RG 30. Personal Papers

Scope and Contents This collection primarily consists of the sermons delivered by John Williams Bradshaw during his pastorate at First Congregational Church in Oberlin (1900-1912, n.d.).  Sermon titles include “The efficacy of prayer”, “The ethics of business”, “Evolutionary hypothesis and the idea of God”, and “Changes of 75 years in conceptionof religious life” (delivered in conjunction with Oberlin’s 75th anniversary).  The balance of this collection is made up by a biographical file, correspondence (1897),...

Scope and Contents The papers of Fred L. Steen document his career as a minister, his social interests, and his activities. The bulk of the papers concern his lengthy position as pastor of the Mount Zion Baptist Church in Oberlin. Steen’s correspondence contains letters from various individuals relating to his involvement with the Progressive National Baptist Convention, various elected officials, and many friends. The materials provide evidence of Steen’s commitment to his pastorship at Mount Zion Baptist...

Scope and Contents The papers of Clyde Holbrook, Danforth Professor Emeritus of Religion, consist primarily of lecture notes and writings from eight classes that he taught in Oberlin College’s Department of Religion from 1958 to 1985. The collection does not include any correspondence or other personal papers relating to Holbrook’s campus and community activities. According to Mrs. Holbrook, her late husband did not retain his own correspondence files. The biographical series contains some documentation...

Scope and Contents The Carleton Family Papers primarily document the life and career of Alford Carleton as a missionary, teacher, minister, college president, and observer of the cultural and political climate in the environs of the Middle and Near East.During his time abroad (mostly in Syria, Turkey, and present-day Lebanon) Carleton wrote hundreds of letters to family members, friends, and colleagues. Of great historic value are his first-hand accounts of the region’s unrest due to the repeated...

Scope and Contents The papers of Nancy Hays Teeters (1930-), spanning four decades, document the development of Teeters' career as a fiscal economist from professional staffer and research scholar (1957-78) to member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (1978-84), a Presidential appointment. She concluded her career as IBM's Director of Economics (1984-90) and Vice President (1986-90). Although the papers are largely professional in nature, providing little information about Teeters'...

Scope and Contents The papers of Henry Clarence Burr document his theological beliefs and his service as a Methodist Episcopal minister. His voluminous sermons—there are at least 150 separate sermons present in his volumes—are an example of his life’s major vocation. A few documents exist from his time as a college professor of history either at Baldwin Wallace College, 1913-14, or Mt. Union-Scio College, 1913-18, but are limited to a thin volume of American history lecture outlines and some miscellaneous...

Scope and Contents

The papers of Fredrick D. Shults document his involvement with physical education and athletics at Oberlin College for nearly 35 years. Shults’ many writings and instructional materials included in the collection record his philosophy on teaching, coaching, sports ethics, and many forms of sports strategy.

Scope and Contents The papers of John Herbert Nichols consist mainly of the files of Camp Pemigewassett. The documentation covers his career as a counselor, owner and director from 1933 to 1963, although items as early as 1908 and as late as 1974 are included in the collection. In addition to the camp material the papers include biographical files and records documenting his military service and interest in Oberlin community activities. The records are divided into two subgroups designed to reflect the...

Scope and Contents The William Hayden Boyers papers primarily document Boyers’s work as a theatre director. A majority of the records relate to his work as director and faculty advisor of the Oberlin College Gilbert and Sullivan Players, an organization that he founded in 1949. After his retirement from Oberlin College, Boyers served on the faculty of Saint Paul’s Episcopal College in Lawrenceville, Virginia. The collection contains correspondence, a class syllabus, several programs, and a series of slides...

Scope and Contents

This personal paper collection is divided into two series.