William R. Ringer papers, 1916-2011, bulk
1916-1918
A Guide to his Papers at the Indiana University Archives
Finding aid prepared by Dina M. Kellams
Summary Information
Repository
Indiana University Archives
1320 East Tenth Street
Herman B Wells Library E460
Bloomington, IN 47405-7000
Phone: 812-855-1127
Email: archives@indiana.edu
http://www.libraries.iub.edu/archives
Creator
Ringer, William Raimond,
1898-1973.
TitleWilliam R. Ringer papers,1916-2011, bulk
1916-1918
Collection No.
C451
Extent
.8 cubic feet (2 boxes)
Language
Materials are in English
Abstract
William R. Ringer graduated from Indiana
University in 1920. After earning his JD at the University of Michigan, he went on
to have a successful legal career. This small collection consists primarily of
diaries and journals maintained while Ringer was an Indiana University
student.
Access Restrictions
Collection is open for research. Advance notice required.
Biographical Note
William Raimond Ringer was born 11 August 1898 in Williamsport, Indiana, to Victor
and Alice Ringer. He entered Indiana University in 1916, where he excelled,
graduating in 1920 magna cum laude with an AB in Philosophy. While at IU, he was
extremely active and involved in a number of campus organizations, including the
Psychology Club, the Writers Club, and the YMCA Cabinet, serving in leadership roles
in many of them.
Upon graduation from IU, Ringer entered the University of Michigan Law School, from
which he graduated in 1922. In addition to working in practices with family members,
he also served as the Trial Deputy Prosecuting Attorney in Criminal Court in Marion
County and for the bulk of his career, worked for the National Labor Relations
Board, from which he retired as chief trial examiner.
William Ringer died October 4, 1973, in Washington, D.C.
Arrangement
Papers are arranged chronologically.
Scope and Content Note
This small collection consists of papers of William Ringer that date chiefly from his
time as a student at Indiana University. Included are diaries, letters, report
cards, and writings from his time as a member of the IU Writers Club. Most prominent
in the collection are the 11 volumes of diaries he maintained while a student, which
span 1916-1920. Ringer writes frequently and at length about his campus activities,
fellow students, and professors. His sophomore year, he joined the Student Army
Training Corp and he writes about “the barracks” (actually fraternity housing that
was appropriated for the SATC), their training, and the 1918 Spanish Flu outbreak
and the resulting quarantine of the men and campus community. Unfortunately, Ringer
himself did not escape the flu, but he did recover, unlike a number of the flu
victims that year.
Ringer numbered these diaries sequentially, but the first volume actually consists of
his outgoing correspondence, which he copied into the journal. Frequent
correspondents include his parents, coeds, and friends. There is only 1 incoming
letter, which was found tucked into one of the volumes. Also included in the
collection is a later diary maintained by Ringer, in 1932. He was married at the
time, practicing law and teaching part time.
The last two files of the collection include Ringer family genealogy information sent
by the donor and one piece that does not have a clear connection to the collection.
The small notebook, which contains poetry and notes, appears to be from the 19th
century.
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Indexing Terms
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The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
IUCAT, the IU Libraries'
online catalog. Materials about related topics, persons or places can be found by
searching the catalog using these terms.
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Related Material
Related photographs may be available in the
University Archives
Photographs Database
Administrative Information
Acquisition Information
Accession numbers: 2011/102 and 2011/118
Usage RestrictionsThe donor(s) of this collection have transferred their copyrights for the materials to the Trustees of Indiana University
through a Deed of Gift. For more information, please contact the Indiana University Archives staff.
The Indiana University Archives respects the intellectual property rights of others and does not claim any copyrights for
non-university records, materials in the public domain, or materials for which we do not hold a Deed of Gift. Responsibility
for the determination of the copyright status of these materials rests with those persons wishing to reuse the materials.
Researchers are responsible for securing permission from copyright owners and any other rights holders for any reuse of these
materials that extends beyond fair use or other statutory limitations.
Digital reproductions of archival materials from the Indiana University Archives are made available for noncommercial educational
and research purposes only. If you are the copyright holder for any of the digitized materials and have questions about its
inclusion on our site, please contact the Indiana University Archivist.
Preferred Citation
[Item], William R. Ringer papers, Collection C451, Indiana University Archives, Bloomington.
ProvenanceGift of Gayle T. Harris, Ringer family friend, in 2011.
In January 2012, Ms. Harris mailed his final IU diary. The volume had also
included entries from his time at University of Michigan's Law School; before
sending the volume to the Archives, these were razored out and sent to the
University of Michigan Archives.
Appraisal
Discarded: German poems and translations that Ringer had copied into a notebook;
1922 University of Michigan Law School Commencement program; Notebook containing
poetry by Elizabeth Dury(?) that had been copied into a notebook by WR.
Processing InformationProcessed by Dina M. Kellams.
Completed in 2011.
Container List
Series:
Papers, 1916-2011
IDS – Writers’ Club submissions, 19
March 1919 and undated .
View item(s)
Journals,
Volume IX, November 25,
1918-September 15, 1919
View item(s)
Letter copy book, August 12,
1918-October 6, 1918,
View item(s)
Loose drafts, notes, poems, etc., probably 1918-1919
View item(s)
Notebook – 19th century? Family piece? (contains poetry and
notes)
View item(s)