Collections : [University Archives]

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.

William Lowe Bryan was an Indiana University alumnus, professor, and president. This collection includes correspondence, genealogical information, notes, a single journal from 1886, and published and unpublished writings and speeches. Correspondents include family and friends as well as numerous well-known political figures such as Winston Churchill, U.S. Senator Homer Capehart and Eleanor Roosevelt. Frequent correspondents include brother Enoch Albert Bryan, Frank and Sara S. Elliott, Evangeline Lewis, Ruth McNutt, and Herman B Wells.

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.

Frank Curry Mathers was a Chemistry Professor at Indiana University from 1907 until his retirement in 1950. This collection consists of materials associated with both the Mathers family and Frank C. Mathers' career as a Professor of Chemistry at I.U. The collection consists of Mathers' work correspondence, notes, journals, chemistry equations and formulas. The collection also contains Mathers family correspondence, photos, skin cancer research, and various family legal documents.

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.

Chase C. Mooney was a professor of history at Indiana University. After receiving his Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University in 1939, Chase Curran Mooney began his teaching career at Brenau College in 1939. In 1946 he joined the history faculty at Indiana University, where he remained until his death in 1973. As a distinguished member of the faculty, Mooney participated in numerous history department committees and successfully worked to bring the Journal of American History to IU in 1963. With research interests focusing upon African Americans, the U.S. Civil War, and the history of the American South, he produced numerous book reviews, articles, and two major monographs, Slavery in Tennessee in 1957 and William H. Crawford, 1772-1834 which was released posthumously in 1974. Mooney's papers contain student files, correspondence, research and manuscripts relating to his publications, including Slavery in Tennessee and William H. Crawford, teaching files, files relating to committees at Indiana University, and subject files all relating primarily to his work as a professor and to his research interests.

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.

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.

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.

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