12th Annual John Y. Simon Day 2021

Photograph of John and Harriet Simon

Photo provided by Harriet Simon

Each year the park invites a scholar to speak on Grant to honor Dr. John Y. Simon. Dr. Simon was the editor of The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant, Professor of History at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, and executive director of the Ulysses S. Grant Association from 1962 until his death in 2008. He edited 31 annotated volumes of Grant’s letters and papers. He also edited Julia Dent Grant’s memoirs and was the author or editor of over 100 articles on Civil War, Grant, Lincoln, and Illinois history. His scholarship on Grant has been indispensable to Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site. Harriet F. Simon donated her husband’s extensive book collection to the site in March 2010, adding over 2,000 monographs to the park library.

Dr. Ned Lodwick, DVM
Vice-President of the U.S. Grant Homestead Association
Historian, Brown County Historical Society

Photo provided by Ned Lodwick

“A Boy Becomes the Man”
Through three short videos, Dr. Lodwick provides an overview of Ulysses S. Grant’s life as a boy in Georgetown, Ohio. One video is a virtual tour of the U.S. Grant Homestead that includes Grant’s boyhood home and the school he attended. Dr. Lodwick shares stories of Grant’ childhood, gleaned from multiple sources. He also describes the political activity of Brown County, Ohio that Grant would have known about as he was growing up. All these childhood events would impact the man who would eventually lead the US Army in saving the Union and then becoming the President of the United States.

Duration:

1 minute, 41 seconds

A brief introduction to John Y. Simon Day 2021 presented by Julie Northrip, Program Manager for Interpretation, Education, and Volunteers at Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site

Duration:

13 minutes, 30 seconds

A tour of key landmarks that mark Grant's youth in Georgetown, OH, presented by Dr. Ned Lodwick, DVM, Vice-President of the U.S. Grant Homestead Association and Historian with the Brown County Historical Society.

Duration:

15 minutes, 26 seconds

The story of Ulysses S. Grant's first sixteen years, growing up in Georgetown, OH as told by Dr. Ned Lodwick, DVM, Vice-President of the U.S. Grant Homestead Association and Historian for the Brown County Historical Society.

Duration:

9 minutes, 38 seconds

An overview of the political landscape in Ohio during Grant's youth presented by Dr. Ned Lodwick, DVM, Vice-President of the U.S. Grant Homestead Association and Historian with the Brown County Historical Society.

11th Annual John Y. Simon Day and Grant Lecture (2020)
This video includes: 4:02: A short virtual tour of the park grounds by Park Ranger David Newmann 9:50: Tribute video to Dr. John Y. Simon 28:53: Keynote lecture by Park Ranger Nick Sacco about Ulysses S. Grant's relationship with slavery.