II. Letters (cont.)

B. Oberlin Staff/Spouses/Other Affiliates, 1830-1883

Box 1A

John Morgan, 1830-83

Letters to Mary Hopkins, 1830-83 (includes two Charles G. Finney letters to Hopkins, 1874). Also includes writings of John Morgan.

Box 1

Levi Burnell, 1839

This letter, dated January 12, 1839, from Secretary and Treasurer of Oberlin Collegiate Institute (1837-41) Levi Burnell to A. W. Cory regards the difficulties of Burnell to schedule a meeting of trustees. [Acc. 1994/049]

Joshua Giddings, 1844-62

Includes copies of five entries from the microfilm of the calendar to the Giddings Papers at the Ohio Historical Society. Each entry has some reference to Oberlin and particularly to letters of January 7, 1844, January 13, 1849, July 22, 1850, and December 1, 1862.

Martin Delany,1848

Excerpt from a letter by Delany, describing a visit to Oberlin, printed in The North Star. Photocopy.

William T. Painter, 1854

Two letters to his family, October 1854, telling of his train trip from near Philadelphia to Oberlin; his disapproving Quaker views of the pious Oberlin theologues; the courses offered; a prank played by President Finney's son on his father and Prof. Morgan. [These are excellent letters by a person who prefers to stay at the hotel in order to avoid prayers at mealtimes.]

James McCleery, 1861, 1863, 1864

Three Civil War letters written to his family by McCleery, of the 41st Regiment of the Ohio Volunteers. Written November 13, 1861 from Camp Dennison, Ohio; November 20, 1863 from Chattanooga, Tenn. just before battle; and June 13, 1864 from Lytle Barracks, Cincinnati before being sent to Washington, D.C.

James D. Cook, 1864-65

Copies of eight Civil War letters, written by a private of Battery H, First Ohio Volunteer Light Artillery, near Petersburg or City Point, VA. Letters make reference to Stephen W. Dorsey, an Oberlinian and Captain of the Battery. Gift of Roland J. Gladieux, June 1977.

Edward N. Upton, 1864-65

Civil war journal letters, November 1864-March 1865, relating to Upton's experiences with Sherman's army in Georgia and the Carolinas. (Photostat copy; at least one page missing). Received from Oberlin College Library, May 1972.

William Kincaid, 1875-87

William Kincaid (A.B. 1865; Sem. 1867). Papers relate to his appointment as a financial agent for Oberlin College; his installation as a pastor of Second Church, where he served from 1876 to 1882; and his appointment as Treasurer of Oberlin College in 1887. Acc. 1983/21.

G. Henry Whitcomb, 1877-78

Correspondence of G. Henry Whitcomb with Oberlin officials, 1877-78, including a letter by Judson Smith asking Whitcomb to become a trustee of the college.

Mrs. Thomas L. Nelson, 1878

Letter written by Mrs. Thomas Lothrop Nelson, 6/3/1878, describing a lecture-demonstration of the telephone given by C. H. Churchill and Elisha Gray at First Church on 31 May 1878. Note: an incorrect version appears in E. Chamberlain's The Churchills of Oberlin, p. 43.

Rebecca Allen Rayl Finney, 1883

Hand written Letter by “Mother” [Rebecca Allen Rayl Finney] (Assistant Principal, Women’s Department, 1856-65) to Norton Jameson Finney, Kentland, Indiana, December 29, 1883. Graphic presentation Poster made by Winifred Reddall detailing genealogy of the letter writer and recipient. The writer is College President Charles Grandison Finney’s third wife. [Acc. 1990/103]

Letters from the Rutherford B. Hayes Papers, 1887-91

Items from the Rutherford B. Hayes Papers (copies) relating to Oberlin College. Consists mainly of letters received by Mr. Hayes, 1887-91, written by John R. Commons, George B. McKinney, Edward W. Pinkham, Azariah Root, H. H. Russell, G. W. Shurtleff, C. B. Spear, and Edwin S. Williams. Gift of Thomas Smith, October 1978.

William W. Cressy, 1892-94

Seven letters from Wiliam W. Cressy, Oberlin College English Professor, 1892-1900, to is wife, 1894, and two letters from Walter L. Burrage to Mrs. Cressy, 1892-93. Also included is a silver-plated medal inscribed with “W. W. Cressy” and attached to a leather band. [Acc. 73]

William Isaac Thomas, 1895-96

Nine letters of William Isaac Thomas, Oberlin College English Professor, 1889-94 and Sociology Professor, 1894-95, to Wilfred Cressy, Oberlin College Professor of English, 1892-1900, and one letter, 1896, from Mrs. Harriet Thomas. [Acc. 73]

Katherine Marcy Heacox,1900

Mrs. Arthur B. Heacox, Leipzig, Germany, to Mrs. Lynds Jones, 2/18/1890, telling of Mr. Heacox's and her own studies and other activities.

Charles W. Morrison, 1916

Charles W. Morrison, Director of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, to Maurice Koessler, 4/20/1916, describing the terms of the latter's employment at the Conservatory. Gift of Juliette Kessler.

H. A. Miller, 1920, see II, C. Letters by Others- Wolsey, Rabbi Louis

Emily Bostwick, ca. 1923

Part of a letter written by Miss Emily Bostwick containing much information about Oberlin people who had been in China.

Katharine Wright, 1925

Letter written by Trustee Katharine Wright in March, 1925, in which she criticizes President King's administration for losing some good professors. Acc. 175.

Lillian Wittke, 1937

Lillian (Mrs. Carl) Wittke to Harriet Strange Townshend, November 3, 1937: a recent resident describes her home at 278 West College Street, the black section of Oberlin, and her social life.

Elbridge P. Vance, 1946-48

Three memoranda by Mathematics Professor Elbridge P. Vance, 1946-48, re his work at Oberlin and how difficult it was to get by financially. Gift of Mr. Vance, July 27, 1982.

Lena Margaret Wynn, 1949-65, n.d. (2f)

Letters (incoming and outgoing) and miscellany concerning Lena Margaret Wynn’s time as the Gulde Housemother, her travel from England to Oberlin, and her life of the stage and interest in Christian science. [Acc. 149]

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