If knowing where to look for information is a sign of a good historian and researcher, then local resident, Dave McWhorter, is one of Ohio’s best.
McWhorter is a member of the New Carlisle Historical Society and is a popular local historian. His work can often be found at local events, such as the recent Medway Bicentennial celebration. McWhorter’s passion for history and research recently won him first place in the “I Found it in the Archives” contest sponsored by the Society of Ohio Archivists.
Natalie Fritz is the Curator of the Library and Archives for the Clark County Historical Society at the Heritage Center in Springfield, Ohio. Fritz says this is the second year the Clark County Historical Society has participated in the state-wide contest. “I Found It in the Archives” is open to the public and helps raise awareness of the archives available all over the state that can be used by the public. Fritz also says it also shows people how the wealth of information found in the nation’s archives can be used to “touch peoples’ lives.”
Fritz contacted several local historians, including McWhorter, and other folks who found something special in the Heritage Center archives. “We encouraged people to share stories of how research helped them break through a brick wall, exciting discoveries, and documents, photos, or artifacts that they found that might have had a lot of meaning to them,” explains Fritz.
McWhorter submitted an essay to the local contest about his experience researching John Paul, who was one of the earliest setters in Clark County.
McWhorter writes; “Recently, I have had an interest in the early years of (Clark) County and the people of who helped settled the county. In particular, a man named John Paul, who has been referred to as the ‘Adam of Clark County.’ ...The Heritage Center has a wealth of information, (including) newspapers dating back to the 1820’s and microfilm from 1860’s to date. In addition, the Heritage Center has hundreds of collections that people have donated throughout the years...The Clark County Historical Society at the Heritage Center is great resource that in my eyes is often underutilized...”
Voting for the local contest took place in July, which McWhorter won. McWhorter’s winnings included a one-year membership to both the Clark County Historical Society and the Clark County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society. McWhorter also received a Heartland local history book and a “behind-the-scenes” tour of the archives and collections of the Clark County Historical Society at the Heritage Center.
After winning the local contest, McWhorter’s essay went on to the state contest where he won first place against two other entries. One entry came from Allan Hogue at the Greene County Records Center and Archives. The other was submitted by Lucy Cipinko of the Oberlin College Archives/Oberlin Heritage Center.
According to Fritz, a record number of votes were cast this year, and McWhorter won by a wide margin. As the winner, McWhorter will soon have the chance to talk about his research and research experience in the library and archives of the Clark County Historical Society when he gives a presentation at the Ohio Local History Alliance conference on Oct. 7 in Dublin, Ohio.
