1793-1949
Guide to the Collection
Restrictions on Access
There are restrictions on the use of this collection. Users must sign an agreement stating that they understand these restrictions before they will be given access to the collection.
Abstract
This collection consists of the papers of Edward Cummings, his wife Rebecca Clarke Cummings, and their families, including the childhood correspondence and artwork of their son Edward Estlin Cummings. It contains family correspondence, personal papers, writings, sermons, diaries, scrapbooks, artwork, and related printed material. Also included are the sermons of Rev. Pitt Clarke of Norton, Mass., the papers of Boston architect Richard Bond, and the papers of Cambridge engineer Philip W. Davis.
Biographical Sketches
(listed alphabetically)
See also the Clarke Family Tree below.
Richard Bond (1798-1861) was born in Boston to Consider and Jane Tobey Bond. A Boston architect, he designed numerous churches and public buildings throughout Massachusetts, notably First Congregational Church in Plymouth (1830), Lewis Wharf in Boston (1835), North Parish Church in North Andover (1836), Salem City Hall (1837), Salem Court House (1840), Bowdoin Square Baptist Church in Boston (1840), St. John's Episcopal Church in Charlestown (1841), and the Concord Town House (1851). Bond also designed Gore Hall, which was the Harvard College library from 1838-1913 and which can still be seen on the seal of the city of Cambridge. Richard married Mary Labaree of New Hampshire and had six children, none of whom survived him.
J. Estlin Carpenter (1844-1927) was the son of William B. and Louisa Powell Carpenter. His grandfather was William Benjamin Carpenter (1813-1885), an English physician, zoologist, and physiologist who apprenticed with eye surgeon John Bishop Estlin. After receiving his doctorate from Oxford University, Carpenter served as Unitarian minister and principal of Manchester College, Oxford from 1866 to 1875. He was a prolific author of theological works including The First Three Gospels, Their Origin and Relations (1890) and Comparative Religion (1910). He was the godfather of Edward Estlin Cummings, later known as the poet E. E. Cummings.
John Jones Clarke (1803-1887) was born in Norton, Mass. to Rev. Pitt Clarke and Rebecca Jones Clarke. He studied for college at Framingham Academy, at Norton Academy, at Phillips Academy in Andover, and privately with his father, entering Harvard College in 1819. A member of the class of "Rebellion," he did not officially receive his diploma from Harvard until 1841. Clarke was admitted to the bar in 1826, practicing law in Roxbury and Boston in partnership with his brother Manlius Stimson Clarke and, after his brother's death in 1850, with Lemuel Shaw. He served as a member of the Massachusetts General Court in 1836 and 1837 and a member of the Massachusetts Senate in 1853. In 1846, he was elected Roxbury's first mayor and served as president of the Winthrop Bank of Roxbury, a founder of the Roxbury Gas Company, and a director of the Metropolitan Railroad. Clarke married Rebecca Cordis Haswell in 1830 and was the father of Mary Lemist Clarke (1831-1904) and Haswell Cordis Clarke (1842-1901).
Mary Lemist Clarke (1831-1904) was the daughter of John Jones Clarke and Rebecca Cordis Haswell Clarke. She married John Adams Hanson in 1858, and the couple had three children: Rebecca Haswell Clarke (1859-1947), George Lemist Clarke (1861-1917), and Ellen Clarke Tuckerman (1869-1939). In 1873, the marriage was annulled by the Massachusetts Supreme Court for Hanson's misconduct, and Mary and her children changed their last names from Hanson to Mary's maiden name of Clarke. In her later years, Mary shared a home with her daughter Rebecca Cummings and her family in Cambridge.
Pitt Clarke (1763-1835) was born in Medfield, Mass. to Jacob and Meletiah Hammond Clarke. After studying with Hannah Adams in Medfield, he was admitted to Harvard University in 1786 at the age of 22, graduating in 1790 with distinguished honors. After graduation he taught at the Cambridge town school while studying theology. He was ordained by the First Congregational Parish of Norton, Mass. in 1793, where he remained until his death in 1835 at age 72, in the 42nd year of his ministry. According to a Nov. 1865 letter of his son John Jones Clarke, "it was his habit for many years . . . to fit young men for college, and to instruct and discipline those who were suspended from Harvard University, for misdemeanors, or for neglect of study." Clarke's first wife was Rebecca Jones (1787-1811), daughter of Col. John Jones of Hopkinton, with whom he fathered Abigail Morton Clarke (Stimson), William Pitt Clarke, and John Jones Clarke. After Rebecca's death, he married Maria Jones Stimson, and their children were George Leonard Clarke, Harriet Clarke, Manlius Stimson Clarke, and Edward Hammond Clarke.
Rebecca Cordis Haswell Clarke (1801-1883) was born in Charlestown, Mass. to Capt. Robert Haswell and Mary Cordis Haswell. After Rebecca's father left the U.S. Navy for the merchant marine service, he was lost at sea in 1802, and her mother married John Lemist of Roxbury in 1810. Rebecca married John Jones Clarke in May 1830, and their children were Mary Lemist Clarke (1831-1904) and Haswell Cordis Clarke (1842-1901).
Edward Cummings (1861-1926) was born in Colebrook, New Hampshire to Edward Norris Cummings and Lucretia Frances Merrill Cummings. Edward studied both religion and sociology at Harvard and, in 1887, received a Harvard fellowship to study labor relations Europe. In 1891, he became an instructor of sociology at Harvard, rising to assistant professor in 1893, and in Oct. 1900 he was installed as Edward Everett Hale's successor at South Congregational Church (Unitarian). Cummings sat on the Mayor's Advisory Committee on Penal Aspects of Drunkenness; served as a director of the Massachusetts Prison Association, the Watch and Ward Society, the Industrial Aid Society, Boston Associated Charities, the Massachusetts Prison Association, and the Hale House Social Settlement; as vice-president of the Benevolent Fraternity of Churches; as president of the Massachusetts Association for Promoting the Interests of the Adult Blind and the Massachusetts Civic League; and as chairman of the Theodore Parker Memorial and the Russian Famine Relief Committee of Boston. Cummings became a trustee of the World Peace Foundation in 1910, and in 1916 he became its general secretary. Cummings married Rebecca Haswell Clarke in June 1891, and their children were Edward Estlin Cummings (1894-1962) and Elizabeth Frances Cummings (Qualey) (1902-1980). The family lived in Cambridge, Mass. and at Joy Farm in Silver Lake, New Hampshire. Cummings died in a car accident in December 1926.
Edward Estlin Cummings (1894-1962) was the son of Edward Cummings and Rebecca Haswell Clarke Cummings. He was christened by his godfather, English Unitarian minister J. Estlin Carpenter. Cummings attended Cambridge Latin High School and received his B.A. from Harvard University in 1915 and his Master's Degree in 1916. Cummings served as a volunteer in the Ambulance Corps in France during World War I, where he was imprisoned in 1917 on suspicion of anti-war views and espionage. A poet, author, and artist who was better known as E. E. Cummings, he published The Enormous Room (1922) about his French imprisonment, as well as Tulips and Chimneys (1923) and numerous other books of his collected poetry. Among his many honors were an Academy of American Poets fellowship, two Guggenheim Fellowships, the Charles Eliot Norton Professorship at Harvard, and a Ford Foundation Grant. He married Elaine Orr in 1924, with whom he had a daughter, Nancy T. (Andrews), and divorced her the same year. He married second Anne Minnerly Barton in 1929 and third Marion Morehouse, who survived him.
Jane (Jennie) Cummings (1862-1951) was the daughter of Edward Norris Cummings and Lucretia Merrill Cummings. Although she had planned to attend college and study medicine, she helped with her father's business in Lynn, Mass. and took care of her mother, whose health was poor. After her father's death, she and her mother lived with her brother Edward Cummings and his family in Cambridge. She took an active part in her brother's ministry at South Congregational Church in Boston. Jennie never married.
Lucretia F. Merrill Cummings (1839-1923) was born in northern New Hampshire where her father was in the potato starch business. The eldest of five daughters, Lucretia attended boarding school and was proficient in piano, voice, and drawing. She married Edward Norris Cummings in 1859 at the age of 19, and the couple settled in Colebrook, New Hampshire with their four children: Edward (1861-1926), Jane (1862-1951), a daughter who died in early infancy, and John (1868-1931). The family later moved to Woburn, Mass. and then to Lynn, Mass. After the death of her husband, Lucretia and her daughter Jane lived with her son Edward and his family in Cambridge, Mass.
Rebecca (Retta) Clarke Cummings (1859-1947) was the daughter of Mary Lemist Clarke and John A. Hanson. When her parents' marriage was annulled in 1873, Rebecca, her siblings George and Ellen, and her mother changed their last name from Hanson to Clarke, her mother's maiden name. Rebecca took a trip to Europe with her mother and sister in 1889, where she met Harvard graduate student Edward Cummings. She and Cummings married in 1891, and the couple moved to Cambridge, Mass., where Edward taught sociology at Harvard and later served as minister at the South Congregational Church in Boston. The family summered at Joy Farm at Silver Lake, New Hampshire. She was the mother of two children: Edward Estlin Cummings (1894-1962), later known as the poet E. E. Cummings, and Elizabeth Frances Cummings (Qualey) (1901-1980).
Philip W. Davis (1871-1939) was born in Boston to William Whitney Davis and Julia Wilder Robinson Davis. For most of his childhood, Philip lived in Rome with his family, returning to the United States to attend Brown and Nichols School in Cambridge, Mass. He graduated from Harvard University with a B.A. in 1893 and a B.S. in 1895. He was a member of the Harvard University Cycling Association, one of the first college cycling teams, as well as a founding member of the Harvard Engineering Society. Davis worked as an electrical engineer for Electric Storage and Battery Co., Eastern Metal and Refining Co., and Doble Engineering Co., all of Boston. He was the inventor of the Davis Continuous Lead Refining Process, which allowed plants to use smaller furnaces to smelt iron. Throughout his adult life, Davis, unmarried, lived with the Edward Cummings family on Irving St. in Cambridge, Mass.
Collection Description
The Cummings and Clarke family papers consist of 63 boxes, 4 volumes, and an oversize box. The collection includes the correspondence, personal papers, writings, diaries, scrapbooks, and related printed material of Rev. Edward Cummings, his wife Rebecca Haswell Clarke Cummings, and their families, including the early letters, writings, and artwork of their son Edward Estlin Cummings, later known as the poet E. E. Cummings.
Family correspondence consists primarily of the correspondence of Edward Cummings and his wife Rebecca Clarke Cummings with each other and their families. Included are letters between Edward and his mother Lucretia Cummings when he studied in Europe; between Rebecca and her mother Mary L. Clarke when she was at school and abroad; courtship letters between Edward and Rebecca; and correspondence with their children, Edward Estlin Cummings and Elizabeth Frances Cummings. Also included is correspondence with siblings, cousins, and other relatives. Of particular interest is the childhood correspondence of E. E. Cummings, including previously unknown letters, sketches, and poems that he created for his parents.
Earlier family correspondence is primarily that of Rebecca Cordis Haswell Clarke with her husband John Jones Clarke; her daughter Mary Lemist Clarke; her son Haswell Cordis Clarke; and other relatives. Clarke family papers include the correspondence and personal papers of John J. Clarke, who practiced law in Roxbury, served as a member of the Massachusetts legislature, and became Roxbury's first mayor. Rev. Pitt Clarke, the pastor of the First Congregational Parish of Norton, Mass., was the great-grandfather of Rebecca Clarke Cumming; his sermons, correspondence, and other papers are also in this series.
The papers of Edward Cummings form the bulk of this collection. As professor of sociology at Harvard University, Unitarian minister at South Congregational Church in Boston, member of the Mayor's Advisory Committee on Penal Aspects of Drunkenness, director of the Mass. Prison Association and the Watch and Ward Society, president of the Mass. Association for Promoting the Interests of the Adult Blind, chairman of the Theodore Parker Memorial, chairman of the Russian Famine Relief Committee of Boston, and general secretary of the World Peace Foundation, his correspondence, memos, meeting notes, writings, and printed material richly reflect these activities. Notable correspondents include Woodrow Wilson (1887), Jane Addams (1893), W. E. B. Dubois (1900), and Edward Everett Hale (1900-1909). His papers also include a long stretch of correspondence with J. Estlin Carpenter, British author and theologian, who was E. E. Cummings's godfather and namesake. A large part of the collection consists of Edward's sermons, including drafts, revisions, and published copies.
Other Cummings family papers consist of the papers of Edward Cummings's wife Rebecca Haswell Clarke Cummings, including personal correspondence, legal and financial papers, account books, and notebooks, as well as papers of Edward's siblings, John Cummings and Jane Cummings, and those of his children Edward Estlin Cummings and Elizabeth Cummings (Qualey). E. E. Cummings's papers consist almost entirely of childhood drawings, paintings, writings, and scrapbooks, mostly completed between the ages of six and twelve.
The collection also contains the personal and professional papers of Boston architect Richard Bond, including correspondence, accounts and receipts, estate settlement records, and architectural journals that were retained by Bond's lawyer, John J. Clarke. The papers of Philips W. Davis, a Harvard University cyclist and professional engineer who lived with the Cummings family in Cambridge, include personal and professional papers, printed materials, a cycling scrapbook, a gardening journal, and a sketchbook.
Restrictions on Access
There are restrictions on the use of this collection. Users must sign an agreement stating that they understand these restrictions before they will be given access to the collection.
Restrictions on Use
The Massachusetts Historical Society does not claim ownership of the literary rights (copyright) to writings, drawings, or other materials created by Edward Estlin Cummings (E. E. Cummings) in the Cummings-Clarke family papers. The Massachusetts Historical Society cannot give permission to publish or quote from documents to which it does not hold copyright. Use of these materials does not imply permission to publish. It is the sole responsibility of the researcher to obtain formal permission from the owners of the literary rights (copyright) to publish or quote from all materials created by E. E. Cummings. Permission requests should be directed to the Permissions Department at W. W. Norton and Company, publishers, in New York at permissions@wwnorton.com.
All reproductions, including photocopies and digital photographs, are for personal use only. Personal use copies may not be donated to or deposited in other libraries or archives, or made available to other researchers, without the written permission of the Massachusetts Historical Society.
Acquisition Information
Gift of the estate of E. E. Cummings, Oct. 1969, and of Elizabeth Cummings Qualey, 1969-1973.
Detailed Description of the Collection
Expand allI. Family correspondence, 1826-1933
Arranged chronologically.
Correspondence from 1826 to 1887 is that of the Clarke family, including letters between John J. Clarke and Rebecca Cordis Haswell (Clarke), John's letters to his sister Abigail Stimson, and Rebecca's letters to her mother-in-law Mary J. Clarke (Mrs. Pitt Clarke) and to her daughter Mary Lemist Clarke. Correspondence between Mary Clarke's daughter Rebecca (Retta) Clarke and her cousin Maria (May) Stimson Dimon begins in 1870 when the girls are children and continues until May's death at age 19 in 1881. Also here is a small amount of correspondence from Mary Clarke's brother Haswell Clarke, her son George Clarke, and other members of the Clarke and Haswell families. 1883 correspondence relates primarily to the death of Rebecca Cordis Clarke.
Cummings family correspondence begins in 1887 with letters from Edward Cummings to his mother Lucretia while he is in London, and it continues as he returns to Europe in 1888 to complete his Harvard sociology fellowship. Edward's letters chronicle his meetings and relationship with Rebecca Clarke in 1889 and mesh with Rebecca's letters to her mother chronicling the same events. Correspondence between the two families converge in 1889 with the couple's engagement and continue as Rebecca returns to Massachusetts in 1890. Edward's 218 daily letters to Rebecca from Germany and London in 1890 and 1891, while largely courtship letters, also discuss his work activities and travel. Also in this series are many letters written as journal entries from Edward to Rebecca as he traveled to England in 1897. Letters between Edward and his five-year-old son Edward Estlin begin in 1899 and include Edward Estlin's drawings and childhood verse. In 1911, correspondence between Jane (Jennie) Cummings to her mother Lucretia and other family members record Jane's trip to Europe, and they have been annotated by Edward Cummings's daughter Elizabeth Cummings Qualey. Edward's August-September 1921 correspondence details his experiences in Europe as a representative of the World Peace Foundation. Although there is very little family correspondence after 1921, a set of 1930 letters between siblings John and Jane Cummings and their sister-in-law Rebecca Clarke Cummings discuss daily family life.
1826-1880
1881-June 1890
July 1890-Mar. 1891
Apr. 1891-Sep. 1897
1898-Aug. 1921
Sep. 1921-1933
II. Clarke family papers, 1793-1947
Clarke family papers consist of the sermons and writings of Rev. Pitt Clarke; the correspondence and papers of his son, lawyer John Jones Clarke; the correspondence, notebook, and recipe book of John Jones Clarke's wife Rebecca Cordis Haswell Clarke; the correspondence, diary, and scrapbook of John and Rebecca's daughter Mary Lemist Clarke; household receipts of cousin Eliot C. Clarke; Clarke family genealogical papers; and miscellaneous family documents. =
See also Family correspondence.
A. Pitt Clarke papers, 1793-1834
The papers of Rev. Pitt Clarke (1763-1835) of Norton include his sermons, notes on lectures about French literature, a series of 1824 manuscript newsletters entitled "The Social Circle," and correspondence related to Clarke's contributions to the newsletter.
i. Sermons, 1793-1834
Arranged chronologically.
This subseries consists of 38 manuscript sermons that Clarke wrote and delivered between 1793 and 1834. Clarke added notations to his sermons to indicate the date and place that he preached them, and the sermons have been arranged chronologically by their earliest date, although he preached many of them five or six times. He used an "N." to indicate his home parish of First Congregational Parish of Norton, but also preached in surrounding communities, including Mendon, Taunton, East Bridgewater, Mansfield, and Dighton. The series contains many gaps, and the last sermon is numbered #953, suggesting that this is a small selection of his complete body of work.
ii. Lecture notes, ca. 1820
Lecture notes, written in a different hand than Clarke's sermons, include 48 manuscript leaves entitled "Lectures on the French language," "On French literature, Second Epoch, 1515-1624," "Epoch Third," and "Fourth Epoch, 1778 to present year."
iii. "The Social Circle," 1824
Clarke and his wife Mary Jones Clarke were contributors to the newsletter "The Social Circle," written in Norton in 1824. Included here are nine issues of the newsletter, from February to May 1824, written in an unidentified hand. The newsletter contains essays, reflections, poetry, lists of marriages, and original communications. It was "issued weekly for the editors, at this office in Poplar Street [Norton]." Also included are letters that relate to his contributions.
B. John Jones Clarke papers, 1846-1886
Arranged chronologically.
The papers of lawyer John Jones Clarke (1803-1887) include an 1846 document notifying Clarke that he has been elected the first mayor of the new city of Roxbury, a deed for Clarke's house in West Roxbury to daughter Mary Clarke (Hanson), legal correspondence, a copied excerpt of a letter from Gen. Benjamin Butler about the military service of his son Haswell Clarke, a May 1860 letter from Oliver Wendell Holmes about Harvard's alumni committee, and an 1865 autobiographical and genealogical sketch. Also here is correspondence with Roxbury minister George Putnam and sympathy letters upon the death of his wife in Dec. 1882.
For correspondence between John Jones Clarke, his wife, Rebecca Haswell Clarke, and his sister, Abigail Stimson, see Family correspondence. See also the Richard Bond papers for estate papers on which Clarke worked.
C. Rebecca Cordis Haswell Clarke papers, 1814-1881
Papers of Rebecca Cordis Haswell Clarke (1801-1883) include correspondence, an academic certificate, penmanship exercises, a memo book, and a book of recipes.
See also Rebecca Haswell Clarke artwork.
i. Correspondence, 1830-1878
Arranged chronologically.
Correspondence includes silver wedding anniversary congratulations (1855) and genealogical correspondence.
For correspondence between Rebecca Clarke and her husband, John Jones Clarke; her mother-in-law, Mary J. Clarke; and her daughter, Mary Lemist Clarke, see Family correspondence
ii. Certificate, Mrs. Rowson's Academy, 1814
This manuscript certificate was issued for Rebecca Cordis Haswell's completion of a course of "Practical Arithmetic" at Mrs. Rowson's Academy in Boston.
iii. Volumes, ca. 1815-1881
Volumes include a book of penmanship exercises, which may have been completed at Mrs. Rowson's Academy in Boston, and a memo or "Medley" book containing lists of births, deaths, marriages, addresses, children's illnesses and vaccinations, menus for Rebecca's silver wedding anniversary supper (1855) and other parties, medical prescriptions and "recipes" for medications, and lists of nurses. Her recipe book includes a few clippings, but primarily contains handwritten recipes.
Penmanship exercise book, ca. 1815
"Medley" book, 1830-1881
Recipe book, 1848-1875
D. Mary Lemist Clarke papers, 1843-ca. 1900
The papers of Mary Lemist Clarke (1831-1904) consist of correspondence related to the death of her parents, a school composition book, a diary, and a scrapbook.
i. Correspondence, 1873-1892
Arranged chronologically.
This subseries consists of personal correspondence, mostly from the 1880s. It includes correspondence and sympathy notes related to the death of her mother in Dec. 1883 and her father in Nov. 1887.
For correspondence between Mary Clarke and her mother, Rebecca Haswell Clarke; her daughter, Rebecca Clarke Cummings; and other family members, see Family correspondence.
ii. Volumes, 1843-ca. 1900
Arranged chronologically.
Mary's composition book was written at Miss Williams's School in 1843 and includes compositions, letters, and essays. Her diary, written in Roxbury between 1864 and 1871, contains religious musings, reflections on family life, a record of births and deaths of family and friends, children's illnesses, and hints of her marital difficulties (she divorced in 1873). Her scrapbook, compiled after 1873, contains handwritten poems and essays, a list of flowers, newspaper clippings, and an 1865 "Chronology of the Rebellion." The scrapbook also contains a silhouette of L. Eliza Randolph, wife of John Blake Cordis.
Composition notebook, 1843-1844
Diary, 1864-1871
Scrapbook, 1873-ca. 1900
E. Eliot C. Clarke receipts, 1890-1898
Arranged chronologically.
This series consists entirely of the household receipts of Eliot C. Clarke, a great-grandson of Rev. Pitt Clarke. Largely dating from 1890, they include receipts for clothing, household goods, and home repair. Clarke and his wife lived at 15 Brimmer St. in Boston.
F. Clarke family genealogical papers, 1802-1947
Arranged chronologically and by format.
Genealogical papers consist of research compiled by Rebecca Cordis Clarke in 1881 and later by her granddaughter Rebecca Haswell Clarke (Cummings). They include a 1910 copy of an 1802 letter from Anthony Haswell, many undated histories and family trees, and numerous records related to the Haswell and Cordis families. A genealogical record book kept by Rebecca Cordis Clarke from about 1848 to 1883 contains birth, death, and marriage dates for the descendants of Pitt Clarke and the Haswell and Cordis families, and it includes copies of genealogical documents, letters, and other records. Several entries were added after Rebecca's death in 1883. A second genealogical record book, compiled from about 1848 to 1947, is inscribed "R. C. Clarke and Rebecca Haswell Clarke" and was most likely created by Rebecca for her granddaughter and namesake. Although it contains much of the same early family information as the first book, its entries are often more detailed.
Loose papers, 1802-1881
Genealogical record book, ca. 1848-1887
Genealogical record book, ca. 1848-1947
G. Miscellaneous family papers, 1836-1913
Arranged chronologically.
This series consists of the correspondence of other family members, including Col. Haswell Cordis Clarke; poems; prayers; sermon excerpts; copies of the will of Harriett Clarke (the widow of Haswell Clarke); and two letters from Roxbury minister George Putnam.
III. Cummings family papers, 1875-1949
This series primarily consists of the papers of Edward Cummings, but also include those of his wife Rebecca Haswell Clarke Cummings, his brother John Cummings, his sister Jane Cummings, and his children Edward Estlin Cummings and Elizabeth F. Cummings (Qualey).
A. Edward Cummings papers, ca. 1875-1926
The papers of Edward Cummings (1861-1926) contain his personal and professional correspondence, including correspondence with his longtime friend J. Estlin Carpenter and with his mentor Edward Everett Hale. This series also contains Edward's personal and professional papers, including records from the Mayor's Advisory Committee on Penal Aspects of Drunkenness, the Theodore Parker Memorial, and the Russian Famine Relief Committee of Boston. Edward's writings include essays, reports, and lecture notes. The largest portion of his papers consist of dated and undated sermons, addresses, and notes that span the period of his ministry at South Congregational Church in Boston (1900-1926). Also included are diaries, datebooks, notebooks, and scrapbooks that particularly emphasize his European study and travel from 1888 to 1891.
See also Printed material, especially Harvard-related material, newspaper clippings about Edward Cummings, and the printed works of Edward Cummings.
i. Correspondence, 1880-1926
For Edward Cummings's correspondence with his mother, Lucretia Cummings, and with his wife, Rebecca Clarke Cummings, see Family correspondence.
a. Personal and professional correspondence, 1880-1926
Arranged chronologically.
This subseries contains Edward Cummings's social and professional correspondence during the time he was a Harvard graduate student, an instructor and professor at Harvard, and a Unitarian minister at Boston's South Congregational Church. A large amount of correspondence dates from 1889 to 1891 when Edward was in Europe completing his sociology fellowship, including loose letters and those pasted into his correspondence scrapbooks. From 1891 to 1900, much correspondence relates to Edward's teaching positions at Harvard, where he also served as student advisor, including correspondence with President Eliot, parents, and other professors about student admission, performance, and classwork. 1893 correspondence details Edward's trip to Chicago as a representative for the Harvard University Department of Liberal Arts Pavilion at the Chicago World's Fair, including a July 1893 letter from Jane Addams of Hull House.
Beginning in 1899, Edward's correspondence reflects his growing interest in Boston social causes, including his work with the Mayor's Advisory Committee on the Penal Aspects of Drunkenness and the Associated Charities of Boston. A February 1900 letter from W. E. B. DuBois commends Edward on his "detailed social study of the Negro in Georgia." After 1900, letters include those from his parishioners at South Congregational Church, and other correspondence relates to his work as president of the Mass. Association for Promoting the Interests of the Adult Blind, chairman of the Theodore Parker Memorial, and other benevolent causes. Several 1904 letters refer to Edward's February speech defending African Americans against the remarks of Georgia congressman T. W. Hardwick.
Much of Edward's 1921 correspondence relates to his role as secretary of the World Peace Foundation and his travels to Europe as its representative. 1925 correspondence discusses the merger of First Parish Church and South Congregational Church. In addition, correspondence with architects, builders, and caretakers from the early 1890s to 1925 chronicle Edward's involvement with building and managing his home in Cambridge and his property at Joy Farm in Silver Lake, New Hampshire.
See also Edward's England scrapbook and diary (1888) and his Russian Famine Relief papers (1907), both of which contain correspondence.
1880-Sep. 1889
Correspondence scrapbook, July-Dec. 1889
1890-1893
1894-1895
Correspondence scrapbook, Jan. 1895-Oct. 1898
1896-1899
1900-1905
1906-1915
1916-1926
Undated
b. Correspondence with J. Estlin Carpenter, 1889-1925
Arranged chronologically.
This subseries contains correspondence between Edward Cummings and J. Estlin Carpenter, a British Unitarian minister, prolific author of theological works, and the godfather of Cummings's son Edward Estlin. Ranging from shortly after their first meeting in London in 1888 to the year before Cummings's death, Carpenter's letters discuss war, the world peace movement, and politics, as well as personal and family matters. He also writes of reading E. E. Cummings's book The Enormous Room and his thoughts about his godson's future.
1889-1897
1898-1925
J. Estlin Carpenter writings, Aug. 1894
c. Correspondence with Edward E. Hale, 1901-1909
Arranged chronologically.
Edward Everett Hale (1822-1909) was the pastor of the South Congregational Church in Boston from 1856 to 1900. He chose Edward Cummings to succeed him, and served as pastor emeritus with Cummings until 1903. Their correspondence discusses church business, sermon topics, charitable events, parishioners, politics, and family matters. Hale also wrote to Cummings about his experiences in Washington, D.C. when he became chaplain of the U.S. Senate in 1903.
ii. Papers, 1877-1926
a. Personal and professional papers, 1877-1926
Arranged chronologically.
Edward Cummings's personal and professional papers contain numerous records related to Harvard University, reflecting his time as both a student and a teacher at the school. They include grades and class rankings; room assignments; applications for honors classes, scholarships, fellowships, and awards; his Bachelor's diploma (1883); Master's diploma (1885); applications for his Ph.D.; his appointment as assistant instructor in English; and notes on classes and students for whom he served as advisor.
Financial papers include receipts for household expenses, taxes, and rent; investment records; insurance policies; and building contracts and construction accounts for the Cummings's house in Cambridge. Numerous receipts and notes date from his studies in Europe from 1889 to 1891. Later records include membership certificates, several records of the Associated Charities of Boston, papers related to his service as pastor of South Congregational Church, Edward's letter of appointment as a representative of the World Peace Foundation in 1921, his 1921 passport, and various itineraries and travel arrangements.
1877-1884
1885-1925
Certificate of life membership, American Unitarian Society, 1905
b. Mayor's Advisory Committee on Penal Aspects of Drunkenness records, 1898-1899
Arranged chronologically and by record type.
Records include an 1898 report to Boston mayor Josiah Quincy that led to the establishment of the committee, as well as statistics and correspondence related to cases of drunkenness in Boston and its legal penalties. Also here are the committee's meeting minutes from 13 January to 5 May 1899, Edward's research notes, and a manuscript copy of his September 1899 report on the committee's findings and recommendations.
c. Minister's Handbook with annotations, ca. 1900-1926
The Minister's Handbook is a printed volume of services including baptism, marriage, and burial, containing Edward's handwritten notes and additions.
d. Theodore Parker Memorial records, ca. 1902-1905
Edward Cummings was chairman of the managing committee of the Theodore Parker Memorial, a Unitarian mission that was part of the Benevolent Fraternity of Churches in Boston. Records include a "Proposal for a Union of the Parker Memorial and the Second Society of Brookline" (ca. 1902) and receipts for the mission's expenses (1904-1905).
e. Russian famine records, 1907
In 1907, Edward Cummings served as chairman of the Russian Famine Relief Committee in Boston. Records include correspondence with the American Red Cross, the Russian Famine Relief Committee in New York, Massachusetts governor Curtis Guild, Jr., and individual donors to the charitable fund. Printed material includes an appeal from Gov. Guild to the people of Massachusetts, newspaper articles about the widespread famine in China and Russia, and articles about the fundraising appeal. Material in this subseries was filed together by Cummings and has been kept in its original order.
iii. Writings, ca. 1878-ca. 1913
This subseries includes Edward Cummings's Harvard essays, notes, and drafts of his report on labor organization and trade unions completed during his fellowship in Europe from 1889 to 1891. Also included are lecture notes on education, economics, the Industrial Revolution, and wages, presumably written while teaching at Harvard; a letter composed for the Peace Society requesting all Unitarian ministers to preach about peace for one particular Sunday; and notes for book drafts, outlines, and ideas.
Essays, ca. 1878-1890
Report for Robert Treat Paine fellowship, 1889-1890
Trade unionism reports, ca. 1890-1891
Lecture notes, ca. 1895
Letter to clergy written for the Massachusetts Peace Society, ca. 1913
Notes and memos, undated
Book drafts and outlines, undated
iv. Sermons and addresses, 1900-1926
Edward Cummings's sermons and addresses comprise the bulk of his papers, dating from his first sermon in June 1900 until 1926, the year of his death. They have been arranged in three groups: Dated; Undated; and Sermon notes. Among Edward's most prolific topics were: Abraham Lincoln, world peace, universal religion, Christmas, Easter, and the New Year. He often preached about holidays, the time of year, an anniversary of an event, politics, and current events. In the 1920s, he reused many of his earlier sermons, and noted this on the folders in which he kept them. This subseries also includes several lectures that Edward delivered while the minister of South Congregational. He spoke, for example, at the Conference of Unitarian Churches of North America in Washington, D.C. on 24 Oct. 1911, giving a very political address about international peace.
See also Edward Cummings's printed works and newspaper clippings, which excerpt some of his sermons.
a. Dated sermons, 1900-1926
Arranged chronologically.
Most dated sermons and addresses were housed in folders that Cummings created for them, including a title, a sermon number, volume number, and series number (his method of organization is unclear); where and when the sermon was delivered; and sometimes additional comments such as how the sermon was received. All are sermons given at South Congregational Church, unless otherwise noted. Dated sermons are filed chronologically by the first date they were delivered, although Cummings delivered many of them multiple times, especially in the 1920s. Sermons are handwritten or typed, and a few include printed copies or newspaper clippings excerpting the sermon. Some sermon folders also include background material such as newsclippings and articles, notes, drafts, and the South Congregational Church Order of Service listing the sermon.
June 1900-Aug. 1901
Oct. 1901-Oct. 1902
Nov. 1902-Feb. 1904
Mar. 1904-Nov. 1905
Dec. 1905-Dec. 1906
Jan. 1907-Mar. 1908
Apr. 1908-Apr. 1909
May 1909-June 1910
Oct. 1910-May 1911
June 1911-May 1912
June 1912-Oct. 1913
Nov. 1913-Apr. 1914
May 1914-Feb. 1915
Mar. 1915-June 1919
Feb. 1920-Apr. 1926
b. Undated sermons
Arranged alphabetically by title.
Cummings did not create folders for these sermons, most of which consist of manuscript notes and incomplete essays. It is not clear whether Cummings ever delivered these sermons.
A-D
E-G
H-O
P-S
T-W
c. Undated sermon notes
These undated notes and memos are not attached to any particular sermon and seem to be a file of Cummings's undeveloped ideas.
Sermon notes, undated
Sermon notes, undated
Sermon notes, undated
Sermon notes, undated
v. Volumes, ca. 1875-1920
This subseries consists of Edward Cummings's diaries, datebooks, notebooks, and scrapbooks.
a. Diaries, 1879-1889
Edward Cummings's diaries include an 1879 page-a-day diary written when he was 18. His 1883-1884 diary was written at the Harvard Divinity School and contains his thoughts, impressions, and activities, including a Feb. 1883 meeting with Edward Everett Hale. Three 1888-1889 diaries chronicle his trip to England, describing his daily activities, social events, sightseeing, and impressions of London. They also include lengthy entries on his observations about temperance, sex work, the economics of socialism, coal workers' conditions, and other sociological issues.
For descriptions of his European experiences from July 1889 to June 1891, see Edward's lengthy letters to his mother Lucretia and his future wife Rebecca Clark in the Family correspondence series. Also in Family correspondence are the journal-like letters Edward wrote to Rebecca from England in 1897. See also Cummings's "England scrapbook and diary."
Jan.-Mar 1879
Feb. 1883-Feb. 1884
11-17 Aug. 1888
22 Aug.-25 Sep. 1888
Jan.-June 1889
b. Datebooks, 1901-1919
Edward's series of yearly datebooks contain his calendar, addresses, and memos, as well as ephemera such as calling cards, business cards, clippings, and notes.
1901-1913
1915-1919
c. Notebooks, ca. 1875-1920
Volumes include a composition notebook containing essays and lecture notes from Woburn Center High School; an 1880-1881 notebook containing notes from Prof. Shaler's geology class at Harvard College; a textbook containing Edward's ca. 1886 history notes; an 1886-1887 notebook of forensic topics; an 1888-1891 address book; an 1896 notebook listing "home sociology reading," compiled by Emma C. Daggett; a 1920 notebook containing notes and memos on sermons, appointments, and conversations; and an undated notebook containing only a few pages of notes.
Composition notebook, ca. 1875
Notes from Prof. Shaler's class, 1880-1881
Textbook with notes, ca. 1886
Notebook of forensic topics, 1886-1887
Address book, 1888-1891
Home sociology reading, 1896
Notebook, 1920
Notebook, undated
Notebook, undated
d. Scrapbooks, 1888-1902
Edward Cummings's 1888 "England diary and scrapbook" contains social correspondence, correspondence related to his fellowship research, tickets, and programs pasted on the appropriate week of a calendar book. It includes a few notations of daily events from June through September, with detailed daily notes beginning in October. His 1890 Europe scrapbook contains ephemera from his travels, including tickets and receipts, programs, drawings, and a few letters from Germany, Italy, and Switzerland. Also compiled in 1890, another scrapbook contains several of Edward's chalk drawings and the dried flowers collected with his future wife Rebecca Clarke when they were together in Italy. Edward noted the place and date each flower was collected. The Joy Farm scrapbook contains receipts, brochures, sketches, and correspondence related to the purchase and renovation of his property in Silver Lake, N.H. from 1898 to 1902.
See also Cummings's newspaper clipping scrapbooks in the Printed Material series.
England scrapbook and diary, 1888
Europe scrapbook, 1890
Dried flowers and sketches, 1890
Joy Farm scrapbook, 1898-1902
B. Rebecca Clarke Cummings papers, 1875-1944
This series contains the personal correspondence, legal and financial papers, passports, account books, and notebooks of Rebecca Clarke Cummings (1859-1947).
For Rebecca's correspondence with her mother Mary Lemist Clarke, her husband Edward Cummings, and other family members, see Family correspondence.
i. Personal papers, 1875-1942
Arranged chronologically.
Rebecca's personal papers contain correspondence with friends and acquaintances, including many 1890 letters responding to her engagement to Edward Cummings; several letters from J. Estlin Carpenter and his wife Alice, including a moving letter written after Edward's death; extended correspondence with the caretakers of her homes in New Hampshire (Joy Farm) and Cambridge; several letters from Rev. Edward Everett Hale; sympathy letters on the death of her mother in 1904; and a few letters from the teachers of her son Edward Estlin Cummings. Financial correspondence and statements include letters related to the settling of the estate of Harriet A. Clarke, the widow of her uncle Haswell Cordis Clarke, and papers from the estate of her brother George Lemist Clarke. Other personal papers include journal excerpts written in the style of letters from July 1890 when she was in Paris and Brussels, passports from 1922 and 1928, and a 1926 bill for the funeral of Edward Cummings.
ii. Volumes, 1895-1944
Volumes include an engagement book containing an alphabetical list of persons and dates for the years 1895 to 1900, most likely a list of persons she has seen or called upon. Account books dating from June 1927 until 1944 include income and expenses from 104 Irving St. in Cambridge and later from the Hotel Holley in New York City. The 1927-1938 account book is most likely a record of Joy Farm, the Cummings's New Hampshire property, listing rents and expenses. The 1928 notebook inscribed "104 Irving St. Cambridge. List of things to be kept" contains an itemized list of books, paintings, furniture and other items in a room-by-room list of the Cummings's house in Cambridge.
Engagement book, 1895-1900
Account book, 1927-1933
Account book, 1927-1938
Notebook, "List of Things to be Kept," 1928
Account book, 1935-1944
C. John Cummings papers, 1892-1900
Arranged chronologically.
The papers of John Cummings, Edward Cummings's brother, include correspondence related to his fellowship at the University of Chicago in 1893, as well as later correspondence related to his employment search.
D. Jane Cummings papers, 1902-1949
i. Personal papers, 1905-1941
Arranged chronologically.
The papers of Jane Cummings, Edward Cummings's sister, contain social correspondence, records from the estate settlement of Jane's aunt Clara, and a notice for the 50th reunion of Woburn High School.
ii. Volumes, 1902-1949
Arranged chronologically.
Volumes include a 1941-1947 account book recording daily receipts and expenditures, as well as a series of line-a-day diaries dating from 1902 to 1949. In her diaries, Jane comments on the weather, her health, social events, and daily activities. Because Jane lived with Edward and Rebecca Cummings in Cambridge for much of this time, her diaries chronicle the lives of their family, as well. Her 1947 diary mentions the final illness and death of Rebecca Cummings in January 1947. Jane's travel diary, dating from June to September 1911, records her voyage and trip abroad to Spain, Algiers, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, France, and England, describing her daily activities, sightseeing, and the weather.
Diary, 1902-1906
Diary, June-Sep. 1911
Diary, 1912-1916
Account book, 1941-1947
Diary, 1942-1946
Papers removed from diary, 1942-1946
Diary, 1947-1949
Papers removed from diary, 1947-1949
E. Edward Estlin Cummings papers, ca. 1900-1914
The papers of E. E. Cummings date entirely from his childhood and youth. They include two scrapbooks containing magazine and newspaper illustrations of people, animals, historical and foreign scenes, fantasy characters, pirates, cowboys, cartoons, images of famous people, buffalo, and greeting cards. Three penmanship exercise books date from about 1902. His writings include 1902 stories about life on Joy Farm, his family's retreat in New Hampshire; a 1907 report on "Our Visit to the Public Library"; 1909 short fiction; an illustrated school report on various jungle cats; and an August 1914 poem "From a Newspaper." Also in this series is a 1907 letter from James S. Love, Cummings's childhood friend.
For letters from E. E. Cummings to his parents and other relatives, see Family Correspondence. See also newspaper clippings about E. E. Cummings and E. E. Cummings's childhood artwork.
Scrapbook, Part I, ca. 1900
Scrapbook, Part II, ca. 1900
Penmanship exercise books, ca. 1902
Writings, 1902-1914
Letter from James S. Love, 1907
F. Elizabeth F. Cummings (Qualey) papers, 1907-1922
The papers of Elizabeth Cummings, daughter of Edward Cummings, include a dictated story, report cards from Cambridge School for Girls and Radcliffe College, and several undated letters.
G. Miscellaneous family papers, 1895-1941
This series contains undated genealogical notes about early members of the Cummings family, including Archelaus Cummings and Lucy Wheeler Cummings; a report on "The Cummings family and its name"; and lists of birth and death dates. A birthday book, kept from 1905 to 1947, is recorded in several hands, among them Jane Cummings and Rebecca Cummings. An undated music notebook contains information on methods of composing music and excerpts from sources about music appreciation.
The manuscript volume, "Record of Cheerful Letter Work since 1895," was compiled by Mrs. C. A. Adams of Cambridge and records her work distributing books through the charitable organization Cheerful Letter. It is unclear how the volume relates to the Cummings family, but it may have come into the possession of Edward Cummings through his work with Associated Charities of Boston.
Mrs. C. A. Adams, "Record of Cheerful Letter Work since 1895," 1895-1902
Birthday book, 1905-1941
Cummings family genealogy, undated
Music notebook, undated
Loose papers, undated
IV. Richard Bond papers, 1824-1886
Included in this series are the personal and professional papers, accounts and receipts, estate settlement records, and architectural journals of Boston architect Richard Bond (1798-1861). Bond's papers are part of this collection because John J. Clarke served as his lawyer, and Clarke evidently retained them after Bond's death.
A. Personal papers, 1824-1860
Arranged chronologically.
Bond's personal papers include deeds for lots on Merrimack St. in Boston (1824-1825) and for land in Roxbury (1824) where he erected a house, bonds to the city of Boston for land, and insurance policies. The papers include only three letters from Bond's family, including an 1859 letter from his wife, and two 1860 letters from his sister and nephew in Little Hocking, Ohio. There is much correspondence with the Theological Seminary in East Windsor, Conn. about charitable contributions and funding a scholarship for indigent theological students.
B. Professional papers, 1830-1862
Arranged chronologically.
Bond's professional papers consist of contracts with building committees, such as First Congregational Society of Plymouth (which describe their 1830 church design in great detail) and South Congregational Church in Pittsfield; copies of articles of agreement with carpenters and owners of property for whom he designed houses; business correspondence about designing houses and payment for work completed; and papers related to house plans in Boston, Worcester, and Brooklyn, New York from 1844 to 1849. Also included are papers related to his 1853 patent application for improvements in the construction of wooden roofing; correspondence with the committee to enlarge the Massachusetts statehouse (ca. 1853); building specifications for the houses of George Leland in Waltham, Thomas Carey in Marlboro, and Amos A. Lawrence in Brookline; and an 1857 notebook chronicling the trial between Bond and Mr. Sturtevent over payment for services.
C. Accounts and receipts, 1831-1861
Arranged chronologically.
This subseries contains both personal and professional receipts, including receipts for daily expenses, taxes, pew payments to the Eliot Congregational Society in Roxbury, ice, gas lights, groceries, and an investment in building houses on Worcester Square. 1831 receipts are from the expenses of building the chapel for the First Congregational Society of Plymouth.
1831-1848
1849-1861
D. Estate settlement papers, 1861-1886
Arranged chronologically.
John J. Clarke served as executor of Bond's estate. These papers, some of which contain Clarke's notations, include library auction lists; inventories of possessions, investments, and income; paid bills and receipts; receipts for payments to Richard's wife Mary Bond; and charitable bequests.
E. Volumes, ca. 1850-1854
Arranged chronologically.
This subseries includes Bond's architectural journals and sketchbooks, primarily from his trip to Europe in 1850-1851. They contain sketches and detailed notations about the architectural features of buildings he toured, including churches, cathedrals, castles, lighthouses, museums, and other public buildings. His ca. 1850 notebook contains mostly sketches with little narrative. His 1853-1855 notebook includes notations about local projects, including the house of James Hayward on Tremont St. and the Portland (Maine) City Hall and Court House.
Architectural journal (Italy and Germany), ca. 1850
Architectural journal (France and England), ca. 1850
Architectural notebook (Europe), ca. 1850
Architectural journal, (Europe), 1851
Architectural notebook, 1853-1855
V. Philip W. Davis papers, 1873-1939
The papers of Philip W. Davis (1871-1939), a Harvard University cyclist and professional engineer who lived with the Cummings family in Cambridge, include personal and professional papers, printed materials, a cycling scrapbook, a gardening journal, and a sketchbook.
A. Personal papers, 1873-1939
Arranged chronologically and by record type.
This series contains no family correspondence, but does include correspondence with friends, interior designers, and wine merchants. Also included are receipts, an undated poem, a Cambridge Public library card, and a wine list with annotations. The legal papers of Philip's mother Julia Wilder Robinson Davis include notes of credit and two quitclaim deeds to her for family land in Thomaston, Maine. The 1935 insurance policy covered personal property located at 110 Irving St. Investment correspondence includes letters to Davis from his Boston broker about his stock portfolio, including quarterly statements and stock recommendations. The genealogical chart contains the lines of Davis's maternal and paternal ancestors.
Correspondence, 1926-1939
Legal papers of Julia Wilder Davis, 1873-1878
Insurance policy, 1935
Investment correspondence, 1937-1939
Genealogical charts, undated
B. Professional papers, 1914-1938
Arranged chronologically.
Professional papers consist of correspondence with metal refining companies, foundries, furnace manufacturers, and other industries; memos; notes; calculations; and drawings. A large amount of notes and calculations are undated.
C. Printed material, ca. 1934
Arranged chronologically.
Printed material includes advertisements for machinery and furnaces, recipes for rum cocktails, and wine lists.
D. Volumes, 1888-1939
Davis's scrapbook contains material related to his cycling career on one of the first U.S. collegiate cycling teams at Harvard University, including newsclippings, programs, tickets, and several photographs. The scrapbook also chronicles the career of Philip's brother Robert Howe Davis (Harvard Class of 1891), who was the intercollegiate cycling champion of 1890. In addition, the volume contains articles and certificates related to Davis's involvement with the Harvard Electric Club and the Harvard Engineering Society. Loose papers include papers, lectures, speeches, and articles about storage batteries for autos and railways.
Also in this subseries is a gardening journal and an undated sketchbook contains pencil drawings of landscapes, buildings, and flowers.
Cycling scrapbook, 1888-ca. 1905
Loose items removed from scrapbook, 1889-1905
Gardening journal, 1929-1939
Sketchbook, undated
VI. Printed material, 1819-1941
Most of the material in this series was collected by or for Edward Cummings. It contains printed material related to Harvard University; ephemera, such as tickets and programs; genealogical and memorial material; prints and engravings; newspaper clippings; copies of the printed works of Edward Cummings; and miscellaneous material.
A. Harvard-related material, 1819-1918
Arranged chronologically.
Included in this subseries is an 1819 freshman class list that belonged to Harvard student John J. Clarke. All other material dates from 1882 to 1918 and relates to Edward Cummings as a student and professor at Harvard University. It consists of college newspapers (Harvard Daily Echo, The Harvard Advocate, Daily Crimson); prize lists; Phi Beta Kappa dinner menus; Class of 1883 class day programs, class dinners, and reunions; commencement programs; exam lists; faculty votes; and class rankings.
B. Ephemera, 1828-1938
Arranged chronologically and by record type.
Tickets in this subseries include an 1828 ticket to "Roxbury Assemblies," but the remainder date from 1881 to 1922 and include dining hall tickets; railroad passes and timetables; and tickets to dinners, dances, speeches, and events such as the 1889 centennial celebration of George Washington's inauguration. Most tickets were for events held in Cambridge and Boston, although some were from France and Germany. Several tickets were from the 1893 World Columbian Exposition in Chicago.
Musical and theatrical programs, although largely from Boston theatres, include several European concerts, the 1902 New York play books of Eleonora Duse, and programs from Sarah Bernhardt's tour of New York.
Programs and orders of service consist of programs for ordinations, lectures, educational programs, conferences, celebrations of Edward Everett Hale, and meetings of the Unitarian Association, as well as church bulletins and graduation programs. Many of these programs list Edward Cummings as a speaker.
Tickets and misc. ephemera, 1828-1926
Wedding invitations, 1867-1927
Musical and theatre programs, 1875-1911
Programs and orders of service, 1875-1938
Stationery, postcards, and greeting cards, 1880-1908
Playing cards, 1900
Business and calling cards, undated
C. Genealogy, obituaries, and memorials, 1835-1941
Arranged chronologically.
This subseries includes a scrapbook most likely compiled by Rebecca Cordis Clarke containing newspaper clippings and printed obituaries of family and friends. Also here are obituaries of Pitt Clarke, Manlius Stimson Clarke, and J. Lewis Dimon, the Memorial of Pitt Clarke (1866), the Peirce Family Record, 1687-1893 (1927), Edward Cummings's memorial in the Harvard Graduates Magazine (1927), and Leaves from a Family Tree (1941), including info about the Jones, Stimson, and Clarke families.
Obituary scrapbook, 1835-1878
Obituaries and memorials, 1855-1906
Memorial of Rev. Pitt Clarke, 1866
Peirce Family Record, 1894
Edward Cummings memorial, 1927
"Leaves from a Family Tree," 1941
D. Engravings and prints, ca. 1864-1906
Arranged chronologically.
Included are landscapes; classical scenes; and portraits of Abraham Lincoln, Pitt Clarke, and Haswell Clarke, among others.
1864-1906
Prints, artists unknown, undated
E. Newspaper clippings, ca. 1864-1939
i. Edward Cummings newspaper clippings, 1889-1925
Arranged chronologically.
Containing both scrapbooks and loose clippings, this subseries includes articles related to Edward's studies and teaching at Harvard, as a speaker, and as a minister at South Congregational Church. Many articles summarize or excerpt Edward's speeches, while others relate to Unitarianism, labor relations, and other topics of general interest to Edward. Scrapbook I contains articles pasted into subject folders on topics such as immigration, labor relations, and temperance movements, and were most likely compiled by Edward as research for his fellowship in Europe. Articles are from the Boston Journal, the Boston Post, the Boston Herald, Le Soleil, the London Globe, and other publications.
Scrapbook I, 1889
Scrapbook II, 1889
Scrapbook III, 1889-1901
Scrapbook IV, 1900-1907
Loose clippings, 1890-1925
ii. Haswell Clarke newspaper clippings, 1889-1901
Arranged chronologically.
Articles relate to Clarke's political career and election as mayor of Kankakee, Ill., memorials, and articles about his service to the town of Kankakee.
iii. Edward Estlin Cummings newspaper clippings, 1922-1939
Arranged chronologically.
A 1922 article discusses E. E.'s imprisonment in France and his later release. Several articles review E. E.'s book The Enormous Room and discuss his writing style.
iv. General clippings, ca. 1864-1921
Arranged chronologically.
Although these clippings were not specifically among the papers of Edward Cummings, most relate to his interests in Harvard, sociological issues, labor relations, religious and Unitarian issues, political speeches, and the peace movement.
F. Printed works of Edward Cummings, 1897-1917
Arranged alphabetically.
This subseries includes the printed sermons, addresses and articles written by Cummings.
See also Edward Cummings newspaper clippings, which excerpt many of his sermons and addresses.
1897-1908
1909-1917
G. Miscellaneous printed material, 1821-1936
Arranged chronologically.
Included here are a few early circulars and addresses related to John Jones Clarke, such as a copy of his 1846 mayoral speech at the incorporation of the city of Roxbury. Most other material is related to Edward Cummings, including bulletins, literature of organizations and societies to which he belonged, material from Cummings's studies in Europe from 1888 to 1891, copies of articles, bulletins, advertisements, ships passenger lists, pamphlets, travel brochures, school and university literature, literature related to Abraham Lincoln and to sociological issues, and a hardcover volume of Radcliffe College Songs (1923).
1821-1907
1908-1936
1902-1922
VII. Artwork, ca. 1828-1909
This series contains a watercolor, pencil sketch, and embroidery patterns of Rebecca Haswell Clarke; the pastel and charcoal sketches of Edward Cummings; the childhood drawings and watercolors of Edward Estlin Cummings; and miscellaneous artwork by other artists.
A. Rebecca Cordis Haswell Clarke artwork, ca. 1828-ca. 1830
Watercolor, ca. 1828
Pencil sketch with cherubs and lambs, ca. 1828
Embroidery stencils and patterns, 1830
Embroidery stencils and patterns, ca. 1830
B. Edward Cummings artwork, 1890-1897
Pastels, European scenes, 1890-1891
Pastels, Norwegian fjords, 1897
Charcoal sketches, undated
Charcoal sketches, undated
Christmas card, undated
C. Edward Estlin Cummings artwork, ca. 1899-1909
This subseries contains the childhood drawings and paintings of Edward Estlin Cummings. They include ink blots; watercolors (mostly of animals); and sketches in pencil and in pen and ink of cowboys and Native Americans, boats, the "world's tallest tower," wild west shows, hunting expeditions, locomotives, zoos, circuses, elephants, whales, and houseplans. A ca. 1902 self-portrait is entitled "Edwerd E. Cummings, the animal emperor, famous importer, trainer, and exhibitor of wild animals."
Ink blots, ca. 1899
Pencil sketches, ca. 1900-1909
Pen and ink sketches, ca. 1900-1906
Watercolors, 1902-1906
Sketch notebook, undated
D. Miscellaneous artwork, 1862-1898
Pencil sketch, B. Osgood, 1862
Pencil sketch of house, artist unknown, 1874
Pen and ink sketch, F. Gould, 1898
Sketch of E. E. Cummings, Charles Hopkinson, 1898
Sketch of Edward Cummings, Charles Hopkinson, 1898
Still life on wood panel, artist unknown, undated
Tinted photograph of sailboat, artist unknown, undated
Miscellaneous sketches, undated
Unidentified silhouette, Master Howard, undated
Clarke Family Tree
Expand allListed below are members of the Clarke family, their spouses, and their children, beginning with Rev. Pitt Clarke (1763-1835). Some family members may not be included. Names of family members whose papers appear prominently in the collection are listed in bold.
1. Pitt Clarke (1763-1835)
m. in 1898 Rebecca Jones (1787-1811)
m. in 1812 Maria Jones Stimson (d. 1866)
2. Abigail Morton Clarke (1798-1882)
m. in 1828 John Jones Stimson (d. 1860)
3. Frederick Clarke Stimson (1830-1836)
3. Maria Rebecca Stimson (1832-1856)
3. Emily Gardner Stimson (1837-1901)
m. in 1861 J. Lewis Dimon (d. 1881)
4. Maria (May) Stimson Dimon (1862-1881)
2. William Pitt Clarke (b. 1800)
2. John Jones Clarke (1803-1887)
m. in 1830 Rebecca Cordis Haswell (1801-1883)
3. Mary Lemist Clarke (1831-1904)
m. in 1858 John Adams Hanson (1810-1878) Marriage annulled 1873.
4. Rebecca Haswell Clarke (1859-1947)
m. Edward Cummings (1861-1926)
5. Edward Estlin Cummings (1894-1962)
5. Elizabeth Frances Cummings (Qualey) (1901-1980)
4. George Lemist Clarke (1861-1917)
m. in 1895 Julia A. Little
4. Ellen Montresor Clarke (1869-1939)
m. in 1895 Salisbury Tuckerman
3. Haswell Cordis Clarke (1842-1901)
m. in 1869 Harriet Amelia Cobb (d. 1921)
2. Caroline (b. 1806)
2. George Leonard Clarke (b.1813)
m. in 1841 Frances Alice Chase (d. 1883)
2. Harriett Clarke (b. 1815)
2. Manlius Stimson Clarke (1816-1853)
m. in 1841 Frances Cordis Lemist
2. Edward Hammond Clarke (1820-1877)
m. in 1851 Sarah Loring Loud (d. 1877)
Preferred Citation
Cummings-Clarke 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.