The letters of founder John J. Shipherd represent the most important single source on the founding of Oberlin. Philo P. Stewart left no papers. The Shipherd papers should be read along with the early files found in the records of the Office of the Treasurer.

Consisting of original documents, ca. 1831-45 and n.d., the John J. Shipherd papers mainly constitute letters sent or received by Oberlin’s founder. The approximate twenty letters sent by him, 1831-37, are to his family or to the trustees of the Oberlin Collegiate Institute. In addition there are about fifteen letters to him, 1833-35, which are largely from family members, friends and associates (Philo P. Stewart, J.F. Scovill, James Dascomb, Theodore Weld, Joshua Leavitt, Peter Pindar Pease, and Seth H. Waldo), and others regarding the affairs of the Oberlin Collegiate Institute.

A notebook, which is believed to have been kept by Shipherd, also exists.

For detail on the Shipherd letters, see Robert S. Fletcher, A History of Oberlin College from Its Foundation through the Civil War, 2 vols. (Oberlin, 1943), II, 932-33.

Records of the Office of the Treasurer (RG 7)