Samuel R. Slaymaker II Papers
Scope and Contents
The Samuel R. Slaymaker II Papers document the history of the creation of his book Five Miles Away: The Story of The Lawrenceville School. Documents cover both the research and writing process. Of particular interest is correspondence detailing the origins of the project and feedback from school administration and alumni that Slaymaker received prior to publication.
Dates
- 1981 - 1985
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research use.
Conditions Governing Use
Single photocopies and digital photographs may be made for research purposes. Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Archivist. Researchers are responsible for determining any other copyright questions.
Biographical / Historical
Samuel R. Slaymaker II was born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania in 1923. He entered The Lawrenceville School in September of 1937. Though he did not receive a diploma, he is a member of the class of 1943. Slaymaker joined the Air Force in 1942. He served in World War II flying combat missions over Europe with the 8th Air Force. He received and honorable discharge in December, 1945.
Slaymaker went on to study at Corpus Christi College. While there, he was afforded the opportunity to study history at Cambridge University in England. Upon graduating from college, Slaymaker went to work for his family business, Slaymaker Lock Company. Slaymaker remained with the company until he retired in 1973 when Slaymaker Lock Company merged with American Home Products.
While Slaymaker was employed full-time by Slaymaker Lock Company, he also freelanced as a writer, specializing on the subject of fly fishing in articles for national magazines. His first book, Simplified Fly Fishing, was published by Harper & Row in 1969. Slaymaker went on to published several more including, Five Miles Away: The Story of The Lawrenceville School, in 1985. Though Slaymaker appeared at the time to be an unlikely candidate to write a new school history, he was chosen by Head Master Bruce McClellan specifically because he was not embedded in the school. McClellan believed a new school history would benefit from an outsiders' perspective.
Extent
1.25 Linear Feet (3 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
The Samuel R. Slaymaker II Papers are arranged into two series: Series 1: Correspondence and Series 2: Manuscripts.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
These papers were a gift from Samuel R. Slaymaker II.
Appraisal
Appraisal has been conducted in accordance with The Lawrenceville School Stephan Archives guidelines.
Bibliography
Processing Information
The Samuel R. Slaymaker II Papers were processed by Casey Babcock in April of 2012.
- Development & education Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Education, Secondary -- United States Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- High school student activities Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- High school teachers -- United States. Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- High school teaching -- United States. Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- High schools -- Alumni and alumnae Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- High schools -- Curricula -- United States Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Lawrenceville (N.J.) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Lawrenceville School -- History Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Lawrenceville School. Office of the Headmaster
- New Jersey -- History. Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- The Lawrenceville School Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- correspondence Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- manuscripts (document genre) Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Title
- Samuel R. Slaymaker II Papers
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Casey Babcock
- Date
- April 25, 2012
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- English
Repository Details
Part of the The Lawrenceville School Stephan Archives Repository
