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T. Noel (Thomas Noel) Stern Writings

Notifications

Held at: Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College [Contact Us]500 College Avenue, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania 19081

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.

Overview and metadata sections

Call Number:
RG5.249
Repository:
Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College
Extent:
0.75 linear ft. (2 boxes)
Language:
English
Preferred Citation:
[Indicate the cited item or series here], T. Noel Stern Writings, RG5/249, Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College
Date:
1939-1995 (inclusive)
Creator:
Stern, T. Noel (Thomas Noel), -1913 and Stern, Katherine Kirk, -1915
Abstract:
The collection contains the writings of T. Noel Stern and his wife, Katherine. The writings document his professional and volunteer activities, from his work with the U.S. Forestry Service (1941) to his involvement with Dartmouth town government (1990s). Also reviews of his autobiographical novel, Secret Family (published privately in 1988). The autobiography concerns his life as the child of parents born out of wedlock in early 1910's America.

T. Noel Stern is a Quaker educator. He was born in Pittsburgh, Pa., in 1913, the son of Leon T. (LeFevre) and Elizabeth G. (Limburg) Stern, and received a B.A. from Swarthmore College in 1934. He subsequently earned M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Pennsylvania. In 1940 he married Katherine Frances Kirk. Stern was a Quaker conscientious objector during World War II, working at dairy and fruit farms in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. After the war he taught at Boston University (1945-1953), served as director of the Fondation des États-Unis, Université de Paris (1953-1956), and president of West Chester State College in Pennsylvania (1960-1961). He joined the faculty of the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in 1964, founding the political science department. He retired in 1985 as Professor Emeritus.

Katherine Kirk is the daughter of Samuel and Katie Bond Kirk of Chester Co., Pa. She was born in 1915, taught high school, and was active in community organizations and government. Both Sterns are active in North Dartmouth Monthly Meeting and New England Yearly Meeting.

The collection contains the writings of T. Noel Stern and his wife, Katherine. The writings document his professional and volunteer activities, from his work with the U.S. Forestry Service (1941) to his involvement with Dartmouth town government (1990s). Also reviews of his autobiographical novel, Secret Family (published privately in 1988). The autobiography concerns his life as the child of parents born out of wedlock in early 1910's America.

Organized in seven series:

  1. Books and book-length research studies
  2. Autobiographical and family essays
  3. Quaker publications
  4. General publications
  5. Letters to the editor
  6. Publicity, interviews, programs
  7. Katherine Kirk Stern

Duplicates of T. Noel Stern's writings also available at University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth.

Donor: T. Noel and Katherine Kirk Stern, 1995-96 (95.016, 96.020)

Refoldered and combined Stern deposits into single collection.

Subject

Publisher
Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College
Finding Aid Author
FHL staff
Finding Aid Date
2007
Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

Use Restrictions

Permission to reuse, publish, or reproduce items in this collection beyond the bounds of Fair Use or other exemptions to copyright law must be obtained from the copyright holder or their heirs/assigns. See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-RUU/1.0/.

Collection Inventory

Autobiography Secret Family, 1988.
Box 1
Physical Description

1 folder

Research Reports, 1941, 1952, 1959, 1963-1964, 1990.
Box 1
Physical Description

3 folders

Essays, 1981-1982, 1989.
Box 1
Physical Description

1 folder

Social and Political Ideas, 1943, 1952, 1961, 1967-1974, 1977, 1981, 1992.
Box 1
Physical Description

1 folder

Social Action and Education, 1949, 1967-1968, 1970, 1972, 1983.
Box 1
Physical Description

1 folder

Quakerism - General, 1968, 1973.
Box 1
Physical Description

1 folder

Political Thought, 1960, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1975, 1983, 1985.
Box 1
Physical Description

1 folder

Political Institutions, 1939-1941, 1949, 1951, 1953, 1954, 1956, 1962, 1964-1965, 1967-1969, 1970-1971, 1983, 1987-1989, 1991-1995.
Box 2
Scope and Contents

Articles in newspapers, journals, and magazines (essays and reports)

Government Research Reports, 1955, 1957, 1959-1960.
Box 2
Book Reviews, 1950, 1968, 1970, 1987.
Box 2

Letters to the Editor, 1965, 1967, 1970, 1972, 1982, 1985, 1987-1995.
Box 2
Physical Description

1 folder

Publicity, Interviews and Programs of Events, 1940, 1960-1961, 1966-1967, 1972, 1981-1985, 1987-1990, 1994.
Box 2
Physical Description

1 folder

Autobiographical and inventory of file contents, 1996.
Box 2
Physical Description

1 folder

Health Board, Dartmouth, Mass, 1982, 1987-1988, 1990-1991.
Box 2
Physical Description

1 folder

League of Women Voters, 1974, 1977.
Box 2
Physical Description

1 folder

Housing Board and Civic-Political Activities, 1975, 1977, 1995.
Box 2
Physical Description

1 folder

Quaker Activities, 1970, 1972, 1989-1995.
Box 2
Physical Description

1 folder

Print, Suggest