Silas F. Millikan Papers

Collection

Identifier: RG 30-084

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The papers of Silas F. Millikan primarily document the lives of his immediate family and relatives. The bulk of the material, especially the correspondence, concerns Silas’ parents, Daniel and Aurelia Millikan, and his mother’s family, the Peases. The first series, Biographical Material, contains the bulk of the information about Silas F. Millikan, particularly in a biographical sketch of the minister. The biography, written by an unknown author, includes quotes by Millikan, as well as substantial excerpts from papers that he wrote. The biography also mentions his involvement in the Oberlin-Wellington slave rescue. Also in this series is an article about Silas and Mary’s 50^th wedding anniversary that includes biographical information concerning their six children.

Series 2, Correspondence, contains letters written by, and regarding, the Pease and Millikan families. Some of the letters were hand-copied by Marjorie (Millikan) Johnson. Among the letters are correspondence discussing the early death of S. Aurelia Pease’s brother Phineas and a letter from Silas Millikan’s mother to all of her children, scolding them for their quarrelling. Later letters from the 1950s and 1960s briefly discuss the genealogies and histories of the Franklin (by way of the Millikans), Millikan, and Andrews families. Series 3, Writings, contains a variety of writings, most notable of which is an essay about 100 years of co-education at Oberlin College. This piece, written by an unknown author, was hand-copied by Marjorie Millikan and is an interesting summary of the early years of Oberlin College’s education of women.

The fourth series, Miscellaneous, includes lecture notes made by Silas Millikan during his years at Oberlin College from lectures about physiology by Dr. James Dascomb, moral philosophy by President Charles G. Finney, mineralogy by Professor George N. Allen, and a French class. An annotated copy of Silas’ hymnbook from his pastorate in Crete, Illinois, is also in this series. This book and biographical information represent the extent of the documentation concerning his ministry. Series 5, Photographs, contains pictures of Mary Andrews Millikan and a photograph of the Pease family house in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.

The collection is divided into 5 series: 1. Biographical Material, 2. Correspondence, 3. Writings, 4. Miscellaneous, and 5. Photographs.

Dates

Creation: 1814-1960, undated
Creation: Majority of material found in 1830s-1864
Other: Date acquired: 07/16/1974

Creator

Millikan, Silas F. (Millikan, Silas Franklin) (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Unrestricted.

Biographical Sketch

Silas Franklin Millikan, son of Daniel Franklin (1797-1880) and Sally Aurelia Pease Millikan (1801-1875), was born 8 February 1834, in Freedom, Ohio. His mother Aurelia was the sister of Peter Pindar Pease (1795-1861), the first colonist of Oberlin. The Pease and Millikan families originating in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, were closely associated by the shoemaking apprenticeship of Daniel Franklin Millikan to Aurelia’s father, Phineas Pease (1755-1836).

The Millikan family moved from Freedom, Ohio, to Lyndon, Illinois, in 1838. Their home was a station on the Underground Railroad. According to a biographical sketch included in the collection, this influenced Silas’ participation in the Oberlin-Wellington slave rescue as one of the men who went from Oberlin to Wellington to rescue a slave from his captors in 1858. At age fifteen, Silas entered Knox College. He studied there for two years, then transferred to Oberlin College in 1853. He received his A.B. degree from Oberlin in 1855, earned an M.A. in 1858, and in 1859 he graduated from the Seminary. During his time at Oberlin, Silas enrolled in courses taught by Dr. James Dascomb (1808-1880) and George Nelson Allen (1812-1877). President Charles Grandison Finney (1792-1875), John Morgan (1803-1884), and James H. Fairchild (1817-1902) were also at the College during that time.

Millikan was ordained a minister of the Congregational Church in Crete, Illinois, in 1860, and subsequently held pastorates in Illinois, Iowa, and Kansas. He published only one paper, and, according to his answer for the Alumni Catalogue Survey of 1899, his publications were “[S]ermons. More sermons! More sermons!” The 1936 Alumni Catalogue notes that he was a strong supporter of “the missionary, anti-slavery, temperance and social purity causes.”

In 1864, he married Mary Jane Andrews (1834-1917, Oberlin College, Lit. 1857) in Rochester, New York. Mary was Principal of the Ladies Department of Olivet College in Michigan until their marriage. The couple had six children, and Silas and Mary were intent on giving the children the best education possible. Silas’ income as a pastor and money earned by the children financed each child’s education. The older children, after graduating, helped support the education of their younger siblings. All of the Millikan children graduated from Oberlin College: Allan Fairchild (1866-1942), Ph.B. 1890; Robert Andrews (1868-1953), A.B. 1891, A.M. 1893, Sc.D. 1911; Max Franklin (1870-1940), A.B. 1894; Mary Grace (Behr)(1871-1943), A.B. 1895; Marjorie Avis (Johnson)(1874-1957), A.B. 1898; and Mabel Aurelia (Brown)(1877-1970), A.B. 1901. Robert A. Millikan became a physicist and won the 1923 Nobel Prize in Physics. Mabel Millikan married Rev. Robert E. Brown (Oberlin College, A.B. 1901), who was a member of the Board of Trustees, 1920-29, and an Oberlin College professor, 1929-38.

Silas Millikan retired in 1905 after 46 years of ministerial work and lived with his children in Iowa until his death in 1915 in Rochester, NY.

SOURCES CONSULTED

Student File and Papers (RG 30/84) of Silas F. Millikan. “Family Trails and Tales” by Mabel Millikan Brown, Oberlin Alumni Magazine (Feb. 1965): 18-21.

Note written by Rebecca Deeb.

Extent

0.40 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Method of Acquisition

The Silas F. Millikan Papers were received from the Oberlin College Library on 16 July 1974 [accession 240].

Accruals and Additions

Accession No: 240.

Related Materials

See Silas F. Millikan’s student file (RG 28), and Mabel Millikan Brown’s “Family Trails and Tales” in the Oberlin Alumni Magazine (Feb. 1965): 18-21. Also see the Student File and Papers (RG 30/40) of Robert E. Brown, and the Student File of Robert A. Millikan.