Logan Omer Osborn Papers, c. 1911-1940, n.d.
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Administrative/Biographical History
Logan Omer Osborn was born in Chandlersville, Ohio, on 20 October 1890, to George and Mary Louella (Starr) Osborn. He taught school in Blue Rock Township, Ohio, for several years to earn his way to the Oberlin Business College (enrolled 1911). He attended Oberlin College after graduation from the business college (1914). He worked his way through college by various means, including teaching at the local business college. To keep his expenses to a minimum, he lived part-time in the loft above the museum section and worked as a guard in the Carnegie library. He was president of the class of '18 during his sophomore year.
In the spring of 1917 Osborn withdrew from Oberlin College to begin a grape growing project in California. The following June he enlisted in the U.S. Ambulance Corps, in the unit organized in Oberlin, Ohio. There he joined other Oberlin students, including Robert Maynard Hutchins (Honorary War Membership, OC '19), William R. Hutchins, Ernest G. Yocom (OC '13), and Gordon A. Curtis (OC '21). This unit, and Osborn in particular, distinguished themselves in Italy; they were decorated by the Italian government with the "Cross for Merit in War" for bravery. He was also granted Honorary War Membership in the class of 1918.
Upon his return to the U.S. in 1919, and following a bout with pneumonia, Osborn re-enrolled in Oberlin College, completing his on-campus course work in June of 1920.
From 1920 through 1941, Osborn worked as a real estate agent. He married Rose E. Keith on September 19, 1931; at various points, during the years of 1932-34, he was hospitalized for tuberculosis. Rose Osborn died of complications after giving birth to a daughter, Mary Keith Osborn, in 1940; the child was raised by her maternal aunt. The following year, 1941, found Osborn briefly in the ranching business, after which time he made use of his business college skills by becoming an accountant for the U.S. Maritime Commission (1942-1945). Osborn was remarried on June 14, 1942 to Dorothy E. Wright (1894-1965, OC '17 ).
It was at the request of his wife, Dorothy, that Osborn's Oberlin College records were finally completed; his grape growing project deemed sufficient to complete his agriculture requirement, and his diploma was granted in 1942 after payment of the seven dollar diploma fee.
In 1945 Osborn became the Public Relations Representative of the Oakland, California Chamber of Commerce. His interests included membership in the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry--Oakland Consistory MRS 32 Degree, the Aahmes Temple of the Shrine in Oakland, the Oberlin Lodge #380, the Oberlin Alumni Club, and a Development Campaign Worker.
Osborn died May 25, 1965 of tuberculosis of the bone. About five months later, on November 16, 1965, Dorothy Osborn died.
A photograph and biographical information about Logan Omer Osborn are included in the digital collection “Oberlin College and Military Service in World War I,” presented by the Oberlin College Archives.
Sources Consulted
Logan Omer Osborn Papers (RG 30/191), and Logan Osborn’s Student File (RG 28).
Forms of Material (links to similar genres) Administrative Information
The papers of Logan Omer Osborn primarily document Osborn's student days at the Oberlin Business School and Oberlin College, and his military service with the U.S. Ambulance Corps, Oberlin Unit (1918-19). His student files consist of printed material from Oberlin College (i.e., football program, handbook, student organization), notes for a physics class (1913) and summer school (1915), a subscription book (1916) for a magazine organized by Osborn and Robert M. Hutchins (Honorary War Membership, class of 1919), photographs, and his certificate for Honorary War Membership in the Oberlin Class of 1918.
His military service records provide a brief look at his work with the Ambulance Corps and materials related to other Corps members (namely, Robert M. Hutchins, and Cornelius H. Tillman, H.W.M. 1918). A war diary (January-March, 1918) maintained by Osborn provides an account of his unit's activity during World War I. A comic poem written by later University of Chicago president Robert M. Hutchins provides a sense of a lighter side to military service in Italy. Series III contains many photographs taken during Osborn’s time in the Ambulance Service, both in the United States, at Allentown, PA, and in Italy. Also documenting his time in World War One is the folder in Series IV entitled ‘Ambulance Service News.’
The large flag of the Oberlin Ambulance Corps was transferred to the State Museum of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Some of the photographs document family members and friends. The collection illustrates the sacrifices that individuals made during World War I, and the determination of Osborn to complete his college degree, including teaching at the Business College and working as a library guard to provide financial resources.
SERIES DESCRIPTIONS
Series I. Military Service Materials, 1918 (2 folders)
Records include: a poem by Robert M. Hutchins (Honorary War Membership OC '19); Osborn's war diary (January-March, 1918); a menu; and, a tribute to Cornelius H. Tillman (Honorary War Membership OC '18).
Series II. Oberlin College Student Files, 1913-16, 1918 (6 folders)
Osborn's student files consist of his certificate of election to Honorary Membership in the Class of 1918; a notebook for a physics class, Fall 1913; summer school class notes, 1915; a record book of subscribers to the 'Siren,’ a student publication (Summer 1916); a photostat of Osborn's official grade transcript, September 1914 (restricted).
Series III. Photographs, c. 1911-40, n.d. (4 folders)
The photographs document Osborn's time at the Oberlin Business College, the 1933 reunion of the Oberlin College Class of 1918, military service, Oberlin College, and Osborn's family and friends.
Series IV. Publications, 1914-15, 1918-20, 1934, n.d. (6 folders)
Publications include Oberlin College materials (1919-20 Handbook, 1934 Calendar, football program, 1915; Alpha Zeta and Phi Kappa Pi Debate Program, 1915; Phi Delta brochure, n.d.; Oberlin Don'ts, n.d.; and, "A Case of Suspension" program, 1915); a copy of Henry C. King's "The Fight for Character" (1918); and, two newspapers (Ambulance Service News, March 20, 1919, and The Oberlin Business College News, March 1914).
INVENTORY
Series I. Military Service Materials, 1918
Box 1
Ambulance Corps, Oberlin Unit, materials (menu,
Robert M. Hutchins poem, Cornelius H.
Tillman tribute), c. 1918
“Liberty War Diary,” January‑March, 1918
Series II. Oberlin College Student Files, 1913-16, 1918
Box 1 (cont.)
Cash book of "subscribers to the 'Siren' ",
summer 1916
Certificate of Election to Honorary Membership in
the Class of 1918, June 19, 1918
Official transcript (photostat) of Logan Omer Osborn,
Sept. 1914 (transcript is restricted)
Student notebook, "Physics Record", fall of 1913
Summer school class notes, 1915 (notes written on
back of commercial prints of Michelangelo’s
art work)
Series III. Photographs, c. 1911-40, n.d.
Box 1 (cont.)
1933 Reunion class photo
Class of 1918 photograph
Oberlin Business College
Various photos, unidentified, sports teams and
groups (2f)
Series IV. Publications, 1914-15, 1918-20, 1934, n.d.
Box 1 (cont.)
Ambulance Service News, Allentown, PA, Vol II,
No. 18, March 20, 1919
The Oberlin Business College News, March 1914
Oberlin College handbook, 1919‑20
Oberlin College Calendar, 1934
Oberlin College programs, student organization
brochures, 1915, n.d. (football, Debate:
Alpha Zeta and Phi Kappa Pi, “A Case of
Suspension” play, Phi Delta brochure, and
Oberlin Don’ts)
YMCA army publication: "The Fight for Character"
by Henry Churchill King, 1918