Irwin Rew papers,
1879-1921
Descriptive
Inventory for the Collection at Chicago History Museum, Research Center
By
Katie Obriot; ed. by Rachel Juris, 2010.
Please
address questions to:
Chicago
History Museum, Research Center
1601
North Clark Street
Chicago,
IL 60614-6038
Web-site:
http://www.chicagohistory.org/research
©
Copyright 2010, Chicago Historical Society
Processed
with funding provided by the National Historical Publications and Records
Commission.
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Title: Irwin Rew papers,
1879-1921
Main entry: Rew, Irwin,
1868-1958
Inclusive dates: 1879-1921
Size:
2.75
linear ft. (7 boxes)
1
oversize folder.
Restriction: Research use of
this collection is governed by the standard rules and regulations of the
Chicago History Museum Research Center.
Accession number:
M1972.0053
Provenance
statement: Gift
of Ada Rew (M1972.0053).
Terms governing
use: Copyright
may be retained by the creators of items, or their descendents, as stipulated
by United States copyright law, unless otherwise noted.
Please cite this
collection as: Irwin Rew papers
(Chicago History Museum) plus a detailed description, date, and box/folder
number of a specific item.
This descriptive
inventory contains the following sections:
Biographical
note,
Summary
description of the collection,
Description
of some material related to the collection,
List
of online catalog headings about the collection,
Arrangement
of the collection,
Detailed
description of archival series in the collection,
List
of contents of the collection.
Biographical
note:
Irwin Rew (1868-1958) was a builder of artificial gas and electric utility plants and a prominent member of the community in Evanston (Ill.). Rew's father, Henry Cunningham Rew, was an inventor of artificial gas technology. Father and son together built utility plants in Illinois and Missouri. Rew served as treasurer (1892-1896) and president (1896-1915) of the National Gas & Water Company, secretary and treasurer of the Cicero Gas Company, trustee of Sterling Gas & Electric Light Company, and was a member of the American Gas Institute. Rew attended Albany Academy preparatory school and graduated from Sheffield Scientific School of Yale University (formerly of Yale College) in 1889. Rew was a lifetime trustee of Northwestern University, elected to the board in 1908; president of the University Club of Evanston and the Yale Club of Chicago; member of the Yale Alumni Association, Yale Engineering Association, and the Committee of Twenty-One, which built the Yale Bowl. Rew and his wife Katharine were active in the civic life of Evanston; Rew served as president of the Evanston Country Club, member of the Evanston Hospital Association, and trustee of the First Presbyterian Church of Evanston. Upon his retirement in 1916, Rew purchased Bluffwood Farm, a fruit farm, and built a summer home near Stevensville (Mich.).
Summary
description of the collection:
Academic
papers, certificates, correspondence, check stubs, ledgers, minutes,
newsletters, newspaper clippings, programs, publications, travel documents, and
tuition receipts of Irwin Rew, a builder of utility plants and a civic leader
in Evanston (Ill.). The majority of the collection relates to Rew's involvement
with the Yale Engineering Association and the Alumni Committee of Yale
University on a Plan for University Development, and his involvement with
renovations of the First Presbyterian Church of Evanston. Also present are
coursework and financial records in the 1880s from Rew's studies at the Albany
Academy and Sheffield Scientific School; newspaper clippings and publications
on gas companies in Chicago and across the United States; household check
stubs; and travel documents. Also included is a scrapbook of Katharine Rew
(Mrs. Irwin Rew).
Description of
some material related to the collection:
Related
materials at Chicago History Museum, Research Center, include the Henry C. Rew
papers and the H. C. Rew family photograph collection (1980.0121).
List of online
catalog headings about the collection:
The
following index headings for this collection were entered in the online
catalog.
Subjects:
Rew,
Ephraim, 1757-1833.
Rew,
Helen.
Rew,
Irwin, 1868-1958--Archives.
Rew,
Katharine.
Albany
Academy.
AYA
(Organization)
First
Presbyterian Church of Evanston (Evanston, Ill.)
Gas
Company (Cicero, Ill.)
National
Gas & Water Company (Chicago, Ill.)
Sterling
Gas & Electric Light Company.
Yale
College (1718-1887). Sheffield Scientific School.
Yale
Engineering Association.
Yale
University--Alumni and alumnae.
Yale
University. Sheffield Scientific School.
Gas
industry--Illinois--Chicago--19th century.
Gas
industry--Illinois--Chicago--20th century.
Presbyterian
Church--Illinois--Evanston--19th century.
Presbyterian
Church--Illinois--Evanston--20th century.
Voyages
and travels--19th century.
Voyages
and travels--20th century.
Chicago
(Ill.)--Commerce--19th century.
Chicago
(Ill.)--Commerce--20th century.
Evanston
(Ill.)--Social life and customs--19th century.
Evanston
(Ill.)--Social life and customs--20th century.
Form/genre:
Certificates.
Check
stubs.
Correspondence.
Ledgers.
Minutes.
Newsletters.
Newspaper
clippings.
Notes.
Programs.
Receipts
(financial records)
Scrapbooks.
Theses.
Added
entries:
Rew,
Helen.
Rew,
Katharine.
AYA
(Organization)
First
Presbyterian Church of Evanston (Evanston, Ill.)
National
Gas & Water Company (Chicago, Ill.)
Sterling
Gas & Electric Light Company.
Yale
Engineering Association.
Arrangement of
the collection:
The
collection is arranged in four series:
Series
1. Personal financial files, 1879-1909 (box 1-2)
Series
2. Student papers, 1882-1889 (box 3)
Series
3. Business files, 1898-1912 (box 4)
Series
4. General papers, 1890-1921 & undated (box 4-7, 1 oversize folder)
Detailed
description of archival series in the collection:
Series 1. Personal
financial files, 1879-1909 (box 1-2)
Series
1 consists of check stubs for household expenses (1894-1898, 1901, 1905-1909), miscellaneous
account books (1879-1884), student expense account books (1882-1889), and account
sheets (1882-1886).
Series 2. Student
papers, 1882-1889 (box 3)
Series
2 consists of class notes, coursework, programs, and tuition receipts from Rew's
studies at the Albany Academy in Albany (N.Y.) and Sheffield Scientific School
in New Haven (Conn.). Included are writing exercises; tuition receipts; and
copies of The Beck Review, a school
newspaper edited by Rew, from Albany Academy (1882-1886). Also included are
class notes and assignments in mathematics, science, and the humanities;
tuition receipts; commencement programs; and copies of Rew's thesis, titled "History
and Development of Gas Works," from Sheffield Scientific School
(1886-1889). Also present is a notebook belonging to Helen J. Rew, which
contains stories and letters, likely schoolwork.
Series 3.
Business files, 1898-1912 (box 4)
Series
3 consists of newspaper clippings and ledgers. The newspaper clippings pertain
to the operations of gas companies in the Chicago region, specifically to the
price wars between Municipal Gas Company and Ogden Gas Company, and to a fire
at the Cicero Gas Company (ca. 1900). The National Gas & Water Company
index to stockholders ledger (1892) and Sterling Gas & Electric Light
Company payroll ledger (1911-1912) found in the collection are mostly empty,
with entries torn from the volumes.
Series 4. General
papers, 1890-1921 & undated (box 4-7, 1 oversize folder)
Series
4 contains certificates, correspondence, minutes, newsletters, newspaper
clippings, publications, travel documents, and a scrapbook. Included are correspondence,
newsletters, and minutes of the Yale Engineering Association and the Alumni
Committee of Yale University on a Plan for University Development; correspondence
between the board of trustees of the First Presbyterian Church of Evanston and
companies hired to perform renovations of its facilities, such as the installation
of an organ; newspaper clippings related to topics including members of the Rew
family and the operations of gas companies in the United States; and
publications of several electric, gas light, and railway companies from across
the United States. Also present are certificates of membership to organizations
such as the Art Institute of Chicago and the American Gas Institute, including
two oversize certificates, one of which is from the Society of the Sons of the
American Revolution and bears the name of Rew's great grandfather, Ephraim Rew.
A personal scrapbook of Mrs. Irwin (Katharine) Rew (1901-1904) and Rew's travel
documents from Europe and Africa, including letters, postcards, hotel bills,
and a pressed flower, are also included.
List of contents
of the collection:
Box
1-2 Personal financial files, 1879-1909
Box
3 Student papers, 1882-1889
Box
4 Business
files, 1898-1912
Box
4-7 & oversize folder General
files, 1890-1921 & undated