New Englanders on the Ohio Frontier: The Migration and Settlement of Worthington, Ohio

Citations Over TimeTop 16% of 2000 papers

Abstract

New Englanders on the Ohio Frontier. Migration and Settlement of Worthington, Ohio. By Virginia E. McCormick and Robert W. McCormick. (Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1998. Pp. xi, 356. Maps, illustrations, and appendices. $39.00.) Not that long ago, academic historians took a dim view of town histories. Such books were disparaged as mere chronicles assembled by antiquarians to celebrate the achievements of their town founders and the progress of their communities. During the last thirty years, however, historians of the early republic have come to appreciate the value of local histories. Utilizing innovative and interdisciplinary methodologies, community studies have transformed our understanding of early American history. And yet, as important as these new town histories have been to the scholarly community, they have not had the same impact on the broader community. Nor have they typically reached the mass of ancestor-worshipping genealogists who continue to prefer adulatory local histories. Virginia McCormick and Robert McCormick deserve credit for writing a book about the early years of their town, Worthington, Ohio, that aims to bridge the gap between old and new local studies. Beginning 1802 with the collective decision of some Connecticut residents to seek better opportunities on the Ohio frontier, the McCormicks trace the formation of the Scioto Company and its efforts to locate and plant a new settlement the western country. Highlighting the role of James Kilbourn the migration and settlement of Worthington, the authors pay ample attention to the town's founding father and guiding spirit. Kilbourn's spirit, like that of fellow migrants, reflected a New England upbringing. According to the McCormicks, the pioneers of Worthington carried their Connecticut heritages with them on the westward journey and intended their new settlement to resemble the ones they had left behind. In this, the pioneers of Worthington largely succeeded, for even today, as the McCormicks observe, travelers Worthington might think themselves in the center of a picturesque New England village (1). The McCormicks succeed less well navigating between scholarly and antiquarian variants of local history. The former group will likely find this a frustrating book. The authors' central theme-the transplantation of New Englanders and their ways to the Ohio frontier-is important, but the analysis of cultural transmission and transformation is scattered. …

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