Mary Sheldon Papers

Collection

Identifier: RG 30-200

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The six folders in this collection consist primarily of Mary Sheldon's composition book, essays detached from the composition book, and other miscellaneous material. The composition book, 1842-1853, includes essays titled "Duties of Students", "The Sabbath", "Women and Politics", "History of the facts relative to the late Illness of our Literary Society" (read August 29, 1849), and "The Circuit Preacher." Essays detached from Sheldon's composition book, 1850-1852, include pieces on "Our Duty to the Oppressed", signed Mary, May 28th 1850; "Ladies Anti-Slavery Society"; and "New Discoveries in Chemistry", undated. Other materials include introspective personal essays and other essays by Mary Sheldon, 1850, 1852; correspondence from Sheldon to the Ladies Literary Society, Oberlin, undated; and, miscellaneous materials, 1836.

Dates

Creation: 1836-1853, undated
Other: Date acquired: 1989 May 18

Creator

Sheldon, Mary (Vincent, Mary Sheldon) (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Unrestricted.

Biographical Sketch

Mary Sheldon (1825-1887), the daughter of Rev. Henry Olcott Sheldon and Ruth Bradley Sheldon, came from Berea, Ohio, to study at Oberlin in 1848. Upon graduating from the Literary Course in 1852, she became principal of the ladies department at the Austinburg Academy in Austinburg, Ohio. On November 10, 1853, she married Rev. James Vincent, Sr. (1821-1899), who attended Oberlin's preparatory department from 1850 to 1853. Rev. Vincent was deeply involved in the American crusade against slavery; accompanied by his wife, he left school and went to England to present the abolitionists' cause before the Association of Congregational Churches. Following their return from this special mission, the Vincents made their home briefly in Berea. In 1855 they planned to travel to Kansas to assist John Brown, but a lack of funds forced them to settle in the little town of Tabor, Iowa, which had become known as a station on the Underground Railroad from Missouri. There they raised their five children in a deeply religious environment. Mary Sheldon Vincent taught school part time. In addition, she assisted her husband in publishing The American Non-Conformist. This newspaper, which moved around the Midwest, ultimately promoted the Greenback and Populists parties. Mary Sheldon Vincent died in 1887, due to a kitchen stove fire.

Sources Consulted

Baumann, Roland M., ed. Guide to the Women's History Sources in the Oberlin College Archives (Oberlin, OH: Oberlin College, 1990), pp. 73-74.

Extent

0.20 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Method of Acquisition

The papers of Mary Sheldon were donated to the Oberlin College Archives by Barbara Anuta, Boulder Historical Society, Boulder, Colorado, on May 18, 1989. The collection was assigned accession number 1989/98.