Guide to the Wakefield Family Collection: 1863-1921


Title:
Wakefield Family Collection: 1863-1921
Repository:
Hiram College
Phone: 330-569-5361
http://library.hiram.edu/Archives/
Phone: 330-569-5361
http://library.hiram.edu/Archives/
Creator:
Wakefield, Edmund Burritt
Dates:
1846-1940
Bulk dates:
1863-1910
Quantity:
3 cubic feet
Abstract:
This is a collection of papers belonging to Edmund Burritt Wakefield, Western Reserve Eclectic Institute alumnus, Civil War soldier, professor, and surveyor.
Identification:
HCA PP 03
Location:
Hiram College Archives Range 16
Language:
The records are in English

Biography of Edmund Burritt Wakefield

Wakefield was born in Greensburg, Ohio on August 27, 1846. He was the son of Edwin and Mary Payne (Churchill) Wakefield. His father was an early Disciples of Christ minister. Wakefield entered the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute (as Hiram College was then known) in 1863 where he studied under Harvey W. Everest, J. H. Rhodes and Almeda Booth. At the close of the 1863-1864 school year, 18 year old E. B. Wakefield enlisted in the Army as a private in Co. G 177th Ohio Infantry and served with the 23rd Army Corps in Tennessee and North Carolina until the end of the Civil War.

After the Civil War, he attended Bethany College in West Virginia in 1868-1869. He returned to Hiram College to graduate in 1870 with an A. B. degree. With further studies, he earned an A. M. degree in 1873.

In 1870, Wakefield married Martha (Mattie) Sheldon of Aurora Ohio. They had four children, Edwin F., Albert Sheldon, Arthur Paul and Cornelia. In 1872, Wakefield served one season on the US Geological Survey team under the leadership of Dr. Ferdinand V. Hayden. This was the famous Hayden survey which is regarded as the most definitive of all Yellowstone expeditions and culminated in the lands of Yellowstone being designated in 1872 as the world's first national park.

Wakefield taught at Hiram College for two years as Professor of Natural Science before serving in North Bloomfield, North Bristol, and Warren, Ohio for the next seventeen years as a pastor in Disciples of Christ congregations. In 1890, Wakefield served as Acting President of Hiram College. A much loved figure on campus, upon his retirement in 1910, he was awarded the rank of Professor Emeritus. He continued to reside in Hiram until his death in 1921.

Edmund Burritt Wakefield was an early alumnus of the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute, Civil War veteran, professor of Hiram College, and member of the US Geological Survey team that surveyed Yellowstone.

Scope and Content

The collections consists of the personal correspondence to and from Edmund Burritt Wakefield from his student days at Hiram College, through his Civil War experiences, the Hayden Yellowstone expedition, his family life, as well as professional writings and correspondence.

This is a collection of letters and papers of Edmund Burritt Wakefield.

Statement of Arrangement

The collection is sectioned into periods of E. B. Wakefield's life, correspondence with specific individuals, and memorabilia.

Restrictions on Use

Researchers must have permission of the Hiram College Archives to reproduce items in this collection. Fees may be assessed.

Restrictions on Access

Materials do not circulate and must be used in the Arndt Reading Room of the Hiram College Archives under the supervision of the archivist.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection.

Subjects:

Bethany College -- History
Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories (U.S.)
Hiram College -- History
United States -- History -- Civil War -- 1861-1865 -- Personal Narratives
United States -- genealogy
West (U.S.) -- Description and travel
West (U.S.) -- Discovery and exploration -- Sources
Yellowstone National Park -- Description and travel
Yellowstone National Park -- Discovery and exploration -- Sources

Persons:

Hayden, F. V. (Ferdinand Vandeveer), 1829-1887
Lindsay, Nicholas Vachel
Sheldon, Martha (Mattie)
Wakefield, Cornelia
Wakefield, E. B. (Edmund Burritt)
Wakefield, Olive Lindsay

Organizations/Corporations:

Hiram College

Family Names:

Wakefield

Preferred Citation

[Box #, Series Title, File #], The Wakefield Family Collection, Hiram College Archives, Hiram College, Hiram OH

Acquisition Information

Donated to Hiram College Archives by Frederick Henry

Processing Information

The collection was processed by archivist Joanne Sawyer.


Other Finding Aid


http://library.hiram.edu/Archives/Wakefield%20Family%20Finding%Aid.htm


Detailed Description of The Collection


Box 1
Student Papers, 1863-1867


Scope and Content: (8 folders) Notebooks and papers written by E. B. Wakefield while at Hiram College; E.B. Wakefield's letters to family from Hiram (2 mentioning James A. Garfield), dated Aug. 16, 1863 - May 12, 1867; letters contain references to Hiram policy and teachers; letters to family from Bethany College, dated Nov. 15, 1868 - July 26, 1871; letters contain references to Bethany policy



Civil War Memoir and Letters, 1863 - 1865; 1887; 1905; 1909

Scope and Content
(5 folders) Civil War memoirs, Sept. 1, 1863 - July 16, 1865; contains letters home that describe battle scenarios and conditions, as well as location; also contains "The Art of Composition," "Life in the Triplin Army Hospital, Columbus," "War Memoirs of North Carolina"; reunion programs, 177th OVI: 1887, 1905; "Living Over a Lost Cause," address at 177th OV reunion, 1909


Letters from the West, 1872

Scope and Content
(5 folders) Letters written during the US Geological Survey of Yellowstone 1872; "Yellowstone in '72", and "Up the Yellowstone"; also "Hayden in Wonderland: Exploring Yellowstone," 1989


Letters to and from Martha Sheldon Wakefield, 1867-1912

Scope and Content
(44 folders) Letters of E. B. Wakefield to and from his wife Martha (Mattie) Sheldon, 1867-1912; love letters, discussion of E.B.W.'s future, and Hiram College; folder also contains "Burt and Mattie: A Hiram Love Story" from an English Seminar, March 1985


Family Correspondence, 1867-1921

Scope and Content
(56 folders) General family correspondences (Burt and Mattie), 1867-1921; references to family events and concerns, and Hiram College


Letters to and from Paul and Olive Lindsay Wakefield, 1882-1921

Scope and Content
(27 folders) Letters to and from Paul and Olive Lindsay Wakefield, 1882-1921; references to fashions in NY in 1894, E.B.W.'s activities with the Disciples of Christ and Hiram College, Paul's marriage to Olive Lindsay, Vachel Lindsay, Paul as a missionary in China and American-Chinese relations at the time, and birth of children; also in this folder are "Annual Announcements" from 1901-1904 from Rush Medical College

Box 2
Letters to and from Al and Susie Wakefield, 1894-1910


Scope and Content: (19 folders) Letters to and from Al and Susie Wakefield, 1894-1910; references to life in northeastern Ohio



Letters to and from Edwin F. and Marcia Wakefield, 1882-1919

Scope and Content
(28 folders) Letters to and from Ted (Edwin F.) and Marcia Wakefield, 1882-1919; descriptions of Boston, Maine, policies at Hiram College and Michigan State University, and E.B.W.'s activities with the Disciples of Christ


Letters to and from Cornelia Wakefield and Walter Robinson, 1896-1914

Scope and Content
(24 folders) Letters to and from Cornelia Wakefield and Walter Robinson, 1896-1914; descriptions of life in Missouri


Miscellaneous Hiram College Related Papers, 1881-1910

Scope and Content
(11 folders) Includes letters from E.B.W. to Hiram College Administration and Faculty, ministerial requests, student applications, grade reports, faculty applications, college speakers, church-related activities, diploma requests, graduation requirements, and student policies


Letters to and from E.B. Wakefield, 1880-1920

Scope and Content
(61 folders) Included are class assignments, correspondences (both business and personal), dealings with suppliers, board members, lawsuit between Standard Publishing Co. over catalogues, E.B.W.'s relationship with E.V. Zollers, Zollers' resignation, C.C. Rowlison's presidency, faculty relations, college policies and enrollment, finances, E.B.W.'s term as Acting President

Box 3
Lectures, n.d.


Scope and Content: (10 folders) Includes "Normal School in Relation to Church and Home Life", "The Place and Scope of the College", and sermons



Postcards and Miscellaneous, 1903-1917

Scope and Content
(4 folders) Postcards 1903-1917; supplement to Hiram Broadcaster containing elegy on William Dietz '81 by Adelaide Rudolph '79; miscellaneous material on Harvard University; genealogical memoir, ca. 1896


Memorabilia, n.d.

Scope and Content
(12 folders) Convention memorabilia, ordering catalogues, reports from Hiram college, announcements, cards, and miscellaneous news clippings; also contains a history of the collection and its donation to Hiram College by Frederick Henry; genealogy of Wakefield Family by Amy Rice, granddaughter of E.B.W.


Envelopes, n.d.


Vachel Lindsay Wakefield, 1843-1940

Scope and Content
(1 folder) Material relating to Vachel Lindsay Wakefield, donated by his sister Catharine Wakefield Ward, February 1998; includes papers relating to his work at Iolani School in Hawaii, Master's of Arts Thesis for University of Maine entitled "East Corinth Academy, 1843-1940", and memorials.