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Content warning: Some of the yearbooks from 1911 through the 1930s contain racist illustrations of figures in blackface and minstrel characters, as well as inaccurate, derogatory, and/or offensive depictions of Asian and Indigenous people.

The first issue of The Seal was focused on the history and activities of the Class of 1911 and included sections on “class prophecies,” “statistics” of each student, a calendar of the year’s past events, poems, ditties and songs, vignettes of events in each department and hall (dorm) life, listings of the literary societies as well as social clubs (such as “the red mice” and “the clammy six”), a group portrait of the class and some of the societies and clubs, and advertising from Trenton businesses. The seniors were listed in a directory and did not have individual portraits. The next yearbook, 1912, had a similar format, but also included a list of faculty members, as well as photographs of the campus buildings. Starting in 1915, there were individual portraits of graduating seniors (1913 had individual portraits as well, but not 1914). The format remained fairly consistent afterward, however a few issues from the 1920s also have the Juniors, or class of February of the next year listed in the book with the previous May graduates. The Yearbook Club had several name variations, including: Year-Book Club, Year Book Club, or just “Yearbook” or “Seal.”

The collection is complete from 1911 until The Seal ceased publication in 2017. No issue was printed in 1944 due to World War II restrictions.

In addition, there are a few folders of ephemera, correspondence, photographs, obituaries, and other clippings taken from books formerly belonging to Vivian Rolandelli, Kenneth Weber, and Jessie Turk.

Series 1 - Faculty Registers, 1856-1961
The Payroll (spelled “Pay Roll” on cover) Register contains the monthly wages of faculty and administrators of the New Jersey State Normal School from May/June 1856, through January 1873. The register lists the faculty names and amounts due with their signature arranged in order of highest to lowest salaries per month. Beginning in 1857, there was no pay during the summer months of July and August.

The Faculty Book is a combination of a register and scrapbook. It was likely begun by Principal James Green or his secretary around 1895, to record information about faculty members. It contains a handwritten index of faculty names (all of whom appear to be employed by the school by 1902) corresponding to brief handwritten biographies. It also has pasted-in recommendation letters and clippings about faculty members up to 1907, handwritten and pasted-in clippings about Normal School trustees and officers, legislation approving new residence halls in 1890, and New Jersey State Board of Education minutes. Also included in the book was a loose copy of a memo from James Green instructing all teachers to fill out information for a registry.

The Teacher’s Register is a set of 176 cards that appear to be the registry referred to in the memo from James Green in the Faculty Book. Each card records a faculty member’s education background, credentials, and publications, created from 1902-1928. Some cards have additional annotations that date up to 1961 about deaths, name changes, or date a teacher left the Normal School.

Series 2 - Student Registers, 1855-1924
The Teacher Contracts book was signed by each student upon entrance to the New Jersey State Normal School agreeing to the following statement printed on each page:

“The undersigned, having received Certificates of admission as Pupils in the New Jersey State Normal School, hereby declare, that it is their intention to engage in the employment of Teachers in the Common Schools of this state for at least two years, and that their object in resorting to this school, is the better to qualify themselves for that responsible duty. The undersigned also hereby agree to report themselves semi-annually, in writing, for the aforesaid period of two years, to the Principal of the Normal School, in case they enjoy its privileges for one term or more.”

The student’s town and county of residence also is included with their signature. The first student to sign was Emma B. Pearson in 1855. The last signature is from 1916.

The Final Grades Books are three volumes (Volume 1 - 1871-1889, Volume 2 - 1889-1901, Volume 3 - 1901-1912) which record a student’s final set of grades in each academic subject, similar to today’s transcript. Students’ names are listed alphabetically by their last name, then chronologically by graduating year. Each entry records the student’s name, date of entrance to the school, final grade average by subject, and remarks. The grading system was either the same as or similar to the numerical scale of 100 used today, or a letter scoring system: E = Excellent, VG = Very Good, G = Good, F = Fair, P = Poor/Failure.

In the second volume, there is a list of approved schools and their details. Only students from these schools would have been accepted at the Normal School. There are additional columns for student information such as age at entrance, name of preparatory school, and date of graduation from the Normal School. This volume contains more information in the remarks field such as notations about extra work performed or additional special classes attended outside of the regular curriculum. In addition, it appears that the first page of students’ names was originally glued down, likely due to an error of starting names beginning with B on the A pages resulting in the first pages seeming to be out of order.

The third volume is similar to the others except the grades change to the letter scale and there are more remarks about students’ personal situations, such as leaving to be married, leaving with discipline, or leaving due to “double failure.”

The Grade Books and Reports are four volumes (Volume 1 - June 1895-February 1902, Volume 2 - June 1902-June 1909, Volume 3 - 1910-1915, Volume 4 - February 1916-Feburary 1922) that record graduating students’ grades in teaching practice, style, and form; the school grades or subjects for which they would be qualified to teach; and comments about their performance. The lists are arranged chronologically by class graduating year, then alphabetically by name. At the time, grading was described in Time the Great Teacher by Rachel M. Jarrold and Glenn E. Fromm, “...School marking of the pupils was an elaborate process, which would lead teachers of today to rise in rebellion.”

The grading system in these volumes was made up of three different scales: a set of numbers from 1 to 5 (1 being the highest) for style and form, 1 to 100 for academic achievement, and the letter system described in the Final Grades Books (E = Excellent, VG = Very Good, G = Good, F = Fair, P = Poor/Failure) for teaching practice. The comments about a student’s performance were for both academic work and as a student teacher. These remarks ranged from “...unsympathetic, due to lack of facial expression,” and “...teaching is superficial, sometimes inaccurate…,” to “...not very intelligent, but manages fairly well….”

The first volume lists a students’ names and grades in Discipline, Originality, Intelligence, Manner, Teaching, Practice (academic work), Music, and grade level qualified to teach. The second volume adds a student’s home address and the subject areas of Kindergarten, Vocal or Instrumental Music, History, Mathematics, Nature Study, Psychology, English, Latin, German, and French. It drops “Originality” as an assessment. In June 1908, a column was added for “State Teaching Center,” which was the school where the student began their required teaching assignment. The fourth volume adds a column for the student’s age.

The Appointments Registers are two volumes (Volume 1 - June 1909-June 1916 and
Volume 2 - February 1917-June 1923) that list Normal School students' teaching appointments to schools throughout New Jersey. After graduating, students were required to teach at appointed schools in the state for at least two years. Arranged alphabetically by graduating class year, this register contains the student's name; home or permanent mailing address; school’s address; grade taught; salary; and memoranda which might include name change due to marriage, death information, number of years teaching, and other pertinent information.

Series 3 - Visitor Register, 1918-1925
The Visitors Register lists guests to the New Jersey State Normal School between March 4, 1918, and March 18, 1925. The register includes the guest's name, address, class year if an alumnus, and remarks for reason of visit. Types of visits include school administrators seeking new teachers, club reunions at the Normal School, and friendly visits to former teachers.

Rebecca S. Smith’s collection (1863-1864) contains a graduation certificate letter signed by Principal William F. Phelps in 1863. This document was likely provided to potential employers as proof of graduation. Also included are a few items of correspondence in the same time period, including a letter by Vice-Principal Silas Betts presumably in response to Smith's request for a reference; and two letters regarding a job application and rejection for an Assistant Librarian position at the Mercantile Library in Philadelphia. (The Mercantile LIbrary was later absorbed by the Free Library of Philadelphia.)

Elizabeth "Lizzie" Ayars Fisher Davis’ collection (1895) consists of programs from musical events and Commencement that she shared with her husband Luther Davis and the Normal School class of 1895. Of special note is a Glee Club program which Lizzie annotated under the listing of a performance by Davis: "called out the 3rd time, sang both encores, brought down the house.”

Nellie Hoffman Ward’s collection (1890-1897) consists of her teacher’s certification results for Locktown, New Jersey schools; correspondence regarding her third grade teaching certification; and an absence excuse letter from her father, Cyrus Hoffman, while she attended the New Jersey State Normal School in 1897. The letter from Cyrus Hoffman does not include the referenced medical certificate.

Blanche Smith Woodford’s collection (1841-1892) consists of her 1892 merit certificate from Phillipsburg School with “Sadie Smith” written on the back. Sadie was her younger sister. Also included is an 1841 grade card for Amos Smith from Lambertville School, addressed to J.B. Smith, Esq. J.B. Smith was the father of Amos and William Smith, and Blanche’s great-grandfather.

Annie Lake Lore’s collection (1898-1903) consists of four New Jersey State Normal School Commencement invitation cards sent to her from students who graduated from 1898 to 1903. The students were all from Lake’s hometown of Port Norris. In an article in The News of Cumberland County newspaper from April 15, 1897, she is listed as an officer of the Young People’s Library Association at the M. E. parsonage along with Lucy Hand (sister of Mary Hand – both of their invitation cards are in this collection).

Eleanor Jane Rittenhouse’s collection (1899-1932) from her mother, Florence Spragg Rittenhouse, contains annotated photographs and ephemera from the New Jersey State Normal School, “daisy class” of 1899, and from alumni gatherings over 30 years later. Included from 1899 is a Commencement invitation and tickets sent to Florence’s future husband, T. Earl Rittenhouse, who was too ill to attend the ceremony. There also are three small portrait photographs of Sara Croasdale, Martha "Mattie" Sherman, and Sarah Conover Klein. The photographs were taken by Petite Photo Co. of Trenton. Croasdale, along with Rittenhouse and an unknown alum are pictured in another photograph from 1931. Additionally, there is a program from a North Jersey Normal School alumni event in 1932.

Anna May Brasch’s collection (1906-1908) consists of materials from her New Jersey State Normal School years (1906-1908), including: matriculation cards, a Commencement week invitation, an issue of the Signal, and a souvenir ribbon from St. Joseph’s picnic.

Elizabeth Simmermon Dilks’s collection (1916) contains programs from 1916 Commencement activities as well as a yearbook with yellow silk ribbon from the same year.

Content warning: the illustration and description of the mural in the postcards include inaccurate, derogatory, and/or offensive depictions of people indigenous to the area.
M. Isabelle Vanderhoff Tallman’s collection (c.1910-1930) contains materials from her years as a student at the New Jersey State Normal School including postcards from the school and the city of Trenton from c.1910-1920 and a 1920 student directory. The collection also includes the 1930 book State Teachers College and State Normal School, Trenton, N.J. Past, Present, and Future by Principal Don C. Bliss, written about the school’s transition to a college and relocation to Hillwood Lakes. Additional publications from her collection, namely Alumni Association newsletters and minutes, were transferred to the Alumni Association collection TCNJ010.

Helyn Anthony Meyer’s collection (1923-1974) consists of a play program from her time in the Arguromuthos Club at the New Jersey State Normal School in 1923, her Commencement program from 1925, and an alumni list from a reunion in Florida in 1974. She signed her name on each of these items.

Content warning: Gasn’s diary refers to students in special education classes in derogatory terms.

These four diaries describe the lives and activities of women at the New Jersey State Normal School. They also document their first teaching experiences from the school’s earliest days in 1855 to 1920, when the enrollment and curriculum had significantly expanded and the school would soon become a college.

It is not known whether or not, or where, Ida Totten might have attended a Normal School or received teacher training, but in the fall term of 1883, she began a diary to record her first experience of teaching in Greenville (now called Greendell) School, in Sussex County. She described her frustrations with named children in her class and the challenges of disciplining them, as well as her activities at home on the weekends including attending temperance meetings and church. The final pages of the diary are from May 1884 and contain notes from Page’s Theory and Practice of Teaching, so perhaps she was continuing her teaching education, or had not yet graduated (if she did).

The format of Reba Gasn’s diary has two years on a single page: entries for 1919 are written on the top of the page, and 1920 is on the bottom; the two years are often also delineated by black and blue ink. She documented her day-to-day life in school, her hobbies, social life, meals enjoyed (and not), and activities with family and friends on breaks at home near the shore. She also writes of anti-semitism she experienced in Trenton, as well as her many illnesses.

The diary of Mary Jane Sergeant Larison has a typewritten transcription from 1955 (at the time of the school’s Centennial) and is currently being re-transcribed in digital format. The transcript of the diary of Rosena Craig Foster Whitlock was written and annotated by her granddaughter Susan Whitlock in 2008. Transcripts of the Totten and Gasn diaries will be available in the coming years.

Content warning: The illustration and description of the mural (in Box 1, Folder 3) includes inaccurate, derogatory, and/or offensive depictions of people indigenous to the area.

The Mildred Duncan Warnecke Collection contains student group photographs; photo albums depicting family life, sports and leisure activities, rural scenes, and Normal School students; newsletters and student activities of the class of 1907; and reunion materials related to Gamma Sigma Nu sorority. The collection also contains copies of The Seal yearbook and The Signal newspaper. Warnecke came to acquire the photo albums created by Louise Woodruff Bush, likely through meeting Bush (older Gamma Sigma Nu member) at the sorority annual reunions. The collection spans 1906-2000, with most of the materials created between 1906-1969.

The bulk of the collection pertains to Mildred’s time at the New Jersey State Normal School at Trenton from 1913-1915. Of special note is her diary, which begins with a daily account of camping in Shawmont, Pennsylvania (now Roxborough, Northwest Philadelphia) before going off to Normal where she writes of her classroom and social activities. Her copy of the Seal yearbook is heavily signed and annotated with alumni information up to 1980. Her photograph collection documents students in their everyday lives on campus including in their dorm rooms, wearing gym uniforms, performing a Japanese Tea ceremony, and a possible inside joke of her and her friends enacting characters based on their teacher William N. Mumper (the yearbook is inscribed to indicate “Mumpers” characters). There also are several photographs of faculty members (before they were pictured in the yearbooks).

There are some additional materials from the late 1970s including Normal School alumni lists and photographs of her paintings from her post-retirement career as an artist.

Content warning: Some of the published music in this collection was used in minstrel shows and some song lyrics may contain racist and harmful depictions of marginalized groups, sexist or misogynistic language, and xenophobic attitudes and opinions.

The collection contains autobiographical information including a curriculum vitae-like document composed after Bray’s retirement. She also jotted down notes for a “Typical day at retirement home” that might have been for an article in the home’s newsletter or other publication.

Her teaching and grading materials include handwritten music for portions of three Richard Wagner works: “Das Rheingold,” “Walkure,” and “Siegfried,” that may have been used for her 1933-1934 class: “German Music of the Romantic Period.” Grading materials include a “Colonial Class Register" notebook from 1947-1948 containing students’ names and grades for the following classes: Chorus, Elementary Appreciation Methods, Supervision of Music, Child Voice, High School Appreciation Methods, and Student Teaching. Also included are handwritten evaluations for the following students, mostly of the class of 1951: Albert Bazzel, Glenn Welshon, Vilma Kosco, and Doris Allen. Bray retired in 1948, which indicates that these students may have been among her last at Trenton State College.

The correspondence contains a variety of material. She received compliments for school performances she directed, as well as congratulations on her retirement. Many letters are from former students who also included updates on their lives or anecdotes about their time in Bray’s classes. There are several letters from Helen Layton Lowrey who worked in the college’s business office and who did Bray’s taxes during several years of her retirement. These letters include news about other former faculty members including Doris Perry and Lulu Haskell. There also are a few letters that Bray wrote to Trenton State College Presidents Edwin Martin and Clayton Brower that include biographical information and details about the development of the Music Department. Finally, there are letters from Effie G. Kuhn, the Head of the Speech Department from 1919-1952, and K. Elizabeth “Betty” Ingalls, an instructor of Music from 1940-1948.

There are two items of ephemera: a pamphlet from the Supervisors School of Music in Westfield, New Jersey, from 1918, and a program for the dedication of Bray Hall in 1964. Publications include a set (with multiple copies) of Bray’s Phono-Song Course, Books 1 - 4, from 1920, and a small number of issues of “Oak Leaves” newsletter from Bray’s retirement home.

The majority of the materials are related to Haskell’s education from primary through graduate school, with additional items from her early career and retirement. The Correspondence Series contains her first teaching recommendation letter in 1915, a teaching appointment notice, and a few personal letters ending in 1954. The Grade Cards and Transcripts Series span her eighth grade year in 1909 through a master’s degree program in 1938. The Ephemera Series comprises dinner and event programs she attended in her early career from 1923-1939. The Clippings Series (1937-1955) cover a variety of topics, as well as coverage of the 1955 Trenton State College centennial. The Prints Series includes four etchings or reproductions of St. Petersburg Florida churches inscribed: “for Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Wilhelm” by Will Kay Hagerman (Kent Hagerman). The Certificates and Diplomas Series span from her primary school years in 1904 through 1946. They include, among other items, her Normal School diploma and bachelor’s degree, as well as membership certificates to honorary sororities, Red Cross volunteer service, and her marriage certificate to Josiah Haskell.

This collection contains the literary and social critique publications of the college, with the exception of The Signal newspapers and fraternal and sororal organizations' newsletters. The collection is divided into 12 Series:
Series 1, So to Speak, 1938
Series 2, Sigma Phi Alpha Poetry Contest, 1938-1939
Series 3, Sophomore English Majors Publications, 1950-1956
Series 4, The Chimes/Chimes, 1957-1980, T.S.C. Poetry Review: Chimes, 1980-1983, Lion's Eye/The Lion's Eye, 1984-present
Series 5, The Trenton Review, 1966, The Trenton State College Review 1990-1996, The College of New Jersey Review, 1997-2005
Series 6, Utimme Umana: La Voz Oculta, 1972-1990
Series 7, Fire II, 1973-1987
Series 8, Gumption, 1980-1983
Series 9, Emanon Enizagam, 1986
Series 10, Siren, 1995-2007

The Gertrude Scudder Bodine Collection of Alice Brewster Letters predominantly contains handwritten personal letters on personal stationery documenting the activities and thoughts of Alice Brewster. They were written to her former student and friend Gertrude Scudder Bodine and sometimes included Gertrude’s sister-in-law Elisabeth “Lizzie” Bodine, from 1939 to 1959.
The letters describe Brewster’s life in Portsmouth and North Woodstock, New Hampshire. She describes travel and family interactions, participating in antique fairs, and attending the Trenton State College centennial celebration in 1955, among other topics.
Some of the letters and envelopes have been annotated by Gertrude Bodine who indicated in her donation letter that she withheld certain letters and portions of others due to their personal content. The annotations highlight topics and humor written by Alice Brewster and appear to have been written and compiled for a posthumous 100th birthday event in 1968.
The papers also include two poetry booklets written by Brewster, Bodine’s correspondence planning Brewster’s 1958 birthday fund (financial support to assist Brewster as she struggled with failing eyesight and took on the care of her sister-in-law after her brother’s death), ephemera for the 1968 event, and a photograph of Brewster and an individual noted as Wilmer at the summer cottage.