Sarah Parke Morrison papers, 1855-1913
A Guide to her Papers at the Indiana University Archives
Processed by Dina M. Kellams
Electronic finding
aid encoded by Magia Ghetu
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
Morrison, Sarah Parke, 1833-1916.
TitleSarah Parke Morrison papers,1855-1913
Collection No.
C54
Extent
.2 cubic feet
Language
Materials are in English
Abstract
Sarah Parke Morrison became the first
woman admitted to Indiana University in 1867. Collection consists of personal papers of
Sarah Parke Morrison in three series: Correspondence, 1897-1913, consisting primarily of
outgoing correspondence. Frequent correspondents include former Indiana University
President William Lowe Bryan and Registrar John W. Cravens. The correspondence all dates
from the years after she left IU and much of it discusses her desire that women become
members of the various University boards. Schedules, 1855-1856, consists of a single
schedule of a typical day for Morrison at the Western Female College; and Writings,
1911-1912, includes a handwritten account of Morrison's entrance and experience as the
first female student at IU and a small pamphlet of Morrison's poetry published in 1912.
Access Restrictions
This collection is open for research.
Advance notice is required.
Biographical Note
In 1867, Sarah Parke Morrison became the first woman admitted to Indiana University.
Morrison's parents, John and Catherine, were themselves well-educated. John graduated
from Miami University in Ohio in 1828, at which time he returned to his hometown Salem,
Indiana and opened the Washington County Seminary. At the Seminary John was in charge of
Catherine Morris' education for six years. In 1830, Catherine's parents sent her to the
Quaker-run Westtown Boarding School near Philadelphia, where she studied for two years.
Upon her return to Salem, John asked her to marry him, which Catherine, with her parents
consent, agreed to. They were married September 11, 1832 and their first child, Sarah,
was born in 1834.
In addition to the Washington County Seminary, John and Catherine worked together to
open the Salem Female Seminary in 1835. Instead of hiring the customary male teaching
assistants, they employed young female teachers from the East, a rarity in this time.
After a considerable amount of home schooling, Catherine decided it was time for her
daughter Sarah to receive more formal training. Sarah attended Mount Holyoke Seminary,
graduating from that institution in 1857. She went on to Vassar College, where she was a
pupil-teacher and later to Williams College to do post-graduate work.
After studying at Williams, Sarah returned home to Salem. While preparing to attend the
1867 Indiana University commencement, Sarah's father, formerly president of the IU Board
of Trustees and now Treasurer of the State, remarked to Sarah that it was time for the
University to open its doors to women. Sarah agreed, and with the inducement of a five
dollar bill, she also agreed to prepare an appeal to the Board of Trustees.
The Trustees failed to find any clause in the University's charter that barred women
from entering the University so they declared women could enter under the same terms as
men. Sarah, at 34 years of age and years of education behind her, had no desire to
attend Indiana University and hoped some other woman would step forward. To her
disappointment, no young woman came forward. Rather than allow her victory to fall
hollow, she decided to enter as a freshman in the fall of 1867.
Sarah completed the four year program in two years, graduating in 1869. Four years after
her graduation, Sarah was appointed tutor and in 1874 she became IU's first female
faculty member when she was named adjunct professor of English literature. Despite
Sarah's success as a student, the male students did not readily accept her as their
superior. She only stayed at IU for one more year, at which time she left for other
pursuits.
Sarah remained an active alumna of the University, however, frequently writing the Board
of Trustees inquiring why women have not been placed as members of the various
University boards. To voice her protest, she began returning her alumni ballots for the
Board of Trustees marked "for some woman."
Sarah Parke Morrison died in 1919 and is buried in Indianapolis.
Arrangement
Organized in three series: Correspondence, Schedules, and Writings.
Scope and Content Note
The Sarah Parke Morrison papers comprise .2 cubic feet and are organized in three
series: Correspondence, Schedules, and Writings. Most files also include transcriptions
of the contents.
The Correspondence series, 1897-1913, is arranged alphabetically and consists primarily
of Morrison's outgoing correspondence. Frequent correspondents include former Indiana
University president William Lowe Bryan and IU Secretary and Registrar John Cravens.
Always fighting for equal rights, much of Morrison's correspondence discusses her wish
for women in the University community to rise in status and become members of the Board
of Trustees and Alumni Board (Morrison did not want to become a board member herself -
in a letter addressed to "Alma Mater" Morrison mentions she would much rather her dear
Alma Mater use her influence to send her to Congress!).
The second series, Schedules, 1855-1856, contains a single schedule of a typical day for
Morrison at the Western Female College.
Writings, 1911-1912, includes a handwritten account of Morrison's entrance and
experience as the first female student at Indiana University. She discusses her
reluctance to be the first woman to enter the University and her hopes that another
woman would step forward. After realizing that would not occur, Morrison entered IU and
a description of her reception and coursework is also included. This account was later
prepared by Frances Higgins for publication in the Indianapolis Star and appeared in the
October 1919 Alumni Quarterly with the title "Some sidelights of fifty years ago." Also
includes is a small pamphlet of Morrison's poetry published in 1912.
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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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Names
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Indiana University
--Students --History --19th century --Sources.
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Indiana University.
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Morrison, Sarah
Parke, 1833-1916 --Correspondence.
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Morrison, Sarah
Parke, 1833-1916 --Archives.
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Bryan, William
Lowe, 1860-1955 --Correspondence.
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Cravens, John
William, 1864-1937 --Correspondence.
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Morrison, Sarah Parke, 1833-1916.
Three short poems: Tamar's curse, The cry of the child-angel and Wild oats.
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Bryan, William Lowe, 1860-1955.
Correspondence. Selections.
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Cravens, John William 1864-1937.
Correspondence. Selections.
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Administrative Information
Acquisition Information
Accession 0734.
Usage RestrictionsThe donor(s) of this collection have not transferred their copyrights for the materials to the Trustees of Indiana University.
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], Sarah Parke Morrison papers, Collection C54, Indiana University Archives, Bloomington.
Processing InformationProcessed by Dina M. Kellams
Completed in June 2000.
Updated and revised in 2011 by Dina M. Kellams.
Series:
Correspondence, 1897-1913
to unknown, re: family history,
Among
Ourselves
, undated
Cravens, John W.,
after June
1910
View item(s)
Enclosure: letter to SPM from Joseph S. Jenckes, June 11, 1910
"Librarian",
Contents: SPM's ballots "for some woman"
Series:
Schedules, 1855-1856
Box 1
Schedule from Western Female College (Ohio), 1855-1856
View item(s)
Series:
Writings, 1911-1912
Box 1
"My experience at State University, "
1911
View item(s)
"Three short poems: Tamar's Curse, The Cry of the
Child-Angel and "Wild Oats,""
1912
View item(s)