Amherst College Archives and Collections

Subject—Topical Heading:
Family Histories (genre)
Local History
Social History
United States—History—Colonial Period
United States—History—Revolutionary War
United States—History—1783–1865
Women—History

Subject—Geographic Name: Hadley, Massachusetts

Note: The Porter-Phelps-Huntington Family Papers document the history of one extended family over the course of 270 years, or eight complete generations. The materials relating to individual family members are organized into 41 units, one for each significant person in the family. These consist of incoming and outgoing correspondence, printed material by or about the person, printed material saved by that person, miscellaneous manuscripts, diaries, and account books. The papers of the earliest family members, prior to 1752, are grouped together in the first two boxes of papers. The bulk of the collection is correspondence. While the collection has long been regarded as a source for materials relating to Colonial and Early American social history, there are equally strong collections of correspondence dating from the mid-19th to the early 20th centuries. The papers are on deposit from the Porter-Phelps-Huntington Foundation, Inc.

Online Guide: Paper guide

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Amherst College Archives and Collections table of contents

Repository: Amherst College Archives and Special Collections

Collection Name: Amherst College Weather Station Records

Acct. #/Ms. #:

Dates: 1835–1924; 1948–

Size: 3 linear feet

Contents:
Bound volumes
Loose-leaf binders

Main Entry: Amherst College (Amherst, Massachusetts)

Subject—Personal Names:
Ives, Philip T.
Snell, Ebenezer Strong
Snell, Sabra

Subject—Corporate Names:
Amherst College (Amherst, Massachusetts)
Hatch Experiment Station
Massachusetts Agricultural College

Subject—Topical Heading:
Massachusetts—Climate
Meteorology—Massachusetts—Observations
Meteorology—United States

Subject—Geographic Name: Amherst, Massachusetts

Note: The Amherst College Weather Station Records have been kept in three distinct, sometimes overlapping eras. The first era, from 1835 to 1902, is documented by a series of five meteorological journals maintained by Ebenezer Strong Snell, an Amherst College professor and graduate (AC 1822), and later his daughter Sabra Snell. During the second era, from 1900 to 1924, weather records were maintained by the Massachusetts Agricultural College at the Hatch Field Station. After a hiatus of nearly 25 years, Dr. Philip Ives (AC 1932) began to collect climatological data at the College weather station. This practice continues to date. Weather records are available through the previous calendar year. They include temperature, precipitation types and totals, and qualitative descriptions of storms and sunshine and constitute, with the records of the last century, an important chapter in the history of the science of meteorological events.

Online Guide: Paper guide

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Amherst College Archives and Collections table of contents

Repository: Amherst College Archives and Special Collections

Collection Name: William Crary Brownell Papers

Acct. #/Ms. #:

Dates: 1871–1929

Size: 5 linear feet

Contents:
Biographical material
Correspondence
Images—Photographs
News clippings
Notebooks
Notes

Main Entry: Brownell, William Crary (1851–1928)

Subject—Personal Names:
Bianchi, Martha Dickinson (3 letters)
Brownell, William Crary
Howells, William Dean (4 letters)
Huneker, James (10 letters)
Matthews, Brander (7 letters)
Scribner, Charles (25 letters)
Wharton, Edith (48 letters)

Subject—Corporate Names:
Charles Scribner's Sons

Subject—Topical Heading:
Journalism—United States
Journalists—United States—Correspondence
Publishers and Publishing

Subject—Geographic Name:

Note: William Crary Brownell (AC 1871) was a longtime editor for the publisher Charles Scribner's Sons. The papers document his work there, through correspondence with a variety of authors whose work was published by Scribner's. The correspondence includes nearly 50 letters by Edith Wharton. Some other important correspondents, listed above, represent only a selection of all those included in the papers.

Online Guide: Paper guide

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Amherst College Archives and Collections table of contents

Repository: Amherst College Archives and Special Collections

Collection Name: Eli Whitney Debevoise Papers

Acct. #/Ms. #:

Dates: 1941–1964

Size: 3 linear feet

Contents:
Correspondence—Personal
Correspondence—Professional
Printed material—Monographs—English
Printed material—Monographs—French
Printed material—Monographs—German
Working papers—Administrative files

Main Entry: Debevoise, Eli Whitney

Subject—Personal Names:
Debevoise, Eli Whitney
McCloy, John J.

Subject—Corporate Names:
HICOG (High Commission for Germany)
Marshall Plan

Subject—Topical Heading:
Diplomats—Biography
Germany—History—1951–1962
United States—Foreign Relations—20th Century

Subject—Geographic Name: Germany

Note: The Eli Whitney Debevoise Papers document his position as the deputy general counsel with the High Commission for Germany from 1950 to 1953 and his ongoing interest in US-German affairs. These papers provide an adjunct to the McCloy Papers, also at Amherst College. While the papers include personal and professional correspondence, appointment calendars, and other administrative material, memoranda, and speeches, the majority is published material relating to post–World War II Germany. Much of it is German language foreign policy monographs.

Online Guide: Paper guide

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Amherst College Archives and Collections table of contents

Repository: Amherst College Archives and Special Collections

Collection Name: Harrison Griswold Dwight Papers

Acct. #/Ms. #:

Dates: 1897–1959

Size: 8 linear feet

Contents:
Correspondence
Diaries
Printed articles
Typescript essays

Main Entry: Dwight, Harrison Griswold (1875–1959)

Subject—Personal Names:
Cather, Willa (7 letters)
Coolidge, Calvin (1 letter)
Dos Passos, John (4 letters)
Dwight, Harrison Griswold
Hoover, Herbert (1 letter)
Howells, William Dean (2 letters)
MacLeish, Archibald (1 letter)
Roosevelt, Eleanor (1 letter)
Toklas, Alice B. (3 letters)
Wharton, Edith (3 letters)
Willkie, Wendell (1 letter)

Subject—Corporate Names:

Subject—Topical Heading:
Authors—United States—Correspondence
Diplomats—Biography
United States—Foreign Relations—20th Century

Subject—Geographic Name:

Note: Harrison Griswold Dwight (AC 1898) began his career in the consular service. In 1918 he worked as a translator with the American section of the Supreme War Council at Versailles and later was secretary to Trasker Bliss at the Paris Peace Conference. His papers represent his later career as an author. The bulk of the collection is correspondence, taking 10 of 16 boxes. Dwight corresponded with many well-known individuals. Those included are both political and literary figures. The correspondents listed above represent only a selection of all those included in the papers.

Online Guide: Paper guide

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Amherst College Archives and Collections table of contents

Repository: Amherst College Archives and Special Collections

Collection Name: Walter Alden Dyer Papers

Acct. #/Ms. #:

Dates: Approximately 1907–1943

Size: 4.5 linear feet

Contents:
Correspondence
Images—Photographs
Printed material—Articles
Printed material—News clippings
Printed material—Reviews
Printed material—Short stories

Main Entry: Dyer, Walter Alden (1878–1943)

Subject—Personal Names:
Dyer, Walter Alden

Subject—Corporate Names:

Subject—Topical Heading:
Antiques
Authors—United States
Dogs
Editors—United States—Biography
Furniture
Pets
United States—Material Culture
United States—Social History

Subject—Geographic Name:

Note: Walter A. Dyer (AC 1900) spent his professional career as a writer and an editor. His papers reflect this, as well as his overriding interests in antique furniture and in animals, particularly dogs. This collection of papers consists primarily of copies of his many articles, stories, and reviews of these subjects. There is one folder of Civil War photographs and one box of personal correspondence.

Online Guide: Paper guide

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Amherst College Archives and Collections table of contents

Repository: Amherst College Archives and Special Collections

Collection Name: Nathan Welby Fiske Papers

Acct. #/Ms. #:

Dates: 1824–1847

Size: 2.5 linear feet

Contents:
Correspondence
News clippings
Notebooks
Sermons

Main Entry: Fiske, Nathan Welby (1798–1847)

Subject—Personal Names:
Fiske, Nathan Welby
Humphrey, Heman
Jackson, Helen Hunt

Subject—Corporate Names:
Amherst College (Amherst, Massachusetts)
Andover Theological Seminary

Subject—Topical Heading:
Christian Theology
College Teachers—United States
Geography—Ancient
Greek Teachers—United States
Mental Philosophy
Philosophy
Sacred History
United States—History—Revolution, 1775–1783
United States—Intellectual Life

Subject—Geographic Name:

Note: Nathan W. Fiske (1798–1847) was a professor of Greek, Latin, Moral Philosophy, and Metaphysics at Amherst College. The bulk of these papers consists of notebooks relating to Greek language and literature, moral and mental philosophy, and, most notably, the history of the American Revolutionary War, a special interest of Fiske.

Online Guide: Paper guide

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Amherst College Archives and Collections table of contents

Repository: Amherst College Archives and Special Collections

Collection Name: Edward and Orra White Hitchcock Papers

Acct. #/Ms. #:

Dates: 1811–1864

Size: 20 linear feet

Contents:
Commonplace books
Correspondence
Financial and legal records
Images—Photographs
News clippings
Printed material—Articles
Printed material—Pamphlets

Main Entry:
Hitchcock, Edward (1793–1864)
Hitchcock, Orra White (1796–1863)

Subject—Personal Names:
Everett, Edward
Hitchcock Family
Hitchcock, Edward Jr.
Hitchcock, Orra White
Hopkins, Mark
Silliman, Benjamin
Torrey, John
White Family

Subject—Corporate Names:
Amherst College (Amherst, Massachusetts)

Subject—Topical Heading:
College Presidents—Massachusetts—Correspondence
Education—Massachusetts—19th Century
Family Histories (genre)
Geology—Study and Teaching
Massachusetts—Geology—Connecticut River Valley
United States—Intellectual Life
Women—Massachusetts—Amherst—History
Women—Social Conditions
Women Artists—United States—19th Century

Subject—Geographic Name:

Note: Edward Hitchcock (1793–1864), a geology professor and the third president of Amherst College, was a Congregational minister and one of the founders of American geology. He spent much of his energies reconciling the fossil record with the notion of divine creation. He also conducted the first geological survey of Massachusetts during the 1830s, and participated in similar surveys of Vermont and New York. He was one of the first to recognize the importance of fossil "bird" [dinosaur] tracks. His wife, Orra White Hitchcock, provided illustrations for many of his works as well as visual aids for his classroom. She was an artist and botanist in her own right.

Online Guide: Paper guide
http://www.amherst.edu/~archives/fa/aids/hitchcock

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Amherst College Archives and Collections table of contents

Repository: Amherst College Archives and Special Collections

Collection Name: Luther Clark Howell Papers

Acct. #/Ms. #:

Dates: 1855–1874

Size: 1 linear foot

Contents:

Main Entry: Howell, Luther Clark (1835–1866)

Subject—Personal Names:
Howell, Luther Clark

Subject—Corporate Names:

Subject—Topical Heading:
United States—History—Civil War, 1861–1865

Subject—Geographic Name:

Note: The papers of Luther Clark Howell (1835–1866) contain a small but important collection of Civil War letters. Howell, a member of the Amherst College class of 1864, was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant in the 31st Massachusetts Volunteers in 1861. He saw action in more than 20 military engagements. Nearly 80 letters to his family survive from the period of his enlistment.

Online Guide: Paper guide

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Amherst College Archives and Collections table of contents

Repository: Amherst College Archives and Special Collections

Collection Name: 1963 Kennedy Convocation Collection

Acct. #/Ms. #:

Dates: 1962–1973

Size: 1.5 linear feet

Contents:
Audiotapes
Correspondence
Images—Photographs
News clippings

Main Entry: Kennedy, John F. (1917–1963)

Subject—Personal Names:
Frost, Robert
Kennedy, John F.
MacLeish, Archibald

Subject—Corporate Names:
Amherst College (Amherst, Massachusetts)

Subject—Topical Heading:
Academic Libraries
Library Buildings—Massachusetts
United States—Presidents

Subject—Geographic Name:

Note: In October 1963 President John F. Kennedy spoke at the ground-breaking for the Robert Frost Library at Amherst College. It was one of the last public appearances that he made before his assassination. In a separate ceremony, both he and the poet Archibald MacLeish were awarded honorary degrees by the College. The records of this event, though small in quantity, are an example of how documentation of visits to Amherst College by public figures assume significance both for the history of the individual concerned and for the history of the College.

Online Guide: Paper guide

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Amherst College Archives and Collections table of contents

Repository: Amherst College Archives and Special Collections

Collection Name: Anson D. Morse Papers

Acct. #/Ms. #:

Dates: 1888–1912

Size: 7 linear feet

Contents:
Notebooks
Pamphlets

Main Entry: Morse, Anson Daniel (1845–1916)

Subject—Personal Names:
Morse, Anson Daniel

Subject—Corporate Names:
Amherst College (Amherst, Massachusetts)

Subject—Topical Heading:
College Teachers—United States
History—Study and Teaching—United States
Political Parties—United States—History
Political Science—Study and Teaching—United States

Subject—Geographic Name:

Note: Anson Morse (AC 1871) was a history professor at Amherst College from 1876 to 1907 (emeritus until his death). He was the author of many articles on the history of political parties, several of which were collected after his death and published under the title "Parties and Party Leaders." The papers here reflect that interest, consisting largely of notes on the early political history of the United States.

Online Guide: Paper guide

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Amherst College Archives and Collections table of contents

Repository: Amherst College Archives and Special Collections

Collection Name: Wadsworth W. Mount Papers

Acct. #/Ms. #:

Dates: 1932–1969

Size: 2 linear feet

Contents:
Articles
Correspondence
Speeches

Main Entry: Mount, Wadsworth W. (1907–1985)

Subject—Personal Names:
Mount, Wadsworth W.

Subject—Corporate Names:

Subject—Topical Heading:
Economic History
Economists—United States—Biography
Taxation—United States
Value-added Tax

Subject—Geographic Name:

Note: The papers of Wadsworth W. Mount (AC 1928) document his ongoing interest in the value-added tax (VAT). The bulk of the papers consists of correspondence regarding the VAT and articles he wrote concerning it: "New Taxes for Old," "Who Pays the Piper Should Call the Tune," and "A Re- examination of Taxation Fundamentals."

Online Guide: Paper guide

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Amherst College Archives and Collections table of contents

Repository: Amherst College Archives and Special Collections

Collection Name: Mount Pleasant Classical Institution Collection

Acct. #/Ms. #:

Dates: 1827–1832

Size: .25 linear foot

Contents:
Printed material—Broadsides
Printed material—Catalogs
Printed material—Programs

Main Entry: Mount Pleasant Classical Institution (Amherst, Massachusetts)

Subject—Personal Names:
Beecher, Henry Ward

Subject—Corporate Names:
Mount Pleasant Classical Institution (Amherst, Massachusetts)

Subject—Topical Heading:
Education—Massachusetts—19th Century
Schools—Massachusetts—19th Century

Subject—Geographic Name: Amherst, Massachusetts

Note: The catalogs and other publications that constitute this collection include complete lists of students at Mount Pleasant Classical Institution, who came from a variety of locations in this country and abroad. Henry Ward Beecher is perhaps the most famous graduate. There is also detailed information about the philosophy behind the education offered there as well as descriptions of the courses of study. This school should not be confused with the Mount Pleasant Institute. The records of both schools supplement the records of Amherst Academy, precursor of Amherst College.

Online Guide: Paper guide

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Amherst College Archives and Collections table of contents

Repository: Amherst College Archives and Special Collections

Collection Name: Mount Pleasant Institute Collection

Acct. #/Ms. #:

Dates: 1846–1903

Size: .25 linear foot

Contents:
Printed material—Catalogs
Printed material—Examinations

Main Entry: Mount Pleasant Institute Collection (Amherst, Massachusetts)

Subject—Personal Names:

Subject—Corporate Names:
Mount Pleasant Institute (Amherst, Massachusetts)

Subject—Topical Heading:
Education—Massachusetts—19th Century
Schools—Massachusetts—19th Century

Subject—Geographic Name: Amherst, Massachusetts

Note: These papers consist primarily of catalogs that contain complete lists of students and descriptions of the curriculum, and are of interest for their articulation of the system of "family organization" that was observed through a uniquely close asssociation between the students and the family of the principal of the school, with whom they lived.

Online Guide: Paper guide

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Amherst College Archives and Collections table of contents

Repository: Amherst College Archives and Special Collections

Collection Name: Dwight W. Morrow Papers

Acct. #/Ms. #:

Dates: 1877–1954

Size: 124 linear feet

Contents:
Correspondence
Meeting minutes
Memoranda and reports
News clippings
Photographs
Scrapbooks
Speeches
Subject files

Main Entry: Morrow, Dwight Whitney (1873–1931)

Subject—Personal Names:
Burnett, Charles T.
Clark, J. Reuben Jr.
Cochran, Thomas
Coolidge, Calvin
Cravath, Paul D.
duPont, T. Coleman
Edge, Walter E.
Morgan, J.P.
Morrow, Dwight W.

Subject—Corporate Names:
Kennecott Copper Corporation
Interborough Rapid Transit Company

Subject—Topical Heading:
Diplomatic and Consular Service—Mexico
Diplomats—Biography
International Finance
United States—Foreign Relations—20th Century
World War, 1914–1918—Economic Aspects

Subject—Geographic Name: Mexico

Note: These papers document the professional, public service, and personal activities of Dwight W. Morrow (AC 1895). They reflect his multiple roles and commitments as lawyer, international financier, statesman, public servant, and family man. Specifically, they include material relating to his work at the banking firm of J.P. Morgan, where he was involved with financing loans for World War I, the Cuban government, and New York City; the capitalization of the Kennecott Copper Corporation; and refinancing the Interborough Rapid Transit Company. The issues he faced while ambassador to Mexico are also well documented. Also available on microfilm.

Online Guide: Paper guide and guide to microfilmed paper.
http://www.amherst.edu/~archives/fa/aids/morrow/

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Amherst College Archives and Collections table of contents

Repository: Amherst College Archives and Special Collections

Collection Name: John J. McCloy Papers

Acct. #/Ms. #:

Dates: 1916–1986

Size: 74.25 linear feet

Contents:
Administrative files—Corporate
Administrative files—Government service
"Black Tom" case—(WWI-Sabotage)
Correspondence—Personal
Correspondence—Professional (esp. War Department)
Diaries—Personal
Diaries—War Department
Photographs
Publications—Working papers
Scrapbooks
Speeches

Main Entry: McCloy, John J. (1895–1989)

Subject—Personal Names:
Bundy, McGeorge
Jackson, Henry M.
Kissinger, Henry
McCarthy, Joseph
McCloy, John J.
McNamara, Robert S.
Nasser, Gamal Abdel
Reagan, Ronald
Rusk, Dean

Subject—Corporate Names:
Ford Foundation
HICOG (High Commission for Germany)
NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)
World Ban

Subject—Topical Heading:
Diplomatic and Consular Service—Germany
United States—Foreign Relations—20th Century
United States—State Department
World War, 1914–1918
World War, 1939–1945

Subject—Geographic Name:
China
Germany
Japan

Note: These papers document the personal life and multifaceted career of John J. McCloy (AC 1916), whose activities in the foreign service of the United States spanned two World Wars, the postwar developments of the 1940s, and, later, a significant period in the history of the United States, Europe, and Asia. The correspondence files are notable for the free and open discussions between McCloy and figures in United States and foreign governments, in which he shared his views of developing events. Speeches in the collection number more than 500. The list of contents (above), the selection of subject headings, and the partial list of correspondents (above) represent only a small segment of the scope of the papers, omitting, for example, materials relating to early deliberations (including financial aspects) of atomic power as an energy source. The Eli Whitney Debevoise Papers, described elsewhere in this guide, are a useful adjunct to the McCloy materials. Researchers are urged to consult the finding aid in the Archives and Special Collections department, which describes in greater detail the 34 series of the McCloy papers.

Online Guide: Paper guide
                         http://www.amherst.edu/~archives/fa/aids/mccloy/

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                    Amherst College Archives and Collections table of contents