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Descriptive Summary

Call No.: MC 235
Repository: Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute
Creator: ALMY FAMILY
Title: Papers, 1649-1967 (inclusive), 1835-1967 (bulk)
Quantity: 1.46 linear ft. (3-1/2 file boxes, folio+ folder folio folder)
Abstract: Correspondence of the Almy, Cabot, and Jackson families from New England.

Processing Information:

Acquisition Information:

SCOPE AND CONTENT

This collection centers on Helen Jackson (Cabot) Almy (1856-1938), her parents and her children, and thus includes substantial material on the Cabot and Jackson families as well as the Almy family (see genealogies on pp. 4-6, folder 1 and oversize folder). The papers are mainly family correspondence between members of these three New England families and from other relatives and friends.

HJCA was the daughter of the physician, Samuel Cabot (1815-1885), and Hannah Lowell (Jackson) Cabot (1820-1879). Correspondence between them, and with their children, is included here, as well as Hannah's diaries and numerous letters (1835-1839, 1844) from Hannah to her sister, Sarah (Jackson) Russell. Dr. Samuel Cabot's letters are mainly about family matters, with some references to the Civil War. His other papers include a typed essay (quoting many letters to him) about admitting women to the Massachusetts Medical Society. Hannah's letters and diaries describe her daily activities and include references to Dr. William Ellery Channing and other well-known Bostonians of the 1830's and 1840's.

HJCA's papers include two diaries (1877-1878, 1880-1881) and correspondence. The papers of mother and daughter thus document the social network and activities of upper-class Boston families in two different time periods. The bulk of HJCA's correspondence consists of letters to her from family and friends; letters by her are mainly to her daughter, Mary. Her work for the establishment of playgrounds and vacation schools in Cambridge is documented in the Helen Jackson (Cabot) Almy Papers in the Schlesinger Library (A-84). A few papers of HJCA's sister, Lilla, and brothers--Samuel, Arthur Tracy, James Jackson, Guy Chilton, and Godfrey Lowell--are included, most of them letters to HJCA.

HJCA's husband, Charles Almy (1851-1934), justice of the third district court of eastern Middlesex county for almost thirty years, is represented here by letters, most of them to his daughter, Mary, and by a few articles by him and many newsclippings about him.

Papers of HJCA's children include letters from them to her, but a larger part of their correspondence consists of letters from other Almy children to the eldest, Mary Almy (1883-1967), a Boston architect. Papers by Mary are mainly her travel diaries(1909 and 1924). Records of her architectural career are not included here, but are to be housed at the Historical Collections at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Helen Jackson Almy (1884-1976) was the first Chief of the Social Work Section of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Although that part of her career is not represented here, four folders of her letters (typescript carbon copies) to her family do provide substantial information on her service with the Harvard Medical Unit in France during World War I.

Papers of the other Almy children--Anna, Charles, Jr., Elizabeth and Samuel Cabot--include letters to Mary, a few to their parents and some about the death of their parents. Most of Samuel's letters were written from France during World War I..

The Almy family received letters from many well-known Bostonians of the later 19th century, among them: Elizabeth Cary Agassiz, Charles W. Eliot, Ellen Tucker Emerson and Ralph Waldo Emerson. (See index of correspondents, pp. 12-15, for a complete listing.)

The nine folders of photographs are mostly of Almy family members but also include photographs of Radcliffe classmates (1905) of Helen and Mary Almy and many photographs related to the Harvard Medical Unit in World War I.

There are additional Almy Family papers at the Schlesinger Library; see 86-M238--87-M16. Related manuscript collections in the library include: Helen Jackson Cabot Almy (A-84), Hugh Cabot Family (A-99), Ella Lyman Cabot (A-139), among others.

Additional catalogue entries:

CONTAINER LIST

• Box 1: Folders 1-23v
• Box 2: Folders 24-49
• Box 3: Folders 50-72
• Box 4: Folders 73-82

INVENTORY

• 1. Genealogical charts, notes, etc. re Almy, Cabot and Jackson families; correspondence (3 letters) with Charles Almy, 1933, re: Indenture in folio+ folder.

• 2. PATRICK TRACY JACKSON 1780-1847: "Notes on the life and character of the late P. T. Jackson, Esq.," ms. essay, no author, n.d.

• 3. SAMUEL CABOT 1784-1863: TL cc., Samuel Cabot to C. Bradford, April 3, 1854.

• 4-7: SAMUEL CABOT 1815-1885
  • 4. 15 ALS to Hannah Lowell (Jackson) Cabot, 1846-1849.
  • 5. 10 ALS to HLJC, 1851-1858, n.d.
  • 6. 4 ALS to Helen Jackson Cabot (later Almy), 1869, 1871, n.d.; ALS to Arthur Tracy Cabot,1877.
  • 7. Newsclipping with printed letter by SC, 1850; notes about SC (by daughters Lilla and Helen?), n.d.; ALS, Sarah P. Cleveland to Elizabeth (Mason) Cabot re: SC death, 1885?; ts. essay, "Some Letters to Dr. Samuel Cabot concerning the Question of Admitting Women to the Massachusetts Medical Society," no author, n.d.

• 8-17: HANNAH LOWELL (JACKSON) CABOT 1820-1879
  • 8. Diary, ts. cc., by HLJC, 1839-1842, and ms. note (for diary?), 1840; Includes references to Dr. William Ellery Channing.
  • 9. 7 ALS to Lydia (Cabot) Jackson,1836-1839, with transcriptions, ts. cc.
  • 10. 25 ALS to Sarah (Jackson) Russell, 1835-1839. 2 letters include letters from Patrick Tracy Jackson (brother) and "Cate" (Katherine Jackson)to SJR.
  • 11. Transcriptions, ts. cc., of letters in folder 10.
  • 12. 3 ALS to SJR, 1844.
  • 13. 20 ALS to Samuel Cabot, 1862-1863, 1877, n.d. 2 letters also include letters from sons Arthur and James to SC.
  • 14. ALS to "My dear children," 1875; ALS to Helen Jackson Cabot (later Almy), n.d.
  • 15. Note to HLJC from "M.E.D." 1849; ALS to "Edie" from [Ellen T. Emerson] re HLJC, 1873; ALS to Mary A. Bigelow,1862.
  • 16. Booklet of newsclippings mainly re Civil War, some dated 1861, most n.d. Collected by HLJC?
  • 17. Sales bills for household furnishings for SC and HLJC, 1844.

• Series: CHILDREN OF SAMUEL CABOT AND HANNAH LOWELL (JACKSON) CABOT
  • 18. LILLA (CABOT) PERRY1848-1933: 3 ALS to Helen Jackson (Cabot) Almy, 1899, 1916, n.d.; postcard of painting by LCP, n.d.; article re LCP, 1923.
  • 19. SAMUEL CABOT1850-1906: 2 ALS and 2 ms. poems to Helen Jackson Cabot Almy, 1906, n.d.; ALS to SC from?, 1885; memorial re SC to Helen (Nichols) Cabot from People's Club of Lowell,1906; articles re SC, 1906?
  • 20. ARTHUR TRACY CABOT 1852-1912: ALS to father, 1885; 13 ALS to HJCA, 1883-1911, n.d. (scattered); TL, cc, ? to Eleanor Bradley re ATC, n.d.; ALS, Sarah Forbes to ATC, 1885; article by ATC, 1912; article re ATC, 1912.
  • 21. JAMES JACKSON CABOT 1854-1875; GUY CHILTON CABOT 1859-1927; GODFREY LOWELL CABOT, 1861-?: ALS, JJC to HJCA, n.d.; ALS, JJC to "Dick," n.d.; article re JJC, 1877; postcard, GCC to HJCA, 1909; TLS, GLC to Charles Almy, 1921; TLS, GLC to HJCA, 1927; correspondence (2 photocopies) GLC and Dwight D. Eisenhower,1958.
  • HELEN JACKSON (CABOT) ALMY 1856-1938
    • 22-29: papers by HJCA
      • 22. Diary, 1877-1878; ALS to Charles Almy, 1879.
      • 23v. Diary, 1880-1881.
      • 24. 13 ALS to Mary Almy, 1901-1908 (scattered).
      • 25. 10 ALS to Mary Almy, 1909.
      • 26. 7 ALS and poem (?) to Mary Almy, 1910-1920 (scattered).
      • 27. 3 ALS to children, 1902, 1909, 1912; "Memoranda," 1926; ALS to Helen Jackson Almy, 1934?, with notes re Charles Almy.
      • 28. Ts. cc. letters to the editor by HJCA re: philanthropy, with 2 letters from others and newsclipping, 1921;Rindge School,1932; discovery of ether, n.d.; Nahant sea serpent, with letter to HJCA and newsclipping, 1936.
      • 29. Speeches by HJCA re: training of children, c. 1905; beginnings of Cambridge School, n.d.; domestic service of ancestors, n.d.
    • 30-45: correspondence to HJCA from relatives and friends.
      • 30. Almys: ALS, Charles Almy (father-in-law), 1882; ALS, author unclear, 1891; 2 ALS, grandmother, 1892, 1904; ALS, Helen Wayne Almy,1901; ALS, mother, 1903; ALS from several, 1906; postcard, Francis Almy,1923. Folder also includes newsclippings re Mary A. Almy death, 1910, and Francis Almy death, 1931.
      • 31. Cabots: ALS, Elizabeth (Perkins) Cabot, 1882; ALS, Edward Clarke Cabot,1882; ALS, Elizabeth (Cabot) Lee,1882; 3 ALS, Elizabeth (Mason) Cabot,1877, 1882, 1904; ALS, James Elliot Cabot,1885; ALS, Richard Clarke Cabot, 1931.
      • 32. Helen (Nichols) Cabot, 10 ALS, 1882-1917 (scattered).
      • 33. Edith [Davidson?], 11 ALS, 1874-1876.
      • 34. Edith (Emerson) Forbes, 3 ALS, 1882, 1902, n.d.
      • 35. Nancy (Cunningham) Howe, 3 ALS, 1888, 1910, 1922.
      • 36. Jacksons: ALS, Ellen Jackson, 1893; 2 ALS, Edward Jackson, n.d.; 3 ALS, Charles L. Jackson, 1905, 1907, 1911; ALS, Ernest Jackson,1911.
      • 37. Anna Jackson, 15 ALS, 1875, 1882, 1906-1921 (scattered).
      • 38. James J. Putnam, 4 ALS, 1877, 1885, 1918, n.d.; Marian C. Putnam, 2 ALS, 1885, 1912.
      • 39. Mary Wright, 8 ALS, 1892-1909 (scattered).
      • 40. Nell R. de Ybarra, 21 ALS, 1874-1919 (scattered). Includes references to Venezueleanpolitics.
      • 41. Other relatives and friends, 1878-1887 (scattered).
      • 42. Other relatives and friends, 1895-1915 (scattered), 1925, 1930, n.d.
      • 43. Correspondence re wedding and gifts, 1882-1883. Includes booklet with list of gifts and trousseau items.
      • 44. Correspondence re Lowell Memorial, 1897-1898, 1905, n.d. Includes announcement of project, n.d.
      • 45. Sympathy letters re Charles Almy death, 1934-1935.
    • 46-48: HJCA miscellaneous.
      • 46. Composition book by HJCA, 1870-1871; 2 letters to HJCA re examinations at Harvard,1874-1875 and printed exams, 1870-1874 (see oversize folder for Harvard certificates); poem sent to HJCA, n.d.; list of drama cast, n.d.
      • 47. Travel expense bill, 1878; dress bills, 1882; poll tax bill, 1879; certificate, 1926; letter (about HJCA?), 1928; list of furniture, n.d.
      • 48. Pamphlet re golden wedding anniversary,1932; newsclipping re both HJCA and Charles Almy, 1933.
    • 49. HJCA obituaries and condolences, 1938.

• 50-58: CHARLES ALMY 1851-1934
  • 50. TL, 22 ALS to Mary Almy, 1892-1912 (scattered), 1921; ALS to HJCA, 1921; poem to MA, n.d.
  • 51. 3 letters, CA to others, 1861, 1904, 1928.
  • 52. ALS, Cynthia S. Cummings to CA, 1882; ms. poem, Francis Almy and Frederic Almy to CA, 1931.
  • 53. 9 letters to CA from others, 1874-1933 (scattered); commendation to CA, 1882.
  • 54. 4 articles by CA, 1886, 1921-1923; 6 letters to CA re articles, 1921-1922; 2 speeches by CA, n.d.
  • 55. Newsclippings re CA, 1872-1934 (scattered), 1941, 1958, n.d. (see also folder 48). Includes rally announcement, sample ballot, etc. re CA candidacy to the General Court, 1891.
  • 56. Excerpts from sympathy letters re CA, n.d.; program re CA memorial service, 1935;Almy Memorialtrust declaration, 1935; mimeographed letter re CA fund, 1935.
  • 57v. CA book of birth dates (of Almys and Cabots), n.d.
  • 58. CA miscellaneous: sales bill, poetry copied by CA, bookplate, etc., various dates.

• Series: CHILDREN OF CHARLES ALMY AND HELEN JACKSON (CABOT) ALMY
  • 59v-67: MARY ALMY 1883-1967
    • 59v. Travel diary, May 25 - Aug. 30, 1909.
    • 60v. Travel diary, May 25 - Aug. 31, 1909. See digital image.
    • 61v. Travel diary, July - Oct., 1924. See digital image.
    • 62. 5 ALS, MA to sisters Elizabeth (Almy) Cobb and Ann (Almy) Bidwell,1921.
    • 63. 3 ALS to MA from family: grandfather (Almy?), 1884, Stanley Cobb, 1931, and Richard Clarke Cabot,1938; 6 letters to MA from friends, 1918-1941 (scattered), n.d.
    • 64. ALS, Samuel McChord Crothers to MA, 1912; 2 ALS, Louise Crothers to MA, 1927, 1938; prayer (by SMC?), 1924; booklet of memorial service for SMC, 1927.
    • 65. ALS, John Angel to MA, 1926;Christmas cards, JA to MA, 1952-1958, n.d.; article re JA, 1926.
    • 66. ALS, Margaret [Perry?] to MA, n.d., with enclosed article re Fort Lowell, Arizona,1963.
    • 67. Newsclipping re MA, 1944; obituaries, 1967; miscellaneous: passenger lists, certificate, identification card, etc., various dates.
  • HELEN JACKSON ALMY 1884-1976
    • 68. 2 ALS and fr. to MA, 1909?, n.d.
    • 69-72: ts. cc. letters (3 originals) from HJA to family (mainly mother, father and MA) from France.
      • 69. 1916
      • 70. 1917
      • 71. Jan. - June 1918
      • 72. July - Dec. 1918
    • 73. 2 booklets of drawings, photographs, quotes, etc., 1917-1918. Given to HJA by soldiers?
    • 74. Harvard Medical Unit: 3 letters to HJA, newsclipping, appointment form, postcards, etc., 1918-1922 (scattered), n.d.; roster of Harvard Unit B. E. F. Association,1951.
    • 75. ALS, Hugh Cabot to HJA, 1938.
  • 76-77: ANNA CABOT (ALMY) BIDWELL 1886-
    • 76. 5 ALS to HJCA, ALS to CA, 1909-1915 (scattered).
    • 77. 9 ALS to MA, 1908-1928 (scattered).
  • 78. CHARLES ALMY, JR. 1888-1954: Correspondence to CA re: death of his father, 1934-1935, and death of mother, 1938; newsclipping re CA, c. 1928; speech by CA, 1954; memorial and prayer re CA, 1954.
  • 79. ELIZABETH (ALMY) COBB HALL 1892- : ALS to (MA?), 1902; 2 ALS to (MA and HJA?), 1909; ALS to HJCA, 1915.
  • 80-82: SAMUEL CABOT ALMY 1895-?
    • 80. 3 ALS to MA, 1902, 1916, n.d.; ALS to HJCA, 1916; 13 letters. ts. cc., to family from SCA in France, 1916-1917.
    • 81. 3 letters to several Almy children from Frederic Almy,1909, and others, 1889, 1890.
    • 82. Cabot and Almy families miscellaneous: Ms. and ts. report re Cherry Hill Tavern, 1928?; pamphlet re George Lee (1856-1932), 1932?; miscellaneous cards, quotes, etc., most n.d.

• Series: Photographs
  (filed in photograph drawer):
  • 83. Helen Jackson (Cabot) Almy: 3 photographs; one with baby (Mary?); one with baby, Charles, Jr.; all n.d.
  • 84. 3 of Charles Almy (Sr.); one, CA and child; 2 of Charles Almy, Jr.; Helen Wayne Almy; all n.d.
  • 85. Mary Almy: baby, 1885; adult, n.d.; 4 of "Crow's Nest," Cotuit, Mass. (designed by MA), n.d.
  • 86. Helen Jackson Almy: 2 childhood, 1892, n.d.; 2 as young adult; 2 during World War I with (Esther ?); n.d.
  • 87. Almy family groups, 1885, 1892, 1932, n.d.
  • 88. Lilla Cabot Perry as young woman, n.d.; LCP and daughters, n.d.; Elizabeth (Almy) Cobb and children, 1923; Cobb children, n.d.
  • 89. Portraits of classmates of Mary and Helen Almy (Radcliffe1905), Radcliffe classes of 1904-1906; group photograph of "Cambridge Bee," n.d.; photograph of Samuel McChord Crothers, 1882.
  • 90. World War I: individuals, groups and buildings, probably taken in France and of or related to Harvard Medical Unit, all n.d.
  • 91. World War I, cont’d.: also lawn party for wounded soldiers, given by President Harding, n.d.
  • Daguerreotype: Cynthia S Cummings?, 1840's.

• Folio folder: Genealogical chart for Perkins,Sturgis,Forbes,Abbott, and Carey families, c.1860.

• Folio+ folder: Indenture from William Almy,1649. See correspondence in folder 1. 2 certificates for HJCA from Harvard University, 1874, 1875. Appointment certificate as Judge for Charles Almy, 1891. Passport for HJCA, 1906. Photostat letter to Woodrow Wilson from British foreign office re Harvard Medical Unit, 1918.

INDEX OF CORRESPONDENTS

• This index lists writers and recipients of letters. Information about these individuals is not indexed; nor are subjects. The numbers are folder numbers.
• Adams, William S. 53
• Agassiz, Elizabeth Cary42,44
• Allen, Mary N. 43
• Allen, T. Prentis51
• Almy, Charles (1819-1886) 30,63?
• Almy, Charles (1851-1934)1,21,22,30,50,51,52,53,54,69,70,71,72,76,80
• Almy, Charles Jr. (1888-1954) 78
• Almy, Francis30,52
• Almy, Frederic30,52,81
• Almy, Helen Jackson (Cabot) 6,14,18,19,20,21,22,24,25,26,27,28,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,50,69,70,71,72,74,76,79,80,81
• Almy, Helen Jackson27,68,69,70,71,72,74,75,79,80,81
• Almy, Helen Wayne30
• Almy, Mary24,25,26,27,50,62,63,64,65,66,68,69,70,71,72,77,79,80,81
• Almy, Mary Ann (Cummings) 30?
• Almy, Samuel Cabot80
• Angel, John65
• Bell, Gordon Knox54
• Bennett, J.41
• Bidwell, Anna Cabot (Almy) 27,62,76,77,79,81
• Bidwell, Percy Wells42
• Bigelow, Mary A. 15
• Bowditch, Alfred41
• Bowditch, Lillie41
• Bowditch, Mary Rice 41,42,43
• Bradford, C. 3
• Bradley, Eleanor20
• Brewster, William42
• Briggs, L.B.R. 58
• Brooks, Helen L. 45
• Cabot, Arthur Tracy6,13,14,20
• Cabot, Edward Clarke31
• Cabot, Elizabeth (Mason) 7,31
• Cabot, Elizabeth (Perkins) 31
• Cabot, Godfrey Lowell21
• Cabot, Guy Chilton21
• Cabot, Hannah Lowell (Jackson) 4,5,9,10,11,12,13,14,15
• Cabot, Helen (Nichols) 19,32
• Cabot, Hugh75
• Cabot, James Elliot31
• Cabot, James Jackson 13,14,21
• Cabot, Richard Clarke31,63
• Cabot, Samuel (1784-1863) 3
• Cabot, Samuel (1815-1885) 4,5,6,7,13,20
• Cabot, Samuel (1850-1906) 19
• Cabot, Samuel (1884-?) 78
• Clarke, James Freeman41,43
• Cleveland, Sarah P. 7
• Cobb, Elizabeth (Almy) 27,62,79,80
• Cobb, Stanley63
• Comstock, A. Barr78
• Coughlan, Jeremiah J. 45
• Cox, Channing H. 53
• Crothers, Louise42,45,64
• Crothers, Samuel McChord 42,64,(photograph, 89)
• Cummings, Cynthia S. 30?,52
• [Davidson?], Edith33
• Davis, Charles Thornton 78
• Dixwell, Eliza B. 43
• Doane, Ralph Harrington78
• Doane, Mrs. Ralph Harrington78
• Drinkwater, Arthur78
• Dunbar, Chris L. 46
• [Edsale?], David L.63
• Eisenhower, Hon. Dwight D. 21
• Eliot, Charles W.28,44,53
• Emerson, Ellen Tucker15,43
• Emerson, Ralph Waldo52,53
• Fiske, John44
• [Fitz, R.N.?] 41
• Forbes, Edith (Emerson)34
• Forbes, Sarah20
• Frankel, Morris B.78
• French, Daniel C. 43,44,53
• Gilder, R.W.44
• Gray, Russell54
• Hale, Ellen45
• Hall, Elizabeth (Almy) Cobb see: Cobb, Elizabeth (Almy)
• Harris, Jonathan N. 78
• Harrison, Constance Cary 44
• Hathaway, Alvan B. 78
• Higginson, George43
• Holmes, Edward Jackson41
• Holt, Robert58
• Howe, Mark Antony De Wolfe 28,45
• Howe, Nancy Cunningham35
• Howells, William Dean44
• Jackson, Anna37
• Jackson, Charles L.36
• Jackson, Edward36
• Jackson, Ellen36
• Jackson, Ernest36
• Jackson, Lydia (Cabot)9
• Jackson, Patrick Tracy (1818-?)10,11
• Jenks, Charles W.54
• Lee, Elizabeth Perkins (Cabot)31
• Lee, Elliot41
• Livingston, Elizabeth58
• Long, Hattie P.41
• Longfellow, Alice44
• Lowell, A. Lawrence45
• Lowell, Josephine Shaw41,43
• Macveagh, Franklin44
• Marsh, John B.45
• Merrill, John D.54
• Morse, Frances42,43
• Morse, Mary Lee43
• Newcomb, Caroline R.42
• Norton, Charles Eliot44
• Nutter, George Read78
• Palmer, Ruth63
• Park, Charles E.78
• Payson, Donald M.78
• Peabody, Francis G.45
• Pear, William H.45
• Pearson, J.C.1
• Perkins, Palfrey78
• Perry, Arthur B.53,78
• Perry, Lilla (Cabot)18
• [Perry?], Margaret66
• Perry, [Thomas Sargent?]42
• Piper, Elizabeth B.45
• Putnam, Augustus L.78
• Putnam, James J. and Marian C.38
• Russell, Helen M.45
• Russell, Richard M.78
• Russell, Sarah (Jackson)10,11,12
• Sanborn, Philip N.63
• Shattuck, Emily G.43
• Shattuck, George O.41
• Sherrill, Henry Knox45
• Sohier, William D.45,78
• Stone, Arthur P.53
• Stone, Katharine (Jackson)10,11
• Storey, Moorfield51
• Taylor, Katharine45
• Twitchell, Roger Thayer78
• Walcott, Hon. Robert58
• Ware, C.E., Jr.41
• Ware, L.K.41
• Warren, W. Bentley45
• Webster, [K.G.L.?]45
• [Wendell?], Lillie P.41
• Whitney, Winnifred45
• Wigglesworth, [Mary?] and George43
• Willard, Joseph53
• [Winson?], Justin81
• Wright, Mary39
• Wyman, Morrill42
• Ybarra, Nell R. de40