Phoebe Haynes Ainsworth Papers

Collection

Identifier: RG 30-155

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The diaries consist of six small volumes, 1866-1870, 1875, and loose sheets, 1863-1867. They cover a trip to New York and New Jersey in 1866, a stay at the home of the Rev. Lyman Abbot in New York City in 1869, and periods when Ainsworth was in Oberlin. The diaries are devoted to her musical activities and interests and to the activities of her friends. A few of Phoebe’s recollections and diary entries from her college days are included in the collection.

Dates

Creation: 1863-1875
Other: Date acquired: 1983 February 8

Creator

Ainsworth, Phoebe Haynes (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Unrestricted.

Biographical Sketch

Phoebe Maria Haynes was born in Strongsville, Ohio, on September 14, 1838, to Reuben Haynes (1803-1869) and Phebe Condict Haynes (1808-1888). Ainsworth’s father moved his family to Oberlin in 1853 for better educational advantages. Phoebe Haynes Ainsworth, belonging to the class of 1861, studied in the Preparatory Department and College from 1854 to 1858. As an undergraduate, Ainsworth, along with one of five siblings, sister Caroline (OC ‘65) was in great demand for concert and choir work. Ainsworth served as head soprano soloist, under the pastorate of President Charles Finney, at the First Church in Oberlin. Ainsworth’s did not graduate with her class of 1861; instead she followed her musical interests, specializing in voice and devoting her life to teaching. She studied music throughout the United States and in Germany. In 1866-1867 she taught in the Oberlin Conservatory with music professors John Paul Morgan (d. 1879) and George W. Steele (d. 1902). In 1910 she married Daniel Ainsworth, and together they moved to the mining region in Arizona. When her husband died in 1922, Ainsworth returned to Oberlin to live with her sister, Angeline Haynes Swift (1833-1921), and her niece, Cora L. Swift (1868-1948). Phoebe Haynes Ainsworth died at her home on April 11, 1928, and was laid to rest in the Haynes plot in Westwood cemetery.