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Manuscript Collection
Manuscripts – Collection of the Gallaudet...
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MSS 154
Gallaudet Centennial Memorial Fund, est. 1883
Collection of the Gallaudet Centennial Memorial Fund, 1885-1891
Gallaudet University Archives
Descriptive Summary
Repository: Gallaudet University Archives
Call No.: MSS 154
Creator:
Title: Collection of the Gallaudet Centennial Memorial Fund, 1885-1891.
Quantity: 1.0 Linear Feet (2 document boxes)
Abstract:
Note: This document last updated 2006 January 6.
Administrative Information
Acquisition Information: The collection of the Gallaudet Centennial Memorial Fund was in the Presidential Papers of Edward M. Gallaudet. The date of acquisition is unknown.
Processed by: Michael Olson. 2005 May.
Processing Note:
Conditions on Use and Access: This collection is open to the public with no restrictions. Photocopies may be made for scholarly research.
Related Material in the Archives:
See ALADIN
Historical Sketch
The Gallaudet Centennial Memorial Fund was organized by a committee of 18 members of the National Association of the Deaf at its 2nd National Convention in 1883. Its purpose was to raise funds for the erection of a memorial statue in honor of Rev. Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and his pupil, Alice Cogswell. The funds were raised by various people of the United States and its territories. The Memorial Fund committee proposed that the statue be situated on the National Deaf-Mute College grounds, now Gallaudet University. The committee commissioned a well-known sculptor, Daniel Chester French, to design and sculpt the statue. Amos G. Draper, a member of the Class of 1872 of the National Deaf-Mute College and a faculty member of the college, was responsible for collect funds and report to the committee. The funds were amounted to over $12,000, and the statue was completed in 1888.
The dedication of the statue occurred on the campus of the college in June 1889. The National Association of the Deaf convention was held on the campus at the same time. Also, a group of alumni of the college formed a new association, called Gallaudet College Alumni Association.
Scope and Content
The Gallaudet Centennial Memorial Fund collection consists of letters; drafts of program books; drafts of inscriptions for the stone base of the statue; invoices; list of names of contributors; and treasurer’s reports. The collection, which consists of approximately 1,700 pages, dates from 1885 to 1891. The bulk of the collection consists of letters from agents of each union who was responsible for sending funds, including the list of names of contributors. The next bulk of the collection consists of a list of names of each union’s contributors in the United States and its territories. The bulk dates are mostly between 1886 and 1889, of which the fund were collected. The largest subject in the collection is focused on fundraising for the construction of Rev. Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and Alice Cogswell’s statue. Included in the collection, there are the original address for the unveiling of the statue written by Edmund Booth. Also included is an original poem written by a deaf poet, Laura Searing. The most interesting letters in the collection are that a deaf sculptor wrote a critical letter to Amos G. Draper for not selecting a deaf sculptor. A few letters were written by notable persons such as Augustus Saint Gaudens, a prominent sculptor; John McAllister Schofield, a Civil War general; and Olive Logan, a well-known actress and writer, and lecturer.
Series Descriptions and Folder Lists
No Series
Gallaudet Centennial Memorial Fund MSS 154