Historical Collections of Ohio

Henry Howe (1816-1893) was born and raised in Connecticut. In 1840 he sought out John W. Barber, who had recently published Historical Collections of Connecticut; a book that greatly impressed Howe. It had been written for the general reader, and, in Howe’s words, “it seemed, in its variety, to have something adapted to all ages, classes and tastes…” “The book, therefore reached more minds, and has been more extensively read, than any regular state history ever issued”. Howe suggested to Barber that together they research and write a similar book for New York State. They became partners, first producing Historical Collections of New York, and then similar volumes for New Jersey and Virginia. In 1846 Howe and Barber began preparing for a history of Ohio with a tour of the state that would last more than a year and take them to 79 of 83 counties. Historical Collections of Ohio appeared in late 1847, becoming Ohio’s best-selling history book of the entire century. In 1848 Howe married and became an Ohio resident by moving to Cincinnati. He continued to write history for many years, and Ohioans often asked him about the possibility of an update to the Ohio Historical Collections. Finally, nearly 40 years later, he started out in 1885 to retrace his steps and collected material for a 3-volume set that contrasted Ohio of the 1880s with Ohio of the 1840s. He completed the project but unfortunately it ended as a financial disaster for Howe and he died deeply in debt. – The Wikipedia entry for Howe was a source for these notes. The 1880s Collections, originally a 3-volume set, was consolidated into two large volumes in later editions

Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Nonfiction. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.