhy, Genealogy, high school, History, Kent State Stark, Local, mckinleypresidentiallibrary, morethanamonument, Northwest, ohio, seekthethreads, Stark County, volunteers, welcome, William McKinley

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Name: Briant Bowman

Position: Cataloger 

Hometown: Canal Fulton

College: Kent State Stark, Cleveland State University

Major/Minor: History with museum concentration

Where did you attend school (elementary, junior high, high school/college)?

I went to Voris CLC Elementary School from kindergarten until 3rd grade. From 3rd grade, we moved to Canal Fulton and I transferred to Northwest Canal Fulton. For junior high, I went to Northwest Intermediate school and graduated from Northwest High School in 1983. 

After graduating high school, I wanted to stay local so I went to Kent State Stark and I majored in history. In the fall, I am going to Graduate School at Cleveland State University. I am majoring in history with a concentration in museums. After graduating, I want to become an archivist and work with history and records. 

How did you hear about The McKinley Presidential Library & Museum?

I had always known about the museum because I grew up in Stark County, but didn’t become a volunteer until this year. 

How/When did you become a volunteer at our library?

One day while I was visiting the museum, I decided to set up an appointment with the volunteer coordinator. I met Mark, the archivist, and visited the archives. I really liked what I saw and heard so I became a volunteer at the library in May of this year. 

What is your favorite part of being a volunteer in the library?

I really enjoy learning about local history. I go through old photographs of Stark County so I get to see various aspects of what life used to be like compared to how it is today.

Do you have any hobbies or other commitments?

I love to read. I specifically like to read about Colonial America, ranging from the 1700s to the 1800s. 

What values and/or lessons would you pass along to someone?

Find out more about history. Local, national, or anything else, history can teach us so much. 

We want to thank Briant for letting us interview him and allowing us to share his story on our social media. Our team at the McKinley Presidential Library loves being able to share stories of our volunteers with people outside of the museum and we want you to be apart of that too! 

If you would like information on how to become a volunteer, be sure to private message our page or call the museum at: (330) 455-7043

Meet Tom Haas…

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Advice, Akron University, archivist, Canton, findyourquest, findyourwhy, Genealogy, high school, History, mckinleypresidentiallibrary, morethanamonument, ohio, Radio, Researcher, seekthethreads, St. Michaels, Stark County, Taft Middle School, The Ohio State University, volunteers, welcome, WHBC, William McKinley

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Name: Tom Haas

Position: Research volunteer 

Hometown: Canton, Ohio 

College: The Ohio State University

Major/Minor: History

Where did you attend school (elementary, junior high, high school/college)?

I went to St. Michael’s school for elementary. I used to walk to and from school while listening to my radio. I attended Taft Middle School and graduated from Glenwood High School in 1968. I went on to Akron University for a year, but then I transferred to The Ohio State University as a history major. I graduated in 1972 with my B.A. in history.

How did you hear about The McKinley Presidential Library & Museum?

I first got involved with the Stark County Historical Society, which is located in the library, when I became the Canton Bicentennial Director in 1975. 

How/When did you become a volunteer at our library?

I became a volunteer at the library in 2014. I had been researching my own family history since I retired in 2010 and spent a lot of time in the library trying to piece my own history together. One day, Mark (our archivist), asked if I would like to be a volunteer since I spent a lot of my time in the library anyway. I’ve been here ever since.

What is your favorite part of being a volunteer in the library?

I enjoy working with other researchers and volunteers. The ability to learn and grow doesn’t have a limit, we can always expand our knowledge in many ways. 

What has been one of your favorite projects to work on?

One of my favorite projects recently was when I worked on researching the oldest house in Stark County, it has been around since 1812. 

Do you have any hobbies or other commitments?

I used to do stone carvings, but I really enjoy making wood carvings lately.

What values and/or lessons would you pass along to someone?

Always have an open mind and a sense of humor. Don’t take yourself so seriously.

We want to thank Tom for letting us interview him and allowing us to share his story on our social media. Our team at the McKinley Presidential Library loves being able to share stories of our volunteers with people outside of the museum and we want you to be apart of that too! 

If you would like information on how to become a volunteer, be sure to private message our page or call the museum at: (330) 455-7043

Meet Marylou Thompson…

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archivist, Canton, Chicago, Delta College, findyourquest, findyourwhy, History, Illinois, MAPS, mckinleypresidentiallibrary, Michigan, morethanamonument, North Canton, Nursing, ohio, Research, seekthethreads, Stark County, travel, volunteers, welcome, William McKinley

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We invite our followers to get to know Marylou Thompson, one of our Research volunteers at the Presidential Library!

Marylou taking a well deserved, but short break from her duties in the McKinley Presidential Library

Marylou was born in Cleveland, Ohio, but spent much of her childhood traveling with her family. Her father was in the service, her family moved all over the United States while she and her siblings grew up. She recalls memories of her past, particularly recalling 5th grade as being one of her favorite memories. At the time, she had moved back to Ohio and was attending St. Mary’s in Painesville, Ohio. She really enjoyed school, but also loved being able to spent lots of time with her loving grandparents. She continued to move with her family until she graduated high school and started her own career path.

After high school, she attended Central Michigan University, then attended nursing school at Delta College in Saginaw, Michigan. After graduating from nursing school, she received her Bachelor’s Degree, majoring in science and business, from the University of St. Francis in Illinois. Finally, she attended graduate school and received her MBA at the University in Chicago. During her time in school and out, she worked as a nurse for many years. She found that being a caretaker was her calling and it came naturally to her.

As a nurse, she worked primarily in the ICU department of the hospital, and she kept moving up to different roles in life. She enjoyed her work so much so that she ended up working in hospital administration for some years. She wanted to do more though, and soon moved to the long term care industry until retirement.

In 2016, she moved to North Canton to be closer to her sister. She had just retired and was looking for something to do to pass the time when she stumbled upon the McKinley National Memorial one day. She remembers walking around the parks and when she saw the monument, she had to go see what it was. After she visited the monument that day, she went to our museum and asked to become a volunteer at the McKinley Presidential Library & Museum. She found something else that she loved to do and her years of being a multi-tasker and nurse gave her very valuable skills that we honor here in our library. She has volunteered with us for three years and she is an incredible asset to our team, keeping us organized and taking care of our accessions and cataloguing items.

In her spare time, she also volunteers in the library at MAPS Air museum in Green, Ohio . She loves reading various types of military books, fictional or non-fictional, and she loves to travel. She is very big on history and all about learning as much as she can from her travels and from her own experience.

One of her favorite aspects of being a volunteer here is that she is actually able to see the results of our projects and requests in a short time. Being a nurse and working in the healthcare industry, quick results weren’t easily noticed because of the varying aspects of that field, but she loves being able to see the results of hers and everyone else’s hard work. She describes her time here as not being work, it is like hanging out with friends and working together as a team. She loves what she does here and is truly a valuable resource to all who know her.

We want to thank Marylou for letting us interview her and allowing us to share her story on our social media. Our team at the McKinley Presidential Library loves being able to share stories of our volunteers with people outside of the museum and we want you to be apart of that too!

If you would like information on how to become a volunteer, be sure to private message our page or call the museum at: (330) 455-7043

Meet Gary Erdos…

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Akron University, archivist, Canton, Detective, Discover, findyourquest, findyourwhy, Genealogy, high school, History, Hudson, Ida McKinley, Kent State University, mckinleypresidentiallibrary, morethanamonument, National Guard, ohio, Researcher, seekthethreads, Stark County, volunteers, welcome, William McKinley

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We want to welcome our followers to get to know Gary Erdos, one of our Research volunteers at the Presidential Library!

Gary grew up in Hudson, Ohio in Summit County and moved to Canton in 1970. As a child growing up in Hudson, Gary remembers going outside as soon as the sun was out and playing until dusk with other neighborhood kids. He played football, basketball, and did a little bit of wrestling growing up.

He attended Hudson Elementary and went on to Hudson High School, where he graduated in 1964. After high school, he began working in his dad’s machine shop, Norton’s Machine Company, doing managerial work in the office. To help him gain more knowledge of running the machine shop, he started to take business classes at Akron University and Kent State University.

After he started taking college classes, he enrolled in the National Guard where he would remain for the next 6 years. After his service, he continued to attend business classes until 1980, while also running his father’s shop.

In 1998, Gary sold his business and started to work at other companies as a sales representative and later on, became a sales manager for another company.

Since retiring in 2008, he enjoys hiking with his wife and their friends. He also loves spending lots of time with his 9 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren.

Gary began as a volunteer at the McKinley Presidential Library & Museum about 4 years ago when his neighbor asked if Gary would like to cover some shifts with him. He agreed and began as a volunteer for the train exhibit. After some time, he found himself drifting to the Presidential Library and started working as a researcher in his free time. One of his favorite pastimes throughout his life was learning and exploring the genealogy of his family, and now he gets to do what he loves as a researcher here.

His role in the McKinley Presidential Library is to handle inquires about people who want to know if they are related to William McKinley or Ida Saxton-McKinley. Since the Presidential Library is also the home of the Stark County archives, he also handles inquiries about Stark County citizens.

Currently one of his ongoing projects for the library is creating a database of Stark County residents from 1809-1850.

Gary loves being a volunteer here because he finds there is always something new happening every time he comes in. He loves working with the other volunteers because they are great people to talk to and be around. There is a shared love of genealogy and history within the library and he finds it very interesting to listen to the different stories of people researching their own lineage.

He encourages more people to become volunteers, especially if they are retired. Since he himself is retired, he finds that volunteering keeps him active, involved with people, and never becoming bored with his research requests.

Gary wants people to know that although genealogy can be hard, the rewards are life-changing. As a researcher, he says that he feels like a detective when he discovers something people didn’t know about their history. Being a part of that discovery, he loves to help people find the answers to the questions they’re looking for.

We want to thank Gary for letting us interview him and allowing us to share his story on our social media. Our team at the McKinley Presidential Library loves being able to share stories of our volunteers with people outside of the museum and we want you to be apart of that too!

If you would like information on how to become a volunteer, be sure to private message our page or call the museum at: (330) 455-7043

Meet Rebecca Davis…

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archivist, Bexley Ohio, Canton, Capital University, Digitization, findyourquest, findyourwhy, Glenoak High School, high school, History, Ida McKinley, Intern, major, mckinleypresidentiallibrary, morethanamonument, ohio, Photographs, Plain Local, Project, seekthethreads, St. Peter’s Catholic school, Stark County, volunteers, welcome, William McKinley

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We invite our followers to get to know Rebecca Davis, one of our summer interns at the McKinley Presidential Library!

Rebecca was born here in Stark County and has lived here her whole life. Originally from downtown Canton, she now resides in Plain Township with her family.

She attended St. Peter’s Catholic School for elementary and then transferred to Oakwood Middle School for junior high. After graduating Glenoak High School in 2017, she enrolled at Capital University in Bexley, Ohio as a history major. When she is not at college, she is working at Donatos in North Canton and now volunteering at our museum.

Since she has lived here her whole life, she has always known about the McKinley Presidential Library & Museum, but only attended as a visitor. Last summer, Rebecca and her mother came to our library to have some photos of old Stark County digitized. While they were here, they met our archivist, Mark Holland. Mark invited Rebecca to become a volunteer and after thinking about it, she decided to spend her summer with us as an intern, helping our team with various projects.

Currently, she is working on digitizing photographs of William McKinley and cataloging them with our software. She is a great addition to our team and we hope that she joins us again next summer. She has been here for only a couple of weeks, but she really has enjoyed her time so far  and she encourages more people to become volunteers because learning is a lifelong process. One of her favorite parts of volunteering here is that she gets to see photographs of what life used to be like and compare that information with what it is like to today.

We want to thank Rebecca for letting us interview her and allowing us to share her story on our social media. Our team at the McKinley Presidential Library loves being able to share stories of our volunteers with people outside of the museum and we want you to be a part of that!

If you would like information on how to become a volunteer, be sure to private message our page or call the museum at: (330) 455-7043

Diary of a Day…

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#Team, Allies, archivist, Canton, D-Day, Diary, findyourquest, findyourwhy, France, History, Honor, mckinleypresidentiallibrary, morethanamonument, Navy, Normandy, ohio, Research, seekthethreads, Servitude, Soldiers, Stark County, United States, volunteers, welcome, William McKinley

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In honor of D-Day and those who have served us, our team at the Presidential Library would like to show our followers something special.

One of our volunteers, Rosemary Shaheen, has allowed us to digitize her husband’s diary from his time in the navy. His name was Nicholas B. Shaheen and joined the navy in 1943 right after graduating high school. During his time in the navy, he kept a diary of what he and his fellow soldiers were doing as they served. One of these entries was written as the invasion was happening, 75 years ago today. The first photo we have from the diary comes from the beginning, and it details the different locations where Nicholas was stationed. Our second photo includes details from June 4, 1944 to June 6, 1944. Above the June 6 entry, Nicholas has written “We are making history.” and has written “Joke” underneath this. He had not known how important the actions of those serving and how they would be celebrated and honored greatly.

 

We want to thank Rosemary for bringing in her husband’s diary and allowing us to share her husband’s story with our followers. We also want to give thanks to Nicholas Shaheen for his dedication and servitude to his country, as well as the rest of the soldiers who served and those who continue to serve our country.

 

“African Americans of Canton, Ohio: Treasures of Black History”

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African Americans of Canton, Archives, Book, Canton, findyourquest, findyourwhy, Geraldine Radcliffe, HallOfFameCity, History, Interview, McKinley Presidential Library, McKinley Presidential Library and Museum, morethanamonument, Nadine McIlwain, ohio, Ohio: Treasures of Black History, Process, Project, Research, seekthethreads, Stark County, Story, Treasures of Canton, welcome, Writing

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Our team at the McKinley Presidential Library invite you to read about Nadine McIlwain and Geraldine Radcliffe, authors of “African Americans of Canton, Ohio: Treasures of Black History” and members of our local community! Our volunteer Samantha Weaver spoke to them during their time here on Saturday, May 18th while they were at the museum to promote their book and share their story of how their book came to be.

Nadine McIlwain is a former teacher, that worked at Timken Senior High School for 25 years, she was also a principal. She is a writer herself and has published books before, mainly biographies. Geraldine Radcliffe, or Gerry, has worked in healthcare most of her life. She is a history buff and has had her work published in several medical journals.

Nadine and Gerry started this project in 2004 with the idea to writing about African-American history in Stark County. After some time, they decided that was too broad and chose to shorten the goal to just the history of Canton from 1805 to present day. They then formed a committee with some important people in Canton to see if the appeal was there. People were really interested and it started to take off with different stories and research. In the end, this book celebrates legends and prominent people who lived in Canton and Stark County and finally tells their stories through a historical narrative previously untold.

Nadine wrote the manuscript for the book and had to incorporate all of the personal stories into one big story to connect them. During this 5 year process, she chose to write about the positive events and people. As a historian herself, she knows that it is not fully authentic, but during a time where everything is publicized and made to be seen in a negative light, she wanted to take a different approach. The full process of completing the book took close to 15 years to complete and get published. There is a lot of research that went into this book, from authenticating family history and stories, to identifying the people in each of the photographs. It was not an easy process, but with the help of local organizations like ourselves and the Stark County District Library, they were able to find out about the local history and prove or disprove stories. When Nadine finished with the manuscript, they were able to find a publisher to look it over. The publisher agreed to publish the book, but Nadine had to shorten the manuscript from 800,000 words only 65,000 words and 84 photographs. She mentions that this was a hard process because she loved everything she wrote and wanted to include everything. She ended up shortening it, and the book “African Americans of Canton, Ohio: Treasures of Black History” was published on April 13, 2019.

The personal process of the book was a big commitment and wasn’t easy. Both women say that it is important to get people involved because the process cannot be done alone. There are long hours of research that go into writing an accurate history book, especially when every aspect has to be proven accurate. Most stories were only spoken and passed down through the family, but were never formally written down. Every story is connected somehow and that is how people will find their own connections when reading the book. Nadine explains it as a giant spider web where one story leads to another and another and so on. You can start with one person, find out about their parents and their family and how they impacted the city just through that one person.  

One aspect that surprised both women while researching was finding out just how much history died as the result of integration and the demolition of African American neighborhoods and buildings in Canton. Gerry emphasizes how much time erases history and before it is completely gone, it should be written down somewhere. The telling of history makes you take a hard look at yourself and your own history. She asks herself “What will I leave after I die?” While she is here, she wants to leave a piece of herself to prove her existence. This book is that piece of her time here in the world.

As for future projects, both women do not believe that they will be the ones to write a Vol. II because of other ongoing projects. Nadine is working on another book herself and plans to continue writing for the rest of her life. She would like to begin writing young adult books in the future because she wants to reach out to a younger audience. As for Gerry, she also has a book in the works. Her book is about African American history vanishing as a community in Stark County and she has been in this process for the last 12 years. As we can see, there is no stopping these women and there will always be more to come from them.

We thank both of these wonderful women for coming into our museum to sell their book and tell their story. We hope that more people will be inspired and find the dedication to do as these women did and write a Vol. II or begin researching their own history so it can be passed down. Their book “African Americans of Canton, Ohio: Treasures of Black History” can be found online and also in our museum shoppe for anyone who would like to purchase it.