Alice Hester Simpson Papers
Scope and Contents
The papers of Alice Hester Simpson detail her life, personal and professional, and her relationships with several members of her family. The correspondence of David and Clara Simpson gives additional insight for the lives of Alice Simpson’s parents. Her family correspondence and activity in finalizing the affairs or receiving posthumous gifts of several family members describes her involvement with her family. Of special notice are the numerous letters to and from Alice Simpson’s great aunt Alice Little and other records, which indicate the close relationship these two shared.
Much of the documentation included in this collection deals with Alice’s time spent in various capacities at the Library of Hawaii (1929-61). These include personal and professional letters sent by Alice while she was in Hawaii, newspaper entries regarding her service to the Library of Hawaii and in reference to her great aunt Alice Little’s visit to the islands, diary entries covering the time she spent overseas, and photographs taken of Alice and her friends and or family while she was in Hawaii.
The great bulk of professional correspondence concerns her short but prominent career at Oberlin College. During her time as head of the Cataloging Department, the Oberlin College Library decided to adopt the Library of Congress cataloging system, where previously they had used the Dewey Decimal System. The department also performed a self-study to identify potential areas of improvement. The majority of the Oberlin correspondence relates to these two events.
The collection also describes Alice Simpson’s personal activities: traveling, photography, stamp collecting, and participating in various women’s groups. The Christian Bibles, New Testaments, and Daily Book of Prayer, along with the church bulletins in the Miscellaneous File, give insight into her religious devotion.
Dates
- Creation: 1887 - 1993
Creator
- Simpson, Alice Hester (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Certain folders are restricted. See inventory for details.
Conditions Governing Access
Two restricted folders in Series 1.
Biographical Sketch
Alice Hester Simpson (1903-1993) was born in Oberlin, Ohio, on December 18, 1903, the daughter of David Peter (AB 1892; AM 1895) and Helen Little Simpson (PhB 1892). Her maternal grandmother, Sarah Florella Cowles—Mrs. Thomas Henry Little–(AB 1859; AM 1962) was the daughter of Henry Cowles, professor of languages and Biblical history and literature at Oberlin College (1835-48) and later a trustee of the college (1851-1881) and Alice Welch Cowles, Principal of the Female Department (1836-40) and a member of the Women's Board (1837-43). Miss Simpson's two brothers and a sister also graduated from Oberlin College: Donald Little Simpson (AB 1919); David Wallace Simpson (AB 1930) and Elizabeth (Besse) Howard Simpson (AB 1922).
Following in the family tradition, Alice Hester Simpson entered Oberlin College in 1920. There she majored in general literature and French and was active in both the French and German clubs. After graduating in 1924, she worked as an assistant in the Edgewater Branch of the Cleveland, Ohio Public Library (1924-26) before entering the School of Library Science at Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Upon earning the degree of BS in Library Science in 1927, Alice began her career of over fifty years as a professional librarian.
After serving the Cleveland Public Library as a cataloger (1927-29) and the Akron Public Library as a technical and reference assistant (1929), Simpson moved to Honolulu where she worked as a cataloger at the Library of Hawaii, becoming head of the department in 1941.
Except for a few months of medical leave (1943-44), during part of which she assisted in the Cataloguing Department at Oberlin College, she served in the Honolulu position until 1961, a period of over thirty years. During these years, she also served terms as treasurer for both the Hawaii Library Association and the Honolulu Oberlin College Alumni Association.
Upon returning to Oberlin in 1961, Miss Simpson served a few months as an assistant cataloguer, becoming head of the department that same year (1961-65). She ended her professional career as a cataloger for the Ashland University Library, serving from 1966 until retiring in 1969.
Alice Hester Simpson continued to live in Oberlin until her death on December 28, 1993. She left no relatives.
Sources Consulted
Student file for Alice Hester Simpson (RG 28).
“Alice Hester Simpson.” Oberlin, Ohio News Tribune (4 January 1994).
“Alice Simpson.” Honolulu, Hawaii Starr Bulletin (21 May 1961).
“Alice Simpson: Librarian in Honolulu and Oberlin.” Cleveland, Ohio Plain Dealer (1 January 1994).
“Alice Hester Simpson: Longtime Librarian in Honolulu.” Elyria, Ohio Chronicle-Telegram (30 December 1993).
Note written by Jonathan M. Thurn.
Extent
2.70 Linear Feet
Language of Materials
English
Method of Acquisition
The papers of Alice H. Simpson were received by the Archives in one accession in 1994 from the estate of Alice Simpson.
Accruals and Additions
Accession No: 1994/003.
- Title
- Alice Hester Simpson Papers Finding Guide
- Author
- Jonathan M. Thurn
- Date
- 2003 January 1
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Revision Statements
- 2003 January: Processed by Jonathan M. Thurn.
- 2024-2025: Prepared for migration by Emily Rebmann and Lee Must.
Repository Details
Part of the Oberlin College Archives Repository
420 Mudd Center
148 West College Street
Oberlin OH 44074-1532 US
440-775-8014
440-775-8016 (Fax)
archive@oberlin.edu