Milton B. Ochs Scrapbooks
This collection contains five scrapbooks created by the Ochs and Van Dyke families of Chattanooga, Tennessee. The subjects of the five books include Milton B. Ochs’ time spent at the University of Tennessee and at the Chickering Institute in Cincinnati, Ohio; two books covering news, politics, and society in Nashville, Tennessee; letters of condolence after Ochs’ death; and a book of newspaper clippings and photographs detailing the family history of his wife’s relatives, the Van Dykes.
Dates
- 1837-1955
Conditions Governing Access
Collections are stored offsite and must be requested 5 days in advance. See www.lib.utk.edu/special for detailed information. Collections must be requested through a registered Special Collections research account.
Conditions Governing Use
The UT Libraries claims only physical ownership of most material in the collections. Persons wishing to broadcast or publish this material must assume all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants. Please see www.lib.utk.edu/special for detailed information. Collections must be requested through a registered Special Collections research account.
Extent
5.20 Linear Feet (1 full box and 3 flat boxes)
Abstract
This collection contains five scrapbooks created by the Ochs and Van Dyke families of Chattanooga, Tennessee. The subjects of the five books include Milton B. Ochs’ time spent at the University of Tennessee and at the Chickering Institute in Cincinnati, Ohio; two books covering news, politics, and society in Nashville, Tennessee; letters of condolence after Ochs’ death; and a book of newspaper clippings and photographs detailing the family history of his wife’s relatives, the Van Dykes.
Biographical / Historical
Milton B. Ochs was a member of what would become one of the most prominent families in U.S. newspaper publishing. Born in Cincinnati, Ohio on January 29, 1864, Ochs was the fourth of Julius and Bertha Levy Ochs’ six surviving children. After the Civil War, the family moved to Knoxville, Tennessee in 1866, where Julius and Bertha had briefly lived in 1855. The family faced years of misfortune, and sometimes discrimination as Jewish German immigrants, as well as personal discord as Betha and Julius supported opposing sides during the war.
Milton Ochs began his newspaper career delivering newspapers for the Knoxville Chronicle. Once his brother Adolph purchased The Chattanooga Times in 1878, Milton worked for his brother as a printer’s devil, working his way up to Managing Editor, though he left for other work in 1899. In 1909 he joined Thomas R. Preston in the purchase of the Nashville American, and he served as the publisher of this paper until 1911. In 1912 and 1913, Ochs was Sunday editor of the Philadelphia Public Ledger, published by his brothers Adolph and George. In 1913 he assumed the managing editor position of the Chattanooga Times, where he remained until 1922, when he retired from active editorial work and assumed the position of vice president of the Chattanooga Times Printing Company.
Ochs served in both the Fifth and Fourth Tennessee Infantry during World War I, rising to the rank of Colonel, and was active in military organizations for the rest of his life. He also served for many years at Chattanooga’s Lookout Mountain Park, until it was taken over as part of the National Park Service.
Milton Ochs married Frances “Fannie” Lavinia Van Dyke in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on April 27, 1893. The Van Dyke family was prominent and well-connected, but there was much opposition to the marriage as Milton was Jewish and Fannie was Presbyterian. The couple married anyway, and raised their three children in Chattanooga.
Milton Barlow Ochs died April 30, 1955, at the age of 91, and is buried in Forest Hills Cemetery in Chattanooga.
Arrangement
This collection is arranged in one standard box and three oversize boxes. Two scrapbooks were removed from damaged bindings and foldered, and three are in individual flat boxes.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
This collection was donated in May of 1977 by Alice Myles Ochs (Mrs. William Van Dyke Ochs).
Repository Details
Part of the Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives, University of Tennessee, Knoxville Repository