This collection contains records from during and after the tenure of Oren B. Cheney as the first President of Bates College (1855-1894). The records include correspondence, donor certificates, and printed and handwritten documents regarding the early work and activities of Bates College, especially relating to the college's relationship to the Free Will Baptists. Notable correspondents include Maine governor Edwin C. Burleigh, and Cheney's successor at Bates, George C. Chase.