Drexel University Historical Records

Version: 11 (current) | Updated: 11/14/2025, 4:17:29 PM

Added description

Description

Drexel University Historical Records (1861‑1863)

Overview

This digital collection, catalogued in the PINAX archival system, preserves a series of documents produced by the final Drexel University (later Drexel University) during the early 1860s. The collection is in English, created between 1861 and 1863, and is held by the institution “final‑drexel‑university.” It comprises seven items: a commencement record, three sets of faculty‑meeting minutes (1861, 1862, 1863), and a miscellaneous‑documents file. The materials are scanned images and text files, with a placeholder access URL and unknown copyright status.

Background

The collection documents the university’s operations amid the American Civil War. Key figures include A. Preston (secretary), E. H. Cleveland (secretary‑pro‑tem), Dr. Fussell (valedictory speaker), and President Edwin Fassell. The university was located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and its activities were linked to the Medical Fund Hall, the Hospital building on North College Avenue, and Wagner’s Hospital. The collection also references other U.S. locations (Peoria, IL; Quincy, MA; Germantown, PA; Baltimore, MD; Camden, NJ; San Francisco, CA; Irving Mills, NY; Coylean, IN), reflecting the geographic reach of its faculty and students.

Contents

  • Commencement and Graduation Records, 1861 – a textual record of the ninth annual ceremony, including motions, voting tallies, and degree conferrals.
  • Faculty Meetings, 1861 – minutes and correspondence from meetings on 10 Oct and 17 Oct 1861, covering faculty resignations and the decision to cancel the 1861‑1862 session.
  • Faculty Meetings, 1862 – scanned minutes of meetings on 6 Feb, 13 Feb, and 13 Sept 1862, documenting faculty appointments, thesis presentations, and hospital apparatus discussions.
  • Faculty Meetings of the Female Medical College of Pennsylvania, 1863 – a series of minutes, reports, and a commencement program from 1861‑1863, illustrating governance of the first U.S. institution to award medical degrees to women.
  • Miscellaneous Documents – a single undated TIFF scan (a092001141.tif) and its JSON manifest, representing a heterogeneous item that did not fit other categories.

Scope

The collection covers the years 1861‑1863, focusing on institutional governance, academic ceremonies, medical education, and faculty administration. It is geographically centered on Philadelphia but includes references to other U.S. locations. The materials are limited to the specified dates and topics; they do not include broader institutional histories, student transcripts, or external reports. The collection is suitable for scholars of 19th‑century higher education, medical history, and Civil War era academia.

Entities

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Entity Relationships

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Raw Cheimarros Data

**1. Define the PIN metadata file as a document and capture its core attributes**

@file_pinax:document {title: "Drexel University Historical Records", type: "Collection", institution: @final_drexel_university, created: @date_1861_1863, language: "en", description: "A collection of historical records from Drexel University, including commencement and graduation records, faculty meeting minutes, and miscellaneous documents from the early 1860s.", subjects: ["Commencement","Graduation","Education","Voting","19th Century","Faculty meetings","Resignations","College administration","Medical education","Academic appointments","Medical theses","College organization","Academic administration","College governance","Historical documents"]}

**2. Link creators (persons & organization) to the document**

@a_preston -> creator_of -> @file_pinax  
@e_h_cleveland -> creator_of -> @file_pinax  
@dr_birdsell -> creator_of -> @file_pinax  
@dr_fussell -> creator_of -> @file_pinax  
@dr_temple -> creator_of -> @file_pinax  
@dr_kerr -> creator_of -> @file_pinax  
@dr_booth -> creator_of -> @file_pinax  
@dr_locatis -> creator_of -> @file_pinax  
@dr_russell -> creator_of -> @file_pinax  
@dr_simple -> creator_of -> @file_pinax  
@edwin_fassell -> creator_of -> @file_pinax  
@c_h_j_scarlett -> creator_of -> @file_pinax  
@female_medical_college_of_pennsylvania -> creator_of -> @file_pinax  

**3. Connect the document to its holding institution**

@final_drexel_university -> holds -> @file_pinax  

**4. Create a collection entity that aggregates all sub‑directory material**

@drexel_historical_records:collection {description: "Aggregated archival material from Drexel University (1861‑1863) covering commencements, faculty meetings, and miscellaneous college documents.", date_range: {start: @date_1861, end: @date_1863}}

@file_pinax -> part_of -> @drexel_historical_records  

**5. Synthesize – link the collection to the major events and documents from each subdirectory**

@drexel_historical_records -> includes -> [@commencement_1861:event, @faculty_meeting_oct_10_1861:event, @faculty_meeting_oct_17_1861:event, @faculty_meeting_feb_6_1862:event, @faculty_meeting_feb_13_1862:event, @faculty_meeting_sept_13_1862:event, @faculty_meetings_1863:event, @miscellaneous_documents:document]

**6. Map recurring participants across the aggregated material**

@a_preston -> participated_in -> [@commencement_1861:event, @faculty_meeting_oct_10_1861:event, @faculty_meeting_oct_17_1861:event, @faculty_meeting_feb_6_1862:event, @faculty_meeting_feb_13_1862:event, @faculty_meeting_sept_13_1862:event, @faculty_meetings_1863:event]  

@dr_fussell -> participated_in -> [@commencement_1861:event, @faculty_meeting_oct_10_1861:event, @faculty_meeting_oct_17_1861:event, @faculty_meeting_feb_6_1862:event, @faculty_meeting_feb_13_1862:event, @faculty_meeting_sept_13_1862:event, @faculty_meetings_1863:event]  

@dr_kerr -> participated_in -> [@commencement_1861:event, @faculty_meeting_oct_10_1861:event, @faculty_meeting_oct_17_1861:event, @faculty_meeting_feb_6_1862:event, @faculty_meeting_feb_13_1862:event, @faculty_meeting_sept_13_1862:event, @faculty_meetings_1863:event]  

@dr_temple -> participated_in -> [@commencement_1861:event, @faculty_meeting_oct_10_1861:event, @faculty_meeting_oct_17_1861:event, @faculty_meeting_feb_6_1862:event, @faculty_meeting_feb_13_1862:event, @faculty_meeting_sept_13_1862:event, @faculty_meetings_1863:event]  

@dr_locatis -> participated_in -> [@faculty_meeting_feb_6_1862:event, @faculty_meeting_feb_13_1862:event, @faculty_meeting_sept_13_1862:event]  

@dr_birdsell -> participated_in -> [@faculty_meeting_oct_10_1861:event, @faculty_meeting_oct_17_1861:event]  

@edwin_fassell -> participated_in -> [@faculty_meetings_1863:event]  

@c_h_j_scarlett -> participated_in -> [@faculty_meetings_1863:event]  

**7. Define the subject‑concepts referenced in the collection’s metadata (if not already present)**  

@commencement:concept {field: "College ceremony"}  
@graduation:concept {field: "Degree conferral"}  
@education:concept {field: "Higher education"}  
@voting:concept {field: "Balloting in academic bodies"}  
@nineteenth_century:concept {period: "1800‑1899"}  
@faculty_meetings:concept {field: "Academic governance"}  
@resignations:concept {field: "Faculty turnover"}  
@college_administration:concept {field: "Institutional management"}  
@medical_education:concept {field: "Training of physicians"}  
@academic_appointments:concept {field: "Faculty hiring"}  
@medical_theses:concept {field: "Student research"}  
@college_organization:concept {field: "Structural layout"}  
@academic_administration:concept {field: "Curricular oversight"}  
@college_governance:concept {field: "Policy making"}  
@historical_documents:concept {field: "Archival records"}  

**8. Link the collection’s subjects to these concepts**

@drexel_historical_records -> covers -> [@commencement:concept, @graduation:concept, @education:concept, @voting:concept, @nineteenth_century:concept, @faculty_meetings:concept, @resignations:concept, @college_administration:concept, @medical_education:concept, @academic_appointments:concept, @medical_theses:concept, @college_organization:concept, @academic_administration:concept, @college_governance:concept, @historical_documents:concept]

**9. Add the geographic locations cited in the metadata (new place entities where needed)**  

@peoria_il:place {city: "Peoria", state: "Illinois", country: @united_states}  
@quincy_ma:place {city: "Quincy", state: "Massachusetts", country: @united_states}  
@germantown_pa:place {city: "Germantown", state: "Pennsylvania", country: @united_states}  
@baltimore_md:place {city: "Baltimore", state: "Maryland", country: @united_states}  
@camden_nj:place {city: "Camden", state: "New Jersey", country: @united_states}  
@san_francisco_ca:place {city: "San Francisco", state: "California", country: @united_states}  
@irving_mills_ny:place {city: "Irving Mills", state: "New York", country: @united_states}  
@coylean_in:place {city: "Coylean", state: "Indiana", country: @united_states}  

**10. Connect the collection to these places (reflecting the “place” array in the metadata)**  

@drexel_historical_records -> associated_with -> [@medical_fund_hall, @hospital_building, @philadelphia, @peoria_il, @quincy_ma, @germantown_pa, @baltimore_md, @camden_nj, @san_francisco_ca, @irving_mills_ny, @coylean_in]  

**11. Synthesis – illustrate the temporal span of the collection**

@date_1861_1863:date {start: @date_1861, end: @date_1863}  
@drexel_historical_records -> time_span -> @date_1861_1863  

---  

*The graph above captures the PIN metadata, ties each listed creator to the collection, aggregates all events and documents from the various sub‑directories, highlights recurring participants, maps subject headings to conceptual entities, and links the collection to its geographic and temporal context.*

Metadata

Version History (10 versions)

  • ✓ v11 (current) · 11/14/2025, 4:17:29 PM
    "Added description"
  • v10 · 11/14/2025, 4:11:35 PM · View this version
    "Added knowledge graph extraction"
  • v9 · 11/14/2025, 4:01:37 PM · View this version
    "Added PINAX metadata"
  • v8 · 11/14/2025, 4:01:16 PM · View this version
    "Added PINAX metadata"
  • v7 · 11/14/2025, 3:57:06 PM · View this version
    "Reorganized into 5 groups"
  • v6 · 11/14/2025, 3:57:05 PM · View this version
    "Added child entity 01KA1HB8M2E7C8D081KE1F0GK9"
  • v5 · 11/14/2025, 3:57:03 PM · View this version
    "Added child entity 01KA1HB77MQ1AM7XNZ7XH4GH5T"
  • v4 · 11/14/2025, 3:57:02 PM · View this version
    "Added child entity 01KA1HB5PK1MV2F5R0E0MZE24G"
  • v3 · 11/14/2025, 3:57:00 PM · View this version
    "Added child entity 01KA1HB46S56285569DQFA4PMN"
  • v2 · 11/14/2025, 3:56:59 PM · View this version
    "Added child entity 01KA1HB2VDMF6PJCQSS04SBTR3"

Additional Components

reorganization-description.txt
# Reorganization Summary

The files were organized into groups based on their content, primarily focusing on the year and the nature of the events or meetings they document. The groups are distinct and cover specific periods and events, ensuring that each file is placed in a logical and coherent category. Files without OCR content were assigned based on their filenames and metadata, ensuring that every file is accounted for.

## Groups Created

- **Commencement_and_Graduation_1861**: Files related to the Ninth Annual Commencement held on March 13th, 1861, and the graduation of six ladies.
- **Faculty_Meetings_1861**: Files containing minutes and discussions from faculty meetings held in 1861.
- **Faculty_Meetings_1862**: Files containing minutes and discussions from faculty meetings held in 1862.
- **Faculty_Meetings_1863**: Files containing minutes and discussions from faculty meetings held in 1863.
- **Miscellaneous_Documents**: Files that do not fit into the other groups but are related to general faculty activities and decisions.

Parent

01KA1H1YDAM04RP21PTR1JNE6Z

Children (5)