Independent Collection A Guide to The Independent Collection MG 83

A Guide to The Independent Collection MG 83


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ODU Community Collections

3000 Perry Library
4427 Hampton Blvd.
Norfolk, VA 23529
Business Number: 757-683-5350
libspecialcollections@odu.edu
URL: https://www.odu.edu/library/special-collections

Elizabeth Vincelette

Repository
ODU Community Collections
Identification
MG 83
Title
The Independent Collection circa 1680-1960 Date acquired: 02/18/2005
URL:
https://archivesguides.lib.odu.edu/repositories/5/resources/186
Quantity
0.40 Linear Feet
Quantity
1 Hollinger Document Case boxes
Creator
Ward, William Hayes (1835-1916)
Language
English .
Abstract
Primarily comprised of correspondence of William Hayes Ward, editor of The Independent, a New York Congregationalist weekly, with notable literary and historical figures including General John Charles Frémont, American explorer and expedition leader; P. T. Barnum, showman; and Asa Gray, the preeminent American botanist of the 19th century. Other items in the collection include American literature and theater papers; colonial historical manuscripts and documents; and correspondence with the library of Norfolk division of the College of William and Mary (the predecessor of Old Dominion University).

Administrative Information

Conditions Governing Use

Before publishing quotations or excerpts from any materials, permission must be obtained from Special Collections and University Archives, and the holder of the copyright, if not Old Dominion University Libraries.

Conditions Governing Access

Open to researchers without restrictions.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Box [insert number], Folder [insert number and title], The Independent Collection, Special Collections and University Archives, Old Dominion University Libraries.

Source of Acquisition

Unknown provenance

Method of Acquisition

Gift. Accession #A2005-1

Some of the papers were discovered in the 1980s among a collection of rare books owned by the Old Dominion University library which had been purchased from a New York City bookstore.

Processing Information

The collection was processed by By Elizabeth Vincelette.


Biographical or Historical Information

The Independent was a New York weekly newspaper founded in 1848 by Henry Chandler Bowen. The Congregationalist journal, which was published until 1921, included social topics, primarily opposition to slavery and religious articles, but after the Civil War included literary submissions. Editors included, among others, Henry Ward Beecher, Theodore Tilton, Kinsley Twining, Hamilton Holt, William Hayes Ward, and his sister, Susan Hayes Ward. William Hayes Ward (1835-1916) was born in Abingdon, Massachusetts, on June 25, 1835. He graduated with distinction from Amherst College in 1856 and from Andover Theological seminary in 1859. He married Ellen Maria Dickinson in 1859. Dr. Ward served as a professor of Latin at Ripon College in Wisconsin and was a prominent orientalist and biblical scholar in his later years. In 1868 he left Ripon College to join the editorial staff of The Independent. In 1884, he led an expedition to Babylonia to examine archeological sites, and became president of the American Oriental Society, a position held twice, from 1890-1894 and 1909-1910. He specialized in studying designs of Babylonian and Assyrian seal cylinders, which were used in ancient record-keeping. Showing a lifelong concern for social issues in the newspaper and in private life, William Hayes Ward upheld African-American rights and opened the first conference held by the NAACP in 1909 in New York City. He was editor-in-chief of The Independent from 1896-1913 and is known for supporting poet Sidney Lanier, whose work was frequently published in the paper, and about whom Dr. Ward wrote a biographical memoir. Horace Howard Furness, Sr., 1833-1912, was an important American Shakespeare scholar. He was known for his editing of Shakespeare's plays, which contained numerous editions of plays as well as criticism. His son, Horace Howard Furness, Jr., 1865-1930, was a partner and successor of his father's work and edited his letters. Samuel Chew was a renowned literary critic in the early twentieth century.

Note written by Elizabeth Vincelette

Scope and Contents

The bulk of the collection contains the correspondence of William Hayes Ward, editor of The Independent, a New York Congregationalist weekly, with notable literary and historical figures. Some of the correspondents in the collection include General John Charles Frémont, American explorer and expedition leader; P. T. Barnum, showman; and Asa Gray, the preeminent American botanist of the 19th century. Other items in the collection include American literature and theater papers, colonial historical manuscripts and documents, and correspondence with the library of the Norfolk Division of the College of William and Mary, the predecessor of Old Dominion University.

This collection does not include physical copies of the Independent newspaper. Several volumes of the newspaper have been digitized by the Hathi Trust .

Arrangement Note

The collection has been organized into five series: Series I: Editorial Correspondence of The Independent; Series II: Literary Authors and Papers on American Theater; Series III: Historical Manuscripts and Documents; Series IV: Miscellaneous Literary and Political Correspondence; and Series V: William and Mary Norfolk Campus Library Correspondence.

Subjects and Indexing Terms


Preservica Internal URL

Preservica Internal


Preservica Public URL

Preservica Access


Significant Persons Associated With the Collection

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Container List

Series I
Series I: Editorial Correspondence of The Independent
1866-1917
Scope and Contents

This series includes letters to the editors. Arrangement is the original order of letters found in a scrapbook, which the creator organized roughly by subject.

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Series II
Series II: Literary Authors and Papers on American Theater
1896-1913
Scope and Contents

This series includes the correspondence of Samuel Chew and Horace Howard Furness, Jr., and Sr. Several letters in this series contain transcriptions that incorrectly attribute the letters of Horace Howard Furness, Jr., to Horace Howard Furness, Sr. and vice versa.

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Series III
Series III: Historical Manuscripts and Documents
circa 1680-1795
Scope and Contents

Includes a printed copy of a speech by Charles II and American colonial documents.

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Series IV
Series IV: Miscellaneous Literary and Political Correspondence
1930-1936
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Series V
Series V: William and Mary Norfolk Campus Library Correspondence.
1958-1960
Scope and Contents

This series includes correspondence concerning library collections.

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