Alva Woods papers

Alva Woods (1794-1887) graduated from Harvard College in 1817 and from the Andover Theological Seminary in Andover, Massachusetts in 1821. In 1824 he accepted a professorship of natural philosophy and mathematics at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. After the resignation of President Asa Messer he served as president ad interim from 1826 to 1827. Brown University awarded Woods an honorary Doctor of Divinity in 1828. Woods left Brown that year to become the fourth president of Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky. In 1831 he was appointed the first president of the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. While there, Woods helped to found the Alabama Female Athenaeum, whose purpose was to train women to become teachers. Woods and his family returned to Providence in 1837. He served as a Trustee of Brown University from 1843 to 1859 and as a member of the Board of Fellows from 1859 to 1887. The Alva Woods papers contain a variety of material, chiefly correspondence belonging to members of the Woods and Brown families; documents, publications, writings and photographs. The material is dated between 1657 and 2011. Most is dated between 1812 and 1918.

Format(s): Manuscripts, Broadsides, Graphics, Letters, Documents
Library: John Hay
NOTE: This collection is housed off-site. Prior notice is needed for retrieval

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Access to the collection:

Online Catalog (BruKnow):
General description of the collection available on BruKnow

Other Online Access:
RIAMCO: Guide to the Alva Woods papers