1814-1945
Guide to the Collection
Abstract
This collection consists of papers of the Warren, Clarke, and related families, primarily correspondence of Samuel Dennis Warren (1817-1888) and papers related to Boston paper dealers Grant, Daniell & Co., later Grant, Warren & Co. and S. D. Warren Co.
Biographical Sketches
John Warren (1767-1828) of Grafton, Mass., married (second) Susanna Grout (1780-1837). Their children were: Sally Hall Warren, Ann Grout Warren (b. 1807), Joseph Dennis Warren (b. 1808), Jonathan Merriam Warren (b. 1810), Samuel Alonzo Warren, Samuel Dennis Warren (1817-1888), Sally Elizabeth Warren, Adelia Maria Warren (b. 1822), and Hannah Dorinda Warren (b. 1824).
Samuel Dennis Warren (1817-1888), a Boston paper manufacturer and merchant, married Susan Cornelia Clarke (b. 1825), the daughter of Rev. Dorus Clarke (1797-1884) and Hannah Alvord Bliss Clarke (1801-1878). Their children were: Josiah Fiske Warren (1850-1853), Samuel Dennis Warren (1852-1910), Henry Clarke Warren (1854-1899), Cornelia Lyman Warren, Edward Perry Warren, and Fiske Warren (b. 1862).
Samuel Dennis Warren (1852-1910) married in 1883 Mabel Ashton Bayard. Their children were: Mabel Bayard Warren (b. 1884), Samuel Dennis Warren (b. 1885), Katherine Lee Bayard Warren (b. 1889), Bayard Warren (b. 1891), Sylvia Warren (b. 1896), and Henry Warren (b. 1900).
Samuel Dennis Warren (b. 1885) married in 1909 Helen Thomas, daughter of Washington B. Thomas (b. 1857) and Caroline Wadleigh Thomas. Washington B. Thomas was the son of Joseph Brown Thomas and Martha T. Seran Thomas. Caroline Wadleigh Thomas was the daughter of Bainbridge Wadleigh, legislator of Milford, N.H.
Collection Description
The Warren family papers consist primarily of the correspondence of Samuel Dennis Warren (1817-1888), 1831-1879. Included is family correspondence and papers related to Grant, Daniell & Co., Boston paper dealers, subsequently Grant, Warren & Co., precursors of S. D. Warren Co. Family correspondents include his mother Susanna Grout Warren; his sisters Delia, Hannah, and Sarah; his brothers James and Jonathan; his wife Susan Clarke Warren; and their children Henry, Nellie, and Samuel D., Jr. Correspondence with Grant, Daniell & Co. pertains to customers, partnerships, contracts, financial statements, and reorganizations. Also included is correspondence with Charles W. Eliot, Phillips Brooks, Austin Phelps, George Washburn, Samuel Eliot, Asa D. Smith, Franklin Carter, Enoch Wines, Julius H. Seelye, and Roswell Smith related primarily to philanthropic interests.
The Clarke family papers include correspondence of Rev. Dorus Clarke and school books and journals of Susan Clarke Warren. Also included is correspondence of Bainbridge Wadleigh of Milford, N.H., and his family; some Brown and Thomas family papers; diaries and other volumes of Hannah A. Bliss; and genealogies of the Bliss, Clarke, Bayard, and Warren families.
Some items are individually described in the MHS manuscript catalog.
Acquisition Information
Gift of Samuel D. Warren, Essex, Mass., 1973. Additions to the collection were a gift of Jessica Warren (Mrs. Samuel D. Warren), 1992, through Henry Lee.
Other Formats
Digital facsimiles of the George Brown diary are available on Life at Sea, a digital publication of Adam Matthew Digital, Inc. This digital resource is available at subscribing libraries; speak to your local librarian to determine if your library has access. The MHS makes this resource available onsite; see a reference librarian for more information.
Detailed Description of the Collection
I. Loose papers, 1814-1945
Arranged chronologically.
The bulk of this series consists of the correspondence of Samuel Dennis Warren (1817-1888). Family letters include correspondence with his mother describing experiences in Boston and on business trips to New York, 1831-1836; letters from his sisters Delia, Hannah, and Sarah about student life at Mount Holyoke Seminary (South Hadley), Abbott Academy (Andover), and the Angelica (N.Y.) Union School, 1839-1844; letters from his brothers James and Jonathan describing farming at Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, 1844-1853, with information on land values related to the building of the Rock River Canal at Milwaukee, 1846; and letters from Warren to his wife while on business trips to New York, 1849, and tours of Europe, 1851, 1860, 1865.
Letters from Grant, Daniell & Co. to Warren, 1839-1860, relate to dealings with customers, partnerships, contracts, financial statements, and reorganizations, 1856-1858. Warren's correspondence with Charles W. Eliot, Phillips Brooks, Austin Phelps, George Washburn, Samuel Eliot, Asa D. Smith, Franklin Carter, Enoch Wines, Julius H. Seelye, and Roswell Smith pertains primarily to philanthropic interests, 1875-1879.
Clarke family papers include correspondence of Rev. Dorus Clarke with his daughters Ellen and Susan and with other ministers, as well as letters on journalistic matters, 1844-1866. The series also contains correspondence of Bainbridge Wadleigh and his family, 1873-1879, including letters to his daughters Helen and Carrie about social life in Washington and city scenes, 1873-1874, and letters from Helen and Carrie to their parents describing student life during the early days of Wellesley College, 1877-1878. Also included are some Brown and Thomas family items and genealogies of the Bliss, Clarke, Bayard, and Warren families.
Undated, 1814-1839
Included is a photocopy of a Warren Hastings letter, 14 Aug. 1760; three commissions in the 20th Regiment, New Hampshire state militia, to John Barrett, 1814, 1816, 1818; the will of John Flagg, Roxbury, 1830; family correspondence of Samuel Dennis Warren with his mother and siblings; letters of Samuel Dennis Warren from Amherst Academy, 1831-1832, and from Boston, beginning in 1832; letters of Sarah and Delia from Ipswich Female Seminary and Abbott Female Seminary (Andover); and the articles of agreement for Grant, Daniell & Co., 1839, in which the principals were Moses Grant, Otis Daniell, and Samuel Dennis Warren.
1840-1845
Included is Clarke family correspondence, beginning in 1840; Warren family correspondence among the siblings; letters from Delia and Hannah at Mount Holyoke; Susan C. Clarke correspondence with friends and relatives; and letters of Joseph and Jonathan Warren from Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, beginning in 1842.
1846-June 1851
Included is correspondence of Samuel Dennis Warren and his wife and letters from Europe in 1851.
July 1851-1859
Included are scattered items of the related Brown and Thomas families, beginning in 1852, and correspondence of Samuel Dennis Warren in Europe, 1853.
1860-1865
Included are letters to Samuel Dennis Warren and Susan Clarke Warren from their children Henry, Nellie, and Samuel D., Jr., 1862-1865.
1866-1879
Included are letters from J. B. Thomas in Europe, 1866-1867; a significant amount of Dorus Clarke correspondence; Wadleigh family correspondence, 1870s; letters from Carrie Wadleigh at Wellesley to her parents; a letter by Mary Clemmer, 2 Apr. 1877, about her imprisonment during the Civil War; and an 1878 description of an early women's rights meeting run by Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
1880-1945 and miscellaneous
Included are a few printed items; photographs; genealogical notes on the Bayard, Bliss, Clarke, and Warren families; typed transcripts of some letters in the collection, 1834-1838; a few John Warren typed transcripts, 1797, 1802; letters to Cornelia Warren from her brothers Samuel and E. P. Warren, 1898-1911; and an account written in 1945 of fighting in Germany during World War II.
II. Bound volumes, 1814-1884
This series consists of diaries kept by Hannah Bliss Clarke, Susan Cornelia Warren, George Brown, and an anonymous woman; scrapbooks of Samuel Dennis Warren, Jr. and Washington B. Thomas; and other volumes.
A. Hannah A. Bliss volumes, 1814-1818
This subseries contains diaries kept by Hannah Alvard Bliss Clarke as a young girl and teenager in Longmeadow, Mass. Entries describe religion, church and school attendance, and daily activities. Also included in this subseries are an undated commonplace book and two penmanship copy-books.
Commonplace book, undated
Penmanship copy-book, 17 May 1814
Diary, 8 Nov. 1814-9 Apr. 1815
Diary, 29 May-28 Aug. 1815
Diary, 16 Dec. 1816-25 Jan. 1818
Penmanship copy-book, 5 June 1818
B. Susan C. Clarke volumes, 1842-1847
This series includes diaries kept by Susan Cornelia Warren in Boston. Entries describe walks with family members, church attendance, household chores, her courtship and engagement to Samuel Dennis Warren, and daily activities.
Exercises in Rhetoric, Temple School, 1 Jan. 1842
Diary, 1 Oct.-31 Dec. 1846
Diary, 1 Jan.-31 Mar. 1847
Diary, 20 Apr.-25 May 1847
C. Miscellaneous volumes, 1850-1884
George Brown diary (typescript), 23 Feb.-28 June 1850
This volume consists of a typescript of the diary of George Brown of Hallowell, Maine, kept during a voyage around Cape Horn to San Francisco to join the California gold rush. Most of the entries were written on board the ship Thomas Wattson, which sailed from Philadelphia. Included are many religious observations. George Brown was probably the brother-in-law of Joseph B. Thomas, the ship's captain.
Digital facsimiles of the George Brown diary are available on Life at Sea, a digital publication of Adam Matthew Digital, Inc. This digital resource is available at subscribing libraries; speak to your local librarian to determine if your library has access. The MHS makes this resource available onsite; see a reference librarian for more information.
Diary on steamer Cuba, unknown author, 18 Apr.-9 June 1866
This diary was kept by an anonymous woman on the steamer Cuba, traveling from New York City to Ireland, Scotland, England, and France. Entries describe the countryside of Ireland and Scotland, cultural institutions, and daily activities.
Samuel Dennis Warren, Jr. scrapbook, 1872-1877
Washington B. Thomas scrapbook, 1872-1879
This scrapbook of Washington B. Thomas contains Harvard memorabilia.
Samuel D. Warren, Jr. log of Wayward, 5-23 Aug. 1878
Ellen S. S. Hammond genealogical notes on the Olcott family, 20 May 1884
III. Oversize materials, 1818-1866
This series contains loose manuscripts and photographs removed from Series I and II. A note has been inserted at the original location of each item indicating its removal to oversize.
Preferred Citation
Warren-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.
Persons:
Organizations:
Subjects:
Materials Removed from the Collection
Photographs from this collection have been removed to the Warren-Clarke family photographs. Photo. Coll. 128.