Ruth Easton Papers, 1952-1958
| Oberlin College Archives
Administrative/Biographical History
Ruth Easton was born in Chesterland, Ohio on May 2, 1886, the daughter of Charles Fremont and Abbie Kelly Spencer Easton. She received her preparatory education in the Chesterland public schools and the Oberlin Academy where her father was a tutor in mathematics for two years.
After graduating Phi Beta Kappa from Oberlin College in 1910, Miss Easton taught high school at Chesterland High School (1910-11), Herkimer, New York (1911-12), and Bloomfield, Ohio (1912-13). In 1913, she returned to Oberlin College where she was an assistant in the Secretary's Office under George Morris Jones (d. 1948) until her retirement in 1952. Her devotion to her work and her knowledge about the corporate affairs of the college rendered her invaluable. During 1930-31, she was also an assistant in the Office of the Registrar. She was a member of the Ladies Literary Society, an historic Oberlin College women's literary society.
Ruth Easton died in New London, Ohio on October 18, 1957. She was survived by a nephew, Jamin Easton (AB 1941). Her brother, Jamin Easton, (acad. 1907-09) and her cousin, Vernon G. Clark, (acad. 1905-07) also attended Oberlin College. In 1958, Oberlin College received a gift from her estate for the Ruth Easton Scholarship Fund.
Sources Consulted
Easton, Ruth. Oberlin College, 1948 Alumni Catalogue Report Blank.
Easton, Ruth. 1934 Quinquennial Report Blank, Oberlin College. March 11, 1935.
"Memorial Service for Miss Ruth Easton." Oberlin College News Bureau. October 21, 1957.
"Memorial Service Slated Friday for Ruth Easton". Elyria, Ohio Chronicle Telegram. October 23, 1957. n.p.
"Memorial Service Tomorrow Set for Miss Ruth Easton." Oberlin, Ohio News Telegram. October 24, 1957. n.p.
"Miss Ruth Easton." Elyria, Ohio Chronicle Telegram." October 19, 1957. n.p.
Obituaries. Oberlin College Alumni Magazine. March, 1958. n.p.
(Note: Copies of the above sources are located in the Staff and Student Files of Ruth Easton, RG 28.)
Author: Juhasz, Chris Forms of Material (links to similar genres) Administrative InformationFormer Faculty, Staff & Trustees [RG 28/3]
Graduates and Former Students [RG 28]
Ruth Easton’s personal financial records dating from 1952 until after her death in 1957 make up the greater part of this collection. Her guardian and later executor of her estate, Robert Barr, Assistant Secretary of the College, presumably kept most of these materials. Evidence of a five hundred dollar gift to Oberlin College from her estate for the Ruth Easton Scholarship Fund exists in the form of an acknowledgement slip dated April 19, 1958.
The collection is divided into three series: I. Biographical File, II. Correspondence, III. Financial records.
SERIES DESCRIPTIONS
Series I. Biographical File, 1957-1958 (0.01 l.f.)
Consists of photocopies of several death notices and memorial service announcements.
Series II. Correspondence, 1955-1956 (0.01 l.f.)
The correspondence is comprised of a letter and several postcards Ruth Easton wrote to Robert Barr while she was in the care of the Apple Creek State Hospital. These attest to her fondness for her home in Oberlin and for the college. Additional correspondence of Robert Barr (with banks, insurance companies, the Social Security Administration, and the Houston Nursing Home and Apple Creek State Hospital) pertaining to the management of Ruth Easton’s monetary affairs has been classified with other related financial documentation in Series III.
Series III. Financial Records, 1952-1958 (0.18 l.f.)
Contains invoices for various funeral expenses. Other financial materials include receipts, income and expense ledgers, savings account passbooks and checkbooks, and insurance and taxation documents. Also present are records related to the settlement of Ruth Easton’s estate, particularly probate court documents and itemized statements of assets. Acknowledgement of a five hundred dollar gift from her estate to Oberlin College can be found in the Receipts file.
INVENTORY
1 Box
Series I. Biographical File, 1957-1958
Biographical Materials: death notices and memorial service announcements,
1957-1958
Series II. Correspondence, 1955-1956
Letters from Ruth Easton to Robert Barr, 1955-1956
Series III. Financial Records, 1952-1958
Checkbooks/ledgers, 1952-1957
Estate settlement, 1952-1958
Funeral expenses/arrangements; guardianship, 1952-1958
Receipts, 1955-1957