Accession No. RARE.2020.0004: Purchased, 2020 January
[identification of item], Arabella (Belle) Piatt McCullough and Lissie Barnett Runkle Poetry Album and Journal, SPEC.RARE.0298, Rare Books and Manuscripts Library, Ohio State University
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Processed by: Ashleigh Minor, 2020 December; Finding aid written by: Ashleigh Minor, 2020 December, Sierra McGee, 2026 February
Arabella (Belle) Piatt McCullough (1830-1846) was the second daughter of Arabella Sanders (Piatt) McCullough and William Budd McCullough. Arabella Sanders McCullough (1808-1830) was a daughter of Benjamin McCullough Piatt (1779-1863) and Elizabeth (Barnett) Piatt (1780-1867).
(Elizabeth) Lissie Barnett Runkle (circa 1831-1851) was the daughter of Hannah Isabella (Piatt) Runkle (1804-1839) and Ralph Edwin Runkle (1806-1874). Hannah Runkle was also a daughter of Benjamin McCullough Piatt and Elizabeth (Barnett) Piatt. Lissie and Belle were cousins.
Following the deaths of their mothers, Belle and Lissie were raised by their grandparents, Benjamin and Elizabeth Piatt, on the Piatt family property located in Logan County, Ohio, known as "Mac-a-chee." Belle died at the age of 16. Lissie died at the age of 20.
The Arabella (Belle) Piatt McCullough and Lissie Barnett Runkle Poetry Album and Journal includes handwritten poems and diary entries in a bound journal with a nameplate for "Miss A. Piatt" affixed to the cover. The entries are written in ink in several different hands, and are signed by multiple individuals, including "Arabella" or "Belle," and "Lissie" or "Lissie Runkle," as well as others, possibly family members, who signed only with their initials. The poems are mostly originals written by Belle and Lissie about religion, love, death, and family. Some hymns and verses written by others are also transcribed throughout. Many of the entries note the location they were written in, mostly Cincinnati and Mac-a-chee, the family's land in Logan County, Ohio. The journal appears to have been primarily used by Belle and Lissie when they were teenagers living at Mac-a-chee with their grandparents. A page at the end of the journal lists the names and birth dates for five of Elizabeth Budd (McCullough) Smith's children, Belle's older sister, indicating that this journal continued to be used by other family members after the deaths of Belle and Lissie. Some loose items are laid into the journal, including an ink drawing of vines, a lock of hair, and a poem written on lined paper. The entries are dated circa 1843-1862.