Dates

• Majority of material found within 1700 - 2000

Extent

10 boxes Linear Feet (Clarence David Stephenson (March 24, 1919-August 13, 2011) was born in East Mahoning Township in Indiana County, Pennsylvania. He attended school in both Shamokin and Marion Center, and graduated from Marion Center High School in 1937. In 1941, Clarence Stephenson graduated from Indiana State Teachers College (ISTC, later IUP) with a BSED degree. He taught at the junior high school in Brackenridge, Pennsylvania in 1941-1942. In 1942, he was drafted into the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II, and he served as a link training instructor at several stateside air bases. After World War II, Clarence Stephenson continued teaching and enrolled at the University of Pittsburgh where he began to focus his studies on the regional history of Western Pennsylvania. He also began working with the Historical and Genealogical Society of Indiana County. After receiving his Master of Letters from the University of Pittsburgh in 1948, Mr. Stephenson continued his research into Western Pennsylvania history through the 1950s and 1960s, publishing several books and articles pertaining to Indiana County and other nearby areas. Among Clarence Stephenson’s most notable contributions to the history of Western Pennsylvania is his 5-volume history Indiana County 175th Anniversary History, which was published between 1978 and 1995 (Call Number: F 157 .I3 S783). Volumes 1-5 are available for research in the IUP Special Collections and University Archives). In 1968, he also wrote Buena Vista Furnace (Call Number: HD 9518 .B84 S74 1968), which was published by his Mahoning Mimeograph and Pamphlet Service. Clarence Stephenson taught English at the Clymer High School from 1947 until 1956. He was employed as the History Education Advisor, Pennsylvania Department of Public Instruction in Harrisburg (1956-1960). In 1961-1962, he served as the Editor for the Blairsville Dispatch. In 1963-1964, he taught high school in New Jersey. In 1964, Mr. Stephenson started a part-time home business called Mahoning Mimeograph and Pamphlet Service, which published several of Stephenson’s history publications. From 1964 until his retirement in 1977, he was employed as a caseworker with the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare in Indiana, Pennsylvania. Clarence Stephenson's hobbies and interests were reading, stamp collecting, traveling, and historical research. He was a life member of the Historical and Genealogical Society of Indiana County, where he served as Treasurer, Vice President, and President. In 1995, he received the Francis Strong Hellman Award and was made Director Emeritus of the Historical and Genealogical Society of Indiana County. He was also a life member of the historical societies of Blairsville and Saltsburg. In 1975, he was Co-Chair of the Committee to Save John Sutton Hall, which is located on the Indiana University of Pennsylvania campus. He was appointed to the Southwestern Pennsylvania Heritage Preservation Commission and served from 1990 to 1994. He was a Member of Post 222 of the American Legion in Clymer. A charter member of the Marion Center Lions Club, he was a past president. In 2003, Mr. Stephenson was named Lion of the Year. He was also a member of the Presbyterian Church of Marion Center and a charter member of the Unitarian-Universalist Church of Indiana County. He was a former member of the Pennsylvania Society. Mr. Stephenson's passion and avocation was Indiana County history and he spent much of his life researching and documenting local history. He wrote many historical books and other publications. Of these, four well-known examples are: The Pennsylvania Canal, Indiana and Westmoreland Counties in 1961; The Impact of the Slavery Issue on Indiana County in 1964; Marion Center - East Mahoning Centennial Story in 1969; and the five-volume Indiana County 175th Anniversary History (1978-1995). He also authored articles for local and regional newspapers and wrote in other publications. During his many years as a historian, Clarence Stephenson received numerous honors. They included a front page article in the Indiana Gazette, January 17, 2000, "Stephenson Goes Down in History," Indiana University of Pennsylvania President's Medal of Distinction, March 2002, and a commendation from the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, September 2002. In addition, he received official designation as Indiana County Historian by the Indiana County Commissioners in October 2003. Considered the premier historian of Indiana County, Clarence Stephenson wrote numerous publications about Indiana County history. He was well known for his knowledge of regional history. A life-long resident of East Mahoning Township, Clarence Stephenson passed away on Saturday, August 13, 2011 at the age of 92. The Clarence Stephenson Collection is housed in 14 archival boxes. This collection contains various articles written by Stephenson, newspapers clippings, postcards, photographs, and maps of Pennsylvania coal fields, canals and railroads, and items relating to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, as well as books, catalogs and pamphlets about Pennsylvania genealogical histories. The collection also includes miscellaneous Pittsburgh area publications and newspapers dating from the 1930s and 1960s, in addition to educational pamphlets dating from the 1970s and 1980s, mostly from the Marion Center School District. There are also various pamphlets relating to local histories of Pennsylvania. This collection also contains a selection of Pennsylvania newspapers dating from 1836-1977, with many of the Pittsburgh papers printed during the 1870s. This collection also contains several maps of Pennsylvania dating back to the 18th century. )

Language of Materials

English