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COLLECTION Identifier: bMS 575

Foote, Henry Wilder, 1875-1964. Papers of Professor Henry Wilder Foote and Family, 1714-1959.

Overview

Papers of Daniel Appleton White (1776-1861); wives; children including of daughter Mary Wilder Foote (1810-1857) and son William Orne White (1821-1911), William's wife, Margaret Harding White, and their children. Papers of Caleb Foote (1803-1894), his children including sons, Arthur William Foote (1853-1937) and Henry Wilder Foote (1838-1889), Henry's wife, Frances Ann Eliot Foote (1838-1896), and children. Papers of Henry Wilder Foote II (1875-1964), son of Henry Wilder Foote, of his wife Eleanor Tyson Cope Foote (b. 1879), and son Arthur Foote (II). Miscellaneous papers of ancestral families of Henry Wilder Foote II and William Orne White, including the Deadmans, the Eliots, the Flaggs, the Footes, the Haynes, the Lymans, the Ornes, the Wests, the Whites, and the Wilders.

Dates

  • Creation: 1714-1959

Access

There are no restrictions on access to this collection.

Extent

127 boxes

The collection includes twenty-two series (distinguished by the twenty-three individuals and ten families who were apparent owners and authors) of correspondence; journals; manuscripts of addresses and sermons; legal records; and some financial records. The bulk of the collection dates from the nineteenth century and documents the many and varied relationships between members of the extended Foote family as they lived, worked, and traveled around the world. The collection also depicts the work and relationships of New England religious leaders and the relationship between clergy and academia in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The correspondence and journal entries also reveal a perspective of the roles and relationships among the women of the extended Foote family in the family and in nineteenth century society. Some correspondence relates the role of Wilder and Hurd family members who participated in the war opposing the Guadeloupe Revolution in the early nineteenth century.

Biographical / Historical

Professor Henry Wilder Foote (1875-1964) was a Unitarian minister who preached in congregations throughout the United States. He was an Associate Professor at Harvard Divinity School and served as secretary to the Divinity School faculty from 1914-1925. He also served as secretary to the American Unitarian Association from 1911-1914. Professor Foote was a highly regarded author, historian, and hymnologist. His publications include works about American history and hymnody as well as a hymnal widely used by Unitarian Universalist congregations.

The extended Foote family history has close ties with Unitarianism and with Harvard University. The elder Henry Wilder Foote married Frances Eliot Foote, the younger sister of Harvard President Charles W. Eliot.

Arrangement

The collection is organized by family and generation:

  1. Series I. Daniel Appleton White (b. June 7, 1776; d. March 30, 1861)
  2. Subseries A. Daniel Appleton White correpondence
  3. Subseries B. Daniel Appleton White writings
  4. Subseries C. Daniel Appleton White journals
  5. Series II. Wives of Daniel Appleton White
  6. Subseries A. Mary Wilder (van Schalkwyck) White (b. October 8, 1780; d. June 29, 1811) correspondence
  7. Subseries B. Eliza Orne (Wetmore) White (d. March 27, 1821) correspondence
  8. Subseries C. Ruth Hurd White correspondence
  9. Series III. Children of Daniel Appleton White
  10. Subseries A. Mary Wilder White Foote (b. December 12, 1810; d. December 24, 1857) correspondence
  11. Subseries B. Mary Wilder White Foote (b. December 12, 1810; d. December 24, 1857) journals
  12. Subseries C. Eliza Appleton White Dwight (b. May 4, 1809)
  13. Subseries D. William Orne White (b. February 21, 1821; d. February 17, 1911) correspondence
  14. Subseries E. William Orne White (b. February 21, 1821; d. February 17, 1911) writings
  15. Subseries F. William Orne White (b. February 21, 1821; d. February 17, 1911) journals
  16. Subseries G. Emily Hurd White Morison correspondence
  17. Series IV. Caleb Foote (b. February 28, 1893; d. June 17, 1894)
  18. Subseries A. Caleb Foote correspondence
  19. Subseries B. Caleb Foote journals
  20. Series V. Children of Caleb Foote
  21. Subseries A. Henry Wilder Foote (b. June 2, 1838; d. May 29, 1889) correspondence
  22. Subseries B. Henry Wilder Foote (b. June 2, 1838; d. May 29, 1889) writings
  23. Subseries C. Henry Wilder Foote (b. June 2, 1838; d. May 29, 1889) journals
  24. Subseries D. Mary Wilder Foote Tileston (b. August 20, 1843; d. July 3, 1934) correspondence
  25. Subseries E. Mary Wilder Foote Tileston (b. August 20, 1843; d. July 3, 1934) journals
  26. Subseries F. Amelia Peabody Tileston, daughter of Mary Wilder Foote Tileston (b. October 30, 1872; d. February 22, 1920), correspondence
  27. Subseries G. Arthur William Foote (b. March 5, 1853; d. April 9, 1937) correspondence
  28. Series VI. Margaret Harding White, wife of William Orne White
  29. Margaret Harding White correspondence
  30. Series X. Margaret Harding White journals
  31. Series VII. Children of William Orne White
  32. Subseries A. Eliza Orne White II (b. August 2, 1856; d. 1947) correspondence
  33. Subseries B. Eliza Orne White II (b. August 2, 1856; d. 1947) journals
  34. Subseries C. Rose White (adopted) correspondence
  35. Series VIII. Francis Ann Eliot Foote, wife of Henry Wilder Foote (b. May 22, 1838; d. December 17, 1896)
  36. Subseries A. Frances Ann Eliot Foote correspondence
  37. Subseries B. Francis Ann Eliot Foote journals
  38. Series IX. Children of Henry Wilder Foote
  39. Subseries A. Mary Foote (b. November 6, 1864; d. December 10, 1885) correspondence
  40. Subseries B. Dorothea Foote Merriman (b. November 3, 1880) correspondence
  41. Subseries C. Frances Eliot Foote II (b. February 2, 1875)
  42. Subseries D. Henry Wilder Foote II (b. February 2, 1875; d. August 27, 1964) correspondence
  43. Subseries E. Henry Wilder Foote II (b. February 2, 1875; d. August 27, 1964) writings
  44. Subseries F. Henry Wilder Foote II (b. February 2, 1875; d. August 27, 1964) journals
  45. Series X. Eleanor Tyson Cope Foote, wife of Henry Wilder Foote II (b. November 9, 1879), correspondence
  46. Series XI. Children of Henry Wilder Foote II
  47. Subseries A. Arthur Foote II correspondence
  48. Series XII. Deadman Family (maternal side of Caleb Foote), correspondence
  49. Series XIII. Eliot Family (family of Francis Ann Eliot Foote), correspondence
  50. Series XIV. Flagg family (maternal side of Mary Wilder White), correspondence
  51. Series XV. Haynes Family (maternal side of Daniel Appleton White), correspondence
  52. Series XVI. Foote Family, correspondence
  53. Series XVII. Lyman Family (maternal side of Frances Ann Eliot Foote), correspondence
  54. Series XVIII. Orne Family (family of Eliza Orne White), correspondence
  55. Series XIX. West Family (maternal side of Caleb Foote), correspondence
  56. Series XX. White Family, correspondence
  57. Series XXI. Wilder Family (family of Mary Wilder White), correspondence
  58. Series XXII. Miscellaneous unclassified documents, correspondence and other papers

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Professor Henry Wilder Foote, 1960.

Digitization Funding

Collections and items have been digitized with the generous support of The Polonsky Foundation.

Processed by

Fernando Peña, 1996

Title
Foote, Henry Wilder, 1875-1964. Papers of Professor Henry Wilder Foote and Family, 1714-1959: A Finding Aid
Author
Andover-Harvard Theological Library
Language of description
und
EAD ID
div00575

Repository Details

Part of the Harvard Divinity School Library, Harvard University Repository

Special Collections at Harvard Divinity School Library preserves and makes accessible primary source materials documenting the history of religion and theology, with particular historical emphasis on American liberal religious traditions. Though the historical strengths of the collections have been in the field of Christianity, other religious traditions are increasingly reflected, in step with Harvard Divinity School's evolving focus on global religious studies. Known as Andover-Harvard Theological Library since 1911, it was renamed the Harvard Divinity School Library in 2021.

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