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© 1996 Radcliffe College
Call No.: MC 352/M-144
Note: CLOSED. USE MICROFILM. REQUEST AS: M-144
Repository: Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute
Creator: CHAMBERLAIN-ADAMS FAMILY
Title: Papers, 1827-1931
Quantity: 1+1/2 file boxes, 3 folio+ folders
Abstract: Correspondence and family papers of the Chamberlain and Adams families of Maine, including soldier, educator, and politician Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain and his wife Frances Adams Chamberlain.
Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, soldier, educator, and politician, was born on September 8, 1828, in Brewer, Maine, the first child of Sarah Dupee (Brastow) Chamberlain and Joshua Chamberlain, Jr. His brothers Horace, John and Thomas were born in 1834, 1838, and 1841, and his sister Sarah in 1836 (see #43). Ancestors on both the Chamberlain and the Brastow sides of the family had emigrated to America in the 17th century. JLC was educated at the local school, briefly attended a military academy, graduated from Bowdoin College in 1852, and from Bangor Theological Seminary in 1855. That same year JLC married Frances (Fannie) Caroline Adams, a distant relative of the presidential Adamses.JLC taught natural theology, logic, rhetoric, and modern languages at Bowdoin from 1856 to 1862. During the Civil War he served in the army (1862 to 1866), rising to the rank of major general and winning the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions at Gettysburg. From 1866 to 1870 JLC was governor of Maine. He served as president of Bowdoin from 1871 to 1883. JLC's actions as commander of the Maine militia in 1880 kept peace in the state while a hotly disputed election was decided by the Maine Supreme Court. JLC wrote several military histories; lectured widely, mostly on the Civil War; and served as a U.S. commissioner at the 1878 Paris Exposition. He was the president of the Artist-Artisan Institute of New York, developed Florida railroads and industry, and, from 1900 to his death on February 24, 1914, served as surveyor of the port of Portland, Maine.Frances Caroline Adams was born on August 12, 1825, the daughter of Ashur Adams and Emilia (Wyllys) Adams of Boston. She was raised primarily by her "adoptive" parents, George E. Adams and Sarah (Folsom) Adams of Brunswick, Maine. George E. Adams, who was also FAC's cousin, was pastor of the local Congregational church and often ministered to the students of nearby Bowdoin, where he was a member of the Board of Overseers. FAC grew up in this strictly religious home, and received a good education. She did make occasional visits to her family in Boston. She often accompanied the church choir, which was sometimes led by JLC, on the organ.It was during JLC's junior and senior years that the romance flourished, but even after he graduated marriage was out of the question--there was no money and the seminary years lay ahead. Early in 1852, FAC went to New York to study music; at the end of the year she took a position as a music teacher at a school for girls in Milledgeville, Georgia. They were engaged before she left but did not see each other for the next two and a half years. The wedding finally took place in December 1855, and, after a trip to visit the Chamberlain family in Brewer, FAC and JLC settled in Brunswick, as JLC was teaching at Bowdoin. In October 1856 their first child, Grace ("Daisy") Dupee, was born, and in the fall of 1858 their second child, Harold Wyllys.FAC often traveled to Boston and New York, leaving the children in the care of others. During the Civil War FAC visited JLC in Washington, D.C., toured the Gettysburg battlefield, and when he was badly wounded at Petersburg went to Annapolis to help take care of him. When JLC became governor of Maine, FAC continued to live in Brunswick, going to Augusta for special events. The separations due to war and politics put a strain on the marriage and in 1868 FAC considered filing for divorce.Grace Dupee ("Daisy") married Horace Gwynne Allen in 1881 and they had three daughters (see #43). GCA remained close to both parents, especially JLC, and the elder Chamberlains spent time with their grandchildren in Boston and Maine. Harold Wyllys, called Wyllys, graduated from Bowdoin in 1881 and studied law at Boston University. He participated in his father's business ventures and later in life made his living as an inventor.In the years between 1883, when JLC retired as president of Bowdoin, and 1900, when he was appointed surveyor of the port of Portland, JLC and FAC traveled frequently. He was involved in business ventures in Florida and New York; she joined him in both places before bad health intervened. All her life FAC suffered from eye trouble and was often in pain. In her late sixties she became blind in one eye and not long afterwards lost her sight completely. She died in Brunswick on October 18, 1905.
The Chamberlain-Adams family papers have been divided into four series:
- I. Correspondence between Frances Adams Chamberlain and Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain
- II. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain
- III. Adams family
- IV. Grace Chamberlain Allen
Except for two FAC school compositions, the collection consists entirely of correspondence.Series I, Correspondence between Frances Adams Chamberlain and Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain (#1-5), begins in 1852, not long after they met, and continues until 1905, the year FAC died. FAC wrote infrequently and there are many more JLC letters to her. The early ones are courtship letters that provide information about their feelings, their disagreements, their opinions on what marriage involves, the obstacles to their early marriage, her time in Georgia, his future plans and reluctance to become a preacher, and his lack of self-confidence. Later letters are about the children, household furnishings, their families, her clothes, health and travels, his travels, and his loneliness when she is gone. The arrangement is chronological, with undated letters at the end. JLC often did not sign his letters to FAC, but unsigned letters that seem complete have not been designated as fragments.Series II, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain (#6-24), contains mostly letters to JLC from family and friends. The correspondence provides information about relatives, friends, money problems, illnesses, births and deaths, social events, education, Bowdoin, travel, joining the army, JLC's wounds, business, visits, preachers, and religion. JLC seems to have had many women admirers; of particular interest are the letters to him from his cousin Annie (Chamberlain) Keene (#9) and those from Mary P. Clark (#14) amd Jennie M. Abbott (#15).Letters to JLC are divided into three sections: from Chamberlain family, from Adams family, and from others; each section is arranged chronologically. These are followed by one folder of JLC's letters to family and friends, three folders of other Chamberlain family correspondence, and one folder of related correspondence.Series III, Adams family (#25-35), consists of three sections in the following order: FAC, which is sub-divided into correspondence with her natural and "adoptive" parents and her sister Charlotte, letters to her, and two school compositions; other family correspondence; and Charlotte Adams correspondence. The correspondence documents FAC's childhood and the Adams family, especially FAC's brother, George Wyllys Adams. Each folder is arranged chronologically.Series IV, Grace Chamberlain Allen (#36-43) begins with GCA's correspondence with her parents (mostly from JLC), which concerns family visits, FAC's health and clothes, the grandchildren, JLC's health, yacht, schedule, and book on Gettysburg, and her brother Wyllys. There are also GCA's correspondence with her husband, Horace G. Allen, consisting mostly of courtship letters; letters to GCA from others; Merrill S. Allen (HGA's father) to his first wife; and Adams and Wyllys family trees drawn up by GCA's daughter, Eleanor Allen.Dates were previously added to a number of items, some in square brackets, others not, by an earlier processor and/or persons unknown. In most cases the current processor accepted these dates and placed items accordingly.With the donor's approval, the Schlesinger Library in 1979 transferred to the Bowdoin College Library 18 folders of JLC papers concerning his terms as governor of Maine and president of Bowdoin, and papers dealing with his business ventures.
- The letters in this collection presented a challenge to the processor and the microfilmer. Many are difficult to read due to faded ink, extensive staining, poor handwriting, lack of punctuation and capitalization, cross-writing and show-through text. Some letters are partly legible and partly faded. Transcripts, where needed, were prepared as carefully and accurately as possible and placed in front of the originals. These transcripts are scattered throughout the collection. Spelling was not corrected and everything added by the transcriber is in square brackets.
- Many multipaged letters conclude at the top and/or sides of page one. Letters with cross-writing may conclude on any page. Because the signature page was not refilmed, researchers must return to the pertinent page.
- Dates and other information added by the processor are in square brackets.
- Unnumbered letter pages were numbered to aid the microfilmer, the proofreader, and researchers.
- Copies of this microfilm (M-144) may be borrowed on interlibrary loan from the Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe College, 10 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138.
For a list of the contents of MC 352, Chamberlain-Adams family, see the inventory that follows. When requesting microfilmed material, please use the microfilm number (M-144) and the reel number.
MC 352, folders M-144, reel 1-24 1 25-43 2
(showing relationship to JLC)
- AA = Ashur Adams father-in-law
- EWA = Emilia Wyllys Adams mother-in-law
- GCA = Grace (Chamberlain) Allen daughter
- GEA = George Eliashib Adams "father-in-law"
- HGA = Horace Gwynn Allen son-in-law
- FAC = Fannie (Adams) Chamberlain wife
- HWC = Harold Wyllys Chamberlain son
- HBC = Horace Beriah Chamberlain brother
- JC = Joshua Chamberlain, Jr. father
- JCC = John Calhoun Chamberlain brother
- JLC = Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain
- SBC = Sarah (Brastow) Chamberlain mother
- TDC = Thomas Davee Chamberlain brother
- DGF = Deborah G. Folsom "cousin"
- SCF = Sarah (Chamberlain) Farrington sister