Howells Family Papers: Finding Aid

Finding aid prepared by Gayle M. Richardson, December 1, 2010.
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens
Manuscripts Department
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2129
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
© 2016
The Huntington Library. All rights reserved.


Overview of the Collection

Title: Howells Family Papers
Dates (inclusive): 1851-1954
Collection Number: mssHM 74525-74540
Creator: Howells family.
Extent: 16 pieces.
Repository: The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens. Manuscripts Department
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2129
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
Abstract: This collection consists of 3 manuscripts and 13 letters chiefly by members of the Howells family including American critic and author William Dean Howells (1837-1920) and his father, newspaper editor William Cooper Howells (1807-1894).
Language: English.

Access

Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.

Administrative Information

Publication Rights

The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item]. Howells Family Papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Provenance

Gift of Anne Kennedy Peterson and Matthew Kennedy, November 26, 2008.

Biographical Note

William Dean Howells (1837-1920), was an American critic, novelist, poet and playwright.
William Cooper Howells (1807-1894), W.D. Howells' father, was a newspaper editor and printer.

Scope and Content

This material includes three manuscripts and thirteen letters of the Howells family; one manuscript is a lullaby by Aurelia Dora Howells, and one is by William Cooper Howells, "Memoranda of My Personal History," which was the basis for his volume Recollections of Life in Ohio. The thirteen letters include a letter by Vevie Frechette, letters by Joseph Howells, William Dean Howells' uncle, letters by Mildred Howells, William Dean Howells' daughter, a letter by William Cooper Howells, and two letters by William Dean Howells.

Related Materials in the Huntington Library

Arrangement

Items arranged alphabetically by author.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Huntington Library's Online Catalog.  

Subjects

Howells family -- Archives.
Howells, Joseph, 1814-1896.
Howells, William Cooper, 1807-1894. Recollections of life in Ohio.
Marriage proposals -- United States.
Polygamy -- Utah.

Forms/Genres

Family papers -- United States.
Letters (correspondence) -- United States.
Manuscripts -- United States.

Additional Contributors

Howells, Aurelia Dora, 1842-1931.
Howells, Joseph, 1814-1896.
Howells, Mildred, 1872-
Howells, William Cooper, 1807-1894.
Howells, William Dean, 1837-1920.

Indexing: Subjects

  • Howells, Joseph, 1814-1896. In Mildred Howells, 1872-, letter to Ruth Cornell Cook, 1890- 1981, (1953, Apr. 23). HM 74532.
  • Howells, William Cooper, 1807-1894. In Mildred Howells, 1872-, letter to Ruth Cornell Cook, 1890-1981, (1953, Apr. 23). HM 74532.
  • Howells, William Cooper, 1807-1894. Recollections of Life in Ohio. In Mildred Howells, 1872-, letters to Ruth Cornell Cook, 1890-1981, (1953-1954). HM 74533-74535.
  • Marriage Proposals -- United States. In Joseph Howells, 1814-1896, letters to Ruth Merriam Day, 1815-1869, (1851). HM 74529-74531.
  • Polygamy -- Utah. In Susan R. Ertz, letter to Joseph Howells, 1814-1896, (1896, Jan. 14). HM 74525.

Indexing: Added Entries

  • Cook, Ruth Cornell, 1890-1981. Addressee for Vevie Fréchette, (1953, Sep. 22). HM 74526. Cook, Ruth Cornell, 1890-1981. Addressee for Mildred Howells, 1872-, (1953-1854). HM 74532-74535.
  • Day, Ruth Merriam, 1815-1869. Addressee for Joseph Howells, 1814-1896, (1851). HM 74529- 74531.
  • Howells, Joseph, 1814-1896. Addressee for Susan R. Ertz, (1896, Jan. 14). HM 74525. Howells, Joseph, 1814-1896. Addressee for William Cooper Howells, 1807-1894, (1892, Aug. 15). HM 74537.
  • Howells, Joseph, 1814-1896. Addressee for William Dean Howells, 1837-1920, (1893, Jan. 1). HM 74539.

Box 1 (tan rope case)

mssHM 74525-74540

 

Ertz, Susan R. 1 letter to Joseph Howells, 1814-1896, A.L.S. (4 p.), (1896, Jan. 14), (San Jose, Calif.).  HM 74525. 

Note: heavily stained, handle carefully. Cataloger’s note: this letter received after Howell’s death.
 

Fréchette, Vevie. 1 letter to Ruth Cornell Cook, 1890-1981, A.L.S. (2 p.), (1953, Sep. 22), (San Diego, Calif.). HM 74526.

 

Howells, Aurelia Dora, 1842-1931. “Croonin’:” [lullaby], MS.S. (typewritten: 1 p.), ([ca. 1925?]).   HM 74527. 

Followed by: typewritten note to an unknown addressee. Also enclosed: a slightly different version entitled, “Crooning,” carbon copy, typewritten (1 p.).
 

Howells, Joseph, 1814-1896. 1 letter to [Mary Day Buchenal]?, A.L.S. (2 p.), (1893, Oct. 12), (San Jose, Calif.).  HM 74528.

Note: heavily stained, fragile -- please do not remove from mylar.
 

Howells, Joseph, 1814-1896. 1 letter to Ruth Merriam Day, 1815-1869, L. (typewritten: 2 p.), (1851, Jan. 22), (Richmond, Ind.).   HM 74529.

Note: heavily stained, fragile and damaged -- please do not remove from mylar.
 

Howells, Joseph, 1814-1896. 1 letter to Ruth Merriam Day, 1815-1869, L. (typewritten: 1 p.), (1851, Feb. 14), (Richmond, Ind.).   HM 74530. 

Note: heavily stained, fragile and damaged -- please do not remove from mylar.
 

Howells, Joseph, 1814-1896. 1 letter to Ruth Merriam Day, 1815-1869, L. (typewritten: 2 p.), (1851, Feb. 18), (Richmond, Ind.).  HM 74531.

Note: heavily stained, fragile and damaged -- please do not remove from mylar.
 

Howells, Mildred, 1872-. 1 letter to Ruth Cornell Cook, 1890-1981, L.S. (typewritten: 1 p.), (1953, Apr. 23), (Boston, Mass.).   HM 74532.

With autograph postscript. Note: stained.
 

Howells, Mildred, 1872-. 1 letter to Ruth Cornell Cook, 1890-1981, L.S. (typewritten: 1 p.), (1953, May 17), (Boston, Mass.).   HM 74533. 

With autograph postscript. Note: stained.
 

Howells, Mildred, 1872-. 1 letter to Ruth Cornell Cook, 1890-1981, L.S. (typewritten: 2 p.), (1953, Sep. 21), (Peterborough, N.H.).   HM 74534.

Note: slight staining; marked “copy.”
 

Howells, Mildred, 1872-. 1 letter to Ruth Cornell Cook, 1890-1981, A.L.S. (1 p.), (1954, Jan. 22), (Tryon, N.C.).  HM 74535.

With envelope.
 

[Howells, William Cooper, 1807-1894]. “Memoranda of My Personal History,” A.MS. (80 p.), ([ca. 1885?]).   HM 74536. 

Incomplete?
 

Howells, William Cooper, 1807-1894. 1 letter to Joseph Howells, 1814-1896, A.L.S. (4 p.), (1892, Aug. 15), (Jefferson, Ohio).   HM 74537.

 

Howells, William Dean, 1837-1920. 1 letter to “Dear Cousin,” A.L.S. (2 p.), (1907, Mar. 20), (New York, N.Y.).  HM 74538.

 

Howells, William Dean, 1837-1920. 1 letter to [Joseph Howells, 1814-1896], A.L.S. (4 p.), (1893, Jan. 1), (New York, N.Y.).  HM 74539.

Addressed to: “My dear Uncle.”
 

[-----]. [“Immenser?]:” [short story?], A.MS. (4 p.), ([ca. 1900?]).   HM 74540.

In pencil.