RG 30. Personal Papers

Scope and Contents The William P. Norris Papers reflect Norris' long career as a professor of sociology at Oberlin College from 1978 to 2008. Beginning with his Peace Corps work in Bahia, Brazil, Norris was deeply engaged with issues of poverty, housing, and economic structures in Brazil, Pittsburgh, and Lorain, Ohio. This is reflected in his writings, talks, professional papers, research project files, and course files. The collection contains research files related to LGBTQ+ studies as well as Oberlin...

Scope and Contents The papers of Jan Cooper predominantly comprised files from her work on the Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Concerns Committee (LGBCC), and the Oberlin Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Alumni (LGBA, later Oberlin Lambda Alumni) group of the Alumni Association. Those files were transferred to the respective record groups: Various College-Wide Committees, and the Alumni Association. One somewhat informal LGBCC report was kept in this collection in Series 4. Queer Studies Survey.The materials in...

Scope and Contents The materials of Douglas T. Ross comprise of correspondence, diagrams, programs, clippings, and several scrapbooks. The bulk of the material is made up of scrapbook pages and clippings. The most significant materials are the clippings in Series 3. Dating from 1940s to the 1960s, the clippings document Ross’ significant contribution to the engineering world, through his creation of the Automatically Programmed Tool (APT) during his time working at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology...

Scope and Contents The papers of George A. Lanyi document his career as a teacher and scholar of political science. The collection contains both Lanyi's work as a student and teacher; these documents provide a wealth of information concerning issues of national and international politics. Noteworthy are materials concerning British appeasement of Germany prior to World War II, communist foreign policy, the Middle East, and the beginning of the Cold War. The collection also contains professional correspondence...

Scope and Contents The papers of Thomas and Katherine Farquhar document the social lives of two Oberlin College students during and after the first World War. Included in the collection are a journal, which records in detail one particular outing, and a full scrapbook, which gives a broad overview of Katherine’s activities during her entire four-year college career. In addition, a limited number of photocopies of newspaper clippings which contain biographical information are included. Few records exist of...

Scope and Contents The papers of the Cochran Family primarily consist of correspondence, family records, photographs, research files, and writings. The corpus of the collection is formed around William C. Cochran (1848-1936), who organized files relating to the Cochran family and who personally collected historical research files used to support his writing. The bulk of the series material is related to William C. Cochran and his immediate family. Included is documentation on the life and time of his natural...

Abstract

The Irving Wight Metcalf papers chronicle Metcalf's days as a seminary student at Oberlin College, his interest in fellow members of the class of 1878, and his subsequent career as a minister and later a businessman.

Abstract

This small collection consists of materials that document the study and teaching of the French language.

Scope and Contents Consisting of three artificially constructed record series, the individual documents of varying value were collected by Professor of Organ David Boe over the course of the 1990s. Boe is less the creator of this history than Oberlin College’s point person to implement the proceeds of the K. Africa estate to install a new organ in Finney Chapel. The dedication of the Kay Africa Memorial Organ took place September 28-30, 2001. Boe’s role is also documented in the records of the Conservatory of...

Scope and Contents The John Millot Ellis papers consist of a modest amount of material but it covers a good portion of his life. There is little biographical information, but an obituary offers a good summary of his career and community service.  Miscellaneous photographs and college pamphlets chronicle some of Ellis's leisure and family activity. A genealogical chart, compiled by a family in 2002, is included. Six of Ellis's notebooks record his instruction of Rhetoric and Greek from 1851 to 1896. One folder...