1848-1935
Guide to the Collection
Restrictions on Access
The Moorfield Storey papers are stored offsite and must be requested at least two business days in advance via Portal1791. Researchers needing more than six items from offsite storage should provide additional advance notice. If you have questions about requesting materials from offsite storage, please contact the reference desk at 617-646-0532 or reference@masshist.org.
Abstract
This collection consists of papers of lawyer and author Moorfield Storey of Boston, Massachusetts, including correspondence, business and legal papers, writings, and scrapbooks.
Biographical Sketch
Moorfield Storey (1845-1929) was a lawyer and author in Boston, Massachusetts. He served as private secretary to Charles Sumner from 1867-1869 and practiced law in Boston from 1869-1929, becoming a senior member of the firm of Storey, Thorndike, Palmer, and Dodge. He also served as president of the American Bar Association in 1896, as well as the Anti-Imperialist League, Massachusetts Civil Reform Club, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Thursday Evening Club, Game Club, and Good Government Association, and as an overseer of Harvard College in 1872-1888 and 1892-1910.
Collection Description
The papers of Moorfield Storey include original correspondence, typescript letters, business and legal papers, writings, a copy of his autobiography, a facsimile of Gen. George Washington's accounts (1775-1783), and scrapbooks. In addition to papers documenting Storey's interest in anti-imperialism and civil service reform, the collection contains scrapbooks related to Philippines independence, as well as Native American and African American civil rights. Also included are typescript diary extracts of Fiske Warren enclosed in a letter that Warren sent to Storey, 1903. Correspondents include Charles Francis Adams, Gamaliel Bradford, Phillip P. Chase, Francis Ward Chandler, Richard Henry Dana, Henry Herbert Edes, Marcus Perrin Knowlton, John Torrey Morse, Charles Sumner, Charles Moorfield Storey, Gertrude Cutts Storey, Erving Winslow, and George Fred Williams.
Acquisition Information
Gift of Charles M. Storey, 1969. Additions from Palmer and Dodge, November 1994.
Restrictions on Access
The Moorfield Storey papers are stored offsite and must be requested at least two business days in advance via Portal1791. Researchers needing more than six items from offsite storage should provide additional advance notice. If you have questions about requesting materials from offsite storage, please contact the reference desk at 617-646-0532 or reference@masshist.org.
Detailed Description of the Collection
I. Loose correspondence and other papers, 1848-1935
This series contains correspondence and other papers of Moorfield Storey, including his correspondence with Charles Francis Adams and other Adams family members; unverified typescripts of letters apparently copied out of Storey's letterbooks; and speeches, essays, and miscellaneous other writings by Storey.
Charles Francis Adams correspondence, 1882-1915
Other Adams family correspondence, 1872-1930
Correspondence and papers, 1848-1906
Correspondence and papers, 1907-1929
Correspondence and papers, 1930-1935 and undated
Speeches and writings, 1895-1919
29 folders.Undated speeches and writings, no. 1-11
Undated speeches and writings, no. 12-22
This box includes Storey's autobiography (#20).
Miscellaneous papers, photographs, and printed matter/ephemera
9 folders.Anti-Imperialist League account books, 1898-1902
3 slim volumes.Letter typescripts, 1895-1924 (unverified)
II. Letterbooks, 1894-1929
This series consists of 32 letterbook volumes (in cases) containing typescript copies of Storey's outgoing correspondence.
17 March 1894–31 July 1896
15 September 1896–13 January 1900
15 January 1900–10 February 1902
10 February 1902–10 April 1903
10 April 1903–15 February 1904
15 February 1904–17 May 1905
17 May 1905–29 May 1906
31 May 1906–9 August 1907
19 August 1907–18 November 1908
19 November 1908–20 January 1910
20 January 1910–24 January 1911
24 January 1911–20 November 1911
20 November 1911–16 October 1912
17 October 1912–7 July 1913
17 July 1913–7 April 1914
10 April 1914-2 April 1915
2 April 1915–10 March 1916
11 March 1916–16 November 1916
16 November 1916–6 September 1917
7 September 1917–14 August 1918
14 August 1918–28 May 1919
29 May 1919–13 April 1920
13 April 1920–9 March 1921
9 March 1921–13 February 1922
13 February 1922–6 January 1923
12 January 1923–6 October 1923
5 October 1923-16 May 1924
16 May 1924–15 April 1925
15 April 1925–12 March 1926
12 March 1926–29 December 1926
29 December 1926–27 October 1927
28 October 1927–18 November 1929
III. Scrapbooks, 1850s-1928
This series consists of nine scrapbook volumes kept by Moorfield Storey, mostly newspaper clippings on topics of interest to him, such as African American civil rights, Philippines independence, civil service reform, and anti-imperialism.
Scrapbooks 1, 2, 3, and 5 are housed in cases, and the others are stored in two document boxes. Scrapbooks 1-7 were numbered in that order by Storey.
1914–1927 (mostly 1923-1927)
1903–1909
1874–1916
1862–1928
This volume includes invitations, ephemera, miscellaneous writings, and newspaper clippings. Many of the invitations are undated.
1917–1923
1913–1914
This scrapbook consists mostly of clippings concerning the Philippines and World War I.
1920–1924
1850s–1880s
"The Second Inaugural of Ulysses S. Grant"
This scrapbook contains a small number of newspaper clippings.
Preferred Citation
Moorfield Storey 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:
Organizations:
Subjects:
Materials Removed from the Collection
Loose pamphlets, serials, and bound volumes of miscellaneous pamphlets collected by Moorfield Storey have been removed to the MHS printed collections.