By Richard Baxstrom
Collection Overview
Title: Raymond H. Stetson Papers, 1890, 1893, 1896, 1901, 1926-50, 1989
Predominant Dates:1926-50
ID: RG 30/013
Creator: Stetson, Raymond H. (1872-1950)
Extent: 4.05 Linear Feet
Arrangement:
SERIES DESCRIPTIONS
Series I. Biographical File, 1890, 1901. 1909-50 (0.1 linear feet and flat file)
Consists mainly of short biographies written about R.H. Stetson, including the “Memorial Minute” appearing in the Oberlin Alumni Magazine in 1951. Other materials include observations about Stetson offered by J.M. Pickett in a 1974 letter and a bibliography of Stetson's publications, as well as his diplomas from Elyria Public High School and Ph.D. diploma from Harvard University.
Series II. College-Related Materials, 1893, 1896, 1909-50 (0.3 linear feet and flat file)
This series is made up of a variety of materials that pertain to Stetson's career at Oberlin. These materials range from Stetson's textbooks while an Oberlin student to notes taken by Stetson's students from his class lectures. Also included are a fraternity membership certificate from Stetson’s undergraduate years at Oberlin, his A.B. and A.M. diplomas, and his honorary Ph.D. awarded by Oberlin in 1942.
Series III. Correspondence, 1926-50 (1.6 linear feet)
Original letters comprise the bulk of this series, all written by Stetson to friends and colleagues. The correspondence is categorized into letters written to “Professional Colleagues/Former Students,” and “Personal Friends,” the primary difference being content and the direction and breadth of discussions contained therein. Thereunder, the letters are listed by name of recipient and the letter directed to each individual are filed in separate folders.
Series IV. Publications, 1928-51, 1989 (0.2 linear feet)
Primarily Stetson's publications, this series is made up entirely of printed matter. In addition to thirteen articles by Stetson, there are also several publications by his colleagues and former students present. This material contains specific references to experiments discussed in Stetson's letters.
Date Acquired: 05/13/1968
Languages: English [eng]
Scope and Contents of the Materials
The Raymond Herbert Stetson Papers consist almost entirely of original letters that Dr. Stetson wrote to friends and colleagues. This personal paper collection was constructed by former Oberlin College Archivist William E. Bigglestone. In an effort to preserve the work of the late Professor Stetson, Bigglestone, with assistance of Stetson family members and Frederick B. Artz, solicited letters sent by Stetson to his friends (e.g. Robert Kimball Richardson [1876-1952] and James M. Snodgrass [1908-1994; A.B. 1931]), and over a period of years this collection was assembled. Given the way in which the collection was assembled, however, gaps in the record exist.
The content of the letters is overwhelmingly related to Stetson's research in the areas of speech and motor phonetics. The largest number of the letters center on his laboratory experiments and his subsequent writing on them. Letters to his peers in the Psychology field are the most detailed and useful in terms of understanding the techniques used in the experiments. Of special interest are Stetson's letters to former students and colleagues James Snodgrass, Clarence Hudgins (1897-1962) and Alfred Hubbard (b.1907) the correspondence of which represents the bulk of the collection. There are also letters to Arthur Slater-Hammel (1909-1992), James Pickett (1921-1996, A.B. 1943), and Roger Sperry (1913-1994; A.B. 1935).
The two areas that Stetson wrote about outside of his work concerned governance of the college and his service on various faculty committees. Stetson's involvement in the administration of Oberlin is outlined in his correspondence to several people, including Snodgrass, Hudgins, and Hubbard, but also in letters to associates outside of psychology like Robert Richardson.
Many of Stetson's letters from the period of 1938-45 deal with his views on World War II.
The manner in which Stetson composed many of his letters is to be noted. Stetson, for the sake of speed and space, characteristically abbreviated nearly every word of a letter over five characters in length, normally deleting most of the vowels. One is still able to ascertain the content in his letters, but this unusual style makes the task a bit more arduous for most researchers.
Aside from the correspondence, this collection also contains a number of Stetson's publications, as well as the publications of a few of his peers and students. These publications are useful when trying to place the research reported in his letters into an overall context. A volume of papers by a number of Stetson's former students appeared as a supplement to the American Journal of Psychology, in 1939 as a tribute to the retiring Stetson. These papers illustrate the various directions that Stetson's students took in their own research, and affirm the way in which Stetson's work served as a building block for their work in the field.
Administrative Information
Access Restrictions:
Certain restrictions to access apply and are noted on inventory.
Acquisition Method:
The papers of Raymond Herbert Stetson were received under 11 separate accessions between 1974 and 1979. Most of these accessions were the result of mail solicitations made by William E. Bigglestone, former Oberlin College Archivist. In October 1974, letters of R.H. Stetson were received from Alfred Hubbard of Urbana, Illinois, J.M. Pickett of Gallaudet University, and Roger Sperry of the California Institute of Technology. Additional materials were sent in November 1974 by Eldora Speigelberg of St. Louis and A. T. Slater-Hammel of Indiana University. In October 1978, Mrs. Ruth Hudgins of Northampton, Massachusetts, sent one carton of letters from Stetson to Clarence V. Hudgins to the Archives. Other Stetson correspondence was sent to the Archives by Pickett in July 1979. Additional writings by Stetson were transferred from the Oberlin College Library, Department of Special Collections, in 2002. Two additional accretions include one received from Jane Pickett ’43 in 2006, and another from Carl Schwinn in 2007.
Appraisal Information:
Accessions: 38, 42, 68, 243, 245, 250-254, 1979/6, 2002/4, 2006/064.
Related Materials:
In addition to this collection, information present in these Archives pertaining to Raymond Herbert Stetson can be located in Stetson's staff and student files and the student file of James M. Pickett ’43 (RG 28), the papers of former Oberlin Colleges Presidents Ernest Hatch Wilkins (RG 2/7), William E. Stevenson (RG 2/8), the papers of Frederick B. Artz (RG 30/175), Louis D. Hartson (RG 30/12), Donald M. Love (RG 30/91), Warren Taylor (RG 30/15), the records of the Psychology Department (RG 9/2), and James Rokett (RG 21, Series VII, A. Published Writings).
Processing Information:
In no small way, this personal papers group was constructed by former Oberlin College Archivist William E. Bigglestone. In an effort to preserve the work of the late Professor Stetson, Bigglestone, with some assistance of Stetson family members and Frederick B. Artz, solicited letters sent by Stetson to his friends (e.g. Robert Kimball Richardson [1876-1952] and James M. Snodgrass [1908-1994; A.B. 1931]), and over a period of years this collection was assembled. Given the way in which the collection was assembled, however, gaps in the record doubtless exist. Some persons, for example, were unprepared to release documents and others considered his letters too sensitive to be added to the collection at the time of the solicitation because some persons reported on were still alive.
Finding Aid Revision History:
Processed by Richard Baxstrom, 1992. Revised by Melissa Gottwald, February 2002; Ken Grossi, August 2007; Archives staff, May 2008, November 2021, March 2022.
Box and Folder Listing
- Series I: Biographical File
- Box 1
- Folder 1: Biographical Material, 1909-1950
- Flat File GR4
- Item 1: Diploma, Elyria Public High School, 1890
- GR Case 4, Drawer 9
- Item 2: Diploma, Ph.D., Harvard University, 1901
- GR Case 4, Drawer 9
- Series II: College-Related Materials
- Box 1
- Folder 1: College Materials, Certificate of Membership, Phi Delta Fraternity, 1893
- Item 2: College Materials, Lotze's Outlines, 1890
- Item 3: College Materials, Lotze's Outlines, 1890
- Item 4: College Materials, Lotze's Outlines, 1890
- Item 5: College Materials, Lotze's Outlines, 1890
- Item 6: College Materials, Lotze's Outlines, 1890
- Folder 7: College Materials, Letters and Notes of Broad Interests of R.H. Stetson, 1926-1950
- Folder 8: College Materials, Eldora Speigelberg's Class Notes on Phonetics, 1938
- From Stetson classroom instruction.
- Folder 9: College Materials, Honorary Doctorate (Sci.D.), Oberlin College, 1942
- Folder 10: College Materials, Oberlin History, ca. 1940
- Flat File GR4
- Item 1: Diploma, A.B., Oberlin College, 1893
- Item 2: Diploma, A.M., Oberlin College, 1896
- Series III: Correspondence
- Subseries 1: Professional Colleagues and Former Students
- Box 2
- Folder 1: Correspondence, Letters to Arthur Benton, 1939-1949
- Folder 2: Correspondence, Letter to "Cox", ca. 1933
- Folder 3: Correspondence, Letters to Alfred Hubbard, 1934-1947
- Folder 4: Correspondence, Letters to Alfred Hubbard, 1934-1947
- Folder 5: Correspondence, Hubbard Manuscripts (Copies), 1934-1947
- Folder 6: Correspondence, Letters to Clarence V. Hudgins, 1941-1944
- Restrictions apply.
- Folder 7: Correspondence, Letters to Clarence V. Hudgins, 1941-1944
- Restrictions apply.
- Folder 8: Correspondence, Letters to Clarence V. Hudgins, 1941-1944
- Restrictions apply.
- Folder 9: Correspondence, Letters to Clarence V. Hudgins, 1941-1944
- Restrictions apply.
- Folder 10: Correspondence, Letters to Clarence V. Hudgins, 1941-1944
- Restrictions apply.
- Folder 11: Correspondence, Letters to Clarence V. Hudgins, 1941-1944
- Restrictions apply.
- Folder 12: Correspondence, Letters to Clarence V. Hudgins, 1941-1944
- Restrictions apply.
- Folder 13: Correspondence, Letters to Clarence V. Hudgins, 1941-1944
- Restrictions apply.
- Folder 14: Correspondence, Letters to Clarence V. Hudgins, 1941-1944
- Restrictions apply.
- Folder 15: Correspondence, Letters to Clarence V. Hudgins, 1941-1944
- Restrictions apply.
- Folder 16: Correspondence, Letters to Clarence V. Hudgins, 1941-1944
- Restrictions apply.
- Folder 17: Correspondence, Letters to Clarence V. Hudgins, 1941-1944
- Restrictions apply.
- Box 3
- Folder 1: Correspondence, Letters to Clarence V. Hudgins, 1944-1949
- Restrictions apply.
- Folder 2: Correspondence, Letters to Clarence V. Hudgins, 1944-1949
- Restrictions apply.
- Folder 3: Correspondence, Letters to Clarence V. Hudgins, 1944-1949
- Restrictions apply.
- Folder 4: Correspondence, Letters to Clarence V. Hudgins, 1944-1949
- Restrictions apply.
- Folder 5: Correspondence, Letters to Clarence V. Hudgins, 1944-1949
- Restrictions apply.
- Folder 6: Correspondence, Letters to Clarence V. Hudgins, 1944-1949
- Restrictions apply.
- Folder 7: Correspondence, Letters to Clarence V. Hudgins, 1944-1949
- Restrictions apply.
- Folder 8: Correspondence, Letters to Clarence V. Hudgins, 1944-1949
- Restrictions apply.
- Folder 9: Correspondence, Letters to Clarence V. Hudgins, 1944-1949
- Restrictions apply.
- Folder 10: Correspondence, Letters to Clarence V. Hudgins, 1944-1949
- Restrictions apply.
- Folder 11: Correspondence, Letters to Clarence V. Hudgins, 1944-1949
- Restrictions apply.
- Folder 12: Correspondence, Letters to Clarence V. Hudgins, 1944-1949
- Restrictions apply.
- Folder 13: Correspondence, Letters to Clarence V. Hudgins, 1944-1949
- Restrictions apply.
- Folder 14: Correspondence, Letters to James M. Pickett, 1947-1950
- Folder 15: Correspondence, Phonology Correspondence, 1940-1950
- Folder 16: Correspondence, Letters to Arthur Slater-Hammel, 1945-1950
- Box 4
- Folder 1: Correspondence, Letters to James Snodgrass, 1934-1950
- Folder 2: Correspondence, Letters to James Snodgrass, 1934-1950
- Folder 3: Correspondence, Letters to James Snodgrass, 1934-1950
- Folder 4: Correspondence, Letters to James Snodgrass, 1934-1950
- Folder 5: Correspondence, Letters to James Snodgrass, 1934-1950
- Folder 6: Correspondence, Letters to James Snodgrass, 1934-1950
- Folder 7: Correspondence, Letters to James Snodgrass, 1934-1950
- Folder 8: Correspondence, Letters to James Snodgrass, 1934-1950
- Folder 9: Correspondence, Letters to James Snodgrass, 1934-1950
- Folder 10: Correspondence, Letters to James Snodgrass, 1934-1950
- Folder 11: Correspondence, Letters to James Snodgrass, 1934-1950
- Folder 12: Correspondence, Letters to James Snodgrass, 1934-1950
- Folder 13: Correspondence, Letters to Eldora Speigelberg, 1940-1950, Copies, undated
- Folder 14: Correspondence, Letters to Roger W. Sperry, 1943-1948
- Folder 15: Correspondence, Letters to James Snodgrass, "Cox," Clarence Hudgins, Professor Voegelin, ca. 1933-1948
- Accession 2006/064.
- Box 5
- Folder 1: Correspondence, Letters to Frederick B. Artz, 1947-1949
- Folder 2: Correspondence, Letters to John Bare, 1943, Copies, undated
- Folder 3: Correspondence, Letters to Robert K. Richardson, 1926-1950
- Folder 4: Correspondence, Letters to Robert K. Richardson, 1926-1950
- Folder 5: Correspondence, Letters to Robert K. Richardson, 1926-1950
- Folder 6: Correspondence, Letters to Robert K. Richardson, 1926-1950
- Folder 7: Correspondence, Letters to Robert K. Richardson, 1926-1950
- Folder 8: Correspondence, Letters to Robert K. Richardson, 1926-1950
- Folder 9: Correspondence, Letter to Professor Voegelin, 1946
- Series IV: Publications
- Subseries 1: Publications by R.H. Stetson
- Box 6
- Folder 1: R.H. Stetson, "The Hair Follicle and the Sense of Pressure," Psychological Monographs, 32, no. 3 (1923): 1-17. Copies, undated
- Folder 2: R.H. Stetson, "Motor Phonetics: a Study of Speech Movements in Action," Archives Neerlandaises de Phonetique Experimentale, tome III (1928): 1-216, 1928
- Folder 3: R.H. Stetson and I.C. Young, "Analysis of Vowels," reprinted from Science LXXII, no. 1861 (August 29, 1930): 223, undated
- Folder 4: R.H. Stetson and F.L. Fuller, "Diphthong Formation: a Preliminary Study," reprinted from Archives Neerlandaises de Phonetique Experimentale tome V (1930), undated
- 6 pages. 2 copies.
- Folder 5: R.H. Stetson and C.V. Hudgins, "Functions of Breathing Movements in the Mechanism of Speech," reprinted from Archives Neerlandaises de Phonetique Experimentale tome V (1930), undated
- 30 pages. 2 copies.
- Folder 6: R.H. Stetson, "The Breathing Movements in Singing," reprinted from Archives Neerlandaises de Phonetqiue Experimentale tome VI (1931), undated
- 50 pages, 3 copies.
- Folder 7: R.H. Stetson, "Speech Movements in Action," reprinted from the Transactions of the American Laryngological Association LV (1933), undated
- 13 pages. 2 copies and manuscript.
- Folder 8: R.H. Stetson, "The Relation of the Phoneme and the Syllable," reprinted from the Proceedings of the Second International Congress of Phonetic Sciences (1936): 245-252, Copies, undated
- 1 photocopy, 2 copies.
- Folder 9: R.H. Stetson and G.C. Throner, "Training for Flexible Posture and Relaxation Movements," reprinted from The Research Quarterly VII, no. 1 (March 1936), undated
- 8 pages.
- Folder 10: R.H. Stetson, "Esophageal Speech for Any Laryngectomized Patient," reprinted from the Archives of Otolaryngology 26 (August 1937), undated
- 11 pages, 2 copies.
- Folder 11: R.H. Stetson and C.V. Hudgins, "Relative Speed of Articulatory Movements," reprinted from Archives Neerlandaises de Phonetique Experimentale, tome XIII (1937): 85-94, undated
- 2 copies.
- Folder 12: R.H. Stetson and A.W. Hubbard, "An Experimental Analysis of Human Locomotion," reprinted from The American Journal of Physiology 124, no. 2 (Nov. 1938): 300-313, undated
- Subseries 2: Publications of Others
- Box 6
- Folder 1: L.D. Hartson, "Raymond Herbert Stetson: 1872-1950," offprint from The American Journal of Psychology LXIV (April 1951): 287-288, 1951
- Manuscript.
- Folder 2: Arthur T. Slater-Hammel, "Action Current Study of the Rectus Abdominalis as a Postural Muscle in Arm Movements," reprinted from The Research Quarterly (March 1943), undated
- 10 pages. Study directed by R.H. Stetson and J.M. Snodgrass.
- Folder 3: Papers by Former Students, before 1939
- Papers by former students, presented to Professor Raymond Herbert Stetson, Head of the Department of Psychology, Oberlin College, 1909-1939, on the occasion of his retirement, June 1939. Provincetown, Mass.: Journal Press, 1939. (2 copies.) Contains papers written by: L.H. Beck, L.E. Cole, Paul F. Brown, Frances Fuller Ellsworth, T.W. Forbes, Robert Galambos, L.D. Hartson, Florien Heiser, Alfred W. Hubbard, C.V. Hudgins, C.V. Hudgins and L.M. Di Carlo, Joseph Miller, Margaret Foltz Smith, J.M. Snodgrass, R.W. Sperry, H.E. Weaver.
- Folder 4: James Pickett, "Notes on Phonetics at Gallaudet University: Speech Science vs. Deafness," from A Guide to the History of the Phonetic Sciences in the United States (August 1999): 48-50, 1999
- Accession 2006/064
- Folder 5: James Pickett, "Aspects of Stetson's Contributions", 1974
- Folder 6: Book Review: R.H. Stetson's Motor Phonetics. A Retrospective Edition. Edited by J.A.S. Kelso and K.G. Munhall. Boston, MA: College-Hill Press, 1988, 1939
- A copy of a book review of this title. Review by Anders Lofqvist in Language and Speech 32, no. 1 (1939): 73-80