Speeches and Sermons

The Edwin K. Charles collection consists of the various papers, government documents, newsletters, transcripts, and publications collected by Charles in the years following the accident at Three Mile Island. Edwin K. Charles, a resident of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, became heavily involved with the public-awareness group, Three Mile Island Alert, directly following the accident at Three Mile Island in 1979. Over the years, he collected various materials concerning the legal struggles between the NRC, GPU, and Three Mile Island Alert.

Charles Collins (1813-1875) was a native of Maine and a graduate of Wesleyan University (1837); he served as president of Emory and Henry College (1838-1852), of Dickinson College (1852-1860) and as proprietor and President of State Female College in Memphis, Tenn. (1860-1875). The collection consists of correspondence, financial materials, literary materials, and printed materials. There are only minor amounts of correspondence, financial and printed materials. The bulk of the collection is the literary materials which include diaries, memoranda books, and compilations of sermons. The diaries cover Collins' spiritual life, his early presidency of Dickinson College, his decisions to leave Dickinson, and the effects of the Civil War in Memphis. The diary dated 1842-1874 has very scattered entries while the 1855-1872 diary contains copies of Collins' correspondence. Much of the financial material relates to Dickinson College, including two account books for subscriptions to the college and to a special telescope fund.

Three journals in this collection have been digitized and are available for reading online (see links for related entries below).

The collection consists of student notes, correspondence, speeches and commissions related to John A. J. Creswell, Dickinson College class of 1848 and Postmaster General, 1869-1874. The collection also includes an account book kept by Creswell's father, John Creswell.

This collection consists of the essays and sermons of Walter L. Crowding, Dickinson Class of 1925 and Methodist minister. Most of the essays are written upon various topics in religion, but also included are treatises on art and literature. The majority of the collection is comprised of more than 800 sermons presented by Crowding from 1921 to 1975.

Robert Laurenson Dashiell (1825-1880) was born in Salisbury, Md. He attended Dickinson College, graduating in 1846. He received a Divinity degree from Wesleyan University in 1866. In 1868 he became president of Dickinson College and retained that post until 1872. During his tenure as president, the college underwent the "Rebellion of 1870," in which the members of the junior and sophomore classes took part in a celebration of the 15th amendment. The faculty gave severe penalties for those absent from classes and the students, in protest, withdrew "themselves from all duties until the Faculty and Students come to an understanding." The students were suspended but the faculty, faced with disaster, withdrew the suspensions on May 17, 1870. The collection consists of a bound notebook of essays, class lectures, and monthly grade and treasurer's accounts from Dashiell's student days at Dickinson College; two letters; a report to the Methodist Conference; a printed circular describing the "Reception of Dr. Dashiell, President-Elect of Dickinson"; and a printed circular revoking the suspension of the junior and sophomore classes at Dickinson. The essays in the student notebook include Dashiell's addresses to the Union Philosophical Society in 1845 and 1846, his commencement oration, extensive notes from Professor Allen's Natural Sciences course, and monthly reports from Oct. 24, 1843 through June 30, 1846.

The papers of John Price Durbin contained within this record group pertain only to the years that he spent as president of Dickinson College, from 1834 to 1845. This includes the papers collected during the period of Durbin's sabbatical, during which Robert Emory served as acting president for one year. The Durbin records are divided into three series: General Business, Personnel, and External Affairs.

Lewis Daniel Gobrecht graduated from Dickinson College in 1955. This collection primarily represents his academic and extracurricular life as a student, with particular emphasis on his involvement in theatre and music activities.

Isaac Grier (c.1763-1814) was a member of the class of 1788 of Dickinson College; he studied theology under Charles Nisbet and later served as principal of the grammar school at the college from 1788 until 1790. The core of the collection consists of bound manuscripts of forty sermons given by him between 1796 and 1813. Additional items in the collection are a fragmented two-page letter addressed simply to Betty, no date given, and a fragmented two-page manuscript of a "Sermon on the Gospel Theme."

Thomas Miller Griffith (1834-1898) graduated from Dickinson College in 1858 and received an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from the college in 1891. He was a member of the Philadelphia conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church and served Pennsylvania congregations in Carlisle, Chestnut Hill, Churchtown, Cornwall, Harrisburg, Philadelphia, Lebanon, Mauch Chunk, and Media. This collection contains correspondence, speeches, sermons and notes, preaching certificates, a Griffith family genealogy, some memorabilia from Griffith's college days, and his Dickinson diplomas.

James Hargis, a Dickinson alum (Class of 1870) and trustee, worked in education for several years before becoming a clergyman, earning his doctorate of divinity in 1888. The collection consists of essays and orations written by Hargis and miscellaneous materials dealing with the Belles Lettres Society and Dickinson oratorical contests.

The collection consists of papers pertaining to Hartigan's military career and to a proposed "Dickinson College School of International Activities." It includes correspondence with Dickinson College, foreign universities, and other institutions regarding similar plans. The collection includes numerous photographs of pre-World War II Germany and Austria, particularly with regard to the performing arts.

The Bevery Hess collection consists of the various papers, newspaper clippings, books, audiotapes and photographs collected by Hess during her most active period of involvement with local anti-nuclear groups. Bevery Hess was a resident of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania prior to the accident at Three Mile Island, Unit 2. After the accident, Beverly Hess became heavily involved in the local anti-nuclear movement. She was a founding member of the Susquehanna Valley Alliance and the Public Interest Resource Center (PIRC). An appendix is included, which lists the books belonging to the Beverly Hess collection.

This collection primarily provides evidence of the personal and professional life of Charles Francis Himes, student, photographer, scientist, teacher, administrator, amateur historian and father. Also found in this collection is evidence of the lives of family members including, most notably, C. F. Himes' wife Mary and her father Joseph A. Murray. Information on Dickinson College is featured prominently throughout this collection through the close association of C. F. Himes with the institution during most of his life. Beyond family and institutional history, this collection offers information on a number of social, political, economic, and historic topics. Some of these broader topics include post-secondary education in the latter half of the nineteenth century, south central Pennsylvania society, the history of photography, and nineteenth century travel.

John B. Hood was an educator and writer from Mount Airy, Maryland. He graduated from Dickinson College in 1864, and earned a master's degree from that institution in 1867. The John B. Hood Collection is housed in one document box and contains papers and notes taken by Hood while he was an undergraduate student at Dickinson College from 1859 to 1864.

This international society was founded in Europe in 1961 and a North American chapter followed ten years later. Dedicated to the study of civilizations, the ISCSC holds annual meetings, usually in an American university setting, in which papers are read, books are discussed, and theories are shared by the members. The society newsletter and its Comparative Civilizations Bulletin/Review are extensions of these meetings. The collection has been on deposit since 1987. The collection consists of society business, personal and societal correspondence, publications, and manuscripts.

The Herman Merrills Johnson papers consist primarily of financial records, bound and unbound, maintained by Johnson during his tenure as president of Dickinson College. The collection also contains correspondence, notes, manuscripts, and the bill of sale for Johnson's library following his death.

Charles Flint Kellogg was a member of Dickinson's history department from 1946 to 1975. His scholarship focused on the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Kellogg helped to establish black studies courses at the College and taught courses on black history. This collection documents his academic career, including his graduate studies at The Johns Hopkins University, his teaching career at Dickinson, and his research into the NAACP. In addition to Kellogg's own correspondence and research materials, this collection also includes press releases produced by the NAACP from 1957 to 1964.

Horatio Collins King was the son of Postmaster General Horatio King and the nephew of Dickinson College President Charles Collins. A graduate of Dickinson College, class of 1858, King was admitted to the bar in 1861 and saw active service in the Civil War from 1862 until 1865. A songwriter, King composed the Dickinson Alma Mater, among other works. The collection contains King's correspondence, diaries, and copies of his songs. Topics in correspondence and diaries include student life, Civil War, and democratic politics.

The journals in this collection are available for reading online (see links for related entries below).

Zatae Longsdorff Straw (1866-1955) was the first woman graduate of Dickinson College as a member of the class of 1887; she went on to a successful career as a doctor and politician. The collection of her papers includes correspondence, printed and manuscript materials, scrapbooks and scrapbook materials, photographs, and artifacts. The bulk of the documents in this collection focuses on Zatae's life in Manchester, New Hampshire, both private and professional. There are some items, however, about her life at Dickinson, namely her dress and medal for the Pierson Prize in Oratory, 1886, and her writing desk.

This collection primarily provides evidence of the personal and public life of Frank E. Masland Jr., environmentalist, preservationist, explorer, entrepreneur, author, and community leader.  Also found in this collection is correspondence from prominent twentieth-century figures such as leaders of the National Park Service, journalists, politicians throughout the world, and American presidents. Information on Dickinson College is featured prominently throughout this collection through the close association of Masland with the institution during most of his life. This collection offers information on a number of social, political, economic, and historic topics through the eyes of a man who witnessed nearly the entire twentieth century.  Some of these broader topics include the industrialization of the United States, south central Pennsylvania community, the rise of environmentalism, reactions to communism, the rise of the New Left, and twentieth-century exploration. The processing of this collection was made possible by a grant from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.

Jacob Simmons Mosher (1834-1883) was a prominent physician and professor of medicine in Albany, New York. Samuel L. Southard (1787-1842) was a lawyer, politician, and cabinet member from New Jersey. These papers contain correspondence and other materials that reflect the professional and personal lives of these two men, as well as genealogical materials regarding their families.

George Norcross (1838-1915) graduated from Monmouth College in 1861 and Princeton Theological Seminary in 1864. He served as minister of the Second Presbyterian Church in Carlisle, Pa., from 1869 until 1909. This collection contains seven sermons given by Norcross between 1870 and 1904. Norcross preached many of these sermons on more than one occasion. The front page of each document, therefore, contains a list of locations and dates for each instance when a sermon was given.

Record group 5/2 consists of both materials dating from 1962-1989 while the Office of the Chaplain existed under the leadership of a full-time chaplain, as well as materials regarding campus religious affairs functions prior to the establishment of the chaplaincy, as early as 1924. The bulk of the material, however, dates from the appointment of Paul Kaylor in 1967 to the resignation of Mary Anne Morefield in 1989. The record group is organized in eleven series:

Series 01 General Administrative Materials

Series 02 Finances

Series 03 General Correspondence

Series 04 Chapel Programming for Weekday Services and Special Events (before fall 1965)

Series 05 College Church Programming for Sunday, Holiday, and Other Special Services

Series 06 Events

Series 07 Social Action

Series 08 Other Religious Traditions/Organizations

Series 09 Other Campus Organizations

Series 10 Other Chaplain’s Activities

Series 11 Chaplains’ Personal Papers

A fuller description of each series is given before each series inventory.

Leon Cushing Prince (1878-1937) graduated from Dickinson College in 1898 and received his law degree from the Dickinson School of Law and his masters from New York University. Prince returned to Dickinson in 1907 to become a professor of history, where he would teach for thirty years until his death. He was elected a Pennsylvania state senator in 1928 and served for two terms. The collection contains material dated 1898-1937, and includes correspondence, legal documents, literary materials, printed materials, and other memorabilia. The bulk of the collection centers around manuscripts of Prince's research notes, sermons, speeches, and writings. Other materials in the collection include newspaper clippings, correspondence with other professors regarding lecture appearances, and printed material on the Kiwanis Club.

The William Charles Ford Reed Collection was donated to the college in 1951 by the sons of William C. F. Reed, Class of 1851. The collection contains some of Reed's student writings, notebooks, and his complete set of school books. A subsequent donation in 1956 consisted of a few papers and 37 school books belonging to William's older sister, Ann Reed. The papers are arranged into three series: Notebooks, Writings, and Miscellaneous. There is also a photograph of William C.F. Reed.