Collections of college and personal papers, as well as a select number of individual documents, have been briefly described in entries available for browsing and searching on this site. All collection descriptions contain a representative image and a summary of the contents. Collection descriptions also include links to an inventory detailing the contents of the collection.
Sorted alphabetically
The collection includes bills, receipts, letters, and account books of Josiah Albertson's lime and lumber business in Plymouth, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, which he later held in partnership with his brothers, Jacob and Benjamin. Also...
Location: MC 1999.14
Subject: Business and Industry, Genealogy and Family History, Personal and Family Life, Religion and Spirituality
Format: Financial Documents, Legal and Government Documents, Letters/Correspondence, Meeting Minutes
Time Period: 1800-1819, 1820-1839, 1840-1859
Collection Inventory: 
mc1999.14.pdf
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...
Location: MC 2014.1
Subject: Economics and Finance, Legal Affairs, Personal and Family Life
Format: Financial Documents, Legal and Government Documents, Letters/Correspondence, Memorabilia and Ephemera, Miscellaneous, Photographs
Time Period: 1780-1799, 1800-1819, 1820-1839, 1840-1859, 1860-1879, 1880-1899, 1900-1919, 1920-1939
Collection Inventory:
Hazelle Myra Allen Brooks graduated from Dickinson College in 1934. This collection contains diaries kept by her as a college student and as a young mother during World War II. It also includes diaries kept by her mother, Essie Myra Comstock...
Location: MC 2011.3
Subject: Carlisle and Cumberland County, Dickinson College Student Life, Education, Personal and Family Life
Format: Diaries and Journals
Time Period: 1920-1939, 1940-1959, 1960-1979
Collection Inventory: mc2011.03.pdf
An album containing clippings of the serial publication "Harry Ashton's Ramblings," with a handwritten preface, penciled editing notes, photographs, and letters from publishers. The story was published in the Boston Globe in 1873 and...
Location: MC 1998.4
Subject: Literary Pursuits, Travel and Tourism
Format: Letters/Correspondence, Scrapbooks
Time Period: 1860-1879, 1880-1899
Collection Inventory: mc1998.04.pdf
The collection contains papers related to John Armstrong's service as a surveyor in Cumberland County between 1755 and 1783. These papers include correspondence with the Surveyor-General of Pennsylvania and Delaware, John Lukens, complaints from...
Location: MC 2001.4
Subject: Business and Industry, Land and Real Estate
Format: Financial Documents, Legal and Government Documents, Letters/Correspondence, Maps and Diagrams
Time Period: Before 1760, 1760-1779, 1780-1799
Collection Inventory: mc2001.04.pdf
The Arts Award was established by Dickinson College in order to recognize achievements in the Arts and Humanities. Honoring Dr. William Wilcox Edel, alumnus and former president of the college, the Arts Award is bestowed upon an individual who...
Location: RG 9/3
Subject: Dickinson College Events, Visual and Performing Arts
Format: Financial Documents, Letters/Correspondence
Time Period: 1940-1959, 1960-1979, 1980-1999, 2000-2019
Collection Inventory: RG 9/3 - Arts Award papers
The collection consists mainly of personal correspondence: fifty letters, most of which are from Carolyn Elizabeth Roberts Ayer to her husband Joseph Cullen Ayer (b. 1839) at various points in his life, beginning before their marriage (1861) when...
Location: MC 1999.4
Subject: Genealogy and Family History, Health and Medicine, Military Affairs and Conflict, Personal and Family Life
Format: Essays and Dissertations, Financial Documents, Legal and Government Documents, Letters/Correspondence, Poetry and Lyrics
Time Period: 1820-1839, 1840-1859, 1860-1879, 1880-1899, 1900-1919
Collection Inventory: mc1999.04.pdf
Spencer Fullerton Baird (1823-1887) was a Dickinson College graduate (class of 1840) and a professor of natural history and science at the college from 1845 until 1850, when he became assistant secretary of the Smithsonian Institute (1850-1878)....
Location: MC 2000.11
Subject: Science and Technology, Travel and Tourism
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Time Period: 1860-1879
Collection Inventory: mc2000.11.pdf
Robert Hale Bancroft (?-1918) was born in Beverly, Massachusetts, and was educated at Harvard Law School and the University of Bremen in Germany. His travels abroad, as well as his interests in local events in Beverly, are reflected in this...
Location: MC 1998.5
Subject: Personal and Family Life, Travel and Tourism, Visual and Performing Arts
Format: Scrapbooks
Time Period: 1860-1879, 1880-1899, 1900-1919
Collection Inventory: mc1998.05.pdf
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...
Location: MC 2002.7
Subject: Business and Industry, Carlisle and Cumberland County, Dickinson College Student Life, Education, Genealogy and Family History, Land and Real Estate, Literary Pursuits, Personal and Family Life, Religion and Spirituality, Visual and Performing Arts
Format: Books and Pamphlets, Diaries and Journals, Fiction and Drama, Financial Documents, Legal and Government Documents, Letters/Correspondence, Memorabilia and Ephemera, Newspapers and Magazines, Notes and Notebooks, Photographs, Scrapbooks
Time Period: 1840-1859, 1860-1879, 1880-1899, 1900-1919, 1920-1939, 1940-1959, 1960-1979
Collection Inventory: mc2002.07.pdf
The collection contains legal and financial materials related to the settlement of the estates of Ricardo Maria Bell of Santiago, Cuba and Ana Maria Bell de Becerra. Also included are an account ledger of former trustee Robert Ewing, wills,...
Location: MC 1999.15
Subject: Genealogy and Family History, Legal Affairs
Format: Legal and Government Documents
Time Period: 1820-1839, 1840-1859
Collection Inventory: mc1999.15.pdf
The collection contains correspondence, pamphlets, and photographs of Dr. Annie (Wood) Besant (1847-1933), a prominent and revolutionary freethinker of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Besant was a Christian wife and mother who...
Location: MC 1999.7
Subject: Politics and Government, Religion and Spirituality, Social Reform and Advocacy
Format: Books and Pamphlets, Engravings and Illustrations, Letters/Correspondence, Photographs
Time Period: 1860-1879, 1880-1899, 1900-1919, 1920-1939, 1940-1959, 1960-1979
Collection Inventory: mc1999.07.pdf
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...
Location: MC 2007.2
Subject: Dickinson College Student Life, Education, Genealogy and Family History, Military Affairs and Conflict, Personal and Family Life
Format: Artifacts and Objects, Financial Documents, Letters/Correspondence, Memorabilia and Ephemera, Photographs
Time Period: 1840-1859, 1860-1879, 1880-1899, 1900-1919
Collection Inventory: mc2007.02.pdf
The collection consists of correspondence and miscellaneous materials relating to Andrew Blair (1789-1861), a layman and founding member of the Second Presbyterian Church of Carlisle. In 1833, Blair successfully petitioned the Presbyterian Church...
Location: MC 1999.11
Subject: Carlisle and Cumberland County, Personal and Family Life, Religion and Spirituality
Format: Financial Documents, Letters/Correspondence, Newspapers and Magazines
Time Period: 1800-1819, 1820-1839, 1840-1859, 1860-1879
Collection Inventory: mc1999.11.pdf
The collection consists mainly of correspondence between Arba Blodget (1879-1949), a Philadelphia drama critic and playwright, and his wife Laura and her family. Blodget and his wife had been separated early in their marriage due to his traveling...
Location: MC 1998.2
Subject: Business and Industry, Personal and Family Life, Visual and Performing Arts
Format: Diaries and Journals, Letters/Correspondence, Newspapers and Magazines
Time Period: 1840-1859, 1860-1879, 1880-1899, 1900-1919
Collection Inventory: mc1998.02.pdf
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,...
Location: MC 2003.1
Subject: Dickinson College Academic Affairs, Dickinson College Student Life
Format: Artifacts and Objects, Letters/Correspondence, Memorabilia and Ephemera, Notes and Notebooks
Time Period: 1960-1979, 1980-1999
Collection Inventory: mc2003.01.pdf
The papers of the Board of Trustees of Dickinson College, 1783-1833, include correspondence, reports, financial statements, printed materials, and legal documents, and have been arranged into seven series.
...
Location: RG 1/1
Subject: Dickinson College Academic Affairs, Dickinson College Administration, Dickinson College History, Dickinson College Student Life, Economics and Finance, Education
Format: Books and Pamphlets, Engravings and Illustrations, Financial Documents, Letters/Correspondence, Meeting Minutes, Reports
Time Period: 1780-1799, 1800-1819, 1820-1839
Collection Inventory: RG 1-001.pdf
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....
Location: RG 1/2
Subject: Dickinson College Academic Affairs, Dickinson College Administration, Dickinson College Student Life, Economics and Finance, Education, Religion and Spirituality
Format: Certificates and Diplomas, Engravings and Illustrations, Financial Documents, Legal and Government Documents, Letters/Correspondence, Meeting Minutes, Reports
Time Period: 1820-1839, 1840-1859, 1860-1879, 1880-1899, 1900-1919
Collection Inventory: RG 1-002.pdf
This collection consists of course materials, writings, and translations created by Marianna Bogojavlensky, who taught Russian language and literature at Dickinson College from 1963 to 1981.
Location: MC 2011.2
Subject: Dickinson College Academic Affairs, Education
Format: Essays and Dissertations, Notes and Notebooks
Time Period: 1960-1979, 1980-1999
Collection Inventory: mc2011.02.pdf
Thomas Emerson Bond, Sr., was a well-known Methodist Episcopal minister and author who served as a trustee of Dickinson College from 1833 until 1835. The collection includes correspondence to and from Bond dating mostly from 1840-1848, as well as...
Location: MC 1999.2
Subject: Dickinson College Academic Affairs, Dickinson College Administration, Education, Religion and Spirituality, Travel and Tourism
Format: Diaries and Journals, Engravings and Illustrations, Essays and Dissertations, Letters/Correspondence, Reports, Speeches and Sermons
Time Period: 1780-1799, 1800-1819, 1820-1839, 1840-1859, 1860-1879
Collection Inventory: mc1999.02.pdf
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,...
Location: MC 1998.3
Subject: Land and Real Estate, Personal and Family Life
Format: Books and Pamphlets, Financial Documents, Legal and Government Documents, Letters/Correspondence, Memorabilia and Ephemera, Newspapers and Magazines, Photographs, Poetry and Lyrics, Speeches and Sermons
Time Period: 1760-1779, 1780-1799, 1800-1819, 1820-1839, 1840-1859, 1860-1879, 1880-1899, 1900-1919, 1920-1939
Collection Inventory: mc1998.03.pdf
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-...
Location: MC 2008.3
Subject: Business and Industry, Dickinson College History, Dickinson College Student Life, Economics and Finance, Personal and Family Life
Format: Financial Documents, Letters/Correspondence, Newspapers and Magazines, Photographs
Time Period: 1840-1859, 1860-1879, 1880-1899, 1900-1919, 1920-1939
Collection Inventory: mc2008.03.pdf
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...
Location: MC 2012.12
Subject: Education, Literary Pursuits, Visual and Performing Arts
Format: Artifacts and Objects, Books and Pamphlets, Essays and Dissertations, Fiction and Drama, Financial Documents, Interviews and Oral Histories, Letters/Correspondence, Memorabilia and Ephemera, Music, Newspapers and Magazines, Notes and Notebooks, Photographs, Poetry and Lyrics, Speeches and Sermons
Time Period: 1860-1879, 1880-1899, 1900-1919, 1920-1939
Collection Inventory: mc2012.12.pdf
This collection contains 11 images believed to be owned by Brockey (Blackfeet Piegan), also known as Charles Walter Buck, and his first wife, Spyna Deveraux, both of whom attended the Carlisle Indian School. The collection also contains a copy of...
Location: CIS-MC-003
Subject: Carlisle Indian School, Native Americans
Format: Newspapers and Magazines, Photographs
Time Period: 1880-1899, 1900-1919, 1920-1939
Collection Inventory: CIS-MC-003.pdf
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...
Location: MC 1998.10
Subject: Dickinson College Student Life, Economics and Finance, Education, International Affairs, Legal Affairs, Personal and Family Life, Politics and Government
Format: Books and Pamphlets, Engravings and Illustrations, Legal and Government Documents, Letters/Correspondence, Memorabilia and Ephemera, Newspapers and Magazines, Reports, Speeches and Sermons
Time Period: 1800-1819, 1820-1839, 1840-1859, 1860-1879, 1880-1899, 1900-1919, 1920-1939, 1940-1959, 1960-1979, 1980-1999
Collection Inventory: mc1998.10.pdf