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The Coleridge mss., 1812-1871, consist of primarily correspondence from Samuel Taylor Coleridge, 1772-1834.

In 1836 German immigrants Philip and Maria Sachs and their two children settled in Indianapolis. Over the years they received letters from family and friends in Germany and in other areas of the United States. These letters provide information about conditions in Germany and about the experiences of German immigrants in the United States.

The Indiana University School of Medicine emerged from a number of private, proprietary medical schools that existed in Indianapolis in the nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. The most important of these private medical schools were the Medical College of Indiana and the College of Physicians and Surgeons, both of which operated in Indianapolis. In the first decade of the twentieth century efforts began to try to merge these private schools under the state universities then in Indiana, Purdue University and Indiana University. The merger of several medical schools under Purdue University was short-lived. In 1903 Indiana University established first year (classroom) medical studies at Bloomington, and in 1907 merged with the Medical College of Indiana and the remnant of the Purdue medical school to establish clinical instruction in Indianapolis. In subsequent years the School of Medicine was housed in Indianapolis on a large campus with several hospitals, clinical, and research facilities. First year medical studies were moved to Indianapolis by the 1950s.

The Wylie family represented in this collection are all family members or descendents of Indiana University's first president, Andrew Wylie. Many of the earliest family members were closely associated with the university themselves. The collection includes correspondence, financial records, newspaper clippings, obituaries, academic records, journals, scrapbooks, drawings, and poetry. In addition to family affairs, the collection includes information about Indiana University and Bloomington, Indiana, including land deeds and a 19th century account book from Bloomington's McCalla store.

The Indiana University Folklore Archives was established in 1956 by Richard M. Dorson of the Indiana University Folklore Institute and grew to comprise 40,000 field collections gathered in Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Kentucky, before closing in 1990. This collection contains the Folklore Archives' administrative files, special collections of prominent folklorists' research materials, reprints of journal articles, bibliographies, a collection of folksongs, and subject files and index cards on topics that include beliefs, customs, games, jokes, and legends.

This collection consists of the family papers of Indiana University alumni John and Hilda Jay. The collection primarily consists of correspondence between John, Hilda, and family or friends largely spanning 1939-2002; personal files containing educational materials, a journal, and a scrapbook; as well as several home movies from circa 1939-1946.

The Indiana University Trustees serve as the governing board of the university. Created in 1820, the current Board meets six times per year. Among the Board's powers are their capacity to possess all the real and personal property of the university; to expend the income of the university; and to all bylaws necessary to carry these powers into effect. The minutes in this collection include official acts, resolutions, policies, agreements, and other business pertaining to the governance of Indiana University between 1838-1859 and 1883-2017.

The Ketcham and Piercy families were prominent in Indiana politics, journalism, and education during the 19th and 20th centuries. This collection consists of photographs, correspondence, journals, diaries, publications, speeches, legal documents, genealogical materials, and academic regalia from the Ketcham and Piercy families. Family members represented in this collection include: Colonel John Ketcham, John Lewis Ketcham, Reverend John H. Ketcham, Martha S. Ketcham, Charles B. Ketcham, Mary Ketcham Piercy, her husband, journalist and Indiana University faculty member Joseph W. Piercy, and Indiana University faculty member Josephine K. Piercy.

David F. Finley was a Monroe County, Indiana, businessman and landowner during the nineteenth century. His papers are organized into six series: Property records; Tax records and appraisments; Receipts; Correspondence; County highway and building records; and Subject files. Information about Finley's Indiana and Kansas properties is most prominent in the collection.

Andrew Wylie assumed the position as the first president of Indiana College in 1829. He died on 11 November 1851 of pneumonia, which he developed after accidentally cutting his leg while chopping wood. The collection is comprised of correspondence files, speeches, and administrative files from Wylie's presidential tenure.

William Daily was a Methodist minister, and served as president of Indiana University, 1853-1859. The collection includes correspondence, speeches, financial records, administrative records relating to his presidency at Indiana University; most prominent are records relating to charges brought against Daily during his presidency.

General meetings of the Indiana University faculty began in 1835, to discuss the industriousness of its students, calling student rolls, and hearing reports on the work and standing of each of the students. Disciplinary measures, dismissals, and exams for students were also discussed during many of the meetings throughout the nineteenth century. By the 1920s, the faculty had grown to such a point that it was necessary to create a representative body of the faculty, but the faculty as a whole continued to meet with some regularity. Today the faculty body rarely meet, but may be convened by the IU president, the Secretary of the University Faculty Council, or on petition signed by voting faculty members numbering no less than 5% of all voting faculty members.

Ora L. Wildermuth was an Indiana University alumnus and trustee; a lawyer and judge; and a library trustee in both Indiana and Florida. He was also one of the first residents of Gary, Indiana. The papers of Judge Ora L. Wildermuth includes correspondence, diaries, speeches, lectures, and both published and unpublished writings. A great deal of genealogy information can be found in the Wildermuth Family Association series.

Indiana family headed by Joseph Kirkman, who served as sheriff of Gibson County for several years. Collection includes correspondence, indentures, receipts, land deeds, and newspaper clippings of Joseph Kirkman, daughter Irene Kirkman Coolidge, and granddaughter Mary Coolidge Kingston. Also included is a series titled Unknown authors, consisting of items of unknown origins but that were deposited with the collection.

Before becoming president of Indiana University, Herman B Wells served as an assistant cashier at the National Bank of Lebanon before going on to work for the Indiana Bankers Association, the Indiana Commission for Financial Institutions, and the Indiana Department of Financial Institutions. He was named dean of the Indiana University School of Business administration in 1935 by IU President William Lowe Bryan. In 1937 he was named acting president of the university and president the following year, a position he held until 1962. Upon his retirement, IU created the position of University Chancellor, which Dr. Wells held until his death in 2000. This collection consists of Wells' personal papers and includes papers pertaining to his family and personal finances, his activities in the banking profession, his work in Germany for the United States government after World War II, and to his research and teaching and professional activities as a member of the faculty of Indiana University.

Horst Frenz was a professor in the Department of Comparative Literature and English at Indiana University from 1940-1981, and served as chair of the Comparative Literature department from its creation in 1949 until 1977. The collection consists of publications, correspondence, and records relating to Frenz's position at IU as well as his professional interests. There is some correspondence relating to the establishment of the Dept. of Comparative Literature.

Theophilus A. Wylie was the cousin of Indiana University's first president Andrew Wylie and spent most of his adult life at IU, beginning in 1836,serving as its librarian, professor, vice president, and at one point, its interim president. Collection consists of Wylie's correspondence, diaries, sermons, drawings, and writings.

Indiana family headed by Robert Owen, who purchased Harmony from the Rappites in Posey County, Indiana, with the intention of establishing a utopian society, New Harmony. Owen's three sons were major players in the introduction of geology, biology, and psychology in Indiana and the United States. Collection includes correspondence, speeches, and publications of Robert Owen and his descendants. Most prominently featured in the collection are Owen's sons David Dale, Richard, and Robert Dale. Some materials are photocopies of manuscripts held by other repositories.

One of the two chief literary societies on campus, the Athenian Society was founded at Indiana University in 1830. Literary societies gave students practice in speaking and writing through regular orations, essays, and debates, as well as filling a social role. Collection consists of minutes, correspondence, publications, addresses, and announcements. The Publication series includes copies of the Athenian, a monthly periodical of writings submitted by members of the Athenian Society that were of "a high literary character," including what the editors considered "chaste and elevated literature." These span December 1845 through November 1846. Most prominent in the collection are the minutes from the weekly meeting of the Society.

A prominent family in the Bloomington community, Indiana University purchased land from the Dunn family in order to relocate the university to its current site after the devastating fire of 1883 at the Seminary Square location. Family members represented in this collection include George Grundy Dunn Sr., Moses Fell Dunn, and William McKee Dunn. The collection includes correspondence, writings, deeds and other real estate documents, insurance contracts, miscellaneous receipts, cemetery drawings and plot plans for Dunn Cemetery, located on the I.U. Bloomington campus, and family photos.