If you keep looking, I think you will find aphids.

No aphids, no insects - and whatever it was, the plants are growing out of it. I think it could have been frost damage, but not sure about that.

can't help you with a diagnosis, marshall, but have seen the same on some of mine, too.
as you say, they seem to grow on with no ill effects from it.

Looks like leaf stress disorder. A number of plants will do that if they are about to leaf-out and then the growing conditions suddenly change (too much water followed by too little or vice versa, sudden heat followed by sudden cold, etc.). They do grow out of it as the conditions stablize.

Hello Jeff and thanks for your reply. I have 64 seedlings potted up now, 16 from your seed head, and the rest from seed collected from two different Ohio arboretums. Gave away a bunch of your seedlings as I had so many and still have a few as replacements if needed. The arboretum where I volunteer wants to plant them all as part of a vista boundary and that way we can keep track of how they do. Course that's a year or so away. Thanks again for your help.

Jenny - what you suggested is about what I concluded. They were subjected to some early very warm temps and then for a few days the nighttime temps were just above freezing, then warmed up dramatically. These plants are in the ground at my home - I have about 60 in containers at the arboretum that lead a very sheltered spring time life and they experienced none of these symptoms. Thanks for your suggestion.
Marshall