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COLLECTION Identifier: MC 773

Ames family historical collection, 1762-2006

Overview

Correspondence, diaries, financial papers, etc. of multiple generations of the Ames, Lesley, and Lyman families.

Dates

  • Creation: 1762-2006

Language of Materials

Materials in English.

Access Restrictions:

Access. Folders #200.1 - 201.9 in Series XIV are closed until January 1, 2050. The remainder of the collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright. Copyright in the papers created by the Ames family is held by the President and Fellows of Harvard College for the Schlesinger Library. Copyright in other papers in the collection may be held by their authors, or the authors' heirs or assigns.

Copying. Papers may be copied in accordance with the library's usual procedures.

Extent

101.08 linear feet ((237 file boxes, 2 half file boxes, 2 folio boxes) plus 6 folio folders, 10 folio+ folders, 6 oversize folders, 2 supersize folders, 171 photograph folders, 4 folio photograph folders, 14 glass negatives, 1 object, electronic records)

The Ames family historical collection includes genealogical and biographical material; correspondence; published and unpublished writings such as essays, poems, memoirs, and diaries; legal, financial and estate records such as wills, stocks, account books, and receipts; business records; drawings; photographs; printed articles; records of organizations in which family members were active; all documenting family members' lives and views on politics, finances, social mores, health, books, travel, and charitable activities.

Ames family members organized the collection over a number of years and created an inventory; their original arrangement has been retained. Some material was described or listed at the item level, some only at the folder level. Most series included unlisted material marked "to be filed in"; this material has been added to the appropriate existing folders by Schlesinger Library archivists. Material is arranged in series by family member or group of family members, and is further arranged by type of material; for example, all correspondence is together, followed by all diaries. In most cases, education-related material is filed with "organizations." Much of the description at the folder level was provided by Ames family members, and often includes the cities letters were sent from; Schlesinger Library archivists provided further description of the material in the collection. When complete folder contents are listed at the item-level, the detailed descriptions of items are indented (see folder #1.4 as an example of this).

The collection was housed for many years in trunks at the Ames family house at 501 Grand Avenue in St. Paul, Minnesota. Mary Lesley Wolff inherited it, and moved the material to Boulder, Colorado. She employed Karl and Margaret Stone to organize the material beginning in the mid 1990s; Stone's notes about material throughout the collection are present at the end of most series, along with notes from family members active in the organizing and cataloging of the collection: Mary Lesley Wolff, her cousin Leila Jackson Poullada, and her daughter Linda Ames Cowan.

The collection is arranged by family member, with most series including papers of a married couple. Some family members are represented by one folder of material, some by 90 boxes. Most letters between family members are found in the series of the oldest family member involved in the correspondence. For example, all correspondence between J. Peter and Susan Lyman Lesley (Series VI) and their children can be found in Series VI, even though their daughters's papers comprise Series VIII and XIV. When possible, cross references have been provided when a family member's material of any kind can been found in a different family member's papers. Individuals are identified in this finding aid by their complete names, following the convention of the Ames family organizers, who also used initials to identify family members. In some cases, individuals used a more familiar form of their name in common practice - Theodore Gordon Ames was known as Ted and also as Theo to his family and friends - but remain identified here by the complete name.

The largest series in the collection are Series VI and Series VIII. Series VI holds the papers of J. Peter Lesley and Susan Inches Lyman Lesley. Papers of their parents and other older relatives are found in Series II through V. The Lyman family lived in Massachusetts, particularly in Northampton, Milton, and Cambridge. Lyman family members were abolitionists, and traveled in social circles of other notable 19th century Massachusetts thinkers, including Ralph Waldo Emerson, Lydia Maria Child, and Edward Everett Hale. The Lesley family was from Philadelphia, and Peter Lesley and Susan Lyman met when he was a minister at her relatives' church in Milton. Peter and Susan Lesley's daughter Mary married into the Ames family. The papers of Mary Lesley Ames and her husband Charles Wilberforce Ames form Series VIII. Charles Wilberforce Ames' parents' papers are in Series VII. Charles Gordon Ames and his family lived in Minnesota, Philadelphia, and then Boston; Charles Gordon Ames knew Peter and Susan Lesley through the Spring Garden Church in Philadelphia. Their children married, and then moved west to St. Paul, Minnesota. Series IX holds the papers of Mary Lesley Ames' sister Margaret Lesley Bush-Brown. The remaining series document the lives of Charles Wilberforce Ames and Mary Lesley Ames's six children.

Family members represented in this collection fought in the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, World War I, and World War II. They endured dementia, breast cancer, untimely deaths of children, suicide. They traveled to China, to Europe, to Egypt, and across the United States. They wrote countless love letters, letters between children and parents, and accounts of their lives to far-flung friends. They kept work account books, personal diaries, and travel scrapbooks. They saved hair of children and of elderly parents, photographs of friends met abroad, programs from school plays, ships passenger lists and menus.

Material throughout the collection documents the anti-slavery movement, the 19th century westward expansion of the United States, nineteenth century "charity" work on behalf of orphans and poor children, World War I relief work, Unitarianism, single-sex private secondary schools, and international travel.

Civil war-era material includes diaries of Catherine Robbins (#12.2-12.3v), who described the news of battles as she heard them in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and also detailed local reactions to the Emancipation Proclamation. J. Peter Lesley was traveling throughout Pennsylvania during some of these years, his diaries have notations based on important political news. Some letters to Susan Inches Lyman Lesley from the years leading up to the Civil War describe meetings with friends who hid fugitive slaves, and discuss sympathies for the actions of abolitionist John Brown.

Charles Wilberforce Ames, Mary Lesley Ames and their children were all involved in World War I relief work. Sons Charles Lesley Ames and Theodore Gordon Ames, as well as son-in-law Bronson Crothers served in the US Army. The Ames family founded a St. Paul branch of the Fatherless Children of France, and volunteered their large home as a headquarters. They also ran the local American Fund for the French Wounded from their home. In 1916 Alice Ames Crothers and Margaret Ames Wright lived in Paris to assist with distributing aid to the front. Charles Wilberforce Ames and Theodore Gordon Ames were also in France in the summer of 1916, Theodore Gordon Ames drove ambulances. Elizabeth "Betty" Ames Jackson worked in Paris in 1918. Charles Wilberforce Ames's sister Edith Winter Ames was also involved in relief work. The letters of these family members tell about their efforts and realities on the ground in France; letters from Frenchmen they helped attest to the immediacy of the work.

Individual lives and topics are described in greater detail at the series level.

Series II, PAPERS OF ELIZABETH MURRAY ROBBINS (1756-1837) AND EDWARD HUTCHINSON ROBBINS (1758-1829), 1775-ca.1883, undated (#1.1-1.6, F+D.1), includes family correspondence and a few handwritten essays and poems. Several folders of correspondence are to Elizabeth Murray Robbins from her daughter Anne Jean Robbins Lyman (1789-1867) and her son-in-law Judge Joseph Lyman III (1767-1847). Correspondence of Elizabeth Murray Robbins's Murray relatives is also included; several of these relate to Revolutionary War matters. Elizabeth Murray Robbins' sister Dorothy Murray (1745-1811) married John Forbes and had sons James Murray Forbes and John Forbes. The papers of most of the Robbins children can be found in Series III and IV.

Series III, PAPERS OF ANNE JEAN ROBBINS LYMAN (1789-1867), JUDGE JOSEPH LYMAN (1767-1847), AND FAMILY, 1808-1921, undated (#1.7-7.19, FD.1, F+D.2) includes correspondence, journals, writings, and obituaries. This series contains the papers of Anne Jean and Joseph Lyman, as well as four of the Lyman's children and their families. Papers of daughter Susan Inches Lyman Lesley are in Series VI.

Subseries A, Papers of Anne Jean Robbins Lyman (1789-1867) and Judge Joseph Lyman (1767-1847), 1808-1908 (#1.7-7.2, FD.1, F+D.2), includes correspondence, journals, wills, and writings. The subseries is primarily correspondence, which is described in detail at the folder level. Letters describe life in Northampton, Massachusetts, in the 1820s through 1840s. The Lyman daughters attended the Deerfield School and George Barrell Emerson's school for girls in Boston. Anne Jean Robbins Lyman wrote frequently to her daughter Susan about the books she read, music and theater productions she attended, and her opinions on national and local politics. Letters in response from Susan Inches Lyman Lesley describe her school life, her early married life with J. Peter Lesley, and her opinions on slavery, religion, and parenthood. Letters from son Edward Lyman describe European travel in the 1840s and 1850s, including an account of Napoleon's funeral. Letters from daughter Catherine Lyman Delano describe her trip to and life in Canton, China, in the 1840s. Anne Jean Robbins Lyman's correspondence also includes letters from Ralph Waldo Emerson (#5.19) and from his brother Charles Chauncey Emerson (#5.16-5.18); letters from Charles Emerson often describe the exploits, sermons, travels, etc. of Ralph Waldo Emerson. Letters from Anne Jean Robbins Lyman and Joseph Lyman to her mother Elizabeth Murray Robbins are in Series II. Photographs of paintings of the Lymans are in Series XVII.

Subseries B, Papers of Joseph Lyman IV (1812-1871), and his wife, Susan Bulfinch Coolidge Lyman (1812-1898), 1831-1859 (#7.3-7.5), contains correspondence, a biography, and a hair sample. See also #1.10 for correspondence with his parents, and #73.18-76.16 for correspondence with his sister Susan Inches Lyman Lesley. See also Series XVII for photographs of Joseph Lyman IV.

Subseries C, Papers of Anne Jean Lyman (1815-1837), 1827-1837 (#7.6-7.12), contains correspondence, volumes, and writings. Anne Jean Lyman's short life is mostly represented by letters received from her school friends. See also #1.11-1.14 for correspondence with her parents and #73.1-73.5 for correspondence with her sister Susan Inches Lyman Lesley.

Subseries D, Papers of Edward Hutchinson Robbins Lyman (1819-1899), 1837-1921 (#7.13-7.17), includes correspondence, a memoir, and obituaries. Some business correspondence is included, as are news accounts of his death and his gift of an Academy of Music to the town of Northampton, Massachusetts. See also #1.15-2.2 for correspondence with his parents, and #73.6-73.17 for correspondence with sister Susan Inches Lyman Lesley. See also Series XVII for photographs of Edward Hutchinson Robbins Lyman.

Subseries E, Papers of Catherine Robbins Lyman Delano (1825-1896) and Warren Delano II (1809-1898), 1843-1898 (#7.18-7.19), contain a poem dedicated to Catherine and an obituary for Warren Delano. See also #3.12-3.17 for correspondence with her parents and #71.18-72.30 for correspondence with sister Susan Inches Lyman Lesley. See also #95.7 for a diary from her time at the Deerfield School (ca.1836). See also Series XVII for photograph of Catherine and Warren Delano.

Series IV, PAPERS OF SIBLINGS OF ANNE JEAN ROBBINS LYMAN AND OTHER RELATIVES, 1809-1899, undated (#8.1-13.11), includes correspondence, diaries, wills, memorials, and obituaries. This series contains the papers of: Eliza Robbins (1786-1853); Sarah Lydia Robbins Howe (1787-1862) and her husband, Judge Samuel Howe (1785-1828); Edward Hutchinson Robbins (1792-1850); Mary Robbins Revere (1794-1879); James Murray Robbins (1796-1885), and his wife, Frances Mary Harris Robbins (ca.1796-1870); Catherine Robbins (1800-1884); John Murray Forbes (1813-1898) and son, William Hathaway Forbes (1840-?). Eliza, Sarah, Edward, Mary, James, and Catherine were siblings of Anne Jean Robbins Lyman. John Murray Forbes is Anne Lyman's cousin; his mother was Elizabeth Murray Robbins' sister Dorothy "Dolly?" Murray Forbes. The series is arranged with a subseries for each separate person.

Subseries A, Papers of Eliza Robbins (1786-1853), 1811-1863, undated (#8.1-8.16, 13.8), includes correspondence with family and friends, as well as an obituary and writing fragments of Eliza Robbins. The majority of the letters are written by Eliza Robbins, who reflects on her ongoing relationship with illness and melancholy, and her religious life. A few letters focus on her ideas about prison reform and include references to abolitionism. Letters include extensive description of Robbins's travels to Paris and Great Britain, with attention to landmarks and to the political conflict following the French Revolution of 1848. See also #3.19 for letters with sister Anne Jean Robbins Lyman.

Subseries B, Papers of Sarah Lydia Robbins Howe (1787-1862) and Judge Samuel Howe (1785-1828), 1809-1850 (#8.17-9.2), includes Sarah Howe's letters to family and friends, and several memorials of Samuel Howe. See also #3.20 for letters with sister Anne Jean Robbins Lyman, and #8.1-8.5 for letters with her sister Eliza Robbins.

Subseries C, Papers of Edward Hutchinson Robbins (1792-1850), 1840-1849, ca.1899, undated (#9.3), includes one folder of letters to family members and obituaries of Edward Hutchinson Robbins and his daughter Anne Smith Robbins.

Subseries D, Papers of Mary Robbins Revere (1794-1879), 1820-1871, undated (#9.4-9.9), contains letters Mary Revere wrote to family members. See also #3.21 for letters with sister Anne Jean Robbins Lyman. Photographs of Ed and Paul Revere in Civil War uniforms are in Series XVII.

Subseries E. Papers of James Murray Robbins (1796-1885), and his wife, Frances Mary Harris Robbins (ca.1796-1870), 1829-1887, undated (#9.10-9.11), includes family correspondence and James Murray Robbins' memoirs. See also Series XVII for a photograph of James Murray Robbins.

Subseries F, Papers of Catherine Robbins (1800-1884), 1825-1883 (#9.12-13.7, 13.9-13.10), include her diaries and correspondence with family and friends. The diaries span fifty years and in clear script Robbins tells of her daily activities, her relationships, and her interpretation of local and national topics and politics. Diaries written during the Civil War give a first-hand perspective on how people in Massachusetts was experiencing the war; Robbins remarks on public events as well as her privates doubts and fears. Catherine Robbins was a caretaker of her sister Anne Jean Robbins Lyman; her diaries and letters record Anne Jean Robbins Lyman's descent into dementia and the resulting difficulties for her family and caretakers. See also #3.22-4.5 for letters to her sister Anne Jean Robbins Lyman, and #65.21-71.3 for letters to her niece Susan Inches Lyman Lesley, some of which describe Mary Walker's activities and thoughts. See also #8.17 for letters with sister Sarah Lydia Robbins Howe.

Subseries G, Papers of John Murray Forbes (1813-1898) and son, William Hathaway Forbes (1840-1897), 1843-1899, undated (#13.11) contains one folder of correspondence, James Forbes' will, obituaries and tributes. William Forbes' obituary is also included. A photograph album commemorating the 50th wedding anniversary of John and Sarah Forbes is in Series XVII (#PD.xv); a list of photographs can be found in this series. See also #238.6 for Susan Inches Lyman Lesley's copy of a volume produced for the couple's 60th wedding anniversary.

Series V, PAPERS OF PETER LESLEY III (1793-1855), HIS WIVES, ELIZABETH OSWALD ALLEN LESLEY (1790-1832) AND SUSANNE ELIZABETH ROBBINS WHITEHEAD LESLEY (?-1855), AND HIS FATHER, PETER LESLEY II (1737-1816), 1762-1862 (#13.22-22.1v, F+D.3, OD.1), contains family and business correspondence, diaries, financial records, legal papers, etc. of cabinet maker and businessman Peter Lesley III, his two wives, and his father, cabinet maker Peter Lesley II (1737-1816). The series is arranged in two subseries.

Subseries A, Papers of Peter Lesley II , Elizabeth Oswald Allen Lesley, and Susanne Elizabeth Robbins Whitehead Lesley, 1795-1862 (#13.22-20.9, F+D.3, OD.1) contains family and business correspondence, legal and financial papers, a diary, and various writings. The family lived in Philadelphia yet Peter Lesley III was intensely involved with the development of the western United States, purchasing plots of land in Missouri and buying stock in canal companies and other industries involved in western expansion. A diary (#17.8) details his 1836 trip west to Missouri. Much of his business correspondence is with his various land agents in Missouri. The legal, financial, and estate papers include certificates for the Missouri land; stock transactions; indentures and bonds, including for a housewifery apprentice in 1816; and several folders of Lesley family checks, invoices and receipts which reveal their household and other purchases from 1814 to 1853: clothing, building materials, coffin and grave digging, church fees, etc. Photographs of Peter Lesley III are in Series XVII.

Subseries B, Papers of Peter Lesley II, 1762-1845 (#20.10-22.1v) include correspondence, stock and land transactions, and account books. Peter Lesley II was a cabinet maker who worked in Philadelphia. Several "shop account books" of Peter Lesley II (#21.2v-21.4v) record transactions made from 1793-1812. Many of his orders were for coffins, and the volumes often record intimate details about those for whom the coffins were made. Several other of Peter Lesley II's account books were later transformed into Peter Lesley III's recording of the financial transactions made by the estate of Peter Lesley II.

Series VI, PAPERS OF SUSAN INCHES LYMAN LESLEY (1823-1904) AND J. PETER LESLEY (1819-1903), 1832-1915 (#22.2-111.19, 238.6, FD.2, F+D.4-F+D.7, OD.2, SD.1), includes personal correspondence, diaries, sketchbooks and descriptions of foreign travel, published writings and manuscripts, poetry, and financial papers. Correspondence forms the bulk of the series, and is primarily family correspondence. This series is arranged into subseries by format. Other papers of J. Peter Lesley are at the American Philosophical Society. Photographs of J. Peter Lesley and Susan Inches Lyman Lesley are in Series XVII.

Subseries A. Correspondence, 1832-1904 (#22.2-95.6) includes Peter and Susan Lesley's correspondence with each other, their families and friends, business correspondence, and other letters relating to Susan's social work. Correspondence of Susan Inches Lyman Lesley with J. Peter Lesley includes letters sent throughout their disputed engagement (1848-early 1849) and up to their marriage in February 1849. Their letters to each other span more than 50 years, and are full of tales of daily activities, thoughts of national political events, family and health issues, and travel details. Like most couples, their letters to each other cover times they were apart, in this case, usually while J. Peter Lesley was conducting geologic surveys. Additionally, there is a large portion of letters written while they were traveling separately in Europe and Egypt between October 1866 and May 1868. From 1874 onward, J. Peter Lesley worked mostly from home in Philadelphia; his letters to Susan are from her travels to visit family and friends. Many of the folder titles include the cities of the letter writers; "Algonac" was the Delano estate in Newburgh, New York, where Susan often visited her sister Catherine Robbins Delano.

Also included are letters between the couple and their daughters, Mary Lesley Ames and Margaret Lesley Bush-Brown, as well as family members, including Catharine Robbins (Susan's aunt), and Peter's siblings Elizabeth Lesley Stilwell and Allen Voorhees Lesley. Correspondence with friends includes letters with Sara Delano Roosevelt, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Lydia Maria Child, and Edward Everett Hale. The letters include updates regarding social engagements, sketches and maps of J. Peter Lesley's geological surveying, and discussions concerning religion, slavery, the Civil War, and business transactions. J. Peter Lesley's letters from friends and colleagues often have his handwritten notes on them, usually identifying the sender; many of these are included in the inventory. Lesley's friend David Trumbull was the first Protestant missionary to Chile; his letters (#89.6-89.11) describe his journey and life there in the 1840s. Susan Lesley had several friends from her teenage days at George B. Emerson's school; letters with these women are in #86.1-87.5. One of these women was Lucretia Peabody Hale; Susan later became close to her siblings Susan Hale, Edward Everett Hale, and Charles Hale. Charles Hale was the US Consul to Egypt during the 1860s; Charles, Lucretia, and Susan Hale invited the Lesleys to travel with them on a journey down the Nile River in 1867. Letters with all of these Hales are found here, as are letters with Susan Lesley's friend Lizzie Ware (#87.15-88.13) which span the years from 1839 to 1870. Susan Inches Lyman Lesley also had a lengthy correspondence with Margaret Eliot Harding White (1823-1903), whom she called "Meggie." Susan Lesley and Meggie White shared similar political sympathies, and their letters from the 1850s and 1860s include discussions on slavery and abolition. Her husband, William Orne White (1821-1911) and children Eliza "Lily" White (1856-1947) and Alfred White, are frequent correspondents with Lesley family members.

Business correspondence includes that from J. Peter Lesley's early work as a colporteur, or peddler of religious tracts, and his short-lived career as a minister. Correspondence documents his work on the two geologic surveys of Pennsylvania and includes letters from both colleagues and friends he met while surveying. J. Peter Lesley's correspondence with colleagues includes notable figures in the development of natural science, including Leo Lesqueureux. Church correspondence reveals Susan Inches Lyman Lesley's role in founding the Spring Garden Unitarian Society. Susan Inches Lyman Lesley's involvement with the St. Mary Street school and day nursery is documented here (#94.17-94.19) with reports and lists of rules for the facility.

See also #2.3-3.11 for letters Susan and J. Peter Lesley wrote to her parents, and #13.18-15.11 for letters they exchanged with Peter Lesley III. Some letters from the Lesleys' European trips were written as extensive travelogues and are found in Subseries B, Diaries and Journals. Some of the correspondence between J. Peter Lesley and Susan Inches Lyman Lesley was published by Mary Lesley Ames in Life and Letters of Peter and Susan Lesley (New York : G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1909).

Subseries B. Diaries and journals, ca.1836-1897 (#95.7-105.17), contains Peter and Susan Lesley's diaries and journals, as well as a diary of her sister, Catherine Lyman Delano, several accounts of the Lesley's trip to Egypt in 1867 and 1868, and several sets of family letters written from overseas that provide a narrative account of those trips. The latter is primarily comprised of accounts from trips to Europe J. Peter Lesley made with his daughters in the 1870s and 1880s; details of the trip are described in epistolary form to those family members at home; the narrative is written by both father and daughter(s). Susan Inches Lyman Lesley's diaries are primarily from her youth, before her marriage, with several small pocket diaries dating from the late 186s to 1880s. Peter Lesley's diaries begin with several volumes from his 1844 travels and studies in Europe in 1844; other volumes from this same year are at the American Philosophical Society. "Records of My Youth" (#96.5v) is an annotated diary with selected entries from earlier journals and commentaries about them by J. Peter Lesley; the earliest copied entry is from November 1835 but primarily contains entries from 1839 to April 1844.; including his first years away from home, three "seasons" on the First Geologic Survey of Pennsylvania with Rogers, and a year at Princeton Seminary. The volume also contains, beginning from the other end, a record of sermons and lectures given at Milton, July 25, 1847, through October 21, 1848. J. Peter Lesley's pocket diaries from the 1850s and 1860s record details from his work as a geologist. Personal notations are scarce, but brief political commentaries, with notable ones relating to John Brown and Civil War events, are frequent. "Our Novel on the Nile" (#101.6-102.13) compiles a chronological narrative account of the couple's trip to Egypt with the Hales in 1867 and 1868; J. Peter Lesley's pocket diary from the trip (#101.3) contains his drawings of hieroglyphs and monuments. The subseries is arranged chronologically.

Subseries C. Writings and manuscripts, 1830-1904 (#106.1-108.7), includes Susan Inches Lyman Lesley and J. Peter Lesley's published and unpublished writings, some writings by others, and poetry. Susan Inches Lyman Lesley wrote several articles about charitable work and children's welfare, in addition to her volume about her mother's life. J. Peter Lesley's writings found here include several memoirs, undated musings on animals, geologic articles, and notes on linguistic subjects. Correspondence about some of these writings, particularly Susan Lesley's Recollections of My Mother, can be found in Subseries A. The subseries also includes a signed Ralph Waldo Emerson sermon from 1830.

Subseries D. Estate, financial, legal papers, 1849-1927 (#108.8-109.13, SD.1), includes wills, receipts, documents relating to the settling of Susan and J. Peter Lesley's estate, and to the estates of J. Peter Lesley's brothers who predeceased him. Other documents relating to the Lesley's estate are in Series VIII.

Subseries E. Organizations, 1835-1900 (#109.14-110.1), includes documents relating to the Pennsylvania Children's Aid Society, several Unitarian churches, the New Century Club, and the University of Pennsylvania. Correspondence relating to many of these organizations and to Susan and J. Peter Lesley's work with them can be found in Subseries A.

Subseries F. Other papers, ca.1825-1915 (#110.2-111.9, 238.6, F+D.5-F+D.7, OD.2), includes drawings, diplomas, passports, programs, hair, pressed flowers, and other ephemeral items. Also included are biographies and obituaries for Susan Inches Lyman Lesley and J. Peter Lesley, and a folder of butterflies and other insects drawn by J. Peter Lesley's brother Henry Voorhees Lesley, a talented artist. A nail which purportedly hung in John Brown's cell, which was sent to and saved by J. Peter Lesley, is also included.

Series VII. PAPERS OF CHARLES GORDON AMES (1828-1912), HIS WIVES, SARAH JANE DANIELS AMES (1828-1861) AND JULIA FRANCES "FANNY" BAKER AMES (1840-1931) AND THEIR RELATIVES, 1843-2001 (#112.1-128.11), primarily includes correspondence, as well as sermons and other writings, a few journals, drawings, legal documents, and ephemeral printed material like wedding announcements and calling cards. The majority of Series VII is comprised of the papers of Charles Gordon Ames and his wives; however, the papers of several other relatives are also included. These include Sarah Jane Daniels Ames's mother Joann Whitehouse Daniels and stepsister Mary Ann Daniels; Charles Gordon Ames and Sarah Jane Daniels Ames's adopted daughter Serena Ames Wright and her husband George Burdict Wright; Charles Gordon Ames and Fanny Baker Ames's two daughters Alice and Edith and their husbands Thomas Gerald Winter and Raymond Moreau Crosby; and Alice Ames Winter and Thomas Winter's daughter Edith Winter McGinnis. The series is arranged in seven subseries.

Subseries A, Papers of Charles Gordon Ames, Sarah Jane Daniels Ames, and Fanny Baker Ames, 1843-1961, 2001 (#112.1-126.9), contains a large amount of personal correspondence between the Ameses and their children, grandchildren, extended family members, and friends. Many letters between Charles Gordon and his son, Charles Wilberforce Ames, are written in Pitman's Shorthand; partial transcriptions by archivist Natalie Johnson are in folders #113.8-113.10. Additional correspondence regarding business, church, and genealogy is present, as well as manuscripts and published sermons by Charles Gordon Ames. Sermons include one Ames gave on John Brown on December 4, 1859 (#121.3). Several original writings including poetry, pamphlets, and advertisements authored by Charles Gordon Ames, Sarah Daniels Ames, and Fanny Baker Ames exemplify their diverse interests and affiliations. Small items such as stitchery, dried flowers, and locks of hair were kept by family members to remember their loved ones. Charles Gordon Ames and Fanny Baker Ames's letters with Susan Inches Lyman Lesley and J. Peter Lesley are in #54.18-54.25. Letters and other material relating to Charles Gordon Ames's ministry at Spring Garden Unitarian Society can be found in Series VI.

Subseries B, Papers of Joann Whitehouse Daniels (1802-1867), 1849-1868, 2000 (#126.10-127.8), includes personal correspondence, primarily with family members. Also included is some poetry, obituaries of relatives, two small cloth samples, and pressed leaves.

Subseries C, Papers of Mary Ann Daniels (ca. 1826-1854), 1847-1852 (#127.9-127.11), includes Mary Ann Daniels's journals and other personal writings. Additional materials include a small book and a few small items, such as a lock of hair, stitchery, and pressed flowers, originally contained within the book.

Subseries D, Papers of Serena Ames Wright (1840-1868) and George Burdict Wright (1835-1882), 1856-1969 (inclusive), 1856-1873 (bulk) (#127.12-127.18), contains correspondence, poetry by George Burdict Wright, legal documents, calling cards, and a printed memorial for Vernon Ames Wright. See also 112.6 -112.18 for letters with Charles Gordon Ames and Fanny Baker Ames; and #169.6-169.7 for letters with Charles Wilberforce Ames and Mary Lesley Ames.

Subseries E, Papers of Alice Ames Winter (1865-1944) and Thomas Gerald Winter (1864-1934), 1886-1944 (#127.19-128.3), contains personal correspondence with family members and friends, as well as excerpts of correspondence from Thomas Gerald Winter during World War I while he was stationed in France. Papers of Alice Ames Winter document events at Wellesley College and her involvement in various women's organizations. Newspaper articles regarding the accidental death of their son, Charles Gilbert Winter, are also included. See also #119.6-119.8 for letters with Charles Gordon Ames and Fanny Barker Ames, and #168.5-169.4 for letters with Charles Wilberforce Ames and Mary Lesley Ames.

Subseries F, Papers of Edith Winter McGinnis (1895-1965) and family, 1917-1945 (#128.4-128.6), contains correspondence, newspaper articles, and other documents from Edith Winter McGinnis's time in France during World War I, as well as several articles regarding her marriage to Knowlton Lyman Ames, Jr., in 1919. Also included is a newspaper article regarding the marriage of her son, Robert Dawes Ames to Kathryn Ann Wallace in 1945.

Subseries G, Edith Ames Crosby (1874-1964) and Raymond Moreau Crosby (1876-1945), 1877-1951, 2000 (#128.7-128.11), is comprised of correspondence and original writings by Edith Ames Crosby and drawings by Raymond Crosby. Additional miscellany includes a lock of Edith's hair when she was a child, Edith and Raymond's wedding announcement, and a passenger list from a steamship. See #119.9 for Edith Ames Crosby's letters with Fanny Baker Ames, and #168.1-168.3 for her letters with Charles Wilberforce Ames and Mary Lesley Ames.

Series VIII, Papers of Mary Lesley Ames (1853-1929) and Charles Wilberforce Ames (1855-1921), 1853-2000 (inclusive), 1862-1929 (bulk) (#128.12-184.7, 238.3, 239.1v, FD.3, F+D.8-F+D.9, OD.3-OD.4, SD.2), is comprised of personal correspondence with family and friends, business correspondence, handwritten volumes and typewritten copies of family journals, manuscripts, poetry, legal papers, and a guest book for their home at 501 Grand Avenue in St. Paul, Minnesota. A large portion of papers pertain to the publication of Life and Letters of Peter and Susan Lesley by Mary Lesley Ames. Papers also document the Ameses' extensive involvement in local organizations, such as the American Fund for French Wounded, New Century Club, Fatherless Children of France, Informal Club, and St. Paul Institute, among others. The Ameses were also very involved with the local Unitarian Church, as represented by correspondence, flyers, and other papers. Several of Mary Lesley Ames's childhood drawings (#110.2) are in Series VI, as is her correspondence with her parents (#41.16-54.10). See also #113.1-118.20 for correspondence with Charles Gordon Ames and Fanny Baker Ames. Charles Wilberforce Ames's correspondence with his parents is in Series VII. Photographs of Charles Wilberforce Ames, Mary Lesley Ames, and their children, are in Series XVII. The series is arranged in six subseries by format.

Subseries A, Correspondence, 1857-1991 (#128.12-175.7, OD.3), includes personal, business, and various other types of correspondence. Includes letters between Mary Lesley Ames and her sister Margaret Lesley Bush-Brown. The Ameses' correspondence with their children is extensive.

Subseries B, Diaries and journals, 1878-1929 (#175.8-177.6), includes several small pocket diaries belonging to Charles Wilberforce Ames, and typed transcriptions of family letters considered a "family journal."

Subseries C, Writings and manuscripts, 1853-1927 (#177.7-179.3), includes handwritten essays, poems, comedic songs and jokes, and printed material advertising Mary Lesley Ames's Life and Letters of Peter and Susan Lesley. A folder holding the contents of Charles Wilberforce Ames's desk contents is also included.

Subseries D, Estate, financial, legal papers, 1882-1937, 1992 (#179.4-180.7), contains wills, receipts, and material pertaining to the Lesleys' estate, and to Mary Lesley Ames' estate.

Subseries E, Organizations, 1865-1925 (#180.8-181.2, 238.3, 239.1v, F+D.8), includes documents and printed material relating to Charles Wilberforce Ames's academic career, the Unity Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, where the Ameses worshiped, and some programs from West Publishing Co. Also includes a scrapbook Charles Wilberforce Ames put together for his Cornell friends twenty years after their graduation. Correspondence related to most organizations and academic institutions in this subseries can be found in Subseries A.

Subseries F, Other papers, 1856-1929, 2000 (#181.3-184.7), includes theater and music programs, drawings, notes, obituaries, maps, lists, news articles, and a guest book for the Ames home at 501 Grand Avenue. The Ames family's extensive travel is well-documented; travel materials include passports, correspondence, receipts, informational booklets, steamship passenger lists, and maps of railway systems.

Series IX. PAPERS OF MARGARET LESLEY BUSH-BROWN (1857-1944), HENRY KIRKE BUSH-BROWN (1857-1935) AND CHILDREN, 1838-2000 (#184.8-186.14), includes correspondence, sketches, invitations and articles, etc., of artists Margaret Lesley Bush-Brown and Henry Kirke Bush-Brown. A small number of papers belonging to their four children is also included. The series is arranged in three subseries.

Subseries A, Papers of Margaret Lesley Bush-Brown and Henry Kirke Bush-Brown, 1838-2000 (inclusive), 1863-1929 (bulk) (#184.8-186.11), contains correspondence with family and friends, correspondence pertaining to artwork commissions and other business, and personal writings with writings of others, namely Elizabeth C. Udall and James C. Udall, Henry Kirke Bush-Brown's aunt and uncle. Additional materials include news articles featuring the Bush-Browns' artwork, invitations to exhibitions and unveiling ceremonies, and a travel journal from their wedding trip. See also #41.25-42.7 and 55.1-65.17 for correspondence with her parents. Correspondence with her sister Mary Lesley Ames and brother-in-law Charles Wilberforce Ames is in folders #157.1-166.5. An alphabet book Margaret Lesley Bush-Brown drew for her nephew Theodore Gordon Ames is in #226.12. Photographs of Margaret Lesley Bush-Brown are in Series XVII.

Subseries B, Papers of Lydia Bush-Brown Head (1887-1984) and Francis Head (ca.1870-1947), 1911-1953, 1976 (#186.12-186.13), contain a manuscript of Lydia Bush-Brown Head's childhood memories, newspaper articles about her silk murals, announcements for art exhibitions featuring her work, a wedding announcement for Lydia and Francis Head, and a letter from a lifelong friend of Lydia Bush-Brown Head, Fanny K. DeVine. Letters with her parents are in folder #185.1. Lydia Bush-Brown Head's papers are at Smith College.

Subseries C, Papers of Harold Bush-Brown (1888-1967), Malcolm Lesley Bush-Brown (1891-1920), and James Bush-Brown (1892-1986), 1899-1994 (#186.13), is comprised of correspondence with their parents and family, wedding announcements, a Christmas poem written in an illustrated booklet, and newspaper articles. Harold Bush-Brown's papers are at Georgia Institute of Technology.

Series X, PAPERS OF CHARLES LESLEY AMES (1884-1969) AND LINDA BAKER AMES (1893-1985), 1878-2000, (#187.1-191.11, 238.8-238.9, 241FB.1v, FD.4), includes personal correspondence with relatives and friends, business correspondence, travel journals, and personal writings. This series also contains letters and articles regarding the Ames Library of South Asia, newspaper articles regarding the Ameses' involvement in World War I, a scrapbook from Charles Lesley Ames's years at Harvard, passports, and hair samples. See also #139.7-142.4 for letters with Charles Wilberforce and Mary Lesley Ames. Letters with Charles Gordon Ames's grandmother Susan Inches Lyman Lesley are in folder #54.12. Correspondence with Charles Lesley Ames's siblings are in folders #227.7-229.6. Photographs of Charles Lesley Ames, Linda Baker Ames, including their wedding, are in Series XVII.

Series XI, PAPERS OF MARGARET AMES WRIGHT (1885-1956) AND CUSHING FREDERICK WRIGHT (1880-1961), 1885-2001 (inclusive), 1891-1957 (bulk) (#191.12-192.14), is comprised of correspondence with relatives and friends, letters from the American Fund for French Wounded and other war-related organizations, including many letters written in French, presumably by soldiers Margaret Ames Wright cared for in France. Clippings, poetry, hair samples, and other ephemera from Margaret Ames Wright's childhood are also included. Margaret Ames Wright's letters with her parents are in folders #142.8-143.8, letters with her siblings are in #227.7-227.9 and #229.7-232.3. Photographs of Margaret Ames Wright and a few of her children are in Series XVII.

Series XII, PAPERS OF CATHERINE AMES TURNER (1887-1947) AND SAMUEL EPES TURNER III (1884-1945), 1891-1979, 2000, includes correspondence with relatives, personal writings, business and legal papers, wedding announcements, travel itineraries, newspaper articles, and hair samples. Also included is Catherine Ames Turner's scrapbook from the Ames family 1902 trip to Europe. See also #143.9-147.6 for correspondence with her parents, and #227.10-227.11, #229.7-229.8, and #232.4-233.2 for correspondence with her siblings.

Series XIII, PAPERS OF ALICE AMES CROTHERS (1889-1976) AND BRONSON CROTHERS (1884-1959), 1895-2000 (#193.9-193.13), is comprised of correspondence with relatives and friends, wedding announcements, travel itineraries, medical discharge papers, and other miscellaneous papers. See also #147.10-149.6 for correspondence with her parents, and #227.12, 229.9-229.10, 232.4-232.5, and 233.3-235.7 for letters with her siblings.

Series XIV, PAPERS OF ELIZABETH "BETTY" AMES JACKSON (1894-1990), NORRIS DEAN JACKSON (1895-1990), AND FAMILY, 1867-1997 (#194.1-223.13, FD.5, F+D.10, OD.5), includes correspondence, diaries, school notes, and financial papers. The series also includes the papers of the Jackson's two daughters, and of Norris Jackson's parents; it's arranged in four subseries.

Subseries A, Papers of Elizabeth "Betty" Ames Jackson and Norris Dean Jackson, 1867-1997 (#194.1-222.3, FD.5, F+D.10, OD.5), includes personal correspondence with family and friends, correspondence with academic institutions and relief organizations, notes and letters sent while traveling, Elizabeth "Betty" Ames Jackson's diaries, and legal and financial papers. A significant amount of material documents Elizabeth "Betty" Ames Jackson's World War I charity work. Much of the correspondence with friends is from the years 1917 to 1919, when many friends were away from St. Paul, some serving in the military. the Jackson's daughter Leila served with the WAVES during World War II, their correspondence from 1944 and 9145 describes this time in her life. Elizabeth "Betty" Ames Jackson's notebooks, scrapbooks, and other ephemera from her years at the Winsor School and Florentine School documents the type of academic and other knowledge considered necessary for young women of her background. Additional materials include calling cards, wedding announcements, address books, and guest books for their home at 501 Grand Avenue in St. Paul. See also #149.7-153.8 for letters with her parents, and #227.14-228.11, #229.12-231.6, #232.9, #233.3-234.13, and #235.8-238.2 for letters with her siblings. Photographs of the Jacksons and their family are in Series XVII.

Subseries B, Papers of Leila Jackson Poullada (b. 1924) and Leon Baquiero Poullada (1913-1987), 1932-1993 (#222.4-222.27), includes family correspondence, Leila's childhood school reports, writings, drawings, etc. A few items document Leila Jackson Poullada's time with the WAVES. Other material documents the Poullada's time living in Pakistan and Afghanistan in the 1950s. See also #196.7-202.2 for letters with her parents. Photographs of the Poulladas and their family are in Series XVII.

Subseries C, Papers of Catharine Jackson Wise (b.1925) and Sergeant Woodhull Wise (1923-2011), 1933-1992 (#222.28-222.36), includes correspondence, poetry, and some printed material from Catharine Jackson Wise's alma maters. Catharine Jackson Wise's correspondence with her parents (#200.1-201.9) is closed until 2050.

Subseries D. Papers of John Norris Jackson (18? – 19?) and Alice Dean Jackson (1866-1954), 1906-1966 (#223.1-223.12), includes correspondence, travel diaries, and clippings. Letters from son Archibald were written while he was studying at Princeton University. See also #202.4-204.3 for correspondence with Norris Dean Jackson and Elizabeth "Betty" Ames Jackson.

Series XV, PAPERS OF THEODORE GORDON AMES (1898-1969) AND BARBARA HOLT AMES (1904-1998), 1902-1967, 2000 (#223.14-227.6, FD.6, OD.6), includes correspondence, drawings, travel documents, etc. The majority of the material relates to Theodore Gordon Ames, and much of that to his youth. Correspondence includes letters with friends at Ivy League and women's colleges; he was friends with Norris Dean Jackson's younger brother Arch Jackson, as well as with Benjamin Glyde Griggs, who later married Linda Baker Ames's younger sister Patty. Most letters from "Bengie" Griggs are written from Yale while Theodore Gordon Ames was at Harvard, and then in officer training camp. Also included here are many of Theodore Gordon Ames's drawings from his childhood and youth, many include military scenes. The drawings are primarily in pencil, pen and ink, and some contain watercolor or wash. An alphabet book drawn by his aunt Margaret Lesley Bush-Brown is in #226.12. Maps, itineraries and receipts document his trip around the world in 1925 and 1926; letters sent home to family members are in different series. See also #154.1-156.8 for letters with his parents, and #228.13-229.6, #231.7-232.1, #233.2, #235.1-235.6, and #235.8-238.1 for letters with siblings. Photographs of Theodore Gordon Ames and Barbara Holt Ames are in Series XVII.

Series XVI, CORRESPONDENCE AMONG CHILDREN OF CHARLES WILBERFORCE AMES AND MARY LESLEY AMES AND THEIR FAMILIES, 1891-1983 (#227.7-238.2), includes letters written between the Ames siblings and their spouses. The siblings were often apart, either traveling or at boarding school or college, and their frequent letters to each other paint a rich picture of their warm relationships and international adventures. Several of the siblings traveled in Italy in 1913 and many of their letters sent home to St. Paul, or among each other while in different European cities are here. Elizabeth "Betty" Ames Jackson attended school in Florence in 1914; correspondence to and from her in that year is rich with details of her life in Italy as well as at home in St. Paul. Letters in this series are particularly rich in details about the siblings' experiences of World War I. Margaret Ames Wright and Alice Ames Crothers lived in Paris in 1916 doing work for the American Fund for the French Wounded, and write home about their work, their travels, their experiences in a city in wartime. Elizabeth "Betty" Ames Jackson did the same work during 1918; her brother Charles Lesley Ames was also stationed in France that year. His letters to her toward the end of the war describe his leisure activities in the south of France and his desire to be home. Other topics covered throughout this correspondence include life at boarding schools and college, courtship, declining health of their parents, the death of Alice Ames Crothers's son, and the health of the siblings themselves as they aged. Which siblings corresponded the most depended in part on where they lived. Alice and Bronson Crothers lived in Cambridge and Belmont, Massachusetts, as did Theodore Gordon Ames and Barbara Holt Ames; thus the later correspondence between these two families is sparse. Similarly the other three siblings all lived in St. Paul, and usually only corresponded while traveling.

Series XVII. PHOTOGRAPHS, ca.1860-1987 (#PD.1-PD.176, 238.10), contains photographs of members of the Ames and Lesley families and their descendants. Photographs include albumen photographs in carte de visite and other formats, tintypes, color polaroids, and black and white gelatin prints. While most of the photographs are portraits, there are also photographs from travel abroad, including the Ames family's 1902 trip to England, Theodore Gordon Ames's 1926 trip to Kashmir, and various Ameses traveling in Italy and in Paris during World War I. Photographs are arranged with family members listed alphabetically, followed by friends and unidentified subjects. Papers of most of the individuals represented in this series are found in this collection; cross references have been made where appropriate.

Most of the photographs in this collection are or will be digitized and available online.

Other papers of Fanny Baker Ames are held in the Woman's Rights Collection at the Schlesinger Library. Other papers of Ames and Lesley family members are held by other libraries: papers of J. Peter Lesley at the American Philosophical Society; letters and sermons of Charles Gordon Ames at the Harvard Divinity School; papers of Charles Wilberforce Ames and Mary Lesley Ames and papers of George Wright at the Minnesota Historical Society, papers of the Bush-Browns at the Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College; Murray-Robbins family papers and other Forbes family papers at Massachusetts Historical Society; Lyman family papers at University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

HISTORY

The Ames Family Historical Collection represents many generations of a family based in Milton, Northampton, and Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the 18th and first half of the 19th century; in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the mid- to late-19th century; and in St. Paul, Minnesota, in the late-19th and the 20th century. Some of the central figures include Anne Jean Robbins Lyman (1789-1867), who lived in Northampton and Cambridge, Massachusetts, and was a Unitarian and abolitionist, hosting luminaries such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Lydia Maria Child; and her daughter Susan Inches Lyman Lesley (1823-1904) who, along with her husband, geologist J. Peter Lesley (1819-1903), sheltered a fugitive slave named Mary Walker. Charles Gordon Ames (1828-1912), editor, lecturer, and Unitarian minister, was secretary of the founding meeting of the Minnesota branch of the Republican Party before moving to Boston where he served as minister at the Church of the Disciples; his son Charles Wilberforce Ames married the Lesleys' daughter Mary, and they moved the family to St. Paul, Minnesota, where they and their six children were influential in founding civic organizations, schools, libraries, and museums.

Detailed biographical information about each individual with papers in the collection follows, in the order their papers appear.

Elizabeth Murray Robbins was born in 1756 in Cape Fear, North Carolina, to Barbara Bennet and James Murray. James Murray immigrated to the North Carolina colony in 1736; he married Barbara Bennet in 1761, and the family moved to Boston in 1765. Edward Hutchinson Robbins was born in 1758 in Milton, Massachusetts to Elizabeth Hutchinson and Nathaniel Robbins. Elizabeth Hutchinson Robbins's ancestors include Ann Marbury Hutchinson, an important early religious leader in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and founder of Portsmouth, Rhode Island. Edward Hutchinson Robbins was a Harvard-educated lawyer and delegate to the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention. He was speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1793 to 1802, and then was Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts from 1802 to 1806. Elizabeth Murray and Edward Hutchinson Robbins were married in 1785 and had seven children: Eliza Robbins (1786-1853), Sarah Robbins Howe (1787-1862), Anne Jean Robbins Lyman (1789-1867), Edward Robbins (1792-1850), Mary Robbins Revere (1794-1879), James Robbins (1796-1885), and Catherine Robbins (1800-1884). The Robbins family lived in Milton, Massachusetts, after 1805 at an estate called Brush-Hill. Edward Hutchinson Robbins died in December 1829 in Milton, Massachusetts. Elizabeth Murray Robbins died in December 1837.

Anne Jean Robbins was born in July 1789 in Milton, Massachusetts, the third daughter of Elizabeth Murray Robbins and Edward Hutchinson Robbins. She attended the Ladies' Academy in Dorchester, Massachusetts, as a young teenager. In 1805 the Robbins family moved to Brush-Hill, a farmhouse and estate in Milton. Anne Jean Robbins lived there for the next several years, spending the winters of 1809 and 1810 in Boston, and the winter of 1811 in New York City with family and friends. In the spring of 1811 she met Judge Joseph Lyman, a widower with five children. Joseph Lyman III was born in 1767 in Northampton, Massachusetts to Mary Sheldon and Captain Joseph Lyman Jr., a farmer. Joseph Lyman III was educated at Yale and married Elizabeth Fowler in 1792. They had six children: Eliza Lyman Henshaw (1792-?), Edmund Dwight Lyman (1795-1834), Frances Fowler Lyman (1797-1809), Samuel Fowler Lyman (1799-1876), Mary Lyman Jones (1802-1894), and Jane Lyman Brewer (1804-1859). Elizabeth Fowler died in 1808. Anne Jean Robbins and Joseph Lyman were married in October 1811, and lived in Northampton, Massachusetts. They had five more children: Joseph Lyman IV (1812-1871), Anne Jean Lyman (1815-1837), Edward Hutchinson Robbins Lyman (1819-1899), Susan Inches Lyman Lesley (1823-1904), and Catharine Robbins Lyman Delano (1825-1896).

Joseph Lyman III became ill from paralysis in 1841, and died in December 1847. In the fall of 1848, the Lymans' last child to be married, Susan Inches Lyman, was engaged to J. Peter Lesley, and they were married in February 1849. Anne Jean Robbins Lyman subsequently spent several years traveling and visiting relatives, living for a short time in Milton, Massachusetts, before permanently settling in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1853 to be near her sister Sarah Robbins Howe. Anne Jean Robbins Lyman's health deteriorated, and she was cared for in Cambridge by Mary Walker, a fugitive slave who had been aided by Susan and Peter Lesley, as well as by her younger sister Catherine Robbins. Anne Jean Robbins Lyman may have suffered from dementia; her children placed her in McLean Asylum in Somerville in October 1861, and died there in 1867. Susan Inches Lyman Lesley published Recollections of My Mother, Mrs. Anne Jean Lyman, of Northampton , in 1899.

Joseph Lyman IV was born in Northampton, Massachusetts in 1812, the first child of Anne Jean Robbins Lyman and Judge Joseph Lyman III. He graduated from Harvard College in 1830. Susan Bulfinch Coolidge was born in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1812 to Elizabeth Bulfinch and Joseph Coolidge. They were married in 1841 and lived in Boston, Massachusetts.

Anne Jean Lyman was born in 1815 in Northampton, Massachusetts, to Anne Jean Robbins Lyman and Judge Joseph Lyman III. She attended George B. Emerson's school for girls in Boston, Massachusetts. Anne Jean Lyman died at age 21 in 1837.

Edward Hutchinson Robbins Lyman was born in 1819 in Northampton, Massachusetts, to Anne Jean Robbins Lyman and Judge Joseph Lyman III. He attended Round Hill School, and in 1835 went to Boston, Massachusetts, to work for importer Almy Blake & Co. He worked abroad for the company for a number of years before returning to New York City in 1847. He married Sarah Low (1822-1863) and subsequently became a partner in her brother's firm, Abiel Abbot Low & Brother. Sarah Low and Edward Hutchinson Robbins Lyman had four children: Edward R. Lyman, who died as an infant in 1848, Annie Jean Lyman White (1849-1920), Joseph Lyman (1851-1883), and Frank Lyman (1852-1938). After Sarah Low's death in April of 1863, Edward Hutchinson Robbins Lyman married Catherine Tredway Lyman (1823-1899). The Lymans lived in Brooklyn, New York, and Edward Hutchinson Robbins Lyman died there in 1899. Edward Hutchinson Robbins Lyman, his wives, and other family members are buried in Greenwood Cemetery.

Catherine Robbins Lyman Delano was born in 1825 in Northampton, Massachusetts, to Anne Jean Robbins Lyman and Judge Joseph Lyman III. She attended George B. Emerson's school for girls in Boston, Massachusetts with her sisters. She married Warren Delano II in Northampton in 1843. Warren Delano II was born in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, in 1809 to Deborah Perry Delano and Warren Delano. They had eleven children, two of whom died in childhood. Warren Delano was a merchant who traded with China, the Delano family lived in Macao from 1843 to 1846, and their first two daughters were born there. After returning to the United States, the Delanos lived in New York City, but later moved to their summer home, Algonac, in Newburgh, New York. Many Robbins and Lyman family letters in this collection are sent from Algonac while visiting the Delanos. Warren Delano returned to China in 1859; the family joined him in Hong Kong in 1862, where the youngest two children were born. After the Civil War, the Delano family returned to the United States. Catherine Robbins Lyman Delano died in Newburgh, New York, in 1896; Warren Delano II died there in 1898.

Eliza Robbins was born in August 1786, the eldest child of Elizabeth Murray Robbins and Edward Hutchinson Robbins. She grew up in Milton, Massachusetts, and worked as a teacher. Eliza Robbins published a number of books and pamphlets, most educational for young readers, in the 1840s and 1850s. She suffered from ill health, yet also traveled widely, including to Europe. She died in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in July 1853.

Sarah Lydia Robbins Howe was born in December 1787, the second daughter of Elizabeth Murray Robbins and Edward Hutchinson Robbins. She grew up in Milton, Massachusetts. In 1813 she married lawyer and judge Samuel Howe. Samuel Howe was born in Belchertown, Massachusetts, son of Susannah and Dr. Estes Howe. He was educated at Litchfield Law School in Connecticut, and in 1823 opened a law school in Northampton, Massachusetts. Sarah and Samuel Howe lived in Worthington, Massachusetts, and had three children, Estes Howe (1814-1887), Mary Eleanor Howe (1817-1897), and James Murray Howe (1819-1879). Samuel Howe died in Boston in 1828. Following his death, Sarah Howe moved to Cambridge to live with her sister Eliza Robbins. She died there in 1862.

Edward Hutchinson Robbins was born in Milton, Massachusetts, in 1792, the fourth child and eldest son of Elizabeth Murray Robbins and Edward Hutchinson Robbins. He was educated at Harvard, graduating in 1812. He married Louisa Ann Robbins (ca.1795-1854), and they had a daughter, Anne Smith Robbins. Edward Hutchinson Robbins died in Boston in 1850.

Mary Robbins Revere was born in Milton, Massachusetts, in October 1794 to Elizabeth Murray Robbins and Edward Hutchinson Robbins. She married Joseph Warren Revere (1777-1868), a son of Paul Revere, in 1821. They lived in Boston, Massachusetts, and had seven children: John Revere (1822-1886), Joseph Warren Revere (1823-1830), Edward Hutchinson Robbins Revere (1827-1862), who died at the battle of Antietam, Maria Amelia Revere (1828-1905), Elizabeth Murray Revere Rogers (1828-1910), Paul Joseph Revere (1832-1863), who died at the Battle of Gettysburg, and Jane Minot Revere Reynolds (1834-1910). Mary Robbins Revere died in Boston in 1879.

James Murray Robbins was born in 1796 in Milton, Massachusetts, the second son of Elizabeth Murray Robbins and Edward Hutchinson Robbins. He attended Milton Academy, and conducted business in Europe with his cousin John Murray Forbes. He married Frances Mary Harris in 1834, and bought the Brush-Hill estate in Milton where family members lived and visited for subsequent generations. James Murray Robbins served as a Massachusetts state senator in 1842. Francis Mary Harris Revere died at Brush-Hill in Milton, Massachusetts, in 1870; James Murray Robbins died there in 1885.

Catherine Robbins was born in 1800 in Milton, Massachusetts, the youngest daughter of Elizabeth Murray Robbins and Edward Hutchinson Robbins. Catherine Robbins lived primarily in Cambridge, Massachusetts, often living with cousins or sisters. In the 1850s and 1860s she lived primarily with her sister Anne Jean Robbins Lyman and her caretakers, one of whom was Mary Walker, a fugitive slave. She died in 1884 in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

John Murray Forbes was born in 1813 in France to Margaret Perkins and Ralph Bennet Forbes. He was of the same generation as Susan Inches Lyman Lesley. He was a businessman, involved with other family members in the China trade, and became a railroad magnate. John Murray Forbes was an abolitionist who contributed funds to the cause. He married Sarah Hathaway Swain in 1834 in New Bedford, Massachusetts; they had six children. Their son William Hathaway Forbes married Edith Emerson, daughter of Ralph Waldo Emerson, in 1865.

Peter Lesley III was born in 1793 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the third child of Catherine Kitler and Peter Lesley II. He worked as a cabinet maker, and was also involved in a number of businesses related to transportation and raw materials, which benefitted from the western expansion of the United States population. He married Elizabeth Oswald Allen in 1815 in Philadelphia; they had six children: Elizabeth Lesley Stilwell (1816-1895), J. Peter Lesley (1819-1903), Allen Voorhees Lesley (1822-1881), Henry V. Lesley (d.1881), William Wood Lesley (1827-1901), and Joseph Lesley (1831-1884). Elizabeth Lesley died in 1832. Peter Lesley married Susanne Elizabeth Robbins Whitehead Lesley in 1837, and they had another son, Alexander Lesley (1838-1876). Peter Lesley III's brother James Lesley II (1795-1865), a banker, served as US Consul to France from 1861 to 1865; the brothers were involved in a number of business ventures together. Peter Lesley III died in 1855.

Peter Lesley II was born in Scotland in 1737; his father was a miller. He emigrated to Philadelphia, where he became a cabinet maker. In 1788 he married Catharine Kitler (1756-1832); they had seven children, of whom four lived to adulthood. Peter Lesley II died in Philadelphia in March 1816.

Susan Inches Lyman Lesley was born in Northampton, Massachusetts, in 1823 to Anne Jean Robbins Lyman and Judge Joseph Lyman III. She was educated at the Deerfield School, and at George B. Emerson's school for girls in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1848, while staying with relatives in Milton, Massachusetts, she met J. Peter Lesley, a young Congregationalist minister. Over the objections of some of her family members, who had envisioned a more financially stable life for her, Susan married J. Peter Lesley in 1849.

J. Peter Lesley was born in Philadelphia in 1819 to Elizabeth Oswald Allen and Peter Lesley II. He attended the University of Pennsylvania, and, after graduating in 1838, he worked for three years on the First Pennsylvania Geological Survey. He then attended the Princeton Theological Seminary from 1841 to 1844; after graduation he took classes at the University of Halle in Germany and traveled throughout Europe. He sold religious tracts for the American Tract Society for a few years, and then accepted a post in a Congregationalist church in Milton, Massachusetts, where he met Susan Inches Lyman.

Susan and J. Peter Lesley lived in Milton, Massachusetts, for several years. While there, they became involved with the abolitionist cause, and harbored a fugitive slave from North Carolina named Mary Walker. In 1851, J. Peter Lesley felt his religious views had moved significantly away from Congregationalist beliefs; he abandoned his post and the couple moved to Philadelphia, where he resumed work as a geologist. Daughter Mary Lesley Ames, named for Mary Walker, was born in Philadelphia in 1853; Margaret Lesley Bush-Brown in 1857. J. Peter Lesley worked as a geologist and cartographer for the Pennsylvania Railroad and other private companies; his work often kept him away from home, and he wrote prolific letters to his wife. Susan Inches Lyman Lesley often took boarders into her Philadelphia home to make ends meet. In 1866, J. Peter Lesley suffered a nervous breakdown, and subsequently he and Susan Inches Lyman Lesley left their children in Philadelphia and traveled to Europe (where J. Peter Lesley served as a United States Commissioner to the 1867 Exposition in Paris) and Egypt. As the Lesley daughters grew older, they also traveled to Europe with their father, and Margaret studied art in France in the early 1880s.

Susan Inches Lyman Lesley was active in social reform causes in Philadelphia, including the Children's Aid Society of Pennsylvania. The Lesleys were members of the Germantown Unitarian Church, and were active in the formation of the Spring Garden Unitarian Society. Charles Gordon Ames was minister at both these churches in the 1870s and 1880s, and the Ames and Lesley families became close. J. Peter Lesley served as Professor of Mining, Professor of Geology and Mining Engineering, and as Dean of the Science Faculty at University of Pennsylvania. He led the Second Geologic Survey of Pennsylvania from 1874 to 1889. He was named Pennsylvania State Geologist in 1874, served as Secretary of the American Iron Association, was a member of and elected Librarian of the American Philosophical Society, and helped found the National Academy of the Sciences. Susan Inches Lyman Lesley published a book about her mother's life, Recollections of My Mother, Mrs. Anne Jean Lyman, of Northampton , in 1899.

Both J. Peter Lesley and Susan Inches Lyman Lesley suffered from ill health. J. Peter Lesley had several physical breakdowns, often coupled with depressive spells. Susan Inches Lyman Lesley was often ill as a young woman, and suffered several miscarriages. The Lesleys moved to Milton, Massachusetts, at the end of their lives. J. Peter Lesley died there in 1903; Susan Inches Lyman Lesley in 1904.

Charles Gordon Ames was born in 1828 in Dorchester, Massachusetts, to Lucy Thatcher Leeson (ca.1808-1863), a granddaughter of Major General Henry Knox. Left as an orphan, he was adopted by Thomas and Lucy Ames and raised on their farm near Concord, New Hampshire. At age 13, Ames left home to work as a printer's assistant, but found his calling as a preacher during a local Free-Will Baptist revival. Charles Gordon Ames set out to be an itinerant preacher, and beginning in 1846 he traveled west in search of congregations. He attended Geauga Seminary in Ohio, and was formally ordained a minister in 1849. Charles Gordon Ames then returned to New Hampshire, where in 1850 he married Sarah Jane Daniels, who was born in 1828 in Barnstable, New Hampshire, to John and Joann Whitehouse Daniels. They had two children: an adopted daughter, Serena Ames Wright (1840-1868), and Charles Wilberforce Ames (1855-1921).

Charles Gordon Ames and Sarah Jane Daniels Ames returned to Ohio, but left in 1852 to become missionaries in St. Anthony Falls, Minnesota Territory. Charles Gordon Ames preached at a Free-Will Baptist congregation, but became spiritually dissatisfied and left the church in 1856. Their son Charles Wilberforce Ames was born in 1855 and the Ameses adopted Serena Huntley in 1856. Charles Gordon Ames spoke widely about his political and religious beliefs against slavery and for temperance. He was involved in the formation of the Minnesota Republican party, and was editor of the Minnesota Republican from 1855 to 1857.

In 1859 Charles Gordon Ames was invited to lead a Unitarian church in Bloomington, Illinois. Sarah Jane Daniels Ames was in poor health, and she died in Bloomington in 1861. Charles Gordon Ames moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1863, where he met and married his second wife, Julia Frances "Fanny" Baker. Fanny Baker was born in 1840 to Increase and Julia A. Baker in Canandaigua, New York. She attended Antioch College, taught school in Ohio, and then became a volunteer in several military hospitals during the Civil War. After their marriage, Charles Gordon Ames traveled the East Coast giving lectures against slavery. Their first daughter, Lilian, was born in 1864 and died at the age of 5 months. Their second daughter, Alice Vivian Ames Winter, was born in Albany, New York, in 1865, while Charles Gordon Ames was traveling in California, strengthening and founding new Unitarian congregations. The following year Fanny Baker Ames, Charles Wilberforce Ames, and Alice Vivian Ames Winter joined Charles Gordon Ames in California, where they lived in Santa Cruz and San Jose. In 1869 Fanny Baker Ames attended the founding convention of the American Woman Suffrage Association, and she and Charles Gordon Ames helped founded the first California suffrage society.

In 1872 the Ames family returned East, where Charles Gordon Ames became pastor of the Unitarian Church in Germantown, Pennsylvania. The Ameses founded the Germantown Relief Society in 1873 to aid residents affected in the financial panic of that year. Their daughter Edith Ames Crosby was born in Philadelphia in 1874. In 1877 the Ames family moved to the Boston suburbs, where Charles Gordon Ames was editor of the Christian Register, the leading Unitarian journal. In 1880, they returned to Philadelphia, where Charles Gordon Ames helped establish the Spring Garden Unitarian Society. Fanny Baker Ames was the first chair of the board, and worked as one of the first women inspectors for the Children's Aid Society throughout the 1880s. She was a founding member of the Philadelphia New Century Club, and served as its President in 1887. In 1888 the Ameses returned to Boston where Charles Gordon Ames became minister of the Church of the Disciples. He presided over that congregation, and married both his daughters there, until his death in 1912. Fanny Baker Ames became Massachusetts's first woman factory inspector in 1891. She was also a member of the Boston School Committee from 1896 to 1899, and in 1899 was one of the first trustees of Simmons College. Fanny Baker Ames died in Barnstable, Massachusetts, in 1931 at age 91.

Joann Whitehouse Daniels was born in 1802 in New Hampshire. She married store and tavern owner John Daniels, her older sister Mary Whitehouse Daniels's widower, in 1827. Mary Whitehouse Daniels and John Daniels had three children: Maria Daniels Winkley (1821-1847), John Whitehouse Daniels (1823-1914), and Mary Ann Daniels (1826-1854). Joann Whitehouse Daniels and John Daniels had one daughter, Sarah Jane Daniels Ames (1828-1861). John Daniels died in 1830. After her daughter Sarah's death in 1861, Joann Daniels lived with her granddaughter and her husband, Serena and George Wright, in Minneapolis, until her own death in 1867.

Mary Ann Daniels was born in 1826 in Barnstead, New Hampshire, to John and Mary Whitehouse Daniels. Both parents died when Mary Ann was a child, and she lived with her paternal aunt, Lois Daniels Garland and uncle, Samuel Garland, for most of her life. She was a school teacher and a very devoted member of the Free Baptist church of Barnstead, New Hampshire. Sarah Jane Daniels Ames was her stepsister. Mary Ann Daniels died in 1854.

Serena Miriam Huntley was born in 1840 to Abraham and Belinda Huntley. Her parents died when she was a child. After living in a number of foster homes, she became close friends with her minister and Sunday School teacher, Charles Gordon Ames (1828-1912) and his wife, Sarah Jane Daniels Ames (1828-1861). In 1856, after boarding with the Ameses for two years, Serena was legally adopted and changed her name to Serena Marie Ames. Serena was working in her father's office of the Register of Deeds in Minneapolis when she met her future husband, George Burdict Wright. In 1858, Serena moved to New Hampshire with her mother to help care for her grandmother, Joann Whitehouse Daniels (1802-1867). Then in 1859, Serena and her parents permanently relocated to Boston. For the duration of her travels, Serena kept up her correspondence with George, who remained in Minnesota. George and Serena were married in 1860; they had three children: Mary Serena Wright (1861-1882), Vernon Ames Wright (1863-1938), and Cyrus Gordon Wright (1866-1867). Serena Wright died less than ten years later in 1868. George Wright acquired land in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, and built a dam there in 1872. He died of typhoid fever in 1882. His son, Vernon Ames Wright, an architect, became interested in his father's land at Fergus Falls and became one of the initial incorporators of Otter Tail Power Company.

Alice Vivian Ames was born in 1865 to Charles Gordon Ames and Fanny Baker Ames in Albany, New York. She graduated from Wellesley College in 1886. She married Canadian grain merchant Thomas Gerald Winter in 1892 in Boston, and they eventually settled in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Winters had two children: Charles Gilbert Winter (1893-1907), who died of an accidental gunshot wound when he was thirteen, and Edith Winter McGinnis (1895-1965). Alice Ames Winter was a teacher, author, and activist; she served as president of the Women's Club of Minneapolis and the General Federation of Women's Clubs. She wrote a number of books, including several about women's clubs. During World War I, Thomas Gerald Winter was stationed in France as a Captain with the American Red Cross while Alice Ames Winter developed and promoted a number of programs for food conservation, hygiene, patriotism, the American Red Cross, and war work for women. Thomas Gerald Winter died in 1934; Alice Ames Winter died in 1944.

Edith Ames Winter was born in 1895 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Alice Ames Winter and Thomas Gerald Winter. During World War I, she worked with the American Red Cross in France with her father and was an advocate for the American Fund for French Wounded. While in France, Edith Winter met First Lieutenant Knowlton Lyman Ames, Jr., who was working with field artillery. They were married in 1919 and had three children, Knowlton "Bud" Lyman Ames III (1920-2001), Thomas Winter Ames (1922-1991), and Robert Dawes Ames (1925-2009). Edith Ames Winter Ames and Knowlton Lyman Ames divorced in 1934. Knowlton Ames permanently relocated to the Bahamas in 1938 and served as Welfare Officer to the Royal Air Force during World War II. He died of accidental drowning in 1965. In 1936, Edith Winter Ames was remarried to Paul McGinnis, an importer, exporter, and later an author, born in Nebraska in 1896. Edith Winter McGinnis and Paul McGinnis lived in California until they both died in 1965.

Edith Theodora Ames was born in 1874 in Germantown, Pennsylvania, to Charles Gordon Ames and Fanny Baker Ames. In 1900, she married Raymond Moreau Crosby. Raymond Moreau Crosby was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1876, and was educated at Yale University. He studied art in Europe, and became a notable artist, providing illustrations for magazines (including Life, Cosmopolitan, and the Saturday Evening Post), books, and advertisements. Raymond Crosby also illustrated The Prize to the Hardy (1905), a novel written by his sister-in-law Alice Ames Winter. The Crosbys moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico; Raymond Crosby died there in 1945, and Edith Ames Crosby died there in 1964.

Mary Lesley was born to J. Peter Lesley and Susan Lyman Lesley in Philadelphia in 1853. She was educated primarily at home, and was influenced by her parents progressive views and wide-ranging intellectual interests. In her twenties she was the librarian of the American Philosophical Society. She traveled to Europe several times as a young woman, both with her father, and to visit her sister Margaret Lesley Bush-Brown, who studied art in Paris in 1880. In 1883, she married Charles Wilberforce Ames and moved to St. Paul, Minnesota.

Charles Wilberforce Ames was born in 1855 in Minneapolis, Minnesota to Charles Gordon Ames and Sarah Daniels Ames. His mother died when he was six, and he became close to his step-mother, Fanny Baker Ames. Charles Wilberforce Ames attended the Albany Boys Academy in Albany, New York, and then several public schools in California while the family was living there in the late 1860s. He apprenticed with the San Jose Mercury Newspaper from 1869 until 1871, and then was sent to Minneapolis to attend high school there. He lived with George Burdick Wright in Minneapolis, and worked on several railroad surveys in addition to his schooling. Charles Wilberforce Ames attended Cornell University (BA. 1878), where his group of friends included labor reformer Florence Kelley. For several summers during college he worked for his future father-in-law, J. Peter Lesley, on the Second Geologic Survey of Pennsylvania. He continued to work for the survey after graduation, and had a short-lived engagement to Louisa Head in 1879. That fall, he moved to Boston where his father was living, and worked at the publishing firm George H. Ellis Company. In 1882 he accepted a position with West Publishing Company in St. Paul, Minnesota, where he eventually rose to become president.

The Ameses had six children: Charles Lesley Ames (1884-1969), Margaret Ames Wright (1885-1956), Catherine Ames Turner (1887-1947), Alice Ames Crothers (1889-1976), Elizabeth "Betty" Ames Jackson (1894-1990), and Theodore Gordon Ames (1898-1969). The West Publishing Company, a law book publisher, grew quickly, and Charles Wilberforce Ames profited financially from its success. In 1886, the Ameses built a large home at 501 Grand Avenue in St. Paul. The Ames children attended private schools in St. Paul, and the Ames daughters were sent to Miss Windsor's School (now The Windsor School) in Boston. Both sons attended Harvard College. The Ames family traveled often, with many trips to the East Coast to visit family in Philadelphia, Boston, Milton, New Hampshire, and New York. In 1902 the entire family traveled to Europe, in part to see the coronation of England's King Edward VII. In 1913 most members of the family were in Italy, where daughter Elizabeth "Betty" Ames Jackson enrolled in a finishing school in Florence. In 1917, Charles Wilberforce Ames toured the American West with Elizabeth "Betty" Ames Jackson, which led to his purchase of the Diamond Ranche in Wyoming.

The Ameses were civic-minded, and when they found St. Paul lacking in organizations or institutions they needed, they worked to create them. Charles Lesley Ames attended the Barnard School in St. Paul, which Charles Wilberforce Ames felt was lacking in educational quality; he led a group of dissatisfied parents to remake the school into the St. Paul Academy in 1900. In 1915 he similarly transformed Miss Loomis's School for Girls, which Mary Lesley Ames had helped start, and where several of his daughters attended, into the Summit School. In 1903, Charles Wilberforce Ames formed the Informal Club, a discussion group with 60 members. In 1907 he founded the St. Paul Institute, a vocational school and community college; its mission to educate and uplift immigrants was similar to a settlement house, but it had no residential facilities. Mary Lesley Ames served as president of the St. Paul School of Fine Arts in 1907-1908, and was a director of the Brotherhood House association. She was a member of the New Century Club, a literary club for women. The Ameses supported many arts-related institutions with time and financial contributions, including the St. Paul Institute museum and the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra. Charles Wilberforce Ames was a noted orator, and participated in many amateur theatrical productions.

The entire Ames family was involved in charitable work surrounding World War I, and both sons saw military service. Mary Lesley Ames was chairman of the hospital supply committee of the Ramsey County chapter of the American Red Cross. Additionally, her home at 501 Grand Avenue in St. Paul, Minnesota, served as headquarters for the Society for Fatherless Children of France and the American Fund for French Wounded as a station for making, collecting, packing, and distributing supplies to French hospitals. Charles Wilberforce Ames served as a vice president of the American Fund for French Wounded and traveled to France in 1916 with son Theodore Gordon Ames to distribute American supplies to French hospitals. Three of the Ames daughters worked in France between 1916 and 1918. In 1919, Charles Wilberforce Ames received the Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur for his service during World War I.

The Ameses joined the Unity Church, a Unitarian congregation in St. Paul, shortly after its founding. They were active members, and Charles Wilberforce Ames also served as Vice President and Director of the American Unitarian Association. An avid reader and letter writer, Mary Lesley Ames was also interested in her family history. In 1909, she published Life and Letters of Peter and Susan Lesley , a compilation of correspondence between her parents. Charles Wilberforce Ames suffered from anemia for several months before passing away in 1921. Mary Lesley Ames died in 1929 after a stroke.

Margaret Lesley was born in 1857 to J. Peter Lesley and Susan Lyman Lesley in Philadelphia. She studied at the Philadelphia School of Design for Women and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. In Philadelphia and Paris, she studied with notable artists including Thomas Eakins, Christian Schussele, Carolus-Duran, and Gustave Boulanger. She married Henry Kirke Bush-Brown, a sculptor, in 1886. The Bush-Browns had four children: Lydia Louisa Bush-Brown Head (1887-1984), Harold Bush-Brown (1888-1967), Malcolm Bush-Brown (1891-1920), and James Bush-Brown (1892-1986). Margaret Lesley Bush-Brown and her family lived in Paris until 1890, when they moved to New York City; in 1910 they moved to Washington, DC. Margaret Lesley Bush-Brown traveled frequently for portrait commissions. Her works were exhibited in Chicago, New York, Pennsylvania, Boston, Washington, D.C., and Paris. Many of her paintings and etchings are now housed in institutions such as the Smithsonian Institute, the Library of Congress, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Margaret Lesley Bush-Brown died in 1944.

Henry Kirke Bush was born in 1857 to Robert W. Bush and Caroline Udall Bush in Ogdensburg, New York. At the age of eight, Henry Kirke Bush was adopted by his aunt and uncle, Lydia Udall Brown and Henry Kirke Brown, a famous sculptor. Henry Kirke Bush became Henry Kirke Bush-Brown, and, after observing his uncle's work, pursued a career in sculpting. He attended the National Academy of Design in New York City from 1874 until 1886, when he married Margaret Lesley Bush-Brown. The Bush-Browns lived in Paris until 1890, when Henry Kirke Bush-Brown returned to the United States and created "The Indian Buffalo Hunt," which was exhibited at the World's Columbian Exhibition in Chicago in 1893. In 1896, he completed his first equestrian bronze sculpture, depicting General George G. Meade, to be displayed on the battlefield in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Three more sculptures by Henry Kirke Bush-Brown are found in Gettysburg: equestrian bronze sculptures of General John F. Reynolds and General John Sedgwick and a bronze bust of Abraham Lincoln at the Gettysburg Address Memorial. Other works are found in Philadelphia; New York; Valley Forge, Pennsylvania; and Charleston, West Virginia. Henry Kirke Bush-Brown died in 1935 from heart disease.

Lydia Louisa Bush-Brown Head was born in Florence, Italy, in 1887 to Margaret Lesley Bush-Brown and Henry Kirke Bush-Brown. She was educated at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York. Surrounded by artists as a child, she pursued a career as an artist, specializing in silk murals and wall hangings. Lydia Bush-Brown Head directed art programs at girls camps, and worked as an occupational therapist for injured French and American soldiers during World War I. She married Francis Head in London in 1926. Lydia Bush-Brown Head died in 1984.

Harold Bush-Brown was born in 1888 in Paris, France, to Henry Kirke Bush-Brown and Margaret Lesley Bush-Brown. He attended Harvard University, graduating in 1911 and completing a Master of Architecture degree in 1915. Harold Bush-Brown worked for architectural firms in Boston and New York, and in 1922 he became an assistant professor at Georgia Institute of Technology. He became Head of the Architecture Department in 1925, later becoming Director of the School of Architecture. Harold Bush-Brown married Marjorie Conant Bush-Brown (1885-1978) in 1924 in France; they had one son, Richard Lyman Bush-Brown (b. 1925). Harold Bush-Brown died in 1983.

James "Jim" Bush-Brown was born in 1892 in Newburgh, New York, to Henry Kirke Bush-Brown and Margaret Lesley Bush-Brown. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and studied at Harvard, later working as a professor of landscape architecture and horticulture at the Pennsylvania School of Horticulture. In 1926 he married Louise Carter Bush-Brown (1897-1973); they had two children, Albert Bush-Brown and Robert Bush-Brown. James and Louise Bush-Brown published several gardening books, most notably America's Garden Book. James Bush-Brown died in 1986.

Charles Lesley Ames was born in 1884 in St. Paul, Minnesota, to Charles Wilberforce Ames and Mary Lesley Ames. Known as Lesley, he attended the Barnard School for Boys in St. Paul, and Concord Academy in Massachusetts. Ames graduated from Harvard College in 1906 and from St. Paul College of Law in 1910. Charles Lesley Ames served in World War I: he was a member of the Minnesota Field Artillery in 1916 and 1917, and was stationed in France during 1918. Linda Worthington Baker Ames was born in 1893 in Bala, Pennsylvania, to Louis C. Baker and Sarah Andrews Hoopes Baker. She attended the Agnes Irwin School for Girls (class of 1910). Charles Lesley Ames and Linda Baker Ames were married in 1917. They had two daughters, Mary Ames Andrews Wolff (b. 1923) and Sarah Ames Ellis Yarmolinsky (b. 1925).

In 1923, Lesley was President of Twin City Wringers, a washing machine company, a job for which he traveled extensively. In 1924, Charles Lesley Ames became treasurer of West Publishing Co., and was later vice president for four years until his retirement in 1954. Charles Lesley Ames was president of the St. Paul Institute and Science Museum, served on the St. Paul Academy Board of Trustees, and belonged to several local and national clubs. In addition to his extensive travels throughout North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia, he assembled the Ames Library of South Asia of over 80,000 items, which he donated to the University of Minnesota. Charles Lesley Ames died in 1969 and his wife, Linda Baker Ames, died in 1985. Linda Baker Ames was president of the Junior League of St. Paul from 1921 to 1922.

Margaret Ames Wright was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1885 to Charles Wilberforce Ames and Mary Lesley Ames. In 1916, Margaret Ames Wright worked at hospitals in France with the American Fund for French Wounded; she continued to be involved in war relief work when home in St. Paul. In 1917, Margaret Ames Wright married Cushing Frederick Wright, a businessman born in 1880. Margaret Ames Wright served as president of the Junior League of St. Paul from 1918 to 1919. Margaret Ames Wright and Cushing Frederick Wright had four children: John "Jack" Cushing Wright (1919-2003), Mary Belle Wright Hines MacDonald (1922-1992), Theodore Douglas Wright (1923-2001), and Shirley Irvine Wright d'Estrube (b. 1926). Margaret Ames Wright died in 1956 and her husband, Cushing Frederick Wright, died in 1961.

Catherine Ames Turner was born in 1887 in St. Paul, Minnesota, to Charles Wilberforce Ames and Mary Lesley Ames. She attended the Winsor School in Boston. In 1910 she married Samuel Epes Turner III, who was born in 1884 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Samuel Epes Turner, Jr. and Mary Louise Moore. Samuel Epes Turner III graduated from Harvard in 1905 and attended the St. Paul College of Law. He worked at West Publishing Co. in St. Paul with Charles Wilberforce Ames and Charles Lesley Ames. Catherine Ames Turner and Samuel Epes Turner had six children: Samuel Epes Turner IV (1911-1985), Mary Turner Kenna (1912-2009), Alice Turner Winfield (1914-2010), Clara Turner Greenman (1916-1993), Elizabeth Holyoke Turner (b. 1919), and James Murray Turner (1926-1968). Catherine Ames Turner died in 1947 and Samuel Epes Turner died in 1945.

Alice Ames Crothers was born in 1889 to Charles Wilberforce Ames and Mary Lesley Ames in St. Paul, Minnesota. She attended the Winsor School in Boston, Massachusetts, and Bryn Mawr College. In 1916, Alice Ames Crothers worked at hospitals in France with the American Fund for French Wounded. In 1917, she married Dr. Bronson Crothers, who was born in Elmira, New York, in 1884 to Samuel McChord Crothers and Louise M. Bronson. Bronson Crothers graduated from Harvard College in 1905 and from Harvard Medical School in 1909. He was a member of the Massachussetts General Hospital Unit of the British Army Medical Corps in 1915, and then joined the U.S. Army Medical Corps. Bronson Crothers was a pediatric neurologist and worked at Boston Children's Hospital, primarily with children with cerebral palsy. The Crothers lived in Cambridge and Belmont, Massachusetts, and had a vacation home in Maine. They adopted a son, Charles Gordon Crothers, in 1931. Bronson Crothers died in Maine in 1959; Alice Ames Crothers died in 1976.

Elizabeth "Betty" Ames Jackson was born in 1894 to Charles Wilberforce Ames and Mary Lesley Ames in St. Paul, Minnesota. She attended Miss Loomis's School in St. Paul, the Winsor School in Boston, and the Florentine School in Florence, Italy. During World War I, she worked with her family in St. Paul to raise funds and provide supplies for wounded French soldiers; she went to France with the American Fund for French Wounded in 1918. Elizabeth "Betty" Ames Jackson was an organizer and volunteer for charitable causes throughout her life; she organized the 19th chapter of the Junior League in St. Paul, in 1919 established a convalescent home, and sevred on the board of the St. Paul Institute. She was engaged to Edward Cutler Lane, but called off the engagement in 1921; the following year she married her childhood friend Norris Dean Jackson. The Jacksons had two daughters, Leila Dean Jackson Poullada (b. 1924) and Catharine Jackson Wise (b. 1925).

Norris Dean Jackson was born in 1895 to John Norris Jackson and Alice Dean Jackson in St. Paul, Minnesota. He attended St. Paul Academy and graduated from Princeton University in 1917. Norris Dean Jackson served with the Army Air Corps during World War I. After the war, he worked for apparel manufacturer Gordon & Ferguson and became head of the leather goods department. He was named to the Department of Labor Conciliation in 1938, and in 1943 he established the labor relations department at Northwest Airlines. After retiring in 1956, Norris Dean Jackson worked as presidential assistant and director of the bureau of institutional research at Macalester College until 1959.

The Jacksons moved into the Ames family's house at 501 Grand Avenue in St. Paul in 1926, where Elizabeth "Betty" Ames Jackson cared for Mary Lesley Ames until her death. Elizabeth "Betty" Ames Jackson and her sister, Margaret Ames Wright, started the St. Paul chapter of the British War Relief Society in 1939; they once again used the house at 501 Grand Avenue as headquarters and sewing workshop. In 1947, both sisters were decorated with the Order of the British Empire for their service. Norris Dean Jackson's civic involvement included the Minnesota Zoo, Unitarian Church of St. Paul, and St. Paul Academy. Elizabeth "Betty" Ames Jackson died in 1990; Norris Dean Jackson died a few months later.

Leila Dean Jackson was born in St. Paul in 1924 to Elizabeth "Betty" Ames Jackson and Norris Dean Jackson. She attended the Summit School in St. Paul, and then Bryn Mawr College (class of 1948); she took several years off in the middle of her education to enroll with the WAVES. She was stationed in the Bronx, New York, and in Texas. After finishing her degree, Leila Dean Jackson attended the University of Pennsylvania for post-graduate work in East Asian Studies, where she met Leon Baquiero Poullada, a foreign service officer. Leon Baquiero Poullada was born in 1913 in Santa Rosa, New Mexico, and attended the University of California at Los Angeles. Leila Jackson Poullada and Leon Baquiero Poullada were married in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in March 1952. The Poulladas were initially stationed at the American Embassy in Lahore, Pakistan, where their daughter Sofia Hafiza Poullada was born in November 1952. A son, Stephen Foster Poullada, was also born there in 1953. The family moved to the embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan after a few years; son Philip Michael Poullada was born there in 1956. In 1961 Leon Baquiero Poullada was named the second United States Ambassador to Togo. Leon Baquiero Poullada died in Minnesota in 1987. Leila Jackson Poullada did a lot of work on the organizing and researching of the Ames family collection.

Catharine Jackson Wise was born in St. Paul in 1925 to Elizabeth "Betty" Ames Jackson and Norris Dean Jackson. The Jackson girls shared many friends; Catharine or "Kitty" was only fifteen months younger than her sister Leila. Catharine Jackson Wise attended the Summit School and Vassar College (BA, 1946). She married attorney Sargeant Woodhull Wise in 1952, they lived in New York City and Rochester, New York. Catharine Jackson Wise and Sergeant Woodhull Wise had four children: Dean Hamilton Wise (b.1954), Charles Grandin Wise (b.1956), Lesley Sargeant Wise (b.1957), and William Byrd Wise (b.1965). Catharine Jackson Wise served as Executive Director of the Friends of the Rochester Public Library. Sergeant Woodhull Wise died in 1987.

John Norris Jackson and Alice Dean Jackson had three children: Norris Dean Jackson (1895-1900), Archibald Blake Jackson, and Eleanor Jackson Lightner. They lived in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Theodore Gordon Ames was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1898, the youngest child of Mary Lesley Ames and Charles Wilberforce Ames. He attended St. Paul Academy and Harvard College (BA, 1920). Theodore "Ted" Gordon Ames traveled with his father to France in the summer of 1916 to drive ambulances for the American Fund for French Wounded. He trained as a pilot in US Army officer's training camp during 1917 and 1918, but was not sent overseas. Theodore Gordon Ames received a degree in architecture from Harvard University, and worked as an electrical engineer and an architect. In 1925 and 1926, he traveled around the world, spending time in Turkey, Egypt, India, and China. In 1927, he married Barbara "Bee" Holt, who grew up in New York City and had attended Miss Walker's School. They lived in Cambridge and Belmont, Massachusetts, and had a summer house in Maine. Theodore Gordon Ames and Barbara Holt Ames had four children: Nancy Ames English (b.1929), Peter Lesley Ames (b.1931), Barbara Ames Fletcher (1933-1968), and Linda Ames Porter (b.1938). Theodore Gordon Ames was stationed in Britain during World War II. He died in Belmont, Massachusetts, in 1969; Barbara Holt Ames died in Maine in 1998.

ARRANGEMENT

The collection is arranged in seventeen series:

  1. Series I. Genealogical and biographical materials, 2006 (#238.7, E.1)
  2. Series II. Papers of Elizabeth Murray Robbins (1756-1837) and Edward Hutchinson Robbins (1758-1829), 1775-ca.1883, undated (#1.1-1.6, F+D.1)
  3. Series III. Papers of Anne Jean Robbins Lyman (1789-1867), Judge Joseph Lyman (1767-1847), and family, 1808-1921, undated (#1.7-7.19, FD.1, F+D.2)
  4. Series IV. Papers of siblings of Anne Jean Robbins Lyman and other relatives, 1809-1899, undated (#8.1-13.11, 238.5)
  5. Series V. Papers of Peter Lesley III (1793-1855), his wives, Elizabeth Oswald Allen Lesley (1790-1832) and Susanne Elizabeth Robbins Whitehead Lesley (?-1855), and father, Peter Lesley II (1737-1816), 1762-1862 (#13.12-22.1v, F+D.3, OD.1)
  6. Series VI. Papers of Susan Inches Lyman Lesley (1823-1904) and J. Peter Lesley (1819-1903), ca.1825-1915 (#22.2-111.19, 238.6, FD.2, F+D.4-F+D.7, OD.2, SD.1, Mem.1)
  7. Series VII. Papers of Charles Gordon Ames (1828-1912), his wives, Sarah Jane Daniels Ames (1828-1861) and Julia Frances ("Fanny") Baker Ames (1840-1931), and their relatives, 1843-1969, 2000-2001 (#112.1-128.11)
  8. Series VIII. Papers of Mary Lesley Ames (1853-1929) and Charles Wilberforce Ames (1855-1921), 1853-2000 (inclusive), 1862-1929 (bulk) (#128.12-184.7, 238.3, 239.1v, FD.3, F+D.8-F+D.9, OD.3-OD.4, SD.2)
  9. Series IX. Papers of Margaret Lesley Bush-Brown (1857-1944), Henry Kirke Bush-Brown (1857-1935), and children, 1838-2000 (#184.8-186.14)
  10. Series X. Papers of Charles Lesley Ames (1884-1969) and Linda Baker Ames (1893-1985), 1878-2000 (#187.1-191.11, 238.8-238.9, 241FB.1v, FD.4)
  11. Series XI. Papers of Margaret Ames Wright (1885-1956) and Cushing Frederick Wright (1880-1961), 1885-2001 (inclusive), 1891-1957 (bulk) (#191.12-192.14)
  12. Series XII. Papers of Catherine Ames Turner (1887-1947) and Samuel Epes Turner III (1884-1945), 1891-1979, 2000 (#193.1-193.8, 238.4, 240.1v)
  13. Series XIII. Papers of Alice Ames Crothers (1889-1976) and Bronson Crothers (1884-1959), 1895-2000 (#193.9-193.13)
  14. Series XIV. Papers of Elizabeth "Betty" Ames Jackson (1894-1990), Norris Dean Jackson (1895-1990), and family, 1867-1997 (#194.1-223.13, FD.5, F+D.10, OD.5)
  15. Series XV. Papers of Theodore Gordon Ames (1898-1969) and Barbara Holt Ames (1904-1998), 1902-1967, 2000 (#223.14-227.6, FD.6, OD.6)
  16. Series XVI. Correspondence among children of Charles Wilberforce Ames and Mary Lesley Ames and their families, 1891-1983 (#227.7-238.2)
  17. Series XVII. Photographs, ca.1860-1987 (PD.1-PD.176, 238.10)

Physical Location

Collection stored off site: researchers must request access 36 hours before use.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Accession numbers: 2013-M141, 2014-M108

The Ames family historical collection was given to the Schlesinger Library by Ames Ink in 2013 and 2014.

Related Material:

There is related material at the Schlesinger Library; see Fanny Baker Ames papers in the Woman's Rights Collection (M-133, reel D2; WRC 8-8a). Other papers of Ames and Lesley family members are held by other libraries: papers of J. Peter Lesley at the American Philosophical Society; letters (bMS 74) and collected sermons (bMS 687) of Charles Gordon Ames at the Harvard Divinity School; papers of Charles Wilberforce Ames and Mary Lesley Ames and papers of George Wright at the Minnesota Historical Society, papers of the Bush-Browns at the Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College; Murray-Robbins family papers and other Forbes family papers at Massachusetts Historical Society; Lyman family papers at University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Processing Information

Processed: November 2014

By: members of the Ames family, Karl J. Stone, Samuel Bauer, L. Kelly Fitzpatrick, Jenny Gotwals, and Natalie Johnson.

Genre / Form

Geographic

Topical

Title
Ames family. Ames family historical collection, 1762-2006: A Finding Aid
Author
Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America
Language of description
eng
EAD ID
sch01491

Repository Details

Part of the Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute Repository

The preeminent research library on the history of women in the United States, the Schlesinger Library documents women's lives from the past and present for the future. In addition to its traditional strengths in the history of feminisms, women’s health, and women’s activism, the Schlesinger collections document the intersectional workings of race and ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and class in American history.

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