Dickinson College History

This collection contains materials documenting the personal and business lives of George W. Bowman (1809-1887) and his son Harry Leader Bowman (1848-1915). It also documents the death of George's wife and Harry's mother, Ann Leader Bowman (1813-1885).

The photographs series in this collection includes images of family members and Dickinson College students. Several folders contain carte de visites of Dickinson graduates from the Classes of 1867, 1868, 1869, 1871, 1872

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).

Carlyle Reede Earp attended Conway Hall from 1908 to 1910 and graduated from Dickinson College in 1914. While at Dickinson, he was a member of the Union Philosophical Society, the YMCA, the track team, and the student volunteer band.  Earp served as an officer in World War I and World War II.  He died in 1970 after working for an insurance company for 45 years.  This scrapbook contains photographs, clippings, programs and other memorabilia from Earp's time as a student at Conway Hall and Dickinson College.

The Education Fund played a critical role in the success of Dickinson College, especially during the mid-nineteenth century. For thirty years, Dickinson was entirely dependent upon the interest from the Education Fund to support its operations. In subsequent decades Dickinson’s Board of Trustees would introduce additional means of raising revenue for the school, but the Education Fund continued to serve as a source of income for the college and its students.

This collection is arranged into six categories as follows: Governance, Correspondence, Finances, Scholarships, Director of Religious Life, and Miscellaneous Materials. Within each category the material is arranged chronologically.

M. Margaret Eslinger graduated from Dickinson College in 1923.  This scrapbook contains a variety of items from her time at Dickinson College and as a graduate student at Ohio State University between 1919 and 1925. Materials include letters, grade slips, school bulletins, event programs, coursework, postcards, concert tickets, newspaper clippings, holiday cards, account books, photographs, name tags, and such objects as utensils, cigarettes, pressed flowers, pinned badges, and napkins.

These records contain materials related to the termination of Dr. Laurent R. LaVallee, assistant professor of economics.  In 1956, the Dickinson Board of Trustees voted unanimously to dismiss LaVallee as a result of his failure to answer questions about his alleged participation in Communist activities. 

The Dickinsoniana Newspaper Collection consists of various newspapers acquired by the Library over the years. These items feature articles which concern mainly Dickinson College: happenings on campus, curriculum offerings, and doings of famous alumni such as James Buchanan and Roger Brooke Taney. The newspapers are arranged alphabetically by title and then chronologically; a description of the pertinent article, its location in the paper, and donor information are included in this inventory. In order to find newspapers dealing with particular individuals or events, a subject index has been included with the collection.

The collection consists of the papers of Charles Nisbet, first president of Dickinson College, and his family, particularly his son-in-law, William Turnbull. The majority of these papers is correspondence conducted between Nisbet and his daughter, and also between Nisbet and Lady Leven of Scotland. The business ventures of William Turnbull are reflected through legal, financial, and other miscellaneous documents; the collection's single artifact is Turnbull's leather wallet.