Title: John Henry Barrows Presidential Papers, 1889-1905, n.d.

ID: RG 2/005

Extent: 1.2 Linear Feet

John Henry Barrows, Congregational clergyman and fifth President of Oberlin College, was born in Medina, Michigan in 1847 to John Manning (d. 1891) and Catherine (Moore) Barrows(d. 1893), Oberlin College graduates of the classes of 1838 and 1839. Barrows received his B.A. from Olivet College in 1867 and obtained theological training at Yale Divinity School (1867-68) and at Union Theological Seminary (1868-69). After a period of preaching and traveling in the United States and abroad, he enrolled at Andover Theological Seminary, graduating without a degree in 1875. He was ordained to the Congregational ministry on April 29, 1875, and married Sarah Eleanor Mole (1852-1940) on May 6.

From 1875 to 1881, Barrows held pastorates at the Eliot Church in Lawrence, Massachusetts and at the Maverick Church, East Boston. In 1881, he accepted a call to become the sixth pastor of Chicago's First Presbyterian Church, where he remained until 1896. At First Presbyterian, he developed a reputation as one of the foremost preachers of his time. He conducted popular Sunday evening services in Central Music Hall and spoke at temperance and missionary meetings. He was a favorite speaker before gatherings at Chautauqua, New York and served on the advisory council of the Chautauquan system.

Barrows gained widespread recognition in 1893 as President of the World's Parliament of Religions held in connection with the World's Columbian Exposition. The Parliament brought together representatives of the world's historic religions for the expression of their similarities and differences. Barrows' impressive leadership of the Parliament stimulated interest in ethnic religions and led to several publications by Barrows himself: The World's Parliament of Religions (1893), A World Pilgrimage (1897), Christianity, the World Religion (1897), and The Christian Conquest of Asia (1899). Barrows' other publications include Henry Ward Beecher, the Shakespeare of the Pulpit (1893) and Spiritual Forces in American History (1889).

In November 1898, following two years of lecturing in India and the Orient for the Haskell Foundation, Barrows was elected to the presidency of Oberlin College; he assumed office in January, 1899. His administration was capable though brief. During his three and one half-year term, the college added $600,000 to its endowment, Warner Gymnasium and Severance Chemical Laboratory were built, and Oberlin achieved new prominence in the world of higher education. The community of Oberlin was shocked by Barrows' premature death from pleuropneumonia on June 3, 1902.

Author: Valerie S. Komor

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Scope and Contents:

The papers of John Henry Barrows and his family were supposedly destroyed by a fire in 1923 in Berkeley, California. Papers relating to Barrows' work for the Columbian Exposition in 1893 were inadvertently destroyed at the University of Chicago. Thus, what remains at Oberlin is all the documentation that exists relating to Barrows.

The Barrows Papers consist of six small series: Correspondence, Donor Lists, Programs and Brochures, Writings by and about John Henry Barrows, Photographs, and Scrapbooks. Barrows' incoming correspondence (1889, 1892-93, 1901-02) includes a letter (1889) from Jane Addams (1860-1935) to Mrs. Barrows inviting her and Mr. Barrows to visit. Letters signed by Barrows include two written from Oberlin as President (1899, 1901) and one from Berkeley, California (1902) where Barrows was lecturing at the Pacific Theological Seminary. Housed with the correspondence are notes by Barrows entitled, "Things I have tried to do for Oberlin," (n.d.) and two poems addressed to his wife (1889). Additional records include lists of potential donors to Oberlin kept by President Barrows with additions made after his death; Barrows' articles for the Oberlin Review; published sermons and addresses; reviews of John Henry Barrows, A Memoir (1904); and obituaries (1902). The photographic series consists of one folder containing eight photos of the funeral of John H. Barrows on June 5, 1902. The two scrapbooks, 1893-1895, contain newspaper articles relating to the World’s Parliament of Religion and religious topics. Some articles were written by or about John Henry Barrows.

INVENTORY

Series 1. Correspondence, 1889-1902, n.d.

Box 1

Correspondence (incoming), 1889, 1892-93, 1901-02, n.d.

Correspondence (outgoing), 1889, 1899, 1901-02, n.d.

Series 2. Donor Lists, 1901-05

Box 1 (cont.)

Donor Lists of President Barrows, 1901-05 (2f)

Series 3. Programs and Brochures, 1898-1903

Box 1 (cont.)

Programs and commemorative brochures, 1898-1903

Series 4. Writings by and about John Henry Barrows, 1899-1902

Box 1 (cont.)

Writings of John Henry Barrows

Oberlin Review articles (photocopies), 1899-1900 (four articles)

Published addresses and sermons, 1899-1902

Writings about John Henry Barrows

Reviews of John Henry Barrows, A Memoir, by Mary Eleanor Barrows (Chicago, 1904).

Obituaries (clippings), 1902

Series 5. Photographs, 1902

Box 1 (cont.)

Funeral of President John H. Barrows, June 5, 1902 (eight photos)

Series 6. Scrapbooks 1893-95 (2v)

Box 2

Scrapbook, clippings RE: World’s Parliament of Religions and religious topics, 1893

Box 3

Scrapbook, clippings RE: World’s Parliament of Religions and religious topics, 1893-1895