Collection ID: MSS043
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Collection context

Summary

Creator:
McCulloch, Oscar C. (Oscar Carleton), 1843-1891
Abstract:
Oscar McCulloch was a minister, leader, and an advocate of community betterment through charity and social betterment. Born in Ohio in 1843, McCulloch attended seminary and later settled in Indianapolis as minister at the Plymouth Church on Monument Circle. McCulloch's work with the Charity Organization Society and on the Tribe of Ishmael continued until his death in 1891. The collection contains articles written by and about McCulloch, information about Plymouth Church when McCulloch served as minister, and obituaries.
Extent:
.2 cubic feet (1 half-sized document case)
Language:
Materials are in English .
Preferred citation:

Cite as: Oscar McCulloch Papers, 1888-1976, Ruth Lilly Special Collections and Archives, University Library, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis.

Background

Biographical / Historical:

Oscar McCulloch was born in Fremont, Ohio, on July 2, 1843. From seminary, he went to Sheboygan, Wisconsin, and served as minister there until his move to Indianapolis in 1877 to pastor at Plymouth Church. McCulloch's major focus was the poor in the city of Indianapolis. To help in his fight against poverty, he enlisted the help of several different religious groups including Protestant, Catholic, Hebrew, and free-thinker calling it his "Church of the Divine Fragments." In 1879 the Charity Organization Society was organized to help achieve his mission of community betterment. Activities supported by this organization included free kindergartens, improved administration of the county asylum, a training school for nurses of the Flower Mission, a county work-house, free baths, Friendly Inn, a Board of Children's Guardians, Indianapolis Benevolent Society, and the Summer Mission for Sick Children. One of the results of his work with the poor was the Tribe of Ishmael Study. This study investigated the tendency of poverty and "degeneration" to pass from generation to generation and the effects it has on future descendants. McCulloch died in 1891.

Scope and Content:

This is a small collection of articles and pamphlets about Oscar McCulloch and his charities, church, and activities related to the Tribe of Ishmael. The main portion of the collection centers around newspaper articles published after his death in 1891. These articles are short biographical sketches. For more information about the charities of Oscar McCulloch, the records of the Family Service Association of Indianapolis at the Indiana Historical Society should be consulted.

Acquisition information:
Presented in 1996. A96-23
Rules or conventions:
DACS-Describing Archives: A Content Standard
General note:

Rights Statement: The text of this webpage is available for modification and reuse under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License and the GNU Free Documentation License (unversioned, with no invariant sections, front-cover texts, or back-cover texts).

Access

RESTRICTIONS:

This collection is open to the public without restriction.

TERMS OF ACCESS:

The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) govern the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material.

PREFERRED CITATION:

Cite as: Oscar McCulloch Papers, 1888-1976, Ruth Lilly Special Collections and Archives, University Library, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis.

CAMPUS:
IUPUI
LOCATION OF THIS COLLECTION:
University Library
755 West Michigan Street
Room 0133
Indianapolis, Indiana 46202, United States
CAMPUS:
IUPUI
CONTACT:
speccoll@iupui.edu