I. Registrar,, 1890-1915

Arrangement: Series I addresses Upson's time as the first University Registrar of Rutgers College, spanning from Upson's appointment to the post in 1890 and continuing until his death in 1915. As the Registrar, Upson corresponded regularly with current students, alumni, and prospective students. His role as the Registrar also included his role as the Chief Admissions Officer, which explains why much of the correspondence in this series is with prospective students to the college. Correspondence mainly pertains to scholarship and entrance examination information, but also includes requests for diplomas, course catalogs, and alumni catalogs. Other types of documents that Upson received include applications for Master's degrees. Occasionally, Upson would receive and answer correspondence addressed to President William H. Demarest and President Austin Scott.

As the Registrar, Upson filled many administrative functions that now have their own offices. Present here are Upson's collections of Alumni Association dues, subscriptions to the college's newspaper (The Targum), and subscriptions to other college associations such as the Athletic Association. Several correspondents within this series are female relatives of the male students at Rutgers College. These women are sisters or mothers requesting information for the student or reporting on the health status of the student. Other correspondents in this series include employers inquiring about the character of Rutgers' graduates and employers interested in hiring Rutgers students for summer positions. Some correspondents are clergy members, school principals, and school superintendents who give student recommendations, provide students' high school records, and ask Upson for additional information about the entrance requirements or scholarship aid.

Student correspondence, present here, typically spanned the time of one's application to Rutgers to one's years as a student and later an alumnus, though not all correspondents matriculated at Rutgers. Subjects routinely addressed in this correspondence include catalog requests, admissions requirements and examinations, scholarship eligibility, coursework and absences, employment and housing, thesis topics, requests for diplomas, subsequent studies, personal references, and alumni dues.

The folders in Series I each contain correspondence from or related to a single individual with the exception of the last folder in the series. This folder, "Correspondence, A-Z, 1902-1907" consists of single letters from different individuals; letters are arranged alphabetically within the folder according to correspondents' last named. Within the series, the amount of correspondence from any one individual varies greatly, from one or two letters to thirty or forty. In some instances, folders include correspondence from both students and parents, most commonly concerning a student's bills. Additionally, individuals oftentimes addressed Upson in his multiple capacities as Registrar, Treasurer, etc. over the course of their correspondence. Rather than separating these letters out according to Upson's role, all correspondence from each individual has been filed together, respecting both the original arrangement of the records and also to give a comprehensive view of the individual's relations with Rutgers as both a student and alumnus.