Finding Aids
We're in the process of making our full finding aids available on the website. In the meantime, here is a short summary of our fully processed collections.
Thomas J. Dyba Lincoln Home Papers
Thomas J. Dyba was executive vice president of Illinois Benedictine College, Lincoln scholar, and a member of the Abraham Lincoln Society. Dyba constructed two scale models of the Lincoln home, one model of the Lincoln funeral train, and edited the newsletter "The Lincoln Chronicle".
Collection consists of personal correspondence, newspaper articles relating to Abraham Lincoln, the Lincoln Home, and the activities of the Abraham Lincoln Association, VHS recordings of events, and copies of various Lincoln related newsletters.
John N. Erlenborn Congressional Papers
John N. Erlenborn represented the 14th Congressional district of Illinois in the United States Congress between 1965 and 1985 (89th to 98th Congresses). He retired after serving in the 98th U.S. Congress.
James George Kanka Papers
James George (Vaclav) Kanka was an author and a reporter for the Chicago Czech-language newspaper Daily Narod. He was born in 1896, probably in Bohemia or Moravia, and moved to Chicago in the early 1920s. Collection consists of correspondence received by Kanka from political and military figures in various countries. Kanka sent copies of Czech-language books he authored to these individuals and received their responses of thanks, which he then compiled. Notable responses received by Kanka include letters from Anton Cermak, Faik Komitza, T.J. Carney, Carter H. Harrison Jr., A.A. Bickford, Henrik Kauffmann, Samuel Alphonsus Cardinal Stritch, Malvina C. Thompson, Dwight Eisenhower, George S. Patton, Douglas MacArthur, Adlai Stevenson, Richard J. Daley, Evelyn Lincoln, Herbert Hoover, and Allen W. Dulles. Also included are letters from the secretaries of several African and European kings, as well as from the private secretary to Mahatma Gandhi.
William P. Jesse Papers
William P. Jesse was a nuclear physicist who assisted on the Manhattan Project during World War II. After the completion of the war, Jesse continued his work at Argonne National Laboratory, and upon his retirement continued his research at St. Procopius College.
Lincoln Society of Philately Records
The Lincoln Society of Philately was organized in 1962 to promote Abraham Lincoln in philately (stamp collecting), and to develop the exchange of thought, experience, and education in the Chicago area. The collection consists three series: the notes and papers relating to the society itself, a stamp collection belonging to Leland B. Adams, and stamps which cannot be conclusively linked to Adams.
David K. Probst Papers
Originally from Illinois, David Karl Probststudied and conducted research at the University of Chicago and later at the Universite Libre de Bruxelles. He was awarded the Hertz Foundation Fellowship in the late 1960s. Probst studied the history of science, eventually completing his doctoral thesis on "Francis Bacon and the Transformation of the Hermetic Tradition into the Rationalist Church" in 1972. He was in correspondence with a few major academics such as Karl Popper. The collection includes correspondence, Probst's thesis, his collected writings, notes, and papers written by other people. There are also yearbooks and photographs.
The St. Procopius Mothers and Friends Club Records
The St. Procopius Mothers and Friends Club was founded April 11, 1935; Ms. Marie Kral was its first president. The Club was comprised of women affiliated with St. Procopius College, and was the primary venue through which their voices were heard. At the time St. Procopius was not a coeducational institution, and would not become one until 1967.
St. Wenceslaus Server's Society Records
The St. Wenceslaus Server's Society (also known as the Server's Sodality) was founded in 1914, and was the first student organization at St. Procopius College. According to the Society's constitution, its mission was "to instruct the members in the proper manner of assisting as servers at liturgical functions", "to promote the social and educational advancement of the members", and "to create and promote interest in missionary work, both local and foreign, particularly by forwarding educational activities".
Women's Auxiliary of St. Procopius College
The Women's Auxiliary of St. Procopius College was a campus-based service organization run by the mothers of students at St. Procopius. Like the St. Procopius Mother's and Friends Club (an organization similar in scope but based in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood) and Procopians Forward (also known as the St. Procopius Dad's Club), the Women's Auxiliary worked to involve students and their parents with campus life through social activities, outreach, and fundraisers
Thomas J. Dyba Lincoln Home Papers
Thomas J. Dyba was executive vice president of Illinois Benedictine College, Lincoln scholar, and a member of the Abraham Lincoln Society. Dyba constructed two scale models of the Lincoln home, one model of the Lincoln funeral train, and edited the newsletter "The Lincoln Chronicle".
Collection consists of personal correspondence, newspaper articles relating to Abraham Lincoln, the Lincoln Home, and the activities of the Abraham Lincoln Association, VHS recordings of events, and copies of various Lincoln related newsletters.
John N. Erlenborn Congressional Papers
John N. Erlenborn represented the 14th Congressional district of Illinois in the United States Congress between 1965 and 1985 (89th to 98th Congresses). He retired after serving in the 98th U.S. Congress.
James George Kanka Papers
James George (Vaclav) Kanka was an author and a reporter for the Chicago Czech-language newspaper Daily Narod. He was born in 1896, probably in Bohemia or Moravia, and moved to Chicago in the early 1920s. Collection consists of correspondence received by Kanka from political and military figures in various countries. Kanka sent copies of Czech-language books he authored to these individuals and received their responses of thanks, which he then compiled. Notable responses received by Kanka include letters from Anton Cermak, Faik Komitza, T.J. Carney, Carter H. Harrison Jr., A.A. Bickford, Henrik Kauffmann, Samuel Alphonsus Cardinal Stritch, Malvina C. Thompson, Dwight Eisenhower, George S. Patton, Douglas MacArthur, Adlai Stevenson, Richard J. Daley, Evelyn Lincoln, Herbert Hoover, and Allen W. Dulles. Also included are letters from the secretaries of several African and European kings, as well as from the private secretary to Mahatma Gandhi.
William P. Jesse Papers
William P. Jesse was a nuclear physicist who assisted on the Manhattan Project during World War II. After the completion of the war, Jesse continued his work at Argonne National Laboratory, and upon his retirement continued his research at St. Procopius College.
Lincoln Society of Philately Records
The Lincoln Society of Philately was organized in 1962 to promote Abraham Lincoln in philately (stamp collecting), and to develop the exchange of thought, experience, and education in the Chicago area. The collection consists three series: the notes and papers relating to the society itself, a stamp collection belonging to Leland B. Adams, and stamps which cannot be conclusively linked to Adams.
David K. Probst Papers
Originally from Illinois, David Karl Probststudied and conducted research at the University of Chicago and later at the Universite Libre de Bruxelles. He was awarded the Hertz Foundation Fellowship in the late 1960s. Probst studied the history of science, eventually completing his doctoral thesis on "Francis Bacon and the Transformation of the Hermetic Tradition into the Rationalist Church" in 1972. He was in correspondence with a few major academics such as Karl Popper. The collection includes correspondence, Probst's thesis, his collected writings, notes, and papers written by other people. There are also yearbooks and photographs.
The St. Procopius Mothers and Friends Club Records
The St. Procopius Mothers and Friends Club was founded April 11, 1935; Ms. Marie Kral was its first president. The Club was comprised of women affiliated with St. Procopius College, and was the primary venue through which their voices were heard. At the time St. Procopius was not a coeducational institution, and would not become one until 1967.
St. Wenceslaus Server's Society Records
The St. Wenceslaus Server's Society (also known as the Server's Sodality) was founded in 1914, and was the first student organization at St. Procopius College. According to the Society's constitution, its mission was "to instruct the members in the proper manner of assisting as servers at liturgical functions", "to promote the social and educational advancement of the members", and "to create and promote interest in missionary work, both local and foreign, particularly by forwarding educational activities".
Women's Auxiliary of St. Procopius College
The Women's Auxiliary of St. Procopius College was a campus-based service organization run by the mothers of students at St. Procopius. Like the St. Procopius Mother's and Friends Club (an organization similar in scope but based in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood) and Procopians Forward (also known as the St. Procopius Dad's Club), the Women's Auxiliary worked to involve students and their parents with campus life through social activities, outreach, and fundraisers