Temporary record

The DuBois-McIlvaine Papers contains several hundred letters, diaries, account books, printed books, letter books, and other miscellaneous items relating to the DuBois and McIlvaine families. There are three main centers of focus for this collection:

1. Sarah Platt Ogden DuBois was the daughter of Robert Ogden, a New Jersey lawyer, who had served as Quatermaster during the Revolution. Sarah married Cornelius DuBois (1803), with whom she had five children. This series contains 313 letters, a letterbook containing 29 copies of letters, and an account book. Many of the letters are from Sarah's children, and most of the correspondents are well-educated, highly literate people. Topics include family news, religion, manners, morals, and child-rearing.

2. George Washington DuBois was the youngest child of Sarah and Cornelius DuBois. He attended Princeton and graduated from New York University (1843) before attending the Episcopal theological seminary at Gambier, Ohio. In 1846 he became a deacon, and in 1847, priest of the Episcopal Church, minstering to parishes in Ohio, Minnesota, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New York. He traveled extensively in 1847, and during the Civil War, served as chaplain to the 11th Ohio Infantry Regiment. This series cotains 16 letters from his father, 33 from his wife, and 71 letters written by DuBois to various family members, including several written during a European sojourn in 1847-48 that discuss the political turmoil afflicting the continent. In addition, there are two letterpress books containing retained copies of correspondence (1880s), a diary from his student days at Gambier, 3 account books, and 2 books on genealogy.

3. Charles Pettit McIlvaine was born in Burlington, N.J., attended Princeton, and was ordained deacon in the Episcopal Church in 1820. He was called to Christ Church, Georgetown, D.C., later in that year, and served as Chaplain to the U.S. Senate from 1822-1824. McIlvaine was ordained as a priest in Baltimore in 1824, and accepted an appointment as Professor of Ethics and chaplain at West Point. Following a pastorate in Brooklyn (1827-1831), he was appointed as the second Bishop of Ohio and assumed the presidency of Kenyon College. From this position, he was also charged with conducted the theological seminary at Gambier. Throughout his career, McIlvaine enjoyed ready access to political and military leaders, and at several times fulfilled an unofficial diplomatic role to Great Britain. The DuBois-McIlvaine Papers includes 34 letters written by McIlvaine, and 24 letters of his wife, Rachel Coxe McIlvaine. Associated with these letters is an autograph album containing letters written to McIlvaine by illustrious correspondents, interspersed with some autographs. There are also typescripts of McIlvaine correspondence in the collections of Kenyon College.

M-2252

DuBois, Cornelius, 1771-1846
DuBois, George Washington, 1822-1910
DuBois, Sarah Platt Ogden, 1782-1836
Episcopal Church--Clergy--Ohio
Episcopal Theological Seminary, Gambier, Ohio
Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio
Family--New Jersey
Family--Ohio
McIlvaine, Charles Pettit, 1799-1872
Ogden, Frederick Nash, 1807-1838
Ogden, Robert, 1746-1826
United States Military Academy

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