Delavan Levant Leonard Papers, 1834-1912, c. 1917, n.d.
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Administrative/Biographical History
Delavan Levant Leonard (1834-1917), next to the youngest of fourteen children ofThomas (1783-1863) and Betsey Peck (1792-1860) was born on a farm in Pendleton, Niagara County, New York. He attended district school until the age of fifteen, and then, having decided upon the ministry as a calling, spent three years in the Lockport Union School, graduated from Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, in 1859, and from Union Seminary in 1862. After a year of further study in New York he was ordained to the Congregational ministry, and on May 6, 1864, was married to Mary Louise Raymond (1838-1902).
His eighteen years of continuous service to the pastorate were served in New Preston, Connecticut, 1863-65; Darlington, Wisconsin, 1865-70; Normal, Illinois, 1870-74; Hannibal, Missouri, 1874-75; and Northfield, Minnesota, 1875-81. He was a charter member of the Minnesota Congregational Club and one of the first editors of the Minnesota Congregationalist. In 1881 he assumed the duty of Superintendent of Home Missions for Utah, Idaho, Montana, and western Wyoming, with headquarters in Salt Lake City. His studies of the Mormon culture led to frequent articles in such religious papers as The Advance, Congregationalist, Independent, and Outlook, and in others like The Nation and The Boston Advertiser.
With two older sons attending Oberlin College he decided to move the family to Ohio. In 1885 his wife and younger children moved to Oberlin, and were joined by him in the spring of 1887. For four years, from 1888 to 1892, he was pastor of the Congregationalist church in Bellevue, Ohio. After serving Bellevue, he returned to Oberlin to spend the remainder of his life. He took on numerous responsibilities, secretary of the Ohio Church History Society, 1893-1902; acting secretary of the Ohio Home Missionary Society, 1895-96; chairman of the Ohio Church and Ministerial Supply Bureau, 1899-1906, and associate editor of the Missionary Review of the World from 1891 until 1917. Later in life he devoted most of his attention to writing.
His first book, One Hundred Years of Missions, was published in 1895 and subsequently revised and reprinted in 1903 and 1913. Interest in Oberlin College and its history led to the publication of The Story of Oberlin in 1898. In 1904 he prepared a History of Carleton College, which conferred upon him the Doctor of Divinity degree in 1895.
From 1908 until his death he lived with his daughters Ella L. (1873-1934, Academy 1892-96), and Kate Bowne (1875-1931, Ph.B, 1898) until his death in 1917.
Author: Brian Williams Subjects (links to similar collections)Congregational churches--Missions
Congregational Home Missionary Society
Hamilton College (Clinton, N.Y.)
Home missions
Leonard, Delavan L. (Delavan Levant), 1834-1917
Leonard, Fred Eugene, 1866-1922
Leonard, Randall Wightman, 1812-1836
Oberlin College--History--19th century--Sources
Forms of Material (links to similar genres)daguerreotypes
diaries
diplomas
ephemera - printed ephemera
manuscripts
microfilm
miniatures (paintings)
photographic prints
photographs
photographs - ambrotypes
photographs - daguerreotypes
photographs - photographic prints
photographs - tintypes
programs (documents)
publications
recipes
research (document genres)
scrapbooks
tintypes
Administrative Information
The papers of Delavan Levant Leonard provide an outline of the life of a college and seminary trained minister working in the Midwest as a struggling young minister in the 1870s, and in the developing American West during the 1880s. Leonard's work in the West was conducted under the auspices of the American Home Missionary Society, for whom he served as superintendent of Home Missions for Utah, Idaho, Montana, and western Wyoming. Based in Utah, Leonard observed the Mormon community and wrote frequent articles for midwestern and eastern magazines and newspapers as an outsider among the Mormons. Many of his articles, compiled in several scrapbook volumes, describe Leonard's curiosity and mild contempt toward the Mormons. A travel log kept from 1881 to 1883 illustrates the extensive travel of Delavan Leonard. When Leonard resigned his post with the Home Mission in 1887, he served as a Congregational Minister in Bellevue, Ohio. Upon his return to the Midwest he traveled throughout northeastern Ohio giving lectures on Mormonism and other topics, with such spectacular titles as, "Six years among the Mountains and the Mormons." A selection of handbills advertise these lectures and the "large wall maps" which accompanied his lectures are also included. These period pieces provide rich artifactual evidence of the nature of his presentations.
Programs, fliers and leaflets from the various churches served by Leonard in Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota help to illustrate the life of a minister in the expanding Midwest. The records document the church's articles of faith, membership, and social functions. A printed sermon delivered in 1874 illuminates Leonard's theology, and a scrapbook of clippings from Northfield, Minnesota describe his involvement in religious debate of the period.
Leonard's historical interest is recorded in his interviews with Oberlin College President James Harris Fairchild (1817-1902). The notes taken by Leonard during these interviews were used to produce his volume, The Story of Oberlin, published in 1898. Newspaper excerpts from this endeavor are compiled in the scrapbook, "The Legacy of Fairchild," which contains articles printed in the local paper. In addition to his numerous newspaper articles, a few of his magazine pieces are contained in the collection.
The Leonard collection also contains several unusual and miscellaneous items. Among the items is an undated handwritten book of recipes and household hints. This volume offers fascinating insight into the culinary and housekeeping practices of the late 1800s. The diary of Randall Wightman Leonard (1812-1836), Delavan's brother, describes life in New York between 1834 and 1835. In addition to the artifact value, the diary entries describe weather, religion and politics in brief daily entries.
Photographs in the collection offer evidence of the progression of photography. Included here are daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, tintypes and studio photographs. The items portray Delavan and his wife, Mary Raymond Leonard, and their children as well as some unidentified subjects. Included among the cased images is one painted miniature of an unidentified subject.
A selection of materials from the Delavan L. Leonard Papers were microfilmed in 1971; these are noted on the Inventory.
SERIES DESCRIPTIONS
Series 1. Diaries, 1834-35, 1857, 1881-83 (0.1 l.f.)
Includes the diary of Delavan's brother, Randall Wightman Leonard, written in New York between 1834 and 1835, Delavan's 1857 diary kept while at Hamilton College, and a travel log written between 1881 and 1883 while serving the American Home Missionary Society. The diaries are arranged chronologically.
Series 2. Church Material, 1869-1912 (0.1 l.f.)
Consists of programs, fliers, leaflets and handbills of the churches served by Leonard. Included are Congregational churches in Normal, Illinois; Hannibal, Missouri; Darlington, Wisconsin; and Bellevue, Ohio. Of interest is an 1888 booklet from the dedication of the Harkness Memorial Church of Bellevue, Ohio, which contains a brief historical sketch and roster of members. Arrangement approximates the order in which he served.
Series 3. Notes and Writings, 1884-1898, c. 1903-04, c. 1917 (0.2 l.f.)
Comprised of Delavan's notes of interviews with Oberlin College President James Harris Fairchild, several printed articles primarily written on topics of religious concern, a typescript of the history of the Leonard family, and a published volume on the history of missions. Material on microfilm includes the typescript and Oberlin newspaper articles dated c. 1903-04.
Series 4. Miscellaneous Material, c. 1850s-1888, c. 1917 (0.2 l.f.)
Contains a Raymond family record (apparently the front page from a bible), an obituary, Delavan's diplomas from Hamilton College and Union Seminary, a handwritten book of recipes and household hints, and a school book used by Mary Raymond.
Series 5. Scrapbooks, 1875-1903 (0.8 l.f.)
Scrapbooks comprised mainly of articles written by Leonard while serving as superintendent of the American Home Missionary Society. Leonard acted as a correspondent for several newspapers writing on life in the West, Mormonism, and religion in general. Also included is a scrapbook of the newspaper excerpts of his book The Story of Oberlin. The scrapbooks are arranged by the alphabetical labels assigned by Leonard (B-G). Volume "A" was not received at the time of the accession.
Series 6. Tintypes, Photographs, and Cased Images, c.1850-1898 (1.65 l.f.)
Images of Delavan Leonard, his wife Mary Raymond Leonard, and their children are found in this series, which includes five different formats: daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, tintypes, studio photographs, and one painted miniature in a case. Some unidentified subjects are included.