About Guides to Collections

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.

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Collection Descriptions

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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…

Location: MC 2000.8

Subject: Dickinson College Academic Affairs, Dickinson College Student Life

Format: Notes and Notebooks, Reports, Speeches and Sermons

Time Period: 1840-1859

Collection Inventory: mc2000.08.pdf

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…

Location: RG 2/7

Subject: Dickinson College Academic Affairs, Dickinson College Administration, Dickinson College Student Life, Education

Format: Letters/Correspondence, Reports

Time Period: 1860-1879

Collection Inventory: RG 2/7 - Robert Laurenson Dashiell

1896-1964

Albert L. Demaree (1894-1964) graduated from Dickinson College in 1923. This collection contains materials from his service in the U.S. Navy during both World Wars, including certificates, medals, and photographs. The collection also includes…

Location: MC 2010.4

Subject: Dickinson College Student Life, Education, Military Affairs and Conflict, Personal and Family Life

Format: Artifacts and Objects, Certificates and Diplomas, Letters/Correspondence, Photographs, Scrapbooks

Time Period: 1880-1899, 1900-1919, 1920-1939, 1940-1959, 1960-1979

Collection Inventory: mc2010.04.pdf

1861-1864

This collection is comprised entirely of correspondence written by Thomas William Dick during his service in the Union Army from 1861 to 1864. Originally from Centerville, Pennsylvania, Dick enlisted in the PA Reserve Corps, and, although wounded…

Location: MC 2001.10

Subject: Military Affairs and Conflict, Personal and Family Life

Format: Letters/Correspondence

Time Period: 1860-1879

Collection Inventory: mc2001.10.pdf

1762-1807

This collection is comprised of correspondence and legal papers reflecting the legal and political career of John Dickinson, statesman and president of the Supreme Executive Council of Delaware and Pennsylvania. The majority of the collection is…

Location: MC 2001.13

Subject: Dickinson College Administration, Economics and Finance, Military Affairs and Conflict, Politics and Government

Format: Financial Documents, Letters/Correspondence

Time Period: 1760-1779, 1780-1799, 1800-1819

Collection Inventory: mc2001.13.pdf

1912-2009

The collection documents the education and early teaching career of Velva Diven Daihl, class of 1927, and her husband, Sam Daihl. The bulk of the materials pertain to Velva's experiences as a Dickinson student and alumna. Some other items of note…

Location: MC 2012.6

Subject: Dickinson College Student Life, Education, Genealogy and Family History

Format: Artifacts and Objects, Books and Pamphlets, Certificates and Diplomas, Financial Documents, Letters/Correspondence, Newspapers and Magazines, Photographs, Scrapbooks

Time Period: 1900-1919, 1920-1939, 1940-1959, 1960-1979, 1980-1999, 2000-2019

Collection Inventory: mc2012.06.pdf

1906-1970

The collection includes various materials gathered by Blanche, Ray, and Miriam Dum, graduates of Dickinson College in 1910, 1911, and 1913, respectively. Examples of the materials include college bills and report cards from the early part of the…

Location: MC 2007.5

Subject: Dickinson College Student Life, Education, Personal and Family Life

Format: Certificates and Diplomas, Essays and Dissertations, Letters/Correspondence, Notes and Notebooks, Photographs

Time Period: 1900-1919, 1920-1939, 1940-1959, 1960-1979

Collection Inventory: mc2007.05.pdf

1906-1955

George Dum (c.1863-1918) served as secretary and treasurer for the Perry County-based Oak Grove Lumber Company. This collection contains materials pertaining to his interest in this venture, as well as his family's legal dealings with the…

Location: MC 2008.1

Subject: Business and Industry, Economics and Finance, Land and Real Estate, Legal Affairs

Format: Financial Documents, Legal and Government Documents, Letters/Correspondence, Maps and Diagrams, Notes and Notebooks

Time Period: 1900-1919, 1920-1939, 1940-1959

Collection Inventory: mc2008.01.pdf

1832-1889

John Price Durbin served as president of Dickinson College from 1834 to 1845. From 1842 to 1843 he toured across Europe and the Middle East, and he later published books about his travels. This collection includes a scrapbook that contains an…

Location: MC 2016.5

Subject: Dickinson College Administration, Personal and Family Life, Religion and Spirituality, Travel and Tourism

Format: Books and Pamphlets, Engravings and Illustrations, Newspapers and Magazines, Scrapbooks

Time Period: 1820-1839, 1840-1859, 1860-1879, 1880-1899

Collection Inventory: mc2016.05.pdf

1834-1845

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…

Location: RG 2/2

Subject: Carlisle and Cumberland County, Dickinson College Academic Affairs, Dickinson College Administration, Dickinson College Organizations, Dickinson College Student Life, Education, Religion and Spirituality

Format: Letters/Correspondence, Notes and Notebooks, Speeches and Sermons

Time Period: 1820-1839, 1840-1859

Collection Inventory: RG 2/2 - John Price Durbin

1910-1914

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…

Location: SB 2018.1

Subject: Dickinson College Events, Dickinson College History, Dickinson College Organizations, Dickinson College Student Life, Education, Sport and Recreation

Format: Memorabilia and Ephemera, Photographs, Scrapbooks

Time Period: 1900-1919

Collection Inventory: sb2018.01.pdf

1836-2001; bulk, 1852-1880

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.…

Location: MC 2016.1

Subject: Dickinson College Academic Affairs, Dickinson College Administration, Dickinson College History, Education, Religion and Spirituality

Format: Financial Documents, Letters/Correspondence

Time Period: 1840-1859, 1860-1879

Collection Inventory: mc2016.01.pdf

1978-1981

Michelle Ehrich graduated from Dickinson College in 1981. During her junior year, she studied abroad in Bologna, Italy. The collection consists primarily of letters and postcards that Michelle sent home to her family describing her life in…

Location: MC 2018.1

Subject: Dickinson College Student Life, Travel and Tourism

Format: Letters/Correspondence, Miscellaneous

Time Period: 1960-1979, 1980-1999

Collection Inventory: mc2018.01.pdf

1836-1847

Robert Emory (1814-1848) taught Latin and Greek at Dickinson between 1834 and 1840 and served as acting president in 1842-43 and 1845-47. This collection contains personal correspondence, as well legal and financial documents, primarily regarding…

Location: MC 2007.4

Subject: Economics and Finance, Land and Real Estate, Personal and Family Life

Format: Financial Documents, Legal and Government Documents, Letters/Correspondence

Time Period: 1820-1839, 1840-1859

Collection Inventory: mc2007.04.pdf

1845-1848

The records contained in the President Robert Emory record group pertain only to his time and affairs as president of Dickinson College. As such, any papers from Emory’s acting presidency during John Price Durbin’s sabbatical are not included…

Location: RG 2/3

Subject: Dickinson College Academic Affairs, Dickinson College Administration, Dickinson College Student Life, Education, Religion and Spirituality

Format: Letters/Correspondence

Time Period: 1840-1859

Collection Inventory: RG 2/3 - Robert Emory

1919-1925

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…

Location: MC 2013.6

Subject: Dickinson College Events, Dickinson College History, Dickinson College Organizations, Dickinson College Student Life, Education, Personal and Family Life, Travel and Tourism, Visual and Performing Arts

Format: Artifacts and Objects, Financial Documents, Letters/Correspondence, Memorabilia and Ephemera, Miscellaneous, Newspapers and Magazines, Photographs, Scrapbooks

Time Period: 1900-1919, 1920-1939

Collection Inventory: mc2013.06.pdf

1770-1787

Elizabeth Graeme Fergusson (1737-1801) was a Philadelphia writer who was known for hosting literary salons attended by individuals such as John Dickinson, Jacob Duché, Francis Hopkinson, Dr. Benjamin Rush, and Annis Boudinot Stockton. The…

Location: MC 2006.3

Subject: Literary Pursuits

Format: Diaries and Journals, Poetry and Lyrics

Time Period: 1760-1779, 1780-1799

Collection Inventory: mc2006.03.pdf

1776-1857

The collection consists primarily of travel journals of Thomas and Jabez Fisher, sons of Joshua Fisher, a businessman in Philadelphia shipping prior to the Revolutionary War. The journals offer detailed accounts of travel to Europe in the 1760s…

Location: MC 2004.1

Subject: Business and Industry, Economics and Finance, International Affairs, Personal and Family Life, Travel and Tourism

Format: Diaries and Journals, Financial Documents, Notes and Notebooks

Time Period: 1760-1779, 1780-1799, 1800-1819, 1820-1839, 1840-1859

Collection Inventory: mc2004.01.pdf

1874-1959

The collection includes correspondence and manuscripts of William Righter Fisher, a Dickinson alumnus (class of 1870) and professor of modern languages (1874-1876). These papers reflect Fisher's graduate study in Germany, teaching at Dickinson,…

Location: MC 2000.12

Subject: Dickinson College Academic Affairs, Business and Industry, Legal Affairs, Literary Pursuits, Personal and Family Life

Format: Fiction and Drama, Letters/Correspondence, Poetry and Lyrics

Time Period: 1860-1879, 1880-1899, 1900-1919, 1920-1939, 1940-1959

Collection Inventory: mc2000.12.pdf

1937-1938

The J. William Frey Photograph Album contains photographs chronicling his year in Giessen, Germany; he titled it "'Mein Jahr in Deutschland': A Year of Attending College in 1937-1938 Nazi Germany." Captions in both English and German were written…

Location: MC 2003.7

Subject: Education, Personal and Family Life, Travel and Tourism

Format: Photographs

Time Period: 1920-1939

Collection Inventory: mc2003.07.pdf

1816-1860

This collection includes correspondence of the Gale family including Reverend Wakefield Gale, a Congregational clergyman educated at Dartmouth and Andover Theological Seminary, his wife Mary Louise Bigelow Gale, John A. Gale, and Joseph Gale.…

Location: MC 1998.11

Subject: Personal and Family Life, Religion and Spirituality

Format: Letters/Correspondence

Time Period: 1800-1819, 1820-1839, 1840-1859, 1860-1879

Collection Inventory: mc1998.11.pdf

1805-1898

The collection consists of the diaries of Zenanah Gilbert and Dora Gilbert Tompkins; very little else is known about either woman. Gilbert was born in Rome, New York on January 31, 1784; her family ran a guest house in town. Tompkins was born in…

Location: MC 1998.9

Subject: Education, Military Affairs and Conflict, Personal and Family Life, Religion and Spirituality, Sport and Recreation

Format: Diaries and Journals

Time Period: 1800-1819, 1880-1899

Collection Inventory: mc1998.09.pdf

1951-1998

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.

Location: MC 2012.5

Subject: Dickinson College Academic Affairs, Dickinson College Student Life, Economics and Finance, Education, Personal and Family Life, Visual and Performing Arts

Format: Engravings and Illustrations, Financial Documents, Letters/Correspondence, Memorabilia and Ephemera, Music, Notes and Notebooks, Poetry and Lyrics, Speeches and Sermons

Time Period: 1940-1959, 1960-1979, 1980-1999

Collection Inventory: mc2012.05.pdf

1796-1813

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…

Location: MC 2000.2

Subject: Personal and Family Life, Religion and Spirituality

Format: Letters/Correspondence, Speeches and Sermons

Time Period: 1780-1799, 1800-1819

Collection Inventory: mc2000.02.pdf

1854-1918

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…

Location: MC 2005.4

Subject: Dickinson College Student Life, Genealogy and Family History, Personal and Family Life, Religion and Spirituality

Format: Certificates and Diplomas, Letters/Correspondence, Memorabilia and Ephemera, Scrapbooks, Speeches and Sermons

Time Period: 1840-1859, 1860-1879, 1880-1899, 1900-1919

Collection Inventory: mc2005.04.pdf