Samuel Biggs Schofield (1898-1984) Papers

Collection — Multiple Containers

Identifier: MS-2009.1

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This collection contains four document cases and two series. The bulk of material consists of the notes and typescripts on the history of Western Maryland College from 1866 to 1972. There is some correspondence, all relating to the history of the college or the typing of the notes on the history. Originally accessioned under "General Records of Western Maryland College; Faculty Articles and Papers 2/02/033," it was removed to special collections. Dates are unlisted in the shelf list record and there are no corresponding accession records. These papers had not been processed. In reviewing the contents of the collection it was discovered the collection contained mostly photocopied duplicates and record from other offices of the college. All photocopies of originals were removed. Photocopies of originals where the original was not in the collection were retained. Also removed from the collection was one file folder containing original material from the Office of Provost's academic files. This folder was removed. One folder with a certificate from his days as a student is listed as a second series. Another folder in the collection containing information on his retirement was kept with the collection and listed as a third series. In organizing these papers Dr. Schofield's handwritten index was taken into consideration as were notes made by Bernice Beard, secretary to the college president, who oversaw the typing of Schofield's notes and writings.

Dates

Created: 1914-1982
Other: Majority of material found in 1967-1981
Other: Date acquired: 01/01/2009

Creator

Schofield , Samuel Biggs (Person)

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright: McDanielCollegeholds copyright to sections of this material. McDaniel College makes no representation that it is the owner of any copyright or other literary property in the materials contained in its archives and special collections, (b) that in providing access to or permitting the reproduction of any such materials, McDaniel Archives does not assume any responsibility for obtaining or granting any permission to publish or use the same, and (c) that the responsibility 9i) for determining the nature of any rights, and the ownership or interest therein, and for obtaining the appropriate permissions to publish or use and (ii) for determining the nature of any liabilities (including liabilities for defamation and invasion of privacy or publicity) that may arise from any publication or use, rest entirely with the researcher. Copying: Papers may be copied in accordance with the Archives' usual procedures.

Biographical or Historical Information

Samuel Biggs Schofield was born in Georgetown, Cecil County, Maryland on February 13, 1898. He earned a state scholarship to attend Western Maryland College, Westminster, MD (now McDaniel College), graduating in 1919. After graduation he was asked to be an instructor in biology at the college and by 1921 he was professor in chemistry. He furthered his studies in chemistry at Cornell University during summers. Schofield took a leave of absence from 1924 to 1927 to complete his graduate studies, earning his M.A. in chemistry from Princeton University in 1925 and continued at Princetonas a Ph.D. candidate and an assistant in chemistry. His dissertation “The Degree of Dissociation of Ammonium Chloride in the Vapor State” was completed in February 1928. However it was not accepted as partial fulfillment of the requirements for his Ph. D. in chemistry because an almost identical study was published in Germany in the spring of 1928. Schofield returned to Western Maryland College to resume his teaching career. In 1929 he married Julia Corrine Troy, an instructor of home economics at the college. They had a daughter Corrine Schofield, (Les Callette), WMC class of 1952. Schofield was Professor of chemistry (1928-1965), Dean of the College (1928-1938), and Dean of Administration (1938-1963). He was an American Institute of Chemists Fellow (resigned in 1950) and a member of the American Chemical Society. Dickinson College in Pennsylvania awarded him an honorary Doctorate in Science in 1949. Schofield retired as professor emeritus in 1965 and became the college archivist. During the next decade he set up the college’s first archives as he researched the college’s history. His research culminated in a book THE FORMATIVE YEARS with Marjorie Cowles Crain, first printed in 1979 and published in 1982. The college in 1979 awarded Schofield a Doctor of Laws for all his work and research. Dr. Samuel Biggs Schofield died in 1984 in Salisbury, MD.

Note written by Barbara O'Brien

Extent

4.00 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Arrangement Note

Box1: 3 book transcripts, 1 Certificate Box2: Binder, 2-9 Box3: 10-38 Box4: 39-65; series 2, 1; series 3, 1 Box 5: Index Cards (Notes from James T. Ward's Diary, Board of Trustee Minutes, The College Monthly, and The Bulletin.

Source of Acquisition

Schofield, Samuel Biggs; Communications and Marketing

Method of Acquisition

Schofield's papers were in the archives. four boxes of his hand written notes were transferred to the Archives by the Communications and Marketing Department.

Appraisal Information

In reviewing the contents of the collection it was discovered the collection contained mostly photocopied duplicates and records from other offices of the College. All photocopies of originals were removed. Photocopies of originals where the original was not in the collection were retained. Also removed from the collection was one file folder containing original material from the Office of Provost’s academic files.