Administrative Information

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Preferred Citation

Reaumur C. Stearnes Papers, Accession #2547 and #I835, Special Collections Dept., University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Va.

Acquisition Information

The Reaumur C. Stearnes Papers were a gift to the Library by Mrs. Reamur C. Stearnes of Hempstead, Long Island, New York, on November 12, 1946.

Biographical/Historical Information

Reaumur Coleman Stearnes was born on April 8, 1866 in Dublin, Pulaski County, Virginia, the son of Dr. John Lewis and Phoebe Ann (nee McDermed) Stearnes. He won Greek and philosophy medals from the University of Richmond and was graduated in 1887 as valedictorian of his class. He married Mary Elizabeth Arnold in 1888. During the period 1888-1906, he taught mathematics and science at Allegheny Institute, Roanoke; was division superintendent of public schools for Roanoke County; practiced law at Salem; and helped organize the Cooperative Education Association and the Virginia State Teachers' Association, of which he served as president from 1901 to 1906.

Stearnes was appointed secretary to the State Board of Education in 1906. In 1913, upon the resignation of Dr. Joseph E. Eggleston, he was appointed Superintendent of Public Instruction. He was elected to the position in 1914 and served until 1918 when he lost a re-election bid. During World War I he served in various capacities for the War Camp Community Service in Atlanta, Georgia. From 1922 to 1925 he attended Columbia University, receiving an MA degree. He taught mathematics at New York University and Stony Brook School from 1925 to 1939. He also lectured on business administration and secretarial studies at Merchants and Bankers' Business and Secretarial School, New York. In 1936, at age 70, Stearnes earned a Ph.D. degree from New York University.

Stearnes was a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, Phi Delta Kappa, Phi Delta Theta, Pi Mu Epsilon, and was a thirty-third degree Mason and Grand Secretary of the Royal Arcanum Lodge. Reaumur C. Stearnes died in New York City on May 25, 1946, and was buried in Dublin, Pulaski County, Virginia.

A doctoral dissertation entitled "The Life and Administration of Reaumur Coleman Stearnes" by Vearl G. McBride is available in the University of Virginia Library.

Scope and Content Information

The Reaumur Coleman Stearnes Papers consist chiefly of correspondence, bound volumes, financial and legal papers, reports, newspaper clippings, printed materials, photographs and memorabilia. The papers pertain to Stearnes' life and his career in public education and especially relate to his service as secretary of the Virginia State Board of Education, 1906-1913, as Superintendent of Public Instruction, 1913- 1918, and in various capacities for the War Camp Community Service, 1918-1922. Topics of interest in the correspondence pertaining to education include: textbook adoption, certification of teachers, courses of study, and his bid for re-election as Superintendent of Public Instructions. Other topics for which there is material include citizen efforts to run recreational activities in Georgia during World War I, local political campaigns, and family and personal matters, particularly his teaching, and futher education at New York University.

As secretary to the State Board of Education and Superintendent of Public Instruction, Stearnes reviewed the credentials of physicians who intended to practice in Virginia to be certain they met a requirement of four years of high school. The political, social, religious and racial implications of his decisions are documented in the correspondence and related papers pertaining to the topic. Considerable information on the candidates for certification is also present.

Financial and legal papers chiefly pertain to Stearnes' business transactions, his career as a lawyer, and to the Stearnes family itself.

Prominent correspondents include: Edwin Anderson Alderman, Paul B. Barringer, R. F. Boatwright, William Cabell Bruce, Harry F. Byrd, Sr., T. A. Cairns, Charles Corbin, Arthur Kyle Davis, George S. Denny, Murray T. Edwards, James Taylor Ellyson, W. S. Gooch, Garrard Harris, T. W. Harrison, W. E. Hatcher, Herbert Hoover, J. L. Jarman, W. H Keister, J. P. McConnell, H. R. McIlwaine, Thomas R. Marshall, Thomas S. Martin, Mary Cooke Branch Munford, Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., Mary Newton Stanard, Claude A. Swanson, William Howard Taft, and Woodrow Wilson.

Organization

The collection is divided into nine series: I. Correspondence; II. Financial and Legal Papers; III. Superintendent of Public Instruction Papers; IV. War Camp Community Service Papers; V. Personal Education Papers; VI. Topical Files; VII. Printed Material; VIII. Bound Volumes; and IX. Over and Undersized Items, Memorabilia, etc. Folders are arranged chronologically within each series. Series I (Boxes 1-18) consists of general correspondence followed by topical correspondence. Series II (Boxes 18-25) is arranged in the same manner; boxes 23-25 contain miscellaneous receipts. Series III (Boxes 26-34) contains papers relating to his campaign efforts for re-election as Superintendent including petitions from supporters on his behalf. Boxes 29-34 contain papers regarding his role in the certification of physicians who intended to practice in Virginia provided they met a four year high school requirement; boxes 31-34 contain papers regarding textbook adoption. Series IV (Boxes 34-38) chiefly consists of correspondence, reports, and miscellaneous papers pertaining to his work for the War Camp Community Service. Series V (Boxes 38-42) contains papers relating to Stearnes' teaching career, his work towards his doctorate and his interest in education. Series VI (Boxes 43-44) consists of various topical folders. Series VII (Boxes 44-46) contains printed material such as business and calling cards, letterheads, postcards, clippings, invitations, photographs, and speeches and essays. The bound volumes in Series VIII (Boxes 46-49) were numbered and filed chronologically; loose materials in the volumes were placed in inserts, numbered, and filed together in a single folder directly after the last of the bound volumes. Item-by-item listings of the bound volumes, oversize and other disparate materials in Series IX are included in the container list.