Charles A. Mosher Papers
Scope and Contents
The papers of Charles A. Mosher offer partial documentation of Mosher's student days at Oberlin College (1924‑28), of his career as a newspaper publisher in Oberlin (1940‑60), of his second term of service as a trustee of Oberlin College (1973‑77), and of his research leading to the completion of his M.A. thesis at Oberlin College in 1983. For records relating to Mosher's service in the Ohio State Senate (1941‑60) and U. S. House of Representatives (1961‑77), consult Record Group 30/226.
The Mosher papers are arranged into the following series: I. Personal Miscellany; II. Special Files: Newspaper Editor and Publisher; III. Special Files: Oberlin College Trustee; IV/1. Millikan Family Correspondence; IV/2. Charles A. Mosher Correspondence; V. Miscellany Collected by Charles Mosher; VI. Research Files; and VII. Photographs.
The bulk of these papers dates from the period of Mosher's tenure as publisher and editor of the Oberlin News Tribune in Oberlin, Ohio. Correspondence (1941‑60) largely consists of letters from citizens or civic leaders commenting on editorials and community issues such as the organization of an interracial barbershop in the 1940s and the hiring of Black teachers by the Oberlin public school system. Correspondents include radio broadcaster Raymond Gram Swing (b. 1887) and journalist William Allen White (1868‑1944). A separate run of correspondence (1945‑59) between Mosher and Oberlin College trustees pertains exclusively to Oberlin College matters, including the 1945 presidential search culminating in the appointment of President William E. Stevenson (1900‑85); the appointment in 1959 of President Robert Kenneth Carr (1908‑79); and the 1959 rift between College faculty and trustees. Also present are select editorials written by Mosher (1940‑60), notes for talks, clippings reporting visits to Oberlin by Wendell L. Wilkie (b. 1892) and Eleanor Roosevelt (1884‑1962), and miscellaneous files pertaining to specific matters addressed by Mosher in his editorials. Topics covered by these files include the expansion of Allen Memorial Hospital (1949‑57); controversy over Japanese‑American students at Oberlin College during World War 11 (1942‑43); and debate over the Lorain County Health Commissioner (1944).
The balance of the papers consist of chronological files relating to Mosher's second term as a trustee of Oberlin College (1973‑77), which occurred during the 1973 governance controversy documented in the files. Also present is a scrapbook covering Mosher's undergraduate years at Oberlin College (1924‑28); Mosher's 1983 Oberlin M.A. thesis; and miscellaneous historical files collected by Mosher relating to his family and to Oberlin's second physician, Dr. Alexander Steele.
Dates
- Creation: 1815 - 1984
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1941 - 1960
- Other: Date acquired: 1982 August 4
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
Unrestricted.
Biographical Sketch
Charles Adams Mosher, son of Oberlin preparatory students Edward Castle (b. 1872) and Jessie Maria (Adams) Mosher (b. 1872), was born in Sandwich, Illinois, on May 7, 1906. After graduating from Oberlin College in 1928 with the A.B. degree in Philosophy, he undertook brief periods of graduate work at Columbia University (1928) and the University of Chicago (1928‑29). Subsequently, he worked in the advertising department of the Aurora, Illinois Beacon-News (1929-38) and served as advertising manager of the Janesville, Wisconsin Gazette (1938‑40).
In 1940, Mosher moved back to Oberlin, Ohio. He purchased Oberlin's weekly newspaper, the Oberlin News‑Tribune, and began a twenty‑year career as its editor and publisher and President of the Oberlin Printing Company. From 1942 to 1947, he was editor of the Oberlin College Alumni Magazine. A member of the Republican party, he served as Vice‑Chairman of the Oberlin Village Council (1945‑51) and was President of the Oberlin Chamber of Commerce, Community Chest, and Rotary Club. He served as Director (1964-73) of the Oberlin Improvement and Development Corporation and as a trustee of First Church in Oberlin. He was twice elected as a trustee of Oberlin College, serving from 1964 to 1970 and from 1973 to 1977.
In 1951, Mosher was elected to the Ohio State Senate, where he served for five terms until 1961. As a state senator, he was instrumental in ending state censorship of movies and in setting up the state Board of Education and school‑foundation system. Upon his election in 1961 to the U. S. House of Representatives, Mosher sold the News‑Tribune to his associate, Bradford H. Williams (A. B. Oberlin 1951). During his eight terms representing the 13th Congressional District of northern Ohio, Mosher was a member of the Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee, advocating federal aid for Lake Erie ports and shipbuilding projects in his region. In 1967, Mosher became the first Republican member of Congress to vote against appropriating funds for the Vietnam War.
Following his official retirement from the House in 1977, Mosher served as committee staff chief of the Science and Technology Committee (of which he had been the ranking Republican member). In 1979, he was named public programs director of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. A year later, he began his one‑year appointment as a fellow at the Smithsonian's Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars.
The Moshers retired to Oberlin in 1982. The same year, Mosher reenrolled in Oberlin College in order to complete coursework for the M.A. degree in Government. He was awarded the M.A. and an honorary LL.D. at Commencement in 1983. Charles Mosher died in Oberlin on November 16, 1984.
Mosher married Harriet Mary Johnson (A.B. Oberlin 1927) on October 5, 1929. They had two children: Frederic Adams Mosher, born December 20, 1932 (A.B. Oberlin 1954), and Mary Jane Mosher, born February 23, 1943.
Sources Consulted
Student File of Charles A. Mosher (28)
Extent
1.20 Linear Feet
Language of Materials
English
Method of Acquisition
The Mosher Papers were transferred to the Oberlin College Archives under a deed of gift in 1982. Subsequent accessions occurred in 1984, 1992 and 1993.
Accruals and Additions
Accession Nos: 1982/9, 1984/29, 1992/50, 1992/89, 1993/63
- Title
- Charles A. Mosher Papers Finding Guide
- Author
- William E. Bigglestone, Valerie Komor
- Date
- 1992 March 27
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Revision Statements
- 1992 March: Initial arrangement and description by William E. Bigglestone; rearranged and described by Valerie Komor
- 1992 December: Revised by Jonathan M. Thurn
- 2001 January 11: Revised by Jonathan M. Thurn.
- 2024: 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