The materials in this series concern the activities of the Wisconsin School for the Deaf's pupils from the school's inception in 1852 through 1938. Documented here are pupil grade and attendance records as well as complete pupil registers from 1852-1936. The biographical registers provide basic information about each pupil, such as age, residence, parents' names, and dates of admission/discharge, as well as, in many cases, comments by WSD staff as to the pupil's specific problems, personality, and abilities. Also charted, when possible, is the pupil's trade after leaving the school. The registers thus provide a valuable source of information on the WSD student body, from admission through their post-WSD lives.
Also included are a few pupil essays and workbooks, detailing some of the educational activities to which the pupils of the school committed themselves. The bulk of the material here, however, is comprised of correspondence from the first third of the 20th Century, from and to the WSD superintendent, T. Emery Bray. Many of the letters are between Bray and his pupils' parents, and concern the pupils' admission, progress, and/or problems that arose during the pupils' time at WSD. However, many other letters are between Bray and his pupils themselves, and provide a firsthand view of the often close relationships formed between the students and the superintendent, as well as the myriad problems encountered by students attempting to adjust to life at WSD and afterwards. One folder, dating from 1928, contains testimonials from former students as to what their education at WSD has meant to them.
