Professor of History at what was then Iowa College, Leonard Fletcher Parker was the first to record the life history of J.B. Grinnell and of the town of Grinnell as well. These documents are pages taken from his notebooks and are his personal notes on J.B. Grinnell.
Dated February 5, 1877, this letter to J.B. Grinnell from his "Seminary Friend" also originally included a bill of sale for a slave which was taken from the archives of Charleston South Carolina. His friend praises J.B. for his many actions in combatting slavery.
Letter from Julia Chapin Grinnell to Professor Leonard Fletcher Parker dated April 6, 1904. A list of people who arrived in Grinnell in 1854, 1855, and 1856 is included.
Letter from Mary Mears to her "darling friend" recounting the story of how an elm tree in the yard of her childhood home came to be known as "Beecher."
A pamphlet by L.F. Parker regarding Hester Hillis and her missionary experiences at home and abroad, written on the occasion of her passing in 1887. Includes letters written by Hillis from India about her experiences.
This collection of transcribed correspondence between J.B. Grinnell and various parties ranges in dates from May of 1868 to January of 1870. In the letters, Grinnell sends updates to Washington as he attempts to secure the purchase of certain neutral lands from the Cherokee Indians. The accusation that J.B. Grinnell accepted bribes for pushing the deal through is also covered in this correspondence, as is Grinnell's response.
