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Collection Overview
Title: William Goodell Frost Papers
Predominant Dates:1860-1894
ID: RG 03/3.03
Primary Creator: Frost, William G. -- (William Goodell) -- 1854-1938
Other Creators: Hutchins Library
Extent: 21.4 Linear Feet
Arrangement: Arrangement of the collection is in series: Personal; Correspondence; Sermons, Addresses, and Lectures;Writings; Day Law; Reports; Eleanor Marsh Frost; Miscellaneous; and Photographs.
Subjects: African Americans -- Appalachian Region., Appalachian Region, Southern -- History., Appalachian Region, Southern -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- History -- 20th century., Appalachian Region -- Economic Conditions., Appalachian Region -- History, Appalachian Region., Berea, (Ky.), Berea College, Education, higher -- Administration., Education, Higher -- Appalachian Region -- History., Frost, Eleanor Marsh., Frost, Maria Goodell., Frost, William G. -- (William Goodell) -- 1854-1938, Kentucky Day Law., Minorities -- Education -- United States., Oberlin College.
Languages: English
Abstract
Frost, a native of LeRoy, New York, was an 1876 graduate of Oberlin College and taught Greek at him alma materfrom 1876 through 1892. Having refused the presidency of Berea College in 1889, Frost reconsidered theappointment after the resignation of William B. Stewart. Frost was inaugurated in 1892 and served as presidentuntil 1920. Frost is credited with being chiefly responsible for the significant growth of Berea College during thisperiod. His term saw enrollment rise from 350 in 1912 to 2400 in 1920, and the College’s endowment increasefrom $1,000,000 to $3,500,000 over the same period. He was also responsible for re-directing the school'smission from that of coeducation of blacks and whites to one which focused on educating "AppalachianAmericans", a term he is credited with popularizing. This shift took place contemporaneously with passage ofthe Kentucky Day Law (1904) which forbade integration of blacks and whites within single institutions. Thisresulted in removal of black students from the college and the establishment by Berea of the Lincoln Institute inLouisville, a separate school solely for blacks.
Scope and Contents of the Materials
This collection consists of official and personal papers of, William Goodell Frost, who served as BereaCollege's third president from 1892 to 1920. The Frost papers include personal and official correspondence; sermons, addresses, and lectures; manuscript writings; diaries; reports; photographs; and papers of Frost's wife, Eleanor Marsh Frost. The papers provide important documentation of Frost's life, racial issues in Kentucky, and on the history of Berea College.
Collection Historical Note
Third president of Berea College
Subject/Index Terms
Administrative Information
Repository:
Berea College Special Collections and Archives Catalog
Access Restrictions:
Records can be accessed through the Reading Room, Berea College Special Collections and Archives, Hutchins Library, Berea College.
Use Restrictions:
There are no restrictions on the collection other than federal copyright regulations. Cite all references to the material in this collection.
Preferred Citation:
[Item description], W. G. Frost Papers, Berea College Archives, BCA RG 03/3.03, Berea College Special Collections & Archives, Berea, KY.
Finding Aid Revision History:
The finding aid was updated from previous versions in June 2014 by Lori Myers-Steele, Project Archivist. The box list was created by Katie L. Grindstaff, Student Associate Archivist.
Other Note:
The online version of content from this collection is available on-campus to Berea College students, staff, and faculty through the Slavery, Abolition and Social Justice, 1490-2007 database by Adam Matthew.
Box and Folder Listing
Browse by Series:
[
Series 1: Personal],
[
Series 2: Correspondence],
[
Series 3: Sermons, Addresses, and Lectures],
[
Series 4: Writings],
[
Series 5: Day Law],
[
Series 6: Reports],
[Series 7: Eleanor Marsh Frost],
[
Series 8: Miscellaneous],
[
Series 9: Photographs],
[
All]
- Series 7: Eleanor Marsh Frost
Materials consist of diaries, correspondence, manuscript writings, etc., of Eleanor Frost, second wife of William Goodell Frost.
A native of Wisconsin, she was an 1891 graduate of Oberlin College. That same year she married William G. Frost, moving with him to Berea the next year when he accepted the presidency of Berea College. Mrs. Frost was active in fundraising for the college, making numerous trips east to contact donors. She also made several tours of southern Appalachia where she recruited students for Berea.
Correspondence (1886-1941) consists predominantly of her letters to William Goodell Frost, most of which were written while one or the other of them were on fundraising or speaking tours. Eleanor Frost's letters from Berea detail family as well as college affairs; her letters from Boston, Chicago, and various sites provide information concerning her speaking itinerary, contacts with donors, the success or failure of her speeches, etc. Diaries (1886-1946) further illuminate Mrs. Frost's activities on behalf of the college, family events, and her thoughts on daily experiences.
Other materials include manuscript writings (e.g. a description of a horse-back trip through eastern Kentucky, Tennessee, and North Carolina made by Mrs. Frost in 1914) and photographs. The latter comprise a folder of black and white prints depicting Mrs. Frost (25), and family members (17) and mountain scenes (7), which date roughly from 1892-1934. (Typed transcriptions of portions of both correspondence and diary entries are present, in addition to originals. Transcriptions constitute approximately. Arranged by subject, then chronologically. See list of Eleanor Marsh Frost’s correspondence (arranged by date) and list of correspondents (by name) following box list.
- Box 30
- Folder 1: E. M. Frost Biographical
- Folder 2: E. M. Frost Biographical
- Folder 3: E. M. Frost Biographical
- Folder 4: E. M. Frost Correspondence, (undated)
- Folder 5: E. M. Frost Correspondence, (1889-94)
- Folder 6: E. M. Frost Correspondence, (1895)
- Folder 7: E. M. Frost Correspondence, (1896)
- Folder 8: E. M. Frost Correspondence, (1897)
- Folder 9: E. M. Frost Correspondence, (1898)
- Folder 10: E. M. Frost Correspondence, (1899)
- Folder 11: E. M. Frost Correspondence, (1900)
- Folder 12: E. M. Frost Correspondence, (1902)
- Folder 13: E. M. Frost Correspondence, (1903)
- Folder 14: E. M. Frost Correspondence, (1904)
- Folder 15: E. M. Frost Correspondence, (1905)
- Folder 16: E. M. Frost Correspondence, (1907)
- Folder 17: E. M. Frost Correspondence, (1909)
- Folder 18: E. M. Frost Correspondence, (1910)
- Folder 19: E. M. Frost Correspondence, (1911)
- Folder 20: E. M. Frost Correspondence, (1914)
Link to digital image:
Letter to President William Goodell Frost (Dearest) from Eleanor Marsh Frost;, 31 July 1914: https://berea.access.preservica.com/file/sdb%3AdigitalFile%7C20c44e85-d8f8-4b91-9250-7c0179418d5c/
- Folder 21: E. M. Frost Correspondence, 1916; 1918-1921; 1938-1939
- Link to digital image: Letter to Mrs. Eleanor Marsh Frost from Hallie E. Embree; 05 May 1916: https://berea.access.preservica.com/file/sdb%3AdigitalFile%7C7d584b47-c002-489d-a3bc-f9511642d1ca/
- Box 31
- Folder 1: Correspondence Excerpts, (B-D)
- Folder 2: Correspondence Excerpts, (C-W)
- Folder 3: Correspondence Excerpts (William G. Frost)
- Folder 4: Correspondence Excerpts (H-W)
- Folder 5: Writings
- Folder 6: Writings
- Folder 7: Writings
- Folder 8: Writings
- Folder 9: Writings
- Folder 10: Writings
- Box 32
- Folder 1: Diaries, n.d.
- Folder 2: Diaries, n.d.
- Folder 3: Diaries, 1886
- Folder 4: Diaries, 1892
- Folder 5: Diaries, Feb. 1895-Mar. 1898
- Folder 6: Diaries, Mar. 1898-Sep. 1898
- Folder 7: Diaries, Oct. 1898-Aug. 1899
- Folder 8: Diaries, Sep. 1899-Dec.1900
- Folder 9: Diaries, 1901
- Folder 10: Diaries, 1901
- Folder 11: Diaries, 1902
- Folder 12: Diaries, 1903
- Folder 13: Diaries, 1904
- Folder 14: Diaries, 1904
- Box 33
- Folder 1: Diaries, 1905
- Folder 2: Diaries, 1905
- Folder 3: Diaries, 1906
- Folder 4: Diaries, 1907
- Folder 5: Diaries, 1908
- Folder 6: Diaries, 1909
- Folder 7: Diaries, 1910
- Folder 8: Diaries, 1911
- Folder 9: Diaries, 1912
- Folder 10: Diaries, 1913
- Folder 11: Diaries, 1914
- Folder 12: Diaries, 1914
- Folder 13: Diaries, 1915
- Box 34
- Folder 1: Diaries, 1920
- Folder 2: Diaries, 1921-1925
- Folder 3: Diaries, Jan. 1926-July 1930
- Folder 4: Diaries, 1926-1927
- Folder 5: Diaries, 1928
- Folder 6: Diaries, 1930
- Folder 7: Diaries, 1931
- Folder 8: Diaries, 1932
- Box 35
- Folder 1: Diaries, 1933
- Folder 2: Diaries, 1933-1937
- Folder 3: Diaries, 1938-1942
- Folder 4: Diaries, 1943
- Folder 5: Diaries, 1944
- Folder 6: Diaries, 1945
- Folder 7: Diaries, 1946
- Box 36
- Folder 1: Diary Excerpts, Feb. 1895-May 1908
- Folder 2: Diary Excerpts, June 1908-Dec.1946
- Folder 3: Diary Selections, (1885-1892)
- Folder 4: Diary Selections, (1895-1946)
- Folder 5: Diary Selections, (1895-1946)
- Folder 6: Diary Transcripts
- Folder 7: Diary Transcripts
- Folder 8: Clippings
- Folder 9: Photographs - Portraits
- Folder 10: Photographs - Portraits with W.G. Frost
- Folder 11: Photographs - Mountain Scenes
- Folder 12: Photographs - Family Photographs
- Folder 13: Photographs - Group Portraits
- Folder 14: Photographs - Miscellaneous
- Folder 15: Photograph
- Army Training Unit. Battery B, 10th F.A. (Field Artillery) Ct.N.G. by Army photographer, Tobyhanna, PA. "Camp of Instruction"
- Box 36a: Oversized Box Photographs and Other by E. Frost
- Folder 1: Oversized - Eleanor Frost and Cleveland (son) on horseback, mountain trip, 1914
- Folder 2: Oversized - Eleanor Frost and other female on horseback, mountain trip, 1914
- Folder 3: Oversized - Eleanor Frost on horseback, mountain trip, 1914
- Folder 4: Oversized - Barker cabin, mountain trip, 1914
- Folder 5: Oversized - Mr. Barker and son-in-law sitting in front of cabin home, mountain trip, 1914
- Folder 6: Oversized - Island Creek Owsley. Mountain country, four new schools, Berea graduates teaching, mountain trip, 1914
- Folder 7: Oversized - Shrivey (?) School, between Sexton's and Buffalo, mountain trip, 1914
- Folder 8: Oversized - Gay's Barn, Buffalo Creek, Owsley, modern hinges on barn, mountain trip, 1914
- Folder 9: Oversized - stream, mountain trip, 1914
- Folder 10: Oversized - rocky creek bed, wooded hills, mountain trip, 1914
- Folder 11: Oversized - cabin with woman in doorway, mountain trip, 1914
- Folder 12: Oversized - 300 miles to market, man with sheep, mountain trip, 1914
- Folder 13: Oversized - Driving sheep to market, to Richmond KY, mountain trip, 1914
- Folder 14: Oversized - woman taking feathers to the store, mountain trip, 1914
- Folder 15: Oversized - Victims of a feud, women and children, mountain trip, 1914
- Folder 16: Oversized - election day, Tennessee, mountain trip, 1914
- Folder 17: Oversized - At Kylesford of the Clinch River, Hawkens County, Tennessee, mountain trip, 1914
- Folder 18: List of pictures with notes by Mrs. Frost of mountain trip, 1914
- Folder 19: Information sheet regarding mountain trip, 1914
- Folder 20: Sheet with photos, names of 19 counties, mountain trip 1914, Mother Frost, Mother Putnam, 1914
- Folder 21: Sheet with Owsley County photographs and information from E. Frost, mountain trip, 1914
- Folder 22: Sheet with Owsley County photographs and information from E. Frost, mountain trip, 1914
- Folder 23: Sheet with Owsley County photographs and information from E. Frost, mountain trip, 1914
- Folder 24: Photo Home on Rattlesnake Branch, Right Buffalo, Owsley, from E. Frost, mountain trip, 1914
- Folder 25: Moonshine still in Wise County, VA, mountain trip, 1914
- Folder 26: Sheet with photographs front and back, Gordon, Letcher Co. and other, mountain trip, 1914
- Folder 27: Sheet with photographs front and back, Leslie and Lee County and other, mountain trip, 1914
- Folder 28: Sheet of photographs, various pictures of unknown people and places
Browse by Series:
[
Series 1: Personal],
[
Series 2: Correspondence],
[
Series 3: Sermons, Addresses, and Lectures],
[
Series 4: Writings],
[
Series 5: Day Law],
[
Series 6: Reports],
[Series 7: Eleanor Marsh Frost],
[
Series 8: Miscellaneous],
[
Series 9: Photographs],
[
All]
