Memorabilia and Ephemera

Alexander Biddle, the patriarch of the collection, was born on April 29, 1819 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Thomas A. Biddle and Christine Williams Biddle. A member of a prominent and wealthy Philadelphia family, he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1838 and became a successful lawyer—a profession that ran in his family and would continue in later generations. He married Julia Williams Rush in 1855—the granddaughter of Founding Father Benjamin Rush—which allows for both the Williams and Rush families to be well represented in this collection. It is Alexander, his wife Julia, and his seven children—Alexander, Henry, Julia, Wilmer, Louis, Marion, and Lynford, that make up a majority of this collection.

The Biddle Family Collection is housed in 11 document boxes. This collection consists primarily of correspondence between both friends and members of the Biddle Family as well as business associates. The collection is centered around Alexander Biddle (April 29, 1819—May 2, 1899), starting with him and progressing into an emphasis on his wife and children (Alexander, Henry, Julia, Wilmer, Louis, Marion, and Lynford) as well as other family members. The Rush family, via Alexander marrying into it, is also well represented.

These materials are arranged into the following 9 categories: Correspondence, Financial Materials, Legal Materials, Clubs/Societies, Invitations, Animal Business, Ephemera, Miscellaneous, and Photographs. This collection was generously donated by Samuel and Anna D. Moyerman.

The collection consists of the papers of Charles Gilbert Beetem, a Carlisle, PA rug manufacturer, local historian and genealogist, amateur artist, and omnivorous collector. Diaries, manuscripts, letters, advertisements, greeting cards, and extensive runs of Philadelphia and Carlisle turn-of-the-century theater programs are all included in the collection, as well as accounts of Carlisle and Cumberland County history. College memorabilia includes his own drawings for Dickinson's yearbook. The collection also contains the Conodoquinet Yacht Club Archives. Miscellaneous materials include journals and accounts for homes he designed and built as well as those for proposed real estate development in Carlisle. The correspondence reflects Beetem's longtime interest in U. S. island possessions, which is the subject of his large collection of publications and books housed in our library.

John Black, Jr. (1842-1915) attended Dickinson College between 1858 and 1860, before returning to his home in Lancaster, Pennsylvania to begin his career as a druggist. During the Civil War, Black served in the 122nd Pennsylvania Volunteers and the 47th Regiment of the Pennsylvania Militia of 1863. This small collection contains some materials documenting his family history, his high school and college experiences, and his military service and resulting pension.

The collection reflects Scott Blum's (1959- ) interest in the sciences, particularly computers. The documents and materials relate to Blum's time at Dickinson College, especially his academic career, and consist of notes and notebooks, syllabi, exams, and other materials. Blum graduated from Dickinson College in 1981.

The collection contains materials relating to family life on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and in Ohio. The central figure is Daniel Bowdle (1796-1876), who as a young man moved to Cincinnati and became the successful business man of his family, with real estate and other interests. He aided his less fortunate kin in Talbot County, MD, including making provisions for the old age of James Lloyd, a beloved slave. The letters of William James Bowdle (1834-1876; Class of 1854) reflect student life at Dickinson College; letters of numerous other relatives are supplemented by genealogical notes on the Bowdle Family. Also included are papers on the settlement of the estate of Capt. Patrick Dickey, dated 1806-1841, which involve lands in Ohio and in Mason Co., VA.

The Robert Bridges Papers Collection provides insight into literary works of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and reflects Bridges’ long period of work as an editor and literary critic. The collection spans a date range of 1875-1937, with large portions pertaining to the early 1890s and 1900s. The collection is divided into 16 series: Administrative Records, Editorial, Literary Reviews, Prose, Poetry, Drama, Addresses and Speeches, Other Writings, President Woodrow Wilson, Princeton University, Aldine Club, Personal, Images, Biographical Materials, Publications, Photographs, Oversized Photographs, and Artifacts.

A fuller description of each series is provided in the Collection Inventory.

James Buchanan was a graduate of Dickinson College, Class of 1809, who went on to become the fifteenth president of the United States. The majority of this collection is comprised of correspondence between Buchanan and his business and political associates; over four hundred letters penned by Buchanan are included in the collection. Drafts of speeches, printed pamphlets, and various memorabilia are also represented.

This collection contains a number of items purchased as a group from Robert Rowe in 2014, and features the business papers of Milton I. Zeigler, postcards, ephemera, and publications from the Carlisle Indian School. Zeigler served as the industrial instructor for the shoe and harness department at the Carlisle Indian School from about 1901-1909. His business papers include correspondence with government agents and material suppliers as well as vouchers for expenditures during various business trips. The postcards in this collection all feature images of the Carlisle Indian School. The ephemera in this collection include commencement programs and quotation cards printed by the Carlisle Indian School Press. The Publications section includes multiple government publications about the Carlisle Indian School as well as souvenir booklets about the school and a copy of Stiya: A Carlisle Indian Girl at Home, written by school matron and printing supervisor Marianna Burgess.

Most of the materials in this collection are available online at the Carlisle Indian School Digital Resource Center.

These items about the Carlisle Indian School were acquired by the Dickinson College Archives and Special Collections individually and are not part of any larger collection.

The Naomi Greensky Collection has been organized into two sections, Papers and Photographs. Most of the Papers can be categorized as ephemera and reflect extracurricular activities that Naomi participated in while at Carlisle. The papers include dance cards, holiday cards, a commencement program, and materials from Mercer Literary Society. There are also several calling cards or business cards from the Great Northern Railway and Glacier National Park. The Photographs include several postage-stamp sized images taken and developed at Carlisle Indian School’s Leupp Art Studio. The individuals pictured in the photographs are suspected to be students from the school, but most are unidentified. One young woman appears in six photographs – four as a young adult and two as a child – suggesting that she may be Naomi. A young man appears in three of the photographs, and it is likely that this young man is Naomi’s brother, Peter Greensky.

This collection contains a number of items purchased as a group from Robert Rowe in 2017, and includes a number of photographs, artifacts, and documents related to the Carlisle Indian School. The four court martials in this collection are from the year 1904, and include charges against a total of five students. The Ephemera and Publication sections include printed materials related to the Carlisle Indian School, including four schoolbooks used at the school in the 1910s. These books contain marginalia written by students. The photographs included in this collection include the E.A. Seabrook Photograph Album as well as a number of miscellaneous images. The artifacts in this section include a ceramic china dish and three brass buttons off of a school uniform.

Most of the materials in this collection are available online at the Carlisle Indian School Digital Resource Center.

Marcia Chamberlain was a friend and correspondent of poet Marianne Moore. This collection contains letters exchanged between the two women and other acquaintances, as well as a small amount of writings, photographs, and ephemera.

Elizabeth H. Clarke graduated from Dickinson College in 1932. This collection contains dance cards and other ephemera from her college days.

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).

Moncure Daniel Conway was born into a southern aristocratic family, but ultimately became one of the nation's leading abolitionists and humanitarians. Conway was a graduate of Dickinson College in 1849 and was trained for the ministry at Harvard Divinity School. The collection consists mainly of correspondence relating to all phases of Conway's career; his student days at Dickinson and at Harvard, his anti-slavery witness, and his pastorate at South Place Chapel in London. His letters reflect his wide acquaintance with leading intellectual and political figures of his day; some of his correspondents include Ralph Waldo Emerson and Dr. Annie Besant.

The journal in this collection has been digitized and is available for reading online (see the link 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.

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.

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.

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.

The collection consists of materials relating to Ethelyn Hardesty's student days at Dickinson College, including a scrapbook, 1899-1902, class and lecture notes, grade reports, and a diary. After graduating in 1902, Hardesty taught high school in Lock Haven, PA. She married Dr. C. Grant Cleaver, Dickinson class of 1894. Both she and her husband were active in alumni activities.

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.

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.

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.

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).