Betsy Mix Cowles Papers, 1835-2004
| Oberlin College Archives
Administrative/Biographical History
Betsy (also spelled Betsey) Mix Cowles was born on February 9, 1810 in Bristol, Connecticut, to the Reverend Giles Hooker Cowles and Sally White Cowles. In 1811, the Cowles family moved to Austinburg, Ohio, where Betsy's father became the pastor at the Congregational church. Though little is known about Betsy's primary education, we know that she herself became an educator early in her life, teaching at area schools and in southeastern New York by 1826, when she was sixteen years old.
Cowles' particular educational interest was in "infant school," and in the early 1830s she joined a movement to create programs to teach basic skills to the very young, such as reading, writing, and right conduct. In 1832, Cowles founded an infant school at Kinsman, Ohio. Then, in 1834, through her great belief that women were meant for more than marriage, she helped to establish the "Young Ladies Society for Intellectual Improvement" in her hometown of Austinburg.
In order to advance her own education, Cowles attended the "Ladies' Course" at Oberlin College in 1838. She was among the third group of young women to graduate from the course in 1840. After her graduation, Cowles returned to teaching in Massillon, Ohio, as well as taking on a number of administrative positions, including serving as the superintendent of the girls' grammar and high schools in Canton, Ohio from 1850 to 1855. As her organizational talents began to be recognized, she was appointed to the position of superintendent of schools in Painesville, Ohio in 1858, becoming one of the first women to hold such an office.
As a result of an eye problem, Cowles retired from teaching in 1862 and returned to Austinburg.
In addition to her fervor for women's education, Betsy Cowles was also an influential abolitionist in Ohio. In 1835, Cowles became the leader of the Female Anti-Slavery Society of Ashtabula County. Among her friends and acquaintances were such affecting personalities as Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, and Abby Kelley Foster. As a result of these associations, Cowles became a radical Garrisonian Abolitionist in 1845, and wrote many articles for the AntiSlavery Bugle of Salem, Ohio, a major publication of the movement.
Through her activist stance in abolition, Cowles became a devotee of the cause of women's rights. She helped to run the first Ohio Women's Convention in 1850, and supported such ideas as equal pay for equal work, and a woman's right to hold property.
Betsy Mix Cowles never married. She died in 1876 in Austinburg, Ohio.
Administrative InformationFor more information please see http://speccoll.library.kent.edu/reghist/cowles.html.
The Oberlin College Archives' collection of the papers of Betsy Mix Cowles is a reference-only collection, drawn from the much larger collection located at Kent State University. The papers (photocopies) consist of biographical articles, letters received by Cowles, and additional information about the collection at Kent State. The materials in this collection primarily relate to Betsy Cowles' life as an educator, abolitionist, and women's rights activist. Though the collection contains a good deal of correspondence between Cowles and her siblings, there is no information about her parents, or about her life before 1835.
The Betsy Mix Cowles Papers are organized into three record series: I. Biographical File; II. Correspondence; and III. Finding Aids Relating to the Betsy Mix Cowles Papers (Kent State University). The documents in all series are arranged chronologically.
Cowles' biographical file is scant, containing three articles detailing her life as an activist (1937, 1981, 1989). The folder containing correspondence with her siblings is composed of personal letters which mention her education and travels from 1835 to 1840. Later correspondence describes her relation to Abby Kelley Foster, her work with the Anti-Slavery Society of Ashtabula County, and other work with other abolitionists. The collection contains photocopies of finding aids for the Betsy Mix Cowles Papers held by Kent State University. The finding aids consist of a calendar (1979) and updated inventory (2004) and are filed with the collection to assist researchers.
SERIES DESCRIPTIONS
Series I. Biographical File, 1937, 1981, 1989 (1 folder)
The biographical materials include an excerpt from Frances J. Hosford's Father Shipherd's Magna Charta (1937), a biographical piece from The Western Reserve Magazine (1981) and an article from the Plain Dealer (1989). See the inventory for the complete titles.
Series II. Correspondence, 1835-75 (5 folders, 51 letters)
This series consists of letters sent to Betsy Mix Cowles by her siblings, concerning her travels and personal matters. Also included are copies of letters from abolitionists, educators, and women's rights advocates regarding those issues, and personal letters from friends.
Series III. Finding Aids Relating to the Betsy Mix Cowles Papers (Kent State University), 1979, 2004 (1 folder)
This file includes a calendar prepared by Donna DeBlasio (1979), and a recently updated inventory with a biographical sketch (2004). The inventory is located on the Kent State University website at http://speccoll.library.kent.edu/reghist/cowles.html
INVENTORY
Series I. Biographical Files, 1937, 1981, 1989
Box 1
Excerpt from Father Shipherd's Magna Charta
(pp. 122-125), Frances J. Hosford, 1937
Kingsley, Ruth Reynard - "Miss Betsy," from The
Western Reserve Magazine, 1981
Thoma, Pauline - "State honors 16 heroines,"
from the Plain Dealer, 1989
Series II. Correspondence, 1835-1875 (arranged chronologically in five folders)
Box 1 (cont.)
L. [Lewis] D. Cowles, Oberlin, May 21, 1835,
to Sisters
A, Oberlin, February 20, 1836, to Cornelia [Cowles]
L. [Lewis] D. Cowles, Oberlin, April 30 1836,
to Sisters [Betsy]
S. Ellen [Thome], Oberlin, October 21, 1836,
to Betsy
James A [Thome], Oberlin, October 22, 1836, to
[Sister Cowles] Betsy
C. Gilette and A [Alice] W. Cowles, Oberlin, August
4, 1838, to Miss Cowles [Betsy]
Betsy, Oberlin, October 13,1838, to Cornelia [Cowles]
Betsy, Oberlin, August 11, 1839, to Sister [Cornelia]
Emily, Oberlin, January 11, 1840, to Betsy
Samuel D. Chochran, Oberlin, May 12, 1840,
to Miss Cowles [Betsy]
Sarah, Oberlin, October 6, 1840, to Betsy
J.H. Kenzie, Oberlin, October 12, 1840, to Betsy
Timothy B. Hudson, T.H. Fairchild, and William,
Oberlin, October 31, 1840 to Miss
Cowles [Betsy]
Timothy B. Hudson, Berlin, December 31, 1840,
to Miss Cowles [Betsy]
Timothy B. Hudson, Oberlin, April 7, 1841, to
Miss Cowles [Betsy]
M.A. Adams, Oberlin, April 30, 1841, to Betsy
Martha, Oberlin, April 30, 1841, to Aunt [Betsy]
Emma, Oberlin, May 29, 1841, to Betsy
[Timothy B.] Hudson, Oberlin, June 20, 1841,
to Betsy
Jeremiah Butts, Oberlin, June 20, 1841, to Betsy
Jeremiah Butts, Oberlin, July 10, 1841, to Betsy
Timothy [B. Hudson], Oberlin, August 13, 1841,
to Betsy
Timothy [B. Hudson] and Betsey, York, September
13, 1841, to Betsy
Timothy [B. Hudson], York, January 1, 1842,
to Betsy
J. Butts, Oberlin, August 8, 1842, to Betsy
C.M. Henderson, Oberlin, August 8, 1842, to Betsy
Jeremiah Butts, Oberlin, November 23, 1843,
to Betsy
T. [Timothy] B. Hudson and B. [Betsy] B. Hudson,
Oberlin, February 22, 1844, to Betsy
T. [Timothy] B. Hudson, Trumbull, May 11, 1844,
to Betsy
B. [Betsey] B. Hudson and T. [Timothy] B. Hudson,
Oberlin, April 6, 1845, to Betsy
B. [Betsey] B. Hudson, Oberlin, February 27,
1846, to Betsy
T. [Timothy] B. Hudson, Oberlin, March 5, 1846,
to Betsy
Abby Kelley Foster to Betsy Mix Cowles, 1846,
see separate folder
T. [Timothy] B. Hudson, New York, January 20,
1848, to Betsy
Kittie, Oberlin, January 4, 1854, to Friend [Betsy]
Mollie, Oberlin, March 4, 1854, to Friend [Betsy]
G.H. Fairchild, Oberlin, April 22, 1859, to Miss
Cowles [Betsy]
Henry Cowles, Oberlin, March 11, 1861, to Betsy
Hattie Rule, Oberlin, September 21, 1861, to Betsy
Hattie, Oberlin, May 12, 1868, to Miss Cowles [Betsy]
Hattie, Oberlin, June 3, 1868, to Miss Cowles
Hattie, Oberlin, September 13, 1868, to Miss Cowles
Cora W. [777], Oberlin, July 24, 1874, to Betsy
Annie, Oberlin, August 22, 1875, to Hattie
Hattie, Oberlin, September 6 [18687], to Miss Cowles.
Hattie, O. [Oberlin], September 20 [18687],
to Miss Cowles
Sylvia, Oberlin, October 14 [18367], to Betsy
G.O. Sulliman, Oberlin, October 16, [1838-407],
to Miss Cowles, Mr. Wheeler, et. al
Hattie, Oberlin, May 30, [1865-18697], to Miss Cowles
Abby Kelley Foster, Pulaski, January 28, 1846, to Betsy
Abby Kelley Foster, Jefferson, June 29, 1846, to Betsy
Abby Kelley Foster, Erie, November 8, 1846, to Betsy
Series III. Finding Aids Relating to the Betsy Mix Cowles Papers (Kent State University), 1979, 2004
Box 1 (cont.)
Betsy Mix Cowles Papers (Kent State University)
Calendar, prepared by Donna DeBlasio,
August 6, 1979
Betsy Mix Cowles Papers (Kent State University)
Inventory, prepared for the Web by Barbara
Bass, June 7, 1996; updated September 2004