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Chancellor Chancellor Charles N. Sims Collection
An inventory of his collection at the Syracuse University Archives
Summary |
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| Creator: | Sims, C.N., (Charles N.), 1835-1908. |
| Title: | Chancellor Charles N. Sims Collection |
| Dates: | 1843-1956 |
| Size: | 8.8 linear feet |
| Abstract: | Personal and professional correspondence, photographs, sermons, lectures and other items relating to Sims' time as Chancellor of Syracuse University |
| Language: | English |
| Repository: |
University Archives, Special Collections Research Center Syracuse University Libraries 222 Waverly Ave., Suite 600 Syracuse, NY 13244-2010 https://library.syracuse.edu/special-collections-research-center/university-archives |
Biography
Charles N. Sims (1835-1908) was the third Chancellor of Syracuse University, serving between 1881 and 1893.
Sims graduated from Indiana Ashbury University in 1859 and received an honorary A.M. from Ohio Wesleyan in 1860. That year he became president of Valparaiso Male and Female College, holding the position for two years before resigning to take on pastoral work. In 1861 he received an A.M. from Indiana Ashbury University, and the next year he began work as a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1871, Indiana Ashbury University conferred the degree of Doctor of Divinity upon Sims, and in 1882, the same institution awarded him an honorary LL.D.
Sims had a history as an educator, administrator, and minister. He served as pastor in churches in Maryland, Indiana, and New Jersey before settling at the Summerfield Methodist Church of Brooklyn. It was here that he received the offer to hold the chancellorship at Syracuse University.
Sims arrived on campus in April 1881, and once in Syracuse he began teaching classes in English and often preached at different churches throughout the city as well as gave weekly chapel talks on campus. He was inaugurated as Chancellor on June 28, 1881, the day before the University celebrated its tenth annual commencement. Sims set about defining clear authority and purpose and establishing a presence for the Chancellor in all aspects of University life. He was willing to take on the role of builder and felt that the University should pay off its deficits and begin the process of establishing an endowment. During his tenure, the University Charter was amended to include clauses for the establishment of the University Senate, a reorganization of the Board of Trustees, the creation of a separate fund for endowments, and the incorporation of the Medical College into the University. Sims also established a building program, which saw its first construction finished with the completion of Holden Observatory.
Sims supported the idea of dividing up the Onondaga Reservation through a state treaty in 1880s, which was opposed by the Onondaga Nation. In 1888, the New York State Assembly set up a special committee, later called the Whipple Commission, to investigate the state's issues with Native Americans. The commission asked Sims for his opinion on how New York State should handle the Onondaga Nation, and he responded, “Obliterate the whole tribe…make them citizens, divide all the lands among them and put them under the laws of citizenship in the State. It is the merest farce in the world to treat them as a nation.”
Sims retired from Syracuse University in 1893. He moved back to Indianapolis but returned to Syracuse in 1898 as the minister of the First Methodist Church. In 1903 he was made a trustee of the University.
Scope and Content Note
The Chancellor Charles N. Sims Collection spans the years 1843 to 1956 and covers most of Sims’ adult life, including his term as Chancellor at Syracuse University. Included are almost twenty years of writings, notably sermons, addresses, and many lectures given at the University and other institutions.
The collection is split into seven series:
The Correspondence series is split between correspondence to and from Charles N. Sims and correspondence among Sims family members. Notable correspondents are John D, Archbold and James Roscoe Day.
The Lectures series spans Sims' career from 1854 to 1905 and covers a variety of subjects.
The Methodist Episcopal Church publications series features publications from several different states.
The Photographs and portraits series includes images of the Sims family and their homestead as well as several unidentified portraits and photographs from Sims' travels.
The Sermons series spans Sims' career with material from 1858 to 1900.
The Subject files series contains documents spanning Sims' life including certificates, diplomas, journals, his will, travel wallet, and university catalogs. Items of note include Sims' passport, the flag of the Sons of the Revolution used to cover Sims' coffin in 1908, and a silver cup awarded to his father in 1854. There are also several items pertaining to Sims' daughter Mary Dumont and her husband George Parker. This series also includes Sims' writings about the Whipple Commission and the Onondaga Nation in a file called "The Onondaga treaty." Please note that the contents of this folder include racist language about Indigenous peoples.
The Syracuse University series contains documents relating to the Board of Trustees of the University and finances of the University while Sims was Chancellor.
This collection contains materials that users may find objectionable due to racist, derogatory and harmful language. This language was prevalent at the time of the collection's creation, although no less harmful and inaccurate than it is today. The collection is preserved and presented for its historic and research value.
Restrictions
Access Restrictions
Please note that the collection is housed off-site, and advance notice is required to allow time to have the materials brought to the Reading Room on campus.
Use Restrictions
Written permission must be obtained from University Archives,
Special Collections Research Center
Syracuse University Libraries and all relevant rights holders
before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this
collection.
Related Material
The Archives holds clippings and portrait files on Charles N. Sims and George A. Parker and a clippings file for Mary Sims Parker.
Sims is featured in the digital exhibition "A Legacy of Leadership: The Chancellors and Presidents of Syracuse University."
Selected Search Terms
Names
Subjects
Types of material
Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
Preferred citation for this material is as follows:
Chancellor Charles N. Sims Collection,
University Archives,
Special Collections Research Center
Syracuse University Libraries
Acquisition Information
Gift of Mrs. George Sims Parker between 1962 and 1968; gift of Mrs. C. F. Potter in 1962; photograph of John Sims and silver cup, gift of Hyman and Dolores Share in 1996.
Processing Information
The paper materials have been placed in acid-free folders. The photographs and portraits have been placed in mylar sleeves.
Finding Aid Information
Created by: Cara Howe
Date: 2010
Revision history: 2012- revised and converted to EAD (Erin Lee);
2015 - revisions (MAM);
2025 - biography updated; content warning added; stylistic changes made; date
error corrected (MAM)
Inventory
| Lectures | |||||||||||
| Box 2 | Lectures by Sims 1854-1905 (2 folders) | ||||||||||
| Box 3 | Lectures by Sims undated (7 folders) | ||||||||||
| Box 3 | Schedule undated | ||||||||||