Pittsburg State University Pittsburg State University Digital Commons Finding Aids Special Collections & University Archives 10-9-2017 Cornish, Dudley T., Collection, 1859-1999 Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.pittstate.edu/fa Recommended Citation Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library, "Cornish, Dudley T., Collection, 1859-1999" (2017). Finding Aids. 128. https://digitalcommons.pittstate.edu/fa/128 This Finding Aid is brought to you for free and open access by the Special Collections & University Archives at Pittsburg State University Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Finding Aids by an authorized administrator of Pittsburg State University Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Cornish, Dudley T., Collection, MS 87 Dudley T. Cornish Collection Collection Number MS 87 Title The Dudley T. Cornish Collection Name and Location of Repository Pittsburg State University, Special Collections & University Archives, Pittsburg, Kansas Dates 1859 - 1999 Collection Size 13 linear feet Creator Dudley T. Cornish Scope and Content Biographical information, correspondence, manuscripts, writings, research, newspaper clippings, photographs, of a Pittsburg State University history professor and author. Included are original documents of research, a personal insight into academic life, various public lectures, and the publication of two books. Materials within these papers encompass Dr. Dudley T. Cornish’s academic life as it relates to his time spent working at Pittsburg State University. Access Restrictions This collection is open for access Languages English Biographical Note Born in Carmel, New York on January 11, 1915 Dudley T. Cornish embarked on his academic career by completing a bachelor of arts in English Literature at the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York in 1938. After several years of teaching literature and history in Utica, New York he began working as an editor for the Putnam County Courier in his home town of Carmel. From 1942-1946 Cornish was enlisted in the Army and rose in rank from a Private to a Captain. After the end of the war he attended the University of Colorado where he received a master’s degree in history in 1947, and a Ph.D. in history with an emphasis on Negro soldiers during the civil war. He accepted a job on the staff of The Kansas State Teachers College, now Pittsburg State University in September of 1949. Through the 1950s and 60s Dr. Cornish earned a number of prestigious titles, and rose from assistant professor to full professor. His university and professional service included serving as chairman of the Social Sciences department, historical consultant to the Fort Scott Historic Site committees and the Mine Creek Battle Centennial Commemoration, and editor-in-chief of The Midwest Quarterly. In 1957 Dr. Cornish served as president of the Kansas History Teachers Association. More notably Dr. Cornish published his book The Sable Arm: Negro Troops in the Union Army, 18612-1865 in 1956. The Book is listed among the 100 best books on the Civil War by Civil War Times Illustrated.” During the 1970s and mid 80s Dr. Cornish continued his work at Pittsburg State University. He was elected President of the Kansas State Historical Society in 1973. He also served as a member on the Kansas American Revolution Bicentennial Commission from 1974 to 1976. 1 Cornish, Dudley T., Collection, MS 87 From 1978 to 1979 he served as the John F. Morrison Professor of Military History at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College in Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas. After his term expired he returned to Pittsburg State University where he co-authored his second book Lincoln’s Lee: The Live of Samuel Phillips Lee, published in 1986. Dr. Cornish retired in 1985 and was granted the title Professor of Emeritus after teaching at Pittsburg State University for 35 years. He briefly returned to Pittsburg State University in the fall of 1989 to teach one final semester. Dr. Cornish often visited the campus and his kept in touch with his colleagues until his death in 1999. Series The Dudley T. Cornish Collection is in the following series: Personal; Correspondence- General: PSU Material; Consultancies; Lectures; Conferences; Book Reviews; Research Material; Books and Publications; Books and Writings by Others; Professional and Academic Societies; General Publications; Newspaper Clippings; Local History; Photographs; Realia; and Newspapers and Oversize Folder List Box 1: Personal Birth Certificate 1915 Military 1943 Curriculum Vita Employment 1949 Employment 1955-1960 Employment 1960-1962 Employment 1964-1968 Employment 1969-1973 Employment 1973-1977 Employment 1980-1982 Employment 1982-1985 Employment 1986-1989 Sabbaticals 1955-1965 Vanderbilt University Visiting Professorship 1962 Retirement 1985 Emeritus 1985 Eulogy and Obituary 1999 Western Field Trip Agenda and Record 1957 News Clippings About Dudley Cornish Miscellaneous Correspondence: Stewart Udall (US Secretary of the Interior) 1964 Joe Skubitz (Congressman- Kansas) 1963-1976 Howard Meyer (Historian) 1965-1985 James Fisher (reporter- Kansas City Star) 1975-1981 2 Cornish, Dudley T., Collection, MS 87 Kenneth S. Davis (Historian) 1975 Kansas City Times (History) 1975 Rick Fulton (Fort Leavenworth) 1977-1978 Collier’s Encyclopedia 1960-1961 Judge Harry Fischer Correspondence 1960 National Park Service 1960 - 1965 Historic Preservation Association of Bourbon County 1974 – 1978 Fort Leavenworth 1977 – 1978 Civil War History 1955; 1959 Civil War History 1961 Civil War History 1962-1963 Civil War History 1964-1965 Civil War Bibliography Jan-July 1964 Civil War Bibliography Nov 1964-1966 Letters of Recommendation 1980-1991 Time-Life (Civil War Photos) 1968 Louisiana State University 1952 – 1958 Gunn Ward Correspondence (Ft. Scott) 1971 – 1-73 Southern Library Service 1952 General 1950-1959 General 1960-1964 General 1967-1969 General 1970-1974 General 1975-1979 General 1980-1983 General 1984-1986 General 1988-1994 Miscellaneous & Undated Pittsburg State University: Correspondence: History Department 1976-1977 Press Releases 1968-1989 News Releases 1970-1978 News Releases (Morrison Chair, Ft. Leavenworth) 1979 News Releases (Reading John Brown’s Body) 1991 College Bicentennial Program 1974-1975 Commencement Spring 1978 History Department Honors Banquet 1978 History Club 1969 Midwest Quarterly 1959-1971 The Educational Leader 1957-1959 Student Papers 1974-1979 Faculty Research Proposal (Deborah Hertz) 1978 American Heritage Course Outline 1962 3 Cornish, Dudley T., Collection, MS 87 Report from Pittsburg 1981 Miscellaneous Notes and Quizzes Box 2: Great American Lectures Biology Club Lecture: Salt Horse and Dirty Sutures 1978 History of Civilization 1950 Master’s Candidates Rebecca Patterson Memorial 1976-1978 Contemporary Issues Lecture Series 1966-1967 Contemporary Issues Lecture Series: J. W. Fulbright/Stimuli 1966 The Black American Soldier (PSU Course) 1979 Gaudeamus Igitur Variety Show 1951 Gaudeamus Igitur Variety Show 1953 Gaudeamus Igitur Variety Show 1954 Gaudeamus Igitur – A Play 1954 “The Future as History” “The History of Civilization” Gene DeGruson Day 1988 Consultant Work and Other Positions: Ft. Leavenworth: Morrison Chair Ft. Leavenworth: Morrison Chair Inaugural Address 1978 Ft. Leavenworth: Morrison Chair After Action Report 1979 Ft. Leavenworth: Morrison Chair “Army of the Frontier” 1979 Ft. Leavenworth: The Black American Soldier 1978-1979 Ft. Leavenworth: The Black American Soldier Course Work Ft. Leavenworth: The Black American Soldier Ft. Leavenworth: Black History 1978 Kansas City Public Schools Curriculum Development 1969 Uniontown, KS: Southeast Kansas History 1975 Neosho Faculty Workshop 1971 Fort Scott Living History Program 1977 – 1978: Syllabus Interpretive Tool and Teaching Device Living History in Historical Interpretation Press Release Class Outlines Period Costume Class Register and Enrollment Letters Weekly Attendance Reports Popular Literature of the Period Quizzes Living History for Women at Fort Scott 4 Cornish, Dudley T., Collection, MS 87 Handouts Correspondence Student Papers (15 folders) Lectures (Non PSU): Black Americans at War 1969; 1980 The Black Soldier- Winning the Right to Fight 1982 The Black Soldier [fragment] n.d. Black History- Columbus Kansas Teacher’s Association 1965 Black History- Methodist Men’s Club 1965 Black History- Civil War Round Table of the Ozarks 1964 The Revolution in Black American Military Historiography n.d. Black History- To Understand the Anger, Tahlequah, Oklahoma, 1973 Black History [fragment] n.d. Black History n.d. Black History- To Be Recognized as Men 1988 Fort Scott- Federated Women’s Club Luncheon 1955 Fort Scott- Memorial Address 1953 Fort Scott- Fall Festival 1954 Fort Scott- Jr. Chamber of Commerce 1971 Fort Scott- High School Commencement 1973 Fort Scott- Untitled n.d. Fort Scott- Fort Scott in the Year 2000 1975 Fort Scott- Highway 69 Association 1964 Fort Scott- Groundbreaking 1972 Baxter Springs Massacre Centennial 1963 Crawford County Historical Association 1968-1975 Linn County Museum Dedication 1973 Box 3: Older Americans: An Historical Overview n.d. Neodesha Lion’s Club- Old Homestead 1977 Cottey College (Nevada, MO)- Who Needs History? 1972 Southeast Kansas Counties Officials Association- The Fight in the Bend (Cow Creek Battle) 1983 Kansas State University- Lincoln’s Lee 1978 Parsons, Kansas- Race Relations 1971 Oklahoma State University- Civil War