Scope and Content Note
The records of the Cuban Educational Association of the United States of America span the years 1897-1954 with the bulk of the material dated 1898-1901. The association, founded in 1898 to aid Cuban and Puerto Rican students in securing an education in the United States, was dissolved in 1903. The records include correspondence, application forms, rosters, scrapbooks, financial records, and photographs of students.
The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence of the association’s secretary-treasurer, Gilbert K. Harroun. Harroun corresponded with representatives of schools, colleges, and universities throughout the country. Among his correspondents were John Jacob Astor, Nicholas Murray Butler, Seth Low, Theodore Roosevelt, Albert Shaw, Joseph Wheeler, and Leonard Wood, as well as numerous Cubans and Puerto Ricans seeking the aid of the association. Following Harroun’s death in 1901, the association went into decline, and the remaining correspondence is primarily addressed to his assistant, Laura D. Conger.
The collection also contains lists and photographs of students, financial records, applications, and scrapbooks documenting the establishment and accomplishments of the association.