Collections

Leo F. Solt, professor emeritus of History and dean of the University Graduate School, taught at the University of Iowa and the University of Massachusetts before joining the Indiana University faculty in 1955. In 1978 he was named dean of the University Graduate School, a position he held until 1987. The collection consists of biographical records, research notes, correspondence, and lecture notes.

Williams taught mathematics at Indiana University for nearly 50 years however, he was best known for his multi-volume work, Lincoln Finds a General, 1949. Williams was also the first commander of the Student Army Training Corps, later to be known as The Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) at Indiana University.

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.

Andrew Wylie assumed the position as the first president of Indiana College in 1829, and he died on 11 November 1851 of pneumonia which he developed after accidentally cutting his leg while chopping wood. This collection consists of Andrew Wylie's personal papers, and includes records documenting Wylie's tenure at Jefferson and Washington Colleges; correspondence with family and professional colleagues; Wylie's sermons, lectures, and writings; bills, contracts, and receipts relating primarily to building and maintaining the family residence; and biographical information on Wylie.

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.

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.

Collection contains various scrapbooks, publications, yearbooks, reports, and a small amount of correspondence relating to Bloomington, Indiana, and Monroe County.

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.

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.

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.