Kate Bowne Leonard Papers, c. 1880-1931
| Oberlin College Archives
Administrative/Biographical History
Kate Bowne Leonard, daughter of Reverend Delavan Levant (1834-1917) and Mary Louisa Raymond Leonard (1838-1902), was born in Hannibal, Missouri on March 6, 1875. The family moved to Oberlin, Ohio when she was a child. She received her college preparatory education in the Oberlin Academy. In 1898 she graduated from Oberlin College with the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy. From 1899 until 1906 she studied in the Conservatory of Music.
Her entire adult life was spent in Oberlin where she cared for her father until his death, and later for her sister. For many years she was an assistant in the College Library. In addition to her obligations at home and in the library she was active in church work, serving as Clerk of the First Church in Oberlin. Ms. Leonard died July 26, 1931 of heart failure following an operation in Allen Memorial Hospital. Her brother Fred Eugene Leonard (1866-1922), who taught at Oberlin College from 1893 until 1922, preceded her in death.
Author: Brian Williams Subjects (links to similar collections) Forms of Material (links to similar genres) Administrative Information
The papers of Kate Bowne Leonard offer insight into the life of a female college graduate who served her family rather than pursuing a career. The 'papers include childhood compositions (c.1880s), lecture notes (1923-24), diaries and journals (1889-1931), an autograph book (1886-1892), and photographs (1878-1903). There exists a small body of correspondence received from her family, and postcards and Christmas cards from classmate Katherine Wright Haskell (1874-1929, A.B. 1898), who was an Oberlin College Trustee from 1924 until her death in 1929. Katherine Wright Haskell was the sister of Orville and Wilbur Wright.
The childhood compositions include essays and reports done while in elementary school. Typical of the essays are a report on Kingfishers, a story about Santa Claus and a report on the Great Salt Lake. A booklet from Salt Lake Kindergarten in 1884 contains examples of origami, paper weaving and sewing.
There is scant information on her days as a student in the Oberlin Academy and Oberlin College. Her diary entries for this period of her life are sparse. Lecture notes and quotations appear to have been taken from Henry Churchill King's senior bible course. The notes are dated 1923-24 suggesting that Leonard continued to educate herself beyond graduation.
The collection's sixteen diaries were sporadically kept, and there are frequently large gaps between entries. Two diaries are devoted almost exclusively to gardening and bird watching. Entries in these two diaries describe in detail what was planted in her garden. Notes on flowers and birds observed in the area complete the entries. Other diaries contain personal observations interspersed with family history. The richest entries chronicle her friendship with Katherine Wright Haskell, and contain notes from a visit to Dayton in 1914, and comments on rival airplane manufacturers.
Miscellaneous materials include autographed poems from poet Mary Barrows Irwin, an autograph book signed by family and friends between 1886 and 1892, an engraved nameplate, and a miniature edition of Shakespeare's Othello from 1922. Photographs portray Leonard as a young girl in 1878, through 1903.
INVENTORY
Series 1. Educational Materials and Lecture Notes
Box 1
Educational Materials
Childhood Compositions, c.1880s
Salt Lake City Kindergarten, 1884
Lecture Notes
Notes from Henry Churchill King's Senior
Bible Course, 1923-24
Series 2. Correspondence
Box 1 (cont.)
Correspondence, 1902-22
Katherine Wright Haskell, 1909-1929
Series 3. Diaries and Journals
Box 1 (cont.)
Diaries and Journals, 1889-1931 (4f)
Box 2
Diaries and Journals, 1902-1931 (4f)
Series 4. Miscellaneous Material
Box 2 (cont.)
Mary Barrows Irwin Poems, 1927
Miscellaneous Material (includes autograph
book), 1885-1923
Series 5. Photographs
Box 2 (cont.)
Photographs, 1878-1903