Lewis Elmer Sims Papers

The Lewis Elmer Sims papers are arranged in one box and date from the period 1874-1977. with the bulk of the materials related to Sims' time at the Northwestern University Preparatory School and Northwestern University (1874-1877). The papers primarily consist of letters that Sims wrote and sent home during his studies at Northwestern University.  Also included is a later letter containing biographical information, an excerpt from his unpublished autobiography, and several records regarding Sims' attendance at the Northwestern University Preparatory School. Present as well is material relating to the provenance of this collection.

The provenance file contains correspondence between the Northwestern University Archives and Sims' daughter-in-law, Ina Koehler Sims, relating to the transfer and reception of the collection.

Biographical materials consist of the excerpt from Sims' autobiography, photocopies of his Northwestern alumni records, and a photocopy of a 1976 essay appearing in The Midwestern Archivist concerning Sims' papers.

The preparatory school materials contain records of Sims' studies at the Northwestern University Preparatory School. Included are three compositions which feature marginal corrections by his teachers.

Correspondence forms the bulk of the collection and consists almost entirely of letters sent by Sims to his family. Also present are several letters written to Sims by his Northwestern classmates during his periods of illness.  The final letter was written nearly sixty years after the others by an aged Sims attempting to contact a former classmate.

Photocopies of roughly half of the letters and Sims' records of standing from the Northwestern University Preparatory School complete the series.