This collection contains a variety of periodicals, photographs, correspondence, business and advertising ephemera (corporate and non-profit, personal), organizational records and ephemera, created by, for, and in reaction to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) community.
Scope and Contents:
The Archives Center Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) Collection contains periodicals, ephemera, posters, postcards, advertisements, photographs, organizational records, publications, correspondence, and other materials related to all aspects of the LGBT community and the civil rights issues pertaining thereto. The collection was created by the Archives Center to bring together materials specifically pertaining to the LGBT community. This collection contains material from communities and individuals throughout the United States. The collection is currently strongest in periodicals, newspapers and ephemera and very strong in material from California and New York. The collection continues to add new items and the researcher would be wise to take a broad view in targeting their research topics in the collection.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into twenty-eight series.
Series 1: Periodicals, 1937-2023
Series 2: Agencies, Associations, and Organizations, 1965-2023, undated
Series 3: Community Life and Subject Files, 1825-2023, undated
Subseries 3.1: Photographs and Slides, 1870-2009, undated
Subseries 3.2: Ephemera and Buttons, 1969-2022, undated
Subseries 3.3: Posters and Prints, 1825-2018, undated
Subseries 3.4: Subject Files, 1958-2023, undated
Subseries 3.5: Pride, 1976-2023, undated
Subseries 3.6: HIV and AIDS, 1987-2020, undated
Subseries 3.7: Gay Games, 1982-2018
Series 4: Advertising, Business, and Publications, 1912-2023, undated
Subseries 4.1: Advertising, 1970-2018, undated
Subseries 4.2: Business, 1986-2021, undated
Subseries 4.3: Television, Theater, and Motion Pictures, 1978-2023, undated
Subseries 4.4: Bar ephemera and advertisement, 1979-2018, undated
Subseries 4.5: Publications, 1912-2023, undated
Series 5: Biren, Joan E. (JEB), 195-2018, undated
Subseries 5.1: Xerographic Copies of Photoprints, 1971-1995, undated.
Subseries 5.2: Posters and Oversize Advertisement, 1973-2018, undated
Series 6: Dietrich, Joseph A., 1992-2010
Series 7: Mattachine Society Records, 1942-1996, undated
Subseries 7.1: Correspondence, 1952-1991, undated
Subseries 7.2: Board of Directors Minutes, 1954-1974, undated
Subseries 7.4: Councils, Chapters, and Committees, 1953-1965, undated
Subseries 7.5: Conventions, 1953-1960, undated
Subseries 7.6: Publications, 1944-1996, undated
Series 8: Rainbow History Community Pioneers, 2003-2012, undated
Series 9: Strub, Sean O., addendum, 1987-2011, undated
Series 10: Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Baltimore (GLCCB, 1990-2014, undated
Series 11: Ros, Silvia, 2009-2011
Series 12: Huebner, David, 2009-2014
Series 13: St. George, Philip, 1945-1955, undated
Series 14: Will & Grace, 1995-2006
Series 15: Barna, Joseph T. and Heritage of Pride (HOP), New York, New York, 1910-2014, undated
Subseries 15.1: Photographs, Photographic Negatives, and Slides, 1985-2010, undated
Subseries 15.2: Heritage of Pride (HOP), 1984-2014, undated
Subseries 15.3: Barna, Joseph T., 1910-2013, undated,
Series 16: Becker, John M., 1999-2014, undated
Series 17: Rohrbaugh, Richard, 1972-1986, undated
Series 18: Guest, Michael E., 2001-2009
Series 19: The Fosters, 2013
Series 20: Pride at Work, 1990-2015
Series 21: Sabatino, Michael and Voorheis, Robert, 1980-2016, undated
Subseries 21.1: Archilla, Gustavo A. and Lokkins, Elmer T., 1916-2014, undated
Series 22: Gay Officers Action League (GOAL), 1982-2016, undated
Series 23: Brown, Adele "Del" and Herizon's Bar, 1985-1991, undated
Subseries 1: Changing Herizons, and Herizons Newsletter, 1983-1991
Series 24: Universal Fellowship Metropolitan Community Churches (UFMCC), 1957-2019, undated
Series 25: The Christmas House, Crown Media Family Networks, 2020-2021
Series 26: Cones, Myra L. and Harris, G. Yvonne, 1979-2001, undated
Series 27: Atlantic States Gay Rodeo Association (ASGRA), 1993-2004, undated
Series 28: Hooker, Meryl, 1989-1996, undated
Historical Note:
While the quest for equal rights has been pursued by generations, it is generally acknowledged that the modern day Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) civil rights movement began in New York City in June 1969 with the Stonewall Riots. Prior to this time a number of activists, individuals, and organizations such as The Mattachine Society, Daughters of Bilitis and others, fought to bring recognition of LGBT civil rights to the forefront of American society. While the movement was primarily, and most visably, centered in New York City and San Francisco, periodicals, guide books, and ephemeral material interconnected the larger LGBT community throughout the United States. The increased visibility of the LGBT movement inspired affinity groups at odds with the LGBT community's new found visibility and quest for broader civil rights. The challenge to what was termed "traditional" values encouraged these counter-LGBT groups to define and solidfy their constituency and also become more pro-active. This collection comprises material that is generated by individuals and organizations promoting both points of view.
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center
Michio and Aveline Kushi Macro-Biotics Collection (AC0619)
The Shamrock Bar: Photographs and Interviews (AC0857)
Archives Center Wedding Documentation Collection (AC1131 )
Division of Science, Medicine, and Society HIV/AIDS Reference Collection (AC1134)
John-Manuel Andriote Hot Stuff: A Brief History of Disco Collection (AC1184)
Joan E. Biren (JEB) Queer Film Museum Collection (AC1216)
World AIDS Institute (WAI) Collection (AC1266)
Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) Records (AC1282)
Helping Persons with AIDS (HPA) Records (AC1283)
DC Cowboys Dance Company Records (AC1312)
Bil Browning and Jerame Davis Papers (AC1334)
David Hadley Rockwell New York Disco Ephemera Collection (AC1342)
Leonard P. Hirsch Federal Globe Records (AC1357)
Corbett Reynolds Papers (AC1390)
Mark Segal Papers (AC1422)
The Mattachine Society of Washington "Love in Action" Collection (AC1428)
Academy of Washington Records (AC1458)
Matthew Shepard Papers (AC1463)
I'm From Driftwood Records (AC1503)
The Division of Political History holds artifacts related to gay activist Franklin Kameny and a variety of political buttons. They also hold LGBT related artifacts from Joan E. Biren (JEB).
The Division of Medical and Science holds objects donated from Dr. Renee Richards, Sean O. Strub, and Leonard Hirsch.
The Division of Entertainment and the Arts holds objects donated by The Fosters, Will & Grace, and The Christmas House.
Provenance:
This collection was assembled by the Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian, beginning in 2004.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
Researchers must handle unprotected photographs with gloves. Researchers must use reference copies of audio-visual materials. When no reference copy exists, the Archives Center staff will produce reference copies on an "as needed" basis, as resources allow.
Do not use original materials when available on reference video or audio tapes.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Archives Center Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Compiled September 2010 by AAG Volunteer, Marca Woodhams
Abbreviation Key for McFarland Color Cards
AAS: -- All-America Selections. Source: AAS.
Amling: -- A. F. Amling Co., Maywood, Illinois. Later Amlings Flowers, Chicago, Illinois. Source: FL '31
Armstrong: -- Armstrong Nurseries, Ontario, California, est. 1889. Roses and fruit trees. Source: FL '31, JSA, ARM
Arnold Arb: -- Arnold Arboretum, Harvard University, Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. Source: FL '31, AA
B&A: -- Bobbink & Atkins, East Rutherford, New Jersey. Roses. Source: FL '31
Babcock: -- Babcock Peony Gardens, Jamestown, New York. George B. Babcock. Peonies. Source: FL '31, WEIN
Bailey: -- Mrs. Charles D. Bailey, Clerksville [Clarksville], Tennessee. Peonies. Source: FL '31
B.H.: -- Breeze Hill, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Home of J. Horace McFarland.
Bobbink & Atkins: -- Bobbink & Atkins, East Rutherford, New Jersey. Roses. Source: FL '31, TB p.219
Bodger Seeds: -- John Bodger and Sons, Inc., El Monte, California. Founded in 1890. Wholesale flower seed business. Heirloom standards-Gleam Nasturtium, Crackerjack Marigolds, Zinnia Envy, etc. Source: BOD, LOMPOC
Bosley: -- Bosley Nursery, Mentor, Ohio. Specialized in roses. Source: FL '31, MENT
Breck: -- Joseph Breck & Co., Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1818. Source: FL '32
Breeze Hill: -- Breeze Hill, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Home of J. Horace McFarland. Source: TB
Clint McDade: -- Founder of Rivermont Orchids, Signal Mountain, Tennessee. Also Clint McDade & Sons and Semmes Nursery [specialized in camellias and azaleas]. Orchid hybridizer. Source: AOS, AZO, PF
Conard & Jones: -- Conard & Jones Co., West Grove, Pennsylvania. Established in 1897. Roses and flowering plants. Source: FL '31
Conard-Pyle: -- Conard-Pyle, West Grove, Pennsylvania. After 1907 when Pyle purchased Conard & Jones Co. Roses. Source: FL '31
CP: -- Conard-Pyle, West Grove, Pennsylvania. Source: FL '31
C.P.: -- Conard-Pyle, West Grove, Pennsylvania. Source: FL '31
CP Co.: -- Conard-Pyle, West Grove, Pennsylvania. Source: FL '31
Dreer: -- Henry A. Dreer, Inc., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded 1838. Seed and florist. Source: FL '31, TB p. 219
Eichelberger
Farr: -- Bertrand H. Farr Wyomissing Nursery Co., Wyomissing, Pennsylvania. Founded 1908. Nursery. Later called Farr Nursery and Landscape Company. Source: FL '31, FARR
Gl. St. Mary: -- Glen St. Mary Nursery Company , Glen St. Mary, Florida. Founded in 1882. Citrus plants, the weaver dogwood, magnolia St. Mary, and the George L. Taber azalea. Source: FL '31, , TB, MYFL
Glen St. Mary Nursery: -- Glen St. Mary Nursery Company , Glen St. Mary, Florida. Founded in 1882. Citrus plants, the weaver dogwood, magnolia St. Mary, and the George L. Taber azalea. Source: FL '31, TB, MYFL
Greenbriar: -- Greenbrier Farms, Chesapeake, Viriginia. Started by Robert Earl Thrasher. Fruit trees.
G.S.M.: -- Glen St. Mary Nursery Company , Glen St. Mary, Florida. Founded in 1882. Citrus plants, the weaver dogwood, magnolia St. Mary, and the George L. Taber azalea. Source: FL '31, TB, MYFL
Hastings: -- H. G. Hastings Seed Co., Atlanta, Georgia. Founded 1889. Source: ART, VSC
Herbst Brothers, 92 Warren Street, New York, NY: -- Herbst Brothers, Seedsmen, Inc., New York, New York. Seedsmen. Source: OSU
Hicks: -- Hicks Nurseries, Inc., Westbury, New York. Founded 1853. Trees. Source: FL '30, HICKS
Hume: -- H. Harold Hume [Hardrada Harold Hume], botanist and dean of the College of Agriculture, University of Florida. Azaleas of the Glenn Dale type named after him. Source: PA
IK
Indian Spring Farms: -- Indian Spring Farms, Inc., Baldwinsville, New York. Asters and peonies. Source: SHACK
J&P: -- Jackson & Perkins, Newark, New York. Founded in 1872. Roses. Source: FL '31
Jackson & Perkins: -- Jackson & Perkins, Newark, New York. Founded in 1872. Roses. Source: FL '31
J. H. Hill: -- Joseph H. Hill Co., Richmond, Indiana. Son of Edward Gurney Hill who started a business in 1881 called Hill & Co., later E. G. Hill Co., Richmond, Indiana. Later with his brothers-in-law, Fred Lemon and Earl Mann, he formed a distribution company called Hill Floral Products Co. The company closed in 2007. Roses. Source: FL '31, HR, AARS
Kelway: -- James Kelway. Kelways Plants, Ltd., Langport, Somerset Levels, England. Founded in 1851. Peonies. Source: CB
Lemoine: -- Victor Lemoine, Nancy, France. 1852 first mention of work in Revue Horticole. Hybridist of lilacs. Also Portulaca grandiflora, Begonias, Peony, Pelargoniums. Son Emile and Grandson Henri Lemoine carried on the business until 1960. Source: CB, TAY
Lindley Nurs.: -- J. Van Lindley Nursery Co., Pomona, North Carolina and Lindley Nursery, Greensboro, North Carolina. Formerly Pomona Nursery est. in 1877. Peach trees. Source: FL '30, '31, GHM
Livingston: -- Livingston Seed Co., Columbus, Ohio. Founded in 1850. Tomatoes, etc. Source: VSC
Lohrman Seed Co.: -- Lohrman Seed Co., 404 Macomb, Detroit, Michigan. Est. 1893. Source: OSU
Market
Masonic Home "E" town: -- Masonic Home, Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania. Est. 1910. Now called Masonic Village.
McGinness: -- C. R. McGinnis, Reading, Pennsylvania. Rose hips. Source: FL '32
Miche
Miss Trump: -- Bess E. Trump, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Source: TRUMP, ARA
Mrs. Bailey: -- Mrs. Charles D. Bailey, Clerksville [Clarksville], Tennessee. Peonies. Source: FL '31
Murrell: -- Edwin Murrell est. Portland Nurseries, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. Rose nursery and seed shop. Sons Owen and Edwin Foley Murrell ran shop starting in 1928. Hilda Murrell, daughter of Owen ran Edwin Murrell Ltd. during its golden years, 1949-1970. Roses. Source: GAR
N.C.
Oberlin Peony Gardens: -- Oberlin Peony Gardens, Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania. Tritomas and tree peony propagation. Source: OSU
ART: -- "F. J. Cooledge and Sons Company - Hastings' Seed Company." -- Marietta Street ARTery Association -- . Web. 22 Apr. 2010. -- http://www.artery.org/Cooledge-HastingsSeedCo.htm
AZO: -- "Did you ever wonder how an orchid hybrid got its name and information about the hybridizer?" -- The Arizona Orchidist -- , v.43 n.6, June 2007 p.4 [Clint McDade and Rivermont Orchids, Signal Mountain, Tennessee; later Semmes Orchids, Alabama]
BONN: -- "Book of Bonawitz and Bonewitz, part 2, chapter 18, page 1, Feb. 1969." -- Lee R. Bonnewitz -- . 1969. Web. 10 Jun.2010. -- http://bonnewitz.org/Part2/18-01.htm
BRIS: -- A Catalogue of forest trees, evergreen and flowering shrubs, fruit trees, herbaceous, green-house, and hot-house plants, cultivated and sold by John Miller, nurseryman, seedsman, and florist -- . Bristol, CT: Bristol Nursery, 1826.
BURP: -- "The legacy of W. Atlee Burpee." -- W. Atlee Burpee & Co -- . 2010. Web. 17 Jun. 2010. -- http://www.burpee.com/contentarticle.do?itemID=574
CB: -- Carsten Burkhardt's Web Project Paeonia List of breeders, growers, nurseries, etc -- . Web. 10 Jun. 2010 [James Kelway and Victor Lemoine] -- http://www.paeo.ed/h1/sau_sil/wister/buch/135_137.html
DAV: -- PlantFiles -- Detailed information on garden epony Paeonia lactiflora 'Walter Faxon.' Web. 2010 -- http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/190366
FARR: -- "History of Farr Nursery and Landscape Company." -- Farr Nursery and Landscape Company -- . 2002. Web. 15 Apr. 2010. -- http://farrnursery.com/history.php
FL: -- Breeze Hill Gardens (Harrisburg, Pa.) -- Finding-list of plants at Breeze Hill Gardens, Harrisburg, Penna., at the residence of J. Horace McFarland. . .: including trial gardens of the J. Horace McFarland Company -- . Harrisburg, PA: s.n., 1930-1932. [These volumes were annotated by Glendon A. Stevens, J. Horace McFarland's gardener.]
GAR1: -- "Non-competitive exhibits," -- The Garden an illustrated weekly journal of horticulture in all its branches -- , v.62 n.1606, August 30, 1902 p.156. [Edward Murrell]
GAR2: -- "Victor Lemoine, plant hybridist, an appreciation." -- The Garden Magazine -- , May 1917 p. 234. Web. 20 Apr. 2010 -- http://www.earthlypursuits.com/GardenMag/GardenMag0517-234.htm
GEL: -- Gelderen, D. M. van, Piet C. Jong, Herman John Oterdoom. -- Maples of the world -- . Portland, OR: Timber Press, 1994. p.309. [Gulf Stream Nursery, Virginia]
HAR: -- Harper, Raymond L. -- A history of Chesapeake, Virginia -- . Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2008. p.62. [Greenbrier Farms Nursery, Chesapeake, Virginia; later Greenbrier Nursery Products]
MENT: -- "History of Mentor Timeline." -- City of Mentor -- . Web. 2010. [Bosley Nursery, Mentor, OH] -- http://cityofmentor.com/wp-content/uploads/History-Timeline.doc
MOB: -- "Clint McDade dies." -- Mobile Register -- , Thursday, October 2, 1986.
MRM: -- McFarland, J. Horace. -- Memoirs of a Rose Man -- . Emmaus, PA: Rodale Press, 1949.
MYFL: -- "The great Floridians 2000 program." -- My Florida.com, Division of Historical Resources -- . Web. 15 Apr. 2010. [official portal of the state of Florida] [Glen St. Mary Nursery Co., FL] -- http://www.flheritage.com/services/sites/floridians/?section=g
NY1: -- The Talk of the Town, "The Flower Man," -- The New Yorker -- , April 7, 1928, p. 17. [Max Schling]
NY2: -- Harriman, Margaret Case, Profiles, "For Any Occasion," -- The New Yorker -- , July 18, 1936, p. 18. [Max Schling]
OSU: -- "Nursery and seed trade catalogues, 1832-1966." -- Oregon State University Libraries, Special Collections -- . 2010.
PA: -- "J. Horace McFarland Papers Container Listings, MG-85 American Civic Association Correspondence, 1908-1924, Box 5." -- Pennsylvania State Archives -- . Web. 15 Apr. 2010. -- http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/Bah/dam/mg/ys/m85ys3.htm
ROE: -- Fusco, Mary Ann Castronovo. "A family of some cultivation." -- New York Times, New Jersey Weekly Desk -- , March 28, 1999. Web. 18 Jun. 2010 [Julius Roehrs Co., East Rutherford, NJ] -- http://www.juliusroehrs.com/inthenews.html
SHACK: -- "Baldwinsville's premiere flower businesses 1902-1934. The story behind the Museum's Heritage Peony Collection, Indian Spring Farms, Inc. and H. B. Williams Aster specialist." -- Museum at the Shacksboro Schoolhouse -- . 2008. Web. 15 Apr. 2010. -- http://www.shacksboromuseum.com/flower_farms.htm
STAR: -- "Our story." -- Stark Bro's Nurseries & Orchards Co -- . 2010. Web. 21 Apr. 2010. -- http://ww.starkbros.com/About/ourStory.jsp
TAY: -- Taylor, Judith. "The legacy of Victor Lemoine: hybridizing on a heroic scale." -- Rare Book Review -- , June 2004 p. 42-43. Web. 20 Apr. 2010 -- http://horthistoria.com/?p=115
TB: -- Morrison, Ernest. -- J. Horace McFarland: A Thorn for Beauty -- . Harrisburg, PA: commissioned by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, 1995.
TRUMP: -- Trump, Bess E. -- Handbook of botanical names of trees, shrubs, flowers, grasses, bulbs, etc -- . Harrisburg, PA: J. Horace McFarland Co., [19 ?]
VSC1: -- "Seed company histories and timelines, including selected seed related organizations." -- Victory Seed Company. 2009 -- . Web. 22 Apr. 2010 -- http://www.saveseeds.org/seedsmen/company_history.html
VSC2: -- "A.W. Livingston & Company, a business timeline." -- Victory Seed Company -- . Web. 22 Apr. 2010. -- http://www.saveseeds.org/biography/livingston/history.html
WALL: -- "Waller Flowerseed Company and Lionel Waller. " Web. 21 Apr. 2010. [website by the grandson of Lionel Waller] -- http://wanderingthewest.com/waller/wallerseed.html
WEIN: -- Weinard, F. F. and Dorner, H. B. -- Peonies: single and Japanese in the Illinois trial garden -- . Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station, 1938. [Babcock Peony Gardens, Jamestown, NY; Bonnewitz Gardens (Lee R. Bonnewitz), Van Wert, OH]
Collection Restrictions:
Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, J. Horace McFarland Company Collection.
Sam DeVincent loved music and art and began collecting sheet music with lithographs at an early age.
Series 4: Songwriters: A "songwriter" for this series is defined as a composer, a lyricist, or both.
An overview to the entire DeVincent collection is available here: Sam DeVincent Collection of Illustrated American Sheet Music.
Scope and Contents note:
A "songwriter" for this series is defined as a composer, a lyricist, or both. The songwriters included in this online finding aid are arranged alphabetically in the Biography of Songwriters section and alphabetically in the Name and Select Title Index.
The song sheets associated with each songwriter in this series are generally arranged in the following order: General Songs; Ethnic Songs; Armed Conflict Songs or other Topical Headings; Ragtime; Instrumental; Musical Theater Production Songs; Motion Picture Production Songs; Specialized Song Sheets/Editions; Professional/Artist Copy Song Sheets; and Folios/Volumes. Songs of four or more editions (multiple editions) are usually placed in individual folders and listed separately under the appropriate category, i.e., General Songs, Topical songs, etc. Copyright dates listed in the Container List represent the latest date on any given song sheet, i.e., a song originally published in 1906, but copyrighted in 1946, will show the date 1946.
In the Container List the word "Contains" in a descriptive entry identifies a folder that contains only the song sheet titles specified. For example, Subseries 4.1, folder B "contains" three song sheets and only those three are contained in that folder. The word "Includes" in a descriptive entry identifies a folder that holds not only the song sheet title(s) named but also other song sheet title(s) not specified in the Container List. For example, folder E of subseries 4.1 "includes" (or specifies) three song sheets ("Magic Moments," "Sad Sack," and "Warm and Tender"), but, in addition, folder E contains fourteen other song sheets that are not specified.
Variations in the size of the sheet music in this series may indicate its publication date. Large song sheets-approximately 11" x 13"- were superseded in April 1919, when publishers adopted a new "standard" or "regular" size for song sheets-9 1/4" x 12 1/4"-as recommended by the National Association of Sheet Music Dealers. The probable motivation was that smaller song sheets were cheaper to produce--a conservation effort prompted by World War I.
Titles of Musical Theater Production Songs and Motion Picture Production Songs are in capital letters. Individual song titles are within quotation marks. Portraits of the artist or artists that contributed to a song's success are featured on many song sheets. Songs are filed alphabetically, by title, within each folder.
Dates after the songwriter's name in the Biography of Songwriters section of this Register refer to the songwriter's birth and death dates. Dates after a songwriter's name in the Container List of this Register refer to the dates of the song sheets in this collection for that songwriter. Where two or more songwriters were a notable team over an extended period of time, their collaboration is noted in the Biography of Songwriters and included in the Container List.
The dates in the Container List represent the latest copyright year on the song sheets. The dates are not necessarily the same as the year of the productions. Copyright dates in the Container List represent the latest date on any given piece of sheet music, i.e., a song originally published in 1906, but re-copyrighted in 1946, will show the date 1946.
Arrangement note:
Arranged alphabetically
4.1 - 4.217
4.218: Ephemera
Biographies of Song Writers:
4.42 ADAMS, STANLEY -- (8/14/1907-1/27/1994). Lyricist. Former President of ASCAP; was a leader in the successful effort for Congressional revision of copyright law. Best known song is "What a Diff'rence a Day Made."
4.43 AGER, MILTON -- (10/6/1893-5/6/1979). Composer, publishers, pianist, arranger, vaudeville accompanist, stage entertainer for silent movies. First hit was "Everything is Peaches Down in Georgia," sung by Al Jolson.
4.44 AHLERT, FRED E. -- (9/19/1892-10/20/1953). Composer, publisher. Arranger for Fred Waring. One of first songwriters to quit Tin Pan Alley for Hollywood. First hit was "I'll Get By."
4.45 AKST, HARRY -- (8/15/1894-3/31/1963). Composer. Professional pianist as a teenager. Met Berlin at Camp Upton, worked for him as staff pianist. Hits include: and "Baby Face" and "A Smile Will Go a Long, Long Way."
4.46 ALLEN, STEVE -- (12/26/1921- ). Composer, author, pianist, comedian. Toured with parents in vaudeville; worked in radio; founder and first host of NBC-TV's Tonight Show. Composed the theme from PICNIC.
4.47 ARLEN, HAROLD -- (2/15/1905-4/23/1986). Composer, author, pianist, vocalist. Played professionally at age 15. Signed by The Cotton Club to write with Ted Koehler, producing many hits. Also teamed with Yip Harburg. Write "Get Happy," "Stormy Weather," and the score for THE WIZARD OF OZ.
4.48 ARMSTRONG, HARRY W. -- (7/22/1879-2/28/1951). Composer, vocalist, pianist, producer, prize fighter. Hits include "I Love My Wife, But Oh You Kid" and "Sweet Adeline."
4.49 ASH, PAUL -- (2/11/1891-7/13/1958). Composer, author, conductor, pianist. Led his first band in 1910; became very successful bandleader. Wrote "I'm Knee Deep in Daisies."
4.50 AUSTIN, GENE -- (6/24/1900-1/24/1971). Composer, author. Sang in vaudeville, radio, films, and TV. Established as a recording star with "My Blue Heaven." Wrote "When My Sugar Walks Down the Street."
4.1 BACHARACH, BURT F. -- (5/12/1928- ). Composer and pianist. Collaborated with lyricist Hal David on a number of film scores (e.g., BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID) and popular songs, many of which were recorded by Dionne Warwick.
4.51 BALL, ERNEST R. -- (7/21/1878-5/3/1927). Composer, pianist. Began as pianist in vaudeville, performing with his wife Maude Lambert; then worked as a song demonstrator. Successful songs include "Let the Rest of the World Go By"and "Mother Machree."
4.52 BARGY, ROY -- (7/31/1894-1/15/1974). Composer, pianist. Arranger for Paul Whiteman; led several radio show bands. Edited, played, arranged, and composed piano rolls; composed rags. From 1943-1963 was music director for Jimmy Durante.
4.53 BAXTER, PHIL -- (9/5/1896-11/21/1972). Composer, pianist, lyricist, vocalist. Bandleader in 20's and 30's. Wrote "Have a Little Dream on Me" and "I'm a Ding Dong Daddy from Dumas."
4.54 BAYES, NORA -- (1880-3/19/1928). Vocalist, composer, lyricist. Was a top performing star; known as "The Wurzberger Girl" after her first hit. The first edition of Cohan's "Over There" featured Bayes on the cover. Bayes and husband Jack Norworth wrote "Shine on Harvest Moon."
4.55 BERLE, MILTON -- (7/12/1908- ). Comedian, vocalist, lyricist, composer. Began performing in silent movies at age 5; worked in vaudeville; was a MC in clubs and theaters. Was the first big TV star. Wrote "Sam, You Made the Pants Too Long."
4.2 BERLIN, IRVING -- (5/11/1888-9/22/1989). Composer and lyricist. One of the most versatile and popular songwriters of the 20th century. Wrote songs for some of the most successful Broadway musicals and Hollywood films. Best songs were sentimental ballads performed in unique ragtime or popular styles.
4.56 BERNIE, BEN -- (5/30/1891-10/20/1943). Bandleader, composer. Was a monologist in vaudeville; played violin until he formed his own dance band in early 20's. Known as The Old Maestro. Wrote "Sweet Georgia Brown."
4.57 BRAHAM, DAVID -- (1834-4/11/1905). Composer. Born in London; moved to New York at age 18. Was orchestral leader and composer for minstrel shows, Tony Pastor's, Theatre Comique. THE MULLIGAN GUARD was the first of many collaborations with Ned Harrigan.
4.58 BREUER, ERNEST -- (12/6/1886-4/3/1981). Composer, pianist. Born in Germany, moved to US in youth. Vaudeville pianist. WWII interpreter and entertainer. Wrote "Does the Spearmint Lose Its Flavor on the Bedpost Overnight?"
4.59 BROOKS, SHELTON -- (5/4/1886-9/6/1975). Composer. Parents American Indian/African American. Pianist in Detroit cafes; moved to Chicago. Composed rages; worked as a mimic in vaudeville. Wrote "Darktown Strutters' Ball" and "Some of These Days."
4.60 BROWN, A. SEYMOUR -- (5/28/1885-12/22/1947). Author, composer, actor. Worked in vaudeville. Composed "Oh You Beautiful Doll."
4.61 BROWN, GEORGE -- ...
4.3 BROWN, LEW -- (12/10/1893-2/5/1958). Lyricist. Achieved success with a number of songs in collaboration with composer Albert Von Tilzer, and later as member of the Ray Henderson and Buddy DeSylva songwriting team on Broadway.
4.62 BROWN, NACIO HERB -- (2/22/1896-9/28/1964). Composer. First toured as piano accompanist; worked as a tailor and realtor before first successes in early 20's. One of the movies most important composers during early sound years and many years thereafter. Wrote "Singin in the Rain" and "You Are My Lucky Star."
4.63 BROWN, NACIO HERB, JR. -- (2/27/1921- ). Composer, author, publisher. Son of Nacio Herb Brown. Professional manager of publishing firms; manager of music catalogs. Songs include "Who Put That Dream in Your Eyes."
4.64 BUCK, GENE -- (8/8/1885-2/25/1957). Lyricist. Chief aide to Ziegfeld; wrote book for some of his shows. Pioneer designer of sheet music covers. Songs include "Hello Frisco" and "Tulip Time."
4.65 BULLOCK, WALTER -- (5/6/1907-8/19/1953). Lyricist. Wrote screenplays and songs for movies. Hits include "This Is Where I Came In" and "When Did You Leave Heaven?"
4.66 CAESAR, IRVING -- (4/4/1895-12/17/1996). Lyricist, composer. Wrote mostly for New York stage but began working for films in 30's. Wrote message-bearing songs for children. Wrote "Count Your Blessings" and "Tea for Two."
4.4 CAHN, SAMMY -- (6/18/1913- ). Lyricist. Wrote many successful songs for Hollywood films, notably for Frank Sinatra, and in collaboration with Charlie Chaplin, Jimmy Van Heusen, and Jule Styne.
4.67 CALLAHAN, J. WILL -- (3/17/1874-11/15/1946). Vocalist, lyricist. Started as an accountant, then singer of illustrated songs. Wrote "Smiles."
4.5 CARMICHAEL, HOAGY -- (11/22/1899-12/27/1981). Composer, lyricist, bandleader, pianist, and singer. Abandoned law profession to pursue career in songwriting. Contributed songs to a number of very popular motion pictures.
4.68 CARROLL, EARL -- (9/16/1893-6/17/1948). Composer. Produced and directed many revues. Built two theaters in New York and had a restaurant in Hollywood. Produced movies. Hits include "Give Me All of You" and "So Long Letty."
4.69 CARROLL, HARRY -- (11/28/1892-12/26/1962). Composer. Pianist in movie theaters, cafes and vaudeville. Wrote for Winter Garden productions; wrote several Broadway stage scores. Hits include "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows" and "Trail of the Lonesome Pine."
4.70 CHAMINADE, MME. CECILE -- (born in Paris. Pianist, composer. Toured the US in 1908.
4.71 CLARIBEL (CHARLOTTE ALLINGTON BARNARD) -- (1830-1869) Composer, lyricist. English. Enormously popular in her time. Her "Come Back to Erin" is often regarded as an Irish folk song.
4.72 COBB, GEORGE L. -- (8/31/1886-12/25/1942). Composer. Began as composer of rags. Wrote for Melody magazine. First hit was "All Aboard for Dixieland."
4.6 COHAN, GEORGE M. -- (7/4/1878-11/5/1942). Composer, lyricist, actor, playwright, and producer. Best remembered for elaborately choreographed dance music, flag-waving songs, and songs for musical comedies and vaudeville. Best known for his patriotic songs, "Over There" and "Yankee Doodle Dandy."
4.73 COLUMBO, RUSS -- (1908-9/2/1934). Composer; primarily a singer, featured in Gus Arnheims band. Theme song for own band was "You Call It Madness." Also wrote "Too Beautiful for Words."
4.74 CONFREY, ZEZ -- (4/3/1895-11/22/1971). Pianist, bandleader, composer. Cut many piano rolls. Solo piano pieces have become standards: "Dizzy Fingers" and "Kitten on the Keys."
4.75 CONN, CHESTER -- (4/14/1896- 4/4/1973). Composer. Manager of publishing companies before owning own firm of Bregman, Vocco & Conn. Hits include "Don't Mind the Rain."
4.76 CONRAD, CON -- (6/18/1891-9/28/1938). Composer, pianist. Worked as theater pianist and in vaudeville; wrote for stage and movies. Had publishing firm. Wrote "The Continental," first film song awarded an Oscar; also wrote "Ma" and "Margie."
4.77 CONVERSE, CHARLES CROZAT -- (10/7/1832-4/8/1918). Composer. Studied in Europe; practiced law upon return. Composed partriotic overtures and cantatas, vocal quartettes. Wrote on philosophical and philological subjects under pen name Karl Redan. Wrote "What a Friend We Have in Jesus."
4.78 COOTS, J. FRED -- (5/2/1897-4/8/1985). Composer, pianist. Accompanied vaudeville acts; worked as song plugger; composed for Schuberts shows but returned to club dates in composing independently. Wrote "Love Letters in the Sand" and "You Go to My Head."
4.79 COSLOW, SAM -- (12/27/1902). Composer, lyricist, vocalist. Wrote for Broadway and movies; co-partner in music publishing; co-founded Soundies, song-movie shorts for coin machines. Hits include "Cocktails for Two" and "Was It a Dream?"
4.80 COWAN, LYNN -- (6/8/1888- ). Composer, actor, director, vocalist, pianist. Worked in vaudeville and as a film actor. Composed background scores for early sound film, and songs for LADIES MUST LOVE. Manager of Castle Terrace Club in Okinawa. Wrote "Kisses."
4.80 COWAN, RUBEY -- (2/27/1891-7/28/1957). Composer. Pianist in film theaters at age 13. Co-founded publishing company; wrote first show for Paramount Theater in New York; headed NBCs radio talent dept. then Paramounts radio dept. Wrote "You Can Expect Kisses from Me."
4.80 COWAN, STANLEY -- (2/3/1918- 12/13/1991). Composer, author, director, publicist. Wrote special material for orchestras, musicals, films; Produced shows for USAF during WWII. Joined father's (Rubey Cowan) firm, Rogers and Cowan. Wrote "Do I Worry."
4.81 COWARD, NOEL -- (12/16/1899-3/26/1973). Composer, lyricist, actor, playwright, producer. Born in England; began professional career at age 11. Best known of many popular songs are "I'll Follow My Secret Heart" and "I'll See You Again."
4.82 CRUMIT, FRANK -- (9/26/1889-9/7/1943). Composer, author, singer, actor. Vaudeville and stage performer. Had radio series with Julia Sanderson. Known for novelty numbers such as "Abdul Abulbul Amir."
4.83 CUGAT, XAVIER -- (1/1/1900- 10/27/1990). Bandleader, composer. Born in Spain; moved to Cuba when young; studied in Berlin; gave concert tours. Worked as a caricaturist for the LA Times. Led orchestra specializing in Spanish and Latin American music. Wrote "My Shawl," his theme song.
4.84 DANIELS, CHARLES N. -- (4/12/1878-1/21/1943). Composer, publisher. Pseudonym: Neil Moret. One of most significant ragtime entrepreneurs. Wrote first motion picture title song: "Mickey." Other songs include "You Tell Me Your Dream," "Moonlight and Roses," and "Chloe."
4.85 DANKS, HART PEASE -- (4/16/1834-11/20/1903). Composer. Singer and conductor in New York churches and concert stages. Published sacred and choral works; collaborated on three operettas. Best known for popular songs such as "Silver Threads Among the Gold."
4.86 DAVIS, BENNY -- (8/21/1895- 12/20/1979). Lyricist, vocalist. Performed in vaudeville as a child. Toured with Benny Fields as accompanist to Blossom Seeley. Hits include "Baby Face" and "Margie."
4.87 DEKOVEN, REGINALD -- (4/3/1859-1/16/1920). Composer, conductor, music critic. America's first significant composer of operetta: ROBIN HOOD the first American operetta to be performed in London. Founded the Philharmonic Orchestra in Washington, D.C. in 1902. Best known song is "Oh Promise Me."
4.88 DELEATH, VAUGHN -- (9/26/1896-5/28/1943). Vocalist, pianist, composer, lyricist. Reportedly the first woman on radio, sometimes credited with originating crooning. Played vaudeville, performed on Broadway, and recorded frequently. Hits include "At Eventide" and "Ducklings on Parade."
4.89 DEMING, MRS. L. L. -- (may be wife of Legrand L. Deming, born in Connecticut 10/29/1812.
4.7 DeROSE, PETER -- (3/10/1900-4/24/1953). Composer. Formed a radio team, The Sweethearts of the Air, with May Singhi Breen, whom he subsequently married. His most famous piece, "Deep Purple," became a commercial hit when lyrics were added.
4.3 DeSYLVA, BUDDY -- (1/27/1895-7/11/1950). Lyricist. Produced a number of hit songs with George Gershwin and particularly for the singer, Al Jolson. Also worked with Jerome Kern, Victor Herbert, and later as member of the Ray Henderson-Lew Brown songwriting partnership.
4.90 DILLON, HARRY -- (1866- 2/5/1916). Brother of John and Will. Started performing career on minstrel shows.
4.90 DILLON, JOHN -- (12/5/1882-9/2/1953). Brother of Will and Harry. Followed brother Harry into ministrel shows; first vaudeville engagement was at Tony Pastor's; toured. Operated grocery store in hometown, Cortland, NY, after retirement.
4.90 DILLON, WILLIAM AUSTIN -- (11/6/1877-2/10/1966). Composer, author, actor, businessman. Worked in vaudeville, medicine and minstrel shows; toured with Harry Lauder. Successes include "All Alone" and "I Want a Girl Just Like the Girl That Married Dear Old Dad."
4.91 DIXON, HAROLD -- ...
4.8 DONALDSON, WALTER -- (2/15/1893-7/15/1947). Composer. Hired in 1919 as staff writer for Irving Berlin Inc. Wrote songs throughout the 1920s that made him one of the most popular composers of the decade. Had many collaborations, the most successful with Gus Kahn.
4.9 DRESSER, PAUL -- (4/22/1858-1/30/1906). Composer, lyricist, performer and publisher. One of the first American performers to enter the music publishing trade. Wrote songs for burlesque and vaudeville stage shows. Considered the leading American writer of sentimental ballads of the late 19th century. Best-known song: "My Gal Sal."
4.92 DUBIN, AL -- (6/10/1891-2/11/1945). Lyricist. Served overseas in entertainment unit in WWI. Biggest song successes when teamed with Harry Warren. Hits include "I Only Have Eyes for You" and "Tiptoe Through the Tulips."
4.10 EDWARDS, GUS -- (8/18/1879-11/7/1945). Composer, lyricist, impresario, and singer. Collaborated with lyricist Will D. Cobb producing several hit songs introduced in Broadway reviews, notably Ziegfeld's Follies of 1907 and 1910. Best-known songs include "School Days" and "By The Light Of The Silvery Moon."
4.93 EDWARDS, LEO -- (2/22/1886-7/12/1978). Composer, author, producer. Brother of Gus Edwards. Worked in vaudeville; was staff writer for music publishing firms; cabaret producer. Hit songs include "Isle d'Amour," "Inspiration," and the official Boy Scout song "Tomorrow's America."
4.94 EMMET, JOSEPH KLINE -- (3/13/1841-1892). Actor, composer. Performed in a minstrel company using a broken German dialect that made him famous. Several plays starring his 'Fritz' character were written for him. Successful songs were "Emmet's Lullaby" and "Sweet Violets."
4.95 ERDMAN, ERNIE -- (10/23/1879-11/1/1946). Composer. Was pianist in the Original New Orleans Jazz Band. Worked on professional staff of Chicago music publishers. Songs hits include "Nobody's Sweetheart" and "Toot, Toot, Tootsie, Goodbye."
4.96 FAIN, SAMMY -- (6/17/1902- 12/6/1989). Composer, vocalist, pianist. Was a self-taught pianist; began composing songs while in grammar school. Very successful partnership with Irving Kahal writing songs for movies. Hits include "Dear Hearts and Gentle People," "I'll Be Seeing You," and "That Old Feeling." Nominated for the Oscar 10 times; won twice.
4.97 FEIST, FELIX -- (Wrote "Can't You See Im Lonely."
4.97 FEIST, LEO -- (1/3/1869-6/1/1930). Publisher, lyricist. When early songs didnt sell well Feist partnered with Joe Frankenthaler to start what became one of the leading publishing firms. His successes include "Those Lost Happy Days" and "Smokey Mokes."
4.98 FIELD, EUGENE -- (9/3/1950-11/4/1895). Author. Newspaper columnist for Chicago Morning News. His poems were set to music.
4.99 FIELDS, DOROTHY -- (7/15/1905-3/28/1974). Author, lyricist. At age 15 sang in an amateur show by Rodgers and Hart; worked with brother Herbert as co-librettist on several Broadway shows. Most successful collaboration was with Jimmy McHugh. Wrote "I Can't Give You Anything But Love" and "I'm in the Mood for Love." Won an Oscar with Jerome Kern for "The Way You Look Tonight."
4.100 FIORITO, TED -- (12/20/1900-7/22/1971). Composer, conductor, pianist. Began as a song demonstrator. First hit song was "Toot, Toot, Tootsie, Goodbye." Formed band in early 20's and continued to lead an orchestra in the 60's. Other hits include "Alone at Last" and "Charley, My Boy."
4.101 FISHER, FRED -- (9/30/1875-1/14/1942). Composer, lyricist. Immigrated from Germany at age 25 but soon assimilated popular music idioms. Early success was "Come, Josephine, in My Flying Machine." Started composing for films in late 20's. Hits include "Dardanella" and "Your Feets Too Big."
4.11 FOSTER, STEPHEN -- (7/4/1826-1/13/1864). Composer and lyricist of popular household, plantation, and minstrel songs of the 19th century. Produced over 200 songs of two main types: sentimental ballads of hearth and home, and songs for the famous Christy's Minstrels.
4.102 FRANKLIN, DAVE -- (9/28/1895-2/3/1970). Composer, lyricist, pianist. Pianist in publishing house at age 13; vaudeville accompanist; played nightclubs in New York and European cities. Hits include "The Anniversary Waltz" and "When My Dream Boat Comes Home."
4.62 FREED, ARTHUR -- (9/9/1894-4/12/1973). Lyricist, producer. Wrote for vaudeville; managed theater in Los Angeles; produced shows. Began writing for movie musicals in 1929. Many hits include "After Sundown," "All I Do Is Dream of You," and "Singin' in the Rain."
4.103 FRIEDMAN, LEO -- (7/16/1869-3/7/1927). Composer. Studied in Chicago and Berlin. Two biggest hits were "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" and "Meet Me Tonight in Dreamland."
4.104 FRIEND, CLIFF -- (10/1/1893-6/27/74). Composer, lyricist, pianist. Wrote for Broadway and movies; was a pianist for vaudeville performers in US and England. Also worked as a test pilot. Hits include "Give Me a Night in June" and "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down."
4.12 FRIML, RUDOLF -- (12/7/1879-11/12/1972). Composer and pianist. One of the principal exponents of traditional operetta and early musical comedy in the United States. Collaborated with Oscar Hammerstein II and others to produce the most popular American musicals of the 1920s.
4.105 FROST, JACK -- (11/25/1893-10/21/1959). Composer, lyricist. Writer with Chicago music company; wrote special material for Eva Tanguay and Trixie Friganza; worked in advertising. Hits include "When You and I Were Young Maggie Blues."
4.106 GARBER, JAN -- (11/5/1897-10/4/1977). Violinist, bandleader, composer. Played violin in Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra; formed dance band in early 20's; still conducting into the 60's. Wrote his theme song, "My Dear."
4.107 GAY, BYRON -- (8/28/1886-12/23/1945). Composer, author, explorer. Educated at US Navel Academy and was on 1933 Byrd Expedition. Successful songs include "The Little Ford Rambled Right Along" and "The Vamp."
4.108 GILBERT, L. WOLFE -- (8/31/1886-7/12/1970). Lyricist. Started as a singer in New York clubs, writing parodies of popular songs for entertainers such as Al Jolson. Moved to Hollywood where he wrote for films and the Eddie Cantor radio show. Had his own publishing firm. Hits include "Lucky Lindy" and "Waiting for the Robert E. Lee."
4.13 GERSHWIN, IRA -- (12/6/1896-8/17/1983). Lyricist. Collaborated with various composers throughout his life, at times using pseudonym, Arthur Francis. He collaborated with brother George from 1924 until the latter's death in 1937. Their first musical comedy together was LADY, BE GOOD.
4.13 GERSHWIN, GEORGE -- (9/26/1898-7/11/1937). Composer, conductor, and pianist. Composer of Broadway shows and one of America's most famous composers of popular concert music. Brought jazz and classical styles together in concert pieces, African American folk music and opera, e.g. PORGY AND BESS.
4.109 GILLESPIE, HAVEN -- (2/6/1888-3/14/1975). Lyricist. Left job as journeyman printer and began writing songs in the mid-20's. Wrote for film, theater and radio. Awarded Freedoms Foundation Award for "God's Country." Hits include "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" and "You Go to My Head."
4.110 GLOVER, CHARLES W -- (1806-3/23/1863). Composer. English. Violinist in orchestras of Drury Lane and Covent Garden; musical director of Queen's Theatre. "Do They Think of Me at Home" was one of his greatest successes in the USA.
4.111 GLOVER, STEPHEN -- (mid 1812-1870). Composer. English. One of his most popular songs was "What Are the Wild Waves Saying?"
4.112 GOETZ, E. RAY -- (6/12/1886-6/12/1954). Composer, lyricist, producer. Contributed to many Broadway musicals. Hits include "For Me and My Gal" and "Yaaka Hula Hickey Dula."
4.113 GOODHART, AL -- (1/26/1905-11/30/1955). Composer, pianist. Early career as radio announcer, vaudeville pianist, special material writer. With USO during WWII. Hits include "Auf Wiedersehen, My Dear," "I Apologize," and "Who Walks in When I Walk Out?"
4.114 GORDON, MACK -- (6/21/1904-3/1/1959). Lyricist, vocalist. Boy soprano in minstrel shows; comedian and singer in vaudeville. Hits include "Chatanooga Choo-Choo," "Time on My Hands," and "You'll Never Know" which won an Academy Award.
4.115 GREEN, JOHN W. -- (10/10/1908- 5/15/1989 ). Composer, arranger, pianist, ` bandleader. Accompanied various singers; formed own band. On many radio shows in New York then moved to Hollywood. MGM musical director for many years. Scored and conducted three Academy Award films. Hits include "Body and Soul" and "I Cover the Waterfront."
4.116 GUEST, EDGAR -- ( 8/20/1881-8/5/1959). Poet, Newspaperman for Detroit Free Press. Poems Syndicated in nearly 300 papers; 17 volumes of poetry published. Apeared on national radio for many years.
4.117 GUMBLE, ALBERT -- (9/10/1883-11/30/1946). Composer, pianist for publishers. Entertained troops during WWII. Hits include "Are You Sincere?" and "How's Every Little Thing in Dixie?"
4.118 HALL, WENDELL WOODS -- (8/23/1896-4/2/1969). Composer, author, singer, ukelele player. Known as "The Red-Headed Music Maker." Played the ukelele on radio and in vaudeville; made world radio tour in 20's. Worked as advertizing executive. Successful songs include "Underneath the Mellow Moon" and "Whispering Trees."
4.14 HAMMERSTEIN, OSCAR, II -- (7/12/1895-8/23/1960). Lyricist, librettist, producer, and publisher. Produced and wrote some of the most successful Broadway musicals in collaboration with composer Richard Rodgers and Jerome Kern. Many of his works later appeared in Hollywood films.
4.14 HAMMERSTEIN, OSCAR, I -- (5/8/1846-8/1/1919). Composer. An impresario who wrote several works, including orchestral pieces for use before or as intermezzi in his productions, a ballet, MARGUERITE (1896), and the operettas, SANTA MARIA (1896) and THE KOHINOOR (1893).
4.119 HANLEY, JAMES F. -- (2/17/1892-2/8/1942). Composer, pianist. Accompanist in vaudeville. Produced WWI army show TOOT SWEET. Wrote for early sound movie shorts. Hits include "Second Hand Rose" and "Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart."
4.57 HARRIGAN, EDWARD -- ...
4.15 HARRIS, CHARLES K. -- (5/1/1865-12/22/1930). Composer, lyricist, and music publisher. Known principally as a successful publisher of popular music. First publisher to use an illustration of a performer on a song sheet cover. Most successful song: "After the Ball." Cofounder of ASCAP.
4.120 HARRISON, ANNIE FORTESQUE -- (Lady Arthur Hill)(1851-1944). Composer. Best known songs include "In the Gloaming."
4.14 HART, LORENZ -- (5/2/1845-11/22/1913). Lyricist and librettist. Collaborated with composer Richard Rodgers on the scores of several successful Broadway musicals and Hollywood productions.
4.121 HAYS, WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE. -- (7/19/1837-7/22/1907). Began writing songs at age 19. Very popular because of charming melodies, easy execution of music, and lyrics that projected authentic feelings.
4.122 HEMANS, MRS FELICIA DOROTHEA -- (1794-1835). Very prolific and popular English poet. Composer for some of the songs was her younger sister Harriet Mary Browne.
4.3 HENDERSON, RAY -- (12/1/1896-12/31/1970). Composer. Collaborated extensively with lyricists Lew Brown and Buddy DeSylva. Wrote many of the hit tunes of the 1920s and 1930s. Produced music of wide popular appeal performed by Al Jolson and others on stage and in films.
4.16 HERBERT, VICTOR -- (2/1/1859-5/26/1924). Composer, cellist, and conductor. Successful particularly as composer of American operettas, of which forty (40) were written between 1894 and 1924, mostly romantic and having happy endings.
4.123 HILL, DEDETTE LEE -- (11/2/1900-6/5/1950). Collaborated with her husband, Billy Hill, and later with Johnny Marks.
4.123 HILL, BILLY -- (7/14/1899-12/24/1940). Also used nom de plume George Brown. Composer, author, pianist, violinist, conductor. Worked as a cowboy and surveyors assistant in the west. Led first jazz band in Salt Lake City. Best known songs include "In the Chapel in the Moonlight" and "The Last Roundup."
4.124 HILLIARD, BOB -- (1/28/1918-2/1/1971). Lyricist. Wrote scores for Broadway. Successes include "Our Day Will Come" and "They've Got an Awful Lot of Coffee in Brazil."
4.113 HOFFMAN, AL -- (9/25/1902-7/21/1960). Composer, lyricist, drummer. Bandleader in hometown, Seattle; drummer in NY night clubs; songwriter early 30's through 50's. Hits include "Black Coffee" and "Mairzy Doats."
4.125 HOWARD, JOSEPH E. -- (2/12/1878-5/19/1961). Composer, author, actor, singer, producer, director. Boy soprano in vaudeville; wrote Broadway stage scores; also produced and directed on Broadway. Entertainer in night clubs, radio, TV. Hits include "Goodbye, My Lady Love" and "I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now."
4.126 INGRAHAM, HERBERT -- (7/7/1883-8/24/1910) Music Director of touring theater companies. Led own orchestra. Staff composer for Shapiro Bernstein Publishing Co. Brother of Roy.
4.126 INGRAHAM, ROY -- (12/6/1893-?) Composer, author, singer. First song published at age 17. Had own orchestra; toured in vaudeville. Wrote for several motion pictures; radio broadcaster. Wrote special material for Sophie Tucher and others. Brother of Herbert.
4.17 JACOBS-BOND, CARRIE -- (8/1861-12/1946). Composer, lyricist, and music publisher. Called "the Riley of the Music World," her songs, such as "A Perfect Day," and "I Love You Truly," are beloved by many.
4.127 JENKINS, GORDON -- (5/12/1910-5/1/1984). Composer, author, conductor, arranger. Played organ in movie theater at age 10; quit high school to play piano in speakeasy. Pianist, arranger for leading bands; Broadway radio conductor. Grammy Award for arrangement of "It Was a Very Good Year" as recorded by Frank Sinatra. Hits include "P.S. I Love You" and "When a Woman Loves a Man."
4.128 JENTES, HARRY -- (8/28/1897-1/19/1958). Composer, pianist. Successes include "He May Be Old But He Has Young Ideas" and "Put Me to Sleep with an Old-Fashioned Melody."
4.18 JOHNSON, CHARLES L. -- (12/3/1876-12/28/1950). Composer and ragtime pianist. Known for his most popular ragtime piece, "Dill Pickles" (1906); also, piano pieces that evoked American Indian culture.
4.129 JONES, ISHAM -- (1/31/1894-10/19/1956). Composer, bandleader, pianist. Formed and led outstanding dance band, touring U.S. and Europe. Many radio appearances and recordings. Equally well known as composer. Two standards are "It Had to Be You" and "I'll See You in My Dreams."
4.19 KAHN, GUS -- (11/6/1886-10/8/1941). Lyricist. Writer of lyrical material for vaudeville performances and Hollywood film musicals. Collaborated with such leading composers as Donaldson, Gershwin, Romberg, Whiting, and Van Alstyne.
4.130 KALMAR, BERT -- (2/16/1884-9/18/1947). Lyricist, publisher. Worked in tent shows and vaudeville as a child. Wrote scores for Broadway and songs for movies; wrote screenplays. Hits include "I Wanna Be Loved by You," "Three Little Words," and "Who's Sorry Now?"
4.131 KASSEL, ART -- (1/18/1896-2/3/1965). Composer, author, vocalist, saxophonist, lyricist and bandleader. Early radio and TV appearances as bandleader after service in World War I. Composed his two theme songs, "Doodle Doo Doo" and "Hells Bells."
4.132 KENNEDY, HARRY -- (circa 1800-1894). Minstrel; ventriloquist who used two dummies simultaneously. Brother William H. Kennedy was his publisher and occassional collaborator.
4.133 KENNY, NICK -- (2/3/1895- ? ). Lyricist, newspaper reporter, produced early amateur radio show; radio editor of New York Daily Mirror. Successes include "Love Letters in the Sand" and "Gone Fishin'."
4.133 KENNY, CHARLES -- (6/23/1898- ? ). Composer, violinist, author. Collaborated with brother Nick.
4.20 KERN, JEROME -- (1/27/1885-11/11/1945). Composer. Considered the most prolific composer of Broadway musicals. He extended the popularity of the musical play form by introducing songs and themes, avoiding operatic styles, and using jazz rhythms and chords instead to characterize the dramatic demands of plot.
4.134 KING, ROBERT A. -- (9/20/1862-4/14/1932). Composer. Wrote under several noms de plume including Mary Earl ("Beautiful Ohio"), R. A. Wilson, and Mrs. Ravenhall. Staff composer for music publishers. Appeared in vaudeville. Hits include "I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream."
4.135 KIPLING, RUDYARD -- (12/30/1865-1/18/1936). Author, poet. Best remembered for his celebrations of British imperialism, his tales and poems of British soldiers in India and Burma, and his children's stories. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1907.
4.136 KLICKMANN, F. HENRI -- (2/4/1885- ? ). Composer, pianist, violinist; arranger for Broadway musicals, music publishers, dance bands, and performers. Professional violinist, pianist, and accordianist. Successes include "Sing Me the Rosary" and "Sweet Hawaiian Moonlight."
4.137 KOEHLER, TED -- (7/14/1894-1/17/1973). Lyricist. Began music career as pianist for nickelodeon, silent film theaters. Wrote for Cotton Club, other stage shows, and films. Most successful collaboration with Harold Arlen ("Stormy Weather"). Also wrote "I Love a Parade" and "I've Got the World on a String."
4.138 KRAMER, ALEX -- (9/13/1893-8/25/1955). Composer, arranger; cellist in theater orchestras; arranger for vaudeville and muscial comedy singers. Compiled and arranged many music folios. Collaborated with wife, Joan Whitney. Hits include "High on a Windy Hill" and "Candy."
4.139 KUMMER, CLARE (Clare Rodman Beecher) -- (1/9/1888-4/21/1958). Composer, playwright. Wrote scores and librettos for Broadway. Successes include "Bluebird."
4.140 LAWNHURST, VEE -- (11/24/1905- 5/16/1992). Pianist, singer, composer. Arranged piano rolls. Original member of Roxy's Radio Gang. Successful songs include "Sunday Go to Meetin' Time."
4.141 LAWRENCE, JACK -- (4/7/1912- ? ). Composer, lyricist. Organized bands for the armed services. Wrote "Tenderly," and English Lyrics for "Ay, Ay, Ay" and "Cielito Lindo."
4.142 LEONARD, EDDIE, -- (10/18/1875-7/29/1941). Composer, author, singer, actor; professional baseball player. Performed in minstrel shows, sang in variety shows. Fought in the Spanish American War. Wrote "Ida, Sweet as Apple Cider."
4.143 LESLIE, EDGAR -- (12/31/1885-1/20/1976). Lyricist, author, publisher. Wrote special material for performers and films. Hits include "For Me and My Gal" and "Moon over Miami."
4.144 LEWIS, AL -- (4/18/1901-4/4/1967). Composer, lyricist; became a music publisher later in career. Hits include "Now's the Time to Fall in Love."
4.145 LEWIS, SAM M. -- (10/25/1885-11/22/1959). Lyricist. Started as runner in a brokerage house. Sang in cafes; wrote material for self and other performers, also for stage and movies. Hits include "Dinah," "Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue," and "How Ya Gonna Keep' Em Down on the Farm?"
4.146 LIEBER, JERRY -- (4/25/1933- ). Lyricist. Grew up in Baltimore hearing R&B. Struggled with acting in Hollywood when met and teamed with Mike Stoller to write many hits, including "Searching."
4.147 LITTLE, JACK -- (5/28/1900-4/9/1956). Pianist, composer, lyricist, vocalist, bandleader. Had a popular radio porgram in 20's. Led a band in the 30's. Successes include "In a Shanty in Old Shanty Town."
4.148 LOESSER, FRANK -- (6/29/1910-7/28/1969). Composer, lyricist, publisher. Wrote songs for college shows and later for Army shows. Worked as newspaper reporter and caricaturist in vaudeville. Became leading writer for Broadway and Hollywood musicals. Founded own publishing company. Won Oscar and Tony Awards and the Pulitzer Prize. Among many hits are "Two Sleepy People" and "On a Slow Boat to China."
4.149 LOGAN, FREDERICK KNIGHT -- (10/15/1871-6/11/1928). Composer. Wrote sentimental ballads in collaboration with his mother, Viginia. Wrote "Missouri Waltz."
4.149 LOGAN, VIRGINIA K. -- (1800's). Mother of Frederick Knight Logan.
4.150 LOMBARDO, CARMEN -- (7/16/1903-4/17/71). Arranger and composer in brother Guy Lombardo's dance band for forty years. Played sax with heavy vibrato and sang most vocals.
4.151 LYMAN, ABE -- (8/4/1897-10/23/1957). Composer, author, singer. Led own dance orchestra, The Californians.
4.69 MacDONALD, BALLARD -- (10/15/1882-11/17/1935). Lyricist. Began writing material for vaudeville after attending Princeton. Lyricist, librettist for Broadway musicals.
4.152 MANCINI, HENRY -- (4/16/1924-). Composer. Very popular composer of songs and themes for film ("Moon River" and "The Days of Wine and Roses") and TV ("Peter Gunn" and "Mr Lucky"). Began career in Pittsburgh dance bands pre-WWII.
4.153 MARKS, EDWARD B. -- (11/28/1865-12/17/1945). Publisher. Started company with focus on popular music but added the more serious composers. Bought the Cohan Publishing Company; and was the agent for Polish and English companies. His own early song success was "The Little Lost Child."
4.154 MASTERS, FRANKIE -- (4/12/1904- ). Composer, bandleader. Led hotel and ballroom bands in New York and Chicago; on the West Coast circuit in 30's and 40's; TV shows in the 50's. Active in the midwest into the 70's.
4.155 McGLENNON, FELIX -- ...
4.156 McHUGH, JIMMY -- (7/10/1894-5/23/69 ). Composer. Early fame with score for BLACKBIRDS OF 1928. Popular composer for movies during 30's-40's. Important collaboration with many songwriters, especially Dorothy Fields. Hits include "I'm in the Mood for Love" and "When My Sugar Walks Down the Street."
4.157 McKINLEY, MABEL -- (1879?-6/7/1937) Pseudonym: Vivian Grey. Daughter of President McKinley's youngest brother, Abner. Married Dr. Hermanus Baer of Reading, PA.
4.21 MERCER, JOHNNY -- (11/18/1909-6/25/1976). Composer and lyricist with a gift for incorporating southern vernacular speech and images of country settings into songs. Wrote lyrics for Broadway musicals and words and music to many popular songs.
4.158 MERRILL, BLANCHE -- (7/23/1895-10/5/1966). Author, lyricist. Wrote special material for Eva Tanguay, Fanny Brice, and other prominent singers; also wrote for musicals. Successes include "Jazz Baby."
4.159 MERRILL, BOB -- (5/17/1921- 2/17/1998). Composer, lyricist. Leading writer of novelty songs in the 50's, including "How Much Is That Doggie in the Window" and "If I Knew You Were Comin' Id've Baked a Cake."
4.145 MEYER, GEORGE W. -- (1/1/1884-8/28/1959). Composer of many popular songs during the first half of the 20th Century, including "For Me and My Gal," "Tuck Me to Sleep in My Old Tucky Home," and "Sittin in the Corner."
4.160 MILLARD, HARRISON -- (11/27/1829-9/10/1895). Composer. Singer early in career, studied in Italy and toured England and the Continent. Returned to U.S.; wounded in the Civil War. Wrote about 350 songs and many church works. Set UNCLE TOM'S CABIN to music.
4.161 MILLARD, MRS. P. -- ...
4.73 MILLER, NED -- (8/2/1899-1/26/1990)
4.22 MILLS, KERRY -- (2/1/1869-12/5/1948). Composer and music publisher. Specialized in ragtime songs and instrumental pieces. His ragtime cakewalks and the non-ragtime piece, "Meet Me in St. Louis," popularized by Judy Garland, were particularly successful.
4.162 MOHR, HALSEY -- ...
4.163 MOORE, THOMAS -- (6/28/1779-2/26/1852). Irish poet, composer, lyricist, musician.Provided words and music to a selection of Irish songs and did much to kindle an interest in little known Irish tunes. As poet, he appealed to a wide range of tastes.
4.23 MONACO, JAMES V. -- (1/13/1885-12/17/1945). Composer. Earned reputation as a Tin Pan Alley composer playing rag music in cabarets and nightclubs. Contributed several song hits to Broadway and Hollywood musical productions, among which is the song, "You Made Me Love You," made famous by Judy Garland in 1937.
4.164 MORGAN, CAREY -- (12/25/1885-1/6/1960). Composer. Wrote special material for vaudeville and scores for Broadway. Hits include "Rain" and "My Own Iona."
4.165 MORGAN, RUSS -- (4/19/1904-8/8/1969). Bandleader, composer. Arranger for Victor Herbert, Fletcher Henderson, Louis Armstrong, Chick Webb, among many others. Developed muted wha-wha trombone style with Freddy Martin. Wrote songs for Cotton Club Revues. Musical driector for Brunswick Records.
4.166 MORSE, THEODORA -- (7/11/1890-11/10/1953). Lyricist. Wrote under pseudonyms D. A. Esrom, Dorothy Terriss, and Dolly Morse. Most famous songs written in collaboration with husband Theodore Morse: "Three O'Clock in the Morning" and "My Wonderful One."
4.167 MORSE, THEODORE -- (4/13/1873-5/24/1924). Composer. Collaborated with several lyricists including his wife, Theodora. Successes include "M-O-T-H-E-R" and "Blue Bell."
4.168 MUIR, LEWIS F. -- (1884-1/19/1950). Composer. Ragtime pianist. Hits include "Take Me to That Swanee Shore" and "Waiting for the Robert E. Lee."
4.169 NELSON, STEVE -- ( ? ). Hits include "Frosty the Snowman."
4.169 NELSON, EDWARD G. -- (3/18/1885-3/30/1969). Composer, conductor; pianist in nightclubs and cabarets; orchestra leader. Wrote material for vaudeville and songs for movies. Successes include "Peggy O'Neil."
4.169 NELSON, EDWARD G., JR. -- (3/26/1916-). Composer, author. Served with Special Services during WWII.
4.24 NEVIN, ETHELBERT -- (11/25/1862-2/17/1901). Composer. Wrote songs and short piano pieces, sometimes overly sentimental but expressive of gentler and amorous moods.
4.170 NOBLE, RAY -- (12/17/1903- ). Composer, pianist, bandleader. Established as outstanding leader of dance bands in England and then in USA after emigrating. Radio work including Burns & Allen show. Successes include "Good Night Sweetheart" and "The Very Thought of You."
4.54 NORWORTH, JACK -- (1/5/1879-9/1/1959). Vocalist, Composer, lyricist. Entertainer in vaudeville and Broadway; blackface comedian in minstrel shows. Performed and collaborated with wife Nora Bayes. Their most famous song "Shine on Harvest Moon." Wrote lyrics to "Take Me Out to the Ball Game."
4.171 OLMAN, ABE -- (12/20/1888-1/4/1984). Composer, publisher. Started as a song demonstrator; established LaSalle Music Company. Wrote for early movie musicals. Hits include "Oh, Johnny Oh" and "Down Among the Sheltering Palms."
4.172 PALEY, HERMAN -- (5/5/1879-11/4/1955). Composer, publisher, radio executive. Studied music professionally. Worked as staff composer, then executive with music publishing companies. Director of New York Stage Door Canteen shows; talent scout and composer for Fox Films.
4.173 PARISH, MITCHELL -- (7/10/1900-4/2/1993). Lyricist. Attended Columbia and NYU. Staff writer for music publisher; began writing lyrics in 20's. Among the most famous songs are "Deep Purple," "Moonlight Serenade," and "Star Dust."
4.174 PETRIE, H. W. -- (3/4/1857-5/25/1925). Composer, vocalist. Performed in minstrel shows. Successes include "Asleep in the Deep" and "I Dont Want to Play in Your Yard."
4.175 PIANTADOSI, AL -- (7/18/1884-4/8/1955). Composer, pianist; accompanist in vaudeville. Popularized ragtime when touring US, Europe, and Australia. Worked for NY publishing house. Hits include "Pal of My Cradle Days."
4.25 PORTER, COLE A. -- (6/9/1891-10/15/1964). Composer and lyricist. One of the most thoroughly trained popular songwriters, whose theatrically elegant, sophisticated, and musically complex songs contributed to America's most popular music of the 20th century.
4.176 POWELL, W. C. -- (Pseudonym: Polla)
4.114 REVEL, HARRY -- (12/21/1905-11/3/1958). Composer and pianist. Born in London, had early classical piano training. Moved to USA and accompanied Mack Gordon in vaudeville. They started writing for Ziegfeld but were in Hollywood by 1933. The team broke up in 1939. He founded Realm Music Co., a publishing house, in 1949. Successes include "Did You Ever See a Dream Walking?"
4.177 ROBERTS, LEE S. -- (11/12/1884-9/10/1949). Composer, pianist. Worked in piano manufacturing business. Developed QRS artist-recorded music rolls and catalogs. Pianist on radio. Hits include "A Little Birch Canoe and You" and "Patches."
4.178 ROBINSON, J. RUSSEL -- (7/8/1892-9/30/1963). Composer, lyricist, pianist. Began performing and composing as a teenager. Played with Original Dixieland Band; wrote songs for London revues; made piano rolls; accompanied singers. Pianist and vocal coach for radio show CHILDRENS HOUR. Hits include "Margie."
4.179 ROBISON, WILLARD -- (9/18/1894-6/24/1968). Composer, lyricist, pianist, vocalist, bandleader. Radio performer most active in 20's and 30's. Formed Deep River Orchestra; often featured African American folk music and spirituals. Radio shows "Deep River Music" and "Plantation Echoes." Hits include "Cottage for Sale."
4.14 RODGERS, RICHARD -- (6/26/1902-12/30/1979). Composer. Collaborated with Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II, whose partnership led to a series of musicals that enjoyed unprecedented artistic, critical, and financial success in both Hollywood and Broadway in the 1930's and 1940's.
4.26 ROMBERG, SIGMUND -- (7/29/1887-11/9/1951). Composer and conductor. Composed musical scores in the traditional style of the operetta of the 1920s. Proved to be more flexible than rival Rudolph Friml in adapting to the new tastes and musical styles emerging in American music of the 1930's.
4.180 ROONEY, PAT -- (7/4/1880-9/9/1962). Composer, vocalist. Dancer-singer in vaudeville and on Broadway, first with sister, then with wife Marion Brent. Successes include "You Be My Ootsie, I'll Be Your Tootsie."
4.27 ROOT, FREDERICK W. -- (6/13/1846-?). Composer and music teacher. He was the son of George Frederick Root. One of the country's most active and successful singing teachers, F. W. Root's School of Singing describes the first of his many singing methods.
4.27 ROOT, GEORGE F. -- (8/30/1820-8/6/1895). Composer and music educator. Pseudonym: G. Friedrich Wurzel. Best known for his songs of sentiment and patriotism published during the Civil War era. Also composed over 30 hymns and gospel songs rivaling Stephen Foster in number and popular success.
4.28 ROSE, BILLY -- (9/6/1899-2/10/1966). Lyricist and producer. Provided the lyrics to some of the most successful popular songs of the 1930's and 1940's. Also produced several Broadway musicals and perhaps known more for his editing, polishing, and promoting of songs than as a lyricist.
4.181 ROSE, VINCENT -- (6/13/1880-5/20/1944). Composer, pianist, vocalist, bandleader. Early training in Italy. Formed orchestra 1904. Successes include "Whispering."
4.182 ROSENFELD, MONROE H. -- (1861-12/13/1918). Pseudonyms: F. Heiser and F. Belasco. Composer, journalist. Credited with coining the term 'Tin Pan Alley.' Wrote more than 1,000 songs.
4.183 ROSSITER, WILL -- (3/15/1867-6/10/1954). Composer, publisher. Pseudonyms: Cleve Williams and W. R. Williams. Immigrated to USA from England in 1881. Appeared at Tony Pastor's. Very successful publisher of popular music; initiated innovative marketing techniques for sheet music. Wrote "I'd Love to Live in Loveland with a Girl Like You."
4.130 RUBY, HARRY -- (1/27/1895-2/23/1974). Composer. Professional pianist at age 16; song plugger for Tin Pan Alley publishers; vaudeville performer. Had many collaborators; partnership with Bert Kalmar produced many hits including score for Marx Brothers' ANIMAL CRACKERS; wrote theme for TV series THE REAL McCOYS.
4.130 RUBY, HERMAN -- (3/15/1891-7/31/1959). Composer. Older brother of Harry Ruby. Hits include "My Sunny Tennessee" and "Cecelia."
4.184 RUSSELL, HENRY -- (12/24/1812-12/8/1900). English. Composer, pianist; sang with children's opera troupe; studied composition in Italy. Came to US, worked as organist and choirmaster, then toured as one of the few major singers of his time to present unassisted entertainment. Wrote "The Old Arm Chair" and "Woodman! Spare That Tree!"
4.185 SANDERS, JOE -- (10/15/1896-5/15/1965). Composer, pianist, vocalist, arranger, bandleader. Co-leader of the Coon-Sanders Orchestra in 20's and 30's. Known as The Old Lefthander from early days as amateur baseball pitcher. Hits include "Got a Great Big Date with a Little Bitta Girl."
4.186 SCHWARTZ, JEAN -- (11/4/1878-11/30/1956). Composer, pianist. Prolific leading composer from turn of century. Pianist in cafes, publishing houses. Teamed with William Jerome on Broadway shows and performed with him in vaudeville. Successes include "Hello Central, Give Me No Man's Land."
4.140 SEYMOUR, TOT -- ( 10/23/1889-8/31/1966). Lyricist of the 30's. Worked for New York publishing house. Wrote special material for Fanny Brice, Belle Baker, Sophie Tucker, Mae West; also songs and scripts for raido shows.
4.187 SHAND, TERRY -- (10/1/1904- 11/11/1988). Composer, lyricist. Pianist in silent movie theaters early in career. Pianist/vocalist in 30's; later had own band. Hits include "Dance with a Dolly."
4.188 SHAY, LARRY -- (10/10/1897- 2/22/1988). Composer, arranger, pianist. WWI military service. Musical director for MGM; program director for NBC radio in New York. Hits include "Get Out and Get Under the Moon."
4.144 SHERMAN, AL -- (9/7/1897-9/15/1973). Composer, lyricst. As pianist provided mood music for silent movies; pianist for publishing house. Successes include "On a Dew-Dew-Dewy Day."
4.144 SILVER, ABNER -- (12/28/1899- 11/24/1966). Composer, lyricist, pianist. Dance band pianist; worked for publishing house. Song publisher. Composed many popular songs from 1920 into 60's, including songs for Elvis Presley movies JAILHOUSE ROCK, KING CREOLE, and G.I. BLUES.
4.189 SIMONS, SEYMOUR B. -- (1/14/1896-2/12/1949). Composer, lyricist, bandleader. Wrote Michigan Union operas while attending the University. In AAF during WWI, and with USO in WWII. Wrote material for revues in London and Paris early 20's, then led dance band in US. Later record company executive. Hits include "Breezin Along with the Breeze" and "All of Me."
4.190 SKYLAR, SUNNY -- (11/11/1913- ). Composer, lyricist, author; band singer with Abe Lyman, Paul Whiteman, and others; also worked as a single act. Wrote band material for Betty Hutton and others. Hits include "Besame Mucho."
4.191 SMITH, HARRY B. -- (12/28/1860-1/2/1936). Lyricist. Librettist-lyricist of Broadway musicals 1887-1932, one of most prolific. Brother of Robert B. Smith. Collaborated with DeKoven on first American comic opera. Music and drama critic for Chicago newspapers. Adaptations of French and German operettas. Successes include "The Sheik of Araby."
4.192 SMITH, LEE OREAN -- (1874-?)
4.191 SMITH, ROBERT B. -- (6/4/1875-11/6/1951). Lyricist. Reporter for Brooklyn Eagle. Publicity for Casino Theater, wrote material for shows there. Collaborated with brother Robert B. Smith in Broadway shows. Adapted some stage shows to musicals. Successes include "All the World Loves a Lover."
4.193 SNYDER, TED -- (8/15/1881-7/16/1965). Composer, lyricst, pianist. Early career pianist in cafes and publishing houses. Hired Irving Berlin as staff pianist for his publishing company; collaborated in early songs; Berlin later became partner. Successes include "Whos Sorry Now?"
4.194 SOLMAN, ALFRED -- (5/6/1868-11/15/1937)
4.29 SOUSA, JOHN PHILIP -- (11/6/1854-3/6/1932). Composer, bandleader, and writer. Known as the "March King" and as the most important figure in the history of American bands and band music. His contributions to band brass instrumentation includes the sousaphone and a bass tuba with bells, built in the 1890's.
4.195 SPENCER, HERBERT -- (5/27/1878-8/26/1944). Composer, arranger, singer. Studied voice with Enrico Caruso. In vaudeville for 12 years. Accompanist and arranger for prominent singers. Successes include "There's Egypt in Your Dreamy Eyes."
4.196 SPINA, HAROLD -- (6/21/1906-7/18/1997). Composer, lyricist. Pianist, arranger for publishing house; wrote special material. Founder-President of Telefilm. Director and producer for record companies. Hits include "Annie Doesnt Live Here Anymore."
4.197 STEPT, SAM -- (9/18/1897-12/1/1964). Composer, lyricist, bandleader. Pianist for publishing house. Vaudevile accompanist for Mae West and Jack Norworth among others. Led dance band in early 20's. Songwriting mainly in 30's and 40's. Hits include "Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree" and "That's My Weakness Now."
4.30 STERLING, ANDREW B. -- (1874-1955). Composer and lyricist. Collaborated extensively with the popular Tin Pan Alley songwriter, Harry Von Tilzer, providing the lyrics to some of the most popular songs, including so-called coon songs of the early 1900's as "One Sunday Afternoon" and "Down Where The Cotton Blossoms Grow."
4.153 STERN, JOSEPH W. -- (1/11/1870-3/31/1934)
4.146 STOLLER, MIKE -- (3/13/1933-). Composer. Early piano lessons in New York. Moved to Los Angeles and met Jerry Lieber. First hits were "Kansas City" and "Hound Dog."
4.198 STRAIGHT, CHARLEY -- (1/16/1891-9/21/ or 10/17/1940). Composer, lyricist, pianist, bandleader. Early career in vaudeville. Leader of band in 30's. Musical director of company producing player-piano rolls. Hits include "Funny, Dear, What Love Can Do."
4.31 STYNE, JULE K. -- (12/31/1905- ). Composer. Collaborated with Sammy Cahn on several Broadway musicals. Became one of the most prolific theatrical composers of the post-WWII era, creating scores for over 20 musicals performed by such artists as Carol Channing, Mary Martin, Ethel Merman, and Barbra Streisand.
4.32 SULLIVAN, SIR ARTHUR S. -- (5/13/1842-11/22/1900). English composer and conductor. Composed comic operas whose music, written to librettos by W.S. Gilbert, represents a peculiarly English style of operetta that achieved exceptional renown in both England and the United States. One of the most widely popular of all British composers.
4.199 TAYLOR, TELL -- ...
4.200 THORNTON, JAMES -- (12/5/1861-7/27/1938). Composer, performer. Worked as a singing waiter, then toured in vaudeville, often performing with wife, Bonnie. Successes include "When You Were Sweet Sixteen."
4.201 TIERNEY, HARRY -- (5/21/1890-3/22/1965). Composer, pianist. Toured US and abroad as concert pianist. Worked for Remick publishing house. Wrote scores for several Broadway shows. Hits include "Alice Blue Gown."
4.202 TOBIAS, CHARLES -- (8/15/1898-7/7/1970). Lyricist, composer, vocalist. Prolific songwriter mid-20's into 50's. Collaborated with brothers Harry and Henry. Early career sang in vaudeville, for publishing houses, and on radio. Formed publishing company in 1923. Hits include "Those Lazy Hazy Crazy Days of Summer."
4.202 TOBIAS, FRED -- (3/25/1928-). Lyricist. Son of Charles Tobias. Wrote special material for Carol Burnett and Julius Monk, among others. Made Broadway debut as co-lyricist of Ellington's POUSSE CAFE. Wrote lyrics for TV specials THE GIFT OF THE MAGI and QUINCY. Songs recorded by Patti Page, Tony Bennett, Steve Lawrence, Elvis Presley and others.
4.202 TOBIAS, HARRY -- (9/11/1895-12/15/1994). Lyricist. Brother Charles among several collaborators; most songwriting in 30's and 40's. Wrote special material for movies. Hits include "It's a Lonesome Old Town."
2.202 TOBIAS, HENRY -- (4/23/1905 - 12/5/1997). Lyricist, composer pianist, vocalist. Wrote for vaudeville and night club performers and for radio. Pianist, singer and disc jockey; TV producer for CBS. Collaborated with brothers Charles and Harry. Directed and produced shows for summer stock and resort hotels. Hits include "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?"
4.33 VAN ALSTYNE, EGBERT -- (3/5/1878-7/9/1951). Composer and lyricist. Best known for his collaboration with lyricist Harry H. Williams, with whom he wrote songs exploiting Indian themes and the popular "In The Shade of the Old Apple Tree." Later joined forces with lyricist Gus Kahn.
4.203 VINCENT, NAT -- (11/6/1889-6/6/1979). Pianist on vaudeville circuit. One of radio's "Happy Chappies." Remained active in later years despite total blindness. Wrote "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles."
4.34 VON TILZER, ALBERT -- (3/29/1878-10/1/1956). Composer, lyricist, and publisher. Wrote some of the most popular songs of the early 20th century, and contributed songs to a number of films and Broadway productions. Like brother Harry, Albert's songs incorporate dance rhythms and slang idioms typical of Tin Pan Alley that have since become standards.
4.35 VON TILZER, HARRY -- (7/8/1872-1/10/1946). Composer, lyricist, performer, and publisher. Wrote and published over 2,000 of his own songs and other sentimental and moralistic ballads. Also wrote so-called coon songs for blackfaced minstrels and vaudeville acts of the period. Plugged and published many of the Gershwin and Berlin songs that later became famous.
4.204 WALLACE, WILLIAM VINCENT -- (3/11/1812-10/12/1865). Irish composer, pianist, violinist. Debuted as composer at age 22. Moved to Australia, then various North and South American cities; finally settled in London where he had his great success with MARITANA.
4.36 WARREN, HARRY -- (12/24/1893-9/22/1951). Composer, lyricist. Wrote songs for Broadway reviews, including several co-authored and produced with Billy Rose. Considered one of the most successful composers of American films. The wide dissemination of his music through the film medium made him one of the most influential of all 20th-century songwriters.
4.205 WASHINGTON, NED -- (8/15/1901- 12/20/1996). Lyricist. Early career in vaudeville as M.C. and agent, and writing special material. Popular lyricist from late 20's into 60's; wrote for Broadway shows and movies, including title songs. Hits include "High Noo n" and "When You Wish Upon a Star."
4.206 WAYNE, BERNIE -- ( ? ). Composed "There She Is," the Miss America Pageant Theme Song.
4.207 WAYNE, SID -- (1/26/1923-). Composer, author. Wrote songs and comedy material for TV. Popular songs include "Nintey- nine Years" and "Two Different Worlds."
4.208 WEBSTER, JOSEPH PHILBRICK -- (2/18/1819-1/18/1875). Composer and performer. Toured in concerts of popular music. Managed a Connecticut troupe, The Euphonians, and composed many of their successful songs. Public opposition to slavery forced several moves. Published over 400 songs, ballads, patriotic songs and hymns.
4.209 WEBSTER, PAUL FRANCIS -- (12/20/1907- 3/22/1984). Lyricist. After college became seaman, dancing instructor. To Hollywood mid-30's for movie work. In 50's and 60's wrote many movie and title songs; had several Academy Award nominations and awards. Hits include "Giant" and "Love Is a Many Splendored Thing."
4.210 WEIL, KURT -- (3/2/1900-4/3/1950). German. Composer, arranger, pianist. Very successful career in Germany; left in 1933 with wife Lotte Lenya, first to Paris then to US in 1935. Composed many Broadway musicals in the 40's including KNICKERBOCKER HOLIDAY ("September Song") and THE THREEPENNY OPERA, first produced in Germany.
4.37 WENDLING, PETER -- (6/6/1888-4/8/1974). Composer, lyricist, and pianist. Wrote several hit songs of the post-WWII era in partnership with Bert Kalman and Edgar Leslie. Most popular song: "Oh, What a Pal Was Mary."
4.38 WENRICK, PERCY -- (1/23/1887-3/17/1952). Composer, lyricist, pianist, and singer. Best known for his pre-WWII popular songs such as "Put On Your Old Grey Bonnet," "Moonlight Bay," and others, that became favorites of barbershop quartets and sing-alongs. Known in Tin Pan Alley as "The Joplin Kid".
4.39 WHITING, RICHARD A. -- (11/12/1892-2/10/1938). Composer and lyricist. Among the most successful Tin Pan Alley songwriters of the 1920s and 1930s. He was one of the first important Hollywood composers to began writing music for silent film and later for sound productions such as the very successful movie, HOLLYWOOD HOTEL.
4.138 WHITNEY, JOAN -- (6/26/1914-7/12/1990). Composer, lyricist, vocalist. Own radio show; sang in clubs and hotels. Formed publishing firm with husband Alex Kramer. Hits include "Candy" and "High on a Windy Hill."
4.211 WILLIAMS, GUS -- (7/19/1847-1/16/1915). Composer, actor, singer. Performed at Tony Pastor's before playing legitimate leading roles. Toured in vaudeville.
4.212 WOOODBURY, ISAAC BAKER -- (10/23/1819-10/26/1858). Composer. Studied in London, Paris. Taught music; was conductor, editor, writer. Compiled music collections. Popular songs include "Be Kind to the Loved Ones at Home."
4.213 WOODS, HARRY -- (11/4/1896-1/14/1970). Composer, lyricist. Pianist and singer while student at Harvard. Wrote for English movies mid-30's. Hits include "When the Red, Red Red Robin Comes Bob-Bob-Bobbin' Along" and "Side by Side."
4.214 WRUBEL, ALLIE -- (1/15/1905-12/13/1973). Coposer, lyricist, bandleader. Saxman in bands; led own band; theater manager. Wrote for Warner Brothers, then Disney. Hits include "Gone with the Wind" and "Zip-a Dee-Doo-Dah."
4.40 YELLEN, JACK -- (7/6/1892-4/17/1991 ). Lyricist. Permanent lyricist for Tin Pan Alley songwriter, Milton Ager. Also wrote special material for entertainer Sophie Tucker for over 20 years. A famous song by the Yellen/Ager combination was "I Wonder What's Become of Sally." "Happy Days Are Here Again" was another great hit.
4.41 YOUMANS, VINCENT M. -- (9/27/1898-4/5/1946). Composer. Wrote and produced three successful Broadway musicals. Published fewer than 100 songs, but 18 of these were considered standards by ASCAP, including "Tea For Two," "Take A Chance," and "I Want To Be Happy."
4.145 YOUNG, JOE -- ...
4.215 YOUNG, VICTOR -- (b. Chicago, 8/8/1900-11/11/1956). Composer, violinist, conductor. Worked in radio and theater as violinist, arranger, conductor. Wrote over 200 scores for movies, including SHANE. Song hits include "Stella by Starlight" and "Sweet Sue."
4.216 YOUNG, VICTOR -- (b. Bristol, Tennessee, 4/9/1889-9/2/1968). Pianist and composer. Studied and toured in Europe. Accompanist to prominent singers. Music director in Thomas A. Edison's Experimental Laboratory. Composed for about 300 movies including some of the earliest sound productions.
4.217 ZAMECNIK, JOHN S. -- (5/14/1872-6/13/1953). Composer. Classical training included time under Antonin Dvorak. Violinist in Pittsburgh Orchestra under Victor Herbert. Wrote operettas.
Materials in Other Organizations:
Sam DeVincent Collection of American Sheet Music, Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana
This collection contains duplicates of materials in the Smithsonian collection, as well as materials acquired by Mr. DeVincent after the donation to the Smithsonian. The phonograph records described above were transferred to the University of Missouri at Kansas City.
Materials in the Archives Center, National Museum of American History:
Donald J. Stubblebine Collection of Musical Theater and Motion Picture Sheet Music and Reference Material, 1843-2010 (AC1211)
Forms Part Of:
Series 4: Songwriters forms part of the
Sam DeVincent Collection of Illustrated American Sheet Music
.
An ongoing, updated list of DeVincent topical series is available via the Smithsonian finding aid portal.
Provenance:
This collection was purchased by the Smithsonian Institution in 1988 from Sam and Nancy Lee DeVincent.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Citation:
The Sam DeVincent Collection of Illustrated American Sheet Music, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
The papers document the life and work of William R. Hutton, a civil engineer during the late 1800s to the early 1900s. Materials include diaries, notebooks, correspondence, letterpress copy book, printed materials, publications, specifications, photographs, drawings, and maps that document the construction of several architectural and engineering projects during this period. Most notable are the records containing information related to the construction of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, Hudson River Tunnel, the Washington Aqueduct, the Kanawha River Canal, and the Washington/Harlem River Bridge. There are also several records about railroads in the state of Maryland, the District of Columbia and elsewhere, including the Western Maryland Railroad, Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, Colorado Midlands Railway, Baltimore and Drum Point Railroad, the Northern Adirondack Railroad, and the Pittsfield and Williamstown Railroad. The records can be used to track the progression of these projects, and engineering innovation during the late 1800s to the early 1900s.
Scope and Contents:
These papers document William R. Hutton's professional career as a civil engineer and his personal affairs. Although the personal materials in the collection provide insight into a man and a family that have been largely forgotten by biographers, it is the professional materials that are perhaps the most interesting to researchers. They provide a compelling narrative of the push to the West that occurred in 19th century America and the internal improvements movement typified by the American System plan proposed by Henry Clay. Perhaps best remembered for the high tariffs that accompanied it, the American System plan was also concerned with the advancement of internal improvements, such as canals, that would unite the East and West in communication, travel, and trade. The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal can be seen as one of the products of this movement (1) and was in fact initially heralded as the first great work of national improvement (2).
The papers in this collection that are related to the construction and maintenance of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal are an invaluable documentation of efforts during this turbulent time to unite the eastern and western United States. They provide details of the canal from its initial construction to its decline with the incline at Georgetown project. The canal also serves as an example, or perhaps a warning against, federal involvement in state improvement efforts as it was the first project to be directly funded and staffed by the federal government (3). The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by then President John Quincy Adams whose toast, "to the canal: perseverance," (4) became an ironic omen, as construction of the canal took over twenty-two years to be completed. The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal materials can be used as a case study for the problems encountered during canal building (5). These problems are best typified in the collection by the papers relating to the Georgetown incline. This project was headed by Hutton and was plagued with construction problems, boating accidents, and obsolescence from the moment of its completion. Despite these issues, the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal remains a structure of historical significance in America. As the third and last effort to construct an all-water route to the West (6), the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal is an important artifact of 19th century attitudes and efforts towards commerce, trade, travel, and communication between the eastern and western United States. Other significant canals and water structures represented in the collection are the Kanawha Canal, the Washington Aqueduct, and a large collection of materials relating to the Kingston Water Supply (New York).
One of the most significant internal improvements made during this time was the railroad. The legal conflicts that arose between the canal companies and railroads is also represented in the materials relating to the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. These materials specifically deal with the legal conflict's between the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. The development and construction of the railroads is also represented in the materials documenting the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, the Baltimore and Drum Point Railroad, the Northern Adirondack Railroad, the Western Maryland Railroad, the Mexican National Railroad, the Colorado Midlands Railroad, and the Columbia Railroad.
The collection also demonstrates the spirit of innovation and invention that was prevalent in the engineering field in the nineteenth century. Joseph Gies writes, "...one of the distinctive characteristics of the great nineteenth century engineering adventurers was their readiness to gamble on the translation of theory into practice" (7). In this quote, he is speaking of the civil engineer Dewitt Clinton Haskins and a project that truly encapsulates engineering invention in the nineteenth century, the Hudson River Tunnel. Responding to the increase in the population of the City of New York in the late nineteenth century from sixty thousand to three and a half million, the Hudson River Tunnel was originally devised as a way to alleviate traffic and to transport train passengers directly across the Hudson River (8). Beginning with records dating from 1881 to 1901, the Hutton papers can be used to document not only the advances in engineering during this time but also the costs of progress. Haskins' initial efforts to build the tunnel using submerged air pressurized caissons were marked by failure and in some cases fatalities. Workers on the tunnel often suffered from what came to be known as "caisson disease" or "the bends," caused by the immense forces of compression and decompression experienced while working in the tunnels (9). This problem was so prevalent that as construction progressed the rate of worker deaths caused by "the bends" rose to twenty-five percent (10). Materials in the collection document worker complaints and deaths resulting from this disease as well as providing a technical record of the construction of the tunnel. The highlight of the materials relating to the Hudson River Tunnel is an album that contains photographs of workers in the tunnel and a detailed daily report of the construction progress on the tunnel that was maintained by Hutton's assistant, Walton Aims. The first hand account in these reports provides insight not only into the construction of the tunnel, but also the problems encountered.
Another project featured in the Hutton collection that was devised in response to the population explosion in the City of New York in the nineteenth century is the Harlem River Bridge, or as it is now known, the Washington Bridge. Known as one of the longest steel arch bridges of its time, the Harlem River Bridge also represents that spirit of invention and innovation that was prevalent in the civil engineering field during the nineteenth century. The collection provides an invaluable resource for those wishing to track the construction of the bridge from early concept drawings and proposals to finalized plans. Also present are photographs of the construction and workers. Societal response to the bridge in the form of newspaper and magazine clippings help to create the narrative of the Washington Bridge, and these are supplemented by correspondence from the builders, suppliers, and planners.
This collection also includes diaries, 1866-1901; letterpress copybooks, 1858-1901; correspondence on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, Hudson River Tunnel, Washington Bridge over the Harlem River, and Maryland and Colorado railroads, 1861-1901, and on Hutton's financial and real estate affairs, 1835-1921; construction photographs of the Harlem River, Cairo, Poughkeepsie, Niagara bridges and the Hudson River Tunnel, Washington Aqueduct, and Capitol Dome (in the form of albumen, cyanotype, salted paper print); data and drawings; rolled land profile drawings; canal notes, 1828-1892; Hudson River Tunnel construction reports, 1889-1891; publications, drawings, and maps of railroad routes; pamphlets and reprints on hydraulic works and water supply; road, railway, bridge, and hydraulic construction specifications, 1870-1900; drawings (linen, oil cloth, and heavy drawing paper), and blueprints; account books, 1891-1899; and plans, drawings, field notebooks, and publications on American and European construction projects, especially in Maryland, New York, and France; personal correspondence detailing his role as executor for the estates of Benjamin H. Hutton, Joseph Hutton, Annie Theller, and the Countess H. De Moltke-Hvitfeldt and his relationships with his children, siblings, cousins, and colleagues, 1850-1942.
Materials are handwritten, typed, and printed.
Special note should be made that any materials dated after the year 1901 were added to the collection by another creator who is unidentified. It can be speculated that professional materials added after this date were contributed by his brother and colleague Nathanial Hutton or his son Frank Hutton. Personal materials contributed after this date may have been added by his wife, daughters, or other members of his extended family.
Series 1, Letterpress Copybooks, 1858-1901, consists of twenty seven letterpress copybooks containing correspondence between Hutton and other engineers, architects, and building suppliers. The letterpress copybooks in this series have been arranged chronologically. The books involve a process by which ink is transferred through direct contact with the original using moisture and pressure in a copy press. The majority of the correspondence is business- related. Some letterpress copybooks are devoted to specific projects such as the Washington/Harlem River Bridge, Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, Baltimore and Drum Point Railroad, Annapolis and Elk Ridge Railroad, and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. The letterpress copybooks provide a record of correspondence written by Hutton, which makes it distinctive from the other correspondence in the collection. Most of the other correspondence has Hutton as recipient.
The letterpress copybooks also document Hutton's various residences throughout his life and provide a glimpse into the civil engineering profession at the time by demonstrating how engineers shared ideas and comments about projects. This can be supplemented with the printed materials in the collection as many of the authors also appear in the correspondence. Other topics covered in the letterpress copybooks include business reports (specifically the report of the president and directors of the Baltimore and Drum Point Railroad), records of people and companies involved in projects, pasted in engineering sketches, engineering specifications and notes, travel expenses and estimates, construction histories and progress, legal issues with family estates, tax information, Colorado Railroad, payment certificate schedules, St. Paul Railroad, personal correspondence, title guarantees, Hudson River Tunnel, financial matters, real estate matters, insurance information, sketches and drawings, supply lists, cost estimates, the Memorial Bridge, Coffin Valve Company, engineering expenses, engineering calculations, payroll notes for Kingston Water Supply, proposals, account information, Hutton Park, reservoirs, contract drafts, French Society of Civil Engineers, inspection results (specifically Piedmont Bridge), land descriptions, damage reports, Morse Bridge, Illinois Central Railroad, North Sea Canal, moveable dams, iron works, site histories, Potomac Lock and Dock Company, Kanawha River canal (lock quantities, specifications, payroll information), Pennsylvania Canal, and bills for services.
Series 2, Professional Correspondence, 1861-1901, consists of correspondence that relates to Hutton's architectural and engineering projects. This series is further subdivided into two subseries: Project Correspondence and General Correspondence. Subseries 1, Project Correspondence, 1876-1899, correspondence is divided by project and arranged alphabetically. Subseries 2, General Correspondence, 1861-1901, is arranged chronologically. Both series contain handwritten and typed letters. Some letters are on letterpress copybook pages and are most likely copies. Some materials are in French and Spanish. Special note should be made that this series does not contain all of the professional correspondence in the collection. Some correspondence has been separated according to project and placed in Series 8, Professional Projects, 1830-1965, in order to make it easier for researchers to access materials related to those subjects.
Subseries 1, professional correspondence topics include comparisons between construction projects (specifically comparisons of the Kanawha River Canal to other canals), supply lists, location recommendations, sketches, construction plans and modifications, bills for supplies and works, leaks in the gates, cost estimates, Brooklyn Water Supply, use of lake storage (Ramapo Water Supply), water supply to states and counties, damages to water supply pipes, estimates of water quantities, responses to construction reports, legal issues related to projects, Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and payment for services.
Subseries 2, general correspondence topics include employment opportunities, committee meetings and elections, land surveys, sketches, engineering plans and ideas, work on projects, dismissal from projects, notes on supplies, Washington Aqueduct, construction progress, land purchases, Civil War, Jones Falls, cost of water pumps, steam drills, lots divisions and prices, repairs, report of the engineering bureau, tidewater connection at Annapolis, bridge construction, construction costs, statement of vessels that entered and cleared Baltimore, technical questions from colleagues, Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, supply costs, letters of introduction, requests for reference, changes to plans and designs, survey reports, St. Andrew's lot, Canal Coal Company, publication process, American Society of Civil Engineers and its members, responses to project inquiries, Graving Dock gross revenue, job offers, specifications, trade figures, contracts, water levels, appointment dates and times, moveable dams, proposals for membership, salaries, Piedmont Coal Lands, maps, land profiles, Washington Bridge, board payments, Nicaragua Canal, Grant Coal Company, statistics, engineering notes, Hartford Bridge, water pressures, coal deposits, Colorado Coal, pipe lines, reservoirs, boat costs for canals, floods, bridges, letters of resignation, engines, Ruxton Viaduct, Colorado and Midland Railroad, Morse Bridge, share values, railroad locations, membership invitations, call for submissions, structural tests, record of accounts for room and board, appointments, water rights (Putnam County), publications, blueprints, visitation programs, cotton compresses, street trenches, pressures in dams, level tests, Portland Transportation bureau, trade information, concrete steel, Chicago drainage canal, ship canals, Augusta Cotton and Compress Company, Sooysmith case, Consolidated Gas Company, masonry, book binding, Columbia Railway Company, jetties, land grades, Chesapeake and Delaware canal, water wheels, pneumatic lock, tunnel arches, rifton power, Hutton's health, elevators, Brooklyn Bridge Terminals, girder weights, legal issues and their results, rating table for the Potomac, land profiles, transmission lines, transformers, water turbines, and water power on the Potomac River.
Correspondents for this series include the following: Captain Montgomery C. Meigs, Captain T.W. Symons, William Bryan, Ernest Flagg, John Hurd, Jake Wolfe, J.C. Saunders, J.H. Dolph, Charles J. Allen, G.H. Mendell, Virgil S. Bogue, B.A. Mounnerlyn, Edward Burr, H.G. Prout, R. William, H. Dodge, C.R. Suter, M. Mink, W.R. King, John Lyons, Alex Brown and Sons, John G. Butler, D. Condon, Bernard Carter, R.P. McCormick, D.R. Magruder, Andrew Banks, Isaac Solomon, C.J. Mayer, C.W. Kern, John Herring, James S. Mackie, D.R. Magunde, D. Rittaguide, R.S. Stevens, J.L. Raudolph (Baltimore and Ohio Railroad), J.M. Lane, W.D. Stuart, W.G.P. Palmer (Committee Church of the Ascension), C. Crozet, General W. Hughes, V.R. Maus, J.M. Hood (Western Maryland Railroad Company), Ernest Pontzen, M. Haus, William F. Craighill, Harry Hutton, John W. Pearce, Reverend James A. Harrald, William Watson, A.L. Rives, Thomas Monro, A.F. Croswan (Commander United States Navy), H.R. Garden, William McAlpine, James Forrest, Wm. Bloomsfield, Daniel Ammen, Linel Wells, A. and Otto Sibeth, Alfred Noble, Clemens Hershel, Sidney Warner, E.H. de Rheville, Theodore Cooper, William Findlay Shunk, Lewis S. Wolfe, Rufus Mead, Theodore F. Taylor, John Bogart, J. Whaler, B. Williamson, Colonel F.V. Greene, Robert H. Sayre (Lehigh Valley Railroad Company), Charles W. Pussey, Louis Q. Rissel, V.C. Bogue, H.C. Eckenberger, Melville E.G. Leston, Edwin Parson, Rudolph Hering, R.S. Hale, F.M. Turner, Thosl Martindale, Justus C. Strawbridge, William M. Ayresm, R.L. Austin, A.M. Miller, P. Livingston Dunn, T.J. Cleaver, C.S. Dutton, H.A. Carson, William Bainbridge Jaudon, H.A. Presset, Thomas H. McCann, Russel Sturgis, H.G. Prout, Alexis H. French, John K. Cowen, F.W. Williams, J. Waldorf, B.H. Byrant, B.H. Jones, M.H. Rogers, J.W. Ogden, General W. Cashing, William Longhudge, A.J. Cameron, T.L. Patterson, J.J. Hagerman, H. Wigglesworth, Charles B. Rowland, E. Bantz, W.G. Lathrop, Clarence King, George Rowland, George A. Tibbals (Continental Iron Works), George N. Vanderbilt, Eugene C. Lewis, F.P. Burt, Colonel John C. Clarke, Lieutenant Thomas Turtle, W.S.M. Scott, E. Bates Dorsey, Bernard Carter, George M. Shriver (Baltimore and Ohio Railroad), Russel Sturgis, Macmillan Publishing, James Abernethy, B. Baker, J.G.W. Fynje, A. Mallet, Jean Hersuy, L.F. Vernon Horcourt, Robert Lilley, A.J. Johnson, F.M. Colby, Henry D. Loney, A.S. Cameron, James A. Harrald, William Watson, John B. Lervis, A.L. Rives, Edwin F. Bidell, Frank H. Stockett, E. McMahon, C.F. Elgin, Enrique Budge, G. Clayton Gardiner, Dwight Porter, William A. Chapman, T.E. Sickels, Theodore Cooper, C.J. Warner, Institution of Civil Engineers, Robert Gordon, United States Coast of Geodetic Survey Office, C.P. Pattun, J.N. Putnam, Sidney B. Warner, H.D. Fisher, Union Pacific Railway Company, Lewis S. Wolle, George E. Waring Junior, The American Exhibition, G.F. Swain, American Society of Civil Engineers, N.H. Whitten, U.S. Engineer Office, Government Works Committee, J.J. Hagerman, D. Jackson, Sterling Iron and Railway Company, E.P. Alexander, E. Williamson, Central Railway Company of New Jersey, William A. Underwood, F. Collingwood, James Dun (Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad Company), Henry F. Kilburn, Louis A. Bissell, Virgil G. Boque, H.C. Eckenberger, Melville Egleston, Charles Parson, George Swain, Continental Iron Works, Rudolph Hering, J.B. Gordon, Mayor's Office (Baltimore), Harry Robinson, Pennsylvania Railway Company, W.H. Gahagan, L. Luiggi, B.H. Bryant, T.J. Cleaver (Chesapeake and Delaware Canal Company), H.A. Carson, H.A. Presset (Department of the Interior, United States Geological Survey), John K. Cowen, Vernon H. Brown, J. Waldorf, B.H. Bryant, L.F. Root, P.W. White, Metropolitan Railroad Company, Charles F. Mayer (Consolidated Coal Company, Cumberland and Pennsylvania Railroad Company), J.M. Lane (Western Maryland Railroad), Dr. R.S. Stewart (Annapolis and Elk Ridge Railroad), Baltimore and Drum Point Railroad (John Lyons, John G. Butler, D. Candon, R.P. McCormick, Andrew Banks), Thomas F. Rowland, J.A. Bensel, Walton Aims, S.D. Coykendall, H.C. Rogers, John F. Ward, T.B. Jewell, H.A. Pressey, C.S. Armstrong, J. Nennett, V.G. Bague.
Series 3, Personal Correspondence, 1850-1942, contains correspondence with immediate and extended family, specifically the heirs to the Benjamin H. Hutton and Joseph Hutton estates and Adele Gorman. Correspondence is primarily arranged chronologically, but some files have been divided based on subject or author (the Deer Park and Adele Gorman files), or by form (the Telegrams, and Cablegrams file). Special note is made of the posthumous correspondence file, which includes correspondence both relating to Hutton's death and correspondence that was written by family members after the years of his death. The series contains both hand written and typed letters. Some correspondence is in French. The correspondence demonstrates his relationship with his children specifically Elizabeth (Bessie) Hutton, and illuminates his role in his family. This series also provides details about nineteenth century upper class society and activities. Special note should be made that this folder does not contain all of the personal correspondence contained in the collection. Some correspondence has been separated according to recipient, or subject in order to make researching these recipients or subjects easier.
Series 3 correspondence topics include: estate payments, distribution of assets, funds transfers, estate lines, conflicts with tenants, sketches, lot maintenance, real estate sales, deeds, real estate sales negotiations, congratulations wishes on new babies, family illnesses, family affairs and travels, traveling directions, personal investments, invitations for social occasions, family debts, professional interests, professional and personal appointments, family issues, requests for money, sketches, advice to children (specifically Frank Hutton), life insurance, books, letters of introduction, legal issues, funeral expenses, charity donations, advertisements, minutes from professional organizations, army enlistment, deaths of friends and family, recipes, estimates of personal expenses, renovations, stock certificates (Great Northern Railway Company, New York), food, social activities, the weather, marriages, real estate and construction plans, and loan agreements.
Correspondents include the following: Frank Hutton, Thomas B. Brookes, J.L. Marcauley, C.M. Matthews, Edward J. Hancy, John M. Wilson, H.A. Carson, William H. Wiley (of John Wiley and Sons Scientific Publishers, New York), Georgina Hutton, Pierre and Jane Casson, George McNaughlin, Henrietta Hutton, Aaron Pennington Whitehead, J.B. Wheeler, B. Williamson, Robert De Forest, Elizabeth (Bessie) Hutton, Grace Beukard, J.C. Saunders, Mary Hutton, William J. Pennington, C.S. Hurd, Henry C. Cooper, Henry J. Segers, S.F. Miller, Annie Theller, Alfred Noble, Maria Burton, Joseph Hobson, E. Lennon, F. Hulberg, Charles Gordon Hutton, Edward C. Ebert, A. William Lewin, E.R. Dunn, William P. Craighill, Theodore Cooper, P.I. Chapelle, Anita McAlpine, Clarence King, Victoria Raymond, and Adele Gorman.
Series 4, Personal Materials, 1835-1946, contains documentation about Hutton's personal finances, role as executor of the Benjamin H. Hutton, Joseph Hutton, Annie Theller, and Countess H. De Moltke-Hvitfeldt estates, Mary Augusta Hutton (wife), Mary Hutton (daughter), Frank Hutton, John Caulfield (son-in-law), and B.F. and C.H. Hutton. The series has been divided into four subseries: Financial Records, 1876-1901, Estate and Real Estate Records, 1835-1921, Other Huttons, 1876-1936, and Personal Material, 1878-1946. Subseries 2, Estate and Real Estate Records, 1835-1921, contains correspondence relating to specific family estates and family members. This correspondence was separated from Series 3, Personal Correspondence, 1850-1942, to make it easier for researchers to access all records relating to the family estates. This series includes hand written, typed, and printed materials. Some materials are in French. All material dated after 1901 has been added to the collection by other creators such as Hutton's wife and children.
Subseries 1, Financial Records, 1876-1901, includes account books, account records, correspondence related to bank accounts, bank statements, financial notes, bills and proofs of payment, rent receipts, tax bills (New York, Flatbush, Montgomery County), checks, money exchanges, receipts for tax payments, real estate receipts, stock and bond certificates, loan agreements, executor accounts, rebate calculation sheet, and tax and insurance payments.
Subseries 2, Estate and Real Estate Records, 1835-1921, includes property maps and information (rent, mortgage costs, deeds), correspondence, notes on estate distribution, estate assets, value of estate and estate payments, account records, loan agreements, receipts, proof of payments, checks, financial records, legal documents, insurance documents, tax bills, auction receipts, and wills relating to the estates of Benjamin H. Hutton, Joseph Hutton, Countess H. de Moltke-Hivtfeldt, Annie Theller, and William R. Hutton. Also included are correspondence, property maps and information, and deeds and mortgages on Hutton properties.
Subseries 2, the estate and real estate records correspondence topics include: Virginia state building codes, construction costs, construction notices, purchasing offers for property, real estate prices, receipts of payments, property lines, real estate purchases and sales, real estate sales negotiations, deeds insurance estimates and costs, loan costs, property estimates, renovation costs, mortgages, property damages and repairs, property tax payments, insurance rates and payments, rent payments, telephone installation, building permits, rental agreements, reports on property condition, contracts of sale, conflicts with tenants, changes of address, deeds, distribution of estate monies, details about the Countess' illness, estate arrangements, changes of address, problems arising out of estate distribution, payment of debts, will details, selling of mortgage shares, accounts, estate settlement, money cables and transfers, dealings with lawyers, rent on Hutton Park property, legal and accounting fees, power of attorney transfer, investments, property security, land appraisals, lists of assets, legacy taxes, mortgages transfers, property management, Flatbush property, property rent and values, and physicians bills.
Correspondents include the following: A.C. Weeks, Walter I. Green, John D. Probsh, A.G. Darwin, Thomas H. McCann, Allan Farguhar, Thomas Dawson, Potter and Crandall Real Estate and Insurance Brokers, George C. Tilyou, H.D. Olephant, F. Winston, Richard E. Calbraith, Frank P. Martin, Henry DeForest, Henry C. Cooper, Metropolitan Telephone and Telegraph Company, John Ecker, C.K. Avevill, Georgina Hutton, Edward J. Hancy, Robert Graham, W.M. Bennett, Willis E. Merriman, Nathan L. Miller, Harry Hutton, Marquise de Portes (Adele Gorman), Annie Theller, Samuel L. Theller, Mrs. R. Locke, Frank Z. Adams, John Palmer (Secretary of State, New York), J.T. Cammeyer, Frank P. Martin, Florence Theller, Francis H. Seger, Henry C. Cooper, D.W.G. Cammeyer, Campbell W. Adams, Jane Casson, Elizabeth Hutton, Rene de Portes, H.G. Atkins, Grace Beukard, Aaron Pennington Muikhead, J.E. Delapalme, T.H. Powers, Egerton L. Winthrop Junior, George B. Glover, William Jay and Robert W. Candler, B. Williamson, J.E. Knaff, Cornelius C. Vermeule, S.V. Hayden, Charles G. Landon[?], H.A. Hurlbert, F.A. Black, John L. Calwalder, the Health Department of New York, A.G. Darwin, William Laue, Frederick Frelinghuysen, Charles S. Brown, Henrietta Hutton, Edward Gelon.
Subseries 3, Other Huttons, 1874-1936, includes professional drawings and proposals, checks, insurance information, correspondence, tax information, medical information, tax bills, relating to Mary Augusta Hutton (wife), Mary Hutton (daughter), Henry and Harry Hutton, Frank Hutton (son), John Caulfield (son-in-law), B.F. Hutton, and C.H. Hutton.
Subseries 4, Personal Materials, 1878-1946, contains handwritten property notes, school notes, sermons, travel documents, menus, Christmas cards, jewelry box, postal guide, typed religious materials and flyers.
Series 5, Diaries, 1866-1901, contains twenty nine diary books that document both Hutton's personal and professional life. These diaries provide not only a record of Hutton's life, but were also used by Hutton himself as a reference tool. When working on projects he would refer to notes and observations he made in his diary (as evidenced by notes made in his diaries). The first pages of the diaries often list his height, weight and clothing sizes as they varied from year to year. A researcher could probably use the cashbooks (see Series 7) and the diaries in conjunction as both detail the purchases made by Hutton. Many of the diaries also include a short record of accounts in the back. The diaries are arranged chronologically.
Topics found in the diaries include short form accounts of daily activities and appointments, records of the weather, Chesapeake and Ohio Canal project, construction progress on projects, steam pumps, sketches and calculations, extension of Washington railroads, cost of food, work supplies, travel costs, costs of goods and food, work deadlines, home renovations, visits to family, cash accounts, accounts of household duties, produce on Woodlands property, records of deaths, debts owed, account of clearing Woodlands property, church visits, Hancock and Tonoloway Aqueduct, canals, Drum Point Railroad, Montgomery C. Meigs, Washington Aqueduct, Annapolis Water Works, telegram costs, wages for Chesapeake and Ohio Canal project, William Craighill, Morris Canal, Annapolis Railroad and Canal, professional duties (inspections), Kanawha River Canal, travel schedules, professional expenses, cash received from Chesapeake and Ohio Canal project, Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, John's Dam, cathedral construction (St. Patricks?), Piedmont Bridge, Cumberland, account of farm property belonging to Major Campbell Bruns, Cunard Pier, Marquise de Portes, rent costs, Baltimore Canal, Kingston Water Supply, Croton Orange Estate, Pierre Casson, Hudson River Tunnel, Washington/Harlem River Bridge, entertainment costs, Greenwood cemetery, train schedule, notes on illness, real estate sales, Hutton Park, Benjamin H. Hutton estate and heirs, estimates, accounts of correspondence received and sent, Central Railroad, rent on Orange properties, addresses, contracts and building supplies for projects, personal finances, Joseph Hutton property on Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, amounts paid and received, medical appointments, Ramapo Water Company, drawing progress of maps and diagrams, Harbor Board (New York), property repairs, inspection and test reports, reservoirs, lists of birthdays, Boston Tunnel, family financial issues, tax payments, and prayers.
Series 6, Notebooks, 1860-1900, document the engineering and architectural projects worked on by Hutton. The series has been divided into three subseries: Subseries 1, Engineering and Survey Field Notes, 1860-1899; Subseries 2, Notebooks, 1871-1886; and Subseries 3, Notes, 1863-1900. Subseries 1, Engineering and Survey Field Notes, 1860-1899, contains sixteen field notebooks used by Hutton. Subseries 2, Notebooks, 1871-1886, contains seven notebooks. Subseries three, Notes, 1863-1900, contains four documents.
Some notebooks correspond to specific projects such as the Kanawha River Canal (lockgate and Phoenix Waterline), Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, Buffalo Reservoir, Potomac Lock and Dock Company, Northern Adirondack Railroad account, Washington Aqueduct, Little Rock Bridge, Wilson-Adam Dock, Croten Brick Works, Hutton Park, Centennial Iron Works, Cumberland Canal, Williamsport Aqueduct, Catoctin Aqueduct, Alexandria Canal, Miller's Saw Mill, Seneca Dam, Union Tunnel, Cumberland Waterworks, Victoria Bridge, Welland Canal, North Sea Canal, Ramapo Water Company, Annapolis Water Company, Antietam Aqueduct, Interoceanic Canal, San Quentin Canal, Suez Canal, Amsterdam Canal, Harlem Bulkhead, Morris Canal, Blue Lake Canal, and Nicaragua Canal.
These notebooks should be used in conjunction with the other materials in the collection related to professional projects, as they often provide more detailed accounts of the construction and land surveys. Some of the notebooks contain entries from several different sources. The notebooks were probably shared among the engineers working on these projects. The notebooks also contain looseleaf ephemera such as hand written calculations, newspaper clippings, and blueprints. Languages found in this series are English and French.
Notebook topics include construction projects, supply needs, costs for labor, sketches (Woodland Mills, landscapes, dams, railway cars, Noland Tunnel), costs of crops, survey measurements, cost of livestock, aqueducts, inspections, canal bridges, seed prices, dams, measurements, coffer dam, canal maintenance, worker salaries, calculations, towpath sketches and measurements, shipping rates, worker accidents, water and coal used, geometrical sketches (Washington Aqueduct), locks, damage reports, interactions with other engineers (William Reading), coal shipments on the canal, travel expenses, land survey notes, drafts for correspondence, William Craighill, Victoria docks, lists of personal supplies used, construction time estimates, surveying expenses, telegram costs, sand pump, canal from Sherling to Tuxedo Bay, analysis of several artificial lakes and reservoirs, distances of reservoirs to main pipes, calculations for the Austin Wheel, engine construction, bridges, gauging water depth, results and observations of tests and performance, problems with construction, to-do lists, cost of land surrounding towpaths, Fawcett's Lock, Tarman's Lock, comparison of costs in transporting coal by water and by rail, inspection notes, iron work, drainages, leaks, cost of supplies, watergates, harbor ferries, railroad station distances, flood protection, Panama Canal via the Nicaraguan route, cost of jetties, water levels, pressure of steam, boilers, steam and water cycle, water depth, cement, Great Falls, Virginia, waterflow, soundings, time of floats, flow of currents, rain fall measurements, tunnel measurements, cost of trenching San Francisco water supply, record of livestock, cost of food, rates of sawing woods and mills, preliminary railroad line measurements, profile of final line, and railroad line profiles.
Series 7, Cash Books, 1856-1899, contains seven cashbooks which list prices for personal items purchased by Hutton. Topics include groceries, church dues, clothes, hygiene products, cigars, some short journal entries about his work (Williamstown), concerts, dinners, family addresses, cakes, meals, cars, stamps, office supplies (pencils and papers), valentines, glasses, gloves, fabric, medicine, needles, diapers, tobacco, shoes (adult and childrens), travel expenses, telegrams, candles, newspapers, liquor, coal oil, jewelry, allowances given to family members, bank deposits, monies paid and received, taxes, subscriptions, tailoring costs, deposits and payments into estate trusts, and notes about payments to Benjamin H. Hutton heirs. The cashbooks also contain some personal loose leaf ephemera such as prayers, sketches, and engineering notes collected by Hutton.
Series 8, Professional Projects, 1830-1965, contains documents about engineering and architectural projects throughout Hutton's career, including information about the professional organizations and the legal issues in which he was involved. This series has been divided into eight subseries based on project, document form, and document subject. Some materials are in French and Italian.
Series 8, Professional Projects, also includes correspondence related to specific projects, primarily the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, the Hudson River Tunnel, the Washington/Harlem River Bridge, and the Georgetown Incline.
Topics include construction and repair to the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, engineering and use of Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, worker contracts, supply and labor purchases, design plans and proposals, construction and repair costs, supply notes and costs of supplies, water pressure and power, shipping materials and routes (specifically the shipping of coal), inspections and their findings, condition of canal dam and locks, water supply, drainage, sketches, board proceedings, business meetings, deeds, cost comparisons to other shipping methods, hiring processes, wages, cost estimates, Hutton's consulting fees, measurements and calculations, funding issues, worker conflicts, negotiations with municipal governments, payment schedules, bills for services, air pressure in Hudson River Tunnel, permission for construction, specifications, mortality rate among workers on the Hudson River Tunnel, construction reports, outlet incline, proposals for construction, letters of introduction, railroad versus water for trade, controversy with Tiersey, construction contracts, construction schedules, construction issues, construction progress, construction damage, basis for estimates, supply requests, internal politics, changes to construction plans, contract and price adjustments, issues with suppliers, construction delays, work permits, bills, worker issues, engineering notes, construction excavations, expenses, construction instructions, Union Bridge Company, lighting installations, construction processes, hiring practices, electrical conductors, water proofing, hydraulics, cement, concrete, payment of contributors, processes of approval for construction, meeting dates of the Harlem River Bridge Commission, and contract restrictions.
Correspondents include the following: W.W.M. Kaig, Henry Dodge, E. Mulvany, John Shay, James Clarke, H.D. Whitcomb, Horace Benton, J. Rellan, J.R. Maus, W.E. Merrill, A.P. Gorman, J.H. Staats, Vernon H. Brown, Charles H. Fisher (New York Central and Hudson River Railway Company), B. Baker, John Fowler, Benjamin and John Dos Passos, Charles B. Colby, Charles B. Brush, S. Pearson, Stanford White, Horace E. Golding, R.H. Smith, Daniel Lord, A. Fteley, Herbert Hinds, J.R. Bartlett, D.M. Hirsch, M.H. Bartholomew, Thomas O. Driscoll, W.E. Porter, Thomas F. Rowland, George Edward Harding, R.H. Dames, William Watson, James B. Eads, J.D. Bright, H. Aston, Charles Suley, A.M. Maynard, W.R. Henton, G. Geddes, H.P. Gilbut, Malcolm W. Niver (Secretary of the Harlem River Bridge Commission), J.D. Patterson, George Devin (Assistant Engineer Washington/ Harlem River Bridge), J.B. Wheeler, John Bogart, Charles Burns, J. McClellon, Rob Bassee, B. Williamson, Theodore Cooper, Lewis Cass Ledyard, R.M. Hunt, John Cooper, Henry Wilson, A.A. Caille, Myles Tierney, W. Pentzen, L.B. Cantfield, George Q. Grumstaid Junior, M.J. Funton, George Pierce, W.O. Fayerweather, Noah S. Belthen, Herbert Steward, W.M. Habirsham.
Subseries 1, Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, 1828-1965, consists of plans, blueprints, land profiles, drawings, boat rates, contract forms, order forms, descriptions of the canal, design information, engineering data, sketches, cost estimates, land titles, microfilm, business papers, supply bills, patent bills, news clippings, reports, specifications, stockholder's reports, receipts, water leases, printed materials, and correspondence.
The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal project was started in 1828 and completed twenty two years later in 1850. The canal's main objective was to connect Georgetown to the coal banks above Cumberland, Maryland, providing a short and cheap trade route between the eastern and western United States. It was also hoped that the canal would provide greater communication and travel between these two regions. Plagued by natural disasters, and construction setbacks, the canal was never completed in time to be useful and became obsolete shortly after its completion. Canal trade was eventually put out of business by the increase of railroads. Although it was an important development in engineering at its inception, the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal is no longer in use and has become what locals affectionately refer to as "the old ditch." The canal was designated a National Historical Park in 1971 and consists of 184.5 miles of hiking and biking trails.
Subseries 2, Hudson River Tunnel, 1887-1901, consists of agreements for construction, certificates, contracts, and cost estimates, construction reports, engineering notebooks, engineering notes, sketches, land profiles, maps, progress profiles, plans, proposals, printed material, statements of expenses, and correspondence.
The Hudson River Tunnel project was started in 1874, and the final tubes were opened in 1910 after several construction setbacks. The tunnel connects Weehawken, New Jersey and Pennsylvania Station in Manhattan, New York City. Today the Hudson River Tunnel, known as the North River Tunnels is used by Amtrak's Northeast Corridor and New Jersey Transit rail lines.
Subseries 3, Harlem River Bridge, 1878-1982, consists of blueprints, printed materials, photographs, engineer's estimates, schedules, costs, reports, proposals, contracts, specifications, and correspondence.
The Harlem River Bridge project was started in 1885 and was completed in 1889. It spans the Harlem River in New York City, New York and connects the Washington Heights section of Manhattan with the Bronx. It was later named and is still known as the Washington Bridge and has been adapted over time to carry highway traffic. These adaptations have allowed the bridge to remain in use today.
Subseries 4, Other Projects, 1858-1832, consists of drawings, maps, blueprints, plans, proposals, cost estimates, bills, correspondence, sketches, land profiles, dimensions, engineering notes, account records, photostats, supply lists, calculations, legal documents, surveys, inspection reports, financial data, and measurements on architectural and engineering projects. Highlights of this subseries include: Western Maryland Railroad, Washington Aqueduct, Panama Canal, Ramapo Water Company, Piedmont Bridge, Northern Adirondack Railroad, Columbia Railroad, Morris Canal, Pittsfield and Williamstown Railroad, Suez Canal, St. Gothard Canal, Tansa Dam, Colorado Midland Railroad Company, Memorial Bridge, Mersey Tunnel, Little Rock Bridge, Kingston Water Supply, Kanawha River Canal, Florida Ship Canal, East Jersey Water Company, Consolidated Coal Company, Dismal Swamp Canal, Boston and Baltimore Tunnels, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, Annapolis Water Company, Baltimore and Drum Point Railroad Company, and the Baltimore Beltline.
Subseries 5, Unidentified Project Files, 1872-1900, consists of bills of sale, engineering forms and regulations, cement test results and methods, census bulletin, contracts, cost estimates, correspondence, notes on publications, engineering data and notes, drawings, surveys, sketches, payrolls, photographs, and reports.
Subseries 6, Specifications, 1870-1900, consists of documents related to some of Hutton's projects, including specifications for bridges, reservoirs, canals, viaducts, docks, buildings, water works, and tunnels. Some specifications are more general, and some are blank proposal/specification forms. There are also proposals for estimates and a "call" or advertisement to contractors to bid on certain projects. Many of the specifications deal with projects in New York State, but projects in Pennsylvania, the City of Baltimore, and Europe are represented. The materials are arranged alphabetically by project name. There is one folder of documentation for the Potomac River Bridge (Arlington Memorial Bridge) in Washington, D.C. The Arlington Memorial Bridge was part of the 1901 McMillan Commission's plan for restoring Pierre (Peter) Charles L'Enfant's original plan for the capital. Two decades passed before construction was initiated by the architectural firm McKim, Mead, and White. The documentation for the Memorial Bridge consists of calculations and monetary figures for materials such as granite.
Subseries 7, Legal Documents, 1886, contains documents related to a patent infringement suit for moveable dams involving Alfred Pasqueau vs. the United States. This file contains both a printed version of the case and a handwritten statement from Hutton.
Subseries 8, Professional Organizations, 1870-1902, contains documents related to professional organizations where Hutton held membership. Specific organizations represented are American Institute of Architects, American Society of Civil Engineers, Institution of Civil Engineers, Boston Society of Civil Engineers, Societe des Ingenieurs Civils de France, Librarie Polytechnique, American Agency of "Engineering" in London, Imperial Institute, League of Associated Engineers, Railroad Corporation, American Institute of Mining Engineers, and the Century Association. Material in the subseries includes correspondence, candidates for membership, membership payments, membership lists, meeting minutes, schedule of terms, professional practices, charges, articles of association, invitations for membership, and election notes. Some materials are in French.
Series 9, Printed Materials, 1850-1913, contains a variety of printed materials relating to engineering and architectural projects written by Hutton and fellow engineers. This series can be used to examine not only professional developments of the period and responses to those developments, but also to track how ideas were transferred between engineers across countries and continents. This series should be used in conjunction with the professional correspondence found in this collection, as many of the authors also appear there. Some materials are in French, German, Spanish, and Italian.
Subseries 1, Printed Materials by Hutton, 1852-1900, includes printed papers on the Missouri flood wave, the Ravine du Sud, the Potomac waterfront, the Colorado midlands, and the application of water supply machinery.
Subseries 2, Printed Materials by Others, 1826-1913, includes printed materials on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canals, Tehuantec Ship Railway, Interoceanic canals and railways, jetties, Nicaragua Canal, uses of cements, mortars, concretes, steam power, harbors, Niagara Falls, Kanawha River canal, Mississippi River, Hudson River Bridge, sewage disposal, Washington Aqueduct, specifications, construction progress reports, hydraulic experiments, water supply, drainage, road surfacing, sea walls, water-cooling apparatus, pollution reports, bridges, pipes, channels, reservoirs, irrigation, water power, and sewers.
Subseries 2 contains an issue of The North American Review in which Hutton has specifically highlighted an article entitled, "The Inter-Oceanic Canal." Please see the container list for names of authors.
Subseries 3, Printed Materials with No Author, 1852-1903, includes printed materials on harbor reports, Annapolis Water Company, Ramapo Water Company, water departments and boards, maps, engineer's reports, sea walls, preservation of structures, annual reports, Coal and Iron Railway Company, sewers, Baltimore and Drum Point Railroad, contract specifications, proposals, social club life, Croton Water Supply, law suits, water supplies, moveable dams, reservoirs, East River Bridge, Eastern Canal, water filtration, Kingston New Water Supply, water pipes, locks, docks, contracts, construction reports, Croton Water Supply, and surveys. Also included are issues of journals such as Le Correspondant, Circular of the Office of Chief Engineers, The Club, VIII Congres International de Navigation, Journal of the Association of Engineering Studies, and Journal of the Franklin Institute.
Subseries 4, Newspaper, Journals and Magazine Clippings, 1873-1900, contains clippings from a variety of newspapers such as Scientific American, andRailroad Gazette. Subjects included are the Union Tunnel opening in Baltimore, Drum Point Railroad, railroad company conflicts, Washington/Harlem River Bridge, Metropolitan Railroad, Western Maryland Railroad, crop prospects, lumber trade, North Avenue Bridge, Nicaraguan Canal, harbors, river improvements, reactions to engineering projects, Belt tunnel, city transit, Washington, D.C. flood in 1880, tunnel shields, Springfield Bridge, railroad patents, Panama Canal, jetties, Hudson Tunnel, steel boilers, composition and use of cement, and the Brooklyn Bridge.
Subseries 5, Oversized Printed Materials, 1889-1892, contains large printed materials related to the Washington Aqueduct, General Post Office Building, subway arches, cornices, Warwick's Castle, Neuschwanstein Castle, Renaissance paintings, botanical drawings, school buildings, church architecture, the Hospital for the Insane of the Army and Navy and the District of Columbia, the Panama Canal, Morningside Park, and the Mississippi Jetties. Also includes engravings of Hutton, T.N. Talfound, and F. Jeffrey and photographs of Montgomery C. Meigs, and Hutton. Some materials are in German and French.
References:
1. Ward, George Washington, "The Early Development of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Project," Johns Hopkins University Studies in Historical and Political Science Series XVII, no. 9-11 (1899): 8.
2. Ibid., 88.
3. Ibid., 55.
4. Ibid., 90.
5. Sanderlin, Walter S., "The Great National Project: A History of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal," Johns Hopkins University Studies in Historical and Political Science Series LXIV, no. 1 (1946): 21.
6. Ibid., 282.
7. Gies, Joseph, Adventure Underground (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday and Company Inc., 1962): 134.
8. Ibid., 131-132.
9. Ibid., 135-136.
10. Ibid., 145.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into ten series.
Series 1: Letterpress Copybooks, 1858-1901
Series 2: Professional Correspondence, 1861-1901
Subseries 2.1: Project Correspondence, 1876-1899
Subseries 2.2: General Correspondence, 1861-1901
Series 3: Personal Correspondence, 1850-1942
Series 4: Personal Materials, 1835-1946
Subseries 4.1: Financial Records, 1876-1901
Subseries 4.2: Estate and Real Estate Records, 1835-1921
Subseries 4.3: Other Huttons, 1874-1936
Subseries 4.4: Personal Materials, 1878-1946
Series 5: Diaries, 1866-1901
Series 6: Notebooks, 1860-1900
Subseries 6.1: Engineering and Survey Field Notes, 1860-1899
Subseries 6.2: Notebooks, 1871-1886
Subseries 6.3: Notes, 1863-1900
Series 7: Cashbooks, 1856-1899
Series 8: Professional Projects, 1830-1965
Subseries 8.1: Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, 1828-1965
Not much is known about the history of William Rich Hutton outside of his role in architectural and engineering projects of the late 1800s and early 1900s. In many cases, he is spoken of only in reference to his projects, and the short biographies that have been written read more like a resume than a life story. Because of this lack of information, this note will focus on Hutton's professional accomplishments, but will attempt to make some comments on his personal life.
William Rich Hutton was born on March 21, 1826 in Washington, D.C., the eldest son of James Hutton (died 1843) and his wife, the former Salome Rich (1). He was educated at the Western Academy (Washington, D.C.) from 1837-1840 under George J. Abbot and then at Benjamin Hallowell's School in Alexandria, Virginia, where he received special training in mathematics, drawing, and surveying (2). Hutton began his professional career in California when he, along with his younger brother James, accompanied their uncle William Rich to work for the United States Army. His uncle was a paymaster for the army and Hutton became his clerk. They traveled around the new state paying the various platoons stationed there, but Hutton also occupied his time by drawing the landscapes and structures he saw in the settlements of Los Angeles, San Francisco, La Paz, Mazatlan, Santa Barbara, Monterey, San Pedro, San Diego, and Cape San Lucas (3). These drawings are now held by the Huntington Library in San Marino, California. Hutton held the position of clerk until the spring of 1849, and in July of that year he began working with Lieutenant Edward O.C. Ord and completed the first survey of Los Angeles and its surrounding pueblo lands and islands. Hutton continued surveying in California from 1850-1851. He was hired by William G. Dana to survey the Nipomo Ranch in San Luis Obispo County and also surveyed the ranches Santa Manuela and Huer-Huero, both owned by Francis Z. Branch. After his employment with Dana, he became the county surveyor for San Luis Obispo County, where he prepared the first survey and map of the region. He also continued to survey ranches for Captain John Wilson during this time. In August 1851, he resigned from his position as county surveyor and moved to Monterey where he worked as an assistant to Captain (later General) Henry W. Hallack, superintendent of the New Almaden Quicksilver Mine in Santa Clara County (4). He remained in this position until March, 1853 when he returned to Washington, D.C. by way of Mexico (5).
Hutton began his career as a civil engineer in Washington, D.C. He was first assigned to the position of assistant engineer on a survey of the projected Metropolitan Railroad in 1853, which was chartered to connect Washington, D.C. with the mainline of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. In 1855 he began his professional relationship with Montgomery C. Meigs when he was appointed to the position of assistant engineer on the Washington Aqueduct. He also served as division engineer on this project until construction was shut down in 1861 because of the outbreak of the Civil War. Fortunately for Hutton, the construction on the Aqueduct was resumed in 1862, and when Congress transferred the supervision of the aqueduct project from the War Department to the Department of the Interior, Hutton was made chief engineer. By the end of the Civil War, Hutton's reputation as a civil engineer was established (6).
During this decade Hutton also served as the chief engineer for the Annapolis Water Works (1866) and as chief engineer for one of his most famous projects, the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal (1869-1871). Although some historians minimize Hutton as just one of many engineers to work on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, he did make one major contribution to its construction: the Georgetown Canal Incline. Perhaps the final effort of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal company to compete with the emerging and fast expanding railroad, the Georgetown Incline was designed to allow canal boats to travel through the canal with low water levels and to alleviate canal congestion. Unfortunately, by the time the incline was completed use of the canal had decreased so significantly that it was no longer needed to help control traffic (7). Despite this, Hutton continued to work as a consulting engineer for the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company until 1881, when he was let go because of the dwindling fortunes of the company (7).
In the 1870s and 1880s Hutton was busy with several engineering projects. During 1871-1873, he was the chief engineer in the completion of the Western Maryland Railroad to Hagerstown and Williamsport (9). He also practiced as an architect with his brother, the prominent Baltimore architect Nathanial Henry Hutton, during the years 1873-1880. He relocated to New York in 1880, serving as chief engineer for the Washington Bridge in 1888 and 1889 and the Hudson River Tunnel from 1889 to 1891. In 1886, he became the consulting engineer for the New Croton Aqueduct and served in the same position for the Colorado Midland Railway between the years of 1886-1889 (10).
As his personal and professional correspondence shows, Hutton continued to work on various engineering and architectural projects until his death on December 11, 1901. In addition to these projects, he also invented the innovative system of locks and moveable dams used in the Kanawha River Canal. He was awarded the Diplome d'Honneur for this featat the Paris Exposition in 1878 (11). His correspondence also demonstrates how Hutton was respected within his professional community. These letters refer to the accuracy of his work, his willingness to help other colleagues and supply them with reference materials and information, and, in addition to all this, his politeness. It seems that these qualities defined not only his personality but also his ideology. In one of the cashbooks in the collection, dated 1899, a hand written note contains a religious parable of "The Straw." The phrase in this parable that speaks most to Hutton's work ethic, and to the spirit of inventors everywhere, is this: "Even so however lowly may be the act, however little opportunities we may have of assisting others, we may still do something. Let us beg to fulfil our duty in this regards by making ourselves useful to others by some little act of thoughtful charity..." (12). Hutton, in his dedication to civil engineering, seems to have lived up to this virtue, and in his work he changed the landscape of Washington, D.C. and New York.
The Fairy Godfather: Hutton's Personal History
His professional records reveal a man who was fiercely dedicated to his work. His obituary references his professional life more than his personal life (13). Despite his reputation in the professional engineering community, his personal records demonstrate that Hutton was also dedicated to his family and children. In 1855, he married Montgomery County native Mary Augusta Clopper (died 1915). Together they lived on her family's estate known as the Woodlands, and had five children: Frank C. Hutton, Mary Hutton, Elizabeth Hutton (later Caulfield), Rosa Hutton, and Annie Salome Hutton (14). It is at this estate that Hutton died and was buried. The personal letters to his wife found in the Woodlands Collection held at the Montgomery County Historical Society show a man in love and willing to take time from his work to write to his wife. His letters to his children show a similar interest and compassion. In the many letters found in this collection from his daughter Elizabeth (Bessie) one can see a father who is interested in not only his daughter's activities abroad, but also in her opinion. This interest also extends to his son Frank Hutton, as their correspondence shows Hutton offering his son advice on his own engineering projects.
Hutton also served as executor to many of his extended family's estates. Many letters show the conflicts that Hutton had to mediate and the dependence of his cousins on him for advice and money. Although his family was wealthy (his cousin was Benjamin H. Hutton whose daughters married into the court of Napoleon III), they were volatile, and his records seem to indicate that he served as a mediator for many of their disputes. In addition to this, as his nickname of Fairy Godfather suggests, Hutton was always willing to lend his family either financial or moral support when needed. Unfortunately, little other documentation concerning Hutton's personal life exists outside of this collection and the one held at the Montgomery County Historical Society.
References:
1. Waters, Willard O., "Introduction," California 1847-1852 (San Marino: The Huntington Library, 1942).
2. Waters, Willard O., "Memoir," Glances at California 1847-1853 (San Marino: The Huntington Library, 1942): ix.
3. Waters, Willard O., "Introduction," California 1847-1852 (San Marino: The Huntington Library, 1942). and Waters, Willard O., "Memoir," Glances at California 1847-1853 (San Marino: The Huntington Library, 1942): x-xi.
4. Waters, Willard O., "Introduction," California 1847-1852 (San Marino: The Huntington Library, 1942).
5. Waters, Willard O., "Memoir," Glances at California 1847-1853 (San Marino: The Huntington Library, 1942): xvii.
6. Waters, Willard O., "Memoir," Glances at California 1847-1853 (San Marino: The Huntington Library, 1942): xvii-xviii.
7. Skramstad, Harold, "The Georgetown Canal Incline," Technology and Culture, Vol. 10, no. 4 (Oct. 1969): 555.
8. Business Correspondence, Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, 22 February 1881, William R. Hutton Papers, 1830-1965, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, box number 27, folder number 29.
9. "William Rich Hutton," The Club: A Journal of Club Life for Men and Women,(July 1894):37
12. Cashbook, 1899, William R. Hutton Papers, 1830-1965, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, box number 23, folder number 5.
13. The Woodlands Collection, Montgomery County Historical Society.
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center
The Montgomery C. Meigs Papers, 1870-1890, (AC0987). Contains materials relating to the construction of the Washington Aqueduct including a book of drawings illustrating reservoirs, tunnels, culverts, and other structural elements, a Government Senate Document relating to construction progress, scrapbooks created by Meigs that include newspaper clippings about the Washington Aqueduct project, water supply, engineering projects, building construction, architecture and other subjects. Collection is currently unprocessed, but is available for research.
Materials in Other Organizations:
The William Rich Hutton Papers, 1840-1961, are located at the Huntington Library in California (see http://catalog.huntington.org).
The collection contains 95 drawings, 13 letters, and 39 facsimile copies of letters and manuscripts. The illustrative material includes both watercolor and pencil drawings of California (including Los Angeles, Monterey, San Francisco, the New Almaden Quicksilver Mine, and the California missions), Baja California, Mexico, and Peru. There are also five pieces in the collection related to the author MarÃa Amparo Ruiz de Burton. In 1942, the Huntington Library published Glances at California 1847--853: Diaries and Letters of William Rich Hutton, Surveyor and California 1847--852: Drawings by William Rich Hutton.
The Hutton family papers are located at the Montgomery County Historical Society, Sween Library (see http://www.montgomeryhistory.org/sites/default/files/Family_Files.pdf).
The collection contains account books from the Woodlands estate, recipe books, livestock records, records of Mary Augusta Hutton (wife), Mary and Rose Hutton (daughters), newspaper clippings (including his obituary), correspondence, record books, deeds, bills and receipts, engineering papers, religious momentos (funeral service cards), and insurance papers.
Provenance:
The collection was donated by Mr. and Mrs. James J. Madine, a relative of Hutton's and last owners of the Woodlands estate; the Department of Forests and Parks, Maryland; Louis Fischer; and Mr. and Mrs. Mayo S. Stuntz, 1965-1966, 1974.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
The collection documents in photographs, scrapbooks, notebooks, correspondence, stock ledgers, annual reports, and financial records, the evolution of the telegraph, the development of the Western Union Telegraph Company, and the beginning of the communications revolution. The collection materials describe both the history of the company and of the telegraph industry in general, particularly its importance to the development of the technology in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The collection is useful for researchers interested in the development of technology, economic history, and the impact of technology on American social and cultural life.
Scope and Contents:
The collection is divided into twenty-six (26) series and consists of approximately 400 cubic feet. The collection documents in photographs, scrapbooks, notebooks, correspondence, stock ledgers, annual reports, and financial records, the evolution of the telegraph, the development of the Western Union Telegraph Company, and the beginning of the communications revolution. The collection materials describe both the history of the company and of the telegraph industry in general, particularly its importance to the development of the technology in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The collection is useful for researchers interested in the development of technology, economic history, and the impact of technology on American social and cultural life.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into twenty-seven series.
Series 1: Historical and Background Information, 1851-1994
Series 2: Subsidiaries of Western Union, 1844-1986
Series 3: Executive Records, 1848-1987
Series 4: Presidential Letterbooks and Writings, 1865-1911
Series 5: Correspondence, 1837-1985
Series 6: Cyrus W. Field Papers, 1840-1892
Series 7: Secretary's Files, 1844-1987
Series 8: Financial Records, 1859-1995
Series 9: Legal Records, 1867-1968
Series 10: Railroad Records, 1854-1945
Series 11: Law Department Records, 1868-1979
Series 12: Patent Materials, 1840-1970
Series 13: Operating Records, 1868-1970s
Series 14: Westar VI-S, 1974, 1983-1986
Series 15: Engineering Department Records, 1874-1970
Series 16: Plant Department Records, 1867-1937, 1963
Series 17: Superintendent of Supplies Records, 1888-1948
Series 18: Employee/Personnel Records 1852-1985
Series 19: Public Relations Department Records, 1858-1980
Series 20: Western Union Museum, 1913-1971
Series 21: Maps, 1820-1964
Series 22: Telegrams, 1852-1960s
Series 23: Photographs, circa 1870-1980
Series 24: Scrapbooks, 1835-1956
Series 25: Notebooks, 1880-1942
Series 26: Audio Visual Materials, 1925-1994
Series 27: Addenda
Biographical / Historical:
In 1832 Samuel F. B. Morse, assisted by Alfred Vail, conceived of the idea for an electromechanical telegraph, which he called the "Recording Telegraph." This commercial application of electricity was made tangible by their construction of a crude working model in 1835-36. This instrument probably was never used outside of Professor Morse's rooms where it was, however, operated in a number of demonstrations. This original telegraph instrument was in the hands of the Western Union Telegraph Company and had been kept carefully over the years in a glass case. It was moved several times in New York as the Western Union headquarters building changed location over the years. The company presented it to the Smithsonian Institution in 1950.
The telegraph was further refined by Morse, Vail, and a colleague, Leonard Gale, into working mechanical form in 1837. In this year Morse filed a caveat for it at the U.S. Patent Office. Electricity, provided by Joseph Henry's 1836 "intensity batteries", was sent over a wire. The flow of electricity through the wire was interrupted for shorter or longer periods by holding down the key of the device. The resulting dots or dashes were recorded on a printer or could be interpreted orally. In 1838 Morse perfected his sending and receiving code and organized a corporation, making Vail and Gale his partners.
In 1843 Morse received funds from Congress to set-up a demonstration line between Washington and Baltimore. Unfortunately, Morse was not an astute businessman and had no practical plan for constructing a line. After an unsuccessful attempt at laying underground cables with Ezra Cornell, the inventor of a trench digger, Morse switched to the erection of telegraph poles and was more successful. On May 24, 1844, Morse, in the U.S. Supreme Court Chambers in Washington, sent by telegraph the oft-quoted message to his colleague Vail in Baltimore, "What hath God wrought!"
In 1845 Morse hired Andrew Jackson's former postmaster general, Amos Kendall, as his agent in locating potential buyers of the telegraph. Kendall realized the value of the device, and had little trouble convincing others of its potential for profit. By the spring he had attracted a small group of investors. They subscribed $15,000 and formed the Magnetic Telegraph Company. Many new telegraph companies were formed as Morse sold licenses wherever he could.
The first commercial telegraph line was completed between Washington, D.C., and New York City in the spring of 1846 by the Magnetic Telegraph Company. Shortly thereafter, F. O. J. Smith, one of the patent owners, built a line between New York City and Boston. Most of these early companies were licensed by owners of Samuel Morse patents. The Morse messages were sent and received in a code of dots and dashes.
At this time other telegraph systems based on rival technologies were being built. Some companies used the printing telegraph, a device invented by a Vermonter, Royal E. House, whose messages were printed on paper or tape in Roman letters. In 1848 a Scotch scientist, Alexander Bain, received his patents on a telegraph. These were but two of many competing and incompatible technologies that had developed. The result was confusion, inefficiency, and a rash of suits and counter suits.
By 1851 there were over fifty separate telegraph companies operating in the United States. This corporate cornucopia developed because the owners of the telegraph patents had been unsuccessful in convincing the United States and other governments of the invention's potential usefulness. In the private sector, the owners had difficulty convincing capitalists of the commercial value of the invention. This led to the owners' willingness to sell licenses to many purchasers who organized separate companies and then built independent telegraph lines in various sections of the country.
Hiram Sibley moved to Rochester, New York, in 1838 to pursue banking and real estate. Later he was elected sheriff of Monroe County. In Rochester he was introduced to Judge Samuel L. Selden who held the House Telegraph patent rights. In 1849 Selden and Sibley organized the New York State Printing Telegraph Company, but they found it hard to compete with the existing New York, Albany, and Buffalo Telegraph Company.
After this experience Selden suggested that instead of creating a new line, the two should try to acquire all the companies west of Buffalo and unite them into a single unified system. Selden secured an agency for the extension throughout the United States of the House system. In an effort to expand this line west, Judge Selden called on friends and the people in Rochester. This led, in April 1851, to the organization of a company and the filing in Albany of the Articles of Association for the "New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company" (NYMVPTC), a company which later evolved into the Western Union Telegraph Company.
In 1854 there were two rival systems of the NYMVPTC in the West. These two systems consisted of thirteen separate companies. All the companies were using Morse patents in the five states north of the Ohio River. This created a struggle between three separate entities, leading to an unreliable and inefficient telegraph service. The owners of these rival companies eventually decided to invest their money elsewhere and arrangements were made for the NYMVPTC to purchase their interests.
Hiram Sibley recapitalized the company in 1854 under the same name and began a program of construction and acquisition. The most important takeover was carried out by Sibley when he negotiated the purchase of the Morse patent rights for the Midwest for $50,000 from Jeptha H. Wade and John J. Speed, without the knowledge of Ezra Cornell, their partner in the Erie and Michigan Telegraph Company (EMTC). With this acquisition Sibley proceeded to switch to the superior Morse system. He also hired Wade, a very capable manager, who became his protege and later his successor. After a bitter struggle Morse and Wade obtained the EMTC from Cornell in 1855, thus assuring dominance by the NYMVPTC in the Midwest. In 1856 the company name was changed to the "Western Union Telegraph Company," indicating the union of the Western lines into one compact system. In December, 1857, the Company paid stockholders their first dividend.
Between 1857 and 1861 similar consolidations of telegraph companies took place in other areas of the country so that most of the telegraph interests of the United States had merged into six systems. These were the American Telegraph Company (covering the Atlantic and some Gulf states), The Western Union Telegraph Company (covering states North of the Ohio River and parts of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Minnesota), the New York Albany and Buffalo Electro-Magnetic Telegraph Company (covering New York State), the Atlantic and Ohio Telegraph Company (covering Pennsylvania), the Illinois & Mississippi Telegraph Company (covering sections of Missouri, Iowa, and Illinois), and the New Orleans & Ohio Telegraph Company (covering the southern Mississippi Valley and the Southwest). All these companies worked together in a mutually friendly alliance, and other small companies cooperated with the six systems, particularly some on the West Coast.
By the time of the Civil War, there was a strong commercial incentive to construct a telegraph line across the western plains to link the two coasts of America. Many companies, however, believed the line would be impossible to build and maintain.
In 1860 Congress passed, and President James Buchanan signed, the Pacific Telegraph Act, which authorized the Secretary of the Treasury to seek bids for a project to construct a transcontinental line. When two bidders dropped out, Hiram Sibley, representing Western Union, was the only bidder left. By default Sibley won the contract. The Pacific Telegraph Company was organized for the purpose of building the eastern section of the line. Sibley sent Wade to California, where he consolidated the small local companies into the California State Telegraph Company. This entity then organized the Overland Telegraph Company, which handled construction eastward from Carson City, Nevada, joining the existing California lines, to Salt Lake City, Utah. Sibley's Pacific Telegraph Company built westward from Omaha, Nebraska. Sibley put most of his resources into the venture. The line was completed in October, 1861. Both companies were soon merged into Western Union. This accomplishment made Hiram Sibley leader of the telegraph industry.
Further consolidations took place over the next several years. Many companies merged into the American Telegraph Company. With the expiration of the Morse patents, several organizations were combined in 1864 under the name of "The U.S. Telegraph Company." In 1866 the final consolidation took place, with Western Union exchanging stock for the stock of the other two organizations. The general office of Western Union moved at this time from Rochester to 145 Broadway, New York City. In 1875 the main office moved to 195 Broadway, where it remained until 1930 when it relocated to 60 Hudson Street.
In 1873 Western Union purchased a majority of shares in the International Ocean Telegraph Company. This was an important move because it marked Western Union's entry into the foreign telegraph market. Having previously worked with foreign companies, Western Union now began competing for overseas business.
In the late 1870s Western Union, led by William H. Vanderbilt, attempted to wrest control of the major telephone patents, and the new telephone industry, away from the Bell Telephone Company. But due to new Bell leadership and a subsequent hostile takeover attempt of Western Union by Jay Gould, Western Union discontinued its fight and Bell Telephone prevailed.
Despite these corporate calisthenics, Western Union remained in the public eye. The sight of a uniformed Western Union messenger boy was familiar in small towns and big cities all over the country for many years. Some of Western Union's top officials in fact began their careers as messenger boys.
Throughout the remainder of the nineteenth century the telegraph became one of the most important factors in the development of social and commercial life of America. In spite of improvements to the telegraph, however, two new inventions--the telephone (nineteenth century) and the radio (twentieth century)--eventually replaced the telegraph as the leaders of the communication revolution for most Americans.
At the turn of the century, Bell abandoned its struggles to maintain a monopoly through patent suits, and entered into direct competition with the many independent telephone companies. Around this time, the company adopted its new name, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T).
In 1908 AT&T gained control of Western Union. This proved beneficial to Western Union, because the companies were able to share lines when needed, and it became possible to order telegrams by telephone. However, it was only possible to order Western Union telegrams, and this hurt the business of Western Union's main competitor, the Postal Telegraph Company. In 1913, however, as part of a move to prevent the government from invoking antitrust laws, AT&T completely separated itself from Western Union.
Western Union continued to prosper and it received commendations from the U.S. armed forces for service during both world wars. In 1945 Western Union finally merged with its longtime rival, the Postal Telegraph Company. As part of that merger, Western Union agreed to separate domestic and foreign business. In 1963 Western Union International Incorporated, a private company completely separate from the Western Union Telegraph Company, was formed and an agreement with the Postal Telegraph Company was completed. In 1994, Western Union Financial Services, Inc. was acquired by First Financial Management Corporation. In 1995, First Financial Management Corporation merged with First Data Corporation making Western Union a First Data subsidiary.
Many technological advancements followed the telegraph's development. The following are among the more important:
The first advancement of the telegraph occurred around 1850 when operators realized that the clicks of the recording instrument portrayed a sound pattern, understandable by the operators as dots and dashes. This allowed the operator to hear the message by ear and simultaneously write it down. This ability transformed the telegraph into a versatile and speedy system.
Duplex Telegraphy, 1871-72, was invented by the president of the Franklin Telegraph Company. Unable to sell his invention to his own company, he found a willing buyer in Western Union. Utilizing this invention, two messages were sent over the wire simultaneously, one in each direction.
As business blossomed and demand surged, new devices appeared. Thomas Edison's Quadruplex allowed four messages to be sent over the same wire simultaneously, two in one direction and two in the other.
An English automatic signaling arrangement, Wheatstone's Automatic Telegraph, 1883, allowed larger numbers of words to be transmitted over a wire at once. It could only be used advantageously, however, on circuits where there was a heavy volume of business.
Buckingham's Machine Telegraph was an improvement on the House system. It printed received messages in plain Roman letters quickly and legibly on a message blank, ready for delivery.
Vibroplex, c. 1890, a semi-automatic key sometimes called a "bug key," made the dots automatically. This relieved the operator of much physical strain.
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center
Additional moving image about Western Union Telegraph Company can be found in the Industry on Parade Collection (AC0507). This includes Cable to Cuba! by Bell Laboratory, AT & T, featuring the cable ship, the C.S. Lord Kelvin, and Communications Centennial! by the Western Union Company.
Materials at Other Organizations
Hagley Museum and Library, Wilmington, Delaware.
Western Union records (Western Union Right of Way and Other Agreements, 1848-1990, bulk: 1910-1989 and the Western Union Locality Files, 1892-1995, bulk: 1910-1989) form part of the MCI Communications Corporation Records, 1849-1999. See accession 2225.
First Data Corporation, Greenwood Village, Colorado.
Records of First Data Corporation and its predecessors, including Western Union, First Financial Management Corporation (Atlanta) and First Data Resources (Omaha). Western Union collection supports research of telegraphy and related technologies, and includes company records, annual reports, photographs, print and broadcast advertising, telegraph equipment, and messenger uniforms.
Smithsonian Institution Archives
Western Union Telegraph Expedition, 1865-1867
This collection includes correspondence, mostly to Spencer F. Baird, from members of the Scientific Corps of the Western Union Telegraph Expedition, including Kennicott, Dall, Bannister, and Elliott; copies of reports submitted to divisional chiefs from expedition staff members; newspaper clippings concerning the expedition; copies of notes on natural history taken by Robert Kennicott; and a journal containing meteorological data recorded by Henry M. Bannister from March to August, 1866.
Separated Materials:
Artifacts (apparatus and equipment) were donated to the Division of Information Technology and Society, now known as the Division of Work & Industry, National Museum of American History.
Provenance:
The collection was donated by Western Union in September of 1971.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but Series 11 and films are stored off-site. Special arrangements must be made to view some of the audiovisual materials. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
United States of America -- Virginia -- Fairfax County -- Mason Neck
Scope and Contents:
Folders include worksheets, brochures, and copies of articles.
Five 35 mm. slides have not been catalogued. They include copies of images from Better Homes and Gardens America's Gardens (p. 22); brochure aerial view; and Historic Virginia Gardens (pp. 110-111, 300, and 301).
General:
George Mason built Gunston Hall between 1753 and 1755. The house and gardens remained in the Mason family until the 1860s. After the Civil War ended, owners worked to restore the house and gardens which were destroyed by troops. Louis Hertle added a perola, rose garden with hybrid tea roses, and a reflecting pool. By 1934, nothing remained of the eighteenth-century garden except for the box hedge. When the Garden Club of Virginia took over the garden restoration, the pools, fountains, figures, summer house, roses, and flowering cherry trees were removed. Four parterres along the boxwood walk were planted in dwarf box. Also, two Chinese Chippendale gazebos were built on the outer corners of the lower terrace. The gardens and museum are open to the public.
Persons associated with the property include: George Mason (former owner, 1755-1792); General Robert Gibson Smith or Colonel Edward Daniels (former owner, ca. 1870); Jospeh Specht (former owner); Paul Kester (former owner, 1907-1913); Louis Hertle (former owner, 1913-1949); Commonwealth of Virginia (owner); William Buckland (architect, ca. 1753); National Society of Colonial Dames (caretakers, 1932-present); Alden Hopkins (landscape designer, ca. 1950); Glenn Brown (architect for restorations of house and grounds, ca. 1912); Garden Club of Virginia (garden designers); William and Harvey Nursery (transplanting box, 1952); and Thurman Bushrod (gardener).
Related Materials:
Gunston Hall related holdings consist of 1 folder (12 glass lantern slides and 10 35 mm. slides)
Collection Restrictions:
Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.
Sponsor:
A project to describe images in this finding aid received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care Initiative, administered by the National Collections Program.
United States of America -- Massachusetts -- Norfolk County -- Westwood
Scope and Contents:
The folder includes a worksheet, a photocopy of the 1931 Pattee-Peters landscape design, and photocopies of descriptions of the garden from garden tour programs.
General:
This site, which totals 16 acres, has been the home of the Perkins family since 1930. The house, however, was built in 1815, and the stone-walled path through the meadow is the last cow lane or cow path in Westwood. Set behind the house are perennial gardens designed by Elizabeth Greenleaf Pattee and Constance E. Peters in 1931 and bordered with boxwood taken from the Adams House in Quincy. An espaliered yew covers a wall on the back of the house, while lilacs separate the perennial garden from the less formal vegetable, herb, and cutting gardens near the kitchen. A compost area is conveniently located nearby. The dominant color of the garden changes throughout the seasons owing to the careful choice of perennials and the addition of annuals. Fences separate and define the maintained areas near the house from the old apple and pear orchard and fields beyond. The garden received a Massachusetts Horticultural Society Gold Medal in 1967.
Persons associated with the garden include: Major and Mrs. Eaton Whiting (former owners, before 1881); J. E. Whiting (former owner); Anna M. Colburn (former owner); Marcus L. Haye (former owner, 1881-1930); James H. Perkins, II (former owner, 1930-1980); Elizabeth Greenleaf Pattee (landscape architect, 1931); and Constance E. Peters (landscape architect, 1931).
Related Materials:
Perkins Garden related holdings consist of 1 folder (22 35 mm. slides)
Collection Restrictions:
Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.
Sponsor:
A project to describe images in this finding aid received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care Initiative, administered by the National Collections Program.
United States of America -- Connecticut -- Fairfield -- Greenwich
Scope and Contents:
The folder includes worksheets photocopies of articles relating to the garden, garden plans, and other information about the garden.
General:
Located on approximately two acres on a corner of a major north-south artery into Greenwich, this two and a half story Arts and Crafts home was designed by architect William B. Tubby in 1904. When the current owners purchased the home in 1992, there was considerable traffic noise from the road, a large driveway dominated the front yard which was flanked by mature American beech and Copper beach trees and a large vegetable garden was located off the kitchen at the rear of the house. In 1994, the owner hired landscape architect Wolfgang Oehme to redesign the garden. The new planting design resulted in what has been described as a "big swooping American gesture." Oehme transformed the front garden by reducing and redirecting the driveway and replacing the entire expanse of lawn with small flowering trees and shrubs, and mass plantings of grasses and perennials. A fountain by the front door now masks the sound of traffic and there are paths that lead to woodland areas. The circular gravel driveway has been redirected to the side street and is reduced in size by two-thirds. A broad walkway, composed of flagstone and decorative brickwork leads to the front door, is lined with large seasonal containers.
In the backyard, a large terrace runs across the back of the house. Grass steps lead down to the remaining bit of lawn on the property. This lawn is flanked on both sides by broad planting areas composed of birches, viburnums, ironweed, and other perennials which screen the pool from the house. The plantings also frame the "borrowed view" of the distant golf course.
The peak season of the garden is in the fall with the motion of the large ornamental grasses, Japanese anemones and other fall foliage. Spring showcases a bulb display and summer showcases the blue haze of nepeta and Russian sage. Peastone paths, flagstone walkways, stone planters, pergolas, and a lily pond combined with bare structural forms of historic and small trees ensures that winter displays the underlying structure of the garden.
Persons associated with the garden include: William B. and Clara J. Tubby (former owners, 1904-1950), Kenneth C. Towe (former owner, 1950-1943), Charles M. DuPuy, (former owner, 1953-196, William J. and Natalie W. Barron (former owners, 1960-1965), Ann S. Lanman(former owner, 1965-1988), Howard A. and Ruthann M. Silverman (former owner, 1988-1991), Arthur B. Duel (former owner, 1991-1992), William B. Tubby (architect, 1904), Cora Burnham (garden designer, 1995) James van Sweden (landscape architect, 1994), Wolfgang Oehme (landscape architect, 1994), Eric Groft (landscape designer, 1994) and Cora Burnham (landscape designer, 1995).
Related Materials:
Rosita Trinca Garden related holdings consist of 1 folder (17 digital images)
Collection Restrictions:
Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.
Sponsor:
A project to describe images in this finding aid received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care Initiative, administered by the National Collections Program.
United States of America -- Iowa -- Polk County -- Des Moines
Scope and Contents:
The folder includes a worksheet, a garden plan, a detailed narrative description of the property and garden, a plant list, and photocopies of articles about the garden.
General:
Rosegate is a private, personal garden on a plain, sloping city half-acre, transformed into a world of four-season beauty around a cottage. Conifers and cedar fences provide year-round privacy. In spring, delicate wild flowers bloom in a "secret" garden, along with flowering crabapples and dogwoods. From May into November the collection of hundreds of roses blooms on the other side of the garden gate. With over 35 years of experience, the owner-gardeners have more than 400 roses of 10 different American Rose Society classifications: hybrid teas, floribundas, grandifloras, miniatures, ground covers, polyanthas, hybrid perpetual, climbers, hybrid rugosas, and shrubs. There are 22 tree (or standard) roses throughout the property. Roses are chosen not only for hardiness and disease resistance but for their beauty, color, and scent. Flowering trees, ornamentals, hostas, ground covers, and perennials complete this world of beauty.
Persons and firms associated with the property and garden include: Brenton Realty Company (former owners, before 1940); Gordon and Kathryn Gammack (former owners, 1940-1945); Virginia and Kenneth W. Hull (former owners, 1945-1946); Charles H. and Letha Patterson (former owners, 1946-1948); Wallace J. Burt, Jr., and Alice Burt (former owners, 1948-1950); J. D. and Helen T. Lightner (former owners, 1950-1954); James F. Swift (former owner, 1954-1965); John Normile (architect, 1940); Herb Nelson Landscaping (landscape designers, 1965); Ann Wallace Fleming (landscape designer, 1966-1975); Oren Herndon (landscape designer and contractor, 1966-1967); Des Moines Seed and Nursery (landscape designers and contractors, 1966-1967); Bo Cleveland (gardener, 1968); Ella Crittenden (landscape designer, 1970); Jack Bloodgood (architect and designer, 1970); Russ O'Hara (landscape designer and horticultural consultant, 1970-1980); Lynda M. Chase (landscape designer and photographer, 1981-2001); E. Scott Reiter (landscape designer, 1982); Karen Strohbeen (landscape designer and artist, 1983); and William Luchsinger (landscape designer and artist, 1983).
Related Materials:
Rosegate related holdings consist of 1 folder (17 35 mm. slides)
Collection Restrictions:
Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.
Sponsor:
A project to describe images in this finding aid received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care Initiative, administered by the National Collections Program.
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Nell Blaine papers, 1879, 1940-1985. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Processing of this collection received Federal support from the Collections Care Initiative Fund, administered by the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative and the National Collections Program. Funding for the digitization of this collection was provided in part by the Terra Foundation for American Art and The Walton Family Foundation.
The American Art Association records measure 27.8 linear feet and date from circa 1853-1929, with the bulk of the material dating from circa 1885-1922. The records include auction and sales files, general financial and legal files, inventory and stock records, client files, printed materials, photographic materials, artwork, and the personal papers of founder Thomas Ellis Kirby.
Scope and Contents:
The American Art Association records measure 27.8 linear feet and date from circa 1853-1929, with the bulk of the material dating from circa 1885-1922. The records include auction and sales files, general financial and legal files, inventory and stock records, client files, printed materials, photographic materials, artwork, and the scattered personal papers of founder Thomas Ellis Kirby.
Auction files contain a wide variety of materials regarding auction schedules, auctions, gallery sales, and estate sales. The files primarily contain correspondence, sales statements and ledgers, estate inventories and appraisals, and photographs. Of interest is a handwritten letter from Andrew Carnegie concerning the Second Prize Fund Exhibition.
Records of sales are documented in named files, sales ledgers, client account books, and Blakeslee Gallery sales ledgers. Files are found for specific art collections and estates. Sales ledgers list sales transactions of the Association by collection, department, genre, or named auction and provide the most detailed sales information, often noting title or subject, size, owner, lot number, date, purchaser, and price, and sometimes an index of artists. Other ledgers document consignment and exhibition sales, as well as sales conducted by other galleries or auction houses, both in the United States and in Europe. Exhibition sales documented include those of Alfred Parsons and Frank Millet in 1903, the American Watercolor Society in 1902, and the American Painters and Illustrators in 1905, and others. Client account books provide itemized costs accrued by individuals or estates over the course of a sale or purchase. Many of the ledgers contain name indexes.
General financial and legal files primarily consist of cash and expense ledgers documenting daily, monthly, and yearly costs and expenses related to the production of auction and sales catalogs, costs associated with leasing spaces and equipment, shipping and crating, employee sales commissions, art department expenses, book department expenses, and other costs. Legal files contain scattered forms and contractual documents, as well as correspondence and documents related to two lawsuits.
Inventory and stock records document the Association's inventory through a series of stock books and inventory cards that include sales and provenance information.
Client files consist of cards divided into clients interested in art and clients interested in books. They also include some information on specific client sales and purchases. Also found are numerous client address books. Printed materials include auction catalogs, clippings, and newspapers.
Photographs depict works of art and materials sold and collected. Of interest is a collection of cabinet photographs of French artists collected when the American Art Association was actively involved in the auction sales of thousands of paintings by French artists. Also found are four photo albums depicting auction items for a 1907 auction, prepared for the American Art Association by William H. Crocker. Several unsigned prints, sketches, and drawings are found in the artwork series.
Thomas Ellis Kirby's scattered personal papers include an address book, scattered family and biographical materials, correspondence with clients and associates, writings and speeches, legal material, auction records, and photographs.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 9 series. Folder titles have been retained from the original records, and occasionally devised for clarity.
Missing Title
Series 1: Auctions, circa 1885-1922 (1.9 linear feet; Boxes 1-2, BV23-24)
Series 2: Sales, circa 1884-1923 (8.1 linear feet; Boxes 2-6, 20-21, BV25-39)
Series 3: General Financial and Legal Files, circa 1883-1923 (9.3 linear feet; Boxes 6-11, BV40-62)
Series 4: Inventory and Stock Records, circa 1887-circa 1922 (0.8 linear feet; Box 11, BV63-65)
Series 5: Client Files, circa 1895-circa 1922 (2.1 linear feet; Boxes 11-13)
Series 6: Printed Materials, circa 1853-1923 (1.1 linear feet; Boxes 13-14, 21)
Series 7: Photographic Material, circa 1885-circa 1922 (0.8 linear feet; Boxes 14-15, 21-22)
Series 8: Artwork, circa 1888-circa 1900 (0.1 linear feet; Boxes 15, 22)
Series 9: Thomas Ellis Kirby Personal Papers, circa 1861-1929 (3.6 linear feet; Boxes 15-19)
Biographical / Historical:
The American Art Association was an art gallery and auction house based in New York City, New York, formed in 1883 by James F. Sutton, R. Austin Robertson, and Thomas E. Kirby. It was the first auction house in the United States.
The Association was founded to promote American art and exhibit the work of American artists in its American Art Galleries in New York City. In its first year of operation, the Association exhibited Thomas B. Clarke's collection of American paintings as a benefit for the National Academy of Design. After the successful management of the public sale of the George I. Seney art collection in 1885, with Thomas E. Kirby as auctioneer, the Association continued conducting auctions and managing estate sales. Austin Robertson died in 1892 and Sutton became a special partner in 1895. In 1912 Kirby's son, Gustavus T. Kirby, joined the Association as a general partner and later also acquired Sutton's interest and became a full partner. The Association was sold in 1923 to Cortlandt Field Bishop, and merged with the Anderson Auction Company to form the American Art Association-Anderson Galleries, Inc, in 1929. The firm was taken over by Parke-Bernet Galleries, Inc., in 1938.
Provenance:
A portion of the American Art Association records were donated in 1968 by Thomas Ellis Kirby's daughter, Mrs. Thomas B. Waller. The remaining records were donated by the American Antiquarian Society in 1978 and 1993.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Rights:
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United States of America -- Maryland -- Carroll County -- Westminster
United States of America -- Maryland -- Carroll County -- Marston
United States of America -- Maryland -- Carroll County -- New Windsor
Date:
1838-2023, undated
bulk 1872-1985
Summary:
Papers documenting the farming and family life of the Robinson family of Prince George's County and after 1975, Charles County, Maryland. Papers documenting the farming and family of the Via family of Greene County, Virginia, Washington, D.C., Prince George's by 1949, and Calvert Counties by 1956, Maryland.
Scope and Contents:
An extensive and comprehensive collection of papers relating to family, farming, and the Southern Maryland tobacco culture, the Robinson and Via Family Papers cover many aspects of family and farm life. The papers are particularly important in regard to the tobacco culture that defined Southern Maryland for generations. The papers concern two distinct family groups, the Robinson and Via families who are connected through the marriage of Franklin A. Robinson and Adina Mae Via. The papers consist of material generated by the Robinson and Via families in their personal and working lives and as farm owners and operators.
The papers are especially strong in 20th century material. They consist of various types of farm records: account books, bills, receipts, tenant farming agreements, ephemera, land rental and purchase agreements, insurance policies, photographs and 8mm and 16mm films of farming practices and procedures, equipment and landscapes, related to the farming of tobacco, small grains, and livestock. The personal records include diaries, letters both personal and business, greeting cards, newspaper clippings, scrapbooks, high school yearbooks, baby books, house plans, recipe books, photographs and 8mm films of birthdays, holidays, weddings, baptisms, family occasions, and family travel, oral histories, and funeral ephemera including photographs, and transcription discs. Of particular interest are the "Serenity Farm Tobacco Production Photographs" documenting the crop year 1999-2000 and the films detailing agricultural practices. There is a memorandum book for Black Walnut Thicket, 1885-1901, the Baden farm in Baden, Prince George's County.
This collection includes a comprehensive range of 8mm and 16mm films and photographs documenting farming practices and landscapes as well as family gatherings, birthdays, holidays, and vacations. The researcher is alerted to the fact that in some cases with the memorandum and account books, books printed for a given year were often saved and used for subsequent years, some were dated, some were not.
The collection is divided into seven series arranged by subject and most often chronologically at folder level within each series.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into seven series:
Series 1: Ferndale Farm (Potomac Landing), Prince George's County, Maryland, 1861-1973, undated
Subseries 1.1: Farm papers, bill, and receipts, and publications, 1861-1973, undated
Subseries 1.2: Farm papers, bill, and receipts, 1945-1960, undated
Subseries 1.3: Farm papers, bills, and receipts, 1960-1965, undated
Series 2: Robinson Family, 1845-2017, undated
Subseries 2.1: Family Papers and Publications, 1845-1993, undated
The Robinson family is thought to be of Scottish origin and appear in the records of Prince George's County, Maryland by the early 18th century. The line has been definitively traced to James Robinson (?-1849). James' father was probably Benjamin Robinson (?-1810), of Prince George's County, Maryland. (Will Book TT1, pg. 15, Records of Prince George's County, Maryland, Maryland State Archives (MSA))
James Robinson and Sarah Wynn were issued a marriage license on February 28, 1802 in Prince George's County, Maryland. (Marriage Records of Prince George's County, Maryland) Eleven children lived to maturity (not listed in birth order); Thomas Wells (1803-1869), Ann, Priscilla, James Monroe, Benjamin (1813-1882), John C. (1819-1895), Mary Sophia, Thomas Stanley (1800-1874), Alfred, Sarah Ann, Matilda, and Rebecca Maria.
James worked as a farm manager for Benjamin Oden near Upper Marlborough, Prince George's County. (Oden Papers, Maryland Historical Society) The Robinsons and their children, moved to Wood County, Virginia (now West Virginia) by April 18, 1818 where James acted as Oden's land agent (Deed Book 6, pg. 123, Land Records of Wood County, West Virginia). They brought with them three enslaved described in the above reference as, "Kate a woman 45 years of age very black; Colonel a boy aged 8 years yellow complexion: and George a boy aged six years of a dark brown complexion." They settled on part of what was known as the "Burnt Mill" tract in the general area where the Hughes River meets the Little Kanawha River. (Deed Book 9, pg. 110 and Deed Book 14, pg. 40, Land Records of Wood County)
Thomas Wells Robinson may not have accompanied his family to Virginia as he has a presence in Prince George's County prior to 1822 and was employed as a farm manager for Benjamin Oden at least until 1832. He married Elizabeth J. Richards on December 15, 1829 (Robinson Family Bible). They had nine children; Richard Thomas (1831 1906), Rebecca Maria (1832-1895), Mary Wynn (1834-1916), James George (1835-1883), Virlinda Victoria (1837-1838), Elizabeth Ann (1839-1916), Sarah Ann Sophia (1840-1874), Franklin Alexander (1841-1905) and John Alfred (1843); seven lived to maturity. (Robinson Family Bible) Elizabeth died on August 17, 1843 from complications in childbirth. She was buried in the graveyard of Page's Chapel (later known as St. Thomas Episcopal Church), Croom, Prince George's County.
In 1843, Thomas purchased the plantation of Dr. Benjamin B. Hodges for $10,000 or approximately $15 an acre. Hodges was a brother-in-law of Benjamin Oden. The deed dated September 7, 1843 describes the parcel as containing, "Six hundred and twenty nine acres of land more or less and constitute that plantation or Estate of the said Benjamin Oden heretofore commonly called "Brown's Quarter Place" being the Land tracts and parcels of land sold by the said Benjamin Oden to the said Benjamin B. Hodges and by deed bearing date the tenth day of December eighteen hundred and thirty five and recorded in Liber AB no. 10 folio 162 also one of the land Records of the County aforesaid". (JBB no. 3 pgs. 312 314, Land Records of Prince George's County) The land was level to rolling bordered on the north by a tributary of Piscataway Creek and generally termed "white oak land". Underlying the whole property was a large strata of gravel and sand. The entire parcel went by the name, Potomac Landing.
Thomas supplemented his land holdings with later purchases. With the exception of twenty acres purchased from Sarah Talbert in 1844, (JBB no. 3 pg. 475, Land Records of Prince George's County) and the purchase of lot #3 consisting of 195 acres, part of the estate of John Townshend in 1856, these purchases were not contiguous to Potomac Landing. By the time of his death in 1869 these non-contiguous parcels had been sold. Thomas sold eighty-six acres of Potomac Landing and Jeffries to Edward Eversfield in October of 1843. (JBB no. 3, pg. 198, Land Records of Prince George's County) On January 13, 1846 Thomas married the widow Martha Ann Walls, daughter of George and Martha Naylor Walls. They had two sons; Benjamin Wells (1848-1849) and Robert Henry (1851-1937).
In addition to his sons, Thomas owned enslaved. The number varied from six in 1849 (JBB 6, folio 186, Land Records of Prince Georges' County) to eleven as noted in the census for 1850, and finally six as noted in the census of 1860. The 1867 Maryland Slave Statistics noted that, "at the time of the adoption of the Constitution of Maryland, in the year 1864, . . ." Thomas owned six enslaved, their names and ages being; Isaac Franklin age 31, Alfred West age 19, Susan West age 17, Margaret Franklin age 14, Fannie Franklin age 12, and Peter Franklin age 9. All were noted as being in good physical condition. (Prince Georges' County Slave Statistics 1867 1869, C 1307 1, MdHR:6198, page 185, MSA)
Thomas's financial problems began in the mid-1800s when Deeds of Trust appear in the county records securing outstanding loans. In 1856 and 1857 Thomas joined with others as bondsman for his son, Richard who was serving as "Collector of the State and County Taxes" for the 4th collection district, making he and the other signatories liable for any uncollected taxes. This, coupled with poor investments, led to his almost being "sold out" in 1859-1860 by J.W. & E. Reynolds of Baltimore to pay his debts. He executed three drafts on Penn & Mitchell, also of Baltimore, to pay off J.W. & E. Reynolds. (Equity Case #597, Prince Georges' County) Thomas was in poor health and his son James managed the farm in 1857 and 1858, and again from 1861 to October of 1862 (Equity Case #873, Prince Georges' County)
In October of 1862 Thomas' two sons, James and Franklin, traveled to Richmond to join the Confederate States Army. James enrolled in the 5th Battalion, Local Defense Arsenal and Franklin enrolled in the 5th Virginia Infantry, the Stonewall Brigade. (CSA Military Records, National Archives) James visited home frequently but was captured by the Union Army in St. Mary's County, Maryland on May 15, 1864 and spent the remainder of the war in Point Lookout Prison Camp. He was released on May 14, 1865. Franklin was not able to visit home at all during the war but survived to return home in 1865.
In 1865, Thomas surveyed a parcel of 172 acres for his daughter Rebecca Maria. Rebecca had married her second cousin, William B. Robertson, on November 18, 1855. He made a gift of fifty acres, and Rebecca agreed to purchase the remainder. The Robertsons named this parcel Holly Grove. In Equity Case #849 (1872) filed after Thomas' death, his widow Martha and Samuel H. Berry, as executrix and executor, sought to recover payment for this land. At that time, William B. Robertson described this 172 acres of Potomac Landing: "There was no fences on the line which separated this land from the old gentleman's land, but he was to put a fence on it which he agreed to do before we agreed to come there. The land was thin, unimproved, with gullies and scrubby pine. If witness had been a judge of land he would not have given five dollars for it. All the improvements were one comfortable quarter the other indifferent with a poor oak shingle roof, worn out which made it not tenantable." Further along in his testimony, William gave an account of a conversation, "In a few days my father in law Thos. W. Robinson came to Washington and told me there his children had returned from the South, his two sons, that his debts were small and he was a happy man." Rebecca and William built a house on the property, a side-hall, double parlor plan that most likely her brother James was builder. They also built accompanying farm structures. (Records of Prince George's County, Maryland, Equity Case #849, MSA)
Thomas' son, Franklin, managed the farm after the War. In December 1868 Thomas entered into a sharecropping agreement with Edward Hanson, an African-American. After about a year-long illness, on May 16, 1869, Thomas died, deeply in debt. He was buried beside Elizabeth in the graveyard at St. Thomas' Church. He named as executrix his wife, Martha, and his friend and lawyer, Samuel H. Berry, as executor. His will divided the farm into thirds, one third going to his wife and their son Robert Henry, one third to his son James, and one third to his son Franklin. The land was surveyed according to the will. His personal property was sold but not enough profit was realized to pay off his creditors. The Commissioners of Prince George's County sued the estate on behalf of Thomas' creditors. The outcome was that in 1876 the property was sold at public auction. The Notice of Sale dated September 1, 1876 in the local county newspaper, The Prince Georgian, describes the farm as, "containing 514 2/3 acres More or less. The Improvements consist of a SMALL DWELLING, Three Barns, Stabling, and other necessary outbuildings. It is well wooded and watered, and the soil of fair quality. It has recently been divided into three lots and will be offered in lots, a description of which will be given at the time of sale." The sale was held on September 27, 1876, Lot No. 1 was purchased by Robert for $6.00 an acre, Lot #2 was purchased by Franklin for $5.00 an acre and Lot #3 was purchased by James for $4.00 per acre. Robert and Franklin eventually paid off their mortgage, but James defaulted on his purchase and later moved to St. Mary's County, Maryland. His portion later came to be owned by the Hawkins family, some members who had worked on the Robinson farm. (Equity Case #873, Prince Georges' County, MSA)
Lot #1, purchased by Robert from his fathers' estate, consisted of 177-1/3 acres, including the dwelling and farm buildings. On July 24, 1872, he married Amanda Malvina Baden (1849-1940), daughter of Robert W. G. and Margaret Caroline Early Baden. The Baden and Early families were both prominent south county families. Robert and Amanda had eight children; Caroline Early (1873 1967), Lucy Tennent (1875 1958), Albert Henry (1878 1914), Martha Perry (1880 1961), Robert Gover (1882 1882), Frank Alexander (1883 1970), Margaret Baden (1886 1956) and Grace Malvina (1889 1965).
By 1880 Robert had paid off his debt on the property and was fully engaged in farming. Unlike his father, or perhaps because of his father, Robert did not add to his land holdings, choosing to remain relatively debt free for his lifetime. The only land transactions he participated in were the sales of 79-3/4 acres in 1921 of Amanda's inheritance from her father and her interest in two smaller parcels of her father's land sold in 1894 and 1928 respectively. In 1928 he transferred 3.09 acres to his son Frank.
As late as the Federal census of 1880, Franklin was living with Robert and his household, both men engaged in farming. Sometime after 1880, Franklin took up residence on his part of Potomac Landing. His brother James most likely built the side-hall double parlor house that copied the main house at Potomac Landing. On February 18, 1897, Martha Robinson, died at the age of ninety. She was buried in the graveyyard of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Baden, Prince George's County.
Robert continued cultivation of tobacco and small grains as his father before him. The first reference to the farm being named Ferndale is found in the "Communion Record" of Robert's daughter, Martha Perry "Pattie", dated 1896. (Robinson and Via Family Papers) The exact origin or reason for this new name is lost but perhaps the name Potomac Landing held such bitter memories of debt and hardship that, as a symbolic break with the past, a new name was found. It also may have simply been a way to distinguish this portion of Potomac Landing from the others. The farm continued to be listed on tax bills as Potomac Landing well into the 20th century, but was known to the general public and businesses as the Ferndale Farm. (Robinson and Via Family Papers)
Robert served as deputy inspector at the State Tobacco Warehouse in Baltimore for eight years under W.B. Bowie. He also served on the Board of Directors of the Bank of Brandywine. In July of 1905, Franklin died, a bachelor farmer. He was buried facing south in the graveyard of the Church of the Atonement, Cheltenham, (a chapel in St. Thomas' Episcopal Parish) where he had served as vestryman, treasurer, and cemetery custodian. Franklin died intestate and a lengthy process of dividing his estate began. This resulted in the sale of his part of Potomac Landing (Lot #2) in July 1908 to William E. Boswell. The court declared Robert ineligible for any inheritance due to his being " . . . a brother of the half blood." The Boswell family later sold the property to the Billingsley family of St. Mary's County. (Equity Case 3209, Prince George's County)
In 1910, after living in the farm's original home for approximately sixty seven years, the Robinson family built a new home. It was described in a 1956 insurance policy as, "2 story, frame, metal roof, 16x43, wing 14x28, 9 rooms." (Robinson and Via Family Papers) The house design was a simple Victorian with plastered walls, and lit by carbide gas. Electrical lighting was installed in 1951. The house was built with monies from Robert and Amanda, and their son Frank, who served as builder and contractor.
On Tuesday March 9, 1937, "During a celebration in honor of his wifes birthday anniversary, Mr. Robinson collapsed at the table and died immediately without a word or a sigh." (Robinson and Via Family Papers) Robert was buried beside his mother in the cemetery at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Baden.
At Robert's death, Ferndale Farm was valued at $30.00 an acre, the total acreage, 174 acres, being valued in the whole at $5,220.00. Robert died intestate, again the fate of the land was in question. He left eight heirs, his widow, Amanda, six of his children and his son Albert Henry's only surviving child, R. Henry Robinson. Rather than have the farm sold and his mother's life disrupted, Frank purchased the estate and personal property from the heirs. Before this could take place, a deed had to be granted the heirs for the property since one had never been recorded after the 1876 sale. Equity case 873 was reopened sixty-two years after its supposed resolution. Frank testified, "over a period of about thirty years I would on a number of occasions, talk about the fact that he had purchased and paid for this property and that a deed had never been executed to him and [he] kept saying he was going to have someone straighten this matter out for him." It was discovered that Robert had fully paid for his part of Potomac Landing. On February 14, 1938 the farm was deeded from Amanda along with Robert''s heirs to Frank. (Book 499, page 334, Land Records of Prince George's County) According to the deed and a 1937 fire insurance policy the farm consisted of 177 1/3 acres, "1 two story dwelling, one tenant house, 1 barrack, 1 tobacco barn, 1 corn house & cow stable, 1 Stable, and 1 Granary & Stable." (Robinson and Via Family Papers)
Frank A. Robinson, now the sole owner of Ferndale Farm, was born August 17, 1883. He learned farming and in addition took up the trade of builder and contractor. As a young man, he worked in the general store of his uncle Robert Baden. He was the contractor for the first Bank of Brandywine and many homes in and around the town of Brandywine, including the home of his cousin Robert E. Baden, DDS. He was secretary of the Building Committee for construction of the Chapel of the Incarnation in Brandywine, a mission chapel for St. Thomas' Episcopal Parish. His success in the building trade gave him disposable income that he invested in land. His first purchase was in August, 1915 of a 2-9/100 acre of land in Brandywine that was being sold by the Board of County School Commissioners; the purchase price was $300. In March 1916 he purchased 38.09 acres of his Uncle Franklin's farm. This property adjoined Ferndale Farm.
Over the next fifty-four years of his life, Frank bought and sold many pieces of real estate. Perhaps his most significant purchases were: 18-1/3 acres purchased from The German American Colonization Land Company of Maryland in October 1915 (Book 115, pg. 140, Land Records of Prince George's County); 147.99 acres purchased from August and Wilhelmina Noltensmeir in December 1917 (Book 129, pg. 263, Land Records of Prince George's County) and 320 acres called the Vineyard purchased from William M. Wilson in March 1928. Frank used these three parcels as collateral for other purchases. Never once did he mortgage Ferndale Farm, insuring that no matter what financial stormy seas might blow, his home was secure. Over the course of his life, especially in the case of the Noltensmeir farm, when cash was needed a parcel of land would be surveyed off and sold. He inherited his grandfather Thomas' love of land but had fortunately developed a shrewd business sense to go along with it.
The booming economy and suburbanization of the Washington metropolitan area in the early 1960's led to the high quality gravel lying beneath Ferndale into becoming a valuable commodity. In October 1962, Franklin and his parents granted a three-year lease to William C. Nolte for mining sand and gravel on the Ferndale Farm at .174 per yard. (Book 2747, pg. 11, Land Records of Prince George's County) From now until 1975 when the property was sold, gravel would be mined from under the farm by various companies. In November 1962, Elizabeth and Frank transferred to Franklin the 38.09 acres Frank had purchased from Fitzhugh Billingsley in 1916. (Book 2754, pg. 99, Land Records of Prince George's County) That same year they transferred 6.754 acres, part of the Vineyard, to son Robert and his wife Lois, (Book 2765, pg. 201, Land Records of Prince George's County)
On December 28, 1965, Frank and Elizabeth participated in a land exchange/purchase of the farm of Ralph W. and Cordelia H. Brown located along the Patuxent River in Benedict, Charles County, Maryland. Franklin had rented this farm the year before and was impressed enough by its location and arability to work out a purchase. Frank and Elizabeth traded 65.9920 acres that would eventually become Franklin's under Frank's will. On February 21, 1966 they deeded the Charles County farm to Franklin and Adina. Adina named this property Serenity Farm. The property consisted of 480.66 acres. (Liber 179, page 708 etc., Land Records of Charles County)
On February 5, 1970, after a short illness, Frank died at Cafritz Memorial Hospital. He was buried at St. Paul's Episcopal Church near his parents. In his will, probated March 4, 1970 he left thirty acres of the property purchased from the German American Land Company and A. Noltensmeir to Elizabeth. He willed forty acres of the same parcel to daughter Mary Robinson Conner. The remainder of Ferndale Farm was willed to Franklin and the remaining acreage of the Vineyard was left to Robert Lee.
Franklin Alexander Robinson was born August 13, 1932 at the Garfield Hospital in Washington, D.C.. He received his schooling in the public school system of Prince George's County, graduating from Gwynn Park High School in June 1951. He was a charter member of Gwynn Park's chapter of The Future Farmers of America. He was extremely active in FFA, achieving the Degree of Maryland Farmer in 1950 and their highest award, the Degree of American Farmer at their convention in Kansas City, Missouri in October 1953. He obtained his private pilots license in 1954. He entered the United States Army in February 1955 and went through basic training at Camp Gordon, Augusta, Georgia. After basic training he was transferred to Camp Hanford, Washington State. There he worked part time on the farm of Dick and Theresa Laurent during his off duty hours and began a lifelong friendship with them. He returned home to farming on an agricultural discharge in October of 1956. On July 27, 1958 he married his high school sweetheart, Adina Mae Via, daughter of Robert Milton and Virginia Woods Via. They had three children: Franklin Alexander (1959), Robert David (1962), and Adina Theresa (1963).
Franklin continued expanding and improving the farming operation by modern methods and means. At times, he farmed over one thousand acres, both owned and rented. On February 21, 1966, his parents deeded their purchase of the Ralph W. and Cordelia H. Brown farm in Benedict to he and Adina, later known as Serenity Farm Franklin and Adina engaged an architect to draft house plans for an anticipated new residence. A small A frame vacation home was built on the property so the family could spend weekends there.
On December 14, 1966, after a long illness, Adina died from complications associated with Hodgkin's Disease. She was buried in Trinity Memorial Gardens, Waldorf, Charles County. Franklin married Margaret Walker Lennox (nee Tallen, known as Rita) on August 21, 1970 (Marriage Records of Prince George's County, Maryland). This marriage ended in divorce in 1977. There were no children from this marriage.
On July 14, 1975 the Robinson family, Franklin, his second wife, Margaret, her daughter Margaret W. Lennox, Franklin, Jr., R. David, A. Theresa and Elizabeth B. Robinson, moved to Serenity Farm. On July 17, 1975 Franklin and Elizabeth sold the remaining acreage of Ferndale Farm to Brandywine Sand and Gravel, thus ending 131 years of ownership by the Robinson family. Elizabeth Bourne Robinson died on July 15, 1976 and was buried beside her husband at St. Paul's Church, Baden. Franklin married Hiltrud (Ceddie) Harris (nee Sedlacek) on July 15, 1978. (Robinson Family Bible) This marriage ended in divorce in 1986. There were no children from this marriage. Franklin married Diedre Gale Merhiage on April 19, 1989; this marriage ended in divorce in 1997. There were no children from this marriage. He married Remelda Henega Buenavista on January 13, 2007.
The Robinson family continue day-to-day operations of Serenity Farm. The land is well suited to the growing of tobacco and small grains, which crops, (with the exception of tobacco) along with a flock of sheep, are cultivated there to the present time. After the crop year 2001 the Robinson family took the tobacco buyout program offered by the state of Maryland and ceased growing tobacco. Franklin is active in farming and community affairs having served on the vestry of St. Thomas Episcopal Parish, the Board of Directors of the Maryland Tobacco Growers Association (MTGA), the Board of the Production Credit Association, the Boards of three schools, Holy Trinity Day School, Queen Anne School, and Calverton School, and numerous other organizations. Currently the farm consists of approximately 275 acres. In 1981 a state agricultural land preservation district of 222.755 acres was created. This was the first such district in Charles County and one of the first in the state of Maryland.
Via Family
The Via family traces its origins to the colony of Virginia, where the probable progenitor of the line, Amer Via, a French Huguenot, settled in Manakin Town, Albemarle County between 1670-1700. It is impossible to trace the Via line definitively due to the loss of Virginia county records during the Civil War.
The Via family line covered in this collection can be definitively traced to William Via of Fredericksville Parish, Louisa (later Albemarle) County, Virginia. The William Via family lived west of the present day town of Whitehall at the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains, an area commonly known as Sugar Hollow. William Via III served in the Virginia Line during the Revolutionary War. He married Mary Craig, daughter of Thomas Craig and Jane Jameson, on March 17, 1784. William died on June 27, 1836, in Albemarle County (Rev. War Pension Appl. 6363, National Archives). His son Thomas married Sally, widow Griffin, on January 1, 1811 (Albemarle County Marriage Records). Their son, Hiram Karl Via (1812-1893), married Harriet Ardenia Naylor by license dated March 7, 1836 (Albemarle County Marriage Records).
Hiram and Harriet's son, Robert St. Clair Via (1844-1925), served as a private in Company I, 7th Virginia Infantry of the Confederate States Army (CSA Military Service Records, National Archives). After the war he married his first cousin, Mary Frances Naylor, daughter of Samuel Chapman Naylor and Eliza Jane Gardner, on April 3, 1866 in Rockingham County (Rockingham County, Virginia, Marriage Records). Sometime between 1870 and 1872, they moved to Linn County, Missouri, and settled about seven miles from the town of Bucklin. Their son, Hiram Chapman Via (1872-1933), was born there. In 1893, the family returned to Virginia, and settled on a farm in Greene County near the town of Stanardsville.
Hiram Chapman Via operated a mill as well as a farm. On March 15, 1899, he married Adina Eleanor Eusebia Runkle, daughter of Milton D. L. Runkle and Roberta A. Beadles (Greene County, Virginia, Marriage Records). They had three children: Bernice Olive (1902-1999), Robert Milton (1906-1983), and Deward Daniel (1909-1977).
Robert moved to Washington, D.C.. In December 1927 he began employment with the Capitol Traction Company as a streetcar conductor (Robinson and Via Family Papers). During the early 1930s, Robert rented a townhouse at 715 A St., SE, where he lived with his sister Bernice V. McMullan and her son, William C. McMullan; his brother and sister in law, and his parents. Next door, at 717, lived the Moses Albright family, including Moses's stepdaughter Ida Virginia Woods (1914-2010), daughter of Jesse Lee Woods (1894-1918) and Donna Mae Barker (1896-1928) of Frederick County, Maryland. Robert and Virginia began a courtship and on September 3, 1932 were married in Frederick, Frederick County, Maryland (Frederick County, Maryland, Marriage Records).
After their marriage, Robert and Virginia lived in various locations in the Washington metropolitan area. Their first child, Robert Delano, was born on March 24, 1933, and their second child, Adina Mae, was born on April 12, 1937. Virginia was employed outside the home while her children were in school. Her first job before her marriage had been with Woolworth's in Martinsburg, WV working the candy counter and then before the birth of her son at The Hecht Company on F St. in Washington, D.C.. After her marriage she worked briefly for the United States Postal Service in Capitol Heights, Maryland. Beginning in the 1950s, she worked first at the Hecht Company department store on 7th Street in the District and later for Charles of the Ritz as a receptionist in their beauty salon located in Woodward & Lothrop's F Street store in Washington, D.C.. She also worked as salon manager at the Charles of the Ritz salons in the Woodward & Lothrop stores in Seven Corners, Virginia, and Chevy Chase, Maryland. She retired due to health reasons in 1973.
On September 10, 1941, Robert and Virginia purchased Lot #43 in Woodlane subdivision in Prince George's County. (Book 619, pg. 12, Land Records of Prince George's County) A house was designed for them for this lot by Clyde E. Phillips. They did not construct a home on this property due to the outbreak of World War II. Robert, due to his employment in public transportation, did not serve with the Armed Services in World War II. On October 18, 1946, they purchased approximately thirty acres bordering on Burch's Creek near the towns of Clinton, also know as Surrattsville, and T.B. in Prince George's County from Joseph H. and M. Pauline Blandford. (Book 873, pg. 483, Land Records of Prince George's County) Over the next three years, hiring private contractors, doing work themselves, and with the help of Robert's brother Deward, they built the two story house designed by Phillips in 1941. They moved to the farm from Capitol Heights in 1949. Robert raised hogs, small grains and a crop of tobacco yearly on this farm and also maintained his job with Capitol Transit (formerly Capitol Traction).
In 1954, Robert and Virginia purchased a farm of approximately 150 acres in Island Creek, Calvert County, Maryland. The intention was for Robert and his son to enter into a full time farming operation on expanded acreage. Robert D. Via, known as Delano, graduated from Gwynn Park High School in June 1951. Delano was a part-time farmer and pursued a career as a country and western singer with Bashful Bob and the Rhythm Rangers, he being Bashful Bob. He was employed in various jobs, and began a tour in the Army in 1953. By the time the Via family moved to Calvert County in 1956, he decided to pursue careers other than farming. He eventually traveled and worked in various parts of the United States. He married first Delores Cooper, second Gloria J. Irick, and finally Candice Marinelli in December 1974, they had two children, Robert Marin (1975) and Kirstin Marin (1976).
On June 1, 1956 Robert resigned from his position at Capitol Transit due to health reasons. He and his family moved to the farm in Island Creek, Calvert County where he began full time farming. He and Virginia sold the thirty-acre farm in Prince George's County on June 21, 1956 to Melvin C. and Geraldine H. Rardia. (Book 2003, pg. 564, Land Records of Prince George's County) Virginia continued her employment with Charles of the Ritz. Adina, now a graduate of Gwynn Park High School, was employed by the USAF at Andrews Air Force Base in Camp Springs, Maryland. They both commuted daily from Calvert County to their places of employment.
Robert farmed in Calvert County, raising hogs, cattle, small grains and tobacco. Over the course of the next twenty-seven years, Robert and Virginia sold smaller parcels off the farm. In 1974, Robert and Virginia built a small retirement home designed for them by Calvert Masonry Contractors. Robert died on December 22, 1983. He was buried beside his daughter Adina in Trinity Memorial Gardens. At the time of Robert's death, the farm consisted of 28.694 acres. In 1998, Virginia deeded the remainder of the farm, then less than six acres, to her grandson, Franklin A. Robinson, Jr. who sold all but a one-acre lot in April 1999.
Virginia continued to live on the farm in Calvert County, maintaining a small herd of cattle. In the fall of 1989 Franklin, Jr. went to live with her. In 1993, the onset of Alzheimer's Disease required her to move to Serenity Farm and take up residence with her granddaughter A. Theresa. Virginia participated in various studies on Alzheimer's Disease conducted by the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland beginning in 1992. She was profiled in the September 1997 issue of Washingtonian Magazine. In October of 1998 she moved to All American Senior Care in Brandywine, Maryland and in 1999 she moved to Morningside, an elderly care facility in Waldorf, Maryland. In 2002, she moved to St. Mary's Nursing Center in Leonardtown, Maryland. The remainder of the farm was sold in 1999 and 2002. She died January 14, 2010 and was buried at Trinity Memorial Gardens in Waldorf.
Adina Mae Via was born April 12, 1937 at the Homeopathic Hospital in Washington, D.C.. Adina grew up in Washington, D.C. attending public schools. She moved with her family to the Burch's Creek farm, Prince George's County, in 1949. She enrolled in the Prince George's County school system, and graduated from Gwynn Park High School in June of 1955. After graduation, she was employed by the USAF at Andrews Air Force Base in Camp Springs.
In July of 1956, she moved with her family to the Via farm in Island Creek, Calvert County. On July 27, 1958 she married Franklin A. Robinson at the Chapel of the Incarnation. They had three children: Franklin Alexander (1959), Robert David (1962) and Adina Theresa (1963). In the fall of 1958, she and Franklin took up residence in the home they had built on Ferndale Farm. She resigned from her position with the USAF in 1959.
On December 14, 1966, at Providence Hospital in Washington, DC, Adina died from complications due to Hodgkin's Disease. She had been battling this disease for many years prior to her death. She was buried in Trinity Memorial Gardens, Charles County.
Related Materials:
Materials at Other Organizations
The Maryland Center for History and Culture holds items (costume, farming related implements) related to the Robinson and Via families.
The Maryland State Archives (MSA) Special Collections holds the Robinson and Conner Family Papers, MSA SC 6402.
Separated Materials:
Materials at the National Museum of American History
The Division of Work and Industry (Agriculture Collection) holds agricultural implements and artifacts associated with both the Robinson farms and the Via farm; the Division of Home and Community Life holds clothing, textiles (crib quilt), jewelry, cosmetics and Adina M. Robinson's sewing box and dress patterns; (Costume and Textiles Collection). See accession numbers: 1989.0688, 1990.0394, 1991.0010; 1991.0722, 1992.0184, 1992.0283, 1992.0321, 1992.0474, 1992.3106, 1994.0064, 1994.0304, 1997.0327, 1998.0038, 1998.0129, 2001.0196, 2002.0087, 2003.0015, 2005.0009.
Division of Armed Forces History (now Division of Olitical and Military History, National Numismatics Collection) holds the Robert M. Via Trolley Token Collection.
Provenance:
The collection was donated to the National Museum of American History, Archives Center, by Franklin A. Robinson, Jr., in November 1993.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but negatives and audiovisuial materials are stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Some papers of living persons are restricted. Access to restricted portions may be arranged by request to the donor. Gloves required for unprotected photographs. Viewing film portions of the collection and listening to LP recording requires special appointment. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Rights:
The Archives Center does not own exclusive rights to these materials. Copyright for all materials is retained by the donor, Franklin A. Robinson, Jr.; permission for commercial use and/or publication may be requested from the donor through the Archives Center. Military Records for Franklin A. Robinson (b. 1932) and correspondence from Richard I. Damalouji (1961-2014) are restricted; written permission is needed to research these files. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
John Weber first worked with earthworks artist Robert Smithson at the Dwan Gallery, initially in Los Angeles and then as director of Dwan's New York location. After Dwan Gallery closed in 1971, Weber opened the John Weber Gallery, and continued his association with Smithson. The gallery operated in various locations in Soho and Chelsea until it closed in 2000. This series houses the gallery's inventory and slide records of Robert Smithson's drawings and sculptures, including earthworks, and incorpoates some slides from the James Cohan Gallery.
Additional records relating to John Weber Gallery's relationship with Holt and Smithson can be found in Series 10.
Arrangement:
The series is arranged as four subseries.
11.1: Smithson Photocopies of Drawings with Inventory Numbers, circa 1990-1992
11.2: Smithson Drawing Archives with Images, circa 1970s-circa 1990
11.3: Smithson Master Slides of Sculpture Works, 1960s-circa 2001
11.4: Smithson Master Slides of Works on Paper, circa 1960-circa 2001
Collection Restrictions:
Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
Rights:
Items created by Nancy Holt and Robert Smithson copyright held by Holt/Smithson Foundation/Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY. Requests for permission to reproduce should be submitted to ARS.
Collection Citation:
Nancy Holt Estate records, 1835, circa 1900-2014. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
