ca. 1840-1950; bulk: 1860-1900
Guide to the Photograph Collection
Abstract
Photographs relating to the families of architect Edmund March Wheelwright and his wife Elizabeth "Bessie" Brooks.
Biographical Sketch
Edmund March Wheelwright was born in Roxbury, Mass., the son of George William Wheelwright and Hannah Giddings Tyler Wheelwright. A member of Harvard's Class of 1876, he later studied architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and in Europe. He worked for the firm of Peabody and Stearns before starting his own firm, Wheelwright & Haven, later Wheelwright, Haven & Hoyt. In 1887, he married Elizabeth Boott Brooks, the daughter of Francis and Louise Winsor Brooks of Medford, Mass. Elizabeth was the great-granddaughter of Peter Chardon Brooks, at one time the richest man in New England, and the Brooks family's estates included much of what is now West Medford, Mass. The Wheelwrights had three children who survived to adulthood: Louise Brooks Wheelwright Damon (1889-1973), Edmund March Wheelwright, Jr. (1891-1946), and John Brooks Wheelwright (1897-1940). In addition to his own work, Wheelwright was City Architect of Boston from 1891-1895. He is known for his work on Harvard's Lampoon building, the Longfellow Bridge, Boston's Museum of Fine Arts, and the Massachusetts Historical Society, among others. Edmund March Wheelwright died in 1912 at the age of 57. Bessie died in 1949 and is buried with her husband in the Oak Hill Cemetery in Newburyport, Mass.
Collection Description
Photographs documenting the family of architect Edmund March Wheelwright and his wife Elizabeth "Bessie" Boott Brooks Wheelwright. Views include photographs of Brooks family homes and gardens in West Medford, Mass. and the Wheelwright family home in Boston. The collection also includes numerous photographs of European art and architecture collected as reference material by architect Edmund March Wheelwright. The collection includes tintypes, cartes de visite, cabinet photographs, snapshots, and albums. Identified photographers include John A. Whipple, Southworth & Hawes, and Black & Batchelder of Boston, among many others.
Acquisition Information
Gifts of Louise Wheelwright Damon, 1949 and 1949; Edward Brooks, 1952; and Elizabeth Wheelwright, 1998.
Detailed Description of the Collection
Expand allI. Portraits
Arranged alphabetically.
Brooks, Florence Howard (b. 1872), [1930s]
Brooks, Francis (1824-1891), [ca. 1862-1890]
Brooks, Francis and Elizabeth Boott Brooks, 1861
Taken by Whipple.Carte de visite.Brooks, Francis and Louise Winsor Brooks, 1860s
Photographer unidentified.Cartes de visite.Brooks, Francis & "Phila[delphia] Cousins," [1880s]
Taken by W. W. Winter, Derby, England.Cabinet photograph.Brooks, Francis and an unidentified child, ca. 1862?
Taken by Black & Batchelder, Boston.Carte de visite.Brooks, Henry (b. 1857), ca. 1877
Taken by F. Wundersohn, Hannover.Carte de visite.[Brooks, Lawrence] (b. 1868), 1884
Tintype.Brooks, Louise Winsor and Elizabeth Boott Brooks, 1860
Taken by Black & Batchelder, Boston.Two cartes de visite and a hand-colored enlargement.Brooks, Thomas Perkins, Susan Borland Brooks, and Thomas Perkins Brooks II, 1923
Burton, Spence (1881-1966), [ca. 1911?]
Taken by Bachrach.Mounted photograph.With inscription: "To Mrs. Wheelwright from Spence Burton, S.S.J.E. God bless you."
Cabot, Arthur Tracy (1852-1912), ca. 1900?
Chardon, Peter
Copy photograph of a portrait by Copley.Eliot, John, [20th century]
Eliot, Mary, [ca. 1920?]
Gorham, Nathaniel
Photograph of a portrait by C. W. Peale.Jurkovich, Clara Morrow
Mounted photograph.Clara's descent from the Wheelwright family recorded on verso.
Morrow, Isaac Harrison
Photograph of a painting.Genealogical notes on verso.
Morrow, Mary
Undated reproduction of a ca. 1860s photograph.Genealogical notes on verso.
Porter, Benjamin Curtis (1843-1908), [ca. 1880?]
Mounted photograph.Schuyler, Elizabeth Staats Wendell (1660-1737), 1909
Photograph of a painting.Shattuck, Emily Copeland (1832-1917), [1860s]
Carte de visite.Inscribed on verso: "Mrs. Shattuck."
Shattuck, Susan (1860-1920), [ca. 1867]
Carte de visite.Shattuck, Susan & Elizabeth Brooks Wheelwright, [ca. 1880]
Taken by F. Zelicz, RomeCarte de visite.Inscribed on verso: "Bessie Brooks, Susan Shattuck."
Vickery, Amelia Frances Wheelwright (1920-2002), ca. 1924-1938
Vickery, Amelia Frances and Edward M. Welsh or Walsh, [ca. 1922]
Wallace, Lydia Wheelwright (1801-1880), [1870s]
Mounted photograph.Genealogical notes on verso.
Wheelwright, Edmund March (1854-1912), 1887-ca. 1900
Wheelwright, Edmund March, Bessie, Louise & John, [ca. 1897]
Mounted photograph.Family on ship to Hamburg.
Wheelwright, Edmund March, John Tyler Wheelwright & [Ernest W.] Longfellow, [ca. 1910?]
Wheelwright, Edmund March (1891-1946), 1892-1917
Wheelwright, Edmund March (1891-1946), 1910-ca. 1930
Wheelwright, Edmund March, Louise, & Jack, 1898
Taken by Otto Meyer, Dresden.Cabinet photographs.Three different poses.
Wheelwright, Edmund March III (1917-1975), [ca. 1950]
Wheelwright, Elizabeth Boott Brooks (1860-1949), 1880-1887
Wheelwright, Elizabeth Boott Brooks and an unidentified woman, West Medford, 1885
Wheelwright, Elizabeth Boott Brooks, Mary C. Perkins and Minna Timmins, June 1885
Wheelwright, Elizabeth Boott (b. 1922), [ca. 1932]-1947
Wheelwright, George (1773-ca. 1807)
Photograph of a painting.Wheelwright, Hannah Giddings, Louise & Edmund March Wheelwright, [ca. 1897]
Taken by Partridge, Boston.Cabinet photograph.Wheelwright, John Brooks (1897-1940), [1898 or 1899]-1930
Wheelwright, John Brooks, 1938
Several poses from the same sitting of Wheelwright wearing a fur coat.
Wheelwright, John Brooks and Louise Wheelwright, ca. 1901
Wheelwright, Louise (1889-1973), 1889-1928
Wheelwright, Peter Brooks (b. 1923), ca. 1933-1950
Wheelwright, Ruth Nickerson and son Edmund March III, 1917
Unidentified portraits
Boozo (dog), 1948
II. Photograph albums
A. Brooks carte de visite and cabinet photograph album
Album containing cartes de visite and cabinet photographs of the family of Francis (1824-1891) and Louise Winsor Brooks (1835-1892), including their children Fanny, Edward, Henry, Frederic, Elizabeth Boott, and Louise Winsor, called "Dolly." The album also contains some views of Germany.
B. Edmund March Wheelwright family photograph album, ca. 1897-1899
Album of 77 black and white snapshots of the family of Edmund March Wheelwright and Elizabeth "Bessie" Boott (Brooks) Wheelwright and their children Louise, Edmund March, Jr., and Jack, ca. 1897-1899. Identifications have been supplied by an unknown child of E. M. Wheelwright, Jr. Photographs include some taken on a family trip to Germany.
C. Edmund March Wheelwright family photograph album, 1901-1912
Album of 114 black and white snapshots of the family of Edmund March Wheelwright and Elizabeth "Bessie" Boott (Brooks) Wheelwright and their children Louise, Edmund March, Jr., and Jack, 1901-1912. Photographs include the children, animals, gardens, and family homes in West Medford and Dedham, Massachusetts, as well as photographs of Paestum, Italy, in 1907 and Nantucket in 1912. Photographs are identified in an unknown hand. The album also includes a group photograph of students at the Sarah Fuller School for Deaf Children.
D. Edmund March Wheelwright family photograph album, 1901-1908
Album of 40 black and white snapshots taken at the Brooks family homes in West Medford and Petersham, Mass. Contains photographs of Wheelwright and his children and many garden views.
E. Elizabeth Brooks and John Brooks Wheelwright photograph album, 1913
Album of 47 black and white snapshots of Nantucket, Mass., and Niagara Falls. Subjects include buildings and gardens on Nantucket and views of the rapids and falls.
III. Views
A. United States
Boston, Mass., Longfellow Bridge
Longfellow Bridge album
Album of photographs of bridge designs, probably inspirations or prototypes for Wheelwright's design of the Longfellow Bridge.
West Medford, Mass., Francis Brooks estate
West Medford, Mass., Peter Chardon Brooks estate
Interiors and exteriors of the home built by P. C. Brooks (1767-1849) on the west side of Grove Street in 1805 (destroyed 1916). Includes many photographs of the garden.
West Medford, Mass., parlor of P. C. Brooks house
West Medford, Mass., Shepherd Brooks house
West Medford, Mass., gardens
West Medford, Mass., Mystic Pond
West Medford, Mass., "Old Slave Wall"
West Medford, Mass., trees
Tarrytown on Hudson, N.Y., Old Dutch Church
B. European views
Views of European architecture, likely collected by architect Edmund March Wheelwright during his travels.
England
Commercial photographs of Bakewell (Haddon Hall), Stratford on Avon, and Warwick.
France
Commercial photographs of Annecy, Fontainbleu, Nevers, Orleans, Paris, Pau, Poitiers, and Versailles.
Germany
Commercial photographs of Dresden, Freiburg, Hamburg, and Middleburg.
Italy
Commercial photographs of Pompeii, Rome, and Venice.
Netherlands
Switzerland
Unidentified European views
IV. Art, artifacts, and sculpture
Art and sculpture
Commercial photographs of European art and sculpture, likely collected by Edmund March Wheelwright.
Silver tankard owned by Samuel Brooks (1700-1768) of Medford, Mass.
V. Oversize portraits
Brooks, Francis and four children, ca. 1865?
Brooks, Frederick and Bessie, ca. 1878
Connick, Charles Jay (1878-1945), ca. 1937
Damon, Louise Wheelwright, ca. 1928
Unidentified woman, probably Louise Wheelwright Damon, ca. 1940?
Lowell, Percival (1855-1916), ca. 1875
Timmins, Minna (1861-1897), ca. 1881?
Wheelwright, George William (1813-1879), ca. 1866
Wheelwright, John Brooks, ca. 1902
Unidentified children, ca. 1865?
20th-century copy of an early photograph.VI. Oversize views
A. United States
Boston, Mass., 59 Bay State Rd., home of Edmund March Wheelwright, ca. 1902
Interior views.
Hartford, Conn., Hartford Bridge, ca. 1908
West Medford, Mass., Brooks estate gardens, 1885 and 1895
B. European views
Commercial photographs of European architecture collected by Edmund March Wheelwright. Arranged by country.
Denmark
England
France
France
Germany
Germany
India, tomb of Itmad-Ud-Daula
Ireland, Shandon Church
Italy
Portfolio of Italian views
Netherlands
Scotland
Switzerland
Switzerland
Unidentified views
VII. Oversize art, artifacts, and sculpture
Commercial photographs of artwork and sculpture collected by Edmund March Wheelwright.
VIII. Glass-based photographs
Francis Brooks, 1842
Taken by Louis-Auguste Bisson.Sixth-plate daguerreotype in leather half case.This photograph is stored separately in the MHS Daguerreotype Collection (Photo. Coll. 1).To request this item, follow this link to the MHS catalog and click on the red "Place Request" button.
Unidentified boy, ca. 1851-1854
Attributed to Southworth & Hawes.Half-plate daguerreotype in leather case.This photograph is stored separately in the MHS Daguerreotype Collection (Photo. Coll. 1).To request this item, follow this link to the MHS catalog and click on the red "Place Request" button.
Unidentified member of the Boott Family, ca. 1840-1850
Photographer unknown.Quarter-plate daguerreotype in leather case.This photograph is stored separately in the MHS Daguerreotype Collection (Photo. Coll. 1).To request this item, follow this link to the MHS catalog and click on the red "Place Request" button.
Unidentified boy, ca. 1854-1855
Attributed to Southworth & Hawes.Quarter-plate daguerreotype in leather case.This photograph is stored separately in the MHS Daguerreotype Collection (Photo. Coll. 1).To request this item, follow this link to the MHS catalog and click on the red "Place Request" button.
Unidentified member of the Boott family, ca. 1840-1850
Photographer unknown.Sixth-plate daguerreotype in leather case.This photograph is stored separately in the MHS Daguerreotype Collection (Photo. Coll. 1).To request this item, follow this link to the MHS catalog and click on the red "Place Request" button.
Unidentified man, ca. 1844
Photographer unknown.Quarter-plate daguerreotype in leather case.This photograph is stored separately in the MHS Daguerreotype Collection (Photo. Coll. 1).To request this item, follow this link to the MHS catalog and click on the red "Place Request" button.
Unidentified woman, 1859
Taken by John A. Whipple.Hand-colored sixth-plate daguerreotype in leather case.This photograph is stored separately in the MHS Daguerreotype Collection (Photo. Coll. 1).To request this item, follow this link to the MHS catalog and click on the red "Place Request" button.
Mr. Whistler, probably James McNeill Whistler, ca. 1855
Taken by Southworth & Hawes.Half-plate daguerreotype in leather case.This photograph is stored separately in the MHS Daguerreotype Collection (Photo. Coll. 1).To request this item, follow this link to the MHS catalog and click on the red "Place Request" button.
Preferred Citation
Wheelwright family photographs, 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.