Title: Albert Allen Wright Papers, 1853, 1858-1905

ID: RG 30/017

Extent: 3.5 Linear Feet

Albert Allen Wright (1846-1905, A.B. 1865, A.M. 1868, B.D. 1870), geologist, naturalist, and educator, was born in Oberlin, Ohio, to William W. (1814-1883, A.B. 1840, Sem. 1843) and Susan Allen Wright (1821-1905, A.B. 1843) on April 27, 1846. Both his parents were graduates of Oberlin College, and his uncle, George Nelson Allen (1812-1877, A.B. 1838) was Oberlin's first zoologist and professor of music. Wright began taking classes in the Oberlin College Preparatory Department in 1859, and entered the Collegiate Department in 1861 from which he earned the bachelor of arts degree in 1865. In 1867 Wright enrolled in the Union Theological Seminary. He left Union in 1868 and returned to Oberlin where he completed his study in the Oberlin Theological Department in 1870. He enrolled in the Columbia College School of Mines in 1873 and earned the Ph.B. in 1875.

Not uncommon for his day, Wright's education was marked by several discontinuities. In 1864 he enlisted as a 100 day volunteer in Company K of the 150th Ohio National Guard. The company was comprised almost entirely of Oberlin College students. After completing his bachelors degree in 1865, he taught for two years in the Cleveland Institute. Upon completing his seminary studies Wright accepted the chair of Natural History at Berea College, teaching from 1870 to 1872. In 1872, prior to enrolling in Columbia College, he participated in the second geological survey of Ohio, making a report on the lake ridges of Lorain County.

In 1874 he was appointed professor of Geology and Natural History at Oberlin College. When Wright was appointed a faculty member at Oberlin College, he became the first member of the faculty who was born in Oberlin.

Wright represented perhaps the first modern scientific mind on the Oberlin faculty, and presided over a difficult transition of thought. Influenced by the writings of Charles Darwin on the theory of evolution, Wright prepared several articles and addresses on the subject. He also fostered the laboratory system of study for students in all scientific departments. His efforts established the foundation upon which several academic departments were later established. He also succeeded in expanding the College Museum, located in Spear Laboratory, through aggressive collection of natural history specimens, serving as curator of the museum from 1892 until his death in 1905.

Wright's teaching attainments were nearly overshadowed by his effective administrative service to the College. In his obituary it was noted "with the exception of President [H.C.] King," Wright "has been the best committeeman that the Oberlin faculty has seen for twenty-five years." (Oberlin Review, April 13, 1905, pp. 414-415.) He applied the scientific method of investigation to issues facing the College, providing illuminating reports and demonstrating sound judgment. He served as registrar of the Faculty beginning in 1879, and was Registrar of the College during 1889-90. He served on the Prudential Committee, 1891-99, and was chairman of the Faculty from 1896 to 1898. After the resignation of President William Gay Ballantine (1848-1937) in 1896, Wright served for two years as acting president.

He accomplished a great deal outside of the College as well. In 1884 he was employed to make a report on the coal seams of Holmes County for the Ohio geological survey, and in 1893 authored a report on the "Ventral Armor of Dinichthys," based upon a specimen preserved in the College Museum. His reports long remained the standard source of information on the above topics. Wright lobbied Ohio government officials to join other states in producing topographical surveys. Wright presented papers to the committees of three different legislatures before persuading the State of Ohio to inaugurate the first topographical survey.

To the Oberlin community Wright along with Judge John W. Steele (1835-1905) contributed valuable expertise to the waterworks board beginning with its establishment in 1887. Wright planned the Oberlin sewage system and is generally credited with saving the community enormous expense while providing a model system. He was also president of the Westwood Cemetery Association. A deeply religious man, Wright was an active participant in the Congregational church, filling in occasionally in the pulpit, and even playing the piano when called upon.

On September 21, 1874, he married Mary Lyon Bedortha (1846-1877), of Saratoga Springs, New York. The union produced one daughter, Helen Bedortha Wright (1876-1960, A.B. 1900). Following the death of his first wife in 1877, he did not remarry until August 18, 1891, when he wed Mary Pamela Benton Hill (1855-1940, Lit. 1879). Mary P.B. Hill served as assistant registrar from 1889 to 1891 and went on to serve as Custodian of the Olney Art Collection, 1908-18, and Curator of the Allen Memorial Art Museum, 1918-25. The second marriage produced one son, Norman Hill Wright, (1896-1981, A.B. 1918).

Professor Albert Allen Wright died April 2, 1905, following a sudden and acute case of peritonitis.

SOURCES CONSULTED

Hall, Lyman B., "Albert Allen Wright, 1846-1905," Oberlin Alumni Magazine, Vol. I, No. 8, May 1905, pp. 205-208.

Wright, G. F., "Albert Allen Wright," American Geologist, Vol. XXXVI, August 1905, pp. 64-68.

Alumni and Development Files (RG 28)

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Administrative Information

Acquired: 06/27/1968. Accessions: 50, 1978/32, 1987/32. 1991/48, 2002/002, 2013/038.

Restrictions: Unrestricted.

Acquisition Note: The Albert Allen Wright papers were recorded on four accessions between 1968 and 1991. The bulk of the papers were received from the Oberlin College Library as part of accession #50 in 1968. Wright's student notes and teaching materials were received from Special Collections in 1978 under accession 1978/32. Two smaller accessions were also received from Special Collection and recorded as accessions 1987/32 and 1991/48. Wright’s geological notebooks were discovered in the Oberlin College Geology Department map cases in the fall of 2001 an were received by the Archives as accession 2002/002. In 2013 the Geology Department transferred one record book kept by A.A. Wright for the Oberlin College Museum.

Related Materials: For additional documentation relating to the career of Albert A. Wright the researcher is advised to consult the following institutional collections: Records of the Board of Trustees and Prudential Committee (RG 1); papers of President James Harris Fairchild (RG 2/3); Records of the Office of the Treasurer (RG 7); Office of the Registrar (RG 27); and Alumni and Development Records (RG 28). The following personal papers collections also contain correspondence or information about Wright: Jacob Dolson Cox (30/3); George Frederick Wright (30/21); James Monroe (30/22); Robert S. Fletcher (30/24); and Eliab W. Metcalf (30/28). A manuscript written by Wright is in the "Oberlin File" (Rg 21, Subgroup IV, Box 1). See also the papers of Frederick Bennett Wright (30/412).

Finding Aid Revisions: Processed by William E. Bigglestone. Revised by Brian Williams, July 1992; Melissa Gottwald, January 2002; Anne Cuyler Salsich, June 2013.

Collection Material Type: Personal Papers

Scope and Contents:

The collection is arranged in eight series: 1. Correspondence (Incoming); 2. Correspondence (Outgoing); 3. Student Notes; 4. Teaching Materials; 5. Writings and Talks; 6. Miscellany; 7. Geological Field Notes; and 8. Oberlin College Museum Records.

The two correspondence records series consist of both family and college correspondence, dating from 1858 to 1905. A partially completed index and calendar on 3x5 note cards is available for the correspondence. The collection includes letters received and sent by Wright, as well as letters sent and received by other family members.

The incoming correspondence of Albert A. Wright is segregated into a chronologically arranged general category, as well as correspondence received from family members, arranged alphabetically by family member. The bulk of the correspondence is from the late 1870s and early 1880s, and pertain to specimen collecting, geologic matters, higher education, and Oberlin College affairs. General correspondence contains letters received from scientists, public figures, educators, and missionaries. Significant scientists include the following: Charles Conrad Abbott (1843-1919); John Gould Anthony (1804-1877); Spencer F. Baird (1823-1887); John Strong Newberry (1822-1892); Edward Francis Baxter Orton (1829-1899); Rollin D. Salisbury (1858-1922); Henry Augustus Ward (1834-1906); and Charles Doolittle Walcott (1850-1927). Other significant correspondents include: Jacob Dolson Cox (1828-1900, A.B. 1841); Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882); Granville Stanley Hall (1844-1924); James Bennett McCreary (1838-1910); James Monroe (1821-1898, A.B. 1846); and Giles Waldo Shurtleff (1831-1904, A.B. 1859). Missionaries corresponding with Wright include: John Phelps Cowles (1844-1893, Hon. 1874); Robert W. Logan (1843-1887, Sem. 1872); Wallace Taylor (1835-1923, A.B. 1867, Sem. 1873); and George Durand Wilder (1869-1946, A.B. 1891).

The family correspondence contains much valuable information about Oberlin and activities occurring there. Letters sent by Wright, primarily to members of his family, are informative concerning Oberlin College affairs. Unfortunately Wright's outgoing correspondence does not contain any file copies of letters sent to other scientists. A few letters pertaining to his Civil War Service are to be found in letters sent to various family members.

Student notes consist of bound volumes with lecture notes taken by Wright in the course of his education. Oberlin College is not represented in the documentation with the exception of one volume of notes from James H. Fairchild's systematic theology lectures in 1868. There are five volumes of notes representing theological courses taken at Union Theological Seminary, 1867-68, and five volumes of lectures notes from Columbia College School of Mines, 1873-74. Notebooks contain detailed notes and some marginal annotation. Notes from Columbia College include several sketches pertaining to metallurgy. Overall, the lecture notes offer a rich picture of course content and curriculum during the late 1860s and early 1870s.

Two class books, containing names of students, attendance records and recitation marks document Wright's teaching career from 1874 to 1884, and 1904-05. College catalogs supplement this record, illustrating the curriculum and courses offered by Wright, and how Darwinian views were assimilated into the curriculum.

Writings and talks document the wide-ranging interests held by Wright. The records consist of both manuscript and printed writings and talks on a variety of subjects, including Charles Darwin, geology, the College museum, Oberlin waterworks, and civilization.

Series 6. Miscellany includes memorial tributes following the death of his first wife, Mary Bedortha Wright. Several necrologies, prepared by Wright, himself, were apparently written for the Secretary of the College. Included among various certificates and papers are two documents pertaining to his Civil War Service. A reunion history of Company K, 150th Ohio National Guard, offers brief member biographies and a summary of the unit's activities. A song book (c.1862) given to soldiers and a property deed (1853) is also included.

Series 7. Geological field notes consists of two volumes of notes on Lorain County and Northern Ohio (i.e. Amherst, Elyria, Olmsted), 1892-96, 1901-03, and various locations in Michigan (i.e. Omena and Petoskey), 1902-03.

Series 8. Oberlin College Museum records comprises one handwritten record book of glacial boulders in Ohio, created by A.A. Wright as a committee member charged with locating and describing glacial erratics (boulders) in Ohio, primarily Lorain County, begun September 10, 1893.

SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

Series 1. Correspondence (Incoming), 1858-1905 (1.2 linear feet)

The incoming correspondence consists of general letters received by Wright, arranged chronologically, as well as letters he received from members of his family. Letters received from family members are alphabetically arranged by sender, and chronologically thereunder. Letters received by other family members are also included in this series. The series is arranged in three subseries: 1. General Letters to A.A. Wright (Chronological); 2. Family Letters to A.A. Wright (Alphabetical); and 3. Letters Received by Family Members.

Series 2. Correspondence (Outgoing), 1862-1905 (0.6 l.f.)

Outgoing correspondence includes originals of letters sent by Wright and is arranged chronologically. Also included are original letters sent by family members, alphabetically arranged. The partially completed index and calendar is filed at the rear of this series. The series is arranged in two subseries: 1. Letters Sent by A.A. Wright (Chronological), and 2. Letters Sent by Family Members (Alphabetical).

Series 3. Student Notes, 1867-68, 1873-74 (0.6 l.f.)

Consists of eleven volumes of notes taken by Wright in his seminary studies at Union Theological Seminary and Oberlin Theological Seminary and geological study at Columbia College, School of Mines. The volumes are alphabetically arranged by subject according to year.

Series 4. Teaching Materials, 1874-84, 1904-05 (0.2 l.f.)

Contains two volumes recording student names, attendance and grades for courses in geology and zoology, 1874-84, and 1904-05.

Series 5. Writings and Talks, c.1880-1900 (0.2 l.f.)

Includes manuscript and printed copies of writings and talks on a variety of subjects, including Charles Darwin, area geological formations, and the Oberlin waterworks. The writings and talks are largely unarranged.

Series 6. Miscellany, 1858-1903 (0.2 l.f.)

Includes memorial tributes to his first wife (Mary Bedortha Wright), necrologies written by Wright c.1879, programs, and a pamphlet on the history of Company K, 150th Ohio National Guard.

Series 7. Geological Field Notes, 1892-96, 1901-03 (0.08 l.f.)

Two volumes of geological field notes on Lorain County and Northern Ohio, 1892-96; gas wells in Oberlin and Lorain County, 1901-02; and notes on various locations in Michigan (including Omena and Petoskey) and Ohio (including Amherst, Elyria, and Olmsted), 1902-03.

Series 8. Oberlin College Museum Records, 1893, n.d. (0.2 l.f.)

One handwritten record book titled "Oberlin College Museum Record of Rocks, Boulders, etc." in Ohio, primarily Lorain County, by A.A. Wright, 1893, n.d. (Digital surrogates made June 2013).

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