RG 30. Personal Papers

Scope and Contents The papers of George Eaton Simpson primarily document Simpson’s research and writing in the area of sociology, his correspondence with individuals concerning his research, minority issues, and Oberlin College, and Simpson’s service to Oberlin College and the community through committee work and projects. The collection illustrates the type of sociological research and writings associated with minority issues during the period of U.S. history that included race riots, the Vietnam War, and...

Scope and Contents The papers of Fred H. "Tip" Maddock consist entirely of materials related to the history of Oberlin, Ohio. The collection includes handwritten lists of street addresses, typed city directories, handwritten notes, and other materials that were compiled into notebooks by Maddock. The notebooks were compiled between 1933 to 1951 and they contain information concerning Oberlin businesses, buildings, the Telegraph School, the Chamber of Commerce, and local history. The time period covered is...

Abstract The papers of Chester L. Shaver, 1924-1979, mainly document his research efforts and writings related to authors of the Romantic Period, especially William Wordsworth. The materials vary in content according to form, but they are by far the richest part of the collection. Proofs of The Letters of William and Dorothy Wordsworth: The Early Years (frequently referred to as The Early Years) and drafts of other works are...

Scope and Contents The papers of August Meier primarily document his student days at Oberlin College (1941-45), and his interest in interracial matters, Student Congress, and the Mock Convention. Records consist of materials related to the discrimination of Oberlin barbershops against Black clients (1942-45) and the investigation of discrimination against Black students on the Oberlin College campus (1942). Other files contain information concerning the Committees of Correspondence (1943-45), and the United...

Scope and Contents The Amzi D. Barber and Nancy I. Bailey Barber Family Papers consists primarily of correspondence and records related to the Barber and Bailey families. There are also records related to the Palmer and Dick families, featured prominently in the collection’s photographs. It has been organized into six records series.The correspondence, which forms the bulk of the collection, has been indexed and calendared for ease of use. Topics frequently addressed in correspondence include...

Scope and Contents The Frederick Bennett Wright Collection consists primarily of photographs taken in Russian and the Far East ca. 1900-1901, some of which appear in the two-volume work Asiatic Russia, 1902, authored in Oberlin by his father George Frederick Wright and with a chapter by the younger Wright.  Some of the photographs appear in articles written by Frederick Bennett Wright for issues of the periodical Records of the Past in the...

Scope and Contents The letters of founder John J. Shipherd represent the most important single source on the founding of Oberlin. Philo P. Stewart left no papers. The Shipherd papers should be read along with the early files found in the records of the Office of the Treasurer.Consisting of original documents, ca. 1831-45 and undated, the John J. Shipherd papers mainly constitute letters sent or received by Oberlin’s founder. The approximate twenty letters sent by him, 1831-37, are to his family or to...

Scope and Contents The papers of Julia Finney Monroe are modest in volume and varied in terms of composition. The content of the material largely focuses on very specific aspects of Julia's life, such as her charity work and her travels to Europe and the Middle East. There are very few documents detailing Julia Finney Monroe's personal or family life, her relationship with James Monroe, or her life outside of the years 1885-1901. The travel notebooks that Julia Finney Monroe wrote in 1893 and 1900-01, and...

Scope and Contents This collection consists of only two documents from John S. and Caroline E. Service (1970, 1978).The first document is a memorandum entitled “A Partial Examination of One Aspect of the Many Gross Errors Contained in The Amerasia Papers,” written by John S. Service and dated September 18, 1970. Service critically examined the U.S. government’s foreign policy with China and, in particular, the Communists in the late 1940s and early 1950s. He expressed...

Scope and Contents The Raymond Herbert Stetson Papers consist almost entirely of original letters that Dr. Stetson wrote to friends and colleagues. This personal paper collection was constructed by former Oberlin College Archivist William E. Bigglestone. In an effort to preserve the work of the late Professor Stetson, Bigglestone, with assistance of Stetson family members and Frederick B. Artz, solicited letters sent by Stetson to his friends (e.g. Robert Kimball Richardson [1876-1952] and James M. Snodgrass...