By Melissa Atkinson
Collection Overview
Title: George Stockton Wills (1866-1956) Papers, 1854-1956
Predominant Dates:1944-1954
ID: MS/2009.2
Creator: Wills, George Stockton (1866-1956)
Extent: 4.6
Arrangement: Arranged in 4 series: (1) Notes on the History of Western Maryland College (now McDaniel College), 5 document cases (2) Personal Papers, Books, and Photographs, 2 document cases (3) 35 Diaries (1911-1956) (4) Scrapbooks of Newspaper Clippings (1854-1955), one record carton.
Date Acquired: 06/01/2009
Languages: English [eng]
Abstract
This collection contains the papers of George Stockton Wills, professor of English at Western Maryland College 1922-1944, including notes on the history of Western Maryland College, scrapbooks of newspaper clippings, scrapbooks of cards and invitations, and day books (diaries).
Scope and Contents of the Materials
The collection consists primarily of George Stockton Wills’ handwritten notes detailing the history of Western Maryland College, including information about college periodicals, James T. Ward (the college’s first president), the Board of Trustees, and courses of study (mostly taken from the college catalog).
Also included are items of a more personal nature: diaries, scrapbooks, individual and family photographs, and personal papers. The scrapbooks and scrapbook pages feature newspaper clippings of personal, local, and national interest as well as a collection of personal correspondence, including wedding invitations, Christmas cards, and invitations from WMC alumni. Wills’ diaries, which range from 1911 to 1956 with the exception of several omitted years, mostly discuss daily appointments and the weather. Later diaries (1946-1956) are more detailed as Wills comments not only on daily activities but also on his declining health.
The collection also contains several books as well as a photocopy and a digital copy of the book of tribute that was dedicated to Wills in May 1941 by students and colleagues.
Upon arrival, the papers were divided into a series of folders and boxes. The folders were loosely arranged according to subject, while the boxes were arranged neither chronologically nor categorically. The diaries, scrapbooks, and books were boxed together without an apparent organizational scheme. A survey of the papers showed a logical organization would be by subject, genre, and then chronological order.
Administrative Information
Accruals:
2013.08 - donated by the Historical Society of Carroll County, Maryland
Use Restrictions:
Copyright: McDaniel College holds copyright to sections of this material.
McDaniel College makes no representation that it is the owner of any copyright or other literary property in the materials contained in its archives and special collections, (b) that in providing access to or permitting the reproduction of any such materials, McDaniel Archives does not assume any responsibility for obtaining or granting any permission to publish or use the same, and (c) that the responsibility 9i) for determining the nature of any rights, and the ownership or interest therein, and for obtaining the appropriate permissions to publish or use and (ii) for determining the nature of any liabilities (including liabilities for defamation and invasion of privacy or publicity) that may arise from any publication or use, rest entirely with the researcher.
Copying: Papers may be copied in accordance with the Archives' usual procedures.
Acquisition Source:
Will, George Stockton
Related Materials:
Preferred Citation:
George Stockton Wills (1866-1956) Papers, MS2009.2, McDaniel College Archives
Other URL:
http://hoover.mcdaniel.edu/archives/George Stockton Wills Finding Aid.pdf
Box and Folder Listing
- Series 1: Notes on the History of Western Maryland College, 1866-1953
- Box B00520: Notes on James Thomas Ward, 1866-1897
- Box B00521: Notes from the Board of Trustees Minutes, 1868-1947
- Box B00522: Notes on College Organizations, 1966-1953
- Box B00523: Notes from College Catalogs, 1867-1941
- Box B00524: Notes on and Correspondence about College History, 1863-1941
- Series 2: Personal Papers, Photographs, and Books, 1898-1942
- Box B00525: Personal Papers and Photographs, 1898-1942
- Contains papers, photographs, books, memorial for William Henry Wills with brief biography, and Tribute to Wills in 1941 digitized on CDs.
- Box B00526: Books, Calendar, and Programs
- Series 3: Diaries, 1911-1956
- Box B00527
- Box B00528
- Series 4: Scrapbooks of Newspaper Clippings, 1854-1955, 1854-1955
- Includes newspaper clippings of Helen Hartness Flanders' writting on New England folk songs.
- Accession 2013.08: Donation from Historical Society of Carroll County, Maryland, 1949-1952
- Historical Society Bulletins containing the published history of Western Maryland College by George Wills. Also in this accession are the illustration inserts of James T. Ward and Fayette Buell.