RG 30. Personal Papers

Scope and Contents The Richard D. Brown papers concern his teaching career and his efforts to initiate change in college policy. The collection includes term papers by students writing about their own family histories as part of the Anonymous Families History Project. In addition, the Brown papers contain drafts of a proposal for a study of policy making at the college. This particular file also includes correspondence between faculty and Brown’s own reflections on policymaking issues. Through the preparations...

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 Paul Patrick Rogers Papers comprise copies of the FBI’s files (1944-1968) on Rogers, Oberlin College Professor of Spanish language and literature, 1929-1966. The files are photocopies of documents (e.g., letters, reports) complied by the FBI during the agency’s investigation of Rogers’ ties to the Communist Party, including his interest in the Communist Party in Mexico, and involvement with the Ohio State Communist Party in Cleveland, Ohio. See the biographical sketch for more...

Scope and Contents The papers of Harold H. Sprout consist of letters sent and received by Sprout. Oberlin College Class of 1924, and his family. The bulk of the letters were written during his student days at Oberlin College, 1920-1924.  Sprout corresponded with his parents (George and Grace Sprout) and sister (Chastina) regarding life at Oberlin and family matters. Also included are letters from other friends and relatives, “Round Robin” letters from high school classmates from Benzonia High School in...

Scope and Contents This collection was created, compiled and organized by Beverly Soll in preparation for the writing of her book, I Dream a World: The Operas of William Grant Still (University of Arkansas Press, 2005).  The collection consists primarily of copies pertaining to Still’s operas from the William Grant Still and Verna Arvey Papers at the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville, but also includes material from the Library of Congress and other sources, as well as...

Scope and Contents The Jeanne Ragner Papers contribute some documentation of student life in a language program house at Oberlin College during the 1940s through the 1960s, particularly in the photographs series.  Most of the photographs are informal snapshots of Ragner, students, and others associated with French House.  There are a few professional college photographs in the series that were likely used in publicity vehicles such as the Alumni Magazine.  At least three of the...

Scope and Contents The papers of Victor Obenhaus comprise fifty-eight letters concerning the careers and families of Victor Obenhaus and Erwin N. Griswold, and the Oberlin College Class of 1925. Obenhaus was a member of the Oberlin College Board of Trustees, as was Erwin N. Griswold, his college roommate at Oberlin. This collection includes letters sent to and received by Erwin N. Griswold, whose papers are also held by the Oberlin College Archives (RG 30/101). Griswold was also the U.S. Solicitor General from...

Scope and Contents This collection consists of 133 copies made from selected materials in the Atkins Family Papers at The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley. The Atkins family were early settlers in Ashtabula County, Ohio. The Bancroft’s collection of Atkins Family Papers document their participation in the anti-slavery movement from 1836 through 1950. The copies (solicited by Oberlin College’s second archivist in 1988) comprise correspondence of Josiah Atkins (1757-1828), who served in the...

Scope and Contents The letters contained in this collection shed light on the daily life in and around Oberlin in the nineteenth century, beginning in 1837, four years after Oberlin’s founding. One letter dating from 1913 is the sole item from the twentieth century. The letters are written by Oberlin College students, Oberlin townspeople, or the families and friends of people residing in Oberlin. None of the letters deal with major historical events; rather, the content is focused on daily occurrences. Of...

Scope and Contents This collection is composed of correspondence, personal belongings, biographical material, research materials, and photographs related to the life of Alice Imamoto (’47 Mus.B.). It spans 1929-2018. Alice enrolled in the Conservatory to study piano performance in 1943. During her first years at Oberlin, her family, of Japanese descent, were in an internment camp in Arkansas. Alice's letters to her parents, a considerable portion of the collection, provide a look at life in Oberlin during and...