1734-1952
Guide to the Collection
Abstract
This collection consists of papers of the Ropes family of Salem, Mass., as well as papers of the related Peirson, Lawrence, Lowell, and Ladd families, including correspondence, diaries, scrapbooks, inventories, genealogical notes, school papers, poetry, women's commonplace books, account books, and a farm journal.
Biographical Sketches
Ropes Family
Samuel Ropes (1757-1841), the son of Benjamin and Ruth (Hardy) Ropes of Salem, Mass., was a partner in the firm of Page & Ropes of Salem, fitting out ships for foreign trade and doing a regular chandlery business at home. In 1780, he married Sarah Cheever (1757-1842). Among their children were: Samuel Ropes (b. 1781), Benjamin Ropes (b. 1783), William Ropes (b. 1784), Sarah Ropes (b. 1786), Hardy Ropes (1788-1875), Ruth Hardy Ropes (1791-1837), Joseph Ropes (1792-1816), and Louisa Ropes (b. 1793).
William Ropes (b. 1784) shipped out to Calcutta in 1806 and Canton in 1809, then went into business in Boston with Colonel Benjamin Pickman as Ropes, Pickman & Co., which was dissolved in 1816. He then went into business with Thomas W. Ward until 1825. He married [Martha Reed (d. 1830)?] and had ten children, some of whom were: William Hooper Ropes, Joseph Samuel Ropes, Mary Tyler Ropes, Elizabeth Ropes, Martha Ropes, and Louisa Ropes. In 1830, William Ropes sailed for St. Petersburg with his eldest son to establish an import/export business there. His wife died in April 1830, soon after he arrived in Russia. In 1832, he re-married to Mary Ann Codman. Their children were Catherine Ropes (1833-1835) and John Codman Ropes (1836-1899). In 1833, he formally established William Ropes & Co. in St. Petersburg. He left St. Petersburg in 1837, leaving his four eldest children there permanently. He then established a business in London, before returning to the U.S. in 1842.
Hardy Ropes (1788-1875) married Mary Ladd (d. 1859) in 1824. Among their children were: William Ladd Ropes (1825-1912), Sarah Ropes (1827-1910), and Mary Louisa Ropes. Hardy Ropes was a merchant in Boston and worked for his brother William Ropes. He was also involved in the American Education Society.
Louisa Ropes (b. 1793) married Reverend Samuel Green (1792-1834) in 1821. He was minister of the Essex Street Church in Boston from 1823 to 1834. Their daughter was Louisa Ropes Green (1829-1895).
Ruth Hardy Ropes (1791-1837) married Henry Prince in 1812. Among their children were: George Henry Prince (b. 1821), who joined his uncle's import/export firm in St. Petersburg when he reached the appropriate age; Benjamin Ropes Prince (b. 1822); James Cheever Prince (b. 1825); Sarah Prince (b. 1826); and Samuel Hardy Prince (b. 1833).
Mary Tyler Ropes married William Clarke Gellibrand of St. Petersburg in 1834 and apparently remained in that city.
William Ladd Ropes (1825-1912) graduated from Harvard in 1846 and Andover Theological Seminary in 1852. He taught at the Public Latin School (Boston) from 1846 to 1848, was ordained in 1853, and served as pastor of the Congregational Church of Wrentham, Mass., 1853-1862. He was acting pastor of the Crombie Street Church of Salem from 1862 to 1863 and of the Congregational churches in South Hadley, Mass., and Windsor Locks, Conn., from 1865 to 1866. He became the librarian of Andover Theological Seminary in 1866. In 1865, he married Harriet Lawrence Peirson (1831-1880). [See Peirson and Lawrence Families below.] Their son was James Hardy Ropes (1867-1933).
James Hardy Ropes (1867-1933), theologian and New Testament scholar, graduated from Phillips Academy in Andover in 1885 with first honors in classics; from Harvard in 1889, summa cum laude; and from Andover Theological Seminary in 1893. He then spent two years studying in Germany at the Universities of Kiel, Halle, and Berlin, and traveling in England, Italy, and Russia, before beginning his teaching career at Harvard in 1895. He was ordained a Congregational minister in 1901 and appointed Hollis Professor of Divinity at Harvard in 1910. In 1897, he married Alice Lowell (1869?-1949). [See Lowell Family below.] Their children were: Harriet Ropes (b. 1908), who married Edward Clarke Cabot (b. 1904) in 1933; and Edward Jackson Lowell Ropes (b. 1909), who married Charlotte Sherburne (b. 1909) in 1936.
Peirson and Lawrence Families
Samuel Peirson (1759-1852) of Biddeford, Me., married Sarah Page (b. 1755). Their son was Abel Lawrence Peirson (1794-1853).
Abel Lawrence Peirson (1794-1853) graduated from Harvard in 1812 and became a pupil of Dr. James Jackson. He obtained his medical degree in 1815 and worked as a physician in Vassalboro, Maine. In 1817, he moved to Salem, Mass., and married his first cousin Harriet Lawrence in 1819. He was a member of the Massachusetts Medical Society, the Essex South District Medical Society, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and worked as a consulting surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital. In 1853, while returning from the convention of the American Medical Association in New York City, Dr. Peirson died in a train accident in Norwalk, Ct. Among his children were: Edward Brooks Peirson (1820-1874), a doctor who graduated from Harvard in 1840; Abigail Lawrence Peirson (1821-1903); Abel Lawrence Peirson (1824-1871); Harriet Lawrence Peirson (1831-1880); Charles Lawrence Peirson (b. 1834), and James Jackson "Jemmie" Peirson (1834-1847).
Charles Lawrence Peirson (b. 1834) graduated from Harvard in 1853. He was a partner in the Boston firm of Stevenson & Peirson and served as 1st Lieutenant and Adjutant of the 20th Massachusetts Infantry and as Lieutenant-Colonel of the 39th Massachusetts Infantry during the Civil War. In 1873, he married Emily Russell (1843?-1908).
Harriet Lawrence Peirson (1831-1880) married William Ladd Ropes in 1865. [See Ropes Family above.]
Abel Lawrence (d. 1822) of Salem, Mass., married Abigail Page (d. 1839) in 1780. Among their children were: Abigail Page Lawrence (b. 1786); Harriet Lawrence (b. 1793), who married Abel L. Peirson; Abel Page Lawrence; John Bulkley Lawrence (1786-1831); Elizabeth Clark Lawrence (1791-1870); Charles Lawrence (b. 1795); Mary Norris Lawrence (b. 1798); and Sarah Susanna Lawrence (b. 1805), who married George W. Endicott in 1834.
Abel P. Lawrence married Caroline Wallace (d. 1828) of Milford, N.H., in 1816. Their children were: Caroline Wallace Lawrence (d. 1899), Mary Wallace Lawrence (1816?-1870), Susan Cornelius Lawrence (d. 1828), and Elizabeth Clarke Lawrence.
John Bulkley Lawrence (1786-1831) was physically handicapped from a childhood illness. He sponsored missionary work in foreign countries.
Lowell Family
Francis Cabot Lowell (1775-1817) married Hannah Jackson (d. 1815) in 1798. Their children were: John Lowell (1799-1836), Francis Cabot Lowell (1803-1874), and Edward Jackson Lowell (1807-1830).
John Lowell (1799-1836) married Georgina Margaret Amory (1806-1830) in 1825. Their children were: Georgina Margaret Amory Lowell (1827-1832) and Anna Cabot Lowell (1829-1831).
Francis Cabot Lowell (1803-1874) married Mary Lowell Gardner, the daughter of Samuel P. Gardner, in 1826. Their children were: Francis Cabot Lowell (1827-1830); George Gardner Lowell (1830-1885); Mary Lowell (b. 1833), who married Algernon Coolidge in 1856; Georgina "Nina" Lowell (1836-1922); and Edward Jackson Lowell (1845-1894).
George Gardner Lowell (1830-1885) married Mary Ellen Parker (1832-1919) in 1854. Their children were: Francis Cabot Lowell (b. 1855) and Anna Parker Lowell (1856-1930).
Edward Jackson Lowell (1845-1894) married first Mary Wolcott Goodrich (1846-1874) in 1868. Their children were: Alice Lowell (1869?-1949), architect Guy Lowell (1870-1927), and Frederick Eldridge Lowell (1874-1933). Edward Jackson Lowell married second Elizabeth Gilbert Jones in 1877.
Alice Lowell (1869?-1949) married James Hardy Ropes in 1898. [See Ropes Family above.]
Sources
Cabot, Harriet Ropes. "The Early Years of William Ropes & Company in St. Petersburg." The American Neptune 23.2 (April 1963).
Dictionary of American Biography. 29 vols. New York: C. Scribner's Sons, 1937-.
Greenslet, Ferris. The Lowells and Their Seven Worlds. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1946.
Vital Records of Salem, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849. 6 vols. Salem, Mass.: The Essex Institute, 1916-1925.
Collection Description
This collection consists of papers of the Ropes family of Salem, Mass., and papers of the related Peirson, Lawrence, Lowell, and Ladd families. Ropes family members include merchants Samuel Ropes, William Ropes, and Hardy Ropes; Congregational minister and Andover Theological Seminary librarian William L. Ropes and his wife Harriet L. (Peirson) Ropes; their son, Congregational minister and Harvard professor James H. Ropes, and his wife Alice (Lowell) Ropes; Mary Tyler (Ropes) Gellibrand; and many others. The collection contains correspondence, diaries, scrapbooks, inventories, genealogical notes, school papers, poetry, women's commonplace books, account books, and a farm journal. Subjects include: the Phoenix Glass Works, European travel, merchants in St. Petersburg (Russia) and Boston, and missionaries in India. Among the correspondents are Ropes, Pickman & Co.; Francis J. Child; Ralph Waldo Emerson; Samuel W. Rowse; James Savage; Vida Scudder; Charles U. Shepard; and many others.
Acquisition Information
Gift of Harriet Ropes Cabot, 1990.
Detailed Description of the Collection
I. Correspondence, 1734-1952
For a list of select autographs in this series, see Autograph Letters in the Collection below.
A. Ropes family correspondence, 1802-1952
The early papers in this subseries consist of correspondence between Samuel Ropes, Sarah Cheever Ropes, and their children. Included is a group of letters from Joseph Ropes to his sister Sarah, written in 1814 while he was working at a mercantile establishment in Boston. These letters, bound into a booklet, discuss religious subjects, Joseph's unhappiness with the mercantile life, and his desire to become a minister. This subseries also contains business letters from William and Hardy Ropes to their father Samuel Ropes, mostly dated 1815. Papers of the 1820s include correspondence of Hardy and Samuel Ropes (1757-1841), as well as several Ladd family items (Mary Ladd married Hardy Ropes). Among the Ladd papers is a bill of sale, dated 18 Nov. 1820, for a black woman named Philliss, who was sold by Alexander Moore to John H. Ladd.
Papers of the 1830s and 1840s consist of more correspondence of Hardy Ropes, including letters related to the American Education Society; letters from William Ropes and his daughter Mary Tyler Ropes (later Gellibrand) in St. Petersburg; and business correspondence with William Ropes. The subseries also contains correspondence of William Ladd Ropes with relatives and colleagues, 1840s-1850s; letters written to his wife Harriet L. Ropes after 1865; and a large amount of correspondence between William Ladd Ropes and his son James Hardy Ropes from the 1880s to 1912. Among this correspondence are letters of James Hardy Ropes from England, Germany, Denmark, Scotland, Wales, Russia, and Italy, 1893-1895. Papers from 1918-1952 include family correspondence of James H. Ropes and letters written to his wife Alice Lowell Ropes.
The Ropes family miscellaneous papers include Latin School reports of William L. Ropes, 1836-1842; other school papers, 1841-1845; papers of the estate of Rev. Samuel Green; genealogical notes; and a typed transcription of the diary of Lorenza Stephens Berbineau, 1851.
1802-1839
1840-1861
1862-1894
1895-1911
1912-1952 and miscellaneous
B. Peirson and Lawrence family correspondence, 1734-1920
The early papers in this subseries include papers of the Page family of Lunenburg, Medford, Boston, and Salem, and the related Gamell and Shed families of Boston. The subseries also contains papers of Abel Lawrence of Salem beginning in 1780; courtship letters between Abel L. Peirson and Harriet Lawrence, 1814-1818; and letters from missionaries in India to John B. Lawrence, 1820s. Correspondence in 1853 includes letters written on the sudden death of Dr. Abel L. Peirson in a train wreck at Norwalk, Conn., on his return from an American Medical Association convention in New York City. Papers dating from the early 1900s include many letters written to Charles L. Peirson about his account of the Battle of Ball's Bluff.
1734-1822
1823-1848
1849-1920 and miscellaneous
C. Lowell family correspondence, 1791-1927
The first item in this subseries is a 1791 deed to John Lowell for land in the Kennebec Purchase. The subseries also contains Francis Cabot Lowell correspondence beginning in 1798; letters written by John Lowell, Jr. to family members while he was in Europe, 1827; papers related to the estate of Edward J. Lowell, 1830-1831; and financial papers of Francis Cabot Lowell, 1832. Also included are papers related to John Lowell, Jr.'s purchases of antiquities in Cairo, 1835-1836; letters written home from Egypt; letters regarding his death and effects, 1836; an inventory of silver, 1841; and notes of the committee on a monument to Dr. Kirkland, 1843.
Papers of the 1850s and 1860s consist primarily of correspondence of Mary Lowell, F. C. Lowell, George G. Lowell, Georgina "Nina" Lowell, and Edward J. Lowell, including letters between Georgina and her grandmother Rebecca Gardner while Georgina was in Europe in 1852 and letters from Edward J. Lowell in Europe to his family, 1867-1868. The subseries also contains letters from F. C. Lowell to E. J. Lowell regarding the Phoenix Glass Works, 1869-1870; the will of F. C. Lowell, 1873; additional letters from Edward J. Lowell and Elizabeth G. Lowell in Europe to family members, 1876-1883 and 1893-1894; correspondence related to the death of Edward J. Lowell, 1894; and letters between Vida D. Scudder and Georgina Lowell, 1906.
The Lowell family miscellaneous papers include Samuel P. Gardner bills, 1825-1826; city council notes of John Lowell, Jr., 1828-1829; writings of E. J. Lowell; poetry; two anonymous plays; an anonymous diary fragment and woman's commonplace book; inventories of china, silver, books, furniture, and jewelry; obituaries and genealogical notes; drawings and the inscription of a monument to John Lowell, Jr.; the will of Georgina Lowell, 1885 and 1907; and party lists of menus, guests, lighting arrangements, etc., 1827-1849.
1791-1927
Miscellaneous, 1825-1907 and undated
II. Volumes, 1805-1948
A. Ropes family volumes, 1806-1927
Samuel Green diaries, 1827, 1829
Samuel Green was a minister and traveler. From 1823-1834, he served as minister of the Essex Street Church, Boston, Mass. The first diary, 10-17 Sep. 1827, describes a tour of churches on Cape Cod and the islands and includes notes on various churches. The second volume, 24 June-15 July 1829, describes a trip to the Wilder home, possibly in Connecticut. Diary entries mention Rev. Beecher, Rev. Christmas, Mr. Tappan, and the Wilders.
Alice L. Ropes scrapbook, 1927
Most of the clippings in this scrapbook relate to the death of Guy Lowell.
James Hardy Ropes scrapbook, 1880-1911
This scrapbook includes clippings on a wide variety of subjects.
William Ladd Ropes volumes
William Ladd Ropes was librarian of the Andover Theological Seminary, Andover, Mass., and a Congregational minister and scholar. His diaries contain line-a-day entries describing daily events.
Latin and Greek memoranda, 1855
Record of visits, 1857-1862
Diary, 1870
Diary, 1871
Diary, 1872
Diary, 1910
School memorabilia, 1848
Ropes family ancestors (genealogical material), undated
John H. Ladd diary, 1806-1809
John Haskins Ladd (1794-1856) was a student and merchant. His diary dates from 11 Oct. 1806 to 6 Dec. 1809. Early entries describe daily events and weather in Waterford, Maine, at Rev. Ripley's house, where Ladd was sent to study. On 5 Dec. 1806, Ladd returned to Boston to tend his father's store in Boston, and from this point on, the diary primarily discusses the weather, various ships in Boston, and his father's business. His father was a merchant who chartered ships from Boston to Alexandria, Virginia, for a portion of the return cargo: flour, barley, bran, tobacco, corn, coffee, and cocoa. Other subjects mentioned in the diary include the Embargo and the Non-Intercourse Act, an earthquake in June 1808, John H. Ladd's riding excursion on 3 June 1809 with his relation Ralph Waldo Emerson, and the death of John's brother Joseph on 1 Dec. 1809.
B. Peirson and Lawrence family volumes, 1830-1916
Charles Lawrence Peirson volumes
Charles Lawrence Peirson was a merchant, farmer, soldier, traveler, surveyor, and land speculator. A resident of Salem and Boston, he worked as partner in the Boston firm of Stevenson & Peirson with Robert H. Stevenson. His 38 line-a-day diaries date from 1856 to 1916. The first two diaries were primarily kept in Minnesota around Minneapolis and St. Paul, where Peirson worked surveying roads and lots and speculating in land. Diaries for 1861-1865 describe his participation in the Civil War as 1st lieutenant and adjutant for the 20th Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, including the Battle of Ball's Bluff, where he was taken prisoner and sent to Libby Prison (Richmond Prison). From Sep. 1862, Peirson served as lieutenant-colonel for the 39th Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, and he participated in the battles of Wilderness, Spotsylvania, and Weldon Railroad. He was discharged a colonel on 4 Jan. 1865 for wounds incurred in battle. His diaries between 1866 and 1875 primarily describe daily events and social activities, including his marriage in Jan. 1874 to Emily Russell; his travels to England and Paris, 27 Mar.-4 June 1867; and his visit to the French Universal Exposition in Paris, 1867. Charles L. Peirson and Emily Russell Peirson also visited the southern states, Mar. 1883; Europe, 1896; Italy, 1898; Japan, 1900; the Grand Canyon, 1901; Greece and Constantinople, 1902; Mexico, 1903; Europe, 1904; and England, 1907.
Diary (Minnesota), 1856
Diary (Minnesota), 1857
Diary, 1861
Diary, 1861-1862
Diary, 1862
Diary, 1863
Diary, 1864
Diary, 1865
Diary, 1866
Diary, 1867
Diary, 1868
Diary, 1869
Diary, 1870
Diary, 1871
Diary, 1872
Diary, 1873
Diary, 1874
Diary, 1875
Diary (Mexico), 1880
Diary, 1883
Diary, 1884
Diary (Europe), 1896
Diary (Italy), 1898
Diary (Japan), 1900
Diary (Grand Canyon), 1901
Diary (Greece and Constantinople), 1902
Diary (Mexico), 1903
Diary (Europe), 1904
Diary (England), 1907
Diary, 1908
Diary, 1909
Diary, 1910
Diary, 1911
Diary, 1912
Diary, 1913
Diary, 1914
Diary, 1915
Diary, 1916
Account book, 1872-1903
Account book, 1910-1914
Book of important dates (2 vols.)
Harriet Lawrence Peirson volumes
Account book of estate, 1874-1903
Loose papers from account book of estate (Box 17, Folder 3)
Extracts from Lucy A. Lawrence, 1844
Caroline Wallace Lawrence volumes
Caroline Wallace Lawrence was a Sabbath School teacher in Salem, Mass. Her diary contains intermittent, mostly introspective entries dealing with her personal religious feelings.
Diary, 1841-1853
Autograph book, 1835-1836
Elizabeth Clark Lawrence volumes
Commonplace-book, 1830-1840
Commonplace-book, 1838-1860
Poetry book, undated
[Mary Wallace Lawrence] diary, 1856
This diary was kept in Salem, Mass., 11 June-21 Dec. 1856, and describes the daily activities of Mary Wallace Lawrence.
C. Lowell family volumes, 1805-1948
James Jackson inventory of fruit trees, 1834-1839
[Francis Cabot Lowell] farm journal, 1841-1843
Francis Cabot Lowell (1803-1874) was a textile manufacturer and gentleman farmer. This farm journal, kept at Waltham, Mass., from 10 May 1841 to 29 June 1843, is written in The Lawyers' Common-place Book, with an Alphabetical Index... (Boston: Cummings, Hilliard, & Co., 1825). Entries describe plantings, weather, fruit trees, and general information about his farm in Waltham.
[Edward Jackson Lowell I] diary (Europe), 1826-1828
Edward Jackson Lowell (1807-1830) was a lawyer and traveler. His diary, kept in Europe from 6 Apr. 1826 to 26 Apr. 1828, consists of a typical travel journal and contains Lowell's commentary on art and places he has visited.
Edward Jackson Lowell II volumes
Edward Jackson Lowell (1845-1894) was a historian, lawyer, and traveler. In his diary, dated 27 Mar. 1867-6 May 1867, he describes his stops in England; time spent in Paris at the French Universal Exposition of 1867; and visits with various Bostonians living there.
Diary (Europe), 1867
"Memoir of E. J. Holmes," ca. 1884
"Letters to the Times etc.," scrapbook of newsclippings, 1880-1887
"Letters to the Times etc.," scrapbook of newsclippings, 1888-1892
Investments, 1883-1889
Francis Cabot Lowell account book, 1869-1872
Georgina Margaret Amory Lowell volumes
Georgina Margaret Amory Lowell was a traveler and the wife of John Lowell, Jr. Her diary begins 24 May 1825 and describes a journey from Boston to various north shore towns and western towns.
Necrology, 1805-1823
Diary, May-June 1825
George Gardner Lowell volumes
Expenses, 1874, 1876
Expenses (Europe), 1876-1877
[John Lowell, Jr.] check stubs, 1825-1827
Mary Gardner Lowell notes on her father, 1843
Anonymous volumes
Manuscript music and lyrics, undated
Riddles and jokes, undated
[Robert H. Stevenson] diary (England, Scotland, and Paris), 1866
Robert H. Stevenson (b. 1838) was a traveler, Boston merchant, and partner in the firm of Stevenson & Peirson with Charles Lawrence Peirson. This diary was kept from 26 Sep.-16 Dec. 1866, while Stevenson was apparently touring various textile manufacturing firms in England and Scotland, and then on a leisure trip to Paris.
Miscellaneous printed material and other items, 1857-1948
Included are the following printed items:
1. Broadside: "Bach Cantata Club."
2. Valentine greeting card, 19th
c.
3. Broadside: "Power to receive Dividends." Printed form not completed
in manuscript.
4. Invitation to funeral: "Vous etres prie d'assister aux
Convoi, Service et Enterrement de Monsieur Jules Ferry..." Imprimerie
Gabillaud, rue de l'Echiquier, Paris.
5. Exhibition brochure: "English
Domestic Needlework of the XVI, XVII, and XVIII Centuries." The Metropolitan
Museum of Art, 5 Nov.-2 Dec. 1945. 2 copies.
6. One page, printed both
sides, apparently the title page for Jayne's Medical
Almanac and Guide to Health for the year 1857.
7. Booklet of 14
bills-of-lading, printed on one side, not completed in manuscript.
8.
Calling card, Yacht Ellouise, Capt. Wallace N.
Adams.
Engravings of scenes in Switzerland, undated
III. Oversize material, 1791-1886
This series consists of oversize papers that have been removed from Series I and II, including printed material, parchment/vellum items, printed forms completed in manuscript, and miscellaneous newspaper clippings. A note has been inserted at the original location of each item indicating its removal to oversize.
Printed material
1. Pages 47-48 of Franklin Field Illustrated
with a picture of Dr. A. Lawrence Lowell.
2. [Proof sheets?] of article
from the MHS Proceedings, "Letters of Miss Anna
Cabot Lowell," pp. 303-317.
3. Facsimile of The
New-England Courant, No. 80, 4-11 Feb. 1723.
4. Broadside: "Know
all Men by these Presents, That in consideration of Dollars..." Printed deed of
sale for shares in the Merrimack Manufacturing Company. Not completed in
manuscript.
5. Engraving [page from a book?]: "Heaven Geneses 1.1." An
engraving of the solar system.
6. Journal or soft-bound book: No title,
about Crichton and Borthwick Castles, Scotland. "Part II. Will be Published in
June; containing..." Printed by James Ballantyne and Co., Edinburgh.
Parchment/vellum items
1. Diploma to Samuel Green from Harvard University, 27 Aug. 1817. Engraved
form completed in manuscript.
2. Diploma to Edward J. Lowell from Harvard
University, 17 July 1867. Printed form completed in manuscript.
3. Diploma
to Edward J. Lowell from Harvard University, 28 June 1871. Printed form
completed in manuscript.
Printed forms completed in manuscript
1. Deed to John Tyng and John Lowell for land in the Kennebec Purchase, 20
Sep. 1791.
2. Certificate of membership in the Society of the Young Men in
Boston Auxiliary to the American Education Society to Hardy Ropes, 1827.
3.
Certificate of membership for life in the American Bible Society to Charles
Lawrence, 10 July 1832.
4. Deed to Samuel Cobb from John Lowell, Jr. for
sale of land and premises in Boston, 19 Feb. 1830.
5. Acknowledgment of
patriotism of Edward J. Lowell by the United States army, 5 Aug. 1864.
6.
Testament that Edward J. Lowell was admitted to practice as an attorney and
counselor at law in Massachusetts, 8 June 1872.
7. Appointment of Edward J.
Lowell as justice of the peace in Massachusetts, 9 Dec. 1873.
8.
Certificate of membership in the Massachusetts Historical Society to Edward J.
Lowell, 13 Nov. 1884.
9. Certificate of membership in the Bostonian Society
to Edward J. Lowell, 13 Aug. 1886.
Miscellaneous newspaper clippings
Autograph Letters in the Collection
Listed below are select autograph letters located in Series I (Correspondence). The location of each item is indicated in italics, and the box containing the item is listed in the column on the left.
Beecher, Lyman (1775-1863)
To William Ladd Ropes, 16 Dec. 1854
In Ropes family correspondence (Series I.A.)Bingham, Hiram (1789-1869)
To John B. Lawrence, 20 Oct. 1822
In Peirson and Lawrence family correspondence (Series I.B.)Child, Francis J. (1825-1896)
To William Ladd Ropes, 1 Oct. 1841
In Ropes family correspondence (Series I.A.)To William Ladd Ropes, 23 July 1843
In Ropes family correspondence (Series I.A.)To William Ladd Ropes, 22 Dec. 1848
In Ropes family correspondence (Series I.A.)To William Ladd Ropes, 23 Jan. 1849
In Ropes family correspondence (Series I.A.)To William Ladd Ropes, 21 Mar. 1849
In Ropes family correspondence (Series I.A.)Dixwell, Epes Sargent (1807-1899)
To William Ladd Ropes, 13 Dec. [1846]
In Ropes family correspondence (Series I.A.)To Hardy Ropes, 19 Dec. 1846
In Ropes family correspondence (Series I.A.)To William Ladd Ropes, 2 Jan. 1847
In Ropes family correspondence (Series I.A.)Emerson, Ralph Waldo (1803-1882)
To John H. Ladd, 12 Mar. 1822
In Ropes family correspondence (Series I.A.)To William Ladd Ropes, 16 Dec. 1854
In Ropes family correspondence (Series I.A.)To William Ladd Ropes, 23 Oct. 1855
In Ropes family correspondence (Series I.A.)To William Ladd Ropes, 21 Oct. 1856
In Ropes family correspondence (Series I.A.)To William Ladd Ropes, 13 Nov. 1856
In Ropes family correspondence (Series I.A.)To William Ladd Ropes, 23 Feb. 1857
In Ropes family correspondence (Series I.A.)To William G. Ladd, 1 Aug. 1859 [copy]
In Ropes family correspondence (Series I.A.)Everett, Edward (1794-1865)
To unidentified recipient, 12 Dec. 1829
In Peirson and Lawrence family correspondence (Series I.B.)To unidentified recipient, 13 Sep. 1830
In Peirson and Lawrence family correspondence (Series I.B.)Felton, Cornelius Conway (1807-1862)
To William Ladd Ropes, 21 Oct. 1855
In Ropes family correspondence (Series I.A.)Hoar, George Frisbie (1826-1904)
To William Ladd Ropes, 24 June 1893
In Ropes family correspondence (Series I.A.)Holmes, Oliver Wendell (1809-1894)
To William Ladd Ropes, 31 Oct. 1855
In Ropes family correspondence (Series I.A.)To William Ladd Ropes, 26 Jan. 1856
In Ropes family correspondence (Series I.A.)Holmes, Oliver Wendell (1841-1935)
To Charles L. Peirson, 28 Nov. 1894
In Peirson and Lawrence family correspondence (Series I.B.)Mann, Horace (1796-1859)
To William Ladd Ropes, 23 Oct. 1855
In Ropes family correspondence (Series I.A.)Ropes, John Codman (1836-1899)
To William Ladd Ropes, 16 Oct. 1856
In Ropes family correspondence (Series I.A.)Rowse, Samuel Worcester (1822-1901)
To Georgina Lowell, [1886]
In Lowell family correspondence (Series I.C.)To Georgina Lowell, [1886]
In Lowell family correspondence (Series I.C.)To Georgina Lowell, [1886]
In Lowell family correspondence (Series I.C.)To Georgina Lowell, 12 Feb. [1886]
In Lowell family correspondence (Series I.C.)To Georgina Lowell, 14 Mar. [1886]
In Lowell family correspondence (Series I.C.)To Georgina Lowell, 10 Oct. [1886]
In Lowell family correspondence (Series I.C.)Savage, James (1784-1873)
To William Ladd Ropes, 21 Feb. 1855
In Ropes family correspondence (Series I.A.)To William Ladd Ropes, 23 Apr. 1855
In Ropes family correspondence (Series I.A.)To William Ladd Ropes, 4 May 1855
In Ropes family correspondence (Series I.A.)To William Ladd Ropes, 13 Mar. 1857
In Ropes family correspondence (Series I.A.)Scudder, Vida Dutton (1861-1954)
To Georgina Lowell, 14 Feb. [1906]
In Lowell family correspondence (Series I.C.)Shepard, Charles Upham (1804-1886)
To William Ladd Ropes, 26 July 1845
In Ropes family correspondence (Series I.A.)To William Ladd Ropes, 11 Dec. 1845
In Ropes family correspondence (Series I.A.)To William Ladd Ropes, 3 Sep. 1846
In Ropes family correspondence (Series I.A.)To William Ladd Ropes, 4 Feb. 1847
In Ropes family correspondence (Series I.A.)To William Ladd Ropes, 23 July 1847
In Ropes family correspondence (Series I.A.)To William Ladd Ropes, 30 Aug. 1847
In Ropes family correspondence (Series I.A.)To William Ladd Ropes, 31 Dec. 1847
In Ropes family correspondence (Series I.A.)To William Ladd Ropes, 6 July 1848
In Ropes family correspondence (Series I.A.)To William Ladd Ropes, 23 July 1848
In Ropes family correspondence (Series I.A.)To William Ladd Ropes, 6 Sep. 1848
In Ropes family correspondence (Series I.A.)To William Ladd Ropes, 18 Jan. 1852
In Ropes family correspondence (Series I.A.)Sibley, John Langdon (1804-1885)
To William Ladd Ropes, 13 May 1859
In Ropes family correspondence (Series I.A.)Preferred Citation
Ropes family papers, Massachusetts Historical Society.
Access Terms
This collection is indexed under the following headings in ABIGAIL, the online catalog of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related persons, organizations, or subjects should search the catalog using these headings.
Persons:
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Materials Removed from the Collection
Photographs
Photographs from this collection have been removed to the Ropes family photographs, ca. 1865-1921 (Photo. Coll. 204).
Printed Materials
The following items have been removed to the MHS printed collection:
| 1. Pamphlet: " New York County Court House Dedicated February 11th, 1927." |
| 2. Pamphlet: "Report of the Native Free Schools in Bombay and its Vicinity..." Bombay: Mission Press, 1824. |
| 3. Pamphlet: "General Examinations and Tutors in Harvard College..." Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University, 1927. |
| 4. Pamphlet: "The Influence of Second Isaiah on the Epistles," by James H. Ropes. Reprint from Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. XLVIII, Parts I and II, 1929. |
| 5. Pamphlet: "Three Papers on the Text of Acts," by James Hardy Ropes. Reprint from The Harvard Theological Review, Vol. XVI, No. 2, Apr. 1923. |
| 6. Pamphlet: "The Volgate, Peshitto, Sahidic, and Bohairic Versions of Acts and the Greek Manuscripts," by James Hardy Ropes and William H. P. Hatch. Reprint from The Harvard Theological Review, Vol. XXI, No. 1, Jan. 1928. |
| 7. Pamphlet: "The Religious Radicalism of Jesus," by James H. Ropes. Reprint for private circulation from Crozer Quarterly, Vol. XXIV, No. 2, Apr. 1947. |
| 8. Pamphlet: "The Ethiopic Text of Acts of the Apostles," by James A. Montgomery. Reprint from The Harvard Theological Review, Vol. XXVII, No. 3, July 1934. |
| 9. Pamphlet: "Le Radicalisme Religieux de Jesus et la 'Via Media' de L'Apotre Paul," by James H. Ropes. Reprint from La Revue d'Histoire et de Philosophie Religieuses. Strasbourg Imprimerie Alsacienne, 1922. |
| 10. Pamphlet: Extract from The Journal of Theological Studies, Vol. XXV, No. 97, Oct. 1923 (England). Containing comments by James H. Ropes on a previous article by F. H. Colson, "Notes on St. Luke's Preface" in Apr. 1923 issue. |
| 11. Journal: The Harvard Theological Review, Vol. XXVII, No. 3, July 1934. |
| 12. Journal: The Phillips Bulletin, Vol. XXVII, No. 4, Apr. 1933. |
| 13. Pamphlet: "Harvard," by James H. Ropes. Reprint from The Phillips Andover Mirror, Oct. 1892. |
| 14. Journal: The Expositor, 7th series, No. 30, June 1908. (Hodder and Stoughton Publishers, London.) |
| 15. Journal: The Harvard Advocate, Vol. XLVI, No. VIII, 23 Jan. 1889. |
| 16. Journal: The Harvard Advocate, Vol. XLVI, No. VII, 14 Jan. 1889. |
| 17. Pamphlet: "Edward Jackson Lowell," by Henry W. Haynes. 2 copies. Duplicates. |
| 18. Pamphlet: "Alfred, Lord Tennyson," by Edward J. Lowell. Reprint from the Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Vol. XXVIII. 3 copies. Duplicates. |
| 19. Pamphlet: "Memoir of Edward Jackson Lowell, A.M.," by A. Lawrence Lowell. Cambridge: John Wilson and Son, 1895. 3 copies. Duplicates. |
| 20. Pamphlet: "To the President, Actuary and Directors, of the Massachusetts Hospital Life Insurance Company..." by Francis Cabot Lowell. |
| 21. Theater broadside: "Theatre. H.P.C. Strawberry Night." [Hasty Pudding Club, 1868.] |
| 22. Theater broadside: "Private Theatricals at Horticultural Hall, by the Boston Amateur Dramatic Club..." |
| 23. Journal: Scribner's Magazine, Vol. I, No. 3, Mar. 1887. |
| 24. Article: "The Life of Benvenuto Cellini," by Edward J. Lowell. |
| 25. Pamphlet: "Harriet Lawrence (Peirson) Ropes." [a memorial poem]. 14 copies. |
| 26. Broadside: "Large Importation of Blue Nankeen China." C.A. & H.D. Wellington, Importers and Retailers, Boston. |
| 27. Pamphlet: "Statement of the Kennebeck Claims, by the committee appointed..." Boston: Adams and Nourse, 1786. Duplicate. |
| 28. Broadside: "The Last Will and Testament, of Thomas Morrison, Surgeon, Vale End, Chelsea..." [London, 1827]. |
| 29. Bookplate: William Ladd Ropes. 3 copies. |
| 30. Bookplate: John Lowell, Jr. |
| 31. Bookplate: John Lowell, Jr. [different from above, also with signature of Francis Cabot Lowell] |
| 32. Book, soft-bound: Year-book of Emmanuel Parish, Boston, for the year ending Advent, 1894. T. R. Marvin & Son, Boston, 1894. |
The following items have been transferred to the Harvard University archives:
| 1. Journal: The Harvard Graduates' Magazine, Vol. 35, No. 140, June 1927. 2 copies. |
| 2. Journal: The Harvard University Gazette, Vol. XXVII, No. 11, 5 Dec. 1931. |
| 3. Journal: The Collegian, 2 issues: Vol. I, No. 2, 23 Mar. 1866; and Vol. I, No. 3, 6 Apr. 1866. |
| 4. Journal: The Advocate, 4 issues: Vol. I, No. I, 11 May 1866; Vol. II, No. II, 12 Oct. 1866; Vol. II, No. III, 26 Oct. 1866; and Vol. II, No. VII, 21 Dec. 1866. |
| 5. Broadside: "Class Ode. 1867. By Edward Jackson Lowell." 11 copies. |
| 6. Journal: Harvard Alumni Bulletin, Vol. 45, No. 7, 16 Jan. 1943. |