Corinne Forsee papers

Collection

Identifier: IWA0926

Staff Only
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Scope and Contents

The Corinne Forsee papers date 1942-1961 and measure 18 linear inchees in length. The papers address Forsee’s career and are arranged in five series: Biographical, Teaching, Research, Chapter drafts, and Publications.

The Biographical series (1965, 1969) consists of a newspaper article about Corinne Forsee's career in the Clinton Herald and her obituary in the Davenport Times-Democrat.

The Teaching series (1942, undated) includes a book length curriculum outline from 1942 featuring exam questions, debate topics and ideas for student activities as well as other teaching and lesson planning materials.

The Research series (undated) consists of articles and pictures clipped from magazines and newspapers. Forsee used these to compile information for her books. This series also includes her notes about various topics in American history, with many of them referring to the Presidents of the United States.

The Chapter Drafts series (undated), consists of handwritten and typed chapters that Forsee authored. The bulk of materials focus on U.S. Presidents but also on topics such as the Salem witch trials, and diet in early American history.

The Publications series (1954 – 1961, and undated) includes several prototype books. Forsee prepared these prototypes for her publisher by attaching newspaper or magazine clippings to each page of her typed manuscript as illustrations. The sub-series also has three published books by Forsee: Brief Survey of American Historical Fiction (1950), Pioneers of Finance (1961) and The U.S. History Bonus Book (1954). Several letters from her publisher discuss her process in writing another “U.S. History Bonus Book” for elementary students and students with difficulty reading, and mention the possibility of writing for gifted students as well.

Dates

Creation: 1942-1961

Creator

Forsee, Corinne, 1892-1969 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

The papers are open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright held by the donor has been has been transferred to the University of Iowa subject to condition described in the gift agreement.

However, copyright status for some collection materials may be unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owner. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility and potential liability based on copyright infringement for any use rests exclusively and solely with the user. Users must properly acknowledge the Iowa Women’s Archives, The University of Iowa Libraries, as the source of the material. For further information, visit https://www.lib.uiowa.edu/sc/services/rights/

Biographical / Historical

Corinne Forsee, high school history teacher and author, was born to Albert Forsee and Cora (Maxfield) Forsee of Clinton, Iowa in 1892. She lived with her parents and younger sister, Gladys, in Clinton, until attending the State University of Iowa. Forsee graduated in 1918, and began teaching in Madrid, Iowa shortly thereafter. She returned to Clinton in the 1930s to teach high school history.

Forsee was listed by Who’s Who Among American Women as a teacher and an author of books about American history. She published thirteen books aimed at teachers and students of American history including Human Interest Stories about the Presidents (1954), The U.S. History Activity Book (1959), and The Forgotten Women of History (1963). Forsee’s books were meant largely for use in high school classrooms, but some were written for elementary teachers and students with difficulty reading. Forsee retired from teaching after forty-two years in the classroom.

She married Robert Stephenson in 1965 and died in Huntington Beach, California, in 1969.