There are 2 brass name stencils for S. E. Wolverton and S. C. Wolverton. These stencils likely pre-date Clara Wolverton, (possibly mid-19th century on), and their original owner is unknown, though her mother’s married initials start with S. C..
unknownContent 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 handwritten diary of Mary Jane Sergeant (Larison) contains a series of journal entries from 1855-1856 describing her experiences and studies while attending the New Jersey State Normal School in Trenton, New Jersey. The diary encompasses the first term of the Normal School and provides a glimpse into the earliest days of its opening years, highlighting the variety of subjects studied including Latin, arithmetic, climatology and cartography and reflecting theory and practice in teachers' colleges in the mid-19th century. Some entries in the latter half of the diary appear out of chronological order. The diary makes mention of the laying of the cornerstone of the first permanent building at the Normal School, the first Principal Willian Phelps, as well as several instructional texts for teachers' education of the period.
Larison, Mary Jane Sergeant, 1837-1917Content warning: The materials include inaccurate, derogatory, and/or offensive depictions of people indigenous to the area and references to minstrel show performances.
The Annual Report began as a report submitted to the New Jersey State Legislature in 1855, and later to the New Jersey State Board of Education. The earliest issues contain essays and remarks by the school’s principals; descriptions of the Normal School and Model School curricula and courses; information about admissions standards; college finances; rules about student life and behavior; and lists of students, faculty and staff.
From 1855 to 1907, the publication was named Annual Report. Then from 1908-1933, it was named Annual Report and Catalogue (or Catalog). In 1930, separate Bulletins were issued for extension courses.Then, beginning in 1933-1934, the name of the publication changed to Bulletin and no longer contained “Annual Report” in its title. This new State Teachers College Bulletin was serialized to four issues per academic year: the first issue contained the first semester extension courses, the second was the main course catalog, the third published the second semester extension courses, and the fourth contained the summer school courses. This format was fairly consistent into the 1950s until the school published graduate bulletins later in the decade. In the 1960s, separate bulletins were published for field services and guides for applicants. In the 1970s, another issue was added for continuing education courses.
Of special note, the parameters of the academic year changed many times before settling on the current format of the school year beginning in autumn and finishing in the summer of the following year. For many issues of the Annual Report, the year began in what we would now consider the second or Spring semester. Often, the Bulletin contained the summer session in the year previous or following. During both world wars, issues had combined years likely to save paper. In more recent years, the Graduate Bulletin was issued with a different volume numbering system than the others in the series.
The content of the Annual Reports during the Normal school years contained a good deal of information about faculty updates, student life and activities, as well as photographs of buildings, classrooms, and groups of students. The Bulletins were structured more like a typical course catalog, but all graduates’ names continued to be printed until 1956.
College of New Jersey (Ewing, N.J.)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.
Larison, Mary Jane Sergeant, 1837-1917Content Warning: The items in this collection may contain racist and harmful depictions of marginalized groups, sexist or misogynistic language, and xenophobic attitudes and opinions.
The collection consists of 10 boxes, one oversized folder and 4 rolled maps. The material is divided into 11 series as described below. The core of this collection provides information about the history of the Trenton Normal School from its founding in 1855, its move to Ewing and transition to New Jersey State Teachers College at Trenton (1937). It also provides some
information on its successor institutions from the 1930s to 2023. The collection also includes information about the Model School, especially highlighting achievements of the older students in publications including The Signal and records of the Thencanic Society, and scrapbooks kept by Grace Bromwell Fletcher, Class of 1907 and Emma R. Kerns Crofton, Class of 1916. There is also some information about alumni activities found in the form of event programs (1900s-1950s, 1980-1996) and the publication Accent and Alumni Review (1987-1996).
This small series is arranged in chronological order and includes material from 1857, 1865, 1904,
1920 and 1986. The earliest letter is an 1857 invitation from the Normal School Principal to the
Judges of the Court of Errors and Appeals to examine programs of the institution. The most recent
is a 1986 letter of protest at early attempts to remove Trenton from the name of Trenton State
College.
A letter by William H. Phelps, first Normal School Principal, to the Judges of the New Jersey Court of Errors and Appeals, inviting them to examine programs of the institution. Phelps includes a list of events to occur. The letterhead features a printed image of the Normal School main building. This letter was a gift of Charles S. Aitkins, 1935.
Transcription:
[letterhead with lithograph of the Normal School building in Trenton, captioned “New Jersey State Normal School”]
Trenton, June 18th, 1857
To the Honorable the Judges of the Court of Errors and Appeals:
I am directed by the Board of Trustees of the State Normal School to extend to your Honorable Body a cordial invitation to attend the Examination of the Institution now in progress and to conclude this day.
The order of the day is as follows:
Examination of classes from the Model School until 12 o’clock noon.
Review and rehearsal by the Divisions in Local Music
An address by Prof. J. C. Moffat of the College of New Jersey [Princeton University], and select performances of the Glee Class, including the grand chorus from Handel’s Messiah.
Hoping that the engagements of your Honorable Body will permit you to accept this invitation.
I remain [great] respect
Your obedient Sevt.
Wm. Phelps, Principal