Historical marker will commemorate OSU professor

COLUMBUS – The Ohio State University Department of History will dedicate an historical marker commemorating Wilbur H. Siebert, professor of history at Ohio State from 1893 to 1935. The marker is sponsored by the Ohio Bicentennial Commission as part of the celebration of Ohio’s statehood.

The dedication ceremony, featuring university and community dignitaries, will begin at 3 p.m. on Sept. 23 on the east lawn of Dulles Hall, 230 W. 17th Avenue.

Recognized as the world’s foremost authority on the Underground Railroad, Siebert organized one of the most extensive historical collections on the Underground Railroad in the United States. He lived from 1866 to 1961.

Siebert began his research by talking with his students, who had heard about the Underground Railroad from their parents and grandparents. During vacations, he traveled Underground Railroad routes and conducted interviews with many experts including Underground Railroad Agents and former fugitive slaves.

He published dozens of books and articles on the Underground Railroad in Ohio and elsewhere, including “The Underground Railroad from Slavery to Freedom,” (1898) an enduring classic on the subject. Siebert wrote his final book, “The Mysteries of Ohio’s Underground Railroads” (1951) at age 80.

“When Professor Siebert began teaching history at Ohio State in 1891 there was precious little published information on the subject,” said Peter Hahn, professor of history and vice-chair of the department. “It is fitting to memorialize his contributions to Ohio history and Ohio’s bicentennial with this marker.”

His extensive collection on the Underground Railroad, the Wilbur H. Siebert Collection, is housed in the archives and library of the Ohio Historical Society in Columbus. It contains diaries, books, letters and newspaper accounts of the day as well as reminiscences from the dwindling population of abolitionists and their families throughout the northern states. It also includes Siebert’s own manuscripts, images, notes and correspondence relating to his research.

Siebert’s wife, Annie Ware Sabine Siebert, earned her B.A. at Ohio State in 1884 and in 1886 became the first women ever to earn an M.A. from the university. The Sieberts had two children and four grandchildren, some of whom are expected to attend the marker dedication.