Title: Helen Marshall Research Collection, 1936-1957
Arrangement
The Helen Marshall Research collection is contained in one series by material type. The series holds papers related directly to Grandest of Enterprises or research on other publications which contributed to the development of her work.
Abstract
The Helen Marshall Research Collection contains Helen Marshall's research materials for her published histories of Illinois State University, Grandest of Enterprises and The Eleventh Decade. Included are research notes, correspondences and file notes, the bulk of which is concerned with Grandest of Enterprises.
Administrative/Biographical History
Helen Edith Marshall was born in 1898 in Braman, Oklahoma. She earned her A.B. from Emporia State University (then known as the Kansas State Teachers College), her masters from the University of Chicago, and her doctorate from Duke University. Marshall taught history at the University of New Mexico and Eastern New Mexico University before becoming an instructor of history at Illinois State Normal University in 1935. During her tenure, Marshall researched and wrote about the history of ISNU including its founder, Jesse Fell. Two years before the university’s centennial celebration, Marshall was asked to write its one hundred year history. In 1956, Marshall’s book Grandest of Enterprises was published. Marshall followed up Grandest of Enterprises with another book on the university’s history called The Eleventh Decade, this time focusing on the decade since its centennial celebration. Marshall finished her career at Illinois State Normal University and retired in the mid 1970’s. Helen Marshall died in 1989. Author: Tarra Louise Craig, Heather Michelle Downey
