No. 4

File — Box: 2, Folder: 13

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

From the Collection: The Frederick E. Stratton Papers have been organized into eight series: Correspondence, Speeches, talks and writings, Book comments and notes, Lectures, Publications, Fargo College History manuscripts, Subject files and Stocker family. The Correspondence Series runs from 1875 to 1935 but is very incomplete and contains only a few personal letters. The Speeches, Talks, and Writings Series contains A Story of Christmas, a speech given to Davenport High School, and two folders of a variety of materials. The Book Comments and Notes Series consists of six books of Stratton's comments on books he and his wife had read. There is also an outline on Seely's School Management. The Lectures Series concerns Ireland and Scotland, European History, Manitou, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, and Yosemite. The Publications Series is on a variety of subjects and arranged alphabetically. The Fargo College History Manuscript's Series is the work of Dr. Stratton documenting the history of the college from its founding to about 1904. The Fargo College History card index appears to be an index to the manuscripts, but the numbering on the cards does not match the manuscripts pages. The Subject File Series contains a wide variety of materials. “The Game of the Greek Verb” compiled by Dr. Stratton was published in 1915 and printed by George Banta Publishing Company, Menasha, Wisconsin. The individual cards are in the original cardboard box. Of particular interest is the handwritten “Reminiscences of a Tour through Honduras” (60 leaves) that Stratton apparently wrote for one or more public talks he gave on this tour of which he was a part in 18701871. He was a member of a scientific expedition sent by the Smithsonian Institution and Williams College for the purpose of collecting botanical specimens. There are also printed copies of a one-sheet list of the topics covered in the reminiscences, beginning with their departure from Washington, D.C. for New Orleans and the return home. When the reminiscence was written is not given. Other items include a number of handwritten poems of unknown authorship and Stratton’s work for a correspondence course he took in psychology circa 1903 through the University of Chicago. The course work consists primarily of his handwritten notes (234 leaves), together with several letters located among the pages. The two scrapbooks contain clippings on politics, poetry, and items related to Dr. Stratton's career. The second scrapbook contains an index. The Stocker Family Series consists of two more recently added items of Stratton’s daughter Alice Stratton and her son and Stratton’s grandson, Arthur F. Stocker. The “History of the Congregational Church” was written by Alice B. Stocker in 1938 for use by the Congregational Woman’s Society of North Dakota. It is a 16 leaf carbon typescript detailing the history of the Congregational Church in the United States. There is nothing specific to the Congregational Church in North Dakota. The oral history of Arthur F. Stocker was done in 2008 by Elissa Blake Free and William Ward Nooter at his home in Charlottesville, Virginia. It consists of the transcript of the interview printed in a booklet accompanied by photographs and other reproductions. In the interview Stocker recounts his youth including years lived in Fargo, N.D. and his academic career in the Classics Department of the University of Virginia.