Lloyd William and Esther Bliss Taylor Papers

Collection

Identifier: RG 30-097

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The papers of Lloyd William and Esther Bliss Taylor document their involvement in numerous professional and private organizations. Additionally, the papers reflect their views on temperance, belief in Christianity, and their political and social opinions. The collection is divided into two subgroups, the papers of Lloyd William Taylor, and the papers of Esther Bliss Taylor.

Subgroup I contains the papers of William Lloyd Taylor from 1921 to 1952. The bulk of the materials are present in the correspondence series. The correspondence series contains two subseries, general correspondence and letters of recommendation. General correspondence chronicles Taylor's role as physicist, educator, and major campus figure. Notable correspondents include Nobel Prize winners Robert Andrews Millikan (1868-1953) and Arthur H. Compton (1892-1962). The correspondence is particularly rich in discussing the affairs of the department of physics. Campus correspondents include C. N. Cole (Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences), Karl F. Geiser, Carl E. Howe, Oscar Jaszi, and various campus committees. Taylor's professional activities are documented in correspondence with the American Association of Physics Teachers, 1931-1940, and with numerous publishing houses and scientific equipment manufacturers. Letters of Recommendation contain copies of letters written by Taylor in support of former students applying for graduate assistantships and employment. The letters offer rich documentation of the quality of physics graduates during Taylor's tenure.

The series of writings and talks, 1921-1947, contains several of Taylor's chapel talks as well as articles on physics and teaching. The writings and talks offer keen insight into the politics and morals of Lloyd W. Taylor. Two typescript manuscripts, "The Domain of Science" (1932) and "The Untold Story of the Telephone" (1933) are included in this series as well as correspondence relating to inventor Elisha Gray (1835-1901) and the Elisha Gray Historical Society.

The materials relating to the Oberlin College Physics Department and instructional materials, ca. 1930s-1952, document the internal operation of the department and the courses taught by Taylor and other Physics instructors.

The papers of Esther Bliss Taylor found in subgroup II largely document her role in the local temperance movement. Esther Bliss Taylor was active at the national, state, and local level in the fight for temperance and prohibition. She was a member of the National Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), the Ohio WCTU as well as the Lorain County WCTU and Oberlin WCTU. The Taylor collection documents her activities at all of these levels.

The bulk of subgroup II consists of temperance publications, 1920-1975, in the form of pamphlets and booklets. The publications were distributed to local schools, churches, and organizations as part of the educational mission of the WCTU. Topics cover several aspects of alcohol, alcoholism, prohibition and temperance. Related materials include narcotics, smoking, and gambling. National and state WCTU publications are also contained in this records series and include several volumes of The White Ribbon Bulletin (1956-1963), the Ohio Messenger (1965-1976), and The Ohio Issue (1965-1969).

Of special note are the records pertaining to the Lorain County WCTU and the Oberlin WCTU. Esther Bliss Taylor served as an officer in both of these organizations. The Lorain County WCTU materials include yearbooks, 1942-1961, directories, 1942-1964, correspondence and minutes, 1920-1962, and biographical information on Susan Hinman (1867-1952), president of the Lorain WCTU, and an Oberlin College graduate (A.B. 1893, M.A. 1918). Records of the Oberlin WCTU document the organization from 1904 to 1975. Esther Bliss Taylor served as president from 1946 to 1976. Records include programs, 1904-1975; correspondence, 1943-1974; membership lists, 1945-46; and documents from the 1959 Oberlin local option ballot in which alcohol sales were banned in Oberlin by a two-to-one margin.

Dates

Creation: ca.1895-1980, undated
Creation: Majority of material found in 1921-1970
Other: Date acquired: 08/20/1969

Conditions Governing Access

Letters of Recommendation (Subgroup I, Series1, Subseries 4) are restricted as noted on inventory.

Biographical Sketch

Lloyd William Taylor (1893-1948), noted physicist and his wife Esther Elenora Bliss (1890-1980), Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) leader, were married on December 11, 1917. They met at Grinnell College in Iowa. Lloyd William Taylor was born in Pittsfield, Maine on January 4, 1893 to Levi William (1858-1937) and Carrie Elnora Brown Taylor (1866-1942). He had three siblings:F loriman Earle (1886-1887), Merle Vinton (1891-1891), and Louis Rufus (1904-). He graduated from Grinnell in 1914, and earned his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1922. Esther Bliss Taylor was born in Windom, Kansas on October 25, 1890, to Edwin Clarence (1859-1939) and Jessie Winslow Meeteer Bliss (1864-1951). She had one brother, Edwin Meeteer (1895-1982). She graduated from Grinnell in 1915. Two children were born to the Taylors: Ruth Mildred (Mrs. Harold A. Deery) (1923-2008), and Edwin Floriman (1931-).

From 1917 to 1919 Lloyd W. Taylor served as a coastal artillery officer in the U.S. Army in Panama prior to studying and teaching at the University of Chicago. In 1924 the Taylor family came to Oberlin College following the appointment of Lloyd W. Taylor chairman of the department of physics. He was the author of several books including Physics: The Pioneer Science (1941); College Manual of Optics (1924); and co-author with Carl Ellis Howe (1898-1966) of General Physics for the Laboratory (1926). Taylor was intensely interested in his students and kept in contact with many of his former students. His efforts helped make Oberlin College one of the premier undergraduate programs for physics students who went on to earn the Ph.D. degree.

Lloyd W. Taylor belonged to a variety of physics and professional organizations. He was president of the American Association of Physics Teachers, and a board member on the American Institute of Physics. Taylor was also a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Physical Society, the Ohio Academy of Science, the Optical Society of America, Gamma Alpha, Phi Beta Kappa and Sigma Xi.

Both Lloyd William Taylor and his wife were active in community affairs. Esther Bliss Taylor was involved with the local WCTU chapter, and active in the effort to keep Oberlin free from the sale of alcoholic beverages. Her husband was a Republican precinct committeeman, and chairman of the Lorain County Republican Central Committee. Both were active members of the First Church in Oberlin.

In 1948, at the age of 56, Lloyd William Taylor died in a mountain climbing accident while vacationing. Esther Bliss Taylor remained active in the WCTU after her husband's death, organizing several local anti-alcohol campaigns. Mrs. Taylor was instrumental in the 1959 local option election in which sales of alcohol were banned in Oberlin by a 2-to-1 margin. She served as an officer in the Lorain County WCTU and was president of the Oberlin WCTU from 1946 to 1976. She remained a staunch supporter of temperance education until her death. Esther Bliss Taylor died on November 30, 1980.

SOURCES CONSULTED

Papers of Lloyd W. and Esther B. Taylor (RG 30/97).

Extent

11.01 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Method of Acquisition

The Lloyd William Taylor papers were transferred from the physics department in 1987 through professor W. Bruce Richards. The Esther Bliss Taylor Papers were received in two accessions between 1976 and 1980. The 1976 accession was transferred from her Oberlin residence. The 1980 accession of WCTU papers was transferred through Mrs. Theodore Walter following Esther Bliss Taylor's death. Ruth Taylor Deery donated some materials (i.e., photographs, writings, and correspondence) in 1994. An additional lot of papers was received from the Oberlin College Physics Department in 2002.

Accruals and Additions

Accession Nos: 80, 1976/39 1980/38, 1987/80, 1994/035, 2002/011, 2005/096

Related Materials

For related material on Lloyd William Taylor the researcher is advised to consult the following collections: the papers of presidential assistant William Bohn (3/1); the records of the physics department (9/5/1); and the personal papers of professor David L. Anderson (30/65).

For material relevant to Esther Bliss Taylor and the temperance movement the researcher is advised to consult the following collections: the papers of president Henry Churchill King (2/6); records of the Office of the Treasurer (7); the personal papers of: Robert S. Fletcher (30/24); Lyman B. Hall (30/14); Giles W. Shurtleff (30/32); Irving W. Metcalf (30/9) and Margaret Schauffler (30/204); records of the First and Second Congregational Churches (31/4/1); records of the Non-Partisan Woman's Christian Temperance Union (31/6/10); records of the Oberlin Mutual Benefit Association (31/6/17); records of the WCTU (31/6/4); and records of the Oberlin Temperance League/Alliance (31/3).