Deforest W. Ingerham graduated from Oneonta High School in Oneonta, New York before continuing on to study violin and music as an undergraduate student at the Ithaca Conservatory of Music. Upon graduation from Ithaca in 1910, Ingerham left for Berlin, where he would spend three years in graduate study under teachers such as Issay Barnas and Michel Press. When Ingerham returned to the states he spent some time in Los Angelos as a freelance musician, and some time teaching at Ithaca before he volunteered his service in World War I. He graduated from the School of Aeronautics at Cornell University, and was both a pilot and instructor of Jennie aircraft during the war. After the war Ingerham became a professor of violin and a conductor at Wittenburg University, where he stayed for two and a half years before accepting an offer for the same position at Ohio University in 1927. Ingerham is credited with the real development of Ohio University's symphony orchestra and is often referred to as the "father of the Ohio University Symphony Orchestra". He was fondly thought of and respected by his students and the Athens community. He contributed to the publication "Man's Creative Years" by Professor Harvey Lehman, and is listed in the Dictionary of American Scholars and Writers, Who's Who in the Midwest and Who's Who in Education. Notable content in the collection includes correspondences with Ingerham's peers that give insight into music education at the time, a significant collection of notes from his study in aeronautics during World War I, and an autobiography written by Ingerham that provides insight into the life of a composer, the development of musical education in Ohio, and the experience of being in aeronautics during World War I.
From the guide to the Deforest W. Ingerham Collection, 1908-1987, (Ohio University)
