Rev. James Peery Schell was born January 29, 1845 at West Liberty, Iowa. He attended public schools and in 1862 he entered the Univeristy of Iowa at Iowa City. He left school in 1863 due to the illness of his father who died that August. Rev. Schell then taught school for the winter and reentered the University in 1864. That summer he entered the Student Company of the 44th Iowa and served at Memphis and La Grange, Tennessee. He returned to the University in 1864 and in 1870 he graduated. Rev. Schell then attended Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Chicago for one year and then went to the Union Theological Seminary in New York City where he graduated in 1873. Rev. Schell was also an author and poet. He wrote In the Ojibway Country as well as other historical manuscripts.

The Schell Collection consists mainly of his manuscripts, some correspondence and a variety of material in the Subject Files. The correspondence is exclusively between Mr. Leonard Sackett and Rev. Schell's daughters concerning the donation of the papers, sale of extra copies of In the Ojibway Country, and the publication of his manuscripts. It is quite complete with both incoming and outgoing correspondence for the period 1953-1957 and 1961. The manuscripts of Rev. Schell reflect his interest in the early history of this area. Among them is the "Early days of Fort Union - Buford" which also has sections on Missouri River Trading posts, the beginning of Catholic missions and thewestern Indians, and the Indian quest for the white man's "Book of Heaven." The "Heart of the Wasatch" manuscript relates Rev. Schell's experiences while in Utah. The "Story of a Missionary Pony" is about his faithful horse while a traveling minister in North Dakota and Minnesota. 
 

Local and Ethnic History  Religion