Board of Trustees papers, 1833-1879

RG 1/2 - 10.1.12 The Statutes of Dickinson College, 1853
Collection Inventory
Date Range
1833-1902

The papers of the Board of Trustees of Dickinson College, 1833-1879, include correspondence, reports, financial statements, printed materials, and legal documents, and have been arranged into thirteen series.

Series 1 – Membership contains correspondence regarding membership on the Board of Trustees, lists of members, and attendance records.
Series 2 – Reports to the Board of Trustees consists of reports by the college president on the overall status of the college as well as reports from the heads of the college departments.
Series 3 – General Business includes bound and loose copies of minutes of the trustees’ meetings, resolutions passed by the various trustee committees, and correspondence in which general business is conducted.
Series 4 – College Personnel includes materials dealing with the college presidents.
Series 5 – Physical Plant consists of deeds, mortgages, certificates, bills, and correspondence dealing with the construction of the campus buildings.
Series 6 – Financial Affairs contains reports of the treasurer, ledger books, student accounts, and other financial materials.
Series 7 – Scholarships contains hundreds of scholarship certificates as well as correspondence and reports related to the sale of scholarships to raise funds for the college.
Series 8 – Conferences consists of materials which pertain to the control of the college by the Baltimore and Philadelphia Conferences of the Methodist Church.
Series 9 – Honorary Degrees contains correspondence relating to the granting of honorary degrees to prominent individuals.
Series 10 – Publications contains printed materials produced for use by the general community such as lists of college rules and regulations.
Series 11 – Dickinson Preparatory School contains reports of the principal to the Board as well as such financial materials as the treasurer’s list of students.
Series 12 – Dickinson Commercial College includes ledger books used in conducting the business of the commercial department of the college.
Series 13 – Executive Committee contains two bound volumes of the minutes of the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees.

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

Location
RG 1/2

Robert Laurenson Dashiell personal papers

School papers, 1840s (Box 1, folder 2)
Collection Inventory
Date Range
1843-1846

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.

Time Period
Location
MC 2000.8

Robert Laurenson Dashiell presidential papers

Robert Laurenson Dashiell - President, 1868-1872
Collection Inventory
Date Range
1868-1872

The records contained in the President Robert Laurenson Dashiell record group pertain only to his time and affairs as president of Dickinson College. As such, no personal papers or papers pertaining to Dashiell’s time as a student are included in this record group. For records concerning Dashiell’s interactions with students, please refer to RG 5/1. The Dashiell records are arranged into two series: General Business, and Personnel.

Time Period
Location
RG 2/7

Jesse Truesdell Peck presidential papers

Jesse Truesdell Peck - President, 1848-1852
Collection Inventory
Date Range
1848-1852

The records contained in the President Jesse Truesdell Peck record group pertain only to his time and affairs as president of Dickinson College. As such, no personal papers or papers pertaining to Peck’s tenure as a faculty member are included in this record group. For records concerning Peck’s interactions with students, please refer to RG 5/1. The Peck records are housed in one document box with RG 2/2 through RG 2/10 and are arranged into three series: General Business, Personnel, and External Affairs.

Time Period
Location
RG 2/4