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Accession Number: RG 3.01
E H Fairchild (1815-1889)
Papers: 1860-1955
Bulk Dates: 1860-1894
.81 linear feet
Overview
Biography
Series Description
Series I - Personal
Series II - Correspondence
Series III - Addresses and Sermons
Series IV - Printed Material
Series V - Miscellaneous
Series VI - Photographs
Access and Use
Provenance: Members of the Berea College administration
and the Fairchild family donated some of these materials, while
others were preserved as they became available by College librarians.
Preferred Citation: E. H. Fairchild Papers, Berea College Special
Collections & Archives, Berea, Ky.
Related Archives
- RG 01 -- Founders & Founding
- RG 02 -- Board of Trustees
Overview
This collection consists of official and personal papers of Berea
College's first president, E.H. Fairchild; a family album; and loose
prints and documents.
Materials include personal papers, manuscript reminiscences, essays,
and printed articles by and about the Fairchilds. Family members
represented, in addition to Edward Henry Fairchild himself, are
his wife, Maria B. Fairchild; his brother James H. Fairchild and
sister-in-law Helen Viets Fairchild; his children, the Rev. Charles
Fairchild, Julia Fairchild Hall, Arthur Fairchild, and Eugene Fairchild;
nephews David Fairchild and the Rev. Edwin M. Fairchild, nieces
Phoebe and Carolyn Haynes, grandchildren Bertha Fairchild Lauder,
Henry P. Fairchild, Frederick F. Hall, Walter Fairchild and Edith
Fairchild; great granddaughters Grace Hall Ohl and Ruth Lauder.
President Fairchild's correspondence is limited to twenty-one letters
(1860-1882), of which only seven appear to be original. Included
are fragmentary personal and business correspondence of E.H. Fairchild
and Frederick F. Hall; typewritten copies of Charles F. Dike's
letters to Fairchild concerning Dike's donation of money for the
education of black students; and correspondence of other family
members.
Photographs present include a family album and miscellaneous loose prints,
most of which are 19th century. Depicted are family members and the Fairchild
home (c. 1894); Berea College students, buildings, and campus scenes (1869-1873,
1891-1894); and several shots taken at sites near Berea. Other materials include
printed presidential addresses of Fairchild (inaugural, baccalaureate, etc.,
1969-1885), printed college advertisements and circulars (1869-1875), and miscellaneous
notes and clippings relating to Fairchild's career.
Biography
Born in Stockbridge, MA, 29 November 1815, Edward Henry Fairchild grew up in
Brownhelm, Ohio, where his parents, Grandison and Nancy Fairchild, had a farm.
He and his brother James were half of the first entering class at Oberlin College;
he graduated in 1838. At age 21, after
lecturing against slavery in Ohio as one of the "Seventy" sent out
by Theodore Weld, he was commissioned by the American Anti-slavery Society
for a three-month tour of Pennsylvania. At 22 he began teaching a large colored
school in Cincinnati. He graduated from Oberlin's Theological Seminary in 1841
and then married Maria Babbit, who at one time had also lived in Brownhelm.
The couple had four sons and one daughter: Charles, Henry, Julia, Arthur, and
Eugene. Fairchild was ordained in the Congregational Church (after being rejected
by the Presbyterians because he supported Oberlin). He served pastorates in
Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York, and continued to lecture against slavery.
From 1853-1869 (approximately) he was principal of the Preparatory Department
at Oberlin. In 1869 he became the first president of Berea College and served
until his death
in 1889.
Series Description
1 Manuscript Box
This series includes biographical information about President E H
Fairchild and his family, especially during his years at Berea. In
addition to his own memoir about his wife, there are recollections
from a grandson, Frederick Hall; his brother, J H Fairchild; a granddaughter,
Bertha Lauder; faculty colleagues; an anonymous student; and President
Frost. Also included is a 1973 article about Fairchild by the Rev.
Dr. Harley Patterson, recollections about Arthur Fairchild and his
family, a newspaper account of Charles Fairchild and the Fairchild
Spring, published materials by or about prominent nephews, and a
legal record relating to E.H. Fairchild's sister-in law's will.
This series consists of original correspondence Edward Henry Fairchild wrote
or received, most of it from the period when he was president of Berea College,
along with a couple of commendations of the school. Some letters are originals,
but most are copies. One letter attributed to SC Armstrong praises Berea and
President Fairchild, but probably was addressed to someone else.
Fairchild's great hopes for the students that came to Berea, both black
and white, are evident in these printed copies of addresses he made
directly to the Berea student body and the Berea community. His influence
extended beyond Berea, however, through the publications of the American
Missionary Association, articles published elsewhere, and his communications
with others who were also endeavoring to meet the needs of those with
little means. Some
documents in this series point to that wider
audience.
Publicity circulars and advertisements of courses available at
Berea College from the first 7 years of Fairchild's presidency
are collected here, along with Fairchild's history of the founding
of Berea and an address by his brother, urging that religious feeling
be directed towards social action.
This series consists of documents and clippings, including reminiscences of
women teachers at Berea from former students; descriptions of a rally to raise
money for Berea in New York; notes by Elizabeth Peck; and impressions of Berea's
commmencement exercises.
Included here are views of the Fairchild family and house; Berea College students,
buildings, and campus scenes; as well as views of the surrounding area. A family
album with captions and a number of loose prints comprise the series.
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