Title: Mary S. Yocom Papers, ca. 1919-1968, undated
ID: RG 30/079
Creator: Yocom, Mary S. (1894-1968)
Extent: 0.2 Linear Feet
Arrangement:
The Mary S. Yocom Papers comprise a small collection organized into six series, as follows:
Series 1. Correspondence, 1933-36, 1949, 1963-64, undated
The series includes letters from Honolulu and China sent by Yocom’s friend Yuk Kon Mau, dating from 1933 to 1936. Some of the letters enclosed small snapshots. Mau was a graduate in the Oberlin College Class of 1931, and attended Yenching University on scholarship in the 1933-34 academic year. She stayed on in China as evidenced by letters from 1935 and 1936. She wrote of friends in common working at Oberlin Shansi in Shanxi Province, and other friends in Oberlin. She mentions H. H. Kung, Oberlin graduate and former principal of the Oberlin Shansi schools, who gave the Commencement address at Yenching University in 1934 when he was Finance Minister of China.
Additional correspondence in the series is fragmentary, with holiday greeting letters from 1963 and 1964, and a few other letters by Mary Yocom and others.
Series 2. Student and Alumni Records, 1939-47, undated
This series comprises records of kindergarten enrollment, a list of Kindergarten-Primary majors and their occupations post-graduation from Oberlin, and a list with addresses of members of the Class of 1933.
Series 3. Printed Matter, ca. 1919, 1927, 1947, 1959, 1968
The printed matter series comprises a pamphlet and a catalog from the Oberlin Kindergarten-Primary Training School, newspaper clippings, and the funeral service program for Mary S. Yocom.
Series 4. Writings, 1961, undated
The writings series holds histories of the kindergarten movement and the training school in Oberlin by Mary S. Yocom and by an Oberlin student, as well as manuscripts on the education and home environments of children. Not all of the writings are attributed to an author, but a study of Yocom’s handwriting in the correspondence series enabled some identifications.
Series 5. Miscellaneous, undated
A small amount of material consisting of poetry, songs for children, notes, and a set of cards for a speech has been combined in this series.
Series 6. Photographic Materials, ca. 1930s, 1958
The materials in this series comprise 56 black and white photographs and 13 black and white negatives. The photographs and negatives dating from about the 1930s appear to be snapshots of children engaged in activities at a kindergarten-primary school. These are smaller than 4 x 5-inch formats. The professional photographs in 5 x 7 and 8 x 10-inch formats, some dated 1958 on the backs, were taken by the Oberlin College photographer. These document student teacher experiences in kindergarten and primary school settings, or they might have been made to document a particular kindergarten-primary school in Oberlin.
Date Acquired: 08/28/1973
Languages: English [eng]
The Mary S. Yocom Papers comprise a small collection consisting of correspondence, records, printed matter, writing, and photographs. The collection is arranged in six record series. Items in several record series relate to the history of the Kindergarten-Primary Training Program in Oberlin.
Accruals:
Accession No: 211
Access Restrictions:
Unrestricted.
Acquisition Method:
The papers were received on August 28, 1973, with the exception of the letters by Yuk Kon Mau to Yocom. These letters were transferred to the Archives from the Alumni Association on July 8, 1968. They were filed in the Oberlin File (RG 21) until they were transferred to the Yocom Papers in October 1991.
Related Materials:
Oberlin College Archives
Oberlin Kindergarten-Primary Training School Records (RG 24)
Department of Education Records (RG 9/4)
Oberlin Shansi Memorial Association Records (RG 15)
Finding Aid Revision History:
Processed by Anne Cuyler Salsich, June 16, 2017.
