By Valerie S. Komor
Title: John Henry Barrows Presidential Papers, 1889-1905, undated
ID: RG 2/005
Primary Creator: Barrows, John Henry (1847-1902)
Extent: 1.5 Linear Feet
Arrangement:
Series 1. Correspondence, 1889-1902, undated
The Barrows' incoming correspondence (1889, 1892-1893, 1901-1902) includes a letter (1889) from Jane Addams (1860-1935) to Mrs. Barrows inviting her and Mr. Barrows to visit. Letters signed by Barrows include two written from Oberlin as President (1899, 1901) and one from Berkeley, California (1902) where Barrows was lecturing at the Pacific Theological Seminary. Housed with the correspondence are notes by Barrows entitled, "Things I have tried to do for Oberlin," (undated) and two poems addressed to his wife (1889).
Series 2. Donor Lists, 1901-1905
The donor lists series include lists of potential donors to Oberlin kept by President Barrows with additions made after his death.
Series 3. Programs and Brochures, 1898-1903
Series 3 contains pamphlets and brochures for events where John Henry Barrows was present, indluding meetings at Congregational churches. This series also contains a hand inked banner announcing the death of Barrows, and the Memorial Issue for Barrows published in the Oberlin Review.
Series 4. Writings by and About John Henry Barrows, 1899-1902
The writings series includes Barrows' articles for the Oberlin Review, published sermons and addresses about Christian education, and reviews of John Henry Barrows, A Memoir (1904).
Series 5. Photographs, 1902
The photographic series consists of one folder containing eight photos of the funeral of John H. Barrows on June 5, 1902.
Series 6. Scrapbooks, 1893-1895 (3 vol)
The three scrapbooks, 1893-1895, contain newspaper articles relating to the World’s Parliament of Religion and religious topics. Some articles were written by or about John Henry Barrows.
Series 7. Miscellaneous Publications, 1899
The miscellaneous publications contains one hymnal owned by John Henry Barrows, given to the Oberlin College Library by his wife Sarah M. Barrows.
Date Acquired: 01/01/1966
Forms of Material: letters (correspondence), manuscripts, photographs, photographs - photographic prints, programs (documents), publications, scrapbooks, sermons, speeches
Languages: English
The papers of John Henry Barrows and his family were supposedly destroyed by a fire in 1923 in Berkeley, California. Papers relating to Barrows' work for the Columbian Exposition in 1893 were inadvertently destroyed at the University of Chicago. Thus, what remains at Oberlin is all the documentation that exists relating to Barrows.
The Barrows Papers consist of seven small series: Correspondence, Donor Lists, Programs and Brochures, Writings by and about John Henry Barrows, Photographs, and Scrapbooks, and Miscellaneous Publications.
John Henry Barrows, Congregational clergyman and fifth President of Oberlin College, was born in Medina, Michigan in 1847 to John Manning (d. 1891) and Catherine (Moore) Barrows(d. 1893), Oberlin College graduates of the classes of 1838 and 1839. Barrows received his B.A. from Olivet College in 1867 and obtained theological training at Yale Divinity School (1867-68) and at Union Theological Seminary (1868-69). After a period of preaching and traveling in the United States and abroad, he enrolled at Andover Theological Seminary, graduating without a degree in 1875. He was ordained to the Congregational ministry on April 29, 1875, and married Sarah Eleanor Mole (1852-1940) on May 6.
From 1875 to 1881, Barrows held pastorates at the Eliot Church in Lawrence, Massachusetts and at the Maverick Church, East Boston. In 1881, he accepted a call to become the sixth pastor of Chicago's First Presbyterian Church, where he remained until 1896. At First Presbyterian, he developed a reputation as one of the foremost preachers of his time. He conducted popular Sunday evening services in Central Music Hall and spoke at temperance and missionary meetings. He was a favorite speaker before gatherings at Chautauqua, New York and served on the advisory council of the Chautauquan system.
Barrows gained widespread recognition in 1893 as President of the World's Parliament of Religions held in connection with the World's Columbian Exposition. The Parliament brought together representatives of the world's historic religions for the expression of their similarities and differences. Barrows' impressive leadership of the Parliament stimulated interest in ethnic religions and led to several publications by Barrows himself: The World's Parliament of Religions (1893), A World Pilgrimage (1897), Christianity, the World Religion (1897), and The Christian Conquest of Asia (1899). Barrows' other publications include Henry Ward Beecher, the Shakespeare of the Pulpit (1893) and Spiritual Forces in American History (1889).
In November 1898, following two years of lecturing in India and the Orient for the Haskell Foundation, Barrows was elected to the presidency of Oberlin College; he assumed office in January, 1899. His administration was capable though brief. During his three and one half-year term, the college added $600,000 to its endowment, Warner Gymnasium and Severance Chemical Laboratory were built, and Oberlin achieved new prominence in the world of higher education. The community of Oberlin was shocked by Barrows' premature death from pleuropneumonia on June 3, 1902.
Repository: Oberlin College Archives
Access Restrictions: Unrestricted.
Acquisition Method: These records are of uncertain provenance. They were brought together in the Oberlin College Archives and joined with the papers of other Oberlin College Presidents. The scrapbooks in series 6 were transferred to the College Archives from the College Library in September 2000. The church song book was transferred to the College Archives by the Library Special Collections in 2019. The scrapbooks were originally a gift of Mrs. John Barrows to the Oberlin College library with another scrapbook given to the College Archives by the Library Special Collections in 2021.
Related Materials:
The Oberlin College Library and Special Collections contain Barrows' publications as well as 1,500 books and 1,000 pamphlets from Barrows' library, many relating to the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. Consult the records of the Office of the Secretary for President Barrows' annual reports to the Board of Trustees. Related materials are housed with the records of the Treasurer's Office.
Letters of Barrows are located in 30/9, Metcalf Papers, Box 3; 30/28, Various Persons, Box 7; and 5/1/1, Office of the Secretary, Subgroup IV, Series 5, Box 3, Reunion 1900 Correspondence. In the papers of George Frederick Wright, 30/21, Series IV, Subseries 1, Box 18, a letter from I.W. Jones describes Jones' impressions of Barrows' letters, which he read in the Fall of 1902, prior to their destruction in 1923. The G.F. Wright Papers (30/21) also contains letters from Barrows; see index. Additional biographical information is contained in 28/4, Alumni and Development Records, in the files of former Faculty, Staff, and Trustees. (see also--Excerpts from diaries of Mrs. John Barrows.)
The College Archives holds microfilm (1 reel) of letters received by George D. Boardman, 1892-97, concerning the World Parliament of Religions. Includes letters received from John Henry Barrows.
Processing Information: Processed by Valerie S. Komor, 13 September 1991.
Finding Aid Revision History: Revised by Archives staff, 23 February 2004, 12 June 2012; Louisa C. Hoffman, May 2024.
