Jesse, Richard Henry (1853-1921), Papers, 1871-1932 (C3806)

38 folders

INTRODUCTION

Papers of a professional educator and president of the University of Missouri from 1891 to 1908. The papers include correspondence, school records, biographical materials, and manuscript copies of speeches and articles.

DONOR INFORMATION

The Jesse Papers were donated to the University of Missouri by Bredelle Jesse on 3 November 1983 (Accession No. 4539). Additions to the papers were made on 30 March 1984, 15 October 1984, and 17 October 1985 (Accession Nos. 4564, 4594, and 4678).

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Richard Henry Jesse was born 1 March 1853 on his family's plantation in Lancaster County, Virginia. Jesse attended the University of Virginia from 1873 to 1875. Upon graduation he was appointed instructor of French and mathematics at Hanover Academy in Taylorville, Virginia. In 1877 and 1878 he was principal of Washington Academy in Princess Anne, Maryland. While in Maryland, Jesse met Addie Henry Polk, whom he later married in July 1882.

From 1878 to 1884 Richard Jesse was professor of Greek, Latin, and English and dean of the Academic Department at the University of Louisiana. From 1884 to 1891 he was professor of Latin at Tulane University. He was president of the University of Missouri from 1891 until his retirement in 1908. Jesse remained in Columbia, Missouri, during his retirement and continued to pursue educational and personal interests through lectures and writings until his death on 22 January 1921.

See also Richard Henry Jesse, President of the University of Missouri, 1891-1908, by Henry O. Severance.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

These papers consist of personal and professional correspondence, school records, biographical materials, manuscript copies of speeches and articles, and a few miscellaneous family and collected materials. The documents within each series are arranged in chronological order.

Most of the correspondence is incoming and dates from the period of President Jesse's retirement from the University of Missouri in 1908 until his death in 1921. The correspondents include personal friends from Missouri, Virginia, and Louisiana, professional educators, members of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, and others. Many of the letters are personal in content, but they often discuss educational issues and the University of Missouri. The earliest letters concern Jesse's days as a student at Hanover Academy in Virginia, student and alumni opposition to Jesse's presidency at the University of Missouri, and Jesse's retirement in 1908. The latest correspondence includes a letter to Addie Polk Jesse regarding the naming of Jesse Hall at Missouri and correspondence of Henry O. Severance, Jesse's biographer.

Richard Henry Jesse's attendance, examination, and grade reports from Hanover Academy in Virginia and from the University of Virginia make up the school records section.

Biographical materials include sketches from Who's Who in America and the National Cyclopedia of American Biography; newspaper clippings; a copy of the publication Official Retirement of President Richard Henry Jesse; and the 6 June 1908 issue of The Independent, a University of Missouri student newspaper, which reports Jesse's retirement.

The speeches and articles are manuscript copies, handwritten and typed, of speeches and articles authored by Richard Henry Jesse. Much of this material is autobiographical, especially the reminiscences of his early life in Virginia. Other topics include education, religion, social issues, and the University of Missouri.

The collection best documents the life of Jesse from the time of his retirement as president of the University of Missouri until his death. Nearly all of the correspondence dates from this period, as do most of the manuscript copies of speeches and articles. A few biographical materials and papers from his school days help to document the earlier periods of Jesse's life, as do many of his articles which are autobiographical.

FOLDER LIST

Correspondence

f. 1n.d., 1871-1904
f. 21905
f. 31906-1907
f. 41908 January-June
f. 51908 July-December
f. 61909
f. 71910
f. 81911 January-June
f. 91911 July-December
f. 101912 January-June
f. 111912 October-December
f. 121913
f. 131914
f. 141915
f. 151916
f. 161917-1932

School Records

f. 171872-1875

Biographical Materials

f. 18-19

Speeches and Articles

f. 20"What Can Universities Do Towards Teaching Religion?"; "Education by the State and by the United States--What It Means"; Prohibition Paragraphs Afresh"; "What Honor Means"; "In the Wide Catalpa Tree."
f. 21"Creation as Told in Genesis"; "On Finding God"; "The Jesus of the Gospels."
f. 22"Higher Education"; "The University--Whither?"; "Auspicious Opening of the Session of 1897-1898"; "The Function of the State University"; "President Jesse Defends Students."
f. 23"Address at the Inauguration of President Alderman"; "Prayer by Former President Richard Henry Jesse at the Inauguration of President Albert Ross Hill"; "E.W. Stephens for Governor"; "The Father of Manual Training--Professor C.M. Woodward"; "Chief Justice White"; "Foreword to the History of the Library of the University of Missouri"; "An Evening With President Harper."
f. 24"A Christmas Greeting to the High Schools of Missouri"; "Household Customs in Tidewater Virginia."
f. 25"A Century of Higher Education in the United States"; "Guidance in Higher Education"; "Presidents and Faculties and State Universities"; "What is a State University in the United States"; "A State Hospital at the State University."
f. 26Untitled biographical sketches; "The Adventures of Richard Claybrook: The Autobiography of a School Master"; "How I Caught a Glimpse of Her"; "Concerning Jesus of Nazareth."
f. 27"Shall Women Vote?"; titles and abstracts of articles.
f. 28"The Strength of American Law Schools."
f. 29List of articles for 1913; "As Told in Court"; "On Winning a Maryland Wife: A Tale of Old Virginia."
f. 30"An Afternoon Talk"; "A Word From Dr. Jesse."
f. 31"Nellie the Unwilling"; "A Humor of the Supreme Court of the United States"; "A Remarkable Peace Conference."
f. 32"Reorganizing a State University"; "University Leadership"; "Promotion in Colleges"; "On Making an Alma Mater."
f. 33"A College Man's Doubts"; "Extended High Schools"; "Six Year High Schools"; "What More Should States Do For Public Education"; "A Christmas Greeting."
f. 34"The Providence of God"; "The Baptist Bible."
f. 35"Shall We Pay for the Negro?"
f. 36"The School of Mines and Metallurgy in Missouri"; "Epping Forest."

Miscellaneous

f. 37Editorials regarding higher education in Montana; a book of words and phrases compiled by Jesse; an article on Congregationalism.
f. 38"The Gray Fairy," a one-act play for children adapted by Gladys M. Wheat from Mary Polk Jesse's story of the same name.

INDEX TERMS

These index terms are the subjects, people, places, etc. under which this collection is listed in all available indexes at the Western Historical Manuscript Collection-Columbia. If you are interested in a specific index term, please contact the reference staff.

  • Abbot, Lyman
  • Adult Education
  • Agricultural experiment stations
  • Agriculture--Study and teaching
  • Alderman, Edwin Anderson
  • Allen, Edward Archibald
  • Almstedt, Hermann Benjamin
  • American Association for International Conciliation
  • Babb, J[erre] G.
  • Baptist Church--Missouri
  • Birge, Edward Asahel
  • Bitting, William Coleman
  • Black, William Henry
  • Blacks, Attitudes Toward, 1910s
  • Bowles, Samuel
  • Bowman, John Gabbert
  • Brookings, Robert S.
  • Brown, Elmer Ellsworth
  • Butler, Nicholas Murray
  • Buttrick, Wallace
  • Carlton, William Newham Chattin
  • Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
  • Carre, Henry Beach
  • Chaplin, Winfield Scott
  • Children's plays
  • Church and education
  • Civil War--Virginia
  • Clark, Champ
  • Claxton, Philander Priestly
  • Congregationalism
  • Connaway, John Waldo
  • Courtney, Elizabeth L
  • Craighead, Edwin Boone
  • Dabney, Charles William
  • Darwin, Charles
  • Defoe, Luther M.
  • Dinners and dining
  • Donnell, Forrest C.
  • Education, Higher
  • Education, Secondary
  • Education--Elementary
  • Education--Montana
  • Education--Virginia, 1870s
  • Election, 1912, Presidential
  • Eliot, Charles William
  • Elliff, Joseph Doliver
  • English language--Study and teaching
  • Fischel, Walter E.
  • Fitch, Louise N.
  • Folk songs--Virginia
  • Folklore, Black
  • Francis, David Rowland (1850-1927)
  • Gass, Howard Allan (1852-1916)
  • Genealogy--Attitudes toward
  • German language
  • Gildersleeve, Basil Lanneau (1831-1924)
  • Golf, 1911
  • Greene, John Priest (1849-1933)
  • Hadley, Herbert Spencer (1872-1927)
  • Hall, Frederic Aldin (1854-1925)
  • Hanover Academy, Virginia
  • Harper, William Rainey (1856-1906)
  • Haskell, Henry Joseph (1874-1952)
  • Hetherington, Clark W.
  • Hill, Albert Ross (1869-1943)
  • Hotel Gordon, Columbia, MO
  • Industrial arts education
  • James, Edmund James (1855-1925)
  • Jesse, Richard Henry (1853-1921)
  • Jesse, Richard Henry, Jr. (1884-1955)
  • Jones, John Carleton (1856-1930)
  • Jordan, David Starr (1851-1931)
  • Judson, Frederick Newton (1845-1919)
  • Judson, Harry Pratt (1849-1927)
  • Karnes, Joseph V.C. (1841-1911)
  • King, Henry Churchill (1858-1934)
  • Language & languages
  • Languages, Modern--Study & teaching
  • Lathrop, Gardiner (1850-1938)
  • Lawson, John Davison (1852-1921)
  • Law--Study & teaching
  • League to Enforce Peace
  • Lefever, George (1869-1923)
  • Loeb, Isidor (1868-1954)
  • Lowery, Thomas Jefferson
  • Mathews, Shailer (1863-1941)
  • Medicine--Study & teaching
  • Moss, Luella St. Clair (1865-1947)
  • Mumford, Frederick Blackmar (1868-1946)
  • Nelson, Earl F. (1888-1945)
  • Northern Baptist Convention
  • Noyes, Guy L. (1872-1930)
  • Oliver, Robert Burett (1850-1934)
  • One act plays
  • Osler, William (1849-1919)
  • Peabody, Francis Greenwood (1847-1936)
  • Phillips, Claude Anderson (1879-1960)
  • Postcards, 1900s
  • Postcards, 1910s
  • Prayers
  • Pritchett, Henry S. (1857-1939)
  • Prohibition
  • Reese, Herbert M. (1873-1954)
  • Religion, Addresses & essays
  • Religious Education
  • Roads, Missouri
  • Schurman, Jacob Gould (1854-1942)
  • Severance, Henry O. (1867-1942)
  • Shaw, Albert (1857-1947)
  • Sisson, Edward Octavius (1869-1949)
  • Slavery, Virginia
  • Socialism, 1912
  • St. Louis Times Building, St. Louis, MO
  • Stark Brothers Nurseries & Orchard Company, Louisiana, MO
  • Stephens, E.W. (1849-1931)
  • Stephens, Hugh (1877-1960)
  • Stone, Kimbrough (1875-1958)
  • Strong, Frank (1859-1934)
  • The Independent
  • Tobacco industry and trade
  • Travel, 1908
  • Tuttle, Daniel Sylvester (1837-1923)
  • University of Missouri, Alumni
  • University of Missouri, Buford Law, 1915
  • University of Missouri, Library
  • University of Missouri, New York Alumni Association
  • University of Missouri, Normal College, Commencement Program, 1885
  • University of Missouri, Religion
  • University of Missouri, School of Medicine, 1911
  • University of Missouri, School of Mines and Metallurgy, Rolla
  • University of Missouri, Students, 1902
  • University of Missouri, Students, Foreign, 1900s
  • University of Missouri, Switzler Hall
  • University of Virginia
  • University of Virginia, 1870s
  • Venable, Francis Preston (1856-1934)
  • Virginia--Social life & customs
  • Waters, Henry J.
  • Weeks, Raymond L.
  • Wells, Campbell
  • Wheat, Gladys M.
  • Wheeler, Benjamin Ide
  • White, Edward Douglas (1845-1921)
  • Williams, Walter
  • Wilson, Woodrow
  • Withers, John William (1868-1961)
  • Women--Education, 1912
  • Women--Suffrage
  • Woodward, Calvin Milton (1837-1915)
  • World War, 1914-1918, Public opinion