Finding aid for the Donald Fisher Lybarger Papers

Biography of Donald Fisher Lybarger

Donald Fisher Lybarger (1896-1970) was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on December 19, 1896. He was the son of Jesse James Lybarger and Margaret Shuler Lybarger. In 1903 the family moved to Wilmington, Delaware, where Jesse Lybarger became the manager of a Singer Sewing Machine store. Donald and his sister, Mildred, attended the Friends School, a private institution in Wilmington.

Donald Lybarger entered Gettysburg College in 1915, but when the United States entered World War I, he enlisted in the Navy. At the end of the war Lybarger returned to Gettysburg College where he graduated summa cum laude in 1919. He entered Western Reserve University Law School the same year and received his L.L.B. in 1923. He was admitted to the Ohio Bar in 1923, and until 1945 he was a member of the law firm of Horn, Weisell, McLaughlin and Lybarger.

In 1924, Lybarger married Cornelia Marjorie Hartshorne. Four children were born to the couple: Marjorie, Virginia Dowler, Lee Hartshorne, and Leonard Fisher. Mrs. Lybarger died on November 4, 1953. In 1956, Lybarger married Helen Baldwin Dean.

Donald Lybarger actively participated in numerous local and national organizations. He was a member of the Early Settlers Association, the Sons of the American Revolution, the Western Reserve Historical Society, the American Philatelic Society, a Masonic Lodge, the Woodland Center Neighborhood House, Theta Kappa Nu Franternity, and of several veterans' organizations. He resigned from the Sons of the American Revolution in 1962, however, in protest against what he believed were racist tendencies in the organization. In addition, Lybarger maintained a lifelong interest in stamp collecting and genealogy. He was the compiler of family histories of Baldwin, Belden, Crum, Dowler, Fisher, Grimwood, Hartshorne, Januszewski, Lybarger, Miller, and Shuler families. He also wrote articles on a variety of topics, including religion, Ohio history, poetry, the law, and stamp collecting.

In 1932, Lybarger was elected Cuyahoga County Recorder. During his tenure, he was mentioned as a possible successor to Michael F. O'Donnell, Cleveland postmaster, and was often recommended to fill vacancies on the county bench. He was never appointed, so in 1949 he ran fora position on the county bench and won. He was reelected in 1954, 1960, and 1966. In 1967, he was elected to succeed Arthur A. Day as chief justice. He remarked at this time that he did not think chief justices should run for reelection and he set an example by retiring in April 1969. As chief justice, he was concerned about delays in pretrial procedures and attempted to reduce the number of trial delays granted once a case had been put on the active list. He also set up a series of committees to find ways of reducing the backlog of civil cases, and worked to increase the number of judgeships.

Donald Lybarger died on November 6, 1970, at the age of 73. He was survived by his wife and his four children.

Scope and Content

The Donald Fisher Lybarger Papers, 1847-1970 and undated, consist of early family papers, family correspondence, scrapbooks of clippings, other family mementos, speeches of Jesse J. Lybarger, speeches and writings of Donald Lybarger, notes, publications, correspondence, clippings and other sources related to these writings, and correspondence, family histories, notes, family crests, lineage charts, record forms, maps, clippings, and other genealogical materials.

The general files have been maintained in their original alphabetical order. They include the non-genealogical speeches and writings by Donald Lybarger as well as notes, publications, correspondence, newspaper clippings, and other materials relating to these writings.

The genealogy files include correspondence, arranged chronologically, and non-correspondence arranged alphabetically, including family histories and notes, family crests, lineage charts, family record forms, maps, newspaper clippings, and miscellaneous materials. There is a wealth of source material for genealogists interested in the Baldwin, Belden, Crum, Dowler, Fisher, Grimwood, Hartshorne, Januszewski, Lybarger, Miller, and Shuler families.

Ten oversize volumes of newspaper clippings from the first series and one oversize volume on the Western Reserve from the second series have been placed at the end of the collection. The writings of Donald Lybarger are listed in the appendices.

Statement of Arrangement

Restrictions on Access

None.

The researcher should also consult PG 117 Donald Fisher Lybarger Family Photographs; PG 199 Donald Fisher Lybarger Photographs; and MS 4155 Donald Fisher Lybarger Papers, Series II.

All photographs have been removed to PG 117 Donald Fisher Lybarger Family Photographs.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

Preferred Citation

[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 3322 Donald Fisher Lybarger Papers, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio

Acquisition Information

Gifts of Donald Fisher Lybarger in 1970; and Mrs. Donald Fisher Lybarger in 1970.

Processing Information

Processed by Tim Willard in 1975.

Other Finding Aid

A list of the writings of Donald Fisher Lybarger is available at the Reference Desk of the WRHS Research Library.

Detailed Description of The Collection