Frances J. Hosford Papers

Collection

Identifier: RG 30-035

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Frances J. Hosford Papers (1835-1966, date span), organized as an alphabetical file, contains correspondence, including reminiscences, copies of manuscripts, and research materials. Individuals and subjects covered include Antoinette Brown Blackwell, Betsy Mix Cowles, Mary Hosford Fisher, Charles Grandison Finney, Marianne Parker Dascomb, the Amistad case, antislavery, the Oberlin-Wellington Rescue, early Oberlin women, and Elmira and Wesleyan colleges. Statistics on the occupational and marriage patterns of Oberlin graduates, 1837-1926, are included in an undated paper by Louis D. Hartson. Among Hosfod’s correspondents were James T. Fairchild, W.G. Frost, Emma Monroe Fitch, W.B. Gerrish, Helen Keep, Juia Finney Monroe, Margaret Maltby, Edward S. Steele, Eloise Steele, and Florence M. Snell.

Dates

Creation: 1925-1935
Other: Date acquired: 03/27/1969

Creator

Hosford, Frances J. (Hosford, Frances Juliette) (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Restricted items are noted on the inventory (photographs).

Biographical Sketch

Frances Juliette Hosford was born in New Hartford, New York on October 3, 1853, the daughter of Henry Brown (1817-1889) and Mary Elizabeth "Eliza" Plant Hosford (1824-1907). The Hosfords had six other children, including two whom attended Oberlin: Mary Elizabeth (1855-1941, Ph.B. ’99) and Helen "Nellie" Plant (1863-1946, Conservatory of Music, ’85), as well as Sarah Amy (1851-1943), Harriet "Hattie" Mason (1857-1949), Henry Hallock (1859-1965), and Daniel Mason (1866-1947). Francis graduated from Lake Erie Seminary in 1872. Hosford taught at Lake Erie Seminary (1874-75), at Cleveland High School (1875-1880), and served as principal and teacher of Latin at Elyria High School (1880-1885). She then earned the bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Oberlin in 1891 and 1896, respectively. She became a tutor, instructor, and finally associate professor of Latin, first in the Oberlin Academy and then in the College. She simultaneously served as a member of the Women’s Board of Managers (1892-1912) and as Dean of The Academy Women and Assistant Dean of College Women (1911-1920). As a historian, she researched early Oberlin history for articles that appeared in the Oberlin Alumni Magazine and for her book, Father Shipherd’s Magna Carta, a Century of Coeducation in Oberlin College (1937). Oberlin twice honored Hosford by conferring on her the degree of honorary doctor of letters (1931) and by awarding her the Distinguished Service Medal of the Alumni Association, the first occasion of its bestowal on a woman.

Frances Hosford enjoyed working in her home and garden, and was active in church and community. She wrote a book on the history of First Church of Oberlin titled A Living Stone (1933). Hosford was very interested in women’s advancement in education and her writings and teaching were dedicated to this cause. She never married, nor had any children, however, many of Hosford’s nieces and nephews are noted as Oberlin graduates. She died in Oberlin on May 14, 1937, of myocardial degeneration.

SOURCES CONSULTED

Guide to the Women’s History Sources in the Oberlin College Archives (1990).

Frances Juliette Hosford, student file, Alumni Records (RG 28), Box 396.

Note written by William Bigglestone.