Caulkins family papers

The Caulkins Family Papers documents the lives of three principal figures: Daniel Douglas Caulkins, Thomas Vassar Caulkins and Edward Dana Caulkins. Daniel Douglas Caulkins was born on February 14, 1816, in Dutchess County, New York. He married Julia Read on October 18, 1847. The couple lived in Dutchess County, where Daniel served as a minister. They had four children: Julia Elizabeth, Edward Douglas, Francis Red and Thomas Vassar (born March 20, 1859). Thomas Vassar Caulkins graduated from the University of Rochester in 1882 and went on to attend the Newton, Massachusetts Theological Seminary, where he was ordained. T. Vassar Caulkins served for fifty years as the minister for First Baptist Church in the Rochester, New York area. He married Agnes Burchard on September 21, 1864. The couple had five children: Daniel Burchard, T. Vassar, Jr., Irene Elizabeth, Seneca Reed and Edward Dana (born February 5, 1892). T. Vassar Caulkins died on January 22, 1951.

Edward Dana Caulkins attended Suffield Academy in Suffield, Connecticut, from 1907-1908. He completed an A.B. from the University of Rochester in 1913, where he was a member of Alpha Delta Phi. After completing his undergraduate degree, Caulkins enrolled in Columbia University and took several courses in Sociology and Philosophy from 1914-1916. During his time at Columbia, Caulkins met and married Ruth Smallwood on November 13, 1915. The couple had three children: Betty, Mary F. and David S. During World War I, Caulkins served as a community organizer with the War Camps Community Service of the War and Navy Departments. As Caulkins's career continued, he worked for different municipal organizations in Pennsylvania and New York. During the summer of 1913, he worked as the Recreation Supervisor in Erie, Pennsylvania, from 1913-1916 as the Assistant Secretary for the West Side Y.M.C.A in New York City and from 1916-1917 as Field Secretary for the Playground and Recreation Association of America. During the 1920s, Caulkins worked as a consultant for Tamblyn and Brown. He later held the position as Superintendent of Recreation for Westchester County, New York. Caulkins wrote articles about recreation and served as editor for the Wingate Memorial Foundation Series of Books, including Intimate Talks by Great Coaches, 1930; School Athletics in Modern Education, 1931; and Aims and Methods in School Athletics, 1932. During his career working in municipal recreation departments, Caulkins also served as President of the New York State Recreation Executive Association, Vice President of the American Recreation Society and Vice President of the American Society for Health, Physical Education and Recreation. E. Dana Caulkins died on February 12, 1983.