By Roland M. Baumann
Title: Robert S. Fletcher Papers, 1816-1958
ID: RG 30/024
Primary Creator: Fletcher, Robert S. (1900-1959)
Extent: 9.5 Linear Feet
Date Acquired: 12/03/1968. More info below under Accruals.
Subjects: Fletcher, Robert Samuel, 1900-1959--Archives, Minorities--Education (Higher)--History--Sources, Morgan, John, 1802 or 1803-1884, Oberlin College--History--Sources, Shipherd, John Jay, 1802-1844, Stone, Lucy, 1818-1893, Temperance--History--Sources
Forms of Material: letters (correspondence), manuscripts, photographs, photographs - lantern slides, photographs - negatives (photographic), photographs - photographic prints, printing plates, publications, records (documents), scrapbooks
Languages: English
The collection, which is composed of nearly 200 folders of historical materials in a potpourri of formats and dates, is organized around six records series: Series I. Professional Files relating to the "History of Oberlin College," etc., 1900-1958, undated; Series II. Research Files: Original Records (from private sources), 1833-1946, undated.; Series III. Research Files: Non-Original Records, 1816-1908, undated; Series IV. Research Files: Non-Textual Records, ca. 1930s-1943; Series V. Additional Materials Received; and Series VI. Lantern Slides. In writing the history of Oberlin College Fletcher noted that as the author he "depended to a very large extent upon manuscript material: personal letters and diaries, the archives of various organizations, and unpublished narratives" ("A Partial List of Sources," p. 927). Thus, a great many of these sources, which were collected/gathered by Fletcher, represented new material or body of documentation.
Although fifty years have passed since Robert S. Fletcher last browsed among his cherished manuscripts and notes on Oberlin's history, the resources he gathered for his own historical research comprise one of the most noted and widely used manuscript collections held by the Oberlin College Archives. Fletcher's acquisition efforts are fully detailed in the incoming and outgoing correspondence (4 folders) filed under Series I and in the transmittal letters filed with sets of historical materials in the three series of Research Files: Original Records, Non-Original Records, and Non-Textual Records. Fletcher, who apparently had to fund his own historical research and travel, received some internal assistance from Librarian Julian Fowler and from graduate and undergraduate student assistants. One primary external supporter of this project was Mary Rudd Cochran (1881-1982), Class of 1903. In his capacity as institutional historian and "unofficial" archivist, Fletcher used these research materials both to produce his two-volume institutional history as well as to answer letters of inquiry for historical information received by the institution. The scope and content of this collection was further conditioned by Fletcher's plan to prepare for the Centennial an Oberlin Historical Source Book, 1833-1867. The latter was never published due to a lack of funds.
The original documents found in Series II, which were collected from private sources, represent a small lot. Included in this single box are twenty-four folders containing the letters of Mary C. Chittenden (d. 1906), diary of Mary Louise Cowles (d. 1859), letters of Delia A. Fenn (d. 1882), letters of Daniel Jerome Jones (1831-1919), letters of Hattie M. Reed (unknown), and five folders marked "Miscellaneous Correspondence of Letters," which contain a variety of documents and cover the period from Oberlin's founding years to the early decades of the twentieth century. The above material is rich in the development and history of coeducation. Two other notable folders are entitled: Library, 1889-1908, and undated (mainly early history of) and "The Gay Young Man," a manuscript of a story of an unnamed Oberlin student in the 1850s. Finally, a number of folders of original documents for Delevan Leonard (1834-1917), Nancy Prudden (1818-1910), and John J. Shipherd (1802-1844) were removed from the Fletcher Collection and filed with manuscript groups bearing their names, respectively.
Constituting the bulk of the Fletcher collection are the non-original records (Series III), consisting of typescript and photostat copies of letters, diaries, minutes, and other types of historical documents largely deposited with private persons. These research files (5.6 l.f.) have been divided into three subseries: Name Files, Subject Files, and Periodicals. Among the more prominent nineteenth century individuals to be found in these files are James and Marianne Dascomb, James H. and Mary Fairchild, Charles G. Finney, James and Elizabeth Maxwell Monroe, and Gerrit Smith. Subjects covered relating to Oberlin College include the antislavery movement, black education, the Civil War, missions, moral reform scholarships, and women's rights. Subseries 3 consists of excerpts taken from numerous newspapers and periodicals, mostly published in Northeast Ohio.
The non-textual records, consisting of varying types, represent a strong body of visual documentation on Oberlin's mid-nineteenth century history. The Fletcher lantern slides in Series VI were, until 2017, left with other lantern slides and undescribed. They reflect Fletcher’s use of visual materials in course instruction.
SERIES DESCRIPTIONS
Series I. Professional Files relating to the "History of Oberlin College" and Other Writings, 1900-1958, undated (0.6 l.f.)
Consists primarily of files created/received by author and collector R.S. Fletcher in his effort to write A History of Oberlin College and other pieces of scholarship. Organized around three subseries, this record series includes correspondence (outgoing and incoming), Fletcher's research notes and materials, and his talks and other writings. The most important material is represented by the exchange of correspondence with potential donors for source materials and the typescript copy of his study.
Series II Research Files: Original Records (from private sources), 1833-1946, undated (0.4 l.f.)
Consists of original records, mostly dating in the years from 1833 to 1870 (the period covering Fletcher's major historical concentration). A few records Fletcher apparently received and never deposited with the College Library, or they were created by him. A majority of the originals are letters received by Fletcher from private sources. He planned to use these sources not only to write the history of Oberlin from 1833-70 but in writing about later periods of Oberlin's history as well. In many instances Fletcher's correspondence, or letters of transmittal, will be found in the same folder.
Series III. Research Files: Non-Original Records, 1816-1908, undated (5.6 l.f.)
Consists of Non-Original Records, which are mainly typescript and photostat copies of letters, minutes, petitions, and so forth, along with newspapers and/or periodical sources. There are four subseries: 1. Typescript Copies (Name Files); 2. Typescript Copies (Subject Files); 3. Typescript Copies (Periodicals); and, 4. Photostats. A folder list of the "Miscellaneous Photostats" is filed in the front of Box 19.
Series IV. Research Files: Non-Textual Records, ca. 1930s-1943 (1.5 l.f.)
Consists of six small boxes of lantern or glass slides (b/w) of Oberlin, many of which either appear in R.S. Fletcher's “History” or are photographs (glossy 8 X 10) found in the Photographic Subject Files. The three folders of glossy black/white photographs are separated into three categories: "Illustrations used in the History of Oberlin College..., Vol. I"; "Photos, Vol. II"; and, "Illustrations: Extra or not Used." Finally, a large collection of undated print blocks of Oberlin exist, which were probably created in the 1930s for Fletcher's "History" as well. The latter are placed in an oversized box.
Series V. Additional materials received, 1916-1920, 1953 (0.4 l.f.)
Consists of Robert S. Fletcher’s scrapbook compiled while he was a student at Oberlin College, and a sound recording (33½ LP) of a WEOL radio broadcast of “The Ghost of Jimmy Smith,” by Fletcher, April 8, 1953 [2004/052]. Also included are writings, correspondence, photographs and negatives (c. 1920-1971).
Series VI. Lantern Slides, ca. 1920s-50s (1.0 l.f.)
The lantern slides in this series, from boxes marked “Fletcher,” were previously stored with other lantern slides of no particular origin. The slides were projected for students in the classroom. They reflect Fletcher’s teaching methods with respect to visual materials as enhancements for the study of American History.
Robert S. Fletcher, creator of the Fletcher Collection, was born in Forestville, New York State, on November 20, 1900. The only son of Clayton H. and Priscilla M. (Dye) Fletcher, Robert attended Forestville Free Academy, before he enrolled in Oberlin College in 1916. After being awarded an A.B. degree in history in 1920, he earned a living by teaching history at Luther L. Wright High School, Ironwood, Michigan. Two years later, with a scholarship in hand, Fletcher entered the doctoral program in history at Harvard University where he would study with Edward Channing (1856-1931), Arthur M. Schlesinger, Sr. (1888-1965), and F.J. Turner (1861-1932); while studying there he served as an Assistant in History at Harvard (1923-24), an Instructor in History at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and an Assistant Professor of History at Tufts University (1926-27). In 1925-26 Fletcher was an Associate Economist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture where he produced a number of studies.
R.S. Fletcher earned his A.M. degree in history from Harvard in 1923. He married Mary Elisabeth Abbey (b. 1899) in 1925. Fletcher returned to Oberlin College as an assistant professor of history in 1927. In the Department of History, Fletcher replaced Harold Lee King (1883-1926, A.B., 1905; A.M., 1908), from whom he had gained inspiration for his career as teacher and writer. During his first fifteen years at Oberlin, except for several western history articles on Montana, Fletcher's main focus was to compile, write, and edit his monumental history of Oberlin College, begun as his doctoral dissertation at Harvard University. At the same time he published numerous articles about Oberlin's early history in the Oberlin College Alumni Magazine, the Mississippi Valley Historical Review, the Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly, and the American Scholar. His article "The First Coeds," appearing in the American Scholar, was reprinted and quoted as a model essay in English prose style. Fletcher was also a frequent and willing speaker, giving assembly talks and addresses on early Oberlin before Alumni groups, learned societies, and before civic and community organizations/groups. Active as he was on these many fronts, Fletcher managed to earn his Ph.D degree in history from Harvard University in 1938. Five years later, in 1943, Fletcher's two-volume A History of Oberlin College, From its Foundation Through the Civil War was published by Oberlin College.
Fletcher taught at Oberlin for another fifteen years. In many respects these years were equally productive for him as a scholar. Except for the 1958 piece on "The Wellington Rescue" (Oberlin Alumni Magazine), which coincided with the centennial of that event, Fletcher's research interests moved in other directions. In 1959 Duke University Press published his Eureka, from Cleveland by Ship to California, 1849-1850. This was an account of the nine-month voyage of the Eureka, a gold-hunter's ship, built at the mouth of the Black River, which sailed from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean.
Robert S. Fletcher died on December 16, 1959 after a long period of poor health. Before Fletcher's unexpected death, at the age of 59, he was also working on a biography of Charles Harvey, a late nineteenth century businessman.
Even though Fletcher's institutional history ranks among one of the very finest college histories ever published, he may be best remembered as a teacher. He inspired students because he was able to "evoke the whole of the past." Some forty of his students went on to earn doctoral degrees in history. Commenting on Fletcher's life at Oberlin, his distinguished European history colleague Frederick B. Artz said: "If a college is built of men, rather than things, Fletcher's contribution to Oberlin stands as a foundation stone."
During his lifetime Fletcher was a trustee of the Ohioana Library Association, second vice-president of the Lorain County Historical Society, and a member of numerous state and national historical associations.
Mrs. Fletcher died in 1972. The Fletcher's son Daniel, Class of 1952, was a professor of economics at Denison University, Granville, Ohio.
Fletcher, Robert Samuel, 1900-1959--Archives
Minorities--Education (Higher)--History--Sources
Morgan, John, 1802 or 1803-1884
Oberlin College--History--Sources
Shipherd, John Jay, 1802-1844
Stone, Lucy, 1818-1893
Temperance--History--Sources
Repository: Oberlin College Archives
Accruals: Accessions: 67, 198, 2002/074, 2002/119, 2004/052.
Access Restrictions: Use of copies for publication may require the permission of the institution holding the original, if other than Oberlin.
Acquisition Method: The records and papers were received from the Oberlin College Library in 1968 and in 1969. The book Lucy Stone: Pioneer of Women's Rights (1930) was received in 2002.
Related Materials:
See the bibliography of Fletcher's book, A History of Oberlin College..., for a general review of his sources, especially pages 927-41. See also The Robert S. Fletcher Papers located in the K. Ross Toole Archives at the University of Montana. (A copy of the finding guide is located in the Fletcher Papers case file.)
Two wooden boxes (including one made from lumber from Tappan Hall) that belonged to Robert S. Fletcher are filed in RG 35 Museum Items. A property deed (1933) from the previous owners of the Fletcher residence at 291 Elm Street is filed in RG 21 Oberlin File [2002/061].
See also Museum Items Collection (RG 35), #211 [2002/119].
See Also RG 30/402, Larry L. Fouck and Robert S. Fletcher Papers.
Finding Aid Revision History: Processed by Roland M. Baumann, 1991. Revised: 20 June 1995 by Eric Miller; 22 July 1997 by Tammy Martin, June 2002 by Archives staff, February 2017 by Anne Cuyler Salsich and Kira Zimmerman. Archives staff, March 2022.
Other URL: http://www.oberlin.edu/archive/archon_pdfs/Fletcher_Robert_Inventory.pdf
