Dates

• Majority of material found within 1800 - 2010

Extent

80 boxes Linear Feet (The Fausold family has long been associated with western Pennsylvania, especially in Westmoreland County. The Honorable John Fausold (1808-1884), grandfather of Samuel Fausold, was a public servant whose fifty-five year career, beginning in 1829, included five terms in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, seven terms as Justice of the peace in Westmoreland County and service as Revenue Commissioner of Indiana, Westmoreland, and Somerset counties in 1863, Sequestrator of the Somerset-Mt Pleasant Turnpike, pioneer in Pennsylvania public education, and active school board member. The grandson of John Fausold (1808-1884) was Samuel Fausold (1888-1948) was born and educated in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. His experience in education included the following positions: Principal of East Huntington High School, Alverton, Pennsylvania, 1910-1914; Supervising Principal of the Irwin, Pennsylvania schools, 1914-1922; Superintendent of Ambridge, Pennsylvania schools, 1922-1930; Superintendent of schools at Monessen, Pennsylvania 1930-1935; Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction, 1935-1936; and President of Indiana State Teachers College in Indiana, Pennsylvania, 1936-1939. Although Samuel Fausold's tenure as President of Indiana State Teachers College was marred by political machinations and was cut short by illness, major construction projects as well as significant changes in faculty, administration, and curriculum occurred during his presidency of Indiana State Teachers College, including the creation and building of the Laboratory School in 1939, which was later named after John A. H. Keith. Samuel Fausold’s children Samuel Fausold, Jr. and Patricia Fausold Sheaffer were graduates of Indiana State Teachers College. ) : The collection is primarily the papers of Samuel Fausold (1888-1948), but includes papers and documents of other family members as well. There are the correspondence files of Samuel Fausold, as well as files from his tenure at the various institutions which he served. The files of his wife and son, family biographies and genealogies, and the diaries of Samuel and his father are all included. Itemized inventories are available for the correspondence of George M.B. Fausold and later additions of photographs. These inventories are located at the beginning of each section. The Fausold Family collection is separated into three series, Fausold family, Allied families and photographs. The collection contains family letters, diaries, ledgers, scrapbooks, photographs, cassette tapes, books and memorabilia. The Fausold family continues to donate family papers to this collection. World War Two correspondence between Samuel Fausold’s daughter Patricia Fausold Sheaffer and her husband James (Jim) Sheaffer, both of whom graduated from Indiana State Teachers College, were donated by their son Marc Sheaffer in 2018. The Fausold Collection was created in 1984 when Dr. Martin Luther Fausold (November 11, 1921-October 29, 2008), donated the papers of his father, Samuel, to the IUP Libraries. Since that initial donation many other gifts have followed from various family members. The Fausold Family Collection now represents an extended family and includes important contributions from the Fry family and from the Welty family. The collection has evolved into an experiment in family history that serves well to document the history of western Pennsylvania from the colonial era to the present. Beyond the archival material the family’s efforts have extended to the donation of the portraits of John and Samuel Fausold, which hang in the Fausold Alcove in Stapleton Library. The foresightedness of the family includes the creation of an endowment to provide support for the collection and associated activities. Dr. Martin L. Fausold, was the Distinguished Service Professor of History at the State University of New York at Geneseo.

Language of Materials

English