1682-1990; bulk: 1823-1962
Guide to the Collection
Abstract
This collection consists of papers of the Head family, Lean family, and related families, including letters, documents, clippings, research notes and copies, oral histories, published items, and other materials.
Biographical Sketches
William Charles Barnett Head (1824-1902) was a dentist in Louisiana and other locations who settled in Germantown, Pennsylvania, following the Civil War. His wife Elizabeth Lean (Fields) Head (1833-1914) founded Mrs. Head's School in Germantown. Their children included: son Lean Fields Head (1859-1911), who practiced dentistry in France and Spain; son Joseph Head (1862-1950), also a dentist, who married Annie Lyndesay Wilkinson (1875-1961); daughter Harriet Frazier Head (1867-1944), a graduate of Bryn Mawr and teacher; and son Francis Head (1870-1947), an engineer in Baltimore, Maryland, and Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Collection Description
This collection consists of papers of the Head family, Lean family, and related families, including letters, documents, clippings, research notes and copies, oral histories, published items, and other materials. Family members most heavily represented in the collection include William Charles Barnett Head (1824-1902); his wife Elizabeth Lean (Fields) Head (1833-1914); their children Lean Fields Head (1859-1911), Joseph Head (1862-1950), Harriet Frazier Head (1867-1944), and Francis Head (1870-1947); and Joseph's wife Annie Lyndesay (Wilkinson) Head (1875-1961). The bulk of the correspondence is with family members at Franklin, Louisiana, and Germantown, Pennsylvania.
Also included is "The Head Family History," an extensive genealogy with biographical information and copies of photographs, letters, and documents, compiled by Anne Fetter Sandy; item inventories of letters, clippings, and other papers and photographs in the collection; two scrapbooks, one containing clippings on royalty around the world; and notes, oral histories, and other research materials collected by Sandy in preparation of her family history.
Arrangement
This collection has been arranged according to item inventory numbers used by Anne Fetter Sandy in her "Head Family History." Box 1 contains Sandy's history, and OS Box 1 contains the inventories with her numbers. Head family papers are divided into four series (Series II-V): letters, documents, miscellaneous papers, and news clippings. Each series contains materials numbered by Sandy, arranged according to these numbers, as well as unnumbered items arranged topically and/or chronologically. Additional research materials compiled by Sandy are located in Series VI.
Acquisition Information
Gift of Anne Fetter Sandy, October 1993.
Detailed Description of the Collection
I. History and inventories
"The Head Family History"
Inventory of letters in the collection
Inventory of documents in the collection
Inventory of miscellaneous papers in the collection
Inventory of clippings in the collection
Inventory of photographs in the collection
Photographs have been removed to the MHS Photo Archives.
II. Head family letters
Numbered series
0012-0245
0246-0421
0422-0548
0549-0700
0701-0858
0859-1025
1026-1119
Unnumbered series, 1862-1928
Letters to Harriet Frazier Head, undated, 1897-1918
Mrs. Head's School letters, 1883, 1905-1928
Letters to Elizabeth Lean Fields, 1874-1902
Letters from the Harte family, undated, 1862-1889
Miscellaneous letters, undated
Condolence letters on the death of Annie Louise (Head) Randolph, 1879
Christmas cards to Joseph Head, Sr. and Annie Lyndesay (Wilkinson) Head, 1927
Greeting cards to Harriet Frazier Head, undated
III. Head family documents
Numbered series, 0001-0125
Receipts of William Charles Barnett Head and Elizabeth Lean (Fields) Head, 1855-1925
Unnumbered receipts, undated, 1858-1923
Stock certificates, 1908-1937
IV. Miscellaneous papers
See Materials Removed from the Collection for photographs, artifacts, and printed items removed from this series.
Numbered series
0004 - Scrapbook, 1901-1907
0005-0277
Unnumbered series
Cards/invitations, Joseph Head, Sr., undated
Memorabilia of Annie Wilkinson
Memoriam of Elizabeth Lean Head
Empty envelopes
Scrapbook, 1892-1898
V. News clippings
Numbered series, 0001-0053
Unnumbered series, undated
VI. Anne Fetter Sandy research materials
Oral history transcript, Joe Head and Howard Head, 16 May 1987
Notes, transcription of conversation between Howard Head and Jean Cooper, undated
Oral history interview with Howard Head, 18 October 1988
Reminiscences of Elizabeth Lean (Fields) Head and Dr. Joseph Head, undated
Notes, transcription of conversation between Gloria Green and Jean Cooper, 29 June 1990
Miscellaneous research notes, copies, etc.
Preferred Citation
Head 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 MHS Photo Archives.
Artifacts have been removed to the MHS Artifacts Collection.
Printed materials removed from this collection include:
The Holy Bible, Containing the Old and New Testaments, Translated out of the Original Tongues. New York: American Bible Society, 1867. 2 vols. (Misc. 0002/0003)
Quintus Horatius Flaccus, 1803. (Misc. 0017)
Eaton, Cyrus. Annals of the Town of Warren, with the Early History of St. George's, Broad Bay, and the Neighboring Settlements on the Waldo Patent. Hallowell, Me.: Masters, Smith & Co., 1851. (Misc. 0018)
Adams, F. Colburn. Siege of Washington, D.C., Written Expressly for Little People. New York: Dick and Fitzgerald, 1867. (Misc. 0019)
Watson, Henry C. The Yankee Tea-Party; or, Boston in 1773. Philadelphia: Lindsay and Blakiston, 1851. (Misc. 0020)
The Album of Love. New York: Leavitt and Allen, 1853. (Misc. 0048)
Montgomery, James. The Wanderer of Switzerland, The West Indies, and Other Poems. Philadelphia: Mitchell, Ames and White, 1818. (Misc. 0049)
Jachin and Boaz; or, an Authentic Key to the Door of Free-Masonry, Both Ancient and Modern. New York: E. Duyckinck, 1814. (Misc. 0051)
In Memoriam, Elizabeth Lean Head: 1833-1914. [U.S.: s.n., 1914].
Program: Mrs. Head's School for Young Ladies and Little Girls, [1893-1894]. Philadelphia: Wm. F. Fell and Co., 1893.