Guide to the Herbert Ware Reherd Westminster College President's correspondence

The legacy of President Herbert W. Reherd on Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah runs deep in the establishment and development of the institution. Already influential in the Presbyterian community, both as a pastor and community leader, Reherd traveled as a missionary around the world finally ending up in the Mormon country of Salt Lake City. Reherd embarked on a mission to save the poorly funded inheritor of the Salt Lake Collegiate Institute, Westminster College, and fostered its growth from a junior college to a full four-year institution. Reherd's legacy is especially inherent in his fundraising for improvements around the campus, his writings about the school and the Presbyterian history in Utah, and establishing guidelines for the continued excellence in diversity and growth of Westminster College.

The son of Jacob K. Reherd and Lucy Louise Ware, Herbert Ware Reherd was born on August 23, 1869 in Genesco, Illinois. Dr. Herbert Reherd began his career with the Presbyterian Church early after graduating from Parsons College and McCormick Theological Seminary, with some work at the Princeton Theological Seminary. Reherd's first appointment with the church was in Milan, Illinois, (1898-1901), and later at the Bethany Church of Detroit, Michigan, (1901-1906). Reherd preached at the First Presbyterian Church in Waterloo, Iowa, (1906-1913) just before he was nominated as Westminster president by Charles E. Bradt, a long time friend and peer in the Presbyterian Church. With considerable success as a community as well as religious leader, Reherd built a strong relationship with churchgoers and Presbyterian officials. During his time in Iowa, Reherd along with Bradt embarked on a world survey of the educational and missionary condition of the Presbyterian Church of the U.S.A. in 1911-1912. During the tour, Reherd made many contacts that would later prove useful to his various campaigns with Westminster College. The cosmopolitan view accumulated around the country and the rest of the world were evident in the decisions and varied interests represented as Westminster grew in a unique school.

Reherd arrived in Salt Lake City on October 2, 1913 as fourth president of Westminster College. His offer as president consisted of a $3,500 annual salary, traveling expenses, and a five year contract. He would be a fixture of the school for the next forty years. On his arrival, the campus consisted of Converse Hall and Ferry Hall surrounded by 12 acres of alfalfa. Gunton Memorial Chapel, established in 1905, on the corner of 1700 South and 1100 East was the nearest Presbyterian chapel, where Reherd would preach many times over the next forty years. After his inauguration as president on the college on October 2, 1914, Reherd got to work improving the buildings on campus. Converse Hall had been vacant for two years and stood with broken windows before Reherd set about on improvements. He also built the President's House on 1300 East across from Converse Hall, and began work a new men's dormitory. The dormitory was just a tar-roofed building nicknamed "the chicken coup" but it was the start of Foster Hall.

Reherd's fundraising kept the school afloat. His fundraising campaigns to the Midwest and the East drew support from faithful Presbyterians eliciting donations for Westminster, a Presbyterian stronghold in the heart of "Mormondom". Unfortunately, luck was not always on the side of the school. On the morning of March 23, 1926, days before Reherd and the College embarked on a new fundraising campaign in Salt Lake, Converse Hall went up in flames leaving only the skeleton of the building. Fundraising efforts were then geared toward rebuilding Converse, which proved successful enough to beginning plans for a new gymnasium, later dedicated to Charles Payne in 1928.

President Reherd endured as the symbol of Westminster College for 26 years (1913-1939), remaining integral to every aspect of the College. Reherd's correspondences show the personal and professional side connected with Westminster College. Letters deal with fundraising, but also have importance communications with the Presbyterian Church of the U.S.A., including the designation of the school as a "Special Object" in 1921. Many of the letters also deal with business information from building contracts to insurance issues and land disputes, also inquiries about the influence of Mormonism on Presbyterians in Utah. This important theme also ran throughout Reherd's speeches and published writings. As an author Reherd wrote extensively on the growth of the Protestant cause in Utah and the integral role which Westminster College and its predecessors, Sheldon Jackson College and the Salt Lake Collegiate Institute, played in the history of religious diversity in Utah.

Nearly everything in Reherd's life was dedicated to the school. His wife, Louise McClure Reherd played an important role entertaining and expanding the connections between donors and others whether visiting or at home in Utah. At times she taught Sunday School at the First Presbyterian Church, entertained dignitaries, or taught an emergency Bible class. Herbert and Louise spent a long life together from their marriage on June 15, 1898, to her death from natural causes on October 11, 1945. Vice-President and protegee, Dr. Robert Steele, later became Reherd's son-in-law, marrying his daughter Elizabeth. Herbert and Louise also had a second child named Harold McClure Reherd who later took up residence in Alaska.

Even after Reherd's 26 years as President, he continued as President Emeritus and sat in on the Board of Trustees' meetings until his death on July 28, 1952, after a lingering illness. At his death, Westminster College had become a four-year accredited college with a student body of two hundred and a forty acre campus. Westminster College grew from a suffering fledgling school to a respected and influential center of higher education under Reherd's watchful eye. With passion and commitment Reherd, "the Father of Westminster College," dedicated his professional career to the establishment of the school so that its legacy might continue in the future – a legacy inextricably tied to Herbert Reherd.

This biography was written by Alana Dela Cruz, December 2004.

Sources: R. Douglas Brackenridge's book "Westminster College of Salt Lake City : from Presbyterian mission school to independent college" (Logan, Utah : Utah State University Press, 1998); Westminster College archivist Emil Nyman's "Herbert W. Reherd" in his unpublished "I remember …"; and the collection entitled Herbert Ware Reherd Westminster College President's subject files, 1887-1951 (ACC-004C), Giovale Library Archives, Westminster College, Salt Lake City, Utah.

This collection contains the correspondence of Herbert Ware Reherd, 4th President of Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah from 1913-1939, and President Emeritus until his death in 1951. The collection is arranged into incoming, outgoing, and third-party correspondence. While it includes both business and personal letters, all relate to Westminster College.

The correspondences between Reherd and the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., comprise a great deal of the collection. The letters show that Reherd was constantly in communication with the executives of the Presbyterian Church, especially those on the College Board. Key individuals in these letters are Reverend F. E. Stockwell, General Director of the College Department during the 1920s, and James E. Clarke, Field Director of the College Department. Communication between the College Board and Reherd concern the fundraising efforts for Westminster College, both in Utah as well as around the country in cities such as Chicago, Pittsburgh, New York City, and Ottumwa, Iowa, among others. The College Board also frequently notified Westminster when the joint efforts of the Presbyterian Community contributed money to the College, exhibiting Westminster College's designation as a "special object" for the Presbyterian Church. One example is a letter from Reverend F.E. Stockwell on February 24, 1923, which describes the donation of $10,000.00 from the Board to complete the new boy's dormitory at Converse Hall. The financial fluctuations of Westminster College also drew the careful attention of the College Board. In a letter dated January 14, 1926, the City of Salt Lake recognized Westminster College's heavy debts and possible suspension of the College's credit. Reherd contacted the Presbyterian College Board and described his efforts to stop the sheriff from seizing the school, as a result of insufficient funds. Letters concerning the fire in Converse Hall in April 1926, inspired the Presbyterian Church to request help, both monetary and the need of supplies, such as books, in order to rebuild the destroyed building. Records from late 1925 to April 1926 show communication between President Reherd and the Presbyterian Church organizing a large fundraising campaign for the college beginning April 25, 1926; however, the campaign shifted with the Converse Hall fire.

A great deal of the incoming correspondence also concerns donations from private individuals, many promised to Reherd while on his fundraising campaigns across the country. Some donations were made for specific causes within the college, like furnishings for the boys' and girls' dormitories (fundraising for these efforts were continuous, though especially productive between 1921 and 1923), while others were made only to further the Christian cause in Utah.

The acquisition of the J. Mary Temple Estate from Washington D.C. shows some of the problems concerning gifts to the College. The Temple Estate included bonds for the Alexandria Insurance Co. as well as land left to the Sheldon Jackson College in 1889. An extensive investigation was undertaken to acquire the bonds, which were found and certified by the U.S. Supreme Court in April 1927. The land issue was discussed in detail between College Treasurer Parke M. Pontz, Charles T. Clayton, the Westminster College attorney, and Floyd E. Davis, the property's realtor. Communications between College Treasurer Parke M. Pontz and Charles T. Clayton can also be found in the third-party correspondence. Attorney Clayton also communicated with Reherd over the selling of a piece of land (Lot 3, Square 744) owned by the college in Washington D.C. Correspondence between Reherd and Floyd E. Davis, the real estate agent also discussed this lot. Letters concerning the selling of the lot extend from May 25, 1921, and end with the acquisition of the title by Charles Clayton (January 6, 1923) and the selling of the land by Floyd Davis (June 11, 1923).

Other correspondence of note includes President Reherd's letters to the Board of Trustees while on extended fundraising campaigns in the Eastern United States. His first campaign began March 4, 1914, while his letters to the Trustees concerning fundraising continued throughout his term as president. Another significant correspondence is between President Reherd and the Foster family. The correspondence between President Reherd and Mrs. Eliza J. Foster describe the multiple donations made to Westminster College in the name of the Foster Endowment Fund. Mrs. Foster was the mother of John Foster, one of President Reherd's college roommates and lifelong friends. Contributions of $1,666.67 were made on August 1, 1921, and August 22, 1922, with more donations in the following years. This type of communication describes the many people integral to the financial and administrative duties relating to Westminster College.

Reherd's interest in the college's history is represented by his search for information on the early days of the College, specifically on Sheldon Jackson College and the Salt Lake Collegiate Institute. This information was probably used in conjunction with his work on writing "The History of Westminster College." The history remained unfinished upon his death; however, Emil Nyman, College Archivist, completed the history in 1973 with the use of Reherd's notes and draft manuscript. Other letters extolling Westminster College's efforts at a Christian education in Utah show Reherd's handwritten notations, possibly in order to locate quotations for future use in fundraising material. Reherd's correspondences show his devotion to Westminster College – the students and faculty as well as the institution's overall betterment.

Records after President Rehert's retirement in 1939 are far less consistent than the other information included in the series; however, his substantial influence as President Emeritus after 1941 is evident in his continued correspondence. The bulk of correspondence for the years between 1939-1951 is during 1945 when Reherd received an honorary degree in the first ever ceremony for such an honor at Westminster College. The correspondence increases again with Reherd's recovery from an extended illness in 1951, and also marks a new beginning for his work on the history of Westminster College, (the Board of Trustees approved his work with a monthly stipend on Dec. 22, 1950).

Gaps in the collection: Incoming correspondence 1914-1920 and 1931; Outgoing correspondence 1923, 1934-1935; and Third-party correspondence 1914-1920, 1931.

Restrictions on Access:

Open to public research.

Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.

Twenty-four hours advance notice is encouraged.

Restrictions on Use:

It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances.

Permission to publish material must be obtained from the director of the Giovale Library.

Preferred Citation:

Herbert Ware Reherd Westminster College President's correspondence, 1911-1951, ACC-004A, Giovale Library Archives, Westminster College, Salt Lake City, Utah.

Arrangement:

The materials in this collection are arranged into three series:

• Series 1. Incoming correspondence
• Series 2. Outgoing correspondence
• Series 3. Third-party correspondence

Processing Note:

This series was processed by Alana Dela Cruz in July 2004. President Reherd's records have been organized into three series (Correspondence, Subject files, and Writings). These three series should be used together to gain a more complete coverage of Reherd's years as College President and President-Emeritus. Attempts were made to date all undated correspondence; letters which could not be dated were placed together in the last file of each type of correspondence (incoming, outgoing, third party). The most substantive information on the years after 1939 can be found in the minutes from the Board of Trustees for the years 1913-1956 (several years after Reherd's death in July 1952) in the Subject files series.

Creator:

Reherd, Herbert Ware, 1869-1952

Language:

Collection materials are in English.

Quantity:

1.1 linear feet

Language of the Finding Aid:

English.

Author of the Finding Aid:

Finding aid written by Alana Dela Cruz in July and December 2004

EAD Creation Date:

2010 November 30 by Sarah Shaw

Standard:

Describing Archives : A Content Standard (DACS)

Subarea:

Related Material:

Related collections and photographs in Giovale Library Archives:

• Herbert Ware Reherd Westminster College President's daily diaries, 1933-1948 (ACC-004B)
• Herbert Ware Reherd Westminster College President's subject files, 1887-1951 (ACC-004C)
• Herbert Ware Reherd Westminster College President's writings, 1911-1951 (ACC-004D)
• Herbert Ware Reherd Westminster College President's scrapbook, 1919-1931 (ACC-004E)
• Parke M. Pontz Westminster College Treasurer's records, 1922-1954 (ACC-017)
• Photograph of Westminster College student body and staff, 1915
• Photograph of Westminster College faculty, 1920
• Photograph of Dr. Herbert W. Reherd and the New College Barn, 1922
• Photograph of Westminster College student body, 1923
• Photograph of Parke M. Pontz, Westminster College Treasurer 1921-1955

Corporate Names:

Converse Hall (Salt Lake City, Utah)
Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. College Board
Salt Lake Collegiate Institute--History--Sources
Sheldon Jackson College (Salt Lake City, Utah)--History--Sources
Westminster College (Salt Lake City, Utah : 1902-1983)--Administration
Westminster College (Salt Lake City, Utah : 1902-1983)--Buildings
Westminster College (Salt Lake City, Utah : 1902-1983)--Finance
Westminster College (Salt Lake City, Utah : 1902-1983)--History--Sources
Westminster College (Salt Lake City, Utah : 1902-1983)--Presidents
Westminster College (Salt Lake City, Utah : 1902-1983). President's Office

Subject Terms:

College presidents--Utah--Salt Lake City--Archives
Educational fund raising
Presbyterian Church--Education--Utah
Presbyterian universities and colleges--Utah--History--Sources

Form or Genre Terms:

Correspondence

Personal Names:

Clarke, James E. (James Everitt), b. 1868
Clayton, Charles T.
Davis, Floyd E.
Foster, Eliza J.
Nyman, Emil, 1892-1982
Pontz, Parke M., 1886-1961
Reherd, Herbert Ware, 1869-1952--Archives
Reherd, Herbert Ware, 1869-1952--Correspondence
Stockwell, F. E.

Family Names:

Foster family

Geographical Names:

Salt Lake City (Utah)--History--Sources