This subseries is largely comprised of biographical and photocopied material related to Wesselhoeft family ancestors. Original material has been highlighted in this description where present.

The papers of printer Johann Carl Wesselhoeft (1767-1847) of Jena, Germany include two letters (9 Mar. 1821 and 20 Dec. 1823) in German from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in Weimar. Biographical information is related to Wesselhoeft's relationship with Goethe, as well as the Oct. 1806 Battle of Jena and Auerstedt, part of the Napoleonic Wars. Also included is a printed copy of "Grandfather's Diary" describing Jena during the 1806 battle based on Johann's writings.

Additional biographical material illustrates the lives of Johann's sons, Boston homeopathic physicians William Wesselhoeft (1794-1858) and Robert Wesselhoeft (1796-1852). Included is a copy of Elizabeth Peabody's 1859 memorial to William. Robert Wesselhoeft was a German revolutionary leader and later founder and director of the first Brattleboro Water Cure Clinic in Vermont. Material includes transcriptions of correspondence describing Robert's 1831 imprisonment in Magdeburg, Germany and his 1833 wedding, as well as biographies and articles about his water cure and homeopathic practice.

Biographical material related to physician Conrad Wesselhoeft (1834-1904), Robert's oldest son, contains transcribed excerpts of letters from the family of William Lloyd Garrison mentioning Conrad, biographical sketches, and a copy of Louisa May Alcott's dedication to Conrad, her doctor, in Jo's Boys.

The papers of Selma Wesselhoeft, Robert's daughter, contain a typescript of her essay "Southern Experiences, 1865-1866" describing her travels to Georgia plantations to teach formerly enslaved African Americans, including descriptions of Savannah and Hilton Head. Also included are photocopies of advertisements for Miss Selma W. School for Girls in Boston and photocopies of Selma's lists of her possessions to be distributed at her death.

The papers of Walter Wesselhoeft (1839-1920), a Boston homeopathic physician and son of Robert Wesselhoeft, contain a brief original letter from William Dean Howells (1893). Other papers include newspaper clippings and a typescript of Walter's autobiography, "A Psychological Study of an Untutored Unpsychological Man" (1917).

Mary Sarah Fraser Wesselhoeft (1840-1886) was the first wife of Walter Wesselhoeft and the mother of Ferdinanda, Gertrude, Mary (Polly), Amy, Elinor, Robert, and Conrad. Her papers contain a photocopy and typed transcription of her diary from June 1874 to 1885, describing births and milestones of her children, family illnesses, and other events. An original 1886 diary chronicles Mary's trip to England with her husband and her illness from asthma. The diary is continued by Walter, describing Mary's accidental death by an overdose of ether and his return to the United States. Also included is an undated notebook of Mary's sister, Eliza Fraser Clinch, containing notes on readings, excerpts from newspaper articles, and prayers.

Ferdinanda Wesselhoeft Reed (1870-1952) was the eldest daughter of Walter and Mary Wesselhoeft. Papers include photocopies of her article "Going to School in Russia," in The Nation (1930), and an undated article, "A Soviet Schoolboy." Biographical material includes newspaper clippings related to her purchase of the Communist paper Daily Worker in 1946, obituaries, biographical essays, and a life timeline. A small amount of photocopies and printed material is related to Ferdinanda's husband, Willard Reed, and his career at the Browne and Nichols school, and to their children, Nancy and Willard, Jr.

This series contains the papers of Mary "Polly" Fraser Wesselhoeft (1873-1971), daughter of Walter and Mary Wesselhoeft and a noted stained-glass artist. They include correspondence and financial papers, many related to the sale and management of her house in Waldheim, Germany in 1941, a list of financial assets, and a photocopy of her 1918 will. Also included is an original 1885-1886 diary containing a few entries describing childhood activities. Loose sketches and sketchbooks, created in Dunstable, Mass. ca. 1900, Paris ca. 1909, and Waldheim, Germany ca. 1970, include landscapes, portraits, design details, and abstract compositions. Biographical material includes research and correspondence related to Polly's life, a timeline, and a list of her paintings. A ca. 2014 scrapbook compiled by Caroline Williams contains photographs of artwork, research notes on her career, excerpts from letters, and other supporting material.

Amy Wesselhoeft von Erdberg (1876-1972) was the daughter of Walter and Mary Wesselhoeft. She married Robert von Erdberg (1866-1929), a German minister of culture, in 1905 and lived in Waldheim, Germany. Original papers include correspondence and receipts related to her piano instruction with Charles Martin Loeffler, a German-born American composer with whom she studied in Boston from 1892 to 1897. Also included is personal correspondence with friends in Germany, Paris, and the United States (some written in German); correspondence with the American Association for Adult Education about writing articles for their publication, 1931-1937; as well as financial records and correspondence related to her financial situation in Germany, 1937-1938. Many of Amy's papers are in poor condition due to their storage conditions at Waldheim, and some have been photocopied because of mildew.

Amy's writings include childhood reminiscences, short stories, talks about her work with adult education in 1930s Berlin, and undated poetry, including a memorial to her father. Original material also includes a fragment of an account book from 1921 to 1929. Biographical material consists of a biographical sketch, correspondence about Amy, and 2013 interview notes with Johanna Smith, Amy's granddaughter.

Von Erdberg family papers include articles by and about Lawrence Levine, the husband of Amy's granddaughter Cornelia Roettcher; 1996 interview notes with Eleanor "Beata" von Erdberg, Amy's daughter; as well as poetry written by Eleanor and her funeral service program. Also included are papers related to the Levine and Smith families.

Robert Alexander Wesselhoeft (1882-1970), the son of Walter and Mary Wesselhoeft, was an entrepreneur in China and South America. His papers include a small original book of poetry and autographs from family members welcoming Robert's birth. Also included is a photocopy of Robert's 1959 reminiscences and a biography written by Robert's nephew, Conrad Wesselhoeft, in 1996. Newspaper and journal articles about Robert's son Robert Wesselhoeft (1917-1977) describe his rescue from southwest China in 1944 after contracting polio. Numerous articles and obituaries of other family members are also included.

Conrad Wesselhoeft (1884-1962), the son of Walter and Mary Wesselhoeft, was a Boston physician, specialist in infectious diseases, and doctor to Sen. Leverett Saltonstall. Printed material containing his writing includes a speech at the 100th anniversary of the Allentown Academy of Homeopathic Healing Arts and an article in the Harvard Medical Alumni Bulletin (Oct. 1950) on the privilege of practicing medicine. Biographical material includes newspaper clippings related to his WWI military service, his obituary, eulogy, a biographical sketch, and correspondence about Conrad's life.

Family papers include biographical material about George Lyman Kittredge, Conrad's father-in-law; Gertrude Kittredge Eaton; William Wesselhoeft (1920-2007); Conrad Wesselhoeft (1922-2011); and Frances Wesselhoeft Bush-Brown (1925-2005).

Material related to Wesselhoeft family genealogy includes numerous family charts, pedigrees, notes, and correspondence; a binder of information about the Wesselhoeft family in Hamburg (in German, 1996); Die Familie Wesselhoeft (2005) by Peter Y. Wrench, and correspondence related to the volume; and an undated notebook of genealogical information by Minna Wesselhoeft (d. 1913) in German script. Fraser family genealogy includes several publications related to the "the clan and castle Fraser," as well as manuscript copies of genealogical information, general correspondence, charts, pedigrees, and notes, including those collected by Eliza Fraser Clinch.

Additional family history includes notes by Selma Wesselhoeft (1929), "Christmas in Hamburg" by Walter Williamson (1938); a memoir of Mary Burnett Wesselhoeft (1957); "Buxtehude to Boston and Beyond: a Chronicle of the Wesselhoeft Family" by Walter W. Hoffmann (1969); articles related to the Wesselhoeft family in Sandwich, Mass.; a print of the Wesselhoeft house in Hamburg (1996); Die Familie Wesselhoeft in Hamburg by Dietert Fischer-Zernin (2001); and miscellaneous printed material.

Material related to Wesselhoeft family reunions includes invitations, programs, correspondence, transcripts of historical talks, and participant lists for gatherings in Hamburg (1996 and 2013), Boston (1998), Weimar and Jenna (2003), and Williamsburg, Va. (2010). Also included is Caroline Hoffmann Williams's research correspondence and notes on the collection.

Personal correspondence includes letters from several prisoners at Leavenworth Prison in Kansas (1913); Maine writer Rachel Field Pederson; Noreen Barraclough Allen Hill, Marchioness of Downshire; and sympathy letters upon the death of Gertrude's husband Ralph in 1932. Papers related to her acting, music, and speaking career include music arrangements and lyrics (1916-1920), copyright agreements, correspondence related to her women's club talks, letters to her agent, "fan mail," and letters of recommendation. Papers about her Oct. 1957 appearance on the "Garry Moore Show" in New York include travel arrangements and letters of congratulation, including a letter from Fess Parker, who appeared with her in the television series "Little Margie." Also included is a Santa Barbara proclamation of "Mrs. Gertrude Hoffmann Appreciation Day" (17 May 1966) and a July 1968 estate inventory and appraisal.

Writings consist of a few fictional short stories, historical essays, and reminiscences, including "The Wesselhoefts in Cambridge" (1905), "The Santa Barbara Earthquake" (1926), "Ralph Hoffmann as I Knew Him" (1939), and numerous iterations of "Crashing Hollywood at the Age of Sixty-Two" (1937). Scripts from her many women's club talks in the 1940s focus on her Hollywood experiences. Also included are several musical arrangements, essays, and poetry.

Volumes primarily consist of diaries in which Gertrude recorded daily events and activities, notations about her family, and letters sent and received, including five year "line-a-day" diaries from 1919 to 1958. Three "baby diaries" record the milestones in the infancy and childhood of her children Eleanor and Walter with sporadic entries. Travel diaries chronicle her trips to Germany in 1908, to St. Louis and Boston in 1919, to New York in 1924 and 1958, and to England in 1958. Other volumes contain memoranda, poetry, extracts from writings, records of Gertrude's correspondence, and details of her women's club talks.

Printed material consists of Gertrude's 1894 wedding invitation, programs, and newspaper clippings describing Gertrude's performances as a church soloist and actress in Santa Barbara's Lobero Theater, including Wappin' Wharf (1925), Dr. Knock (1930), and Escape. Beginning in 1933, material includes press clippings for Gertrude's Hollywood performances and feature articles about her career, including mentions in the columns of Hedda Hopper and Variety's "Hollywood Insider." Included is material related to her part in Alfred Hitchcock's Foreign Correspondent (1940) and her part as Mrs. Odetts in the television series "My Little Margie." Some clippings are related to her women's club talks, including promotional material. Also included is a copy of her May 1940 Saturday Evening Post article "Crashing Hollywood at Sixty" and her 1968 obituary.

Biographical material includes typescripts of articles and sketches about Gertrude.

Eleanor's wide-ranging personal correspondence includes letters from Adrian von Szemza of Hungary, Henry J. Doermann, headmaster of the Hampton Institute and later president of the University of Toledo; American poet and literary critic Leonard Bacon; Maine writer Rachel Lyman Field Pederson; New York drama critic and Yale professor Walter P. Eaton; Ethel John Lindgren; champion horse breeder Sara Farley Lokem; British-American anthropologist Ashley Montague; Ivan T. Sanderson, a Scottish-American writer and naturalist; inventor and actor Otis Barton; and many others. Also included are letters from Julia Child (Nov. 1968), Fess Parker (1972), and U.S. cabinet secretary Caspar Weinberger (1973, 1974).

Topics include family and social activities; her teaching position at Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute; travel arrangements and experiences in Europe, North Africa, Hawaii, and the Caribbean; writing and publishing advice; congratulations on her publications of various articles and books, including Mischief in Fez (1944) and Realm of the Evening Star (1968); condolences upon the death of her mother Gertrude in 1968; the attempted publication of her manuscript "Obelisks"; and her research and writing about the voyages of Capt. Cook.

Publishing records consist of correspondence and personalized rejection notices from children's literature publications and periodicals. Also included is correspondence with literary agents, correspondence related to the publication of Mischief in Fez, The Lion of Barbary, The Mystery of the Lion Ring, The Charm Stone, and Realm of the Evening Star, as well as contracts, royalty statements, third-party correspondence related to her writings, notes, and letters of appreciation. Papers from 1968 to 1973 largely concern Eleanor's manuscript "Obelisks." Papers after Eleanor's death in 1990 are primarily those of Gertrude Hoffmann Bliss and Caroline Williams, including copyright inquiries, legal correspondence, 1993 copyright renewal registrations for Realm of the Evening Star, and correspondence related to the development of a children's play from Eleanor's book, Mischief in Fez.

Legal records include Eleanor's birth certificate, papers related to her Santa Barbara home (previously owned by her parents), Eleanor's 1979 and 1981 wills, an inventory of her estate, and papers documenting the bequest of her library.

Eleanor used her diaries and notebooks for a variety of purposes, including expenses and accounts, appointments, addresses and telephone numbers, lists of books and reference material, records of manuscripts sent to publishers, and autobiographical material. Many of her notes are related to her travels - some are simple financial accounts and addresses, others are diary entries describing her experiences in more detail, including her trips to Europe, Morocco, Egypt, Hawaii, the Caribbean, and Polynesia.

Biographical material includes printed biographical sketches and correspondence of family members about Eleanor's life.