Charles Henry Ambler
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Charles Henry Ambler (August 12, 1876 – August 31, 1957) was an American historian, teacher, professor and civil servant. As a historian he was an accomplished writer of
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
and
West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...
history, publishing many works on those subjects. Ambler is noted for his expertise on the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
in how it brought about the formation of
West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...
. He was also noted for his approach in applying modern research techniques in the study of West Virginia's history, and was complimented by his contemporaries of belonging to the "modern school of historians". During his career as a historian and professor Ambler had authored and published numerous works on
Colonial Virginia The Colony of Virginia was a British Empire, British colonial settlement in North America from 1606 to 1776. The first effort to create an English settlement in the area was chartered in 1584 and established in 1585; the resulting Roanoke Colo ...
, the states of Virginia and West Virginia before and during the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
, along with publications about the colonial move westward. Rice, 2012, Essay


Early life and education

Charles Henry Ambler was born on August 12, 1876, in
Matamoras, Ohio Matamoras, also known as New Matamoras, is a village in Washington County, Ohio, United States, along the Ohio River. The population was 702 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Marietta micropolitan area. History The Matamoras vicinity was f ...
. His boyhood days were spent in
St. Marys, West Virginia St. Marys is a city in and the county seat of Pleasants County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 1,847 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is part of the Parkersburg–Vienna metropolitan area. St. Marys was esta ...
. He married Helen Mary Carle in 1920, who also attended West Virginia University; their marriage bringing two children, Mary Elizabeth and Mary Louise. Ambler was a teacher in
Pleasants County, West Virginia Pleasants County is a county located in the U.S. state of West Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 7,653. Its county seat is St. Marys. History Pleasants County was formed by the Virginia General Assembly from portions of adjac ...
public school from 1894 to 1900. He attended
West Liberty University West Liberty University (WLU) is a public university in West Liberty, West Virginia, United States. Located in the state's Northern Panhandle of West Virginia, Northern Panhandle, it was established as an academy in 1837 and is the oldest unive ...
. He was elected sheriff of Pleasants County and served in 1900–1901. In 1901 he enrolled at
West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia, United States. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Ins ...
, where he earned an AB in social sciences, and a MA, in 1904 and 1905 respectively. He thereafter attended the
University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...
, and became acquainted with
Frederick Jackson Turner Frederick Jackson Turner (November 14, 1861 – March 14, 1932) was an American historian during the early 20th century, based at the University of Wisconsin-Madison until 1910, and then Harvard University. He was known primarily for his front ...
, noted for his famous, yet historically controversial, Frontier Thesis. Ambler earned his doctorate in history in 1908, using the first eight chapters of his work, ''Sectionalism in Virginia from 1776 to 1861'' (1910), for his dissertation. Ambler went on to teach political science and history at Randolph-Macon College in Virginia until 1917. Leonard & Marquis, 1914, p. 41 During his tenure there he met J. M. Battin, a former student of the college, who was in possession of the long forgotten diary of John Floyd, 25th Governor of Virginia, from 1830 to 1834, which Ambler made extensive use of when he wrote Floyd's biography. In writing the biography Ambler received helpful assistance from Doctor George B. Johnston, and Ann Mason Lee, both from Richmond, who were direct descendants of Floyd. In the following thirty years Ambler was a member of the
West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia, United States. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Ins ...
history department, and served as its chairman from 1929 until 1946. He created the West Virginia and Regional History Collection in West Virginia's university library.


Later life

Ambler was the president of the Mississippi Valley Historical Association in 1942–43 and received numerous other recognitions of this sort. As a state legislator he was a representative of Monongalia County from 1951 until 1955. Ambler was a leading authority on the history of education in pre-statehood West Virginia in the 19th century, and noted that the failures in the free school system of the 1840s was due to the inefficiency of the state legislature and its failure to enact special laws. Ambler's 1958 work, entitled, ''West Virginia, the Mountain State'', (1958), is a rewriting and further elaboration of his earlier work, ''A History of West Virginia'', (1933). Here he discusses the prominent geological divisions, i.e.the vast mountain ranges that divided the original region of Virginia, and how they led to the social divisions and sectionalism that, after years of political and Constitutional debate, led to the creation and establishment of the State of West Virginia. Ambler also belonged to the
American Geographical Society The American Geographical Society (AGS) is an organization of professional geographers, founded in 1851 in New York City. Most fellows of the society are United States, Americans, but among them have always been a significant number of fellows f ...
, the
Masonic Order Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...
, and the
International Order of Odd Fellows The Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) is a non-political, non-sectarian international fraternal order of Odd Fellowship. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Wildey in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Evolving from the Odd Fellows, Order ...
. Among Ambler's most notable legacies was his efforts in the creating the West Virginia and Regional History Collection in the West Virginia University library. Charles Ambler died on August 31, 1957, aged 81. He is buried at Lawnwood Cemetery, Morgantown, Monogalia County, West Virginia.


Works

Charles Ambler has authored at least 50 works in 198 publications. Some of his works were published after his death. His works involved considerable research, exploring numerous topics that previously had received little attention from historians. WorldCat Identities, 2019 Selected works: * ''Disfranchisement in West Virginia. I. and II''.  (1906) * ''Sectionalism in Virginia from 1776 to 1861'' (1910) * Thomas Ritchie; a study in Virginia politics (1913) * The life and diary of John Floyd, governor of Virginia : an apostle of secession and the father of the Oregon country  (1918) * (ed.) ''Correspondence of Robert M. T. Hunter, 1826–1876'' (1918) * ''A history of transportation in the Ohio valley, with special reference to its waterways, trade, and commerce from the earliest period to the present time''  (1932) * ''A History of West Virginia'' (1933) * ''George Washington and the West'' (1936) * ''Francis H. Pierpont, Union War Governor of Virginia and father of West Virginia''  (1937) * Recollections of war and peace, 1861-1868 (1938) * ''West Virginia, the Mountain State'' (1940, reprinted 1958) * ''West Virginia; stories and biographies'' (1942) * The makers of West Virginia and their work (1942) * A history of education in West Virginia; from early Colonial times to 1949 (1951)


See also

*
History of West Virginia The history of West Virginia stems from the 1861 Wheeling Convention, which was an assembly of northwestern Southern Unionist from northwestern counties of the state of Virginia. They aimed to repeal the Ordinance of Secession that Virginia m ...
*
Thomas Perkins Abernethy Thomas Perkins Abernethy (August 25, 1890 – November 12, 1975) was an American historian and academic. He served as a professor of early American history at a number of universities throughout the South and Southwest United States. He ma ...
- specialized in frontier history, and a contemporary of Charles Ambler * James Kendall Hosmer - American historian of the American Civil War and librarian


Notes


References


Sources

* * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ambler, Charles Henry 1876 births 1957 deaths People from Washington County, Ohio People from St. Marys, West Virginia West Virginia sheriffs Historians of the American Civil War 20th-century American historians American male non-fiction writers West Virginia University alumni Historians of Virginia Historians of West Virginia History of Virginia History of colonialism University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni 20th-century American male writers Historians from Ohio Schoolteachers from West Virginia West Liberty University alumni