Overview
This collection documents Joseph Vera’s association with the Harvard fencing team, the Harvard Glee Club, his participation in Class of 1950 reunions, and his attendance at athletic events including Harvard football games. Joseph Sequeira Vera (1928-2018), a lawyer, received an AB from Harvard University (1950), a Juris Doctor from Boston University (1953), and a Master of Laws from Georgetown University (1955). He practiced law in New Bedford, Massachusetts from 1954-1970 before accepting a position as director of fair housing enforcement in the Boston office of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development in 1971; he retired in 1992.
Dates
- Creation: 1929-1930, 1947-2000
Researcher Access
Open for research.
Extent
2.49 cubic feet (3 flat boxes, 1 portfolio folder, 1 pamphlet binder, 1 fencing foil box)This collection documents Joseph Vera’s association with the Harvard fencing team, the Harvard Glee Club, his participation in Class of 1950 reunions, and his attendance at athletic events including Harvard football games. Of particular interest are photographs of Vera in his fencing uniform and with the fencing team (1947-1950) as well as a description of his fencing career found in The Second H Book of Harvard Athletics 1923-1963. Also included are photographs of M. René Peroy (1885-1963), Harvard’s fencing coach from 1929 to 1952, who guided Vera to the 1950 Intercollegiate Foils Championship. The fencing foil which Vera used as an undergraduate student is also in the collection. Other items in the collection include Vera’s membership certificate for the Harvard Glee Club; a plaque given to Vera upon his election to the Harvard Varsity Club Hall of Fame in 1995; Class of 1950 reunion objects including an ashtray, tote bag, t-shirt, and baseball cap; and Harvard related ephemera such as a cup, pins, and a sweater.
Biographical note
Joseph Sequeira Vera (1928-2018), a lawyer, received an AB from Harvard University (1950), a Juris Doctor from Boston University (1953), and a Master of Laws from Georgetown University (1955). He practiced law in New Bedford, Massachusetts from 1954-1970 before accepting a position as director of fair housing enforcement in the Boston office of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development in 1971; he retired in 1992. At Harvard, Vera’s concentration was in social relations. He participated in fencing and boxing and was a member of the Harvard Glee Club, Radio Workshop, Student Council, and Phillips Brooks House. Vera was University boxing champion in 1948 and won the Intercollegiate Foils championship in 1950. He regularly attended Harvard football games, and invitational track events, and participated in art appreciation courses. Vera married Cecilia Silva Baldo (died 1989) on January 28, 1951 (divorced March 1978); married Jane Creed (born 1937) on September 4, 1981. Vera had six children: Joseph (born 1952), Lynn (born 1954), Cecilia (born 1955), Louise (1958), Anne (born 1960), and Ellen (born 1962).
Arrangement
The collection is organized into four series, which are alphabetically arranged:
- Class of 1950 reunion objects, circa 1975
- Harvard fencing records and memorabilia, 1929-1930, 1947-1995
- Harvard Glee Club membership certificate, circa 1950
- Harvard related objects and ephemera, 1950-2000
Acquisition information
Joseph Vera collection of Harvard memorabilia donated to the Harvard University Archives.
- Accession number: 2018.099; 2017 August 21.
References
- Joseph Vera Lived Life of Civic Engagement, Volunteerism. Accessed September 4, 2018. https://vineyardgazette.com/obituaries/2018/05/30/joseph-vera-lived-life-civic-engagement-volunteerism.
- Vera, Joseph Sequeira. Harvard Class of 1950, Triennial Report. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Printed for the Class, 1953.
- Vera, Joseph Sequeira. Harvard Class of 1950, Twenty-fifth Anniversary Report. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Printed for the Class, 1975.
- Vera, Joseph Sequeira. Harvard Class of 1950, Forty-fifth Anniversary Report. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Printed for the Class, 1995.
- Vera, Joseph Sequeira. Harvard Class of 1950, Fiftieth Anniversary Report. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Printed for the Class, 2000.
- Vera, Joseph Sequeira. The Harvard Yearbook. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Harvard Yearbook Publications, 1950.
Processing Information
Joseph Vera collection of Harvard memorabilia processed in September 2018 by Dominic P. Grandinetti. Processing included rehousing the records into appropriate containers and the creation of this finding aid. Folder titles supplied by the archivist.
Subject
- Harvard Fencing Club. (Organization)
- Harvard Glee Club (Organization)
- Harvard Varsity Club (Organization)
- Peroy, M. René, 1885-1963 (Person)
- Harvard University -- Students (Organization)
- Harvard University -- Alumni and alumnae (Organization)
- Harvard University -- Student life (Organization)
- Title
- Joseph Vera collection of Harvard memorabilia, 1929-1930, 1947-2000: an inventory
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- hua39018
Repository Details
Part of the Harvard University Archives Repository
Holding nearly four centuries of materials, the Harvard University Archives is the principal repository for the institutional records of Harvard University and the personal archives of Harvard faculty, as well as collections related to students, alumni, Harvard-affiliates and other associated topics. The collections document the intellectual, cultural, administrative and social life of Harvard and the influence of the University as it emerged across the globe.
Pusey Library
Harvard Yard
Cambridge MA 02138 USA
(617) 495-2461
archives_reference@harvard.edu