Night at the Museum welcomes guests from Ohio’s past

Southeast Ohio History Center hosted Night at the Museum on Saturday evening. Special guests from Southeast Ohio’s past attended to share some of their story with guests.

John Sherman of Lancaster, younger brother of Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman was a US Congressman during the Civil War and went on to Secretary of the Treasury be a US Senator, US Secretary of the Treasury, and US Secretary of State. Sherman was portrayed by John Murray, native of Morgan County.

Emma “Grandma” Gatewood, of Gallia County, mother of 11 children and survivor of domestic violence, at age 67 was the first solo female thru-hiker of the 2,168-mile Appalachian Trail. She was the first person, male or female, to hike the entire Trail three times. At age 71, Gatewood hiked the 2000 mile Oregon Trail by herself from Independence Missouri to Portland, Oregon. Gatewood was portrayed by Karen Matteson of Athens County.

Ephraim Cutler convinced the people of Ames to establish the Western Library Association in 1804 by raising money for the library through sale furs. It came to be called the “Coonskin Library.” Cutler a delegate to the Ohio Constitutional Convention from Washington County, played a forceful role in the prohibition of slavery. Cutler was portrayed by Mark Shubert of Athens County.

Charlotte Scott was born into slavery in Virginia. Given as a wedding gift to a young woman she raised, she moved to Marietta and was given her freedom papers and a job by the young woman’s husband. Upon the assassination of President Lincoln, a man she thought of as her friend, she gave her entire savings to her employer and asked him to find a way to build a memorial to the slain president. Her donation went on to build the first Lincoln monument. Scott was portrayed by Sonya Armstrong of Charleston, West Virginia.

Thomas Ewing, the first graduate of Ohio University, raised three sons who became generals in the Civil War. He also raised an orphaned neighbor boy, William Tecumseh Sherman, as a stepson. Ewing served as a US Senator, US Secretary of the Treasury, and the first US Secretary of the Interior. Ewing was portrayed by Tom O’Grady from Morgan County.

Martha Worthington, born Martha Piatt in Cincinnati in 1814, lived at the famed Adena Mansion in Chillicothe with her husband James Worthington, son of one of Ohio’s first US senators and the sixth governor of Ohio. Worthington was portrayed by Kathy Styer of Ross County.