Chassell Family Papers
Scope and Contents
The Correspondence series offers insight into the lives of the Chassell and Buckingham families over the course of nearly 180 years. The letters date from 1820 to 1990, with the bulk of correspondence falling between 1902 and 1930, and the 1950s-1960s. The early to mid-19th century letters frequently include the names Bouland, Ballard, Scott, Smith, and Milne. Although this correspondence was in the possession of the Cooper family (Clara Chassell Cooper’s line), the relationship of their authors to the Chassells or Buckinghams is unclear. The Boulands and Millers were related to each other as evidenced by a 1911 letter from Virgina Bouland to her aunt Nancy Milner. Beginning in the 1840s, the name “Irvin” begins to frequently appear. This lineage can be traced to Patricia Irvin, who married Clara Chassell Cooper’s son, Homer. Researchers should note that the same names are used across generations. For example, the name “Joseph” is common in the correspondence. “Josephs” represented in this correspondence include Ella Buckingham Chassell’s father and brother (both Joseph Buckingham), son (Joseph Chassell), uncle (Joseph Lockey), and brother-in-law and nephew (both Joseph Pratt). Other frequent names are “Ella”, “Albert”, “Helen”, “Jim”, and “Anstiss.” Please refer to the family tree in the biographical note for information about the family lineage. All envelopes and enclosures, when available, were retained.
The remaining series are comprised of class notebooks, photographs, coursework, publications, and other documents detailing the education training and intellectual output of the Reverend Olin Bosworth Chassell, his wife Frances Ella Buckingham Chassell, and their children, Clara Frances Chassell Cooper, Laura Merrill Chassell Toops, and Joseph O. Chassell. Please see the PDF inventories in the "Digital Materials" section for further details.
Dates
- 1821-1999
Creator
- Chassell, Olin (Person)
- Chassell, Frances Ella Buckingham (Person)
- Cooper, Clara Chassell (Person)
- Toops, Laura Chassell (Person)
- Chassell, Joseph (Person)
Language of Materials
Materials entirely in English.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions. Materials are open for research.
General Use, Reproduction, and Copyright Policies
Many items housed in the Rod Library Special Collections & University Archives, including unpublished images and manuscripts, may be protected by copyright, publication rights, trademarks, or model release rights which the library does not own and for which the library cannot grant permission or licensing. Materials currently under copyright are usually still available for research and limited reproduction under Fair Use laws. However, it is the sole responsibility of the patron to determine whether or not their use of a given material falls within Fair Use guidelines and to obtain permission for said use from the rightful copyright owner.
Sensitive Materials Statement
Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy or similar laws, and the Iowa Open Records Law (see Iowa Code § 22.7). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of Northern Iowa assumes no responsibility.
Biographical / Historical
CHASSELL AND BUCKINGHAM GENEALOGIES
William Chassell (1829-1910) m. Frances Arabella Jones (1834-1928)
- Edward Chassell (1858-1928)
- Norval W. Chassell (1860-1955)
- Olin Bosworth Chassell (February 2, 1862-March 27, 1944) [See below]
- Anstiss Arabella (Belle) Chassell (1864-1944) [Never married?]
- Harry Jones Chassell (1866-1960)
- Naomi Chassell
- Frances Chassell
- John Langdon (Langdon) Chassell (1871-1975)
- Helen Chassell [died in infancy]
- William Chassell [died in infancy]
- Virginia (Jennie) Buckingham Spensley (1851-1942)
- James Spensely, Jr.
- Ella Spensley Kolb
- Theodosia Spensley Peterson
- Merrille Elizabeth Spensley Ripple
- Albert Buckingham (1853-1923) [Never married?]
- Joseph H. Buckingham (1856-1890) [Never married?]
- Frances Ella (Ella) Buckingham (January 13, 1863-May 3, 1951) [see below]
- William O. Buckingham (1864-1933)
- Thomas Buckingham (1866-1939)
- James (Jim) Buckingham (1867-1932)
- Hazel Buckingham [died in infancy]
- Bessie Buckingham [died in infancy]
- Nellie Buckingham Chambers
- Helen Buckingham Powell
- Clifford J. Buckingham
- Albert Buckingham
- Junietta (Jettie) Buckingham Pratt (1873-1955)
- William H. Pratt
- Ella M. Pratt
- Herbert W. Pratt
- Joseph J. Pratt, Jr.
- Junietta E. Pratt
- Francis Edward Pratt
- Howard J. Pratt
- Elmer Pratt
- Helen J. Pratt
- Clara Frances Chassell (March 24, 1893-December 23, 1992) m. Homer Cooper (1877-1953)
- Homer Chassell Cooper (1923- 2014) m. Patricia Irvin (1927- 2015)
- Olin B. Cooper (1925-1984)
- Laura Merrill Chassell (March 24, 1893-February 13, 1995) m. Herbert Toops (1895-1972)
- Thorndike Toops (born 1925)
- Edward Chassell Toops (1927-2005)
- Marian Toops Abrell (1930-2015)
- Nona Toops Wylie (born 1931)
- Laurence Toops (born 1936)
- Joseph Olin Chassell (June 13,1900-April 17, 1981) m. Ruth Boardman (1902-1942)
- Sonya Chassell Wessel (1926-2002)
- Anstiss Chassell Nadler (1935-2002) m. Margot [birth name unknown] (1911-1996)
- Karen Chassell Ringwald (born 1943)
- Robert J. Chassell (born 1946)
Joseph Buckingham (1814-1906) m. Merrilla Lockey (1833-1911)
Olin Chassell m. Ella Buckingham, September 1, 1891
Other biographical information:
The name Ella is also quite common. Ella Buckingham Chassell had two nieces named Ella: Ella Spensley and Ella Pratt. In addition, there are letters from Ella Miller and Ella Franz, whose connection with the Chassell family is unknown. Ella Chassell’s sister Junietta Pratt, who went by Jettie, not only had a daughter named Ella, but another daughter named Junietta Pratt. Ella and Jettie had brothers named Albert and Jim Buckingham. One of Jim’s sons was also named Albert Buckingham. Both Jim and Jettie had daughters named Helen, as did Ella’s brother-in-law John Langdon Chassell, although the latter died in infancy. The husband and son of the eldest Buckingham sister, Virginia (Jennie) Spensley, were named Jim. Olin Chassell’s grandmother, sister, and granddaughter were named Anstiss. The majority of the time only first names are used in the content of the letters. Context and dates help with identification, but not always. Thus, in one letter from Olin Chassell to Jettie (Junietta) Pratt, it is confusing when he writes about Junietta and her sister Ella, as that could refer to Jettie herself and Olin’s wife Ella, who were sisters, or to Jettie’s daughters, Junietta and Ella, who were also, of course, sisters. In 1941 Olin and Ella Chassell celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. 1942 saw the death of Joseph Chassell’s first wife Ruth and Ella Chassell’s sister Virginia (Jennie) Spensley. 1944 claimed family patriarch Olin Chassell and his sister Anstiss Arabella (Belle). In 1947 Ella’s niece Nellie Chambers died. Joseph Chassell married his second wife Margot in 1942 or 1943. One might expect to find letters concerning these significant events, yet there is none.
Extent
7.79 Linear Feet (8 boxes)
Arrangement
- Series 1: Correspondence The correspondence series is filed chronologically by date. Single letters in envelopes were filed in individual folders. When several letters with different dates were found in the same envelope, they were filed together in the same folder. Such folders are filed by the earliest date they contain. When a year and month but no day could be determined, letters were filed for that month and year before the first dated letter of that month. When a year but no date could be determined, the letters were Photographs, 1907-1918
Processing Information
Collection processed and finding aid created by Library Associate Dave Hoing. Updated by Dave Hoing, April 2018 and Archival Processor Tessa Wakefield, July 2020 and September 2022. Linear feet updated September 11, 2017. Essay updated by Dave Hoing, September 12, 2017.
- Title
- Chassell Family Papers
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script