The Charles H. Coleman Digital Archive
Who was Charles H. Coleman?
Charles H. Coleman, Ph.D. (1900-1972), joined the faculty while Eastern Illinois University was still the Eastern Illinois State Teachers College in 1926. Coleman taught history and chaired the social science department during his 34-year tenure at Eastern. A prolific researcher, writer, and scholar, Coleman produced an abundance of scholarship on the life and family of Abraham Lincoln, the Charleston Riot, the Civil War, the history of the first fifty years of Eastern, and other topics of American history. Colleagues voted in 1965 to name one of EIU’s recently built campus buildings in his honor. Coleman Hall currently houses the departments of history, economics, political science, English, and foreign languages. A committed researcher to the end, Coleman arranged for his body to be donated to the Stritch School of Medicine at Loyola University.
The Coleman Collection
The Charles H. Coleman Collection is held in the EIU University Archives on campus in the Booth Library.
Container List - PDF
Container List - Interactive (produced by University Archives)
Keyword List
Booth Library
-
A focus on "Great American People" reflects Coleman's personal and professional research interests and this content focus is evident in the collection. Those receiving special attention are Abraham Lincoln (Boxes 4-5) and Clement L. Vallandigham (Boxes 6-7).
-
To a lesser degree, American Revolutionaries, Civil War heroes, and U.S. presidents are represented in the subjects of U.S. history (Boxes 1-3) and biographical research on “Great American People” (Boxes 7-8).
-
Coleman also completed extensive research on Coles County (Box 8), Charleston, IL (Box 8), and Eastern Illinois University (Box 9).
-
Boxes 10-12 are labeled as “Miscellaneous” and contain class lecture notes as well as various research projects and papers Coleman completed or collected during his career.
Be aware that the dates in the container list must be studied in order to determine whether they correspond to the date of the subject or the time when Coleman studied the subject.
