Call Number:

RG5.219

Repository:

Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College

Extent:

0.5 linear ft. (1 box)

Language:

English

Date:

1982-1993 (inclusive)

Creator:

Shetter, William Z. and Bloomington Monthly Meeting (Society of Friends : Bloomington, Ind.)

Abstract:

William Z. Shetter (b. 1927) is Professor of Germanic Studies at Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana. He is an active member of the Society of Friends, and served as clerk of Bloomington Monthly Meeting for two terms, 1982-1985 and 1992-1995. During his first tenure as clerk, he kept a detailed personal journal, recording all that was going on in the Meeting as well as his thoughts and perceptions. During his second tenure, the Meeting decided to take under its care the marriage of a same gender couple. The collection contains photocopies of his journal for the years 1982-1985, photocopies of his handwritten notes on the same gender marriage case, and photocopies of the records pertaining to the case including minutes, correspondence with other meetings and Western Yearly Meeting, and news clippings.

William Z. (William Zeiders) Shetter, Quaker professor of Germanic languages and culture, at Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, was born in Allentown, Pa., in 1927. He received an A.B. in 1951 from the University of Pennsylvania and M.A. and Ph.D. at the University of California at Berkeley in 1953 and 1955. He taught at the University of Wisconsin from 1956 to 1961 and Bryn Mawr College from 1962 to 1965. In 1965, he joined the faculty of Indiana University. He was a Fulbright scholar and has taught German and Dutch throughout his career. He is married to Janette Knott Shetter,

William Shetter joined Radnor Monthly Meeting while teaching at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania. He is active in the Society of Friends, serving in Bloomington Monthly Meeting in many roles including clerk and representative to Western Yearly Meeting and Friends World Committee for Consultation.

Contains the personal journal of William Z. Shetter, 1982-85, kept during his first term of Clerk of Bloomington Friends Meeting, recording all that was going on in the Meeting as well as his reaction and perceptions. During his second tenure as Clerk, the Meeting decided to take under its care the marriage of a same sex couple. The papers in the collection document the case, including photocopies of his handwritten notes, photocopies of the records pertaining to the case including minutes, correspondence with other meetings and Western Yearly Meeting, and news clippings.

Organization: Series 1. Journal; Series 2. Same gender marriage papers