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Manuscript Collections at McDaniel College contain the personal papers of persons and families with a relationship to the College including alumni, faculty, staff, administration or those with other close ties.
Below are several manuscript collections which have a finding aid. A finding aid will give you information about a collection's size, dates, inventory, types of material, a brief biography of the collector or producer of the collection, etc. This information should help you decide if would like to make an appointment to come to the Archives and use a collection for further research. Please note that manuscript collection materials have generally not been digitized.
Additional manuscript collections and finding aids can be found using the Archives Catalog.
Dorothy Elderdice graduated from Western Maryland College in 1911 and continued her education in dramatic arts and oratory in New York and Boston. After working in New York, Idaho, and Florida, she returned to Westminster, where she was employed at the Westminster Theological Seminary's library, and taught public speech and church drama until her retirement in 1951. Locally, she became known for the costume shop she opened in Westminster after her retirement. She was also known for her involvement in Civil Rights, Women's Rights, and peace movements. This collection primarily contains her diaries from 1903-1930 and 1949-1979. Also included are several of the pageants she wrote, including one for the Jubilee of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF).
Brig. General Robert J. Gill graduated from Western Maryland College in 1910 as class valedictorian and captain of the basketball and football teams. Following his graduation, Gill attended the University of Virginia Law School, earning a degree in 1913. When the United States entered World War I, Gill was commissioned as a captain commanding the 117th Trench Mortar Battery, attached to the 42nd Rainbow Division. By the end of the war, Gill had caught the attention of the division’s commander, Douglas MacArthur, and was attached to his staff. He left the service as a lieutenant colonel and returned to practicing law in Baltimore.
In 1942, Gill returned to active duty supervising prisoner-of-war camps throughout France and Germany. Before his discharge, Gill was selected as the executive officer to Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson, the chief prosecutor at the Nuremberg War Trials. Gill was promoted to Brigadier General and awarded both the Distinguished Service Medal from the United States and the Third Order of the White Lion from Czechoslovakia for his service at Nuremberg.
Gill was also a long-time supporter of his alma mater, serving on the Board of Trustees for Western Maryland College for forty-three years and as chairman from 1963-1978. He was instrumental in building up the athletic programs on campus, particularly the football team. The Gill Gymnasium (still on campus) is named in his honor. Ever interested in athletics, Gill served on the board of directors for the Baltimore Orioles from shortly after the franchise’s move from St. Louis until the 1980s.
His collection contains materials documenting his military service, personal, and professional life.
Theophilus Kenoley Harrison (“T. K.” or “Kenny”) served as the College’s Business Manager from 1930 until his retirement in 1949. He also served as the Alumni Association executive secretary during his tenure at the College. An alumni of Western Maryland College, Harrison graduated with the Class of 1901, and was very involved in Class reunion events and facilitating “Round Robin”-style letter exchanges between his classmates. This collection primarily consists of correspondence and manuscript materials, with many directly related to his continued involvement with the Class of 1901, and his personal correspondence.
Charles W. Havens ("Charlie") coached Western Maryland football, baseball, basketball, lacrosse, and boxing, taught physical education and health, and worked as Director of Athletics, from 1931-1956, excepting the years of WWII, where he served in the Army Air Corps. The collection consists of correspondence and manuscript materials, both personal and related to his time at the College, as well as a significant amount of historic WMC football sports programs from the 1920s-1950s.
Morris Rannels was Superintendent of Cecil County, Maryland schools from 1952-1960, an era that saw a student population explosion and the Supreme Court decision that legally ended segregation of public schools. During his tenure, he supervised the building of ten new schools and the integration of the Cecil County school system. This collection contains related papers, newspaper clippings, and Mr. Rannel's own remembrances of this time.
Dr. Keith Norton Richwine was a professor emeritus of English and former chair of the English Department at Western Maryland College. Dr. Richwine joined the faculty of Western Maryland College in 1962. During his time at WMC, he co-authored the College's First Principles and published extensively on literary figures such as Herman Melville, Ernest Hemingway, and Sigmund Freud. Richwine was awarded WMC's Distinguished Teaching Award in 1971 and recognized as an Outstanding American Educator in 1974. He retired from teaching in 1994. On November 18, 1996, Hoover Library opened the Richwine Special Collections Room in honor of Keith and Eleanor Richwine. Eleanor Richwine donated many volumes of Keith Richwine's personal collection of 20th century American fiction, focused on Kerouac and the Beatniks. These volumes formed the base of the Richwine Special Collection.
This manuscript collection consists primarily of Dr. Richwine's personal research into Sadie Kneller Miller, an 1885 graduate of Western Maryland College and international photojournalist.
Dr. Samuel Biggs Schofield was a chemistry professor at Western Maryland College from 1921-1965. After his retirement, he became the College's first archivist and began researching and writing the history of the College. The bulk of this collection contains notes for writing that history, The Formative Years. Also in this collection are short essays on different aspects of the College's history.
