Samuel Chapman Armstrong

The Samuel Chapman Armstrong papers contain the personal and professional papers of Armstrong, his first wife, Emma Walker Armstrong, and their extended families. Armstrong, who was born to missionary parents in Hawaii, graduated from Williams College in 1862, served as an officer during the Civil War, and later founded the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute (also known as the Hampton Institute). Armstrong dedicated his life to the education of African Americans and Native Americans during a unique transitional period in American history, and the collection provides an opportunity for scholars to examine the life of a leading figure in 19th-century educational philosophy within the context and influence of the community in which he was reared.