Wickliffe in Lake County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Henry Kelsey Devereux and “The Spirit of ’76”

Henry Kelsey Devereux Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by J. J. Prats, April 5, 2019

1. Henry Kelsey Devereux Marker

Inscription. Henry Kelsey Devereux was born into an aristocratic family on October 10, 1860 in Cleveland, Ohio. Ohio artist, Archibald Willard, chose Harry, as he was fondly known, to portray the drummer boy in one of America’s most famous patriotic paintings, “The Spirit of ’76.” At the time Willard approached him to pose, young Harry was a cadet at Brooks Military Academy. He married socialite Mildred French in 1885 and in 1910 they settled in her father’s pretentious country estate in Wickliffe, Ohio (presently Telshe Yeshiva College). His passion for harness racing and for breeding horses culminated in the organization of the American Association of Trotting Horse Breeders and his position as president of the Grand Circuit. The affluent and charitable Wickliffe resident died in 1932 at the age of 72.

Erected 2002 by the Wickliffe Historical Society, the City of Wickliffe, and The Ohio Historical Society. (Marker Number 16-43.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Patriots & Patriotism. In addition, it is included in the Ohio Historical Society / The Ohio History Connection

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series list. A significant historical date for this entry is October 10, 1860.

Location. 41° 35.663′ N, 81° 28.769′ W. Marker is in Wickliffe, Ohio, in Lake County. It is at the intersection of Bishop Road (U.S. 84) and Nuttwood Lane, on the left when traveling south on Bishop Road. It is at the Bishop Road entrance to Coulby Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: across from 2520 Bishop Road, Wickliffe OH 44092, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Greater Cleveland,

on the Lake Erie Shore,

and in the Western Reserve.

It is also in the American Midwest.

Globally, it is in North America,

on the Great Lakes,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Veterans Memorial (about 700 feet away, measured in a direct line); Dedicated July 4, 1976 (approx. 0.2 miles away); a different marker

Photographed by J. J. Prats, April 5, 2019

2. Henry Kelsey Devereux Marker

also named Veterans Memorial (approx. 0.2 miles away); Harry Coulby (approx. 0.2 miles away); Coulby Park (approx. 0.2 miles away); Greenwood Farm (approx. 1.7 miles away); Willoughby Hills Veterans Memorial (approx. 2½ miles away); Willowick Veterans Memorial (approx. 3.1 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Wickliffe.

Yankee Doodle, or The Spirit of ’76 image. Click for full size.

Oil by Archibald MacNeal Willard, 1875

3. Yankee Doodle, or The Spirit of ’76

This 18 by 24 inch oil painting is located at Abbot Hall in Marblehead Massachusetts. Photographic reproduction via Wikipedia Commons.

Credits. This page was last revised on August 14, 2026. It was originally submitted on May 21, 2019, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. This page has been viewed 1,281 times since then and 92 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on May 21, 2019, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio.