This collection consists of the research files compiled by SJSU Emeritus Professor of History, James P. Walsh for the publication "Tadhg" Lets Change the Subject," published in Back to the Future of Irish Studies; Festschrift for Tadhg Foley, edited by Maureen O'Conner (2009). This research originated from his earlier publication One and the Same: The History of Continuing Education at San Jose State University, 1857-2007.

As Walsh notes in his published article, the first sixteen graduates came to the West during the gold rush era of California. All were single women, with the exception of Annie E. [Sanford] Dubois. The women ranged in age from 17-34, and only three of the graduates were foreign born. All of the students were white, were daytime school teachers, and each attended the Normal School as night students. The first graduate, Ellen Casey graduated at the top of her class. Kate Kennedy, sixth in her class, lobbied for suffrage, unionization, and education. Mary Lynde, ranked thirteen in her class, and had a long career as a school principal, teacher, and writer. She also passed the California State Bar exam and became a practicing lawyer. Miss Lynde was one of only four women practicing law in early California. Mary A. Casebolt ranked second in her class and became a schoolteacher. Mary Louise Tracy ranked twelfth in her class and married Normal School teacher, John Swett, one of the founders of public education in California. Carolyn L. Hunt, number ten in her class, had a 40-year career as a botany and biology teacher. Annie E. Stanford Du Bois was the only married graduate, and despite the discrimination against married female teachers at the time, she had a very successful career as a teacher and as a principal.