Archibald McCullum Ball and Sarah A. Curtis Papers, 1819-1962 | Oberlin College Archives

By William E. Bigglestone

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Collection Overview

Title: Archibald McCullum Ball and Sarah A. Curtis Papers, 1819-1962

ID: RG 30/006

Primary Creator: Ball, Sarah A. Curtis (1819-1888)

Other Creators: Ball, Archibald McCullum (1819-1903), Ball, Sarah Bedell (1880-1962)

Extent: 3.25 Linear Feet

Date Acquired: 11/02/1967. More info below under Accruals.

Forms of Material: certificates, diplomas, letters (correspondence), manuscripts, photographs, photographs - photographic prints

Languages: English

Scope and Contents of the Materials

The genealogy fills 12 three-ring notebooks, with an accompanying volume that contains an introduction and an index. In addition to the genealogical information, the notebooks include letters and documents of family members, plus historical and biographical sketches. The collection includes letters by Irene Ball (Allen), 1836-1842, describing life as a student in early Oberlin and as the wife of an abolitionist minister in Illinois; an eight-page typescript of a notebook written by Elizabeth Curtis covering the four years before to her marriage to Orrin Safford in 1839 and containing poems to friends and writings on education, Catherine Beecher, and the Bible; several letters between the sisters Sarah, Elizabeth, and Salome Curtis and information on Sophia Smith’s ancestors, some of whom were related to the Ball family. Also included are early family photographs and Sarah Bedell Ball’s own reminiscences.

Additional materials for Archibald McCullum Ball include an Oberlin College diploma, certificates of membership in various societies, and an appointment certificate as a census taker in Erie County, New York.

Collection Historical Note

Sarah A. Curtis (1819-1888), from Genesee, Michigan, was a student at Oberlin, in the literary course, from 1840 to 1843. Her husband and classmate, Archibald McCullum Ball (1819-1903), received the A.B. degree in 1844 before they were married by President Asa Mahan (1799-1889). Ball then continued studying in the Oberlin Seminary through 1847. Irene Ball (b. 1815), Archibald’s sister, preceded him at Oberlin, attending in 1836-37. She left school to marry Alabama abolitionist William Allen. Archibald’s brother, Alonzo Gibb Ball attended Oberlin’s Preparatory Academy from 1842-1843. Sarah Curtis’s sister Elizabeth was also being educated during those years (1835-1838) at the Middlebury female Seminary in Connecticut. Sarah Bedell Ball (b. 1880), was a granddaughter of the Ball-Curtis family.

Administrative Information

Repository: Oberlin College Archives

Accruals: Accessions: 23.

Access Restrictions: Unrestricted.

Acquisition Method: This twelve volume genealogy with index was created by Sarah Bedell Ball, granddaughter of A.M. Ball and Sarah Curtis, and daughter of Frank H. Ball. It was given to the Secretary’s Office in 1960 [see folder containing correspondence of the Office of the Secretary (RG 5), mainly D. M. Love, with Sarah Bedell Ball, 1944-62].

Finding Aid Revision History: Arranged and described by William E. Bigglestone. Revised: May 2012, March 2022 by Archives staff.

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Box:

[Box 1],
[Flat File GR 4 9],
[All]

Box 1

Item 1: Index, undated: Index and introduction to genealogy.
Item 2: Genealogical and Biographical Records, undated
Item 3: Genealogical and Biographical Records, undated
Item 4: Genealogical and Biographical Records, undated
Item 5: Genealogical and Biographical Records, undated
Item 6: Genealogical and Biographical Records, undated
Item 7: Genealogical and Biographical Records, undated
Item 8: Genealogical and Biographical Records, undated
Item 9: Genealogical and Biographical Records, undated
Item 10: Genealogical and Biographical Records, undated
Item 11: Genealogical and Biographical Records, undated
Item 12: Genealogical and Biographical Records, undated
Item 13: Genealogical and Biographical Records, undated