MSS 116 AV Wilbur H. Siebert Collection

              MSS 116
Wilbur H. Siebert Collection
Page 1
OHIO HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Manuscript Collections
MSS 116 AV
Wilbur H. Siebert Collection
(1812-1954)
OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION
Number: MSS 116 AV
Title: Wilbur H. Siebert Collection
Creator: Wilbur Henry Siebert (1866-1961)
Dates: 1812-1954; bulk 1892-1951
Media: Manuscripts, audiovisual material, printed material
Quantity: 30 cubic feet
Location: Ohio Historical Center
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE COLLECTION
Wilbur Henry Siebert, a distinguished scholar and historian, was born in Columbus, Ohio, on
August 30, 1866. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Ohio State University (OSU) in
1888. In 1889 and 1890, respectively, he received a second bachelor’s degree and a master’s
degree in history from Harvard University. Siebert traveled to Germany to study history and
philosophy at the universities of Freiburg (Baden) and Berlin.
After returning to Ohio in 1891, Siebert began his long career at OSU when he accepted a
position as assistant instructor in history and political science. By 1893, Siebert was awarded an
assistant professorship in history and was actively collecting material on the Underground
Railroad with his students. In 1895, Siebert took a sabbatical and returned to Harvard for
advanced study on the anti-slavery movement. Three years later, Siebert’s first book on the
anti-slavery movement, The Underground Railroad from Slavery to Freedom, was published.
(See Appendix B for a list of his published works.) In 1902, Siebert was promoted to professor
of European history. He advanced to the position of research professor of history in 1925.
Siebert retired and assumed the rank of professor emeritus in 1935. Siebert also held
administrative positions at OSU. He served as secretary of the university faculty (1902-1906),
acting dean of the College of Arts and Sciences (1911-1912, 1927-1928, and 1935-1936), and
acting dean of the Graduate School (1917-1918).
Siebert married Annie Ware Sabine on August 16, 1893 in Marysville, Ohio. Sabine was the
daughter of Hylas Sabine, a state senator from Union County, Ohio. Annie Siebert received a
Bachelor of Science degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a master’s
degree from the Ohio State University. The Sieberts raised two foster children, Elizabeth Lincoln
Marshall Howie and John Fellows Marshall. Annie Siebert died in 1947. Wilbur Henry Siebert
died at age 95 on September 2, 1961.