Dates

• Majority of material found within 1852 - 2014

Extent

3 boxes Linear Feet (Hamlin Elisha Cogswell (September 26, 1852-April 7, 1922) and his wife Dorothy Dora Edna Tewkesberry Cogswell (December 23, 1852-December 24, 1944) were married on February 8, 1874. They both taught at Indiana State Normal School (ISNS) in the Conservatory of Music (School of Fine Arts) from 1906 to 1916. Their daughter Edna Cogswell Otis also taught there. Hamlin Cogswell was the first director of the Music Department (see Record Group 33). Hamlin E. Cogswell was born in Silvara, Pennsylvania, and his parents were Dr. Niram Jackson Cogswell (1823-1890) and Caroline Phoebe Birch Cogswell (1824-1898). Hamlin Cogswell attended a one room schoolhouse and after classes he practiced piano, violin, flute, drums, and cornet. In 1870-1871, he attended the Wyoming Seminary, in Kingston, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. He later taught in a one-room schoolhouse in Shickshinny, Pennsylvania. In 1874, Hamlin Cogswell married Dorothy Dora Edna Tewksbury in her hometown of Brooklyn, Pennsylvania. Her parents were Ansel Tewksbury (1827-1915) and Hanna Mary Muzzey Tewksbury (1829-1896). While living there, Hamlin Cogswell organized the Brooklyn Band, which popularized the “Montrose Quickstep,” his first published composition. The Cogswell family moved to Scranton in 1879, where he directed the Lackawanna Choral Society and served in Company B 13th Regiment of the Pennsylvania National Guard until 1883. Cogswell taught music, and became a cornet player, song leader, bandmaster, and composer. In 1884, he returned to the Wyoming Seminary to teach vocal music. Before joining the faculty at the Indiana State Normal School, Hamlin Cogswell was the director of the School of Music at Mansfield State Normal School from 1885 to 1905. At Mansfield, he taught piano, organ, voice, violin, cornet, harmony, the history of music, band, orchestra, chorus, sight-singing, instrumentation, conducting, and the public school music course. From 1887 to 1889, he was the Supervisor of Music and the Director of the Symphony Orchestra in Binghamton, New York. He also held supervisory positions in Binghamton and Syracuse, New York from 1897 to 1902. During the tenure of Dr. Ament, who was principal of Indiana State Normal School from 1906 to 1917, there was a new appreciation for the humanities and expansion of programs. In 1906- 1907, Hamlin E. Cogswell began teaching at ISNS, and he became the Director of the Music Conservatory in Thomas Sutton Hall. Hamlin Cogswell outlined a three-year music curriculum at Indiana State Normal School. Enrollment in the program totaled 125 students in 1907-1908. Students majoring in singing, piano, organ, and violin were required to present a recital each year. In 1911, a four-year course was introduced, with English, music diction, Italian, and art history becoming required subjects. That year, Cogswell organized the Indiana Military Band, and he was elected chairman of the department. In 1907, Cogswell was the president of the music section of the National Education Association. He played an important role in the national development of music education when he called a meeting of music educators in Keokuk, Iowa on April 10-12, 1907, which led to the formation of the Music Supervisors National Conference. Hamlin Cogswell composed numerous pieces including the Spirit of Victory dedicated to General John J. Pershing (1860-1948), Cogswell composed another song called The Spirit of Indiana, which followed the same tune. His wife Dorothy Cogswell taught voice and the history of music at ISNS from 1906 to 1916. In 1906-1907, she composed the Indiana Alma Mater, Our Homage and Our Love, which is still played at commencement. Alma Mater of Indiana State Normal School (IUP) by Dorothy and Hamlin Cogswell (1910). Hamlin and Dorothy Cogswell attended their last ISNS commencement in 1915. Hamlin Cogswell accepted a new position as the Director of Music of the Public Schools in Washington, D.C. After Cogswell’s sudden death in 1922, one teacher said that, “Mr. Cogswell opened up so many avenues of thought, I am deeply grateful for his life.” In 1956, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania approved the construction of a new music building at Indiana State Teachers College. The cornerstone for Cogswell Hall was dedicated on December 13, 1958, and the building opened in May 1960. The only daughter of Hamlin and Dorothy Cogswell was Edna Cogswell Otis (November 24, 1884- October 25, 1959) was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and she graduated from Mansfield Normal School in 1904 with a degree in music. Along with her parents, Edna Cogswell taught at Indiana State Normal School, and she became an accomplished music teacher, musician and composer in Connecticut. On August 4, 1915, Edna Cogswell married Clarence Wendell Otis (July 9, 1889-June 20, 1971) who was the son of George H. Otis (April 17, 1865-January 21, 1935) and Emma Etta Raynesford Otis (November 8, 1866-February 8, 1945). The Otis family had two sons Allan Cogswell Otis (July 6, 1917-September 6, 1966) and Gordon Raynesford Otis (December 6, 1919-November 14, 2005). This significant collection includes correspondence, genealogical research, photographs, musical scores, manuscripts of plays and novels, and publications associated with Hamlin and Dorothy Cogswell and their daughter Edna Cogswell Otis. The Cogswell family papers contain important references to the Music Department (School of Fine Arts) at Indiana State Normal School when the Cogswell family were teaching in the department from 1906-1907 to 1915-1916. See Record Group 33: Department of Music at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP). The collection was donated by Otis family including Alice Otis and her children Richard A. Otis, Terrell Reid Otis, and Nancy Ellen Otis Chamness. The collection was brought to IUP by Jessica Otis, the daughter of Richard Otis, and the great granddaughter of Edna Cogswell Otis (1884-1959).)

Language of Materials

English