John C. Weldin and Donald B. Webster Oral Histories of Rhode Island State College

University of Rhode Island, University Archives and Special Collections
15 Lippitt Road
Kingston, RI 02881-2011
Tel: 401-874-4632

email: archives@etal.uri.edu

Published in 2008

Collection Overview

Title:	John C. Weldin and Donald B. Webster Oral Histories of Rhode Island State College
Date range:	1958/1960
Creator:	Weldin, John C.
Extent:	2 box(es) (.75 linear feet)
Abstract:	The collection consists of interviews conducted by Dean John C. Weldin and Donald B. Webster with long time faculty and early students of Rhode Island State College, now the University of Rhode Island. The interviews provide an insight as to what campus life was like during the early days of the University.
Language of materials:	English
Repository:	University of Rhode Island, University Archives and Special Collections
Collection number:	Mss. Gr. 202

Scope & content

Among the interviewees John Weldin spoke with was Dean Emeritus George E. Adams, who has the unique distinction of being in the first graduating class of Rhode Island State College in June of 1894. Other faculty members Weldin interviewed included Paul S. Burgess, the Dean of Agriculture and Home Economics; Frank Keaney, the Director of Athletics from 1920 to 1948, and Royal Wales of the Mechanical Engineering College. Former students include Henry Congdon and William Clarke, both members of the Class of 1898.

The transcript of Jack Stanton is noted as being incomplete and files of Henry Congdon and Herbert Rawdon contain transcripts only. The information contained in the transcript of the interview of Mrs. Marshall Taylor, whose husband was appointed as a faculty advisor in 1905, is noted that it should be used with caution, preferably for anecdotes only.

The file of William Clarke lacks the tape recording; however the file does contain a separate transcript of an “Off Record” conversation with Mr. Clarke. The file of Joseph Ince contains a Providence Sunday Journal article from 1950 reporting on Professor Ince’s testimonial dinner held in Kingston in which he was granted the title of Professor Emeritus.

Arrangement

After processing, the collection was arranged in a single series as follows:

• 1. Original Tapes and Transcripts

Historical Information

In May of 1958 Dean John C. Weldin, who served as Registrar of the University of Rhode Island from 1946 until his retirement in 1957, conducted a series of interviews to record the history of Rhode Island State College, now the University of Rhode Island.

The interviewees were either long-time faculty members of the Rhode Island State College or had been students during the early years of College’s existence.

Three additional interviews conducted by Donald B. Webster in 1960 were subsequently added to the collection. Mr. Webster conducted these interviews in preparation of submitting his thesis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in History. His thesis, " A Political, Legislative, and Administrative History of Rhode Island State College, 1888-1940" is available in the Special Collections Library of URI.

Access & Use

Access to the collection:	Open for research.
Use of the materials:	Terms governing use and reproduction: Photocopying and scanning of materials is a fee based service available in the repository and is allowed at the discretion of the Archivist when in compliance to the Unit's policy on copyright and publication.
Preferred citation:	The John C. Weldin and Donald B. Webster Oral Histories of Rhode Island State College, Mss. Gr. 202, University of Rhode Island, University Archives and Special Collections.
Contact information:	University of Rhode Island, University Archives and Special Collections 15 Lippitt Road Kingston, RI 02881-2011 Tel: 401-874-4632 email: archives@etal.uri.edu

Administrative Information

ABOUT THE COLLECTION
Acquisition:	The acquisition information is unknown.
Custodial history:	The custodial history is unknown.
Processing information:	The collection was processed by Russell Franks in 2007.
ABOUT THE FINDING AID
Author:	Finding aid prepared by Russell Franks.
Encoding:	Finding aid encoded by Nicholas Albaugh on 2008 May 23, updated by Hailie D. Posey on 2009 October 2, updated by Mark Dionne on 2020 May 13.
Descriptive rules:	Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Additional Information

Related material:

Donald B. Webster's thesis, "A Political, Legislative, and Administrative History of Rhode Island State College, 1888-1940" is available in the Special Collections Unit, University Libraries.

Inventory

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Inventory