Howard Fifield Legg letters
Scope and Contents
These letters were handwritten while Legg was a student at Wesleyan (1900-1904) and kept by Legg's mother. In 1907, when Legg married, he and his wife, Nellie, typed them up and they were kept in storage until his wife died in 1968. At that point, many of the letters has been eaten by silverfish. In 1972, at the age of 92, Legg went through the half-eaten letters and added some notes and tried to fill in the missing information. The typed transcripts are 175 pages with the letters filling the pages.
The Howard Legg letters are about life on the Wesleyan University campus while Legg was a student between 1900 and 1904. He wrote about life as a freshman, such as trying to become a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon, as well as his his classes and the work that came with them. He was on the track team and wrote about the practices and meets. Legg was interested in the other athletic achievements of the university, especially when his friends were part of them, particularly the football team. He was a member of various campus groups and described his activities. For the most part, the letters specifically to his father are more business-like than those to the whole family or just his mother. He often mentioned finances in the letters to his father. While it is only mentioned in the very last letter in the collection, Legg delivered a speech, "The Sense of Responsibility," at his commencement ceremony, but the text is not included in this collection of letters.
Dates
- Creation: 1900-1904
Creator
- Legg, Howard Fifield (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
In public domain - No Copyright - United States
Biographical / Historical
Howard Fifield Legg, born in 1881 in Rhode Island, spent his childhood in Worchester, Massachusetts. Legg graduated from Wesleyan University in 1904 and went on to Drew Theological Seminary in New Jersey (1904-1907). Beginning in 1906, he was a student pastor and then after graduating from the seminary, he was a pastor in New England until 1925. From 1922-1925, he was a student at the Boston University Theological and Religious Education graduate program. From 1925 to 1936, he was a professor of religion at Evansville College, and then at Simpson College in Iowa from 1936-1946. In 1946, he retired to California with his wife, Nellie.
Extent
0.25 Linear Feet (1 half hollinger box)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The Howard Legg letters are about life on the Wesleyan University campus while Legg was a student between 1900 and 1904. Topics include sports, especially track and football; his membership in Delta Kappa Epsilon (DKE); and his many classes and activities.
Arrangement
The letters are organized chronologically by date.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Howard Fifield Legg in 1972.
Subject
- Legg, Howard Fifield (Person)
- Title
- Howard Fifield Legg letters, 1900-1904
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Processed by Kate Levy, April 2009 Encoded by Valerie Gillispie, April 2009 Migrated to ArchivesSpace by Amanda Nelson, August 2020
- Date
- August 21, 2020
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the University Archives Repository