By Lisa Hicks
Title: Elliott F. Grabill Papers, 1859-1910
Predominant Dates:1862-1868
ID: RG 30/043
Primary Creator: Grabill, Elliott F. (1837-1912)
Extent: 0.8 Linear Feet
Arrangement:
SERIES DESCRIPTIONS
Series I. Letters Sent, 1863-1868 (0.6 lin. ft.)
This series consists of the correspondence of Elliott Grabill and Anna Jenney Grabill. It is divided into two subseries: 1. Elliott Grabill to Anna Jenney (Grabill) and 2. Anna Jenney (Grabill) to Elliott Grabill.
Series II. Letters Rec'd and Sent by the Grabill Family, 1862-1865 (0.05 lin. ft)
Series II contains the correspondence of Grabill's sisters, Cynthia and Mary and a friend, Lydia.
Series III. Writings, 1859-1860, undated (0.1 lin. ft.)
This series contains the notebooks and writings of Mr. and Mrs. Elliott Grabill. It is divided into two subseries: 1. Elliott Grabill and 2. Anna Grabill.
Series IV. Photographs and Printed Materials, 1902, 1910, undated (0.05 lin. ft.)
One unidentified photograph and a file of newspaper clippings are located in this series. Also part of this series is a grade card and a receipt.
Date Acquired: 02/18/1970. More info below under Accruals.
Forms of Material: letters (correspondence), manuscripts, photographs, photographs - photographic prints
Languages: English
The papers of Elliott F. Grabill consist mainly of letters sent by Grabill (December, 1863-1865) to Anna S. Jenney, whom he would marry in March of 1865. Grabill expressed himself well on such matters as schools for contraband, relations with other officers, regard for black troops, troop dispositions including their transport by water, the siege of Petersburg, descriptions of battle, the wounding of Colonel Giles W. Shurtleff, exchange of papers with a Confederate soldier, a tour of four northern North Carolina counties, the tedium of waiting for peace and his interest in Anna.
Correspondence (1864-1868) written by Anna Grabill discuss their courtship and her desire to teach upon arriving in Greenville. Her frustrations over receiving less money than a man for teaching are also documented.
Other correspondence received by Elliott Grabill are letters from his sisters, Cynthia and Mary, and from a friend named Lydia from 1864-1865.
The writings of Elliott and Anna Grabill in this collection are meager. Three of Anna's essays and her notes on mineralogy and trigonometry from Oberlin are contained in a single notebook, 1859-1860. Another undated notebook holds poems collected (and possibly written) by Anna Grabill.
One black and white photograph of a young boy, unlabeled and undated, is part of the collection as well. Several originals and copies of newspaper clippings about the Grabills are also included as well as receipts which show donations made to the College and a report card of one of Grabill's children. One newspaper, entitled the Ohio Seventh was edited by Grabill in 1861.
Elliott F. Grabill (1837-1912), a native of Pennsylvania, attended the Preparatory Department and Oberlin College from 1857-1861. It was here that he met his wife, Anna Sutton Jenney (1839-1913). The couple married in 1865.
Elliott Grabill left Oberlin as a member of Company C, 7th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He served two and a half years with the company as a private and corporal. In November, 1863, Grabill was commissioned a 1st Lieutenant and appointed Adjutant of the 5th U.S. Colored Troops. He became a captain, September 24, 1864, and was brevetted a major when discharged in 1865.
Returning to civilian life, Grabill received his A.B. degree in 1865 (Anna Grabill had already completed her degree in Literature in 1862.) and in 1866 purchased the Greenville, Michigan, Independent. Anna Grabill remained with her parents in Greenwich, Ohio, for several years before joining him. He was the editor and publisher of the Independent until 1910. He also held the position of postmaster and alderman in Greenville.
Repository: Oberlin College Archives
Access Restrictions: Unrestricted.
Acquisition Method: The Elliott Grabill Papers were given to the Oberlin College Archives in 1970 by Mrs. Robert Kenneth Carr, a granddaughter of Elliott Grabill.
Related Materials: For a related collection the researcher is encouraged to consult the Giles W. and Mary Burton Shurtleff Papers (30/32).
Finding Aid Revision History: Processed by Lisa Hicks, 1991. Revised by Tara L. Ikenouye, March 1998.
