1708-1921
Guide to the Collection
Abstract
This collection consists of the personal papers and correspondence of members of the Emerson and allied families over several generations, but primarily 1860-1921. There are also miscellaneous Emerson, Kendall, Hopkins, Allen, and Sewall family letters and genealogical information, in particular on the Sewall family. The bulk of the collection consists of letters exchanged between Mary A. H. Emerson (1848-1897) and her mother Charlotte F. A. Hopkins between 1860-1895. There are also documents relating to the American Red Cross and World War I, including letters to his wife concerning the service of Dr. (Benjamin) Kendall Emerson (1875-1962), a major in the Royal Army Medical Corps Harvard Medical Unit of the British Army in France, 1916-1917; Emerson's typewritten log (26 Feb.-16 Apr. 1919) of a journey by train across Siberia and Manchuria while working for the American Red Cross; and Emerson's letters to his wife from Paris, where he was director of the American Hospital and medical director of the American Red Cross in Europe.
Biographical Sketch
Dr. Benjamin K. Emerson (1843-1932), Amherst (1865), Gottingen (Ph.D. 1869), Professor of Geology and Zoology at Amherst and Smith Colleges, Assistant Geologist on the United States Geological Survey, Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Vice-President (1896) of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences.
(Mary) Annette (Hopkins) Emerson (1848-1889), wife of Dr. Benjamin K. Emerson.
Dr. (Benjamin) Kendall Emerson (1875-1962), son of Dr. Benjamin K. and (Mary) Annette (Hopkins) Emerson, Amherst (1897), Harvard Medical School (1901), Major in the British Army Royal Army Medical Corps (Harvard unit) serving in France and Belgium (1916-1918), Major, U.S. Medical Corps on duty in U.S. Surgeon General office detailed to the American Red Cross with split duty in Siberia (1918-1919); Deputy commander and Medical Director, American Red Cross in Europe (1920-1922); Director, American Hospital in Paris (1920), Chief of Surgical Staff, Memorial Hospital, Worcester, Massachusetts {1903-1916; 1922-1928), Managing Director, National Tuberculosis Association (1928-1947).
Collection Description
The Benjamin K. Emerson family papers consist of the personal papers and correspondence of members of the Emerson and allied families over an extended period of several generations, but primarily between 1860 and 1921. There are some manuscript letters and printed items from earlier and later periods.
The collection contains an autograph receipt (1708) of Samuel Sewall (1652-1730), the merchant and colonial magistrate. There are also 29 letters from Edmund Quincy Sewall, while on a trip to Europe between 1844 and 1846, to his father Henry Devereux Sewall.
The collection includes several hundred personal letters from and to Dr. Benjamin K. Emerson (1843-1932) while he was Professor of Geological Survey. This is, for the most part, family and personal correspondence for the period 1870-1890.
The collection contains several hundred miscellaneous Emerson, Kendall, Hopkins, Allen, and Sewall family letters for the period 1860-1890. These letters include several from and about the Edward Dickinson family of Amherst, Massachusetts--the family of Emily Dickinson (1830-1886).
The bulk of the collection consists of personal letters exchanged by Mrs. Benjamin K. Emerson (Mary Annette Hopkins Emerson, 1848-1897) and her mother, Charlotte Frelinghuysen (Allen) Hopkins, between 1860 and 1895. Both mother and daughter lived in the Connecticut Valley of western Massachusetts, but traveled extensively, including journeys outside the United States, during this period.
There are typed letters, typescript copies of letters and newspaper clippings from the Worcester Telegram concerning the service of Dr. (Benjamin) Kendall Emerson (1875-1962) with the Harvard Medical Unit of the British Army in France during 1916-1917, along with a substantial amount of letters written to his wife while on active duty with the unit.
Also included is Emerson's typewritten log (26 Feb.-16 Apr. 1919) of a journey by train across Siberia and Manchuria while working for the American Red Cross, his passport, and letters written home (1920-1921) from Paris as Deputy Commander and Medical Director of the American Red Cross in Europe.
The collection also contains a commonplace book of undetermined origin, written during the 1870s. Printed items include single issues and clippings from early 19th-century and Civil War-era newspapers, memorial and genealogical pamphlets, missionary and Bible tracts, educational and medical circulars, and broadside descriptions of college class exercises.
Acquisition Information
The Benjamin Kendall Emerson family papers were a gift of the Reverend Sewall Emerson, November 1979. Additions to the collection were the gift of Dr. Kendall Emerson, Jr., May 1991.
Summary Description of the Collection
Genealogical information
Undated (alphabetical by author)
Miscellaneous undated
1708-1862
1863-1865
1866-1870
1871-1873
June 1873-July 1875
Aug. 1875-1876
1877-1879
1879-1880
1881-1883
1884-1885
1886-1887
1888-1889
1890-1891
1892-July 1893
Aug.-Sep. 1893
Oct. 1893-1894
1895-1899
1900-1917
1919-1921
Printed material & newspaper clippings
Preferred Citation
Benjamin Kendall Emerson 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.