{"id":30640,"date":"2016-07-21T13:53:01","date_gmt":"2016-07-21T17:53:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/libapps.libraries.uc.edu\/liblog\/?p=30640"},"modified":"2016-07-21T13:53:02","modified_gmt":"2016-07-21T17:53:02","slug":"ucs-first-thesis-comes-home-to-uc-libraries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/libapps.libraries.uc.edu\/liblog\/2016\/07\/ucs-first-thesis-comes-home-to-uc-libraries\/","title":{"rendered":"UC\u2019s First Thesis Comes Home to UC Libraries"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Dean<\/a>

Dean Xuemao Wang accepts gift from the Eaton Family.<\/p><\/div>\n

Eaton family gives historic documents, including letter from Thomas Jefferson, to UC Libraries<\/em><\/p>\n

CINCINNATI \u2013 Thursday, July 21, 2016 \u2013 The University of Cincinnati Libraries today received the thesis of John Hough James, the first graduate of Cincinnati College, now the University of Cincinnati. In addition to the thesis, UC Libraries also received associated research materials, including an 1820 letter from Thomas Jefferson. The rare gift comes from siblings Russell Eaton III, James M. Eaton and Frances Eaton Millhouser, the great-great-grandchildren of John Hough James.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy siblings and I are pleased to present to the University of Cincinnati our cherished family possessions of John Hough James (JHJ), our great, great, grandfather, the valedictorian of the university’s first class. These possessions include an 1820 letter from Thomas Jefferson to JHJ containing requested source material for his senior thesis, his hand written thesis booklet and his membership in a local volunteer fire company,\u201d Russell said.<\/p>\n

\"thesis<\/a>

Thesis of John Hough James, the first graduate of Cincinnati College (now UC), and a letter from Thomas Jefferson<\/p><\/div>\n

The thesis focuses on the life of General Thaddeus Ko\u015bciuszko, a Polish-Lithuanian military hero who also served on the American side of the American Revolutionary War. Jefferson once wrote about Ko\u015bciuszko, \u201cHe is as pure a son of liberty as I have ever known.\u201d During his thesis research, James wrote to Jefferson requesting information about Ko\u015bciuszko and received a one-page letter in response.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese items are a wonderful addition to the UC Libraries because they represent the important early history of the university as well as Jefferson\u2019s place in the history of the United States,\u201d said Dean and University Librarian Xuemao Wang. \u201cJohn James\u2019 diploma \u2013 the first diploma issued by the university \u2013 is on permanent exhibit in the Archives and Rare Books reading room. For us to include Thomas Jefferson\u2019s letter in response to Mr. James\u2019 query about his thesis is a remarkable moment in our heritage.\u201d<\/p>\n

The historic materials have resided with the Eaton family for several generations. The treasures now will be preserved in UC\u2019s Archives and Rare Books Library in Blegen Library. The letter from Jefferson is only the second to be housed at UC Libraries.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have always considered ourselves, custodians of these items, and we would ultimately return them to the university. We feel strongly that this is the appropriate time for these gifts to be reunited with JHJ’s diploma, which our father presented to President Langsam nearly 50 years ago. Furthermore, our enjoyment is complete knowing that all of our gifts are in the university’s very safe hands and will be enjoyed by the UC community,\u201d Russell said.<\/p>\n

The collection was officially turned over to UC Libraries during a celebration this morning in Blegen Library. Members of the Eaton family and university leaders were in attendance.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you to the Eaton family for ensuring the preservation of such a rich piece of the university\u2019s \u2013 and country\u2019s \u2013 history,\u201d said UC Foundation President Rodney Grabowski. \u201cTheir family treasure will be cherished and protected to maintain the legacy of their great-great-grandfather who has the distinction of being UC\u2019s first graduate. The UC community is grateful for their generosity.\u201d<\/p>\n

UC Faculty Comment on Significance of Jefferson Letter<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Jefferson letter reveals to us that the former president, in his late 70s in 1820, was still firmly engaged in scholarship, assisting another historian in his work on a biography of Thaddeus Kosciuszko, the Polish general who served ably in the American Revolution,\u201d said John McNay, PhD, department chair and professor of history at UC Blue Ash. \u201cJefferson’s modesty is also apparent as he honestly reports that he had had little personal involvement with Kosciuszko during the Revolution and thus could not provide any first-hand knowledge himself. As a figure who has gained almost mythical status today because of his central importance in American history and his work on the Declaration of Independence, there is something very humanizing about his reaching out a helping hand to James, this young student of history.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThough he never traveled past Virginia\u2019s Blue Ridge Mountains, Thomas Jefferson\u2019s visionary interest in the West was lifelong: framer of the Northwest Ordinance, forger of the Louisiana Purchase, and founder of the Lewis and Clark Expedition,\u201d said Christopher Phillips, PhD, history professor and department head at UC. \u201cOhio served as first bloom of his ambition for an \u2018Empire for Liberty,\u2019 and early institutions of higher learning west of the Appalachians among its proudest results, among them OU, Miami, and UC. This letter only cements that historical relationship, and is a treasure among the university’s rich archival collections.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

###<\/p>\n

About UC Libraries
\n<\/strong>UC Libraries support the University of Cincinnati’s undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs and includes the Walter C. Langsam Library, the Archives and Rare Books Library, the Donald C. Harrison Health Sciences Library and eight college and department libraries serving applied science, architecture, art, biology, chemistry, classics, design, education, engineering, geology, health sciences, mathematics, music, physics, and planning.<\/p>\n

About the University of Cincinnati Foundation
\n<\/strong>Established in 1975, the University of Cincinnati Foundation is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation and is the private sector fundraising entity for the University of Cincinnati and UC Health. The foundation supports UC\u2019s aspirations through philanthropic collaboration with the colleges, the Academic Health Center, UC Health and other units to maximize private support. The foundation\u2019s advancement efforts promote the development of productive, enduring relationships with alumni, friends, colleagues, students, foundations, corporations and the Greater Cincinnati community. For more information, please visit uc.edu\/foundation<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 Eaton family gives historic documents, including letter from Thomas Jefferson, to UC Libraries CINCINNATI \u2013 Thursday, July 21, 2016 \u2013 The University of Cincinnati Libraries today received the thesis of John Hough James, the first graduate of Cincinnati College, … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,31,13],"tags":[21,53,37,49,52,36],"class_list":["post-30640","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-arb","category-uc","category-uclibraries","tag-cincinnati","tag-cincinnati-history","tag-library-news","tag-new-and-notable","tag-uc-history","tag-uc-libraries"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/libapps.libraries.uc.edu\/liblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30640","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/libapps.libraries.uc.edu\/liblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/libapps.libraries.uc.edu\/liblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/libapps.libraries.uc.edu\/liblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/libapps.libraries.uc.edu\/liblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30640"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/libapps.libraries.uc.edu\/liblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30640\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/libapps.libraries.uc.edu\/liblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30640"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/libapps.libraries.uc.edu\/liblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30640"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/libapps.libraries.uc.edu\/liblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30640"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}