The papers of Eliab Wight Metcalf primarily consist of documents concerning the Alabama Claims (1873-1890, 5 folders). These letters and pamphlets document the efforts of Metcalf to help individuals collect claims for lost ships and property on the seas. Also included are two folders related to the Geneva award (n.d.), and a file documenting a legal case between Metcalf and the city of Watertown, Wisconsin (1887-90). The Watertown case folder primarily contains correspondence of attorney Charles E. Monroe. A miscellaneous file contains correspondence of Oberlin College Faculty Members and Rutherford B. Hayes (1886-90, 1892), a notice of membership in the Sons of Temperance, Crescent Division, No. 29 1846), and a property deed (1866). The collection lacks documentation concerning Metcalf’s life and his tenure as trustee of Oberlin College.