Joseph Kennedy Papers, 1879-1936

Joseph Kennedy Papers

Overview

Abstract

Scope and Contents

Administrative Information

Detailed Description

Box 1

Box 2

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Collection Overview

Title: Joseph Kennedy Papers, 1879-1936

ID: OGLMC0028

Primary Creator: Kennedy, Joseph (1858-1937)

Extent: 1.75 Linear Feet

Subjects: University of North Dakota - Faculty

Languages: English

Abstract

1858-1937; Dean of the School of Education, 1901-1928

Scope and Contents of the Materials

The Joseph Kennedy Papers, 1879-1936, consist primarily of Kennedy’s academic writings. Included are several book-length manuscripts, “Points of View in Education and Life,” “Introductory Ethics,” “Modern Logic,” and “Principles and Problems of Education.” Numerous manuscripts for journal articles, as well as the text for speeches are also included.

The collection also includes biographical material, correspondence, materials related to both the University of North Dakota and the North Dakota Education Association, and miscellaneous certificates and diplomas.

Collection Historical Note

Joseph Kennedy was born July 14, 1858, in Oshawa, Nicollet County, Minnesota, to Patrick and Elizabeth (Meaney) Kennedy. Patrick Kennedy had emigrated from Waterford in County Kilkenny, Ireland in 1849 and made his home in an agricultural region twenty miles north of Baltimore, Maryland, laboring as a farmer for eight years. It was in that part of the country that he married his wife, Elizabeth, also from Kilkenny County, and in 1857 the two went to Nicollet County, Minnesota, to claim 80 acres of government land.

The couple’s move to a rural community did not prevent their young son, Joseph, from developing intellectually. He attended rural schools and eventually found himself in a position as one of its teachers, beginning as early as 1876, preceding his enrollment to the University of Minnesota in the spring of 1878. He did not graduate from the University until 1886 with a Bachelor of Arts degree as he took absences during his matriculation to teach several terms in these rural schools. In 1901, he received a Master of Arts degree.

In September 1886, Kennedy came to North Dakota and became a principal of two city schools in Hillsboro, North Dakota, and remained in this position for two years. In the winter of 1886 he visited the campus of the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks and met with four pioneer educators, serving as the institution’s faculty, who so impressed Kennedy that he dubbed them “the four horsemen of the university apocalypse.” These four horsemen with saddle and lance were Dr. Henry Montgomery, Dr. Webster Merrifield, Dr. John Macnie, and Dr. H.B. Woodworth. After this visit, he returned to Hillsboro. A year later, Kennedy was elected the superintendent of schools in Traill County, North Dakota.

Serving four years in the capacity as superintendent, it was not until October 1, 1892 that his profession changed direction when he came to the young University of North Dakota to serve as Assistant Professor of Pedagogy and Principal of the Normal Department. But in this post he did not stay long, for only one year after his appointment, he became Head of the Department of Education. Following the retirement of Dr. Woodworth, he became a professor of philosophy and education. In 1901, he was made Dean of the Normal College, which later became the School of Education. He served as Dean until 1928 when he retired and became dean emeritus, the first in the university’s history.

Throughout his stay in North Dakota, Kennedy spent his summers either lecturing on education or conducting teachers’ institutes. His contribution to the educational system of North Dakota is illustrative in the appointments and committees he sat on. He was president of the North Dakota Education Association in 1895 and was a lifelong member. He was appointed by North Dakota Governor John Burke to both the State Law Codification Commission from 1909 to 1911, and the State Board of Examiners for the Certification of Teachers. In 1918, Dean Kennedy received an honorary degree of LL.D from the University of North Dakota. Inasmuch as Kennedy was committed to education in North Dakota, he devoted time to local affairs as a member of the Board of Park Commissioners in Grand Forks from 1907, when it was first organized, until 1928.

Kennedy authored the books Rural Life and the Rural School (1915) and Fundamentals in Methods in Elementary School (1915). Apart from his role as a writer, he was also the editor of the School of Education Record from 1915 to 1928.

He was married to Elizabeth Davis of Hillsboro on June 20, 1889, in Grand Forks. The couple had two sons, James and Laurence. Dr. Joseph Kennedy died April 1, 1937, in Grand Forks, and is buried in Calvary Cemetery.

Subject/Index Terms

University of North Dakota - Faculty

Administrative Information

Repository: Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections

Access Restrictions: Open for inspection under the rules and regulations of the Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections.

Acquisition Method: Donation; the original acquisition records are unavailable

Preferred Citation: (Description of Item). Joseph Kennedy Papers. OGLMC 28, Box #, Folder #. Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections, Chester Fritz Library, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks.

Finding Aid Revision History: Finding aid migrated to Archon in November 2014.

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Box:

[Box 1],
[Box 2],
[All]

Box 1

Folder 1: Correspondence with Vilhjalmur Stefansson: September 1901 - June 1930

Folder 2: Correspondence with Webster Merrifield: March 1892 - January 1916

Folder 3: General Correspondence: January 1879 - February 1909

Folder 4: General Correspondence: January 1910 - March 1930

Folder 5: Correspondence with Dr. James H. Hyslop: March 1905 - July 1923

Folder 6: Biographical Material, Reminiscences, and Newspaper Clippings

Folder 7: Correspondence and General Materials Regarding Philosophy: 1909 - 1919

Folder 8: Manuscripts:

Item 1: “The Irish Question,” Letter to the Editor, Grand Forks Herald, April 29, 1921
Item 2: “The Need for Educational Research,” Phi Delta Kappan, October 1924
Item 3: Untitled Article for the Phi Delta Kappa Newsletter, May 4, 1929

Folder 9: Speeches:

Item 1: “Taking Stock,” Northeastern Division of the State Teachers’ Association Grand Forks, October 13, 1922
Item 2: “The Open Mind,” 1916
Item 3: “The Spirit of the Model High,” undated

Folder 10: Publication: “Geography of North and South Dakota” Supplement to Frye’s Geography by Joseph Kennedy and Willis E. Johnson. Boston: Ginn and Co., 1906.

Folder 11: Miscellaneous Material Regarding Will Duran

Folder 12: Speeches:

Item 1: “Human Ups and Downs,” Fortnightly Club, December 1926 “Toleration,” Fortnightly Club, 1922
Item 2: “Religion—Art or Science?”, Fortnightly Club, January 4, 1904 (includes references)
Item 3: “Religion, Its Nature and Purpose,” Circa 1918 (includes references)

Folder 13: Manuscripts:

Item 1: “The Power of Suggestion,” undated;
Item 2: “The Subjective or Objective,” January 1931;
Item 3: “The Relation of Normal Schools to the College and University,” undated

Folder 14: Manuscripts:

Item 1: “Out of Joint,” Western Journal of Education, September, 1912;
Item 2: “A Page or Two,” January 6, 1932;
Item 3: “Outlines of Lectures on Education,” undated
Item 4: “Educational Progress,” 1914 or 1915

Folder 15: Speeches:

Item 1: “School Libraries,” Southeastern Education Association, Hillsboro, May 10, 1902
Item 2: “Educational Progress in North Dakota,” North Dakota Education Association, Bismarck, November 2, 1917
Item 3: “The School Superintendent in Territorial Days,” Phi Delta Kappa, April 3, 1930
Item 4: “Prohibition,” March 16, 1931

Folder 16: Speeches:

Item 1: “High Schools, Modern,” UND Faculty Meeting, April 9, 1908
Item 2: “Education in the Large,” North Dakota Education Association, Grand Forks, November 8, 1928
Item 3: “Teaching as a ?Fine Art’,” UND, April 5, 1929
Item 4: “Educational Perspective,” UND, June 15, 1914
Item 5: “The Professional School, Its Function,” Southeastern Teachers’ Association, Hillsboro, May 7, 1904
Item 6: “Certificating Teachers,” undated

Folder 17: Manuscripts:

Item 1: “Confusion Worse Confounded”
Item 2: “The Practical and the Cultural”
Item 3: “Ideals”
Item 4: “Human Products”
Item 5: “Good Citizenship”

Folder 18: Speeches:

Item 1: “Elementary Schools -Teachers For,” March 1904, Minnesota Educational Association
Item 2: “Education, Some Thoughts on,” February 1899 and November 1900
Item 3: “The Influence in the Community of the Teacher’s Ideals,” Northeast Division, State Teachers’ Association, Grand Forks, October 18, 1923

Folder 19: Miscellaneous Material Regarding Evolution

Folder 20: Miscellaneous Materials Including a Ledger Book Containing Articles by Kennedy: 1885-1901

Folder 21: Manuscript, “Points of View in Education and Life,” Sections 1-115: 1928

Folder 22: Manuscript, “Points of View in Education and Life,” Sections 116-185: 1928

Folder 23: Manuscript, “Flashes”: 1934

Folder 24: Manuscript, “Introductory Ethics,” Chapters 1-10: 1935

Folder 25: Manuscript, “Introductory Ethics,” Chapters 11-26: 1935

Folder 26: Manuscript, “Introductory Ethics,” Chapters 1-10: 1936

Folder 27: Manuscript, “Introductory Ethics,” Chapters 11-27: 1936

Folder 28: Manuscript, “Modern Logic,” Chapters 1-14: undated

Folder 29: Manuscript, “Modern Logic,” Chapters 15-28: undated

Folder 30: Manuscript, “Principles and Problems of Education,” Chapters 1-11: 1934

Folder 31: Manuscript, “Principles and Problems of Education,” Chapters 12-23: 1934

Box 2

Folder 1: Manuscripts and Publications:

Item 1: “The Nature of Democracy,” Quarterly Journal of the University of North Dakota: October 1920
Item 2: “The Power of Suggestion,” undated
Item 3: “Good and Evil; Right and Wrong,” Quarterly Journal of the University of North Dakota, July 1911
Item 4: “The Open Mind,” 1916
Item 5: “Toleration,” undated
Item 6: “Evolution,” undated
Item 7: “Philosophy and Democracy,” undated
Item 8: “Teachers and Standards,” Quarterly Journal of the University of North Dakota, undated
Item 9: “An Epoch Maker: William James,” Western Journal of Education, October 1911

Folder 2: Speeches:

Item 1: “What of Philosophy?”, UND Philosophy Club, May 1933
Item 2: “The Fundamental Conflict,” UND Philosophy Club, October 1919
Item 3: “Whither Bound?”, Fortnightly Club of Grand Forks, October 1931
Item 4: “Good Citizenship,” North Dakota Education Association, October 1929 “Human Ups and Downs,” Men’s Club of Gethsemane Cathedral, Fargo, February 1927

Folder 3: North Dakota Education Association--Miscellaneous

Folder 4: University of North Dakota—Miscellaneous

Folder 5: Miscellaneous Certificates and Diplomas

Folder 6: Photographs 1-10

28-1: Joseph Kennedy's mother, undated

28-2: Mrs. Kennedy with sons James and Laurence on porch of house, 1895

28-3: Judge Grannis(?), undated

28-4: Mrs. Joseph Kennedy (Elizabeth), undated

28-5: Jacob Summers standing in oat field at site of the Bean School near Nicollet, MN, 12 July 1928

28-6: George A. MacFarland, 1929

28-7: Laurence Kennedy in cap and gown with unidentified man, undated

28-8: Unidentified woman with fish on shore of lake, undated

28-9: View of St. Peter, MN, from the west, 12 July 1928

28-10: Shoreline of Diamond Point, Bemidji, undated

Folder 7: Photographs 11-20

28-11: Logging camp, undated

28-12: Cattle in western North Dakota, undated

28-13 & 28-14: Site in field of former log cabin where Joseph Kennedy was born in 1858, 12 July 1928

28-15: Teams of horses plowing a field, undated

28-16: Indian camp near Grand Forks, September 1897 (one smaller, faded print along with a larger, black/white copy)

28-17: Postcard of old North Dakota capitol building in Bismarck, undated

28-18: Old capitol building in Bismarck, undated

28-19: House of Joseph Kennedy, May 1921

28-20: House of Joseph Kennedy, July 1920

Folder 8: Photographs 21-30

28-21: District 23 schoolhouse in Nicollet County, MN, with Mrs. Kennedy and Kate Gamble, 12 July 1928

28-22: Wright's house - University Avenue (possibly Christopher Wright, 1023 or 1025 University Ave.), ca. 1900

28-23 & 28-24: House at 1100 Broadway (later 1100 or 1102 University Avenue); first house Joseph Kennedy bought in Grand Forks, 1895

28-25: Porch of house at 1102 University Avenue (owned later by William McKinsey), ca. 1900

28-26: Living room of Kennedy house at 1112 University Avenue (the family moved here in the early 1900s), ca. 1905

28-27: Former schoolhouse at Oshawa, MN (District 23) where Kennedy attended as a child and later taught, undated

28-28: House in Hillsboro, North Dakota where James P. Kennedy was born, ca. 1890

28-29: House in Nicollet, MN, that once was the Bean schoolhouse where Kennedy first taught in 1876, probably July 1928

28-30: Hebron schoolhouse (now a barn) where Kennedy taught 1882-1883, 12 July 1928

Folder 9: Photographs 31-40

28-31: Panorama of UND campus, ca. 1900 (from left: Budge Hall, Old Main, Davis Hall with Chandler Hall in back, Macnie Hall)

28-32: Old Main with Davis Hall to the left, early 1900s

28-33: Panoramic postcard of UND campus, 1905

28-34: Kennedy cottage at Bemidji, 1911

28-35: Kennedy cottage at Bemidji with family members seated on steps, undated

28-36: Joseph Kennedy with dog on steps of Bemidji cottage, undated

28-37: Horse "Nellie" harnessed to carriage, 23 April 1898

28-38: Mr. & Mrs. Joseph Kennedy with unidentified woman holding a rabbit and seated on running board of car, undated

28-39 & 28-40: Mr. & Mrs. Kennedy (25th wedding anniversary), June 1914

Folder 10: Photographs 41-54

28-41: Overn (Alfred V.; Professor of Education) and Joseph Kennedy, 1931

28-42: House at 1208 University Avenue (birthplace of Laurence), photographed by Laurence, April 1916

28-43: Joseph Kennedy posing with a fish he caught, undated

28-44: Joseph Kennedy with dog Jack, undated

28-45: Joseph Kennedy as a boy, undated

28-46: Joseph Kennedy as a teenager, ca. 1870

28-47: Joseph Kennedy as a student at the University of Minnesota, ca. 1879

28-48: Portrait of Joseph Kennedy, undated

28-49: Joseph Kennedy - University of North Dakota, undated

28-50: Joseph Kennedy as an older man, undated

28-51: Joseph Kennedy with bicycle and red Buick automobile, 1922

28-52 & 28-53: Portrait of Kennedy, undated

28-54: James Kennedy as a young man, undated

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