RG 30. Personal Papers

Scope and Contents The papers of Mariah Crabb document her manumission, include information about her former enslavers, and detail the activities of her family members in the 1830s and 1840s. Of particular note is Mariah Crabb's handwritten Manumission Indenture. On July 1, 1831, Mariah and her family purchased their freedom for $150 from Martin, Elizabeth, and David Hausman. Consisting largely of personal letters written to Mariah Crabb from her former enslavers, Martin and Elizabeth, the letters...

Scope and Contents The John G. Olmstead Family papers (1840-1955) consist of correspondence, professional and student files, and other miscellaneous material as collected by John G. Olmstead. This collection is arranged into sixteen series: Series I. Olmstead Letters regarding Academy and College Years; Series II. Files relating to John G. Olmstead’s Professional Activities; Series III. Letters received by Icabod A. Olmstead and Mary C. Olmstead; Series IV. Letters received by John G. Olmstead; Series V....

Scope and Contents

The Margaret Guss Barnaby Papers document Barnaby’s time at Oberlin College (1921-1925), and only the last three years from her time at the Harvard School of Public Health, between 1967 and 1969. She held various positions at Harvard from 1937 until her retirement in 1969.

The collection is arranged into five series.

Scope and Contents The papers of Emil C. Danenberg (1917-1982) and Mary Ann Danenberg (1927-2008) document the lives and careers of the Danenbergs over an 82 year period. The arrangement of the Danenberg’s papers into two subgroups—the papers of Mary Ann Danenberg and the papers of Emil C. Danenberg—does not diminish the collaborative nature of the couple’s work. Although the bulk of the materials found in the collection relate to Mary Ann’s education and professional life, significant material relating to...

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 Grace L. Schauffler Papers hold very little material, consisting of one U.S. patent, stationery, and an advertisement designed by Schauffler for her business; three photographs of Schauffler and the article in which one appeared in the Oberlin Alumni Magazine; four of Schauffler’s publications and a manuscript; a scrapbook kept during Schauffler’s undergraduate years at Oberlin College in 1913-16; and clippings dating from 1945 to 1982. Also included...

Scope and Contents The Francis Price Papers make up a small collection arranged into six series: I. Correspondence; II. Diary and Journal; III. Printed Matter; IV. Photograph Album; V. Scrapbook; and VI. Artifacts.  None of these series holds extensive material, and together they present a limited picture of the life and work of Francis Price.  The most interesting item resides in Series II, a typescript of letters by his sister-in-law Eva J. Price from June 28 to July 1 of 1900, just before the family was...

Scope and Contents The Leslie Candor Farquhar Papers are comprised of correspondence, writings, brochures, advertisements, manuscripts, photographs, negatives, slides, exhibit materials, and a scrapbook, most of which were produced by Leslie Farquhar as a journalist, writer, photographer and community volunteer.  They reflect the Oberlin College and town community and, to a lesser extent, the Elyria community, primarily during the 1970s through 2008. The papers are about equally split between texts...

Scope and Contents The papers of the Nichols Family primarily document the career of Ruth Alexander Nichols as a photographer and businesswoman and range from letters to and from diverse family members to photographs and negatives. These materials provide an example of a successful commercial photographer who was almost entirely self-taught. Ruth Alexander Nichols began her career as a photographer out of necessity, finding herself widowed in the first half of the twentieth century, an age when single...

Scope and Contents The Erwin H. Richards papers consist of a scrapbook, correspondence, writings, photographs and photograph albums, glass plate negatives, lantern slides, a map, and printer’s blocks that document the family’s missionary activity in Portuguese East Africa. The writings constitute a significant portion of the Erwin H. Richards papers. Included are writings and translations by Richards, used as instructional tools during his missionary work in Africa. The writings by others also...