IX. Merrill E. Gates,, 1882-1929,, bulk: bulk 1882-1892

Summary: Campbell's successor, Merrill E. Gates, was a career academic who left Rutgers College in 1890 to assume the presidency of Amherst College after presiding over substantial expansions to the college, including Rutgers designation as the state agricultural school. Very little material exists to document the pursuit of agricultural status or other expansions to the college. Most of this series reflects the academic pursuits of President Gates and his offices and activities in later years after leaving Rutgers College.

The Gates Series holds several published poems, essays, and speeches, including commencement addresses for several graduating classes at Rutgers College. Also prominent in Series IX are formal invitations. Correspondence in Series IX is mostly professional, and it demonstrates Merrill E. Gates academic connections, including letters of introduction to leading archaeologists like Dr. [Heinrich] Schliemann and Dr. Charles Waldstein. Newspaper clippings cover the activities of President Gates and his family, and the poetry of Mrs. Mary C. Bishop Gates, the first wife of Merrill E. Gates, appears several times in this series.