1842-2011
Guide to the Collection
Restrictions on Access
Record Group II of the Trustees of Donations for Education in Liberia records is stored offsite and must be requested at least two business days in advance via Portal1791. Researchers needing more than six items from offsite storage should provide additional advance notice. If you have questions about requesting materials from offsite storage, please contact the reference desk at 617-646-0532 or reference@masshist.org.
Abstract
This collection consists of the records of the Trustees of Donations for Education in Liberia, 1842-2011, pertaining to the activities of the organization whose mission was to build and maintain a college or university in Liberia.
Historical Information
Historical Sketch
The Trustees of Donations for Education in Liberia (Trustees of Donations) was founded by Massachusetts Colonization Society president Simon Greenleaf and secretary Joseph Tracy in 1848, about 25 years after the first group of Liberian American colonists settled on the northeastern coast of Africa, and one year after Liberia had declared itself an independent nation. The Massachusetts Colonization Society, a local branch of the American Colonization Society, was founded in 1841 to support the emigration of free-born African Americans and formerly enslaved people from the United States, specifically Massachusetts, to Liberia.
Liberia had a public school system in place by 1848, but they did not have an established college or university, leaving most of their citizens with limited educational opportunities. Concerned that without educated men to run Liberia, the newly formed nation would not succeed, Greenleaf and Tracy wrote to the American Colonization Society to describe their idea. After much discussion and planning, an act was passed in the Massachusetts General Court on 19 Mar. 1850 incorporating Simon Greenleaf, George N. Briggs, Joel Giles, and their associates and successors as the Trustees of Donations with the power to manage funds to be used to promote education in Liberia. With the help of Liberia's first president, Joseph Jenkins Roberts, the Liberian Legislature passed an act on 24 Dec. 1851 establishing a charter for Liberia College and incorporating the Liberia College Board of Trustees.
The cornerstone of Liberia College was laid at Cape Mesurado, within the city limits of Monrovia, Liberia, on 25 Jan. 1858. Over the next few years, the Liberian Legislature passed a series of acts granting 20 acres of land in Monrovia as a site for the college and an additional 1,000 acres within the four counties of the republic to the Trustees of the College. In 1861, the Trustees of Donations appointed Liberia College's first three faculty members: Joseph Jenkins Roberts as President and Professor of Jurisprudence and International Law, Alexander Crummell as Professor of Intellectual and Moral Philosophy and of the English Language and Literature, and Edward W. Blynden as Professor of Greek and Latin Language and Literature. On 23 Jan. 1862, Liberia College was incorporated. A year later, on 2 Feb. 1863, the doors of Liberia College were opened to their first seven students, and subsequently to the Preparatory Department a few months later. In 1864, The Laws of Liberia College, Enacted by the Board of Trustees was published, and in the annual report of the Trustees of Donations that year, it was recorded, "Thus, after so many years of patient, careful, hopeful labor, after overcoming such obstacles and discouragement, Liberia College is established and in successful operation."
As the interest in Liberia waned over the next 80 years, the Trustees of Donations struggled unsuccessfully to raise the funds necessary for the growing expenses at Liberia College. Repeated difficulties with the staff and faculty, frequent turnovers in the college president's position, and a low number of interested or qualified students also threatened the future of the college. By the mid-20th century, the role of the Trustees of Donations evolved from their initial hands-on management of the college to a more philanthropic role.
In 1951, Liberia College became the University of Liberia, still supported by the Trustees of Donations today.
Trustees of Donations for Education in Liberia list of officers
Presidents
1850-1855 |
George Nixon Briggs |
1855-1875 |
Albert Fearing |
1876-1885 |
Andrew Preston Peabody |
1885-1895 |
Joseph Samuel Ropes |
1896-1906 |
Judson Smith |
1907-1923 |
Daniel Dulany Addison |
1924-1927 |
Charles Knowles Bolton |
1928-1936 |
Daniel Dulany Addison |
1937-1944 |
Gardner Weld Allen |
1945-1963 |
Frederic A. Turner |
1963-ca. 1969 |
William Hathaway Forbes |
ca. 1969- |
John Otis Brew |
Vice Presidents
1853 |
Simon Greenleaf |
1854-1855 |
Albert Fearing |
1855-1869 |
William Ropes |
1885-1896 |
Judson Smith |
1896-1907 |
Daniel Dulany Addison |
1907-1912 |
Elnathan Ellsworth Strong |
1912-1923 |
Charles Knowles Bolton |
1924-1927 |
James Melville Hunnewell |
1928-1929 |
Charles Knowles Bolton |
1930-1937 |
William Marshall Warren |
1938-1944 |
Charles E. Goodspeed |
1945-1958 |
Theodore Eaton |
1958-ca. 1969 |
John Otis Brew |
ca. 1969-1977 |
Ernest Stanley Dodge |
1977-1983 |
William Bradford Osgood |
1983- |
Charles Dunn |
Secretaries
1850-1874 |
Joseph Tracy |
1874-1909 |
James Chandler Braman |
1910-1914 |
Francis Everett Blake |
1914-1923 |
Charles Knowles Bolton |
1924-1927 |
Gardner Weld Allen |
1927-1944 |
George G. Wolkins |
1945-1956 |
Stanwood K. Bolton |
1956-1973 |
Walter Muir Whitehill |
1973- |
Rodney Armstrong |
Treasurers
1850-1862 |
Stephen Fairbanks |
1862 |
Charles Peter Clark |
1862-1899 |
Charles Edward Stevens |
1899-1906 |
George Moulton Adams |
1906-1914 |
Francis Everett Blake |
1914-1939 |
James Melville Hunnewell |
1940-1961 |
Robert Jackson Cram |
1961-1969 |
Alfred P. Putnam |
1969- |
Giles M. S. Tod |
Liberia College Presidents
1856-1877 |
Joseph Jenkins Roberts |
1878-1879 |
John B. Pinney |
1880-1884 |
Edward Wilmot Blyden |
1885-1889 |
Martin H. Freeman (pro tem until 1888) |
1890-1894 |
Garretson W. Gibson |
1895-1899 |
Orator F. Cook |
1900-1901 |
Garretson W. Gibson (second term) |
1902-1912 |
Robert B. Richardson |
1913 |
James J. Dossen |
1914-1917 |
Arthur Barclay |
1918-ca. 1940 |
Nathaniel H.B. Cassell |
ca. 1940-1950 |
T. Ebenezer Ward |
1950-1954 |
J. Max Bond |
1955-1958 |
Kermit C. King |
1959-1971 |
Rocheforte L. Weeks |
1972-ca. 1975 |
Advertus A. Hoff |
ca. 1975-1978 |
J. Bernard Blamo |
1978-1984 |
Mary Antoinette Brown Sherman |
1984- |
Joseph G. Morris |
Sources
Allen, Gardner W. The Trustees of Donations for Education in Liberia: A Story of Philanthropic Endeavor, 1850-1923. Boston: Thomas Todd, 1923.
Collection Description
The bulk of this collection consists of letters written and received by the officers of the organization. The incoming correspondence and retained copies of outgoing correspondence (letterpress books and later carbon copies) reflect the relationships between the Trustees of Donations and the Liberian government; the faculty, staff, and board at Liberia College; and the American Colonization Society, among other like-minded organizations. The correspondence also reflects the continual challenges faced by the Trustees of Donations: fundraising, the building and maintenance of the college, the high turnover rate of president and faculty positions, the lack of eligible students, and the general unrest in Liberia. Of special interest is a letter, dated 14 Apr. 1848, written by Joseph Tracy, secretary of the Massachusetts Colonization Society and future secretary of the Trustees of Donations, to the American Colonization Society, describing his and Massachusetts Colonization Society president Simon Greenleaf's idea for the creation of a college or university in Liberia.
Administrative records include, but are not limited to, meeting minutes, Trustees of Donations president and secretary reports, various addresses, records created at Liberia College, records pertaining to wills and endowments, and other legal documents. Of special interest is a draft of the Constitution of the Trustees of Donations written in 1850.
In addition to correspondence and administrative records, the collection also includes financial records and printed materials. Financial records include annual reports from the treasurers and accountants, account books, bills, and bank statements. Printed materials include Liberian newspapers, clippings, ephemera, and bound publications pertaining to and created by the Trustees of Donations, Liberia College, and the country of Liberia.
Arrangement Note
This collection consists of two record groups acquired at two different times from the Trustees of Donations for Education in Liberia. The two record groups are arranged and stored separately, but contain some overlap in names, dates, and subjects. Record Group I is stored onsite at Ms. N-1777. Record Group II is stored offsite and must be requested at least two business days in advance.
Acquisition Information
Record Group I deposited by Trustees of Donations for Education in Liberia, ca. 1970. Record Group II deposited by Trustees of Donations for Education in Liberia, February 2012.
Restrictions on Access
Record Group II of the Trustees of Donations for Education in Liberia records is stored offsite and must be requested at least two business days in advance via Portal1791. Researchers needing more than six items from offsite storage should provide additional advance notice. If you have questions about requesting materials from offsite storage, please contact the reference desk at 617-646-0532 or reference@masshist.org.
Detailed Description of Record Group I
Expand allI. Correspondence, 1844-1939
This series contains letters received by the Trustees of Donations for Education in Liberia from 1844-1939 and letterpress books containing retained copies of outgoing correspondence written from 1853-1906 by secretaries Joseph Tracy (1850-1974), James Chandler Braman (1874-1909), Francis Everett Blake (1910-1914), and Charles Knowles Bolton (1914-1923). The correspondence relates to all facets of the Trustees' activities, including the founding and membership of the organization; obtaining donations for education in Liberia; and the founding, staffing, and maintenance of the facilities of Liberia College. Correspondents includes Liberian officials and countrymen; Liberia College presidents, faculty, and staff; officials and members of the American Colonization Society, New York Colonization Society, and other like-minded organizations; donors and supporters; financial institutions; and tradesmen, among many others. The series also includes letters received and sent by Trustee presidents and treasurers, and related reports and accounts.
A. Loose correspondence, 1844-1939
Arranged chronologically.
1844-1863
1864-1871
1872-1883
1884-1891
1892-1900
1905-1919
1920- July 1925
Aug. 1925-1936
1937-1939
B. Letterpress books, 1853-1906
Arranged chronologically.
29 Oct. 1853-20 Oct. 1860
28 Oct. 1860-12 Sep. 1864
7 Sep. 1864-3 July 1869
8 July 1869-23 Oct. 1880
14 Oct. 1880-4 Mar. 1891
4 Mar. 1891-23 Jan. 1906
II. Administrative records, 1842-1927
See also I.A. Loose correspondence.
A. Meeting minutes, 1842-1927
This subseries includes loose and bound meeting minutes and extracts kept primarily by Trustees of Donations for Education in Liberia secretaries Joseph Tracy (1850-1874), James Chandler Braman (1874-1909), Francis Everett Blake (1910-1914), and Charles Knowles Bolton (1914-1923). Minutes include votes and resolutions on membership, donations, construction and management of Liberia College, and politics in Liberia, among other topics, and overviews of the president, secretary, treasurer, and other reports.
Arranged chronologically.
i. Loose meeting minutes, 1842-1927 (with gaps)
ii. Bound meeting minutes, 1849-1906
B. Reports, 1842-1926
This subseries includes reports relating to education in Liberia written by presidents of Liberia College, secretaries of the Trustees of Donations for Education in Liberia, and related organizations.
Liberia College presidents' reports, 1850-1926 (with gaps)
Includes reports written for the Trustees of Donations for Education in Liberia by Liberia College president Joseph Jenkins Roberts (1861-1879), Edward W. Blyden (1880-1884), Martin H. Freeman (1885-1889), Orator F. Cook (1896-1899), Richardson B. Wells (1902-1912), Arthur Barclay (1914-1917), and Nathaniel H. B. Cassell (1918-). Reports include descriptions of the current Liberia College board, faculty, staff, and students; conditions of the campus buildings and supplies; and appropriations for the past year. This subseries also includes reports written for the Trustees of Donations by Monrovia Seminary president A. P. Camphor, 1897-1898.
Secretaries' reports, 1913-1914, 1920
Includes annual reports written by Trustees of Donations for Education in Liberia secretaries Francis Everett Blake (1910-1914) and Charles Knowles Bolton (1914-1923). Reports include summaries of correspondence received from the president of Liberia College and important events from the previous year.
Benjamin Brawley report, 1920
Includes a report written for the New York Colonization Society by Benjamin Brawley, who taught at Liberia College for a few months in early 1920. The report describes the political, economic, and social conditions in Monrovia, Liberia, and gives recommendations for the future of education and society in Liberia. This subseries also includes a brief summary of conditions in Monrovia, written by Trustees of Donations for Education in Liberia secretary Charles Knowles Bolton, after a meeting held with Brawley in June 1920.
Miscellaneous reports, 1842-1918
Includes complete and incomplete reports about Liberia and education in Liberia written by various representatives of Trustees of Donations for Education in Liberia, the American Colonization Society, and other colonization societies.
C. Addresses, 1858-1918 (with gaps)
This subseries includes an address given by Liberia College president Joseph Jenkins Roberts, ca. 1861, an address given by Chief Justice of Liberia B. J. Drayton, 1862, and an inaugural addresses given by Liberia College president Edward W. Blyden, ca. 1880-1881, among others.
D. Liberia College records, 1845-1908
This subseries includes records that pertain primarily to Liberia College. Records include lists of books in the library, final exams from the senior class, grade reports, and the Education Committee notes and meeting minutes. Also includes maps of Liberia and plans for the construction of the college.
Records, 1858-1908
Maps and plans, undated
Oversize maps and plans, 1845-1878
(Oversize)Oversize draft of a Liberia College diploma, 1864, and an oversize copy of class regulations and schedules, 1881
(Oversize)E. Wills, endowments, and donations, 1851-1898
This subseries contains legal records relating to individual bequests to the Trustees of Donations for Education in Liberia. The subseries includes records pertaining to a legal battle over the will of Nathaniel Storrs and also includes records pertaining to endowments and other large donations received by the Trustees of Donations.
F. Trustees of Donations for Education in Liberia resolutions, acts, deeds, and bills, 1848-1893
G. Draft Constitution of the Trustees of Donations for Education in Liberia, 1850
I. Miscellaneous administrative records, 1850-1910
This subseries contains notes, lists, summaries, and extracts, among other miscellaneous documents created by the Trustees of Donations.
III. Financial records, 1842-1936
A. Loose financial records, 1842-1936
This subseries includes financial reports written primarily after an annual audit by Trustees of Donations for Education in Liberia treasurers Stephen Fairbanks (1852-1862), Charles Peter Clark (1862-1899), Francis Everett Blake (1906-1914), and James Melvin Hunnewell (1914-1924). The reports pertain to income such as donations and account interest and expenditures such as salaries and advertising. The subseries also includes annual bank statements, supply lists and bills, receipts to donors, accounts payable, returned checks, and treasurers' notes from 1842-1922.
Arranged chronologically.
i. Treasurers' reports, 1852-1924 (with gaps)
ii. Bank statements, bills, receipts, returned checks, and notes, 1842-1936
1842-1859
1860-1910
1911-1922
1923-1936
B. Bound financial records, 1866-1924
This subseries includes account books, bank books, and expenditure books kept by the treasurer and other members of the Trustees of Donations for Education in Liberia from 1866-1924. Other than the first account book listed (Vol. 8), most of the volumes contain very little information.
Arranged chronologically.
Account book, 1866-1898
Donation account books, 1868
Bank books, 1906-1909
Expense book, 1914-1924
IV. Printed materials, 1850-1936
A. Bound printed materials, 1850-1933
This subseries includes bound printed materials pertaining to the Trustees of Donations for Education in Liberia, Liberia College, and Liberia, including reports, acts and laws of the Trustees of Donations, 1852-1882; proceedings, reports, addresses, and catalogs of Liberia College, 1862-1888; and reports, case studies, dissertations, and addresses pertaining to politics, social issues, and education in Liberia, 1850-1933.
Arranged chronologically.
i. Trustees of Donations for Education in Liberia printed volumes, 1852-1882
The Laws of Liberia College Enacted by the Board of Trustees, undated
Second Annual Report of the Trustees of Donations for Education in Liberia, 14 Jan. 1852
Third Annual Report of the Trustees of Donations for Education in Liberia, 12 Jan. 1853
Act Incorporating Liberia College and By-Laws of the Trustees of the College, 1864
The Laws of Liberia College in Monrovia, Liberia Enacted by the Board of Trustees, 1864
Sixth Report of the Trustees of Donations for Education in Liberia, 12 Apr. 1865
The Laws of Liberia College in Monrovia, Liberia Enacted by the Board of Trustees, 1882
ii. Liberia College printed volumes, 1862-1881
Proceedings at the Inauguration of Liberia College at Monrovia, 23 Jan. 1862
Report of the Conditions of Liberia College Made to the New York State Colonization Society and the Trustees of Donations for Education in Africa of the State of Massachusetts, 25 Mar. 1879
Inaugural Address: The Aims and Methods of a Liberal Education for Africans, delivered by president of Liberia College Edward W. Blyden, 5 Jan. 1881
Draft copy of the Inaugural Address: The Aims and Methods of a Liberal Education for Africans, delivered by president of Liberia College Edward W. Blyden, 5 Jan. 1881
Report of the President of Liberia College to the Board of Trustees, Dec. 1881
Draft copy of the Report of the President of Liberia College to the Board of Trustees, Dec. 1881
Catalogue and Register of Liberia College, 1892
Proceedings and Addresses on the Occasion of the Inauguration of The Rev. Garretson Warner Gibson as President of Liberia College, 21 Feb. 1900
The Report of Liberia College for the Year 1906
The Annual Report of Liberia College, Jan. 1906
The Report of Liberia College For 1909, 1911
The Baccalaureate: A Discourse Delivered by The Rev. Nathaniel H. B. Cassell, Professor of Mental and Moral Science, Liberia College, to the Graduating Class of 1914
Liberia College Catalogue, 1916
Liberia College Catalogue, 1919
iii. Liberia printed volumes, 1850-1933
Liberia and Her Educational Problems, undated
Sketches of Liberia: Comprising a Brief Account of the Geography, Climate, Productions, and Diseases of the Republic of Liberia, by J. W. Lugenbeel, 1850
Case and Opinion Upon the Will of Anson G. Phelps, The Elder, 1854
Message of the President of the Republic of Liberia to the Legislature, at the Commencement of Their Sessions, Dec. 1858
Twenty-First Annual Report of the Board of Managers of the Massachusetts Colonization Society, 28 May 1862
Synopsis of the Effort Made in Behalf of the American Colonization Society To get Control of the Field of the New York State Colonization Society, in Violation of the Pledge of Non-Interference, 1870
Proceedings on the Occasion of the Inauguration of the Hon. W. F. Nelson as Mayor of Monrovia, Liberia, 26 Feb. 1874
African Colonization: An Address Delivered Before the America Colonization in Washington, D.C., by Rev. John Orcutt, 19 Jan. 1875
The Duty of Strengthening Liberia: An Address by Hon. G. Washington Warren Delivered in Washington, D.C. at the Sixty-third Annual Meeting of The American Colonization Society, 20 Jan. 1880
Liberia Today: Being Articles From the Monrovia Observer, January 8, 1880, and the West African Reporter of Sierra Leone, 1880
Message of the President of the Republic of Liberia to the First Session of the Eighteenth Legislature, 10 Dec. 1881
Lecture: Christianity and the Negro Race, by Edward W. Blyden, President of Liberia College, 1883
Philip and the Eunuch; or the Instruments and Methods of Africa's Evangelization: A Discourse Delivered by Edward Wilmot Blyden, President of Liberia College, 1883
Inaugural Address of H. R. W. Johnson, President of Liberia to the Legislature in Joint Convention, Monrovia, 7 Jan. 1884
Inaugural Address of His Honor C. T. O King, Mayor of Monrovia, Delivered Before the Common Council, 8 Feb. 1888
The African Problem and The Method of Its Solution: The Annual Discourse Delivered at the Seventy-third Anniversary of the American Colonization Society, 19 Jan. 1890
History of Liberia, by J. H. T. McPherson, Johns Hopkins University Studies in Historical and Political Science, Oct. 1891
Messages of President Coleman with his Inaugural Address of January 1st 1900, 12 Feb. 1900
The Liberian Scholar: Being the Annual Address Delivered on the Occasion of the Commencement Exercises of the College of West Africa by the Rev. Nathaniel H. B. Cassell, 17 Nov. 1915
Stones from the Quarries. An Oration by Dr. H. B. Cassell, 1915
The Liberian Crisis, by Henry Litchfield West, 1933
B. Other printed materials, 1856-1936
This subseries includes loose printed materials pertaining to the Trustees of Donations for Education in Liberia, Liberia College, and the country of Liberia. The loose printed materials including newspapers and clippings from Liberian and U.S. newspapers printed from 1861-1926; programs and menus from various dinners and other events printed from 1883-1931; flyers and announcements printed from 1887-1924; calling cards printed ca. 1900; and other miscellaneous materials printed from 1857-1925.
Arranged alphabetically and chronologically.
i. Newspapers and clippings, 1856-1936
a. Liberian newspapers, 1861-1936
The African Star, Feb.-Sep. 1921, July 1927
The African Watchman, April and May 1926
The Liberian Herald, 21 Aug. 1861 (incomplete)
The Liberia Methodist, Jan. 1923
Liberian News, Oct.-Nov. 1922, Feb. 1924, Apr. 1926
The Liberian Patriot, 22-29 Oct. 1921
The Liberia Recorder, Jan. 1900, Apr. 1925
The Observer, 25 Aug. 1881
West African Recorder, 14 May 1884
b. Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, 7 Aug. 1858 (incomplete)
(Oversize)c. Loose clippings, 1856-1936
ii. Programs and menus, 1883-1931
iii. Flyers and announcements, 1860-1925
Flyers and announcements, 1887-1924
Oversize flyers and announcements, 1860-1925
(Oversize)iv. Calling cards, ca. 1900
v. Miscellaneous printed materials, 1857-1925
Detailed Description of Record Group II
Expand allI. Correspondence, 1924-1997
This series consists primarily of correspondence between the trustees and officers of the Trustees of Donations for Education in Liberia and correspondence with related organizations. Subjects include meetings and other events; fundraising, appropriations, and other financial matters; committees; appointments; publications and reports; and students and faculty at Liberia College, later the University of Liberia. Among the correspondents are Daniel Dulany Addison, Gardner Weld Allen, Charles Knowles Bolton, John Otis Brew, Robert Jackson Cram, William Hathaway Forbes, James M. Hunnewell, Alfred Porter Putnam, Giles M. S. Tod, Frederic A. Turner, and William Marshall Warren, as well as Liberia College presidents Nathaniel H. B. Cassell, T. Ebenezer Ward, J. Max Bond, Kermit C. King, Rocheforte L. Weeks, Advertus A. Hoff, J. Bernard Blamo, Mary Antoinette Brown Sherman, and Joseph G. Morris. Additional correspondents include Thomas S. Donohugh of the Board of Foreign Missions of the Methodist Episcopal Church; Edwin R. Embree of the Liberian Foundation; Edith G. Hardwick of Ginn & Co.; Harry W. Hart, librarian of the Columbia College Library; R. C. Hoffman of W. M. Welch Manufacturing Co.; Thomas Jesse Jones of the Phelps-Stokes Fund and the Booker Washington Agricultural & Industrial Institute of Liberia; L. A. Roy of the American Advisory Committee on Education in Liberia; Africanus Schaack; Clarence L. Simpson; and Frederick Starr.
The bulk of the correspondence between 1924-1945 is that of George G. Wolkins, secretary of the Trustees. Included are lengthy letters from James L. Sibley, 1925-1929, during two trips he made to Liberia as educational advisor. These letters contain detailed descriptions of conditions and schools in Monrovia, Liberia, and Africa generally. Other correspondence discusses the 1926 Firestone Concession Agreement, Harvey S. Firestone, Liberian President Charles D. B. King, and Sibley's death from yellow fever in 1929. Correspondence between 1929-1931 deals with political conditions in Liberia, including alleged forced labor conditions and the subsequent investigation by the Slavery and Forced Labor Commission of the League of Nations.
Between 1945-1956, the bulk of the papers are those of Trustees secretary Stanwood K. Bolton, including letters about and invoices for supplies for Liberia College, correspondence with publishing companies about books for the school, and letters describing losses suffered due to a fire on campus, 1949-1950. Long letters from J. Max Bond, president of Liberia College, report on progress at the school, the implementation of his reforms, and the college's transformation into the University of Liberia, 1950-1954. Papers between 1956-1973 consist largely of the correspondence of secretary Walter Muir Whitehill, and after 1973 that of Rodney Armstrong. Between 1979-1985, subjects include riots and political unrest in Liberia and university closures. Correspondence after 1945 also includes letters to and from the treasurers of the Trustees discussing financial matters.
II. Administrative records, 1905-1991
This series consists of records documenting the business of the Trustees of Donations for Education in Liberia, including meeting minutes, reports, and addresses, as well as papers related to the facilities and curriculum of Liberia College.
A. Meeting minutes, 1905-1987
This subseries contains two volumes of minutes, 1905-1950, and loose minutes, 1929-1987 (with gaps). Minutes consist of records of meetings kept by the secretary, including votes, elections, secretary's reports, treasurer's reports, obituaries of members, agendas, etc.
Minutes book, 1905-July 1937
Minutes book, Oct. 1937-1950
Loose minutes, 1929-1987 (with gaps)
B. Reports, 1927-1951
This subseries contains reports on the activities, students, faculty, facilities, budget, etc. of Liberia College, written for the Trustees of Donations for Education in Liberia by college presidents T. Ebenezer Ward and J. Max Bond, 1948-1951, as well as a report by educational advisor James L. Sibley to the Advisory Committee on Education in Liberia, 1927.
C. Addresses, 1945-1967
Included are commencement addresses by John O. Brew and Lester A. Walton, as well as an address by Mary Antoinette Grimes Brown on education in Liberia, given at Cornell University.
D. Liberia College records, 1951-1969, 1991
This subseries contains lists of library books and herbarium collections, reports on college facilities, curriculum materials, information brochures for prospective students, lists of college award winners, papers related to commencement, and faculty/staff rosters. Also included is an extensive report entitled The University of Liberia: An Appraisal and Recommendations (1960), prepared by A. Gordon Nelson and Charles C. Hughes of Cornell University, and an Assessment of Facilities for the University of Liberia (1991), by the Liberian Chamber of Architects, including pasted-in photographs of damage to campus buildings sustained during the First Liberian Civil War, cost estimates for renovation, and maps.
III. Financial records, 1899-1989
This series consists of annual treasurers' reports, annual accountants' reports, auditors' reports, and two account books (1899-1956, 1961-1975) documenting the financial activities of the Trustees of Donations for Education in Liberia. The series also contains several years of tax documents, including federal tax returns, Massachusetts tax returns, and Massachusetts Division of Public Charities annual reports.
A. Loose financial records, 1914-1989
Treasurers' reports, 1914-1989
Accountants' reports, 1954-1970
Auditors' reports, 1948-1955 (with gaps)
Tax documents, 1933-1989
B. Bound financial records, 1899-1975
Account book, 1899-1956
Account book, 1961-1975
IV. Printed materials, 1916-2011
This series consists of printed materials related to Liberia College, Liberia, and Africa generally. Included are college catalogs, yearbooks (including the school's first yearbook in 1952), newsletters, programs, pamphlets, newspaper clippings, journals, magazines, books, and miscellaneous cards and flyers.
A. Liberia College printed materials, 1925-2011
Liberia College Catalogue and Register, 1925-1927
The L-U-an, yearbook, 1952
The L-U-an, yearbook, 1959
The University of Liberia Catalog and Announcements, 1967-1968
Campus Review, newsletter, 1997
Certificate of appreciation from the University of Liberia to the Trustees of Donations for Education in Liberia, 7 Nov. 1997
Located onsite at Ms. N-1777 (OS).
"We Hail this Institution as the Precursor of Incalculable Blessings to this Benighted Land": The Sanctity of Liberia College in Americo-Liberian Nation-building, 1880-1912, thesis paper by Brooks Marmon, 2008
Event programs, 1925-1969
B. Liberia and Africa printed materials, 1916-1955
Liberia and Her Educational Problems, pamphlet by Walter F. Walker, 23 Oct. 1916
The Liberia Recorder, newspaper, 13 Apr. 1925 [first issue]
Stone & Webster Journal, containing "Firestone in Liberia," Sep. 1927
The Educational Outlook/The Liberia Educational Outlook, magazine, including The African World: West African Monthly Supplement, Jan. 1928-Sep. 1929
29 issuesThe Annual Message of His Excellency Charles Dunbar Burgess King, President of the Republic of Liberia, pamphlet, 18 Oct. 1928
Report of R. R. Taylor upon the Booker Washington Agricultural and Industrial Institute at Kakata, Republic of Liberia, pamphlet, Oct. 1929
Harvard Medical Alumni Bulletin, containing "African Reminiscences," by George M. Saunders, M.D., Apr. 1933
The Friend: A Religious and Literary Journal, containing "The Tragedy of Liberia," by John H. Harris, 10 Aug. 1934
Views in Liberia, book by Firestone Plantations Company, 1937
Located onsite at Ms. N-1777 (OS).
African Challenge: The Story of the British in Tropical Africa, pamphlet, 1945
New Africa, newsletter of the Council on African Affairs, Dec. 1945
The Liberian Age, newspaper, 15 July-30 Sep. 1947, 21-25 Feb. 1955
9 issuesProgress in Negro Status and Race Relations 1911-1946: The Thirty-Five Year Report of the Phelps-Stokes Fund, by Anson Phelps Stokes, et al., 1948
Liberia Today, newsletter of the Liberian Embassy in Washington, Aug. 1952
Time magazine, containing "South of the Sahara," 9 Feb. 1953
Life magazine, containing "Africa: A Continent in Ferment," 4 May 1953
Located onsite at Ms. N-1777 (OS).
Souvenir programs, 1923-1947
C. Other printed materials, 1927-1997
Miscellaneous newspaper clippings, 1927-1997
Programs, business cards, flyers, etc., 1927-1950
Photographs Removed from the Collection
Photographs from this collection were removed to the Trustees of Donations for Education in Liberia visual materials collection, ca. 1885-1951. Photo. Coll. 49.
Preferred Citation
Trustees of Donations for Education in Liberia records, Massachusetts Historical Society.
Access Terms
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